No other wrestling family has dominated professional wrestling like the Anoa’i’s. From the likes of The Rock and Yokozuna, to the modern-day Bloodline, the family seems endless. It’s almost become a joke on WWE TV, where every other month it feels like a new member of the Bloodline debuts. There might soon be another named Zilla Fatu. His father was a WWE legend, the late Umaga. Zilla is now following in his dad’s footsteps, working his way up through promotions, with the hope of one day making it to the WWE. It might be a challenge, but it’s not the biggest of his life. Not only did he lose his father at an early age, but when he was only 15, Zilla Fatu was sent to prison.
Umaga Was A Two-Time Intercontinental Champion
- Umaga’s mother is the sister of Afa and Sika of the Wild Samoans.
- His brothers are Rikishi and The Tonga Kid.
- Umaga started in WWE as Jamal in the tag team 3-Minute Warning.
Born Edward Fatu, Umaga is related to the Anoa’i family due to his mother being the sister of the Wild Samoans, Afa and Sika. His brothers, Rikishi and The Tonga Kid, became major names in the sport in their own right. He was first signed to WWE in 2001, where he eventually debuted in the heel tag team 3-Minute Warning, a pair of henchmen that were controlled by Eric Bischoff. Umaga first went by Jamal, with his tag team partner being Rosey, the brother of future WWE megastar Roman Reigns.
3-Minute Warning had a decent amount of success, but it was when Edward Fatu came back to WWE in 2005 as the repackaged Umaga that he really struck it big. As a singles star, Umaga feuded with the likes of John Cena and became a two-time Intercontinental Champion. Sadly, Edward Fatu passed away in 2009 at just the age of 36, leaving behind four children, including a nine-year-old boy named Zilla.
Zilla Fatu Went To Prison For Armed Robbery
- Zilla had a history of being in and out of juvenile detention.
- After committing a Class-A felony, he spent six years in the Texas State Penitentiary.
- Fed up with who he was, Zilla Fatu turned his life around in prison.
Growing up without his father had to be incredibly rough for Zilla, and without his dad’s guidance, Umaga’s son lost his way, routinely getting into trouble until he was arrested for robbery at just the age of 15. Being from Houston, he then spent the next six years of his life in the Texas State Penitentiary. Zilla Fatu spoke about the experience recently with Chris Van Vliet, saying that he had a history of being in and out of juvenile detention, but at 15 he committed a Class-A felony.
“So, from 15, in Texas, you can go to a place called TYC. It’s kind of like a rehab prison for juveniles. And you go there, and the time being there is going to determine whether you’re going to go home or you’re going to go to the big dogs, which is TDC. That’s like 16 years older and up.
“When I went there, obviously I did not do good. I was getting in a bunch of fights, got a lot of write-ups. I wasn’t listening. I was just lost. I was just really, really lost. I didn’t know who I was. I didn’t have a moral compass. From there, I was able to go back to court and then, obviously with that, they sent me to the big dogs.”
Zilla Fatu said that in his fourth year of being in prison he got tired of how he was living life and the environment he was spending it in. He knew that he’d never get out of prison if he continued the same lifestyle, so he had to change his heart and his mind. He started reading and going to counseling, beginning good habits that made him feel good.
Booker T Trained Zilla Fatu To Become A Wrestler
- Umaga didn’t want his children to become pro wrestlers.
- Broke and sleeping on the couch, Zilla decided to become a wrestler.
- He has wrestled Bully Ray and competed in TNA.
Zilla Fatu told Chris Van Vliet that his father had told his kids that he didn’t want any of them to ever become wrestlers like him. Zilla listened, but he also had no direction. Wrestling was in his blood, so after a time, he let the connection to the sport pull him in through a WWE Hall of Famer.
“I was broke, and I was sleeping on the couch for 10 months, and I had no motion going on. I remember I just woke up one day and I told myself, man, I’m going to do this.”
Zilla’s mom was making him breakfast that morning when he told her he was going to become a wrestler. She told him that if he was serious, to go for it. He couldn’t follow his dream straight away though due to having to finish parole classes first, but as soon as he was done, he called an old friend of his father’s, and another Houston native, Booker T. The former champion has a similar story to Zilla’s, having spent several years in prison for armed robbery before finding wrestling after he got out.
Booker T brought Zilla Fatu into his Reality of Wrestling promotion, where he trained him and made him one of the company’s top acts. If anyone could mold Zilla Fatu, it was Booker T, who had already trained the future Roxanne Perez. It’s working. Zilla became the ROW Champion, and has wrestled in companies like GCW and HOG. Recently, he had a match against Bully Ray in the latter and was even on the TNA Slammiversary pre-show. At the age of 25, Zilla Fatu isn’t in WWE yet, but with the path he’s on, the son of Umaga will be there very soon.
