Happy Birthday! WWE Hall of Famer The Godfather Turns 55 Today!

One of the most risque gimmicks of the WWF/E's Attitude Era, The Godfather, played by Charles [...]

By Lan Pitts

Godfather bio--81da0efcf2edc6270706203fe966fe46
(Photo: WWE)

One of the most risque gimmicks of the WWF/E's Attitude Era, The Godfather, played by Charles Wright, turns 55 today. Though Wright was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame under the Godfather moniker, he had been wrestling under a few other names for the past decade.

Coming into the then WWF in the early 90's, Wright first performed under the ring name of Sir Charles, but was quickly discarded for something more...eccentric: Papa Shango. Shango was a voodoo witch doctor that had the facepaint resembling that of Baron Samedi. He fit right in the early 90's era of over-the-top and usual occupation gimmicks. Shango was a surrogate for Sid Justice as he had been fired from the WWF and was scheduled to feud with the Ultimate Warrior in 1992, but as is the case with professional wrestling, card is subject to change. His main weapon was casting spells and curses on his victims as a way to get inside their heads. It was outlandish, but when you also have a plumber gimmick right next to this, it all seemed plausible.

Shango got lost in the shuffle and by the time he got close to Warrior, Warrior was released in November of 1992. Shango made infrequent appearances in 1993, and eventually got a shot at Bret Hart's WWF World Championship, but of course to a losing effort.

Wright was repackaged shortly after as Kama "The Ultimate Fighting Machine". It was a play on words as he was meant to be this UFC-based character, but it never took off. He did however feud with the Undertaker and during this angle, stole Taker's urn to have it melted down to make a necklace. He had sporadic appearances and then have the Kama name evolve into Kama Mustafa and became a member of the Nation of Domination.

Within the group Kama was called the Godfather of the Nation, which of course he would use in a few years as another gimmick that would help personify the Attitude Era.

Under The Godfather moniker, Wright was able to capture his first taste of WWE gold as he defeated Goldust in April 1999 to become the Intercontinental Champion. As fate would have it, he was scheduled to drop the title to Owen Hart at the now infamous Over The Edge pay-per-view, but Owen's fall from the rafters and death just a few minutes later changed things. The next night on Raw, he was to face off against Road Dogg, but shortly after the match began, Road Dogg called it off and instead suggested they go drink to Owen's name.

The Godfather gimmick was insanely popular, but the thing was Wright actually lived that life as an actual honest-to-God strip club owner. After semi-retiring from wrestling, Wright managed Las Vegas' famous Cheetah's. It's hard to think that today with the PG-era that this could be an actual gimmick, but it was how Wright worked it to get himself the most over with the fans than he ever had before. His catchphrase and variations of "hoe train" was used on shirts, jackets, everything that could be sold.

This past year, Wright was inducted into the WWE Hall of Famer under The Godfather name and rightfully so as one of the most memorable characters to ever lock up in a WWE ring.

Happy Birthday, Sir.

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