The final letter in WWE stands for entertainment. It’s as important, if not more so, than wrestling to the company. WWE’s biggest annual event, WrestleMania, was launched with the involvement of Mr. T and Cindy Lauper. The tradition of celebrity appearances continued at this year’s show, when rapper Bad Bunny wrestled in a tag team match.
Celebrities have their own wing in WWE’s Hall of Fame. Entrants run the gamut from William Shatner to Donald Trump, who feuded with Vince McMahon. It’s a vast line-up of famous inductees, however, there’s one possible addition that could prove all the more impressive. While a fictional character has never been inducted, one has a strong case; Child’s Play’s Chucky.
Chucky appeared in a commercial on a recent episode of Monday Night Raw. In a meta touch, Chucky complained about Raw’s many commercials before pulling up clips of his favorite WWE villains, which included the doll-obsessed Alexa Bliss. The commercial eventually cuts to clips of his show, an ad Chucky fully supports. It’s easy to classify this crossover as the product of corporate synergy. Chucky and Raw both air on the USA Network. WWE’s recently rebooted third brand, NXT, also airs on USA and serves as Chucky’s lead-in. Those aren’t his only ties to the pro wrestling business, though.
Chucky made one of the most bizarre guest appearances in wrestling history on the Oct. 12, 1998 episode of WCW Monday Nitro (WWE bought WCW in 2001). “Mean” Gene Okerlund was interviewing Rick Steiner about a match with his brother Scott at the Halloween Havoc pay-per-view. Steiner and Okerlund were interrupted by a maniacal laugh, revealed to be Chucky appearing on the arena’s jumbotron.
The usually unflappable Okerlund responded with an irritated “get that dummy out of here!” While Steiner revealed himself to not be much of a horror buff when he repeatedly asked Okerlund “who’s that?” Chucky proceeded to taunt Steiner, vowing to treat him the way he treated his childhood toys. Steiner demands Chucky meet him face to face, which would be a standard response if he was talking to a wrestler and not a doll.
Chucky ended the exchange by plugging his upcoming movie, Bride of Chucky. He also warned Steiner not to wrestle his brother, since Chucky wanted to cast Scott as the lead in his directorial debut. That didn’t materialize, and Chucky didn’t join Scott in the New World Order. The segment was never mentioned on WCW programming again.
As odd as it might seem to induct Chucky into the Hall of Fame based on a single appearance, it’s not without precedent. Comedian Drew Carey was inducted in 2011 for an appearance at the 2001 Royal Rumble. Carey was there to plug a comedy special but wound up briefly appearing in the PPV’s namesake battle royal. While not fondly, Chucky’s appearance is remembered more vividly by long-time fans than Carey’s.
Chucky wasn’t the only infamous movie icon in WCW. RoboCop made a heavily promoted, and highly infamous, appearance at the 1990 Capital Combat PPV. A barely mobile stuntman in a RoboCop costume freed Sting from a cage the Four Horsemen had trapped him in. Because being WCW’s mainstay was occasionally a curse, Sting went on to work with Kiss’s officially licensed wrestler The Demon in the promotion’s final days.
WCW also featured a pro wrestler based on The Wizard of Oz, promoting owner Ted Turner’s colorization of the Hollywood classic. It’s unlikely Oz will be mentioned by WWE unless it wants to roast Hall of Famer Kevin Nash, who played the character early in his career. As antiquated as that cross-promotion strategy might seem, Hellboy wrestled a match for the usually straight-laced All Japan Pro Wrestling in 2019.
Fans might cringe at things like Chucky’s cameo and matches involving zombies. They’re as much a part of the fabric of pro wrestling as great matches or compelling storylines. Inducting Chucky to the WWE Hall of Fame would acknowledge the genre’s camp appeal. It would also give Steiner and his son, NXT rookie Bron Breakker, a chance to finally blow off the feud the malevolent doll started, which would certainly liven up the proceedings.
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