PART FIVE

Chappell: (laughs) Since you obviously think so highly of Jimmy Valiant, what in the world possessed you, Leroy Brown and Jos LeDuc to destroy the Boogie Woogie Man’s music box and just obliterate it!

My God, you all tried to end the music!! The day the music died, and you were right there as the instigator!

Humperdink: (long pause) David, you know why we did it…I hated that music!

Chappell: (laughing hard) You got a little tired of hearing ‘The Boy From New York City?’

Humperdink: (laughs) Yeah…I hated it! I was so sick of hearing that song!

Chappell: (still laughing) I remember on one of your interviews after you all destroyed the boom box, you said in no uncertain terms you were sick of that song…and never wanted to hear it again!

Humperdink: I remember when we got Valiant’s music box…that building was rocking.

Chappell: I have to say, as much as I appreciated Valiant’s gimmick to a degree, I got sick of hearing that song too!

Humperdink: Man, I’d hear that thing in my sleep!

Chappell: And Valiant’s expression after you all had busted up that thing…priceless. His world had clearly been turned upside down!

Humperdink: (laughs) He was pretty attached to that box, wouldn’t you say?

Chappell: (laughs) I think that’s a pretty fair statement, Sir Oliver!

And that incident was used for many, many months afterwards by Valiant, actually up to the series of blow off matches that sent you out of the territory….‘Humperdink broke my music box.’

Humperdink: Yeah…you don’t mess with the Boogie Man’s music!

Chappell: No, definitely not! But you’ve owned up to your misdeeds today---so we’ll let you pass! Hey, it’s been 23 years ago…

Humperdink: (laughs) I tell you what, it’s still phenomenal to me the reaction that got.

Chappell: I don’t mean this to be a slight to Jimmy Valiant, because he is truly a great guy, but do you have an explanation as to why the ‘Boogie Woogie’ gimmick got over to the magnitude that it did? To this day, that still baffles me.

Humperdink: (pauses) I think because people could identify with it. He was a guy on the street, a plain guy, doing the right thing. And then you have me, a total jerk…doing just the opposite. He was good, and we were bad.

But the whole thing was unbelievable.

Chappell: And he kept it going after you left, really for years and years. Particularly with Paul Jones. Valiant seemed to have something against managers!

Humperdink: Boogie would never sell to any extent, he would just dance slower and slower…

Chappell: (laughs) Yeah, that was about it!

Humperdink: You’d start working on him, and he’d go down on that one knee…and he’d do that little shaking thing. You know, he’d never really sell…

Chappell: Not in the traditional sense, certainly.

Humperdink: Then when it was time for him to come back, he’d do that crazy stuff…and the people would be going absolutely nuts!

Chappell: Go figure!

Humperdink: (laughs)

Chappell: About the same time you all destroyed the music box, a newcomer named Mike Rotundo came into the area. You tried to recruit him into the House, but he rebuffed you.

Tell us about Mike, who of course was very young at this juncture.

Humperdink: I had known Mike from Florida…

Chappell: I thought that might have been the case.

I remember when you came out to recruit Mike into the House of Humperdink, you said you could have become his ‘driving force’ and his ‘guiding light.’

(laughs) But Mike wanted no part of you!

Humperdink: (laughs) He was young, but he was no fool!

Chappell: (laughing) Smart beyond his years, huh?

Humperdink: Seriously, he was a very talented guy. He had all the credentials…he was a legit amateur Champion. He was broken in by Dick Beyer.

Chappell: It was neat to see Mike at that early stage of his career, then watch him progress over the years.

Humperdink: Didn’t Mike get me in the airplane spin one time on Mid-Atlantic TV?

Chappell: That sounds awfully familiar…I’m almost positive that happened.

I remember Mike getting hooked up with Leroy Brown pretty quickly, and I think Leroy injured him with the piledriver…and Mike wore the big ol’ horse collar for a while.

Humperdink: I remember that now.

David, did you remember a very young Joe Laurinaitis, Road Warrior Animal, when he first started there in the Carolinas?

Chappell: Not until much later, when I went back and looked at some video tapes. I have one match, right around Christmastime of 1982 on Crockett TV, where Animal wrestled Jimmy Valiant. They called him ‘Joe Laurin’ then.

Pretty amazing to look back and see him then!

Humperdink: Yep, and a very young Rick Rude.

Chappell: Yes! Same thing there…I saw a tape of Rude wrestling Paul Jones, I believe. I think he was called ‘Ricky Rood’ then.

Humperdink: In fact, I think Rude got hurt one night working against LeDuc.

Chappell: Really?

Humperdink: I think he blew out something, or pulled a groin or something like that.

With Animal, I think that was his first or second territory…and then Ole Anderson brought him into Atlanta. Teamed with Mike (Hegstrand)…

Chappell: And the rest as they say, is history!

Humperdink: Absolutely.

Chappell: While you weren’t involved in this yourself, I’d still like to get your thoughts on the program with Sergeant Slaughter and Don Kernodle against Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood.

You were in the territory during that whole amazing program with those four.

Humperdink: I’ve always thought a lot of Bob Slaughter …he started in Minneapolis.

Chappell: That’s right.

Humperdink: I’ve known Bob for a long time. Bob and I were together in Tri-States, which was one of his early territories. Verne broke him in, and I think he went down there pretty soon after Verne broke him in.

He’s a terrific guy, and is terrifically talented…and he’s still a good friend.

Chappell: What about Slaughter’s partner, Don Kernodle?

Humperdink: Don Kernodle is a great guy, too. And a great amateur wrestler in his day. It was good seeing him again back in November [at Fanfest] in Charlotte.

Chappell: Thoughts on the team that Slaughter and Kernodle went round and round with?

Humperdink: What can you say about Steamboat and Youngblood? They were ‘It.’ And the girls would just cry when they came out!

Chappell: I remember Steamboat had a short program with Leroy Brown, which of course you were involved in, before he really went full-time into the tag team program with Jay.

The Slaughter/Kernodle and Steamboat/Youngblood thing was one of those programs that really took off and the fans got into…it just clicked.

Humperdink: Yep, it was magic. Probably something that could never be recreated.

Was I there in Greensboro when they blew that thing off? I was thinking I was there.

Chappell: Well, they had several blow off matches around the territory around the end of April of 1983. I know you were on the show in Richmond, with the One Man Gang, when they had the Cage Match with Slaughter/Kernodle and Steamboat/Youngblood, where the losing team could never wrestle as a team again in Virginia.

Humperdink: Right, when Slaughter was going to New York.

And I remember about a month earlier, when the traffic was so backed up trying to get into the Coliseum. That was the card in Greensboro I was thinking of.

Chappell: Exactly, that was the Cage Match where Steamboat and Youngblood won the World Tag Team Titles from Slaughter and Kernodle…and it set up all those great returns over the next six weeks.

There were so many people trying to get to the Greensboro Coliseum, they had to turn tons of people away. A lot of people say that helped lead to the concept of Starrcade, that they did later in 1983.

In fact, Sir Oliver, the cards around the territory changed right during that time period. Every card was a mega card…pretty much every match was a Main Event type match.

Humperdink: Business was booming!

Chappell: I remember there was a huge increase in ticket prices then…from like $8.00 to $15.00!

Backing up a little bit, back to the end of 1982, Bob Orton., Jr. came into the territory. He was a member of Piper’s Palace against the House of Humperdink. Orton was very polished and smooth in the ring.

Humperdink: Bob was a terrific man. I knew both him and his Dad. Like you say, when Bob came into Charlotte, he was a babyface.

He’s a terrific guy. Another guy with a great amateur background, and he had all the credentials. He was a terrific worker. I had a lot of respect for Bobby, and still do. I saw him recently.

Chappell: How is he doing?

Humperdink: Doing great, doing well…he’s over in St. Louis.

Chappell: Bob was part of Piper’s Palace; please tell us a little bit about the battles between Piper’s Palace and the House of Humperdink. I remember them well, and I guess they were at the height of your run in the Mid-Atlantic area.

HUMPERDINK AND RODDY PIPER EACH DISPLAY THEIR MEMBERSHIP CARDS TO THE "HOUSE OF HUMPERDINK" AND "PIPER'S PALACE" RESPECTIVELY.

To start, what was the deal with you and Abdullah the Butcher?

Humperdink: I brought Abdullah in, and I think he was working with Jimmy Valiant. Abby, of course, never stayed around anywhere too long.

Chappell: Didn’t you supposedly give Abby a bad check…and he joined Piper’s Palace against you?

ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER WITH SIR OLIVER HUMPERDINK

(PHOTO BY EDDIE CHESLOCK)

Humperdink: Yes, Piper brought him back on the opposing side, and around the holidays in 1982 we had to face the team of Piper, Boogie, and Abby all around the territory.

Chappell: They were something, and I think Bob Orton, Jr. was involved in some of those six man tags also.

Humperdink: Yeah, I think we did swap up some with different people…different versions.

Chappell: About that same time, the holidays in 1982, do you remember where Ric Flair and Greg Valentine dragged Roddy Piper’s face on the floor? A repeat of a similar angle in 1978 with Flair and Steamboat.

Humperdink: Oh yes! Roddy looked really, really bad!

Chappell: He did…I remember they circulated a photo of Piper with his face all messed up. Greg and Piper went round and round for about a year straight after that.

Humperdink: You remember the ear thing?

Chappell: That was unbelievable, when Greg mutilated Piper’s ear! That made 1983, as Greg would say, ‘The Year of The Ear!’

And then they had the ‘Dog Collar’ matches later in ‘83, several months after you left the territory.

Humperdink: But I heard about them!

Chappell: Something that is still talked about today, is Bruiser Brody’s very brief run with the House of Humperdink at the very end of 1982 and the very beginning of 1983. Tell us about Brody’s brief stint with the House.

Humperdink: I think we might have brought him in for Boogie, but I’m not sure. He was only on TV a time or two.

Chappell: Brody never had a match in Richmond.

Humperdink: He didn’t stay long at all. Not that it was going to be a long term deal to begin with. It was for the Christmas holiday area, if I recall.

He was generally brought in to cause chaos!

Chappell: (laughing) It’s a pity he didn’t stay longer. He was a perfect fit for the House of Humperdink!

Humperdink: Oh absolutely, he was a monster!

Frank (Goodish) was always moving around, and was very active in Japan. I think he may have been in Texas before he came here. He would go off on occasion…

Chappell: Was there any incident here in Mid-Atlantic that contributed to his stay here being so short?

Humperdink: No, nothing like that…there was no heat or anything here.

But anyway, Frank, Stan Hansen and I were all together in Oklahoma in Leroy McGuirk’s territory, so I had been around Frank for quite awhile before he came to Mid-Atlantic.

Chappell: Another huge guy you brought in during the first weeks of 1983 was the One Man Gang. For a few TV matches, he was referred to as George Gray, which was his real name I believe?

Humperdink: Yes sir. And for a while he did a little thing in Kentucky and Tennessee, and he used the name Crusher Broomfield.

He was from Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Chappell: That’s interesting…I didn’t realize he was from Mid-Atlantic country!

Humperdink: Yep, born and raised in Spartanburg.

Chappell: For the rest of your Mid-Atlantic stint in 1983, the Gang was really the primary guy that you managed.

The One Man Gang with Manager Sir Oliver Humperdink

He could really move for a guy his size…

Humperdink: Very agile.

Chappell: I believe that at the time, you said he was six feet nine, 420 pounds?

Humperdink: Pretty close!

Chappell: I sure wouldn’t question him on it!

Humperdink: (laughs) When you’re that big, you don’t have to lie about your stats!

Chappell: (laughs) What kind of relationship did you and the Gang have?

Humperdink: We had a great relationship, David. I love him to death…he was a great kid. Great kid. And a moneymaker, too.

I had managed him in Florida prior to coming to Charlotte…

Chappell: Yet another Florida connection!

Humperdink: Just an awesome individual…

Chappell: ‘Awesome’ is a great description for the Gang!

Humperdink: Of course, you gotta remember back then, guys his size weren’t the norm at all.

Chappell: You’re right, guys his size back then REALLY stood out from the rest.

Humperdink: Absolutely.

Chappell: You did some really neat things with the Gang. You had the Bodyslam Contest, which really went on for many months. I remember you had to raise the prize from $5,000 to $7,500 to get wrestlers to attempt it!

Humperdink: (laughing) Yeah, that’s right!

I tell you, I got a lot of heat in Fayetteville, North Carolina one night with that.

Chappell: How so?

Humperdink: I used to bring the bag of money to the ring. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to the Cumberland County Arena?

Chappell: No, not the one you’re referring to back then. I’ve been to the Crown Coliseum down there in the last couple of years.

Humperdink: The heels dressing room was upstairs there, a place where you could look out over the Arena. After a match there one night, we got back to the dressing room and I went out and I started throwing out the money from the catwalk!

Chappell: (laughing)

Humperdink: Crockett went nuts!

Chappell: (laughing) I believe it!

Humperdink: He went nuts! It was just ones and fives…it wasn’t hundred dollar bills or anything.

Chappell: All the same, I’m not surprised that you got some major heat from Crockett!

Humperdink: He should have been more concerned about the fans…they were jumping around like piranhas trying to get the money!

Chappell: (laughing) That must have been some scene!

In addition to the Bodyslam Challenge, you also had the ‘Tug of War’ with the Gang, too. That was great!

Humperdink: Right, right!

Chappell: I remember Bugsy McGraw was part of one of those, and Jimmy Valiant also. That was another good way to keep your feud with Valiant going strong.

Humperdink: The hair cut thing, too…it went on and on with him.

Chappell: I wanted to ask you about managing towards the end of your Mid-Atlantic run in 1983. This was really a territory that didn’t have a lot of managers…

Humperdink: Well, you had George Harris, Homer O’Dell…

Chappell: Right, but that went way back to the 60s and early 70s. We even had Gary Hart back then, when he was called ‘Playboy’ Gary Hart.

But then there was a gap of a good ten years or so when the managers weren’t really featured in Jim Crockett Promotions.

You were the big name that really got that going again. But in early ‘83 Paul Jones becomes a manager, and about that same time Gary Hart comes in. All of a sudden there were THREE managers on the heel side.

Humperdink: You’re right.

Chappell: Did you feel at that point the two new managers sort of watered down the House of Humperdink? Because after that, you for the most part just managed the One Man Gang.

Humperdink: Yeah, that’s true…but at that point I was sorta on the way out. I kinda knew that…

Chappell: I see…

Humperdink: But no, I wasn’t unhappy in any way that [the other managers] came in. I knew there would always be another place that I could go!

Chappell: One of the real pluses during the territorial days!

Humperdink: Exactly…I wasn’t worried about getting work. You know, I had a pretty good track record.

Chappell: That’s for sure!

Humperdink: Gary (Hart) and I were always close anyway.

Chappell: I thought so…you two were always together when I saw you in Charlotte at the Fanfest at Thanksgiving.

Humperdink: We were like Siamese twins.

Chappell: (laughing)

Humperdink: We were always very close. We worked in Florida together. So Gary and I were really good friends back then.

Chappell: I’d like to get some thoughts from you on Gary. As we’ve said, he had a history with Crockett Promotions that went back to the early 70s.

Humperdink: Oh, he’s a terrific guy. When I first went into Florida, Gary was there already with Pak Song. And I thought, ‘How is Gary, being an internationally known guy who was in the business a lot longer than me, gonna feel about an upstart horning in on his territory?’

I knew right away when I first met Gary, that things were going to be just great. He wasn’t the type of guy to be jealous, or anything like that. Gary had his thing, and I had my thing. Gary was at one end of the spectrum, and I was at the other. I didn’t do what Gary did, and Gary didn’t do what I did.

Chappell: I can certainly see now, that when the roles were sort of reversed in 1983, that you wouldn’t have had any issues with him coming into the Mid-Atlantic area.

Humperdink: Absolutely…no problem at all. From the very first time I ever met him, we were fast friends…and have remained that way. Matter of fact, I talked to him last night!

Gary is a good friend to this very day. I admire him a lot. He took the time to help me when I was first starting…

Chappell: I’m sure that means a lot.

Humperdink: It means a lot. You know, it could have been the other way.

Chappell: Yeah, he could have viewed you as a threat coming in.

Humperdink: Exactly, Gary could have said, ‘What is he trying to do?’ And when I came to him for advice, he could have blown me off. But he didn’t.

CONTINUED IN PART SIX