Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
I look back upon those days in the Crockett/Turner era of The Four Horsemen and often wonder how I made it out alive. Perhaps my contract had some fine print on it that said, 'Associating with The Four Horsemen can be hazardous to one's health.'
I've just been so blessed in my journey. Fat kid from Oklahoma, buddy - Southern accent and Bell's palsy, becoming a broadcaster and hanging around a fickle business for 40 years. You wonder how in the hell that happened. It was somebody's plan.
I've done everything. I've been ring crew, I've been driver for a blind promoter, I've been a valet, I've been a referee, I've been a ring announcer, I've been a corporate officer, play-by-play man, blah, blah, blah. No one has been on my journey.
We live in a very defiant society, especially among young men in the WWE's target demographic. So sometimes when you're really trying to promote somebody and build them, the audience can easily take it as you're trying to force somebody upon them.
Freebird Michael Hayes was my first broadcast partner who was a pure, 100% antagonist. Hayes and I joined forces during Cowboy Bill Watts' attempt at expanding the Mid-South brand by renaming Mid-South Wrestling the Universal Wrestling Federation.
Two men that did treat me well from day one were Bobby Heenan and Gorilla Monsoon. Thanks to them being old pros and having the class of a pair of WWE Hall of Famers and true gentlemen, I was given a chance to prove myself to them as a human being.
I do have high expectations for Alex Riley. He seems athletic, articulate and intelligent. Only time will tell how far he goes, but Riley has bonafide potential. FCW did a nice job of preparing Alex for WWE. Alex's future success is largely up to Alex.
Since I was a young wrestling fan, I've been fascinated by super heavyweights and was always amazed at Yokozuna's amazing grace and agility. How could a man who was so large still remain so athletic and retain perfect in-ring timing and spot-on psychology?
Tough wrestlers have never been uncommon. Competing and performing through injuries, enduring crazy travel schedules and wrestling with no offseason just lends itself for one to have to be tough to make it long term and with success in sports-entertainment.
Without question, Jerry 'The King' Lawler is my most recognizable partner and my favorite to work with over the years. We endured several things together that reach far beyond merely signing on and subsequently saying 'good night everybody' at the end of the show.
I've been a wrestling fan my whole life, and for so many years a lot of us have been, for lack of a better word, bullied. We've been teased, kidded, eyes rolled from our peers and family members. 'You watch wrestling?!?' I see my shows as a safe zone, a safe haven.
In the early days, Jerry was an antagonist, which was arguably his best casting. 'The King's' quick wit is perfectly suited to be an antagonist, but at the same time, he's so funny that it is hard to hate Jerry Lawler as the villain - especially at this stage of his long career.
The thing that people should remember, is that back in the day, because wrestling does not have a season, every week is a week of first run TV. In the territories that I worked in, specifically, we never had a rerun. So those shows that aired, aired one time to their constituency.
On a very personal note, my dear friend, the late Steve 'Dr. Death' Williams was a four-time amateur wrestling All-American who also lettered and started four years on the football team at Oklahoma. I've met no man walking the face of the earth tougher than Doc. R.I.P., my friend.
When I first arrived in WWE after having a somewhat high profile on-air role in WCW, it was WrestleMania season. In a way, I was perceived to be the voice of WCW after the Ted Turner/TBS buyout of Jim Crockett Promotions. That 'claim to fame' did not endear me to many WWE personnel.
People think you can wave a magic wand and create a star, that couldn't be further from the truth. People think that a promoter has all the cards and the talents are merely pawns and they have very little do with the bigger success, when they have most of their success because of what they do.
My first broadcast partner provided color commentary even though he was totally blind. Leroy McGuirk was a former NCAA Wrestling Champion at Oklahoma State University and long time kingpin of the NWA Junior Heavyweight Division before losing his sight in a car accident in Little Rock in the early 1950s.
Sports-entertainment has provided me with many blessings, but nothing was ever more unpredictable and fun than hanging with Ric Flair, Barry Windham, Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard, who, in my opinion, are the greatest incarnation of The Four Horsemen and the most important faction to ever step into the ring.
Broadcasting is a team effort and two, or three, individuals not functioning as a team cannot be as effective as they can if they set aside their own agendas and focus on what they see on their TV monitors and embellish the TV personas of the talents involved. I've been blessed to have had many outstanding partners.
Cutting to the chase, I don't see Sting in WWE any time soon and especially not in the ring vs. the Undertaker in the Georgia Dome. I do think that Sting would be well served to explore potential marketing opportunities with WWE especially considering that all his 'greatest hits' which were in WCW are now owned by WWE.
It doesn't matter if you have a six-minute match on 'Superstars,' go out and steal the show. Go have a great, solid match. Somebody's going to say, 'Who cares about 'Superstars?' Nobody watches it. And it's only six minutes.' That's the wrong attitude. That's a loser's attitude, and that's what I've told dozens of talents.
Michael Cole does not deserve to be piled on like many are doing. He deserves respect. Michael is fulfilling a role on a fictional, TV show. He has been 'cast' to play this role as best as he can. For those that have never sat in that particular seat, let me assure you that it isn't easy. Cole's new persona must be working because never before have so many fans, for better or for worse, commented on Cole's work.
