The Reverend Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 News filtering in that James Harris aka Kamala has passed away. Very sad but not a real shock as he has been in serious ill health for years. A long time favourite of mine, the man had an amazing career - World of Sport, Memphis, WWF, NWA, WCW, WCCW and so many others, he literally popped up in almost every promotion. In his prime he really came across the biggest, scariest heel. It's a testament to how well he played the character that he managed to get over three decades out of it. RIP Kamala Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Lenin Posted August 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2020 (edited) Very sad news, rough few years for him but one of those who everyone spoke highly of outside of the ring. Terrified me as a youngster, the "Ugandan Giant" came across as a legit badass the way The Headshrinkers did in the early 90s. RIP. Edited August 10, 2020 by Suplex Sinner Context Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westlondonmist Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 I remember he scared me shirtless as a kid. Watch the audience, I definitely wasn't the only one. He was very ill and had both legs amputated, so I'm not surprised but it's sad all the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted August 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2020 i still go and watch random Kamala videos on youtube from time to time, one of my favorite gimmicks ever. It's one of those ones that always taps into that nostalgic bug inside of me. RIP big man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobra_gordo Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Add me to the list of those who were shit-scared of him as a kid but was also one of their favourites. He definitely had an aura about him in WWF as this monster that Wippleman and Kim Chee were just able to keep under control and that made him even more watchable for me. His selling was fantastic aswell, particularly his facial expressions. Watch him at Summerslam 92 when Taker sits up, looks like he's seen a ghost. As others have said, I've almost been expecting this for a while but it's still really sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitseleh Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 I watched Survivor Series 1992 not too long ago and his match with Undertaker was a blast. It obviously wasn't a workrate classic by any means, but Kamala was fantastic at putting over his fear of caskets with some fantastic facial expressions. He was probably the most enjoyable of all the monster heels that Undertaker was forced to feud with during the first part of his career. RIP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Cod Eye Posted August 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2020 The way he went balls deep into the Kamala gimmick made me a believer. Even when things clicked inside my head that wrestling was all a show, I I refused to believe that Kamala wasn't some savage they found in the middle of a jungle. Big loss that many of the current and next generation of wrestlers should study to teach themselves how to commit to a gimmick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snitsky's back acne Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Kamala worked because, as has been said, the man behind it was so good. His mannerisms, facial expressions and body movements were just exceptional and he truly made you believe he was a savage from the swamps of Uganda. As scary as he was as a heel he also played a really good naive, sympathetic babyface. His run as the exploited and abused Kamala in 1993 was really under-rated from a character perspective and vignettes like the one below were a lot of fun. RIP Kamala. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Reverend Posted August 10, 2020 Author Share Posted August 10, 2020 I'll add as well that if you're looking for a good read then his book 'Kamala Talks' is well worth picking up. To be honest I wasn't expecting much from it, but it's one of my favourite wrestling autobiographies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 He was so believable, looked like he was just trying to hurt people and wrestled unconvincingly, splash on the back etc. Been sad reading about his health issues when by all accounts he was a good soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 BBC News article Harris is not to be confused with California Democratic Senator Kamala Harris, who is currently in the running to be Joe Biden's pick for vice-president in November's election. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2020 Sad to hear this. I watched his shoot interview a year or so ago and was pleasantly surprised. Don’t know what i expected going in but I found him really likeable and quite funny. I’d recommend it if you can find it. Not going to pretend I was a huge fan or anything but it was a great gimmick and look. You certainly didn’t forget him in a hurry the first time you saw him. This was impressive whenever he’d bust it out as well; Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffbag Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 Had the Jerry Lawler podcast on recently where they were discussing Kimala's debut promo shot on the Jarrett property Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members mim731 Posted August 10, 2020 Paid Members Share Posted August 10, 2020 Just re-watched the match Kamala had with Undertaker at Summerslam 1992 and he's so good. His selling of the post match comeback from Undertaker is fantastic. His facials, his timing, even throwing in a comedy fall while running away, makes Taker look like an unstoppable monster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegeta Posted August 10, 2020 Share Posted August 10, 2020 R.I.P Kamala Echo the above where he scared me as a child and how believable he was as his character. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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