When the spotlight fades and the roar of the crowd is just an echo, what remains in the professional wrestling world? The Weasel pulls back the curtain in a candid tell-all about the industry that glitters with gold belts but grinds down the grittiest of souls. He lays bare the personal sacrifices and the often-overlooked strategic relationships required to stay afloat in this turbulent sea of sports entertainment. From dealing with the moody to understanding the fair-weather friends who orbit the stars, Bobby's stories offer a raw and honest look at the personal cost of seeking glory in the wrestling ring.
Navigating the wrestling world is like walking a tightrope above a circus ring—full of thrills, but one misstep could mean a career-ending fall. Through Bobby's eyes, we gain insight into the tactful art of feigning camaraderie, all for the elusive payday and a shot at the title. He recounts experiences with influential but complex figures like Bruiser and Wilbur, and the fine line he walked between genuine affection and necessary alliance. Every anecdote shared is a lesson in the resilience and adaptability needed not just to survive, but to thrive in the unforgiving spotlight where only the strongest characters make it to the main event. Join us for a ringside seat to the stories that are usually whispered behind the locker room doors.
When the spotlight fades and the roar of the crowd is just an echo, what remains in the professional wrestling world? The Weasel pulls back the curtain in a candid tell-all about the industry that glitters with gold belts but grinds down the grittiest of souls. He lays bare the personal sacrifices and the often-overlooked strategic relationships required to stay afloat in this turbulent sea of sports entertainment. From dealing with the moody to understanding the fair-weather friends who orbit the stars, Bobby's stories offer a raw and honest look at the personal cost of seeking glory in the wrestling ring.
Navigating the wrestling world is like walking a tightrope above a circus ring—full of thrills, but one misstep could mean a career-ending fall. Through Bobby's eyes, we gain insight into the tactful art of feigning camaraderie, all for the elusive payday and a shot at the title. He recounts experiences with influential but complex figures like Bruiser and Wilbur, and the fine line he walked between genuine affection and necessary alliance. Every anecdote shared is a lesson in the resilience and adaptability needed not just to survive, but to thrive in the unforgiving spotlight where only the strongest characters make it to the main event. Join us for a ringside seat to the stories that are usually whispered behind the locker room doors.
Bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, Bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby, bobby Bobby. I'm Jimmy Blackwell, who was a good worker, but he was a moody SOB. He kind of liked talking to you. I don't like fair-weather friends. He talks to me all the time, but he doesn't talk to me at all. So Jerry came back to the ring. He said to me how was the match? I said it was fine. He said you think so. I said yeah, now, first of all, you don't have to ask anybody, you're not having sex you don't have to.
Speaker 1:
I said how was it? He didn't ask the person who ate it. He didn't know if it was good or not. So I think it was okay. He said was it really?
Speaker 2:
I said was it true?
Speaker 1:
He said yeah, I said it was a shit. He said what do you know? I said whatever kid, I'll tell you the truth. I don't know what it was. I never watched it. I was ever up there to concern myself with it. But you could see when it would change because I would have been in the vet.
Speaker 1:
And they would talk to you and sometimes they wouldn't talk to you. Norman Robinson was like that An Englishman. He'd talk to you when he was laboring or he wanted something, but other than that he wouldn't bother with you sometimes, and you could see people that were friends of yours and all of a sudden they wanted to be friends with the promoter because that's where the money was, and they wouldn't talk to you that much anymore. They'd talk to him when you'd be in a bar. They'd be sitting with you and they'd get up and go and sit with them. Oh yeah, and you could see how they were. Just your friendship didn't really mean that much. Yeah, so you know what you do. He's got a tab, probably, yeah.
Speaker 2:
That's a rear double. That's what it is.
Speaker 1:
It's not a good service to him.
Speaker 2:
He's always a win. You mentioned the Warrior getting you know, changing because of success. Have you ever seen someone change because maybe someone took them under the like in your example and I know you don't want to talk a lot about it, but I think we can talk about it in general like when Bruiser kind of took you under his wing. I mean, you saw what type of person he was and you weren't influenced by it at all Not to be like that.
Speaker 1:
Well, when I started in Indianapolis with the promotion there, one of the people I really, really cared about and one of them I didn't and I love Wilbur yeah, that's right, he was a decent, nice man. The other man, dickie Boozer, I pretended to like him. Right, I despised the man. Why did you pretend to like him? Because he was the boss. He paid me. Yeah, I was supporting three people. Sure, I had to like him. Because he was the boss he paid me. I was supporting three people. Sure, I had to like him.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, if I didn't like him, I'd be back at the floor doing it. Yeah, so I used him to get where I wanted to in life with my family. So when he would make me do things that I didn't want to do, I'd launch stupid errands for him and call him twice a day Every day, 10 o'clock in the morning, 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Some days I wanted to play football with my friends. I couldn't play. I had to go call him. And if he wanted me to run an errand for him, go to the hardware store and just be alone.
Speaker 1:
Had to check in every day with him, seven days a week, and if he was on the phone he had to phone, sometimes, book a car or something, for hours. I'd have to wait, wherever I was, and call him back, because if I didn't he'd get mad at me. And if he'd get mad at me, well then he wouldn't pay me. He'd treat me bad. I needed the money, so I kissed his ass for all those years to make a living, and then I finally went to the AWA to burn Garnett and I no longer needed him. So I no longer ever worked for him again and that's how I became one. I was his number one star. The mayor of Indianapolis, steve Goldberg, had a Bobby Hannon Day in 1998, I believe, and just the 20th of July Mayor Peterson of Indianapolis proclaimed Bobby Hannon Day again in Indianapolis.
Speaker 2:
No wrestlers ever had a day Mayor.
Speaker 1:
Peterson in. Indianapolis proclaimed Bobby Hennaday again in Indianapolis.
Speaker 1:
No wrestlers ever had a day for themselves in Indianapolis, not even Dick the Bruiser, except me Two days. So that's how over I was in Indianapolis. So I had to do that to make a living. And I mean he wasn't anything despicable or sexual or filthy, he was just a demanding person and there were things about him and characters, about his life and the way he conducted himself with his family I didn't like and I couldn't change that. So I always looked at him as an employer, not a friend. I pretended to be his friend because that's what he wanted. I was a liar and a cheat. But no, I had a feed in my family and I figured I'm not lying and cheating against my mother or anybody I respect or like. I'm doing it against some person I do not respect or like. But he had to check and I had to take it. I told one of them. I said you beat Nick one more time. Put the word in the streets.