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PWINSIDER Q&A: YOKOZUNA, KING HACKSAW, UNCLE ELMER AND MORE

Answered on 5/12

How did Yokozuna die?

Sadly, Rodney Anoa'i, better known as Yokozuna, passed away in his sleep due to heart failure while on a European wrestling tour on October 23, 2000.  He was 34 at the time of his passing, and weighed around 580lbs.  Anoa'i had been having a battle with his weight for sometime, and several athletic commissions in the U.S. wouldn't license him to wrestle due to his physical condition.

When did Hacksaw Jim Duggan win the King Of The Ring?  This was when the tournament wasn't on TV, right?

Duggan never won the King Of The Ring tournament. What Hacksaw did was defeat King Haku in Des Moines, Iowa to become the "King Of Wrestling" in the WWF, which was more or less an "unofficial title" at the time.  Duggan, who already came to the ring with a 2x4 and an American flag, would now come out with a crown, a cape, and a mini-crown on his 2x4, as well as the flag. He eventually lost the distinction to Randy Savage, and that was the last of the "King" gimmicks in WWF, until Jerry Lawler showed up.

Who was Fire Cat in WWF?  I'm thinking it was a Japanese wrestler or Owen Hart.

The wrestler you are thinking of is Dean Peters, who wrestled as Battle Cat and Fire Cat.  He received a mid-card push in WWF with the gimmick, but later left the company (Bob Bradley took over the Battle Cat gimmick for a short time at this point).  Peters also wrestled as Brady Boone, and was paired up as the "cousin" of Billy Jack Haynes at one point.  Sadly, Peters, who worked as a WCW referee in the late 90's, was killed in a car accident on December 15, 1998 while driving to his home in Tampa following a WCW TV taping in Orlando. 

Was Uncle Elmer really related to Hillbilly Jim?

Nope, Uncle Elmer, who also wrestled as Plowboy Frazier, Tex Frazier, Giant Hillbilly, and other names, was not related to WWF tag team partner and "nephew" Hillbilly Jim.  Probably best known for getting married during an edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Elmer (real name Stan Frazier), passed away in 1992 at the age of 61. 

I was looking through some old columns and saw one where you really put over Donn E. Allen.  Forgive my ignorance, but who is he?

Donn E. Allen was a regular on ECW undercards during the early years of the company.  He appeared on most ECW shows from 1993-1996, with his most famous moment probably coming when he was a part of the KISS parody with Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie, and Super Nova.  Allen also had a funny gimmick where he had "499" on the back of his trunks, in reference to his ranking in Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "PWI 500".  He did a run-in at the first Hardcore Homecoming event in Philadelphia, wearing a shirt that said "49F'N8" and got to lay out the Sandman.  Will he go down in history as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time?  No. But, he is one of the nicest, classiest people I have ever met in this business, and his involvement in wrestling had nothing to do with getting rich or being famous.  He just loves wrestling. 

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