"From Ethiopia to Edgerton, I'll beat
any wrestler out there!"
Rockin Randy has wrestled professionally for 14 years. He's wrestled some of the biggest names in the sport, Greg Valentine, Rick Rude, Curt Henning, and Dutch Mantel to name a few. He's worked for the AWA, USWA, World Class, and countless indy promotions. He's a former co-holder of the NAWF and ACW tag titles. Yet with all this experience, he's in a slump. 6 losses in a row with no end in sight. "I'll beat any wrestler anywhere, From Ethiopia to Edgerton" declared the outraged Randy after losing at a live television taping. The next night he proceeded to lose to the Wisconsin Chicken and then to the guy running sound for the show. "This is terrible" sighed Randy. "I've never lost more than 3 in a row." What's on the horizon for this wrestling star? How can he end the streak? The Wrestling Revue sits down with Rockin Randy to discuss these issues with him.
TWR: Tell us about your first match
RR: "It was for Windy City Wrestling out of Chicago. It was at the San Andrews gymnasium."
TWR: What is/was your favorite promotion to work for?
RR: "Probably the USWA down in Memphis. Pat Tanaka pulled some strings for me and got me a 3 day trial. "I had sent a promo pack down to the promoter featuring a 8X10. Now this picture was from a coupla months before, when I weighed a good 240 pounds. By the time I got called for the tryout I was down to 190. All the while Bill Dundee is cutting promo's about how he was gonna destroy this 6'2 260 lb monster. When I showed up, Jerry Jarrett was ticked off. "Who is the guy in the picture" yelled the promoter. "Is that your brother?" he asked. Despite the rough beginning, I ended up wrestling there for 9 months."
TWR: What was wrestling for the AWA and Verne Gagne like?
RR:
"It was good exposure. Although I didn't like doing 3 matches at each
taping, it gave me a lot of experience. At once such taping my scheduled
opponents were Mr. Saito, Larry Zybysco, and a shoot fighter from the middle
east named Sheik Asan Hussien. By the time for the 3rd match with Hussien, I was
exhausted. So I wrestled this Sheik and at the end of the match he goes to the
top rope. He performs a flying crossbody. I couldn't believe it, a 60 year old
fat man jumping off the tope rope, was he crazy? Anyways the bell rings and I'm
declared the winner via DQ. This guy is pissed, I guess he didn't know that
jumping off the top rope was illegal at the time in the AWA. So he starts
beating the shit out of me. Pummeling me with lefts and rights. I eventually
rolled under the announcers' table to escape the insane bastard. After a while
Donna Gagne (The timekeeper) told me he was gone so I could get up."
" Another time when I was still working for Windy City
Wrestling, a bunch of us were called up to do tapings. I knew better at the
young age to keep my mouth quiet and do what they said. A wrestler going by the
name of Tarzan, did not. He had brought his girlfriend with him and approached
Verge Gagne. "Hey Verne" he said. "I brought my girlfriend with
me, she acts as my valet down in Chicago". "Can I use her
tonight?" he asked. Verne must have looked like he was gonna explode. Who
does this green wrestler think he is, asking for favors from the Great Bald God?
Anyways during Tarzan's match Verne (still ticked off) was backstage watching. A
bunch of us were around and Verne was screaming "Look at that guy, he's
shit!" "He can't wrestle for shit". He turned around and singled
me out. He said "You can wrestle kid, let's do a lockup". I was
unprepared as the old man came at me. Signals mixed, he popped me hard in the
mouth drawing blood. He said "Let's try again", so we did it right.
Verne was a character to say the least."
TWR: Who are some of the other big names you've wrestled?
RR: "Besides Valentine, Rude,Henning, Dundee and Dutch Mantel, I've also wrestled Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ted Dibiase, Lord Humungus, King Kong Bundy, The Honky Tonk Man, The Destruction Crew and Meng (Haku)."
TWR: Who was your toughest opponent?
RR: "I'd have to
say either Mr. Saito or Meng."
TWR: What of your thoughts about wrestling in the NAWF (North American Wrestling Federation)?
RR: "Except for this losing streak, which I personally guarantee will end at my next match, things are going good. As long as that punk commissioner Ricky Yamamoto stays out of my way, I'll be the Heavyweight Champ in no time."
TWR: Commissioner Yamamoto has recently targeted You, Electric Eric Freedom, and Matt Longtime. He says you guys are cheating all the time and he's gonna do something about it. At recent television taping he ordered 3 impromptu matches for you. You lost all 3 matches. Any comment on that?
RR: "That punk is always interfering in our business. That guy doesn't deserve to carry my jockstrap or for that matter run things in the NAWF. Three matches at one taping, who does he think he is, Verne Gagne? After I lost my first match, which was a complete injustice of the rules, he ordered me to wrestle two more times. How am I supposed to prepare for a match when I don't know who my opponent is? That was a complete outrage. The record books might show L's, but I was the real deal that day. Who else in the NAWF can wrestle three matches in a row? Nobody!, and that's why I'll be the next NAWF Heavyweight Champion."
TWR: Well not to burst your bubble , but you're in a losing streak right now. Shouldn't you concentrate on getting a win first before thinking about winning the title?
RR: "You're lucky I don't smack you in the face for smart shit like that. As far as I'm concerned this interview is over."
At this point Rockin Randy
stormed out of the room. He's easily angered and one might think, the losing
streak is affecting him mentally. Can he overcome it ? Will he be the next NAWF
Champion? I'm betting no, but maybe the crafty veteran will prove me wrong.