It’s not that often when metal creeps its way into mainstream pop culture. So when metal/hard rock acts do actually pop up in beloved sitcoms, dramatic films, cartoons or even reality series, it’s kind of awesome. So in the weekly column Remember When, Metal Insider recalls the most random instances of metal’s elite appearing in front of the camera.
Alright, so hard rock and heavy metal have a long history with pro wrestling. There have been plenty of bands who performed at PPV wrestling matches, escorted wrestlers down the aisle to matches, and even played the Star-Spangled Banner at shows. Hell, the WWE even released a soundtrack of wrestlers’ entrance music performed by modern hard rock bands. But in 1999, WCW convinced an iconic punk outfit to actually get into the ring and wrestle…
Right around the time Famous Monsters came out, the Misfits formed an alliance on WCW with wrestler Vampiro (who also formed a separate stable with the ICP… notice a theme here?). But Jerry Only and crew didn’t just walk Vampiro down the ring, or simply give him an entrance theme song. In fact, the band (which at the time also consisted of singer Michale Graves, guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein and drummer Dr. Chud) actually partook in many of Vampiro’s matches and promos, often helping him attack his opponents in and out of the ring. Only even wrestled in a steel cage match during the band’s short tenure on WCW.
According to Vampiro himself, having the Misfits on WCW was his idea when the company’s creative team had nothing to offer him story line wise (though according to Doyle, he thought it was going to just be an on-air performance of the wrestler’s entrance music). Vampiro also claims that the Misfits’ time on WCW came to an end as a result of Only (who apparently got really into the idea of wrestling) getting pretty banged up during his cage match, as well as Doyle falling in love with “Macho Man” Randy Savage’s then manager/girlfriend Gorgeous George (the two eventually married and formed the group Gorgeous Frankenstein, before divorcing in 2013).
Since the band’s time in the ring, Only has been focused on recording and touring with his own incarnation of the Misfits, though this year he’ll do something even more shocking than wrestling: perform with Glenn Danzig. Say what you will about the Misfits’ stint in WCW, at least it went better than KISS’ attempts.
Watch some highlights of the Misfits’ run in the WCW below.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UQCUlOx14o[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/ssmHvYOSM8Y?t=4m24s[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYm4j4BoiBM[/youtube]
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yKosnejtLQA[/youtube]
[youtube]https://youtu.be/zG5-zAvhk0Q[/youtube]
And here’s also an interview Only and Vampiro did together outside of the ring:
[youtube]https://youtu.be/8JUefvb1K-E[/youtube]
