WWE Legend Papa Shango Explains WrestleMania VIII Ring Entrance Delay
WWE Hall of Famer Charles Wright, known as The Godfather and previously as Papa Shango, recently revealed the reason for his delayed entrance during the WrestleMania VIII main event between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice. Speaking on his “Poddin’ Ain’t Easy” podcast, Wright clarified that he received no backstage reprimand for the incident, attributing the timing issue to a miscalculation of travel time.
“Honestly, I never heard one word about it from not one person until later,” Wright stated. “The problem was… somebody should have timed how long it was going to take [me] to run that distance… I didn’t send myself. they told me, ‘Don’t go till we send you.’ And if you look at the video, I’m running as fast as I can.”
Wright also discussed his overall positive working relationship with The Ultimate Warrior, who was the target of Papa Shango’s memorable “voodoo curse” storyline. “I’m one of the few guys I got no shit to talk about… He was cool with me. I liked working with him,” Wright said. “Come on, dude, this guy’s a world champion putting over voodoo and shit. For him just to do that… I ain’t mad at it. He didn’t have to.”
The character of Papa Shango intentionally aimed to frighten audiences, Wright recalled. ”I told Vince… ‘let me go after kids’,” he said. “I would say something… ‘and tonight, when you go to sleep, you will not dream of the ocean. You will dream of death, and you will dream of Papa Shango.’ I used to scare the hell out of kids.” He cited an instance in White Plains, New york, where protestors picketed an arena due to the character’s impact on children.
Wright further emphasized that his departures from WWE were always voluntary. “Every time I was never let go… I would leave,” he stated. He explained that his decision to step away from the Papa Shango persona stemmed from personal challenges, specifically “going through a bad divorce” and finding that his “motorcycle, biker, bear” persona was contributing to “bad situations” in his personal life, leading him to believe it was “best that I bowed out” to focus on his well-being.If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AdFreeShows.com with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription.