Chappell: That Mid-South
promotion was terrific. I
actually moved out to that area
in late 1984 for a while, and
got to see that promotion up
close.
Slater: You were out
there the same time I was!
Chappell: Yep, pretty
much…that was a heck of a
promotion! And I want to talk
some more about Mid-South in a
little bit…and especially ‘Dark
Journey’!
Slater: (laughs)
Chappell:
I
guess Dark Journey was really a
‘valet’ and not a manager, but
I’d like your thoughts on your
use of managers over your years
in the business. Did you feel
that they added a lot to the
equation?
I know
you had Gary Hart as your
manager before you came into the
Mid-Atlantic area, and for a
while when you first came into
the Crockett territory.
Slater:
Actually, I’m pretty sure when I
first went up to Jimmy
Crockett’s territory, I’m
pretty sure Gary Hart was
working there…or came in soon
after.
Chappell:
That’s
right…I believe Gary was
focusing on Kabuki and the Magic
Dragon for the most part then.
But I remember you and Gary
working together some in the
Mid-Atlantic area.
Slater: I never really
needed a manager to do the
talking for me, but depending on
the situation, managers could
really add a lot…and generate
heat. Gary was great…he managed
Bobby Orton, Jr. and I in
Georgia…before we ended up
together in the Carolinas.
Gary was a talented manager…one
of the best managers in
wrestling.
Chappell: Since we’re
still really talking about your
pre Mid-Atlantic stuff,
something that always comes up
when the subject is Dick
Slater…is the incident when
Wahoo McDaniel shot you.
Slater: Well, Wahoo
McDaniel, me, Tommy Rich and
Andre the Giant were at a lounge
in downtown Tampa that we always
hung around down there. Andre,
Wahoo and I were sittin’ at the
bar, and somebody said something
about Tommy Rich’s wife that got
Wahoo real mad. Tommy went
outside, this was about at
closing time, and what I
remember was that Wahoo got in
an argument with this guy, and
the guy went to the car, and
gets his knife out, right?
So, Wahoo saw that, and I guess
he went to the car and got a gun
out.
Chappell: Oh boy…
Slater: I don’t know
what’s goin’ on in the parking
lot, because me and Andre are
still inside at the bar. So when
I go out, I see Wahoo with some
guy by the shirt against the
wall. I told Wahoo, ‘What’s you
doing?’ Me and Andre just stood
there looking at him. Then
[Wahoo] grabs the guy, and he
backhands the guy…and when he
backhands the guy, Wahoo’s got a
gun in his hand now, alright? He
pistol whips the guy and the gun
goes off…and I catch the bullet!
Chappell: Just your luck,
huh?
Slater: Then he comes
over, and stands over there
looking at me. I said, ‘Wahoo,
put the gun up.’ When the police
got there, I told them that a
sniper shot me…to save Wahoo.
Chappell: (laughs)
Slater: They took me to
the hospital. I had to be in
Japan three weeks after that to
wrestle. He shot me with a nine
millimeter…went in the side of
my leg and came out the back of
my knee. It blew a hole the size
of a tennis ball at the back of
my knee, and about the size of a
quarter in the front…
Chappell: How long were
you out?
Slater: I was back in the
ring three weeks after that.
Chappell: Really?
Slater: Yeah.
Chappell: You mentioned
early on that Bob Roop was there
with you when you started in the
business. Roop has said some
things about putting you up and
loaning you money when you got
shot by Wahoo, and that you
didn’t pay him back as agreed…
Slater: Bob Roop was
never, ever in the same place as
Wahoo and I. I haven’t seen Bob
Roop since I left Florida and
went to Georgia. I haven’t seen
him…and that was way before I
met Wahoo McDaniel. That’s a big
lie there.
Chappell: I hope I’m
remembering this correctly, but
I read where Bob Roop was
involved in trying to take over
Knoxville at some point, and you
got involved, and Bob said you
stabbed him in the back…
Slater: I went to
Japan…and got a phone call from
Bob Roop. He wanted to start his
own business in Knoxville,
Tennessee…
Chappell: Okay…
Slater: He wanted to know
if I wanted to go with him, and
I said, ‘No, I was fine just
where I was at.’ I was working
for Ron Fuller…I went in there
to work for Ron Fuller. I was
traveling in and out of there,
going to Japan back and forth,
and with Jim Barnett.
I wasn’t about to jeopardize my
wrestling career to work for Bob
Roop. So, I mean, he can say all
he wants to say, but Bob
Roop…where’s he at now?
(laughs) But look at me, where
I’m at now….
Chappell: I believe that
Bob has also said, as ‘payback’
for your turning your back on
him in this Knoxville takeover
thing and not paying him back
promptly for this loan…that
about a month later he worked
you over with a blackjack---beat
your ass pretty bad.
Slater: (laughing hard)
Is he kidding?
Chappell: You’re saying
all that’s a piece of fiction?
Slater: A real big piece.
He hit me with a blackjack at a
bar, right?
Chappell: Uh huh.
Slater: He got the shit
kicked out of him afterwards!
(laughing hard)
Chappell: Oh, so you do
remember something happening
between you and Roop?
Slater: (laughs) Yeah…I
remember that!
Chappell: So Roop
actually came after you, and
you’re saying he ended up
getting the worst of it?
Slater: He sure did!
Chappell: Really?
Slater: Yeah…he went into
the Pepsi machine head first!
Chappell: Courtesy of
Dick Slater?
Slater: Yeah…you got it!
Chappell: (laughing)
Slater: He did use a
blackjack…he did. He just didn’t
hit me hard enough!
Chappell: (laughing)
Well, I figured there might be
another side to that story…
Slater: Mine’s the right
one! If he thinks he’s ever beat
me up, then he’s got a problem.
He’s never really beat me at
nothing.
I don’t know who he’s ever beat
up, but he ain’t never beat me
up. That’s just a rumor there.
Chappell: Well, you sure
beat up quite a few folks when
you wrestled in the Mid-Atlantic
area! And you won quite a few
titles. In fact, you were one of
only a handful of stars that won
all of Crockett’s singles titles
during your Mid-Atlantic
career…the NWA TV Title, The
Mid-Atlantic Title, and the U.S.
Title.
A ‘Triple Crown’ winner!
Slater: And Crockett even
invented a Brass Knucks Title…he
had Roddy Piper and me doing
those damn taped fist matches!
Chappell: (laughs) Yeah,
several versions of that Brass
Knucks Title would magically
appear every five years or
so…and then just as quickly
disappear!
I remember your very first
interview on Mid-Atlantic TV in
January of 1983. You came on and
said you were the last surviving
hero, and that anybody that got
in the ring with you was in for
the most violent match they’d
ever have! Does that sound about
right?
Slater: (laughs) Probably
so…the last hero in the ring!
Chappell: Was Dory (Funk,
Jr.) booking the territory when
you first came in?
Slater: Yeah…Dory was
there then. He sure was.
Chappell: When you came
into the Mid-Atlantic area, you
hit the ground running. I
remember early on you confronted
Roddy Piper on TV…one of those
deals where everybody came out
from the back and couldn’t pull
you two apart!
Tell us a little bit about Roddy
Piper.
Slater: Oh, Piper was a
character! He’s a great guy. I
mean…I love Roddy. He had the
gift of gab, you know?
Chappell: Absolutely.
Slater: He could talk,
and he was GREAT in the ring. I
liked a good fight David, you
know what I mean?
Chappell: Sure do.
Slater: I didn’t like to
go in there and pussyfoot
around, in the first place. I
was a believer in what I did,
and Roddy was a believable
wrestler. We went at it. You
knew when you were in there with
Roddy, it was almost like a
fight.
You know, we laughed at beatin’
the shit out of one another!
Chappell: (laughing)
Slater: We beat the shit
out of one another! Greg
(Valentine) was the same way.
Wahoo was another one…chopping
me in the throat every night.
It was physically hard. I mean,
a lot of people say wrestling’s
this and wrestling’s that…yeah
okay, well you get in there and
fight them guys every night!
Chappell: Did matches
with those guys almost become
shoots at times?
Slater: Oh, it was.
Chappell: It sure looked
like it to a fan!
Slater: It was…for sure!
(laughing) Travel was so far, by
the time you got to the town,
you were so mad, you wanted to
beat the shit out of somebody!
Chappell: (laughs)
I remember only your second or
third week into Jim Crockett
Promotions, you called Jerry
Brisco out on TV. What is your
relationship with Jack and Jerry
Brisco?
Slater: Jack and Jerry
Brisco have been great friends
of mine for years. They got a
body shop down here…
Chappell: Right…the
Brisco Brothers Body Shop.
Slater: The last time I
saw Jack was at Hiro Matsuda’s
funeral. Jack made a great
comeback…he had a bad back
surgery that got infected real
bad, that almost cost him his
life. He was in a walker for
awhile. I’ve heard he’s gotten
back in the gym, and his wife
helped him tremendously in his
rehab.
Chappell: Jack was in
Charlotte for Fanfest at
Thanksgiving, and I thought he
looked great. Jerry was there,
too, and looked good also.
Slater: It’s amazing what
he’s done to fight back.
I felt real bad for him with
that back surgery. He changed me
from having a surgery…I was
scared that I’d have to take
those chances. I’ve been on that
operating table, and gone code
blue a couple of times…and
that’s something you don’t want
to do. I didn’t see no sign of
light or anything at the
time…you don’t know what happens
when you get that way. I
was there. I live for every day
now.
My last operation was nine or
ten hours on the operating
table. I woke up…and it took me
two years to walk after that.
They called that a successful
back operation…
Chappell: (laughs)
Slater: Hate to see a bad
one!
Chappell: Yeah!
Well, you won the first of your
Crockett titles within a month
or so after entering the
territory, beating Mike Rotundo
for the NWA TV Title. Mike was
just sort of starting out at
that point…did you think he had
the right stuff in those early
days?
Slater: Mike’s a great
guy. Mike’s wrestled in Japan a
lot. He’s one of the guys that
was a great amateur, a great
amateur wrestler, like the
Briscos. Jack Brisco was never
beaten as an amateur the best I
can remember. He might have
gotten beat goin’ up the ranks,
but he wasn’t beat goin’ all the
way up to the national finals.
And Mike was in that same class.
Mike was very good. He was kind
of a quiet guy, but he had a dry
sense of humor. And when he
wants to make you laugh…he’s
pretty funny!
Chappell: That’s
interesting…Mike seemed really
low key back then. And very soft
spoken.
Slater: He was fairly
soft spoken, but when you got
around him and got to know him
that changed. But he was never a
boisterous person.
Chappell: Going in the
other direction from Mike, I
remember a match of yours from
Richmond, Virginia in April of
1983 when you lost the TV Title
to Joe LeDuc. Was LeDuc as crazy
as he looked…and acted?
Slater: He loved pain, I
tell you that! First time I ever
seen Joe, he took an ax and had
his arm down on a table, and he
actually cut his own arm! This
was on TV down here in Florida.
Chappell: Oh geez…I think
I heard about that.
Slater: And then he took
a piece of concrete brick, a
concrete block, and put it down
on a table and he took his head,
and broke the block with his
head! (laughs)
Chappell: (laughing) So
he WAS as crazy as he looked!
Slater: I mean, pain
didn’t seem to bother him…but
that was a little nuts!
Chappell: (laughs) Very
nuts! With him, what you saw was
what you got, I guess!
Slater: He was a physical
guy…
Chappell: No finesse with
him! I enjoyed those matches
with you two. Joe had just
turned babyface…which was pretty
interesting in and of itself.
And they were tough physical
matches.
Slater: They sure were.
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