Every Gimmick Of Rikishi's Wrestling Career, Ranked

Rikishi deserves more credit for having a stellar career and playing a major role in WWE treating the Samoan Dynasty family linage as a big deal before The Rock and Roman Reigns took over. However, the career of Rikishi also took many twists and turns before he became a star. WWE specifically experimented with a few different gimmick hoping to find the right one to fit long-term.

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Any talent will have to navigate this to become a star or create a legacy in the wrestling industry. WWE knew there was something special about Rikishi when giving him so many chances to get over. Some worked better than others, especially with time allowing us to look back easier. Every gimmick from Rikishi’s career will be ranked from the worst to the absolute best.

8 The Sultan In WWE

Not Even Former World Champions Could Get The Act Over

• Rikishi Under A Mask Didn't Work
• Multiple Legends Were Added To Manage Him
• Failed Feud With The Rock Hurt Both Characters

WWE tried to get Rikishi over as a masked heel wrestler in the New Generation Era known as The Sultan. Two Hall of Fame legends even returned to manage him with former WWE Champions Bob Backlund and The Iron Shiek constantly in the corner of The Sultan.

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Fans had no idea what to make out of The Sultan gimmick since it was confusing and offered little value. A feud with The Rock saw both talents suffering from the audience just connecting with WWE’s story. The Sultan completely tanked, and it just hurt Rikishi’s career waiting for another chance.

7 Junior Fatu In TNA

Among The Worst Former WWE Signings By TNA

• Name Change Wasn't The Problem
• Rikishi Felt A Few Steps Down From His WWE Days
• Buried Bobby Roode By Forgetting His Name

TNA tried to recycle certain elements of previous things fans remembered about Rikishi when they brought him in during the 2000s. Junior Fatu was the new name given to him since Rikishi was trademarked by WWE after he left.

Fatu is the real last name of Rikishi that avoided getting him in legal trouble with WWE. Unfortunately, the TNA character was basically him playing a familiar face from WWE. A horrible promo confusing TNA’s Bobby Roode with the late Rick Rude showed how far-removed Rikishi was from his peak here.

6 Later Tag Team With Scotty 2 Hotty

WWE Reunited Them For Another Final Tag Run

• Brought The Gang Back Together Without Brian Christopher
• Felt Like A Cold Run To Give Them Something To Do
• WWE's Tag Team Division Hit Lows During This Time

Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi actually had two separate team stints in WWE. Many fans forget that Rikishi and Scotty reunited in 2003 as part of the SmackDown tag team division. Brian Christopher was not on the roster for a full Too Cool reunion, but the other two had that final run.

WWE even booked them to win the WWE Tag Team Championship and successfully defend the gold at WrestleMania 20. Rikishi and Scotty had fun chemistry with their beloved entrances, but they did feel over the hill as a tag act during this stage.

5 Making A Difference Fatu After The Headshrinkers

Most Random Gimmick That Came Out Of The Blue

• WWE Wanted Him To Have Role Model Character
• Gimmick Was Hard To Keep Up With
• WWE Scrapped Idea In Under A Year

One of the strangest gimmicks for Rikishi came in the mid 1990s when he showed more of his natural personality. WWE had Fatu playing an endearing babyface that just wanted to be a positive influence for young kids in difficult situations.

This was an ambitious idea to have Rikishi connecting with a younger fan base by trying something new. Fatu just didn’t have enough stories to make it work beyond a random lower card act that appeared inconsistently. WWE eventually gave up on “making a difference” and went back to the drawing board.

4 Heel That Ran Over Steve Austin

WWE Placed Rikishi In The Worst Role For His Massive Push

• This Was Actually A Great Thing For Him On Paper
• Fans Loved Him Too Much As A Face To Accept Top Heel Change
• Triple H Saved His Failed Storyline With Austin

The biggest push of Rikishi’s career came in a failed heel turn feuding with Steve Austin and The Rock. Rikishi was a babyface when he was exposed as the mystery driver that ran over Austin. WWE did this due to needing a new top heel, and Rikishi was doing so well as a babyface mid-carder that deserved a push.

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Unfortunately, fans didn’t buy the new gimmick of Rikishi being a ruthless heel capable of brutally attacking the biggest star in the industry. WWE realized the story was failing badly when they pivoted towards Triple H being revealed as the person who hired Rikishi. This gimmick led to Rikishi having his biggest upper card matches, but it didn't connect as much as his better characters.

3 Babyface Veteran On SmackDown

Moved Him Back To Familiar Act In The Ruthless Aggression Era

• Returned In Relevant Segment Involving Stephanie McMahon & Eric Bischoff
• Had A Random Odd Couple Tag Team Title Reign With Rico
• His Final Singles Run In WWE

Rikishi’s popularity was a huge selling point for him in the Attitude Era that went away when he turned heel. WWE had Rikishi return from an injury in 2002 with a babyface run. The hope was that fans would love him just as much as the last time he was a face.

However, this was a new role for Rikishi as a veteran often taking part in more secondary angles with a limited ceiling. Rikishi’s most memorable storylines from this time featured him winning tag titles with Rico and dressing up as a woman to con Eric Bischoff into trusting him.

2 Member Of The Headshrinkers

Originally Broke Out As Great Tag Team Wrestler

• Made A Name Traveling The World With His Cousin
• WWE Instantly Wanted To Push Them
• Underrated Tag Team From The New Generation Era

The tag team pairing of Fatu and Samu had relevant runs in multiple promotions to help get Rikishi’s career started in a major way. Samoan Swat Team was the name used by the real-life tag team in various promotions before getting discovered by WWE.

The Headshrinkers was the new name given to them in WWE when playing intimidating wrestlers. WWE trusted them enough to win the WWE Tag Team Championship when the belts were relevant. Rikishi was able to survive a lot of his future failed gimmicks due to this stint proving his skill set to WWE.

1 Fan Favorite With Too Cool

WWE Found Lightning In A Bottle With Unexpected Success

• Their Dancing Segments Received Huge Crowd Pops
• Rikishi Became The Biggest Star Of The Trio
• WWE Ended It Too Soon To Turn Rikishi Heel

The peak of Rikishi’s career came when WWE finally found the right gimmick for him. Rikishi played a babyface that delivered dance routines before, during and after his matches. The tag team of Scotty 2 Hotty and Brian Christopher joined him to form the Too Cool trio.

WWE didn’t keep Too Cool together long enough to be an all-time great act, but they were among the most popular people on the roster during the peak of the Attitude Era. Rikishi broke out and became someone that fans paid to see during this great chapter of his career.