Zilla Fatu, the son of the late, great Eddie “Umaga” Fatu, recently shared some touching and poignant memories of his father. He described the fearsome “Samoan Bulldozer” as a “big teddy bear” in real life. He explained the complicated emotions of following in the footsteps of a father who never wanted him to get into professional wrestling.
Umaga was a memorable WWE Superstar of the Ruthless Aggression era. He tragically passed away in 2009 at the age of 36, leaving behind a powerful legacy and a young family. Now, his son Zilla is carrying on that legacy, and in the process, discovering new things about the man he called Dad.
A “Big Teddy Bear”
Speaking with Chris Van Vliet on the Insight podcast, Zilla shared memories of his father that stand in stark contrast to his on-screen persona. He also recounted his favorite memory, a day when Umaga surprised him at his little league football game.
“Oh, man, just eating everything [laughs] and telling me, son, can you go grab that food right there? But yeah, I just remember him eating everything, and just him being a big teddy bear. Because I know everyone thinks that due to his character, he would be cocky, or arrogant, or just mean, but my dad was totally the opposite. My dad was very loving, caring, obviously he was very family-oriented. And, man, he was the glue… I remember right before the football game, I was stretching, and he was like, ‘Hey, son, I got a little proposal for you.’ I was like, ‘What’s up, dad?’ He was like, ‘Look, every touchdown you get, I give you $20.’ I said, really? He said, ‘Yes, I got you.’ I remember, after the game, scored five touchdowns the whole game. As soon as I saw him after the game, he already came with the money and gave it to me. But that wasn’t the most surprising. After that, he brought his T-shirts, he brought eight by 10s for the team, and he just showed love, man.”
“I Don’t Want You Guys Doing This”
Despite his own success, Umaga did not want his children to follow him into the wrestling business. Zilla recalled his father holding family meetings where he would urge his sons to find a safer career path.
“My dad used to tell us every Thursday, we had a family meeting, he always used to tell us, ‘I don’t want you guys doing this. I need you guys to be better than me. I don’t want you guys going through what I went through. I don’t want you guys putting your body on the line or whatever, I need you guys to do something more safe.’ And at that time, I didn’t really understand it. But now, obviously, since I’m in the business, I definitely understand why, and there’s a lot that comes with this that I feel like people don’t see.”
Closer To Him Than Ever
In a touching moment of reflection, Zilla explained the profound irony of his career choice. By pursuing the one profession his father warned him against, he has paradoxically found a way to connect with him on a deeper level, more than 15 years after his passing.
“I’m happy that I chose to wrestle, because it brought me closer to him, and now I’m learning who my dad was through wrestling. So I’m so happy that I started wrestling.”
Zilla is currently a featured performer in TNA Wrestling, where fans can see him carry on the family name. The full, emotional interview is available on the Insight with Chris Van Vliet YouTube channel.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Chris Van Vliet with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.
