10 Attempted WWE Repackages That Failed Miserably
3. One Man Gang To Akeem
The One Man Gang was a solid mid-level WWE brawler known mostly for his imposing size and unique biker gimmick. He wasn’t the most dynamic athlete in the world, but he cut a fearsome figure in the ring, and benefited from working against a variety of master sellers who made his offense look stiff and brutal. Sporting traditional Hells Angel attire to go with his mohawk, he existed solely to beat people up. Nothing more, nothing less.
Things took a sharp left turn in 1988 when Slick, the Gang’s manager, announced that his client was African, and planned to re-embrace his roots. Gang was repackaged as Akeem, The African Dream, and appeared in a series of vignettes from Gene Okerlund from an African ghetto dubbed “the deepest, darkest parts of Africa”.
Said vignettes saw performers dressed in stereotypical African tribal garb dancing and chanting around a fire, with the distinctly Caucasian Akeem delivering a promo in an offensively lazy “African” accent. It was every bit as terrible as it sounds and is widely (and rightfully) regarded as one of the worst WWE gimmicks of all-time.
Unfortunately, this one wasn’t so short-lived: Akeem survived all the way until October 1990, when his fading role in WWE finally saw him released from the company. He signed with WCW to resume his One Man Gang persona a few months later.