In December 2005, Fatu re-signed with
World Wrestling Entertainment. Initial signs pointed to a reunion of
3-Minute Warning, with the former team of
Matt Anoa'i (Rosey) and Fatu (Jamal) wrestling in
dark matches together before episodes of
RAW. However, Rosey was released from WWE before the team could be brought to the main show.
Fatu re-debuted on the April 3, 2006 episode of
RAW with a new
gimmick and
name. Now called
Umaga — the same name of the final part of the
Samoan tattooing process, meaning "the end" — he was depicted as a destructive
savage who could only be controlled by his
manager, Armando Alejandro Estrada. The pair started out
feuding with Ric Flair, whom Estrada interrupted in the middle of a
promo to tell how much of a fan of his he used to be, but that now he was old and needed to retire. It was in offering the fans a new "hero" to watch that he introduced Umaga, who proceeded to
beat down Flair. For the next few weeks Umaga participated in
squash matches, destroying various
jobbers, until he dispatched Flair at
Backlash at the end of the month.
Umaga then returned to defeating jobbers. His next actual
feud started at August's
SummerSlam, where he was supposed to be an
enforcer on behalf of
The McMahons (
Vince and Shane) during their match against
D-Generation X (Shawn Michaels and Triple H), only to be attacked by
Kane as he made his entrance. Kane and Umaga feuded for the next two months until Umaga won a
Loser Leaves RAW match, sending Kane off of the
brand. After being separated by different brands, Umaga and Kane had one final match at
Cyber Sunday where Umaga again defeated Kane after fans selected him over Chris Benoit and
The Sandman to be Umaga's opponent for the night.
Umaga, having still not been pinned in the WWE, was then deemed #1 contender for the
WWE Championship and placed into a feud with Champion John Cena over the title. Cena retained his belt at the
New Year's Revolution pay-per-view by pinning Umaga with a
roll-up, officially ending his streak — which had lasted 34 televised matches and spanned from his debut in April 2006 to January 2007. In that time Umaga was never pinned or made to submit on television, although he did lose two matches by disqualification and another went to a double
count out. For the rest of the month, Estrada played down Cena's victory, claiming it was a fluke, until a
Last Man Standing rematch was signed for the next pay-per-view, the
Royal Rumble. On an episode of
RAW between the two pay-per-views, Umaga attacked Cena causing a (
worked) injury to his
spleen and putting the match in jeopardy. Cena (
kayfabe) refused a medical exam, the results of which could cause him to forfeit his title, and then defeated Umaga by submission, wrapping a loosened ring rope around his neck during an
STFU.
Though he was out of the world title picture, Umaga was named
Vince McMahon's "representative" for the
WrestleMania 23 "Battle of the Billionaires" with
Donald Trump. Immediately after choosing Umaga, McMahon "granted" him a match against the
Intercontinental Champion, Jeff Hardy, which he won handedly to take the title. After Bobby Lashley was named Trump's representative, the two began a
feud which lasted even beyond WrestleMania. Despite Umaga losing in the "Battle of the Billionaires"
hair versus hair match and causing Vince McMahon to get his head shaved, the McMahons (Vince and Shane) continued to
second him to the ring. Two weeks after WrestleMania, Lashley interfered in a match and helped a
planted fan —
Santino Marella — defeat Umaga for the Intercontinental title. At the April 29
Backlash event; the team of Umaga, Vince, and Shane McMahon wrestled Bobby Lashley for his
ECW World Championship in a
Handicap match, winning the title for Vince. While Umaga worked with the McMahons, Estrada became less and less involved until he stopped appearing altogether. In June, Umaga was re-entered into a feud with
Santino Marella, the man who took his Intercontinental Championship earlier that April. When they met at the
Vengeance pay-per-view, Umaga was solidly in control of the match, but lost by
disqualification when he disregarded the
referees instructions and continued to punch Marella. In a rematch on July 2, Umaga beat Marella to win the Intercontinental title back. Not long after, he seemingly started a
face turn, joining forces with John Cena against Carlito and Randy Orton. After defeating both Kennedy and Carlito in a
Triple threat match at
SummerSlam, Umaga interrupted a
RAW match between Kennedy and a returning
Jeff Hardy, assaulting Hardy and leaving him lying in the ring. One week later, on the September 3
RAW, Umaga lost the Intercontinental title to Hardy in a singles match. Later that night, he teamed with Carlito in a handicap match against Triple H, after which Triple H struck him several times with his signature sledgehammer,
injuring him. He was given a match against Triple H at
No Mercy, which was changed to a title match for the WWE Championship during the event itself but Umaga was unsuccessful in beating Triple H.
