Chappell:
We have already briefly mentioned Johnny ‘The
Champ’ Valentine. You had quite a number of
memorable matches teaming with Johnny in 1974. Tell
us some of your memories about ‘The Champ.’
Koloff:
Many memories of wrestling with Johnny
Valentine, and being around him. You know, he was a
unique guy, in the sense that he had a real tough
way of wrestling. He stood out.
Johnny
showed me a lot…particularly with the idea of
convincing the people---type of thing. Because if
you can convince the boys, you can convince the
people! (laughs)
Chappell:
I don’t know how anyone could have watched one
of Valentine’s matches, and come out of there
saying it wasn’t for real! He was brutal, and he
really looked like he got so much enjoyment out of
hammering people!
Koloff:
(laughs) He was just a rock solid worker…a
solid wrestler. He really helped me so much…I
realized that if I couldn’t be convincing without
hurting the guys, that I’d have to hurt them…I
had to make it solid, you know?
Chappell:
You all did that back then, without a shadow of
a doubt!
Koloff:
Just to be around Johnny was a privilege. He was
a prankster too, you know? Lot of jokes!
Chappell:
Johnny seems to be at the top of all the
practical jokes lists!
Koloff:
I would tell you a story or two on Johnny, but
Greg
might try to get revenge on me! (laughs)
[Editor’s
Note:
Greg
Valentine, Johnny’s son, was appearing with Ivan
in Lenoir, NC for
Tony Hunter
’s Carolina Championship Wrestling show, where
this interview took place.]
Chappell:
Oh, go ahead Ivan….we’ll ask
Tony Hunter
to put you and
Greg
in separate dressing rooms tonight! (laughing)
Koloff:
(laughing) Okay, then!
I’ll
tell a quick little story about Johnny…in his
memory of course. I always got along well with
Johnny.
Chappell:
Were you on the receiving end of many of
Johnny’s pranks?
Koloff:
Johnny just liked to play little ribs, but he
never usually played them on me. But he did once in
a while.
One
time, he put one of those itchy things…(pauses)
Chappell:
You mean like that itching/scratching powder
type stuff?
Koloff:
Yes! Johnny was in the back, and he put some of
that type of thing in my underwear when I was out
wrestling in the ring. And when I got back to the
dressing room and changed clothes, I found out
pretty quick something had happened!
(everybody laughs)
When
I put my underwear on…that stuff REALLY made you
itch! I knew right away it was Johnny…but I
didn’t say anything. But I knew it was him!
(everybody laughs)
Chappell:
(still laughing) That must have been hard to
stop from going after him!
Koloff:
Oh, I did…when we got back to where we would
meet up in Charlotte after the matches! Different
guys would meet…Johnny didn’t ride with me that
night, but he was riding with somebody else. So his
car was sitting there.
I
had heard that if you got a potato and put it in a
guy’s muffler, when the car was started it would
blow a hole in the muffler if the muffler wasn’t
real good. So, I stopped at a store down the
road….
Chappell:
(laughing) And I bet Ivan Koloff was the only
guy in Charlotte that night buying potatoes at one
in the morning!
Koloff:
(laughing) The next day, I heard Johnny make a
comment to someone about his muffler blowing out on
him the night before! (everybody laughs)
I
tried to keep quiet, but I got my revenge on that
one…I had to do something back to him! (everybody
laughs)
Chappell:
Turnabout’s fair play!
Koloff:
I look back at that as being just, you know,
harmless type of stuff. It was just a way to keep
life interesting!
Chappell:
I would think that life on the road would have
driven you crazy after a while, without some of
those high jinks!
Koloff:
We were on the road seven days a week, and two
of those days, for a long time, we had to wrestle
twice a day.
Chappell:
Quite a grind!
Koloff:
Oh yeah. For instance, Sunday afternoon we’d
be in Asheville, and then that night we would be
somewhere else wrestling---sometimes they’d fly
you into the other town. And then on Wednesday,
you’d have TV and usually you’d have to wrestle
twice that night too.
And,
indeed, they got their moneys worth out of you!
(laughs)
Chappell:
The program of yours that I remember most from
your 1974 stint in the Mid-Atlantic area, was
against Paul Jones. You two had a number of brutal
battles over the Mid-Atlantic Television Title back
then.
Koloff:
It was a privilege working against Paul Jones.
The way that started out with Paul, was with an arm
wrestling thing. He claimed he was a Golden Gloves
boxer type of thing, and I guess he really was a
good boxer…we did an arm wrestling thing at a
table inside the ring right on TV.
Chappell:
Those arm wrestling contests didn’t typically
turn out well for the babyfaces! (laughs)
Koloff:
(laughs) And this one didn’t either, for Paul!
I remember, I picked up the table we were sitting
at…and it was a HEAVY table. I mean, this table
probably weighed over a hundred pounds…big ol’
heavy wooden table. And I picked it up, and hit him
over the head with it!
Chappell:
Ouch!
Koloff:
(laughing) I’m sure he remembers that to this
day! There was no way he could hold [the table]
back.
Chappell:
And when Wahoo came in during the summer of
1974, it didn’t take long for your path to cross
with the Chief’s!
Koloff:
I can recall having a long running issue with
Wahoo McDaniel. He ended up being given some
feathers, I think from his Indian tribe or some
fans, and I remember those feathers laying next to
the ring….
Chappell:
This is not sounding good Ivan! (laughs)
Koloff:
(laughing) Yeah…I took them and torn those
feathers all to pieces!
Chappell:
Wahoo was REALLY upset with you then!
Koloff:
Wahoo was very, very upset about that, because
of the significance of the feathers to him. I
remember seeing one of his interviews right after
that, and tears were coming to his eyes. Looking at
that, I’m thinking to myself, ‘I’ve got this
Indian really hot now!’ (laughs)
And,
indeed, you had to respect Wahoo. God bless his
soul. He was a great athlete, both in football and
in the ring.
Chappell:
Wahoo never held back in the ring, did he?
Koloff:
Wahoo would let you know he was there! If you
didn’t go down for the chops…he’d put you
down! (everybody laughs)
He’d
get you in the nose or the throat or somewhere, and
he’d put you down!
Chappell:
I suspect you still carry some scars from your
battles with Wahoo?
Koloff:
Oh yeah! To this day I have lumps all over my
chest, all over my body, from those chops. He could
lay ‘em in, boy.
Chappell: Your first stint in the
Mid-Atlantic area ended very suddenly in January of
1975. And a couple of weeks later, many Mid-Atlantic
fans were surprised to see you wrestling in Eddie
Einhorn’s rival IWA promotion. Tell us what
happened there.
Koloff:
Yeah,
David
, that was a bad move in a sense. But, at the time,
you don’t know that…
Chappell:
Well, you certainly weren’t the only Crockett
star to jump to the IWA…you also had Rip Hawk and
Nelson Royal go over with Einhorn.
Koloff:
[The IWA] had a lot of talent. Guys like
(Mighty) Igor, Bulldog Brower…Lou Thesz was even
there for a while. They had an awful lot of talent.
Chappell:
Is that what influenced you to jump to the
IWA…the level of talent that Einhorn had assembled
over there?
Koloff:
Well, the IWA offered me more money than I was
making with Crockett at the time…and it sounded
like a thing that was really going to go places. So,
I ended up going for it, and indeed, stayed with
them for about six months.
Chappell:
What happened at the end of that six month
period?
Koloff:
At that six month point, it was clear that the
organization wasn’t holding together very well.
There were internal disputes and negotiations
weren’t going well with them…so I said ‘bye
bye’ to them!
Chappell:
What was the reaction to you in the
‘establishment’ wrestling circles, after you
jumped to this ‘outlaw’ federation and then only
stayed with them a few months?
Koloff:
Well, going with a new group like that…I
certainly jeopardized the stability I had built up
with my career. Longevity-wise for my career, it
turned out to be a bad decision. At least for the
short term.
Chappell:
How was that?
Koloff:
Making that move…established groups like the
NWA, and even Vince (McMahon), looked at it as being
a defiant thing to go against the establishment. So,
I guess you might say, it was like a blackballing of
you…where they ended up not using you for a while.
Chappell:
So, what did you end up doing right after you
left the IWA?
Koloff:
The first thing right after the IWA, I believe,
was where I went to California and did a thing with
Superstar Billy Graham. We tried to get a license to
promote wrestling out there…but that sort of fell
apart. I also went to Tennessee, and little
places like that.
Chappell:
What happened with the deal out in California?
Koloff:
That even got me in more hot water with anger
from the establishment…
Chappell:
You were really rubbing people the wrong way in
the mid 70s, Ivan! (laughs)
Koloff:
(laughs) Yeah, and I wasn’t even trying to!
You
know,
David
, years ago (promoter) Rod Fenton told me in
Vancouver, British Columbia after I was in the
business a year or two, ‘
Don
’t burn no bridges, kid.’ And I never really
tried to burn any bridges! But then, it seemed that
no matter what I was doing, I was getting in more
hot water! (everybody laughs)
Chappell:
After the IWA folded later in 1975, we didn’t
see you in the Carolinas again until the Fall of
1980. But you certainly landed on your feet, and
eventually hit a lot of territories during that five
year period.
Koloff:
Yes…in 1977, (Dick The) Bruiser used me around
the Indianapolis area. And from there, I talked to
Florida and they got me in there…Florida used me.
Georgia also used me, and so did New York. And then,
of course, Charlotte also ended up using me again.
Chappell:
I’ve heard you had some wild matches in
Florida during the late 70s!
Koloff:
I remember when I was down there with the NWA in
Florida, I was tagging with (Mr.) Saito a lot. One
time, Saito was against Steve Keirn….Cobra hold
versus the Sleeper hold, and I interfered for Saito
when the referee was bumped out of the picture.
I
went in the ring, and Steve had the Sleeper on
Saito, and I was able to reverse the situation---and
when the referee came to, of course, Saito won the
match.
Chappell:
I bet that upset a few folks!
Koloff:
You better believe it! Just as I put Saito over
on top of Steve, a big guy, red headed guy, jumped
over the rail into the ring…
Chappell:
You mean a fan out of the crowd?
Koloff:
Yeah!
Chappell:
Big mistake! (laughs)
Koloff:
I tried to catch the guy as he was coming up on
me, and knock him out, but I missed him. Then, I
could feel his fist going by my nose! (laughs)
Then
I said to myself, ‘I’ve got one more chance
here!’ (everybody laughs)
Chappell:
Let me take a wild guess Ivan…you didn’t
miss the second time, right! (laughs)
Koloff:
(laughing) I didn’t knock him out…but I
knocked him down, and bloodied his face up pretty
good.
And
then the guy is yelling for the police to arrest me!
Chappell:
What? That’s a good one…after he runs in the
ring and tries to attack you!
Koloff:
(laughing) Yeah…and, of course, the police
haul the guy off because he jumped in the ring!
But,
I mean, it was serious because when these fans
jumped in the ring, you never knew if they had a
knife or something and were really out to hurt you.
Chappell:
What do you think was the deciding factor for
the established territories, like Florida, taking
you back after your situation with the IWA and the
venture in California?
Koloff:
They saw that I was a hard worker and a good
wrestler…type of thing. It was a business thing at
that point. So, they ended up forgiving. (laughs)
Chappell:
How did you end up back in the Mid-Atlantic area
in 1980?
Koloff:
Just finally called them up, and George Scott
said, ‘Well, I guess it’s been long enough that
you’ve been out of here. I see Vince has used you,
and you’ve been used in some of the other NWA
areas…so I’ll give you another try here.’
Chappell:
I remember you were introduced back into the
Mid-Atlantic area by the Iron Sheik, who you would
end up feuding with in a couple of month’s time!
But your first program back was against Rocky
Johnson, who was under the hood then as ‘Sweet
Ebony Diamond.’
Koloff:
Yeah…that’s right!
Chappell:
I remember with Sweet Ebony Diamond, you said
you were out to get revenge against him because he
ran you out of town in a ‘Loser Leaves Town
Match’ in California…
Koloff:
He cheated me! (laughs)
Chappell:
Naturally…of course! (laughs)
And
you brought out a new gimmick in the program with
Diamond, at least a gimmick I hadn’t seen before,
where you had a shovel that you would put notches
on.
Koloff:
Yeah…that’s right. For a couple of years I
used that shovel…I still have that shovel at home!
(laughs)
Chappell:
Do you?
Koloff:
Yeah…I sure do. I used to put notches on it
like the Old West!
Chappell:
Yep!
Koloff:
Every time I’d beat an opponent, I’d add a
notch. Of course, the opponents that were more
important or significant…the longer the line.
Chappell:
So, it sounds like you already had some notches
on that shovel before you came back to Crockett?
Koloff:
Oh yeah!
Chappell:
After the program with Diamond wound down, you
and the Iron Sheik had an unusual ‘Battle Of The
Bullies’ program at the end of 1980. The Iranian
versus the Russian! Who got the most cheers in THAT
program? (everybody laughs)
Koloff:
It was about half and half…it seemed like. I
had been around longer than he had in the area…in
the sense that I had come in long before he had in
’74. They remembered me maybe a little more.
Chappell:
The Iranian hostage thing was still on
people’s minds a lot then.
Koloff:
You know, down deep, I don’t think the people
really cared! That was a hard type of thing to pull
off, but we did some business with it.
After
that, I had a trip to the Middle East with the Iron
Sheik…and we got into it and that’s how I got
this bite mark…on the plane.
[Editor’s
Note: Ivan shows a visible scar from this incident
with the Sheik]
Chappell:
What happened?
Koloff:
It wasn’t his fault, really. To be honest
about it, that happened during my drinking days. I
ended up being out of line and slapped him, and
knocked him down.
When
you do stuff like that…he’s a tough guy---silver
medal winner. He’s going to come back at you.
So…we fought on the plane. It was a wonder we both
didn’t get thrown in jail!
Chappell:
These days you certainly would have!
Koloff:
I guess he left his tattoo on me! (laughs)
Chappell:
He sure left his mark, so to speak…
Koloff:
Yeah…like the hammer and sickle! I didn’t
mind as long as the hammer wasn’t on there!
(everybody laughs)
But…we
still continued to work with each other after that
happened.
|