Tully Blanchard- A True Legend-Part 2

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Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. Welcome back. Another episode of the Man Up Show with Nikita Kolov, the Devil's Nightmare. And part two, if you tuned in last week, you heard a phenomenal backdrop story of the legendary man himself, Mr. Tully Blanchard of the Four Horsemen. And we've got him back for another episode. Tully, welcome back to the Man Up Show. Well, it's a thrill to be here. You're making me talk about a bunch of stuff that I hadn't thought about for years and years. Well, for real, Tully, what's great about that is the fans out there, we've got a lot of wrestling fans that listen to this podcast, and actually a radio show as well. It's a radio show and a podcast.

And yeah, that's great because many of them may not know some of these things. Where we kind of ended on part one is you were in this tournament transitioning your dad's territory and you talked about, you ended on, hey, give me the belt. So we left out a cliffhanger. So give the fans, give the listeners the rest of that story. Did you get the belt, not get the belt?

What happened? Oh, no, they gave me the belt because I was, he couldn't continue. And it was kind of a not very sportsman-like gesture to take the belt when a guy gets injured on an accidental move.

Not intentional. And it started my path down being a bad guy, which I was a pretty good bad guy. You were, and I'm not saying that because I got you on the show, you were one of the best of the best. And I'm excited when we kind of fast forward a little bit and get to my introduction to actually meeting you in wrestling. But yeah, you were, for real.

People ask or interview me. You were, as far as I was concerned, one of the consummate inside the ring. And you did, you said on the first show, you went to Florida to perfect your craft.

You went to the Carolinas to learn, you know, even perfect it more. And you did, in my view anyway, you did. So yeah, you became one of the best of the bad guys.

And well, I appreciate that. It's, you know, it is the goal every night back in those days was to make people scream. And they didn't scream when their heroes were getting beat up.

They screamed when the bad guys were getting beat up. Right. And having the ability to make all that happen, the wrestling business is way past my knowledge. Excuse me, nowadays. But back in the day when, you know, we went out there and did stuff and did it for 20 minutes, did it for 30 minutes, did it for An hour, right? Hours at times. I wasn't the king of the hours, but I have done some hours that were life changing. Quick story, I wrestled Dory Funk Jr. back when I was a babyface. He was the world champion and we went an hour. And there's a very, very humbling experience when the world champion at 30 minutes is slapping you on the back of the head telling you to get up, kid. Was your tongue like dragging? Because I don't mind was a few times against Flair.

In those hour matches, right? You're like gas, right? Well, it changed my whole career because I was never out of shape then after that. I stayed in shape. And that was the start of the free squats and the step ups and all the other stuff that I did. But, oh my gosh, I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move and still had 30 minutes to go. I'm laughing because I was in that. I've been there.

And oh my goodness, you're like, I don't think I can go on. So, you really did have, I feel, again, a legendary career. I know you wrestled in a number of different territories. Where I would meet you was in the Jim Crockett territory, the mid-Atlantic in the mid-80s. So, at what point, let me ask, how many different territories did you wrestle?

Florida, Crockett, down in New Dadsboro, how many different territories? And then back, then I went, I was, personally, my brother had gotten killed in 1978 and I pretty much got out of wrestling. Our business was, we weren't doing things right. My dad was devastated to no end. And it was a very, very hard time for us. And so, I tried to sell cars for a while and I'd make San Antonio and make Corpus Christi and sell cars and stay married.

It didn't work and ended up getting a divorce. And so, I needed to, I bought a house and I needed to make money to pay the house payment. Right. And the quickest thing and the quickest way that I could make money would be in the wrestling business because my craft had gotten good enough that I could be on top. Right. And so, I got booked in Kansas City in December of 1983. Christmas Day I started and I worked there for a month and they had me in a thing with Buzz Tyler. And he was a very good in the ring performer.

Yeah. And so, we were in St. Louis at the Big Show and we went out and did, I think, a 20 minute something or I forget, but we had a great match and the people responded gigantically. And so, Crockett was there. Dory Funk Jr. was now his booker and he invited me to go out for drinks in the Marriott, at the Marriott, Airport Marriott in St. Louis.

And so, the only time that I've really ever told anybody that I thought I was good, I told Crockett, I said, I said, Jimmy, if you hire me, I'll make you a lot of money. Hmm. And he said, well, we've been drinking and we'll talk about it on, let us talk about it and we'll get back to you next week. Yeah. So, they called me on Monday and offered me a job. So, I gave my two week notice to the Kansas City territory and flew back to San Antonio, loaded up my stuff, my car and drove to North Carolina.

I know what that's like. Yeah. And I, and North Carolina, I thought was booming like it was in 77 when I was there.

And in 84, it wasn't booming. Right. And, wow. So, anyway, but they gave me a push and, and, and Wahoo was there and, and it took us from February to August. August was, we switched Wahoo heel and he and I were partners and we wrestled Mulligan and Flair in a bull rope, Indian strap match bull rope thing and, and sold Greensboro Coliseum out. And that was the turnaround point for, for the company.

And then they switched bookers and hired Dusty. And then that's when the things, all the stuff that you got involved with. Yeah. Things started turning after that. Yeah.

I came into the territory in June of 84, things started turning. And, and, and, you know, for your career, Tully, one of the, one of the most often I hear mentioned is, is the, uh, I quit match against Magnum TA. And, uh, does that rank up there for you?

Like when people say, Hey, what are some of your most memorable matches or is that rank up there as, as one of them? If you would like to support Koloff 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.koloff.net and donate today.

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Be sure to check them out today at wsmcthenumberone.com because you are number one. Um, yeah, because it's the most I got paid for a single batch. Well, there you go. That's memorable.

Even though it was, I was underpaid, but it was still the most I ever got paid for one single batch. And, um, and it, you know, the, the culmination and the, the audience and the, the whole thing that went in with it, I mean, he and I probably had better matches during the summer when, uh, when he beat me up all over the country. And, uh, you know, those kinds of things, but the Greensboro Coliseum has its nostalgia and its place in the wrestling world. And, uh, certainly was, uh, was a, uh, a big deal.

And, uh, for sure. And so that was, that was great. The, the, I think probably the war games was a, was a phenomenal match. The match beyond.

Yeah. And, uh, you know, some of those, those matches were great. Uh, and then aren't and I, we w when I ended up becoming orange tag partner and the horseman thing, you know, we, we had some matches with rock and roll. And then when we went to New York and, and, uh, with, uh, Marty and Sean and that, that were, that were classics. Well, and I, and I say this, tell you about the, uh, about, you know, the horsemen and, uh, uh, again, this is just in, in, in my view of things and being, being a part of that era.

And, and now looking back on it that, uh, I've often said, and when others are interviewing me, I've said, you know, I talk about the, the four horsemen. What was, what was amazing in my view is that it didn't matter what combination of you guys, I mean, it could have been a single match, a tag, like you said, UNR or whoever a tag, a six man, an eight man, and ultimately the war games. But any combination of you guys, or even an individual single match, uh, I knew it was going to be a great night. I knew it was going to be a great match. It was going to be a great night because every one of you in my view, uh, had perfected your craft. And then the combination, the combination of all you guys and the stories and, and it's just left a lasting impression on, on the fans that all these years later, they still talk about it, right? They still talk about it. And so that's pretty amazing. So do you have any favorite memories? A couple of memory?

I know you mentioned the war games, uh, any other favorite memories, uh, that you come to mind about the horsemen? Oh gosh. Every, every night was, I'm sorry for the background.

I'm sitting in, uh, at Boston university in, in their, uh, arena for the matches tonight at AEW. And, uh, I guess they jumped up their, their audio too loud for your background. It was a little bit, I think you're fine now. Yeah. It was, they must've been testing it, but give us a, what, you know, one or two quick four horsemen memories. The thing about the horseman thing, I mean, you look at 40 years after the fact, 30 years after the fact and aren't and I very with or without flare, we have a line of people and that's, that's kind of unheard of. Right.

Um, and the, the wrestling, as I've tried to tell people, we didn't, nobody sat around in a room and said, Oh, we want to call these guys before horsemen. Right. It was, it aren't just spewed it out on an interview and it caught a hold and it was fan generated.

And that's why it has such depth. Yeah. If you can move, I guess they're, they're, they're testing their announcers, right. Which is classic for the listener. They're like, Oh my gosh, she's like actually at the live show or what? That's pretty cool for our listeners though.

So the live show is going to be a little bit, I gotcha. I gotcha. Um, so yeah, so you were just saying any combination, but, but, uh, and you know, 40 plus years removed there, you know, they're still standing in line for you guys. Which makes an incredible statement for all of you. And, and it really does. And let me ask you, let me ask you, let me ask you this. So, cause you mentioned you and you and our become a tag team. You go to New York. Um, I, I want our fans, I want our listeners to, to hear this part of your story as well.

Some know some don't. Um, you know, you're in New York, you have a run there, but, but there was a point in time where, where things kind of, I will say it this way, kind of unraveled into your life and, and can you transition us into, into what happened? Uh, what happened? Well, it was, I mean, we were working like insane schedule and we were less than 14, 15 days in a row and have a day off. And then things weren't being told to us or they, they were not living up to the things that were told to us.

And so, uh, we were, we'd wrestled in Madison, Wisconsin. And, uh, uh, I ran into some girls and bought some cocaine from one of the waitresses and sent the girls to the bathroom to have a party and then see where things led the rest of the night. And they brought a little bit of the cocaine back in a bag.

And so I just licked on the bag and thought, didn't think anything of it. It wasn't enough stuff to even, even think about getting high on and, uh, jumped on the plane at six in the morning. We had to wrestle in the spectrum at two and, uh, they had a drug test and, uh, what people don't understand, the only drug they tested for was cocaine because cocaine didn't mix well with steroids. And, uh, so I ended up two weeks later, I found out that I was, I had, uh, tested positive for that small amount of cocaine. And, uh, I was told to turn my ticket tickets in and go home.

I was in Rochester, Illinois, and, uh, so I figured that that wouldn't be that big of an issue because cocaine was pretty commonplace in those days with either company. And, uh, we had, had talked to, uh, WCW about hiring on guy and reforming the four horsemen and they agreed to that and they were going to pay us $750,000 each to do that. And then, uh, the drug thing happened and then they reneged on the deal with me and didn't hire me and they hired on at a much lesser amount, which lets you know about the, the quality of the people at WCW. Right.

And, uh, so anyway. So I was, uh, when flare called me at one o'clock in the morning and told me that they'd reneged on the deal, I hung up the phone and I'd, I was, I had paralysis kind of rock bottom, hit rock bottom, so to speak. Oh, that's way past rock bottom. I'd never been unemployed in my life and I was, I was now I was 35 and here I didn't have a job and I didn't have a high paying job. I didn't have anything.

And at, uh, I laid in my bed and tried to go to sleep and couldn't and I couldn't move and I just laid there. And, uh, at, at four Oh three in the morning I said, Jesus, take over my life. And, uh, that was not my dialogue at that time of my life. Right. And, uh, instantly when I said that there was a calmness that came over me that I had never felt before. And, uh, when I said it, I looked at the clock. That's why I know it was four Oh three in the morning.

Right. And I fell asleep and I woke up the next day and, uh, didn't think there was any way possible that I wouldn't be back in the wrestling business, but I had a calmness about it. And I went to church and started, uh, fast forward learning about what a relationship with Christ is about. And, uh, it was, it was amazing. It was amazing when you didn't drink every night.

It was amazing when you didn't get high and, and you wake up sober and wake up early and are happy about it and et cetera, et cetera. And that's now been over 32 years. Wow. 32 years. Yeah. November 13th will be, be the, uh, be my anniversary 89 to 22, 21.

I call it a spiritual birth, your spiritual birthday, but, um, wow. And, uh, okay. Uh, you know, it was, uh, it was life changing. I can remember you and I drive into West Virginia. I was going to ask you all day. Yes. You were sharing. I was going to ask, I thought about that on my drive to the studio today. I'm like, I wonder if he remembers the way he was sharing his story with me.

I was as lost as a white goose in a snowstorm and you and I were riding together. I think we were working against each other on an indie show. I think so. Yeah.

Independent show. We just wrote up together to West Virginia and you were sharing your story and I'm like, oh, that's nice. I'm happy for you. Tully. That's great. That's awesome. Well, we just got a few, just a, just a few minutes.

These shows that fly by totally. We just got a few minutes left, but I didn't want, I want people to hear that part of the story. And, and so here's the deal though. You, I, you planted some seed that day in that car on that trip to West Virginia that ultimately just four years later, 1993 for me led to my salvation 17 October, 1993. And, uh, but just in our last couple of minutes here, you've been involved very heavily, um, in prison ministry, uh, over the years and currently on staff at John Hagee's church in San Antonio, right? Cornerstone?

Correct. And, um, so heading up a lot, how many real quick, how many PR, how many prisons have you been in? Do you even have any idea how many prisons you've ministered to? I have, I have, I have done with Bill Glass's, uh, ministry, I've done over 350 weekends and each one of those weekends would have, uh, five or six facilities in it. And, uh, so that's a whole bunch of, I've been to, I've been to almost every County jail in a major city except New York city.

I haven't been to Rikers Island, but I've been in LA, I've been in Miami, I've been in Atlanta, I've been in Dallas, I've been in Houston, uh, and many other medium sized jails. Uh, I was with Bill Glass for, on their staff from 01 to, uh, 09 and then I was, uh, from 13 to 16 again. And then in 2017, uh, I got a phone call from a friend of mine that asked me to go to lunch with, uh, pastor John and pastor Matt Hagee. And, uh, they wanted me to, uh, put together a prison and a jail ministry for them. That's awesome.

And, uh, I started there in August, uh, and, uh, have been, been on staff, uh, ever since. Well. And, uh, and that the, the, the neat thing, and I hope we have time to get this in, uh, Nikita is, uh, the wrestling business has, has been, God has shut the door every time anything about the wrestling business came up in my life.

Right. And for the last 30 years and I got Cody Rhodes invited me to do a thing three years ago, uh, with AEW and I, I prayed the same prayer, Lord, if this is not where I'm supposed to go, slam the door shut, make it very obvious that this is not what I'm supposed to do. And so I went and did it and went and did it and went and did it. And I was praying that prayer every time. And the thing that lets me know that this is a move of God, and I won't know for maybe many years, but the church lets me come to AEW once a week.

Right. And like tomorrow morning, I jumped on a plane at five o'clock and fly back to San Antonio. And when I land, I'll, uh, grab my car and drive to the church and go back to work. And, uh, so they let me do that. AEW flies me a lot of times back to San Antonio so I can, so I can go to work and, and keep my day job and for the harmony of both of those worlds to be, to, to be making it happen is still a little bit amazing, uh, to me. But, you know, and the guys that are just like you and I driving down the road here that I, you know, I don't get up and preach to anybody, but the guys, you know, you get them alone at catering.

You get them alone here and somebody asks you a question and, uh, and, uh, bam. Well, rock and roll. Yeah. And, and, uh, we're in our last minute here, but, but I'd summarize that to say for the listeners out there as you and I spoke about doing recording these shows and, and be, or be having these shows is that, uh, I'm, I'm thrilled that you and Stinger are there with AEW and, and let's face it. It is a ministry.

Like you just said, it is a ministry. You guys are salt and light in that world and, and, and plant and seeds. And like you said, it could be many years before you see the fruit of your labor. But let me just say this in closing. Tully, please be careful. Come on, man. Watch the metal chairs. Okay.

And, and don't be flying off top ropes and all that kind of stuff. All right. Come on, come on.

So I'm too old for that. Well, come on. Well, listen, thank you so much for, uh, for being on the show. Tully. I hope our list, I know our listeners will be thrilled with your story and, and, uh, great to have you on Tully. Thank you. Well, thank you very much and, uh, appreciate you and, and what your life stands for Nikita. And, uh, it was, uh, we made money even though you did beat the crap out of me. We, we didn't, we didn't talk a whole lot about, I guess maybe we'll have to have you back another time and talk more, more specifically about that and even more specifically about your ministry. But hey, tune in for another episode of, of the Man Up show. And, uh, thanks for dialing in today.

Legendary Four Horseman Tully Blanchard. God bless you. Men, I would like to challenge each of you to consider spending five days with Lex Luger and I at Man Camp, pursuing the heart of God. Ladies, if you're listening, we'll send your men home better equipped to be men of God, Godly husbands and Godly fathers. That appeals to you. Give them your blessing and encourage them to sign up today at mancamp.info. Pastors, if you would like to bring Koloff for Christ Ministries and Man Up Conference to your community, go to koloff.org and email me.

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