Jacob Fatu was at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia as a signed WWE talent, but nobody knew it. Appearing on Raw Recap, Fatu looked back on the lead-up to his WWE debut and revealed how far back his behind-the-scenes presence with the company actually goes.
“Yeah, I was there. WrestleMania 40. WrestleMania 40 pulled up. A lot of people don’t know, a lot of my independent career took off in Philadelphia so to be there, that WrestleMania during that time, it was something special. I got there at WrestleMania, still didn’t know, I was signed already. I just got signed, but I didn’t know when I was coming. Day after WrestleMania 40, met everybody, said what’s up. We were at the Hall of Fame, I was sitting in Gorilla Position. Nobody could see me. I was hooded up. Everybody (was) walking by, and I was tripping out. I seen my brother Solo, I seen my brother Big Jim, see Mr. Yeet Man… I was in there with Roman, the Tribal Chief and O.G. Paul Heyman so, to go out there and be a part of that, it was off the rip,” Fatu said.
Fatu also recalled the moment Reigns gave him a directive before he left that weekend, one that stuck with him heading into his debut.
“I just remember when Roman seen me, when I left that WrestleMania 40 weekend, he said, ‘Jacob, do whatever you gotta do. But when you come back, look different.’ I was already looking different at that time. But, two more months, came in and got it rolling,” Fatu said.
The debut itself came later than originally planned. Fatu revealed he was supposed to arrive at Money in the Bank 2024, one month before he actually debuted. He also shared how the unexpected appearances of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa before him had him picking up the phone.
“The day after WrestleMania 40, seen Tama Tonga come over. Tama Tonga’s a beast, a workhorse, a dog. Seen him, man, okay. Didn’t know they was coming. Backlash, France, seen Tanga Loa pop up. I’m like, ‘Okay.’ I gotta call brother up and them, ‘Hey man, I still got a job over there!?’ I ain’t know what was going on. But man, it all fell together. It all came together. I was supposed to debut at Money in the Bank. Next thing you know, they called. Man, a couple days and was like, ‘We doing it on SmackDown.’ Nobody seen it coming,” Fatu said.
Fatu makes his second consecutive WrestleMania appearance in an Unsanctioned Match against Drew McIntyre on night one of WrestleMania 42 on April 18.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit Raw Recap with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
