Twilight Sparkle Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 oh god this one totally beats stone cold et Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 26, 2012 Share Posted November 26, 2012 really cool article on the godfather. you guys should check it out Over the course of his pro-wrestling career, Charles Wright brought to life two unforgettable characters that have since become iconic among wrestling fans. Not only is each gimmick a perfect representation of it's respective era, but the gimmicks are such polar opposites of each other, that it's funny to think that they were played by the same guy. Papa Shango was the first to arrive, back in 1991. In an era of "cartoon gimmicks", Shango was promoted as a creepy Voodoo Master, casting spells on opponents that caused them to vomit, burst into flames, and most memorably - ooze mysterious black liquid from various body parts. As animated as it may sound, it was all delivered with a legitimately scary vibe. I was both entranced (no pun intended) and terrified as I watched an opponent lying unconscious in the ring, his face smeared in a thick black oil while his boots burned like torches in the night, all while Shango stood over him, laughing a deep guttural laugh. Shango then rolled his eyes into his head and fell into a quivering trance, as the arena plunged into darkness and the show faded to black. Fast forward towards the end of the 90's, and one of the most recognizable faces of the risque Attitude Era was a multi-colored pimp named "The Godfather". With his trademark smile, cigar, and bevvy of beautiful women named "The Ho Train", he was one of the most over and beloved stars of the show. The fans chanted along with all of his catchphrases, and it was a weekly tradition to hear crowds of 20,000+ yelling, "It's time....once again...for everybody...to come aboard the...HOOOOOOOOO TRAIN!" Charles Wright brought both of these personalities to life. And throughout 2012, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with all three guys - Charles himself, The Godfather...and even Papa Shango. For the second year in a row I was lucky enough to attend Wrestlereunion's "Breakfast With Champions" in Los Angeles. At this event, fans were able to attend a breakfast buffet and take a seat with a wrestling legend for an hour or so of stories, memories, and the answers to those nagging questions. There were some stellar guests that year including Kevin Von Erich, Vader, Kevin Sullivan, Finlay and many others. The Godfather was always my first choice, and he did not disappoint. Arriving at the table with his wife and son, it would've been somewhat of a typical Sunday morning if not for Wright being dressed in full pimp gear - lime green suit, matching hat and flashing blue shades. Indeed, Godfather's personality was as bright as his gear, and he had all of his guests entertained as he shared all kinds of stories and memories. At the end of the breakfast, a classic wrestler from a bygone age (I won't name him, but if you were there, you'll know!) delivered a speech to the audience. Despite everyone's best intentions to be respectful and attentive, the speaker's monotone voice, never ending anecdotes and wandering memory eventually made it an unbearable experience for everyone, until even a bored looking Godfather leaned over to us and asked "How long is this old fart supposed to talk?" As everyone looked at their watches, the famous smile snapped back onto his face, he grabbed the lapels of his green jacket and said "crap, they shoulda let me make the speech. I'd wake everyone's asses up!" We all bust out laughing and other tables turned to look at us with disapproving scowls and calls to "Shhh!" It was like being sat at the naughty table back at school as Godfather grinned and gave us a wink. During the course of the breakfast, Godfather told us so many fascinating things about his lengthy WWF/WWE career, including many unique insights into his gimmicks. Many of these have never been shared publicly before, and are direct from the man himself: Papa Shango “I took Papa Shango extremely seriously. The reports and rumors of me hating the gimmick are true – it’s because Shango is so dark, so demanding, and it took so much out of me, that it was exhausting. I’m a happy guy, man. I love being happy. I’m The Godfather! I love smiling. But Papa Shango, man…I had to go to a real dark place to make him so convincing.” "I used to read books on voodoo, in fact I built an entire voodoo library. Everything I said in my promos was real and legit. All the props were from voodoo stores. It was totally authentic. The effects guys worked with the staffs and sticks so that they all did something different. I had a bunch of them - some would shoot sparks, others had smoke and lights that came out of them." “I was the first wrestler to do the “lights out” gimmick. Arena owners and building management didn’t want to do it in case somebody got hurt. Now of course, it happens every week, but back then it was a huge deal. The funny thing is, as impressive as it looked, the only reason we did it was so that the effects guys could get into the ring and light the guys boots on fire without being seen!” "Papa Shango was supposed to last much longer in the main event but Sid f***ed it up. It was supposed to be Sid and Warrior headlining SummerSlam [1992], but Sid didn't want to do it and he quit. He had his own issues, he said Vince had brought him in under the promise of replacing Hogan as the top babyface and it wasn't going the way it was supposed to. So Papa Shango was fed to Warrior instead. The problem was, with a character like Papa Shango, once the losses piled up, the character lost a lot of that mystique and invincibility, and it was all downhill fast from there." “People were jealous of Warrior because he did his own thing, he was smart and he was successful. People don’t like that. He was stiff with me in the ring, but he wasn’t as stiff as I was with him, I’ll tell you that much right now.” "That [Wrestlemania 8 run-in] was not my fault! I was told to go too late and they underestimated the length of the aisle. Even Warrior said later that night that he had to haul serious ass to get there on cue. Watch his run. He used to run to the ring every night, but never like that!" KAMA “The Supreme Fighting Machine” "KAMA stood for “Kick Any Man’s Ass” and was an attempt to capitalize on the rise in popularity of underground fighting and the early days of UFC. I got to ride Harleys, train, and I loved every minute of it. It was something different and I got to grow some cool hair!” WCW “I almost went to WCW to be Hogan’s enforcer in the NWO. I named my price, the contract was being drawn up, and then at the last minute, I got a call saying the contract was being retracted and there was no longer an offer for me. I was stunned, man, just stunned. I asked why, and it turned out that Virgil offered to do it for a third of the price because he wanted to be back on TV so bad. That dumb mother****** cost us both." The Nation of Domination "A lot of people don't know this, but Papa Shango was going to return in 1997. It was going to be a more gritty, realistic version with a mask instead of paint.They created the costume and the new entrance. But what happened was, the decision was then made to do Kane. I guess they felt there wasn’t enough room for two dark, supernatural characters, and so I became Kama Mustafa and they put me in The Nation. I've still got some 8x10 promos of me in the new mask and gear." "The Rock was put into The Nation to protect him. Vince had big plans for The Rock from day one and was worried that he had been getting bad advice from the wrong people. Some jealous dudes had been getting into his ear. So Vince put Rock in the Nation so he could benefit from the guidance of Ron [simmons] and myself. It was the same thing with Mark Henry. Mark was a big long term investment that was getting some bad advice, learning some bad habits, and so Vince put him under myself and Ron for guidance. Both those guys were struggling.” “Ahmed Johnson almost killed The Nation. He wanted to be ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and he would go off script, he’d shoot, he did whatever he wanted out there. He was also pushing backstage for #2 Guy money. He didn’t understand. So…Ron made him understand. Ron beat his ass and that was it for him.” The Godfather “I used Rock being in The Nation as an opportunity for myself. One night, Rock was going to go out there and cut a promo. I was going to debut a new look, and I was holding the hat in my hands before we were due to go out, and I noticed the brand – “Godfather”. So I asked Rocky to refer me to as “The Godfather of the Nation”. He did, and it caught on with the commentators and some of the crowd. Then it was shortened to just “The Godfather”. Next week, I started coming out with some chains and a cigar. Then a girl. Then a girl on each arm. Then eight girls. It just got bigger and bigger every week.” "The Godfather was originally going to wear all black suits, maybe with some grey mixed in here and there. It was my wife who told me to try the bright, flamboyant colors. She created the entire look – the vests, the pants, the hats with the feathers, the sunglasses. Every last piece came from her. At first I was against it, like man what you trying to do to me?! But I got it pretty fast." "We would try out things on the road. I remember at a house show, we had a spot where I’d offer Bradshaw a night with the ho’s rather than take a match. As he’s leaving the ring with the girls, I’d call him a coward, and he’d hit me with that big lariat. Then I’d crawl over the mic and say “Pimpin’ ain’t easy…” and stagger back up the aisle. The fans would pop, and I knew I had something." "The Ho’s came from local strip clubs. I'd go out with Taker and some other guys in our crew and ask who wanted to be on TV. We didn't have to ask twice!" "I got away with talking about weed so openly on TV because the network executives had no idea what I was saying. They didn’t understand the slang. They had no idea what a “fatty” or a “blunt” was, so I was able to say all this stuff and they had no clue. My friend in Cypress Hill said he was amazed at the **** I got away with." "Vince loved the gimmick. Loved it. He used to go to bat for me so many times – fighting the networks, fighting the executives. He did everything he could to keep the character as a central part of the show. Vince used to come to me and say, “Charles – he always called me Charles – you’re having too much fun out there. You should be paying me!” And that didn’t surprise me – Vince is the biggest pimp of them all!" "You wanna know the funny thing? I hate pimps. I can't stand pimps, man. In fact, I've had pimps come into my club and I've knocked them out and thrown them back out onto the street. Can't stand them." The Goodfather "I hated that whole RTC thing. I hated every part of it – Goodfather, Stevie Richards, the whole thing. Eventually they brought back The Godfather and tried to clean him up, legitimize him, whatever they called it. It became a legal escort service. It just wasn’t gonna work anymore, the magic was gone and it was done.” http://www.imetawres...apa-shango.html i really loved papa shango. one of the most interesting characters ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus099 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 so these new guys are called the Shield lol f---ing weak. if they interfere in the match at TLC again I'm going to stop watching this crap Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) horrible raw all the way through. complete garbage. the whole shield thing is the only thing keeping me interested at the moment Edited November 27, 2012 by Olias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus099 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 I'm interested to see where they go with the Shield/Ryback feud but if they just have them interfere with Ryback/Punk again at TLC that's going to be a complete joke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) it'll have to be an interference of some sort. there's no way they'd let punk get a clean win over ryback. i don't even know what match it is. chairs match? (what a stupid concept) tables match or tlc? that's how much attention i paid to raw. not a single attention was given. i phoned it in when tamina squashed i guess it looked like alicia fox Edited November 27, 2012 by Olias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey2Dope Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 horrible raw all the way through. complete garbage. the whole shield thing is the only thing keeping me interested at the moment Pretty much. The storylines/booking are just ludicrious, which is sad given the bright future the company should have with the amount of promising talents they have at their disposal. However, despite the outcomes, I thought the Cena/Ziggler match was good and was really into the Sheamus/Cesaro match. They did a great a job of making Cesaro look like a badass and still protected him in the loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 true. and just minor detail, i love antonio cesaro's theme song 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g_bassi13 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 true. and just minor detail, i love antonio cesaro's theme song I haven't watched the WWE for almost 2 months now, but if it's the same one he changed to around that time, then I like it as well. Makes him seem like a Bond villain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus099 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) it'll have to be an interference of some sort. there's no way they'd let punk get a clean win over ryback. i don't even know what match it is. chairs match? (what a stupid concept) tables match or tlc? that's how much attention i paid to raw. not a single attention was given. i phoned it in when tamina squashed i guess it looked like alicia fox Punk/Ryback is going to be a TLC match, Ryback just kept yelling at Vickie and telling her to shut up until she finally gave it to him lol Edited November 27, 2012 by Primus099 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus099 Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 27, 2012 Share Posted November 27, 2012 (edited) I haven't watched the WWE for almost 2 months now, but if it's the same one he changed to around that time, then I like it as well. Makes him seem like a Bond villain. he even looks like a bond villain lol Punk/Ryback is going to be a TLC match, Ryback just kept yelling at Vickie and telling her to shut up until she finally gave it to him lol i remember that bit, it was dragging on. in today's WWE "holding the show hostage" does more harm than good. the show is boring enough as it is Edited November 27, 2012 by Olias Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marleau_12 Posted November 28, 2012 Author Share Posted November 28, 2012 I don't even know who won half the matches. Couldn't bring myself to stop fast forwarding.I liked when Dean Ambrose said they're not the Nexus and if they want the NWO they can go buy the DVD, lol. And I also like Cesaro's entrance music (along with Cesaro himself). Sidenote: Got pretty damn happy when Bryan came to the aid of Kane, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter56 Posted November 28, 2012 Share Posted November 28, 2012 After just a few months of getting back into it I'm already starting to get out. Just too many stupid, boring storylines -- some of them are alright but that stupid soap opera opening is just killing it for me. Also what bothers me is that the U.S. pretty much made professional wrestling but is the only one that treats it like a joke. Places like Japan and Mexico still treats it with respect... Heck I think Canada has more respect for it even after the Montreal Screwjob lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllHailSmyl Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 really cool article on the godfather. you guys should check it out i really loved papa shango. one of the most interesting characters ever I`d love to see some of those re-boot Papa Shango spots, that would`ve been sweet. Papa Shango could`ve been a bigger deal if handled properly, would`ve been a nice story with The Undertaker back in 92. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Sparkle Posted November 29, 2012 Share Posted November 29, 2012 I`d love to see some of those re-boot Papa Shango spots, that would`ve been sweet. Papa Shango could`ve been a bigger deal if handled properly, would`ve been a nice story with The Undertaker back in 92. heck if papa shango didn't get buried by warrior, it would have been nice to see something like undertaker vs papa shango at summerslam '94 or something, instead of... i don't even like paying regards to that match. what better way for a character to go out by facing taker in a buried alive match. now that would have been cool for the first ever buried alive match and with those two characters, it would be fitting. i don't think a normal casket match would do it justice. there's just so much they could have done with taker and shango. and godfather is friends with him anyways (not sure when they met) but i'm sure they would have created something amazing. instead they had to feed him to the warrior Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marleau_12 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Kaitlyn is so hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shiznak Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 (edited) Going into 2013, the WWE need to do the following procedures to please wrestling fans: - Unify the WWE and WHC titles. - Scrap the brand extension (why do they still have it, I have no idea? Wrestlers show up on both Raw and Smackdown, anyways) - Less PPVs, to build up storylines. Scrap these gimmick PPVs and bring back oldies (No Mercy, Unforgiven) Late Jan - Royal Rumble Feb - No PPV Early April - Wrestlemania Late May - No Mercy Late June - Vengeance July - No PPVs Mid August - Summerslam Late Sept - King of The Ring Late Oct - Night of Champions Mid Nov - Survior Series Mid December - Unforgiven - More outside segments - Multiple wrestlers going after titles (storylines, within storylines) - Cliffhanger to end Raw (I remember watching Raw, just for the ending. It made me want to tune in next week.) And most important one: Need Jericho to save us!!!!! Edited November 30, 2012 by shiznak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marleau_12 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Cena's frackin Nikki Bella. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 (edited) But what about AJ? Anyone think WWE could capitalize on this with the storyline? John Cena REBOUNDING with Ex-WWE Diva Just months after sealing his divorce, WWE superstar John Cena has apparently moved on ... 'cause dude was gettin' up close and personal with a former WWE Diva in Arizona. TMZ has obtained pics of Cena bumpin', grindin' and even going in for a kiss with Nikki Bella ... who worked in the WWE with her twin sister Brie until this past April. Nikki and Brie had their high school reunion in Scottsdale this past weekend -- and John was invited as Nikki's date. Brie also brought her boyfriend -- WWE tag team champion Daniel Bryan. It's unclear if Cena and Bella are "officially" an item ... but they definitely weren't shy with the PDA at the reunion. Edited December 1, 2012 by zero-ONE-three Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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