🤠 TERRY FUNK'S 2002 EXPLOSIVE SHOOT: The Funker's Most BRUTAL Confessions! 🔥

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
At your legend and the sport of profession wrestling. Tory
Funk Dejvill all over again five years later.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
You never thought I'd live this long.

Speaker 3 (00:08):
So good to have you back here. I'm still here,
I know, I know.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
How's your health these days?

Speaker 4 (00:15):
Oh gosh, it's just it really sucks, honestly and seriously
as it's uh, like a fellow that's been in the
ring for thirty years, it's not easy for me to get.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Up in the morning, right, It really isn't.

Speaker 4 (00:28):
And got a lot of things wrong with me, you know,
and a lot of things right too, when I haven't
laid down and said that I'm not gonna live anymore.
You don't live my life the way that I want
to anymore, you know, as I do just about what
I want to do, you know. And but every day
as I feel it in my knees and back, and
I think any resurrector being through what I've been through

(00:50):
and ring and would have the same same thing, I
think I'm lucky. I think I'm lucky because God gave
me a good body, you know, good pump body, you know,
Uh gave me a hard head, you know, and uh,
I've been very fortunate.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
A lot of people say, you don't have boneset you're
made out of a wired hangar.

Speaker 4 (01:11):
Yeah, I don't have I don't have many joints.

Speaker 2 (01:15):
I don't think anymore the way it feels, you know.
But yeah, it's uh, my health is pretty good. And
the most important thing is I still got in my mind.

Speaker 4 (01:23):
And that's really the important thing is when of you
get older and stuff, is you want to be able
to think and think quick.

Speaker 2 (01:29):
And that's that's a wonderful.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
Thing to to to Where was I now see.

Speaker 2 (01:34):
I was just kidding.

Speaker 1 (01:36):
I think the last time you were here, it was
like maybe five years ago. You were still at the
w F doing a chain saw Charlie.

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Chain saw Charlie.

Speaker 4 (01:45):
Are you god I killed chang Saw Charlie. I hope
I did it. I think he's dead. I want Chainsaw
to be dead. That was the most uh well, that
was the most absurd thing that I ever came up
with in my life was Chainsaw Charlie. Change Saw Charlie
was not successful. Chainsaw Charlie and I did another one
one time for Joe Blanchard down there. I came in

(02:07):
one week, lasted one week. As doctor knows it all,
what's your occupation Chiro practice? I did, seriously, I put
on a mask, thought the hell it was the hell
of an idea, you know, and that one sucked too too.
I guess everybody's can have a couple of a couple
of sucking creations in their lifetime, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
Well I did. I hope I don't have any more.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
What actually led you leaving to the w F after
your tag he metch with?

Speaker 2 (02:35):
I think it was.

Speaker 4 (02:36):
Bradshaw, honestly, as I had kind of talked to Vince
about that prior to that, you know, And it was
a deal that I came in there and they called
me up and asked me to help him out because
they were in trouble with writings.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
And I came up here. And there was two reasons
I came up here.

Speaker 4 (02:55):
One was for him asking and I went into there,
and the other one was for or Cactus, because I
wanted to help Cactus out there and he didn't asked
cactuses or not, as I pointed everything to him at
that time, and because I wanted to see the guy
really do good in this business, and he's.

Speaker 2 (03:15):
A friend of mine.

Speaker 4 (03:16):
You used to talk to make it all talked to
him last week writing another book, Wow on the origins
of wrestling or something. He was talking about how they
did it in the Carnivals, and I was talking. I said,
my god, Cactus, we got to go back to it
earlier than that, you know, I said, if you believe
in the Bible, we got to go back to you know,

(03:37):
whenever the Lord fought the Angel, you know, all night long,
first death match, you know, or if it.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
Wasn't the Bible, if you don't believe in the Bible, we're.

Speaker 4 (03:45):
Talking about those apes running around, you know, whenever they
caught each other, they wrestled.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
You know. I guess that maybe track was first, though,
because they ran from each.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
Other and then they go ahead and wrestle. Maybe baseball
was first pick up a rock and throw it at
the other one. So who knows what sport was first,
But wrestling's pretty damned old.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
What actually let you live in WF.

Speaker 4 (04:11):
It's basically that basically that is that, Uh, the ratings
were coming up. They had uh improved on a ratings
a great deal, and uh, i'd I pretty much decided
that I was gonna be there a short period of time,
and right, honestly and seriously rob is I don't wanna.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
I don't wanna spend a.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
Lot of time anywhere, mkay.

Speaker 4 (04:27):
Uh, because UH value my days and value my time
with my family.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
And I like getting back home when you know, as I.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
Did you leave on good terms with your moss Evince.

Speaker 4 (04:37):
Oh, absolutely left on good terms with 'em. Very disappointed. Uh,
not with ECW, but with uh WCW. I was disappointed
with the whole atmosphere down there.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
The whole thing.

Speaker 4 (04:51):
And it was uh making a buck and a very
good one for me, and uh I was putting in
time down there. But it was a bad situation because
w CW was probably the greatest thing that the wrestlers
ever had and ever will have in this profession, unless

(05:12):
someday they decided to buck up and form a union,
and they should.

Speaker 1 (05:17):
I got a lot of questions regarding WCW coming up soon.
But getting back to ECW, how did contact who may
contact with you.

Speaker 3 (05:24):
To bring you back? Was a Paulie or Tommy or.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
If I remember correctly, I think it was Paulie.

Speaker 4 (05:32):
I think it was Paulie. And whenever I went back,
I didn't go that long either. He came back to
do that came back with Dreamer to do that deal
with Dreamer. And then I went ahead and came down
with some kind of hepatitis.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
And it was.

Speaker 4 (05:48):
A bad situation for about three or four months or
before I really got the feeling good again.

Speaker 3 (05:53):
How different was ECW this.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
I might add that it was a hepatitis from a
bad food family.

Speaker 1 (06:00):
And now, how different was ECW this time around from
the previous time you were there.

Speaker 4 (06:09):
I felt like it was still a good group in
an organization, but they'd been picked through a lot by then,
you know, and and and the picking had started to
take place by by vance n W c W, and
that was a part of the downfall of ECW. We
like to think that it wasn't We like to think
that it was other reasons. And uh, but I think
that the picking of the talent began to take its

(06:33):
toll on PAULI, right, and they weren't gonna stop, you know,
they were gonna pick his bones clean.

Speaker 1 (06:40):
Lord of plans that PAULI had for you and Tommy.
Because it did, it never really went anywhere.

Speaker 4 (06:45):
We were gonna just finally, uh, I was gonna switch
right and switch to a heel up there, And I
think it would have been a pretty appealing things. I
wish it might have been. I wish it might have
worked out, but it didn't.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Were there any plans to do anything with you and
Dusty Roads in HW?

Speaker 1 (07:03):
Cause I know Dusty came in and he had made
some comments, So that's actually about bringing in and some stuff.

Speaker 2 (07:08):
Eh, well, that Dutchy Road, the Dutchy Roads. He had
the plans, but I didn't, right.

Speaker 4 (07:16):
Nah, Nah, I I would have enjoyed working a program
with him there.

Speaker 2 (07:21):
I would've and they talked about it. I don't know
what was it.

Speaker 3 (07:23):
I don't even know.

Speaker 2 (07:24):
It just kind of just blew away. You know.

Speaker 3 (07:25):
Could have been money and stuff to those could have.

Speaker 4 (07:27):
Been anything with it with Paul and Dusty, you know, yeah,
could have been a master plan. I'm sure it was
a master plan if those two were involved.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
After you recovered from uh, you never came back to
to finish the angle.

Speaker 3 (07:41):
Why is that?

Speaker 2 (07:42):
Well you move on and ECW had moved on at.

Speaker 4 (07:46):
That time, you know, And uh the other thing was
is that Uh again, as I valued my time at
this time in my life.

Speaker 1 (07:56):
You know, how'd you get back into WCW. How did
that wind up happening?

Speaker 4 (08:01):
Got a call one day, and uh the call was
from uh JJ Dylan, and he called me up and says, terrible,
We've got this deal we wanna do with you.

Speaker 2 (08:17):
And we want you to come in.

Speaker 4 (08:20):
And they wanna know how much I wanted per per day,
and I I told him and and uh they finally
agreed to it. So that's kind of the way it went,
you know. And so I went back down here.

Speaker 1 (08:36):
What were your uh original quessions of VINCEROUSO When you came.

Speaker 4 (08:38):
Back hard to say, Uh, there's a guy running it.
I probably didn't say fifteen words to hm.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
You know.

Speaker 4 (08:48):
I mean, I think that I have a a few
things to offer right to his business about uh, after
I've been in it as long as I have, and uh,
I think I can spot something that are right and
wrong with an area, and you know, I think I
deserve at least in asking about it. But nobody even asked.
And after a point, you know, after a period of time,

(09:12):
is that I realized which direction it was going and
there was no stopping it, you know, So I just
sat back there and observed and took my money. You know,
I figured that one time in my life it was
okay to sit there and be on a gravy train.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
Do you think that Ventureso had a good mind for
the business or not?

Speaker 2 (09:35):
I don't, you know.

Speaker 4 (09:36):
I mean, I think he had a creative mind. I
think he had a creative mind, but much of what
he created was not in tune to the business and
what the people wanted. I think he would be very
good on a committee. I think he'd be excellent on
a booking committee, just like I think Kevin Sullivan is.
There's an endless mine right there in a devious mind,

(09:59):
right but you gotta sciphon.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Through all of the bad.

Speaker 4 (10:01):
And he does have a lot of good, a great
deal of good, but you've got to throw some of
it out the window. And I think we're all that way.
I think almost all creative people are. But you have
to have somebody keeping you within a hallway and not
just bouncing off the walls, you know, the next room
and of the next house and.

Speaker 1 (10:21):
Of a you know, how were you accept about a
locker room at this time? Were you treated with respect
or were the younger guys more arrogant towards you?

Speaker 4 (10:29):
I can ever complain about a locker room, and the
guys in this business.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
I love him and I like him.

Speaker 4 (10:38):
There's certain certain individuals that I really don't care for
that disappear, you know, and don't have enough Uh. I
don't want to mention any nage, but don't have enough
appreciation for their fellow wrestler to dress with them or

(10:58):
be around them or anything else. I mean, who in
the hell's getting them over?

Speaker 2 (11:03):
Right?

Speaker 4 (11:04):
These are the guys getting you over pell, These are
the guys making you who you are. You're certainly not
that goddamn tough.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
You know.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
How would you compare the w CW locker room at
the time to the w FS when you had left?

Speaker 2 (11:19):
Uh, w w F was a very good locker room.

Speaker 4 (11:22):
Whenever I left up there really was a great bunch
of guys, a bunch of guys that were getting along.
I thought that Vinces I thought a big mistake of
Vince was the uh what was it? It was the
thing where he had everybody in his shoot fighting or whatever, yes,
brawl for all that was.

Speaker 2 (11:40):
That was a stupid thing.

Speaker 4 (11:41):
You know. Another reason why I cannot call besides the
ex w F, I cannot call Vince McMahon the genius
is a brawl for all?

Speaker 2 (11:50):
Is it just? It created? Uh?

Speaker 4 (11:54):
It created an animosity in its own way, in its
own way in the locker room. Whenever you've got two
guys going out there and the guys know them, and
the guy's split and one group of guys is screaming
for Bradshaw and the other group of the guys is
screaming for somebody else, it creates an animosity that you

(12:14):
don't need. And he could have created a much better
thing if he just said, all right, we're gonna have
a brawl for all, didn't tell anybody and work to
every one of them. What would have been a difference,
and had a better deal, and it wouldn't have made
a bit of difference to the people at home.

Speaker 2 (12:29):
You know.

Speaker 4 (12:29):
It's a very dangerous thing that he did, and luckily
he got away with it. Events has done some dangerous
things up there that could be very costly to him
and his company, and that was one of them, because
you could wind up with a guy that doesn't have
much sense after one of those things, and it could

(12:52):
be and you would be liable for it, you know,
the same way as the own heart situation was all right.

Speaker 1 (13:01):
How bad were the politics in the WW locker room?

Speaker 4 (13:05):
Terrible, terrible, And and I never did enter into him,
and never did I want to in him unt him.
As far as I was concerned, politics was not a
matter because I didn't. I didn't get involved with that
at all.

Speaker 2 (13:20):
You know.

Speaker 4 (13:21):
The the thing took place with the Guerrero and all
of those guys that went ahead, and they were dinner
to start and shaning them, you know, and that was
such a political group air. And then they had Nash
and that group air, and then they had the behind
the scenes group that was there and it was just

(13:44):
like everything pulling at everybody. Then we had the contagious concussions.

Speaker 2 (13:49):
You know. It was that was endless. I mean, why
try to fight it? You know?

Speaker 1 (13:53):
Did Kevin and Hall have a lot of power with
Mischoff and stuff like that?

Speaker 3 (13:57):
Were they always in his ear?

Speaker 4 (13:58):
I felt that they had some good I felt that
they did, and I don't know that, but I mean,
I feel that they had power with them at the start,
and then it was total animosity between the two at
the end. And that's in a very short period of time,
you know. And you have to understand my thoughts. I'm

(14:22):
being as honest as I can with just as honest
as I can with it, you know, can these dry
s draw money? Yes, they can draw money. They've proven
it before. But you know, so I don't don't misunderstand me.
I'm not sitting up here and drawing there and knocking
their capabilities of putting asses in the seats right infused

(14:46):
properly in and in the proper angles.

Speaker 1 (14:50):
Now, I know in an interview you said earlier on
I think I don't. I don't know where it was taken,
maybe being in the magazine or something like that, but
I know you didn't care for Hogan.

Speaker 3 (14:58):
In the past or something like that. How was Leak
working with Hogan?

Speaker 2 (15:00):
Again, I wouldn't mind it, you know.

Speaker 4 (15:03):
I mean, a lot of things have healed over the years,
you know, and a lot of things have changed. But again,
as I'm fifty eight years old and I really don't
have any desire, and I don't think that you could,
you know, honestly and seriously right now at this time,
you know, I've been out to California and I've been
in the movies and stuff, and I raised my right hand,
and that's when Harley Race had raised his right hand.

(15:24):
You knew he was lying, you know, because I swear
you know well, you knew that here comes a.

Speaker 2 (15:30):
Big one, you know.

Speaker 4 (15:31):
But yeah again is Hogan is we had problems in
the past, and but I really do you know as
I would like to.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
First of all, Is Hogan and I.

Speaker 4 (15:56):
Have had problems in the past and everything else, but
there is really no chance of me working. Would I
like to work with him, Sure I would, but I
really don't want to because I don't I don't want
to go out in this business for the last run.

Speaker 2 (16:10):
I don't want to make the last run I made.

Speaker 3 (16:12):
Did you see the last run?

Speaker 2 (16:14):
Huh?

Speaker 3 (16:14):
Did you see w CWS? Maybe your last run?

Speaker 4 (16:17):
I would say my major run absolutely, absolutely, unless something
comes up on a pay per view or something. As
far as going out and making a run, absolutely, I
don't want to go out again. And it's uh, you know,
it's like out in California, is uh. If they would
offer me a spot to to in a series and

(16:40):
offer me a good deal of money, I don't think
I would do it because it takes six months, right,
take six months out of my life. I don't want
to do that anymore. You take six months out of
my life again and wrestling that's not going to happen
un A run to me is one big night, and
I don't mean that badly. It's not that I could

(17:00):
I make another run. Probably not, but I think that
I can. You know, my mind, my mind says to me,
funk you to make one more run. But I really
don't want to make that run. I really do not
want to spend the time to do it.

Speaker 2 (17:16):
You know.

Speaker 4 (17:18):
I want to be at home. I want to do
other things. I want to do things away from this business.
You know, I really do, do I find out way ironic?

Speaker 2 (17:33):
Possibly? Possibly?

Speaker 4 (17:37):
I really don't think that it'll be Brett's last match.
I think he'll come back and do another one for
if it's for charity or whatever it might be. And again,
you know, as Bret's had some things that pretty heady
things that have happened to him in his business, and

(17:59):
when he said it's his last time, it's more than
likely his last time.

Speaker 2 (18:04):
I mean, my.

Speaker 4 (18:06):
If my brother came to his brother's fate, I know
that I wouldn't look the same way at life.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
As a whole. Changes your views on your entire life.

Speaker 3 (18:19):
Definitely.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
What was he like to work with since he had
a concussion?

Speaker 3 (18:23):
Was it an easy match or.

Speaker 2 (18:26):
You know it's Bret such a great guy, and.

Speaker 4 (18:32):
He's such a person that wants to have a good match,
and and and he.

Speaker 2 (18:39):
And I are close as far as friends are concerned.

Speaker 4 (18:42):
That whenever I went in the ring, he never even
made mention of that, and that's uh. And and he did,
he did re re injure that thing within that match
with me, and.

Speaker 2 (18:57):
But never did say it.

Speaker 4 (18:58):
But I know that that's where it appen happened because
lady through the great vine in the wrestling ring, I
heard that, and I'm sure that's where it happened. But
he didn't want to make me feel like it was
my fault or anything like that. And he just shut up,
like Brett does, you know. And UH got a lot

(19:20):
of respect for that whole family, even the crazy ones
in it.

Speaker 2 (19:25):
They're they're they're unique.

Speaker 4 (19:28):
It's a good way to describe it, describe them unique,
very unique family.

Speaker 1 (19:34):
At what point in w c W did you realize
things right hand?

Speaker 2 (19:37):
In chaotic? Probably whenever the phone rang that morning. They
had to be they had to be in trouble to
be calling the punk. That was the you know.

Speaker 4 (20:01):
And I don't know why they wouldn't want me down
here sooner, But why the hell would they wait. Why
did they always wait till things are at its worth
or at the dimst before they call the funker?

Speaker 2 (20:13):
I mean, what am I? I Am I some kind
of bad guy or what do I do wrong? I
don't know.

Speaker 4 (20:19):
But whenever I get a call from one of those groups,
just like vn's the time before, it was waiting until
the last second to call the funker.

Speaker 2 (20:28):
There something what's the funker can help?

Speaker 4 (20:34):
But yeah, I kind of knew that there's something wrong
with when the phone rang that morning, and it was
on a Christmas Eve. I think it was phone ranging
there and JJ Dillon. Something got to be wrong. You're
calling on Christmas Eve?

Speaker 3 (20:49):
So is the ABE got there?

Speaker 2 (20:52):
It was? It was not good. It was not good.
There was There wasn't much I could do about it either,
you know what you thought.

Speaker 3 (21:00):
I'm Bill Umbert.

Speaker 2 (21:02):
I like the guy. I like the guy.

Speaker 4 (21:04):
He's always been extremely nice to me. I haven't had
that much of a of a relationship with him, though, you.

Speaker 2 (21:09):
Know what I mean. It's a matter of.

Speaker 4 (21:10):
Of uh a hundred guys running around and uh trying
to figure out what you're going to do in the
ring that night, and really never have sat down and
had a beer with him or a long talk. But uh,
just seems to be a nice guy, and uh, nice
to me, and I'm nice to him.

Speaker 1 (21:31):
Do you think they killed off on purpose other guys
in the company like Nash and Hogan.

Speaker 2 (21:37):
It didn't seem too accidental to.

Speaker 3 (21:39):
Me, you did?

Speaker 4 (21:43):
It seem like absolutely they couldn't stand it. You know,
they couldn't stand a goose that laid to go. They
didn't add not only ring the goosen. Next they broke
its wings first, they broke its legs. They stomped on
that some bitually it took its last breath.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
Now, if this is an w F and Bill Goldberg
was over there, how different do you think the outcome
of Bill Goldberg's character would have been. Do you think
he'd still be strong today.

Speaker 4 (22:11):
If if he was controllable, if he was controllable, he
would still be strong today. That's a big question. That's
that's what happens, right.

Speaker 1 (22:22):
You know, how did Kevin nation Scott all? How did
they treat you outside the ring?

Speaker 2 (22:28):
Treated me good? Treated me good?

Speaker 4 (22:30):
Uh, And again that's just the way it is, is
they treated me good. But they h You definitely know
that Kevin is and they've been very successful. Why shouldn't
they be this way? You understand?

Speaker 2 (22:47):
Is that? Why?

Speaker 4 (22:48):
Why why wouldn't they be They've been successful and have
become very wealthy bye by taking care of themselves first.

Speaker 2 (22:59):
Some be I'm the wrong one.

Speaker 4 (23:01):
You know, maybe I should be looking at taking care
of myself first and not the business. I probably would
be a lot better off. But you know, it really
doesn't matter on who's got.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
The most money.

Speaker 4 (23:13):
You know that it's not a big deal on how
much money I have. You can win in this world
if you just live one day longer than what they do.
And that's what you could always remember. If you can
live one day longer, think of the amount of money
events would pay you. He'd give you everything he had

(23:36):
to have that extra day, and so would anybody in
this business. So that's why you've got to always keep
things in perspective. Life is very important.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
Did any comments that they made about your age from
them and promos ever bother you did?

Speaker 2 (23:52):
You know? I tell them to jump on it. I
tell him not to go right ahead.

Speaker 4 (23:55):
You know, the age deal was something in fact I
used to come on and say, talk about my wrinkled
old ass.

Speaker 2 (24:01):
And there was a reason for that if I talk about.

Speaker 4 (24:04):
My wrinkled old ass, and I go ahead and I
realize that I mean, I do. First thing that I
do is I make a point to let people know
that I'm an old son of a bitch out there.
And that's very important to me because they know that
it doesn't bother me that I am old. You know,
I mean, that's that's a very important point that I make.

(24:30):
Is that I always tell them what the age I
am and I feel?

Speaker 2 (24:35):
Eighty five?

Speaker 3 (24:36):
How are you today?

Speaker 4 (24:37):
Fifty seven fixtionill be fifty eight June the thirtieth. Anybody's
got a lot of money they want to send me,
will be sure and ship it out to me.

Speaker 2 (24:48):
Give Rob, ship it to Rob, ship it to Rob,
He'll get it to me.

Speaker 4 (24:51):
I don't want to give you my address, nor my
phone number that's on internet that I get calls at
four in the morning. I had the same phone number
for for thirty years.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
Now. I want to have to change it because people
drive me much.

Speaker 1 (25:08):
What are your thoughts on being paired without Paul Order
and the Larry's Abisco one more time? What were your
thoughts when they paired you with worndorf AND's Abisco.

Speaker 4 (25:17):
I thought that was just fine with me, right, that
was just fine with me. You know, in the night
they brought snooking in on him, and hey, it was successful.
You know, we always have to remember it's you know,
these guys got into this age gimmick so much an
age age age, age age. It's not the age of
the individual. It's the age of the program. That's what

(25:42):
has a bearing on his business. The age of the program.
What you are doing with those individuals, that's what That's
what so many people don't understand in this business, you know.
I mean, look at Vance is one thing he did,
you know, I mean, the guy has done a lot
of successful things, But look what he did with Mula.
She was The ratings would pop up very like crazy

(26:05):
Mula would come on. You think Mula was a superstar
and the damn WWF show, And evidently she was at
that time, because damn those ratings with May Young and
Mulla they bounced right up there. Seriously, so seriously so.
So it's not the age of the performer, it's the
age of the program. And it's very difficult for to

(26:26):
be fresh and new. And that's the same way it
is with Henry Ford, you know, I mean, looking at
any Vince is the only product that is available right now,
and wrestling is what he proceeds to be. That is
a thing that he has always wished for. That is
really a detriment to him because you think about it,

(26:48):
if Henry Ford was the only person to ever make automobiles,
they'd still be black and they still look like Model AID,
and it'll still be selling them. Some of the bitches
still be going twenty miles an hour. And that's the
same way with wrestling. That's why competition is healthy.

Speaker 3 (27:10):
Right now there's none.

Speaker 1 (27:11):
So what are your thoughts on working with Ric Flower
again and how different was it from eleven years earlier?

Speaker 2 (27:25):
You know, as Rick is a talented individual and very talented,
very good on the mic. He's uh.

Speaker 4 (27:36):
Proven himself again and again as far as writings are concerned,
I'm not sure that the right program is there. Just
bottom line, I don't think there would be a program there.

Speaker 3 (27:52):
I mean, did you enjoy working with him? Again?

Speaker 2 (27:54):
Did I? Did I enjoy working with him? Sure? I did.

Speaker 4 (27:57):
I enjoy going into the rain? I thought, you know,
fun with it. I thought it was mishandled. I thought
it could have been done much better.

Speaker 3 (28:04):
Definitely.

Speaker 4 (28:04):
I thought it was just it was habit habitasherie. It's
just thrown out there and just mess mask it was.
Did I enjoy that part of it? No, I said,
did I enjoy having a chance going?

Speaker 2 (28:20):
Yes?

Speaker 4 (28:20):
I enjoyed the idea, but the way it was handled.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
It was just a mess.

Speaker 3 (28:29):
In a last interview, so I could.

Speaker 4 (28:31):
Say, no, I didn't enjoy working with him, but it
certainly wasn't because of Rick. It was because of the
way they put it together and the way they just
threw it out.

Speaker 2 (28:41):
I just kept on throwing it out.

Speaker 4 (28:42):
It was just a weekly situation, like let's throw whatever
we can, you know. And I also had a chicken
one day there, you know, real chicken, you know. And
that's where the chicken bunch came in because I wanted
to talk to Rick Flair as a chicken and they
cut that off.

Speaker 3 (29:00):
Less you'd interviewed that we did with you.

Speaker 1 (29:01):
You were brief about your feelings towards him, but you
said you didn't like Flair because he tried to retire
you at forty four.

Speaker 2 (29:07):
That's true, right, that's true.

Speaker 1 (29:09):
Did you guys mend fences at all or time?

Speaker 4 (29:12):
Midsfences. Time means fences, and you tend to forget things
that are not right, and you remember the good things
you really do. And there are a lot of good
things back here too.

Speaker 3 (29:26):
When you were in WCW, did you lose motivation at all.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
Individually?

Speaker 4 (29:31):
No, because I just do the best thing that I
could with whatever they gave me, and I did not
lose motivation, and just looked at things as an individual,
not an individual my individual performance against somebody, and that performance,
like you knows, I just wanted to make everything as

(29:57):
good as I could possibly make it, and my opponent did.
And that's kind of the way that everybody looked at
things down there. It was the only way to look
at them at that time.

Speaker 1 (30:06):
You know, how do things change from you from the
original plans WW had for you.

Speaker 2 (30:15):
I don't know if they really had any plans.

Speaker 4 (30:17):
All they did is all they All they wanted to
do was make it through one pay per view, right,
That's all they were concerned about is getting through that
one pay per view. And when I first went down there,
that's all it was. It's just a way to get
through a pay per view. That's whenever they were racking
them off what was it every four or five weeks,
and both of them were battling for the to be

(30:40):
the pay per view nuts of the world.

Speaker 2 (30:42):
Whatever it is.

Speaker 3 (30:44):
Do you regret anything you ever did in WW.

Speaker 2 (30:48):
Not really.

Speaker 4 (30:52):
Would have taken probably a few less chances than what
I did.

Speaker 3 (30:58):
You know, who were some of your favorite guys to
work with when you went back.

Speaker 4 (31:04):
I really didn't go into a program with anybody, a
definite program.

Speaker 2 (31:09):
You know. I enjoyed all the guys that I worked with.

Speaker 4 (31:12):
Uh, guys always busted their ass, every one of them did.

Speaker 1 (31:17):
How about Norman Smiley?

Speaker 4 (31:18):
Smiley is a good guy, great guy and the only
guy that I what was that only one guy that I.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
Didn't want to work with that? Uh what do you
look like? Did well?

Speaker 4 (31:33):
He was very very fat, uh crack of his ass.
Ralphie was an idiot, little lovable idiot, you know, and
Norman Smiley's good guy.

Speaker 1 (31:47):
Smiley said in his interview, uh that we did with
him that you almost killed Ralph.

Speaker 4 (31:53):
Ralph Ralphis needed to die except two weeks earlier Ralph
Ralphie should have been shot off in a trash can Oh,
I think that's funny. I don't know if you guys,
do or.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
What were your thoughts on Jim Ross's comments back in
the day when he said they were still under contract
to the w F That was utterly ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
Funk's still under contract and we had to cut him.
I was under no contract with him.

Speaker 3 (32:27):
Why do you think he said that.

Speaker 2 (32:30):
Just to make them sound good? Right? It's pretty simple.

Speaker 4 (32:36):
Do you have any thought I would have probably said
the same thing if Jim Ross was the reverse situation.
You know, right, well, Jim Ross was under contract with us,
but we just we let him go because he can
do us any good.

Speaker 1 (32:48):
Anyhow, you left for a brief little period and then
he came back in your feet it with Crowbar?

Speaker 3 (32:55):
What led you leaving?

Speaker 2 (32:59):
Oh? God, gosh, what led me to leave? In with Crowbar?

Speaker 4 (33:02):
Before Crowbar, I I really was kind of not happy
with the way things were being ran. And I think
that I made myself. I don't think it was me
as I think one night I threw a few chairs
and crashed up a few things and had a little

(33:23):
temper tantrum, and it was in a very pissed off mood.
They decided to be better to leave me at home, right,
So that was that was the deal that led to that,
And I can't even remember.

Speaker 2 (33:36):
It was in one of.

Speaker 4 (33:38):
Those crazy hardcore matches, and and it was just I
just about to have my full of it, and so
I had a little rage and temper tantrum, you know,
And I think.

Speaker 2 (33:50):
That I probably had to do with it, leaving me off.

Speaker 4 (33:53):
And then they went in and brought me back with Crowbar,
and God only knows why, but I get didn't care
if I had a rage and a temper tantrum with
Crowbarker and I like Robar.

Speaker 1 (34:05):
What were the differences in Eric Bischoff and of Venturus's
philosophy of bucking.

Speaker 4 (34:11):
M You know, I think that both of them were
very full of themselves at that time. And I probably
shouldn't say that about Bischoff because I didn't. I really

(34:33):
to this day, you know, as I've had certain thoughts
about him and everything else, but I really never have
dealt with him had you know, been of a personal situation
where we're doing stuff together. And I really haven't dealt
with Russo. But both those guys are pretty pretty hard

(34:59):
for me to deal with. Uh, how much ability do
they have? I think that that again, I think that
Eric Bischoff did things that I would have never done
and made him successful. And I have to put a

(35:20):
feather in his cap for that. And that's whenever he
moved the Times head to head. It was, uh, probably
one of the most innovative things done in the last
twenty years in wrestling, and he and he was successful
at that. I think that they are limited in his profession,

(35:46):
and I'm sure that they don't feel that way, but
definitely have some values. Like I said about Roussevel, got
great ideas, it's just the bad ones. And in the
same way, you know, same over there. It got great ideas,
but it's just about the bad ones, right, you know.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
In January of two thousand, ECW ran their final shows.
What are your thoughts on the any of VCW.

Speaker 4 (36:21):
Probably inevitable, Uh, the way they were approaching the business
and continue on with it on a TV basis and
on a you know, as far as a national TV
basis and trying to buy your way into it and
it was, uh, it was not going to be successful.
When it was, it was an inevitable thing.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
What are your thoughts on Paul Haeman's final six months
of ECW with you know, bouncing checks and not being
around and not being honest.

Speaker 3 (36:53):
With some of the talent.

Speaker 4 (36:56):
Well, when you love something and you don't have the
money to keep it going, what are your alternatives? There
wasn't any alternatives for Paulie except to do that. Some
of the things that Paulie did by somewhat, I can't

(37:22):
say condemn him for it, but some of the things he.

Speaker 2 (37:27):
Did were I wouldn't have done. I wouldn't have done.

Speaker 4 (37:35):
The one thing that I am talking about in particular
is the Saboo thing down there, because I talked to
Kevin and they had him with a wonderful contract, and
then Paulie.

Speaker 2 (37:46):
Stepped in on that. And I'll tell Paulie that to
his face, tell him that tomorrow stepped in on it
and stopped it, you know. And I don't.

Speaker 4 (37:56):
Maybe feelings were bad and it was tough in the
lawsuits going back and forth and everything, but uh, I
think Paulice should have allowed him to make that move
at that time.

Speaker 1 (38:14):
Do you think there's anything wrong with paul showing up
in the WF immediately after he should have folded while
many of his towns were left.

Speaker 3 (38:19):
Without the job.

Speaker 2 (38:24):
I really don't think so.

Speaker 4 (38:26):
I think a man has to do what a man
has to do in order to provide for himself and
his family. And I think that that was a situation
and an opportunity.

Speaker 2 (38:38):
I think that.

Speaker 4 (38:40):
I think all of us in his room and a
great many people know that it was not the first
tie that he had with me. Vince pulled it out before, right,
you know, so I think he was obligated. I don't
think it was really that much of a choice of police.
But even if it was, I would have I would

(39:02):
have done the same thing if PAULI did.

Speaker 3 (39:04):
Probably why do you think ECW failed?

Speaker 2 (39:10):
Simple? Uh, just.

Speaker 4 (39:16):
Too much money to put out for a promotion. Ted
Turner can't afford it. How can Paul Hayman. He gave
it a hell of a run, he really didn't. And
I think that there was a point there where it
could have gone either way.

Speaker 2 (39:31):
You know, I could have topped that hill.

Speaker 4 (39:35):
And made it down and made the other side. But
and it was a close race, believe me, He damn
near topped that hill, damn near made it, but he didn't.
And it's just takes too much money. If Ted Turner

(39:57):
can't afford it, how can Paulie and not Ted Turner
I'm talking about the companies now Aol dot Com. If
they see it's not successful, how can he make it successful?
Because you have to buy your way into it. You
know that better than anybody else. Rob, You got to
buy your way into it. And that's why that you

(40:19):
need to look at other avenues in this business and
believe me, they're out there. And I truly believe that
Vince reached the peak. And I'll say this right now
for everybody, and I'll be damned if they're going to
prove me wrong on this one. But Vince reached the
peak a couple of years ago with Austin and Rocket.
He's not going to reach again as the WWF. Now,

(40:41):
some other organization might come along in the future and
reach at peak, but not this group. It will never
reach that peak again. And there's possibility that one could
come along. If people have the right freshness and innovativeness
about it, they can do well. But they have to
travel a different avenue altogether. They can't go the route

(41:04):
of buying the TVs. It's just like the guy that's
got all the money in the XWF, God blessing and
the hell of a guy to do it. He's finding
it is a very expensive endeavor your money back. Certainly
a two hundred and fifty thousand dollars five hundred thousand
dollars wrestling show, you know, would be the way. It's

(41:26):
a route to travel right now, because it's simple, it's
easy that way, and you can give him a product.

Speaker 2 (41:35):
It's a little more hardcore.

Speaker 4 (41:37):
And I'm not proclaiming hardcore like guys cutting their heads
off or anything like that, but you can go a
little more hardcore language wise, blood wise, otherwise on a
deal like that, whereas you can't on a television. So
right there, it moves you into being different again, and

(41:59):
you have to don't come up with a different concept.

Speaker 3 (42:04):
What do you thought on Scott Steiner?

Speaker 4 (42:06):
Great guy, great guy? Scott is uh? I always thought, Scott,
you know, I've been be very honest with you. I
thought that one of the most the epitome of a
you know, he might be the epitome of a heel
as far as some people are concerned, but he was

(42:27):
in eighty nine. He was the epitome of what a
baby face should be and never once utilized.

Speaker 2 (42:35):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (42:36):
Had the looks, had the appearance, had the talent, had
the demeanor, had the uh everything that everything that a
great babyface needs. Scott Steiner had it. I think that
he should have been pushed right on the champion uh
into the championship at that time, and maybe w CW
wouldn't have had that problem.

Speaker 1 (42:58):
Why do you think they never give him the ball?
Was it politics?

Speaker 4 (43:02):
I don't know if Scott wanted the ball at that time,
don't I don't know if Scott wanted to take Carr.

Speaker 2 (43:08):
Of the ball at that time.

Speaker 4 (43:09):
It was you know, he and Rick were very much
into the tag team situation at that time, and I
was talking about pulling Scott away individually and making him
an individual at that time.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
See, I think a lot of things are attributes. I
think that Scott if you talk to Scott Scott back
then as.

Speaker 4 (43:33):
He was what he was, and I think it as
you know, he was a great wrestler, great athlete, great
looking guy, bashful and these are all attributes. I mean,
you know, you don't believe it, but bashful is an
attribute in wrestling as far as the baby faces is concerned,
a lot of people don't understand it. Oh you can't

(43:54):
talk on TV. Oh yeah, if you got to drag
it out of him, it's better yet, right, you know,
and everything comes from the art. It's better than having
somebody that's talking nine hundred miles an hour and this
and that. And I think that that's one thing that
Japanese have looked at and they've seen, and they've brought
out the real personalities of these individuals and taking advantage

(44:18):
of them. And I think America has been just pushed
down their throat this arrogant type of a tough guy
ideal that I think that there's a place in it
for that, you know. And sure it's easier to go
to the other route, but once you get a guy
over like you do Jack Briskow, he's over for a lifetime,

(44:40):
you know, and still talk to people.

Speaker 2 (44:43):
People still talk about Bruno Sammartino.

Speaker 4 (44:45):
There's a guy you had to pull a word out
of him, you know, you couldn't get a word out.

Speaker 2 (44:49):
Of it, you know.

Speaker 4 (44:49):
And and that's what that's why I thought Scott was
so good at time.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
You know. I think they always ask me, you know
what about guys said should be here, should be there,
or something else like that. You know.

Speaker 4 (45:04):
It's uh, I really truthfully believe it. They say, who's
gonna be the next guy? And a lot of times. Hello,
I know, you know, but I can spot guys and
I spotted one. I really think there's a kid running
around at her my name of Paul London. That is
a hell of a goddamn performer. And uh, I think
if WWF didn't pick him up, they to have very

(45:25):
heads examined and just And I've got no ties with him.
I'm not on count and he's not on contract with me.
I'm not making a sin from him. I just watched
the kid work, and I promise you I can spot
a worker, and the boy can work.

Speaker 1 (45:44):
Was there ever a time when you just felt like
you wish you never came back to ww in the
first place?

Speaker 2 (45:50):
Yeah, the night I went ahead and threw everything around
the goddamn locker rooms and down the hallways and kicked
the goddamn doors and all that shit.

Speaker 4 (45:57):
Yeah, that definitely was the time I never wished I
came back w C. But I did for one moment.
And the Funker is no different than anybody else I do.
I hate that talking to that person, you know, the
Funker like somebody else. You know, that's a horrible thing
to do, you.

Speaker 2 (46:12):
Know, but I shouldn't do that. But yeah, it's Uh.

Speaker 1 (46:19):
Thoughts on returning to All Japan for the Baba tribute
show a TV with the Need against.

Speaker 2 (46:26):
It was it was a lot of fun. It was
a lot of fun. It was. It was.

Speaker 4 (46:30):
It was a pretty big deal to go back in
the ring with Abby, you know, after all that time.

Speaker 2 (46:35):
But but I knew and I knew.

Speaker 4 (46:37):
That, uh, and the people assumed things in their mind
and they become bigger through the years. And I had
a bit of a fear in me at that match
because they build it up into being.

Speaker 2 (46:51):
Something that it didn't. You know.

Speaker 4 (46:52):
It's kind of like the old Joe Louis matches. You know,
everythink I got old Joe Lewis, you know, and I'm
really going back now, but uh, Joe Lewis was uh.
But then you look at the fights with Joe Lewis
and 'em. You know, are you see the sunny lists
in Cashier's clay fight. It wasn't all it was that

(47:14):
we had in our minds, you know, well, we build
it up and I thought that that would a you know,
that was the thing that is that was somewhat true
over there. People had all of that time to build
that particular match up in their minds.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
And uh it was something that they all remembered, you know,
And it's hard to it's hard to duplicate something that
has had that much time to mature into almost a fantasy.

Speaker 3 (47:41):
Whose idea was it to bring back the blood in
all Japan?

Speaker 1 (47:44):
For uh, you and Abbey.

Speaker 4 (47:46):
Uh, there's only one person that could be that's me, Tookia,
she had okay it right?

Speaker 2 (47:55):
You know?

Speaker 1 (47:57):
Was there any influence by WW not the haveavular since
they worked with New Japan at the time.

Speaker 2 (48:04):
Not really, there really was not at all. I don't
know what do you thought?

Speaker 1 (48:09):
Tom Slawa, Kabashi and several ers leaving starting up.

Speaker 4 (48:12):
Noah, it's progression of the wrestling business. It's the best
way I can put it. And Uh, more power to him.
And again it's that's that's freshness, that's uh, that's just
the that's just the way the business is. And we'll

(48:34):
continually see things like that that that uh change the
world of wrestling, just like Muta right, and Uh, who
would have ever thought that that guy would have come
back from Whenever I was down in WCW. There was
a guy that couldn't get the crowd to say boo.
Now's the hottest thing in the country over there, yep,

(48:55):
and rightfully so, cause he's working his ass off, really
working his ass off, talking about giving one hundred percent
of match. That guy's doing it ten rou two. He's awesome,
and here's ten Room. You know, one thing to god,
I'll just bring up another factor.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (49:13):
It was really funny because I can remember in about
oh eighty three I retired, but right before that, I mean,
I'm looking at myself at let's see eighty three him
there twenty years ago, so I had to be about

(49:34):
thirty nine and four forty.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
I'm not too good at a distion.

Speaker 4 (49:41):
But anyhow, as ten Room, when they had me and
his big gripe and his big bitch at that time
was was guys like meaning to get out of the business.
Stan Hansen was the same way, you know, guys like
meaning to get out of the business. And now here's
ten Rooms sitting there on fifty, still loving it, still

(50:01):
busting his ass in there. I'd like for him to
come in here and sit down beside me, right and
I'd like to say a year about ten years.

Speaker 1 (50:09):
Overdue, we're gonna actually have aby here today with you
we're gonna try to work that out. But that would
be interesting little dialogue.

Speaker 2 (50:16):
Yeah, I don't know. That would have been some good
dialogue here, very good.

Speaker 1 (50:22):
Were you surprised that's the failure of the XFL.

Speaker 2 (50:29):
Not at all?

Speaker 4 (50:32):
Again, is it's a matter of fact, you're putting a
a vent Russo at the head of wrestling. We just
had another bench. But he was at the head of football,
right And you've got to know your profession better than that.
And I'm not saying that Vince didn't have a few

(50:54):
good ideas and a few things were good that he
did out there, but he needs somebody to sit through
them with a football background. And uh and I don't
mean it's bad. Not Jim Ross either, who loves football,
but he doesn't. And again, as I'm sure Vince Russo
probably loved wrestling or else it wouldn't have gotten into it.

(51:15):
But the same thing is true. You've got to have
those people that spent their life in it and really
know what it's about and have a wonderful understanding behind
calling the shots.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
What are your thoughts on the attempted revival of the NBA.

Speaker 2 (51:33):
The attempted one? Which one was it?

Speaker 4 (51:35):
It's been attempted to be revived ever since the demise
of it. Right, So it's it's nothing new. I mean,
I know Wich which attempted revival. I can remember going
out to Vegas for meetings to to uh with all
of the new members of the NWA, and then about

(51:56):
three years later going somewhere else to revitalize it again. Right, right,
I think it's I think the name has meaning, but
nothing else.

Speaker 1 (52:09):
When you're in WCW did anybody ever refuse to put
you over the last time around?

Speaker 2 (52:15):
Not to my knowledge whatsoever?

Speaker 1 (52:17):
And what are you thoughts on wrestlers that refuse to
do jobs and stuff?

Speaker 2 (52:22):
Well, it's changed through the years, and again it's just because.

Speaker 4 (52:26):
Of the way things are is right now is you
don't ever hear it. You don't ever hear it. If
somebody refuses, you don't hear it. They never do it
in front of each other. And if it would have
been done whenever our first got into business, you just said,
we'll get your goddamn ass in and run you and
let's see if you're a wrestler or not. Right, but
times have changed. You don't hear it. You don't hear

(52:47):
it till after it's over if you do hear it,
and it's through the grape vine wrestling grape vine, as
somebody does say, I'm not putting the ass all over,
you know, that's how the business has changed. So I
don't think anybody said that. And if they're saying it
with business purposes, you've got to understand that too. If

(53:10):
it's not good for business and they truly believe that,
well then that's okay for him to say, right, and
they have a valid point, well then I listened to
their point on why they shouldn't. You know, it wouldn't
make much sense, you know. As for example, when I
was with Brett Hart in that fifty Years of Wrestling

(53:31):
showing Ambrella, you know, is Brett wanted to put me on,
I said, don't, don't do it. I want to put
you over, you know. And I had valid reasons why
I wanted to put him over, and his reasons.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
Were from the heart.

Speaker 4 (53:50):
But my reasons were for business, and for business it
was better for me. It was better for Brett that
he beat me.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
That's your go.

Speaker 2 (54:07):
It, w I was. I was scared to death about it.
I had about forty grand in this show before we
hadn't open the doors. I made money off it.

Speaker 4 (54:14):
I made I think we did like uh fifty seven
grand or something like that on the show, you know,
I mean, prices weren't that ey.

Speaker 2 (54:22):
It's a hell of a crowd.

Speaker 4 (54:24):
But whenever you run an individual show and you know
there's rob you've gotten into the business, now, it's very
difficult by the time you know, you have a lot
of expenses in your when you're running one show. If
you've become a set thing, then it becomes easier and
it becomes cheaper. If you run every month somewhere, then
you can get in the the field of things right,

(54:45):
get the prices down and everything else. But whenever you
just say, alright, I'm running a big show, the costs
can run right out from underneath you, you know. And uh,
it didn't run out from underneath me. But God, I
I w I was hoping that Lord would give me
a day of sunshine instead of foul weather, and he did,

(55:06):
you know, so thank you Lord.

Speaker 3 (55:08):
What your intentions were you really going to retire? S
stay retired?

Speaker 2 (55:11):
Where was that at that time?

Speaker 4 (55:13):
I really intended to know, because I never once advertised
or said I was going to retire and follow me
all the way through, and this because it's the truth
I want, ask God truth I wanted. Ever, I never
once said I was going to retire. I never once
said I was going to not ever wrestle again.

Speaker 2 (55:36):
But what was.

Speaker 4 (55:37):
Going on then was the filming Beyond the Mat and
they wanted to have that as my retirement match, So
they went on with it as my retirement match, which.

Speaker 2 (55:51):
Is just fine with me, you know.

Speaker 4 (55:56):
But I did say that this was going to be
because he's that he wanted to could you make us?
I said, I'll make it my last match at Ambrilla,
and I really intended on making it my last match
at Ambrella, but then they came back around w CW
did and said, hey, Funk, we'll give you a hell
of a lot of money for coming in here.

Speaker 2 (56:15):
Well, then I when I had and went back any
one more time.

Speaker 1 (56:19):
Do you think Beyond the matt would have been bigger
Evince would have promoted it.

Speaker 4 (56:24):
I think a very appealing thing to it was was
that Vince didn't promote it and promotionally, I think that
that might have helped it more than Vince promoting it.
The thing that Vince McMahon didn't want to see.

Speaker 2 (56:40):
Beyond the Matt.

Speaker 4 (56:42):
I think it's probably the truth we're known, which we
will never know is. I think it's probably the most
successful tape that has ever been put out on professional wrestling.
I think it's been the most successful document or a movie,

(57:03):
which is a very fine line between the two, which
I think was somewhat overcross is.

Speaker 2 (57:12):
I think it's the most successful.

Speaker 1 (57:14):
An accurate portrayal of Tory Funk and of the business.
The movie Beyond the Mat very much so.

Speaker 4 (57:21):
Very much so, as much as accurate as could be,
and truly is. Whenever I say I'm not sure if
this was a movie or a or a or a documentary,
I say that for a different reason what you think,
because it was a documentary totally. But documentaries are supposed

(57:41):
to be non profitable and not released majorly, and this
was a profitable situation. That's what I wanted to clarify
that did.

Speaker 1 (57:53):
You have any problems with very at all?

Speaker 2 (57:55):
As it? No? And it really did, you know?

Speaker 4 (57:57):
And I say this to a lot of people, and
you know, I've did someoney interviews on it. It's like
I get into this interview, I'm pretty soon I'm talking
and I don't even know what I'm saying about. But
the truth of the matter is is Barry went ahead
and he did a documentary. And what documentary first started out?
And the cameras are there and you're performing, and you

(58:17):
perform for a long period of time, but eventually the
camera is not there. The camera is just like a
part of the surrounding. And that's one of your true
documentary arises. And it was pretty much basically became after
about a year, I'd say, after about honestly, about three

(58:43):
months two three months of him coming around doing.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
It all the time.

Speaker 4 (58:47):
Pretty soon you're talking and you're conscious of the camera,
but then you forget the camera and you're just yourself
wherever you're going, and that's when it becomes a true documentary.
And I think that he did as good of a
job of that as he possibly could. Jake's depiction of himself,
God only knows if he is acting or if that
was Jake. Only Jake knows, right, But that's Jake. He's

(59:10):
been the only one that knows forever.

Speaker 3 (59:12):
Right, right.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
One of my favorite parts of the movies with you
in the Referee, when you offered him the spot on.

Speaker 4 (59:17):
The show, just as honor that that spot right there
was just as true as it could be. It's just
it's just the way it was. Dennis was that way,
and I had to beg him to God damn take
the spot and did. I had to beg him, and
he was. He was pissed at me and I went ahead,
not him, but I really wanted him to be a
part of it.

Speaker 1 (59:39):
How did you wind up finishing up with WCW?

Speaker 2 (59:44):
Just working out my shots?

Speaker 4 (59:45):
I think I don't know if the last one was
in Evansville or wherever it was, of hearing any other.
They had about four shots and some TVs and that
was it.

Speaker 3 (59:54):
You know, were you surprised that Vince bought them?

Speaker 2 (59:56):
W yes, I was, it really was. It was.

Speaker 4 (01:00:01):
It was no no big huge shop bencement man bought.
We all knew it was for sale and they were
trying to grab any money.

Speaker 2 (01:00:10):
Out of it, and uh, uh it was. It was good.

Speaker 4 (01:00:15):
It was a good move on his part to buy
it so somebody else couldn't continue on with it. And
uh and that's just about what.

Speaker 2 (01:00:24):
He's done with it, you know, just uh abuse it,
you know, and uh it's become nothing.

Speaker 1 (01:00:35):
How does it sell affect the business in a good
way or a bad way? The sale that sale or yeah,
him taken over the company, him taking over w What
would you have done differently if you bought that?

Speaker 2 (01:00:44):
Oh?

Speaker 4 (01:00:44):
God, if I had bought the business, I'd done it
totally different. But first place is Bence McMahon is uh,
uh he bought w c W and paid the money
for it, And uh, what would I have done differently
about BCW?

Speaker 2 (01:01:03):
Gosh? He just uh that was the question? Right, go
back over that question? Wrong?

Speaker 1 (01:01:12):
Basically, if if you were to go ahead and and
purchase w CW, what would you have done differently with
than compared to what Vince has done with it? And also,
I guess it's a two part question. How do you
think the sales gonna affect the wrestling business?

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
Good or bed? Oh? Well what what? What that did?

Speaker 4 (01:01:28):
Whenever Vince bought the wrestling profession from WCW, it made
him the sole owner. It made him honestly and seriously
follow what I am saying. Wrestling has always had a choice,
The people had a choice, So wrestling continued to change.

(01:01:52):
When Vince McMahon bought w CW. Wrestling is no longer
what wrestling became are what wrestling mors to. It's what
bench McMahon perceives it to be. That is not healthy
for business. That reflects back to the deal I was
talking about Henry Ford driving a black Model Age. We'd

(01:02:16):
still be driving them the same thing. It is not
going to change. It is not going to reach a
new high, a new APEX, new plateau, a new acme.

Speaker 2 (01:02:28):
It will never do that.

Speaker 4 (01:02:29):
Again because he cannot create on his own more new stuff.
He cannot because his mind will not allow him to
his creative people, it will not allow him to. His
organization won't change. That organization is there. It won't change
like it would normally morph if they had competition. And

(01:02:54):
that's the problem with it. What would I have done
with WCWF. I would have taken over. It would have
probably been a tough I'll tell you what it was,
in a tough, rugged shape. You would have to go
down the base four. I truly believe so, and try
to create a new audience to compete.

Speaker 2 (01:03:17):
At that time at that time.

Speaker 4 (01:03:21):
But Vnce is gosh is He's taken it and uh
it just totally ran over it.

Speaker 2 (01:03:28):
And would I have done anything different? Events Probably not.

Speaker 4 (01:03:32):
He did a he he did a good good job
of disassembling that company to where somebody that could not
come in there. And you know that's why he did it,
to disassemble the company.

Speaker 1 (01:03:46):
Do you feel that there could be another national promotion
in the US?

Speaker 4 (01:03:50):
Absolutely at one so and uh you and I personally
talked about it earlier. Is you just got to go
to that TV. You've got to go to Cinemax. You've
got to produce that thing. You cannot go out and
you cannot buy TV sup like Paul E tried to do.
It's too much money or like the XWF And I

(01:04:10):
don't mean that badly. I'm just being as honest as
I What they need to do is they need to
look at the new avenue and the new avenue is
that ten ninety five or that twelve ninety five that
all the wrestling fans can afford that they can all
tune into and they can all see a great show,
and they can watch that same show for a month
and you can get your money back on it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:32):
It's just like a low budget movie.

Speaker 4 (01:04:34):
They make more than three million dollars of the Son
of a Bitches wouldn't be playing on there for the
first play and playing for a month time. Well, you
go on there with the wrestling show, which is much
more inexpensive than producing a movie, and you put that
great show together, and you put one that wrestling fans,
eight wrestling fans find something new and fresh. By god,

(01:04:56):
they're going to tell each and every one of them
across the country. You don't need that big advertisement, you
don't have that big expense.

Speaker 1 (01:05:05):
What is the difference today in the business over in
Japan as compared to years ago.

Speaker 4 (01:05:11):
The numbers, basically, that's it is. The numbers add a
lot more wrestling. I mean, they've evolved just like we are.
We have, but they've evolved back. In fact, they've evolved
back into the wrestling. They've evolved out of the wrestling
to everything that we're seeing here plus plus crazier, plus

(01:05:35):
to the point of the bumps being more brutal than
even what.

Speaker 2 (01:05:40):
They are here, plus to the deaths in a ring.
They've evolved that far.

Speaker 4 (01:05:44):
And now they're back to going ahead and taking a
double leg takedown and using holes and getting a pop
and a rise out.

Speaker 2 (01:05:51):
Of the people.

Speaker 4 (01:05:52):
Extend still bouncing off the ropes and doing a double
backflip and disappearing up your asshole, you know. I mean,
it is to that point in this country, and it
was to that point in Japan. Well, they evolved back.
They evolve forward, but forward is backwards at times.

Speaker 3 (01:06:13):
Where do you see the business in the United States
in the next five.

Speaker 4 (01:06:15):
Years, just exactly where I'm talking about. I think that
somebody's going to emerge. I think it's gonna be a
hell of a battle, and they don't even know it yet,
but the battle is going to be fought over the
grounds that I'm saying, which is not necessarily a safe
pay per view, but it's a cinema, the all month
long paid deal. I think they're going to have some

(01:06:36):
shit shows, and I think they're going to have some
good shows. And I think the ones that go ahead
and present themselves to that group and do it well
and come up with a great show are going to
be the ones that prevail in this business as far
as a new group is concerned.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
And I think that.

Speaker 4 (01:06:55):
New group will be competitive with Vince mcmah but in
a different way, and a different way I am talking
about is because they will be successful and make money,
and vents can be successful and there can be more
distance between the two more distance, but they both will
exist and they both will do big business. And I

(01:07:19):
think the thing that's on cinemax or that can reach
tremendous heights, tremendous heights possible. Yeah, yeah, after a period
of time, of course, But you're looking at two three
years down the line. But you're looking at do them
maybe four shows a year until you establish your dealing

(01:07:39):
and to the first one, if it's successful makes money,
go to your second one. But put give them a
show that, like I said before, that does things that
Vents can't do on his that gives them an alternative,
gives the wrestling vent an alternative, and that's that's what
is going to happen. It's not a matter, it's just

(01:07:59):
a matter of when, and it will happen. It's already
in the progress. Guys don't even know if they're starting
to head for the pay per view and they're heading
this route and they're going to pick their way through it,
and one of them is gonna find themselves on the
Cinemax or whatever it might be and getting that deal
and playing all month long and being successful and being

(01:08:22):
competitive with Vince because they'll be open to videos, to
games to you know, whatever it might be. If they
you know, I mean, they'll be in the same ballpark
with him, but at a distance, you know, at a distance.

Speaker 1 (01:08:35):
What are your thoughts on Hogan National Hall? Returning to
those it.

Speaker 4 (01:08:42):
I'm you know, I'm not really be very as honest
and bottom line as I can be. Is again as
I think it was a very short, short term fix.
Was it a fix? I don't know. We'll have to
look at that. We'll have to see what kind of

(01:09:03):
animosity had created among his boys. That's very important. It
may not have been a fixed financial fix. Yes it
was momentarily, but as far as a long term financial fix,
it may not be.

Speaker 1 (01:09:25):
Are you surprised that mcfoley walked away from a contract
with Vince?

Speaker 4 (01:09:30):
Not really, not really. And again you know, and this
not against Mick or anything else. But did we see
the contract? What was it?

Speaker 2 (01:09:40):
Was it for fifty dollars? You know? Was it for
five thousand? Was it for five hundred thousand, five million?
You know what I mean?

Speaker 4 (01:09:49):
So so nobody knows that part of it, you know,
did he really walk away from a contract?

Speaker 1 (01:09:55):
You know, you had a match. I think it was
June fifth of ninety nine and Canada against Sebu that
you announce as a retirement match.

Speaker 3 (01:10:02):
How serious were you?

Speaker 2 (01:10:03):
Where did I announce this one?

Speaker 3 (01:10:04):
I don't even know.

Speaker 4 (01:10:05):
I don't remember this one because she has a lot
of times. Well, no, I was a promoter. I think
it was up in Toronto. And promoters do stuff like that. Well,
they do it all the time. They do it constantly,
you know. And I'm gonna go ahead and I'm gonna
start announcing my retirement every night. But what I'm gonna
do is I'm gonna take up a collection, you know.

(01:10:26):
All right, all you assholes, this is my last match.
Dig deep in your pockets. I'll take anything. Then I'll
bring the money to the ring and see what kind
of amount of money and I have. I'll pour it out.
If I got a hundred bucks here, Well, you cheap bastards,
I'm not wrestling. I'm not wrestling hard tonight for you assholes.

Speaker 3 (01:10:48):
Thought on returning to the New Japan and your match
against back On, Yeah, how did that go for you?

Speaker 4 (01:10:54):
Good experience? Great experience, because here's food Ginami never been
in a ring with you, and here's Backland, who I
haven't been winning the ring with since he was in Amburello, Texas.

Speaker 2 (01:11:04):
Right, you know it was kind of fun.

Speaker 4 (01:11:06):
It was a fun situation and uh.

Speaker 2 (01:11:11):
It really was.

Speaker 4 (01:11:12):
It was, it was, it was, it was. It was
a good time night, it was. It was something fresh
for an old man my age. It was something fresh.

Speaker 3 (01:11:21):
And I believe FMW brought you guy, you and your
brother back together.

Speaker 2 (01:11:24):
Yeah, how did that go for you? Went? Very good?

Speaker 4 (01:11:27):
Went very I think we was against uh Gito and
uh the two guys over there, Guido and not Guedo
what is the name Ghetto and.

Speaker 2 (01:11:37):
Geto and Jado. Yeah, we were good. A couple of
good guys.

Speaker 1 (01:11:41):
What are your thoughts in wrestling recently for a big
Japan against the No Mascus and the tag match. H.

Speaker 2 (01:11:48):
I like Mill, you know, as I and Mills.

Speaker 4 (01:11:50):
I've been on a lot of cards with Mill, and
a lot of times I could be thankful for Mill
and tell him thank you for for the payoff tonight,
because I mean I've gone to some places that he's
wrapped people around the damn building to get in years
ago in El Paso, in La you know. So I've
made money with Mill, you know, and uh and respect
him and like him and uh uh he was the

(01:12:15):
first guy to have music in Japan, and he and
they funks for the first two they actually started coming
to the ring with music other than than a new
Japan wrestling theme, you know. So there's a lot of
a lot of nostalgiam whenever he was in there, and
with Kochika two, you know, is uh Coachka. One time

(01:12:38):
years ago, we were coming from Lubbock dam Marilla, and
he was in a car with me, you know, and
there was this guy that we used to go in.
He was lived in Happy, Texas and he was a
deputy sheriff in Happy Texas. And we call up on
the CV at that time and says, as a happy
hooker out there, the homosexual law man and say, all right,

(01:13:01):
you son of a bitches, I'll stick a forty five
up up your ass and blow your brains out.

Speaker 2 (01:13:07):
What's your what's your twenty?

Speaker 1 (01:13:09):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:13:10):
We wouldn't tell me drive him nuts with it, you know.
Finally he figured out that I'd drive through late at
night and.

Speaker 2 (01:13:15):
He'd be sleeping, you know, on next to the road thereabouts,
and we drive by and I beat the horn at him,
wake him up, and that out running.

Speaker 4 (01:13:23):
So I thought that was good you know. And one
night I had Kochka in the car with me, you know,
and so this time is uh, I went ahead and
beat the horn, honked and everything else went out running
and he had his old falcon and and I'm driving
like a maniac. And he said, oh, just like Western movies,
you know, except they had a roadblock ahead of his

(01:13:44):
and they stopped us.

Speaker 2 (01:13:45):
You know, threw me in jail for the night.

Speaker 4 (01:13:48):
Oh, Kachika didn't think that was too good when he
was behind the bars too.

Speaker 1 (01:13:56):
You did a few shots for California.

Speaker 3 (01:14:00):
How did that go? Rob Blacks.

Speaker 4 (01:14:04):
Went very well, worked with sab Well and had a
good match with him. Again, as I think that some guys.

Speaker 2 (01:14:16):
Is uh, it's very evident to the fans and the
people too that some guys don't really understand. I think
Rob was going through that. Some that it was Rob.

Speaker 4 (01:14:30):
Yeah, I think he went through it just like a
lot of other people did. Is that they felt like
they looked at the business and they looked at it
wrongly when they started producing violence for the sake of violence.
And I think that there are some organizations that have

(01:14:51):
done that around the country. And and yes, violence is
a part of the business. But you have to look
at how you use it in the amount that you
you do use a in an evening for the fans.
And I think that that was one of the things
that was unsuccessful about his operation. But add some very

(01:15:12):
good things to add some good matches, good things, But
that was one of the things that I felt like
was a detriment to his deal. What do you tell
him the same thing?

Speaker 2 (01:15:25):
Right? I like the guy.

Speaker 1 (01:15:28):
What are your thoughts in the future of XWF and
how did Jersia match go with Greg Valentine.

Speaker 4 (01:15:33):
I think XWF I think it, you know, I think
the Nasty boys are busting their ass. I think Jimmy
Hart busting his ass. I think at every one of
those guys are busting their ass. I think they've got
the opportunity if they get to television. If they don't
get to television, you can't.

Speaker 2 (01:15:51):
Do it right.

Speaker 4 (01:15:52):
And you know that one is one that they had
the financial ability to get into television. That they do
get television, they might have the ability to continue on
with it. But and hopefully they do, because they're busting
their ass, you know. And they run a good show,

(01:16:14):
run a very good show, and they do a great
job of publicizing, and I'll tell you it's hard to
go ahead and do you know two three thousand people
without without a TV show.

Speaker 2 (01:16:26):
You know that rob more than anybody does.

Speaker 4 (01:16:29):
And if you try to do that, and you can
do that, you know that they're busting their ass somewhere
along the way. But they've got to have the TV
somewhere if that's if that's the route they choosing to
go with with the television, they've got to make that
major breakthrough and get that tie with that with that
television station or that you know, network that can get

(01:16:52):
them out there and get exposure for them.

Speaker 2 (01:16:55):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:16:57):
And again they're going to have to watch out because
once they get on there, it's gonna start being the
pick you apart deal.

Speaker 3 (01:17:03):
Yeah, definitely.

Speaker 1 (01:17:06):
What do your thoughts about your upcoming match in Florida
with Dusty Abbey and Kevin.

Speaker 4 (01:17:11):
That's the damnedest thing I ever heard of. I was,
I was in shock. I was in shock when I
heard that Abbey and Kevin when they had a Dutch Damn,
it's gonna be Uh, It's gonna be quite a strange match.

(01:17:32):
It's gotta be a classic. It's gonna either be classic good, classic, bad,
or whatever it is. But it's a classic. I'm really
looking forward to it.

Speaker 1 (01:17:45):
Who do you feel that's gonna be the next big
in the business, next big what big star? Who do
you feel it's gonna be the next big star.

Speaker 4 (01:17:55):
That's really a difficult question. That's probably the hardest question
of all the questions that you've asked me. It's gonna
be whoever Vince mcman picks to push right, and that
could be anybody, and it's not on talent measure used
to You can go ahead and say that, and you say,
well again, we're back the same thing what he perceives
it to be used to. I could say, well, God,

(01:18:16):
now this guy is the greatest guy down here. He's
gonna be a champion. And he would be because there
was different areas that he could go to that he
could emerge, and because of his talent, because of a
need of somebody to compete with this other guy that
they have over here that has to be better than
their champion.

Speaker 2 (01:18:33):
We need a better champion, he would get there. And
I could make a prediction.

Speaker 4 (01:18:37):
But just now, whoever vincement man wants it to be,
and God only knows. Look at Vince Russo whoever he
wanted it to be.

Speaker 2 (01:18:47):
David Arquette, you got it.

Speaker 1 (01:18:50):
What are your thoughts of the current reports that actually
Steve Austin has pulled somewhat of a strike due to
his displeasure of the current state of WF, particularly haul
Nash and Hogan.

Speaker 4 (01:19:00):
I'm surprised at all. And I'll tell you what you're
looking at Steve Austin. He's not a bad guy and
pretty up and up guy and pretty much of a
guy that's for the company, and that's.

Speaker 2 (01:19:14):
You know. They better hope they don't get.

Speaker 4 (01:19:16):
A company stand maybe they should. Maybe now is the time.
Could not be a better time in the world for
us to catch up with instead come out of the
dark ages and step into the real world of unionizing.

(01:19:36):
Now would be the greatest time in the world for
somebody to get together and say, hey, guy, we're gonna
have something, because, believe me, I've seen too many old
wrestlers and I'm not talking about for myself. I don't
want anything. I don't want old Joe Blow to have
something over there either you know or or you know
anybody or I don't care about any of us. But

(01:19:59):
for you guys, that are out there right now, my guy,
there's a time to step on a bandwagon. There's a
time to go in and say, hey, we need this.
It's for us. It's as a group as wrestlers. And
from what I understand, they got.

Speaker 2 (01:20:17):
A pretty good group up there.

Speaker 4 (01:20:19):
If that group gets together, they can go ahead and
make some demands on that, and they could go ahead
and pretty much unionize right now and be successful at it.

Speaker 2 (01:20:29):
It's it's, you know, you have to pick the fruit
when it's.

Speaker 1 (01:20:31):
Right, And a roddy paper wants to do the same thing.

Speaker 2 (01:20:34):
Well, I don't know. You have to pick the fruit
when it's right.

Speaker 4 (01:20:37):
It's right now, it's right, it's you know, it's time
to pick it. It's time to move forward. It's time
to get yourself out of the dark ages. It's time
to go ahead. And hey, whenever ye're sixty, you know,
whenever you're sixty two or whatever it is, or or
fifty eight or you know, or seventy five, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 2 (01:20:57):
You got you a little something coming from some that
you've given your life to.

Speaker 4 (01:21:03):
You've got you something where you can go ahead and
you can get you know, if you break your goddamn arm,
you can go ahead and have it set and it
doesn't cost you five hundred bucks and that's not too
much to ask for. You need to think about that, guys.
You need to get to the bottom line with it.

(01:21:23):
You need to do it because if you don't, the
time will pass and you will not have that opportunity.

Speaker 1 (01:21:34):
If the WF offered you a spot on WrestleMania as
your last and final match, how would you like it to.

Speaker 2 (01:21:38):
Be booked my last and final match?

Speaker 4 (01:21:41):
Get now, Rob, You've talked about this my last and
final match, last and final match, my last and final match.
And now if they offered me a match, the last
and final match, how would I like to be booked
in my last and final match? How in the hell
can I assle? Like I said, I want to come
to the ring and say, all right, you sam a
bit is this.

Speaker 2 (01:22:00):
Is my last and final match. I want a contribution
to the folker. Who would I like to have it with?

Speaker 3 (01:22:09):
That's question.

Speaker 4 (01:22:10):
I would like to have it with possibly the worst
wrestler in the world today. I don't know who that
would be, somebody that was really, really horrible. I would
like to leave the people with the ralphus a stinking
impression at my lastree. Dennis damp could be the referee.

(01:22:32):
We would have a real I would like to go
ahead and have a real horrible match, a stinking match,
a real stinkaroo where I couldn't come back from my
last match, after the last match, after the last match,
after the last match, after the last match. That's like,
who called the piccolo player a mother? You ever heard

(01:22:54):
that joke? Oh, it's a great joke. I'd tell it
to you all, but you don't have time.

Speaker 2 (01:22:59):
Okay.

Speaker 1 (01:23:01):
Thoughts on the rock.

Speaker 2 (01:23:03):
Thoughts on the rock? Uh?

Speaker 4 (01:23:07):
The one I always answer on the rock, same one
is that the only person I've ever wrestled three generations
his pop. He his pop and his grandfather. It's quite
a thrill whenever I wrestled him to wrestle three generations.

Speaker 2 (01:23:24):
Uh. Thoughts on a rock.

Speaker 4 (01:23:25):
Sharp guy, good guy, good mind, good mind for this business,
trained a lot of things. You know, really broke the
ground after he and Stone Color, the two that broke
the ground. They broke the ground after the other guys

(01:23:48):
all of the big superstars and superstuds went and left.

Speaker 2 (01:23:51):
They came in there, and they became.

Speaker 4 (01:23:54):
As big, if not bigger than the other guys produced
more revenue.

Speaker 2 (01:23:59):
As the other guys.

Speaker 3 (01:24:02):
Are you disappointed that hand for the company.

Speaker 2 (01:24:06):
Right, which is for all guys?

Speaker 1 (01:24:09):
True? Are you disappointed that the w draft doesn't do
more with Tommy Dreamer?

Speaker 2 (01:24:19):
Hell I didn't even know they was doing with anything
with him. So if I am disappointed, because hell, I
haven't even seen Tommy Dreamer, what is Tommy Dreamer doing?

Speaker 3 (01:24:27):
Dark matches and stuff like that?

Speaker 2 (01:24:29):
Dark Man's come down.

Speaker 1 (01:24:30):
Ohio Valley for less Auer or not not? Ohio Heartland, Yeah, Heartland.

Speaker 4 (01:24:37):
I think that's absurd. Are you sure he's not behind
the scenes. There's a guy that they should have behind
the scenes. There's a guy with ideas out his ass.
There's a guy that's very creative. Here people say Tommy Dreamer.
Tommy Dreamer did more with Tommy Dreamer than anybody could
have done. Tommy Dreamer's got a great mind on him.

Speaker 2 (01:25:02):
And he's a good worker. I don't care how fat
he is.

Speaker 3 (01:25:09):
I'll see him the mar Actually, so.

Speaker 2 (01:25:12):
Yeah, well I hope you do. Please tell him myself,
great guy.

Speaker 1 (01:25:17):
Do you think that it should have continued to show
after our own heart passed away?

Speaker 2 (01:25:25):
Another tough question.

Speaker 4 (01:25:29):
At the time, I would have said no.

Speaker 2 (01:25:34):
Now possibly, So that's a tough question, uh.

Speaker 4 (01:25:44):
I. I wouldn't have continued to show, not at all.
I wouldn't have, you know. And even now, you know,
after thinking about it just the time that I give
it to is, I wouldn't.

Speaker 2 (01:26:00):
I wouldn't.

Speaker 4 (01:26:02):
I wouldn't continue the show. Very tragic thing and unnecessary
thing had happened.

Speaker 1 (01:26:08):
Yeah, how would you have booked the WCW evasion angle
with the WF What would you have done?

Speaker 2 (01:26:17):
I certainly wouldn't have done what they hit had done.
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:26:21):
I never have really contemplated that, you know. So I
if I had some time to think about it, I'm
sure I could come up with some kind of good
bullshit better than what his was, you know. I you
know what I would have honestly done is I kept
it totally separate.

Speaker 2 (01:26:37):
And I wouldn't have.

Speaker 4 (01:26:39):
I would have, you know, And it's it's very difficult
to do in this world that we are to day.
But I would have kept the I would have kept
the sale unknown as long as possible to the public,
and I would have gone on with the other side,
right And I would have continued that way, And I

(01:26:59):
think I would have made two different wrestling entities, and
I would not have And whenever you do that though,
and he could have done it, he could have split
kept it, kept good talent with one, kept good talent
with the other. Wrestle once a year, don't ever go
ahead and converse with one another about the angles or
the finishes. That way, you're not overriding on your show

(01:27:21):
and trying to be different. You create down there, we
create up here.

Speaker 2 (01:27:25):
Just the way it was.

Speaker 4 (01:27:27):
Once a year, have a wrestle Mania or you know,
I mean an invasion, but do it properly with your
proper people. And you could have blown people's minds away
with it if you'd have done it that way.

Speaker 2 (01:27:40):
But it's very difficult.

Speaker 4 (01:27:42):
See, that's parts that we don't understand is how difficult
is it to keep it from the fan that the
thing has converged into one?

Speaker 3 (01:27:52):
You know, speaking of keeping it a secret from the public.

Speaker 1 (01:27:55):
Do you think the Internet has hurt the business?

Speaker 3 (01:27:58):
How open it is?

Speaker 2 (01:28:04):
Has the Internet hurt the business by being open to it?
Everybody knows everything even before it happens.

Speaker 4 (01:28:12):
No, the Internet has not heard a thing. It's like,
has wrestling hurt the wrestling business? You know, it's not wrestling.
It's the people within wrestling. Have they hurt wrestling business?
Wrestling is wrestling. The Internet is the Internet. It's the
people on the Internet. Have the fans on the internet

(01:28:35):
hurt the business? Internet has not heard a thing. It's
helped everything. It has every asset in the world for it,
for the business. It's made for the wrestling business. The
Internet is But have the fans on it or have
not the fans? The fans have not heard it because
the fans only report what they've heard. It's the people
that go ahead and think that they have such wonderful ideas.

(01:28:58):
It's the people within the business that have hurt theirselves
through the Internet. If it has been hurt that way,
it's created excitement. That excitement I think would still be there.
You understand what I'm saying. I think it gets a
little bit around backwards. You understand what I'm saying. Some

(01:29:20):
of the shit is just unnecessary on the Internet.

Speaker 2 (01:29:23):
You know, I mean you're getting I.

Speaker 4 (01:29:25):
Think it would have the same interest if it was
handled property. I'm not trying to say hide anything. I'm
not saying hide the backgrounds anything else. The greatest thing
in the world is whenever we became what we are
as entertainment. That's the two greatest things that have happened
in this business, Vince McMahon declaring us entertainment. And the
other one was probably in the last twenty years, was

(01:29:51):
Bishoff going ahead and going ahead with Vince mcmahonals are tribal,
Probably two of the biggest things that have happened in
in our business.

Speaker 2 (01:30:03):
I think.

Speaker 1 (01:30:05):
When the w F brought back the ECW crew back
for that angle, were you ever.

Speaker 3 (01:30:08):
Contacted at all?

Speaker 2 (01:30:11):
No, no, of course not.

Speaker 3 (01:30:13):
What do you think of guys like I.

Speaker 2 (01:30:14):
Got a call from Paulie?

Speaker 4 (01:30:16):
Did you when Paulie went back up areas up there
about the second wink and he said, Terry, I want
to thank.

Speaker 2 (01:30:21):
You for everything on us call right.

Speaker 4 (01:30:26):
And he said I love you. I said, I love
you too, Paulie. I wish you the best. Exact conversation,
does it.

Speaker 1 (01:30:36):
What do you think of guys like Claren Hogan off
still wrestling on TV, still wrestling in general?

Speaker 4 (01:30:45):
I think it's great. I think it's great if they're
still wrestling, is still one wrestling. But I think that
they have to uh uh, you know, they have to
be a judgment of their own uh, their own quality
that they are doing. And I think it's great. I
think any age is great. And again it's I said before,
it's not the age of the guys, it's the age
of the angles, and I think it is. I think
it's I think it's great. I know myself personally, as

(01:31:13):
I got certain persons, I've got standards that I set
and I know that I have to still be creative
and I still have to try to be new, and
if they can be new and creative, I think it's great.

Speaker 2 (01:31:25):
And that's just.

Speaker 4 (01:31:26):
And again, as as far as as angles are concerned,
is the way they're being used.

Speaker 2 (01:31:31):
I think.

Speaker 4 (01:31:33):
To just be there, I don't want to just be
there like I was. And yeah, I mean, but I
still created in my own way in what I was
doing in w CW.

Speaker 2 (01:31:42):
But I think.

Speaker 4 (01:31:46):
I think there's a time when you say I'm going
on down the road.

Speaker 2 (01:31:52):
And I think Flair and Hogan, I think if.

Speaker 4 (01:31:54):
They if they're they're very similar about what they're doing,
if they can keep themselves fresh, I.

Speaker 2 (01:32:00):
Think it's I think it's fine. I think it's fine.

Speaker 4 (01:32:02):
But if they produce shit right, well, then you are
shipping and the people will accept you as such. You know,
sometimes you can cover shit with chocolate on the sell.

Speaker 3 (01:32:15):
It does it taste like shit when you went into it, though?

Speaker 2 (01:32:19):
Yeah? It does. True.

Speaker 3 (01:32:22):
Is there anyone out there today that you could probably
say that you influenced?

Speaker 4 (01:32:31):
I think probably I influence a lot of guys, you know,
and again it's my brother has a wrestling school and
a very good wrestling school as a matter of fact,
down in Florida. But I myself, as I don't wanna,
I don't wanna train wrestlers. I don't want to deal
with them, but I like to, uh be around them,

(01:32:53):
and I try to be a good representation of what
I am when I am around them, and I think that,
uh I have influenced them by the way that I
do things, and uh my my thoughts on the business,
my my my goals in this business, my love of

(01:33:16):
the business.

Speaker 2 (01:33:20):
I hope that it's influencing.

Speaker 4 (01:33:23):
That's very very important to me that I influence them.

Speaker 2 (01:33:26):
You know.

Speaker 4 (01:33:28):
Whenever I was a young buck running around, I wasn't
much of an influencer. I was a pain in the
ass and going crazy, you know. But uh, you know,
hopefully as they say, you know, I got he does
things right.

Speaker 2 (01:33:42):
That's why I want to do them.

Speaker 1 (01:33:44):
You know, do you feel you'll ever make any more
trips as you've been.

Speaker 4 (01:33:50):
I probably will if they call up, right cause I
like going back. I like the money, and I like
the people. I like the food, I like everything about
the country. It's been great to me. Sure I'll go back,
and I don't know if that time will arise again
or not. And again it's a haven't really milked it,

(01:34:13):
but you know, milkings whenever you go back here, whenever
you shouldn't go back here. But they've usually called me
up on the shows and on certain shows and brought
me back into there. And I've been pretty successful for him,
and maybe another big one will come up.

Speaker 2 (01:34:29):
If it doesn't, it doesn't what company I could care less.

Speaker 4 (01:34:34):
I mean, I stopped caring about companies. What was it
in nineteen eighty five or something like that?

Speaker 3 (01:34:41):
You know, you know, what are your find most memorable
matches and why? And everybody answered this question, but five.

Speaker 2 (01:34:51):
Most memorable matches.

Speaker 4 (01:34:52):
The same answer that I always give is then I'll
try to answer it differently. Is that I have wrestled
through through so many eras and so many guys that
I don't have five, do you do?

Speaker 3 (01:35:06):
One from the seventies, one from the ais, one from
the nineties.

Speaker 2 (01:35:09):
That's separating time, you know.

Speaker 4 (01:35:10):
And again that's what I tell people about time is
I hate to go ahead and and and Uh, I
don't wanna. I live in the present. I always have
tried to live in the present. I think that's why
I've lasted so long. So now you're gonna make me
pull things out. UH.

Speaker 2 (01:35:27):
Memorable matches, Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:35:32):
Briscoe was the one, naturally Jack Briscoe very memorable match.

Speaker 2 (01:35:43):
Flair eighty nine, H.

Speaker 4 (01:35:49):
Spunt Man Monroe sixty five, being in the ring of
Mike DEBIOSSI probably one of the greatest teachers and wrestlers
that I wish every young guy could have the opportunity
to be around. Johnny Valentine, Saint Louis just taking a

(01:36:17):
very simple thing and making it so hot of him
selling a leg that Sam Nachnik cut the entire program.

Speaker 2 (01:36:26):
Because it was too hot.

Speaker 4 (01:36:27):
HM because of his in the ring psychology and ability
to make something out of nothing. Uh Abdullah Japan and
the cheek probably the best thing that ever happened to
me financially as far as being a wrestler and able

(01:36:48):
to call my own shots afterwards because it was.

Speaker 2 (01:36:52):
In a different on a different level.

Speaker 4 (01:36:57):
Of Harley Race, just being in the room with him
as nuts as he is, and uh hell of a guy.

Speaker 2 (01:37:08):
Watching guys like.

Speaker 4 (01:37:09):
Uh Roddy Piper mature in his business and uh become
a hell of a hell of a performer, not only
in the ring, but probably the best actor to ever
come out of this business.

Speaker 2 (01:37:30):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (01:37:33):
Just I could go on down the road for all forever.
I could go back to watching matches. You know, the
greatest matches I've ever seen. I've gotta go way back.
I gotta go back to my father and Mike Dbiossi
and Amberla Texas. Which was one of the greatest angles

(01:37:54):
that I've ever seen. Is they went four hours and
ten minutes in the match. Shut it off. That started
to my show at eight o'clock, shutting off at twelve. No,
they setted off at one o'clock, one o'clock curfew.

Speaker 2 (01:38:09):
One match had one match.

Speaker 4 (01:38:10):
Wow, they went into a they had a death match
that went four hours and ten minutes.

Speaker 2 (01:38:16):
Then they brought it back. And the most wonderful thing
emotional thing in the world is they brought the match
back the next death match, the only death match they
had after that, and it was the card was for
one death match.

Speaker 4 (01:38:35):
Huh, a two man card with a stand by matter
two stand by matches afterwards. What a great deal for
making a payoff. To take the whole payoff. It's you
and him together, that's it. But it's kind of neat
seeing things like that happened, you know, and seeing things

(01:38:55):
like that that you know is the creation is certain
things that came through the years.

Speaker 1 (01:39:02):
You know, if you were to start your own promotion,
who are some of the guys that you would want
if you were to take a draft?

Speaker 4 (01:39:11):
Well after see him, Mikey Whipwreck, I'd go ahead and
take some of his boys.

Speaker 1 (01:39:15):
Mmm.

Speaker 2 (01:39:16):
Sounds silly, doesn't it? Not? Really does it?

Speaker 4 (01:39:18):
No? H And again, as i'd like to if I
started a new promotion, I'd like to start a new
one like you and I talked about earlier, Like to
start something different, something young, something new, something fresh, something
that's not uh you have to be competitive with its,

(01:39:40):
but not that competitive. And whenever I'm talking about that,
I'm saying that, uh uh, you want to compete on wrestling,
but you don't want to be the same thing he
is had to be something different.

Speaker 2 (01:39:52):
So what is different?

Speaker 4 (01:39:53):
And I know that people don't think is but i'd
i'd i'd say lighter weights, good guys, more into wrestling,
you know, less talking. We all know that, we all
know those answers.

Speaker 1 (01:40:08):
You know, where do you see yourself in the next
five tenures?

Speaker 4 (01:40:13):
Be very seriously, I hope, I hope you see me
five or ten years.

Speaker 2 (01:40:20):
I hope I'm still here.

Speaker 4 (01:40:24):
I sincerely hope that that I am enjoying my life
with my wife, with my family, with my grandchildren. It

(01:40:46):
becomes so much more simpler. It becomes so much more
simpler as you get older. And I really really really
just love each and every day here in this world.
And they truly are and they're truly wonderful. It's a
wonderful gift. Life is the greatest gift of all. It's

(01:41:08):
just fun. It's a hell of a blast. It's a
hell of a trip. And I want to take advantage
of all of these days the way and doing what
the things that I want to do. It's not mowing
the grass.

Speaker 2 (01:41:24):
Either, you know, right right?

Speaker 1 (01:41:28):
Is there anything you want to say to the fans
out there that watching this video.

Speaker 4 (01:41:33):
Not really, so if I'll be up at your uh,
I'll be into your town soon with my next retirement
match and get your goddamn money out.

Speaker 2 (01:41:44):
I need a contribution.

Speaker 1 (01:41:46):
Thank you very much for being here with us, okay,
and we hope to have you back for another one
maybe one of these days.

Speaker 3 (01:41:52):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (01:41:54):
After five years.

Speaker 3 (01:41:54):
I hope, yes years.

Speaker 1 (01:41:58):
The ten year adversary of the first exactly. I really
like to bring you back with maybe Dusty and have
you Dusty and have you do a panel or something like.

Speaker 2 (01:42:05):
Oh, that would be funny with Dusty Great. He's supposed
to be writing a book. If that's something. Bet you
write a book. He'd be funny. I'm telling you, it'd
be the funniest motherfucker anybody ever read.

Speaker 4 (01:42:16):
He claims he's writing, but he claims everything. But if
he'd write a book, he'd be a funny motherfucker. Yeah,
I'm telling you he's a funny motherfucker. There's not many funny.

Speaker 3 (01:42:27):
Motherfuckers in the world.

Speaker 4 (01:42:30):
Oh yeah, he always has been, you know, even though
he's fat. I would love to do an interview with
Dusty good stuff.

Speaker 3 (01:42:41):
Well, thanks again, thank

Speaker 2 (01:42:42):
You, Okay, I hope it's good enough.

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