The Godfather on Papa Shango, Ultimate Warrior & Why He Was Sir Charles for 2 WWF Matches

[@dont_follow5777]

Such a gracious interview. He has a great attitude. Loved the Papa Shango gimmick.

[@davidpatriot1082]

i too loved that gimmick and wish it lasted longer

[@All_Hallows_End]

Living in the same city as The Godfather, I've had the honor of bumping into him a few times. Years and years ago I worked package pickup at Sears and brought a treadmill he purchased to his truck. I talked to him for at least 15 minutes and forgot I had a shift to complete. He's the must humble and down to earth guy

[@PAPITOFLOW6969]

where does papa shango live las vegas??

[@SkeletorTclaws]

Papa shango was one of my favorite characters. Loved his feud with the warrior .that was actually the reason why I started watching wrestling again back in the day. Seeing the warrior succumb to black magic was awesome.

[@honestabe6610]

I thought it was real as a kid 😂 I was like holy crap the Warrior was taken out by voodoo. I loved it man

[@1BoiHot]

lol

[@dontreldontrel416]

@Dante Carroll it definitely was a catchy one

[@pandavelli8176]

I was mortified, I was 100% convinced Warrior was going to die from voodoo poisoning or snake bites lol

[@markoutwithmark]

Man, he seems like the coolest possible dude to burn one with and hear amazing wrestling stories from the road.

[@elijahsenner3736]

Smoking while watching and thought the same thing

[@burntvirtue]

Nah. He's a shitty storyteller TBH. His personality is too dry.

[@gonzo6596]

Check him out in the “Smokebox” with B-Real 😑💨

[@da8476]

The best

[@damongardiner4133]

I saw the warrior vs Papa Shango at my local arena back in the day with my grandpa. it was lean times for the wrestling industry at the time. the warrior and papa were holding the whole federation up thru the bad times. i saw them twice and they were not the best matches but they defiantly were the matches of the night. thank you for such great memories of my grandpa and wrestling in the 90s

[@ADAM_COLLECTS]

Great flow of questions. Letting him answer, not telling him or guiding him into a situation, no (as far as I can tell) tiptoeing around stuff... you get (what presents) as honesty out of your interviewees. Kudos. More please.

[@WSI]

Thanks, more on the way!

[@JasonSum1979]

always like The Godfather but, as a human being he seems to be just a good guy! Major respect for not letting Pro Wrestling break him

[@craigwilson3532]

His shoots are a good listen, very fluid and good voice

[@phonseng-hs6tp]

When you nailing a white women they are all happy these black dudes. It’s the one who stuck black women are the aggressive one

[@ronfrank09]

I have met him twice. Once at a CVS pharmacy in New Orleans and once at wrestlemania axxess. Extremely nice guy

[@jaymz010]

As someone of Caribbean heritage, Papa Shango scared the crap outta me as a kid. We knew The Undertaker wasn’t really the Lord Of Darkness, but Voodoo & the Loa were very real to us. Then we saw what he did to the Ultimate Warrior....😧😨😱

[@StuUngar]

People give Warrior a lot of shit, but he really helped Undertaker get over when he first started and he did his best to get Papa Shango over as a legitimate threat. The Undertaker was really the only feud Warrior had where the heel was a legitimate threat to the Warrior.

[@zamiel3]

The Warrior was shite. Pointing to merch sales doesn't change his poor abilities. Merch was geared toward children. Hey, the Teletubbies sold more merch. Let's put them in the ring, that will work out. Right? smh

[@StuUngar]

@@zamiel3 That’s one of the dumbest comparisons Ive ever heard. You could apply that nonsensical logic to anything that’s popular and has nothing to do with wrestling. “Hey, Seinfeld is popular. Let’s do Seinfeld in a wrestling ring.....Hey, Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Barkley, and Shaq are the best sports show on tv. Let’s make Inside the NBA the main event at Wrestlemania!”

[@zamiel3]

@Brandon Horror Collector "When I was much younger....much worse on the indy". Exactly my point.

[@zamiel3]

@@StuUngar /woosh

[@StuUngar]

@@zamiel3 No, I get it. It was just dumb. Incredibly dumb.

[@mk1r449]

NICE INTERVIEW WOW!! He looks great!!! I was a former wrestler myself...I met this man at a bar near Toronto Airport in 2000. We had great conversation!!! He gave me the number to WWF Talent Relations (Head Office) Stamford, Connecticut. This helped me become involved in their developmental system for years. SIMPLY... A SPECIAL HUMAN BEING!!!! THE MOST POSITIVE INDIVIDUAL THAT I HAVE EVER MET IN OR OUT OF THE BUSINESS. Charles....Wishing you prosperity, happiness, good health and long life!!!! BRA, Keep Shining Your Light!!! 🌞 🙏❤

[@wswan81]

I always heard The Godfather was a good honest, down to earth guy. His work in WWE always made me a fan of his. Now, these interviews confirm those thought, god bless sir. And thanks for bringing this interview to the public.

[@atlasandkittycat]

Papa Shango was one of my favorite characters

[@itz-luigi1210]

He needs to come out with a strain of medical weed called poppa shango

[@81rbutler]

Papa

[@ajk]

@@81rbutler WWE might sue him if he tried that name.

[@AngelSanchez-zp7uj]

better yet called pop a chango

[@81rbutler]

@@ajk That's true

[@BoxingPlayHouse]

Good ideal

[@jerryjanik480]

Papa Shango with one of my favorite characters WWE back in the day in the WWF back in the day in the early 90s

[@StuUngar]

I saw Papa Shango vs Warrior at a house show and later Bret. The main thing I remember is the smell of that smoke that came from his voodoo skull. The smell was rank af.

[@StuUngar]

@@tomadjarm3302 It’s been so long. We’re talking 28 or 29 years ago. I just remember it was very pungent and foul. Not a rotting smell, but very foul.

[@LALakersNornIron]

Papa Shango was a great gimmick. Cool look and Charles Wright pulled it off so well. The story about Vince telling him to go watch Live and Let Die is so cool.

[@NickBFTD]

Papa Shango making warrior vomit is the earliest memory I have of wrestling, I was watching before that but that is the first specific moment I can remember happening.

[@paneason]

He comes across as one if the most genuine people out of all wrestlers

[@dnakatomiuk]

Him and taker are the best of friends the tales he told during his Last Ride doc were funny

[@bold810]

He's talking about Geoffrey Wright , it WAS the UN-Cola! 😅😅😂😂

[@leviclark3822]

THE GODFATHER is the only one outside of 'TAKER who still looks the same as he did since his prime

[@Number1WuFan]

I'm sorry but saying the Taker looks the same as he did in his prime is almost like and I'm saying "almost" like saying HBK looks the same. Nothing against taker he's def aged but it took a while for him to age. He seemed to have aged properly and doesn't look bad but he def doesn't look the same like you had mentioned 🤣😂

[@martyc909]

It's that weed man. Look at Snoop. Weed is a preservative.

[@MalikJahrome]

@@martyc909 RVD too, maybe you are onto something

[@killerjoe5628]

In Taker's case it helped that he was ugly as a young man. I can't account for Godfather.

[@christophermcguire6440]

Taker the same? Ummm... ok, minus all the hair I guess.

[@jameslamonica8972]

Thank you for not bashing Warrior.. Thank you, Mr Charles

[@ultracartoonartist7635]

This guy was so over as a villian back in the day that my mom caught me watching one of his matches on vhs and douced it with holywater.. Charles Wright played a great character.

[@eugenedantzler4485]

Lmfao

[@samuelrodriguez9673]

Thank you to Papa Shango for the respect that he shows for the other fellow wrestlers he's never talked bad about anybody that I know of when everybody talk bad about the warrior here he is saying there was nothing that he can pull out of his hat he was cool with him and that's pretty cool cuz everybody try to put them down after he died there's not a wrestler alive that talk crap about the warrior thank you for your honesty warrior Nation appreciates it

[@nickm393]

It's usually the guys who aren't marks for themselves that liked the Warrior. They know wrestling is just a business at the end of the day.

[@heelturnsface]

Weed seems to have kept his head straight 😂

[@allandodson9241]

As a 6 year old, the soultaker, papa shango and the undertaker scared the hell out of me, especially when papa shango made the ultimate warrior bleed and undertaker had guys in body bags. MANE!

[@Righteousone18]

I was absolutely terrified of Papa Shango as a kid. Especially when he put a curse on the Warrior

[@craigmitchell1657]

Papa Shango excellent character.

[@Halbared]

I would have bet that Vince originally wanted Papa for a Hulk run before Hulk sodded off.

[@lionelt7882]

Even though Shango and Warrior never resolved their feud on PPV, Warrior getting cursed is still one of the most memorable moments in Golden Era WWF history. Right up there with Macho getting bit by the snake during his wedding.

[@vandamation]

Easily, one of the nicest dudes on the planet. I met him at a BBQ spot in Vegas. He was with some GIGANTIC dude and they were the nicest... coolest... most chill people Ive ever met. Salute to Godfather and his BIG ASS HOMEBOY.

[@rudyrusso711]

Great to see My man PAPA SHANGO again...always was a big fan of his!! 🤘🤘

[@bonebreakingaction6815]

These have been great ive been watching . I've seen many interviews with Godfather and this interview was the best.

[@aaronroyal9449]

The Un-Cola. 7-Up. Omg. Great blast from the past.

[@craigwilson3532]

His shoots are a good listen. He's fluid and has a good voice

[@mikeuscila9520]

Papa shongo was awesome back in the day loved the gimmick and intro music too....

[@hasanicoward4425]

Yeah I remember the guy who was in the 7up commercials from the 70's to sometime in the early 80's

[@robertduncombe7684]

Geoffrey Holder, passed in 2014 RIP

[@hasanicoward4425]

@@robertduncombe7684 yeah I remember seeing him in 3 movies the 007 movie they talked about was my first favorite and he also was in Annie and Boomerang with Eddie Murphy before he passed. R.I.P

[@alexmartin3143]

I was a big Papa Shango mark...

[@georgepyle6887]

He sounds real cool like the act of Godfather. I would have never known he was the act of Papa Shango until last year 2020 dispite I had WM 8 on pay per view in April,1992.

[@jesincere8589]

He's so real. I watched him through Soultaker, Papa Shango, Comma, Comma Mustapha and Godfather. Best promo' ever when Warrior threw up the green fluid vs Shango.

[@WallKenshiro]

Why 'Taker and Shango weren't a team or long time rivalry is a mystery I'll never work out. Biggest wasted opportunity ever.

[@FreneticZetetic]

I was 4 in 1992 and Papa Shango was my favorite wrestler ever lol

[@ZBR_ProXP]

My buddies and I were all 9 yrs old and we all loved him

[@TheBC313]

@@ZBR_ProXP When i was 9 he scared the shit out of me. In fact when he put the curse on Mean Gene it scared me so much i had to leave the room. My mate David looked at me like "you big sissy". Quite rightly too.

[@ZBR_ProXP]

@@TheBC313 lol. Undertaker scared me. Especially when he closed Warrior into the coffin. The Macho Man snake segment was gnarly, too.

[@keithderinger7140]

Balls

[@chrisreid688]

I was 5 in 92 taker and shongo scared the shit out of me lol

[@Halbared]

Loved Papa Shango, Kama and most of Charle’s gimmicks. I think he has the most in the WWF.

[@phenomenl1style]

Barry Darsow.....most characters in the E

[@Halbared]

@@phenomenl1style Papa had five, how many did Barry have?

[@Hornblas189]

He was a constant superstar...no matter the Gimmick. Always loved his work.

[@evensout]

wow, this guy is grounded, and seems just a good guy to know...

[@MxMoondoggie]

He seems like a cool guy to hang out with, tells some great stories. Good attitude about the wrestling business too, never become a mark for yourself or the business and make your money then leave on your terms. Some of these guys never go away and wrestle long after their prime, they become crippled being marks for the business because they want to keep their name out there. Doesn't matter who you work with, if you win or lose it's about getting into a program that makes money because people will pay to see it. Marks care who the champion is and who beats who and that's why they buy a ticket. If you're a wrestler and YOU care about that stuff you have problems.

[@therealjd4life]

Papa Shango almost caused me to quit watching wrestling forever...I did for 3 years and came back after I heard Hogan turned heel in 1996, I have been hooked again ever since, and I'm all in on AEW today...

[@noskoolikeoldskool]

Imagine getting Papa Shango vs Boogeyman.

[@cpesq.5884]

Or as a stable with the fiend

[@Musiclover19]

From an in ring work rate, that sounds awful. It sounds great in every other way.

[@oludotunjohnshowemimo434]

His name was Geoffrey Holder who played Baron Samedi in Live an Let Die

[@JuniorLewingKoo]

I love the Papa Shango gimmick. The Voodoo man character was awesome. WWE needs the Papa Shango now.

[@lezzlove4841]

That part when he made ultimate warrior throw up was the $#!+!!

[@JM1993951]

I was always surprised that Warrior sold the curse.

[@ChriS-vu7bd]

What a great career The Godfather had ,Pappa Shango used crack me up as teenager ,he's wrestled everywhere and alot Legends, very impressive interview

[@ryiin]

The papa shango used to scare me to death. I was 5.

[@Bellthorian]

The WWE WASTED Papa Shango. That gimmick could have been huge. I would have written a story line where Papa Shango used his Voodoo to take control of the Undertaker and make him do all kinds of heal stuff. The Undertaker would try to resist making him a sympathetic figure to the fans but the Voodoo priests mastery over the dead would compel him to obey. Eventually Paul Bearer would find a way to break the spell setting up the feud.

[@mikeuscila9520]

Dude 100% agree papa shongo was pretty awesome back in the 90,s too....

[@dallashuard4370]

i wanna see papa shango one more time

[@mikeuscila9520]

Dude oh hell yeah that would be awesome sometime.....

[@sheriffofrockridge9095]

Godfather seems like a nice guy

[@samuelrodriguez9673]

Well what a cool cat this guy never talks bad about anybody I've never seen him put anybody down just a good person with a baby face so cool to see him.

[@jimsarny1]

Cool interview nice hearing from one of the greats

[@eklypised]

Always liked Papa Shango as a kid

[@philsoro491]

Godfather the type of chap u could just randomly approach & shoot the shit with, super cool dude haha

[@jerichobeach2967]

I like that he had the chance to be just like everyone else by trashing on the warrior without consequence but instead he had nothing bad to say about him

[@thejmc4074]

I love listening to this guy.

[@lee9655]

I've just had an idea, imagine if papa shango teamed up with the fiend with a couple of other characters as a stable?? That would be Intresting.

[@HanzLO88]

Throw in “The Boogyman.”

[@kendrickcooperimmarshallte2142]

This is wrestling history right here!

[@TheHaloRed]

The 7Up "uncola" man was Geoffrey Holder (RIP).

[@ThriftShopHustler]

Im not a mark and didn't even realize Godfather was also Papa Shango...

[@SurgeCess]

Papa Shango did one promo that scared the heck out of me, seemed legit

[@MarioLabot]

Papa Shango putting a hex in Mean Gene in WWF Superstars made me give pause.

[@Josh_J91]

Pappa shango is the biggest ever missed opportunity of a character that shit would scare me and my brother so much as kids haha

[@redraptor9688]

I loved the Papa Shango gig

[@tweezee]

Papa Shango should have been a member of the Ministry of Darkness. Missed opportunity 😣

[@Musiclover19]

Missed opportunity?? My ass. He was mega over as The Godfather and was getting tons of TV time. Everyone in the Ministry were nothing more than minions for the Undertaker (part of the reason to get the Brood away from them, they were better off as the trio of the Brood than being just more faces in Taker’s putty patrol.). He was much better off still rocking The Godfather gimmick at the time.

[@defmaster88]

Papa Shango, Kama The Fighting Machine, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, The Goodfather..... This man has excelled at all characters he's played & he's down to earth..... Cool!

[@crazyralph6386]

Jeffery Holder played Baron Samedi. Never realized how big this dude was when playing Papa Shango/The Godfather. Like Andre the Giant, Charles of the few wrestlers at the time who could climb over the ropes, instead of under in order to get into the ring.

[@neilsun2521]

Totally agree with him about the importance of live fans.

[@JuniorLewingKoo]

I love the Papa Shango gimmick and character. WWE need another PAPA SHANGO run..

[@marcusmaxwell9487]

This is like one of my first wrestling memories right along with Elizabeth will you marry me I swear I thought he really killed ultimate warrior

[@Vernonu9]

Make no mistake about it. That Warrior voodoo curse interview disturbed me for decades.

[@Kevo1993]

The Godfather truly seems like a cool ass dude to hang with

[@rudyrusso711]

Bravo again James!! Great podcast brother!

[@chrisskalski7292]

Gotta love his outlook on pro wrestling.

[@Hornblas189]

Papa Shango was an Amazing gimmick. I think of the match with Ultimate warrior often. It was an amazing match.

[@RJTheAlternative1]

3:11 lol

[@jamesb5764]

I’ve now watched several snippets of this interview... I gotta say; If any wrestler has a problem with Charles Wright, that wrestler is most likely a major asshat. Godfather seems to be the most chill badass I’ve ever seen and heard. Just an all around good dude that could rip someone’s arm off if the situation arose.

[@TheRightone177]

Taker stole his gimmick......he (Charles) was the soul taker.

[@mattfuncam7224]

Weed cough.

[@herogibson]

Man when I was a kid I remember papa shango scaring me a lot more than the undertaker. Even as a child/pre teen, I knew there was no way taker was actually undead. But I believed papa shango could be, and probably was, legit.

[@cobracyxx8808]

I always loved Kama "The Fighting Machine", Papa or "The Godfather".

[@brizzchizz7302]

This guy has a magnetic personality. Cool cat

[@ADG.Est.1988]

A bizarre stable. Boogeyman. Mankind. Papa shango and goldust.

[@JRWeezy84]

Love to hear his details about the actions that led to him being late running out to wm7

[@Number1WuFan]

People said that Warrior was racist. Much like Hulk Hogan though some of the brothas will tell you they were cool with Warrior on a personal level. Bad News Brown liked Warrior as well. Not stressing the race issue I'm just sayin

[@johndawhale3197]

Warrior was not a racist.

[@Svankmajer]

Who said Warrior was a racist?

[@slayer1613]

It was pretty shocking back in 2015 when Hogan said the racist remarks. Hogan weirdly enough has had a lot of black friends: MR.T, Shaquille O'Neal, Dennis Rodman, Booker T's brother Stevie Ray, Kamala, and Virgil. Before that incident happened. He also worked in movies with: Carl Weather's, Deebo as well as in the ring, Sherman Helmsley and Jackee.

[@joshdouglas1332]

@@slayer1613 wow, you're obsessed with black men hey

[@Jukeboxster]

well, I'm not saying who is a racist and who isn't, but someone can be outwardly friendly towards minorities and still be a racist. Relatively few of them will be open with their innermost feelings

[@tonypastor705]

For a long time I didn’t know that Papa Shongo and Godfather were the same person.

[@magazineretriever9036]

It’s interesting to hear that from the very beginning, Vince McMahon had such a limited run planned for the Papa Shango character.

[@spencer9093]

What a great dude!

[@derricklogan2058]

Geoffrey Holder was The Un-Cola Man and the Big Voodoo Guy in Live And Let Die.

[@bonesmalone5701]

Is that a Taylor guitar in the background?

[@doubletroubledad1323]

Would love to find a picture of what he looked like using the Sir Charles gimmick.

[@spockb1186]

Papa Shango was CREEPY.. But, The GODFATHER is The Face and The Intercontinental Champion!

[@kelman727]

Seems hard to believe there are people who like the Papa Shango gimmick more than The Godfather.