Before Shoot Interviews (a new blog series)

[Lee B.]

In the olden times, Phil Rippa posted on the DVDVR website a bunch of interviews I conducted with folks in the pro wrestling business in the very early 1990s.  When the board went kablooey, the interview page disappeared.  However, the interviews are back, courtesy of a new blog series on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website.  The first post is part 1 of an interview I conducted with Bruno Sammartino at the tail end of John Arezzi's 1991 Weekend of Champions in Queens, NY.  I will be adding additional posts every two weeks, featuring interviews with Lou Thesz, Jeff Jarrett, Marc Mero, Teddy Long, Rockin' Robin, Larry Sharpe, Dave Meltzer, Wade Keller, Eddie Sharkey, and several others.  I hope you enjoy the interviews!

[Lee B.]

Part 2 of my 1991 interview with Bruno Sammartino is now up, wherein Bruno recounts his early years as a professional wrestler, including getting blackballed by the WWF in the early 1960s:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/04/27/before-shoot-interviews-bruno-sammartino-part-2/

[RIPPA]

Most of them can still be accessed via archive.org

http://www.deathvalleydriver.com/Benaka/benakaindex.html

[Lee B.]

That seems to be a dead link.

Also...spoilers!  The interviews will all be posted on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association's website in the coming months.  Thanks!

[Lee B.]

The third part of my 1991 interview with Bruno Sammartino has now been posted on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/05/12/before-shoot-interviews-bruno-sammartino-part-3/

This kind of makes me want to watch some David Sammartino matches from the 1980s.  But maybe not.  Enjoy!

[zendragon]

interesting to think of what Bruno would thing of AEW. Obviously he was okay with being honored by ROH so there is probably some stuff he would like (BCC)

[Lee B.]

A new, non-Bruno Sammartino interview--this time featuring former WWF Women's Champion Rockin' Robin--has been posted on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/06/01/before-shoot-interviews-rockin-robin/

This interview includes some charming recollections of Robin wrestling in Japan.  Enjoy!

[Lee B.]

Hi all!  A 1992 interview I conducted with Teddy Long has just been posted on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/06/15/before-shoot-interviews-teddy-long/

This interview includes some interesting reflections on making a transition from ref to heel ref to heel manager. 

Anyone have any favorite Teddy Long moments?  One of my favorites was a goofy 1990 angle where Teddy was forced to serve as Ric Flair's chauffeur, but then double-crossed Flair with the help of some "kidnappers."

[Lee B.]

Anyone heard of Eddie Sharkey?  He trained the Road Warriors and Rick Rude, and had lots of other adventures in the wrestling business.  I interviewed him at a Minneapolis Denny's in 1991, and you can see part one of the interview here:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/06/29/before-shoot-interviews-eddie-sharkey-part-1/

[zendragon]

On 6/15/2022 at 8:48 AM, Lee B. said:

Hi all!  A 1992 interview I conducted with Teddy Long has just been posted on the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/06/15/before-shoot-interviews-teddy-long/

This interview includes some interesting reflections on making a transition from ref to heel ref to heel manager. 

Anyone have any favorite Teddy Long moments?  One of my favorites was a goofy 1990 angle where Teddy was forced to serve as Ric Flair's chauffeur, but then double-crossed Flair with the help of some "kidnappers."

I found his run as SD! GM refreshing as he was a non-heel authority figure. Also his romance with Krystal I believe was silly fun

[Shartnado]

On 6/30/2022 at 6:30 PM, Lee B. said:

Anyone heard of Eddie Sharkey?  He trained the Road Warriors and Rick Rude, and had lots of other adventures in the wrestling business.  I interviewed him at a Minneapolis Denny's in 1991, and you can see part one of the interview here:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/06/29/before-shoot-interviews-eddie-sharkey-part-1/

I owned  a copy of a wrestling magazine called Wrestling Today (I think that was the name) in '92 that had a story/interview on Eddie Sharkey. I haven't heard much about him since then, but the name is etched in my brain, as that was one of the two first wresting magazines (that weren't WWF Magazines), I ever owned. I read that through SO many times!

[zendragon]

I'm enjoying these please keep posting

[Lee B.]

Very cool about the 1992 interview with Eddie Sharkey in (possibly) Wrestling Today!  I would love to see that.  I wonder whether Eddie repeated any of the stories he told me. 

I am happy that folks are enjoying these old interviews.  They will continue to be published every other week, usually around Wednesday, at the Professional Wrestling Studies Association Website (https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/).  

[Shartnado]

19 minutes ago, Lee B. said:

Very cool about the 1992 interview with Eddie Sharkey in (possibly) Wrestling Today!  I would love to see that.  I wonder whether Eddie repeated any of the stories he told me. 

I am happy that folks are enjoying these old interviews.  They will continue to be published every other week, usually around Wednesday, at the Professional Wrestling Studies Association Website (https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/).  

Thank you again, for these! The stories on the 1991 interview didn't ring a bell, so he must have, at least for the most part, concentrated on other thing on the '92 one. I recall two specific things about that interview:

1) When he sent his PWA guys into WWF for TV-taping enhancement matches, they were paid more and always treated very well, where as other places (would mean WCW) they were treated like garbage.

2) Hulk Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling, because being on the same card as him, everyone from top to bottom goes home with more money.

These points are also very interesting, as within the pages of that same magazine, there was a long story about the beginning of the steroid/ sex scandal that was to change the next few years of WWF scene drastically.

[Lee B.]

I'm impressed by your memories of the Eddie Sharkey review in that 1992 magazine!  If anyone wants more Eddie Sharkey insights, part 2 of my 1991 interview with Mr. Sharkey has just been posted:  

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/07/14/before-shoot-interviews-eddie-sharkey-part-2/

My favorite line from the interview:  "Harley had already ripped his eye out!"

[Lee B.]

I spent a few minutes with Dave Meltzer in 1991, just 1 year into my 33-year-long subscription to The Wrestling Observer.  You can read Dave's thoughts on creating the newsletter, and his time writing a column for The National Sports Daily, here:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/07/28/before-shoot-interviews-dave-meltzer/

[Lee B.]

Continuing the "dirt-sheet" theme, the Professional Wrestling Studies Association has published part one of my 1991 interview with college student Wade Keller, who was around four years into publishing the Pro Wrestling Torch at the time:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/08/11/before-shoot-interviews-wade-keller-part-1/

[Lee B.]

The Professional Wrestling Studies Association has now posted part two of my 1991 interview with Pro Wrestling Torch publisher Wade Keller:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/08/25/before-shoot-interviews-wade-keller-part-2/

I'll be back to interviews with pro wrestlers for the next installment. 

[Lee B.]

The Professional Wrestling Studies Association has posted my 1992 interview with Jeff Jarrett, conducted at the Mid-South Coliseum before the start of the night's matches:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/09/14/before-shoot-interviews-jeff-jarrett/

The main event was a wild and memorable brawl between the Moondogs and Jeff, Jerry Lawler, and Eric Embry, which ended with a Moondog throwing "battery acid" in the face of Embry!  I seem to recall seeing burn marks on Eric's face as he was helped to the back, or maybe Eric's convincing selling made me believe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbomhzyIFoo

 

[Lee B.]

Some of the wrestlers I interviewed from 1991-1992, such as Jeff Jarrett, went on to be fairly big stars, and some didn't.  USWA prelim wrestler Cat Garrett is an example of someone who has faded into obscurity, but Mr. Garrett had a lot of hopes for his wrestling career when I talked to him at the Mid-South Coliseum in 1992:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/10/18/before-shoot-interviews-cat-garrett/

[Lee B.]

We have gone to a monthly interview-posting schedule at the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website, and this month's entry is my 1991 interview with "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe, WWWF wrestler and, more notably, founder of The Monster Factory wrestling school:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/11/24/before-shoot-interviews-pretty-boy-larry-sharpe/

[Shartnado]

20 hours ago, Lee B. said:

We have gone to a monthly interview-posting schedule at the Professional Wrestling Studies Association website, and this month's entry is my 1991 interview with "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe, WWWF wrestler and, more notably, founder of The Monster Factory wrestling school:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2022/11/24/before-shoot-interviews-pretty-boy-larry-sharpe/

In pretty much every non-Apter wrestling magazine I bought in the early nineties, they had an of Monster Factory in it. And every one of them reminded the readers that Bam Bam Bigelow was a graduate of Monster Factory.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Shartnado
Grammar alert...

[Dolphman 3000]

On 4/29/2022 at 1:28 PM, Lee B. said:

That seems to be a dead link

https://web.archive.org/web/20120926163838/http://www.deathvalleydriver.com/Benaka/benakaindex.html

[Lee B.]

Happy New Year!  The first 2023 posting of my "enhanced" interviews from 1991-1992 is now up on the The Professional Wrestling Studies Association's website.  This interview is with Joel Goodhart, who promoted "extreme wrestling" in Philadelphia before ECW:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2023/01/04/before-shoot-interviews-joel-goodhart/

As you will see in the interview, Mr. Goodhart used the original Sheik in his shows.  These shows occurred at the tail end of the Sheik's career, as documented in Brian R. Solomon's great 2022 Sheik bio Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik.

In fact, I recently finished reading my copy of the Sheik book, so if anyone wants me to mail my copy to them (U.S. addresses only!), please send me a message through this website.  Thanks, Lee

[Shartnado]

On 1/19/2023 at 9:47 PM, Lee B. said:

Happy New Year!  The first 2023 posting of my "enhanced" interviews from 1991-1992 is now up on the The Professional Wrestling Studies Association's website.  This interview is with Joel Goodhart, who promoted "extreme wrestling" in Philadelphia before ECW:

https://www.prowrestlingstudies.org/2023/01/04/before-shoot-interviews-joel-goodhart/

As you will see in the interview, Mr. Goodhart used the original Sheik in his shows.  These shows occurred at the tail end of the Sheik's career, as documented in Brian R. Solomon's great 2022 Sheik bio Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling's Original Sheik.

In fact, I recently finished reading my copy of the Sheik book, so if anyone wants me to mail my copy to them (U.S. addresses only!), please send me a message through this website.  Thanks, Lee

Thanks for this one! Good stuff, as usual! The photo in the beginning of the interview seems to be from when they were promoting a match between Buddy Rogers and Buddy Landell in another one of the "Battle of the Nature Boys", but sadly Rogers died before the match could actually take place, according to Landell