Rob Van Dam Fondly Recalls Working With 'My Favorite Samoan' In WWE

Rob Van Dam has named Umaga as his favorite Samoan wrestler and explained why the late star stood out from the rest.

On his "1 of a Kind with RVD" podcast, the Hall of Famer spoke fondly of his time wrestling Umaga. He highlighted how Umaga's moves were unlike what the other Samoan wrestlers did in the ring which made him unique.

"I loved Umaga. He was my favorite Samoan. I loved the way that he worked. I thought that he got it, like he was one of the big Samoans, but he stood out by being different," said RVD. "Like, the moves that he did, I didn't ... I don't know if he made it up, but I didn't see anybody else before him throw the guy up and catch him into the Samoan Drop. To me, that was his special move that made him an 'extreme Samoan,' besides the fact that he can move and did moves that other Samoans didn't."

RVD stated that Umaga brought something different to the table, while also adding that he got along well with him away from the ring. He also remembered facing Umaga and the McMahons in a handicap match, which was the only match he had in WWE against Vince McMahon.

"I remember, Umaga was also in the only match I had with the McMahons. That goes down as a memorable night for me," said RVD. "Vince McMahon, Shane-O, and Umaga versus RVD, and I held my own. But they cheated."

In the aforementioned match which happened in ECW, RVD lost a three-on-one handicap match back in 2007. This was also the last time the WWE Hall of Famer faced Umaga as the Samoan star passed away two years later.