All language subtitles for biography_wwe_legends_s03e08_yokozuna

My father's name is very important,
especially to me.

I named my son after him.

This is Rodney, named after his
grandfather, Rodney Onowai.

Yokozuna.

Oh,

look at that!

Get ready for his defeat.

You didn't have to groom him. He was
already ready.

Unbelievable! Wow!

They don't come along every day like
he'll come.

Definitely one of the greatest big men
ever.

But he had that demon.

It's hard to talk about.

He was larger

than life.

But that is what ultimately took him
out.

Yokozuna looks like he's gotten even
bigger.

He would never tell you that he's
hurting.

He would do everything with a smile and
continue on.

Stand up guy, give you the shirt off his
back.

He took his platform and he helped
people that he loved. He helped people

were in need.

That's the teachings of our culture of
the Samoan dynasty.

This was the Yokozuna that people didn't
know.

Rodney and the White.

Where Rod grew up in L .A., it was a
rough neighborhood, man. It was a rough

neighborhood.

There's a lot of gangbangers back in the
day, the Bloods, the Crips, blah, blah,

blah.

But for him, you know, he comes from a
father that was in the service in the

Marines.

And his father, he didn't play, man.

If Rod stepped out what he wasn't
supposed to be doing, you can rest

he'd get his ass whipped by his dad.

But in a good way, a soundboard way.

He's always been a good kid.

But my parents didn't know that, you
know, he was skipping classes.

You know, probably to some people, him
skipping class wasn't, you know, a huge

thing. You know, everybody does it.
Everybody's kids does it. But to my

it was a lot.

You know, it got all the way to the
month of graduation when they found out

wasn't going to graduate from high
school.

He wasn't like one of those troubled
kids, but my dad didn't want him sitting

around not doing anything with his life
either.

So, you know, that's how he ended up
with my uncle.

Here comes the Wild Samoans heading out
into this filled Madison Square Garden.

Capacity's proud on their feet, giving a
welcome to the Wild Samoans.

Often, Sika the Wild Samoans were a
legendary tag team in the 1970s and

1980s. We just want to make money. We
just want to beat people up and go home

and be happy with my children.

They also created the Wild Samoan
Wrestling Academy with branches in

Pennsylvania and Florida.

And that's where a young Rodney and some
of his cousins received their early

training and seasoning.

We're training in my backyard.

And I told these kids, you got to work
your butt off.

This is how the game is, you know, you
got to lay a man.

During the time when we're all training,
we all became very, very close.

Uncle Alva and Sika no longer became
Uncle Alva and Sika.

They were like father figures to us.

My parents would talk with my uncles a
lot, you know, to see how Rob was doing

and making sure he doesn't get out of
line.

And if he didn't like it, then he can
always come back home.

But he loved professional wrestling.

You know, I would think he's tired
because he's the bigger one from up.

He never quit.

He wanted to keep going and keep going.
And he wanted to be the best at it.

Now, I'd like to go to the ring for this
next match featuring the brother team

of Kendall and Barry Windham against the
great Coquina and Jimmy Beckham.

He started to independent circles as
Coquina Maximus.

Impressive, impressive wrestler. This
guy goes about 375 pounds.

And for as big as Rod was, he was a
natural.

And he's nasty, and he's mean, and he's
everything that the Windhams don't want

to see on a Saturday night.

And I think, you know, as he kept going,
you tend to see the birth

of this big kid, you know, moving around
lightning speed like that.

I knew that he's very smart, he's very
athletic, and with the

proper discipline, we know that he could
do it.

I was very proud of him. I was proud

that, you know, my brother wanted to do
this.

Coquina, welcome!

He was accomplishing something with his
life, and, you know, we were all proud

of him.

It's now 1987.

Rodney, 21 years old.

Him and his girlfriend have a daughter,
Kaylani, and they have a son, Justin.

As a father, he was one of the best.

But the pressure was on.

He's already got two children.

A lot of pressure.

And frankly, if he's not able to make it
in the family business, what's he going

to do?

And so the Wild Samoans, you know, being
family, they went to WWE and said, I

got this big guy, really big guy. And at
the time, we liked really big guys.

Vince McMahon has a natural
predisposition to big men.

Wanting someone who looks like an
attraction.

So I had taken a trip and saw Coquina
and thought, wow,

this guy has it.

He moved like a 200 pounder. He's so
fast. I don't mean fast for a big man.

is just fast.

Amazing.

We asked Rodney to come in and do a
tryout, and how could you not be

Welcome to an exciting evening with the
superstar!

When the WWE calls, you're not only
going to take it, you're ecstatic.

got an opportunity of a lifetime.

So here's Rodney.

He doesn't even have a high school
diploma.

He's got two kids.

He's got to make this wrestling thing
work. At 400 pounds, Coquina!

Initially, he was Coquina the Wild
Samoan, the giant Coquina. He was

Maximus.

Unfortunately, that wasn't working.

How much does this man weigh?

Does he speak English?

So we knew that we wanted to do
something with him.

And Vince comes to me and he says, see
that kid over there, Rodney?

I said, yeah, what a talent.

He said, yeah, I know. But I got seven
Samoans now.

What am I going to do with him?

So my wheels started spinning.

Two more wrestlers.

Vince is like.

Send the kids to my office.

That's how exciting it was for me.

He said, put his hair in a bun, you
know, like one of those sumo wrestlers.

name Yokozuna came from the number one
sumo wrestler was the Yokozuna.

So we had the greatest of all, the
Yokozuna.

Get ready for deceit.

We're back.

Sushi weighing 505 pounds.

Yuko Sushi.

Where America was with its understanding
of Japanese culture, sushi was

literally just becoming a popular
cuisine in the late 80s and early 90s.

really didn't have a lot of experience,
I think, with Japanese culture in this

country at that time.

Yokozuna jumped off the pain.

Indeed, the pride of the rising sun for
sure.

And when Yoko took off the robe, the
first time that he appeared in the

Look at the size of this very, very,
very impressive.

It was an oh my God gasp.

505 pounds.

That's your holy moment.

Kind of the aha.

We've got it.

When he first came in, he was truly
amazing.

I'd never seen anything like it.

The way that guy can move, he was
incredible. He was a big man,

but he was an awesome big man.

It is an understatement to say he has
made quite an impression.

Yokozuna.

Watching him perform in the ring, I'm
like, holy sh... Wow.

He walked out, it was like a stegosaurus
walking out to the ring. It's like,

holy sh... Look at this guy, Al.

As a fan, I was just like, wow.

I love seeing the big guy.

He represented me.

He came along when the WWE desperately
needed a monster heel.

Like a big, giant heel like King Kong
Bundy or

Abdul the Butcher.

Most fans recognize that not too many
guys are going to mess with a guy like

Yokozuna.

That's what you could see coming out of
him.

That was the aura of him.

Kind of like Andre the Giant in a way,
Yokozuna became an attraction

immediately.

Just waiting to see the big guys like
Yokozuna coming out to wrestle.

Maybe cause a earthquake.

And the arena just...

reacted to every single thing Yoko did.

Vince knew what he had. He had a rare
killer heel.

But Yokozuna backstage was

totally different than what the fans saw
on TV.

He seemed like he was always in a good
mood.

You know, what I remember most was how
much fun he was in the dressing room.

He'd have the music going, he'd be
singing in the shower.

Watching Yokozuna eat was a sight in and
of itself.

We did a video one time with Yokozuna

at a steakhouse.

With the chef cooking up steak and
lobster and shrimp and everything for

noticed you cut up two steaks for Yoko.

And boats of sushi.

Oh, look at this.

Oh,

you've got to be kidding me.

We cooked enough food, no kidding, for
probably 20 people.

And Yoko.

Oh, my word.

He ate the whole thing.

Where's all the sushi you guys ate, man?
Hey, you ate all the sushi. You ate

them all. You guys ate all the damn
sushi. We took it back.

In the case of Yokozuna, I'm sure it
became that much easier for him to eat

freely because there's always a pressure
for pro wrestlers to look the part.

His look was incumbent on him being
huge.

So you wonder whether or not it was semi
-intentional.

And whether he thought, oh, let me just
keep building to my size.

Or if at some point, it just becomes an
unfortunate part of your lifestyle.

But at that time, it was working.

They were giving him the big push.

Then liked the reaction he was getting.
That's what everything was based on. So

obviously he was strong. That's how they
moved you along the card.

To

get

a push like that that early was...

A phenomenal opportunity for him.

Our whole family was like, we could see
it become reality.

Yokozuna from introduction to get to
that point.

I think it was kind of a hell of a
fairytale ride for Yoko.

And Yoko kind of went through it even
keel.

but there was a bit of that kid from
Kansas in New York City, a little bit

awestruck and looking around going, wow,
I'm here. I don't think that he saw

himself doing that.

The Daily News wants to wrestle you.

So much happening here, and of course,
the big one we're looking forward to

features the World Wrestling Federation
champion, Bret the Hitman Hart.

Squaring off against the 505 -pound
challenger from Japan, Yokozuna.

You're going in there and you're a main
eventer. Nothing prepares you for that.

That's a lot of pressure.

As far as Yoko went, him being the main
event kind of guy, most wrestlers, I

think, thought he was ready.

But in WrestleMania, he was a real pro
in the ring.

The place was already electric, you
know, it was like we dropped a bomb in

ring.

To be on that card with the legend Hulk
Hogan, I don't think that Vince would

have given that opportunity to Rod or
anybody if Vince didn't trust the

And knew that he can handle the
pressure.

Then all of a sudden, your boy and Hulk
was traveling all over the world

together.

And that set up the championship match
at King of the Ring.

It was another.

Moment that touches my heart.

How proud I am to see one of our kids
was blessed for this opportunity.

And it brings me back to what we have
always drilled in them about

You know, nothing's going to hand it to
you.

Yokozuna, obviously to me, is a grand
champion.

I know when he became champion, he broke
down.

He was just happy.

You know, he made it.

You know

who that is, baby?

Who is that?

Who's that?

He gave me a birthday.

As a kid, you know, just breaking things
or whatever.

So when I watched his matches and he
would do the bonsai, he would yell

my name.

He would just yell, Busty!

I did hear that.

It's so shocking, too, just that he
shouted my name out like that.

Yeah, he just won the biggest of them
all. It's just, yeah.

Yokozuna has defeated Hulk Hogan to win
the WWF Championship.

To work with him, you know, it was just
a pleasure.

And hopefully it gave him a platform to
get to the next level.

But he was already ready, you know, for
the spot.

I mean, that was it. For him to beat
Hogan that way, when you beat the Golden

Goose, right, and you beat him in that
fashion, that means you've arrived.

All right, here he is, Yokozuna, and his
advisor, Jim Poinette.

That set him on his way, man.

From there on, he became the big star
that he was.

He wasn't overwhelming.

He wasn't, like, full of himself, as a
lot of the good ones are. He was just

one of the boys.

This big, mega, mega, mega superstar in
the industry never let the

industry change him.

He took his platform, and he shared, and
he helped people that he loved.

He helped people that were in need.

Every time, when I say, I'm talking
about our whole clan.

Everything changed for everybody because
of Yoko.

Because of Yoko.

When he was making the money, he just
wanted to make sure everybody was always

taken care of.

He would always pay for everything out
of love.

Back in the day when I was a head
shrinker, Yoko was making a lot of

and we were kind of doing so -so, you
know.

I just moved into this home, pretty much
dumped everything that I have into this

home, and I needed heat in my home.

I had no money and rot.

He gave me a blank check, and he signed
it, and I came home and put a

new system in the home.

My family and my kids, we had heat.

And I was... And he was around during
the hard times and

bad times.

And Iraq is going to always be there for
me.

And I will ever love him for that.

Sorry.

That's culture.

You know, that's just the way the island
people are. I think that's the way we

were raised.

Once you...

are taught these values of Samoan
culture, you know, you carry it with you

through the rest of your life.

And you pass it on to your kids and your
family as well.

He was a really good dad.

All he ever wanted to do was just make
sure his kids were okay.

He was awesome.

He really was my best friend.

When he couldn't drop us off at school,

He was in the limo.

All the kids were like, oh, who's this,
who's this?

It was a little too much, but then it
was like, man, you know, that's how Pops

was.

When Rodney come home, he was that
rocky.

But when it came time to be Yokozuna,
that's where you see this face come.

Well, you want to talk about champions?
Let's talk about the 568 -pound, maybe

600 -pound, by the time the bell rings,
Yokozuna. You know, when I think of

Yokozuna as being the WWE champion at
the time, he was very believable. As a

matter of fact, he was so believable, if
you think, who's going to beat somebody

like Yokozuna?

Here we go!

Can you believe it? In the modern WWE
era, Yokozuna is the

only heel in that period of time that
was dominant.

Then, the fact that he was the main
event in WrestleMania two years in a row

phenomenal.

many more other WrestleManias, but the
question was, could he

keep up?

Let me ask you, how much is Yokozuna
weighing right now?

569 and a half pounds.

There was a point where you just started
to notice that Yokozuna was getting

bigger.

Then you started to see he's a step
behind in the ring. He's a little bit

slower.

And then you start watching and going,
hmm,

he's not...

Doing well.

Yoko liked food.

And the weight issue, it was obvious.

What do you like the best about
wrestling?

The business itself, in and out of the
ring, in front of the crowd.

What's the worst part about wrestling?
What do you, like, hate?

To traveling.

As his size increased, it became
increasingly difficult to travel.

We had first business class seats, first
class seats, but he was so big that he

still didn't, he couldn't sit in the
seats.

One night we were in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and poor Yokozuna went

bathroom, and he sat on the toilet, and
the toilet just came

off the wall.

I came around the corner, and we heard
this big explosion.

I thought someone flushed a hand grenade
down the toilet.

And I was like...

Like, I didn't know what to do.

He actually cut his butt cheek on some
of the broken porcelain. I remember it

was, it wasn't any fun.

I remember being exposed to turkey ass
with Yoko having a barrel of

oil and cooking turkey ass and taking
the turkey ass out, dipping it in

mayonnaise and eating, like, 75 turkey
ass.

It's hard to tell somebody like, hey,
you know, because Yoko's always been big

like that.

It's hard to tell them, hey, you need to
back off.

The first time that I got to meet him, I
ended up being the Yoko go -get -it

guy. Hey, Mark, go get me a bucket of
chicken.

What am I going to say? Yoko, man,
you're 600 pounds.

You should be around 400.

Like, I was...

you know, eating a half a bucket of
chicken myself.

But he got to the point where, you know,
we're like, hey, yo, dog, man, you

know, maybe it's time to lose some
weight.

You know, we had that conversation.

You got to, you know, focus on yourself
right now.

It's okay for you to take care of you
now, Rod.

Rod being Rod, there ain't nothing wrong
with me. I can still go.

What do you eat for breakfast?

Let's say more than you do.

I'm sure he was in denial about it.

You must have taken two seats in the
frame.

Oh, yeah, every day.

You know, he really wouldn't want to
engage in it. You know, everything's

Everything's going to be, you know,
everything's good.

And what is your current weight?

I know, 6 .1.

Then we had to send him to, like, a
loading dock where they weighed crates

things like that to weigh him.

And that was a slap in the face. That
was a big, like, holy.

You've got to drop some weight.

So the next step was to take Yoko, and
we looked into Duke University. And Duke

University had a weight loss program.

Yoko didn't want to move to North
Carolina or wherever it is that Duke

University was.

So Yoko said, I'll do the program, but
I'll do it at home.

Yoko was off for whatever it was, maybe
three months.

Maybe even longer.

and came back bigger than ever.

And I think that's when it got worse,
and that's when I really started getting

worried about him.

I start to notice, you know, I could be
having a conversation with him, and next

thing you know, I see he's just, you
know, in a deep sleep, or I notice while

we're in the locker room.

I'm talking to him, and he nods off,
falling asleep.

He was sleeping.

You know, one time he scared me. And
he's, like, jumping, like, looking for

And I just went and jumped on him. Hey!

He woke me up, and he cursed at me.

What the hell?

You're not breathing.

And he come back again.

Sleep. And he started, like, choking,
looking for air again.

And now you're stuck with...

He's going to die.

In 1997, his

weight had ballooned to, I'd say, in
excess of 600 pounds, maybe even more.

And the New York State Athletic
Commission forced him to take a

actually failed.

It really left the company with no
choice but to release him.

I just want to let everybody know the
big man comes back.

He's going to kill every one of them
jabronis out there.

I think they really feared for his
health at that stage.

And so here you have Rodney. Now he has
to figure out a way to support his

family. And so he ends up working on the
independent circuit, sometimes in front

of, you know, 100 or 200 fans and not
for a lot of money.

Yokozuna!

Yokozuna, the largest athlete in the
sport of professional wrestling.

Wow, what a massive individual.

It would be hard on anybody going from
selling out Madison Square Garden or any

kind of arena and then working
independent shows where you only have

there.

I don't think him working in a lower
level means that much other

than, you know, he

felt like he let us down.

And then a sort of depression might have
set in.

That's why it was hard.

because we loved him regardless he
didn't have to um at

the

time he also had a wrestling school out
there in las vegas so he uh

he taught brother why are you here The
reason why I'm here in Las Vegas is to

come out here and fulfill everybody's
dream, and that is to become a

professional wrestler.

Anybody out there that's got the
heart... He was taking in people, kids

know, didn't have a place to go.

He, you know, was mentoring them.

He just couldn't see them on the street,
so he took them in.

I've always looked up to him for doing
something like that for other kids.

He's always been like that.

In the year 2000, the all -star
promotion in the UK called him to

come over for a month -long tour.

Right now, he's one of the most
recognizable stars of the mighty world

wrestling. The big man himself,
Yokozuna!

He was doing what he loved, and whether
it was in WWE or not.

Rod was really passionate about
wrestling, and

it was his life, and that's all, you
know, he loved to do.

We were there for a month, and we
bonded.

In a month like that, I mean, we became
blood brothers. We were that close.

This guy was a gem.

At the end of our tour, we wrestled.

Then we went back to the hotel.

And everybody said goodnight, went to
our rooms.

He just finished the show.

We called home.

And then he said he was really, really
tired.

But it was weird. I guess he had called
a couple of people.

I don't know if he knew that he was not
well or whatever.

But, yeah,

he just said he was really, really
tired.

And everybody said, go to sleep.

He called us.

And just, you know, saying goodnight.

And one of the last thing I tell him was
he needed to take care of himself.

And then, you know, the phone call come
like

24 hours later.

It was...

It's

October 23rd, 2000.

Rodney is in the UK. He's on this month
-long wrestling tour.

So he calls home just to check in, say
hey to his family.

Then he goes to bed.

The next morning, I'm waiting to get
picked up to do a show, and he won't

his phone.

And they finally went in.

He was sitting up, and he had a remote,
TV remote there.

He was gone.

I remember getting the call from my dad.

And he broke down and told me that, you
know,

Rod passed away.

I was in shock.

We were very close, and that call I'll
never forget.

It was devastating.

You know, I just dropped the phone.

I wish I was there.

Yeah, it's my fault.

I told my brother that I was going to
take care of his son.

I'm sorry, brother, that things didn't
go the way that we planned for the

good of our kids.

His cause of death was pulmonary edema,
where fluid overflows your lungs.

His heart was, man, just blessed, you
know.

And then his big heart stopped that
night.

It was tough.

It was tough on all of us.

He's a good dude, man.

That's a brother. That's a brother.

It's like, man, why we have to lose
people like that?

Yoko was too young to die.

But it was tragic in that.

Yoko was a larger -than -life character
in that he was larger than life.

But that is what ultimately took him
out.

And that was that.

Rodney, just know that not a day goes by
that we don't think about

you. All your good deeds, your...

your fatherhood, your kids miss you,
your siblings, your whole family.

Thank you for leaving your mark in this
family.

We'll continue to make you proud and
move through. Thank you.

When you look at that Samoan legacy,
obviously you've got Appa and Fika.

In their time, they were it.

They have had such an influence and have
contributed to the business with their

offspring and their offspring's
offspring.

Three men, one bloodline, four
championships.

Roman reigns at the Usos. This is what
greatness looks like.

But as far as who people remember and
who they look at as

megastars, Yoko is right up there in
that top echelon.

He's our first top guy, first title
bearer that held the responsibility

in a global product, professional
wrestling, sports entertainment ring.

He will be the most massive presence
that our family ever puts out there.

Definitely one of the greatest big men
ever.

loved what he became and what he did for
the wrestling industry and being an

icon and everything. But for us, we miss
him as just a loving

family member, cousin, uncle, dad.

His heart was full of love, full of
caring, you know, full of giving.

But this is the type of family that he
comes because all this starts within our

living room. And it's the teachings of
our culture. It's the teachings of love.

It's the teachings of our faith. It's
the teachings of who we are as the Anoa

family.

You live through your kids.

But now you're going to live even
stronger through your grandkids.

You got one of your grandkids named
after you, Rodney.

Wow.

This was the Yokozuna that people didn't
know.

This is the Rodney that's behind the
scenes.

That I only wish that, you know, one day
that, you know, everybody can know the

person, the man, the legend, the icon.

Rodney Anoa 'i.

Yokozuna.