Rock band KISS famously put the "S in Sex," but let's talk about that time in WCW when they co-signed the creation of a KISS-themed character for Dale Torborg and (attempted to) put the "W in Wrestling." Eric Bischoff brokered a deal with KISS in 1999 to create Gene Simmons-themed character for the promotion. Originally portrayed by Bryan Adams, the Demon was passed onto Dale Torborg. Intriguingly, KISS was guaranteed in their WCW contract that the KISS "Demon" twould wrestle a Main Event match at a special 1999 New Year's Eve PPV against Vampiro. When Bischoff was fired in September 1999, said match was taken off the table, replaced by a mid-card "Special Main Event" match at Superbrawl 2000 where the KISS Demon lost to The Wall. Maybe the only character to debut in pro wrestling with a special rock concert (which turned out to be one of the lowest rated segments in the history of WCW Nitro), it's one of the more entertaining footnotes in WCW history.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
