re: Dark Side Of The Ring: In The Shadow Of Grizzly Smith

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I’ve got stories you wouldn’t believe

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Do tell

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This was all going on when I started work there in 1973.

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Damn, how old are you?

Sweet Jesus, the youngest brother calling himself the lucky one for being given up for adoption. That's one messed up family.

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Can you shed any light on his identity?

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Sorry, don’t recall him. That must have been at Irish McNeils.
One quick story. When we were filming the matches at the television studio every couple of months some young tough guy would come and ask Watts if he could try out and start a career at Mid South.

After the taping of the matches everyone had to clear out of the studio. Even us cameramen couldn’t be in there but we would watch from the upstairs taping studio.
Watts would throw these young upstarts in the ring with Danny Hodge. Believe me when I tell you. Within 3 minutes the youngster would be screaming and begging to be let out of the ring. Nobody ever qualified and nobody ever tried to come back for another try out.

Danny Hodge wasn’t big at all but he had vice grip hands. If he got a hold of you you weren’t getting out. NOBODY……NOBODY would frick with Danny Hodge. He was the baddest arse of every single one of those wrestlers there ever was.

Basically grizzly would report to watts about which wrestlers were late, conduct, etc

He also knew the ring rats for all the towns

Correct

Hodge also tore ole Anderson a new one as well.

I think he had double the tendons/ligaments which is why he could still crush an apple with his hand at age 80 or punching the window out of his car while underwater in 1976 then swimming to get back on land

There were gatekeepers like that pretty much in every territory — Dan Hodge, Gene Anderson, etc. They would invite wanna-be wrestlers into the ring and then “stretch” them until they were begging for mercy. If the guy showed up again the next day, they knew he could make it. Even to this day, in order to be successful you have to be a machine, able to handle all of the travel, wear and tear, lack of sleep and recuperation time, and still be able to perform at a high level.

I worked with JYD briefly in Houma, not long before he passed. He was a nice enough guy, but had serious long-term substance abuse issues, namely crack. He was also the only wrestler I knew who pimped himself out to women and actually made them PAY HIM for sex. I remember one story where he wanted to buy some drugs that cost $100 and he invited a girl to his room. After she left, another wrestler came to the room and saw there was only $50 on the nightstand. JYD said, “Don’t worry, I got another one coming in a few minutes.”

I also remember walking into the bathroom at the Belmont and Kamala was in there putting on his paint, talking with Skandor Akbar and Taras Bulba. They paid me no attention and I went and took a piss but they were talking the whole time and I couldn’t believe it, Kamala was talking perfect English. At the time I was still convinced that Kamala really was a wild man from Uganda. When I went out and told some fans who were sitting near me what I saw, one older gentleman said, “Nah, he’s a big country boy from Mississippi.” I was in shock

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punching the window out of his car while underwater in 1976 then swimming to get back on land

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...with a broken neck

Here’s a story Dutch Mantell tells about how Ernie Ladd (who didn’t do jobs when cameras were present) was confronted by the Brisco Brothers (who were legit shooters) who were sent to rough him up after he refused to do a job for Rocky Johnson, after he noticed a camera filming.

LINK