Q & A The Z-Man answers fans' questions #3

 

Q - What books are you reading this year and what movies have you been watching?

Z - I've just finished "Pure Dynamite" - the autobiography of Tom Billington aka The Dynamite Kid. I have a great deal of RESPECT for Tommy. He gave everything for wrestling - and unlike Foley, Tommy is an athlete.  I miss guys like that. They MADE wrestling. They're the measuring stick of what a real wrestler should be - real living and breathing HEROES - and role models for the boy's.

I wrestled him in our first WWF show in November 1986. We sold out the Montreal Forum that night and had a great match. The Bulldogs had to play heels because Martel and I were over in Montreal (having wrestled up there the previous two summers) and, of course, Rick was from Quebec. The fans were really into the match and booed the Bulldogs out of the arena. I think Tommy loved playing heel. From that point on I knew we were going to make a huge hit in WWF. The match was about 15- 20 minutes and, in my opinion, it proved me worthy of being in WWF.

I have to admit I sort of mark out for Dynamite because he was like 'Dennis the Menace'. He brightened lots of boring downtime around the locker rooms when we were taping TV shows etc. He was always ribbing and having fun - I liked that kind of stuff - and he was one of the best in the business. Many times we ribbed people who were part of the office or their stooges. Guys with the big egos really got mad, and their reaction was the best part to watch. Danny Kroffat was also a big fan of Tommy and we used to laugh a lot about Dynamite and his ribbing.

Dynamite was friends with Harley Race who I respected a lot - lots of laughs, all the time. Harley was game for anything, or any type of action. Once Tommy suplexed Harley off a bar stool while they were drinking. Another time Tommy set fire to Harley's bed with Harley fast asleep in it. They were two of a kind even though there was an age difference.  I believe Harley was godfather to Tommy's son.  They were the sort of men who could put down a cigarette, go out and wrestle - then come back and smoke the rest of the cigarette.

I'll never forget how Dynamite was manipulated to come back after surgery to drop the belts. That clued me in about Vince and how he feels about wrestlers.  Vince is very big on LOYALTY.  After the Iron Sheik and Duggan got busted riding together,  I heard Vince say to all the wrestlers - "This thing [meaning the WWF] is bigger than the NFL".  My first thought was "doesn't the NFL have a players union?" I  heard what Vince said .... but most of all I watched how he treated the Dynamite Kid and other wrestlers that got injured. Tommy's in a wheelchair today.

From what I know, there are no lies in Tommy's book, although he does keep kayfabe in many places.  I hope he writes a more hard hitting book one day. The drugs scene, which Dynamite talks about frankly, is all true - 95-99% of wrestlers are liars and hypocrites when they try to cover up this aspect of the business. Drugs and drinking are just part of wrestling.

The road less traveled......

I've also recently been turned on to some of Robert Frost's poetry, including "Look me in the stars,"  "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" and "The Road Not Taken". I can see parallels between Frost's poetry and aspects of my life.  Do you think that's a common occurrence? Consider that Frost's poetry often concerns the choices we make in life .......

"  Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
    I took the one less traveled by,
    And that has made all the difference " (Robert Frost)

I'd like to read more about Frost's life and some more of his work.  I think there is maybe something there for me.
 

"Get busy living, or get busy dying...." Finally I've recently  been watching a tape of "The Shawshank Redemption"  (from "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" - a collection of short stories by Steven King).  I think the film was made around 1994 and I guess everyone knows the story and the themes - friendship, integrity, hope, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies." Great movie!

 
Extract from "Pure Dynamite" - Page 98
 

"We were always babyfaces in the WWF, which meant you had to be nice to the fans and behave in the ring. But there was one time when we were wrestling Rick Martel and Tom Zenk in Montreal. It was a championship match - the main event - but, because he was French Canadian, Rick had to be the babyface. So, Pat Patterson said to us, 'Bulldogs, you're in for some stick tonight. I want you to wrestle as heels.'

So I said, 'OK Pat, if that's what you want. But don't get mad at me when I come back.'

For the first few minutes of the match, we behaved.  I threw Rick out of the ring, by accident, then sat on the middle rope and held it down for him, like a gentleman, so he could climb back in.  The people applauded.  I threw him out again, sat on the rope, and as he bent down to climb through, I kicked him hard in the chest.  Then we started, using every dirty trick we could think of.  So, when the match ended with Zenk and Martel somehow getting disqualified, there were 15,000 very angry people in the arena.  It was like old times. As we left the ring, they were throwing things and shouting and probably swearing at us, but in French, so I didn't understand a word of it anyway."

[You can order "Pure Dynamite" from The Dynamite Kid's web site - ed.]