Early career (1989–1991) Wright first entered professional wrestling after being noticed tending to a bar by wrestlers during the filming of the movie
Over the Top. The wrestlers involved gave him the advice that, with his large body type and unique (
tattooed) look, he should try seeking out
Larry Sharpe and his
Monster Factory to get into the business. Eventually Wright parlayed his training into a job with
Jerry Lawler in the
United States Wrestling Association (USWA) with the
gimmick the wrestlers from the bar had given him and took the name "The Soultaker", taken from one of the tattoos on his arm. Even with his admitted limited skill set, he was given the
USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on October 23, 1989, and held it for about two weeks. In February and March 1990, Wright wrestled for the
South Carolina-based promotion South Atlantic Pro Wrestling as "Baron Samedi". Throughout 1990, Wright made appearances in Japan with
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as "The Soultaker". During his appearances with NJPW, he often teamed with
Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow. His opponents during his time in NJPW included
Masahiro Chono,
Masa Saito, and
Riki Choshu. In November 1990, Wright wrestled for the
Catch Wrestling Association in Germany as "Rocky Las Vegas". In August 1991, he appeared with the
Dallas, Texas-based
Global Wrestling Federation as "The Soultaker".
World Wrestling Federation (1991–1993) Sir Charles (1991) In 1991, Wright was brought in to the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) at the suggestion of his friend
The Undertaker. He made his first appearance on May 28, 1991, at a
WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping in
Tucson, Arizona. Wright competed there and briefly at house shows as "Sir Charles", a play on both his real name and the nickname of
National Basketball Association player
Charles Barkley. The character was hardly used and never developed, and even when talking about it later Wright only remembers wearing robes he purchased from another wrestler to the ring.
Papa Shango (1992–1993) In January 1992, Wright was repackaged as a
heel by the name of "Papa Shango", a
horror-themed voodoo practitioner with an appearance reminiscent of the
loa,
Baron Samedi, as depicted in the 1973 film
Live and Let Die. Full of
cryptic rituals and an
occult, culturally
exotic presence, the supernatural character carried a skull to the ring billowing smoke and could control arena lights (
supernatural arena lighting control heavily associated with
The Undertaker gimmick, according to Wright had its origins with the Papa Shango gimmick), allowing for strange goings-on in the ring, and later could "
cast spells" to cause opponents pain and to make them
vomit from afar. The Shango character debuted on the February 8, 1992, edition of
Superstars, defeating
enhancement talent Dale Wolfe. Shango was then thrust into the spotlight almost immediately,
running in on the
Hulk Hogan vs.
Sid Justice main event at
WrestleMania VIII. Shango actually missed his cue to run in, hitting the ring late. The finish was supposed to be Sid getting disqualified because of Shango breaking up the pinfall attempt by Hogan after he hit the big leg drop. Because Shango was late, Sid kicked out of the legdrop to save the angle. Sid's manager,
Harvey Wippleman then jumped on the apron, and the referee signaled for the disqualification at that point as Shango was just getting to the ring.
Ultimate Warrior then returned to the WWF by running to the ring and helping Hogan against Sid and Shango. After WrestleMania, Sid and the Warrior were scheduled to begin a
feud. Sid had previously failed a drug test and was let go by the WWF. The feud was then re-written with Shango instead of Sid, where he would cast voodoo spells on his opponent. The angle went nowhere, as Warrior challenged
Randy Savage for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at
SummerSlam, with the rivalry never culminating. Meanwhile, Shango defeated
Tito Santana in a
dark match at the event. When Shango was finally set to have a match with Warrior in November 1992, Warrior was released from WWF. Shango received a
WWF World Heavyweight Championship shot against
Bret Hart (with whom he had been feuding immediately prior to Hart's World title win) Wright's final PPV appearance as the Papa Shango character was at the
1993 Royal Rumble (where he was eliminated in under 30 seconds). He would appear in another pay-per-view dark match against Tito Santana at
WrestleMania IX, with Santana getting the victory. Shango was seen infrequently on WWF television afterwards, and following a loss to
Jim Duggan in a
1993 King of the Ring qualifying match, he made two final televised appearances against enhancement talent in June and July 1993. Wright's Papa Shango character was pilloried by fans, being voted the
Worst Gimmick and the
Most Embarrassing Wrestler in the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards for 1992. Fin Martin of professional wrestling magazine
Power Slam, in a 2013 article, wrote: "Shango and his curses were a total embarrassment. Fans exhaled loudly each time he appeared on screen. Shango bombed, and deservedly so." Bret Hart liked the character and Wright's in-ring work, but found Shango's storyline with the Ultimate Warrior – in which a voodoo curse was placed on the latter – to be perhaps the second-worst creative concept in WWF history (after the introduction of
The Gobbledy Gooker). Hart reported that WWF executive
Pat Patterson did not like the gimmick and was responsible for its termination. At the same time as he was wrestling as Papa Shango in the WWF, the WWF had a working agreement with USWA. As part of the agreement, Papa Shango was sent to wrestle in USWA, where he won the Unified World Heavyweight Championship for a second time. He became an immediate part of the stable's feud with
The Undertaker, stealing the Undertaker's signature
urn at April's
WrestleMania XI then having it melted down and formed into
bling, but remained in possession of the bling urn remnants until November 1995 when
King Mabel seized it amid a feud with The Undertaker. He was taken off of television in the fall of 1995, and after an appearance in the
1996 Royal Rumble match, Wright left the company again.
National Wrestling Conference (1996) Kama made a few appearances for
National Wrestling Conference in Las Vegas where he feuded with
Sabu.
Proposed WCW Run (1996) Shortly after his departure, Wright had verbally agreed to join
World Championship Wrestling to serve as the enforcer for the
New World Order (nWo), but chose not to go to WCW after speaking to Ron Simmons. Wright then learned that WCW signed
Virgil to be the nWo's enforcer by watching
WCW Monday Nitro at home with his wife, and that they had signed him for less than what they offered Wright.
Second Return to World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (1997–2002) Nation of Domination (1997–1998) Wright was asked to return in 1997, with the original plans being for him to revive the Papa Shango character. Instead he returned as Kama, now billed under his full name, "Kama Mustafa", joining
Faarooq's faction the
Nation of Domination. On the June 16 episode of
Raw, Mustafa and Faarooq defeated
Ahmed Johnson and
The Undertaker. Mustafa became increasingly known as "The Godfather" of the Nation, a moniker which was the brainchild of Wright's wife and would become his official ring name in mid-1998. He stood with the Nation when
Rocky Maivia became the leader shortly after
Wrestlemania XIV, standing with Maivia,
Mark Henry,
D'Lo Brown, and later
Owen Hart after he joined the stable in early May 1998. In 1998, The Godfather (known to wrestlers as a genuine tough guy) competed in the
WWF Brawl for All; which was a strictly
voluntary boxing /
shoot fighting competition, eventually won by
Bart Gunn. On a July 27 episode of
Raw is War, Wright debuted his "Ho’s", during a tag-match, with Nation member Mark Henry against the
Legion of Doom. The Nation lasted until around September 1998 and officially disbanded in October 1998 when Henry attacked the Nation's leader The Rock.
The Godfather (1998–2000) live show in 1999 After The Nation split up, Wright had his most successful run with the company under the hugely popular persona of "The Godfather". The Godfather character would be constantly surrounded by "
hos" – in reality girls from local
strip clubs, actresses, or up-and-coming female wrestlers (
Victoria and
Lita were the best-known wrestlers to play the role, while
Ivory was offered the role but was discouraged from accepting by
Luna Vachon). He would offer his opponents the right to use these girls for "any purpose" if they would forfeit the match to him. The Godfather first walked out with his "hos" on the July 27, 1998 episode of
Raw Is War. The
gimmick was highly popular with audiences, and he defeated
Goldust for the
WWF Intercontinental Championship on the April 12, 1999, episode of
Raw Is War. He was Owen Hart's scheduled opponent for the title at
Over the Edge; Hart was fatally injured during a live stunt prior to the match's time. The Godfather was scheduled to lose the title to Hart's character, "The Blue Blazer," that night. The Godfather would instead lose the title to Hart's tag team partner
Jeff Jarrett a week later. On the March 16, 2000, episode of
SmackDown!, he picked up the biggest win of his career, when he defeated the
WWF Champion Triple H in a non-title match, due to interference from
Shane McMahon and
Big Show.
Right to Censor (2000–2001) On the July 24 episode of
Raw is War, The Godfather faced
Bull Buchanan, member of
Steven Richards' ultra-conservative stable
Right To Censor, in which he agreed to give up pimping if he lost. Buchanan defeated The Godfather, who promptly joined the stable and renounced his former ways. He began to dress in a formal white shirt and tie, and became known as "The Goodfather". At
SummerSlam on August 27, Right to Censor defeated
Too Cool in a six-man tag team match. On the September 11 episode of
Raw is War, The Goodfather and Buchanan defeated
the Acolytes. After the match,
Val Venis attacked the Acolytes, joining the group in the process. At
Unforgiven on September 24, Right to Censor defeated the Acolytes and
the Dudley Boyz. At
No Mercy on October 22, The Goodfather and Buchanan entered into an elimination tag team tables match, which was won by the Dudley Boyz. The next night on
Raw is War,
Ivory was announced as the newest member of the group. The Goodfather and Buchanan won the
WWF Tag Team Championship from the
Hardy Boyz on the November 6 episode of
Raw is War. At
Survivor Series on November 19, The Goodfather and Buchanan teamed up with
Edge and Christian, to face the Hardys and the Dudleys in a losing effort. At
Rebellion on December 2, the duo retained the titles against the Hardys. They lost the titles to Edge and Christian at
Armageddon on December 10 in a fatal-four-way tag team match also involving
K-Kwik and
Road Dogg and the Dudley Boyz. The Goodfather entered the
2001 Royal Rumble match on January 21, 2001, at entry number 14, but was swiftly eliminated by
The Rock. At
WrestleMania X-Seven on April 1, The Goodfather, Buchanan and Venis were defeated by the APA (formerly the Acolytes) and
Tazz. Also at WrestleMania, Ivory lost the
WWF Women's Championship to
Chyna. The Goodfather would continue to team with Buchanan, until the June 17 episode of
Sunday Night Heat, where they lost to the Dudley Boyz. The last time Wright would be seen on television was where he along with Buchanan and several WWF superstars attacked invading WCW wrestlers
Chuck Palumbo and
Sean O'Haire on an episode of
SmackDown! For the remainder of the year, The Goodfather was completely absent from WWF programming.
Return of The Godfather; departure (2002) The Godfather, under his old gimmick and with his hos, returned at the
2002 Royal Rumble competing in the Rumble match. He was eliminated by
Chuck and
Christian. During the next six months, Wright competed in several television matches, usually on
Raw,
Heat and
SmackDown!s sister show
Velocity. The Godfather wrestled his final match on the June 8 episode of
Velocity, defeating
Hugh Morrus. On the October 7, 2002, episode of
Raw he made an appearance in a match between
Jerry Lawler and his former Right To Censor teammate,
Steven Richards in which the winner would get a night with the Godfather's hos. This would be his final appearance on WWE programming for the next three years as Wright was released from the WWE in December 2002.
Sporadic appearances (2005–present) On July 13, 2007, Wright returned to the ring for the first time in five years after his retirement, where he reunited with
D'Lo Brown to defeat Jeremy and Bubba Blanchard in
McMinnville, Oregon. In 2007, Wright appeared for WWE at the
Theodore Long and
Kristal Marshall wedding ceremony on the edition of September 21, 2007, of
SmackDown!, where he tried to convince Long and
Ron Simmons to go back to the old partying days they had. After they refused, Godfather left the ceremony with his Ho Train, and was accompanied by every male wrestler in attendance and commentator
John Bradshaw Layfield, leaving only
Mr. McMahon,
Jonathan Coachman,
Hornswoggle,
Gerald Brisco,
Pat Patterson,
Michael Cole and several
Divas behind. Wright reappeared on WWE television during the McMahon family portrait during
Raws 15th Anniversary on December 10, 2007, where he let Hornswoggle join his Ho Train. In January 2013, Wright made a short appearance with WWE as The Godfather at the
2013 Royal Rumble as entrant #17. He was eliminated immediately by
Dolph Ziggler. On the January 6, 2014 "Old School" edition of
Raw, Wright made an appearance alongside numerous other legends and Hall of Famers. On February 22, 2016, it was announced that Wright would be inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame class of 2016, under his Godfather persona. In June 2016, Wright appeared (as Papa Shango) on a season two episode of WWE
Swerved on the
WWE Network along with
The Boogeyman, pranking people inside a shopping mall. He appeared on January 22, 2018, at
Raws 25th anniversary show, in a backstage segment with his former teammate
Mark Henry, and his real-life wife. Later that year, Wright reprised both his Godfather and Papa Shango personas on the House Hardy Halloween special airing on the WWE Network on October 28, 2018. Wright appeared at the WWE
Raw Reunion show on July 22, 2019. On November 22, 2020, he made an appearance at
Survivor Series during The Undertaker's retirement ceremony. On February 1, 2025, he was shown at ringside amongst other legends during the
Royal Rumble.
Late career (2002–2020, 2024) tour in November 2009. In late 2009, Wright returned to wrestling to take part in
Hulk Hogan's "
Hulkamania: Let The Battle Begin" tour of
Australia. On November 21, Wright, using the new
ring name "The Pimp Fatha", teamed with
Nick Dinsmore to defeat Rock of Love (Billy Blade and Kadin Anthony) in a tag team match. On November 24,
Big Daddy Row Row defeated Pimp Fatha and
Sean Morley in a three-way match. In spring of 2014 Wright made two appearances for
Preston City Wrestling in
England, as Papa Shango working against local star Bubblegum on both nights. In October 2014 at
Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling (ECCW) Halloween Hell, Wright teamed with his old partner, Val Venis to face the team of then-
ECCW Tag Team Champions Jordie Taylor and Daniel Adonis and the team of Ladies Choice and Eric Locker in a three-way elimination tag team match, but unsuccessful. Wright would step down from wrestling in March 2020 when
COVID-19 hit. On April 26, 2024, Wright returned as Papa Shango when he defeated This Guy in Burwood East, New South Wales, Australia for Battle Championship Wrestling. == Professional wrestling style and persona ==