WWE star Jacob Fatu appeared on an episode of the What’s Your Story? podcast with Stephanie McMahon, where he discussed various topics, including why WWE legend Rikishi and his family initially refused to train him.
Fatu said, “When I went to go train, they didn’t want to train me at first. They didn’t want to train me, because before there was me, it was four more of my other cousins, and they all went through the same thing. They came, uncle trained them, they got in. No shade, no hate — I love y’all, brothers. They didn’t finish it. They kept moving. So by the time I came, they were like, oh hell no. This is the last one we needed over here.”
On what changed their minds:
“It goes back to David Heath, Gangrel. I was in the ring messing around, running up, doing backflips. I was landing on my feet at the time, y’all. I don’t land on my feet no more, but I was landing on my feet at the time. He saw me running up doing backflips, and he went in the office and told my uncle, hey man, I don’t know who that kid is — obviously he’s your nephew, but y’all better handcuff him to a ring.”
On being sent home to think about it:
“I walked in the office. They sat me down, had a meeting. Okay, but do you really want it? They’re asking me, and now I’m confused. You’re asking me if I want it? I’m here. But they told me go back home. My uncle said, nah, it’s a no. Go back and really think about it if you really want it. And I’m like, dude, I have nothing. Yes, I want it. But like my uncle Rikishi said, sooner or later they will tell on themselves. So I had to go back and regroup. I don’t know why I had to regroup, but I regrouped, and then I went back and showed them and talked to them. I really had to understand — okay, it’s sacrifices, it’s time away.”
On the questions that broke him down:
“I was the type of guy when I first wrestled on the indies at Uncle Rikishi’s school, I thought having the belt meant everything. I went into my uncle’s office and said, I don’t have the belt, why? Everybody likes me. And this is a humbling situation. He said, Jacob, do you have your own car? I said no. Do you have your own phone? Do you pay your phone bill? I said no. Do you pay rent, or do you live with Liz’s family? I said I live with her family. Then what makes you think you’re better than any of my students out there? They have a job. They work a nine-to-five. They come over here.”
On being rebuilt:
“I really had to get broken down before they rebuilt me, and I’m glad it happened like that. When my uncles say you’ve got to have tough skin — even David, Gangrel — I was always selling. They were like, hey, you’re not going to get too far selling like that. They really had to break it down. And I love my uncles because they didn’t give me any special treatment.”
On the lessons that stuck:
“The sacrifices, and kill everything with a smile. You don’t want to go to work, and everybody’s got problems. Nobody wants to show up to work and hear about your problems. He taught me that — no matter what, kill everything with a smile. Just don’t stress, no-sell everything. And not only that: treat people good on your way up, because you never know who you’re going to see on the way down.”
You can check out the complete podcast below.
(H/T to 411Mania.com for transcribing the above quotes)
