WWE Gimmicks That FAILED The HARDEST Every Year (1985-2025)
34. Papa Shango (1992)
This one hurts. No, it really hurts.
Growing up, this writer was mesmerised by the Papa Shango character. He was terrifying, imposing and seemed like one of the coolest villains ever to a young kid. Sadly, all of the work that had gone into Shango's presentation counted for nothing once the creative squad (Vince McMahon and Pat Patterson, mainly) had to pen storylines for him.
Things got off to a rough start when Papa mistimed his run-in on the main event at WrestleMania VIII. That mistake meant Hulk Hogan was powerless as he watched Sid Justice kick out of his previously-unstoppable leg drop. Backstage, even though they'd played a role in the blunder, management had be furious about this.
From there, Shango feuded with a returning Ultimate Warrior, but that went nowhere fast and was in the bin by SummerSlam. So, instead of squaring off with Warrior in front of 80,000 folks at Wembley Stadium in London, England, Papa met Tito Santana in a pre-PPV dark match and Warrior wrestled Randy Savage for the WWF Title on the main show.
That hammer blow summed up where Shango was heading. Warrior's eventual release meant these rivals didn't actually work a major match, and the writing was on the wall for the witch doctor when he was dumped out of the 1993 Royal Rumble after just 28 seconds.
Looking back, despite how cool it had seemed to yours truly as a child, the hokey curse-giving routine of the persona never clicked with the fanbase as a whole. Shango was totally fumbled.