Rob Van Dam Praises the Work of the Late Umaga

– During a recent edition of his 1 Of A Kind podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam spoke on the late former WWE Superstar, Umaga, who he held in high esteem. RVD also faced Umaga, Vince McMahon, and Shane McMahon in a handicap match on the May 8, 2007 edition of ECW. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Rob Van Dam on Umaga: “I loved Umaga. He was my favorite Samoan. I loved the way that he worked. I thought that he got it, like he was one of the big Samoans, but he stood out by being different. Like, the moves that he did, I didn’t … I don’t know if he made it up, but I didn’t see anybody else before him throw the guy up and catch him into the Samoan Drop. To me, that was his special move that made him an ‘extreme Samoan,’ besides the fact that he can move and did moves that other Samoans didn’t.”

On Umaga being in his only match with the McMahons: “I remember, Umaga was also in the only match I had with the McMahons. That goes down as a memorable night for me. Vince McMahon, Shane-O, and Umaga versus RVD, and I held my own. But they cheated.”

Umaga tragically passed away in December 2009. He was 36 years old.