It also changed the course of history in Michaels' wrestling career as his back caught the back edge of the casket which led him to miss four years of action after WrestleMania 14. While most of us will agree that this was a poor creative choice that was out of touch with what the fans wanted, and particularly impractical for Hogan working a part-time schedule, the Hogan-Yokozuna rivalry was logical in pitting the all-time great American hero opposite the new foreign monster. Previous Banzai! Luger vs. Yokozuna was largely paint-by-numbers booking, with the super strong American hero going after the foreign menace, and all signs suggest the WWF intended to crown Luger at WrestleMania until the fans started cooling on him, and it became apparent Bret Hart was at least equally over (not to mention significantly better in the ring). Not only was Yokozuna forced to accept the first of their two Casket matches, but once it was revealed that the unstoppable Yokozuna had a fear of coffins, The Undertaker used that knowledge to gain a psychological advantage over the big man. RELATED: Every Wrestler That Beat Hulk Hogan For A World Championship, Ranked From Worst To Best. His uncles were The Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika, who trained him from an early age in the family business. Best of the Elimination Chamber Match These colossal bouts include his Casket Matches against The Undertaker and WWE Title Matches with Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart . [9] Anoa'i would make his initial debut as Kokina in an untelevised match on September 1, 1992, at a WWF Superstars taping in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Undertaker was the favorite once more, and he imposed himself on proceedings. He collided with Virgil in a squash match. [2][20], At SummerSlam, Yokozuna, now weighing in at 568lb (258kg), and the newly reborn patriot Luger fought it out for the WWF Championship. For this match, Roddy Piper was the special referee. Luger battled on gallantly and there were several near falls but Luger clattered Yokozuna out of the ring, and he prevailed by count-out. Yoko and Savage were the final two participants, and the Macho Man nailed Yokozuna with his patented elbow drop from the top rope. On the February 6, 1993, airing of Superstars, Duggan succeeded in knocking Yokozuna down, only for Yokozuna to then sneak attack Duggan with a bucket of salt Mr. Fuji had brought to the ring, and crush him with four Banzai Drops, the fourth being with the American flag draped over Duggan. The victory, which came about as a result of the heavyweight's insulting leg drop to the man who made the move famous, finally confirmed the company was serious about pushing Yokozuna as the centerpiece of the main event scene rather than the nondescript villain of the week. Had Yokozunas physical condition not deteriorated to the extent it did at this point (by most reports, his kayfabe injuries and absences were connected to concern about his ballooning weight and general health) I can only imagine this would have been a more fully realized feud with more memorable moments. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1997 WWF WWE Playmates Yokozuna Ahmed Johnson Grudge Match Wrestling Figures WCW at the best online prices at eBay! The Phenom has been involved in the majority of casket matches that have been staged in WWE. Yokozuna was unable to pass a physical required for professional wrestlers by the New York State Athletic Commission. Nonetheless, the match itself was average, but it was memorable. Yokozuna was the 27th entrant, and he wasted no time by eliminating Tatanka, Carlos Colon, and most impressively, he took care of Earthquake with ease. Yokozuna's First 10 WWE PPV Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best By Tevon King Published Dec 19, 2021 Yokozuna, a member of the legendary Anoa'i family, was an attraction and his first batch of matches on a WWE pay-per-view was a mixed bag. Afterwards, Duggan was suffering from (kayfabe) internal bleeding. This is an underrated casket match, and Goldust held his own here. Business was at hand here, and the Supreme Fighting Machine had one of the best matches in his career. [1][2][39], Yokozuna was officially released from the WWF in May 1998, a decision that came directly from Vince McMahon due to his weight issues. Vader gets the nod for the number four spot, though, because of the unspoken build that went down in 1993. However, Shawn Michaels emerged from the casket, and he nailed Triple H with Sweet Chin Music. Undertaker was relatively comfortable in this casket match with Henry posing few problems for his fellow Texan. In the rematch, Vader defeated Yokozuna. However, Undertaker's brother Kane was feuding with Snitsky, and he dealt with him. Royal Rumble Matches of the 2010s You see, Yokozuna was billed as an unstoppable monster but so was the Undertaker and WWE needed an ending that would allow Mark Calloway to rest for several months to recover from lingering real-life injuries while not harming his reputation as a dominant force in wrestling. Every Casket Match In WWE History, Ranked Worst To Best, Mideon & Viscera Vs. The Undertaker was noticeably limping in this bout, and Rock's arm had a brace on it. Yokozuna, a member of the legendary Anoa'i family, was an attraction and his first batch of matches on a WWE pay-per-view was a mixed bag. Yokozuna vs. giants: WWE Playlist WWE 217K views 3 months ago WWS 1993 Ultimate Warrior Vs Hercules (VERY RARE MATCH) RIP G0L0B 744K views 1 year ago Anoa'i family returns: WWE Top 10, May 16,. Best of Rob Van Dam Sign up for BINGE to watch. Yokozuna was deathly afraid of caskets, and his WWE Championship was under grave danger at Royal Rumble 1994 as The Undertaker was determined to beat him for the WWE Title. Best of Ronda Rousey He fell backward, smacked his head and was pinned by the Texas Rattlesnake. CAGEMATCH Wrestlers Database Yokozuna Matches Yokozuna Also known as Great Kokina, Giant Kokina, Kokina Anoai, Kokina Maximus, Kokina The Samoan, Kokina Overview News and Rumors Articles Career Career highlights Titles Matches Match Statistics Matchguide Feuds Tournaments Tag Teams & Stables Entourage Awards Wrestling Games Movies Ratings The Undertaker - Royal Rumble 1994, Goldust Vs. In 1996, Yokozuna was on his final legs as a WWE performer. In 1998, he wrestled for Maryland Championship Wrestling. The Best of WWE Extreme Rules As expected, neither man held back, and Undertaker connected with a Tombstone on Vader. [6] He was the first wrestler of Samoan descent to hold the WWF World Heavyweight Championship, as well as the first Royal Rumble winner who (as a result of a direct stipulation) received a WWF world championship title shot at WrestleMania. Vader vs. Yokozuna: Raw, April 8, 1996 WWE 93.3M subscribers Subscribe Share 178K views 10 months ago Two powerhouses pummel each other when they face off in the ring during Raw! Chavo Guerrero was the sacrificial lamb in his casket match with The Undertaker. During the match, Hart came to the ring, only to be pinned by Diesel. Yokozuna will collides with the greatest rivals of his WWE Hall of Fame career. The two-time WWE champion dominated the main event scene, combatting the likes of Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger and The Undertaker to considerable success while establishing himself as the lead villain of the era. [1][2] Later in the night, Yokozuna defended the championship again, this time against the former champion Bret "Hitman" Hart, who had lost earlier in the night to his brother Owen Hart. In 2012, the two-time WWE champion was enshrined in the Hall of Fame, taking his place among wrestling's all-time greats. Austin 3:16 Rating: ** (fine enough TV bout) The legend finally makes his "Dream Matches" debut. [2] Wrestling as a Samoan superstar, he was managed by Sheik Adnan El Kassey. Kane and Triple H's feud in 2002 was strange, but their casket match was better than many expected it to be. Season's Beatings Attitude Era Royal Rumble Matches Sign up for Peacock to watch. Before he could celebrate, Yokozuna watched from the floor in awe as Undertaker appeared on the video screen and then rose from the dead and into the sky, not to be seen for eight months. [54], Teaming with Owen Hart and departure (19951998). Theres a time-honored tradition of a new monster crushing an old monster on his way up the card. Yokozuna had an incredible WWE career, and he is a two-time WWE Champion.RELATED: WWE Icons: 10 Facts We Learned About YokozunaYokozuna had several noteworthy feuds throughout his career but he was at his peak in 1993. In 2012, his accomplishments were immortalized, as he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. The Undertaker - Royal Rumble 1998, The First 10 Casket Matches, Ranked From Worst To Best, Undertaker put this feud to bed after he rolled Heidenreich into the casket for the win, 10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About The Undertaker, the Ugandan Giant was deathly afraid of Undertaker, WWE Championship showdown with Sycho Sid at, 10 Undertaker Moments That Were Actually Hilarious, Yokozuna going on to retain the WWE Title, Dustin Rhodes' 10 Best Matches, According To Cagematch.net, Undertaker and his former tag team partner Big Show, The 11 Worst SummerSlams, According To Cagematch.net, Michaels in a successful WWE Championship title defense. [49] The last major appearance for Yokozuna was at October 1999's Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view. At No Mercy, Randy and his father "Cowboy" Bob faced The Undertaker in a handicap casket match. Let us know what you think in the comments section. While the resulting matches werent great, and there are ways in which the meat of their rivalry (the turn from 1993 to 1994) felt like a placeholder before we returned to Luger-Yokozuna, the story was sound and I give this rivalry the nod over Lugers because it did get a proper resolution. In 1992, Anoai was contacted by Vince McMahon of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and offered a roster spot along with The Samoans (Fatu and Samoan Savage). The factors included Yokozunas sheer size and dominancehe was bigger than anyone else, and it became a challenge to simply take him off his feet, then to body slam him, let alone hope to defeat thim. The Undertaker and Kane clashed in the first casket match to take place on Raw, just 24 hours removed from their WWE Championship match at Judgment Day: In Your House. At WrestleMania 10, Yokozuna pulled double duty, and he put the WWE Championship on the line against Lex Luger, who was co-winner of the 1994 Royal Rumble match. Yokozuna looked fitter, and he put on a decent performance. Their match was physical but it wasn't anything special. While he had his sabbaticals and, particularly for the last five years or so of his career was mostly a part-time talent, still, I can say without hesitation that he was at least a fringe main eventer for twenty-six years. Their second meeting at Survivor Series had Chuck Norris as the special enforcer to ensure that a repeat of what happened at the Royal Rumble, would not materialize here. However, fans were heavily backing Undertaker, and he remained unbeaten at SummerSlam with a fine win. Managed by Mr. Fuji, Yokozuna debuted on the October 31, 1992 edition of Superstars with his then new gimmick of a stereotypical sumo wrestler, who competed under the Japanese flag; though the WWF tactfully acknowledged his Samoan roots. It was not always the strongest zeki but those with the most influential patrons who . The best of WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna | WWE This video is either unavailable or not supported in this browser Error Code: MEDIA_ERR_SRC_NOT_SUPPORTED Technical details : The media could not be loaded, either because the server or network failed or because the format is not supported. All rights reserved.Click here for our privacy policy. Moreover, Show finally made his way down to the ring and he pummeled Undertaker. The Undertaker, however, was not tagged into the match until after it was just him and Luger on the American Team. It was during this feud that Yokozuna teamed up with Ahmed Johnson and Jake Roberts in a six-man tag-team match at WrestleMania XII, facing off with Vader, Owen Hart and British Bulldog. Just the same, this rivalry makes the countdown, and Ill go so far as to call it very good, on account of what it did for Yokozuna. The casket match has become The Undertaker's signature match. Nonetheless, Luger was physically capable of the slam and got the big push, into a rivalry that reached its climax at SummerSlam where Luger picked up a count-out victory, to be followed by the two captaining opposing teams at Survivor Series. Perfect, he was disqualified, thus making Yokozuna the first villainous champion to successfully defend the WWF Championship at a WrestleMania. It was presented by the independent promotion World Xtreme Wrestling, although matches included wrestlers from multiple promotions. The Best of Survivor Series In late 1992, Yokozuna joined WWE and he pushed right to the top almost instantly in his WWE career. Best of Money in the Bank: Part 2 The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. The Big Red Machine was no stranger to casket matches, and he dominated proceedings with power moves. By the time his career in WWE was over in 1996, he had been at the top of the industry, traveled the world as the top dog in Vince McMahon's company and established himself as a locker-room leader. )[11] He made his pay-per-view debut at Survivor Series, easily defeating the much smaller Virgil with his huge weight advantage. I didnt pull the trigger, however, for what I imagine are similar reasons to why the WWF never pulled the trigger on Luger taking the world titlehe just wasnt quite over or good enough in the ring to justify it. The Best of Goldberg Required fields are marked *. Best of WWE Backlash: Part 2 [39] He competed in the 1996 Royal Rumble match, managing to eliminate Bob Backlund, King Mabel, and Swat Team member #2 before being tossed out by Shawn Michaels, the eventual winner. [17] At King of the Ring, Yokozuna, whose weight had already increased from 505lb (229kg) to 550lb (250kg), challenged Hogan for the title. He was best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled under the ring name Yokozuna, a reference to the highest rank in professional sumo wrestling in Japan. For a main event heel, there may be no greater milestone than putting over a hero in a high-profile situation in such a way that feels deeply satisfying. To celebrate, he held a "Bodyslam Competition" aboard the USSIntrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier, on Independence Day. For the amount of attention and early fervor of this rivalry, it earns a high spot on this countdown. It was total domination from Yokozuna right from the word go as Virgil had no answers to stop Yokozuna in his tracks. Without their help (although Irwin R. Schyster did successfully interfere on Yokozuna's behalf), Yokozuna could not win and eventually ended up locked inside the casket. Unlike in many squash matches, Koko came out still looking strong despite losing the match. Triple H - SmackDown (9/23/99), The Undertaker Vs. Heidenreich - Royal Rumble 2005, The Undertaker Vs. Mark Henry - Raw (3/10/08), The Undertaker Vs. Kamala - Survivor Series 1992, The Undertaker Vs. The Best of Miz & Morrison The feud took a painful turn a couple weeks later (April 8), when Vader jumped on Yokozuna's leg, (kayfabe) breaking it. By WrestleMania 10, Yokozuna had run his course as world champ, and handing the title back to Hart was ideal final chapter to that angle, and his on-again off-again rivalry with Hart. Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Goomba Stomp and Tilt Magazine. He was largely dominant over the WWF main event scene for the length of 1993 when, after just a few months on the roster, he won a Royal Rumble, won two world titles (one at WrestleMania, one over Hulk Hogan) and held the strap for half the year. Undertaker put this feud to bed after he rolled Heidenreich into the casket for the win. 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