Tom Zenk's ring career - interview with Joey Maggs /part 2

"Doing things that people dream of ...."

The Joey Maggs Interview
Part 2

Joey Maggs began wrestling in Georgia with Deep South Wrestling in 1987. He moved to Mississippi, then Louisiana before joining the USWA in Memphis. In January 1991, he debuted in Ted Turner’s WCW in a match against Tom Zenk. A friendship was forged that endures today.

Maggs' arrival in WCW coincided with Dusty Rhodes' return as chief booker. Maggs quickly learned that the bookers can make or break a career. Dusty Rhodes and later Bill Watts wanted to push their sons and that meant pushing popular wrestlers into the background.

Outside the ring, however - " We had more fun than you could ever imagine. There were a ton of girls, and a lot of swapping. We’d go out 4 or 5 nights a week. Tom could walk into a room and within 15 minutes or less, he’d have the best looking girl outta there. Tom and I did very well with the girls and I have great memories of that.”

Back to the action....

Tom’s career had its ups and downs but Maggs speaks of the heart of the Z-Man.

“Tom never hurt or tried to hurt anyone. He treated you right in the ring. When I broke in, the rule was ‘I’m giving you my body so be careful.’ I hurt Brian Pillman one time but that was accidental. I’ve never hurt anyone on purpose. Today, guys are ‘roided up and want to hurt somebody.”

On friends and enemies. “WCW was like a giant fraternity, we took care of each other like a family. Now, it seems more cut-throat. We were in it when it was still fun!”

And Tom was always fun to be around. “ But he was almost a menace to himself because of his looks and body - guys didn’t want him around because he’d get all the women. Tom was friends with a lot of guys but none of them stuck by him. I guess they weren’t good friends after all, just acquaintances, there for a season. One guy who’s still his friend in WCW is Big Poppa Pump, Scott Steiner."

“And of course Arn Anderson always liked Tom,” joked Maggs. In his book, Arn Anderson 4 Life, Anderson infers that Tom didn’t have the ambition it takes to make it to the top in pro-wreslting. “That may be" says Maggs who was a close friend of Anderson, "but Tom didn’t have the connections that Arn did either, and that’s an important thing in wrestling."

" I guess some of Tom’s enemies were Magnum TA, Dusty Rhodes and Greg Gagne (key members of WCW’s booking committee). Tom knew how to play mind games, if needed, to get under people’s skin. He would put a spin on locker room gossip to set these games in motion.”

“Tom never refused an angle. He was a professional and did his job.” This accounts for some of the pairings he had while in WCW.

One pairing was with Marcus “Buff” Bagwell.

“Bagwell was green and should never have been his partner. I don’t know why they paired them up...why do they do anything?? The Z-Man/Johnny Gunn tagging just never clicked and sometimes that’s the way it happens. And the most famous pairing, with Flyin' Brian Pillman, was dissolved because of jealousies in the booking office."

"it's a scummy business .... but I'd do it again"

So why aren't Maggs or Zenk in the business today? “Tom got tired of it, tired of being jerked around. Tom knew how good he was, how he looked and they didn’t use him right. But Tom made a lot of money and spent a lot of money."

"Tom shouldn’t go back into wrestling because it’s a scummy business. He talked me into retiring. We came from the same background - Catholic church, altar boys, etc. And when things weren’t going well he said go home to your family.”

A shoulder injury that never went away finally sidelined Maggs for good in 1998. (Maggs was quick to mention that WCW is good enough to take care of injuries, something other promotions do not always do).

And is there a place in the business today for wrestlers like Zenk, whether WWF or WCW? “A guy like Tom can change and be whoever he needs to be to work, because he’s a professional.”

In summary, says Maggs, Zenk is an easy going guy, with a devil-may-care, take-it-while- it’s-going and enjoy-it-while-you-can attitude. "That describes Tom to a 'T' - you've hit the nail on the head”

“A wrestling career....I’d certainly do it again! Nobody’s ever had that kind of fun. I’d change a few things (like the tights I wore) but Tom and I did things that people dream about - staying in first class hotels, flying first class, pampering yourself, buying sportscars and other luxuries.”

Maggs is currently enrolled in flight school in Maryland training to become a cargo pilot .

He says it’s a blast and he's flying high to a new career.

back to Part 1.....
Joey Magliano - obituary
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