WWE Hall Of Famer The Godfather Looks Back On Genesis Of Papa Shango Character

Professional wrestling seems to have a disproportionate number of individuals with magical powers compared to other industries. They levitate, rise from the grave, and even call down lightning. But so far the only wrestler with the power to make guys bleed black bile has been Papa Shango. The Godfather pulled back the curtain on what went into putting the supernatural character together during the inaugural episode of "Poddin' Ain't Easy."

"Vince says, 'I want to see you work as a heel,'" Godfather recalled. "'You have the body of a monster, but you have a babyface. I have to find out something to do with that face of yours ... I want you to rent the movie "Live and Let Die." There's a voodoo character in there ... we're gonna take off from this character, and most importantly, I want you to learn that laugh.'" Godfather said his portrayal of a voodoo priest was about as far removed from his personality as he could get, as he was really a biker from Las Vegas. Still, he said he embraced the gimmick, with WWE even going so far as sending him out for research to better master the role. 

"They sent me to New Orleans for awhile, and I met with a bunch of voodoo people," he said. "All the symbols I was wearing were real. Everything I was saying was real." Shango lasted less than two full years in the WWE, and beyond a marginally memorable program with The Ultimate Warrior, not much was done with the character. But despite the gimmick being so over-the-top, some fans argue that there was more meat on the bone.Vince McMahon even considered bringing the character back later, however, those plans were scrapped when Wright was instead placed into the Nation of Domination faction.