Q&A with Koloff - #25

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This is the Truth Network. Nakita Kolov here. Questions and answers. Q&A with Kolov, the devil's nightmare. With me today, I got a special, special interview with Danny DeChant. Danny, welcome to the Q&A. Did I say that right?

Did I say your last name right? It's a lot closer than most people. It's DeChant, but yes, it's a lot closer than most people get. That sounds French.

Yes, it is. Oh, DeChant. I like that.

There you go. I like that, man. Well, Danny. Oui, oui, monsieur.

Oui, oui, monsieur. Danny, thank you for coming on Q&A with Kolov, man. I really appreciate it and appreciate you setting some time aside. Well, thanks for having me.

I enjoy this. Well, let's give our listeners just a quick backdrop on Danny DeChant. Where are you living?

Give us a little backdrop. I'm in Sweetsboro, New Jersey. I'm originally from Ohio, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, so originally from Dayton, Ohio. I spent a couple years in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and I've been here in New Jersey for the last three and a half years. Okay, and what keeps you busy, Danny, in New Jersey?

New Joisy? Well, I originally transferred here. I was running movie theaters, originally transferred here for that, and then COVID shut all that down, so I moved on.

I'm currently working for Sam's Club. Okay, and let me ask what I think is almost like the infamous question about somebody living in Jersey. Well, what exit do you live off, Danny?

Ten. See, I knew you'd have an answer. Anyone I've ever talked to from New Jersey, they're like, just ask them. Yeah, don't ask them where they live. Just ask them what exit they live off of. I'm like, for real?

They're like, oh yeah, they'll tell you in a nanosecond. So, that's amazing. Well, you know what is even more amazing is not too long ago, I had the opportunity to actually drive the Jersey Turnpike. I was doing, I was actually, it was kind of cool, I was doing ministry in Newark, Delaware, and able to jump on the Turnpike because I was headed from there to do a virtual autograph signing in Newark, New Jersey. So, I went from one Newark to the other with the Turnpike in between, and so just recently I got to experience the whole exit thing, you know, firsthand. Well, of course, Newark, Delaware is where we met at Parkview, so.

I'm glad you reminded me of that. I apologize, I kind of forgot about that. So, yeah, and you, I hope you enjoyed your time there. I did, I really did. That was my first time there, and I've been going back regular.

I was trying to find a new a new home, and I really liked that place. So, you know, from you being there, you know, it kind of moved me to that church from where I was going, so. Yeah, so Pastor Chris Ditto, right? Yes. Yeah, he's great, which by the way, he's bringing me back up in November. Yeah, that's what they were saying, they were bringing me back up later in the year. Yeah, yeah, we're gonna do, I'm actually gonna do on Saturday instead of just a men's breakfast, I'm gonna do our full conference. I'm gonna do our Man Up Conference, right? That's the other segment. That's our broadcast show is the Man Up Show, right?

Right. So we're gonna, I'm gonna come up and do the Man Up Conference on Saturday, and then stay over and preach on Sunday again, and so, well, that's really cool. So just from our connection through wrestling, listen, you just really bless me now more than before. So through our connection through wrestling, you come to the church, you make a connection with the church, and now you're attending there on a regular basis.

Correct, yes sir. Wow, well, shout out to Pastor Chris Ditto and all the good work they're doing there in Newark, Delaware, and I can't wait to go back, but, well, let's, so let's answer a few questions for you, Danny, and you probably, and if you have a long list, that just means we'll have to have you back on the show sometime, but fire away with your first question. I have a long list, but I've narrowed it down a little bit, so.

Yeah, you've got to narrow down, like, top two, three, or four, come on, so. The first one, and I kind of touched on this when I was talking to you at the church, was, you know, you did kayfabe for so long, you know, during your career, and even as you told me after your career, what effect did that have on your family? Because I know in your book you say that you, for about a year, you even talked to your daughters with the accent, and then you finally broke it, and they're like, daddy, what's wrong with daddy's voice? So, you know, how did that affect your personal life?

Yeah, and the reason I did that for the listeners out there, when I married their mother, they were seven and four, okay, and I raised Taryn and Tawny as though they were my own, and to this day, in fact, they're 39 and 36, and call me daddy, call me poppy, call me papa, they have a number of different names for me, but so we still have a, we have just a great relationship with them, and I just thought that because of how young they were, you know, kids are very honest when they're real young, and then they grow up, right, and and get tarnished by the world, so to speak, but so I thought, man, they're going to be at school, right, they're in elementary school, they're going to be at school, and somebody's going to say, so you're dancing a cuticle off, is he really Russian, you know, and they're going to go, no, he talks perfect English, you know, so that's why I kind of, while I was dating their mom, kind of carried on that persona, even with them, and then eventually though, sat them down, explained it to them, and they're like, okay, and I thought, well, you know, hopefully they're old enough to understand, you know, why I maintain the persona anywhere in public, so yeah, so it was challenging for a while, but eventually it all panned out. Awesome, awesome, and then this is kind of a two-parter, you know, there's, the rumor is that Vader, you know, the late Vader, Leon, was one of the stiffest workers. Who was the stiffest worker, and who was the best worker that you had the experience with, and of course I have to touch on, did Leon's gear smell as bad as everybody said it did? Wow, wow, I forgot to tell you, I forgot about how bad his gear smelled. Some of these guys didn't know, you know, George South was another one who, George, I love you buddy, but I hope by now you have washed your gear. You know, George is kind of the undercard, but kudos to George South because he made guys like us look really, really good if it wasn't for guys like George South, and he was another one that was notorious for not ever washing, it didn't appear as though or smell like he ever washed his gear.

I'll tell you another guy too, Blackjack Mulligan, remember that name, Blackjack? He had a glove, right? His famous deal was the claw, right? Finish you with the claw. Man, that glove, the claw didn't put you out for the one, two, three, the smell of his glove puts you out for the one, two, three.

You fainted from the smell, but to kind of back on point to your question, you know, you used the word stiff. I would say that Leon had a reputation for being, I would use the word reckless, that he had that reputation, that there were a number of guys that either had gotten hurt or he himself, you know, injured himself. I think one time I remember a story, if I'm not mistaken, he was in Japan and did something that popped his eye out or something, if I have the story right. Yeah, I think that was with Stan Hansen, yeah, I remember.

I think that's right, I think it was Stan Hansen in Japan has popped his eye out of his socket or something. I'm like, oh my gosh, although I will say Stan was, Stan when he took his glasses off, my understanding is he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, like that's how blind the guy was. In fact, I had a match in Charleston, South Carolina with Stan and he used to swing that cowbell around, you better stay out of his way or take your head off with it because he just couldn't see, like for real.

I don't know how he had a match, I really don't. In fact, one of my buddies was ringing the bell at ringside and got hit by that bell and threatened to sue him. I'm like, ah, you can't do that, bro, you are part of the show, you know, you volunteered to be a part of the show. But all that to say, so for sure, you know, those are a few of the, a couple of the names that were, as you said, stiff, reckless, whatever words you want to use. I mean, some of the, one of the smoothest of all time would be a guy named Ricky, you know where I'm going? Ricky?

The Dragon Steamboat. That is exactly right, Danny. I mean, Ricky was just a consummate professional, so smooth in the ring. I mean, sometimes you had to look and see if he actually had you in a hold and because you wanted to, how do I even sell this thing?

You could barely feel anything. But Ricky was one of, certainly one of the best of the best of the best when it came to that. And of course, him and his, you know, that series of matches he had with Flair was just, you know, spectacular, so. Well, yeah, history making.

They were history. Anyone who worked with Steamboat, I mean, macho man, you name it. I mean, again, I'm thankful to Ricky and how well, how, you know, how good he made me look in the ring.

And I'll say for the record, I mean, Flair was pretty easy to work with as well. There were a number of guys. I'll throw Flair's name in the hat as well, but certainly Steamboat ranks right up there at the top. All right, so I don't know if you've gotten a question like this, but I was always curious because when you worked in, you know, Mid-Atlantic, NWA, WCW, the referees from, that you had back then were, you know, by today's standards, legendary Tommy Young, Scrappy McGowan, Teddy Long, who was, yeah, Earl and Dave obviously. So who was your favorite official to do a match with or did you have one?

That's a great question. Actually, Dave was up the WWF at the time, which is why Earl eventually went up there. So I never got the pleasure of having Dave in the ring with me, unless they switched without my knowing it because they were twins, right?

So I think they actually worked an angle with that one time with Hogan. But that said, certainly Tommy Young ranks, again, right up at the top. Scrappy McGowan, you met some great names. An old timer that was fun was Jackie Fargo. Jackie Fargo, one of the Fargo brothers.

He was in the twilight of his career. But Tommy, I would probably say for me, again, many of them, Alfonso. Alfonso. Bill Alfonso was another really, really great referee. And Nick Patrick. I mean, names are just coming back to me as you're mentioning them. All these guys, I felt, were consummate professionals when it came to refereeing. But Tommy certainly ranks right up there at the top.

But all those guys, any of those names I mentioned were great. I assume that Barry, because he had the same glove that his father had, he washed his glove though, right? He wasn't like Blackjack. Well, I never experienced Windham's glove that I remember, that I recall. But I'm hopeful that it wasn't passed down from his dad. I hope he had his own glove. But I don't remember ever having to experience Windham with the glove.

And then if I can get one more. Wrestling in the Studio, 605 on a Super Station. That's where I really, in the early 80s, that's where I really started watching NWA. How was it wrestling in the studio? Did you like that or did you not like it? I mean, some people really liked that close quarters and others just, there just wasn't enough space to do what you needed to do.

Yeah, no, it was a great experience. In fact, we contrast that from the 605 TBS show to the what we call worldwide wrestling or syndicated show and mid-Atlantic championship. So we did two syndicated shows, more remote on location.

Whether it was in Spartanburg, South Carolina, Shelby, North Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina. Just different places that the truck would travel to and we'd have that much bigger, more live audience. But man, the studio was so much fun. Yeah, it was a smaller crowd, but it almost made it more impacting because you could almost get right in their face or they're right in your face, right?

And so a lot of fun. In fact, when I did a recent NWA Power for Billy Corgan at I think Georgia Public Service, GPS or GSP, I don't know what they call it, but it's on 14th and Techwood where they record those shows. And I remember when I went down for the NWA Power show and I was driving down Techwood Drive, it just brought back, Danny, just a flood of memories of, oh my gosh, how many times did I drive on this road down to 10th and Techwood, down to the TBS studio.

And now I'm driving on Techwood, turning off on 14th. But when I walked in the studio, I was a fan. I'll just admit it. Yeah, it was a bigger studio, but it just brought back so many memories back to the 1980s and 90s when we were in that TBS studio. It was so, so cool. So fun. Yep.

Well, go ahead. When you came back, obviously you were way smaller and you had hair. What was the thought process behind that?

Why did you come back? I always wondered about when you came back, you were like, on TV, you looked like half the size you used to be and of course the flat top. Yeah, the short answer to that is Rocky IV. And for those who don't know, Dolph Lundgren and I really kind of came down to the two of us as to who would get the role Ivan Drago in the movie Rocky IV. Now, obviously I didn't get it and Drago did or I should say Lundgren got it. And for a number of reasons, you know, my size versus Stallone at 5'6", 160, me at 6'2", 285 pounds, the size, it was just too much, they said, even for Hollywood. But that said, when it came out and I saw the haircut that Drago had, oh, I like that.

Well, if he could pull it off as a Russian boxer, perhaps I can pull it off as a Russian wrestler. And so it was fun. And looking back, you know, I'm like, ah, if I had a do-over, I probably just would have kept a shaved head. But it was fun in the moment. But that's what inspired it. And of course, you know, dropping the weight, you know, I took some time off to take care of my late wife, Mandy, who had, you know, passed away with cancer, you know, at the age of 26.

And so I intentionally trimmed way down, you know, wasn't working out like I might normally have and didn't know when I would actually go back, even though they were, you know, they were wanting me back, you know, not, you know, but a few days after she passed. But all that to say that that was the inspiration. That's a great question. I don't get asked that one a whole lot. So great questions you asked today, Danny. Well, you know, I've been watching you for a long time. So, you know, I knew if I ever met you, I'd have a few questions for you.

If you had one more match, past, present, current, who would it be with if you could do one more match? Oh, man. That's a good one to add the Q&A on.

Wow. I mean, there's, I could probably write a list like, like for real. I mean, you know, the magazine's always touted the Hogan versus, versus Koloff, you know, what kind of business that would have drawn in WrestleMania and this, that, and the other. But Hogan, I mean, The Rock, HBK, Shawn Michaels, Macho Man. I mean, there's a number of guys from the past, you know, Triple H, you know, more, moving more in the future. John Cena and, and, and, and most recently, you know, Nick Alda said, Hey, Nick, you should be thankful that I am retired. And no, I am not coming out of retirement to take the 10 pounds of gold off of your waist, Nick, but kudos to you for, for carrying the belt well. And so that's a great question. Great question.

It's funny you brought up Cena because he's kind of reflective of you. He's much smaller now than he was, you know, five years ago. Yeah.

The guys realize as you get older, you know, it's probably, probably healthier to trim down some. So yeah. Well, Danny, great questions, man. And hold, hold, hold things down there up in, up in, up in New Jersey and, and Hey, look forward if I, if I don't talk to you before for some, or whatever reason, or, but hopefully I'll get to see you at the church there at Chris Ditto's church in, in November. Yeah. I'll definitely be there.

And like I said, hopefully we can, we can hook up, maybe get some lunch or dinner or something and, and talk more in person. All right. Well, I appreciate it. Thank you for being such a long standing loyal fan. Really appreciate, we appreciate you.

Well, thank you for, for doing such a fantastic job with, with the kayfabe and the accent and the in ring work. Wow. Thank you. And, and to all of our listeners out there, Hey, if you have any questions and you'd like to talk to the Russian nightmare, Nikita Kolov, man, submit those questions, koloffforchristatgmail.com. That's koloffforchristatgmail.com. And perhaps you, like Danny, will get a call from the Russian nightmare and we'll have you on the Q and A. Thanks for tuning in and we'll catch you another time on another episode of Questions and Answers with Kolov. God bless you. Bye. This is the Truth Network.