WWE Hall of Famer “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka appeared on Interactive Wrestling Radio (audio interview available at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com).
Happy Valentine’s Day! Our gift to you? A big box of Superfly, bruddah!
After literally a decade of trying, we finally got the WWE Hall of Famer, “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka to sit down with us for a fun 20 minute interview. We also discuss the wrestling news of the day in our show as well!
Jimmy’s new book, “Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story” is available now on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and all major book retailers through Triumpth Books.
You can download an MP3 copy of the interview or watch it on youtube at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com. If you like what we do, check out our store and buy something to help us keep going!
JIMMY SNUKA:
Wrestling Legend & WWE Hall of Famer Superfly Jimmy Snuka joins us on the show! He starts off with a pleasent greating and telling us that he is already ready for action!
– The Superfly’s new autobiography, “The Jimmy Snuka Story”, was recently released. In talking about the creation of the book, Jimmy brings up writer Jon Chattman who helped him put it together. Jimmy puts him over as a great guy and it was fun working with him.
– In talking about the personal stories that are covered in the book, Jimmy says that he felt he needed to tell the truth: “Once you tell the truth, you feel better”.
– He loved working in the Portland territory, and loved the promoters as well: “They did wonderful things for me”.
– Working with Roddy Piper was a huge career highlight for him. He says that the infamous coconut incident was historical, and his work with Piper was fun.
– When talking about the high flyers in today’s wrestling scene, he feels that a lot of the workers today don’t have the same timing & psychology that workers had in his era. However, Snuka also says they can’t be blamed for that as the time they are given on TV restricts them and forces them to rush.
– His dive off the cage onto Don Muraco was an influential moment for wrestling and a major highlight for the business. Snuka himself says it was a major highlight in his life and he gets excited thinking about it even today.
– Jimmy says that he can’t wait to get back into the ring. He had a leg injury that shelved him for a bit, but he says that it is all healed up and he feels like is “The Superfly Bionic man!”. When we interviewed Bret Hart a few years back, he said it was amazing how Snuka could still be as good as he is. Snuka says that he’s always kept himself in good shape and always prepared and trained for the ring so it could be done right.
– With Wrestlemania coming up,, Snuka is asked about his role at the 1st Wrestlemania and what Wrestlemania eventually evolved into. He says that he never envisioned Wrestlemania being as big as it is today and gets excited performing infront of that many people.
– He loved teaming up with Roddy Piper & Ricky Steamboat to face Chris Jericho at Wrestlemania XXV.
– One of his Wrestlemania opponents was The Undertaker, and Snuka knew from the start that he had a lot of raw potential from the start. Although Jimmy is quick to say “I am the real Phenom!”
– His children following his footsteps into the wrestling business has brought him joy. He told them to make sure they got their education first, but they trained hard and got into shape to be in wrestling. Watching them today makes him emotional and he loves watching them.
– When asked about his appearance on the Legend’s Nitro in 2000 and his dive onto Jeff Jarrett, he says there was no fear at all. He made sure he was prepared for it and wanted to give the fans a great showing.
– Mick Foley has always held up The Superfly as a major influence and is now going into the Hall of Fame himself. Jimmy loves Mick Foley and puts him over as a great talent that achieved a lot. He remembers working with Foley early on in his career and giving him encouragement to “Keep up the good work”.
– He is happy about the book, its reception, and the entire process of its release.
– When WWF became mainstream & popular in the 1980s, Snuka never envisioned it being as large and it surprised him. He loved being part of it and still loves the business.
– Before ending the interview, we get an interesting nugget of information about Jimmy Snuka: His inspiration was Tarzan
