Interview: Jimmy Hart 05/30/01

WRESTLINGOBSERVER.COM INTERVIEW WITH JIMMY HART.
By Alex Marvez
E-mail: alex@wrestlingobserver.com.
Legendary manager Jimmy Hart may actually be busier now than in his final days working behind the scenes in World Championship Wrestling. While helping to head Hulk Hogan's attempts to start a new wrestling promotion based out of Universal Studios in Orlando, Hart, 58, also is appearing as a host on the Best of Memphis Wrestling shows that have done well in the local ratings. Plus, Hart recently organized WCW’s music catalog of 127 songs – many of the tracks he cut himself -- for the World Wrestling Federation.
Hart, who has done some other work for independent promotions, is helping to book a Memphis reunion show June 15 that will feature such area legends as Lance Russell, Sputnik Monroe, The Moondogs, Rock and Roll Express, The Fabulous Ones, Rocky Johnson, Kamala, Jimmy Valiant, The Dream Machine, The Nightmares, The Road Warriors, Jackie Fargo and, of course, Jerry Lawler.
In the following interview, Hart discusses his final days in WCW, some memories of his storied time in Memphis wrestling and the latest with the Hulkster's endeavors to get back into the wrestling business. Note: The sequence of the questions asked has been changed to provide a better read, as a variety of topics discussed shifted frequently in the two-hour telephone interview.
Q: How did you break into the wrestling business?
Hart: “I had loved wrestling for a while. I even sold Cokes at Ellis Auditorium in the 10th grade. That where my love of wrestling really grew, watching Sputnik Monroe and Billy Wicks fight. I would sell my Cokes as fast as I could to see the main event. We had put the band together (The Gentrys) and we had a little record and we toured with the Beach Boys and Sonny and Cher. But all of a sudden, if you don't have any hit records, you’re going back home. We came back home and a friend of mine called and said, ‘Jimmy, I know you know how to cut music. Do you want to cut a song for Jerry called, Stormy Weather?’ I came over and got to meet Jerry in the studio. One thing about me and Jerry is that neither one of us drink or do dope. The guys in the studio were passing a wine bottle around and I said I didn’t drink and Jerry said the same thing. Then they passed a joint around the studio and I said I don't smoke and Jerry said the same thing. We then talked about how I used to play (football) in at Treadwell High School. I was seventh in the city in pass receiving one year. Thank god I’ve got the film and programs to prove it. We struck up a bond. When I came back in town, I started to play the Ramada Inn in town. We didn't have any hit records and I wanted to stay in town. It was a good living. Lawler and some of the wrestlers began to come by after working in Tupelo on Friday nights and started sing. Jerry asked how would I like to help in promotions (of the territory). I talked to Jerry Jarrett and got the job. I would work for the promotion in the day and do my music at night. One day, Jerry called me and said, ‘Jimmy can you cut a song about Jimmy Valiant?’ They brought him over to my house and sent a film crew down to cut a video on him. He was supposed to be over for a show in Arkansas. He didn’t go because Lawler called him. Jerry Jarrett was at the airport and asked why (Valiant) didn’t go. I told him Lawler told me that he was supposed to work on the video. Later that day, Jerry called me later that day and said, ‘Jimmy, I hate to do this but I have to let you go.’ That broke my heart. I couldn't believe it. Two weeks later, Lawler called and asked whether I had the video I cut on Valiant … That night, I gave him the video and Lawler said that in two weeks I would be his manager. I was sitting ringside with Lance Russell during a match between him and Bill Dundee. I handed (Lawler) a chain to knock out (Dundee) and the rest is history. It’s crazy.”
Q: After looking at a bunch of old Memphis footage for the Best of Memphis Wrestling show, what about it as a whole stands out to you?
Hart: “It made me realize that we were doing hardcore (wrestling) before hardcore. It wasn’t just grabbing a headlock. There was a lot of action. When you watch the audience, it’s great because they were so enthusiastic. You didn't have to pipe in sound. It was the real deal there because we didn't have a way of sweetening it … If you watch it now, you realize that you’ve almost been brainwashed into thinking wrestling today is not like it used to be. I haven’t found a headlock on (a Memphis) tape yet but that’s what people will have you believe wrestling was back then.”
Q: Obviously, the stuff you did with Lawler and Andy Kaufman was outstanding. But do you have a personal favorite angle you were involved in?
Hart: “The most fun I had was riding in cars with the talent. Whoever I would manage -- let’s say it was me and Jimmy Valiant and the Dream Machine -- we would leave after Monday night’s show (in Memphis) and drive all the way to Louisville. It was like 390 miles, but it didn't seem like it at the time. After that show (Tuesday night), we would leave about 2 p.m. the next day and go to Evansville. After that show was over, we would go all the way back to Memphis. The next day, we would usually have a spot show at one of the high schools in Mississippi or somewhere. And then the next day, we’d go to Tupelo, Mississippi. I used to call the place the Eddie Marlin Sportatorium. And then on Saturday morning was the TV show in Memphis.
“It used to make Lawler mad when they had a jabroni on that would get beaten each week and I would run over to the desk and say, ‘That’s another guy from the Jerry Lawler School of Wrestling.’ He told me that would drive him crazy because whenever he was in public, people would ask him about the school. I had so much fun. There was more of a bond back then.”
Q: What were you doing in your final days in WCW?
Hart: “I was going out and doing promotions and working behind the scenes. When Vince Russo came in – and I’m not saying anything bad about him as a person - all we did was have a very weak copy of what Vince McMahon’s show was. We started putting girls out with every match and took away the managers. I was doing the Saturday night show and was able to create the Jung Dragons. I’m not going to say I made the Dragons in the ring, but I got their name copyrighted and bought their outfits. Three Count had barely been hired when we were gonna let them go. When Kevin Nash let me book, I went to him and said, ‘Do me a favor. Give me a chance to take a camera crew to do a Backstreet Boys type of thing.’ I got the name (Three Count) copyrighted for the company. I had the track cut, ‘I Can’t Get You Out of My Heart.’ I brought them in and had them put their voice on it. I got Neil Pruett to help me make the video. We made it corny. We wanted the green circles to serve as an equalizer because they were so small they could use it as a gimmick. I showed it to Nash and he loved it. At the same time, Nash got let go from the booking. When Vince Russo came in, I gave the tape to Bill Banks and said, ‘I know y’all like crazy things. Can you show this video to Vince?’ They showed it to him and he loved it. They never got to do an angle with it, but I’m just happy it helped them get jobs.
“I was able to put Three Count and guys like (Chris) Benoit and (Chris) Jericho on Saturday nights. They did every Saturday night for me with no bitching and no complaining. That’s why I love those kids – Dean Malenko, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn. They really help make it fun. One of the higher ratings we had was a 2.2 between (baseball) games that had Benoit, who didn't have a major push with (WCW), and Devon Storm. We couldn't use some guys. Lex (Luger) didn't want to come. Buff Bagwell – he’s a great guy and I love him to death. But he’d call every week and said he couldn’t come in because he had a cold or was sick or had athlete’s foot. Back then, Eric (Bischoff) was not making guys go to the Saturday night show but we managed without them. We tried to get (Mark) Jindrak and (Shawn) O’Haire the chance to talk and get themselves over. They were not ready for the big show. They tried to ruin these kids.”
Q: When did you start booking WCW Saturday Night?
Hart: “Eric gave me the Saturday night show in 1999. I did it for five months and everything was beautiful. We’d film World Wide (Wrestling) matches as well and everyone was happy. After that, Russo and then Bill Busch came in. When they took over, they said for me to do my best to keep the booking generic … I wanted to do live-to-tape announcing for the show and have our own Saturday night belts. I wanted to make Paul Orndorff my new commissioner. I wanted to do all sorts of new things and some like the way wrestling used to be on TBS. Everybody loved the idea but I was never able to get it across. It just killed me, but I made the best of. I love Terry Taylor, but he wanted to put a girl host out just to copy Vince (McMahon). They were like, ‘Let’s put a group together and send a girl out there with them.’ Can the girl work? No, but let’s send her out anyway.”
Q: How does what you and Hulk want to do at Universal Studios differ from that?
Hart: “The thing Hulk and I are putting together is a special out of Universal. We want it to be so good. We want it to be a one-hour show. I believe two hours kills everybody because you have stretch things so much. If we can put this together like we want in August with the people we want on it, we’ll be bringing in a lot of stars. We’ve gotten a commitment from Jay Leno. He will do a fly-in for us. We’ve got George Foreman and Shaquille O’Neal if he comes back home (to Orlando) after the season. Hulk is letting me be instrumental and we want to do everything professional. What we want to do is prove to the whole world that when you’re over 40 you’re not dead. Girls are important to wrestling, but I just don't think you can have one in every segment. I would like to put the sponsor back in the limelight.”
Q: I’ve heard so many rumors, so I want to ask exactly what are you and Hulk trying to do with Universal?
Hart: “To tell the honest truth, we went up there originally wanting to rent a facility. We were looking to make a good tape and go door-knocking with that. While we were there going over everything, their people said, ‘Look, maybe we want to jump on board and be a part of this.’ I never had the slightest idea they wanted to do this. What really got our minds going was when Hulk said what he would really like besides wrestling is that he would love to have an (amusement park) attraction, because he had seen one with Aerosmith. He then told me, ‘Jimmy, I’ve got so much memorabilia.’ I’d been collecting through the years and he’s got stuff, too … We met with a guy with Orlando Universal. He said he loved this but we would have to have one more meeting. We had a major lunch with (numerous officials). Where they got burnt before was when they did a $20 million project on Shaquille O’Neal and then he left (the Orlando Magic) and went to the (Los Angeles) Lakers. That was one negative thing. Then we had to sit and talk about the image of wrestling because of all the backyard wrestling and the Jackass show. Plus, Vince (McMahon) had just done big thing where he had Trish Stratus barking like a dog (on Raw). One of (Universal’s) top guys said, ‘To be honest with you, my son showed me a tape and we cannot have any of that.’ We were like, ‘OK, fine.’ We did take up for Vince by saying that we would have a different type of audience being in a theme park. What we would bring in would not be the chairs and tables and hardocre stuff. But I defended what Vince was doing because I did not want to knock it. I don’t want it getting out there that I hate Vince or anything because I don't. He’d be the last person I’d ever say anything bad about or knock whatsoever. If he called me on the phone and said he ran out of gas, I would be over there. It’s the same with Eric and Jerry Jarrett. Without those people, I would not be sitting here right now.”
“Anyway, that’s how the whole thing took place. But in the meantime, I told Hulk, ‘We’ve got great stars ready and good new talent we want to promote. Let’s do a special.’ He said he didn't know about it, but finally he said he loved the idea and to call a few people he would like on the show … We want to make it a two-day shoot. We want to do everything we did not do in WCW. We don’t want to try and rush 29 interviews into the same show. We want to do everything first class … We want to prove that you can market to people besides younger kids. We want to prove that having a few girls is fine but managers aren’t dead. If you’re over 40, they do not have to put you on the shelf. We’ve found some good kids to mix in.”
Q: How concerned are you right now about the future of the wrestling industry?
Hart: “It scares me because wrestling is so much of a brotherhood that when WCW and ECW folded, it almost gave a black mark to wrestling – period – and said that we are not hot any more. That’s scary. I remember when Vince (McMahon) had his heat from some of the stuff he was doing. Eric would come in and say, ‘We lost two more sponsors. We begged and told them we’re not the one with the T&A. No matter what we know, that sponsor just don't want to listen.’ I don't want to blame Vince for anything because you have to do what you do to make a living, and God bless him for it. If someone tells me, ‘Jimmy, this is how you get great ratings and make 18 billion a year,’ I’d do it.”
Q: Overall, it does seem like you’re busier now than you were even when working for WCW.
Hart: “I love the business. Everybody that I’ve worked for, from the WWF to WCW to Memphis, you’ll never hear me say anything bad about them. I’m just happy to be a part of wrestling.”
Alex Marvez's weekly pro wrestling column can be found in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Denver Rocky Mountain News and a host of other newspapers that subscribe to the Scripps-Howard News Service.