"If you don't want to be part of this sh*t then don't" - Charles "Godfather" Wright on The Rock joining the Nation of Domination in WWE
WWE Hall of Famer Charles Wright is best known as The Godfather, but he also went by many other monikers. One such character was Kama Mustafa who was part of the Nation of Domination.
The Nation of Domination was a faction very loosely based on the Nation of Islam and the Black Panthers. Founded by Ron "Farooq" Simmons in 1996 the group was hugely influential in The Rock and Mark Henry's careers.
In a recent interview with "Scheduled for Two Falls", Wright spoke about his inclusion in one of WWE's most important factions and how it all came about.
"For some reason they convinced me to come back as Papa Shango but it was going to be a lot different. I show up to TV and they said Vince wants to talk to you. I was like "cool". So I went into Vince and he said "Charles, change of plans. Tonight we're going to put you in the Nation. You're going to wrestle with Ron Simmons against the Undertaker in a handicap match, and you're going to go over. We made you a little outfit. So why don't you get with Mark and Ron and work something out and we'll talk later"
As Kama Mustafa, Wright's second main incarnation in WWE, he was added to the group along with the first black WWE Intercontental Champion, Ahmed Johnson in 1997. Despite this huge opportunity, Johnson was apparently difficult to work with and wouldn't listen to the advice of his peers, which led a legitimate beatdown.
"We try not to include Ahmed in that group. The thing is, we all tried to help each other. We tried to help D'lo. When Mark Henry arrived he was really green and we tried to help him. We tried to do that with Ahmed Johnson and he wouldn't listen. He was only in the business a year and he knew more than us who were in the business a long time. That was his problem. He wouldn't listen. He knew everything and so we got him out of the Nation quick. When we jumped him out of the Nation, we really beat his a** for real. Ron Simmons was hitting him so hard with his belt that I actually said "Ron lighten up, Ron lighten up". Ron was like "Ohhhhhhhhhhhh no, I'm gonna get him some"
WWE Legend The Rock joined the Nation of Domination in 1997.
After Johnson's ejection from the group, he was replaced by third generation WWE Superstar The Rock, who according to Wright was not fully invested at the beginning of his run.
"He refused to wear the hat, then he refused to wear the colours, so we were like "look listen if you don't want to be part of this sh*t then don't. Get the f**k out. We don't care. We're doing you a favour. So he ended up putting a black/green thing on his tights. After that, he was cool man."
During his time with the Nation of Domination, The Rock became WWE Intercontinental Champion and a bonafide megastar.
What do you make of Charles Wright's comments on The Rock and the Nation of Domination? Sound off in the comments below.