Q&A with Koloff - #34

Hello, this is Will Hardy with ManTalk Radio.

We are all about breaking down the walls of race and denomination. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few minutes. Enjoy it, share it, but most of all, thank you for listening to the Truth Podcast Network. Do you go by Frank? First of all, welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me, Nikita. Now, do you go by Frank? Do you go by Frankie? What do most people call you?

It's weird. Friends call me Frankie. Family called me Frank.

Okay. I consider you a friend, so by all means, call me Frankie, Nikita. All right, so family calls you Frank. Friends call you Frankie.

Yes. All right. Well, I'm going to call you both because I feel like your family and a friend. How about that?

How's that sound? Oh, man. Well, I appreciate that. Thank you.

Well, listen, thanks for real. Thanks for being on Q&A with Koloff. We go back a while now. Refresh my memory on how we first met. So there was an event in Atlanta called Legends Mania, and I forget the person's name who threw that event, but he was promoting it, and he had a bunch of the superstars calling into the show, into my radio show, and that's the first time I got to speak with you over the phone, then I flew out to Atlanta and met in person, and we've been friends ever since. About how long ago was that?

I've done too many. I'm trying to jog my memory. Any idea about when that was, roughly? That was 2010, 11 years ago.

Okay. 2010. And now do you still have a radio show or no? No, I left the radio industry. It's funny you ask that because as of yesterday, I just got back in. I'm a producer of a syndicated show, a political show here in Chicago, and that just started on Monday.

Okay. So yeah, so I had gotten out of the radio business altogether, and now I'm back in. How long were you in the radio business?

From 2009 to 2014. I had my own radio show here in Chicago for five years, and then I did TV for a little while. Okay, and now you're jumping back into radio, and so when you got out of radio, was TV kind of the deal, or did you do something else besides television? Yeah, I actually... Well, I'm gonna peel back the secret here, the curtain.

Let us see behind the curtain, Frankie. You don't make a whole lot of money in radio unless you are a Rush Limbaugh type or a Right, right. Or something like that. Rogan or something?

Some dude's name Rogan or something? Correct. So I wasn't paying my bills. I was having the most fun I've ever had in my life. Right, but didn't pay the bills.

It wasn't paying the bills. So yeah, I ended up getting out, becoming a business consultant for 7-Eleven. I used that degree that I got from the university, and that's what I've been doing, and it's weird that out of the blue, I got a phone call from the radio business asking me to come back in, and the offer was right, so that's what I'm doing. Well, that's cool. Well, congratulations on that. That's pretty cool.

Thank you. And you're up in Chi-town, man. Chicago. And you've been there all your life? My whole life. Born and raised. But born and raised, ducking and dodging bullets, but other than that, everything else is great here.

Yeah. Do you have a bulletproof windshield on your car? If you don't, you better get one.

If you don't, you better get one. Here's what I learned about Chicago. Don't get off the wrong exit. That's what I was instructed in Chicago. Don't get off the wrong exit.

Now, I remember a story you telling me about you and Ivan getting lost and asking a police officer for direction. Getting lost in Chicago. That's why Chicago is not one of my favorite towns, by the way. No offense.

All you Chicago listeners, don't take that personal. But anyway, yeah, keep going. Yeah. And from what I remember you telling me, the police officer noticed that it was you and Ivan, the commies, the Russians, and he told you to go pound sand and go after yourself and then give you directions to the building. Well, yeah, for the record, and I don't know why, but that interstate system up there, I'm pretty good with directions.

Like, for the record. Like, I mean, it was easy for me to go to a town one time and go back a month or two later and know how to get to the building and to the hotel and from the airport and all of that, and to the gym. And I mean, but for whatever reason, man, I struggled with Chicago. And Ivan and I were trying to get the UIC Pavilion, and we were lost. I mean, it literally, from the time we landed, got our rental car, and we're headed to the building, I think it took us about a total of two hours to eventually figure it out and get there. But yes, in the midst of that, there's like a cop. Ivan's driving. I'm like, Ivan, pull over. Let me ask this cop how to get the... We were looking for the UIC Pavilion. And so, yeah, I'm like, officer. He was writing somebody like a ticket or something, you know.

So it wasn't in the best that he would. Chicago's finest. Don't be mad at me.

But you know what? I looked at him. I go, sir, I go, can you give us directions to the UIC Pavilion? He's like, get lost. You know, I'm like, we are.

I wouldn't try to be smart. I'm like, we are. I get in the car. I'm like, Ivan, he wasn't very helpful. Let's keep going. Yeah, you know what?

And to be honest, Nikita, the UIC Pavilion is not the easiest location to get. It was not. I'm serious. Thank you.

Thank you, Frankie, for that. Because it was not. It was no, well, maybe pun intended. It was a nightmare for us, for the Russians.

It was a nightmare to get to. And by the way, I love the men in blue, men and women in blue, just for the record. I love the men and women in blue. Support you guys.

So blue lives, blue lives. I love you guys. So all of you serving our great nation out there, putting your lives on the line every day, protecting our cities.

And so thank you guys. All right, so Frankie, let's jump into it, man. I know you got probably a couple, two, three questions burning. How long have you been a wrestling fan, by the way? Well, as long as I can remember, to be honest. You know, my dad watched it when I was a little kid, not understanding what wrestling was.

But I could I could say I like where I firmly remember watching it in memories probably 82, 83. Okay. Right before my debut. Yeah. Yes.

In 84. Yes. Yes. Which by the way, which by the way, let me just publicly say thank you. I mean, on Instagram and Twitter and you, you gotta be one of the, one of the, one of the best. I mean, you're, and you're, you are jogging my memory, pulling out some incredible, right now, currently some incredible stuff with Ivan and Crusher Khrushchev and Nikita Kolov. And you're just posting some great things on Instagram and Twitter. And if you're not following me there, follow Frankie Rodriguez there.

Follow me, Nikita Kolov with the number one behind it. That's me on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, all social media. But you're posting some great stuff, just so you know. You know, and I'm glad, you know, you, you, you're appreciative of it and all that stuff because as I'm re watching it, it's the met, the memories are flooding through my, my brain as well. And there's things that, you know, happen that I, you know, didn't re didn't remember happening and, and to revisit it and to see it and to be able to share it with you, um, is amazing because there's a lot of the things, you know, on Twitter, you're like, I don't remember that happening.

Yeah. Well, well, for example, for those who are wondering, you know, and when they go, go check it out, um, for example, um, when you posted the picture of Don Crenodle, Sergeant Slaughter and Magnum TA, and I'm like, man, and I knew I wrestled the Sarge over in Kuwait in the Middle East. I remember that.

But, but that we had those matches. Uh, I was like, oh my gosh. Uh, cause you know, I thought he was locked in cause the original Frankie, the original storyline, Sarge and Don Crenodle came up with the whole idea of a nephew for Ivan Kolov. So I, so I, I exist because of Sergeant Slaughter and Don Crenodle. Okay.

That's why I even exist. And the original plan was, uh, that, that I come in six man champions and tag champions and all that, and we turn on Don like we did. And then Don would get the Sarge, you know, cause he used to wrestle as private Crenodle with Sergeant Slaughter and we'd have, we'd have flag versus flag and we're wrestling for the bell to be Ivan and Nikita against Sarge, the, you know, the good old boys from America. And, you know, uh, and, and just, we'd have, you know, years of matches and Sarge was, I guess, given a good offer to WWF at the time came WWE. And, and so I apparently we had a handful of matches, but he left for the WWF. And, and so the rest of that story never unfolded or materialized and unfortunately for Don, but, uh, but anyway, but that's why I'm here because of Sergeant Slaughter and Don Crenodle.

And again, see, I didn't, I didn't know that. That's, that's amazing. And that's why I love talking to you, Nikita and, you know, to Luger and all the, all the guys that have been in the ring to, to hear those stories that behind the scenes, what caused that to happen?

Um, you know, obviously, unless you're, you're in the locker room or in the boardroom or wherever, you don't know that that's, that's why that stuff happened. So that, that's really cool. Yeah.

Yeah, it is. In fact, I had spoken, you know, Don, unfortunately Don passed away. Sarge was one of his pallbearers. And I spoke, I'd always, Don had always made me promise to speak at, you know, at his funeral.

And of course his, his brother Rocky, Wally, um, immediately called me and asked me and we worked it all out, worked it into my schedule, my calendar, because I certainly want to be a man of my word. And Sarge was there. And I just said publicly there, I just looked at Sarge and said, I just want, so I just want to publicly thank you. Uh, you know, Nikita Koloff would not exist if it had not been for you and for Don Curnodle and, and coming up with that whole storyline of a nephew for Ivan. And so, yeah, very, very grateful to the Sarge, very grateful for, to Don Curnodle and grateful to all of, all the fans like, like yourself, Frankie. So there you go.

Man. And I know I've told you this many times, Nikita, and I, and I say it to everyone that's, that's ever gotten in the ring, you know, for, for all the sacrifices you guys made, that, you know, the abuse of your bodies, that just to entertain me, I thank you, um, because, man, you, you took this kid and captured his imagination and for, for whatever was going on in my life at that time, while you guys were on TV, nothing else mattered. I just, I just needed to see the Russians get their butt kicked.

Hey, another guy who loved Amy. I love it. I love it. Um, well, and I appreciate that, you know, all that fake wrestling has certainly taken its toll on my body, you know, uh, whether it's a Russian chain match, a metal chair, or a cage match, or I was walking the other day and someone's walking behind and they're like, oh my gosh, what's wrong with your leg? And I'm like, I'm like, what do you mean? Like, I go, you talk about the, the, the bend, the bow in my left leg, and they're like, yeah, is your knee okay? Are you okay? Does it hurt? No, it doesn't.

I go, that's, that's, uh, not, not, it's typical for an athlete, you know, that the older we get, the, our legs begin to bow out from, from, you know, the, the abuse to our bodies, whether it was football, wrestling, weightlifting, and other things that I did. So, uh, but I, I appreciate that. Well, question, question, Frankie, question. Okay. Go for it. Oh, ask you. Okay.

So let, let me, my first question is, okay. So I know you wanted to be a football player and wrestling ended up, you know, being the path that, you know, your career went on. Um, did you grow up watching wrestling? Were you a fan of wrestling at all?

Uh, I was not. I mean, I was familiar with it. You grew up in Minneapolis, you know, you flipped through the three channels that we had, you know, there was no remote controls.

You actually had to get up out of a chair and turn a dial, believe it or not. Uh, the, the, the, the younger crowd may have to Google that or YouTube that and actually say, but, but, so I was familiar with AW all star wrestling sanctioned by the AWA, you know, Vern Ganya and all of that. So I was familiar with it, but it wasn't like, Oh, I can't wait, you know, till, till Saturday or Sunday or whenever it came on. And, and, uh, so I was familiar with it, but my football was my passion, man, just football.

I lived eight and breathed it. Weightlifting, bodybuilding. That was my passion. Uh, in college, as I was playing college football, I did get to know Jesse, the body Ventura worked out his little sweat box gym in North Minneapolis. And, and my first live wrestling match ever was at the St. Paul Civic Center with him doing a deadlifting match against a guy who was known as Paul Ellering, who went on to become precious Paul Ellering, manager of the road warriors and a few other in his stable. Uh, and that was my first exposure to professional wrestling. And, and that's where I first learned that it may not all be real, uh, at that event. So, yeah, so there you go.

So no, it did not grow up really watching it and was not necessarily a fan of it. Great question. Okay. So, so that, that leads me to the followup question. So now you're in the business.

Um, you obviously didn't, you know, didn't go through some big long training, uh, regimen training. Yeah. Right.

So now it's time for you to, to be on camera, be, be, be on stage, so to speak. Right. And they tell you, you got to get color.

What is going through your brain through your mind when they tell you how, how you got to get color? Yeah. That's a great question. I don't know that I've ever been, been asked that, you know, and, uh, cause it's funny to hear the stories. Was that like chicken blood you guys used, you know? Yeah. We carried capsules tucked in our cheek, you know, and, uh, and, and, and they're like, so that was like real blood or I'm like, yeah, as a matter of fact, at least I can only speak for myself.

I can't speak for anyone else. Right. Um, and they're like, so like, how did you do that? I go, it's called self-inflicted wounds.

And they're like, huh? Now I will say for the record, there were times that, that where it was called hard way. In other words, where it just happened. Like I can remember, I still have a, I was looking the other day, a little tiny scar on my, on my bicep. And I'm pretty sure it was Lex Luger that I was wrestling.

We were, I think in Michigan at one of those hockey arenas and we were outside of the ring and he ran me into like the hockey boards or whatever. And I, and I hard weighed or you might say gaffed my, my arm open and it started bleeding. So there was, there was no, uh, uh, that, so that's the hard way, right. And, or a metal or, or the ring posts or a chain or, so there were times when that happened. Um, uh, but the other, when, when the, uh, the other option was a self-inflicted wound.

And so I always saw it, it was a bit crazy, but I understood the, the, I understood the mentality or the psychology behind it because the old adage was red equals green. In other words, you know, people, people got to see the guy they hated most, like the Russian nightmare, you know, bleeding and battered and beaten, then that, that would prompt them to possibly or probably buy a ticket next time. Right.

And to come back. And that's what it was all about. The sales of tickets back in those days. Right.

There was no pay-per-view. We're paid by how many people were in the building. And so, you know, to, to get color, uh, meant that there was a good, a good possibility you'd have a bigger crowd next time that you came back. And my philosophy was, was this, just for the record, they could tell me I had to get color. Uh, they never said, they never said how much I had to get.

And so my self-inflicted wounds were very minimal compared to like Ivan and Dusty. If you looked at their heads back in the day and you look at mine now, people are like, wow, you're like, your forehead looks really good. I'm like, yeah, that was intentional. So they could tell me to get it.

I thought it was kind of crazy, but I'm like, okay, but Hey, it's part of the business. Uh, I was just going to make sure that when I got to the stage of life I'm in now that, that it didn't look like a railroad interchange on my head. Yeah.

Because some of the guys you worked with at that time, you mentioned Ivan, Dusty, Manny Fernandez. I mean, they had, they had the highway interstate system on their foreheads. I'm saying, yeah, it was a railroad interchange.

Yeah. It was crazy, Frankie. It was crazy, but it's what it was like. They were known as, there were certain guys in the business that were known as bleeders. They called them. And that's where they got their sympathy. That's how they kind of made, you know, again, that's how they made their biggest paydays, you know, and, and, and by, by doing that. So, uh, but yeah, that's, that's a, that's a great question.

You know, uh, yeah, I don't know that I've ever been asked that. We got, we got time for one more, Frankie. We got time for one more. Okay. One more.

Let me make this a good one. Um, I know you probably have a hundred, but that just means I'll have to have you back on sometime. I, I do.

I, I have, I could talk to you all day. So here, so I, I've heard, uh, you say, I've never, me and you have never had this discussion, but I've heard you say this in one of those shoot interviews that you had a plan to retire by the age of 35. Correct. That was the time that was it. You wanted to be out of wrestling by that time. Injury ended your career a little bit early. You could have came back, but you didn't see the reason for coming back for like a year.

My question to you is knowing now everything that you know, and there is no way you could have known this when it was happening, but now what do you wish that you would have taken that deal for New York to main event at WrestleMania two knowing everything that's played out? It's a great question for a point, a point of clarity, because a lot of people, you know, think, think, you know, the, the, the injury against van Vader, uh, did end in my career, which it, it, it technically did not. I was injured. He injured my neck, uh, fighting out on the floor, which, which later at a WrestleMania in Miami, he actually years later came up to me and, and said, Hey, I just, I've never said this to you, but I just want to publicly just, you know, just say, I apologize. Uh, I'd like to ask you to forgive me for injuring you that night, which I thought was very, very noble of him.

Uh, and it was, was, uh, just showed a great amount of integrity. Um, but, uh, so, so I did get injured. I injured my neck that night. I actually didn't know till the next day I got a hernia cause you know, there's a legit 450, 500 pounds. So I got a hernia, you know, the night before, I guess, you know, body slamming him or whatever.

So I had the hernia surgery. I was rehabilitating my neck again, not career ending, but I was moving on towards my state, your stated, my stated goal of, of being out of active in ring wrestling. So not necessarily walking away from wrestling altogether, but active in ring wrestling. And, and so looking back, I have zero regrets, no regrets looking back, although, you know, had I gone to New York, had Hogan and I wrestled, you know, at WrestleMania or whatever else, um, had I stayed on and, and, and with the explosion of the Monday night wars and pay per view and, and the, the multiple millions of dollars the guys were making, you know, through the nineties into the, into the 2000, you know, the, the new era, um, no regrets at all, Frankie, no, no regrets looking back, little did I know that 11 months later after making that decision, I'd find myself at an altar, surrender my life to Jesus, like having a real encounter with him. I mean, it was life changing. And, and little did I know then that, that wrestling would become a platform that would bring me now around the world to 30 different nations, total all 50 States, uh, now a radio show, a podcast, 50 plus nations that it's downloaded in, uh, and people are listening to these interviews like I'm having with you today and impacting people's lives in a, in a very, very, uh, hopefully positive way.

And, and which in my view, even though I've given up, I can conservatively say Lex Luger, and I've had conversations about this as well as others. I can say that I gave up multiple mil tens of millions of dollars in income, but I can't put a price tag on the people's lives that I have seen impacted by whether it's me preaching a sermon on Sunday morning, Lex and I co-facilitating a camp called man camp or, or facilitating a conference called man up or having these shows, Frankie. I can't, I can't put a price on that.

So, so no, no, no regrets looking back at all. So that's it. Great question. That's awesome. That's awesome to hear.

Amen. By the way. Well, I appreciate it. I just appreciate you. Appreciate you being, I really will. We'll have you back on the show again sometime. Okay.

Anytime you want Nikita for sure. All right. Well, we'll keep, keep the fires burning there in Chicago. Frankie, my, my, my friend, my brother, my, uh, uh, my family member, Frank hashtag Frankie, um, keep the fires burning in Chicago and thanks again for all of you. Dialing in, tuning into Q and A with Koloff questions and answers. Hey, you too can get a personal phone call with me. Just email me, koloff.net, go on social media and DM me, direct message me. And I will have you on the Q and A with Koloff and we'll have, we'll give you the opportunity to ask me some questions. God bless you. This is the truth network.