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

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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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Thanks for posting this.

rip kamala

I imagine Jim Cornette was likely a tyrant to work for in Ohio Valley. He seems like an abrasive prick. But, from 2hat I've gathered, that's not much different than most people in pro wrestling.