Black History Month: Slick

The Slickster!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter

The Doctor of Style Slick was one of the main stay managers in the WWF in the mid 80's and early 90's.  He managed lots of different talent, including Rick Martel, the Big Bossman, and the tag team of Power and Glory.  However, I don't think any of his men ever won any gold.  But hey, the Slickster was one of the most entertaining managers of all time.

My first memory of Slick was on Central States Wrestling when he was managing Butch Reed.  This was right before the duo headed to the WWF.  And once they arrived, Slick was paired up with "Classy" Freddie Blassie as he seemed to be the heir apparent to Blassie's stable.  Once Freddie retired, Slick took over the contracts of the Iron Sheik and Nikola Volkoff.

Slick & the Twin Towers

Through the years, men would come and go with his stable.  He picked up One Man Gang, who he helped transform into Akeem the African Dream, the Big Bossman, Rick Martel, the Warlord, and Power and Glory.  I think Bossman and Akeem, known collectively as the Twin Towers were probably Slick's most successful adventure.  They never won the tag team titles, but they were involved in some high profile matches in the WWF, including the Mega Powers explosion between Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage during Main Event back in 1989.  The Towers also main evented Survivor Series 1988 with their team taking on Hogan and Savage's.  I always thought the pairing of Slick and Rick Martel was a little awkward.  Martel struck me more of Heenan Family material.

One of the WWF memories I have of Slick is his singing of the song "Jive Soul Bro" on the Piledriver album.  I still chuckle when I hear the song, which I have in my iPod.  It became the anthem for the Twin Towers.

Slick & Kamala

I believe it was in 1991, Slick got powerslammed by the British Bulldog during a match with the Warlord.  Slick sold the injury and was missing from TV for some time.  When he returned, he was a face.  Reverend Slick even tried to soothe the savage beast known as Kamala.  The two did some mildly entertaining vignettes where Slick tried to teach Kamala to be more civilized.  They went bowling in one skit and I think sat down to a fancy dinner in another.

It wasn't long after that Slickster disappeared again.  He's popped up from time to time in the past on WWE television, including a guest spot at a recent Wrestlemania.  He was part of a backstage dance party.  He was also a part of Old School Raw.  I'd love to see him get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at some point.