The history of professional wrestling is littered with gimmicks with questionable racial politics, and one of the most questionable is that of Kamala, the Giant from Uganda, whose in-ring career lasted from 1978 to 2010, including multiple runs with WWE.
Despite the gimmick’s insensitivity (he was a stereotypical “savage” African in face paint who didn’t speak English), Kamala made it work, proving to be a huge draw in the 1980s and one of the many icons of her day. . Let’s take a look at Kamala’s career, from her early days before developing his famous gimmick to his last appearances in WWE.
10/10 Started out as Sugar Bear Harris
Born in Mississippi in 1950, James Harris made his in-ring debut in 1978, but had yet to work anything like his famous “Uganda Giant” gimmick. Instead, he wrestled under the ring name Sugar Bear Harris and was managed by Percy Pringle, who became better known as WWE’s Paul Bearer. In the early 1980s, Harris ventured into Europe, wrestling in Germany and England, and developed a character named Mississippi Mauler, who would serve as a prototype for Kamala.
9/10 Developed the character of Kamala in Memphis
Upon returning to the United States, a chance encounter with Memphis promoter/wrestler Jerry Lawler led to Harris landing a wrestling gig for Lawler and Jerry Jarrett’s Continental Wrestling Association. There, Harris, Lawler and Jarrett collaborated to develop the character of Kamala, who despite her “wild” aspect was promoted as a former bodyguard to Idi Amin, Uganda’s notorious dictator. As part of his gimmick, Kamala shot a publicity video with CWA that not only conveyed his personality to viewers, but also effectively sold out the Mid-South Coliseum for his big debut against Lawler himself.
8/10 Kept Kayfabe out of the ring
In the old days, it was not uncommon for wrestlers to “live their gimmick”, keeping kayfabe out of the ring when interacting with the general public. Despite being a violent monster who didn’t speak English, James Harris never broke temper when he was away from home in a territory he was working on.
Those who knew him described the beloved Harris as a laid-back “country boy,” but fans never saw that side of him. Instead, Kamala appeared in public in traditional African garb, often accompanied by whoever was his manager at the time, and never spoke English.
7/10 Fought Andre the Giant
Moving on from the CWA, Kamala began appearing in Bill Watts’ territory, Mid-South Wrestling, where she proved to be a major draw. Directed by the legendary Skandor Ackbar and managed by a masked man named Friday, later renamed Kim Chee, Kamala worked with many of the biggest names in the Mid-South before Andre the Giant was brought in. The battle of the two giants was a great attraction. , and the two rivals sold numerous buildings during their rivalry, during which Kamala was able to body-slam Andre.
6/10 He came to WWE in 1984
Kamala’s feud with Andre the Giant led to Andre encouraging their rivalry to come to WWE, which he did in the summer of 1984 following a run in Dallas with World Class Championship Wrestling. In WWE, Kamala immediately gained notoriety for a segment on the talk show. Tuesday Night Titans where he (kayfabe) ate a live chicken. After big clashes with Andre the Giant and even a world title match with Hulk Hogan, Kamala would end up leaving WWE later that year.
5/10 He fought with Hulk Hogan
After resuming business with Mid-South Wrestling and other territorial promotions, Kamala would make the first of several returns to WWE in the summer of 1986, where she would enter a main event show with Hulk Hogan. Over the course of seven months, Kamala challenged Hogan for the WWE Championship numerous times on house shows and regional shows televised for the MSG Network and PRISM. Once he finished the match with Hogan, Kamala would hang out mid-card, teaming with Sika of the Wild Samoans as he feuded with Jake “The Snake” Roberts.
4/10 Had multiple managers in WWE
Over the course of her time with WWE, Kamala enjoyed various managers including Freddie Blassie, The Wizard (not to be confused with Grand Wizard), and Mr. Fuji. But one of the constant elements of the act was the masked handler, first known as Friday before adopting the better-known name of Kim Chee, who was often played by legendary middleman Steve Lombardi, aka Brooklyn Brawler.
In the early 1990s, Harvey Whippleman was Kamala’s manager along with Kim Chee, and his abuse of Kamala led him to turn against them and team up with Reverend Slick, who had just become a baby, who attempted to civilize the giant. in comedy segments.
3/10 Wrestled in WWE’s first casket match
After a match with Ultimate Warrior, Kamala moved on to an even more powerful foe in Undertaker. One of his biggest matches would be in summer festival 1992, which would end in disqualification and lead to a rematch at survival series. To up the ante, the match had a unique stipulation, going down in history as WWE’s first-ever Casket Match, which ‘Taker would, of course, win. However, not only were his matches not incredibly well received, but Kamala also objected to the pay disparity, claiming that because of her summer festival departure, the Undertaker received $500,000 while Kamala only received $13,000.
2/10 Part of the WCW Dungeon Of Doom
During their feud, Hulk Hogan took a liking to Kamala and encouraged him to join WCW following Hogan’s debut with the company. In 1995, Kamala became a part of WCW, joining the Dungeon of Doom, a ridiculous stable of former Hogan rivals looking to get rid of the Hulkster for good. While most of Kamala’s work during this short term had him crushing middlemen in professional wcw Y wcw saturday nighthad a couple of big matches, facing Jim Duggan in Beach party ’95 and participating in the WarGames match against Hogan and his friends that same year.
1/10 Appeared for WWE in the 2000s
While some might dismiss Kamala as an extremely 1980s pro wrestler with an absurd gimmick, the Ugandan Giant actually made appearances for WWE in the 21st century. A wrestling 17, was one of 19 entrants in the nostalgic Gimmick Battle Royal that included old-school personalities like Tugboat and Nikolai Volkoff. In addition to appearing as a gag during the 2004 Diva Search competition, Kamala also wrestled a couple of matches in the 2000s, facing Randy Orton and Umaga, though she was unsuccessful in both efforts.