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On August 9, WWE announced that James "Kamala" Harris passed away at the age of 70. Kamala was one of the most unique characters in the history of the business. Despite having short stints in the WWE, each of them were successful at building his character, as well as further pushing top babyface talent.
Here is what WWE released regarding the passing of Kamala.
"WWE is saddened to learn that James Harris, known to WWE fans as Kamala, has passed away at age 70. Under the frightening face paint of Kamala, the 6-foot-7, 380-pound Harris battled the greatest Superstars in sports-entertainment history, including Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker and Andre the Giant. He terrorized opponents and thrilled audiences in Mid-South, World Class Championship Wrestling, WCW and WWE until 2006. WWE extends its condolences to Harris' family, friends and fans."
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Kamala's pro wrestling career spanned over 30 years, and he was a part of some of the biggest WWE rivalries in the 80s and 90s. His in-ring career ended in 2010, after making several in-ring appearances that year. His last match was a tag team win for the JCW promotion.
In 1992, Kamala was diagnosed with diabetes, but did not receive treatment for the diagnosis. Unfortunately, doctors had to amputate one of his legs in 2011, ending his in-ring career. In 2012, he had to get his second leg amputated because of diabetes.
Kenny Casanova, who co-wrote Kamala's biography, stated that his cause of death was due to COVID-19.
Throughout the three decades of his pro wrestling career, Kamala built a strong enough character to give him a spot in the WWE Hall of Fame. Here are 5 reasons why he should be inducted into the prestigious class.
#5 His main event presence competing for CWA
For the first few years of his pro wrestling career, Kamala competed as Sugar Bear Harris and Bad News Harris, appearing in several promotions such as Mid-South Wrestling, Houston Wrestling, and, most notably, the Continental Wrestling Association. While competing mostly in his first few years, Kamala made a return to CWA in 1982 after a two-year absence under the name of Giant Kimala.
On June 7, 1982 at a CWA event inside the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee, Kamala shocked the fans by defeating Jerry Lawler in his return to the company and becoming the AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion. He retained the title for two months, successfully defending against names such as "Superstar" Bill Dundee, Steve Keirn, and Stan Lane. Lawler was able to regain the title on August 9.
His success in CWA led to a return to Mid-South Wrestling, as well as appearances in the Championship Wrestling from Florida promotion, as Kamala. Throughout 1983, Kamala had notable feuds with names such as Andre the Giant, Junkyard Dog, and Jim Duggan. His popularity also led him to a debut in the World Class Championship Wrestling promotion, spending much of his time in the promotion feuding with Kerry Von Erich.
#4 Kamala's WWF feud against Hulk Hogan
Kamala had a brief stint in WWE throughout 1984 and feuded with Andre the Giant, before returning to several American promotions, as well as appearances in Japan. In 1986, he made his WWE return and received a major heel push. Kamala was able to be a main event heel throughout 1986 and 1987, feuding with Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship.
Hogan and Kamala had several matches against each other, and Kamala was even able to win via count out at the Maple Leaf Gardens house show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on December 28, 1986.
As Hogan was continuing to cement his legacy as the WWE Champion, Kamala was a very important part in him remaining the most popular Superstar in WWE in the mid-1980s, and beyond.
Although Hogan has a massive stature, the 6' 7", 380-pound Kamala made him look like an underdog. Hogan's feud with Kamala in 1986 and 1987 was one of the biggest in pro wrestling during that era, and it was arguably the peak of Kamala's wrestling career.
#3 Kamal's main event run while competing for USWA
Following Kamala's WWE run, he returned to World Class, and competed in several matches for EMLL in Mexico, as well as Japan's AJPW. Kamala's feud with Jerry Lawler returned while both were in the United States Wrestling Assocation (USWA) promotion, as Kamala defeated Lawler for the Unified World Heavyweight Championship on November 25, 1991.
Interestingly, this was also inside the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. Lawler regained the title a week later, but Kamala regained the title the following week.
Kamala continued to be a main event star in USWA, also feuding against Koko B. Ware for the Unified World Heavyweight Championship. Overall, Kamala's USWA stint was one of his most successful runs of his pro wrestling career, as he became the top champion on four different occasions. In fact, USWA is the promotion where he had the most title reigns.
Although Kamala's USWA run only lasted for a few months, it made him look like a major star, and Jerry Lawler once again showed his dedication to him by making him a top main-eventer.
#2 Kamala's WWE feud with The Undertaker
Kamala's very successful USWA run led to yet another WWE run, and started off with another push to build up his heel character to the main event level. Kamala even feuded with Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship, competing against him in several house show matches. To gain momentum to his character, Kamala picked up quality wins against the Texas Tornado, Jim Brunzell, and "El Matador" Tito Santana.
Kamala was once again used as a top heel in 1992, as he started an angle with the Undertaker. This led to a match at the 1992 SummerSlam, which Undertaker won by DQ, as well as a Casket Match at Survivor Series. Although both matches were relatively short, it still made The Undertaker look good, especially since he was further solidifying himself as a top babyface star.
It is worth noting that WWE trusted Kamala as a top talent, similar to his feud with Hulk Hogan, to make a top babyface star look good. Kamala was not viewed as an enhancement talent in these feuds, but more of a main event heel to make the babyface look good.
#1 Kamala's character being strong enough to build stars
As mentioned, Kamala's character was among one of the most intimidating in pro wrestling history. Billed as The Ugandan Giant, Kamala spent a good portion in the WWE being managed by Kim Chee, who acted as more of a handler. This element alone made Kamala look even more intimidating, which helped his role of making babyfaces look good.
Other than Hulk Hogan and The Undertaker, Kamala also helped propel names such as The Ultimate Warrior, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Shawn Michaels. Although WWE did not use him very strongly following his feud with The Undertaker, he already did a great job of helping build stars, while also looking like a big name himself.
Kamala had a short WCW stint that did not help him overall, but Lawler once again showed his dedication to him by feuding and teaming with him once again in 2002 and 2003 in various promotions, including Memphis Wrestling.
In 2001, Kamala made a WWE return after eight years to compete in the WrestleMania 17 Gimmick Battle Royal. In 2005, WWE made an in-ring appearance on SmackDown in a no-contest match against Randy Orton. In 2006, Umaga handily defeated Kamala on the June 26 episode of Raw. These were the final in-ring appearance of Kamala for WWE.
