You might have seen the viral video which gone around the world in the last few days! A Michael Jackson impersonator grabs a Drake impersonator in an outdoor wrestling ring, with the Stratosphere casino’s tower looming in the background. Clutching “Drake’s” head, he effortlessly moonwalks backwards, then executes a devastating DDT, falling backward and driving “Drake’s” head into the mat. The crowd reacts. He kips up with MJ flare, does a signature pose, and tags out.
It lasts only 14 seconds, but the only-in-Vegas spot from Future Stars of Wrestling’s Beers and Bodyslams event in Downtown Las Vegas has made Michael Jackson tribute artist Santana Jackson a sudden sensation withs 4.9 million views! It’s come after years of hard work for Jackson, and a deep love for the man he pays tribute to.
“I always loved Michael Jackson,” he says. “That’s why I became a tribute artist—I thought if I was good enough, I would get to meet him. When he passed, I kept doing this to keep his legacy alive.”
The Brooklyn-born tribute artist moved to Las Vegas four years ago. He didn’t have it easy.
“I was doing MJ up and down the Strip, just to keep from being homeless,” he says. A video of Jackson’s street performer act in 2016 made some waves on YouTube , garnering more than 2 million views. And it got him noticed by the producers of tribute show MJ Live, currently at the Stratosphere, which brought him on as one of its two Michaels a year ago.
So how did an in-demand tribute artist end up in a wrestling ring?
Future Stars of Wrestling was founded nine years ago by Joe DeFalco. At the time, DeFalco wanted to put together a stable based on parodies of the Rat Pack. Called the Splat Pack, it would have featured Tank Sinatra, Slammy Davis, Jr., and Mean Martin. While he wasn’t able to make that happen, he didn’t give up on the concept of wrestling lookalikes.
It’s not a crazy idea, especially in Las Vegas, where Elvis impersonators have blazed a trail for tribute artists in genres from country to rock, and where fans are used to larger-than-life spectacle. When DeFalco was putting together a card for the July 5 Beers and Bodyslams, he thought that maybe the time was right for a more contemporary battle of the impersonators. He tabbed FSW stars Jorel Nelson and Royce Issacs to wrestle as “Drake” and “Slim Shady,” respectively, and got in touch with Jackson, who had briefly trained at FSW, to step in as the Gloved One.
Hence the video.
In addition to being a novelty—how many people can say they’ve seen “Michael Jackson” floor “Drake” in ring set up in a parking lot?—the in-ring confrontation echoed some real-life controversy between the Scorpion singer and the King of Pop’s family, as Jackson nephew Austin Brown has voiced his disapproval of Drake using previously-unreleased vocals that Jackson cut in 1983 on Billboard Hot 100 hit “Don’t Matter to Me.” So it works on many levels, which might explain why the brief clip became so widely shared, so quickly.
Watching Jackson perform as Michael, it’s easy to see how his grace on his feet and ability to connect with an audience will give him a leg up in wrestling, a business that has always been as much about storytelling as it is about feats of strength. But, in-ring agility notwithstanding, there is a side to Jackson that isn’t so obvious. When he isn’t honing his dance moves, performing on stage, or training for the squared circle, Jackson gives back by bringing a little bit of MJ to audiences who need it the most. Through Win-Win Entertainment, a Las Vegas-based, rapidly expanding volunteer-based non-profit dedicated to helping professional performers spend time with children in need, Jackson has been dancing and singing at local hospitals, Title One schools, foster homes, and anywhere else a smile is needed.
“Santana is one of the great guys,” says Win Win founder (and performer himself) Jeff Civilico. “He’s got a big heart, and he’s happy to share his time and talent with anybody who needs it. He does have a tough background, and he doesn’t forget where he came from. He keeps giving back. He’s a dream for a guy like me, because if there’s any way he can make it, he’ll be there, every time.”
So if Civilico calls Jackson, with a need for entertainment at, say, a Miracle League game, the tribute artist puts on his stage make up (which, he says, he can do in as quickly as 30 minutes now), and is soon moonwalking down the sidelines, getting all the kids in attendance to dance along, making the event that much more special for them.
In recognition of his dedication to the organization, Win Win Entertainment named him its Volunteer of the Year in 2015.
“What Santana does is really important,” says Civilico. “He inspires everyone around him to do the same by his actions, not because he toots his own horn. He just does this because he loves it. He makes more of an impact than he probably realizes.”
For Jackson, whether it’s onstage in a casino theater, in a school auditorium, or in a wrestling ring, it comes down to his love for MJ and his passion for performing. Paying tribute to Michael is more than a job or career to him: it’s a mission. And it’s one with many chapters yet to be written.
“Just wait for the next thing I do,” he says, “I’m going to keep his mouth in my mouth and everyone else’s mouth.”
SOURCE: Santana Jackson / Forbes
