October 30, 2000 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Death of Yokozuna, Bret Hart leaves WCW, more

Rodney Anoia, who was the heaviest superstar in the history of pro wrestling and a two-time WWF champion under the name Yokozuna, passed away suddenly on 10/23 in a Liverpool, England hotel room a few weeks after his 34th birthday.

Anoia was the most successful of the huge Samoan clan of wrestlers started by Afa & Sika Anoia, his uncles, when they began wrestling in the early 1970s. He was one of the biggest stars in the business around the world during his WWF run, which lasted from late 1992 through 1996.

Whether Anoia was the heaviest man ever to perform in the world of pro wrestling is a matter of conjecture. It is believed that Anoia weighed close to, if not, 800 pounds in late 1996, at about the time the WWF stopped using him because of his weight problem.

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