When Mortal Kombat Meets Wrestling: The Tale of Glacier

The Ice-Cold Wrestling Gimmick Gone Wrong

Ah, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 90s. It was a time when Ted Turner threw around money like it was confetti—millions spent on insane ideas, many of which were gloriously bad. One of those ideas? The infamous wrestling gimmick that pretty much shouted, “Hey, look at us! We’re totally ripping off Mortal Kombat’s Sub-Zero!” Spoiler alert: Midway, the game maker, didn’t like this idea and threatened to sue faster than you could say, “Glacier is a terrible name for a wrestler!”

This whole fiasco brings us to the legend of Glacier, a character who flopped harder than a pancake thrown by a toddler. But don’t worry; we’ll thaw this out and get to the juicy bits of how Glacier slid into the world of wrestling.

From Outrageous Spending to Ice-Cold Reception

First off, let’s rewind to the mid-90s when WCW decided to compete with Vince McMahon’s WWF (now WWE). The plan? Hire big stars and create the most ridiculous and extravagant gimmicks you could think of. After all, with Ted’s money, they had no budget worries. Who needed a sensible gimmick when you could have a ninja-like wrestler who loves ice?

Enter Ray Lloyd. This guy was a martial artist who had spent years in Japan blending karate with wrestling. Perfect, right? Conceptually, yes, but the execution? Not so much. WCW’s big cheese, Eric Bischoff, was in love with martial arts. After just a casual chat, Ray was signed quicker than you can say, “Let’s copy Mortal Kombat!”

Now, imagine the brainstorming sessions that led to Glacier. They threw around a whopping $35,000 for a Sub-Zero costume from a legit prop house. Because why not splash out on a costume that screams, “We’re totally unoriginal!”? Then, they thought, “Hey, let’s spend $400,000 on a grand entrance featuring blue lasers and fake snow!” Because if you’re gonna rip off a character, you may as well go all out!

With flashy promo vignettes that shamelessly lifted quotes from Mortal Kombat, Glacier was introduced to the wrestling world in April 1996. One promo exclaimed, “In each of us burns the fury of a warrior,” which was slightly butchered from MK’s original line. Let’s be real—subtlety was not their strong suit.

The most absurd part? They created a list of 150 ice-themed names. Apparently, “Stone Cold” was on there, which is hilarious since Steve Austin would soon become the biggest star in wrestling. Bischoff, however, thought “Cryonic” might be cooler. Yikes!

Glacier’s debut was delayed repeatedly due to Hogan’s dramatic heel turn with the nWo, a storyline that drew audiences like crazy. So, they shoved Glacier out there against a nobody called The Gambler. Because nothing screams main event like squashing a jobber!

Then came the lawyers. Midway caught wind of the gimmick and said “Not on our watch!” Lloyd recalled the moment he was summoned to Bischoff’s office, convinced he was getting fired. Bischoff, ever the realist, declared, “If we fight this, we’re going to lose big!” And just like that, they had to scramble to change the gimmick while keeping it hilariously similar.

Even after a total of four matches, WCW kept shoving Glacier down everyone’s throats, even giving him a feud with Mortis, another character who was like Reptile’s less-cool cousin. The feud revolved around Mortis stealing Glacier’s helmet! Yes, you read that right. For something costing them over a million bucks, they made Glacier’s gimmick a two-minute squash match over a helmet.

At the end of the day, Glacier’s character fizzled out in midcard purgatory, where he’d hang out with guys like Mortis and Wrath, eventually fading into the shadows like a bad aftertaste. Ray Lloyd, the man behind Glacier, seemed to take it all in stride, embracing his time with humor and grace, even when he faced one of the most ridiculous failures in wrestling history.

Glacier’s saga is essentially a textbook case of how not to launch a wrestling gimmick. While WCW was floundering with this icy character, the wrestling world pushed forward, leaving Glacier freezing on the sidelines. But hey, at least Ray Lloyd knows how to keep it cool even when everything else is melting down!