Slick On Why WWE Stopped Treating One Man Gang Well, Who Came Up With The Akeem Gimmick
Former WWE manager Slick was a ringside staple during The Golden Age of Wrestling during the 80s and 90s. He managed many Superstars including One Man Gang whose character did a 180 and turned into Akeem "The African Dream" where he teamed with Big Boss Man to form the Twin Towers.
Slick joined Prime Time with Sean Mooney to discuss WWE's treatment of George Gray who portrayed Akeem.
"I thought George was treated unfairly in the WWE," revealed Slick. "We even talked about that yesterday, and to some degree, it was [George's] fault because, right in the middle of having a big, big push with Hogan, he requested some time off. He had a young kid, and my kids were just a little bit older than George's... young kid, maybe 3 or 4, and he just missed his wife and kid, you know? And Vince has given you the big push that everybody wants.
"After that, I thought Vince was extremely brutal in his dealings with George. George was a former world champion in the UWF and everything. He was a big star in World Class, everywhere he went, you know? But they brutalized him and butchered his career and I always thought it was in retaliation for that."
Akeem's character likely wouldn't pass in today's environment as it seemed more of a stereotype than anything else. Slick talked about convincing George Gray to become Akeem amid the One Man Gang character becoming irrelevant.
"Vince would not have achieved, in my humble opinion, the gigantically enormous success that he has, without being an opportunist," said Slick. "They were really getting ready to end the One Man Gang contract. So when I came up, I went to George, cause we were very close, and I said, 'Man, I think I came up with a way to convince Vince of how you can really blow up and make money.' He's about making money, you know? And I said, 'We'll just call you Akeem, say you're from Africa. You come to the ring dancing, and acting black, it'll go over.'
"So I went to him... he was enamored by it. That's how that came about, and that added another two or three years to George's career."
Another Superstar that Slick managed was Rick Martel right after he turned heel following the dissolution of Strike Force. The pairing didn't last long and splitting them up was for the better according to Slick.
"Rick Martel liked me as a person, but he did not like me professionally. He thought I took away from him, rather than add to him. He pretty much ended our time together by going to Vince and saying 'this just isn't working.' He wasn't really used to having a manager," said Slick.
"When Vince came to notify me, I was relieved, because I didn't think it was going any place anyway."