10 Wrestling Gimmicks More Disturbing Than You Think

7. Kamala Was Kidnapped

Billy Kidman WCW
WWE.com

Meanwhile, Ugandan "cannibal" Kamala was plucked from his East African homeland and forced to fight in the good ol' USA. Sure, the WWF didn't word his arrival quite like that, but it was painfully obvious that both Kim Chee and various other managers were taking advantage of him.

The guy had been kidnapped.

In typical cartoony WWF fashion, the promotion toned down Kamala's original backstory from the old Memphis days. There, he was a former bodyguard to deposed Ugandan dictator Idi Amin, but Vince McMahon apparently didn't want to touch that. Nah, presenting the character as a kidnapping victim was the way to go.

Kamala eventually broke free of Kim Chee's dominion and became a surprise hit as a midcard babyface (at least for a little while). Watch any of his early vignettes/matches from the late 1980s and its clear to see the gimmick was based around Kamala struggling to rebel against his "handlers".

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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.