John Cena Recalls Legendary Rivalry With Umaga
John Cena has spoken about a famous match against Umaga and what it was like working with his late friend.
During John Cena’s run as a top guy in WWE starting in the mid-2000s, he had a lot of memorable rivalries with top stars like Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Edge, Randy Orton, Batista and many others.
Another man that Cena wrestled many times was Umaga, who was first introduced to the WWE Universe as Jamal of the Three Minute Warning tag team. After being repackaged as Umaga, he would become a main event level star who was usually on the heel side.
At the 2007 Royal Rumble, John Cena’s rivalry saw the Cenation leader defend the WWE Championship against Umaga in a Last Man Standing Match that many people remember as one of the best matches in the career of both men.
John Cena Remembers His Friend Umaga
On his TikTok account, John Cena talked about his 2007 Royal Rumble match with Umaga while talking about his friendship with Umaga.
“What a recap to re-live the Last Man Standing match vs. the late, great Umaga. This match was extremely innovative, we used the steps a lot but I can’t say enough about Eki’s speed, strength athleticism and ability. He was a one-of-a-kind performer with an enormous heart.”
“When I look back at this match, like I said we did some innovative stuff and destroyed a lot of things around us as well as taking a turnbuckle off the ring, you’ll see that later. I’m not really ultra-involved with all the chaos and there’s plenty of that.”
“I really just look back so fondly with my memories of Umaga and what a friend Eki was. I think this a great example of when two professionals get in there as friends and better each other in the process. I’m a better human being for having known Eki and Umaga and this was just one example of that.”
Sadly, Umaga passed away in 2009 at the age of 36. His death happened after he was released from WWE and there were rumors that he might be brought back to the company. Umaga is Rikishi’s brother, which means he’s the uncle of The Usos and Solo Sikoa, who uses the Samoan Spike move that Umaga made famous.
@johncena A memory of my friend, the late, great Umaga. #wwe