Today WWE announced that Bad News Brown will be induced into the WWE Hall of Fame during WrestleMania 42 Weekend, joining Sid Eudy as legacy inductees. Oddly enough, BRP was just talking about this year’s Hall of Fame class, and realized that there were more legacy names that could be added. We weren’t even thinking about Bad News Brown, sadly enough.
For Black pro wrestling fans of a certain age, Bad News Brown may have been one of the first Black performers they saw on WWF television. A legit judo bronze medalist, he was transformed into a thug from Harlem, who’s enzuigiri was called the “Ghetto Blaster.” He was a force, to the point where he felt like a viable threat against Hulkamania…but you know who that goes.
Bad News Brown, for a time, was Black Rasslin’ personified. Dude kept a scowl on his face, talked big trash to anyone and everyone, and could back it up with certified brutality. It’s crazy to think that the impact he left in WWF was from barely two years in the federation. And it still pains us that one of his biggest looks was Roddy Piper painting half of his body Black for their match at WrestleMania VI.
Word on road was that, before his death in 2007, Bad News was working on a book about his career in the wrestling industry. That work sitting about? We’d love to take a look.
In any case, salute to Bad News Brown. This is long overdue.