Randy Orton paid tribute to Umaga on Twitter this week.
A fan tweeted an old photo of him meeting Orton and Umaga at a WWE event. 2005 photo. Orton remembered his friend and Umaga’s cousin, Matt Anoa’i, the original Head of The Table.
“I’m very happy you posted this pic. I’ll save it. Anniversary is coming up where we lost the Samoan Bulldozer. I wish I was one of those dudes that took photos of everything. RIP to the OG head of the table, Matty Anoa’i too. So many memories. Too many brothers lost [face with cold sweat emoji,” Orton wrote.
Umaga died of a heart attack in December 2009. 36-year-old Rosey died of congestive heart failure at 47.
The Viper and The Samoan Bulldozer never worked together in a singles match, but they teamed up several times in 2006 and 2007, most notably with WWE Hall of Famer Edge for a loss to John Cena and DX on the December 18, 2006 RAW, then Orton and Umaga were defeated by Triple H via DQ on the October 8, 2007 RAW. They teamed up three weeks late to beat Triple H by DQ, then lost to DX on November 5, 2007. They teamed with Edge again for a loss to Triple H, Batista, and WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair on December 10, 2007 RAW, then their final bout was on March 24, 2008 RAW, teaming with Big Show and WWE Hall of Famer JBL for a loss to DX, Flair, and Cena.
You can check out the aforementioned tweets below:
I just found the most legendary photo I’ve ever taken. I thought I lost it forever. @RandyOrton @UmagaWWE thank you @anoai75 for always being the father figure you were to me and making memories like this for me happen, until we meet again. pic.twitter.com/U6WoPdwX9D
— Tyler (@SpookyVibess) November 18, 2022
