GRP #50: Teddy Long on racism in wrestling, Ron Simmons, Undertaker, TNA, and much more
In this very special edition of the Gerweck Report podcast, Steve Gerweck and Frank Dee welcome future WWE hall of famer Teddy Long.
Topics discussed include:
– Leaving WWE, and the possibility of Long returning to the company in the future
– Racism in wrestling, and being called the N word
– Who told Teddy that a young Undertaker would never draw a dime?
– How Teddy become a wrestling manager
– The circumstances of the Ron Simmons winning the world championship
– What happened to wrestling managers?
– The history of the “peanut head” stuff
– Managing The Undertaker in WCW
– Making the move from WCW to the WWF
– WWE’s decision to bring back ECW
– Raw expanding to three hours
– Long’s favorite moments in the wrestling business
– Thoughts on the passing of Sean O’Haire
– A great story involving a young Randy Savage
– Who would Teddy prefer inducting him in the WWE hall of fame?
– Would Long work for TNA or Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling?
– What does TNA need to do to change their fortune?
– How he developed his catchphrases
– Booker T’s group in Texas
– Why did Vickie Guerrero get a WWE Network special, but not Long?
– Long’s legacy in the business
– On why he might turn down the WWE hall of fame
– Long’s thoughts on Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson
—
Highlights:
– Life on the road: “I had been on the road for two years of my life, and I didn’t know exactly how bad I was burned out .. I don’t miss one day of WWE.”
– On fourteen years with WWE: “Mr. McMahon took care of me.”
– On returning to WWE? “I’ll probably never go back there.”
– On what he is doing on Mondays now “I am going to these acting classes.”
– Who told Teddy Long that a young Undertaker would never draw a dime?
– On racism in wrestling, “it’s still going on, its going on everywhere. It not just professional wrestling .. I think in the WWE it has gotten better.”
– Which wrestling great was against the idea of Teddy becoming a manager?
– Teddy’s favorite moments in the business
– On not being able to work outside of WWE due to being an independent contractor, “How they get away with that is unbelievable to me.”
– On TNA: “They aren’t that bad. I think someone will pick them up, its bad writing there.”
– “In Triple H’s eye I’m too old to be on TV,” Long said.
– “I wasn’t a bad fan of his, that’s for sure” – Long on Flair
– On the WWE hall of fame, “I may turn them down.”
—
To book Teddy Long for your event, contact Brian Wittenstein at brianwittenstein@gmail.com
Follow the Gerweck Report podcast at @GerweckReport
Follow Gerweck on Twitter at @gerweck
Follow Frank Dee on Twitter at @RealFrankDee
E-mail us at gerweckreport@gerweck.net
You can also listen to the Gerweck Report via iTunes on tunein, Stitcher and on Spreaker
