The fans in attendance at SummerSlam got quite the surprise when Shawn Michaels’s unmistakable entrance theme hit at the Barclays Center Sunday night.
However, they didn’t get the Heartbreak Kid so much as they got the Heartbreak Colonel:
#HBK became #HBC on #SummerSlam Kickoff as @ShawnMichaels emerged as @kfc‘s newest Colonel Sanders! pic.twitter.com/IE4EEV3Ape
— WWE (@WWE) August 21, 2017
While the spot was both strange and unexpected, this isn’t the first time a WWE Superstar has shilled for KFC. Dolph Ziggler did the same bit last year, except he also wrestled a match against The Miz – who was dressed as a giant chicken.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8J3V6wchSE]
What’s most interesting about all this, however, is that Ric Flair was reportedly originally supposed to play Colonel Sanders this year:
HBK=hilarious Colonel. Ric Flair was originally supposed to be in that spot as the KFC Colonel but health issues changed that #SummerSlam
— Justin LaBar (@JustinLaBar) August 20, 2017
If that’s true, the whole bit suddenly makes a lot more sense. Flair appeared in the first season of Southpaw Regional Wrestling as a “Ric Flair paid impersonator” selling KFC Georgia Gold chicken. Indeed, the Georgia Gold ads might be the funniest part of season 1, and that’s no small feat.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eelZw2kYTmU]
It’s unfortunate that Flair’s health kept him from appearing at SummerSlam. I sincerely hope he’s on his way to recovery and will be back at it again soon.
Get well soon, Naitch!
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