Since I launched WrestleCrap.com all those years ago, many readers have asked me if I find wrestling to be somewhat racist. I have to laugh at these silly, silly people. After all, who would find a spear chucking African warrior like Saba Simba racist? Or the original incarnation of Harlem Heat, in which they were led to the ring in chains by a rich sharecropper? I don’t know what kind of crazy mind would come to the conclusion that these personas were just a bit skewed, but it’s fair to say that they were probably none too pleased about the WWF Gang Warz of the late 1990’s.
It started out as just one gang: The Nation of Domination. Led by Farooq Asad (Ron Simmons, probably best known to newer fans as Bradshaw’s drinking buddy), the Nation consisted of outcasts from the WWF midcard like Savio Vega and Crush (Bryan Addams). After unceremoniously dumping those two, Simmons populated the group solely with African Americans, such as D-Lo Brown, Clarence Mason, and a young Rocky Maivia.
Getting thrown out on his ass didn’t sit well with Crush, who went out and formed his own group of thugs, a motorcycle quartet known as the Disciples of Apocalypse (DOA). Shockingly, Ed Leslie was not a member of the group, but Brian Lee and Ron and Don Harris were. Sadly, these men didn’t come out to their old personas. God knows no one would have wanted to mess with Jacob and Eli Blu on Harleys, or Fake Undertaker motoring down the ramp with Happy Hawaiian Crush riding in a sidecar.
Crush wasn’t the only guy on the unemployment line courtesy of the Nation. Puerto Rican legend Savio “Don’t Call me Kwang the Ninja” Vega was also out of work. Furious at the snub, Vega headed south and hooked up with some of his homeys, forming Los Boricuas. The highlight of this group was Miguel Perez, a hairy ape of a man that had fans chanting “Shave Your Back” long before A-Train started stinking up rings across America. Said it before, I’ll say it again: even in the wacko world of pro wrestling, you don’t want to make your reputation as a real life, human version of a Chia Pet.
And so what did these men do? They fought. And fought. And fought. And no one cared, because the only driving factor behind the feud was the fact that they were of different races. And while that may not have been a good enough angle for most bookers, Vince Russo isn’t most bookers.
And for that, we can all be thankful.