WWE Superstar Jacob Fatu

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1:13The Johnny Manziel that I watched on TV, I would think he would be like, yeah, of course I'm going to the Cleveland and I'm going to be that guy. Today's guests. WWE superstar Jacob Fatu. MMA and boxing journalist Ariel Helwani. Super Bowl champion running back, Marshawn Lynch. Actor and recording artist, Ice Cube. And now, sitting in for it, O'Shea Jackson Jr. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to The Rich Eisen Show. I am your host for today, film and television's O'Shea Jackson Jr. A.K.A. the heel that you love to hate. A.K.A. Petty Guerrero. And as always, joined on the Rich Eisen Show by the best Bostonian from Maine, Chris Brockman.

2:01Thank you, Shay. Thank you for that introduction. Yes, lifelong Dodger fan, Mike Del Tufo. I love you. And of course, the best tag team partner in the world. TJ, you want to hit it? Roof. TJ Jefferson in the building. What up, go. And yeah, so I'll be you guys as hosts for today. I know what you're thinking at home. Why would Rich Eisen give him the keys to the house? I'm wondering that question, and I'm not at home. I'm here. We will find that out together over the next three hours. Call us up if you want, 844-204-RICH. That's 844-204-RICH. We got a great lineup today. I mean, I don't even think great is kind of underselling it.

2:40Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I got a jam-packed show. This guy, I got to say, shouts to you. You brought it. Yes, yes. With the guest list. Today, we will be having WWE superstar Jacob Fatu. All gas, no brakes. Yeah, all gas, no brakes. We will also have Ariel Hawani, not to mention Peace Mode. Marshawn Lynch will be in today. That's all during the second hour. Jacob Fatu in our first. And then we're going to end it off with Ice Cube. I'm a big fan of his. Can't wait to talk to him. You know, what's crazy is Del Tufo and I had relationships with Ice Cube before you had relationships with Ice Cube. Yeah, man.

3:13You know, I just met him in 2015 when I did a little movie. A little movie. You know, a little indie that I did. but uh besides that guys yeah isn't it weird i mean it's just a crazy coincidence all right i'm not i'm not gonna put anything out there but isn't it a crazy coincidence that rich eisen isn't here when michigan gets in trouble how about that but here's the thing is like they didn't actually get in trouble. Yeah, I mean, it's so dumb. We all saw what they did. We all know what they did. We all know what it led to and it's just a fine and a slap on the wrist and hey, your coach that was already suspended next year or this year for games three and four odd.

4:05We're going to give them another game in 2026 and we're going to slap a ton of sanctions on the coach. That's not there anymore. He's actually down the street here in El Segundo. Cool. Cool. Cool. Great job. NCAA. I mean, now does this mean, no, are you, are you saying that because it's Michigan that this is happening or is it not really cheating? I mean, like if you have a guy who can just happen to read everything that you're doing, doesn't that mean you need to step up all the signals that you're doing and maybe change your strategy? Is it frowned upon or is it illegal? I think the illegal part was fishing out other people to do this, the signal stealing for you, and then dressing up as an assistant coach on a different team and standing on the sideline when you're supposedly, you know, a Michigan university employee.

5:02I think that part is kind of pretty blatant. I mean, we got a slap on the wrist, folks. We got a lot of things to read right here. So, so far, they have four years of probation. Cool. Chris, please. Four years of probation. We got some financial penalties. A$50 ,000 fine plus 10 % of the budget for the football program. A fine equivalent to the anticipated loss of all postseason competition revenue sharing associated with the 2025 and 2026 football seasons. a fine equivalent to the cost of 10 % of the scholarships awarded in Michigan's football program for the 25-26 academic year, a 25 % reduction in football official visits during the 25-26 season, a 14-year prohibition on recruiting communications in the football program during the probation period.

5:54That's a slap on the wrist to you, Chris? Sounds like it, yeah. Now, Connor Stallions, the guy, the guy, the all-seer. Right now, an eight-year show-cause order restricting him from all athletically related activities during the show-cause period. Jim Harbaugh gets one of those as well. He gets a 10-year. All right, so there goes your slap on the wrist. It's not even there. Basically, what this means is if these guys went to go look for another job in college football, they would basically have to prove that these accusations are false in order for them to get these jobs. and it's stopping a hard ball from it not being successful elsewhere and then going back to Michigan.

6:40The show calls penalty and the time period and all that, that's basically what that means. You got Denard Robertson getting one of those. His is three years and a two-year for Sharon Moore. Moore also will be suspended for the first game of the 26-27 season. Apart from the three-game suspension, Moore is not prohibited from engaging in coaching or other athletically related activities during the show calls period. So he's not even prohibited from engaging. It's a slap on the wrist. Cool, cool, cool. You got away with it, Rich. I'm happy for you, man. I'm sure you're on vacation right now. My tying it up.

7:15Go Wolverines. I think he's in Ibiza or Ibiza. How do you say it? Ibiza. Ibiza. I think that's where he was today. Yeah. I mean, I got some friends over in the Canary Islands. Shout out to the Canary Islands. Shout out Lisps. Yeah. Shout out Lisps. All right. It's a strong battle. You know, now we also got some football though, right? We got some football games today. Yeah, we do. Who do we have? I believe I saw the Titans and Falcons. Titans, Falcons tonight. And we also, let's see, what was the other game? There was two games tonight. Chief Seahawks. That's kind of fun. Yeah, that's kind of, it's definitely more fun than Titans and Falcons.

7:52A couple of preseason games tonight. I think we'll see Cam Ward and Michael Pennick. Shout out to the family show. Screwed that up yesterday. And then Chief Seahawks. That's kind of a fun one. We'll see. Is Patrick Mahomes going to play tonight? I believe so. Why? And we'll see what Sam Darnold looks like. These guys need to get some action. These guys have to play in the preseason. Right, TJ? Yeah, I mean, as long as there's no injury issue. Right. I don't like when just knock a little bit of the rust off. Unless, like with Stafford, there's an injury issue, and he doesn't need to be out there.

8:22It's probably good to get your guy a drive or two. But, again, they're getting all the practice time, right? So it's not necessarily necessary for them to take this risk. Because God forbid something happens in my homes on that first drive. Yeah, knock on wood, bro. You're going to get Kansas City on you. No, I'm just – that's hence why I said God forbid. God forbid. You know? Yeah, we've seen some horrific injuries so far. Like it's been some bad ones. A lot of broken legs. A couple knees. Yeah, but you could get shot walking your doggie. You know what I mean? Like, you know, that's a line from Heat.

8:56It's Friday for sure. I know. I'm just saying Chris, you're going crazy, man. Thank you. I need the ratings. This happens. Injuries happen whenever, wherever, you know? And so just play. I mean, Kevin Love, remember he broke his hand doing knuckle pushups. You just never know with these players. Yeah, you never know. You never know with these players. But it's terrible for my fantasy. Now, I need to ask you both because I trust both of you guys. We could do three hours of fantasy today if you want. Abdub, please, because I'm in a 16-man league. Too many. That's your first mistake. Hold on, bro.

9:27Hold on, everybody. Man's league. Now, I'm in a 16-man league. We've been doing it forever. It's been the same, guys. And it's all about bragging rights. It ruins these next couple of Sundays for me because I'm just going to be nothing but stressed. Can't enjoy football. And it honestly stops us all from hanging out because we're just playing each other. Now, I have fifth pick. And I have an inside scoop that B. John, Jedis, Barkley, and Jamar Chase are all gone. All gone. And I'm looking at, there's a lot of things, a lot of directions I can go, all right? Gibbs, Gibbs just seems like the sure shot for me.

10:10I'd feel safe, but I don't really watch a lot of Lions. You know, I know that's not really how you're supposed to draft, but Gibbs is, that's number one that I'm thinking about taking. but what's going on with Christian McCaffrey? Do I believe Shanahan? Never in my life. Man, believing Shanahan is tough. Never in my life have I ever done that. Should I do it now? I'm inclined. The upside on McCaffrey. This is what we were talking about before the show, too, because I'm kind of in the similar situation where it looks like I may have a chance to draft Christian McCaffrey where I'm slated, and the upside is number one player in fantasy, which we saw in 2023 yeah talking about if you're a ppr league you're talking about 25 points a game possibly with christian mccaffrey the downside is last year where he plays like four games and he's hurt and the niners are obviously you know finagling the injury report oh i have achilles soreness in both legs uh no i got a calf no i got mcl uh i got an oblique uh and then he just doesn't play so it's the he's the ultimate high risk high reward player in fantasy this season but all reports at a Niners camp is that he looks phenomenal he's back to his 2023 form and that you'd be an idiot for not taking him yeah and I don't want to be an idiot that you know I try really hard not to be yeah but I will play one on TV for the right money now as we all TJ you ain't got no insight on me I know he's not a cowboy but like how do you feel about Christian McCaffrey do?

11:43I believe what the Niners are pitching to me. I'm a Rams fan. I don't believe nothing that 49ers is. Here's the deal with McCaffrey. Yeah, it's like boom or bust, right? Like, if you take the chance and he stays healthy, then you know what you're gonna get. Like, you're gonna get someone who can potentially lead you to a fantasy championship. But, that injury history is enough to make me go, I might take my chances with Gibbs if I was you and in that position. Now, I've been hearing a lot of Gibbs and Montgomery kind of sharing that a little bit, though. I think Gibbs is ready to go. Montgomery is still going to get the goal line carries, I'm sure.

12:22He's still going to get his touchdowns. But Jameer Gibbs is going to get the rushes and the catches, like Chris was saying. Probably very similar to the production that McCaffrey would give. Whereas McCaffrey would get more, I think, of a higher touchdown total than Gibbs would. And if you're in a full PPR, you know he's going to catch so many passes because think about the 49ers. They have one good healthy receiver right now, Ricky Pearsall. And so you've got Brendan Ayuk coming back from injury. You've got Jawan Jennings who's banged up, and he wants a new contract. So they've got a lot of issues with their pass catchers.

12:55You know Kittle's there. He's A1 reliable. And then if McCaffrey is healthy, bam, you know he's good for six, seven, eight catches a game. You're looking at 90, probably 80, 90 catches on the season for him. I just want to thank you both because I'm right back where I started. Yeah. I left nowhere. It's tough. Yeah. This is literally going to come down to a coin toss for you, I think. You know what it is? You know that, what was that, Inception? You know that clip that goes around where Leo's talking to that guy and the guy's like, I need a guarantee. Yeah. And the guy's like, how can I trust you?

13:27He goes, you can't, but I can. That's McCaffrey. Yeah. How do I know you can deliver? I need a guarantee. I can't guarantee it, but just know I can't deliver. That's McCaffrey this year. Oh, man. Hopefully a caller comes in later today because I need to figure this out because the thing about doing fantasy football with your friends, it's about bragging rights. I could care less about the money. Money's good, but I could care less about the money. It's about just really being able to roast my friends for a full year. And I want that for me. You're lording over your group of friends for 12 months.

14:03Yeah, man. And I'd be the first black champion. or it'd be historic. So you would be Ron Simmons of your league. You'd be the Doug Williams of your fantasy league. I need that. I need that. You'd be the Arthur Ashe of your league is what you're saying. So a lot is riding on this. You'd be the Barack Obama of your league. Yep. Shout out Barry O. Yeah, man. You'd be the TJ Jefferson on the Rich Eisen show of your league. You are a hero and a survivor. Not like you, Del Tufo, man. Oh, no. Not like you, bro. But, dude, we got Jacob Fatu coming up. You got Jacob Fatu coming up later on in about 16 as soon as that clock changes.

14:40If people don't know Jacob Fatu, I used to describe him like this. If you remember Jeff Hardy, of course, who everybody remembers. He's invited to every cookout. And you remember Umaga. If Jeff Hardy and Umaga could have somehow mixed DNA and had a child, the child, I feel, would have been Jacob Fatu, just the way he goes in the ring. Am I crazier? Is this dude insanely athletic for a man his size? Yes, that's exactly my point. You're reading it very well. Every time I watch this dude get on the top rope, I'm like, he's going to do what? He's a giant. He's like a defensive tackle who can do backflips off the top rope.

15:13And the thing is, you haven't even seen his full arsenal. Exactly. You know what I mean? He was one of the first people that I went on a full-on indie search for to see some of his work at MLW. and for him to now get into the WWE, it's been a real treat. Yeah, it's dope. And I feel like we got to get to Jacob, but I feel like we got to go to break. If I heard that right, you're going to break? He's sitting down. Let's get to break. Yeah, man. All right. So after this, we got Jacob Fatu. Make sure you guys stay tuned. Yeah, that I mean.

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16:30The service is free and provides a report with solutions verified by ASE certified master technicians. Ask for an O 'Reilly Veriscan today. Rich Eisen here. We talk a lot about battles in sports. Teams battling through adversity. Athletes fighting for every yard. The toughest warriors I've ever seen, though, aren't on the field. They're kids fighting cancer. They're families standing beside them. Doctors, nurses, caregivers. That's why I'm proud to support Hyundai Hope on Wheels. For over 28 years, they've helped fund pediatric cancer research, raising more than$303 million and supporting over 40 ,000 children.

17:03Learn more and donate at HyundaiUSA.com backslash Hope on Wheels. Ever meet Ali? Yeah. What was that like? I was 1978 or 77. I'm locked up in Sparford Julean, our detention center. And all of a sudden, we come down, we watch the movie The Greatest. And then next thing, you know, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, Ali walks in. Into your detention center? Yes. What was that like? Pandemonium. And I was only 11, maybe. I didn't really understand that. I heard my mother mention, called him Clay around the house. Yeah, sure. I didn't know who he was. As time going, I found out who he was from the show, of course.

17:48And that was good inspiration. After that, I got transferred to another place where it was a gentleman, Bobby Stewart, who was a former fighter who started teaching me how to fight. Then he introduced me to the legendary trainer, Custamato. And then I saw Roberta Duran and Sugar Ray Lennon fight. And I wasn't sure what I was going to be a fighter. I was just happy to get out of that place. Sure. But when I saw them fight, I knew that's what I want to do in my life. That's when you saw Duran and Sugar Ray fight. That's when you said, that's what I want to do. How do you get into the mindset to go ahead and knock somebody like Marvis Frazier out in 30 seconds?

18:22You know, Robert Colet in 37 seconds. It doesn't happen overnight. It happens when you're a kid and you have to be that person before you become that person. What do you mean by that? What do you mean by that? I think I know what you mean, but I'd love to. It's a lifestyle. You have to live that lifestyle. At a young age, I just lived that lifestyle. Never had girlfriends. I trained all day. I watched fight films all day. I read fight magazines all day. every conversation I had with somebody was about fighters, who you think would have won this and that. Just like guys that love basketball, baseball, who you think would have won, who you think is the best?

18:55Kareem, Oscar Robertson, who you think is the best? That's all I was. You think he could be him? You thought he would match the guys with the past, with the guys with the presence and this and that, and that's all I thought about.

19:19Guys, really excited about this next guest. Let's do it. One of my favorite WWE superstars on the rise. You don't have to tell him when to go because he's all gas and no breaks. He is the Samoan werewolf, Jacob Fatu. Yes, sir. Welcome to the show. Y 'all and I, me, let's go. Yes, indeed. How are you doing today, man? Man, man, I'm blessed. I'm blessed, big bro. Man, just thank y 'all for having me on here. Man, and y 'all mean, big bro, man, you know what's west coast. Full throttle with him. I appreciate you, man. I got him coming on later today. So that should be dope, man. I really appreciate that.

19:58Now, you've been on the rise, man. You've been really putting the work in. And as for those who don't know, he is part of the Samoan dynasty, which is, and TJ will attest to this, the most, like, illustrious family in professional wrestling. The bloodline through and through, generations, decades. It don't matter. You guys are always prominent. But when would you say you got bit by that wrestling bug? When did you know, yeah, I want to take the family route? Man, you know, man, it was 18, man. Got locked down and, you know, seen Big Bro and them on TV. It's just, man, it's, I don't know. And it was crazy because I was actually, the TV wasn't supposed to be on that day.

20:44You know, and just very blessed, man. And, you know, had kids already. I was just trying to figure it out. But I had to learn how to respect the business. So, you know, I thought I could just do a jump in, but it ain't easy, you know, just because of my family. Yeah. But, man, my trainer's Gangrel Rikishi. My father, the Tonga kid. My uncle Reno, Anahayi the Black Pearl. Came up in Knox Pro in Los Angeles. You know what I mean? So, man, I was just training the right way. But definitely happened, man, when I was locked down, though. Now, when you say you had to learn to respect the business, you know, for those who are trying to get into professional wrestling, what exactly does that mean?

21:22Break that down as much as you can for finding that respect for the business. Well, you know, it's all the sacrifices, you know, not even just what my father and them went through, but all the whole generation from way back in the day, you know, from December, I mean, when professional wrestling first started, you know, this is just something, you know, I don't want people to get it twisted like we just throw on gear and go out. No, no, no. Like, you got to really respect it. You know, the sacrifices, man, there's time away from the family. You know, there's all the stuff that we do on the outside that people don't see.

21:54you know um you got to learn how to respect that ring you can't just jump in the ring before you get in the ring man wipe your feet you know the ring is like our sanctuary you know i mean so not only does it change our lives you know we really all of us who's working here all the way from the camera people to people setting up the ring the lights the backstage you know the catering like we all are passionate about professional wrestling and man this is i say this all the time professional wrestling has brought different cultures the people all different backgrounds together. I mean, look, brother, obviously we're here because the love and the passion for professional wrestling.

22:28Yeah, absolutely. Now, that respect and that love for the ring, I'm sure you've seen talent of all shapes and sizes, but also of all different mentalities. And you had your run on the indies, which set the internet on fire. You got quite a few edits of your time before WWE. So I want to know what is, what do you see as the biggest difference of those other promotions? And once you finally get the call from WWE, is it a shift in how they do things? Like, is it a dramatic shift? Describe the difference now that you made the jump. Well, you know, man, my story was different. You know, I had to be on the independence, you know, and I was, it was a learning process, you know, for me, for my story.

23:20So being on the independence, you know, people say, oh, Jacob should have been in WWE five years ago. No, no, no. Jacob, it was the right time and it was God's time. And not only that, man, I needed that time to learn. Now, thank man. And Keep It 100, WWE, the league, everybody in here made it happen for me to be here, you know, from the background, for everybody. But being here, you know, it is another level. It is a whole nother, you know, it's a whole nother platform. There's certain things to do, don't do, you know. But it's also teaching us how to grow, though, as well, you know, as performers, as, you know, just as a person, period.

23:56You know, but, man, it's a big shift, you know, from the cameras to the times. It's just it's more than what you expect. But it ain't nothing that, you know, that we can't handle at the end of the day. Now, you got to be one of the – I don't think I know another person that worked with so many family members. So, like, what is that? You know, I know that's got to bring a level of comfortability to you, you know, to be able to be with your cousins and everything, to have people watching your back the way. Oh, yeah. Yeah, please explain, you know, how working with your family's been. Yeah, I mean, because, you know, we're going to get down to it.

24:34You know, I speak about this all the time. There's no other way. I would have had it, you know, having Roman, the great stack team, the Usos, Jimmy and Jay, you know, having Solo back here, you know, man, these is the Usos who guide me, you know, who help me, you know what I mean? So, and no matter if I've been working, you know, longer than Solo on the independents, no, Solo's been on this level way more than me, you know what I mean? So I wouldn't have it no other way, you know, to, you know, but my family to guide me. But besides, you know, all the OGs in the back and, you know, just our co-workers you know man listen i'm the one that soaks it all in you you know you learn different things every day you know especially in this business but man uh i would have no other way man so shout out to roman big big jim you know i mean even though we getting into it you know i mean but man it's the solo and i'm and that's just me being real man just keeping it 100.

25:28now you said you got into it 18. something i'd like to you know we and we're gonna hit you with a lot of questions that I like to ask me and my tag team partner, TJ Jefferson, on the No Contest Wrestling Podcast. You know what I mean? Shout out to TJ, though, man. You know what I mean? You're saying? No doubt. So, you know, you decided to take the journey at 18. I need to know, what was your welcome to wrestling moment? You know, what was that like? Oh, okay, yeah, this is what we're doing from now on. Oh, man, it was my first day training. You know what I mean? Man, it was the first day training, man.

26:04You know what I mean? Heading the ropes, really learning. My trainer, Gangrel, man, he didn't let me in the ring. You know, we really had to learn the foundation. And this is when it goes back to really respecting the business. But, man, it was just something about it, man. It was something about it, man, to where I just fell in love with it. I've always been a fan of professional wrestling. I mean, man, we grew up in it. We were like, man, we are the biggest fans of professional wrestling. You know what I mean? So, but man, when I was just in there, man, just on that grind, just training, you know, Monday, Wednesday, not only that, it kept me out of jail.