- Scott Keith

- This was done early in 2000 at Bret’s home in Calgary. For those who have asked, this and all other shoot interviews I’ve reviewed are available at www.rfvideo.com.

- Various clips of Bret to start. It should be noted that Bret is wearing a Nickelback sweatshirt, long before they broke really huge, thus making him that much cooler. In fact, it was only when radio stations up here started jumping all over “The State” that they even got significant notice in Canada. Of course, they finally decided to come back home here in Alberta for a show in January, and they ended up selling out the Coliseum in something like a day. Of course, if certain afternoon DJs would float me a pair of tickets my pain might be lessened somewhat…

- Bret started as a kid, selling programs at Stampede shows and sucking up the ambiance. He got into amateur wrestling in high school, but he ended up failing out of the academic end of things as a result. He wasn’t good enough to make a career out of the “real” wrestling (“I didn’t want to become one of those burned-out Phys-Ed teachers, or whatever they do after their career is over,” were his words). Stu talked him into going pro, although Bret had fears that he might hurt his Olympic eligibility by doing so.

- He was mainly used as a referee until the boys smartened him up. Like most wrestlers, it wasn’t anything he didn’t already know, but it was nice to hear it from them. He spent a little time in Texas, hanging out with his dad’s friend Dory Funk and doing jobs for Dennis Stamp, which those of you who have seen Beyond the Mat will probably know.

- He was officially trained by a pair of Japanese wrestlers that his dad was shielding from the US Immigration services by giving them jobs. They drilled into him the importance of learning to fall, and he spent the better part of three months doing so.

- He doesn’t think much of Bruce or Keith as workers. Did some early matches with Dynamite and got the shit potatoed out of him. They became friends later. The Kid relates the same story in his book.

- He did a stint in Puerto Rico because Bruce chickened out and lost a ton of weight due to illness. Came back to Calgary in ’78 and took off from there.

- Got his first ever concussion via a Tiger Mask missile dropkick. Didn’t like working the junior heavy style in general, because he felt it was sort of beneath him in terms of the style he was taught. Plus they beat the hell out of him every night over there.

- He had some great matches with Dynamite back in Stampede, including the first ever ladder match, complete with requisite suicide bump from the Kid. 
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