IN DEFENSE OF...Johnny B. Badd

Over the years, I have heard countless wrestling personalities, either on camera or during interviews, complain about one WCW character. A character that never seemed to take off and was pure "WrestleCrap".

I'm calling poppycock on that.

To me, this character was truly one of WCW's more popular personalities. Over time, he actually became a legitimate wrestler, putting on several matches of top tier quality. Many would say it's because of his opponent, but I respectfully disagree. 

There was such a strong connection with him and the crowd that could not be denied. In the timeline prior to the New World Order, he was the last bastion of the early 1990s WCW that caught on tremendously the deeper his career went forward.

In this article, I will be In Defense Of...JOHNNY B. BADD.

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At the inaugural SuperBrawl on May 19, 1991 at the Bayfront Center in St. Petersburg, FL, Johnny B. Badd, alongside his manager Theodore R. Long, strutted his way down the long entranceway ramp and made his debut, doing an interview with Tony Schiavone.

Unknown to many, Badd was  trained to professionally wrestle under the tutelage of the legendary Boris "the Great" Malenko, father of Dean and Joe Malenko.

Almost immediately, fans began to jeer and dislike the character. Named after the song "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry and dolled up like Little Richard, complete with eye makeup and mascara, Johnny's unique promo style really riled up the crowd. "Oh hush" used quite a bit within the 90 second live promo.

At six years old, I thought it was hysterical. As an older guy, I thought it was more than hysterical: it was brilliant. "I'm a BADD MAN!" was absolutely fantastic. The visionary behind the persona, WCW head booker Dusty Rhodes, saw an initial visceral reaction from fans; however, over the next year, you got to see some serious character development.

Despite his flamboyant nature, Johnny began wrestling against some of the company's most talented wrestlers, such as Big Josh, Bobby Eaton, and WCW Light Heavyweight Champion Flyin' Brian Pillman. On commentary, it began to be noted that Badd had a legitimate background in boxing, including winning the New York Golden Gloves under legendary boxing trainer Ray Rinaldi, which was evident by his "Kiss That Don't Miss", his knockout left cross. His hard work in both the ring and as a character began to win the crowd over, and by the end of 1991, he became one of WCW's more popular performers. 

In 1992, he was the host of the infamous 1992 Beach Blast bikini contest between Missy Hyatt and Madusa. His in-ring performance began to gain more credibility, putting on great battles with Scotty "Raven" Flamingo. There is actually a match somewhere in the ether, discovered during my research, where in the Omni in Atlanta, GA, he went to a time-limit draw with Japanese junior heavyweight legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

By 1993, Johnny was demonstrating his abilities both outside and inside the ring. In the Spring, Maxx Payne, world renowned guitarist, actually shot a “Badd Blaster” confetti gun into his face. Johnny began to wear a mask for “protective” purposes and began to get known for his moves and ability. This would actually take him to the next level.

The following year, Johnny began stealing the show with “Stunning” Steve Austin over the United States Championship. Their matches at Slamboree and Clash of the Champions were show-stealers. Badd even began to incorporate a flying sunset flip as a finishing move.

Although he didn’t come out on top in that encounter, at Fall Brawl, all the hard work eventually paid off. On September 18, 1994, in Roanoke, VA, he upset WCW World Television Champion Lord Steven Regal in the opening match to win the title via a backslide. The crowd erupted and the emotion began to seep through. You even got to see it in a sit-down interview following Fall Brawl with him detailing his journey to the title.

Badd eventually became a three-time Television Champion, defeating Diamond Dallas Page at Fall Brawl 1995 and Lex Luger during a live event in early 1996.

However, following losing the TV Title back to Mr. Luger on the March 9, 1996 Saturday Night, Johnny left WCW and ended up with the World Wrestling Federation at WrestleMania XII weeks later. The end of a chapter started a new one for “Wildman” Marc Mero.

As the years passed, there have been a plethora of fans and critics alike who have talked trash on the Johnny B. Badd character. Whether it was due to his WWF run, or the relationship with Sable, or due to issues with WWF management, many have grown sour on him.

In fact, during the August 1, 2009 edition of Raw, Triple H did a practical character assassination of the character, which came out of left field, to Dusty Rhodes’ face.