Step into the ring of stories with a seasoned veteran of professional wrestling commentary who has seen it all from the heart of Madison Square Garden. Our esteemed guest pulls back the curtain on a career spent calling the shots beside legends, detailing his transition from manager to the voice that has narrated countless iconic matches. Discover the complexities and camaraderie of a partnership with Gorilla Monsoon that shaped an era, leaving an indelible mark on the industry and on our guest's life.
This episode is a masterclass in the evolution of TV wrestling and a tribute to the backstage heroes who craft the narratives we love. Hear firsthand about the seismic shifts in production, the quirks of live television, and the internal politics that can turn the tide of a show. From the golden days of 'Prime Time Wrestling' to the intricacies of working with Vince McMahon, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the passion and pitfalls of the wrestling world, as told by someone who lived it. Join us for a journey through the highs and lows, the laughs and the legacies, of professional wrestling commentary.
Step into the ring of stories with a seasoned veteran of professional wrestling commentary who has seen it all from the heart of Madison Square Garden. Our esteemed guest pulls back the curtain on a career spent calling the shots beside legends, detailing his transition from manager to the voice that has narrated countless iconic matches. Discover the complexities and camaraderie of a partnership with Gorilla Monsoon that shaped an era, leaving an indelible mark on the industry and on our guest's life.
This episode is a masterclass in the evolution of TV wrestling and a tribute to the backstage heroes who craft the narratives we love. Hear firsthand about the seismic shifts in production, the quirks of live television, and the internal politics that can turn the tide of a show. From the golden days of 'Prime Time Wrestling' to the intricacies of working with Vince McMahon, this conversation offers a rare glimpse into the passion and pitfalls of the wrestling world, as told by someone who lived it. Join us for a journey through the highs and lows, the laughs and the legacies, of professional wrestling commentary.
Speaker 1:
Relatives are like fish after three days they stink. Bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby. Oh, bobby, bobby, bobby, Bobby, bobby, pop goes the weasel, the weasel, pop goes the weasel cause the weasel goes pop. So you can start with the TV. I started doing Madison Square Garden. Talk about maybe some stories about where you? No, I used to stay at Madison Square Garden TV. Talk about maybe some stories about where you started. No, I used to start Madison Square Garden TV. I went there because I was a manager. Oh, then after about a year, I needed to network. But Vince told me he said I worked years at Madison Square Garden TV doing the commentating. So after Jesse left and I started doing primetime, jesse was doing the garden with Monsoon. So when Jesse was gone, I moved into the with Monsoon. Okay, okay, yeah, but prime time was really there. Hasn't been a show done like that since? Really, you mentioned how you watched every match and everything. Yeah, yeah, it was. And we also do the voiceovers for Challenge, yeah, so we've seen this match now for the whole week four or five times. It became repetitious, but working with Monsoon was a joy. It was the highlight of my career.
Speaker 1:
He was the most honest, gentle, intelligent man I've ever met. He had a tremendous mind, he was educated. He was a gentle, intelligent man I've ever met. He had a tremendous mind. He just he was educated. He was smart. Some people are educated and they say ain't, but he just, he knew about the human body, he knew about muscles and parts, and he always used to say he hit him in the left. He said the guy in the back of his back. I said, yeah, I kicked him in the butt. Yeah, exactly. So he knew all that. And he loved to gamble. He loved to play blackjack, he loved to play cards.
Speaker 1:
I always had about $25,000 on. I said, well, why would you do all that money? He said, well, I might want to buy something. I said, well, are we in the house Driving through Green Bay? I said, well, $25,000 in Green Bay, buy the team. And I brought yours, but by the team, and a bratwurst.
Speaker 1:
But he was that way, he was very family orientated. When his boy, joey, was killed, that took his head off Right and then I left and there was no more prime time. His ability, his desire to work anymore had diminished. Well then, they had changed the format of primetime, didn't they Because they went from the studio part to kind of a live audience thing. Oh, when Vince wore the slip suits, yeah, those audience people were employees, really From Titan. After work they'd have to come over and sit. They couldn't go home because we had a real audience at one time and they do three shows.
Speaker 1:
So Vince is the kind of a guy if you start live TV at eight, you start at eight. If you start taping at eight, you start taping at 1030. Okay, you don't have to go on an air ride so he would do his own. He was always getting phone calls. You know, he was the only guy running everything, so he was always being bugged by people. There were problems and questions he had to answer. We'd be done by midnight sometimes. So if they were regular fans, they went home and they couldn't get him to go to the bathroom during it, because then you'd have empty spots. You know, like at the Academy Awards, you never see an empty spot Because they had fillers, people that sit in the tuxes there. So he made the employees come over and sit.
Speaker 1:
Why didn't he change the format? Or was it just a good for exchange? Yeah, exchange for the sake of change. And I think I think primetime was doing so good that there was a jealousy factor there around people. Yeah, some people will cut their nose off to spite their face. They will. Well, the uncles sweat too. Those were his merchandise for that WBF. Oh, that's right. Yeah, I used to tell him. I said, obviously some cheap motels missing a shower curtain. And then they stopped doing it because Mooney was doing it.
Speaker 1:
Sean Mooney, wasn't he? Yeah, I don't know, that's funny. Sean Mooney, when he went and gave his resume around for work in the television industry, he never put down that he worked for WWF. After he left, yeah, he had a job, I think, at New York Station. We were on there in New York and he never put down that he was a. I don't know if it was WWF. He named everything else he'd done to get him out of there. Or maybe he just put tight in sports or something. No, I heard he was no mention of it. He was wrestling, right, wow, and you know you beat Nick one more time. You get to keep him. Put the word in the streets.