I tweeted a link to this video earlier, but I wanted to expand on the idea here: twenty years ago this month, Canadian-born but Mexico-famous wrestler Ian Hodgkinson, better known as Vampiro, helped bring horror-punk pioneers The Misfits into World Championship Wrestling. This isn't the Glenn Danzig fronted version of the band that released the group's classic catalog of music, but the American Psycho and Famous Monsters era group that featured Michael Graves on vocals, Dr. Chud on drums, and Danzig-era members Jerry Only (bass) and Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein (guitar).
Vampiro invited the band to join him ringside for a match, and WCW signed the band as performers. They didn't play any music, but they accompanied Vampiro to the ring for several appearances and occasionally got involved in the action, as seen in this match between Vampiro and The Wall. Yes. The wrestler's name was The Wall. He was the muscle for a guy named Berlyn. I feel like naming a wrestler "The Wall" these days would have a different connotation. There would probably be some running joke about the new wrestler "The Wall" appearing soon, but he just never shows up, or something equally painful. Anyway, here's Vampiro, accompanied by The Misfits, versus The Wall:
As in most things, the action behind the scenes was a lot more interesting than what was going on in front of the audience, as the situation quickly drifted out of hand. Jerry Only slapped WCW with a cease and desist order against the company using their music or imagery, and Doyle walked away from the scene with Macho Man Randy Savage's girlfriend.
The whole affair has long fascinated me. Will there be more to tell? Perhaps...
