A mystery for the ages, here: Mabel, aka Nelson Frazier Jr., later to be known as Viscera and Big Daddy V, and the sudden, inexplicable main event push of a giant, fat, poor man's MC Hammer. One half of cheerfully rapping tag team Men On A Mission, the gargantuan Mabel went solo after the teams heel turn, and would win the King Of The Ring tournament in 1995. His tag team partner, Mo, became his manager and the newly-christened King Mabel adopted a much more thuggish, aggressive persona. No one really understands why it is that WWF management felt that Mabel, of all people, would be a good fit to challenge the WWF Champion Diesel at SummerSlam, their second biggest event of the year. True, Frazier was a massive man, but not in a good way. His character work was non-existent, and his skill in the ring limited at best. The match was intended to be a classic big man battle. Of course, Kevin Diesel Nash was never much of a wrestler, and there was no way in the world that hed be able to make Mabel look like one. Equally, Mabel didnt have the chops to make the babyface champion look like a million dollars. Neither man came off well in this feud. It was obvious from the beginning that Mabel didnt belong in the main event, or with any kind of significant push. When you look at previous winners of the King Of The Ring tournament, youre looking at men like Harley Race, Randy Savage and both Bret and Owen Hart. This was back when the gimmick actually meant something - winning the King Of The Ring was something to be proud of, an achievement on a level with getting a good run with a significant championship. Moreover, it usually indicated a wrestler that the company expected great things from, someone with a vibe to them that screamed greatness. Mabel didnt have that. Mabel didnt have much of anything going for him. Adding the King element to his gimmick made him seem like a comedy act, which made things even worse. He had no star status, no aura, and the royal props served to remove any trace of credibility from the character. Mabel wasnt the man to move the main event forward, and Frazier was clearly completely out of his depth. Hed have an extended life in the company when he transformed into the looming Viscera and joined the Ministry Of Darkness, but hed never main event in the WWF/E again. And thank God for that.
Professional writer, punk werewolf and nesting place for starfish. Obsessed with squid, spirals and story. I publish short weird fiction online at desincarne.com, and tweet nonsense under the name Jack The Bodiless. You can follow me all you like, just don't touch my stuff.
