On August 23rd, 1999, WCW came out swinging with their new star player: The Demon. Portrayed by Brian Adams — the wrestler, not the “Summer of ’69” guy — he was adorned in Gene Simmons’ iconic monochromatic face paint and a spiky flame-covered cape. He emerged from a crimson iron maiden, surrounded by the members of KISS belting “God of Thunder” and the requisite pyrotechnics. It’s just a shame that nobody was watching – WWE reports that it was “one of the lowest rated segments in the history of Nitro.”

The eventual plan, per Ultimate Classic Rock, was to introduce wrestlers based on all four of the KISS-classic personas, with the Starchild, the Spaceman, and the Rum-Tum-Tugger all on the fast track for wrestling stardom. Unfortunately, the idea was scrapped after the Demon failed to capture any attention, and the organization was out a cool $500,000 on KISS’s debut performance alone. The Demon persona was handed down to less-established wrestler Dale Torborg before being swept under the rug a few years later.