Almost 18 years ago, I had the honor and the prvilege of attending a World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) house show, in which the main event pitted the Ultimate Warrior against the mysterious Papa Shango. This match took place at the Los Angeles Sports Arena on Friday, June 12, 1992.
Truth be told—Papa Shango scared the hell outta me, because in the weeks prior to his match with the Warrior—who made a shocking return at WrestleMania VIII, the mysterious voodoo preist put a wicked curse on the Warrior, so much so, that Warrior suffered severe abdominal pain, and even had evil black goo dripping from his forehead.
Shango did not stop there; he placed his evil curse on the likes of preliminary wrestlers such as Brian Brieger, Rock Warner, and Chris Hahn. Shango even placed a curse on commentator Mean Gene Okerlund. I was so scared of Papa Shango that at one point, I begged my mom not to buy tickets to the house show. I soon changed my mind when I found out that Crush was making his return that same evening, but I wanted to leave prior to the main event, because Papa Shango vowed to place a curse on all of the Ultimate Warrior’s fans. My mom’s response: “I paid over 30 dollars for those damn tickets—we’re staying for the whole event.
Admittedly, I was a Warrior fan, but when the Warrior bolted to ringside, I didn’t say “Hey,” “Cat,” “Dog,” or nothin’! I sat my ass in that chair and just looked on in sheer awe. I was afraid that if Shango heard me cheering for Warrior, then he would hex me. The fans around me were cheering for the Warrior, yet I stayed stoic. I must admit, though, that I was glad that Warrior defeated Papa Shango, but I kept it to myself. On the way home, my mom and my cousins asked me why I so silent during the main event. When I explained my reasons for being silent, they laughed at me, naturally.
Here we are in the new millennium, and looking back on it now, I must give props to Warrior and Shango, because they kept my interest high. Even though this was a storyline, Papa Shango’s character was too believable for me.
