Throwback Thursday: Sisterly Love

The Sisters of Love or The Flying Nuns
Shotgun Saturday Night
Photo courtesy: WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

Just before the Monday Night Wars really got hot, the WWF added a new show to its lineup. Something a little edgier than Raw at the time.  Shotgun Saturday Night made its debut on January 4, 1997.  The syndicated program ended up running for more than a year and a half, but it was that first show I want to talk about today.

While I didn't catch the actual airing of the show,  I've seen clips of it.  Marlena exposed herself to the Sultan during his match with Goldust and a new tag team made its debut and exit on the same night.  The Flying Nuns made their way to the ring with talk show host-turned manager Brother Love.  After the duo beat the Godwins, Love dubbed the team The Sister of Love.  It was a silly and short lived gimmick and soon Mosh and Thrasher were born.  (Although they had been using the gimmick on the house show circuit prior to going on TV)

Meeting the Headbangers
WrestleReunion 2012
Photo by: My 1-2-3 Cents

If my memory serves me correct that was a time when the WWF was throwing all kinds of outlandish gimmicks at the wall and seeing what would stick.  I think in this case, changing the gimmick back to the Headbangers was a wise choice.  I don't know that the fans would have gotten behind Sister Angelica and Mother Smucker the same way they did Mosh and Thrasher.

Chad and I had a chance to meet the Headbangers at WrestleReunion 2012.  They were a lot of fun. Probably the most engaging of the wrestlers and managers on hand that day.  You can see by the picture they were having as much fun as the fans.  They also did some YouTube recordings as well, we even made the cut.

Boo: They're a Bit Odd

The Oddities

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents on Twitter

The end of the 90's saw a big boom in the world of professional wrestling, due to the Monday Night Wars.  WCW and WWF were pulling out all the stops to get the leg up.  Part of the competition included bringing in talent outside of wrestling to attract crossover appeal.  The WWF (and eventually WCW) went after the Insane Clown Posse.

The rapping clowns become the cornermen for a group of wrestlers known as the Oddities.  Golga (who was played by the late, great John "Earthquake" Tenta), Giant Silva, the late, great Luna Vachon, and Kurrgan were all a part of the group.  It was kinda weird seeing these former monsters embrace the fans and work as faces. ICP performed the entrance tune for the group and even wrestled a few times.

The Oddities, originally booked as heels, were over with the fans and became faces.  They would dance before and after matches, and even though I'm not a big face of the ICP, I must admit the entrance theme is quite catchy.  I still play it in my iPod from time to time.

The Oddities with Sable
Photo courtesy: WWE

Even though the fans did love them, the Oddities weren't much more than a flash in the pan gimmick and mostly used to help get others over.  At one point Sable was involved with the group before feuding with Luna over the women's title.  ICP would eventually turn on the group too and join forces with the Headbangers.  But the clowns didn't stay in the WWF long and headed south to Atlanta and WCW.  Even George "the Animal" Steele briefly worked with the Oddities, proclaiming himself as an original.

The Oddities were odd and scary, but in a good way.  They were like the circus freaks, just as their song implies, but they meant no one any real harm.  I always found them fun to watch and entertaining as well.