Q&A With Koloff- #99

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The Truth Network Podcast is set for one flaw. Introducing first, from Lithuania, he weighs 123 kilos, the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolov. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Kolov, the Devil's Nightmare. We've got in studio today Sean Porter from up in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Sean, welcome to the Q&A with Kolov. Well, it's good to be here. Thank you for having us.

Great to have you here. And now, do you live in Waynesville, North Carolina? I do. I sure do.

You do. And how long have you been up in Waynesville, North Carolina? Oh, goodness. I basically grew up there.

I think I was about 11 or 12 when my parents moved us there. Okay, okay. So you spent many years up in the mountains, and it's beautiful up there, right? It is. It's gorgeous. Sean, do you have a favorite time of year up there, like when the fall colors are changing and when the spring comes around? What's your favorite time in Waynesville? Fall is my favorite season.

Fall. Okay. And so you're up there, and tell our listeners, you know, family? You have family? I do. I have a wife, Amanda, and my daughter, Maddie.

She's 18, just started college. Okay. And, of course, we met. I was up your way conducting a men's conference, graciously invited in by you guys to conduct a men's conference and then preach and minister on a Sunday morning and got the opportunity to arm wrestle that daughter. Yes, you did. You sure did. And she was smack-talking. That's your nightmare. I was like, oh, my goodness. It's on.

It is on. And that doesn't happen all the time. I get that request occasionally. I wouldn't say all the time, but it was fun. I had confidence. If I had to, I could probably take her, but at the same time, I raised four girls, so I know they're pretty tender, so I didn't want to put her down.

The more you get to know my daughter, the more you'd understand. That's awesome. Now, and you're on staff up there at Delwood Baptist Church. Yes, sir. And an associate on staff, but you also lead worship. Lead worship, yes, sir. I got to experience that when I was up there, and just an amazing time, by the way, for real.

You know, the two different, we did a Friday night, Saturday night, and then Sunday morning, and it was just amazing. We're very blessed. The Lord has blessed us with great singers, great musicians, but most of all, they love the Lord above everything else. Very committed. Just so you know, that was very evident as I was able to kind of step back and just observe, not only to open up each of our services or the conference, but also even at the end.

You know, coming back up at the end and just leading. It's a blessing to me as a minister, a speaker, to know that there's an anointed team on the platform, ushering in the presence of God, you know, into that place. And under this case, in this case, we were under the big top, I call it. We did the whole weekend in a big tent up there that you guys have up there. Old gospel tent. Old gospel tent.

Old school revival kind of setting. That's right. Which was pretty cool.

It actually was. I really, really enjoyed that. And so, but one other thing I want to touch on too is, so you not only lead worship, you're there on staff up there in the mountains, but you also take tours to Israel, to the Holy Land. We sure do. We sure do. We have a trip coming up in June 2023, June the 5th through the 15th.

June of 2023. And you do a couple times a year, you take groups? Yes, sir. Okay.

Usually June, December. And how many times have you been to the Holy Land? This will be my 10th trip. Wow. Actually, the December 2022 will be my 10th trip.

Okay. June will be the 11th trip. And it's like the first time every time. I love it.

It never gets old. I can't wait to get there. I'm so homesick to go.

Well, I understand. I mean, for those who are out there listening land that are Christ followers, and if you've never been to the Holy Land. Now, I've been one time, but there's a rumor flying around that the Russian nightmare may get to join you on a Holy Land tour. I'm loving that rumor.

That would be so exciting. So there's a possibility that may happen. But even just from that one experience, I encourage every Christ follower to put that on, if they call it the bucket list, whatever you want to call it, right? But to make that trip only because it's one thing to read your Bible and read about the Sea of Galilee and the streets of Jerusalem and those sorts of things. But it's a whole nother dimension, a whole nother level when you actually do it, you know, sail the Sea of Galilee. As I remember, I can immediately go back to what it was like to be on that boat and sailing the Sea of Galilee. And the first time I walked the streets of Jerusalem, just that experience will change the way you read the Bible. In your understanding.

Yeah, it can't not change. I just say, I don't know how you can come back from the Holy Land and not be challenged through that experience and through that encounter. So, well, and how would people, before we, we're going to transition here in a moment to your questions, but how would people find out more about the Holy Land tour, you know, more about Delwood Baptist Church? Maybe they're passing through, maybe they're going on a holiday to Maggie Valley and they want to visit Delwood Baptist Church.

We would love to have them. They can go to our website at delwoodbaptist.org. All the church information is on there.

As far as our Holy Land tours, they can go to endstrong.org and our Holy Land tour information is there as well. Is that I-N-S-T-R-O-N-G? E-N-D. I'm not saying you have an accent or anything, Sean, but I'm just saying. We are from the mountains.

Of course, people say I have an accent as well, but actually they asked me what happened to my accent. Good English tutoring. Yeah.

I'm getting a hint of Russian in there. So, E-N-D-S-T-R-O-N-G dot org so you can find out more about the Holy Land tour and then Delwood Baptist Church. Yes, sir. Okay. So let's transition here and give you the opportunity to throw a few questions my way. So I'm curious to see what you've come up with and let's go with question number one. Okay.

This is not spiritual at all. This is about as a kid that grew up watching wrestling. Okay. How did you get into wrestling and how did the Russian character come about?

That's a great question. And so I didn't grow up dreaming of being a wrestler. Football was my deal. I played junior high, high school, college football, had dreams and envisioned playing in the NFL one day. And was on the path of doing that when in college had a couple setbacks. One my freshman year, one my senior year where I actually had fractured a leg in a game, both the tibia and the fibula, the lower leg. Overcame the first fracture my freshman year, only in my senior year heading into the national playoffs, only to fracture my other leg in a game. And again, a setback, but I was being scouted by the NFL my senior year.

So I was encouraged and knew I could overcome it because I did once I could do it again. And in the meantime, some of my buddies had got into professional wrestling, guys I played high school football with, one of the guys I played college football with, and some of these guys get into this wacky world of pro wrestling. And so it was during my post graduation and training for an NFL or pro football tryout that one of my buddies named Road Warrior Animal, remember that name at all? So who are, I'll finish this story, but who are some of the favorite or some of the wrestlers you remember back from your era of watching? Of course the Road Warriors.

Oh yeah, Road Warriors. My main man was Dusty Rhodes. That was my main man.

Oh yes. Now I remember, when I remember as a kid, first watching wrestling, it was Continental wrestling was on. Tommy Wildfire, Rich, Butch Reed, those guys. Hapsaw, Butch Reed, yeah.

Wildfire. Then NWA, then WCW, so yeah. I grew up as a little boy watching wrestling. My granny, now she... Don't tell her it wasn't real. She'd fight you. She'd fight you. And don't get in front of the screen while that's on.

Don't walk in front of her view, right? I can't tell you how many times I've heard those stories about Grandma or Grandpa. In fact many times they say, my grandma loved two things, church and wrestling.

And I'm like, go kid, I'm totally serious. Well I was in high school in the 90s and every pay-per-view we were stacked like cord wood in my mom and dad's living. All my buddies, we'd all go in together and buy these pay-per-views and we'd be stacked in the living room watching wrestling.

All surrounded by that little TV. So Road Warrior Animal, I had actually recruited out of high school in New Brighton, Minnesota, Irondale High School to play college football with me. So I'm in a newspaper, it was like all conference or something and I'm like, ah, and I randomly... That was back in the day, some of our listeners might not realize there was actually something called a phone book. Where, can you believe it, thinking back though, it listed your address, it listed your telephone number, you know, right? Like you could just roll up on somebody's house or whatever and just look them up in the phone book, right?

The white pages and the yellow pages, right? Anyway, so I found his, Joe Lornitis was his real name, so I found his phone number and called and talked to him, I had a conversation. I still remember giving his parents, his mom and dad and him a tour of our campus and then talked him into coming and we became the best of friends. He drops out of college football, gets into pro wrestling, becomes the Legion of Doom Road Warriors and then eventually, to shorten the story, he recruits me, if you will, he makes a phone call and recruits me into professional wrestling. And with no amateur background at all and no professional training, just a five minute phone call with a promoter named Jim Crockett Jr. Crockett Promotions, Charlotte, North Carolina, five minute phone call, I show up a couple, three months after that phone call, not even another conversation. No pictures, no nothing, just show up the day he said to be there, walked in, introduced myself and Nikita Kolov is born in the hallways of Charlotte, North Carolina in June 1984.

And the next night I debut on television in a sold out crowd in Raleigh, North Carolina, Dorton Arena, having never been in a ring prior to that. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com Nikita Kolov here and I am excited. Did you hear the huge announcement, the big announcement?

Well, maybe it's a minor announcement. Anyway, Facebook, go look up my new fan page, Nikita Kolov Fans, and like it and follow today. If you would like to support Kolov for Christ Ministries, for a gift of $25, Nikita will send you his two CDs, Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of $50, Nikita will include his book, Wrestling with Success. And for a gift of $100 or more, Nikita will include a signed copy of his newly updated life story, A Tale of the Ring and Redemption.

Go to www.kolov.net and donate today. You're listening to the Truth Network and truthnetwork.com It's crazy. That was my, I guess, baptism by fire.

I think he used a church term maybe. But anyway, that was my introduction into pro wrestling. And then the career just, I'll just stop there, but the career just kind of launched meteorically from that first night in Raleigh. And how many years did you spend?

So it was June of 1984. My last official match was November 7th, 1992. So it was a shorter career compared to many of my peers by choice. Just as really unusual way as I broke into wrestling, by choice, I walked away at age 33, which is very unusual for that business.

Not knowing, you know, not for sure knowing what the future would hold, but just decided that's what I was going to do. And look back now and think about, you know, all the guys that got to, you know, work with Russell, you know, Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, you know, as we became one day. We worked against each other, but eventually became the Thupa Poweth, you might remember. And so we teamed up and got to travel exclusively with him for a couple years up and down the highways and byways. And so many other guys, Rock and Roll Express, Ricky the Dragon, Steamboat, I remember that name.

Lex Luger, Sting, Ravishing Rick Rude, my joggins of memory here. Oh gosh, yeah. So, yeah, so we'd have flashbacks and then lots of titles and belts and accolades, you know, that I was fortunate to accomplish as well. Well, God had plans. That's why you had plans that you don't see at the time. But from talking to you, you received Christ in 93.

October 17th, 1993. Yeah, about 11 months after I left wrestling. And, you know, you said, you know, God has a plan and, you know, maybe our listeners out there are still trying to figure that out. What's God's plan for my life? You know, I, you know, here's a quick backstory. Here's the funny part of that. When I'm 12, I have my whole life figured out, Sean.

I'm 12 years old. I had the whole life figured out, man, the whole vision for my life, right? Fast forward, now I'm 34. I just surrendered my life to the Lord. And I come to find out that somebody else had a plan for my life. Oh, God had a plan for my life. And even though I wasn't serving Him during those wrestling days, you know, I wasn't actively pursuing a relationship with Him. You might say, I'll say it this way, I might have historically known Him or philosophically known Him, but I sure didn't personally know Him. And when I had that revelation and went to the altar and got on my knees and surrendered my life to the Lord, I look back now, Sean, and I'm like, when I think of my wrestling career, back to wrestling for a moment, and, you know, I flew on airplanes, I rented cars, I stayed in hotels, I talked on microphones, in front of cameras, entertaining crowds, right? And I think the last 28, 29 years of what I've been doing since serving Jesus, oh, I know, I've been flying on airplanes, renting cars, staying in hotels, talking on microphones, in front of cameras sometimes, not to entertain a crowd, but to share an even greater story and have a higher purpose for my being here.

So, yeah, clearly God had a plan, even though I didn't see it in the moment, right? I mean, if somebody said I would have been a pro wrestler as a kid, I'd be like, you're crazy. No, no, I'm going to play football. Uh-uh, I'm a football guy. So anyway, another question?

One more. How since, I mean, the Lord took that platform, obviously, and has been able to use that for His glory since, how has that been impactful in your life since you surrendered to Christ, you've now been in ministry, that wrestling platform, how's God been able to use that for His glory? Great question, and it's, remember about a year and a half after I surrendered my life to the Lord, I met this evangelist from South Africa, and I ended up spending about nine years with him, he became like a spiritual father and mentor, disciple, and I mean, I spent, I mean, gosh, lots of time, like I remember going down to West Monroe, Louisiana one time, he was down there for doing a 17, he ended up doing a 17-day revival down there, and I was just down there to serve, just down there to, you know, if you want to say a Jonathan for a David in a sense, right? I was just, you know, if you needed me carrying my bags, his bags, I was going to carry his bags, and many a times I carried his Bible, you know, off the platform, because he's out ministering, you know, make sure it was safe, you know, kind of thing. And I remember him saying to me one time, he goes, you know, the wrestling persona, you know, is what people are going to remember about you, I mean, that name, Nikita Koloff, and I've even had people say, I've never watched wrestling, but I've heard that name before, and they never even watched wrestling, they're like, I've heard that name, right? And so that's one way the Lord has utilized is just from choosing that name, Nikita Koloff, right?

And for people to remember it, even without being a wrestling fan. Of course, that just opens up doors of conversation, right? I remember checking in for a flight one time at the gate, and the woman, the attendant, recognized the name, you know, the gate agent, and she goes, oh my gosh, because I remember you, you know, kind of thing, she's like, hey, so are you still wrestling? I go, well, I go, actually, I'm an evangelist now, I travel all over the world telling people about Jesus, and she just like pauses for a moment, she's like processing that, right?

And she goes, um, that's like polar opposite ends of the world. How do you go from being a pro wrestler to a minister? I go, well, two words, but God.

I go, just evidence, there is a God, right? And so just another example, another one real quick, is when we first started doing wrestling shows, like an actual wrestling show, and transitioned it into what we would call, or what you guys might call an outreach, what you might call an outreach. And we combined ministry with wrestling. And so we would give them actual matches, but then before intermission, myself and maybe a few other guys on the wrestling card would share their testimonies to the audience. And then we would even literally have an altar call, the ring would become an altar, and we'd call people to respond to the invitation if they wanted to give their life to Christ, or to rededicate their life. And over the years, we don't always do those, but over the years when we've done those, I've literally seen tens of thousands that have responded, whether it was 43,000 youth up in the old dome in Indianapolis back in the day, with a ministry called Acquire the Fire, we saw over 10,000 respond to the altar call. Or in Jamaica, where we did an outdoor crusade and a Wrestling Illustrated match, and we had roughly 25,000 people that filled out an invitation card, a decision card you might say.

And so I have seen so many different ways how the Lord has used that wrestling platform for His glory. It's been crazy. If I summarize, Sean, I would say looking back on my life journey between the football, all the accolades and things I accomplished there, wrestling and championship belts, and the, quote, fame acquired through it, to now be able to be essentially, I regard to be full-time ministry, or at least that's the main thing I do. If I had condensed it or summarized it into one word, it would be surreal. It's like at this point my life journey has just been surreal. And having the time of your life, I'm sure. I am enjoying every moment of it. I raised my children, one thing I said to them is, I said, life is a journey, make it an adventure, and create wonderful memories along the way. And certainly I've had many, many highs and plenty of lows, just like anybody else who's experienced life. But overall, every day is a gift. And I'm just thankful and grateful that I get the opportunity to do what I do. It's an honor to serve the Lord.

It is. And so, one more time before I let you go, great questions, thank you. One more time, let's give that information for Delwood Baptist Church and for the Tours to the Holy Land. Delwood Baptist Church is delwoodbaptist.org and for information on our Holy Land trips, you can go to endstrong.org.

E-N-D, endstrong.org. Well, Pastor Shawn Porter, great to have you in the studio today and on the Q&A with Koloff, man. God bless you, my friend. We'll be praying for you and lifting up all that you guys are doing.

Praying for you as well, thank you. Thanks for tuning in to another episode. This podcast is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers, support, and generous gifts. May God bless you for your continual contributions. Go to koloff.net and donate today.

Hi, Nikita Koloff. Be sure to check out The Man Up Show, now available on television, broadcast, and podcast. Go to MorningStarTV.com or the Truth Radio Network. Check out your local listings or better yet, download the Truth Network app today. Be sure to check them out today at wsmc1.com because you are number one. This is the Truth Network.