Kamala

[6.0] "Underrated to me, he played his gimmick unbelievably well and he was absolutely real all the way through. The Ugandan Giant will always be a legend in my mind, and didn't need titles to be successful."

[10.0] "kamala is an absolutely underrated hero to me. after never even dreaming to become a wrestler he almost made a whole new world out of it based on how wild (pun intended) his gimmick was in a time of complete kayfabe and the belief that wrestling was 'real'. not only did he match his gimmick with his in ring style, he also did this to perfection during backstage promos with his manager harvey wippleman, just making obscure groaning sounds, facial expressions and body movements to make him utterly terrifying."

[9.0] "A horrible wrestler, couldn't talk and incredibly awkward. Bad News Harris certainly lived up to the name, but the magic of professional wrestling is something else. Enter Kamala, a 6'7" monster from Uganda that doesn't know what wrestling is. Genius. His strikes looked brutal and Kamala sure could chop well. Sure the concept of an indigenous giant from Africa being thrown into a professional wrestling territory sparks a million different questions... 1) Is this even ethical? 2) Does Kamala get paid in US dollars and does he even have a bank account set-up? 3) Who is sponsoring him and does he have a work VISA? But this is professional wrestling, we should really just relax. A flat 9.0/10 might seem insane to the average internet wrestling aficionado or even Dave Meltzer, but come on, it's Kamala. Once he mellowed out and learned how to bowl the giant became oddly lovable. True he wasn't as deadly or life threatening to his opponents, but you gotta love this brute. Oh yeah the WCW stuff... Well.... They tried nearly everything and by then the age of wild attractions like Kamala was long-gone. Still, a recognizable and unique guy from Uganda that just so-happened to be 6'7" and land a job as a professional wrestler."

[4.0] "When he returned to the WWF in 1992, even as a heel, we kids had a soft spot and felt bad for Kamala always being bullied by Harvey and Kimchee. The baby face run sucked and his style was becoming quickly outdated even in 1993. His feud with Hogan back in 87 was pretty good and I think that's the issue. His era passed him by when the 90's started."

[3.0] "A limited worker who lived and died by his gimmick. He had his place as a character wrestler and it translated universally around the world, but thats about the only praise I can give him."

[6.0] "Kamala is kind of seen as a comedy figure these days due to his outrageous, and borderline offensive, character, but he was actually a very successful act both in Europe under his real name (where he held the British Title), in Japan as Giant Kimala and in America when feuding against the likes of Jerry Lawler and Hulk Hogan. Kamala was actually one of the best drawing Hogan foes during the peak of the first Hulkamania Era of the WWF, as his character capitivated the imagination of the fans and his work was safe enough that Hogan was happy to work with him around the horn as a regular opponent. Jim Harris was a dedicated performer who put his all into the character and it remains an enduring one to this day"

[6.0] "Kamala was a great gimmick that would not work in the modern era. In the ring Kamala was solid enough in the ring although had room for improvement. Moved well for a big man. Never saw him do much on the mic. His in-ring abilities deteriorated with age."

[7.0] "Some of the greatest chops, he had them all; from overhead to knife edge, Kamala was one of the true chop lords. If you're old enough to remember when he was brand or *very* new, then you view him in a totally different light than those who first experienced him in Vince's McMahonland. I was very young when he was introduced the south & I was rather shocked at the presentation as well as the actions; a near uncontrollable savage. If the heels understood they couldn't out wrestle the baby faces, they would simply sick the savage upon them (Great run in WCCW! ). It worked because the man behind the gimmick went in 125%, from the inside out James Harris became Kamala. However, by the time he joined with Vince everything changed and a whole generation was taught to laugh at instead of be in fear of the once formidable Ugandan Headhunter. Heaps of points earned from Mid South & World Class ~ points deducted for all of the 'F stuff & all of the WCW work (some of which is absolutely R O T T E N)."

[9.0] "territory legend good In ring terrified kids and drew fans he worked everywhere successfully and was a draw almost everywhere Kamala is an iconic gimmick that was played with full commitment in all the territories"

[5.0] "He wasn't the worst by any means, but he wasn't the best either. However I'll give him this: he was truly dedicated to the character, and made it work for years as a result. He got it down to the little details, and that helped to make him feel larger than life. Other than that, he was fine in his role of jobber to the stars before the late 80s where he got significantly worse with age."

[6.0] "A great wrestler? No, but a surprisingly athletic big man in his prime, and with a bizarre, memorable gimmick that still sticks with me all these years later. No matter what you think of his skills in the ring, he always left an impression."

[6.0] "A halfway decent wrestler saddled with a weird gimmick. But it got him over and it seemingly worked for him. His feud in the WWF against the Undertaker was the stuff of legend."

[5.0] "Can't say he was a good worker, but his ability to nail the character to pretty much perfection is to be admired. Was actually a huge monster heel back in the late 80s too."

[5.0] "Gimmick was too cartoonish but it did get over all around the world. In ring skills were limited at best."

[8.0] "Honestly, I've wanted to do a comment on Kamala for awhile now, BUT, doing so fell under the "I'll get to it later" list. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's decided to come along mow so soon after his death, and there's nothing wrong with that. I don't know if Jim Harris ever checked out sites such as this, but others will, and no doubt more so within the next several days I'm sure. Anyway, I'm giving an 8. My reasoning is pretty simple: The gimmick, the utilization of the gimmick, how well the gimmick was received, and the staying power of it. Jim Harris by his own admission wasn't the best wrestler prior to the Kamala gimmick, but he embraced the hell outta Kamala, and it worked immediately. I can remember back in the early 80s from World Class and the WWF just how over he was. Scary looking with that great entrance he was beyond being over before even stepping into the ring. NOBODY was expecting a technically sound match, and if you were and are one of the people giving him a "3" because of it, gimme a break. Big Jim MADE Kamala one of the most interesting characters that always entertained, and certainly won't be forgotten. RIP big man, and thanks for a character that amazed me as a kid, and making me wanna catch a show specifically when I knew you'd be on."

[9.0] "James "Kamala" Harris has never received the respect he deserved. He took the gimmick and lived it, dedicated to the weird and wonderful character, he sold everything with his brilliant physical energy and expressions and became a great face of wrestling. One of those wrestlers who was so dedicated to his character that he would not have the most varied matches, so as not to break kayfabe. Kamala was a star of another era of wrestling and tremendously nimble for a big man, with a knack for what worked in the ring and how to entertain people, he was equally excellent as a lovable face or frightening heel. I thought he was the coolest as a kid and with legendary feuds with the likes of The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter, Kamala is one of the most underrated stars in wrestling. Someone who worked with a varied line of opponents and created some fantastic moments with his distinctive character. A legend."

[5.0] "Kamala is one of those guys who had a single asset going for them and who managed to parlay that into a successful career. In Kamala's case his asset was his amazing size: he was not merely a big man, he was huge. That size landed him a number of excellent contracts when he was just five years or so in the business with Mid-South, All-Japan and WWF. Problem is it immediately became apparent that while Kamala looked intimidating due to his huge size and 'Wild Man' gimmick that was about it. His in-ring skills were very basic and let's skip over his "promos". Kamala's shelf life was limited and so are his achievements: in his first WWF run he was mostly used as a jobber for an ailing André and in AJPW he mostly existed as a monster for Jumbo Tsuruta to squash. Over and over again. His second WWF run was mostly similar, only replace Jumbo Tsuruta with Hulk Hogan and add a lot of squash matches against the likes of Tito Santana, Lanny Poffo, Cousin Luke and Hillbilly Jim. If the prospect of a Kamala vs Hillbilly Jim match doesn't terrify you, then his third WWF run should because he became once again a monster... only this time it was Warrior doing the squashing. Once Warrior was sacked due to extravagant financial demands Kamala stuck around with nothing more to do than squashing his former handler Kim Chee before migrating to WCW and becoming part of the Dungeon of Doom. After being built up with a series of squashes he became fodder for a past his prime Jim Duggan and finally left the business for several years before coming back for the occasional nostalgia event until his final retirement in 2010. Not memorable by any stretch of imagination, but surely Kamala's been one amazing overachiever and as such should be remembered."

[4.0] "Kamala wasn't a good worker; he needed to be in with a top talent to be in anything bearable. But he could at least get his character over."

[7.0] "His gimmick is the only reason he had a career. He really didn't have any wrestling ability but his size alone was enough for him to get a pay-per-view match every few years when people started to forget about him."

[8.0] "a top 25 gimmick of all time made up for a real lack of wrestling talent. if kamala was more willing to blood feud he could have been a main event draw anywhere... but he sort of lost his monster mythology when there was no blood kamala had to travel to stay fresh... but he was always good for 2-3 months when he first came to a promotion... great great gimmick"

[9.0] "I loved Kamala. He was everything from ring techniques, scaring fans, and acting wild. He was out of control which his handler Kimchee had to restrain him. I feel he was underrated at best of times. Both great at babyface and heel. He had memorable matches with Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker and Yokozuna. My favorite was him against the Undertaker in a coffin match at Survivor Series. When he was in WCW with the Dungeon of Doom it was lame. I find when he teamed with Sika of the Wild Samoans it was so-so. Great seeing two big men as a team but it did not match well. Biting the chicken's head off at Tuesday Night Titans was funny. What a bizarre man he was. This man worked his butt off hard. What pissed me off was when WWE did not pay him for a very long time. That's unfair. He should have won a title belt in WWE or WCW, he was that good. Very sad to see his career end due to diabetes and having his leg amputated. Excellent wrestler."

[6.0] "Okay, he was not a great in ring technician, but he had tremendous facial expressions that could really sell a match."

[4.0] "Obviously not a very good wrestler, and impossible to take seriously with his ludicrous gimmick, but he could be quite funny when they chose to go that route."