EXCLUSIVE Interview with WWE Champion Cody Rhodes

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1:00Welcome to the Busted Open podcast. This is Dave LaGrecca. On today's episode, myself and Bullie Wright talked to your undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Also, we have demolition right before they go into the WWE Hall of Fame right now on the Busted Open podcast. This is the Busted Open podcast. You play the music and your undisputed WWE Champion appears the one and only. Cody Rhodes, Cody, how are you? And thank you so much for the time. Was I right on time or was I not? Well, we played. You were late. I have a feeling I was late. And I was late. Bullie, you were right. So what do I owe? I'm late. When a guy's late, guys shouldn't be late. Guys shouldn't leave early. And your day, what happens when you're late? You know exactly what happens. So all I would like to hear right now is Uncle Bullie. I'm sorry I was late. Uncle Bullie and your friend, Dave? Dave? Dave, nice to... Yeah, I am. I apologize for being late.

2:01And the wrestler style will stay a little later, you know what I'm saying? Hey, listen, hey. Anytime you get to have the champ in studio, it's a great day. It is. It's a great... Have you seen downstairs of your building, by the way? I've many times. What a New York moment, huh? That got me... That excited air in the tires. I feel that got me pumped up. I have no idea what you're talking about. Oh, there's an insane number of fans on both sides of the building. Oh, is it real? Yeah, it was a blast down there, actually. I love him, yeah. Where Eddie Orton's coming in today? Oh, look at you. Look at you. Wow, wow. Wow, the guy comes on and he apologizes and you kick him right in the nuts. Yeah, no, I mean, literally, that's the thing. I gotta stop hugging people in TV, by the way. Why? Every time I hug somebody on TV, it turns into the low blow, you know what I'm saying? Listen, listen, I have my hero. I got the OG one. I got the shirt. I actually have the Cody American Nightmare underwear on under my jeans, which is a hundred percent. Those are actually pretty good though.

3:02I've been extremely comfortable. Wow. So I'm ready. You're in uniform. I am ready for WrestleMania 42, Saturday. Oh my gosh. Look at it, though. Look at it. You've got myself versus Randy Orton. Of course, you have Roman Reigns versus CM Punk. Brock Oba. Yeah. Stephanie Liv, Jade Brea. It's coming together. Sammy Trick. I'd use the word and I made the mistake. You know, when you do like interviews, every wrestler and everybody who interviews, wrestlers knows this. You say something and you hate how it sounded, but I remember saying a few weeks ago that we got a sleeper mania here. And I think I said that because nobody was really knew the rest of the card. But what I meant was we have a very, very, very good bell to bell WrestleMania that aims to top the WrestleMania prior. And I am very excited about my match and WrestleMania in general. Cody, obviously we are all excited for your match. We're all excited for Punk and Roman.

4:02But there's another match out there that we're super into over just a couple of weeks. And I just wanted to get your thoughts real quick on Oba Femi. Oba Femi has really caught the attention of the WWE Universe. Oba and Brock, as much interest from me, as you and Randy or Roman and Punk. Can you talk to us a little bit about Oba Femi? Is it too much too soon or is Oba ready for it? Well, I think that question is what's intriguing about the match. Okay, so there's a little bit of magic that they have in a sense that they have Mr. Heyman, who's next to it. And Mr. Heyman, you know, could sell catch up to, you know, Lady and White Gloves. Yeah, like, but he doesn't have to in this case because I believe Oba, and I would say this for trick as well, were with Sean long enough that they can handle what is being thrown at them. And I know that actually first hand

5:04from being in there with both of them. And Oba's first foray into the main roster with John Cena's final night Saturday and night's main events. I got a taste of the fact that I know we're probably going to do that dance again. But here's why the, why the question is exciting and why fans should go and be there. Because if it is too much too soon, we're going to find out. If it is too much too soon, it's Suplex City, it's F5 and it's a dominant, never been this good Brock Lesnar all over again, which is an incredibly difficult mound for anybody to climb. And say all the stars aligned in its Oba's night, then you have a new star on the stage at a time when it's been talked a lot about who is on top. If we're using the on top terminology in WWE, who's meant to supplant them and when will that happen? And you know how that goes. It's these aren't just giving up. It's not just, hey, here you go. This is the best season of it all because I'm not budging.

6:07I don't think punk is budging. But here's Oba, here's Trick. Here's a guy like Kit Wilson, who I'm really fond of. Here's here they come and that makes for a great battle. You talk about the two main events and the rest of the card and as you said, is shaping up. But those two main events, Roman and punk, you and Randy, I don't think you could have written a better story of having two main events like what we're going to see at WrestleMania 42. And it's very personal. We know how personal it is and we're probably seeing another chapter at Madison Square Garden tonight when it comes to Roman and punk. But you and Randy, I think, bully, you and I have talked about it as soon as you became champion after beating Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 40, I think this is the matchup that a lot of fans have wanted to say. Do you agree? Well, I love the fact that Roman, I mean, excuse me, Randy and I have wrestled previously, but it doesn't feel like we've wrestled previously. Yeah, this is different. It feels very first time. It feels, you know, the Viper, the Apex Predator,

7:09the American Nightmare, which is important for me. So this is probably going to sound funny. I mean, not to the busted open listener because they love a no wrestling, but to those who are coming for the first time, I say one of the things I love the most about this is it's incredibly real. And pro wrestling is at its best when it's real. Here is almost 20 years of on-screen connection, equity, my first match in the company on Monday Night Raw. My dad's last match, legacy, everything that would take place when I came back in terms of being someone who welcomed me back to standing in the ring and London with me, thanking me for what I've brought to WWE. And hearing that from the guy you need to hear it from. And all of this boils down to the moment into the night, main event of WrestleMania, where I'm looking across the ring at Randy Orden and in every sense of it, there is nothing false about what I need from him and what I need from him is to see me.

8:11I need him to see me. You guys have grown up with me. You see, I need him to know that's not Cody from Legacy anymore. That's not Cody from 2007 anymore. And even if he thinks, oh, I got this guy, I have his number to completely different guy. And that's very important to me. And I found the same thing with John Cena. But with John Cena, I didn't get it at WrestleMania. I had to wait till Summerslam to get it. And I certainly got it there. I want this to be one in done with Randy Orden at WrestleMania. I want to put this in the past. And he was the, if John was the angel on my shoulder, Randy was the devil on my shoulder. And I had both of them to give me advice on how to do this and where to go with it. I want to make this one in done and move on. Cody, with all of the personal things that you have endured in this business, since you were a kid coming up in the industry, the whole nine yards. What Randy did to you, was that the most personal thing

9:13that's ever happened to you in the business? Or did what John did to you hold more weight? Did you not see it coming from Randy? I think it's ironic to say I didn't see it coming from Randy, whereas John's is the one you really shouldn't have seen it coming. In terms of his career and his reputation that preceded him, whereas Randy, we have all this between us. I certainly should have seen it coming. But there's a photo of me after it all and I'm sitting there backstage and I don't, I can just tell the look on my face is a look of shock more than anything. The whole experience, you're laying there, you're bleeding so much that your ears clogged from your own blood, which a few wrestlers will probably know what that feels like and what that sounds like. You're laying there and this guy who you love, right? And I'm not afraid to use that word. I don't hate this guy, I love this guy.

10:14And for that to have happened, I think it left me in a place of shock, but I'm a big boy now. I also grew up in this industry. This shouldn't have shocked me. It's WrestleMania. It's this championship. There's nothing a wrestler's not gonna do, right? At the end of the day, when asked, will you press that button to get to the main event of WrestleMania? 99.9% press the button to get there and that's what it took for it to happen. I don't think Randy ever saw this as modern, nice nostalgia. They sing my song with me. I don't think Randy ever saw this as that's who he wanted to wrestle me. I think he wanted him at his best to wrestle me and what he did leans into him being at his best. And he certainly is. You know, the whole hall, despite everything that's gone on so far, Cody, do you still love Randy Orton? That's a great question.

11:19I wouldn't feel how I feel. This isn't a guy coming in to you up to you on the street, kicking you in the nuts, splitting you open and leaving you for dead. This isn't that. It's not a stranger. So I don't know how it's to answer that, but how else could I, how could I not? And here's why. What it's gonna take to beat Randy Orton at WrestleMania is things that Randy Orton taught me. So how can you not love that? Maybe I, maybe I don't like him one bit. Maybe I never wanna have another encounter or share a locker room or ride down the road with each other ever again. But I definitely have a place in my heart for the things he did for me and for preparing me for this stage. Did I know he was preparing me for him? No, but I mean, all student teachers and you know, that tends to be how it goes.

12:22And this is following that same path. You know, Cody Randy's chasing his 15th world championship. He's been champion 14 times. But I don't think in any of those reigns and any of those runs, he's been the champion that you are. You are a champion in every sense of the word. What I mean is you're up early doing busted open on serious XM, you're doing ESPN, you're doing all that media. You know, Randy's never been that type of champion. But you have, like this Randy understand that it's more than what you can just do in the ring. It's probably more important what you do outside the ring. And not many people have been able to do what you do. So I don't wanna be a downer on your question here, but is it important that I do all this stuff? Yes, it's very important. I like doing this stuff. And I think certain pro wrestlers and WWE superstars have now got in the habit of going, hey, I'm doing all the extra stuff.

13:22I'm doing all this. I should represent the company. I should, the reality is, Bell, the bell is, who decides who the champion is? When Roman had this historic reign, you got both. He was doing everything and then he was doing nothing. And we'd see him when we'd see him and there was a specialness to it. I like doing this because I think, when I heard this from again to friend of bully and mine, I heard this from Mr. Heyman. One of the things that I have that nobody else has, even men much younger than me, is no one has can do or has done my schedule. No one in the current mix can do it like I'm doing it. So this is part of it. This, I learn from these moments. This is absolutely part of it for me. I don't think that matters to Randy. I don't think it does. And I'll give you one little thing here. A lot of people have referenced O9 Randy, 2009 Randy, where he just ate everything in his path and was vicious

14:25and took no prisoners and I was there. So being there, I got a firsthand view at what happened. You're right. He was the most vicious he'd ever been. You're right. He was truly becoming the apex predator, the legend killer, the youngest world champion, that it all becomes a malgumation into one. But he also went to WrestleMania, WrestleMania Triple H for this title and lost. And I think, I think it's a similar outcome going into WrestleMania 42. Cody, we're always taught to listen to the crowd. The crowd will tell us everything we need to know. When you listen to the crowd these days and them significantly cheering for what Randy is doing to you and saying to you, how does that make you feel? I don't take it personally. I think maybe I was younger. I did and certainly, there's no absolute in that. I'm sure some things kind of slipped through the armor a bit

15:26and you feel it. But my thought in terms of fans today, more than ever is that we are out there and whatever their emotional need is. If they need to cheer for you, if they need to cheer for him, if they need to yell at you, if they need, I can't put a governor on that and I will not. Tully Blanchard rules in terms of, for me, when he'd say, loudest, the longest, I can't be angry at them whatever it is they need. If they're cheering for Randy as he seeks 15 and even with the things he did, okay, that's, I'm not there to try and tell you you're wrong or right. There's no wrong way to be a fan. So right now it hasn't got to me. I'll be honest, sometimes maybe it will, but right now, no. You're here for another reason as well. We have Monday night row of Madison Square Garden. But you also, I wonder if I should go. I'm going. You're going to the garden. I'm going to the good seats.

16:26I don't know, we'll find out when I get there. You know, it's whatever they're scalping that's outside of your room, I showed you. Drumstick, red, white, and blueberry. I mean, you're the poster child for this. First time that an individual has ever got their own flavor and I feel, I've ever got their own flavor, yes. And I feel very admittedly, oh, you've got a one. Yes. I'm going to try this. I admittedly found out you got a big match. You can't have a commercial how incredible it is. It's white chocolate up top. You got the classic milk chocolate at the bottom. Strawberry ice cream. It, oh, he took a big bite, too. He took a rip. You didn't take a video on the bottom. That's good stuff. Very good. That's good eats. So yeah, the number, I filmed a commercial for them and we counted. I felt bad. I said I wasn't going to partake in too many of them because it's diet season. We had 11 of them by the end of the day. We had 11 throughout this commercial. So we're very happy to be partnering with Drumstick.

17:27It's phenomenal. My daughter went crazy. That's probably the coolest thing she's ever seen that I've done. So it's a hit. There's a little blueberry in there. It's red, white, and blueberry. Cody, separate topic. How does it feel that people want to pay an ungodly amount of money hanging out on your tour bus with you? So I like all the different takes on what it would take for me to spend that money to go on the tour bus and them listening. Farrow's got to be on it. Special guest referee at WrestleMania. There's some fun ones. We did this tour last year very quietly. And it's just a sweet on location deal for the people who want a little bit of that extra moment. What I did last year was really fun. They got to see my WrestleMania gear in advance. And we got to talk WrestleMania. I've got a good plan for him this year. Because like you said, that's an absurd amount of money. And gosh, thanks for the fact that people are out there paying that, that makes me feel incredible. So I want them to feel like they definitely

18:29got a unique and cool experience. And something intimate for us. Because when you get those moments with your fans, where you can sit down across from them and actually get to know them. Two of the guys who were on the bus tour last year actually coming on my podcast. I wanted to bring a fan onto the podcast to see what that experience was like. We've stayed in touch. So I look forward to a whole new Motley crew on the bus this year. And thank you for doing it. This is incredible. By the way, Drumstick, Red White and Blueberry. Make sure you get that. It's coming out April 6th. I was able to taste it for anybody. You didn't flip it, dip it, drumstick it. The bottom is the milk chocolate, bro. The flip it, dip it, drumstick. Give it to me. Flip it in, flip it in, dip it. Yeah. Oh my god. Oh, you got, you got, you got LaGrecca Cudis right there. Really quick, before we say goodbye, before we say goodbye, Keith Elliott Greenberg is writing a book on Busted Open. You've been a big part of this show. Are you pitching me right now? I'm just not what you're saying. Thank you, thank you, boy.

19:31Just a kind word about the show that we could use for the book. Why don't you just have them interview me? All right, mom, that would do that. I mean, because I'd say the most important thing, you guys have done a ton of important things, but when I went out there and said, hey, we're going to do our own show, there was a couple people who jumped on board and busted open as one of the people who jumped on board. Not only that, WrestleMania 40, there was no bigger cheerleader in the world. You are the Cody Crybaby. You are the one. And that, again, wrestling's best when it's real. Those were real moments. And we were in the thick of it. I told the rock, when I saw the rock, he laughed. I was like, dude, I was being 100%. I don't know what you're laughing at. Yeah, no. Does rock like you? Rock loves him. Yeah, he's got to. I think part of him really loved being the final boss. I made him relevant. Oh, Cody, Jesus. Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. Appreciate the time as always, my friend. Thank you, congratulations. Can't wait to see you at WrestleMania 42 against Randy Orden.

20:31Thank you guys very much for everything. Coming up next, our conversation with WWE Hall Famers, demolition. You're one stock shop for. All right, SSLI, and that's wrestling. Pro Wrestling Nation 24-7, Channel 156. When a trip to the hospital or pharmacy leads to a bill, no one saw coming. We're here to help. Your health insurance provider is working every day with hospitals and drug companies. So families can get the care they need at prices they can afford. That's why we're investing in new technologies that make care easier to access. More predictable and more affordable. And helping bring down high hospital and prescription drug prices. There's more to do and we'll continue fighting for you. Now, finding a doctor is a little less challenging. United Health Group is investing in tools that make it easier for patients to navigate health care and pay less. These transparency tools help patients find providers. And this is the big thing, compare costs up front.

21:34The big picture, more transparent pricing benefits everyone. And these tools from United Health Group can help patients save hundreds of dollars annually. Learn more at unitedhealthgroup.com slash commitment. Few things are as uplifting as the greatest moments in sports. And nothing brings us together quite like team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. From NBC Universal's iconic storytelling to the innovative technology across Xfinity and Peacock, Comcast brings the Olympic Games home to America, sharing every moment with millions. When team USA steps onto the world stage, we're not just watching. We're cheering together. This winter, we're all on the same team. Comcast, proud partner of Team USA. Right now, new fan dual customers can get up to $300 back in bonus bets every day for 10 days. Place a tournament bet using the token. And if it doesn't win, you'll get up to $300 back in bonus bets every single day for 10 days straight. You can even mix things up with same game parlies for a shot at a bigger pale. Fan dual, it's time to dance.

22:3521 plus in president's elect seats. Bonus bets are non-withdrawable and expire seven days after receive. Tokens are received in increments of one per day. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fandal.com gambling problem called 1-800-GAMBLER. The ticket, Lady Jennifer of Coons. Well, many thanks, good sir. Here is my discover card. They accept discover at Renaissance fairs. Yeah, they do here. Discover is accepted at the places I love to shop. Get it with the times. With the times, you're playing the loot. Yeah, and it sounds pretty good, right? Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide based on the February 2025 Nielsen report. There's a lot to get into with demolition. Mr. Bill Edy and Mr. Barry Darsow, thank you so much for the time. And congratulations on this year going in to the WWE Hall of Fame. Thank you, Dave. Pleasure. Yeah, I appreciate it. Can you see me there? Yeah, we got you.

23:36We can hear you. All right, all right. Yeah, we really appreciate you getting us on this show here. It's great to have you guys. Congratulations. It's been a long time coming. I'll start with you, Bill. And then Barry, you follow up. The phone rings, who's on the other end? We think it's the undertaker, but we see it's the undertaker. But how did you genuinely feel when you found out you were finally getting inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame? Well, we were on a call with the office there. They were talking going over, new merchandise, they were going to bring out. And now all of a sudden, the line went down. I just assumed it was my internet connection, which is normal, because I couldn't find my camera this morning. But anyway, when the undertaker was appeared, he announced that we were going to be inducted.

24:36And it was really overwhelming, exciting. But then it took off the next day because we weren't supposed to say anything for about four or five days, and then about two days later, they announced it. And the phones just were pinging and people were calling it, you know, friends like you. And guys we've known for years were giving us congrats, and it's really nice and almost overwhelming, really. Barry? Well, Ray, first of all, great to see you, unbelievable. It's great to see the boat. I wish we could have wrestled you and Devon. I think we would have tore it up. I would have loved that also. And if you guys would have went over on us, Devon would have been more than happy to do the job. I was going to say, though, we wouldn't have been the guys going through the cables. It would have been a half to be you guys, and we would have broken half.

25:36Holy referee. Yes, it would have been our pleasure, but how did genuinely, Barry, how did it make you feel getting this phone call? Well, you know, it was incredible. You know, we've talked about it over the years and everything, and you never knew that it was going to happen. But we got to call a few weeks before that to go to Montreal, and we thought we were just going to go there because they were putting over the world rumble, and we didn't know anything about what was happening. So we had tickets there, everything we were all set to go, and then there was that snowstorm. So we called up Ben, who was with the WWE, and he says, yeah, don't worry about it. We'll get you on another show someday. So then he called, and Bill was saying about the merchandise, and we had no idea that that's what it was for. They were going to do something with us in Montreal. So when Undertaker got on there, it was like, holy cow, this is it.

26:37This is what it's all about. You know, you're peers who put in the word for you, and then it just happened. So it was really exciting. You know, it's funny for me as a fan back then, and I was a huge NWA fan, so I grew up watching the Mass Superstar in Georgia Championship Wrestling, and Mr. Darsal seeing US Crusher Khrushchev with Jim Crockett promotion. So both of you had Hall of Fame careers outside of the tag team demolitions, I mean, legendary career. So I'll start with you, Mr. Edie, the call that you get to now be a part of this tag team like demolition, how did it go from being this legendary bad guy like the Mass Superstar and then getting the call to be a part of demolition? Well, it's it's truly an honor, and I think that in in Mary and I have both talked about

27:39it. If it wasn't for the fans, I really believe the pressure over the years, and a lot of our peers mentioned it, we really never thought we would be inducted. And I don't think we would have been under a different administration, but that's changed in our relationship with the company has changed drastically, and it's just an honor. I mean, it's the main event, you know, you want to be in the business, you want to be in matches, you want to be in good matches, and then you want to be in the main event and to be inducted into the Hall of Fame with WWE is the main event. Barry, how has your relationship as demolition changed for the positive with the WWE? Well, you know, Bill and I both we've been away for so long, and we've been doing, you know, the weekend sign autographs and seeing everybody, and so we've been in front of the fans a lot.

28:44And we didn't know if we were going to sign a contract with them, and we debated, you know, do we want to really get into this or, you know, what we're going to do? So finally, we decided, well, let's sign the Legends contract and see what happens. So once we sign that contract, they invite us to, you know, the Hall of Fame last year to see it, and in the WrestleMania and everything, and it was like everything changed. And all of a sudden, we have action figures, we have this and that, and, you know, we met a lot of the guys last year in the back, and they just treated us unbelievable. And, you know, it's such a huge machine right now how big wrestling is, so to be part of that, it makes you feel pretty good. And when we were in the back at the Hall of Fame, CM Punk was unbelievable. What a gentleman. He was one of the first ones that came up, and he sat and talked to us for 10-15 minutes, you know, and then Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker,

29:47and so it was really a good feeling to all of a sudden be part of that again. You know, when it came to tag team wrestling guys, there was three like heydays in the WWE. There was the late 70s, early 80s, there was your heyday in the mid 80s, and then there was the attitude at a time. With the great teams that you got to work with, is there one particular team that you truly had chemistry with, you're truly gelled with, and that truly helped demolition make a name for themselves and allowing you to be nominated for the Hall of Fame? Well, there were so many good teams, and you mentioned that fact that, it would be difficult, very difficult to pick out one, but we had good matches and good chemistry with the Bulldogs, with the Heart Foundation, with the Powers of Pain, and Strike Force,

30:51of course, and we also had good chemistry with Andre and Aku, so we were just fortunate. It would be difficult to have a bad match with all that talent surrounding you. Now, would it be fair to say that the only way to have good chemistry with Andre and Aku is if Andre genuinely liked you? Yeah, but I was fortunate. I met Andre years before that when I was in Medellinac, and I was his partner for years overseas. I was his opponent, so we hit it off the first day, believe me, and he was Godfather to my daughters, he was a family friend, he would, when he was making the film Princess Bride, he would call on Sundays from England, talk to my wife, check in and check what's going on with the talent and stuff like that, and yeah, if he didn't like you and you know that, he didn't like you, it was a

31:53rough night, but if he did like you, you'd do anything for you. You know, you mentioned this new administration. We've seen Triple H bring Bruno Sam Artino back in the fold. We saw him bring the ultimate warrior back in the fold. You know, people that we thought the relationship that bridge was burned and they'd never come back, Triple H has been able to do that, was Triple H the center figure in bringing both of you back into the fold with the WWE? I would imagine, yeah, go ahead Barry, I'm sorry. Yeah, yeah, I don't know who it was, but I'm assuming that's who it was, was Triple H and you know, they probably have a group of five, six, ten people or whatever and they probably all talk about it and you know, and our names came up and you know, I think we've been friends with a lot of those people for a long time and they knew us and it's that's probably how it all happened. Barry, what's the mindset? Like you're part of a great tag team like Demolition, a hall of fame now,

32:56tag team like Demolition. And then one day Vince comes to you and he deals you a hand like the like the repo man. So how do you, how do you go about playing a character or being a gimmick like the repo man coming out of Demolition? Like is it the same mindset? How do you attack it? Completely whole different ball game. You know, I've had so many partners and they've been great partners. Everything's been just, you know, I've been the luckiest guy in the world. I just been in the right spot the right time and and it was really hard to not be partners with Bill because we got along so well and you know, you go back to the tag teams. After the matches, it was like every tag team we were with, we'd hug each other and hug our opponents and say, that was the greatest match we had. You know, that's, that was just the feeling we had all the time. And once the Demolition wasn't around anymore and I became the repo man, it was like, I just started

34:02new in the business and I'm thinking, how can I make this work the best? And I was so happy to have a job. And then I had fun at it because that was the one thing that, you know, Vince told me that, you know, eventually you're going to become a baby face and the the most hated heel is going to be the good baby face. And I didn't mind being a middle guy and I told him that I said, I just want to work with all the top guys. So when I work with Randy Savage, your dog and Kurt Hanig or whoever, I had so much fun doing it, but a completely different mindset. Makes sense. And you know, for people who love Demolition, I've been wanting this moment to happen for you guys to go into all the fame. When you look at both your careers, it was really a small window that you are both together with Demolition. You know, you guys had such long careers and I'll start with you, Mr. Eddie, what do you think it is about Demolition that people just

35:02remember from what was what three and a half years that you two were together in the WWF? Well, I think it was a combination of a lot of the things. One being the fact that tag teams at that time were very, very important in the company. Also, the music, Jimmy Hart and the presentation, I mean, the first time we heard it was in the locker room and not as in the square garden. And man, we were excited. And then the look, people say you copy this, you copy that. You don't copy anything. It's not successful. So we put the combination together in Barry and I literally hit it off the first day. The first match we had, I knew it was going to be successful. The fans reacted positively to one with energy rain. And I knew it was going to be successful.

36:05And what was really good about it too was all the guys knew who we were when we became the Demolition. And they knew we both would work with anybody and we'd give it 100%. So everybody was excited to work with us and we put them over. They put us over and it just worked out very well. Guys, were you friendly before you started tagging with one another? No, I knew of Barry through Ivan and a couple of friends that I had. I was in Georgia at the time and Barry was admitted landing. And I was going back and forth to Japan quite often. But I knew of Barry through those guys. And I knew if he was working with Ivan, he was studious. I knew if he was working with Ivan, he was conscientious. And he could work. So when his name was suggested, just was a matter of ranging in time to meet. I had gone to Japan and we came back and we had,

37:11I think we had lunch in Charlotte. And we hit it off right away. So Barry, tell me about, Barry, tell me about that lunch in Charlotte. You have heard, you had heard of Bill and his accomplishments. Obviously, it hurt his you. But you sit down for the first time and you're about to embark on this journey that would eventually become a Hall of Fame journey. What is about that lunch, that meeting, that made you guys know that, yes, not only is this going to work, but I like this guy. Well, it was funny because just a couple of weeks before that, Vince McMahon invited me up to the office and he had this book that had a picture of the demolition. And I was with Pat Patterson and Vince in the office and Vince says, do you think you could pull this gimmick off? And I looked at it and it said demolition and he says, you would be demolition smash. And I didn't know that Randy Colley and Bill already had matches or anything.

38:14So I said, you know, what's the name? He goes smash demolition. And I looked right at Vince and I said, I am smash of demolition. I definitely can do this. And I said, who would my partner be? And he says, well, it would be Bill Edie. And I said, the mass superstar. And I was a mass superstar. You know, I loved his gimmick and the way he worked and everything and we kind of worked the same. And I knew I wasn't going to be just some jabroni match coming in there. And then Vince, you know, and I said, I definitely want to do this. And Vince says, well, I can't promise you anything. He says, I'll give you a job, but I need to talk to Bill Edie because he's in Japan. So he says, I'll get you guys together and you guys will talk sort of be up to Bill. Well, you know, I knew all the same people Bill did too. So I really wanted the job. And when we met, we just hit it off right away. You know, it was like we were friends right off the bat. And he says, we're going to have a good time at this. This is going to be great because you know,

39:17he knew I worked with Ivan, our broadways and this and that. And it just, we just both fit. And we both were big and ugly and look good, you know. So, you know, it's interesting to hear you say that Vince was going to defer to Bill and get Bill had to give you the blessing, which doesn't sound very Vince McMahon ask. It's like Vince has the final yes or no, but Bill, do you attribute attribute that to your years with the WWE and working for Vince's dad and then working for Vince, whether he had that much trust in you to know if Barry would have been the right partner? Well, I believe so. I think, you know, I respect it Vince's ability as a promoter. And I worked for his dad like he mentioned. And I relationship with Vince Jr. wasn't as good as it was senior. But I think that he realized or gave me credit anyway for my years of experience. But yeah, I mean, when we met, when Barry and I met, I knew it

40:23was going to work right away, simply because I had talked to some people in particular Ivan vouched for him. And, you know, as well as I do, if Ivan vouches for you, you're a good guy. You know, what though, Bill, I think I think it had a lot to do with, you know, when you and Randy had the match to start with, you went to him and said, I don't think this is going to work. You know, so I think Vince trusted you to know if it was going to work or not. Because you wouldn't do it if you didn't think I could do it with you, I believe. Right. Right. I did. I did mention the fact that the gimmick was going to work, but it wasn't going to work with Randy. And Randy was gracious enough to step aside. And that's wrong. We, you know, there was another couple individuals that were suggested, but I didn't think they would work because they had already been in the territory as another character, just like Randy was.

41:25We needed to bring somebody in that nobody had any recognition. I have been there as a mass superstar, but nobody recognized me because my face was covered. And that's when we, you know, Barry was the same situation. Barry was in the business. They knew him, but they didn't know him in the, you know, WWE area. There were obviously the comparisons with the road warriors. It is what it is, but did either one of you ever voice your concern or see the comparison right off the bat and ask Vince, like, hey, isn't this a little bit too similar? No, I never did. I don't think Barry did either. Like I said earlier, there's a number of individuals in wrestling that have similar characters. There's everybody in wrestling does the same moves. It's how you do the moves, or how you don't

42:25do the moves. And I think that, and we get this a lot of times from the fans, we could wrestle with big guys, small guys, and in between. We weren't concerned about how we looked at night. We wanted to improve from Monday to Tuesday, Tuesday to Wednesday. So if you're going to be compared with somebody who's a failure, that's not good. Road warriors were successful. Why not take it? Why not be compared? Makes sense. They're both good friends of ours. Barry, how was the chemistry with the powers of pain? Oh, it was incredible. You know, Terry, the warlord, he was from Minnesota also, so I knew him a long time before that. And Barbarian, I was with him in other territories, so we were friends. And they weren't going to be high fly and matches, you know, but those two guys would do anything you wanted to do, and we were the same

43:27with them. And we're all friends, and it just worked out really well. You know, it was fun to work with those guys and really enjoyed it. You know, Mr. Edie, Raw is at Madison Square Garden tonight. Madison Square Garden, I know is a very special place for you, especially when you're in the few with Bob Backlin as the mass superstar. And one of the biggest events there was the night bully. You were there at ringside when Dom Morocco and Jimmy Snooker fought in the cage. And at same night was the mass superstar against Bob Backlin. It's when you hit the neck, neck breaker on Bob Backlin outside the ring. Just some thoughts about that building in Madison Square Garden. How much it meant to you? Well, it's, it's the mecca, you know, there's a lot of arenas, coliseums, and buildings. But when you hear the Madison Square Garden, that's the top shelf. You made it. And the fans, fantastic, a little bit rowdy sometimes, especially when you're

44:31heel trying to get out, and you have to get the back of the ambulance and sneak out. And didn't take long for the fans to realize that and they're waiting and they're pounding and throwing stuff at the ambulance. But to make it in the Madison Square Garden, and to be the main event, you can't go any higher. Bill, I'll never forget as a kid watching WWF television on channel nine, W-O-R on Saturday mornings, just like Dave did. And you, you did a market specific promo where Vince is doing the interviews, you walked in, and in that, that, that mass superstar low voice, the voice you had on right now, you said that you were going to break Bob Backlin's neck. And I remember like it was yesterday, I turned around to my grandfather. And I said, Grandpa, we have to go to Madison Square Garden, the mass superstar just said, he's going to break Bob

45:35Backlin's neck. And I always use that as one of my examples on the show about believability, conveying your message in such a believable way that you make people want to put their hands in their pocket and buy a ticket. Because at the end of the day, that's what this is all about. Getting people to, you know, buy into what you're doing. And I remember it so vividly. There's not really a question about it. I just wanted to put you over for cutting such a great simple promo that resonated with me as a kid that I remembered to this day when I caught promos, the simplicity of what it was, and then paying it off and how well it worked. I learned that from Boris Milenko and Wahou McDaniel. And George Scott, who was the guy that gave me the character, they said, be deliberate. If everybody else in the territory is talking you yelling

46:37screen. If they're yelling and screaming, you talk. And it's just like a talk show Johnny Carson or any talk show, people want to get inside. They want to hear what you have to say. But you have to be believable. And I always tried to do that. It's just a way I carried that character. It was different from Axe. Axe did a little bit more volume and yeah, yelling maybe perhaps too often. But the mass superstar was methodical. And he did a lot of technical wrestling. But I had credit that to Boris Milenko and Wahou McDaniel and George Scott. Yeah. Bully, when Axe would start doing his promo, he scared me during the promo. But Barry, the way you would follow him up, it was like you took it to the next level. Like, you know, Axe was the, you know, it was gruff and it was in your face, but then you,

47:40the way your face popped, even the way you did your paint with the points on them. Like, when you opened and closed your mouth, it looked like jaws just closing and you brought like almost the next level of intensity to what Axe was saying. You guys complimented each other so well. I appreciate that. And we always took pride in doing our promos in one take too. It was, I don't think we've ever did a two-take interview. You know, back then, you'd go to a town and you'd have to do like 30 interviews for one for each town. And we just whipped through him like nothing. It was, it was so much fun to do the promos. We really enjoyed it. And for you, Mr. Darcy, you went from being by the side of Ivan Kolov cutting promos and then going to the WWF and being next to Mr. Edie. So, you know, I thought Ivan Kolov was very underrated with his promos. He was great. Yeah, Ivan was incredible. And, you know, it was kind of a hard

48:43promo for me. I was the American that hated America and loved Russia. And I was kind of stuck between characters, but Ivan just made it so easy and then Nikita. I mean, he did a hell of a job too. So, that's what I'm saying. I've had the greatest partners around. I've been very lucky in this business. I have a question for the both of you. Bill, you first, if you had your choice, who would induct you into the WWE Hall of Fame? Oh, my. Unfortunately, a couple of them were passed so they can't. We made a couple suggestions. And I think we listed, I have dozen guys. And I think it's up to up to the relationship with the company that, you know, some of the people there, we... Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's a great politically correct answer. Who do you want to induct you into the Hall of Fame? We really can't say right now, you know?

49:43Yeah, we can't say. Nobody's listening. But I... Yeah, that's a politically nice thing we have to do, too. I don't really speak. If they... I would have loved Bobby Heenan. I would have loved Andre. But, you know, we can't do that. Unfortunately, it's just sad. So many of our friends and we're all in the same situation in the past. So it's... We submitted names, but that's not covered yet. Yeah, and past names for me, I would have loved to have had Kurt Hanagan or Rick Rudd or, you know, the road warriors or something, you know. But there's so many guys, you know, you love them all. Sure. I mean, sure. Barry, were you as close with Andre as Bill was? I got to be really good friends with him because of Bill, but Bill was so close to him. It was...

50:44It helped my relationship because Andre didn't really trust a lot of people. You know, a lot of people were using him and they weren't really his friend. But, you know, over time, I was playing cards with him in the dressing room a lot and, you know, having some beers with him and really got to know him. So I was just a friend. I wasn't just, hey, that's Andre, the giant kind of a deal. So I had a really good relationship with him, but not like how Bill's was, you know. Guys, gentlemen, thank you so much for the time. Congratulations. And we're looking forward to WrestleMania weekend. You being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. And like I said, both of you had such legendary careers outside of demolition, but I'm so happy that you're getting the recognition for demolition. So thank you both for the time this morning. We really appreciate it. Well, thank you for having us. It's a pleasure. Yeah. Yeah, really, really appreciate it. And thank you and thank all the fans too. You got all the respect in the world.

51:45Congratulations. And thank you again. We'll see you soon. All right. Demolition going into the 2000 and 26 class of the WWE Hall of Fame. Kets the full three hours of busted open every day of the week at 9 a.m. Eastern on pro wrestling nation 24 seven channel 156. Helping bring down high hospital and prescription drug prices. There's more to do and we'll continue fighting for you. Few things are as uplifting as the greatest moments in sports. And nothing brings us together quite like team USA at the Olympic Winter Games. From NBC

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