Charles Wright (wrestler)

Charles Wright
Ring name(s)	Baron Smedly[1] The Godfather[1] The Goodfather[1] Kama Mustafa[1] Papa Shango[1] Pimp Father[1] Rocky Las Vegas[1] Sir Charles[1] The Soultaker[1]
Billed height	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[1]
Billed weight	320 lb (150 kg)[1] 265 lb (120 kg) - 2002
Born	(1961-05-16) May 16, 1961[1] Palo Alto, California,[2]
Resides	Las Vegas, Nevada[1]
Billed from	Parts Unknown[1] Red-light district[1]
Trained by	Larry Sharpe[1]
Debut	1989[1]
Retired	2002[2]

Charles Wright^[3] (born May 16, 1961)^[1] is an American businessman and retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather (when he joined Right to Censor).^[1] After leaving the wrestling business he moved to Las Vegas, where he currently manages the strip club Cheetah's.^[4]

Professional wrestling career

Training

Wright first entered professional wrestling after being noticed tending bar by wrestlers during the filming of the movie Over the Top. The wrestlers involved gave him the advice that, with his large body type and unique (tattooed) look, he should try seeking out Larry Sharpe and his Monster Factory to get into the business.^[5]

United States Wrestling Association (1989–1991)

Eventually Wright parlayed his training into a job with Jerry Lawler in the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) with the gimmick the wrestlers from the bar had given him and took the name The Soultaker, taken from one of the tattoos on his arm. Even with his admitted limited skill set, he was given the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on October 23, 1989 and held it for about two weeks.^[6]

During his time in the USWA, he would also tour in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1990.

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1993)

After brief stints in Japan and other American independent promotions Wright was brought in to World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at the suggestion of his friend The Undertaker. He wrestled briefly at house shows as Sir Charles, a play on both his real name and the nickname of National Basketball Association player Charles Barkley. The character was hardly used and wasn't able to be developed, and even when talking about it later Wright only remembers wearing robes he purchased from another wrestler to the ring.^[5]

In January 1992, he was repackaged as Papa Shango, a voodoo practitioner with an appearance reminiscent of the Loa Baron Samedi. The character debuted on the February 8, 1992 edition of Superstars, defeating enhancement talent Dale Wolfe.^[7] The character carried a skull to the ring billowing smoke and could control arena lights, allowing for strange goings on in the ring, and later could "cast spells" to cause opponents pain and to make them vomit from afar.^[8] Papa Shango was thrust into the spotlight almost immediately, running in on the Hulk Hogan vs. Sid Justice main event at WrestleMania VIII^[9] to jump start a feud between himself and Ultimate Warrior. Shango actually missed his cue to run in, hitting the ring late. The finish was supposed to be Sid getting disqualified because of Shango breaking up the pinfall attempt by Hogan after he hit the big legdrop. However, due to Shango getting to the ring late, Sid was forced to kick out of the legdrop to save face. Sid's manager, Harvey Wippleman then jumped on the apron, and the referee signalled for the disqualification at that point as Shango was just getting to the ring. Shango was then involved in a feud with the Ultimate Warrior in the late spring of 1992, where he would cast voodoo spells on his opponent. Despite numerous segments being shown on TV every week (Warrior vomiting, inexplicably bleeding,...), the angle went nowhere, as Warrior challenged Macho Man Randy Savage for the WWF Championship, apparently forgetting about Shango. When Shango was finally set to have a match with Warrior in November 92, Warrior was released from WWF. However, Shango received a title shot against new champion Bret Hart on Saturday Night's Main Event, but was unsuccessful.^[10] Wright's final PPV appearance as the Papa Shango character was at the 1993 Royal Rumble (where he was eliminated in under 30 seconds). Shango was seen infrequently on WWF TV afterwards, and following a loss to Jim Duggan in a 1993 King of the Ring qualifying match, he made two final televised appearances against enhancement talent in June and July 1993.

Reaction to Papa Shango character

Wright's Papa Shango character was widely pilloried, being voted the Worst Gimmick and the Most Embarrassing Wrestler in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards for 1992. Fin Martin of professional wrestling magazine Power Slam, in a 2013 article, wrote: "Shango and his curses were a total embarrassment. Fans exhaled loudly each time he appeared on screen. Shango bombed, and deservedly so."^[11]

United States Wrestling Association (1993–1994)

At the same time as he was wrestling as Papa Shango in the WWF, the WWF had a working agreement with USWA. As part of the agreement Papa Shango was sent to wrestle in USWA, where he won the Unified World Heavyweight Championship for a second time.^[6] Winning the title actually upset him, as he felt it was only done to sell to the predominately black crowd, and after complaining to management he dropped the belt to Owen Hart. He left the company soon after and returned to bar tending.^[5]

World Wrestling Federation (1994–1996)

During the autumn of 1994, there were rumors that the Papa Shango character would be brought back to participate in a storyline involving Bob Backlund, wherein Shango's voodoo spells would explain the traditionally good-natured Backlund's erratic and villainous behavior. This never came into fruition. Wright would eventually return to the WWF in early 1995 as Kama "The Supreme Fighting Machine", an Ultimate Fighting Championship-inspired shoot fighter who joined Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation stable shortly after his debut.^[12] He became an immediate part of the stable's feud with The Undertaker, stealing the Undertaker's signature urn at April's WrestleMania XI then having it melted down and formed into a necklace,^[13] only to lose it back to him at August's SummerSlam.^[14] He was taken off of TV in the fall of 1995, and after an appearance in the 1996 Royal Rumble match, Wright left the company again.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1997–2002)

The Nation of Domination and The Godfather (1997–1999)

Wright was asked to return in 1997, with the original plans being for him to revive the Papa Shango character,^[3] but that plan was never completed with the inception of Kane, another supernatural character.^{[citation needed]} Instead he returned as Kama, now billed under his full name, Kama Mustafa, with less emphasis on his shoot fighting background. He was placed into the Nation of Domination, which was in the process of becoming an all black group and on the verge of feuding with the all white Disciples of Apocalypse as well as the all Latino group Los Boricuas; the latter two groups were part of the Nation of Domination at one point and all three feuded with each other as part of a "gang warfare" angle the WWF came up with. Mustafa became increasingly known as "The Godfather" of the Nation, a moniker which would eventually become his official ring name in 1998. He stood with the Nation when Rocky Maivia became the leader shortly after Wrestlemania XIV, standing with Maivia (who officially became The Rock around that time), Mark Henry, D'Lo Brown, and later Owen Hart after he joined the stable in the summer of 1998.

In 1998, The Godfather (known to wrestlers as a genuine tough guy) competed in the WWF Brawl for All; which was a strictly voluntary boxing/shoot fighting competition, eventually won by Bart Gunn. On a July 27 episode of RAW is WAR, Wright debuted his "Ho's", during a tag-match, with Nation member Mark Henry against The Road Warriors.

The Nation lasted until around September 1998 and officially disbanded in October 1998 when Mark Henry attacked the nations leader The Rock. After the nation split up Wright pursued a successful solo career and took his new persona as "The Godfather" to new levels. The Godfather character was constantly surrounded by "hos" – usually girls from local strip clubs. He would offer his opponents the right to use these girls for "any purpose" if they would forfeit the match to him. He got over and he gained a run with the WWF Intercontinental Championship in April 1999.^[15] He was supposed to go against Owen Hart for the title. But at Over the Edge 1999, Hart died before the match started whilst entering the ring from the ceiling.

Right to Censor and return of The Godfather (2000–2002)

As Wright was working the Godfather gimmick the WWF began airing SmackDown! on UPN, drawing the attention of the Parents Television Council (PTC), which claimed the WWF and their programming was inappropriate for prime time television. One of the PTCs complaints was the Godfather's pimp gimmick, and during the ensuing controversies the WWF higher ups began imposing restrictions on what he could say and do, hurting his popularity.^[5] During this time The Godfather became something of a tag team specialist, forming teams with Val Venis, Mark Henry, and D'Lo Brown.

With the WWF in general being hurt by the PTC's attention, they decided to mock the controversy by creating Right to Censor, a conservative group of wrestlers led by Steven Richards. The Godfather faced Bull Buchanan, Richards' first group member, in which he agreed to give up pimping if he lost. Buchanan defeated The Godfather, who promptly joined the stable and renounced his former ways. He began wearing a shirt and tie to the ring (as was part of Right to Censor's gimmick), became known as "The Goodfather", and began teaming with Buchanan. The duo won the World Tag Team Championship^[16] one time before the stable disbanded as the Invasion storyline began.

The Godfather had a short revival in 2002, claiming to have gone "legitimate" and formed a legal escort agency. It lasted around four months, but never caught on in the way the original did. Shortly after the 2002 brand split, he was sent to SmackDown! and turned into a villain by dropping the ho's and feuding with Val Venis for a short time. In April 2002, The Godfather who believed to be frustrated after not getting drafted, came out during the "dark match" portion of SmackDown! to attack Val Venis and told the fans to "Stick it!", which got him suspended from May to August 2002.^[1]

The Godfather's final two appearances reverted him back to his old persona, with the Ho Train in tow. He interrupted the "wedding" of Billy and Chuck in September 12, 2002, which helped lead the tag team into admitting that the entire gay marriage was a sham and just an attempt to get media attention. The Godfather appeared again the following month on Raw during the Raw Roulette event, where he offered Jerry Lawler and Stevie Richards a night out with his Ho Train to the victor of their match. Wright was released from the WWE in December 2002 and retired from wrestling, returning to Las Vegas to manage Cheetah's, a gentleman's club.^[2]

Retirement and part-time appearances

Despite his retirement, the Godfather has returned to wrestling a few times for one-night appearances with his Ho Train.

He appeared at Vengeance, interrupting Viscera's marriage proposal to Lilian Garcia in order to show Viscera what he would be missing out on if he asked Lillian to marry him.^[1] Viscera dropped the proposal and dumped Garcia for The Godfather's hos.^[1]

On July 13, 2007, Wright returned to the ring for the first time in five years after his retirement, where he reunited with D'Lo Brown to defeat Jeremy and Bubba Blanchard in McMinnville, Oregon.^[17]

Wright next appeared at the Theodore Long and Kristal Marshall wedding ceremony on the September 21, 2007 edition of SmackDown!, where he tried to convince Long and Ron Simmons to go back to the old partying days they had. After they refused, Godfather left the ceremony with his Ho Train, and was accompanied by every male wrestler in attendance and commentator John Bradshaw Layfield, leaving only Mr. McMahon, Jonathan Coachman, Hornswoggle, Gerald Brisco, Pat Patterson, Michael Cole and several Divas behind.^[1][18]

Wright reappeared on WWE television during the McMahon family portrait during Raw's 15th Anniversary on December 10, 2007, where he let Hornswoggle join his Ho Train.^[1]

In late 2009, Wright returned to wrestling to take part in Hulk Hogan's "Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin" tour of Australia. On November 21, Wright, using the new ring name Pimp Father, teamed with Nick Dinsmore to defeat Rock of Love (Billy Blade and Kadin Anthony) in a tag team match.^[1][19] On November 24, Big Daddy Row Row defeated Pimp Fatha and Sean Morley in a three-way match.^[1][19] Two days later, Pimp Fatha defeated Heidenreich.^[1][19] After the match, he hosted a bikini contest between three of his hos.^[1] Two days later, Pimp Fatha wrestled his last match on the tour, and defeated Morley.^[1][19]

Wright made a rare in ring segment along with his long time friend Val Venis and Dexter Verity in Future Stars of Wrestling, where he promised to bring his hoes if Venis and Versity have had successfully defended their tag team titles.^[20] Wright made a short appearance as The Godfather at the 2013 Royal Rumble as entrant #17. He was eliminated immediately by Dolph Ziggler. Wright made an appearance on January 6, 2014 OLD SCHOOL edition of raw alongside numerous other legends and hall of famers.^[21]

Personal life

Wright and his wife have four children.^[22] Wright attended University of Nevada where he played football.^[23]

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • As The Godfather
    • Pimp Drop (Death Valley driver)^[1][2]

• • As Kama / Kama Mustafa
    • Death Valley driver – 1997–1998
    • STF^[24] – 1995
    • Spinning side slam^[25] – 1997
  • As Papa Shango
    • Inverted shoulderbreaker^[1][2]
    • Voodoo Driver (Slingshot suplex)^[1]

• Signature moves
  • Arm twist followed by a hook kick
  • Big boot^[26]
  • Corner slingshot splash^[27]
  • Falling powerslam^[26]
  • Ho Train (Body avalanche, with theatrics)^[1][2]
  • Inverted atomic drop^[26]
  • Jumping leg drop, with theatrics^[1]
  • Running big boot^[1]
  • Running elbow drop
  • Sidewalk slam – 1999–2000
  • Scoop slam
  • Tip Up Splash (Standing splash)^[1]

• With Val Venis
  • Signature moves
    • Aided scoop slam
    • Big splash (Val Venis) / Jumping leg drop (The Godfather) (combination)

• Managers and valets
  • Ted DiBiase
  • Larry Sharpe
  • Various "Hos", including Bobcat^[28][29] (who won the Hardcore Championship as a Ho),^[30] Victoria,^[2][31] Ivory,^[2] and Lita^[2]

• Nicknames
  • "The Sultan of Voodoo"^[2]
  • "Kama the Supreme Fighting Machine"^[1][2]
  • "The Conductor of the Ho Train"

• Entrance themes
  • "The Shango Tango" by Jim Johnston (1992–1993)
  • "It's All About the Money" by J Hart and JJ Maguire (1995; used while part of the Million Dollar Corporation)
  • "Nation of Domination" by Jim Johnston (1997–1998; used while part of the Nation of Domination)
  • "The Ho Train" by Jim Johnston (1998–1999; 2013)
  • "Pimpin' Ain't Easy" by Ice-T and Jim Johnston (2000)

Championships and accomplishments

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI ranked him #353 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003^[32]

• United States Wrestling Association
  • USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)^[6]

• World Wrestling Federation
  • WWF Intercontinental Championship (1 time)^[15]
  • WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bull Buchanan^[16]

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • Worst Gimmick (1992)
  • Worst Feud of the Year (1992) vs. The Ultimate Warrior
  • Most Embarrassing Wrestler (1992)

References

External links

• Papa Shango's WWE Alumni profile
• Charles Wright at the Internet Movie Database

v t e WWE Intercontinental Champions Pat Patterson Ken Patera Pedro Morales Don Muraco Tito Santana Greg Valentine Randy Savage Ricky Steamboat The Honky Tonk Man The Ultimate Warrior Rick Rude Mr. Perfect The Texas Tornado Bret Hart The Mountie Roddy Piper The British Bulldog Shawn Michaels Marty Jannetty Razor Ramon Diesel Jeff Jarrett Dean Douglas Goldust Ahmed Johnson Marc Mero Hunter Hearst Helmsley/Triple H Rocky Maivia/ The Rock Owen Hart Stone Cold Steve Austin Ken Shamrock Val Venis Road Dogg The Godfather Edge D'Lo Brown Chyna Chris Jericho Kurt Angle Chris Benoit Rikishi Eddie Guerrero Billy Gunn Jeff Hardy Kane Albert Lance Storm Christian Test William Regal Rob Van Dam Booker T Randy Orton Shelton Benjamin Carlito Ric Flair Johnny Nitro/John Morrison Umaga Santino Marella Kofi Kingston CM Punk John "Bradshaw" Layfield Rey Mysterio Drew McIntyre Dolph Ziggler Wade Barrett Ezekiel Jackson Cody Rhodes Big Show The Miz Curtis Axel Big E Langston (current)

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Persondata
Name	Wright, Charles
Alternative names	The Soultaker; Sir Charles; Papa Shango; Kama; Kama Mustafa; The Godfather; The Goodfather; Da Bone Doctor
Short description	Professional wrestler, strip club manager
Date of birth	May 16, 1961
Place of birth	Las Vegas, Nevada
Date of death
Place of death