WRESTLING NEWS
The Insane Clown Posse’s History In Wrestling
By BENJAMIN FALBO
The Insane Clown Posse was heavily intertwined with backyard pro wrestling since their beginning, but they would leave the business to get into the hip-hop game.
Origins
The duo, composed of Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, began as the Inner City Posse, but they rebranded to the Insane Clown Posse to stand out against a saturated gangsta rap market.
ICP became friends with then-ECW stars Rob Van Dam and Sabu during Violent J’s brief stint in jail. This eventually led to the duo being asked to appear at an ECW event.
ECW
They accepted and made their ECW debut at their second pay-per-view event, Hardcore Heaven. Unfortunately, a misplaced kick from RVD left Violent J temporarily deaf.
The same year as their spot on Hardcore Heaven, ICP set off on another wrestling venture: a video compilation of Japanese matches called “Strangle-Mania.”
Strangle-Mania
The success of the “Strangle-Mania” brand led to ICP’s Strangle-Mania Live 1997, a hybrid of hip-hop and pro wrestling.
In the late ’90s, the WWE, still known as the WWF, was in its Attitude Era. A group called The Oddities came from this period and used ICP’s music for their entrance track.
WWF
WWF had caught wind of the duo’s crossover appeal and offered them the opportunity to have their song used and even accompany the Oddities to the ring and compete.
Following their departure from WWF, the Insane Clown Posse would appear on WCW, where they would help form two stables: The Dead Pool and The Dark Carnival.
WCW
In WCW, ICP was allowed to compete in-ring far more than in the WWF. The duo scored some victories over the likes of Norman Smiley, Public Enemy, and 3 Count.