One Man Gang becomes Akeem

[fukinitupmane]

man,to funny.raceism is a 2 way street ,and while this was blatent,its harmless.now becuase of crybabies wrestling suks.well,the owners suked the whole time too.......brotha brotha brothaaaaaaa!that aint one man gang,dats akeem!

[LookItsKR]

BRODUS CLAY!

[baderhouli]

1:06 BROTHAAAAA!

[scubl0316]

mean gene says to slick what is it cousin. too funny

[tonyjaffer]

Slick & Akeem inspire me every day! Mean gene really pissed me off for questioning any of this for even a second.

[TheMashwatcher585]

if one man gang aka akeem was king kong here who would elizabeth be fay ray lol

[Apeneger]

lol my name is akeem in irl haha

[notabadguy06]

If you are PC, then you would think this is racist. I'm a black guy and I think this is funny. I dont act like this because all black people dont act like this. But some do, and if a white person wants to act like this, i say go for it. Doesnt bother me one bit. It's actually pretty funny

[whaywood13]

funny as hell

[datFatsoPete]

slick talks like Mr Chao from The Hangover...

[xmrpogox]

@datFatsoPete Slick was here first so I think you meant to say Mr Chao from the Hangover talks like Slick. Give credit where credits do:)

[MrRobertmarvin]

i'm a jive soul bro ,,jive soul bro,,this shit is funnier than anything the wwe puts out now days

[ESome1980]

I remember this scared me as a child for some reason...

[edswoggle]

Slick was such an underrated manager....then again, in the era of Heenan, Jimmy Hart, Genius, Sherri, and Liz...it's not hard to get lost in the shuffle

[thelastshockmaster]

Racist or not, that shot of Akeem and Slick dancing/walking away is epic at 4:23

[CVargas]

I remember watching this as a kid when it was first aired. This was the '80s and I was like 10 years old and I already knew enough to be embarrassed and uncomfortable.

[marsharent]

seriously, what the fucking fuck??? i always rationalised Akeem as some especially pale Egyptian or something... apparently not

[marsharent]

what in the god damn f-

[cbaldwinjr]

I'm sorry, but this was one of the best gimmicks ever. Akeem is the blackest man I have ever seen...forget Marcus Garvey, Djimon Hounsou, and Wesley Snipes...Akeem tops them all.

[TheBryanSaraShow]

I laugh everytime when Gene fcalls him the One Man Gang.

[TheBryanSaraShow]

Is it true that they got the idea for this character from Coming To America?

[MrMolmem]

@TheBryanSaraShow from what I understand this character was developed to make fun of Dusty Rhodes. If you listen to Dusty talk (especially his old promos) you will kind of see why.

[CNFAN79]

AKEEM! The best dancer in WWE history!

[SethChillis]

Vince Mac is such an a-hole. I think He was tryin to mock The American Dream Dusty Rhodes with the African Dream Akeem on the slick side.

[JaymanDaKing]

What is it cousin?

[ojluvscaseyanthony]

HAHAHA! All the black people in this skit should turn in their official Black Person Membership cards pronto!

[blumbino]

Ahhh...casual racism is funny...

Still, Slick ruled.



[gordo8039]

Mean gene is priceless..

[kennysmom2000]

What is it cousin lol

[silentmiracle2022]

Hated that Akeem gimmick!

[RyanSharp]

lol, Akeem and Slick just walk away and leave Mean Gene alone with the tribesmen

[stoenyce]

i remember this shit lmao

[Fanik10]

19 people haven't been revitlized

[grelleezy]

it's hilarious when slick says, this is the greatest night in wrestling history

[StrikkklyROCKERS]

holy cow, the WWF was on some crazy shit back in the 80's! hysterical how ridiculous the gimmicks they came up with.

[ninjaa54]

hahahahaha that was funny!!!

[lunchboxattacks1]

I love the way Mean Gene yells for a cab at the end. Mean Gene would never be caught dead in the ghetto, fake or otherwise and he makes no excuses about it!

[OGDonJuan]

what is it cousin

[Mrblancnoir]

Akeem should have said something like (when Mean Gene called him the One Man Gang) "Don't call him by his slave name". If you are going for this humor, might as well go all the way.

[gregnice25]

SLICK: "YOOO BROTHA"....MENE GENE: "WHAT IS IT, COUSIN?"......SLICK'S LIL WAYNE LAUGH @ 0:49

[Aznar245]

last time i i visited the ghetto i was almost mugged by some angry tribesmen with spears.. ROFLMAO

[redkard1979]

That is going to be Kamala, or some black dude, god I was disappointed

[ListenToLeon]

My mom saw me watching this back in the day and was like "Cut that stereotypical bullshit off!"

[ar4216]

@ListenToLeon HaHa! This is some of the craziest shit ever!

[AntonBatey]

I bet you he felt so damn stupid doing this gimmick....

[DanyMercury2]

@AntonBatey He absolutely loved it, and nobody was offended in the locker room, according to George Gray himself. He says that in his shoot interview.

[theboombody]

I remember after the Twin Towers broke up the Big Bossman called Akeem a "Travel Reject from Africa." Ha ha.

[Fanik10]

@theboombody A Tribal reject from Africa

[theboombody]

@Fanik10 Oh yeah, I guess that makes more sense. Bossman's redneck dialect must have gotten in the way of my understanding.

[727Superstar]

yo brotha what is it cousin LMAO

[redips]

Strut your stuff... AKEEEEEEMMM!!!

[CQ1981331]

akeem was great,it was a silly gimmick but fun still

[rasamahamasahama]

It wasn't so much the gimmick that was offputting to me, it was his accent. Does it take the piss?

[rtfuhj]

god i miss old school wwf!! cause wwe fucking sucks!!!

[CQ1981331]

@rtfuhj yes i agree 100%

[rtfuhj]

that why you have a high IQ!!

[CQ1981331]

@rtfuhj lol why because i agreed with you?thanks!!lol

[rtfuhj]

ya it shows your smarts and that your an old school wrestling fan like me!!!

[CQ1981331]

@rtfuhj oh hell yeah i come on youtube looking for stuff like this,i dont even watch WWE anymore at all,i miss this old shit

[rtfuhj]

in that case brother do what i do!! watch tna it the way wrestling was! it's put's you in the mind of wccw if your old enough like me to remember!

[ktl2828]

He was better as the One Man Gang. WWF turned him into a joke.

[senoritajd]

I would love for Slick to come back to the WWE. He could show the new generation wrestlers what real mic skills are all about lol.

[MystikWizard]

Never understand why so many people were down on Akeem as a gimmick. This was funny stuff. A white man who thinks he's black. People tend to forget that there is a place for comedy in wrestling. And no, I'm not talking about the baby shit you see on TV today that Vince must think is funny, but nobody else is laughing at. Not every character appearing on TV needs to be serious. That is what makes for a nice blend of personalities.

[landinmycourt]

@MystikWizard "A white man who thinks he's black"...sounds like John Cena, circa 2003.

[TheBigBadWoIf]

mean gene's comments are hilarious

[kylerlng]

Kamala should've been one of the "African" dancers lol. This is a little racist, but a lot funny.

[Showman245]

The Akeem gimmick is so wrong in so many ways in black culture. lol . Oh welll i was a fan of the Twin Towers though

[Kreimehn]

I love these kind of on-location promos that the WWF used to do.

Look at Akeem strut at 2:41. Behold and Beeeeehooooold. LOL!!!!!

[tdfdaremix]

I haven't laughed this hard in ages. I loved the twin towers back in the days

[infodisinfo]

yeah, and if there was an indian casino neer by he would have become an indian... oh, waite, he's white... only blacks do that?!?!

[M15949]

that was awesome. a tad socially irresponsible, but still awesome.

[februarystars1976]

this - and booker t calling hulk hogan a nigga almost made me crap my pants :o)

[carrmcke]

sounds like bill cosby

[lisouspacecakes]

AHHHHH I GET IT

[farmit5]

Mean Gene was classic!!! Akeem the African Dream and the Dr. of Style Slick! A couple of pieces of work!!

[yardape99]

This was the prototype of Vanilla Ice/Marshall Mathers.

[RBB5400]

Im a new man! Im a new man Mean Gene Okerlund!!!

[RaiderInNY]

What no soft-shoeing? 

[Bkamlem]

According to Hacksaw Jim Duggan's shoot (kayfabe commentaries) he claimed that this gimmick was a way to bury Gang, but Gang got it over because he embraced it.

[yardape99]

@Bkamlem OMG was a good gimmick. Why would Vince want to bury him? I remember being embarrassed watching Akeem and feeling incredibly sorry for the man who was once the One Man Gang.

[Kreimehn]

@yardape99 The One Man Gang was awesome. I too don't understand the reason to bury this great gimmick.

[eslubin]

@Kreimehn To destroy his value as a drawing card elsewhere.

[Kreimehn]

@eslubin In other words if Akeem left the WWF and worked for WCW, his value as a drawing card as the OMG would be destroyed? Is that it?

[eslubin]

@Kreimehn He never did seem to recover his lost mystique from his World Class / Mid South days after this

lol

[Kreimehn]

@eslubin No he never did. When Akeem was done with the WWF, he was totally played out. Business is business, but Vinnie Mac is still an asshole.

[1981CrueHead]

@eslubin It was so Vince could own the rights to his gimmick. And yeah he was never quite the same after this. But really OMG was in his prime in would class and the UWF. He was never that good again.

[Fanik8]

The Akeem gimmick was the biggest headgame to new wrestling fans back then!!

[yardape99]

@Fanik8 More like a giant fuck you to the fans.

[Fanik8]

@yardape99 lol

[longdrinkmcg]

NOT offensive at all.

[mychalsean]

I've said it before... The wwf had and has the most stereotypical and racist gimicks around. Lol gotta love it

[TVTraX]

This promo is very racist. I find it interesting, how it was shot on film rather than the regular videotape. Also what was Gray doing? Trying to dance? Was he being possessed? Trying to be black? Very odd promo...but a classic

[Denji2006]

@TVTraX

The generalization of "Africa" alone is racist :\

[bettydaw1970]

2:54

priceless

[bettydaw1970]

what skit was it that hogan touches the boiling caldron and goes aaaahouch!!!

its cold!!!!

[krobelusthekid]

@bettydaw1970 tha'ts one of the Dungeon of Doom things

Those guys were hilarious

[Filmation77]

all right what is it cousin??? ha!

[Lyle134]

I remember when I saw this on Superstars of Wrestling.

[zuneloader]

Mean Gene said what is it cousin. Funny that he just meant it to be funny cause Slick called him brotha but would later be said almost as commonly as people call each other brotha. Mean Gene the great

[kosbeuno]

I THINK THAT THE JHERI CURL COMPANY'S WENT OUTTA BUSINESS WHEN SLICK DID COINCIDENCE HA HA I THINK NOT!!!!!! LMAO!!!!

[Filmaker25]

Doctor of Style folks!!!!!!!!!!!

[talshiarr]

Slick was by far the most entertaining of all the managers. Heenan was only amusing when Terry Taylor kicked the living daylights out of him (don't think that's on Youtube but I wish it was), and Jimmy Hart was just irritating.

[zuneloader]

@talshiarr Heenan is the greatest of all time. On his own or otherwise.

[leosworkshop]

bunch of africans dancing around in a new york slum with the one man eating machine's transformation, lol.

[bigwhiteballs27]

this is John Cena's dad

[TheRawAnonymousGM]

@bigwhiteballs27 really is it?

[stargate121]

@bigwhiteballs27 Yes, Cena does bare a striking resemblance to his father, Slick.

[TheTechnoa]

@bigwhiteballs27 fo' sho!

[grcoon]

Akeem the African Dream....wasnt that what he was called?

[Kreimehn]

@grcoon yeah that is correct.

[jtruffles]

I liked the One Man Gang more than Akeem.

[notyoursavior78]

Greatest night in wrestling history, fo sho!!!

[marc08110]

WAS THAT EVER THE BEST or WHAT

[MrOdin285]

BEST...THING...EVER

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri The Netherlands, France and it's obvious anyways. Only those in power see any growth from it. Learn history first to help you believe.

[ilovejourney1]

The guy running against Linda Mcmahon for the U.S. Senate has a ton of material for mud-slinging ads against her...

[bonesnuts44]

I've heard that Akeem was Vince's ripping on Dusty Rhodes' soul kind of thing...too funny!

[mkeysou812]

I remember a promo of Akeem's before he fought Macho Man, say how the Macho man was "korkaygeeon", and how he was "gonna be the first black champion". Would love to see that promo again, it was so racist and funny

[sbtbfanatic]

Slick called Mean Gene "chrome dome"!

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri Yes I have been to a few European countires and from what I saw and who I met and chatted with it didnt seem like socialism provides that good a life except for those that were in power.

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri I never said Democrat I said liberal. Not all Dems are libs fully. Socialist? lol are you serious?

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri Not a Republican, just pointed out the hypocricy in your statements. Since when have liberals been friends of Arabs, Persians, and Islam? How's that hope and change working out for ya?

[eaglesfan325]

The Doctor of Style NEVER DISAPPOINTS

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri Any political party would welcome anyone if it meant votes, wise up.

[KhosrowDaLegend]

@selimaazouri If she was racist she'd be running as a Democrat

[gtz1975]

~~~One Man Gang/ Akeem for WWE HALL OF FAME 2011~~~

[vgsdstny]

So many great things about this...Gene wearing a tux in southside Chicago, Slick at his best with a 25 dollar boom box. One man ga...I mean Akeem dressed up like a Disney Land extra for It's A Small World and natives dancing around a burning trash can. Oh those WWE promos. Hard to believe this was done in 2007.

[Oz261982]

lol hilarious

[jliller]

Soooooooooooooo ridiculous.

[mindphreak4money]

I remember when this promo took place. This was the night when I understood that the majority of wrestling promotions were based from the southern style, and would never even try to understand or accept the African American culture's true worth. They would only seek to use the stereotypes to try to make a quick dollar at our expense. Such a shame. People can be fooled into thinking that this was a dig against Dusty Rhodes. But it had far deeper implications than that.

[4thCHANNEL]

@mindphreak4money very true..people have always misunderstood this

[soulofshiver]

@mindphreak4money They do the same with every culture. I wouldn't take it too personal.

[Fanik8]

@mindphreak4money The dig on Dusty Rhodes was the bodyguard Virgil character, Vince using Dusty Rhodes' real name with the servant gimmick. I've never heard about any connection between Akeem and Dusty Rhodes.

[DawnPatroll1]

Yeah nothing stereotypical racist or stupid about this.

This was an inside joke that only the smart fans understood while everyone else went "what the hell are they doing?".

I for one always thought that this was rather absurd (even when I was five).

I also wounder how he (The One Man Gang) feels about this today especially considering he's now a prison guard working on death row at Louisiana State Prison.

I give Vince credit he had stupid ideas twenty five years ago and still does today.

[4463013]

this is too good.vince" was" a genius

[Buddha370]

Dusty Rhodes is the American Dream. Akeem is the African Dream. Imagine what a team they'd have made...

I'd call it "Ebony & Ivory"

[malfoy2]

Man I hated this change. One Man Gang was soooo coool!

[FrambaItaly]

Nice so Nice i Like this kind of Wrestling

[KUTroy]

The best part was when Akeem Olajuwon changed his name to Hakeem and the Akeem wrestler changed his name to Hakeem right after.  That was hilarious!

[FreshTiDef]

@KUTroy I didn't know he did that...lol

[metalbornmetalbred]

does this mean that we can blame OMG for all of these suburban preppies who wear their pants halfway down their asses w/ crooked hats...yo?

[prefontaine5k]

un...be...lieveable...

[Bradman77]

White boy has no rythm

[ecmulder]

Akeem- The African Dream vs. Dusty Rhodes- The American Dream

[DrAmazak]

@ecmulder The Akeem gimmick was an office dig on Dusty Rhodes.

[RATIO3533]

Fabulous.... what a CLASSIC. Wrestling just has no flavour like it used to...

[mlawson88]

Akeem is my biggest guilty pleasure.

[theunscarredone]

@mlawson88 like The Human Chia Pet Johnny Walker and The Caneman?

[waffleapocalypse]

Brilliant. just brilliant :)

[ShutUpYouMong]

Good old Slick. It takes a special kind of man to walk alone through a slum area at night, listening to your own theme tune on the world's thinnest ghetto blaster.

[dannymadrox]

yooooooo brotha!!! he listenin to the theme song on the boombox lmfao!!! good video!!

[phisaki]

It's gonna shock the world? Is he shockmaster?

[BLACKFONZIRELLI]

@phisaki no the shockmaster was tugboat

[thlg2jr]

lol

[zhukovvideo]

It totally transformed the world or professional wrestling.

[SMARTMARK1981]

Leave it to Vince to turn the One Man Gang into a big fat whigger Easter egg.

[flashoverking]

slick is the shit I'm telling ya! They don't make em like that anymore!

[8steamboat7]

LMAO I've wanted to see this again for years

[jimmieskaggs]

cool

[krtzone]

BEHOLD!!! A fat, white, talentless wrestler, who Vince McMahon's brilliant brain re-invents as ... an African dressed in a blue and yellow muumuu?!?!

[Aznar245]

Slick was the man!!!

[MrFnPink]

did anyone else see the one white guy dancing?

[jposco]

Goddamn.. Slick knows how to drag some shit out

[thanoson]

I like how the authenic african dancers are wearing sneakers.

[targa818]

best intrence ever jive soul bro! why akeem??? one man gang was just fine!

[uxbnkuribo]

Gene, you idiot, you should have known that you can't drive to Deepest Darkest Africa.

[bigpharmarules]

One Man Gang: simply the greatest wrestling name in history in my opinion...

[brucedavis76]

i hated this gimmick he is tjhe gang

[BLACKFONZIRELLI]

@brucedavis76 yeah some people had mixed feelings.. i feel u though

[AnFSpikeBoi]

lol@ Gene, "What is it, cousin?"

[EmperorofCartoons]

@AnFSpikeBoi lol I know right? Only way it coulda been better is if Gene had greeted Slick with "What up my nigga.".

[PJS17]

@AnFSpikeBoi I was hoping i wasnt the only one that caught that...that line was way outta character 4 mean gene but it was funny as hell!!!!

[Freddie1980]

If Akeem is from 'deepest, darkest, Africa' then that goes along way to explain why there's so much famine over there.

[dnthyp]

Where was this filmed? DC, Detroit, or Philly?

[danteras23]

One of the greatest gimmicks of all-time.

[reefinit]

that is clearly akeem he looks nothing like omg

[davide453]

I don't get this. How can they be the same person? I mean, One Man Gang is white and Akeem is clearly a black man. Surely there must be some mistake?

And don't call me Shirley.

[EliHowell88]

@davide453 at 2:43 that akeem, aka One man gang,clearly a white man the guy on the left in yellow is akeem they black guy wiyth the radio is OMGs manger slick

[davide453]

No way, man! The white guy is Mean Gene Okerlund.

Akeem is clearly a black dude, dude.

[EliHowell88]

ok the guy in the suit i gene okerland, ok clear on that? ok the black guy with the boom box? that is slick OMGs manager got it? ok the big guy in yellow, the one they call akeem,that is OMG

[davide453]

I hate to tell you this my brother, but that guy in the yellow is Akeem. One Man Gang is a white guy.

aight man akeem and one man gang are the same person! akeem aka one man gang is clearly white over in the related videos the 3rd one down that says akeem theme. guy on the left is one man gang in the picture that it shows akeem is a white man sorry if you dont see it akeem an d one man gang are the same exact person. google it