The SGM Super 30 Black Professional Wrestler #18

Koko B. Ware

I never understood the superstardom of Koko. I guess his parrot Frankie really did more to get him over than anything. As if the gimmicky name wasn’t enough; who does he think he is, World B. Free?! Of course, this was back in the time when the WWF thought all their superstars needed either a cartoon gimmick or an animal. But at least the animal sidekicks made sense: A snake for Jake Roberts, a bulldog for the British Bulldogs ... the only thing that was missing was a cock carried by Terry Taylor and a weasel on a leash for Bobby Heenan. But I digress.

B. Ware’s brief appearance in the documentary “Beyond the Mat” is a pretty sad one. It’s a reminder that, no matter how far up the ladder you may have gotten, wrestling is an unforgiving bitch that will take everything you have to give her, and when she’s done, if your life isn’t ruined by the pursuit of the drugs or the money that she needs from you to make it one more day, she’ll spit you back out into the hell of the independent wrestling circuit. You could have been performing for thousands of screaming fans in the Skydome, but that won’t keep you from performing in a high school gym or National Guard armory years from now. Naming your finishing move the “Ghostbuster” probably doesn’t help, either.