The Godfather Was Crushed When WWE Had to Kill His Character

WWE's hallowed Attitude Era gave fans a litany of characters and moments that simply could not be put on camera in 2018. But no Superstar embodied that lucrative time in wrestling more than The Godfather.

But one day, The Godfather was not suitable for television, and that news broke Charles Wright's heart.

For those needing context, Wright's gimmick as The Godfather was WWE's version of a pimp. He smoked cigars, wore bright colors, spoke in pimpy rhetoric and was perpetually followed by his "Ho Train."

The Godfather was insanely popular with WWE's male audience, but it was always destined to be short-lived. During an appearance on WINCLY Podcast, Wright discussed the demise of his infamous character.

"First of all, Vince was taking so much heat. When Vince went public and [WWE programming] got off of the cable networks, it got up to the [broadcast] networks and he went public things changed. Different people were looking at us," Wright stated.

Vince McMahon put his neck out for the character, but the Parent Television Council (PTC) could not like Wright and his antics slide.

"Vince fought for me and Vince would tell me, 'Charles, I'm fighting for your brother. I'm fighting for you.' But one of the things the networks hated besides DX was The Godfather," said Wright.

Sexuality has been and forever will be a part of wrestling. However, The Godfather was a gratuitous use of that element and eventually, WWE had to scale back Wright's character.

"They had a major problem with me and things I was saying and the things I was doing. It got to the point where I could only be on Saturday after 10:00 at night. I couldn't say this, I couldn't say that. I couldn't call the girls this. I couldn't mention this. It became this Godfather-lite [character]."

McMahon decided to protest the PTC by forming the Right to Censor group. The parody depicted Wright, Ivory, Steven Richards, Bul Buchanon, and another Attitude Era classic, Val Venis, as WWE's version of hall monitors.

"That was the worst news I ever heard in my life," Wright said about the character change. "I was enjoying my job and having the time of my life [as The Godfather]. To take that away and make me The Goodfather, I took it personally. I tried to do the best job I could but it was not a happy time. I became the old, mean bear again, and I really disliked it."

[H/T Wrestling Inc.]