PART SEVEN



PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR

PART FIVE

PART SIX

PART SEVEN


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RETURN TO THE INTERVIEW INDEX

 


Graphics design and interview presentation by Dick Bourne.

 

 


 

Chappell: And you were still with Bigelow when you came back into Crockett later in 1988, right around the time Crockett was selling out to Turner.

 

Humperdink: Yes, I came back in during that time. And I remember those ‘Clash of Champions’ shows a little later. I remember doing a Clash of Champions in the old Mid-Atlantic area with Tommy Rich…I believe that one was in Charleston, South Carolina.

 

Chappell: Yes, that one was called ‘Coastal Crush’ or something like that. I think that one was in 1990.

 

And I remember you did Starrcade at the end of 1988 with Bigelow in Norfolk, at the Scope.

 

Humperdink: Against Barry Windham!

 

Chappell: Bigelow was in the typical mold of most of your House of Humperdink members, big and imposing…a monster!

 

Humperdink: (laughing) He was!

 

Chappell: You actually continued on after the sale from Crockett to Turner, and even into the early WCW days. Describe that time frame for us.

 

I remember you as ‘Big Daddy Dink!’

 

Humperdink: (laughs) Big Daddy Dink! Yeah, David, I wasn’t comfortable with that at all.

 

Chappell: The days of Jim Herd and that bunch.

 

Humperdink: Jim Herd, the genius, yeah…

 

Chappell: (laughs) I felt just a slight tinge of sarcasm in that last comment, Sir Oliver!

 

Humperdink: He knew absolutely nothing about the business. He was an executive at Pizza Hut or something, before he got his position in wrestling. You could see the writing on the wall.

 

Chappell: Wasn’t Diamond Dallas Page involved then…just starting out?

 

Humperdink: Yes, DDP was managing the [Freebirds]. And they brought me in as the road boss, where I would go on the road with them.

 

 

Chappell: Did that pretty much finish you up actively in the business? By then, the old territories had almost completely dried up.

 

Humperdink: Yeah, I retired in ’92. It was right after that stint with the Freebirds.

 

I saw some big, big changes in the business from when I started!

 

Chappell: Boy, I’m sure! Even though there weren’t many other options available in ‘92, were you pretty much done with things regardless, at that point?

 

Humperdink: Yeah…it wasn’t fun anymore then.

 

Chappell: I can understand.

 

Humperdink: But it was a great business, and I had a great time. But I wasn’t going to fit in the way it was heading in the early 90s.

 

I can’t have some intern, 23 years old, telling me what I had to do. By that time, I had been in it nearly 30 years.

 

I had always told myself, when it’s not fun for me anymore…it was time to leave.

 

Chappell: That’s a great philosophy, and you were able to stay true to it.

 

Humperdink: The people at WCW made it an easy decision. People that knew nothing about wrestling, trying to tell me how I should be doing everything.

 

Chappell: That sounds like a nightmare, and I’m sure in a lot of ways it was.

 

Well, winding it down Sir Oliver, how would you characterize the manager’s role and place in professional wrestling?

 

Humperdink: The manager’s role was to highlight the talent, and to add another dimension to the talent. But never shinning the light on yourself. Shinning the light on the talent. That’s the best way I can sum it up, I think.

 

Chappell: And for you, I take it that a successful match for you would be when those things happened?

 

Humperdink: Very much so. When you could walk out of the arena, and get your guy over. Maybe some guy who has never been there before…just walking out with you. Getting the guy to the next level.

 

That’s what my job was.

 

Chappell: When you look back at yourself and your own performances over the years, what do you see as your greatest strengths and attributes?

 

Humperdink: I thought I could talk pretty well…

 

Chappell: I would say so!

 

Humperdink: I was never at a loss for something to say!

 

Chappell: (laughs)

 

Humperdink: I think I lent credibility to the whole thing, in that people knew that I couldn’t do it myself…but I could instruct other guys to do it, you know?

 

Chappell: Absolutely…very well put.

 

Humperdink: (pauses) It was almost kind of like the wizard behind the curtain, driving the machine.

 

Chappell: You certainly never outshined the talent, but just by having a ‘House of Humperdink,’ that tended to put more focus on the talent that happened to be part of that elite group!

 

Humperdink: Of course, I had to have a certain amount of heat on me…in order to make it all work.

 

Chappell: And you definitely did that!

 

Humperdink: But I never wanted to outshine what the guys were doing…

 

Chappell: And you certainly never did, though I imagine that was a tightrope walk at times.

 

Humperdink: It was…it was. There were some guys that I had been with that I did outshine, but it wasn’t because I wanted to. It was because they couldn’t carry their end of it.

 

So, I’d have to turn it up a notch or two trying in the process to get THEM over…and it would just get me over more. That’s not what I was really wanting to do…

 

Chappell: I know…

 

Humperdink: But, you know, if you find a guy that’s not carrying the load, can’t do the job, you kinda have to step it up yourself.

 

Chappell: Taking profession wrestling to the present, how would you assess the state of professional wrestling today?

 

Humperdink: (pauses) Not in a good state at all, and I don’t think there’s anything that’s going to revive it at this point.

 

Chappell: And with Vince McMahon’s big national outfit, wrestling managers have basically gone the way of the dinosaur.

 

Humperdink: Before it gets to that again, it’s going to have to go through a territorial process.

 

Chappell: You think so?

 

Humperdink: From what I’ve seen of the Indy’s, I’m not saying they’re all bad…let me put it this way---it’s not the guys’ fault, because they don’t have anybody to learn from.

 

Chappell: That’s certainly a big issue with today’s product.

 

Humperdink: Even the guys that are working up in the big leagues…they have nobody to learn from---other than Flair.

 

Chappell: That’s true.

 

Humperdink: And that’s how you learn your trade…is by listening to the old dogs bark.

 

Chappell: And it’s not happening…

 

Humperdink: And it’s a real tragedy. And when all those old dogs die, that part of the business will be gone forever.

 

Chappell: Let me hit you with a happier topic…

 

Humperdink: Anything is happier that that!

 

Chappell: True! Tell us about your being honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club at the 2005 Reunion that runs April 14-16 in Las Vegas.

 

Humperdink: (pauses) Boy, that’s great.

 

Chappell: And congratulations, Sir Oliver. It’s well deserved. What does being honored by the Club mean to you?

 

Humperdink: David, it means a tremendous amount. I’m truly honored. Just to be a member of the Club is a big deal.

 

And now, to go out there this year and have them honor me as part of it…it’s just a culmination of a pretty good career.

 

Chappell: You have had a Hall of Fame career, and I think for those that follow professional wrestling in its purest form, the Cauliflower Alley Club is the true Hall of Fame for professional wrestling.

 

Humperdink: You know, David, I don’t really want to make it sound like that, because it’s not really a Hall of Fame. You know, this is more important than a Hall of Fame, because with Hall of Fame type things all kinds of people vote you in. Being honored by Cauliflower Alley…it’s your peers that honor you. And to me, that means more.

 

Chappell: That’s an important distinction, and thank you for clarifying that Sir Oliver. ‘Hall of Fame’ was not the correct term, though I think ‘Hall of Fame’ denotes something very significant and important…which the Cauliflower Alley Club is!

 

Humperdink: Oh, I know what you meant David…no harm and no foul!

 

Chappell: A better analogy would have been ‘All-Pro,’ where the NFL players bestow that honor on their fellow players…

 

Humperdink: Exactly!

 

Chappell: But the All-Pro honor in the NFL is just for one season. You’re getting yours for your whole career!

 

Humperdink: I’m touched and flattered and humbled by the whole thing. They’re a lot out there that sure deserve it more than me, and haven’t made it yet.

 

Chappell: I know you mean that when you say it…but you really are too modest!

 

Humperdink: I just respect everybody that’s gone before me. It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same breath with those the Club has already honored.

 

Chappell: And this year’s Cauliflower Alley Club ‘class’ is quite a lineup! In addition to yourself, this year’s honorees are Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Ernie Ladd, Les Thatcher, Kenny Jay and the husband and wife team of Paul Christy and Bunny Love.

 

Also, this year is the Club’s 40th reunion, so it should be extra special. The 2005 event is going back to the famous Riviera Hotel in Las Vegas, and while seating is limited, the event is open to anyone who is a CAC member.

 

Humperdink: I really believe in the Club, and I’d love for any wrestling fans out there to become part of Cauliflower Alley…and as part of that to be involved in our reunions. They are something special.

 

Chappell: Cauliflower Alley is certainly fan friendly, and I don’t think there’s anyone more friendly to the fans than you are, Sir Oliver! At the Mid-Atlantic Fanfests, you have been more accessible and genuinely cordial to us fans than just about any legend there.

 

Humperdink: I’m so flattered that people even remember me. I mean, sometimes the people come up to me and say, ‘Boy, you were in my town one night, and you did this and that!’ And David, honestly, a lot of what they tell me I can’t even remember!

 

DICK BOURNE, SIR OLIVER HUMPERDINK, AND DAVID CHAPPELL

AT THE MID-ATLANTIC LEGENDS FANFEST IN CHARLOTTE, NOV. 2004

 

Chappell: (laughs) And you just nod your head and smile a lot!

 

But regardless of whether you remember something or not, you are always cordial to the fans…and that means a lot.

 

Humperdink: I think getting together with the fans is amazing. I find it tremendously flattering the things they tell me.

 

I’m not saying it’s a great impact I made on people, but it was enough of an impact that they remember me so many years later. And that’s very special to me.

 

Chappell: Sir Oliver, you have been great and more than generous with your time tonight. Is there anything else you’d like to get into that I failed to bring up?

 

Humperdink: Oh, I don’t really think so David. You do such a great job with these interviews. I’m not one to give you advice!

 

Chappell: Those words mean a lot. The Gateway is fortunate that so many great people in the business, such as yourself, allow us the privilege of chatting like this.

 

It’s been an honor and a real thrill to have you in the Mid-Atlantic Gateway. Please don’t make it your last visit!

 

Humperdink: I’m just very impressed by your site, and I want to thank all the fans for remembering me. It means a lot to me to think that something I did well over 20 years ago people still remember, and look back on fondly. It’s a tremendous feeling for me.

 

Chappell: Once again, thanks for everything Sir Oliver. Come back into the Gateway anytime! Take care of yourself.

 

Humperdink: I appreciate it very, very much. Take care, and thanks buddy.


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