[1990-07-07-USWA-Memphis TV] Cowabunga vignette

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Chris Champion was in the gimmick at this point. He does a ton of martial arts stuff in full Ninja Turtle garb. The narration makes this amazing. He's fighting for truth, justice and a bigger slice of pizza. Pro wrestling!

[PeteF3]

Cowabunga the Karate Turtle. Fabulous. I'd love to know who was doing the Splinter voice.

[soup23]

Who the hell idea was this? The karate moves were actually fairly coordinated but between the music and narration this was too much to take in.

[shoe]

The character worked well at spot shows in SMW, I'm sure it could here as well. I thought the video was well done.

[Kevin Ridge]

The Ninja Turtle fan in me loved this. I would not have picked Chris Champion as the guy under the mask.

[garretta]

In Memphis, this is harmless fun. In the WWF, Vince would have been destroyed for it. It just goes to show you what a reserve of credibility and goodwill can do for a wrestling promotion. I'm actually interested to see how this gimmick works in the ring, as Champion looked like he was moving pretty well in the suit.

[drew wardlaw]

This is the second time we've gotten a ninja turtle promo, and I can't remember, WA it for a different company. Like was there an ICW ninja turtle or was it always Memphis? I can't remember. Anyway, shockingly competent karate kicks.

[GSR]

For many years Cowabunga has lived in the shadows waiting for the right time to show his face upon the wrestling world, and now is that time! Cowabunga is a fighter of evil and a fighter for truth, justice and a bigger slice of pizza!

 

Cowabunga has got a new costume and it’s a significant improvement on the one he wore previously. He does some karate kicks and punches, then chops a piece of wood in half. The gimmick is still horrible, but at least it looks like it will be interesting to watch with all those flashy kicks and punches. Not too sure about the faux Japanese accent that he talks in mind!

[dawho5]

Looked like a half-assed execution of a karate form. But for wrestling it will work. Don't know that I would condemn Vince for this. It would show a shocking grasp of contemporary pop culture for Vince. He always seems stuck at least 5 to 10 years behind.