Biggest Fan: Joe Reardon "Took over the WWF in a flash, winning the Rumble in his first try and the title shortly after in 1993. The Banzai drop is one of the most devastating finishers of all time. People likely have forgotten about his tag team success."
Our expert says it best: Yokozuna's meteoric rise to the top of the World Wrestling Federation was almost unprecedented. Within six months of debuting in the promotion, he had defeated Bret "The Hitman" Hart to become the WWF Heavyweight Champion and his perceived invulnerability during that time period was on par with many of the greatest champions of all time.
During the early part of his WWF career, Yokozuna was remarkably agile for a man tipping the scales at 500 pounds, routinely stinging his opponents with crescent kicks to the chin. Additionally, Yokozuna benefited from the wisdom of his legendary manager, Mr. Fuji. Of course, sometimes Mr. Fuji's contributions were greater than mere wisdom, like during the aforementioned WrestleMania IX match against Bret Hart when Fuji blinded the champion with a handful of salt.
Although his first reign as WWF Champion lasted only a few minutes, his second stint with the championship (which would begin at King of the Ring 1993) lasted 280 days (12th-longest in history). Yokozuna decimated the immortal Hulk Hogan that night, beating the Hulkster so thoroughly that he wouldn't be seen again in the WWF for nine years. Quite rightly, Fuji and Yokozuna declared that they had ended Hulkamania, a task that many before had tried to do and failed.
The summer of 1993 belonged to Yokozuna. His weight was creeping up to nearly 600 pounds, which led to Yokozuna issuing a "Bodyslam Competition" aboard the USS Intrepid on the Fourth of July. This event was monumental. Not only did the long string of wrestlers and athletes unable to slam Yokozuna make him seem all the more dominant, but Yokozuna was also able to do what seemed like an impossible task: make the fans care about Lex Luger. The red, white and blue-covered Luger would feud with Yokozuna through the summer and up until Thanksgiving Eve. At the Survivor Series, Yokozuna embarked on a feud with The Undertaker that would result in one of the most chilling WWF Championship contests in history at the 1994 Royal Rumble.
Yokozuna ended up losing his title to Bret Hart at WrestleMania X, but only after successfully defending his title earlier in the evening against Lex Luger. All said, between WrestleManias IX & X, Yokozuna took part in four matches for the WWF Heavyweight Championship!
Yokozuna's career from that point on consisted of more tag team action than anything else. His weight had increased to 700 pounds, and sharing ring time with a more, ahem, fit partner would be a huge benefit. (Although, Yokozuna did have a rematch with The Undertaker at the Survivor Series in 1994, featuring special enforcer Chuck Norris.) Yokozuna made a surprise return to action as Owen Hart's tag team partner at WrestleMania XI, and the new duo defeated the Smoking Gunns to win tag team gold. This unlikely team would hold onto the belts all the way until late September 1995.
Yokozuna was one of the greatest champions of the 1990s. During a time when the WWF didn't know which direction it was headed, Yokozuna emerged to give them stability. It's possible that only "Superstar" Billy Graham held the WWF Championship for a longer stretch of time as a heel than Yokozuna did in his second title reign. Sadly, this superstar's career and life were cut short when he passed away in October of 2000.
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