Let's talk about Umaga
 

At first I was like no way this guy works out. Right now he is my #2 wrestler behind Randy Orton. Everytime his music hits, I get chills down my spine. And they can mold him to be unbeatable because of his size and the way he "acts"

Let's not

How can he be #2 behind Orton? Orton sucks. Umaga rules. He has been one of my favorites since his debut. He has the right look, gimmick, and style too keep him in semi-mainevent/upper-midcard scene for a while. He is constantly booked to look dangerous. Also, I like how he is moving towards a tweener role. He should be booked as a loose cannon, unchained beast type role. Just going out and destroying face and heels indescrimately.

Also, Umaga >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Soma Joe

I like the character. It's working a lot better than I would have suspected and is pretty over. He's a solid midcarder and a good go-to guy for off-month (non-Big Four) PPVs.

He is the man. Much improved since 3 Minute Warning. Last night he was totally a face and got over like crazy.

I love his theme music.

Khali vs Umaga would be better than Savage/Steamboat!!

Umaga is the man, he plays the charactor perfectly, and the guy can move and work really good. I also find him very entertaining.

Loving his face turn, even if it was probably just for one night!
Also, if its true they asked samoa joe to play umaga first, how much would that've sucked? i can't imagine joe in face paint, he'd just even more of a muppet

I fucking love the way he punishes his opponent with the spike, then covers and counts in Samoan!

Atu
Foa
Samu!

Or whatever he says...

The best thing Umaga did was cut the most priceless promo I've ever seen with the great REWERWAREAGEWTER... anybody has that? anyone???

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Umaga sucks, but I will say he's ten times better than the suckatude of Fat Joe.

You suck.

Nah, now I'm more of a licker.

Yeah, now we are splitting pubic hairs. The point is Umaga is the goods.

Umaga...well...I want to say he sucks again, but, in fairness, he is better than 3/4 of the intolerable bullshit this fucked up industry is spewing currently.

I like Umaga.

Sure he's not a technical wiz, but he's a strong worker.

I am starting to become a fan of Umagas. Plus another thing thats helping him out is hes starting to get pops.

Sucks

Umaga will go over huge as a face in my very humble opinion. I would have loved to have seen him and Hardy tear it up at summerslam, but it looks like that has been scrapped. Oh well.

Hopefully the rumors are false about Hardy, and the two will have some hardcore gimmick match at SS. But, as for Umaga as a whole, I really thought he was just generic and boring the first few months, but he has definitely improved and I enjoy a lot of his matches. I don't want the World Title put on him or anything, but he's a solid mid-carder.

I really dig the character, he's a believeable badass, he's a big guy without being too big, plus the Samoan Spike has got a wicked old school feel to it, it's simple yet cool.

The gimmick is awful. I just can't buy a Samoan savage turned wrestler. However, Eddie Fatu has been doing the best job possible at portraying the character, and as a babyface he might be able to gain sympathy for his lack of sophistication, and his ring work is certainly not bad. Samoa Joe is a much better worker than Fatu, but this character has given Eddie the platform he needs for people to try and argue otherwise.

I was hoping Umaga would turn on Vince McMahon during the whole Bobby Lashley debacle, but that never happened. It'll be interesting to see where they take him as a face. The Samoan Spike is a really lame finishing move. I think it could get over as a People's Elbow type thing, but it shouldn't be used to end his matches as much as it does. Let him use the Splash that he occasionally does, and maybe give him a power move that can sort of be a seconary finisher (the Spike should be third place).

The whole point of the Spike is that it's a nerve/pressure point/windpipe move, it has psychology and biology to it, if people would sell it the way Kamala did that one it would be even more amazing. The move is akin to the tongan death grip and the mandible claw.

Yeah, I get that, but even then I still don't buy it. In an industry that is well documented as fake, a guy sticking his thumb into the throat of a guy doesn't do much but remind me of that.

I guess it fits the character, but that in itself is dated. Eddie Fatu is capable of something a lot more impressive than a Finger Poke of Doom.

Not everything has to be about flash.

I think the face smash avec butt is pretty awesome.

I like him, fuck all of you.

So you'd rather see unrealistic flipping powerbombs and the ilk than a realistic move that could potentially kill someone if executed properly?

I think that's what WWE needs to move TOWARDS, not AWAY from. Give wrestlers a more realistic style. Give them moves that aren't flashy but you look at and say "holy shit, that could have killed him". You can still have the flipping, flashy styles, but a focus on realism is need.

Umaga's gimmick is cartoony, but he has a fairly realistic style and that's his huge advantage.

A thumb jab is a realistic move? Come on.

Would you allow someone with a reinforced thumb to strike you in the throat as hard as he could?

Couldn't agree more. He's got the 'largely ubneatable monster' thing to work better than anyone in recent times and lord knows there have been a few attempts.

Just look at how many times they tried to to it with Big Daddy V....

He has a tattoo of Yokozuna on his right forearm.

Umaga = The Goods

I have no problems at all with the spike, its a great finisher.

Would you allow a 350lbs (billed) to fly 10ft into the air and land on your chest? I never said anything about flipping powerbombs, I just said a move that utilises power, or something that uses his agility would be much more impressive than a thumb. Realistically, it could hurt someone badly, but so could a punch. Let's end all matches in punches shall we?

If anything, the WWE needs to be moving away from the 1980's style of using leg drops and thumbs as finishing moves, no matter how much they would hurt if they were really done to you. As a viewer, I always find it more impressive when a wrestler does something I cannot do, as unrealistic as it may be. A Shooting Star Press may not be any more effective than a regular splash, but I certainly can't do, hence it impresses me more.

Everyone knows wrestling is fake, but even so, when things are done that obviously require training, timing and skill, it is far more impressive than a fake thumb to the throat. But I'm moving away from my point, Umaga doesn't need to do a flipping powerbomb, I'd just prefer it if he did something that it looks like he had to train for.

That's true, but watching with my nephew we saw William Regal pin someone with a knee to the head. I'm pretty sure Regal could knee a guy's head off, but my nephew didn't buy it. He was angry the match ended that way. I reminded him that in real life, that would really hurt, but it didn't make a difference.

There is a balance a finishing move needs to have. In my opinion, Regal's best finishing move is the Regal Stretch. He traps your legs, he traps your arm, and he hurts you like fuck, leaving only your other arm to submit to him. I think that is a brilliant finishing move. It would really hurt, it looks like it would really hurt, and it involves a certain level of sophistication. I wouldn't call the move "flashy" on par with some of the stuff in wrestling, but it certainly looks more detailed than a thumb to the throat.

I'm not saying that those kind of moves shouldn't have their place in wrestling. Umaga could floor a guy with a thumb to the throat, and use it to set up his next big move. Regal could knock a guy's head for a six to daze him and get him down for the Regal Stretch. I just find them underwhelming to end matches. We might as well see them end with a right hand. Hey, it would probably work in real life, so it must be good.