As part of the iconic Anoa'i family, Edward Fatu was always going to be a huge player in the wrestling industry.
His first stint as part of 3-Minute Warning wasn't successful, but when he returned to WWE in 2006 as Umaga, things clicked into place and he was a major success.
Tragically though in December 2009, Fatu passed away from a heart attack at his family home.
Yesterday would have been his 47th birthday, and the Rated R-Superstar Edge decided to remember the Samoan Bulldozer by posting a throwback to 2009, where they teamed up at a WWE live event.
"Umaga, aka Ecky, aka Uce and I travelled together quite a bit," Edge told his Instagram followers. "We also teamed together on a lot of house shows. The first pics are from a one time only main event in Lexington, Kentucky.
"Umaga/Edge vs The Hurricane and The Great Khali. Yes, that was the main event. Thank god for Hurricane.
"Anyway I hatched a plan to supply The Samoan Bulldozer with a new partner: The Canadian Backraker. I hid from him all night and with Sinn Bodhi's artistic flare we sharpied Canada across my stomach, to match Eck’s Samoa stomach tat.
"I ribbed myself, it took weeks to come off fully. Thankfully we wised up and used paint for my tribal maple leaf facial design.
"Seeing the look on his face captured in the first two pics made it worthwhile. The last pic is how I felt. I always knew he had my back. Miss you Uce. Happy birthday."
It was certainly a heartfelt tribute, but for anyone who hasn't seen Edge in tribal face-paint before - here you go!
Umaga's character may have only lasted three years, but he got a huge main event push very quickly and won the Intercontinental Championship twice.
There's no doubting that Fatu had his issues, which led to his release from WWE six months before he passed away, but any wrestling fan from the mid 2000s won't forget the Samoan Bulldozer.