The Day has come. When the first image of the episode appeared onscreen, my heart started racing. That was the night, that was the date. Right of the bat you could tell this is a special night unlike any other. Not only the show was taking place at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but there was a stage setup by the entrance. The scene was much larger than ever before for musical performances. It elevated the excitement and anticipation to the nth degree
Oh the excitement that it was! My heart was racing.
And of course, all the Kiss clips were being shown throughout the episode to keep reminding the viewers that tonight Kiss will be live, and they kept the adrenaline pumping. It weren't the days of the internet yet. Yes, it was already up but it's not like you could go online and find a Kiss performance back then in 1999, and at the time as a 13 year old with allowance growing up in Europe this was the only video footage of Kiss I could see. One of the commentators, Tony Shiavone, also announced casually that tonight will also be a debut of a new wrestler from Kiss. And for me this is a great, dot connecting storytelling here - obviously, having in mind the last episode and given this info, it's obvious that Brian Adams will now become Kiss representation on WCW. For me that was nothing unusual, bands already had their representatives on WCW - ICP rap duo had Vampiro (and soon The Misfits would appear too), Megadeth also performed earlier that year and backed Goldberg. So that was normal it seemed then, but to have this otherworldly band leave a warrior here was on another level for me.
Tony Shiavone in the first quarter of the show: "It is excitement like never before, I really believe that, at WCW Monday Nitro. Even before the doors opened about an hour before airtime, because the wrestlers themselves just knowing that Kiss was in the arena, coming out here watching Kiss early on , seeing these four dynamic rockers - the greatest ever. [Kiss] will not only be here live, that we could see them, they're gonna reveal new wrestler tonight.
Bobby Heenan: First time in history rock'n'roll and wrestling, Kiss has gotten involved. They're gonna show who they have, this is gonna be very, very interesting Tony
Tony Shiavone: That unveiling is coming up later on tonight, they are here, and what a feeling in the arena
Some of the other Tony Shiavone's quotes from throughout the show: "That's exactly right. Kiss will be here, but not only. Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, Peter Criss. They'll be performing for us here on WCW Nitro and they will unveil a brand new wrestler in WCW. Kiss will have its own wrestler. He will be here making his debut tonight, live on WCW Monday Nitro"
"Kiss will be performing tonight. And also, Kiss will be debuting a brand new wrestler. Their own wrestler in World Championship Wrestling. What a night, an unforgettable night"
"Kiss will be performing live, unveiling a brand new wrestler, their brand new wrestler in WCW"
"Fans here tonight are pumped out as never before because Kiss will be here to perform and debut their brand new wrestler"
Every time a wrestler walked out, the stage setup around the entrance was a reminder of what's about to happen. Again, it was extremely exciting. About midway through the episode, another "musical" act took advantage of the stage that's been setup - a bunch of wrestlers who formed a country band performed their song "Good Old Boys" and joked about Kiss onstage. Curt Henning - "They bring Kiss out here. (this statement is met with a loud and long roar from the crowd) Wait a second, what's that song Kiss used to sing? I wanna Rock'N'Roll ..hell, they can't even stay up all night"
Kiss fans could be spotted sprinkled throughout the crowds, that great logo sticking out in the crowd. Every crowd shot showed some. Even small things like that add to the anticipation when it's already on maximum level. Just few examples
Tony Shiavone: "Hey Bobby Brains, you feel the jitters? The excitement? Coming up next, Hogan and Sting and then Kiss, unveiling their brand new wrestler. Not just any band but Kiss, tonight here on the program"
Finally, when the last fight begun, I was standing from excitement. Hulk Hogan vs Sting was an entertaining fight but an exceptionally long one for obvious reasons - the Kiss stage had to be setup. Shortly after the match begun, the entrance was covered by a huge Psycho Circus themed curtain (same one as on the Psycho Circus album cover). I was eyeing what's going on in the background throughout the entire fight
The fight has ended and I knew what was coming next. Tony Shiavone: "Ladies and Gentlemen, the debut of a brand new wrestler, from Kiss is right upon us. Kiss will, THE Kiss will be performing live on that stage in just a few moments"
And even right before the event the last promo was shown. By then my heart was in my throat.
And then the moment had come. Tony Shiavone asked his co host Bobby Heenan if he's ready, after which he uttered the famous entry - "You Wanted The Best, You Got The Best, The Hottest Band in the World, KISS!!!"
The thunderous drum intro began pounding even before the curtain dropped, echoing like thunder or canons throughout the hall, halting my breath
Even though the song was in slow tempo, the excitement and power was there, and the performance was jaw dropping. It looked otherworldly. For the 13 year old comic book/sci fi fan, it looked like a piece of world and characters from another dimension came to our world. There was this mystical vibe about them (and the whole Psycho Circus era thanks to the Image comics mythology), and it was indeed unlike any performance I've ever seen or watched. The lighting wasn't your typical bright concert lighting, the performance was lit in moody lights and colors. And the stage with it's flashing and changing logo and stage lighting did look like a spaceship from vintage scifi movies/horrors just landed
In the last quarter of the song, Peter Criss' drum platform rose up,
and a giant, spiderweb-like rig started to descend.
The WCW staff wheeled in a large sarcophagus, or some describe it as iron maiden, which rose to the vertical level and opened to reveal Brian Adams as a new wrestler from Kiss. With what it looked like iron sarcophagus being wheeled horizontally out of a blinding light, it all looked as if Adams was forged in fire within that mold into a new Kiss wrestler. What a fantastic, symbolic and mythical entrance. Many may not know, but the sarcophagus/coffin’s official name was, according to its designer Andre Freitas, Resurrection Chamber. How cool is that.
Brian had a brand new costume with straps and leather pants with lips running down each side, and few elements influenced by the gear worn by Roman gladiators. His face had Gene Simmons' makeup with bat design, and he had a new, Native American hairdo with the sides shaven, dyed jet black, and a Samurai-style pony tail at the top. What a transformation, what a transformation! The whole design of the character and concept for me, right there and then, was the greatest and coolest thing I've ever seen, coolest than any comic book character, scifi character, Star Wars - you name it. For the 13 year old me, it was the greatest character design ever, and right there and then I dropped all of my interests. Nothing compared. "THIS is my thing and I'm officially this guy's biggest fan" I declared to myself. That's how mind blown I was. I loved that Spawn-like costume, the Bat makeup, and the whole eerie feel of the whole thing. Mystique played a large part in it all, and come to think of it, that original character as portrayed by Brian Adams was never seen in full light, only in atmospheric scenery and lights. He was seemingly a character on the side of good, but looked evil, something I really liked in comic books, like Batman and Spawn were. And the last ingredient of the perfect storm is the fact that Ive been seeing Adams ever since I started watching WCW in early 1998, and the transformation of one of Hogan’s henchmen into something so unique and cool was very interesting. Especially since in WCW, Brian Adams never seemed like the type who wouldve done a costumed fantasy character, he didn’t seem like the type. I think it's all about perspective. Some wrestling fans didn't like the idea of a music band leaving a wrestler, but for me, not knowing anything about Kiss, and thinking it's WCW's creation, that character was brand new. What I saw wasn't a band having a wrestler based on them, but an "ordinary" henchman Brian Adams being transformed by an awesome evil looking sarcophagus called Resurrection Chamber, into a costumed warrior straight out of comic books. That's a great comic book mythology right there. It was like some Goblins from another dimension transforming a human into one of their kind.
Metal Edge Magazine gave a great description of the moment of the inveiling: “ When the coffin opened, and The Demon stepped out from his metallic crypt, WCW was introduced to the latest powerhouse in professional wrestling - a dark and mysterious character carved by Kiss. The world had met the band’s God of Thunder”
To say that I couldn't wait for the next episode would be an understatement! I was in so much awe. That performance was like comic books, horror and fantasy mixed together, and that character with that makeup design and costume was the coolest thing ever.
Here’s my sketch of Brian Adams in the style of 90’s Hanna Barbera Animation Guide
And below a drawing of Kiss I did the day after that night, copied from the VHS I recorded the episode on. I was that fascinated with those characters. I did one of Brian Adams but it got lost in time.
BEHIND THE SCENES: As stated by people involved many years later, there were three candidates for the first Kiss Wrestler character. Originally WCW's President Eric Bischoff pushed Dale Torborg - an unknown with few matches in small shows like Saturday Night and Thunder, as he was a real diehard, hardcore Kiss fan since childhood and the word got to him about it. However, Gene Simmons of Kiss chose Brian Adams due to his enormous size and presence - Dale Torborg: "Gene's vision of what The Demon was suppose to be was like Kane from the WWE [WWF at the time]. He wanted this big monster" (3 Sides Of The Coin Podcast). "Brian was 300 pounds. What Gene wanted, he was starting doing research and he was watching WWE [WWF at the time] and saw Kane. So he pictured The Demon being like Kane. Just monster. It made sense that Brian got it. It was 300 pounder plus versus 260 pounder. He was a monster" (Major Wrestling Figure Podcast). However, since Adams vaguely knew anything about Kiss, Torborg became his mannerism coach.
Dale Torborg: “Brian calls me and he goes: ’Hey man, I don’t know what I’m doing with this. I’m not a Kiss fan I have no idea’. I said ‘Don’t worry about it, I’ll help you through it, we’ll go through some of the mannerisms and that kind of thing” (3 Sides Of The Coin Podcast)
Kiss and WCW made commemorative shirts sold just on this day
The unveiling was also covered by both Rock and Wrestling press . Metal Edge Magazine did a great feature article on the event with pinups, and even featured it on the cover.
Next: Chapter 6: Brian Adams Challenges Vampiro - August 30, 1999