Chappell:
Your use of alcohol in the early days
eventually took you down the road to using harder
drugs?
Koloff:
After a while in the business, you start
getting to the point that you get some injuries.
That’s what happened to me.
In
1973, I got a ruptured disc in my back while I was
up in the AWA. When I came into [the Mid-Atlantic]
area in 1974, it was still bothering me. Matter of
fact, I was off for about three months…they
wanted to operate on me, but I wouldn’t go for
it. So for about a year, I suffered with
ambulatory traction and chiropractors…it was
tough.
Chappell:
Did the pain from those medical issues drive
you to drink more?
Koloff:
They had me on pills…pain pills---legal
pills. Muscle relaxers…those kinds of things.
And I sort of got hooked on the pills, and used
them as a crutch.
As
the years went by, even though the Doctor wasn’t
giving me prescriptions any more…I was still
getting the pills on the street. When I would go
to New York, of course, they were always available
there. No matter where you go, you can always get
drugs on the street. So, I’d end up getting the
pills however I could…and taking them.
Chappell:
And I believe you ‘graduated’ to even more
harmful drugs, like cocaine?
Koloff:
I got to thinking that the whisky and
painkillers were what kept me going…you know,
I’ve got to be able to keep wrestling. And I
kept doing them and doing them…and it got
progressively worse.
Then,
I got into using cocaine. I got to the point that
I was spending $1,600 a week on cocaine. You know,
David
, that’s crazy when you do stuff like that…it
got out of control.
Chappell:
Were you ever impaired by these drugs, when
you were inside the ring wrestling?
Koloff:
Oh yeah, for sure. I’m sure you don’t
remember it, but against Rocky Johnson, up in New
York…one of those trips up there that I had.
I
was wrestling Rocky after trying to get to the
building…going into the ditch at 70 miles an
hour. I came out of the ditch without wrecking my
car, made it to the arena, got suited up and
wrestled in the ring for about 15 minutes.
Then
I went off the top rope and he slammed me, and I
slipped, and I landed right on my head. An
electric shock went right through my whole
body…I thought I was paralyzed.
Chappell:
At the time you probably didn’t want to
think about it, but you were risking your health
in the ring…and your opponent’s health as
well.
Koloff:
I was risking my own life…and my
opponent’s as well. I had a family and
kids…children at home. But I locked into the
drugs, and what should have been the important
things in my life didn’t really seem to matter.
Chappell:
It sounds as though the drugs eventually
consumed your life.
Koloff:
Even chewing tobacco…twenty some years
stuffing my mouth with that garbage. It was all
kinds of drugs.
I
thought I was a tough guy, you know. Any
physically, I pretty much proved that. I was able
to work out, wrestle the hour and 90 minute
matches and still have the party life. But I
wasn’t tough enough to be able to quit these
drugs, and quit the drinking. I just kept doing
them.
Chappell:
You would try to quit along the way, but the
drugs just got the best of you?
Koloff:
It got so bad, I’d throw the stuff out of
the window of the car…and then drive back and
pick the stuff up and use it. And then I’d go to
the store and pick up some more booze, and go get
some marijuana to go with it.
Chappell:
What time frame are we talking about with this
drug abuse, Ivan? Did it go to the end of your
major in-ring career?
Koloff:
I quit [Turner] in 1989, and after that, I
really couldn’t afford the cocaine anymore.
After that is was marijuana and drinking, and the
chewing tobacco. I still was trying to quit all of
that, but I just couldn’t do it.
And
then, one day, Nikita called me….
Chappell:
You still kept in touch with Nikita, even
though you weren’t really wrestling anymore?
Koloff:
I still had some business relationships with
him then…some marketing type things.
So,
Nikita called me. [Editor’s Note: At this point,
Ivan does a fine Nikita Koloff voice
impersonation!] He said, ‘Uncle, you gotta see
me…you gotta have lunch with me! I’ve got
something I need to tell you!’
Chappell:
Did you have any idea why Nikita wanted to see
you?
Koloff:
None at all, at the time.
He
told me that he had been to this church revival,
and that he had become a Born Again Christian. He
said that through that experience, he had found
out what was missing in his life. He told me that
he thought that was exactly what I needed, too.
He
wanted me to come down and listen to this.
Chappell:
What was your reaction?
Koloff:
I said to Nikita, ‘Man…you got my ear,
now.’ Because you know, I was trying to quit all
this stuff, and I wasn’t able to do it.
Chappell:
So, you ended up going to Nikita’s church?
Koloff:
Yes. Even then, I was doing autographs for
Children’s Miracle (Network)…I had been doing
that for a number of years on the weekends. So, I
was coming back on a Sunday afternoon…and there
was a service that night.
So,
I stopped by the church. It was a big church,
three or four thousand people, and it was full.
Chappell:
What did you think when you stepped into such
a place?
Koloff:
There I was with my little purse around my
waist…you know, not dressed for church. Hiding
back there in the back!
Chappell:
But you were listening to the minister up
front, I take it!
Koloff:
I really listened closely to what the minister
was saying. He was explaining what ‘Born
Again’ meant…the idea that Jesus said in the
Bible that, ‘You must be born again.’
Basically what that means is accepting Christ…we
are given a free will to pick and choose. He
doesn’t want to force us to be His children,
unless we accept it.
So,
that was very important for me to understand.
Chappell:
Had you gone to church earlier in your life?
Koloff:
I was raised Roman Catholic…which is very
religious, of course. We had the Mass, Latin back
then as I remember, the Catechism…I don’t
remember a lot of the teachings back then. I felt
good about going to church then, but never really
understood what it was all about.
So
while I was raised in church as a youngster…I
never verbalized it then, either to myself or in
my heart, to accept Jesus Christ into my life. But
I thought I was a Christian…just by going to
church and all that stuff. You know, trying the
best I could and all, but it wasn’t working for
me.
But,
the reason it wasn’t working was because I
wasn’t allowing it. I wasn’t welcoming Jesus
Christ into my life.
Chappell:
Did this church service at Nikita’s church
change your outlook?
Koloff:
Indeed, I had quite an experience at that
church that day. I brought myself up to the front
of the church, and the minister went through that
with me…the invitation of Christ into my life.
And,
God, and it had to be the power of God…because
it wasn’t this minister---He reached out and it
just touched me and I flew out of my shoes! I
didn’t actually come out of my shoes---only
because they were tied on.
But
I fell back, and Nikita caught me. But I went to
jump up….
Chappell:
Your old wrestling instincts trying to take
over! (laughs)
Koloff:
Yes, you know in wrestling, we were taught to
watch the elbow coming…or a knee drop!
(everybody laughs)
So,
I went to move and get up, and Nikita pulled me
down and said, ‘Just relax, that’s the Holy
Spirit, man.’
After
that, I just felt like there was a warmth all over
me. Nikita explained that it was the same thing
with him. And from that day on, I was convinced
that I’d be a fool altogether if I didn’t keep
a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. I
accepted, through my faith, that his blood had
given me a new start in life.
Chappell:
You use the word ‘start,’ Ivan. I take
that to mean that your journey in this new
direction had just begun?
Koloff:
From that day on, I certainly didn’t become
a perfect person, or anything like that. But I had
been made righteous by His blood, through my
faith.
It
was the type of thing,
David
, that I now had that belief, that faith, that I
had a new tag team partner---an indivisible tag
team partner…
Chappell:
Instead of the whisky and the drugs…
Koloff:
Yeah…a tag team partner that I could tag out
to, at any time, whenever I was put under
pressure.
The
drinking, the drugs and the chewing
tobacco…indeed, my prayer for the following year
or two was for the Lord to take all those vices
away from me.
And
it took a while. The marijuana went pretty quick,
but not right away. The drinking was the same way.
The chewing tobacco went right away…it was like
I pretty much just threw it away. And thank God,
as you can hear me talk today, well…I’m just
blessed to have a voice after chewing that stuff
for 20 some years.
Chappell:
It certainly sounds like that experience at
Nikita’s church has influenced you to this day.
Koloff:
To this day, I know the importance of growing
in the Lord. The only way I can do that is by
listening to Him, through His word, by reading His
word each day, and by having a relationship with
Him…
Chappell:
But you’re also going out and spreading His
word, right?
Koloff:
Oh yeah…I can’t shut my mouth about Him!
(everybody laughs)
Chappell:
Tell us how you are currently spread His word.
Koloff:
Just wherever I’m at…wherever I go.
Chappell:
Do you use wrestling to assist you with this
ministry?
Koloff:
I love to do that, where they allow me…give
a short version of my testimony to the fans.
Chappell:
You and George South conducted a wonderful
Sunday morning worship service at Fanfest in
Charlotte recently, that I and many other
Mid-Atlantic fans attended.
Koloff:
Yes…I appreciate that.
I
also still do the Children’s Miracle Network,
and try to talk with and encourage the kids. Tell
them to stay away from drugs and alcohol.
Chappell:
A number of other former wrestlers seem to
have taken a path similar to yours later in their
lives. Tell us your thoughts about that.
Koloff:
Many of them have…George South, Ted DiBiase,
Sting,
Greg
‘The Hammer’ Valentine, Tatanka, Tully
Blanchard, and Nikita, of course. So many of the
guys.
See,
people like that, it just gives a lot of
credibility to it. For instance, Tully has been a
Born Again Christian for about twelve years. These
guys have credibility in my eyes. And to see the
great things that Ted and Nikita are doing…
Chappell:
You’re certainly doing many great things
yourself these days, Ivan. Anything you’d like
to share with your fans as we begin to wind up.
Koloff:
I want to thank the fans very much for hating
me all these years! (laughs)
I
know now, after visiting with many fans over the
past twelve years doing autographs, that they
don’t all hate me! Matter of fact, a lot of them
have told me that they really cheered for me back
then…
Chappell:
Ah, Ivan, I think those people were working
you! (everybody laughs)
Koloff:
Yeah, overall, I was the bad guy! But I still
want to thank them for supporting my past career
in wrestling.
And
now, with the Children’s Miracle Network, my
church work and whatever I may do in wrestling
today…I’d ask the fans to support and remember
me.
Also,
everybody out there, please remember me and my
family in your prayers. I have children, and of
course not being a good father and a good example
to them, they ended up being lost out there and
never accepted the Lord. I’d ask that the people
out there keep them in their prayers.
Prayer
works, that’s why I ask that,
David
.
Chappell:
Any final thoughts as we conclude, Ivan?
Koloff:
I would challenge anybody out there…if
you’re not at peace with yourself and your life,
like I wasn’t for many, many years, give it a
try. Be serious about it, of course! God knows
every hair on our head, and every thought in our
mind…He knows what’s in our heart. So
there’s no sense in playing games.
If
it’s drugs and alcohol, or making baseball or
something else your God…He’s a jealous God,
and we can’t be doing that. Of course, it’s
okay to enjoy other things, as long as they’re
morally acceptable in His eyes. If you don’t
know what He expects of us, get into His word and
that will enlighten you. Every question is
answered in the Bible, if we’ll study it.
Chappell:
And you’re not saying this has to be done in
any particular way, as I understand you. Each
person may approach it in his or her own way?
Koloff:
Oh yes. But I challenge everyone to ask Him
into your heart.
It’s
not the type of thing that you have to get on your
knees for…but if you want to do that, it’s
fine. If you want to do it in front of people,
that’s fine but you certainly don’t have to.
But I think it’s good to let other people know
about it, especially your family net because they
can be a great source of support.
I
really want to encourage everybody out there to
look into accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior. Please stay away from drugs, alcohol,
chewing tobacco and smoking cigarettes. All of
those things are lies. God says in the Bible that
it’s the truth that will set us free. We must
not only come to know the truth, but utilize it as
well. God bless you all!
Chappell:
Two people that think alot of you and knew we
would be interviewing you, asked us to say hello;
Bob Caudle and Boris Zhukov.
Koloff:
Boris! Boris Zhukov can do Ivan Koloff better
than I can! (everyone laughs)
David
Chappell and Ivan Koloff, April 2004, Lenoir, NC
Chappell:Ivan, it’s been a great pleasure talking
with you tonight about you career in wrestling…
Koloff:
I had such a great time wrestling for the
Crockett’s in the Charlotte area.
Chappell:
But speaking with you, it’s hard to imagine
that you could ever have been happier than you are
right now in your life!
Koloff:
The Lord has totally restored me…as far as
family life is concerned. I have my lovely wife
Renae sitting right here beside me. My youngest
daughter just had a baby, seventeen months
ago…so we have a wonderful grandchild.
We
live in Greenville, North Carolina…and really
enjoy life. I also have a website…IvanKoloff.com,
that I welcome everybody to come by and visit.
That’s
what is so beautiful about the Lord…he takes the
bad and turns it into good! (laughs)
Chappell:
You were the consummate ‘bad guy’ while
wrestling in the Mid-Atlantic area, but as bad as
you were then…you’re equally good now---and
then some! Thank you again, Ivan, for sharing your
life’s story with the Gateway tonight.
Koloff:
Well, thank you
David
…appreciate everything. God bless you!
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