The Return of a Wrestling mainstay NWA/WWF

[Guest Trivia247]

INTERVIEW

W/THE WARLORD

by:Mark Cade

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Courtesy of the Wildhouse of Wrestling Newsletter ([email protected])

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Cade: Thanks for taking the time to speak to us tonight Warlord. Tell us how you got your start in the business.

 

Warlord: Actually, it was up in Minnesota at the time and I came through with Animal of the Road Warriors. I worked out in his gym up there and he's the one who got me started in wrestling.

 

Cade: How long did you train before you stepped into the ring?

 

Warlord: Actually I only had about six months of wrestling training and Animal got me a job with the NWA through Dusty Rhodes.

 

Cade: Describe Dusty Rhodes and a lot of the top guys you were working with at that time?

 

Warlord: Well, you watch them on TV all those years and then all of a sudden you step in the ring with all these guys you looked up to in wrestling and you're wondering why you're in the same ring at the same time they are. But, they were incredible wrestlers and they've got ring charisma, great ring presence and they can talk the talk.

 

Cade: How were you treated by a lot of the veterans when you were a rookie?

 

Warlord: Well you gotta keep your place...its kinda like going onto a pro football team. You gotta take your knocks and everything else and they rib you a lot but that's part of the game and that's part of all the fun.

 

Cade: Describe your time with the NWA.

 

Warlord: I enjoyed the NWA. I learned a lot over there...it was great for me because it gave me a chance to meet the Barbarian whose a great person in life and he was a great tag team partner.

 

Cade: Do you still keep in touch with him?

 

Warlord: I'm getting back in touch with him--looking to team up with him every once and awhile and who knows what will happen from there.

 

Cade: How'd you eventually make your way to the World Wrestling Federation?

 

Warlord: Actually Barbarian and I were with the NWA at the time and we were doing really really well. Vince McMahon has one of his people contact us in Charlotte, NC and he flew us to Atlanta, GA. We had a meeting with him and four days later we started with the WWF.

 

Cade: How were treated by the guys there when you started out?

 

Warlord: That was really a big thing because all those years, I was in college watching Jimmy Snuka, The British Bulldogs--Davey Boy was a friend of mine, but watching all those stars all those years in college and all of a sudden, here you are in the biggest Federation in the world that everyone is watching...its quite a rush. But I'll tell you this, they treated me professionally.

 

Cade: What was your first impression of Vince McMahon?

 

Warlord: Vince is a different kind of person. For the business, Vince is great. He's straight up business and that's the way he treats it and that's why he's the most successful person in wrestling.

 

Cade: How would you describe working with Mr. Fuji?

 

Warlord: Mr. Fuji was good. He taught me a lot about taking the old school wrestling, taking the new school wrestling, how to mix them together, how to get the best of both worlds and also how to take care of business inside and outside the ring too.

 

Cade: Is it true that he loved to rib the younger guys?

 

Warlord: He loved to rib. Mr. Fuji was the best ribber there was around. Him and probably "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig.

 

Cade: How'd it feel to win the WWF Tag Team Titles?

 

Warlord: Oh it was great. Like I said, I couldn't have had a better tag team partner than the Barbarian. He was a great partner out there, he was a great friend and everything else. The only bad thing about it was that everytime we went through security in the Airport, the belts would set the buzzers off and everyone would want to pull them out and then everyone wants to take a picture with you.

 

Cade: Who's decision was it for you to take off the face paint and move to singles?

 

Warlord: That was mostly through Vince McMahon and the WWF at the time. It was something a little different and it was nice...it gave me the opportunity to do singles because I had been wrestling in tag teams for a long time. I had the opportunity to work with a lot of great people. I got to work with Jimmy Snuka, The British Bulldog, Bret Hart, etc..

 

Cade: What was the experience like for you to compete in a WrestleMania?

 

Warlord: WrestleMania is a lot of fun. You go out in front of a place like Toronto, Canada in front of 70,000 people. You go out there, your stomach is going up and down, you're running to the toilet a number of times before you head out to the ring but its a great time. Its a rush going out there knowing that just the two of you are going to control 70,000 people and millions at home. Its like being a puppet master, you control what the people do, what they feel...its great.

 

Cade: Are there any moments that stick out of your head more than others?

 

Warlord: There's a few. I think one of the best was in Chicago, IL and we're getting ready for the Survivor Series and they brought in this huge crate. We're looking at this thing wondering what's in there. Ya know, its 10 degrees below Zero in Chicago. Anyway, they open up this big crate and there's this huge sack inside. Now we all know that Jake uses a snake and ofcourse Barbarian and I were with Zeus and Ted Dibiase going against Hulk Hogan, Demolition and Jake The Snake. So we're looking at this sack thinking, that can't be a snake. All of a sudden they take it out and out comes this 225lbs 25-foot-long Anaconda and it was mad. It came out trying to bite everybody. They got six guys trying to catch this thing and its trying to strike everybody. Finally they got this thing back in the sack..even the Chicago Police had their guns out ready to shoot this thing. But that wasn't even the worse. The worst is that the snake handler that was back there after they put that one away, he's in the shower with a 15-foot Anaconda, this thing is pissed off and its striking him and he's got blood pouring out of his arm and this is the same snake they're gonna bring in the ring against us. None of us liked that. Barbarian hated snakes, Zeus hated snakes, everyone was terrified of going inside that ring...it was something else to see.

 

Cade: What would you describe as your most embarrassing moment in the ring?

 

Warlord: That's easy, I was working with Ivan Koloff against the Road Warriors in Greensboro, NC, Animal through me into the ropes, my arm got hooked underneath the top rope, I went through the middle ropes hanging upside down, hanging by my toes while 20,000 people are just laughing. Animal didn't know what to do so he started posing and laughed.

 

Cade: What eventually lead to your departure from the company?

 

Warlord: Ya know, it was time. I had wrestled a lot of different individuals at the time and you can only wrestle the same guy so many times. And after a while, it doesn't mean anything. That's kinda the problem they're having today is that they've got guys who have been there so long that there's no-one left for them to wrestle. And you've gotta make changes to keep the interest up and that's why the ratings have gone down. But it was time at the time to go and do some different things in life.

 

Cade: What have you done in the years you've been away from the business?

 

Warlord: I've been to Japan, I've been to about thirty different countries since I left. Then I got into a car accident, seven years after I left, I was out for six years and now I'm just getting back into things slowly.

 

Cade: How does it feel to step back in the ring after the long layoff?

 

Warlord: Its different. Trying to get use to everything out there again and ofcourse, I just turned 40-years-old so I'm older than everyone now. But one of the good things is just being in really good shape and knowing a lot about the business--that helps.

 

Cade: What do you feel is the most valuable thing you've learned about the business?

 

Warlord: How to go out there and pace yourself and do things when they're needed. Not just go out there and boom boom do all these killer moves. Just pacing yourself and doing the right thing at the right time.

 

Cade: What do you look back on as the biggest obstacle to overcome as a wrestler?

 

Warlord: Well back then it was hard. We used to travel 25 days a month. You were never home and if you were home, it was just to sleep and you were gone again. Its a lot better there now, they have more time to rest themselves. Another obstacle was just being so big and finding guys to work with who people think can go against you out there. Its tough, you get a lot of jealousy and everything else. And I know its a part of the business and all but at the same time, you work hard and get to that point and it kinda sucks that way.

 

Cade: So what are your goals now?

 

Warlord: Right now, it'd be nice to go to the big leagues and I know Vince is the only game in town right now but I would never say never to returning. I was really hoping that the Hogan deal with Universal Studios was going to take off but he took off to go there (WWE) so hopefully there will be another league that will start up. I'll probably go to Japan, there's the Australian group (WWA) and you've got the Jarrets with their thing and I haven't even announced that I'm officially back. Once I get out there and get on the phone, its gonna be really busy.

[Guest Mark4steamboat]

whoa cool. i was always a powers of pain mark.

[Guest HartFan86]

Good INT, thanks for posting. That snake story is funny, I would have shit my pants if that thing started coming after me. That's funny about the tag belts as well.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

I don't remember the Powers of Pain ever winning the WWF Tag Titles. Can someone enlighten me?

[Guest dreamer420]

i wa a powers of pain mark too. the barbarian's career has been shot to heel now but it's cool that the warlord is still hanging in there.

[Guest Frankie Williams]

I don't remember the Powers of Pain ever winning the WWF Tag Titles. Can someone enlighten me?

Uh....they never did. I dont know what the hell the Warlord was talking about. Maybe he was to nice to correct the interviewer. He also spoke about wrestling in fron ot 70,000 at WrestleMania but he never wrestled at WrestleMania 6. He only participated in WM 5 and 7. Sounds like a decent guy though.

[Guest dreamer420]

he wasn't on the wrestlemania 8 card was he? maybe in a dark match or something?

[Guest Frankie Williams]

he wasn't on the wrestlemania 8 card was he? maybe in a dark match or something?

No. He was pretty much done with the WWF right after the 1992 Rumble. BTW, the dark match for WM 8 was the Bushwackers vs, the Beverly Brothers.

[Guest Human Fly]

Didn't he get let go because of the steroid trial?

[Guest JHawk]

he wasn't on the wrestlemania 8 card was he? maybe in a dark match or something?

No. He was pretty much done with the WWF right after the 1992 Rumble. BTW, the dark match for WM 8 was the Bushwackers vs, the Beverly Brothers.

Yep, that's the match that would make me want to get to the arena early.

[Guest Trivia247]

Warlord was out of wrestling because of that Car Accident with a Pizza Guy.

 

And I thought I heard somewhere that the Powers of Pain did win the Tag titles from Demolition when they turned heel with Mr Fuji and the Demo's got the titles back, and then went on to do that 3 vs 2 Tag match for the titles at WM5.

[Guest dreamer420]

demolition defended the titles against the powers of pain and mr. fuji at wrestlemania 5. it was a handicap match setup at the previous survivor series when the teams pulled a double swith.

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

Yeah I was a Powers Of Pain mark too, and I liked the Warlord when he went singles. Back then, it was a badass look. Too bad his matches were about as exciting as watching paint dry.

[Guest AM The Kid]

I'm a Warlord mark, he's so big and a pretty good wrestler too.

[Guest nWoScorpion]

POP never won nor came close to ever winning the tag titles to set the record straight. From when they were around it was emolition-BrainBusters-Demolition-Collosal Connection. Then they split and wnet solo.