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Yokozuna was great

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#1 ·
I read that some people here wrote that Yokozuna did not deserve to be champion and that he just was there to hand the title to Hogan.

I thought Yokozuna was great. Very intimidating and a great wrestler.

It hurt my heart then he later became more or less some kind of midcarder and jobber.

Maybe it was partly his fault because he became to fat but the early Yokozuna was a really great heel.
 
#50 ·
Even though I'm pro-Yokozuna, I'm gonna have to play devil's advocate here for a second... How was he an awesome heel, exactly? He didn't even talk until he turned face.
 
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#54 ·
I think what killed a lot of Yoko's heat was the ending to WM 9 since Hogan just HAD to be champion.

From the beginning Yosihait has basically said that Yoko sucks and it's his fault he never drew and blah blah blah. Yoko was a big guy but he could legit wrestle for his size. He could do a huge leg drop and make it look like it hurt.

WWF as a whole was turning into a funk. The tail end of 1993 to 1996 were really bad times for WWF in general.

The Body Slam challenge was gold in that it put Luger over big time. It's not Yoko's fault Luger floundered in his push and couldn't draw a dime.

Was Yoko great? I think he was with what he did. He was a good champ because up until Wrestlemania 9, if I could remember this right, he was undefeated until Hogan beat him. Wrestlemania 10 made Bret look like a million bucks so Yoko did his work.
 
#56 ·
I'm genuinely beginning to think that you have a personal vendetta against Yokozuna.

Firstly when you said others were too young to have an opinion yet yours was right even though you were younger made me wonder if it was worth discussing it with you, then secondly when you said he "sucked ass" makes me realise it really isn't worth arguing with you about it. I've genuinely never known anyone with a legitimate argument using those words in said disagreement and come off as someone who really understood.

If you can't get it into your head that my opinion is that I liked Yokozuna and enjoyed his work, then I have no idea how to interact with you on the subject.
 
#57 ·
But was he GREAT?

Can you compare him to other champions?

And about the age thing- I meant that the people here were young when they WATCHED it. I, on the other hand, had no emotional connection to Yoko.

I don't HATE Rodney Anoai, I hate Yokozuna. Just like I hate Tatanka. Or Bation Booger. Or the Ringmaster.

My problems with you is that you've said that "I can see why they thought a 500lb wrestler with an anti-American gimmick could get over and then pushed him". And THAT'S wrong IMO.

The culture just wasn't in the mood for Yoko in 1993 because no one cared.

Your basic point- That he should've been a champion- is wrong.
 
#65 ·
The dude in this thread that keeps arguing against Yoko needs to get a life. The stuff about "he lost money" is MORONIC. Name one heel that held that belt that didn't "lose money" after 1993. Hell. Name one belt holder that didn't lose money after the golden era on up to the attitude era. Does this mean they were all unworthy? The "he lost money" argument makes me want to fucking puke. Bret lost money. Was he undeserving?

You dispute the fact that Yoko was a good wrestler, NOT JUST for his size. He could do a crescent kick and hit a man in the chin. There are regular size guys in the business that could not do that. He was DAMN NEAR a perfect heel and most people who were watching wrestling at the time would NOT be on your side of this argument. Kids or adults. It does go a long way that he scared the shit out of kids. Kids were a very big part of WWF's viewing audience.


I mentioned it earlier in the thread but this moron has such a thick head Im going to bring it up again.

The Yoko bodyslamming competition.

This is a very memorable moment and one of the highlights of the post golden era, pre attitude era. The whole thing was the definition of great heel work. He gave Lugar a launching pad that he definitely needed because WWE had Lugar as a heel as the Narcissist. WWE fans especially young ones viewed Lugar as a bad guy and didn't know about his WCW days. YOKO WAS SUCH A GOOD HEEL, he could put you over without even wrestling a match. You could hold a fucking body slamming competition and if you slam him, THE WHOLE WORLD WILL LOVE YOU. You need to get it through your thick skull that this is GOOD HEEL WORK.

YOU clearly don't know much about the business. When a man can get the crowd to cheer heavily for WHOEVER he is facing, he is a damn good heel. YOKO COULD DRAW HEAT IN A FUCKING IN THE FROZEN TUNDRA. NO MATTER WHERE HE WENT OR WHAT HE DID, HE GOT BIG FAN REACTION AND BOOS. If you didn't know, this is what heels are supposed to do.

You also have to consider how large of a man he was. Did he injure anybody when he would sit on them? No. He was as graceful of a 500 pound man that you will ever see in your entire life. Realize it and move the fuck on.
 
#67 · (Edited)
YES!!!!!!!!!!!

BRET LOST MONEY, HE'S UNDESERVING! NASH LOST MONEY, HE DIDN'T DESERVE IT!


Ooooooh... Did Yoko made you cry in the nights? Fuck it. Cena is a hero, doesn't mean he's suitable to represent it now.

"YOKO COULD DRAW HEAT IN A FUCKING IN THE FROZEN TUNDRA. NO MATTER WHERE HE WENT OR WHAT HE DID, HE GOT BIG FAN REACTION AND BOOS. HE MADE ME PISS MY PANTS AND CRAP IT!!!!!!!!".

NO, HE DIDN'T!

He drew heat from how much? How much people boo him?!

In your opinion, Heath Slater would be a great heel champ, because when he'll be a champ, 300 people will be in the crowd and will boo him!

HE WAS A SUCKY HEEL! The funny stuff in here is that Miz sucks, but Yoko rocks. WHILE HE WAS THE EXACT SAME HEEL!

Get out of your mark feelings. HE WASN'T DOMINATING!

AND THE PEOPLE THAT LIKED THOSE TIMES WERE'NT ENOUGH! THE WWF LOST MONEY, BUSINESS AND FANS AT THOSE DAYS! NO ONE GAVE A RAT'S ASS ABOUT THE PRODUCT!

GET OVER IT, HE SUCKED ASS AND FUCKED THE BUSINESS. MOVE ALONE, YOU NEED TO GO TO BAD!

EXACTLY. Rep means nothing. The fact I highlighted you negative repping me was there to fortify that, and the fact you went out of your way to do it just, along with not taking anyone elses opinions on board and "sucks ass", shows how we shouldn't really talk to you about this.

And to fight my corner, no I did not send you negative rep, what would be the honest point? I don't even know what mo-mo would mean, are you serious?
YOKO SUCKED ASS, HE WAS NOTHING! GET OVER HIM!
 
#70 ·
I can't even understand the points you are trying to make now. You are spiraling out of control. The only point you have against Yoko is that he lost money. MY POINT is everyone lost money compared to someone else so what the hell are you talking about. Do you even know for a fact he lost money other than your hearing that WWE lost money at that time. Hell using your thought process there wasn't a single wrestler in the business worthy of even having a job because they all lost money.
 
#73 ·
and by the way Yoko isn't one of my top 50 wrestlers of all time and I STILL think he was deserving. Only a really odd person would spend so much time thinking negatively about Yoko. Im over it. No big deal. He was worthy and that is a fact. Move on before you find yourself lost in your own pile of shit.
Please, try to USE YOUR BRAIN.

Yokozuna wasn't a star.

He wasn't a good wrestler (NO, I DON'T CARE HE COULD'VE KICKED PEOPLE WELL).

He wasn't Charismatic.

And he wasn't a draw.

What he had?

No, not EVERYONE lost money. Today WWE are making money. Cena made money. There is a BIG difference between "Not making much money as someone else" and "Losing money".

Yoko lost money and that's a fact. I KNOW IT because the WWE are admitting it. They also cut the budget back then.

What do you mean "Everyone are losing money"? It's wrong. If you're working in a good time, you're making money.

However, Yoko was the CHAMPION (Who should've draw the people) in a bad time. He couldn't stop it from going down and guess what? He was PARTLY RESPOSIBLE for that fall.

How he was worthy as a champ? If he was worthy, then why does Khali, Swagger and Miz not?

They are the same, you know.

He won the title and business dropped. He won the title and no one cared. He won the title and wasn't good at anything.

Tell me, please, how he was worthy.

Even more then this- If you'll say that he was worthy because people hated him back then, that means nothing, because, ONCE AGAIN- it was a small crowd of fanboys that did it out of habit.

@Yosihait

I can respect you not liking Yokozuna despite knowing nothing about him but please respect other peoples opinion on what they think of him.


Thank you :)
KNOWING NOTHING?!

I know nothing?! Then why ALL of you think that Yoko was a dominate champ and was a big star when clearly he wasn't?

Acknowledge his problems.

I can respect Yoko as a wrestler (Kind of) and as a person. I can respect that. But he sucked as a champ.
 
#71 ·
and by the way Yoko isn't one of my top 50 wrestlers of all time and I STILL think he was deserving. Only a really odd person would spend so much time thinking negatively about Yoko. Im over it. No big deal. He was worthy and that is a fact. Move on before you find yourself lost in your own pile of shit.
 
#77 · (Edited)
USING YOUR ARGUMENT

There wasn't a single worthy wrestler during anytime the WWF lost money. Every person on the roster was unworthy of a job because the company as a whole lost money?

You are an imbecile.

Razor wasn't a worthy intercontinental champion because the WWE was losing money when he was champ?

You make me want to vomit with your thickheadedness.

It has nothing to do with the fact that WWE lost all its most popular stars and started a rebuilding phase? Can you not think outside the box? HOgan was gone, Warrior was gone, Piper, Flair. The best drawers were gone so of course the WWE as a whole lost money. You blame this on YOKO? God you are dumb. There are so many other factors as to why WWE was losing money. They would have lost money if they would have put it on any other person on the entire roster at that time. It was a downtime for the WWE and that would be true WITH OR WITHOUT YOKO AS CHAMPION.

You point has just been proven wrong. AGAIN.
 
#79 · (Edited)
USING YOUR ARGUMENT

There wasn't a single worthy wrestler during anytime the WWF lost money. Every person on the roster was unworthy of a job because the company as a whole lost money?

You are an imbecile.

Razor wasn't a worthy intercontinental champion because the WWE was losing money when he was champ.

You make me want to vomit with your thickheadedness.
You're the one with the thickhead.

Yoko was the champ. Therefore, he had that resposibiliity to draw.

He didn't.

You know who deserves something? A guy who's actually good. At least Hall at talent. At least Shawn had talent. But Yoko? That guy isn't worthy being IC champ, so a World champ? At least the Kliq were relevant to the culture.

Come on...

Tell me how he was worthy.

It has nothing to do with the fact that WWE lost all its most popular stars and started a rebuilding phase? Can you not think outside the box? HOgan was gone, Warrior was gone, Piper, Flair. The best drawers were gone so of course the WWE as a whole lost money. You blame this on YOKO? God you are dumb. There are so many other factors as to why WWE was losing money. They would have lost money if they would have put it on any other person on the entire roster at that time. It was a downtime for the WWE and that would be true WITH OR WITHOUT YOKO AS CHAMPION.

You point has just been proven wrong. AGAIN.
You've proved that you're dumb. AGAIN.

The best drawers are gone? Hmmm... Where was Savage?

They lost money not because Hogan left. They lost money because... Well... The product sucked ass.

Hogan lost money as well back then!

It had nothing to do with the times. It had something to do with the fact that wrestling wasn't cool.

It's like screaming "Steroid Scandal!". The product sucked ass, hence it lost money and business.

No sh** WWE lost money in 1993 they went from Hogan, Savage, and Warrior to Yokozuna and Bret Hart. That doesn't fall on Bret and Yoko.

It also should be noted that Hulk Hogan turned down the program they wanted so they were kinda forced into the Yoko mega push.
As I said, it means nothing.

That falls on Yoko. Because he WAS that shitty product.
 
#83 ·
Yokozuna was a good heel, when he was motivated...which seemed to be a grand time of 1 year. After that he faded quickly and never hit anywhere near the heights that somebody of his unique look and style could have reached.

A quick side note, Yokozuna was my favourite toy when I was a kid. His figure was so different from the rest of the others that WWF were producing at the time, loved it.


 
#85 ·
Yokozuna was the perfect monster heel champ. He was big and intimidating. His manager was an annoying twit you wanted to punch in the face. And people were begging for somebody to beat him. There wasn't much else you could ask of a heel champion. Bret Hart finally got over as a main-eventer after beating him at Wrestlemania X. His previous title run was weak.

Popularity for the whole sport was down at that time anyway. Wrestlemania VIII (With Hogan, Savage, Flair, Piper) was one of the lowest bought of all time. Yokozuna was just given the ball and he ran pretty damn well with it.

His brief tag team run with Owen Hart was great as well.
 
#87 ·
Some of my favorite stories in wrestling are Yokozuna related. Telling off Shane Douglas on the WWF World Tour Bus, being "gangster as fuck" (according to Konnan) in the way that he talked, hiding drugs in his fat rolls in his legs, & giving Hall/Nash the nWo catchphrases they used later when they went to WCW because of Mack-10 lyrics that Yoko was listening to. :lol "For life!"

Also the fact that he was Samoan & played a Japanese sumo wrestler in WWF always cracked me up.
 
#88 · (Edited)
ALright then. SO WHO was a deserving champion in the 90s. WHO would have made the WWE MAKE MONEY. If you are actually telling me that Macho Man would make the WWE money when Hogan was losing it, then I have to tell you you are wrong. Macho is my favorite ever but if Hogan can't draw money then how in the hell is anyone else supposed to. As I said, you proved yourself wrong by saying Hogan was not a deserving champion and saying he lost money as well. The whole company was losing money. You can't just blame Yoko. Yoko isn't a top 50 wrestler of mine but he was still a deserving champ and a good heel. Not a personal favorite but I can still objectively argue that he was deserving. I don't know what is wrong with you and why you can't accept it. It is you vs like 10 people. It would be the same in any WWE circle you talked to. Most people think yoko was a good heel.


it is also funny that you have a picture of FANDANGO in your sig after you bashed the Honky Tonk Man. Fandango is just a very poorman's honky tonk.
 
#90 · (Edited)
Um, sweetie, clam down.

The question isn't WHO could've made money but WHAT could've made money. And you know what could've done it? A culturally relevant product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3zaPHf0fiE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zzEO-PUZLs

http://www.wrestlingforum.com/wwe-ppv/645553-rebook-any-ppv-past-present-19.html

Hogan WASN'T a deserving champ in the 90s. He wasn't relevant to the society. Just as Yoko was- Americans of the mid-90s had no particular reason to hate fat Japanese people. It was culturally irrelevant. It wasn't relevant even in the 80s.

I don't care what Yoko MARKS are thinking. I care about the truth. And you know what, Mr. KissYokoButt? You'll tell me WHY he was a deserving champ. Tell me. I'll be HAPPY to hear it and crush it.

I have Fandangooooooo in my sign? WTF?! It's BRET HART IN HIS WORST MOMENT, JERK!

Anyone held a title>Yoko. Name ONE guy that was worse then him (Not World champs. WWE champs).
 
#91 ·
Oh it was someone else with FANdango in their pic...


Dude the question is not WHO is a worse champ. You have to consider the situation. Vince wanted to put the belt on a heel so he put it on Yoko because YOKO DESERVED IT. You think you are smarter than Vince? Ok. As I said. Using your arguments, there wasn't a single wrestler deserving to be on the roster because the product as a whole lost money during that time. Get your head out of your arse please.
 
#92 ·
Get YOUR head out of Yoko's ass.

Yeah, I'm smarter then Vince. You'll tell me how he was deserving. Please, enlighten me... So I can crush it.

IF YOKO WAS THE WORST CHAMP, HOW THE FUCK DOES HE WORTHY?! HE HAD NOTHING: ZERO CHARISMA, ZERO TALENT, ZERO STAR POWER AND ZERO DRAW POWER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You've thought Bret is Fandango. Why should I take you seriously?

Then again, you think Yoko is so great. You must be blind.
 
#95 ·
Yosihait,

You really come off arrogant & when coupled with the fact that it also seems you have no idea how the buisness works, you come off very badly.

Yoko was not great by any stretch of the imagination.

Noone is saying he was a master technician,like Dean Malenko, Mr. Perfect etc etc.

Noone is saying he had loads of charisma, like Hogan, Flair etc etc.

What he did have, however, is all the components to play a monster heel, which is what he was no more, no less.

Big, scary & looked pretty legit. Anyone would shit a brick if a man that size was coming after you. Presence is a very important aspect of pro-wrestling, something Yoko had in abundance.

As others have stated, which you seem to have ignored entirely, he was not bad in the ring. Quick for a guy his size & fairly precise. I can think of guys on the current roster who can't hold a candle to Yoko, yet have got over literally on presence & looks. Ryback springs to mind.

You want him compared to other champions? In terms of overall ability, if you categorise it into:

In-ring work
Charisma
Presence

If you take them categories, he only really loses out to Hogan on one & thats charisma. Just as good, if not better, in the ring than Hogan.

Funny that you use his booking to undermine the character. The way he was booked has no bearing on his skill, because by that merit Tyson Kidd is useless, which couldn't be further from the truth.

It boils down to, did he perform what he was told to do well? The answer is a definitive yes.

Just for kicks, if you were in charge, who would you have put the title on?
 
#99 · (Edited)
Yoko sucks. He sucks ass. And all of you are remembering him from a time where you couldn't tell your ass of your head.

Yosihait,

You really come off arrogant & when coupled with the fact that it also seems you have no idea how the buisness works, you come off very badly.
It's seems that YOU are an idiot, sir. YOU have no idea how business work.

Yoko was not great by any stretch of the imagination.

Noone is saying he was a master technician,like Dean Malenko, Mr. Perfect etc etc.

Noone is saying he had loads of charisma, like Hogan, Flair etc etc.
HA! That's it, man. YOKO WASN'T GREAT! THE QUESTION HERE WAS WHETHER OR NOT HE WAS GREAT!

What he did have, however, is all the components to play a monster heel, which is what he was no more, no less.

Big, scary & looked pretty legit. Anyone would shit a brick if a man that size was coming after you. Presence is a very important aspect of pro-wrestling, something Yoko had in abundance.
He had a presence?! So WHY DID HE HAD FUJI AND CORNETTE CARRYING HIS BACK?!

He was scary? OOOOOOH, you're scared of a guy that loses all the time and most of the time sucking air and on his back.

As others have stated, which you seem to have ignored entirely, he was not bad in the ring. Quick for a guy his size & fairly precise. I can think of guys on the current roster who can't hold a candle to Yoko, yet have got over literally on presence & looks. Ryback springs to mind.
Yoko was "Quick for his size" considering that a guy in "his size" was supposed to be dead.

Mae Young is pretty good for an 80 year old woman.

David Otunga is REALLY good for a lawyer that drinks coffee and married to a celebrity.

Ryback is very good for a Ryback.

Yoko was over just as anyone else. It's so easy to say those stuff looking at him as a child.

You want him compared to other champions? In terms of overall ability, if you categorise it into:

In-ring work
Charisma
Presence

If you take them categories, he only really loses out to Hogan on one & thats charisma. Just as good, if not better, in the ring than Hogan.
:lmao

He had MORE PRESENCE THEN HULK HOGAN?! THE GUY THAT WAS CELEBRITY?!

If he's that good, explain to me- What good matches he had? Hogan had:

Rock, Savage, Warrior, Sting, Rock, Angle...

Yoko had BRET.


Funny that you use his booking to undermine the character. The way he was booked has no bearing on his skill, because by that merit Tyson Kidd is useless, which couldn't be further from the truth.

It boils down to, did he perform what he was told to do well? The answer is a definitive yes.

Just for kicks, if you were in charge, who would you have put the title on?
Ummm... YEAH, booking is VERY important. Tyson Kidd is useless with his booking. And if Tyson would've win the title, you'll say "WTF?! WHY?!".

WHAT HE WAS TOLD?! Yoko was TOLD to be bad? Hmmm... So Brad Maddox is REALLY good by that merit, because he's being told to be bad. And Cena is being told to be sucky.

I've showed you in my previous posts two alternative booking options: Mickeybabylon suggested Taker, I say Savage. Both of us agree- NOT YOKO.

IMO Yoko is one of the greatest big men in the history of this industry, I would put him there with Bam and Show, he had the charisma and the athletic abilities and he was a great story teller in the ring.
For sure he was involved in some average story lines sometimes and I don't see how this can be considered his mistake or how this can take away from him as a wrestler.
HE HAD CHARISMA?! So tell me, why after he lost his managers, he did NOTHING at all? If he was that charismatic, he would've been a success even after it.

Then why don't you have hundreds of millions of dollars and running the biggest wrestling company in the world?

And he didn't think Bret was Fandango. Read his comment again.
He thought Bret was Fandango. Why don't I have millions of dollar? Kiddo, why did VINCE lost a lot of dollars back then and got them back only after he ditched that booking? Grow a set.

yokozuna sucks.....and i feel like a good percentage of wrestling fans would agree......he was okay from a jobber stand point.....but as a main eventer? wtf? garbage
THANK YOU!
How old were ALL of you when he was in his "Peak years"?

Your memories from the naivity back then makes Yoko bigger in your mind, and a better monster. If the SAME Yoko would've come today, you'll call him wrestlecrap.

I KNOW that you being a child back then improves him.

When you see him, you can't judge him objectively. None of you can.

Tell me now: If you'll look at an old tape and see Bastion Booger, wouldn't you smile? Just because of nostalgia?

Yoko reminds you your childhood.

But truth is- He wasn't a star, he wasn't GREAT (And that's what this thread is all about). If he WAS a star, if he COULD'VE generated heat, if he WAS that good, he wouldn't have fallen to jobberland after his storyline was ended.
 
#97 ·
IMO Yoko is one of the greatest big men in the history of this industry, I would put him there with Bam and Show, he had the charisma and the athletic abilities and he was a great story teller in the ring.
For sure he was involved in some average story lines sometimes and I don't see how this can be considered his mistake or how this can take away from him as a wrestler.
 
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