Eddie Fatu Edward Smith " Eki " Fatu ( March 28 , 1973 - December 4 , 2009 ) was a Samoa n - American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga . He was best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment , where he was a two - time Intercontinental Champion . He was a member of the Anoa ' i wrestling family and frequently worked as a part of a tag team – variously named The Island Boyz , the Samoan Gangstas , and 3 - Minute Warning – with his cousin Matt Anoa ' i . During Fatu ' s first stint with WWE , he was known as Jamal and Matt was billed as Rosey . In late 2005 , Fatu returned to WWE . Repackaged under the ring name " Umaga " , Fatu went undefeated for many months on WWE ' s Raw brand throughout much of 2006 , before suffering his first defeat under the Umaga name in January 2007 . His mother , Vera , was the sister of Afa and Sika of the Wild Samoans , and his later Umaga gimmick would be compared to their " wildness " . His two older brothers , Sam ( better known as Tonga Kid and Tama ) and Solofa Jr . ( better known as Rikishi ) , are also professional wrestlers who have achieved success of their own . Professional wrestling career . World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment ( 2002 – 2003 ) . Fatu trained to become a professional wrestler at the " Wild Samoan Pro Wrestling Training Center " operated by his Uncles , Afa and Sika . In 1995 , with his training complete , he started wrestling for Afa ' s World Xtreme Wrestling ( WXW ) . The next year , both Fatu and his cousin Matt were brought into the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) to take part in an angle with Solafa Fatu , Jr . , Fatu ' s brother and Matt ' s cousin , that ended up being quickly dropped . Instead they were sent to the WWF ' s " farm territory " Heartland Wrestling Association , where they formed a tag team which stayed together through various promotions , including Memphis Championship Wrestling and Frontier Martial - Arts Wrestling , holding championships in both under the names Samoan Gangstas and Island Boyz . In 2002 the team was brought back to the ( now renamed ) World Wrestling Entertainment as 3 - Minute Warning , a pair of enforcers for Raw brand General Manager Eric Bischoff . The team lasted just shy of a year , with Jamal being released from his WWE contract in June 2003 , reportedly after his involvement in a bar fight . All Japan Pro Wrestling ( 2003 – 2004 ) . Shortly after being cut by the WWE , Edward Fatu would sign for a short period of time with TNA Wrestling and wrestler under the name Ekmo Fatu , while a member of the TNA roster he would form a tag team with Sonny Siaki . Fatu left TNA for All Japan Pro Wrestling , where he used the name Jamal , the same name he ' d used as a member of 3 - Minute Warning in his WWE ( World Wrestling Entertainment ) career . He was again used as a part of tag teams , first forming a short - lived team with Justin Credible before forming a more permanent team with Taiyō Kea . With Kea he held the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship and won the World ' s Strongest Tag Team League tournament in 2004 . The team also wrestled a stint in Hawai ' i Championship Wrestling , holding the HCW Kekaulike Heritage Tag Team Championship once . Return to WWE ( 2005 – 2009 ) . In December 2005 , Fatu re - signed with World Wrestling Entertainment . Initial signs pointed to a reunion of 3 - Minute Warning , with the former team of Matt Anoa ' i ( Rosey ) and Fatu ( Jamal ) wrestling in dark matches together before episodes of " Raw " . However , Rosey was released from WWE before the team could be brought to the main show . Raw ( 2006 – 2008 ) . Fatu returned on the April 3 , 2006 episode of " Raw " with a new gimmick similar to that of Kamala and The Headshrinkers . Now called Umaga , the same name of the final and most painful part of the Samoan tattooing process , meaning " the end " , he was depicted as a destructive savage who could only be controlled by his manager , Armando Alejandro Estrada . The pair started out feuding with Ric Flair , whom Estrada interrupted in the middle of a promo to tell how much of a fan of his he used to be , but that now he was old and needed to retire . It was in offering the fans a new " hero " to watch that he introduced Umaga , who proceeded to attack Flair . For the next few weeks Umaga participated in squash matches , destroying various jobbers , until he dispatched Flair at Backlash at the end of the month . The summer months saw Umaga winning matches against the majority of the Raw roster , including the likes of Triple H , Shawn Michaels , and John Cena , who at the time was still WWE Champion . His next actual feud started at August ' s SummerSlam , where he was supposed to be an enforcer on behalf of The McMahons ( the heel gimmicks of Vince and Shane ) during their match against D - Generation X ( Shawn Michaels and Triple H ) , only to be attacked by then face , Kane as he made his entrance . Kane and Umaga feuded for the next two months until Umaga won a Loser Leaves " Raw " match , sending Kane off of the brand . After being separated by different brands , Umaga and Kane had one final match at Cyber Sunday where Umaga again defeated Kane after fans selected him over Chris Benoit and The Sandman to be Umaga ' s opponent for the night . Umaga , having still not been pinned in the WWE , was then deemed the number one contender for the WWE Championship and placed into a feud with then - champion John Cena over the title . Cena retained his belt at the New Year ' s Revolution pay - per - view by pinning Umaga with a roll - up , officially ending his streak , which had lasted 34 televised matches and spanned from his re - debut in April 2006 to January 2007 . In that time Umaga was never pinned or made to submit on television , although he did lose two matches by disqualification and another went to a double countout . For the rest of the month , Estrada played down Cena ' s victory , claiming it was a fluke , until a Last Man Standing rematch was signed for the next pay - per - view , the Royal Rumble . On an episode of " Raw " between the two pay - per - views , Umaga attacked Cena causing a worked injury to his spleen and putting the match in jeopardy . Cena kayfabe refused a medical exam , the results of which could cause him to forfeit his title , and then defeated Umaga by 10 count ( in which Umaga was unable to stand on his both feet ) , after wrapping a loosened ring rope around his neck during an STFU . Though he was out of the world title picture , Umaga was named Vince McMahon ' s " representative " for the WrestleMania 23 " Battle of the Billionaires " with Donald Trump . Immediately after choosing Umaga , McMahon " granted " him a match against the Intercontinental Champion , Jeff Hardy , which he won handedly to take the title . After Bobby Lashley was named Trump ' s representative , the two began a feud which lasted even beyond WrestleMania . Despite Umaga losing in the " Battle of the Billionaires " hair versus hair match and causing Vince McMahon to get his head shaved , the McMahons ( Vince and Shane ) continued to second him to the ring . Two weeks after WrestleMania , Lashley interfered in a match and helped a planted fan , Santino Marella , defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental title . At the April 29 Backlash event , the team of Umaga , Vince , and Shane McMahon wrestled Bobby Lashley for his ECW World Championship in a Handicap match , winning the title for Vince . Umaga would continue to be involved with the Lashley / McMahon feud , competing at Judgment Day in the return match for the ECW Championship , which was once again a Handicap Match with the McMahons along with Umaga taking on Bobby Lashley . The feud culminated at One Night Stand , with Umaga aiding The McMahons in defending the ECW Championship against Bobby Lashley in a Street Fight Match , which Umaga and The McMahons lost . In June , Umaga was re - entered into a feud with Marella , the man who won his Intercontinental Championship earlier in April . When they met at the pay - per - view , Umaga was solidly in control of the match , but lost by disqualification when he disregarded the referees instructions and continued to punch Marella . In a rematch on July 2 , Umaga beat Marella to win the Intercontinental Title back . Not long after , he seemingly started a face turn , joining forces with John Cena against Carlito and Randy Orton . After defeating both Kennedy and Carlito in a triple threat match at SummerSlam to retain his Intercontinental Title , Umaga interrupted a " Raw " match between Kennedy and a returning Jeff Hardy , assaulting Hardy and leaving him lying in the ring thus turning heel again . One week later , on the September 3 " Raw " , Umaga lost the Intercontinental title to Hardy in a singles match . Later that night , he teamed with Carlito in a handicap match against Triple H , after which Triple H struck him several times with his signature sledgehammer , injuring him . He was given a match against Triple H at No Mercy , which was changed to a title match for the WWE Championship during the event when Triple H won the title earlier that night . Fatu was defeated by Triple H in their match . At Survivor Series his team of Montel Vontavious Porter , Mr . Kennedy , Finlay and Big Daddy V lost to Triple H ' s team . Coming up to WrestleMania XXIV , Fatu started feuding with Batista , but he lost to him at WrestleMania . Upon Jeff Hardy ' s return , William Regal sent Umaga into the ring to " punish " Jeff , thus reigniting the feud between them . Umaga would go on to face Jeff Hardy at WWE One Night Stand in a Falls Count Anywhere Match , which Umaga lost . SmackDown and departure ( 2008 – 2009 ) . On June 23 , 2008 , Umaga was drafted from the Raw brand to the SmackDown brand , as a part of the 2008 WWE Draft . After having a short lived rivalry with Mr . Kennedy and The Big Show , Fatu suffered a torn PCL at a SmackDown live event in Johnson City , Tennessee on August 2 during a match with Jeff Hardy . On the January 30 , 2009 episode of " SmackDown " , Umaga returned to action with his unstoppable persona and won his return match against Jimmy Wang Yang . Umaga then suffered his first defeat since his return by losing to Triple H by disqualification , after Triple H was attacked by The Legacy ( Randy Orton , Ted DiBiase , Jr . and Cody Rhodes ) . After a short hiatus , he returned on the May 1 , 2009 episode of " SmackDown " , attacking CM Punk on multiple occasions , repeatedly interrupting Punk ' s attempts to cash in his Money in the Bank briefcase . At Judgment Day , Umaga defeated Punk , and on the May 22 episode of " SmackDown " , he spoke in English for the first time under the Umaga gimmick , when he challenged Punk to a Samoan strap match . At Extreme Rules , where he wrestled his final match in the WWE , Umaga lost to Punk , and Punk cashed in the Money In the Bank later that night to win the World Heavyweight Championship from Jeff Hardy . On June 8 , 2009 , Fatu was released from his WWE contract . It was later revealed that his termination was due to violation of the Wellness Policy ; even though this was only his second failure , his refusal to enter rehabilitation led to his dismissal . Hulkamania Tour : Let The Battle Begin ( 2009 ) . In 2009 , Umaga was brought in for a series of matches during the Hulkamania Tour of Australia entitled " Hulkamania : Let the Battle Begin . " On day one of the tour , November 21 , he wrestled under the name Osu Fatu and teamed with Orlando Jordan to go against his brother , Rikishi and Grandmaster Sexay in a losing effort . Fatu would go on to wrestle the following days of the tour , November 24 , 26 and 28 , defeating Brutus Beefcake , losing to Beefcake and Mr . Anderson while teaming with Orlando Jordan , and defeating Mr . Anderson in a singles match on the last day of the tour . This would be his last match before his death only a few days later in December . Personal life . During the weekend of August 30 , 2007 , articles posted by " Sports Illustrated " , the " New York Daily News " , and " The Washington Post " named Fatu as one of a number of superstars to have purchased pharmaceuticals from an online pharmacy , a violation of the WWE " Talent Wellness " program . Fatu specifically was said to have received somatropin , a growth hormone , between July and December 2006 , after the " No drugs from online sources " rule was instituted . Fatu violated this rule again in 2009 . Due to his unwillingness to seek rehabilitation , Fatu was released from his WWE contract . On April 27 , 2008 , Fatu ' s mother Vera died after a seven - year battle with cancer . Death . On December 4 , 2009 , Fatu was found not breathing with blood coming out of his nose and was rushed to the hospital . It was discovered that he had suffered a heart attack . Fatu died later that day around 7 : 00 p . m . after having a second heart attack . He was 36 years old . The official cause of death was acute toxicity due to combined effects of hydrocodone , carisoprodol , and diazepam .