WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry “The King” Lawler was interviewed on Monday’s Busted Open Radio. Lawler is the person who gave James Harris the Kamala gimmick back when Harris was working in the Memphis territory.
Here are a couple of highlights from the interview:
Lawler talked about Kamala’s paint when the gimmick first started: “For the first 6 months every night, I would have to paint the makeup on him. I would paint his face and the teeth over the mouth. It took him about 6 months before he was comfortable before he started doing the makeup himself. I was glad when he finally learned how to do it himself. But he was perfect at it (performing the gimmick).
Note: There is a GoFundMe set up to help Harris’ family with funeral expenses. You can click here if you would like to find out more on how you can help the family.
Lawler talked about the lost art of selling: “As far as selling, my philosophy has always been if you get two guys in a match that are trying to outsell each other, you’re going to have a great match. That is what I always enjoyed doing in my matches. I would sell. If you look at some of the most important people or some of the biggest stars in the business, when you think of Hulk Hogan, you think of him showing the guns and Hulking up and all that kind of stuff. But, if you go back and really watch Hulk Hogan’s matches, he sold. I mean he sold probably 80% of the match until he got to the point where he Hulked up, made the comeback and then the finish. I think that’s the thing that is lost today. Matches have become moves and highspots rather than selling and telling a story.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Busted Open Radio with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription. Busted Open Radio can be heard on SiriusXM’s Fight Nation (Channel 156), Monday through Saturday from 9 am to Noon eastern.
