During a recent interview with VOC Nation’s ‘No BS With The Bull’ podcast, Manny Fernandez commented on people who he believes are mocking the pro wrestling business. and more. You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On the respect he has for the business: “It’s because of those guys (Terry Funk, Dick Murdoch, and Blackjack Mulligan), especially Blackjack Mulligan. He was pretty tough. (if) you disrespected the business, he put you in your place right away and smacked you into next week with those big old monster hands he had… I just noticed that these guys respected one another so much, and they took care of their business. How they took care of it was like the mob taking care of their business. They protected it so well. They didn’t let people talk about it, play it down, or disrespect it… You had to be pretty tough, and you had to love the business and love what you were doing to respect it enough to defend it; that’s what I did.”
On his thoughts on Orange Cassidy, who he thinks makes a mockery of the business: “I would have loved to see him [AEW’s Orange Cassidy] walk into a rowdy Texas bar and (have) somebody confront him. Put your hands in your pockets and see what happens. That (isn’t) going to happen. That’s why people think it’s a joke (and) a damn circus. (Some) people have no respect for what they’re doing really; they don’t defend the business, protect the business – they just make a mockery of it in my eyes.”
On how heels and faces used to have to hang out separately: “We used to hang out at a place in Tampa, Florida called the Level 3 Lounge. It had three levels. That was one of my favorite hangouts. If I walked in and saw one of the heels on the lower part of the bar, I’d go all the way to the third floor and hang out there because I didn’t want to be near them.”
On his story of Harley Race having an altercation at a bar: “One time when I was in there, there was a scuffle going on…some guy was giving Harley Race a hard time. And Harley Race had an unbelievable grip on him. The guy kept (mouthing off) and got close to Harley, and Harley just grabbed his hand and started squeezing it until the guy literally fell to his knees. That ended that. He didn’t have to throw a punch. He just squeezed him until the guy fell to his knees and told the guy to get away from him.”
On getting stabbed: “We went after (the bar closed) to Denny’s…I go to the bathroom and I come back and (these bikers) are arguing with Tully (Blanchard)… (after a verbal altercation) I hit (one of the guys) and knocked him through a window. The guy behind him started hitting me on the side, and I said ‘is that as hard as you can hit?’ I didn’t know he was stabbing me, I thought he was hitting me… He stabbed me five times in the arm…I (lost) so much blood and passed out after that (and) they had to rush me to the hospital.”
On the locker room etiquette: “In the old days, you had dressing room etiquette. You knew your place in that dressing room. You knew who to (shake hands with). The greatest thing I was taught in this business (was) ‘shut up and listen, kid’… I listed to those old timers, that’s part of learning the business. Open your ears and shut your mouth.”
