WWE's Road Dogg Would Have Loved To Have A Match Vs. This Member Of The Anoa'i Family

"Road Dogg" Jesse James didn't really find his footing with the WWE Universe until his stint with the New Age Outlaws in 1997, by which time late WWE Hall of Famer Yokozuna had already made his final WWE appearance — at the 1996 Survivor Series. While James would go on to have a Hall of Famer career himself, he still regrets never having the opportunity to work with Yokozuna, a wrestler he revered while watching from afar.

"He was the man, the myth, the legend," James said of the late star on his "Oh You Didn't Know?" podcast. "He had the respect of all the people that you want respect from — if that makes any sense at all. All the people that I really wanted respect [from], respected the fire out of Yoko. It spoke volumes about how cool he was. I don't know how else to say it, but he was so cool, and he was that way to almost everybody."

James described Yokozuna as one of the few wrestlers he never heard a negative story about, a testament to the Anoaʻi dynasty member's personality. When asked if he ever came close to sharing the ring with Yoko, James recalled a dark match where he got bumped off the apron by the 500-pounder while being in the corner of Jeff Jarrett. "I've worked with a lot of the Anoaʻi family members — they're all great. Not one of them was not great, so he would have been just another to add to the list."

As is well-documented, Yokozuna made several attempts to return to WWE after the 1996 Survivor Series, but his inability to pass state-mandated physicals meant WWE was forced to release him in May 1998, a little over two years before his passing. The late star would have turned 57 on October 2, 2023, the day James recorded his podcast. James concluded his tribute to Yoko with a "Happy birthday, Uce" greeting.