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#132 - Glacier Nominated by: Lopen

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1NzprbE1pQ" data-time="

Hoo boy. Let's talk about Eric Bischoff's beloved pet project, the ineffable Glacier.

WCW was a hot promotion in 1996, gaining traction with its all-star roster and the sheer variety of styles on its show. You could watch two hours of Nitro and see 8 different matches (whereas on RAW now, you will pretty much see the same match over and over with occasional exceptions). Eric Bischoff was riding high off of the success of the Outsiders and the burgeoning cruiserweight division, and he decided to take a chance on a gimmick he personally helped to develop.

You need to understand that Easy E was a huge karate enthusiast. His love for martial arts seemed virtually unparalleled. He would talk about his black belt nearly as often as he talked about motorcycling (another passion that led to the bizarre but memorable annual Hog Wilde pay-per-view, filmed in front of thousands of bikers each year in the northwest). This led to his desire for a character who would utilize martial arts to dispatch his opponents; with the success of Mortal Kombat and WCW's shameless passion to steal from anything remotely resembling pop culture success (never forget RoboCop), Glacier was born.

For literal months (we're talking nearly 5 months of hype packages), Glacier was advertised as a no-nonsense silent ninja, a veritable Sub-Zero. Every package was capped with the words "BLOOD RUNS COLD" emblazoned on screen. This did little to really spark a lot of interest, but this is generally standard fare for debuting characters in wrestling. What made it concerning was a hype package that aired only a couple of weeks before Glacier's actual debut. I scoured the net to find this package but the only place I assume it still exists is the WWE Network, sadly. In it, Glacier speaks for the first time, sharing his origins. What followed was maybe the single most hilarious promo in WCW of 1996, and that year included the following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX-drFUI1ZI" data-time="

and also this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SF_m2LEtDA" data-time="

Glacier proceeded to talk about how his sensei (which he mispronounced) trained him in jiu jitsu (which he mispronounced) and something called "Tay KWUN DOO," a fighting style so mysterious that it does not exist. He had the heaviest hick accent you could possibly imagine, and in this longer video package, was show shadow boxing with the most laughable moveset ever.

But he hadn't made a live debut yet, so who could fault anyone for being skeptical? When the big day came, when Glacier made his impact felt, Bischoff pulled out all the stops, creating the most elaborate entrance of its time; Glacier's matches were wrestled under pale blue lighting with "snow" falling from the rafters. Lights glittered. Lasers sprayed the ring with designs. And then Glacier started wrestling.

And no one cared.

For months, Glacier would constantly be given stop-and-start pushes, attempting to reignite his fire. But WCW fans had already chosen to support another Iceman (Dean Malenko), and they had little time for an unknown who couldn't wrestle by this point. After all, their main events were dominated by Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper (post hip replacement) and Kevin Nash. They had enough bad wrestling already. Glacier also spawned several other Mortal Kombat lookalikes which whom he would do battle, but after a year of mediocre half-pushes, they would all be repackaged. All except Glacier himself... who just disappeared.

Glacier is a fondly regarded blip on the radar of professional wrestling and often is given the nostalgic treatment of similar misfires, such as the Shockmaster. I personally was never a fan of the Glacier character and while an occasional package would make me laugh, the joke ran cold long before Glacier was put on ice.
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