Other Aliases: Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, The Goodfather
Biggest Fan: Jon Baltos
Charles Wright was working as a bartender with no particular ambitions to become a professional wrestler, but professional wrestling found him. Terry Funk, Scott Norton and other superstars were frequenting his bar while working on the Sylvester Stallone movie, Over The Top. They convinced the 6'6", 330-pounder to embark on a career in sports entertainment. As a result, Wright didn't debut in the ring until he was already 28 years old.
Thankfully, Wright's unique look, athleticism and charisma allowed him to make up for lost time and develop into a wrestling superstar very quickly. By 1991, after just a couple of years in the business, Wright was in the World Wrestling Federation. Papa Shango, as he was now known, was the catalyst for one of the most memorable moments in WrestleMania history. After Hulk Hogan's "final match" against Sid Justice at WrestleMania VIII, Shango stormed the ring and attacked the Immortal One. The only reason the Hulkster survived the evening was because of the electrifying return of the Ultimate Warrior.
The Ultimate Warrior paid dearly for intervening, though, as Shango, a master of the voodoo arts, tormented him with dastardly magic. This feud raged throughout the summer of 1992 until the Ultimate Warrior, possibly out of fear, departed the WWF. Eventually, Papa Shango retired from his career as an evil spellcaster and joined Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation as "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama.
Kama would eventually end up in a pair of other factions, the Nation of Domination and the Right to Center. He also enjoyed a wildly successful career as a pimp, known as The Godfather, and made it to the semifinals of the WWF's Brawl For All, losing to eventual tournament winner, Bart Gunn.
Charles Wright's 14-year career came to a conclusion in 2003, a brief career by most standards. What everyone will no doubt remember about Charles Wright is his ability to portray and really inhabit a character. His time as Papa Shango, one of wrestling's greatest gimmicks ever, will not soon be forgotten, and neither will this superstar of the squared circle.
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