| SmashWrestling Interview
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 Interview
with Bad News Brown ( WWF, ICW, IWA Star)
by Peter Kelly
of EWN & SmashWrestling.com 03/01
We recently had the opportunity to speak with this
wrestling legend and former WWF and Stampede wrestling
Star Bad News Brown. The former North American,
ICW , IWA Heavyweight Champion, talks about his
past, wrestling Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Working for
Vince Mcmahon, politics and what the future holds
for him now.
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Peter:
First off, I would really like to convey a message of
personal thanks to you for taking this interview on at
such short notice.
Straight off, for the newer fans of wrestling, could you
give us a small bit of background to yourself, including
how you made the transition from competitive judo to pro-wrestling.
Bad News Brown: After
winning a Bronze Medal in Judo at the 1976 Olympics, I
retired from that sport, my Judo coach convinced me to
go into pro wrestling and set it up for me to train in
Japan. Training for wrestling was a breeze compared to
my Judo training, wrestling was very easy for me. New
Japan Pro Wrestling took care of me and booked me at various
venues. I listened to advise given to me from the veterans,
most young guys out there have had six matches and think
they know it all, you never stop learning and asking questions
if you want to be good at what you do. I wrestled in Mexico
as Buffalo Allen (start of my career) for the WWF as Bad
News Brown and everywhere else as Bad News Allen during
my 22 years in the ring.
Peter: Was there ever
a time in your pro-wrestling career, that you felt you
made the right choice and/or the wrong choice.
Bad News Brown: I broke into pro wrestling in Japan
where everyone was honest & straight forward, when they
gave their word they kept it, choosing to go to Calgary
to work for Stampede was the RIGHT choice as that is where
I met my beautiful wife. The WRONG choice was leaving
New Japan Pro wrestling to go to the WWF where everyone
in the office didn't know how to tell the truth, or treat
anyone with respect particularly Vince McMahon.
Peter: You've have wrestled in both Japan and America
to say the least and several other places around the world.
What have been your best and worst memories of touring?
Bad News Brown: The best was visiting different
countries, with New Japan you were there for more than
just a night or two. With the WWF, you were in a different
state every single day. Pakistan was the absolute worst,
we all got sick for a month after that trip.
Peter: In a recent interview that you did, that
you were not fond of feuding with Roddy Piper, in fact
you made it quite clear what you thought of him, Vince
McMahon and the whole feud in general. Relating to that,
do you still see or feel a lot of racism in wrestling
today.
Bad News Brown: It's hard for me to say
as I'm not in the business end of it anymore, but why
has it taken this long to get a Black World champ and
why can't they hold onto the belt for more that a couple
of months. The Rock is the most popular guy around right
now and he gets beat constantly on TV, you never saw that
with Hogan, Macho Man or Flair. There are a lot of minorities
who are great wrestlers and they can't get a break. In
the WWF you can count the number of minorities on one
hand.
Peter: With today's storylines being a lot more
risqué, to say the least, do you feel that wrestling
is completely different to when you performed. In that
compared to the 70's and 80's, the new generation of wrestlers
are doing and trying things that would never be considered
back then, what are your thoughts on that?
Bad News Brown: I think most of what they're doing
now has nothing to do with wrestling but the fans must
like it because more of them are watching than ever before.
Peter: Referring to the previous interview again,
you spoke fondly of wrestlers such as Tom Billington (Dynamite
Kid), and of Owen Hart, the opposite question to that
would be....who was the worst or at least the most unprofessional
to work with.
Bad News Brown: Bret Hart was totally unprofessional,
he was hard to deal with, it was hard for him to believe
that wrestling was just show business, he wanted to be
something that he was not, he wanted to be the world champ
but he had to realize that he was just the promoters champ.
He believed his hype and it went straight to his head.
Peter: Your feelings towards WWF, specifically Vince
McMahon are very strong. Do these all stem from what he
promised and failed to deliver on?
Bad News Brown: Most of it does, a lot of it was
how he treated others too, he believes he is GOD and looks
upon everyone else as roaches he can stomp on. While I
was there Shane was fooling around with the Ultimate Warrior,
Vince saw him and screamed at him to get away, saying
"You're going to be the owner of this company one day,
you have to remember that all wrestlers are assholes"
He's too stupid to realize that us assholes made both
Vince and his father multi millionaires.
Peter: I remember as young boy, watching Bad News
Brown and Bret Hart teaming together to win a battle royal,
that is until you dumped him over the ropes. And to be
honest I was scared, scared that idea of a man as angry
as Bad News Brown actually existed. Looking back would
there have been anything you would have changed about
your character, or done a little differently with it.
Bad News Brown: Yes I would have never played that
I was afraid of snakes. My wife warned me that Vince was
trying to make me look like a fool but I didn't see it
at the time. Isn't it amazing that you never see Austin
or Undertaker afraid of anything. Vince was trying to
go back to the Step and Fetcher era and it took my wife
to make me see.
Peter: Without looking back, what are your thoughts
and views on today's wrestling. What do you like/dislike
about it most? And are there any wrestlers out there,
who you can see as falling into the underrated category.
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Bad News
with a young Chris Benoit!
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Bad News Brown: Like
the most - today the guys train harder and are in better
shape, the wrestlers are better athletes today than when
I started in the business (except for the Japanese - they
always trained hard & were in great shape). I dislike
that they're lacking ring psychology, you rarely know
who's a heel or a baby face anymore there are no wrestling
story lines only garbage that has nothing to do with being
in the ring. I.e. When I wrestled Hogan in the Nassau
coliseum in front of 22000 people everyone know who the
heel was. I think underrated is Chris Benoit and Booker
T.
Peter: You said before
that one of the legitimate tough guys in wrestling is
High Chief Peter Maivia, what do you think of his grandson,
The Rock as both an entertainer and a wrestler?
Bad News Brown: I think he's great, I think as
far as charisma goes he has now far surpassed Hogan and
he's a far better worker than Hogan ever was. I'm happy
for him.
Peter: I know the most
asked question you get is, when are you coming back and
why did you retire. So if for one night only, you could
return, who would you want to wrestle and why?
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Bad News
Brown Vs Bret Hart
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Bad News Brown: Vince
McMahon I'd give him the beating his father should have
given him years ago, I'd like to slap the taste out of
that spineless coach roaches mouth, teach him respect
and turn him into a human being.
Peter: There is talk of a book coming out shortly,
can you tell us when and what will it contain, any provoking
comments or just a general reflection of things past?
Bad News Brown: It's about my life in Judo and
wrestling, memories on the road, of people I've met. I
had a lot of fun and met the most interesting people,
got a lot of stories to tell inside and outside the locker
rooms and rings.
Peter: Just before we
end, I'd like to do a little word association. Beside
each name, tell me the first word or phrase that enters
your head.
Bad News Brown Answers in Blue:
Japan love the country & the people
Tom (Dynamite Kid) Billington greatest wrestler
ever
WWF great money machine
Vince McMahon genius in marketing, snake in the
grass
Freddie Blassie a lot of laughs
Bret Hart crybaby
Owen Hart smart kid
Wrestling Today pure entertainment
Harlem Inc. My team
Peter: Any final words?
Bad News Brown: Stay away from drugs, I've never
considered using drugs and I've seen too many good people
loose everything including their lives - it just isn't
worth it.
Peter: Once again thank you for giving your time
to myself and the SmashWrestling crew.
For more on Bad News Brown visit his official website
located at: http://www.badnewsallen.com
If using ANY portion of this interview you must give
full credit to www.SmashWrestling.com.
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