Jim Ross opened up on Yokozuna, the former WWE star, who was one of the heaviest wrestlers in the company. He used to wrestle portraying the gimmick of a Sumo Wrestler from Japan.
Jim Ross recalls his time with Yokozuna
Jim Ross spoke on Yokozuna during the Grilling JR Podcast.
Jim Ross said:
“Yoko’s weight kept increasing. The more he weighed, the less his cardio was prominent. He gained 100 pounds; he got huge. When you get out of breath or fatigued and you’re starting to lose strength in the ring, sometimes you just can’t execute. Somebody as large as Yokozuna, a minor miscue could be very devastating.”
Yokozuna was released from WWE to protect him from having heart issues. He was directed to lose weight to make his return but he failed.
JR said:
“[Yokozuna] was not surprised. He had been told the same stories, the same things. We tried and tried to make this thing work. He knew the issues. The weight was one thing, but man, having heart issues? You don’t touch that. If nothing else, you protect the talent because you love them. We can’t put him in the ring with a heart issue. It was the only choice we could make, and [Yokozuna] knew that.”
Jim Ross continued:
“I would talk to him sporadically in my role. Just to touch base with him and see how he was feeling. Obviously, we wanted him to come back. The 400 pound number was the number – we thought that if he got to that level, he could better address his heart issues. He was 200 plus over that. He’s got to pass a physical, and he couldn’t; it’s simple as that.”
