Charles Wright (wrestler)

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Charles Wright
Statistics
Ring name(s)	The Godfather The Goodfather Kama Kama Mustafa Papa Shango Sir Charles The Soultaker
Billed height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Billed weight	265 lb (120 kg)
Born	May 16, 1961 Las Vegas, Nevada
Billed from	The Red Light District
Trained by	Larry Sharpe
Debut	September 16, 1989
Retired	2000s

Charles Dobson Wright (born May 16, 1961) is an American businessperson and retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather and The Goodfather.

1 Career
2 Wrestling facts
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 External links

[edit] Career

Wright trained under Larry Sharpe, debuting on September 16, 1989 in the Memphis, Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA) as The Soultaker, a voodoo practitioner. On October 23, 1989, Wright won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, defeating Jerry Lawler. Lawler would regain the title on November 6, 1989.

In the early 1990s, Wright debuted in the World Wrestling Federation. He briefly wrestled as Sir Charles, with the ring name a reference to both National Basketball Association power forward Charles Barkley and Wright's own high school and college basketball career.

In 1992, Wright was repackaged as Papa Shango, a voodoo priest who carried a smoking skull to the ring and "cast spells" upon his opponents, causing them to vomit and convulse. He attacked Hulk Hogan during his match with Sid Justice at WrestleMania VIII, and feuded with Ultimate Warrior and Bret Hart. In the course of his time as Papa Shango, Wright returned to the USWA and defeated Lawler for the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship for a second time on May 3, 1993. He lost the title to Owen Hart on June 21, 1993.

In 1995, Wright was renamed "The Supreme Fighting Machine" Kama and given the gimmick of a shoot fighter. Wright joined Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Corporation and began a feud with The Undertaker by stealing The Undertaker's signature funerary urn as WrestleMania XI and converting it into a necklace. The feud culminated in a casket match at SummerSlam 1995 that Wright lost.

In 1997, Wright was renamed Kama Mustafa and added to the Nation of Domination, a stable of African American wrestlers. The Nation of Domination feuded with the Puerto Rican Los Boricuas and the Caucasian Disciples of Apocalypse. In 1998, The Rock seized control of the Nation of Domination from Faarooq, and the stable began feuding with D-Generation X.

In mid-1998, Wright was renamed The Godfather and given the gimmick of a pimp. He would frequently be accompanied to ringside by a varying number of "hos" (typically portrayed by local actresses or strippers or by newly debuted female wrestlers). In 1999, Wright won the WWF Intercontinental Championship and formed short-lived tag teams with Val Venis, Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown.

In 2000, Wright joined the Right to Censor faction, a conservative group of wrestlers lead by Steven Richards. As a member of Right to Censor, Wright abandoned his "hos" and adopted the ring name The Goodfather. Wright formed a tag team with fellow Right to Censor member Bull Buchanan, winning the WWF World Tag Team Championship. The Right to Censor group disbanded in early 2001 after suffering a loss at WrestleMania X-Seven, with the members of the stable removed from television for the remainder of the year.

In 2002, Wright returned to the WWF, competing in the Royal Rumble as The Godfather and once again accompanied by his "hos". Wright claimed to have gone "legitimate" by forming a legal escort agency. He was released from the WWF later that year, retiring from professional wrestling soon thereafter. He returned to the WWF for one night (since renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment") at Vengeance 2005, convincing Viscera to reject the proposal of Lilian Garcia by offering him the services of his "hos".

Wright is now the general manager of the Cheetah's strip club in Las Vegas, Nevada.