Rikishi was instrumental in having some of the best feuds and also with some of the best superstars. He worked with bonafide legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Triple H.
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Rikishi was probably one of the most intriguing superstars during his time in the WWE. He was instrumental in having some of the best feuds during the Attitude Era and also with some of the best superstars. He worked with bonafide legends like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle and Triple H etc. Be it his singles run or being in a tag team with Scotty 2 Hotty, the man had personality and lots of it. During his time in the WWE, he had some major rivals that helped transcend the storyline to a different sphere and in this article, we will take a look at some of them.
Rikishi first took on The Rock at WrestleMania 13 when The Rock was still known as Rocky Maivia. He challenged The Rock for his Intercontinental title but was unsuccessful. A couple of years later, he would once again cross paths with The Rock during his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin where he alleged that he ran over Austin with a car because he wanted to help The Rock. That was however rejected by the People’s Champ. Rikishi then hit Rock with a stink face and went head to head in a match which he eventually lost at Survivor Series 2000.
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Rikishi was involved in a very interesting feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin where he ran over the Texas Rattlesnake with a car. Rikishi admitted it, claiming it was to allow his cousin The Rock an opportunity for stardom, insisting that Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan and Austin had always been pushed at the expense of Samoan wrestlers like Peter Maivia, Jimmy Snuka, Samu, Yokozuna and The Rock. Austin immediately set out for revenge, facing Rikishi in a No Holds Barred match at No Mercy. The match went to a no-contest when Austin dragged Rikishi to the parking lot and tried to run him over; a police car drove in front of Austin’s, saving Rikishi. Though arrested, Austin had brutally attacked Rikishi, cutting and bruising his face.
Rikishi was drafted to SmackDown after the Brand Extension. At Judgment Day, he faced Billy and Chuck in a “secret partner” match. His partner turned out to be Rico, Billy and Chuck’s stylist. Despite Rico’s best efforts to unfairly help Billy and Chuck, Rikishi and Rico won the match and became the WWE Tag Team Champions. Rico would later cause Rikishi to lose the titles back to Billy and Chuck in a rematch on SmackDown.
