[5.0] "One Man Gang was a good gimmick but Akeem the African Dream was not a bad and offensive gimmick. In the ring the One Man Gang was alright but was behind some of the other big men in the company at the time. He played the One Man Gang gimmick well."
[5.0] "Slightly below average big man although they made him look like a bad ass when he first came to the WWF and immediately got suspended for a few weeks for beating up a referee. The Akeem gimmick killed his momentum and although he still had high profile matches with Bossman in the Twin Towers, once Bossman went baby face, he had nowhere to go and was just another big guy pseudo jobber."
[8.0] "Edited for errors, and some additional commentary: Loved his territory work under the One Man Gang moniker, he was a monster heel who was always a credible threat and a main event lock. Confession: with his long haired look - he was kinda cute! The tenure in World Class was the first shift in his presentation: here is where the iconic biker look was born, and claims of being from Halsted Street in Chicago (Thanks Gary Hart! ). His early WWF work was good enough, but then he was transformed into... My #1 all time favorite guilty pleasure gimmick. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE AKEEM. I know so many hate it, and I won't act like it was "legitimately great" No no - understand my affinity for cheese/tongue in cheek, so long as it's done with both feet so to speak. After slimming down to the best shape of his career, in '91 he resumed the One Man Gang character in WCW. Unfortunately, WCW was a mess and the Gang never got the push he deserved until *off tune fan fair* His return to the national stage, which came with a brief run as WCW's US champion in 1996. Unfortunately, by then his better years were quit far in the rear view, additionally the fans were utterly lukewarm to him (ouch). Now, I must fully admit - when he faced opposition near is height, his punches looked bad. He took a notably terrible over the top rope bump for Jimmy Snuka in Royal Rumble 1990. But I have an obvious soft spot for the guy. His 80's work is enjoyable if you know what you're getting into: the pure embodiment of an 80's style monster heel."
[2.0] "As One Man Gang he was an OK big man but the Akeem gimmick was just horrendous, then as he got slower he just became more and more painful to watch."
[7.0] "His gimmick was bad ass and he could actually have a good match for how big he was. The problem was he wrestled in an era when dudes would hold the heavyweight title for years on end. I don? t like the hot potatoing that happens with the titles in today? s day and age but I do like to see it change hands a few times a year and if the one man gang was in his prime in the late 90? s he would have won the belt. I enjoy quite a few of his matches and would recommend going back and checking him out."
[5.0] "Typical big man of the pre-Undertaker era, meaning he didn't bear much to the ring than sheer size and the fact he looked real tough. It may sound terrible nowadays but in those days that's exactly what was expected from big men. He knew his limits and kept to them, including choosing to be managed by excellent talkers (Gary Hart, Skandor Akbar etc) instead of cutting his own promos which added to his menacing and tough persona. His WWF run was marked by the now infamous "discovery of his African roots" (I think those were the exact words used by Slick), otherwise he would have been a solid if unremarkable midcard big guy. Akeem run aside he was a solid and reliable but otherwise unremarkable old fashioned big man, so he gets an average rating."
[4.0] "I don't remember doing anything he really did in his career. Maybe winning the WCW US title or being his ealry days in the Mid-South or WWE. He was a great brawler and could punch opponents very well. He had the size and was a great heel. One Man Gang gimmick was great. He did not do much main events except have a few matches with Hulk Hogan. Akeem gimmick was terrible."
[4.0] "One Man Gang was decent but limited, and he needed to be in with a good, smaller worker, someone who could bump and sell, to be in anything approaching a good match."
[3.0] "Ich fand und finde ihn super lustig, diese dämlichen Bewegungen die er als Akeem gemacht hat, was er vermutlich tanzen nannte, waren einfach zu lustig. Als One Man Gang dann für mich das krasse Gegenteil, ein Brawler vor dem Herren. Für 3 Punkte reicht es."
[5.0] "This Akeem gimmick is one of the dumbest of all times but along with Slick he was quite funny and he certainly had size. I loved him jiving while Slick did a promo. Not a great. wrestler but also not awful. Is responsible for one of the greatest moments, the Mega Powers explode; but his botch in the match overshadows that entire storyline for greatness."
[7.0] "He was never a favorite of mine but I was already impressed with how well he moved for his size. He some good matches but just didn't have what it took to be a star for me."
[2.0] "One Man Gang oder vielen auch als Akeem bekannt. Der Mann, nun ja, hatte kein Charisma, konnte im Ring wirklich nur wenig, hatte auch am Mikro nicht viel zu melden und einzig vielleicht aufgrund seines Aussehens, dass typisch "bigger than life" war, konnte er vielleicht ein oder zweimal Eindruck schinden. Relevanz hat der Mann sowieso keine und deswegen gibt es nur 2 Punkte, die sogar noch gut gemeint sind. Irgendwie war One Man Gang ja auch einfach nur peinlich, vor allem auch als Akeem."
[2.0] "One Man Gang hatte eine beeindruckende Statur. Das wars dann aber auch, langweilige Ausstrahlung und sehr langsam im Ring. Er ist für mich einer von vielen BigMen, die von der WWE nur aufgrund ihrer Optik mal kurz gepusht wurde. Einen extra Punkt gibt es trotzdem, für seine Auftritte als Teil des Tag Teams "Twin Towers", das mir dann doch gefallen hat, auch wenn er als Akeem klar im Schatten vom Big Boss Man stand."
[7.0] "I always felt he never got the true push that he deserved. The biker gimmick was unique, which combined with his size, made him impressive both on his way to the ring and inside the squared circle. He sold his opponents moves well. He was not a Road Warriors rip off. He was a biker, they were from the Apocalypse. He was hurt with the Akeem gimmick. He became a comic character instead of the menacing biker, who was a gang all by himself. He deserved a King Kong Bundy like run, but never got it. This clearly hurts his ranking, despite being a favorite of mine."
[6.0] "Fand ich gut, alle seine Aktionen sahen gut aus und hatten ordentlich "Wumms", auch von der Statur und dem ganzen Auftritt her ein absoluter Hingucker. Sie machten ihn zu Akeem, er tanzte dämlich dazu und brachte auch dieses schräge Gimmick irgendwie cool rüber. Ein weiterer Wrestler aus der Reihe "Unterschätzter Könner" in meinen Augen. Was an ihm so schlecht sein sol, dass er hier gerade mal auf vier Punkte kommt, ist mir absolut schleierhaft."
[7.0] "Mir gefiehl das Akeem-Gimmick super und im Tag-Team mit Big Bossman war er echt Töfte! Als One Man Gang war er unglaublich charismatisch und loyal gegenüber seinen Chefs!"
[6.0] "Als One Man Gang in der WCCW oder zu seiner Anfangszeit in der WWF war er eigentlich relativ gut, allerdings finde ich das ihm das Gimmick als African Dream schon sehr geschadet hatte. Mir gefiel sein Gimmick als Akeem nicht die Zusammenarbeit mit dem Bossman war zwar eine gute Idee der Bookers, dennoch habe ich mich jedoch nie sonderlich um ihn interessiert."
[3.0] "So sympathisch mir das Akeem-Gimmick auch war, im Grunde war es Schrott. Als One Man Gang verkörperte er zumindest äußerlich den Prototypen eines üblen Punks, vor denen sich die amerikanische Gesellschaft in den 80ern zu fürchten begann. Die tatsächlichen Fähigkeiten waren dagegen ziemlich überschaubar, nichts was er innerhalb, oder außerhalb des Rings zur allgemeinen Unterhaltung beizutragen hatte, konnte mich je überzeugen."
[1.0] "Interessante Erscheinung aber im Ring zu nichts zu gebrauchen. Als Heel aufgrund seiner Optik gerade noch so akzeotierbar, aber als Face endgültig zum Vergessen."
[6.0] "Ein Wrestler, für den die 3 erfunden wurde. Egal, was er machte, für mich wirkte er in allem nur Mittelmässig. Ihm fehlte der letzte Funken Intensität, der letzte Funken böse Ausstrahlung, der letzte Schliff am Moveset und so weiter, und so fort. Sicher ein zuverlässiger Kerl für sämtliche Under- und Midcards, aber niemals für Höheres vorgesehen."
[4.0] "Als Akeem sehr lustig-fast kultig. One Man Gang war zwar weitaus ernster, aber gleichzeitig extrem langweilig. Im Ring leider kaum zu gebrauchen."
[6.0] "Als One Man Gang eher unteres Mittelmaß, als Akeem schon fast 8 Punkte wert! Das Gimmick des African Dream hatte was und zusammen mit dem Big Boss Man waren die beiden als Twin Towers ein Top Heel Tag Team Ende der 80er Jahre!"
[8.0] "Kult-Wrestler der 80er. Grosse und beeindruckende Erscheinung, aber immer viel Humor dabei. Akeem the african Dream (mit Manager Slick)- sehr lächerliches Gimmick - aber deswegen auch sehr geiles u. lustiges!"
