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Q & A #1

Dear Playboy,
Is there any chance of you returning to the WWE? And do you still wrestle? If so, when was the last time you wrestled?
-- Moon


Yes I still wrestle, but at the same time, I am trying to wrestle my way out of the business. After you’ve been doing this for 30 years, it gets a little bit harder each time you get out there. I want to pass my knowledge on to a new generation, which is why Ed Wiskoski and I run our wrestling school. I still get in the ring and take all the bumps, just as I always have. The last time I wrestled was Sunday May 18th, 2003.

Never say never to the WWE.

I have a question about your run in Florida. Didn't you have a buxom bleach blonde valet with you back then? The girl I'm thinking of reminded me a lot of actress Carol Wayne (appeared on Johnny Carson during the "Tea Time Movie" segments for several years). Did you have a valet like this when you came to Florida or have I confused you with someone else? If so, what was her name?
-- M. Siegel

I had several valets. They were usually a local girl who I knew, or one who was just downright beautiful, who we brought in for the show. Different cities, different girls. I don’t remember them all, I’m afraid.

Can you tell me about the time you did a shoot on Roy Shire?
-- Jobber4life


Here’s the story on my shoot with Roy Shire.

Roy was a good payoff man, and he was a great promoter. But he did have his downsides. I was suspended by the State Athletic Department over something that was so foolish, it finally was dropped. But in the meantime, Roy thought that I wouldn't be able to get an injunction in time to defend my United States Heavyweight title the following Saturday night at the Cow Palace (the June 8, 1979 show).

Well it came to the night of the show, and Roy had put in a substitute in my place of my match, telling the people that the winner of the bout would be the new United States Heavyweight champion. I was in the dressing room, ready to wrestle, and Roy asked me why I was there. I said to defend the US title. He said, “No your not. I won't let you get near that ring!” I explained to him that I was legal with the commission, and I could wrestle. He said I can't be, because it was like swimming across the ocean, and I’d never make it. I showed him my injunction, and he still said NO. I proceeded to tell him that I was going to go the ring and tell the people that I was in the building, ready to defend the US title. Roy said, “The hell you are!” John Tolos was there listening, along with Red Bastien, Ed Wiskoski, Ron Starr, John Mantell, to just to name a few.

Roy sent the two wrestlers (Starr and Mantell) to the ring, to determine the new champion. He announced it just like he said he was going to. It was a two out of three falls match. Well, you can understand I was pretty upset over all of this. After the first fall, I headed for the ring, and Roy chased after me. I made it to the ring apron, and I was walking around it, all the while Roy was running around on the floor trying to get me. Roy finally yelled at some of the San Francisco’s finest to have me removed, and they said that they were not going to be part of the show. Roy, who was FUMING at this point, took a swing at one of the cops. They all grabbed Roy and took his ass to the back of the building. I got on the microphone and told the people the whole story, not to mention why Mr. Fuji, Don Muraco, Professor Tanaka and others had packed up and left the Bay area. I said it was because of promoter Roy Shire lying to the fans about personal circumstances – that was always the case. I heard the people screaming that they wanted there money back. And that, my friend, was the beginning of the end for Roy Shire.

Roy's wife was watching from the back, standing next to Ed Wiskoski, and she said to Ed, “I think Buddy Rose just blew it for himself, because he will be blackballed throughout the country.” Ed told her, matter-of-factly, “I don't think so Mrs. Shire.” Little did Roy or his wife know, I had Don Owen’s blessing to do whatever I had to do, and he supported me all the way. Roy had to pay me in large increments throughout the next few months, to cover my attorney fees, and my payoff for that night (estimated, of course).

Ray Stevens saw me about a year later and shook my hand. He said, “Kid, that's was the greatest thing you have ever done.” He was proud of me. Red Bastien supported me, along with all of the wrestlers. Moral of the story: sometimes in life, you have to take a stand, especially when you know you are right.

Why didn't you and Col. DeBeers (Ed Wiskoski) team up in the AWA? You were already an established team, and it would have made sense.
-- Richard


We didn't tag up because it wasn't in the cards. Ed was working the South African Colonel gimmick against Snuka, and I was married to The Midnight Rockers, Doug Sommers and Sherri Martell for about a year, as we butted heads over the AWA World Tag team title.

Some of you might not be aware of this, but Col. DeBeers’ first AWA bout took place in Denver, CO, in a tag team bout pitting him and me against The Midnight Rockers. The Colonel was also instrumental in “The Playboy and The Pretty Boy’s” victory over then-AWA World Tag Team champions Scott Hall and Curt Hennig. So we were apart in the AWA, but we did cross paths on a few occasions in the ring.

Ed and I shared a place together near the airport when we wrestled for the AWA. When we had a few days off, Verne Gagne would cover our airfare to fly us home to the Northwest, as a “thank you” for all our hard work. Verne always treated us very well.

Believe me, Ed Wiskoski has always been my favorite partner, along with being the best partner I ever had full-time.

You hear a lot of things about Fritz Von Erich being tough to work for. What was your experience like? Is it true that you wrestled Kevin Von Erich in his first match?
-- Mike D.


Fritz was a pleasure to work with. He even paid me a couple hundred extra a day to train Kevin. We practiced in the Sportatorium for two hours in the early mornings, Mondays and Tuesdays, for several weeks. Yes, Kevin had his first match with me – he wasn’t perfect out there, but he did fine. I will always look back on this period fondly.

Do you ever get sick of all the fat jokes (Blow Away Diet, "whale on the beach," etc.)? I even saw recently that you were listed in the PWI WWE 1963-2003, 40th Anniversary Issue as one of "the 10 fattest wrestlers ever."

Never! It’s like Liberace used to say when people insulted him, “I'm crying all the way to the bank.” And don’t think that I didn’t encourage it, either. It’s the old-fashioned trick of telling people not to say something, in order to get them to say it. (Like Bobby Heenan telling the fans not to call him “Weasel.”) This helped get me a lot of heat with the fans. The gimmick worked extremely well, and I made a lot of money off it.

There were a LOT of wrestlers from the WWF/WWE who were heavier than me, of course. I currently weigh 308. During my last run with the WWF, I was about 310-320. For most of my career, I was between 245-265 pounds. I was 245-250 when I had my first WWF run.

No matter what my weight was, I could still get things done in the ring. The one-arm push-ups, the “217 pounds,” Blow Away Diet, etc., that was all part of my gimmick. Me calling myself “Playboy” compounded everything. Vince McMahon used to say, “I want everybody to work out… except for Buddy.” He knew that my weight was my gimmick, and did not want me to change. I could still work the matches as well as anybody else, doing nip ups and all the required bumps, and that was the most important part. The fact that people still remember this all is a testament to the success of my work.


Who were your favorite guys to work with in Portland, and why. I think you have mentioned Jay Youngblood on many occasions, and those matches are still great.

So many of the wrestlers could be counted as my “favorites.” Of course, Jay Youngblood ranks up there. Roddy Piper, Rick Martell, Jimmy Snuka, The Sheepherders, Dynamite Kid immediately come to mind. They were all great workers who gave everything in their performances – that made my job easier, and much more enjoyable.

Did you legit marry Matt Borne's sister?
-- Laura


We worked this into an angle in Portland, so a lot of people have asked me over the years if it was real or not. Yes I did marry Matt's Sister, and then we divorced about three months into the marriage. I served the papers and we went our separate ways. I wish her and the Osborne family nothing but the best.

How did you get the job with the WWF, to face Bob Backlund? How would you rate Backlund as a worker? Any other Backlund stories you remember from that period? Was that really Sherri Martel with you at MSG?

At the time, I was the top heel on the West Coast. I was booked through Red Bastien, who made the initial call. I loved working with Bob, and he was a pleasure to be in the ring with. Very easy, and he listened. We both had the same work ethic and sensibilities. Together we made a ton of money, and loved every minute of it. It was hard work, but I really loved my job.

Bob was always working out, hanging upside-down in the bathroom stalls, from a bar, wearing the gravity ankle boots. He took the wrestling business more seriously than just about anybody I had ever met.

Sheri Martell was a valet on a television taping, while she was in the WWF working with the lady wrestlers. Sherri did accompany me to the ring at Madison Square Garden, as you pointed out. Years later, she was my manager in the AWA.

Were you The Executioner at WM? If so, why not wrestle as Buddy Rose?
-- S.G.


I was the Executioner at Wrestlemania 1. George Scott told me he didn't want Playboy Buddy Rose to do the job.