This past Friday, the world of professional wrestling suffered another untimely death. Eki "Eddie" Fatu, 36, passed away after suffering a series of massive heart attacks. There's speculation over whether or not the heart attack was brought about by drug use, but nothing has been confirmed. Fatu made his WWE debut in 2002 and has worked several different gimmicks over the seven year span. His most notable career moment was headlining Wrestlemania 23 as Umaga in a match that featured a 'hair vs. hair' stipulation with Vince McMahon and Donald Trump. He was released from World Wrestling Entertainment this past June over what some sources say was a refusal to attend a rehabilitation center. In recent years, the WWE has been under fire for their Wellness Policy and has taken certain steps to clean their name up a bit. Most recently, Fatu worked with Hulk Hogan as a part of the "Hulkamania" tour in Australia, which ended in late November. He is survived by his wife.
I took this picture of Fatu in a match that pitted him against Brian Kendrick during an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw on January 22, 2008. It was the last time I saw him wrestle live.
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