Little did I know that Pat Patterson was there while I was in Montreal fighting on top at the sold out Forum against the all time baby face Jacques Rougeau. The night proceeded like any other until I got back to the dressing room. There was Pat! Naturally we greeted each other and began to talk. He asked me how I would like to go to the West Coast…San Francisco. Behind the scene, little did Pat Patterson know that Roy Shires who was the promoter in San Francisco had already contacted me personally. I let Pat know at that time that I was interested to make a move, but I did not want to hit the Bay Area as a Frenchman. I needed a new gimmick. My mind was already made up that if I was going to do this, then I would do it as a Russian! The Russians were definitely getting some major heat back in those days. Americans hated them. Pat advised me to talk to Roy directly and three weeks later I arrived in San Francisco.

I debuted at the Cow Palace Arena on January 2, 1977. I was entered into the Battle Royal. Seeing as how I was the new man in town, it was only natural that Roy would push me to the top. I had immediately acquired more heat than anyone ever imagined as a Russian.

During my time in the Bay Area, I had the distinct pleasure of working on top with many of the world’s most famous wrestlers. Many of you might remember some of the following stars who I will only mention by name for now…the stories will come later. The first one that comes to mind is Andre the Giant as due to his size he is very hard to forget. He had a heart of gold as well. Some of the others were Pat Patterson, Ray Stevens, Pepper Gomez, Peter Maivia, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Dean Ho, Harley Race, the Guerrero Brothers, Mil Mascaras, Haystack Calhoun, Moondog Mayne, Mr. Fuji, Don Muraco and Rocky Johnson father of "The Rock". I have many interesting and some crazy stories to tell… but until next time…goodbye.