10 Wrestling Gimmicks Created By The Last People You’d Expect

7. Kamala

Kamala wwf
WWE.com

Who You Think Created It: The man behind the gimmick, James Harris.

Who Actually Created It: Mild-mannered wrestler James 'Sugarbear' Harris tapped Jerry Lawler on the shoulder backstage at a 1982 Memphis TV taping and introduced himself to the promoter. Lawler was immediately impressed, and told Harris to meet him for a chat the next day.

That's when Jerry came up with the 'Ugandan Giant' gimmick and turned Harris into Kamala. He was directly inspired by Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, and believed fans would be terrified of rumours that Kamala (like Amin) was a cannibal who kept remains of his rivals and ate parts of their body.

He was right: they were. The Kamala gimmick was so successful that Harris ended up in the WWF two years later.

Advertisement
Contributor

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.