The late stages of WCW boasted a who’s who of major wrestling stars. From long-time WCW mainstays like Sting, Ric Flair, and Lex Luger, guys who crossed over from WWE like Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Kevin Nash, to emergent stars like Scott Steiner, Goldberg, and Booker T, it’s little wonder fans, to this day, remain nostalgic about the company. However, fans tend not to have such fond memories around Disco Inferno. From the gimmick so many have rejected, to the way he was booked into one of the most iconic factions in wrestling history, to his contributions to creative, to his finishing maneuver, the guy rubbed plenty of people the wrong way.
The Disco Inferno Gimmick Was Hard To Take Seriously
There’s no shortage of silly gimmicks in the history of wrestling. The character of Disco Inferno tends to get a disproportionate amount flack, though. It was outdated even when it Glenn Gilbertti first started using the moniker. Moreover, the silly dance moves he added on top of it looked downright absurdist.
These shortcomings may have been forgiven were it not for the longevity of the gimmick and relatively prominent role Disco occupied in the mid-card. Particularly as the winds of change took WCW in a more serious, realistic direction, the persistence of Disco felt more and more onerous.
NWO Membership
The New World Order started as a truly elite faction, featuring Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall, all about as hot as they ever were in heel roles. The group infamously became watered down with less impressive stars joining their ranks. Then there was Disco Inferno.
In a group defined by edgy, cool heels, Disco felt like the antithesis of the nWo ethos. To be fair, WCW consciously played with this dynamic early on, as he wanted to join the faction but they rebuffed him, and there was some intrigue about whether he’d truly get in for a while. Ultimately, when Wolfpac and Hollywood groups reunited, Disco did find a spot in the faction’s roster, albeit in a background role.
Off Beat Creative Ideas In WCW
Over time, Disco Inferno became a part of WCW’s booking committee behind the scenes. Eric Bischoff has discussed Disco’s role on the 83 Weeks podcast, citing that he had value for thinking well outside the box, though he came up with a number of ideas that were too outlandish, including booking alien characters or an invisible man.
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The wild nature of Disco’s ideas that have leaked, paired with a lot fans not taking him all that seriously to begin with, make a number of fans balk at the idea of him having any creative influence over a major wrestling promotion. It doesn't help that WCW made more than its share of poor creative choices during the periods when Disco was purportedly involved in the process. To be fair the man was just playing a gimmick on TV, and the booking philosophy he has since discussed in shoot interviews about keeping up on and using pop culture to his advantage has merit. Nonetheless, there’s not shortage of people who lump him in with some of WCW’s worst creative choices, whether that’s fair or not.
Disco Inferno’s Chartbuster Vs. The Stone Cold Stunner
Disco Inferno was a more than competent in ring worker, which was one of the major keys to his longevity. At the height of the Monday Night War, he started using a new signature finisher, The Chart Buster. In and of itself, that was believable move to win matches. The problem was that it was conspicuously similar to The Stone Cold Stunner.
There are plenty of pro wrestlers throughout time who have used the same finishing maneuvers. However, when someone is in the midst of a run as quite arguably the hottest wrestler of all time, it’s pretty conspicuous to start using the guy’s finisher. The fact that Disco couldn’t compare with Steve Austin’s stature at the time only made him look more absurd for mimicking his big move.
Disco Inferno probably deserves more credit than he gets for a long career in wrestling, skill in the ring and contributing to creative in not only WCW, but later TNA. His cultivation of a memory boo-able character, in and of itself, speaks to him having a good mind for the business. Just the same, his aesthetics clash hard with a lot of wrestling fans’, and it’s little wonder he remains a reviled figure in many wrestling circles.
