First off, people always confuse you with the original Buddy Wayne (a well-known Memphis-based wrestler).

Yes, that’s always been the case. My real name is Steve Finley. When they were looking for a ring name for me, a lot of the guys kept saying I looked a lot like Buddy and Ken Wayne. Scott Ferris was the one who came up with “Buddy Wayne.” At the time, I did not even know who the Waynes were – they were from another region, and I never saw them on television. If I knew how much confusion it would cause over the years, I would have asked for another name. (Laughs.) I have spoken with Ken Wayne about it, and for the record, he has no problem with it.

Is Buddy Wayne the only name you’ve used?

Not at all. I wrestled as Wayne Gillis for Emil Dupree in the Maritimes, Steve Finley for Ohio Valley, King Cobra in Mexico, Atomic Kid in Canada, and a few others.

Now, where did you first see Buddy Rose?

I was about seven years old – late 1970s. I watched Portland Wrestling, and Buddy was my idol! He had that certain something about him that the great ones have. The fans hated Buddy so much, but I could not hate him; I respected him for what he could do in that ring. I wanted so badly to bleach out my hair like Buddy’s, and I would have if my mom didn’t prevent me from doing it. I wanted hair like Buddy Rose and a body like Rip Rogers.

I used to drive out to the Portland Sports Arena from where I lived in Everett, Washington, and I went early so I could see the wrestlers as they arrived. Buddy was always the nicest of them all, which made me admire him even more.

So the seed was planted at an early age. How did you end up breaking into the business?

Scott Ferris was running outlaw shows in Washington and Oregon, working towns that Don Owen had not gone to in a while. I had been watching about ten years at this point, and I knew it was something I really wanted to do. I was 18 at the time, and a few of the guys on the crew agreed to train me – Ferris, Ritchie Magnett and Ole Olson. I picked it up quick and started wrestling not long after that. This was 1985.

The group was called Oregon Championship Wrestling. We’d work smaller towns, like Sandy, OR, and Widbey Island, WA. The crowds averaged around 200 fans, and we’d do one show a week. It was a unique group in that the wrestlers made all the money, and split the house at the end of the night. We used talent that Don Owen had either let go or refused to hire. “Moondog” Ed Moretti was there, as were Ritchie Magnett, Grappler II, Jerry Sampson and Barry May, who looked just like Brian Pillman. The first show I worked I was paid $30.00 – the lowest amount, but I also had the least experience. I know some guys who would be more than happy to get that kind of payoff now.

It was a lot of fun, but it was not easy for me. I had been trained in all the basics, and the boys took care of me the best they could, but I was still prone to rookie mistakes. Once I took a bump the wrong way and landed on my rib cage. I cracked a few ribs and dislocated my hip. I was out for three months. I just figured it was part of the learning process, and a painful one!

The group eventually had to fold because we had no license, and Don Owen started complaining to the commission. This is also back when the NWA still had some power, and running outlaw shows was not considered good for one’s career. But it didn’t matter to me – I was in the business.