“I’m doin’ love scenes with Jennifer Tilly… and you’re callin’ me a dummy?”
What is it about horror and pro wrestling that goes together so well? It seems if you’re a wrestling fan, you’re probably into horror… and vice versa. Maybe it has to do with the over the top characters and silly stories in both worlds. But what happens when those worlds truly merge and become one?
When it happens, it is something special.
In 1998, World Championship Wrestling was prepping for their annual pay per view Halloween Havoc, and they needed some extra frights to hype up their show. In previous years, they relied on gimmicky matches that usually involved insanely silly ideas such as monster trucks, an electric chair, or the deadly “Spin the Wheel, Make the Deal,” in which the gimmick of a match was determined by a spinning wheel that resembled a saw blade.
But in ’98, the Ted Turner-owned organization had HUGE plans. We were looking at Goldberg vs Diamond Dallas Page, a battle between two of the biggest modern stars, Hulk Hogan vs Ultimate Warrior 2, a sequel to their legendary match 8 years prior at Wrestlemania 6, and the much hyped and anticipated (by no one really) battle between WCW’s most legendary tag team, the Steiner Brothers, Rick and Scott – after years of being one of the greatest tag teams in the world, the company decided to finally split them apart.
For weeks and weeks, there was a buildup to the match between the brothers on both Nitro and Thunder… but fans noticed something else was going on.
At random moments throughout the shows, the fans and wrestlers heard a mysterious laugh echoing through the arena. No one knew exactly what was going on or who the laugh belonged to, but we were all rather intrigued. Could this be a new wrestler? Maybe someone from WWF was jumping ship and debuting soon? Who could this be?!
Finally, during an interview segment on Monday Nitro in October 1998, all was revealed. The mystery had finally been solved. The laughing we heard?
It belonged to CHUCKY.
Yes… CHUCKY!
Soak that in for just a second. Chucky (voiced by Brad Dourif!) was appearing on WCW Nitro, interacting with wrestlers. This was mind-blowing and for fans of both horror and wrestling, it was quite entertaining. How did all this madness come together? Well, since Time Warner owned both WCW and New Line (who were putting out Bride of Chucky that year), they decided to use WCW programming as free publicity for the new movie. Simple as that.
Chucky didn’t come out to the ring, but he started shouting and yelling at Rick Steiner from the video screen. Rick would yell back a few insults as well, but you could tell he wanted nothing to with it. Sure it was a little odd and random; but this is the same company, we must remind, that gave us the intimidating team of Robocop and Sting.
Chucky’s involvement in WCW didn’t amount to anything more than one oddball segment. Weeks and weeks of laughter led to a quick two minute promo by the slasher icon; most fans were left scratching their heads as to whether or not they should care, but the reaction Chucky got once he hit the screen spoke for itself. A majority cheered, while many booed. But none of us ever forgot it.
For better or worse, we can say Chucky was once part of a wrestling angle. Whether you loved it or hated it, you certainly can’t take it away from him.