Luna Vachon interview

[Guest Boo_Bradley]

LUNA VACHON TALKS ABOUT SABLE, HART, WWF, FLORIDA, AND MORE

 

by Chris Yandek 10/28/2003 1:24:00 PM

 

 

Luna Vachon is probably one of the most talented women wrestlers in the last decade in professional wrestling. Her father was Mad Dog Vachon, one of the great wrestlers in the days of the wrestling territories. Luna proved herself many times in WWE and at WrestleMania 14 as she tagged with Goldust against Mark Mero and Sable, one of her high profile highlights. She is a truly classy lady who loves being a wrestler and appreciates the business and the fans.

 

First off how are you?

 

"Thank you for having me. It's a pleasure to be joining you today. All things are good."

 

When you were growing up and your father was a wrestler in the business, did you get influenced by any of the women wrestlers of those days?

 

"My aunt Vivian Vachon was one of the greatest women wrestlers of all time. She had an unbelievable ability to wrestle more like a man than a woman. You can go to Blockbuster and rent a movie called Wrestling Queen, which is about my aunt and my family of the early 1970s, which were the women in the wrestling then. It was a great time in wrestling. That is why I wanted to be a wrestler from the time I was three years old. My parents tried to discourage me because the wrestling business is so hard on women. It takes a lot more toll on women then men because we are made to reproduce. I did on many occasions get to see women's wrestling because my aunt was 11 years older then me and she was my idol."

 

What did you learn from being around your father, Mad Dog Vachon, about the wrestling business?

 

"There are so many things I wish I could remember. I learned when you are in the Gange's territory not to buy a house. You don't buy a house in the neighborhood that you are working in because in our business that meant the promoters were going to pay you less when you bought a home in their territory. I went to 16 schools by the 8th grade because we were constantly on the road. There are only two types of promoters, bad and worse. You grow up fighting and defending the business and standing behind your father and family. It was a totally different era."

 

What are your thoughts on your match at WrestleMania 14 teaming with Goldust to take on Mark Mero and Sable?

 

"It was one of the most awesome nights of my life. How nice of you to remember and boy do you know your way around the wrestling world. Sable has this preconceived notion that she didn't have to learn to take bumps. She didn't know to protect herself in the ring, and it made it for an interesting match. If there ever was a match I was in that was choreographed it would have to be that one. Her not wanting to take bumps and me getting a warning that if I scratch or bruise her you are going to lose your job. This is WrestleMania. This is our Super Bowl. For about six weeks out we had to do it step by step, so she would learn what was going to happen during this match and where I wouldn't bump her during the match. I think in the old days under those conditions a Fabulous Moolah or Mildred Burke would have just broken her arm right away. For a woman not being able to protect herself, distribute her own weight, and take bumps, you are asking a lot out of your opponent to make them look good."

 

Owen Hart came over and put his arm around you after the match at WrestleMania 14, am I right?

 

"Yes, it was Owen Hart. It was really cool because I walked back to the gorilla position and I didn't get a thank you or a word, and you are kinda not sure under these conditions whether you have done an ok job or not. Nobody said anything and Owen pulled me behind the big makeup box and he said, 'Thank you. You did great.' My blessings go out to the entire Hart family for the loss of Stu Hart. He was responsible for my husband's training. He will be missed, but I am glad he is out of pain."

 

Why don't you think you were ever given the WWE Women's Championship?

 

"I don't think I fit into the mold that they wanted as a spokesperson. It is unfortunate for Vince McMahon that he didn't see what I desired most in the whole world and most of my life. The fans are the ones who buy the tickets and I think we have to do something to please them. Let me give you an example. One night at a particular hotel, the fans know that WWE is going to be checking in. The fans would be waiting in the lobby and I can remember one particular evening and all the little kids were there after the TV taping and one of them said, 'She is going to be a bitch too.' This was just after Sable and Chyna had checked in. I spent three hours in the lobby signing autographs, and I thought that if the other two women had bad days then it was my job to pick up the slack and make the women of our company look good like we care about the fans. I just felt like that was important to me. I don't think the WWE was interested in the fans at that time, but I did what I could by signing autographs and anything else."

 

What do you remember most about your days in the Florida wrestling territory?

 

"I remember being scared to death. It's amazing the magic you feel when you are going into an arena or something like that. I started out by giving a rookie of the year to Kendall Windam and Kevin Sullivan came out and gave me a really big slap. When we got back to the dressing room all the boys were looking at me like wow. I said, 'Is that the best you can do?' And they offered me a job. Most of them didn't know I was a Vachon. I remember that the best."

 

Finally, what advice would you give to girls who want to be in professional wrestling?

 

"Don't sell yourself short. It's very hard for women in our sport. The wrestling business has turned into such a T&A factor which is unfortunate. Jackie Moore I would love to wrestle and have my ears ringing for weeks from her clotheslines and I am not kidding when I tell you that. In the USWA she would ring my bell every night. I like working with a woman that is strong and beautiful. She is an asset to our sport and I am proud to have so many matches with her."

 

Luna Vachon will be working with Gangrel on the November 14th Maximum Pro Wrestling show headlined by Dusty Rhodes vs. Barry Windham in a bull rope match at the Broward County Community College Omni Auditorium in the South Florida Fort Lauderdale area. Doors open at 6:30pm, bell time is at 7:30pm. For directions or more information please call 954-201-2233. Check out www.mxpw.com also for more information.

 

You can also listen to the full interview with Luna Vachon and Gangrel on the October 17th edition of Chris Yandek's New Era of Wrestling Radio at http://boazfrankel.myvnc.com/09172003.wav

 

Feel free to reach Chris Yandek for comment at [email protected] as I do reply to every response I get. Also always feel free to instant message me on AOL on my screen name Lyandek. I always will reply if you're polite. I also want to hear from you on who you would like me to try and interview next.

 

Chris Yandek is a Writer for the St. Petersburg Times Online Wrestling Section at Ringfury.com, Columnist at 1Wrestling.com, and you can find his interviews in the monthly old school newsletter Wrestling Then & Now. He also contributes to Total Wrestling Magazine, and also writes for Koco Sports an all around Sports Publication check out their website at www.kocosports.com.

 

He also represents The Stro formerly of WCW as his Publicist. Check out The Stro's official site at www.thestro.com

 

Check out his official site www.neweraofwrestling.com for all his Interviews, Audio and Transcript.

[LivingLegendGaryColeman 0]

that's cool. I didn't know what to expect cause I haven't really heard much from Luna, but I've known of who she is for a long time, dating back to her first, early 90s WWE stint. Pretty cool that she is so down to earth, I did not know.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Good read. I still can't believe she's Gangrel's wife.

[Slayer 0]

I too was surprised by the eloquence, but I suppose you can never be too sure about the facade wrestlers put on (years ago, who would've thought Cactus Jack was a smart man?)

 

I got a real good laugh out of the whole "having to treat Rena Mero with kid gloves at WM14" thing

[Highland 0]

I don't think the WWE was interested in the fans at that time

 

They're still not, unfortunately.

[haVoc 0]

Owen Hart really was a good guy.