15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Tony Atlas
2. Why He Didn’t Hate Saba Simba
The Saba Simba character that Vince McMahon had in mind for Tony's return is roundly considered racist and insensitive. On commentary, McMahon claimed that Atlas was "proud of his roots", which only made things worse. Mark Henry thought the gimmick was embarrassing, and Ricky Steamboat told 'Dark Side' the persona was Vince's way of "making fun" of Tony "because he can".
Tony has a different outlook on it all.
He said the WWF could've put him in "a pink gorilla suit and [he'd] have loved it at that time". After all, don't forget that Atlas had gone from eating out of dumpsters and sleeping on a park bench to being in love with Monica and back on WWF television. A gig was a gig to him, and anything was better than sleeping rough or being hooked on drugs and wanting to die.
The only thing Tony questions about that whole deal is how the federation rubbished it almost immediately. Roddy Piper, who was also on comms alongside McMahon, said it was ridiculous that Tony Atlas was dancing around the way he was and wearing the Saba Simba costume. According to Tony, the WWF never gave him the chance to explain what he was trying to do in promos either.
He didn't care in 1990. The embarrassment of playing such an overtly cartoonish and insensitive character was offset by the fact that Atlas was safe, warm and well fed. Crucially, he was also in a loving relationship back home. The Simba experiment only lasted a short while, but it got Tony back on his feet again, so he'll never crucify it the same way others have.