Umaga dead, Eddie Fatu dies at age 36

Former WWE wrestler Eddie Fatu, better known as "Umaga" the "Samoan Bulldozer", is reportedly dead at the young age of 36. Details are still unconfirmed but reports say that Fatu's wife found him in a chair in his Texas home with blood coming out of his nose. At that time he wasn't breathing and was unresponsive. Apparently, he had fallen asleep watching television on 12/3/09 and never woke up. It's believed he died due to a heart attack at this time. One report comes from pwnews.com, which discusses what little is known regarding the death. The internet has been buzzing as fans search for "Umaga dead" and "Eddie Fatu" with no official confirmation other than TNA/UFC star Bobby Lashley's Twitter posts so far (see below).

Reports say Fatu was placed on life support with friends and family being informed of his condition. He was taken off life support earlier Friday afternoon. Many WWE fans will remember Umaga as a multi-time Intercontinental champion who was on the Raw and Smackdown TV shows. He participated in a number of Pay-Per-View events and have famous feuds with Jeff Hardy, Triple H and John Cena. At Wrestlemania several years ago, Umaga was Vince McMahon's representative in a "Hair vs Hair match" against Donald Trump's representative, Bobby Lashley.

It was a Twitter post from current TNA star Lashley, Twitter name: @fightbobby that first alerted many fans and media to the potential passing of Umaga. Lashley's two most recent posts read:

# Please say a prayer for Umaga. http://bit.ly/7J5erQ
about 2 hours ago from Facebook

# Very sad day today. A good friend is gone. http://bit.ly/6c9idw
about 5 hours ago from Facebook

Umaga was released by WWE back in June 2009 after he violated the WWE Wellness Policy, then refused to attend rehab services. His last known wrestling work was with Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair's pro-wrestling tour in Australia.

RIP to Eddie "Umaga" Fatu, age 36, and deepest condolences to all family, friends and fans.

See Umaga's official Wikipedia entry here.

UPDATE: WWE has released the following statement: "WWE would like to express its deepest condolences to Mr Fatu's family, friends and fans on his tragic passing.

"Mr Fatu was under contract with WWE at various time periods and most recently performed under the name Umaga. Mr Fatu's contract was terminated on June 11, 2009."

An article at The Sun UK website has noted that Eddie Fatu's family has confirmed his death.

Umaga's Alumni Page at WWE.com