The Best WWE Angle Court Bauer Ever Pitched Was The Introduction Of Umaga

The late Eddie Fatu's Umaga character debuted by savagely attacking "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair on "WWE Raw" in April 2006. Former WWE writer and current Major League Wrestling (MLW) owner Court Bauer has revealed that the introduction of the gimmick was the best angle he ever pitched behind the scenes at the Stamford-based promotion. 

"We're getting ready to go to Chicago for WrestleMania 22. We had our last meeting going into there with Vince, he goes, 'We gotta get some new heels for Cena. We got to keep feeding this guy. We need monsters,'" Bauer said on the "Talk is Jericho" podcast. "So Eckie [Umaga] and I [are] on the phone, and at the hotel [we] just came up with Umaga, and it was as a callback, throwback to his uncles doing the Wild Samoans gimmick, but with a modern twist with the grill piece. I pitched him the face paint. Originally I wanted it to be a temp tattoo ... 72 hours later, he debuted on 'Raw.' That's how fast he went from sitting out. Concept, sign off, now he's making a big impact."

Umaga – previously known as Jamal – suffered his first loss to then-WWE Champion John Cena at the New Year's Revolution premium live event in 2007 after going undefeated following his debut. He would later win the WWE Intercontinental Championship and represent Vince McMahon in the "Battle of the Billionaires" match against Donald Trump's representative Bobby Lashley at WrestleMania 23. In 2009, the former 3-Minute Warning member was released from his WWE contract after violating the company's Wellness Policy. Umaga passed away later that year. 

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Talk Is Jericho" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.