August 17, 2020 Observer Newsletter: Life and career of James ‘Kamala’ Harris, more
James “Sugar Bear” Harris, a large journeyman wrestler who had garnered some fame in the United Kingdom as The Mississippi Mauler, showed up looking for a job in Tennessee in 1982.
Two years earlier he had worked in Jerry Jarrett’s promotion for about five weeks, working mostly underneath, but having matches with the likes of Billy Robinson, Bill Dundee, Jimmy Valiant, and long before they were famous as the Rock & Roll Express, prelim babyfaces Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson.
He had been out of wrestling for several months after breaking his ankle, and went to a show at the Mid South Coliseum in Memphis with a friend, Troy Thompson, who wrestled there as The Dream Machine. Machine, while almost completely forgotten today, was a better promo guy than most of the people on lists of the greatest promo guys in wrestling history. Jerry Lawler saw Machine, and saw Harris with him in the dressing room,.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.