10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (August 16)

8. Ole Anderson Blamed Harlem Heat For Their 'Chain Gang' Gimmick

Harlem Heat
WWE.com

The fact someone in WCW believed portraying Booker T and his brother Stevie Ray as ex-convincts won by Colonel Robert Parker in a card game was a good idea says it all. As 'Kane' and 'Kole', the siblings literally came out in shackles upon debuting in 1993, and the racial insensitivity was hard for fans (and Turner executives) to stomach.

How dare Book and Ray come up with something so offensive.

They didn't, of course, but Ole Anderson thought they did. On Steve Austin's podcast, Booker told how he and his brother were instantly hauled into Ole's office after their first match and chastised for the gimmick as if they'd pitched it. Before Booker pointed out that WCW had slapped it on them, Anderson threatened to send them "back to Texas".

The 'Chain Gang' idea was doomed to fail from the beginning, and Ole couldn't believe it had actually aired on television. It didn't take long for both guys to pipe up and tell the booker they wanted to do something else before their careers were ruined for good.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.