Very sad and tragic news. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends

That's a massive and very sad shock for the entire wrestling community.

He would have only been back home in America for a day or two after the Australian tour.

For those interested his last match was a loss to Mr.Kennedy in Sydney on November 28.

RIP Eddie

RIP Umaga

He played a heel, but he was always one of my favorites. One of the very few athletic "big men" and always entertaining to watch.

R.I.P. Eddie, another one gone to soon. I really hope and pray that drugs did not play a role in him having a heart attack (maybe coccaine), because he was released due to a failed drug test and he refused to go to rehab which leads me to believe that it was a hard drug, or maybe that's WWE's policy, I don't really know, it's all speculation for right now.

My thoughts and prayers go out to Eddie's Family in this very difficult time.

Damn..when will this end?

How sad.

hardly do we realize what do these wrestlers go through.....not that long ago he looked as if he could go on for 20 years in the ring looking as vicious as he was.....the news is very tragic...my condolences to his family and friends.....

Who's next?

Drugs may be the underlying cause of all these wrestling deaths but because the drugs are not what we call illegal street drugs, the public turns a blind eye to it. Who was the last wrestler from let's say the '80's that died from natural causes or old age?

What an underrated worker.

The WWE's message reeks of "we don't give a rats ass". It's unfortunate.

Rest In Peace Eddie "Umaga" Fatu.

Thoughts and sympathy go out to Umaga's family.
Thoughts and prayers also go out to Ken Anderson. This is the second wrestler that he has had the distinction of being in the last match of a wrestler's life, the other being Eddie Guerrero.

Another wrestler gone way before his time. RIP Eddie Fatu

I'd just like to congratulate Vince McMahon for his role in helping pro wrestling to officially surpass rock-n-roll as the chosen profession for those wishing to live hard and die young. Keith Moon and John Bonham got nothing on your average pro wrestler. Meanwhile, the money McMahon has made thanks to steroids and narcotics would make Scarface blush. But, hey, he's got that Wellness Program in place now and it's not his fault that wrestling fans get a kick out of watching drug-crazed neanderthals pretending to beat the crap out of each other.

he ismy wwe champ onmy game

I was totally shocked when I received the first email that he was in the hospital and even more shocked when I received another stating he had passed away.

R.I.P. Eddie Fatu

Another great taken too early. It's sad that these wrestlers end up getting hooked on perscription meds because they end up coming back too soon.

This is very sad. Kevin, you say that you wonder if he would have lived if he'd taken WWE up on their rehab offer, but I read elsewhere that he actually had cleaned himself up since his release. It could be that the drugs had just done too much damage by that point for any amount of clean-living to undo, as was the case with Eddie Guerrero.

I wonder if steroid and pain killer usage would be less of a problem if these guys had easier schedules, if they had more time to heal from all the bumps they take.

Anyone else noticed how WWE mentioned that he was no longer working for the company with the very last sentence? That's a not-so-subtle way of letting the media know that they're not attached.

Steve, how could a wrestler from the 80's have died of old age or natural causes? Look at the faces of 1980's wrestling. Ric Flair is 60 and Hulk Hogan is 56. They are a bit young to die from old age.

Given the reason for his WWE release, it's natural to speculate about drugs but let's wait for the news. He may have been young but he was also over 350 lbs with a lot of that weight in his midsection. That's heart disease risk.

Wow that is awful. I just saw him a few months ago. He was staying at the hotel I manage. He definitely didn't say he had been fired, he said he had quit because of the writers and that he and Jeff Hardy were going to be doing a reality show together soon.

Foxnews online is running a photo gallery of all the wrestlers who have died young, it really is sad to see. I don't know what else WWE or TNA can do to help these guys who in the case of Umaga, don't want to help themselves.

another sad loss of a great wrestling entertainer and great person,he lived up to the respect that his entire family that preceeded him in the wwe earned,was always a fav to watch.prayers to his family.

RIP EDDIE FATU

last match against kennedy ..................
why dont all these eddies just stay the hell away from kennedy.

sorry, i realize its in bad taste but i just couldnt hold it in. anyways though, i would also like to say that whilst umaga wasnt exactly my favorite wrestler, he was extremely good for his size, especially evident in his matches with jeff hardy. so yeah...

RIP Eddie Fatu
(RIP Eddie Guerrero)

My heart goes out to Eddie Fatu's family. I very much loved watching him perform.

I have followed this news closely. On the one hand I am wondering if he indeed did have a substance abuse problem. Too many wrestlers dying too young have had drug problems and this is a very distressing trend. The biggest drug culprit seems to be steroids, not cocaine or heroin use, nothing recreational.

But on the other hand is this really the whole problem or only a part of it. When I was a kid I got to see many wrestlers in person that were wrestling in their 40's and 50's. There only expectation was how well they could work the crowd with cheers or boos and put on a good performance. Today wrestlers have to have physiques that for some can only be obtained artificially with steroids or growth hormones. Then they have to do much higher risk maneuvers and if only one maneuver goes wrong it can end their career. The biggest to me is to have to get hit over the head with a chair so hard they do not have to fake bleeding. Not to mention body slams through tables and so on and so forth.

I am a huge wrestling fan but fan expectations of seeing multiple great high risk moves and expecting great physiques are taking too much of a toll on men and women that have a lot of pressure just to keep not only their jobs but their health intact. And let's face it. For companies like the WWE it's all about business, it's about the money in the end. And how many of you really think the WWE cares about its people. Wrestlers have to put up with high expectations, sometimes have to put up with humiliating storylines that can make them look like fools and can make them look bad to fans, and in return they get no health insurance, they get no benefits, they are constantly away from family and in the end do not know if they will have a job the next day unless they have become an established main eventer. And many who are making it to the main event are the ones that are dying.

I would like to make a suggestion. I think it is time for wrestlers to have a wrestling union. There needs to be a united front where they can have their own say in matters. And fans like us can back back them up on this.

@steve in seoul: Classie Freddie Blassie

Very sorry to hear this; Umaga (or "You-mang-uh") was one of my favorite modern-day monster heels; so gifted in the ring.

"I would like to make a suggestion. I think it is time for wrestlers to have a wrestling union. There needs to be a united front where they can have their own say in matters. And fans like us can back back them up on this."

@James: That is an excellent idea. The sooner it happens, the better.

I agree with you that the expectations placed upon wrestlers are a big part of the problem. Jeff Hardy does not have the kind of physique I would expect from a steroid user, and when he was arrested I was surprised...until somebody explained to me that in addition to helping you bulk up, steroids also help you heal faster. I hadn't been aware of that. Appearance is a factor in whether or not you get a push, of course, but it's also about whether you can work...and with these guys working, what, 300 days of the year? They probably CAN'T work all 300 of those days without abusing these substances, both to ease the pain they feel and to heal up.

Not that I'm crazy about them having to humiliate themselves and not have benefits either--that should change--but I think that out of all the problems, the schedule's the biggest.

A union would be great for the wrestlers, but Vince is too cutthroat a businessman for that to happen...I've read that's why there isn't one in place already.

I think what the WWE needs is an offseason that is similiar to that of regular sports so that bodies can heal.

Kev, do you think WWE will put Eddie Fatu in the Hall of Fame at some point or is this too sore an issue, I'm not sure he was Hall of Fame worthy so far but he did headline the largest selling WM of all time.

RESPONSE FROM KE: Maybe at some point, but not soon. I don't think he had a Hall of Fame-worthy career, but that hasn't prevented others (Koko B Ware, Johnny Rodz, etc.) from being inducted.

"A union would be great for the wrestlers, but Vince is too cutthroat a businessman for that to happen...I've read that's why there isn't one in place already."

Well, in the beginning, none of the people in charge wanted unions. The workers had to stand up for themselves to make it happen.

They need to strike. Every wrestler from the main eventers to the jobbers should just refuse to work until Vince agrees to negotiate with them. He can't fire them all, and he can't build up new talent overnight.