The interview takes place in Watts' home. It was filmed in 1999.
Rob Feinstein conducted the interviewer.
It runs for one-hour and fifty-four minutes long.
The interview starts with Watts talking about how he got a scholarship to Oklahoma for football. He then talks about how he got into a severe accident and how he took him several months before he could start training again.
He talks about how a majority of colleges forbid weight training, because they did not understand how to use them properly, and after several months on a weight-lifting regime, he went from 240 lbs to 315 lbs. However, the team felt he was too big as at that time the were looking for smaller guys and he didnt fit.
Watts went pro to the Indianapolis Warriors. but ended up knocking out one of his coaches and left to start in pro wrestling as Wahoo McDaniel helped get him into the business.
He said he was never a fan of wrestling growing up as most of them were horrible and unathletic. He said that Danny Hodge was there and great but wondered why he bothered with "fake" wrestling.
Watts said that he was trained by several wrestlers. He said his first promotion was run by Bob Estes and it was horrible and only used for ten matches. He said that Jim Barnett was involved but chasing around Rock Hudson then says he knew that Hudson was a "fag" before everybody else due to that reason.
Watts then said that he became a referee, as he hurt his hand in a street fight, for Leroy McGuirk's promotion. From there, he started to wrestle then got into trouble in Los Angeles and had to leave the country so he snuck up to Canada. There, he met Gene Kiniski and wrestled but was upset over his payoff and left, stating that the promotion was part of the NWA and word got out about him so he left and went back to work for McGuirk.
He then talks about wrestling in Houston and jobbed for Sailor Art Thomas, who he said was the nicest guy in the world but really "dumb" and forget the spots. One day, he took Thomas down but he did not know how to mat wrestle and as a result, he got to win the match and the title. He didnt last long as the promoter's ugly daughter wanted to date him but he declined then he slapped around the promoter after a show and left.
Watts goes into a story about how he told the office that he was not going to lose a 2-out-of-3 falls match in two straight falls. He said the office was scared of him due to his temper but he told his opponent, Cowboy Bob Ellis, that he was going to put him over but just did not want the office to know. Watts puts over Ellis for being nice to him when he was starting out. He talks about how he tossed the ref to the floor and "scared the shit" out of him.
Verne Gagne got him a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings but he did not sign as they would not allow him to wrestle in the off-season.
During a match in Missouri, the police took Watts away and said that he had a phone call. It was from Vince McMahon Sr. and Toots Mondt, who wanted him in the WWWF. He said that his first match against Killer Kowalski made him a star. He then tagged with Bruno and set box office records. He did leave the territory shortly after that, as he believed that you leave when you are on top.
Watts then worked for Ray Shire in San Francisco. He calls him a genius but said that he was unable to delegate. He teamed with Chief Jay Strongbow then became a champion. He also said he was born as the trips were short. Shortly after that, he went to Japan then quit the business and worked for a networking company. He always believed in furthering his education and wanted a job outside of the business.
He then returned to the business and worked for Verne Gagne. He said that Leroy called him crying and drunk about returning and Watts said only if could be partner. Initially, he was offered 5% and said fuck you to them but he said they were desperate and he ended up getting 19% and Watts left the AWA.
Watts said he learned a lot and that they built up the territory and brought in guys like the Spoiler and Gary Hart and started to make some money but McGuirk was always drunk and whining so he went to Eddie Graham, who told him to go to Georgia and gave him stock as there was a promotional war as the owner of Georgia had a heart attack and died and there was a lot of double-crossing going on between his partners.
In 1974, Watts went up to Florida and booked the territory. He said they had a ton of talent. Watts said that he fired Dusty Rhodes after two weeks, stating he was pulling his usual bullshit and going behind his back to Eddie Graham. Then Dusty begged and Watts said he could as long as he stopped his bullshit. At that point, he came up with the "American Dream" idea for him.
At this point, Watts said the promotion had so many main-event talents that he struggled to put together a card. He even said that scalpers were selling tickets to the show. Watts said that Graham told him never to all of his eggs in one basket. Graham told Watts that he was a high school dropout and asked Watts why he was there, since he was a college graduate. Watts said he was there for a PhD.
He talks about the problems he had with McGurik, who sued him for embezzlement. Watts said McGuirk was so dumb because he never had his name on the money and Watts threatened to sue them for slander so they came up with a deal where Watts got Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Mid-South territory first started around this time in 1978. He talks about creating the Fabulous Freebirds when he wanted Terry Gordy as part of the roster but thought Hayes was shit in the ring but could talk and had a lot of drive. Buck Robley, who was in teh office, wanted to send Hayes to Florida for some ohter talent but Watts said no and that Hayes would be a mouthpiece and they could get someone to team with Gordy and found Buddy Roberts.
Watts now talks about the Junkyard Dog. He saw him in Canada when he wrestled as Sylvester Ritter and knew he was very charismatic but awful in the ring. He then talks about Ernie Ladd and how he was great man who taught him about "black." Watts says white people do not understand "black" as they can observe it but Ladd was determined to not let JYD fail. He then talks about how they had a bad parting when he went to the WWF but that his drug problems got the best of him. Watts said that Buddy Landell asked him to write a eulogy for him when he passed and he cried.
He then talks about guys in his life that were special like Eddie Graham and Ole Anderson, who Watts claimed that he fought with a lot then told the Road Warriors to cut their hair and paint their faces, which is how they became starts.
When asked about the goals for Mid-South when he started, Watts said that he just wanted to stay afloat at the beginning but wanted to go national. He said that the Northeast had all of the population to draw from and as a result, could bore the shit out of the crowd and still draw people. Watts said that he had to make an exciting show. He also wanted respect for the business and if the wrestler made bad debts or checks with him, he took it out of his money. Watts said that he liked athletes and tough guys, because they are not like whining pussies. He talks about Paul Orndorff, who was a friend of Mike Graham, and how he trained him and stretched him out. Watts said Orndorff was tough and would fight back against him and he respected that. Watts then tells a story of how Orndorff and Ted DiBiase were told to do an hour broadway, despite being faces. They though it would kill their careers so Watts told them not to act like pussies and that he would give them a finish and swore at them some more and as a result, they got mad and tore the house down with a fabulous match. Watts said Orndorff called him years later when he was in the WWF and how Watts taught him a lot more than he knew.
He talks about splitting up Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody, telling them they could be bigger stars as singles wrestlers. He liked Brody but said his word was no good and he would hold up promoters all of the time, which was probably how he got killed in Puerto Rico.
Watts is asked about his first time he drew $100,000 in Louisiana. He flew in Ray Candy at the request of Ernie Ladd and he ended up drawing, despite others telling him that would not be the case. After the show, Watts was sitting backstage with Ladd, Grizzly Smith, and Leroy McGuirk. They were talking about the show and Smith asked McGuirk what he thought. They expected him to be happy at the packed house they drew but McGuirk said that he thought there was too many "niggers" on the card and in the audience, with Ladd right there. Smith then told McGuirk that money was green.
After that, he talks about how he is pissed at that reporter in Pittsburgh (Mark Madden) who brought up an article in which he praised a business owner who refused to serve African-Americans, because he stood up for his beliefs, to Hank Aaron, who was working in for Turner at the time. The article was older but Watts said that he was always a fan of the black athlete and put them in prominent positions, not for their color but becaused they deserved the push. Feinstein says he will discuss this later on in the interview.
He now tells the story of how Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express came to Mid-South. He brought in Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett to come to a TV and see what he was doing wrong. After the show, they asked Watts where are the "blow jobs." Watts did not understand what they meant then they told him he had the toughest athletes and a hardcore fanbase but needed to draw some young girls, which in turn drew the young guys. He then went to Memphis and they asked Watts to take Jim Cornette. He also said that he wanted the Fabulous Ones but they said no so he got to take the Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) and then also took Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson, as they were doing nothing with them either. In return, Memphis took Rick Rude from Watts along with a few other rookies.
Watts said that they made the videos for the Midnight Express and the Rock 'n' Roll Express and that took off. He also took Bill Dundee over as a booker but didnt let him wrestle because he was short with a huge ego. He puts over his mind for the business. Watts said that they drew the teeny boppers and puts over Ricky and Eaton for being great. They also created Magnum TA around this time too.
He talks about various guys. He said that Ted DiBiase couldnt draw a ton of money but could work any type of match. He said Duggan could draw and had a lot of heart but was not the greatest worker. He said one day he hit is head against the post and had blood poisoning and still didnt want to miss a show.
Watts then tells a story of how if his guy got into a fight in public, he would get fired if he lost. He did not give the name but said he looked at the star's hands and saw he did not throw a punch and told him that he was catching, not pitching, and Watts fired him on the spot.
When Mid-South became UWF around 1986, they started to lose money due to the "oil crunch" and started to lose $50,000 a week.
He talks about how Sting had something about him but said the Ultimate Warrior was a piece of shit. When they walked out, he told Grizzly Smith to go get Sting back because he had potential. Watts then wrestled him and afterwards, Sting said he was scared he was going to get beat up in the match because he walked out but Watts told him he wanted him back because he saw potential. Watts still respects Sting to this day.
Now, Watts is asked about several other guys. He said that Eddie Gilbert was talented and was going to bring him into WCW but Eddie kept running his mouth. Watts said he needed someone to lead him because he could not overcome his self-destruction. About Missy Hyatt, he said that the only thing she added was problems and did not add anything. He liked Scott Irwin because he would give you everything he had. Watts said that Bill Irwin did too but never found his niche. In regards to the Von Erich's, he said that Fritz could never come to the realization that his children were drug addicts. Watts said that a friend of Fritz told him that his kids were addicts and that Fritz didnt speak to them for a few years as a result. He then said how Fritz called him about the problem and that he told them to confront them but you have to love them too. He then told him how he couldnt give them everything and tells stories of the kids coming in fucked up all of the time and he told Fritz he no longer wanted to do business with him as a result then talks about how the business tolerated this behavior at the time.
Watts talks about Jim Ross. He said that he was first a referee then left to work in the electronic business. He talked to him again and Ross wanted to be a commentator. Watts said that he was the commentator because he wanted to tell the audience what to feel and did not want the commentator to put himself over the wrestlers. He said Ross could do anything, including the syndication deals.
In regards to his favorite angles, he said the Best Dressed Man between DiBiase and Duggan and the Cornette diaper angle.
He then says that Jerry Jarrett started to use the music videos before him. He said he had a good mind but was very insecure. Watts also said that in an interview, Jarrett claimed that Watts stole the Midnight and Rock 'n' Roll Express from him, then later called Watts to apologize as it was false.
When asked about all of the things they did on his TV shows, Watts said that he always thought the fan should get more than their money's worth out of the TV and house shows.
He tells a story of how when he was briefly in the WWF, he convinced Vince to do a title change at the MSG House show but the star (Shawn Michaels) got put into the hospital, along with two other guys. Watts said that he would have fired all of them because they lost to nine guys while being all fucked up on drugs. He said in his territory, a whole town couldnt beat three of their guys. He said that Vince lost control and that the inmates are running the asylum today and that is the problem.
Watts said his strength as a booker was to carry out an angle. He thinks you need to keep some continuity because the fans want to see what happens next and not wonder why something was dropped out of the blue. He thought a booking committee was a good way to run as it challenges you.
He said that Dutch Mantell did a bad job booking and calls him a thief. He thought that Ernie Ladd and Bill Dundee were the best he had. Watts thought a booker would last for a year then hit the wall so he would bring someone else in and change things up. He said that it was a tough thing to do to get rid of people.
Now, he is asked about Vince raiding his talent in 1986. Watts said that Vince did things different than his father and in hindsight, thinks he would have done things differently. Watts said he likes Vince but that he does not know how to delegate and wants to do everything himself. Watts also said he got along with him for the three months he was there.
Watts discusses selling his company to Crockett. He was going to file an anti-trust suit against Vince but that would have taken a few years but he was losing $50,000 a week and couldnt wait so Ross called Crockett and he ended up selling. When asked, Watts said that he never would have worked with Crockett and Dusty because their egos were too big and at that time, he wanted out of the business.
In 1984, he became involved with religion and realized that he was promoting violence and sex and that was against his beliefs. He then said when you do not drug test and promote guys using drugs, you also promote drug use.
Watts also thought that NWA dropped the ball on an inter-promotional war. He said that creating your own competition is great from business, which is what he learned from the "Georgia War." Watts said Dusty's ego could not handle it all and talks about if you own both companies, why worry about their guys looking stronger as they owned both sides.
From the time he sold to 1992, he got into business and it failed then needed something exciting in his life and WCW came up but said Turner office did not give him control and everyone had a different agenda. Watts also realized that he was going back into the violence and sex that he was trying to get away from.
He turned the company around from an $8 million dollar loss and says that WCW was a complete clusterfuck. He also said Turner's lawyers were incompetent and offered insanely high contracts to the wrestlers. Watts said there were ways to get out of the contracts and thought they should be held accountable for their work.
He is asked about several other guys. Watts likes Rick Steiner but said that Scott Steiner is a problem. Watts said Scott is a star in his own mind and hurt people but wanted to turn him heel as he made a horrible face. He put the belt on Ron Simmons because all other sports had dominate black athletes and wrestling did not have that, which told people that wrestling is fake. He liked Simmons. Watts then says that Jake Roberts was an aptly-named piece of shit who was constantly on drugs. He also called him a coward.
In regards to changing titles at house shows, Watts said that those fans pay and you do not want them coming to a show knowing exactly what is going to happen.
On his reputation of being tough to deal with, Watts said that he speaks his mind and that he was trying to make the business and that anyone with brain could figure that out. He makes the athlete accountable for their actions and says that he cannot fine their airlines or rent-a-car company.
Watts calls Paul Heyman one of the most talented guys but in WCW, he needed him to fit into his parameters at the time and thinks that now he has a different perspective from owning ECW. He credits Paul for surviving and appealing to people.
Now, he is asked about his son, Erik Watts, and the criticism over the push his son received. Watts calls that "stupid shit" and said that Erik had the ability and says it was becase he was there and then goes off on the dirt sheets, saying that if you did things that did not please them, they went against you. He then says his son paid a price for being his son in this business and tells him to get out but that Erik loves it and sees the business great, like anyone else who grew up in it.
He loves Cactus Jack and said he rode with him on purpose to see what was in his mind. He was amazed and said that he has a great mind and appreciates how he gives his all for the business, unlike Kevin Nash, who thinks he is greatest manipulator. Watts said he missed on Dallas Page and he busted his ass andmade it because he wanted it so badly. Watts then says that he can admit his mistakes, unlike others.
On the subject of intimidating wrestlers in the locker room, he said that he was 55 when he was in WCW so who was he going to intimidate? Watts said he might have grabbed someone aside and showed them how to sell or throw a punch after a match but that was all.
He puts over the talents of Shawn Michaels. He then said that Sid Vicious gave 100% effort as did Kevin Nash, who he calls Vinnie Vegas, but then stopped once he got a big ego. Watts said that he gave Orndorff a job in WCW when he was broke.
Watts left WCW as he couldnt handle all of the guys who were crying behind his back to Bill Shaw. He says they would rather do that than work hard. At that point, he realized that he didnt need to deal with this anymore. He said he quit and was not fired.
He is asked about his article with Wade Keller about agreeing with Lester Maddox, the business owner who did not want to serve black people. Watts said it was taken out of context. He said that he agrees in free enterprise and does not want legislature to tell us how to act and at least Maddox was upfront about his beliefs. He calls Madden a chickenshit who hides behind a paper and can file lawsuit so you can no longer "slap the shit" out of somebody.
Watts goes off on Turner Broadcasting for treating wrestling like a "bastard child." He wanted them to show Ron Simmons in the stands during a baseball game and they refused.
He talks about how Vince is one guy who can single-handedly kicked Turner's ass, despite all of their resources.
He went to the WWF and parted under good terms with Vince but realize that he no longer wanted part of the business. He said that he never had a disagreement over who was the boss and just wanted to ease some of his problems. He did want Shawn to get the belt off of Bret at MSG. Watts says that he wanted to make the creative department stand on his own and did not like how Vince would come in the next day and tear down the ideas. He claims to have never told off Vince and that they approached him to enter the company.
Watts goes on to say how Vince surrounds himself with talented people, like Jim Ross, and also says they both run companies the same way, just that Vince is more diplomatic.
He said that he doesnt follow the business today but knows that it hasnt changed, stating you can get back up to speed quickly. Watts says he has a gift to see someone and bring out their talents in a way that makes sense.
Today, he is at peace with himself and does not see himself getting back into wrestling.
Personally, Watts does not see the Steve Austin character as being good for children. He talks about faith and says that he is a horrible example of a person that follows Jesus Christ because everything he has done was based on him being aggressive. At one point in his life, Watts said he prided himself on being an asshole but does not anymore.
If WCW was going to change, they would need to give someone who knows what they are doing total control. He likes Kevin Sullivan but he was never a good booker and says that it shows when you have a lot of people booking who do not know what they are doing and the company blames the business as a whole as a result. He says that WCW still has a lot of talent.
He never thought much of Bischoff and says he must be good in the corporate world.
Watts now works in the pharmaceutical world and loves what he does and says that he sold a product to George Steele which really helped him deal with Chron's disease. He talks about this for a bit.
He closes by saying these are his personal opinions and if he said something that offended someone, if the shoes fits, wear it.
Final Thoughts: This was alright I guess. It really slowed down the last half-hour though and I lost a lot of interest. Watts, if you like him or not, is a straight-shooter. That is always a good thing for a shoot interview. He also does not want a job in wrestling so he wont kiss ass to get one.
He did have a great mind for the business and he would probably make for a good consultant if he wanted to get back in to wrestling.
The best parts were when he discussed Mid-South and add that to the fact that Watts was a great storyteller. I thought Feinstein did a bad job with questions though. It could have been a lot more in-depth than it was. Watts had a long career spanning many different places as a booker and wrestler.
On the subject of racism, Bill did seem to want to get out the fact that he was not racist. Then again, there have been some African-Americans wrestlers who have said Watts told them he was racist so who knows.
I recommend this if you are a fan of Watts or want to learn a bit more about him. It is not a bad interview at all but I found it disappointing as it could have been better
Rob Feinstein conducted the interviewer.
It runs for one-hour and fifty-four minutes long.
The interview starts with Watts talking about how he got a scholarship to Oklahoma for football. He then talks about how he got into a severe accident and how he took him several months before he could start training again.
He talks about how a majority of colleges forbid weight training, because they did not understand how to use them properly, and after several months on a weight-lifting regime, he went from 240 lbs to 315 lbs. However, the team felt he was too big as at that time the were looking for smaller guys and he didnt fit.
Watts went pro to the Indianapolis Warriors. but ended up knocking out one of his coaches and left to start in pro wrestling as Wahoo McDaniel helped get him into the business.
He said he was never a fan of wrestling growing up as most of them were horrible and unathletic. He said that Danny Hodge was there and great but wondered why he bothered with "fake" wrestling.
Watts said that he was trained by several wrestlers. He said his first promotion was run by Bob Estes and it was horrible and only used for ten matches. He said that Jim Barnett was involved but chasing around Rock Hudson then says he knew that Hudson was a "fag" before everybody else due to that reason.
Watts then said that he became a referee, as he hurt his hand in a street fight, for Leroy McGuirk's promotion. From there, he started to wrestle then got into trouble in Los Angeles and had to leave the country so he snuck up to Canada. There, he met Gene Kiniski and wrestled but was upset over his payoff and left, stating that the promotion was part of the NWA and word got out about him so he left and went back to work for McGuirk.
He then talks about wrestling in Houston and jobbed for Sailor Art Thomas, who he said was the nicest guy in the world but really "dumb" and forget the spots. One day, he took Thomas down but he did not know how to mat wrestle and as a result, he got to win the match and the title. He didnt last long as the promoter's ugly daughter wanted to date him but he declined then he slapped around the promoter after a show and left.
Watts goes into a story about how he told the office that he was not going to lose a 2-out-of-3 falls match in two straight falls. He said the office was scared of him due to his temper but he told his opponent, Cowboy Bob Ellis, that he was going to put him over but just did not want the office to know. Watts puts over Ellis for being nice to him when he was starting out. He talks about how he tossed the ref to the floor and "scared the shit" out of him.
Verne Gagne got him a tryout with the Minnesota Vikings but he did not sign as they would not allow him to wrestle in the off-season.
During a match in Missouri, the police took Watts away and said that he had a phone call. It was from Vince McMahon Sr. and Toots Mondt, who wanted him in the WWWF. He said that his first match against Killer Kowalski made him a star. He then tagged with Bruno and set box office records. He did leave the territory shortly after that, as he believed that you leave when you are on top.
Watts then worked for Ray Shire in San Francisco. He calls him a genius but said that he was unable to delegate. He teamed with Chief Jay Strongbow then became a champion. He also said he was born as the trips were short. Shortly after that, he went to Japan then quit the business and worked for a networking company. He always believed in furthering his education and wanted a job outside of the business.
He then returned to the business and worked for Verne Gagne. He said that Leroy called him crying and drunk about returning and Watts said only if could be partner. Initially, he was offered 5% and said fuck you to them but he said they were desperate and he ended up getting 19% and Watts left the AWA.
Watts said he learned a lot and that they built up the territory and brought in guys like the Spoiler and Gary Hart and started to make some money but McGuirk was always drunk and whining so he went to Eddie Graham, who told him to go to Georgia and gave him stock as there was a promotional war as the owner of Georgia had a heart attack and died and there was a lot of double-crossing going on between his partners.
In 1974, Watts went up to Florida and booked the territory. He said they had a ton of talent. Watts said that he fired Dusty Rhodes after two weeks, stating he was pulling his usual bullshit and going behind his back to Eddie Graham. Then Dusty begged and Watts said he could as long as he stopped his bullshit. At that point, he came up with the "American Dream" idea for him.
At this point, Watts said the promotion had so many main-event talents that he struggled to put together a card. He even said that scalpers were selling tickets to the show. Watts said that Graham told him never to all of his eggs in one basket. Graham told Watts that he was a high school dropout and asked Watts why he was there, since he was a college graduate. Watts said he was there for a PhD.
He talks about the problems he had with McGurik, who sued him for embezzlement. Watts said McGuirk was so dumb because he never had his name on the money and Watts threatened to sue them for slander so they came up with a deal where Watts got Louisiana and Mississippi.
The Mid-South territory first started around this time in 1978. He talks about creating the Fabulous Freebirds when he wanted Terry Gordy as part of the roster but thought Hayes was shit in the ring but could talk and had a lot of drive. Buck Robley, who was in teh office, wanted to send Hayes to Florida for some ohter talent but Watts said no and that Hayes would be a mouthpiece and they could get someone to team with Gordy and found Buddy Roberts.
Watts now talks about the Junkyard Dog. He saw him in Canada when he wrestled as Sylvester Ritter and knew he was very charismatic but awful in the ring. He then talks about Ernie Ladd and how he was great man who taught him about "black." Watts says white people do not understand "black" as they can observe it but Ladd was determined to not let JYD fail. He then talks about how they had a bad parting when he went to the WWF but that his drug problems got the best of him. Watts said that Buddy Landell asked him to write a eulogy for him when he passed and he cried.
He then talks about guys in his life that were special like Eddie Graham and Ole Anderson, who Watts claimed that he fought with a lot then told the Road Warriors to cut their hair and paint their faces, which is how they became starts.
When asked about the goals for Mid-South when he started, Watts said that he just wanted to stay afloat at the beginning but wanted to go national. He said that the Northeast had all of the population to draw from and as a result, could bore the shit out of the crowd and still draw people. Watts said that he had to make an exciting show. He also wanted respect for the business and if the wrestler made bad debts or checks with him, he took it out of his money. Watts said that he liked athletes and tough guys, because they are not like whining pussies. He talks about Paul Orndorff, who was a friend of Mike Graham, and how he trained him and stretched him out. Watts said Orndorff was tough and would fight back against him and he respected that. Watts then tells a story of how Orndorff and Ted DiBiase were told to do an hour broadway, despite being faces. They though it would kill their careers so Watts told them not to act like pussies and that he would give them a finish and swore at them some more and as a result, they got mad and tore the house down with a fabulous match. Watts said Orndorff called him years later when he was in the WWF and how Watts taught him a lot more than he knew.
He talks about splitting up Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody, telling them they could be bigger stars as singles wrestlers. He liked Brody but said his word was no good and he would hold up promoters all of the time, which was probably how he got killed in Puerto Rico.
Watts is asked about his first time he drew $100,000 in Louisiana. He flew in Ray Candy at the request of Ernie Ladd and he ended up drawing, despite others telling him that would not be the case. After the show, Watts was sitting backstage with Ladd, Grizzly Smith, and Leroy McGuirk. They were talking about the show and Smith asked McGuirk what he thought. They expected him to be happy at the packed house they drew but McGuirk said that he thought there was too many "niggers" on the card and in the audience, with Ladd right there. Smith then told McGuirk that money was green.
After that, he talks about how he is pissed at that reporter in Pittsburgh (Mark Madden) who brought up an article in which he praised a business owner who refused to serve African-Americans, because he stood up for his beliefs, to Hank Aaron, who was working in for Turner at the time. The article was older but Watts said that he was always a fan of the black athlete and put them in prominent positions, not for their color but becaused they deserved the push. Feinstein says he will discuss this later on in the interview.
He now tells the story of how Jim Cornette and the Midnight Express came to Mid-South. He brought in Jerry Lawler and Jerry Jarrett to come to a TV and see what he was doing wrong. After the show, they asked Watts where are the "blow jobs." Watts did not understand what they meant then they told him he had the toughest athletes and a hardcore fanbase but needed to draw some young girls, which in turn drew the young guys. He then went to Memphis and they asked Watts to take Jim Cornette. He also said that he wanted the Fabulous Ones but they said no so he got to take the Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) and then also took Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson, as they were doing nothing with them either. In return, Memphis took Rick Rude from Watts along with a few other rookies.
Watts said that they made the videos for the Midnight Express and the Rock 'n' Roll Express and that took off. He also took Bill Dundee over as a booker but didnt let him wrestle because he was short with a huge ego. He puts over his mind for the business. Watts said that they drew the teeny boppers and puts over Ricky and Eaton for being great. They also created Magnum TA around this time too.
He talks about various guys. He said that Ted DiBiase couldnt draw a ton of money but could work any type of match. He said Duggan could draw and had a lot of heart but was not the greatest worker. He said one day he hit is head against the post and had blood poisoning and still didnt want to miss a show.
Watts then tells a story of how if his guy got into a fight in public, he would get fired if he lost. He did not give the name but said he looked at the star's hands and saw he did not throw a punch and told him that he was catching, not pitching, and Watts fired him on the spot.
When Mid-South became UWF around 1986, they started to lose money due to the "oil crunch" and started to lose $50,000 a week.
He talks about how Sting had something about him but said the Ultimate Warrior was a piece of shit. When they walked out, he told Grizzly Smith to go get Sting back because he had potential. Watts then wrestled him and afterwards, Sting said he was scared he was going to get beat up in the match because he walked out but Watts told him he wanted him back because he saw potential. Watts still respects Sting to this day.
Now, Watts is asked about several other guys. He said that Eddie Gilbert was talented and was going to bring him into WCW but Eddie kept running his mouth. Watts said he needed someone to lead him because he could not overcome his self-destruction. About Missy Hyatt, he said that the only thing she added was problems and did not add anything. He liked Scott Irwin because he would give you everything he had. Watts said that Bill Irwin did too but never found his niche. In regards to the Von Erich's, he said that Fritz could never come to the realization that his children were drug addicts. Watts said that a friend of Fritz told him that his kids were addicts and that Fritz didnt speak to them for a few years as a result. He then said how Fritz called him about the problem and that he told them to confront them but you have to love them too. He then told him how he couldnt give them everything and tells stories of the kids coming in fucked up all of the time and he told Fritz he no longer wanted to do business with him as a result then talks about how the business tolerated this behavior at the time.
Watts talks about Jim Ross. He said that he was first a referee then left to work in the electronic business. He talked to him again and Ross wanted to be a commentator. Watts said that he was the commentator because he wanted to tell the audience what to feel and did not want the commentator to put himself over the wrestlers. He said Ross could do anything, including the syndication deals.
In regards to his favorite angles, he said the Best Dressed Man between DiBiase and Duggan and the Cornette diaper angle.
He then says that Jerry Jarrett started to use the music videos before him. He said he had a good mind but was very insecure. Watts also said that in an interview, Jarrett claimed that Watts stole the Midnight and Rock 'n' Roll Express from him, then later called Watts to apologize as it was false.
When asked about all of the things they did on his TV shows, Watts said that he always thought the fan should get more than their money's worth out of the TV and house shows.
He tells a story of how when he was briefly in the WWF, he convinced Vince to do a title change at the MSG House show but the star (Shawn Michaels) got put into the hospital, along with two other guys. Watts said that he would have fired all of them because they lost to nine guys while being all fucked up on drugs. He said in his territory, a whole town couldnt beat three of their guys. He said that Vince lost control and that the inmates are running the asylum today and that is the problem.
Watts said his strength as a booker was to carry out an angle. He thinks you need to keep some continuity because the fans want to see what happens next and not wonder why something was dropped out of the blue. He thought a booking committee was a good way to run as it challenges you.
He said that Dutch Mantell did a bad job booking and calls him a thief. He thought that Ernie Ladd and Bill Dundee were the best he had. Watts thought a booker would last for a year then hit the wall so he would bring someone else in and change things up. He said that it was a tough thing to do to get rid of people.
Now, he is asked about Vince raiding his talent in 1986. Watts said that Vince did things different than his father and in hindsight, thinks he would have done things differently. Watts said he likes Vince but that he does not know how to delegate and wants to do everything himself. Watts also said he got along with him for the three months he was there.
Watts discusses selling his company to Crockett. He was going to file an anti-trust suit against Vince but that would have taken a few years but he was losing $50,000 a week and couldnt wait so Ross called Crockett and he ended up selling. When asked, Watts said that he never would have worked with Crockett and Dusty because their egos were too big and at that time, he wanted out of the business.
In 1984, he became involved with religion and realized that he was promoting violence and sex and that was against his beliefs. He then said when you do not drug test and promote guys using drugs, you also promote drug use.
Watts also thought that NWA dropped the ball on an inter-promotional war. He said that creating your own competition is great from business, which is what he learned from the "Georgia War." Watts said Dusty's ego could not handle it all and talks about if you own both companies, why worry about their guys looking stronger as they owned both sides.
From the time he sold to 1992, he got into business and it failed then needed something exciting in his life and WCW came up but said Turner office did not give him control and everyone had a different agenda. Watts also realized that he was going back into the violence and sex that he was trying to get away from.
He turned the company around from an $8 million dollar loss and says that WCW was a complete clusterfuck. He also said Turner's lawyers were incompetent and offered insanely high contracts to the wrestlers. Watts said there were ways to get out of the contracts and thought they should be held accountable for their work.
He is asked about several other guys. Watts likes Rick Steiner but said that Scott Steiner is a problem. Watts said Scott is a star in his own mind and hurt people but wanted to turn him heel as he made a horrible face. He put the belt on Ron Simmons because all other sports had dominate black athletes and wrestling did not have that, which told people that wrestling is fake. He liked Simmons. Watts then says that Jake Roberts was an aptly-named piece of shit who was constantly on drugs. He also called him a coward.
In regards to changing titles at house shows, Watts said that those fans pay and you do not want them coming to a show knowing exactly what is going to happen.
On his reputation of being tough to deal with, Watts said that he speaks his mind and that he was trying to make the business and that anyone with brain could figure that out. He makes the athlete accountable for their actions and says that he cannot fine their airlines or rent-a-car company.
Watts calls Paul Heyman one of the most talented guys but in WCW, he needed him to fit into his parameters at the time and thinks that now he has a different perspective from owning ECW. He credits Paul for surviving and appealing to people.
Now, he is asked about his son, Erik Watts, and the criticism over the push his son received. Watts calls that "stupid shit" and said that Erik had the ability and says it was becase he was there and then goes off on the dirt sheets, saying that if you did things that did not please them, they went against you. He then says his son paid a price for being his son in this business and tells him to get out but that Erik loves it and sees the business great, like anyone else who grew up in it.
He loves Cactus Jack and said he rode with him on purpose to see what was in his mind. He was amazed and said that he has a great mind and appreciates how he gives his all for the business, unlike Kevin Nash, who thinks he is greatest manipulator. Watts said he missed on Dallas Page and he busted his ass andmade it because he wanted it so badly. Watts then says that he can admit his mistakes, unlike others.
On the subject of intimidating wrestlers in the locker room, he said that he was 55 when he was in WCW so who was he going to intimidate? Watts said he might have grabbed someone aside and showed them how to sell or throw a punch after a match but that was all.
He puts over the talents of Shawn Michaels. He then said that Sid Vicious gave 100% effort as did Kevin Nash, who he calls Vinnie Vegas, but then stopped once he got a big ego. Watts said that he gave Orndorff a job in WCW when he was broke.
Watts left WCW as he couldnt handle all of the guys who were crying behind his back to Bill Shaw. He says they would rather do that than work hard. At that point, he realized that he didnt need to deal with this anymore. He said he quit and was not fired.
He is asked about his article with Wade Keller about agreeing with Lester Maddox, the business owner who did not want to serve black people. Watts said it was taken out of context. He said that he agrees in free enterprise and does not want legislature to tell us how to act and at least Maddox was upfront about his beliefs. He calls Madden a chickenshit who hides behind a paper and can file lawsuit so you can no longer "slap the shit" out of somebody.
Watts goes off on Turner Broadcasting for treating wrestling like a "bastard child." He wanted them to show Ron Simmons in the stands during a baseball game and they refused.
He talks about how Vince is one guy who can single-handedly kicked Turner's ass, despite all of their resources.
He went to the WWF and parted under good terms with Vince but realize that he no longer wanted part of the business. He said that he never had a disagreement over who was the boss and just wanted to ease some of his problems. He did want Shawn to get the belt off of Bret at MSG. Watts says that he wanted to make the creative department stand on his own and did not like how Vince would come in the next day and tear down the ideas. He claims to have never told off Vince and that they approached him to enter the company.
Watts goes on to say how Vince surrounds himself with talented people, like Jim Ross, and also says they both run companies the same way, just that Vince is more diplomatic.
He said that he doesnt follow the business today but knows that it hasnt changed, stating you can get back up to speed quickly. Watts says he has a gift to see someone and bring out their talents in a way that makes sense.
Today, he is at peace with himself and does not see himself getting back into wrestling.
Personally, Watts does not see the Steve Austin character as being good for children. He talks about faith and says that he is a horrible example of a person that follows Jesus Christ because everything he has done was based on him being aggressive. At one point in his life, Watts said he prided himself on being an asshole but does not anymore.
If WCW was going to change, they would need to give someone who knows what they are doing total control. He likes Kevin Sullivan but he was never a good booker and says that it shows when you have a lot of people booking who do not know what they are doing and the company blames the business as a whole as a result. He says that WCW still has a lot of talent.
He never thought much of Bischoff and says he must be good in the corporate world.
Watts now works in the pharmaceutical world and loves what he does and says that he sold a product to George Steele which really helped him deal with Chron's disease. He talks about this for a bit.
He closes by saying these are his personal opinions and if he said something that offended someone, if the shoes fits, wear it.
Final Thoughts: This was alright I guess. It really slowed down the last half-hour though and I lost a lot of interest. Watts, if you like him or not, is a straight-shooter. That is always a good thing for a shoot interview. He also does not want a job in wrestling so he wont kiss ass to get one.
He did have a great mind for the business and he would probably make for a good consultant if he wanted to get back in to wrestling.
The best parts were when he discussed Mid-South and add that to the fact that Watts was a great storyteller. I thought Feinstein did a bad job with questions though. It could have been a lot more in-depth than it was. Watts had a long career spanning many different places as a booker and wrestler.
On the subject of racism, Bill did seem to want to get out the fact that he was not racist. Then again, there have been some African-Americans wrestlers who have said Watts told them he was racist so who knows.
I recommend this if you are a fan of Watts or want to learn a bit more about him. It is not a bad interview at all but I found it disappointing as it could have been better
"They expected him to be happy at the packed house they drrew but McGuirk said that he thought there was too many "niggers" on the card and in the audience, with Ladd right there. Smith then told McGuirk that money was green."
ReplyDeleteI'm very sad that Ladd didn't tear that guys head off.
Me too.
ReplyDeleteLadd seems like a class act all the way though.
TJ: only just noticed that it's "Scott's Blog of Doom" and not, as I had always thought, "Scott's Blog o' Doom"
ReplyDeleteI insist that this banner be changed, or I'm going to Do A Caliber.
What was that line Brian Pillman said in ECW? Something like "... every one of you mother fucking smart marks rolled up into one giant piece of shit."
ReplyDeleteThat's Mark Madden. Never could stand that guy.
Especially since he still talks about wrestling while fully admitting to not giving a shit about it anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe blindness is probably the only thing that saved McGuril's ass that night
ReplyDeleteYou're going to write a bunch of rambling emails that we'll end up using three threads to make fun of?
ReplyDeleteI'll give you a dollar if you pull that off.
Well, in all fairness, I do that too. Madden pissed me off because he was the backyard wrestling equivalent of a commentator. Thought he could do it well because he saw it on TV.
ReplyDeleteWatts' football stories sound like carny wrestler BS to me. "I was gonna be a star, but..." "The Vikings were gonna sign me, but ..."
ReplyDeleteHalf of this recap reads like that to me. Getting drunk-dialed and begged to come back, coming up with all these ideas, etc. I don't doubt that Watts was successful, but it sounds a bit like Vince Russo trying to take credit for Stone Cold and The Rock. He may have been there, but saying it was all his idea is just silly.
ReplyDeleteYeah, a lot of his claims seem dubious.
ReplyDeletePlus he seems completely unaware that the same things he fired/buried wrestlers for were the same things he brags about doing back in the '60s to other promoters.
So Watts claimed he created the American Dream and the Road Warriors? Huh. Funny when you ask Ole and Animal they'll both tell you it was Ole's gimmick.
ReplyDeletePeople go back and forth on whether or not Watts is a racist. I don't think you can even describe him in those terms, to the affirmative or the negative. The man is a capitalist, through and through. He saw money in black athletes, so he pushed them; if he thought they weren't gonna make him money, he wouldn't have. It's as simple as that.
ReplyDeleteEveryone likes to take credit for successes.
ReplyDeleteI've seen this one a couple of times and 3 things I really like, 1) him constantly calling Kevin Nash "Vinnie Vegas." (which I don't think is being done as an insult, but it's still funny), 2) he says he, "got into a little trouble and had to leave the country" (that always sounds like more than a little trouble, 3) and he talks about someone wanting to fight him and he says something like, "I'm a 60 year old man, but if you want to fight me, you better pack a lunch."
ReplyDeleteI've never seen this one and was genuinely interested in it, primarily to see if he came off as racist. After reading it, I honestly still have no idea.
ReplyDeleteHis thing with Lestor Maddox had more to do with private property rights. Do I agree with what Maddox's views were? Of course not. But I also believe in letting the free market be the thing that closed his restaurant down.
ReplyDeleteYeah, some of the interview clips from his time in Mid South that are part of this shoot are frightening.
ReplyDeletei dont know if i could participate in a second one so soon...
ReplyDeleteim burned out and as much as i love to laugh, i dont think i can stand 6hours of it again
He seems less "racist" and more "old school," like he probably dropped N-bombs back in the day because it was just how people referred to black people whether they hated them or not.
ReplyDeleteFor real. That was a marathon.
ReplyDeleteMid-South stories are rarely not fun... I take a little pride in my hometown being one of the more dangerous stops for Mid-South.
ReplyDelete4. Rey takes six months off to fix his knees.
ReplyDeleteSeeing as this was the same fed that had Duggan attack JYD while wearing a gorilla costume, I'm sure Ladd had plenty of practice in turning the other cheek. Not that McGuirk didn't deserve an ass beating.
ReplyDeleteFor next week's shoot, what type of interview do you guys want?
ReplyDeleteA straight-forward shoot
Face-Off
YouShoot
I am a bit burned out on timelines at the moment though.
Can't wait until Hogan comes out to award the trophy to the winner... and then body slam them both and pose.
ReplyDelete"You know, brother, that trophy weighed 1.5 tons and my mechanical spine was short-circuiting when I lifted it, brother, but the 38-inch pythons had just enough juice left in 'em to haul that big, shiny giant trophy up, brother!"
ReplyDeleteCesaro.
ReplyDeleteOnly if there's a running gag where they cut to the back after every match to check and see how much the winner has consumed.
ReplyDeleteHulk Hogan/John Cena Rule: All faces must act like dicks.
ReplyDeleteFace-Off sounds cool. By the way, have you ever done any of the Punk/Colt shoots they did together? If not one of those could be fun.
ReplyDeleteStop joking now I mean it!
ReplyDeleteFace off!!
ReplyDeleteI have a Punk/ Samoa Joe shoot from RoH
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly ashamed to admit it, but those threads nearly made me late for work this morning after far less sleep than I'm used to.
ReplyDeleteSoo even legendary football coaches like vine Lombardi frowned upon lifting weights? I call bullshit.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if you black people don't like riding in the back of the bus, buy a car. Desegregation is such leftist anti-freedom crap.
ReplyDeleteAnd people wonder why libertarians are mocked unmercifully.
That one's fairly solid, especially their memories of the RoH Trilogy and Punk pranking the shit out of Gabe.
ReplyDeleteShockingly, things were different 50 years ago.
ReplyDeleteApologies if this has been threadjacked elsewhere but AMC buying out WWE for 2.6 billion. WHAT!?!
ReplyDeleteHe said colleges, not pros
ReplyDeleteI watched some of the Christian Shoot and it seemed boring
ReplyDeleteI thought that was just a rumor?
ReplyDeleteI don't agree this is cynically timed. I believe it is an idea meant to get more talent a Wrestlemania payday, honor Andre and, yes, promote the old content available on the network. Maybe not even in that order but it doesn't have to be all cynical.
ReplyDeleteIt is but that is a great fucking rumor.
ReplyDeleteMy dad thinks the trophy looks like Hogan, not Andre.
ReplyDeleteThat's gonna happen on the long to the ring... or getting out of bed the day of the show.
ReplyDeleteShawn Michaels AND Randy Savage came to his hotel room the next day just so they could watch him destory the trophy again!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, what Maddox did and the whole "back of the bus" disgrace are two completely different things. Secondly, I would have been 100 percent in favor of groups constantly boycotting the shit out of Maddox's establishment until he was forced to shut it down. This wasn't like some national chain, it was just one guys property.
ReplyDeleteYeah it's a rumor that isn't going to happen. Vince will never sell WWE to anyone other than his family.
ReplyDeleteSwagger smashes it over Cesaro's head after Cesaro wins.
ReplyDeleteYou've clearly never experienced prejudice.
ReplyDeleteI just posted that to the Daily Update thread, because I just saw it when I got home.
ReplyDeleteSuch a random fucking news item!
Swagger/Colter do a double clothesline on Cesaro with it?
ReplyDeleteYou forgot to add Stone Cold and the Rock.
ReplyDeleteBut seriously though I don't think they'll destroy the trophy regardless unless they want a heel to do it. All other trophies destroyed were just generic looking ones anyway.
He then talks about Ernie Ladd and how he was great man who taught him
ReplyDeleteabout "black." Watts says white people do not understand "black" as they
can observe it but Ladd was determined to not let JYD fail.
Vince understands "black". God put them in wrestling promotions to dance. It took 100 years of wrestling to figure this out.
In that same interview, practically the same breath, Watts said that black people got as advanced as they did in this country because they bred with our white genes.
ReplyDeleteSome idiot at a financial blog called "Betaville" can't grasp the difference between buying TV rights from a company and buying the company outright. That's where this mess got started, and it's not even worth discussing further. I think there is a non-zero chance that Raw or Smackdown in fact end up on AMC, but that's as far as this will go.
ReplyDeleteIf you want a different interview, Watts did a great one with Jim Cornette in 2005
ReplyDeleteApparently it helped their stock to spike today as well. And who says internet rumors aren't helpful!?
ReplyDeletePretty much. Even now, nobody messes with Danny Hodge.
ReplyDeleteCan't be as bad as what I've read of Arn Anderson's book.
ReplyDeleteYikes...I think that may have been a quote that should've made the headlines much more than the other one.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure every person posting on this blog has experienced prejudice of one sort or another at some point in our lives. Maybe not in the "traditional" racial, sexual, or nationality manner... but prejudice has no boundaries, as long as there is a difference.
ReplyDeleteThat is some hilarious bullshit right there.
ReplyDelete"Do blacks discriminate against whites? Who's killed more blacks than anyone? The fuckin' blacks. But they want to blame that bullshit 'Roots' that came on the air. That Roots was so bullshit. All you have to do if you want slaves is to hand beads to the chiefs and they gave you slaves. What is the best thing that has ever happened to the black race? That they were brought to this country. No matter how they got here. You know why? Because they intermarried and got educated. They're the ones running the black race.
ReplyDeleteYou go down to the black countries and they're all broke. Idi Amin killed more blacks than we ever killed. You see what I mean. That's how stupid we are. But we get all caught up in this bullshit rhetoric, And so, it's ridiculous what's happening to our country.
Lester Maddox (former Georgia governor/restaurant operator who passed out ax handles to his white patrons to attack blacks with) was right. If I don't want to sell chicken to blacks I shouldn't have to. It's my restaurant. Hell, at least I respect him for his stand."
Yeah, let's see anyone try to pass THAT crap off as Watts "only caring about green."
I don't think Watts is evil incarnate--I think he's in some ways a complicated guy. And I'm a lot (A LOT) more impressed by his making Ernie Ladd a booker than any fake wrestling title he's put on anybody. But there's really no defense for anything said above.
Not racial no but I was bullied as a child.
ReplyDeleteThere was a Deadspin email (when they were doing their "Virgilbag") who talked about meeting Ladd on an airplane. Said he was an awesome guy (even though he had problems moving) and a class act. I can't imagine all the crap he had to deal with, but that made me respect him all the more.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of Ernie Ladd, I think of one of the all-time LOL moments in wrestling:
ReplyDeletehttp://youtu.be/KtSs1CyCuq0
Please don't remind us of that. Arn Anderson in a shoot would be a great tell-all book, just for Ric Flair's stuff. Then he kayfabes it. No one cares about Arn Anderson's imaginary career as a second-banana in written form, we wanted juicy, fun stories.
ReplyDeleteOK about that, how the fuck did McGuirk know who was in the audience?
ReplyDeleteI just found a new channel/playlist...
ReplyDeleteYeah that's the same thing as slavery.
ReplyDeleteThe stuff on there is AWESOME. There's even a build between Tully Blanchard and Johnny Weaver, where Weaver gets one of the all-time sickest burns ever (it has to do with unions), and that causes a brawl between the two.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean the statue will no longer be part of Axxess? That was one of the cooler things to pose with when we went.
ReplyDeleteVince understands better than you think...he has them dance and rap.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your hometown?
ReplyDeleteI'm originally from Chauvin, Louisiana... a "suburb" of Houma, Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteThe town where Cornette and Condrey nearly got killed by eleven pissed off Cajuns when Condrey made the 12th eat gravel. Those two were saved by the R&R Express nearly running the mob over with their car...
I love hearing Cornette tell stories about the crazy stuff that happened in Louisiana.
ReplyDeleteMVP LIES!
ReplyDeleteWillow's as much a rookie as The Dragon was.
Well, Andre dedicated trophy aside, it's precisely what kickstarted an 8,5 year face run for Bret. so it COULD work.
ReplyDeleteWas Bret really in kayfabe mode? He's such a mark for himself that I'm not sure he's even been "in character".
ReplyDeleteThe statue needs to have a button you can push to have Andre say "Slam me, boss."
ReplyDeleteDare I say it......The blindness was a work?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteAnd? Are you white, male and straight? Cause guess what? You had it better off on average than any other demographic in the world.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, everybody has faced prejudice? Yeah, people think I have money. Or people think I'm racist. Guess what? It doesn't matter, cause I have upon my side the entirety of our culture and history.
and steal or be african tribespeople
ReplyDelete