The truth of the matter is that Dusty Rhodes helped put more money in my pocket than anybody I've ever wrestled. In his time he was the most charismatic and talented performer in the business, and I know he doesn't look like it, but he was a pretty good athlete too.

In order to make a name for myself I took notice of the craziest wildest son-of-a-guns out there, and how they would receive a lot of the attention from the local wrestling periodicals. I decided that I would become an oddity, and that's how I have existed ever since.

I still recall the first time I laid eyes on Ric. Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch were wrestling, at the time, in Minnesota, and they took a liking to this kid who'd been hanging around the matches. That kid was Ric Flair, and they brought him to my ranch in Amarillo, Texas.

The guys that go into the Hall of Fame are the winners, and the losers are the ones who put them in there, and I would like to see some of the great losers through the years be in the Hall of Fame. I know that that's probably impossible, but you've got to give those losers credit, they made the winners.

My first match was against Sputnik Monroe at the Amarillo Sports Arena. It was scheduled for only ten minutes. Sputnik got me down and was on top of me for the first eight minutes. My father came running down to the ring and yelled for me to get up. I don't know how I got up but I did. I was a lot more scared of my father than I was Sputnik.

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