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KM Interviews... Dr. Tom Prichard

KM:  If you could bring back one aspect of "old school" what would it be and why?

KM:  Who were some of the crazier/funnier characters out of the ring amongst the  wrestlers you knew? 

TP:  Brad Armstrong, Buzz Sawyer, Tommy Rich, Roddy Piper, Jim Cornette, Tracy Smothers, Big Bossman, Brian Lee 

KM:  Did you ever work full time for Joe Blanchard's Southwest group or did you just work on Boesch's Houston shows that featured Southwest talent?

TP:  Yes.  I worked full time for Joe and worked the territory.

HOUSTON

KM: You started out in Houston. What was it like during those early days as you were just getting into the business? How does it compare now vs. then for someone entering to become a pro wrestler?

TP:  The business was obviously a lot more closed than it is now.  I think growing up in Texas watching guys like The Funks, Wahoo, Valentine and guys like that, they always made you believe what was going on.  I was very lucky in that my Mom took Bruce and me to the matches every Friday night.  So we were around the stuff.  Paul had a great office that was like a museum and had some cool pictures on the wall that was a wrestling fans dream.  My older brother Ken called Paul at his office and asked if he would just meet with me as I was taking pictures for magazines and trying to get my foot in the door.  Ken picked me up from school and we went down to see Paul.  This was around 1973 as Jack Brisco was being groomed to take the belt.  Paul invited me to take pictures at ringside of Brisco vs. Wahoo.  It took off from there and as I was complaining about selling shoes for two weeks at Montgomery Wards with Paul standing in the front office, he offered me a summer job selling tickets, mowing the small patch of grass by the office and being a gofer.  He paid me $75 a week, but I would have paid him to work there.  It was a lot of perseverance as far as Paul letting me train to wrestle.  There was an ex-football player who wanted to learn to wrestle and Mohamed Farouk (The Iron Sheik) was in the territory and would ride down on Fridays with Gary Hart.  Gary was booking at the time and he would meet with Paul while we would go to the empty Sam Houston Coliseum to get stretched by Sheik.  It was a great learning experience that led me to Nick Kozak and Joe Mercer's wrecker service where they had a ring set up during the week.  King Parsons had just begun working out as well.  He would pull up in a big dump truck and we would train in the ring.  I was still working for Paul and training with Kozak and Mercer during the week and then get in the ring on Fridays with Sheik.  They put me through the wringer but I was glad they did.  To this day Sheik calls me "his rookie".

Today there seems to be a school or independent show on every corner.  Some guy who got beat up on WWF TV maybe twice goes out and calls himself a "trainer" and screws people out of money.  It's easier to become a "rassler" now a days but harder to learn the proper way which is to ply your trade every night in front of different crowds.  It was different then but the same principal applies today.  If you believe in yourself and have talent you'll wind up where you want to be.

KM: What took you from being a fan of wrestling to someone who actually took the chance to become one?

TP:  I couldn't see myself doing anything else.  I dreamed of being on the road, in the ring and traveling from town to town.  To me, that was the life!  I never cared about the money.  I wanted to be a part of the "wrestling life".  I started working out with weights with Mark Lewin around the same time I started working for Paul in the office.  I worked summers while I was in high school and then worked full time after I graduated until I began wrestling. 

KM:  What are your memories of working with Paul Boesch?

TP:  It was the greatest experience of my life.  I was living a dream and got to be around the business I loved and wanted to be a part of.  Paul was a fair man and obviously a lot of the guys in the business felt the same way.

KM: In one sentence, describe Paul Boesch as a promoter.

TP: A man who cared about and loved promoting wrestling

KM: Compare the atmosphere of the Sam Houston Coliseum in the "glory days" to modern-day events in Houston.

TP: The Coliseum was every week and had an intimate setting so to speak.  The house lights went off and the overhead ring lights drew your attention.  You had the regulars and the "home town" stars as well as big national and international stars come in every week.  Today is more like going to a rock concert and seeing all the big stars.  There was a cool air about going to the Sam Houston Coliseum every Friday night.

KM:  Do you remember any particular "regular" fans at the Coliseum?

TP:  Sure.  Jo Russell, Francis, Lucy Sanderfer, Alice Nelson, Mike and Peggy Williams, Dean, Tim Huddleston, Momma, Tommy Fooshee, Pat Hatchell, Mary Pierce.  I remember others by face but can't think of the names.

KM:  Who was in your opinion the most over heel and face in Houston?

TP:  I think Wahoo and Jose Lothario were the most over babyfaces.  The Great Malenko and Johnny Valentine were the best heels.

KM:  What was your best match in Houston.  Who was it against, and why do you recall it as such?

TP:  Toss up between Dick Slater and Tully Blanchard.  Both made me look good and took care of me.

KM:  How did it feel to wrestle at Paul Boesch's retirement card on August 28, 1987? 

TP:  I had mixed emotions.  It was the first time I met Vince and boy did I make a horrible impression! I didn't know what was going on behind the scenes that night either and I was feeling weird.  I had been working out with Mark Lewin in the gym before I started wrestling and now I was going to wrestle him on Paul's retirement card... Plus I was going over.  I could tell Mark wasn't too pleased about that. 

KM:  You wrestled Mark Lewin that night at the Boesch retirement card. Did either of you have any butterflies?  

TP:  I was nervous for a number of reasons.  I think it was Rene Goulet who came over and told us to keep it in the ring and don't go outside.  The first move of the match Mark threw me out of the ring and straddled me on the barricade.  Then he started choking me with the mike cord.  I don't even remember the finish but I remember Mark just saying "thanks" and that was it.   

KM:  Did you have a chance to meet any childhood heroes amongst the many legends in attendance that night? 

TP:  I had pretty much met everybody at one time or another who was on the card.  I did tell Boris Malenko how much he and Wahoo meant to me growing up watching their matches.  I met Stu Hart for the first time. 

LOS ANGELES

KM:  You worked Los Angeles early in your career.  What did you learn from your time there and did you feel it was time well-spent since it later got the reputation as a territory being a bit out of the mainstream by the late ‘70’s, early ‘80’s?

TP: It was definitely well spent time.  I got to wrestle in the Olympic Auditorium, which was dubbed the MSG of the West Coast.  And I got to meet John Tolos, Fred Blassie and all the other guys who stopped in on their way back from Japan.  I was 20 years old and in the big city!

KM:   Was the Los Angeles promotion beyond repair while you were there or could it still have been turned around?  

TP:  I think they had seen a lot of stuff and it was a down period.  I think times were changing anyway and while the promotion tried to hang on, a lot of damage had been done.   

KM:  What sized crowds were you getting at The Olympic? 

TP:  Not big but regular crowds were coming.  I want to say we drew at least 1000 or more each week.  

KM:  How was it to wrestle in that enormous ring (24 feet by 24 feet) at the Olympic? 

TP:  Houston's ring was big but the Olympic's was huge!  It was a good bumping ring.  The apron had a lot of room to stand.  I remember running in it the first time thinking this is a long way to go for a tackle!  

KM:  Your thoughts on some LA stars when you were there:

John Tolos

TP:  John was solid in the ring.  It was cool working with him as he was one of the stars I knew of through the magazines growing up.  Very nice man.  I knocked out his bridge accidentally as well.  He was a little hot, but he got over it. 

The Guerreros 

TP:  I had a good time with Chavo and Mando.  I met Gory there for the first time as well.  Being from El Paso it was really cool to get to know Gory and his family.  I took Linda (their sister) out a couple of times.  I have remained friends with Mando and Chavo through the years.  Eddie and I have a special bond as well since he's come to WWE. 

Victor Rivera 

TP:  Victor was OK.  He was pretty much business and easy going. 

Walter Johnson 

TP:  Nice enough guy who just didn't have it for the business. 

Jon & Ric Davidson 

TP:  Crazy guys.  Good guys and a lot of fun, but crazy.  There's a story that's too long to type about Jon tearing up my apartment one night.  Then a couple weeks later he went off on Ken Wayne.  Very unpredictable at times. 

Chris Adams 

TP:  I liked Chris.  He was fun to be around.  There were times when he could get out of hand but I think we all were like that.  I remember when he and Jeannie first came over and had a place in Santa Monica.  We had a good time together. 

KM:  Define the aura of Los Angeles' Olympic Auditorium. 

TP:  The Olympic was still special because you had "stars" coming in.  Blassie and Tolos were still names and Japan was still taping shows from there every now and then.  The ring was huge, the dressing rooms were classic and the building had a feel to it like something special was going on. 

KM:  You were tag team champions with Chris Adams in Los Angeles in early 1981.  What are your memories of this pairings and of Adams in general? 

TP:  I remember Mike Labell making us his "sensational, young team" and making Chris out to be a teen idol.  I was just happy to be there and be featured.  As I said, I liked Chris and we had a lot of good times.

PORTLAND

KM:  Was Dutch Savage was still running Washington when you was working in Portland, and if so what was the relationship between Dutch and Owen?

TP:  Dutch wasn’t there when I was.  I never met him. 

KM:  What were your opinions of the boys on top…Billy Jack, Rip Oliver, etc.

TP:  I liked Rip Oliver.  I worked with him in Houston years before when I was visiting my family.  We always had good matches.  Billy Jack was a good guy.  It seemed like it all happened too fast for him and he wasn’t sure how to deal with what he was handed.  Don gave him a hard time when he came back from WWF the first time because Billy thought he was going to be a big star and didn’t know what he got himself in to.  Buddy Rose was a lot of fun as was Ed Wiskoski.  I rode and hung around with Mando Guerrero a lot.  I have known the Guerreros from when I first started and we had a good time.  I really don’t have any bad memories of the guys there.  Matt Borne could rub some people the wrong way but I got along with him great!

KM: How much political play was there in the Portland Region?

TP:  I’m sure there was some, but I was too busy enjoying myself to worry about it.  Hell, I was traveling and partying with people I liked being around, the area was cool, and it was wrestling, working out and playing that I was concerned about.  Things kinda fell in place for me there and I was happy.

KM: In the Northwest, you teamed with Brett Sawyer, can you clear up one of the business's great mysteries...Buzz & Brett were brothers, it has long been rumored that Tommy Rogers was a half-brother, is it so? 

TP: Tommy was not any relation. 

KM:  Any Buddy Rose stories? 

TP:  Buddy was fun to be around.  At that time I think we all had a "dark" side.  Buddy was entertaining to me.  I can't think of anything specific, but Buddy was great to me.

KM:  What were the best towns for fans? Best towns for payoffs?

TP:  Portland and Salem were the best payoff towns.  The Portland Sports Arena was cool because you had the regulars and die hards.  We did high schools and armories of course but the regular towns like Portland, Eugene and Salem always had a good old school feel to it.  The fans there loved wrestling.

MID-SOUTH

KM: You spent some time as a preliminary wrestler, and then were turned heel. Almost as suddenly though, you were gone. What happened?

TP:  Bill Dundee was at the end of his run as booker and he was leaving, going back to Memphis.  So he asked if Pat Rose and I would come in as a team.  Watts had no use for me there so I left.

KM:  Though your time was short, how was it working the Mid-South territory as a heel in 1985?

TP:  It was great.  I had the opportunity to try something different and it was a lot of fun.  Louisiana crowds were pretty rowdy and I liked that.

KM:  Can you define the role your brother, Bruce played in Bill Watts' company? 

TP:  Bruce became much more involved in the office than I ever did.  I believe he was not only doing on air interviews, but he helped write and produce TV.

CONTINENTAL

KM: During 1986, you were siding with the team of Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden. Your main opponents during this time were the team of Tommy Rich and Steve Armstrong, along with their third, the Intern. What are your memories of this feud?

TP: The Intern was Johnny Rich.  Those were fun days because Robert was booking and I was traveling with him and Jimmy a lot.  It was great to be in there with Tommy and Steve because I had known them for so long.  I've known all the Armstrongs pretty much my whole career and the territory was easy.  I've known Tommy since my Georgia days and had a lot of fun with him.  I like to say that I made Tommy Rich's voice the most imitated in wrestling! 

KM:  How would you compare your first few years in Continental under Ron Fuller versus the last few years under David Woods?

TP: Under Ron and Robert things were run pretty good.  We could go to the beach all day and make the towns and there'd be no problem.  Ron is a pretty smart guy though.  In the end the towns weren't really drawing and Ron saw a way out so he sold to David Woods.  That's when he brought Eddie Gilbert in.  Eddie ran the show.  David knew nothing about the wrestling business.  I had a good spot when Eddie came in and he just kept it rolling.  But with Eddie came other problems and stuff that obviously people didn't care about so lo and behold as the business was changing forever, that place dried up.

KM:  During your first 14-15 months or so, you were a mid-high card player. In the last two years, you were arguably the main star in the area, both as top babyface and then as top heel. How is the transition made for something like that... going from a solid mid-card performer to the number one man in the company? Were there any concerns on your part or from anyone else? Were you comfortable stepping into that top spot?

TP:  I think just being there at the right place at the right time had everything to do with it.  Ron Fuller owned the territory with Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Bob Armstrong and Roy Lee Welch as partners.  I was friends with the Armstrongs and became pretty close to Robert and Jimmy. I didn't mind working with anybody or doing anything.  I had been there a couple years and showed I was willing to work with anybody.  I think it was something that evolved.  I was comfortable stepping into that spot but at the same time we were not doing stellar business so while I was in a "top" spot it didn't translate in business terms of really drawing.  I was happy to be there though.

KM: How was it working with Robert Fuller and Jimmy Golden, two men you were closely affiliated with in your early months in the promotion? 

TP: Robert and Jimmy were great guys.  Fun to be around.   

KM:  How did you get the "Doctor" nickname?  

TP: Robert and Jimmy had been getting juice wrestling Tommy and Johnny Rich all over the territory.  Robert got the idea to do an angle where he and Jimmy would have a "cut man" at ringside. This way if they got split open there'd be a doctor there to take care of them immediately.  On TV they had a guy at ringside and for the finish they had a big schmoz and this cut man taped Tommy's feet to the bottom rope and Robert and Jimmy beat the hell out of Johnny.  They then proceeded to go to the stage with their new ringside physician and cut a promo. Robert proclaimed that everywhere they would go from now on he and Jimmy would have Dr. Love with them in their corner to make sure they didn't get their faces messed up again!  Well, when the show aired Ron got a call from the F.B.I.  They wanted to know where this Dr. Love was because they had a warrant for his arrest.  Needless to say, Ron called Robert and they squashed the angle.  But that next week I was riding with Robert and Jimmy and I was wearing a pair of doctor's pants and when we stopped at a store a light went off in Robert's head.  He told me I could be their doctor and we started coming up with all kinds of promos and laughed all the way to the building.  I really didn't think too much about it until I showed up at TV and saw he was serious.  It was a good break and once again, right place right time  (I broke my ankle in Louisville while working against The Fabs and Sherri Martel took care of me in Nashville.  Her roommate was a nurse and she had given me a couple pairs of doctor's scrubs.  They were comfortable and I wore them often.  I guess all circumstances are connected one way or another...) 

KM:  Who were some of your favorite wrestlers to work with in Continental?  

TP: Brad Armstrong, Tony Anthony, and Danny Davis

KM:  What was it like to wrestle against and feud with Johnathan Boyd? Was he really the larger than life character that he seemed to be? 

TP:  John could be very cantankerous at times.  Other times he would be great to hang around with.  He was very opinionated but I liked him because I never took stuff too serious. 

KM: For better or worse (depending on your view), you will always be tied to The Dirty White Boy, Tony Anthony, simply because of the intensity of that feud, especially for its time. What are your recollections of that angle/feud?

TP: I had known Tony for a couple years before that.  We clicked in the ring and that made things a lot easier.  I remember Eddie Gilbert asking us for some ideas and I came up with the hanging.  I had seen The Hangman do something like that to Nick Bockwinkel back in the early 60's and it left an impression on me that this guy was killing him!  We came up with some stuff that worked there because people were programmed to Alabama style rasslin' and that's what we gave them.  I introduced Tony to Kim (DWG) and I wound up marrying Kim's sister Sandi about two and a half years ago.  So we will forever be connected...For better or worse...

KM:  When Tony Anthony hit you with the bottle in 1988, it looked like so very real. How did you gimmick the bottle? 

TP:  We baked it and left it by the door in Dothan.  Watching it back in hindsight I thought the ambulance gimmick took way too long.

KM: In your opinion, what prompted Ron Fuller to sell Continental to David Woods, and what if anything, did Woods do right with the promotion?

TP: Ron saw the writing on the wall.  He knew the business was changing and he saw the opportunity to get out.  Sure he went to Knoxville and opened up but he was only going to do it if it made money.  David was a nice guy but he trusted a lot of the wrong people.  Not that they intentionally tried to kill his business but I don't think they were completely honest with him either.

KM: The Road to Birmingham 20 was initially scheduled to take place in June of 1988, but was repeatedly delayed until it finally took place on October 3^rd, 1988. What were the reasons, if any, for the delays?

TP: I'm not sure.  Eddie was booking and I believe there was beginning to be a fallout with David around that time.

KM: As a follow-up, how was it that the booker decided that you would be the one to win the CWF title at the Road to Birmingham tournament? Was that always the plan or because of the repeated delays, did circumstances cause a change in the way the final result would be booked?

TP: Nobody knew who was going to go over until that night.  Eddie called me that day and had me come to his apartment and get the belt.  I found out that night I was going over.

KM: There was some great heat and build towards a huge feud with Brad Armstrong that suddenly died when Brad left the area. What happened?

TP:  I think Brad left for Charlotte.  Like I said we weren't drawing that great and the opportunity came for Brad to make more cash so he left. 

KM:  In your opinion, what could have been done to keep the Continental promotion in business longer?  

TP: I don't know if anything would have worked.  Business and times were changing.  WWF was coming to Birmingham and people were seeing the major stars and anybody else was perceived as minor league so it was one of those things that was going to happen anyway.

KM: Excluding yourself, who was, in your opinion, the best worker in the Continental promotion?  

TP: Brad Armstrong.

KM: There has long been a rumor that after Dennis Condrey injured you in late 1989, you were supposed to return as a babyface and feud with Condrey, possibly recapturing the CWF Heavyweight title. That never happened because David Woods ended up shutting down the promotion. Had that not happened, would this rumor have taken place? Would you have gone after Condrey and his belt?

TP: I left in 89 to spend some time with my ex wife and daughter in San Antonio.  I had a trip to Japan coming up in October and I was planning on coming back after that.  I remember Robert calling me wanting me to work a shot against Kerry Von Erich but I wanted to stay in Texas and spend Christmas with my family.  I think it was around that time I got a call to do a shot in Germany against Steven Wright.  Shortly after that I went back to Memphis, Smoky Mountain, WWF.

USWA 

KM: What is your recollection of your early '90's tag team with Eric Embry, and your battles with Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett?

TP: I was able to do commentary on ESPN thanks to the USWA.  It was a great experience working with Lawler and Jeff in that spot.  Jeff's another guy I clicked with in the ring.  Lawler is a real pro who knows how to get the most out of less.

KM:  What are your thoughts on Jerry Jarrett, business-wise and creative-wise.

TP:  Jerry Jarrett stayed in business longer than anybody because he was not going to lose his money!  He gave the boys a place to work.  But he said it best one time.  If you can draw then you'll get paid.  It was something I understood at the time but it's something that didn't really sink in until after I stopped wrestling.  The promoter is the guy paying the bills.  He can pay the boys whatever he feels is fair or right.  Jerry did just that and a lot of people didn't care for him.  There was a time that I didn't care for him.  I have a little more understanding now why he is the way he is I think.  I've always liked Jeff.  I think Jeff probably got a lot of heat just because he was Jerry's son.  But that's life.  I had some damn good matches with Jeff.

KM:  When you returned in 1990, how tough was it to make a go of it compared against what it had been like in 1983?

TP:  Not that tough.  It was a new crew that I sort of clicked with.  Embry was booking, Austin was there, Jeff was coming on strong and I took my place as a heel and got figured in things.

SMW 

KM: In your opinion, what went right with SMW and what ultimately was wrong with the promotion?  

TP: Jim Cornette had all the right ideas for that part of the country.  Times were changing though.  Cornette gave me the opportunity to get even more rub off guys like him and Stan Lane.  It was a great old school promotion.  Jim was taking on everything with minimal help.  Brian Hildebrand and K.C. O'Conner helped out but there was just too much to do.  It was a great idea but maybe people wanted to see Superstars instead of solid wrestlers.  It was getting tougher and tougher to compete with Vince.  Everybody else's show was perceived as small time.

KM: How was the transition of going from a worker who was primarily a singles wrestler throughout most of his career, to becoming one who was primarily a tag team wrestler for the rest of his career?

TP: It was an adjustment at first but I liked it after a while.  It helped to have a partner to rely on and there were more options for me as a tag.  I'm not the biggest guy so working with another guy evened the odds in a way.

KM:  Did he come up with the "Heavenly Bodies" name in SMW? He and Pat Rose were a team with that name in Memphis in 1986. 

TP:  Jim Cornette called and asked if I would be interested in forming a team with Stan Lane as The Heavenly Bodies.  Pat Rose and I were a team in Tennessee thanks to Bill Dundee.  Bobby Fulton suggested the Bodies name in Tennessee.  It was Cornette who did it in SMW.

KM: You were in two versions of the Heavenly Bodies... first with Stan Lane, and then later with Jimmy Del Ray. Compare the two teams.

WRAP-UP

KM:  What are your current duties with the WWE??

KM:  Looking back over your career, is there any one moment that stands out to you? Is there anything that given the power, you would have done differently?

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