Kama: The Supreme Fighting Machine

[héad.casé]

What did people think of this version of Charles Wright's repackaging after Papa Shango? Honestly, at the time, I never got the gimmick. I know they used to say he was a master of all fighting disciplines and styles, but it never really showed in his ring work (besides punches and a few kicks and knees). The only thing I really remember him doing was taking the Undertaker's urn and having it melted down into a huge neck chain.

[jason1980s]

It was probably good they paired him with Ted Dibiase. Even though Kama didn't do much of note during the Corporation run, at least having Dibiase did a little for him. Similar to the Shango thread, it was another go nowhere gimmick for Charles. He lasted until summer 1995 and IIRC was off TV for a while (may have had a dark matches on In Your House with Undertaker) and reappeared at Royal Rumble, really just to make up the numbers to get to 30 participants.
I do wonder if there's anyone watching from 1992-1993 who didn't know he was Papa Shango?

[slappy]

I loved it but I was a stupid kid so what did I know?

[Capt Lunatic]

Aug 4, 2016 17:17:54 GMT -5 héad.casé said:

I know they used to say he was a master of all fighting disciplines and styles, but it never really showed in his ring work (besides punches and a few kicks and knees).

This was a major problem. It was always a typical Charles Wright match.

On par with The Dynamic Dudes carrying skateboards and Van Hammer never playing his guitar, it was a UFC fighter with no MMA skills.

[Angus Mcloud]

Fun Fact: Kama stood for Kick Any Mans Ass

[魔界5号]

It was my least favourite gimmick that Charles ever had.

[HisRoyalGreeness]

I remember WWF magazine doing a recurring feature where they would basically do fantasy warfare with Kama against various famous fictional/non fictional fighters. One in particular that I remember was Kama vs TJ Combo from Killer Instinct. They went into pretty good detail on how the fight played out. It was pretty cool actually.

[lws]

Even having watched a bunch of Raws from 1995, I don't really know what his gimmick was. He was really good at fighting so Ted DiBiase bought him. The he feuded The Undertaker, because urn. And then that's it. He was barely a character, and his "really good at fighting" shtick fell flat as soon as he stepped in the ring, like everyone has said.

[Perfect Timing]

As a kid I thought it was stupid he wore a T-Shirt under his singlet. That being said, I could still see enough of his tattoos to know he used to be Papa Shango.

[2coldMack is even more baffled]

I honestly thought that the casket match he had with Undertaker at Summerslam 1995 was pretty good, but I admit I haven't seen it in a while, so I don't know how it holds up.

[Non Banjoble Tokens]

Maybe WWE should have went with that "Sir Charles" gimmick that I heard about from early in his career. Not really sure what it would have consisted of, as I never really watched much basketball and only knew Charles Barkley by name.

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

I love that Kama is the same character as The Godfather. He was never taken away and repackaged, Kama just ended up being a pimp.

[auph10imitated]

I was going to post in the Shango thread that again as Kama, it was a really good gimmick that would have served much better with a different performer. It was UFC fighter gimmick which was growing in popularity since UFC began in late 1993. I believe, but I could be wrong the name was picked due to it being similar to Kimo. So if you put a legit bad ass in the gimmick, it would have been mega over and probably high at the top of the card.

[Mozenrath]

I do want to defend Wright a little in that I don't doubt he was a tough dude and all, and he served his purpose well enough, since DiBiase just needed some muscle and Kama sufficed, but the gimmick would have suited a guy better like a Perry Saturn type, had they hired a guy like him.

[Perfect Timing]

Yeah he just looked very slow and kind of fat.

[Magnus the Magnificent]

I always thought he looked a bit slimmer as Kama than Shango, and then he put on a bit more weight again when he became Godfather.

[Perfect Timing]

Was it ever implied that he was Papa Shango?

[A Platypus Rave]

Aug 5, 2016 7:00:44 GMT -5 Perfect Timing said:

Was it ever implied that he was Papa Shango?

I believe it was a Smash/Repo Man situation where they were meant to be two different guys.

[fuzzywarble, squat cobbler]

Bland gimmick. I remember his vignettes whereby he would ride a motorcycle and talk about how the WWF was his final stop or something