King Kong Bundy did a rare 80 minute interview on Vince Russo’s free podcast ‘The Swerve’ from www.pyroandballyhoo.com and can be heard here: http://www.pyroandballyhoo.
Talk moves to King Kong Bundy looking like a professional wrestler. Bundy said the wrestlers today: not only do they not look like professional wrestlers, they don’t look like grown men. Bundy was out for five years with a bunch of foot operations. He wants to get back out there, not wrestling, but get his name back out there again. He said he is still only 57.
Bundy on WWF:
“I can’t say WWE. To admit that an organization that I was associated with got bitchslapped by the World Wildlife Fund…”
On his 1994 run, Russo says Bundy was only 37 at the time:
“I was a young kid. That was a brilliant run. I will never forget that for as long as I live. The business was on its ass. You couldn’t put people on a seat with a crowbar and I’m sitting around watching Barry Horowitz doing interviews and I was doing none. I was there for almost 18 months but they didn’t do anything with me. Vince called me and said he was going to give me a super push. I went back and got nothing. That is a very cold place when they are not doing anything with you. I’m watching Barry Horowitz, nothing against Barry Horowitz, I like him, he has no business in professional business, but I like him. I’m watching Horowitz do interviews and I’m doing none.”
On what Bundy did between 1989 and 1994 / Vince McMahon:
“I did a computer commercial in late 87. It ran for two years. For three years, I worked for the computer company. The other years I bought a bar – that didn’t work out. I spent a lot of money. I gambled a lot. I did a computer commercial. It was a Dutch company called BenDex. It was a Dutch company that did $6 billion in sales. I do the commercial. All of a sudden, I got full page ads in USA Today, Time, Newsweek, Sports Illustrated. I hoped Vince wouldn’t find out about it. Needless to say, Vince found out about it big time. Ever since that day, and I’ve been told this and never revealed this, ‘that was the kiss of death to your career’. I say ‘To hell with Vince McMahon'”.
Russo can’t comprehend Bundy doing a computer commercial costing him his job. Bundy explains:
“Vince is such a control freak: the idea of one of his pieces of property being used by somebody else – it was just death to him. He couldn’t stand it.”
Bundy on his WrestleMania 1 pay:
“I got 5 grand.”
Russo said Rock and Austin maybe made $5 million or in the millions. Bundy says:
“I don’t know why Vince McMahon pays anybody anything hardly because they have nowhere to go. Where’s John Cena going to go? Japan?”
Russo says the top guys are being paid well while people below the top 6-8 guys aren’t. Russo puts over WrestleMania 1-3’s success and asks Bundy’s most successful year financially in the wrestling business:
“Vince, I would tell you personally, but I won’t say it live only out of shame… Kamala was a guy he wouldn’t pay for whatever reason. I’m not saying I was the worst paid guy, but I certainly wasn’t one of the best.”
Bundy on 1-2-3 Kid Sean Waltman on the magazine:
“…I remember back then. I don’t know if you were in charge of the magazine then, but business was on its ass. You couldn’t give a ticket away and I look in the magazine and there’s a seven page spread on the 1-2-3 kid. I doubt Sean has ever sold a ticket in his life…Why would you ever make a seven-page spread on the 1-2-3 kid? Were you high? He has no arms. His arms are like my wrists!”
Russo says he got his boy Bundy on the cover of the magazine – referring to him dressed as Santa. Bundy:
“Was that your idea, Russo? F— you. That was a stupid idea! That was you, Vince? Oh, that was just bullsh**. I didn’t know that was you. Oh my goodness. That was the worst idea ever. I can’t believe you did that. Now, I’m depressed. I hope you’re happy, Vince.”
Russo says “You were the evil Santa to scare the kids away!”. Bundy says:
“That was terrible, Vince. I think the world of you. Your talents are great. You’ve proven that, but that was a horrible idea.”
Bundy on how it was like working with Andre The Giant:
“You really want to know? Absolutely miserable. Andre The Giant was not a nice man…”
Bundy on working with Hulk Hogan in the 80s:
“Hulk got me my job and always took care of me. He was always good to me.
Bundy on Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels being terrible world champions:
“… The advent on the downfall of this business was champions like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels. Horrible world champions. Did not look like grown men in my opinion. I read Bret’s book. Wow. You cannot pick up a page without being amazed at how this man’s ego was out of control. Bret wrote in his book I called him ‘little man’. I always called him the ‘little hitter’ because he looked like a little kid in the ring. I come back six years later and he’s the world champion… Total piece of sh**, Bret Hart. I used to be friends with Bret. I stayed at his house one time back in the day.”
Bundy on Hall of Fame:
“I haven’t spoke to Vince McMahon since I left there in 1994.”
Russo says Sunny is in the Hall of Fame and Bundy isn’t. Bundy joked:
“Koko B. Ware is in the Hall of Fame. I didn’t have a career Koko had.”
Bundy on the wrestlers today:
“They all look alike. That’s something I’ve been saying for years. You can’t differentiate one from the other. They all look alike. I never watch the show – never. It’s basically unwatchable.”
On the bonus 90 minute video interview on the VIP section of pyroandballyhoo.com/vip, Bundy talks about how he feels Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart should not be world champions. He trashes Macho Man Randy Savage, even after Savage passed away, and said Spike Dudley should not have been in the ring. Bundy also talks about Jeff Jarrett not being a draw and how Jarrett had a “creepy looking outfit” referring to the striped clothing he wore in the 90s. He also disagrees with Russo on the way he wrote Sexual Chocolate Mark Henry. Finally, Bundy explains why wrestling changed but doesn’t elaborate on it, leaving Vince Russo and his producer to ponder for 20 minutes at the end of the video podcast trying to figure out what he meant.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
