Wrestling stories

[FurdTurgason]

How many of you ever went down to Louisville Gardens or somewhere else to see pro wrestling? I went a few times in the early 80s when Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee were the good guys and they rotated bad guys in, usually managed by Jimmy Hart.

One time a friend of mine flung some ice from his drink at the New Zealand Sheepherders and got us tossed. Suddenly we're in a completely empty back parking lot thinking it wasn't so funny.

 

[BC_Wader]

How many of you ever went down to Louisville Gardens or somewhere else to see pro wrestling? I went a few times in the early 80s when Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee were the good guys and they rotated bad guys in, usually managed by Jimmy Hart.

One time a friend of mine flung some ice from his drink at the New Zealand Sheepherders and got us tossed. Suddenly we're in a completely empty back parking lot thinking it wasn't so funny.

When I was young I was into the Memphis wrestling scene big time. Had a fella in my neighborhood growing up that was a wrestler. His name was Bill Kiper and he's in the wrestling HOF. He used to show us kids some of his moves out in the yard. I think he may have wrestled for a spell with those Memphis guys.

 

[cole854]

I delivered pizza's for Pizza Hut in high school, and quite often to the home where Savage and a few others stayed on the north side of Lex. They would wrestle at Henry Clay gym during the week and then head off to Memphis and other places trying to break thru.

Most of them worked out during those days at Sin The sports complex on Richmond Rd when it was in business.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Hair]

I have told this in the wrestling thread but my friend worked at a Long John Silvers in high school which was across the street from the local National Guard building back in the early 80's. He was at work one day when their was going to be wrestling at the Armory and Macho Man walked across the street to eat at the Long Johns. Of course at that time he hadn't made it big so it wasn't a big deal until a few years later when saw him on WWF. He said the funniest thing was hearing him ordering a Fish and More in his Macho Man voice.

 

[TortElvisII]

 

[FurdTurgason]

I bet those guys loved it when they got to turn heel now and then. I remember Lawler, Dundee and Mantel all going to the dark side at least once.

 

[gamecockcat]

Saw Lawler, Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant (my all-time favorite), Nick Bockwinkle, Wildfire Tommy Rich, etc. wrestle in Memorial Coliseum (IIRC). Religiously watched Lance Russell and Dave Brown on Saturday mornings with the Memphis wrestling show. I think I attended a live show 3 or 4 times. I remember Dundee turning heel when he hit Lawler with a chain, who, of course, acted like he'd never get up and had died right then and there. Good times!

 

[catsfanbgky]

Went to the Evansville Coliseum most Wednesday nights. Made the 50 mile trip from Madisonville with 3 of my buddies. Some stories :
After the show one night, one of my friends was sitting on the fender of a Lincoln Towncar. Turns out, it was Stan Lane and Steve Kearn's rental. Talked to them a few minutes. Later, we ran into them at the Thortons in Henderson right across the bridge. Had a few beers with them, really cool guys (we was underage).

One night, Jonathan (can't remember his last name) of the Sheepherders had a fan climb up on the ring apron and was giving him ****, He smacked the absolute **** out of the guy. The guy was sitting behind us, and all night he was saying "I am going to kick his *** afterwards". I turned around to him and said "Man you better leave it go". His face was red all night with a handprint.

Not proud of this, but my uncle was a pretty big weed dealer back in the day (early 80's), he was good friends with Danny Littlebear, one night I walked into the kitchen of my house, my uncle, Littlebear and Handsome Jimmy Valiant was standing there. Pretty cool moment, some weed was definitely exchanged. My uncle also helped Littlebear and his partners build a Indy car to try to qualify for the Indy 500. Safe to say, it did not get close, but my uncle was a hell of a mechanic.

Steve Kearn was a legit crazy MFer. One night at Browning Springs Middle School (Madisonville) he showed up without Stan Lane. One of my friends Jr. Green after the matches was over ask him as he was headed to his car "Hey Steve where is Stan at ?" Kearn replied "man, he had car trouble". Jr. then replied to him "Man that is a GD lie, the Sheepherders Effed him up on TV Saturday." Kearn was mad as hell and there was several of my friends and I standing around (15 or so was black guys), Steve Kearn said "Listen here you FN ****er, I will EF you up." Took some serious balls to say that **** with all of the guys around him. Nothing happened, I am really surprised it didn't.

Sheepherders and The Fabulous Ones are part of most of my wrestling stories, it just happened that way I guess.

Another kind of odd story, not really pertaining to wrestling, but one night leaving the Evansville Coliseum me and my same 3 friends was leaving. We had Run / DMC or some rap music can't exactly remember (around 1984), a truck of Rednecks called us several names, run us off the road and damaged my friends car pretty bad. Guess they wasn't fans of Rap music.

Every story listed is 100% true, I know it probably will be doubted by some.

 

[FurdTurgason]

I was watching the Lawler/Kaufman Letterman appearance live when it aired. Called my best friend (at 12:30 p.m.) and his mom answered. Told him the Earth-shattering thing is just seen and he said "what is wrong with you?"

 

[sefleming]

My dad went to a match one time and a elderly lady in front was giving the heel whatever etc. My dad started hollowing
for the heel the elderly lady turned around and told my dad to shut his GD mouth.

my dad said he kept his mouth shut the rest of the night.

 

[berniecarbo]

I'm an average size guy. I stepped up to the bar to get a beer and the guy standing beside me is about 6'6 and 300 pounds and a hard core biker. I'm thinking, you sure are a big one. On the other side of him, stepped up a wrestler. I think he called himself Plowboy Frazier or something like that. He made the biker look tiny.

 

[catsfanbgky]

I remember Plowboy Frazier, dude wore overalls, no shirt. Wrestled in Memphis / Evansville region a while. He and Lawler had some matches.

 

[Wrong]

Funny thing was that Lawler was a Face in Memphis, Nashville, Louisville and Evansville but a heel everywhere else.

I once saw Kamala throw Lawler into a concrete wall at Nelson County High School in the mid-early 80's.

One of my mom's cousins would try to fight all the heels every week at Louisville Gardens.

 

[Blue-ish]

I'm an average size guy. I stepped up to the bar to get a beer and the guy standing beside me is about 6'6 and 300 pounds and a hard core biker. I'm thinking, you sure are a big one. On the other side of him, stepped up a wrestler. I think he called himself Plowboy Frazier or something like that. He made the biker look tiny.

I remember Plowboy Frazier, dude wore overalls, no shirt. Wrestled in Memphis / Evansville region a while. He and Lawler had some matches.

https://video.search.yahoo.com/sear...1d415595b44cacdc1fbfaa33d8a32ace&action=click

 

[BC_Wader]

Saw Lawler, Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant (my all-time favorite), Nick Bockwinkle, Wildfire Tommy Rich, etc. wrestle in Memorial Coliseum (IIRC). Religiously watched Lance Russell and Dave Brown on Saturday mornings with the Memphis wrestling show. I think I attended a live show 3 or 4 times. I remember Dundee turning heel when he hit Lawler with a chain, who, of course, acted like he'd never get up and had died right then and there. Good times!

Didn't Lawler smash Dundees new car or something like that?
Man those were great days for wrestling for me and my friends. I haven't watched it in well over 30 years now but those were good childhood memories.

 

[Ryan Lemonds Hair]

I loved watching Mid South Wrestling every Saturday on one of the 4 stations I could get. Dundee, Lawler, The Fabulous Ones and KoKo B Ware were my favorites. On the other hand I hated Tojo Yamamoto and Dirty Dutch Mantel.

 

[BankerCat12]

I used to try wrestling moves on my little brother so needless to say, wrestling was hard to get to watch in my house growing up.

 

[shockdaddy19]

Have several:

* Grew up in the Northeast and Savage had a home in a town neighboring mine. This was after he had made it big. Used to go trick or treating at his house and if he was there, he would answer the door, dressed in his wrestling attire, and hand out autographed pictures.
* Met Super Fly Snuka at a Ruth's Chris. Nicest dude ever.
* When it used to be open, I worked out at LAC here in Louisville. You used to see all those guys if they were in town for the OVW. Matt Morgan is one of the largest humans I have ever seen in my life. It's crazy to see a dude that is his height carry that much muscle. Not to mention how much weight he can throw around in the gym.
* Was on a plane once with Kevin Nash and Nathan Jones. They were legitimately flying commercial (this was early 2000's) and neither one of them seemed remotely comfortable in a plane. Kevin Nash seemed like a cool dude as he talked to people, but Nathan Jones seemed off. I did some research on him after that and learned he had done time in Australia...not shocking.

 

[bthaunert]

My dad grew up going to wrestling at the Cincinnati Gardens in the 50's and 60's. At some point, he got to know a guy names Mike, who worked at the Garden and would take stuff back to the locker room, etc. In the mid 80's, NWA was in town and we went and afterwards, my dad introduced my brother and I to Mike. I was a huge Hulk Hogan fan at the time and I said, "Mr. Mike, tell me about Hulk Hogan." Mike looked me straight in the eyes and said, "Hulk Hogan think his **** don't stink", turned around and walked away.

 

[CaptainBoogerBuns]

I used to try wrestling moves on my little brother so needless to say, wrestling was hard to get to watch in my house growing up.

Glass coffee tables are no match for a pinpoint piledriver

 

[Blue-ish]

Glass coffee tables are no match for a pinpoint piledriver

Or a puking drunk.

 

[gobigblue812_rivals29381]

I'm friends with a couple of former WWF wrestlers. They came to Louisville one weekend to wrestle and came to my gym to work out. They brought some other guys with them, including John Cena. I got to workout with him. He was MASSIVE at that time. He was a really nice and polite guy. I'm not sure who the other guys were. One was a small Japanese guy and the other was prob close to 7ft tall.

 

[catsfanbgky]

Another one I forgot about. I would constantly see Hillbilly Jim at different stores here in Bowling Green. Really nice, down to earth guy. My best friends daughter and Jim's daughter are best friends. Not that it is important to the story, but his a daughter is a beautiful black girl. Really nice girl, very pretty, unlike Jim. LOL, didn't see that coming.

 

[kywildcatsfan#1]

Saw the Honky Tonk Man cuss out an autograph hound outside of the Louisville Gardens back in 1990 while he was in the Rhythm And Blues tag team with Greg Valentine.

 

[FurdTurgason]

Anyone remember these names? The Dream Machine? Chick "I can be sassy, and I can be nasty...beat me if you can" Donovan? Bugsy Somethingorother (his shtick was the biker gang look)?

 

[stereonut]

I loved watching the old Memphis Studio shows, but didn't like the Freddy Krueger and Mutant Ninja Turtle characters.