Wrestling: No Bad News About One Of Harlem’s Finest [@ChemicalJulian #wrestlingthump]

February 16, 2012 by Hannibal Tabu Leave a Comment

Way before Hell Rell or Webstar came “Straight Outta Harlem,” professional wrestling had its very own in Bad News Brown. Also known as Bad News Allen, “Buffalo” Allen Coage was a staple of the New Japan Pro Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling circuits. Bad News Brown brought his devastating finisher, The Ghetto Blaster (double leg standing enziguri), to the WWE in 1988, battling faces and heels alike.

Bad News Brown feuded with Bret Hart, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Roddy Piper, among others. On the 03-11-89 edition of Saturday Night’s Main Event, Bad News gave Hulk Hogan a run for his money. But most memorable was his feud with Jake “The Snake” Roberts.

The feud between Bad News Brown and Jake Roberts began when Roberts sent Brown a birthday present on the April 22 episode of Wrestling Challenge. Upon opening the package, Brown found a rubber snake; it was revealed that Brown was afraid of snakes. On the May 5 episode of WWF Superstars, the two men agreed to a match. Brown later claimed that his fear of snakes was cured, although he was quickly proven wrong. On the July 28 episode of WWF Superstars, it was announced that Brown and Roberts face each other at SummerSlam with the Big Bossman as a special referee. Brown also announced that he would bring 200 pounds of Harlem sewer rats to counteract Roberts’s boa constrictor, Damien.

Interesting Facts: Allen held an Olympic Bronze Medal (Montreal, 1976) and two Pan-American Games Gold Medals (1967 & 1975) in Judo. He is also a multi-title holder in NWA and Stampede Wrestling. Early in his career, Allen referred to himself as “The Ultimate Warrior, ” not to be confused with that other guy.

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Allen Coage passed in March 2007.

[Source: ObsessedWithWrestling]

About Hannibal Tabu

Born in Rockford, Illinois; raised in Memphis, Tennessee; matriculated in
Tacoma, Washington and broadcasting live from Los Angeles, Hannibal Tabu is
a writer, a brother, a husband, a misanthrope, a son, an emcee, an uncle, a
poet, a father, a designer, a nephew, a romantic, a storyteller, and by
god, a fan. He spent more than ten years doing the journalist thing for
Vibe, Slave Trade, MTV Online, Rap Pages, America Online, the Los Angeles
Sentinel, Spinnerrack.com, Speak and The Source. Hannibal has worked as a
web designer/producer and graphic artist for American Honda, eHobbies.com,
Quicken.com, Express.com, the California Association of REALTORS, Disney
Channel, NextPlanetOver.com, Toyota Motor Sales, Kaiser Permanente,
California Bank & Trust and many more. As a poet, Hannibal has been
published in The Drumming Between Us, (sic) Vice Verse, Drumvoices Review,
Voices From Leimert Park and other anthologies, as well as being author of
the collection BORN BENEATH AN ANGRY STAR and co-author of FLIGHT MANUAL.
As a novelist, he's written THE CROWN: ASCENSION and FARAWAY (both
available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble & Smashwords) and the upcoming sci fi
political thriller ROGUE NATION. He's the winner of the 2012 Top Cow Talent Hunt, writer of Waso: Will To Power for Stranger Comics, Project: Wildfire for Legends Press, and co-writer of an issue of Watson & Holmes (alongside 2 Guns writer Steven Grant) for New Paradigm Studios. For six years he was the editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch group of newspapers, is currently the co-owner and editor-in-chief of Black geek website Komplicated at the Good
Men Project, and uses his Operative Network website (www.operative.net) to
publish his poetry, market what he's doing, rant at the world and emit
strangled cries for help. In addition to all that, Hannibal collects comic
books, has scores of action figures, DJs private parties, is a Mac OS
zealot, sings and sometimes even hosts karaoke, practices a form of
spirituality based on ancient Egyptian belief, and goes to bed every day,
secretly hoping that half the world will commit suicide in his honor.