A Candid Look at Bruiser Brody
An Exclusive Interview with the Man Behind the Wrestler
by Jo Russell, Mary Pierce, and F. Boyette
(Satyr's note: Throughout this article Brody keeps kayfabe, but the words are his.)
TWE: The Wrestling Exchange
BB: Bruiser Brody
TWE: First of all, can you tell us when and where you
were born?
BB: Ok, I was born in Santa Fe, New Mexico, in June of
1950.
TWE: Can you tell us about your education and what
you did before becoming a wrestler?
BB: Educational background - four year degree, Liberal
Arts, education from Iowa State University. Played two
years of pro football with the Washington Redskins;
played two years with Edmonton in the Canadian
Football League.
TWE: What position did you play?
BB: I played offensive guard, which is probably the
hardest offensive line position. It requires the most
finesse, the most agility, the most abilities.
TWE: When did you become a wrestler?
BB: I've been in wrestling about eight years. A friend of
mine who also played football was wrestling - Walter
Johnson. Still wrestles, in Detroit and all up there. I got
to visiting with him about it, and he got me interested.
Through him I met some other people, and got started
wrestling.
TWE: Why did you decide to make it your career?
BB: Longevity. I think you can last a lot longer in
wrestling than you can in football. Productive years, a
chance to earn more money.
TWE: If you had not become a wrestler, what would you
have done instead?
BB: Well, when I played football, during the off seasons
I used to write for the newspaper. I'm a journalist. For
two years I wrote for the Dallas Morning News under a
byline, under another name, though. I also wrote for a
paper in Midland, Texas for a year. I'd write a column on
football, a sports column, so if not for wrestling, I'd
probably be in some type of journalism.
TWE: What part of the country do you most prefer to
work in?
BB: Primarily the south. First of all, you have the good
weather. It's easy to travel. There's a movement. People
are all coming to the south, to the "Sunbelt." There are
more different kinds of people down here. You know,
different nationalities. I think that probably in the next
ten to twenty years, athletics will be bigger in the south
than in the north.
TWE: Could you compare the different organizations, as
far as talent and competition is concerned?
BB: They're all basically the same. At one time or
another, all of the wrestlers that are in the NWA, maybe
five years from now you'll find them in the AWA, then
they'll move to the WWF. They just keep moving. So
you've got the same wrestlers in all the organizations,
but at different times. So basically, the competition is all
on one level. All of the groups have a champion, and I
don't think there's been a winner between any of the
organizations. I'm sure they each feel their champion is
the best in the world.
TWE: What are your favorite holds and maneuvers?
BB: Man, that's a hard question. I don't think that
anybody who's seen me wrestle expects to see me take
many holds, you know what I mean? A lot of people say
that they think I can't wrestle, but there's been times
when I've gone an hour through with Harley Race.
There's been times when I've wrestled Bruno
Sammartino and did an hour. So I'm convinced that I
can wrestle. As far as my favorite maneuvers, I guess
the high kneedrop.
TWE: Are the aerial maneuvers that you use to great
advantage, such as the kneedrop, especially difficult for
a man of your size and stature to perfect?
BB: Oh yeah! I don't think that anybody here in Houston
can remember anybody at 300 pounds dropkicking.
Without being immodest about this, I'd say that, at 300
pounds, there's no better athlete in professional
wrestling than myself. I don't see anyone at that weight
dropkicking! I don't see anyone at that weight using that
flying kneedrop. On occasion I have head-scissored. I'm
capable of doing all the manuevers, and I think that the
last guy who could do all these things was Don Leo
Jonathan. He was about 6'7", 315 pounds, a little bigger
than me. I don't think there's been anyone at 300 that
could wrestle any better than I can.
TWE: You spent a great deal of time in the hospital last
year. Did this bring about changes in your style and
career?
BB: The main thing was, I lost 40 pounds. At first, I lost
some strength. It's been a year since then, and I've
been able to get all the strength back, but not all the
weight back. A lot of that weight was in the stomach and
waist. I think now I'm a better wrestler. There was a
misconception. I thought the bigger wrestlers were the
better wrestlers, but I found out that's not always true.
Sometimes it's better to be a little lighter. In my case,
being 285 pounds is still being head and shoulders
ahead of everyone else. The guys that are 300 pounds
are usually 5'10" or 6', where I'm lucky enough to be
6'5". 285 is almost being thin. It's a deceptive 285. I'm
able to do things more often. I have better wind, better
endurance, better conditioning. I've changed my diet
and my whole training since I was sick. I think the older
you get, the better shape you've got to be in. In pro
wrestling, more than any other sport, the older the
athlete gets, the worse he looks. In my case, I feel it's
just the opposite. I think I'm in better shape. So I think
that at first, my illness looked like a horrible thing, but it
turned out to be my benefit.
TWE: Who would you say have been your toughest
opponents?
BB: I'd say the toughest matches were probably with
Harley Race and Bruno Sammartino, guys that were
world champions. When you're fighting a champion
there's added pressure involved. I've fought guys all over
the world that were tough, but it's that extra dimension
when you're fighting a world champ. So I would say
Race and Sammartino.
TWE: What do you think of as your greatest
accomplishment in wrestling to date?
BB: I'd say the greatest accomplishment in wrestling so
far is actually knowing and believing that, one on one,
there's no better man in the ring. A lot of people
consider the world's champion to be the finest wrestler
in the wrold, but that doesn't mean he's the toughest
man. I can honestly say, no one has kicked my butt. I
may have lost some matches, but I've never been
shamed in the ring.
TWE: What is your opinion of Harley Race?
BB: I think he's the best champion the NWA has ever
had. He's proven that. Today's athletes are in better
shape. Guys are bigger, stronger. Harley Race has no
doubt faced the greatest guys ever to compete in
wrestling, so he's got to be the greatest champion.
TWE: Do you think you have a good chance of taking
the title?
BB: As long as there are promoters around the country
who are interested in bringing in the finest talent, sooner
or later they're going to have to bring me in to wrestle
Race. I have youth on Race, I have size on Race, I have
conditioning on Race, so I think it's just a matter of time,
and of getting the match.
TWE: What about your feud with Toru Tanaka?
BB: The obstacle exists in the fact that there are two
men, Tanaka and his manager Dillon, whenever you go
into the ring. Tanaka by himself can't defeat me. The
only thing to worry about is his knowledge of the martial
arts. If he's going to use martial arts, I'm going to use
chairs.
TWE: What other wrestlers do you most admire?
BB: I respect Maniac Mark Lewin, for the simple reason
that he has superior conditioning to anyone else in the
game. You can look at him and tell that the guy is in
shape. He's an athlete. He keeps coming back. And I'd
say Stan Hansen. He and I were partners, maybe six or
seven years ago, and have very much the same style. If
I didn't think that style was the best, I wouldn't be using
it myself, so I have to have respect for Hansen.
TWE: How do you feel about tag-team matches?
BB: I really don't like to wrestle in tag matches. I'd rather
wrestle in singles bouts, but if I was in a tag match, I'd
like to be with Stan Hansen.
TWE: Is Bruiser Brody a vicious roughhouser or a
knowledgeable grappler?
BB: I'd say both. I wouldn't think twice about kicking
somebody's ass right in the middle of the airport, and I
think I have more knowledge than anyone gives me
credit for. A lot of people think that I can only throw
chairs and fight. I don't think many people know how
good a wrestler I am. But I'd rather be out there fighting
and brawling because that's what I'm best at. Maybe
when I'm a little older, and have to fight somebody
younger, I may turn more to my knowledge of the
wrestling game. But right now, while I'm in my prime, I
usually stick to brawling.
TWE: What are your goals for the future?
BB: Longevity. People remember the guy who's been
there the longest. So the goal of any athlete's career
has got to be longevity.
TWE: What would your advice be to someone trying to
break in to pro wrestling?
BB: Get a good high school and college background. I
wrestled in college. You need a desire to train. Training
can't be hard work. It's got to be fun. For the guys that
it's hard work to, they won't make it. I think that I'll be
training long after I quit wrestling. I was training before I
started. It's not like I started training just so I could start
wrestling. Training takes a lot of pride. You've got to
want to look good all the time, and be in shape. So I'd
say a good background and an early start in training.
TWE: Would you tell us something about the man inside
the wrestler?
BB: In all honesty, and I mean this, it's not just
something I'm saying so you can print it in a magazine. I
believe in violence. I believe it's the one thing that's
understood universally. Just like, if you were training your
kid, man, there comes a time when you've got to slap
him on the back of the head. It's the same thing when
you're dealing with these rich son-of-a-bitches who run
the world man. I don't care whether it's your doctor or
who it is, there comes a time when you just gotta look at
this guy and say, "Heey, man!" We're common people
who think they're just that much better. The guy who
comes up to you in the airport with a three piece suit on,
steps right in front of you and says, "Oh, you in line?"
Well, what the hell do you think I'm standing here for
man? If you're driving around with your wife, or you've
got friends in the car, and a guy comes zooming by
tooting his horn, and shoots you the finger, I believe you
ought to go chase that guy down and beat his brains in
man. This is the one thing that'll get you in the most
trouble in the world today. If you talked to someone and
they told you they believed in violence, you'd think they
were nuts man! You're a goof, you just don't fit in. But
you go back to the days of the gladiators, they were
respected, and it's really the same today. Civilization has
come to the point where everybody says, "Well, I can't
help you, but I'm going to give you the name of
someone that can." Then they keep shuffling you down
the line, and nothing gets done. Sooner or later, you
gotta grab somebody by the throat and say, "Hey, let's
settle this thing now! So I do believe in violence."
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