Of the many terrible things that Vince Russo booked and created in WCW, the rise of Booker T to main event status is arguably the one thing that he got right. Even still, he had to get it horribly wrong beforehand. Early in his pro wrestling career in the Houston, Texas area, Booker T was known as African-American Army-gimmicked performer "GI Bro." It's the type of low-rent name and low-rent gimmick that fits an on-the-bubble independent like the WWA was at that time. Bringing that name back to the table after Booker T was already established as a multiple-time TV and World Tag Team Champion was frankly ridiculous, even if the concept was arguably more based in giving the Misfits in Action stable a credible top performer. A note about the Misfits in Action. It's the most illogical stable ever (save the WWF "Union"). You want a bunch of WCW midcarders repackaged with hokey military names, right? General Hugh G. Rection, G.I. Bro, Major Stash, Major Gunns, Lieutenant Loco, Sergeant. AWOL and Corporal Cajun all sound like Starrcade main eventers, right? Terrible.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
