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Chappell:
How did the Crockett
territory compare with the other
areas you were working in during
the 60s?
Vachon:
There was good talent
everywhere, but Crockett was
well-organized.
Chappell:
What are your overall
recollections of working for Jim
Crockett, Sr. in the 1960s?
Vachon:
He was businesslike, and
treated ‘the boys’ fairly
and professionally.
Chappell:
Unbeknownst to almost
everybody, you returned to Jim
Crockett Promotions in August of
1975 as the masked Spoiler # 2.
Tell us the process of your
coming into the Mid-Atlantic
area as Spoiler # 2.
Vachon:
They wanted to replace a
masked man, (the Super
Destroyer) Don Jardine, who left
suddenly.
Chappell:
What did you think of the
Mid-Atlantic booker at the time,
George Scott?
Vachon:
He was a very effective
booker.
Chappell:
Had you ever wrestled under
a hood before your stint as
Spoiler # 2?
Vachon:
Yes, as Oki Yama.
Butcher
Vachon under the hood as Oki
Yama (with manager Dandy Jack)
Chappell:
You were certainly a big
name in the business in
1975….why did you opt to go
under a hood here where nobody
knew who you were?
Vachon:
I was not too concerned
about ruining my name in the
future, and it was part of my
job. I always tried to
cooperate---within reason.
Chappell:
The territory’s top masked
wrestler for several years
before, the Super Destroyer Don
Jardine, left the area in early
August of 1975. Jardine told the
Gateway several years ago in an
interview that his departure
from the Crockett territory was
not under the most amicable of
circumstances. Were you aware of
any of that before you came into
the Mid-Atlantic area as Spoiler
# 2?
Vachon:
Simply put, ‘Yes!’
Chappell:
The ‘storyline’ was that
you came into the area to avenge
your friend Jardine, who the
promotion later said was
unmasked by Rufus R. Jones, Paul
Jones and Wahoo McDaniel.
Jardine told the Gateway in his
interview that he was never
unmasked, and he didn’t know
the promotion buried him after
he left…by showing a photo of
him without his mask on, and
promoting that storyline. Did
you know Jardine well, and
what’s your reaction to all
that?
Vachon:
I knew him well, and his
departure with the promotion was
certainly on less than favorable
terms.
Chappell:
Why the name Spoiler # 2?
Was that a reference to Jardine,
since he wrestled as the
‘Spoiler’ in other parts of
the country?
Vachon:
I suppose so.
Chappell:
Much like Jardine, I believe
you had a stipulation in your
matches that if you were pinned
or submitted in a singles match,
you would take off your mask?
Vachon:
Yes, that’s correct!
Chappell:
What was your impression of
the talent level in the area
when you came in…the territory
had big names like Johnny
Valentine and the Anderson
Brothers in at the time you
started in August of 1975.
Vachon:
Valentine was ‘top
notch.’ Not so with the
Andersons, they were mediocre
at best.
Chappell:
You teamed up with Ric Flair
a time or two in September of
1975. What did you think of the
youthful Flair at that point in
time?
Vachon:
I saw great potential in the
youngster, although he was still
green.
Chappell:
During September, you
wrestled a good deal against
Mid-Atlantic veteran, Swede
Hanson. Tell us about being in
the ring with big Swede.
Vachon:
Swede was a helluva nice
guy, but difficult to wrestle.
His moves were somewhat erratic.
Chappell:
In September, you also
wrestled against former Miami
Dolphins football player Bob
Bruggers…in what would be some
of Bruggers’ final matches.
Vachon:
Yes, soon after that,
Bruggers was badly injured in
the plane crash.
Chappell:
You also had battles against
a masked man, the Avenger,
Reggie Parks. What was it like
wrestling the Avenger, another
masked man?
Spoiler
#2 stands over the Avenger
(Reggie Parks). Spoiler #1 is
barely visible
at
left, referee Johnny Heidmann at
right. (Bill Janosik photo)
Vachon:
Reggie Parks was a very
classy man, and today is the
best belt-maker around.
Chappell:
In late September of 1975,
you began wrestling with a
partner, Spoiler # 1. What was
the thought process in the
formation of that tag team?
Vachon:
It’s always helpful to
have a partner in a tag match.
Hah!
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