Forgotten Stables: Devastation Inc.
A good stable can alternately be one of the best things or worst things in professional wrestling. Some stables may be thrown together to try and give many wrestlers something to do or be built to help get one star over. It can also be something that blows up in the face of the booker or creative to put it over. For every stable like the Four Horsemen, New World Order or D-Generation X, there are tons of flops like the recent Retribution. But there are also many that are forgotten to time, or simply weren’t around for many modern fans to know of. So with this feature, we will look back upon some of these Forgotten Stables, looking at who led them and passed through their ranks.
When one thinks of World Class Championship Wrestling, it’s hard to not think of anything beyond the fabled battles between The Von Erichs and the Fabulous Freebirds. But one stable that helped hold down the fort for many years and even travelled to other territories, was that of Devastation Incorporated.
Put together by the legendary wrestler, trainer and manager Skandor Akbar following his retirement from in-ring competition, Devastation Inc. served as one of the earliest examples of what could be deemed the “Monster of the Week” style stable. A group of heels led by a dastardly mastermind who could plow through and destroy many of the lower and mid-card babyface talent, all in an effort to build them up to be taken down by the valiant top babyfaces. This worked especially well in the Texas territory given the top babyfaces were the beloved Von Erich family.
While Devastation Inc. was mostly based in the Texas-based promotion, they would sometimes venture outwards, primarily to Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling and continued through when the promotion was redubbed as Universal Wrestling Federation. Throughout the years Akbar would manage and guide other talents outside of the Devastation Inc. umbrella, his main focus always remained on his core group of talent, of which there are some surprising names he helped launch the careers of. While it was always Akbar’s aim to have a successful group running roughshod over any given territory, perhaps the greatest attribute that can be lauded for the group is the sheer amount of Hall of Fame talent contained within. So, let’s revisit the ranks of one of the earliest stables with a successful track record to ever exist.
The Brains Behind The Group
One simply cannot discuss Devastation Inc. without looking first at the man who put the whole thing together, Skandor Akbar. Akbar had spent his career being a devious heel who always seemed one step ahead of his competition. Upon his retirement, he made it his mission to guide the next batch of talent, both as a trainer and manager. While now seen as a beloved figure in the sport, Akbar was one of the earlier examples of the horrendous heel manager, and as you will soon see, put together a vast array of talent to represent his Devastation Inc. grouping. Sadly, Akbar passed away in 2010 at the age of 75.
Loose Alignments
While we will not go into detail on the following as they were only loosely aligned, or managed by Akbar during his managerial run of Devastation Inc., there are still some absolutely surprising names featured, including some of the biggest stars the business would ever see.
Abdullah The Butcher – Territorial boogeyman and WWE Hall Of Famer
Savannah Jack
The Terminator – Portrayed by Marcus Laurinaitis, younger brother of Road Warrior Animal and Johnny Ace.
Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine – WWE Hall Of Famer
Killer Khan
Nord The Barbarian – The future Berserker in WWF.
Dick Murdoch – Tag team partner of Dusty Rhodes in the Texas Outlaws.
Al Perez – The man who was meant to be the Black Scorpion in WCW.
Dusty Rhodes - Yes, the big Dust was once aligned with Akbar and by extension, Devastation Inc. The American Dream clearly didn’t need someone speaking for him, so his alignment was brief.
The Punisher - One look at the masked superstar at the time showed potential, but again the alignment was brief. That said, the man under the hood would have quite a remarkable career once he hit the WWF. You may have heard of him…. The Undertaker.
Of course, there were many others aligned with Skandor Akbar and Devastation Inc. but let’s move our focus to the core group.
Devastation Incorporated
The Missing Link – The real-life Dewey Robertson, The Missing Link, was one of those stars that you knew was a pro wrestler as soon as you looked at him. A tall built, muscle man adorned with face paint and a prominent tuft of hair on the back of his head that he would grab hold of as he delivered his signature headbutt maneuver. Link would not be in World Class for long, as the WWF would come calling upon their national expansion. He also competed for Bill Watts in both Mid-South and UWF, the WWC in Puerto Rico and numerous independents over his lengthy career. Unfortunately, Robertson passed away in 2007.
King Kong Bundy – An absolute behemoth of a man, King Kong Bundy (the real-life Chris Pallies) was generally seen as a star anywhere he went due to his mammoth size and unique look, especially once he lost all of his hair. When it came to his time in World Class, one could argue that he was almost more over there than he was once Vince McMahon poached him for the WWF during their expansion. Hand-picked by Fritz Von Erich to be his monster heel, he was also the opponent for the fabled Fritz retirement match in 1982 at Texas Stadium. His tenure with Akbar drew him significant accolades to be put in that spot. Bundy’s most considerable success on a national stage would come a few years later, main eventing WrestleMania 2 against Hulk Hogan. While his career never hit those lofty heights again, he was never short for work, appearing in movies and famously in the sitcom Married With Children. Unfortunately, like many others on this list, Bundy is longer with us, having passed away in 2019.
Cactus Jack Manson – Yes, you read that right. Very early in his career, Mick Foley was placed in Devastation Inc. to help get him over as a sadistic madman. He would lack the size of his colleagues in the group but more than made up for it with his intense desire to give the fans, and in effect, his opponents, everything that he had on any given night. While his time in Texas is mainly forgotten now due to his iconic career in both WCW and especially the WWF, every great story needs a beginning. Foley has become a bestselling author, podcaster, Hall of Famer and just about any other accolade one could imagine, all while retaining his status as arguably the nicest guy in the business.
Kamala – When it comes to Devastation Inc., Kamala was considered by many to be the main event. When most people think of The Ugandan Giant, they immediately think of the WWF version after Vince McMahon poached him from World Class, a much more kid-friendly and cartoonish version. But the original version of Kamala was a legitimately scary killer who was feared by many. The real-life Jim Harris had been competing as Sugar Bear Harris after being trained by Bobo Brazil until the combo of Jerry Jarrett and Jerry Lawler helped form the Kamala gimmick during his tenure in Continental Wrestling Association. After departing from there, he headed to Texas and World Class, becoming a member of Devastation Inc. During his time there he would unsuccessfully challenge NWA Heavyweight Champion Harley Race for the title before leading Devastation Inc. into a lengthy feud with the Von Erichs. While his time was brief in World Class, lasting roughly two years, it may have featured some of his best work. Unfortunately, Harris would be plagued by health issues in his later years, losing both his legs to diabetes and ultimately passing away in 2020.
Of course, this is only a taste of Devastation Inc. Make sure to hit up the WWE Network (or Peacock if you’re in the US) and catch up on some of the great stuff you may have missed or never knew existed! And be sure to sound off on any other Forgotten Stables you would like to see covered!
