As a member of the legendary Anoa'i wrestling family, Eddie Fatu worked primarily as a tag wrestler in WWE before being given a main event push as Umaga, the Samoan Bulldozer. Fatu began as a member of the Samoan Gangsters in various independents before being signed to the Raw brand in WWE and debuting as Three Minute Warning. 3MW would serve as Eric Bischoff's personal security and would interrupt segments/matches that Bischoff decided had gone on "three minutes too long". They received a minor push but that all came to an end when Fatu was released for his involvement in a bar fight. When he was resigned in 2006, Fatu's gimmick had been completely overhauled and he became Umaga, a savage who could only be controlled by Armando Estrada. Umaga, a Samoan word meaning "the end", went on a long undefeated streak and even gained a victory over Ric Flair on pay-per-view. Umaga remained undefeated for almost a year until he was booked to face John Cena for the WWE title. Cena managed to dispatch the huge Samoan by pinfall for the first time and then beat him in a Last Man Standing match at Royal Rumble 2006. Umaga was shuffled down to the midcard and captured the Intercontinental from Jeff Hardy. He was also Vince McMahon's representative at Wrestlemania 23 in the Battle of the Billionaires against Donald Trump's Bobby Lashley. Umaga continued to receive an upper card push until his second violation of the Wellness Policy where he received deliveries from an online pharmacy. It wasn't his pharmacy order that got him fired though, it was his refusal to enter WWE-sponsored rehab. In December 2009, only a few days before his 36th birthday, Fatu was found unresponsive at his home and was rushed to the hospital. He was pronounced dead a little while later thanks to a combination of medicines that Fatu was using to self-medicate.
