Randy Orton Pays Tribute To 'The OG Head Of The Table'

By Dakota Cohen
Randy Orton with hands clasped Cedric Ribeiro/Getty Images

Roman Reigns is the current Undisputed WWE Universal Champion and stands atop of WWE as the "Head of the Table"; however, Reigns is not the first member of his family to find success in the company. Prior to The Usos, Reigns, and Solo Sikoa taking charge in WWE, many members of the family have found success such as The Rock, Rikishi, and Yokozuna. One successful member of their family that wrestled just a few years prior to the debut of The Usos and Roman Reigns was the "Samoan Bulldozer," Umaga.

On December 4, 2009, Umaga passed away, just a couple of months following his WWE release. With the anniversary of Umaga's passing approaching, 14-time World Champion Randy Orton, who had teamed with Umaga on TV and at live events during his WWE tenure quoted a tweet about the "Samoan Bulldozer" and said: "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."

While with WWE, Umaga won the Intercontinental Championship on two separate occasions, holding the title for a combined total of 118 days — defeating stars such as Jeff Hardy and Carlito along the way. Umaga also vied for the WWE Championship on multiple pay-per-views, however, he came up short against Triple H once and John Cena on two different occasions. While he is not in the WWE Hall of Fame, Rikishi and others have said that they believe he deserves a spot in the HOF alongside other members of the Anoa'i lineage. Umaga's last WWE match came at Extreme Rules 2009 when he lost to CM Punk in a Samoan Strap Match.

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