Message-ID:  

http://www.kayfabememories.com/Stories/mickkarch/mk11.htm

I like to think that I have carved some kind of a niche for myself in
the world of professional wrestling, what with the various TV shows
and announcing gigs that I have had over the years. I have tried to be
respectful to the wrestlers, promoters, and fans, and I feel that for
the most part, the respect has been returned to me. In short, I'm
proud of the fact that I have a decent rep in this business.  I'm hear
to tell you, brothers and sisters, that it wasn't always that way.

Back in my mid-to-late teens, I was the kind of "fan" that the AWA
detested. The smart-assed mark in the front row at the TV studio
tapings for All Star Wrestling that pissed the promoters off by being
a little too loud and boisterous in my cheering of the "heel" element.
It just didn't make for good audio.

It wasn't just me. There were usually a handful of us at the WTCN TV
Studios in Minneapolis that managed to swerve tickets from the late
"Grandpa" Nick DeGidio,  an elderly fan who was a mainstay at the AWA
TV shows for years. He gave us the tickets every Saturday afternoon,
much to the chagrin of certain members of the AWA hierarchy. (The
tickets for TV were free in those days....not 35 bucks and up like
Vinny Mac charges today).

At the time, I was doing the Bockwinkel Brigade thing, so Nick was the
recipient of most of our cheers, and unfortunately, he was also the
sounding board for the wrath of those who wanted us to shut the hell
up. As a result of our obnoxious demeanor, consider these
confrontations and run-ins that we had with some of the AWA wrestlers:

Wahoo McDaniel told one of our group to "button his lip" after the guy
told Wahoo he looked like comedian Buddy Hackett.

Percy Pringle (yes, ol' Percy was doing jobs on AWA TV) told us our
mamas should have washed our mouths out with soap.

Greg Gagne challenged one of us (not me) to get into the ring after he
was called "Bones."

Billy Robinson challenged the same guy to get into the ring after he
felt the guy had insulted him. He ranted and raved about my friend
even into his live, after-match interview instead of talking about his
bout with Nick Bockwinkel  later that evening.

Steve "Rock" Riddle called us "pieces of shit."  

Rene Goulet said we had syphillis.

Jobber Frankie Diamond insisted that we hadn't bathed since the last
time he was in town.

The late Kenny Yates told me that with my long hair, he couldn't tell
if I was male or female (thank god he didn't ask to see my underwear)!

Another jobber, the legendary Angel Rivera out of Chicago, told me I
was nothing but a dirty S.O.B....and he delivered the insult in his
somewhat broken English, to boot!!!

Larry Hieniemi (Lars Anderson), a notorious bully (ask Paul
Perschmann), called us all a "bunch of useless peons."

The hapless jobber Rodeo Jones called me a "good for nothin' four-eyed
geek."

Even Verne Gagne told me that it was "guys like ME"  that cost him
"MILLIONS" of dollars over the years. Can you imagine?? I wasn't
sitting front row at a TV taping...I was  WORKING for him at the
time!!!

Hell, Verne, maybe thousands...but millions??


--- Internet Rex 2.29