Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
A gimmick is something that is intended to hook the attention of fans to a wrestler. They may be outrageous or steeped more in reality, whatever the case may be…some have succeeded and many others have failed. The Gimmick Table takes a look at the origins of some of your favorite and not so favorite gimmicks of professional wrestlers.
Today we browse the gimmick of Yokozuna
Rodney Anoa’i joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1992 and was originally scheduled to be in a tag team with Samu and Fatu as ‘The New Guinea Headhunters.’ That plan was changed when Rodney Anoa’i suffered a leg injury and was briefly out of action. While Samu and Fatu became a team known as ‘The Headshrinkers,’ Rodney Anoa’i was a man left without a gimmick. According to Sgt. Slaughter who was working in the office, Vince McMahon was considering releasing Rodney because…“He had about 10 Samoans already in the company and did not know what to do with him.”
Slaughter who previously worked with Rodney in the AWA, convinced McMahon to keep hm because he knew he could make money and be a star for the WWF. Slaughter claimed that it was he who came up with the idea to change Rodney from a generic Samoan wrestler into a sumo wrestler named Yokozuna. The name Yokozuna means ‘Grand Champion’ in the world of sumo wrestling. The very highest honor a sumo wrestler can achieve. Slaughter figured Rodney’s size was perfect and very believable for the gimmick.
Vince McMahon loved the idea and wanted Rodney to look more like an authentic sumo wrestler. Vince wanted Yokozuna’s wrestling attire to expose his butt cheeks in a thong. Rodney Anoa’i relented and eventually got his way. That gimmick attire was eventually bestowed upon Rodney’s cousin Rikishi. Yokozuna ended up becoming a top heel for the WWF winning the WWF world title twice as well as tag team gold. Unfortunately Rodney’s weight issues became a huge problem for him and his career and was ultimately released from the company in 1998. Sadly, Rodney Anoa’i passed away a little over two years later in 2000 at the age of 34.