Q&A With Koloff- #152

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Share it. But most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This is the Truth Network. Welcome to another episode of Q&A with Koloff, the Devil's Nightmare. Welcome back to another episode of Q&A with Koloff, Questions and Answers. This is where you get the opportunity to ask me some questions, you know, over and over and over, week after week after week. You know, on the Man Up show, I am constantly lobbing questions to the person that I'm interviewing or who I'm having a conversation with.

But it's always fun for me to be able to give you the opportunity to ask me a question. Go to koloff.net and submit your name and say you'd like to be on the Q&A show with Koloff, and I'll give you a call. Believe it or not, you'll get a call from the Russian Nightmare, and we can have you on the show. But today, in studio with me, William Murdock. William, welcome to the Q&A with Koloff. Thanks.

Thanks, Nick. Not many people call me William, but I actually like it, so I appreciate that. Well, there's a very regal name to that. There's nobility that's attached to that, like Sir William. I might even throw sir in front of that.

I think opinions vary on that, but yeah. Sir William. Well, great to have you in the studio, and for our listeners out there, you're a book author, you're a husband, you're a successful entrepreneur. I mean, there's so many things I could attach to your introduction, but all that to say.

Tell us first about you're up in the Asheville, North Carolina area. You've been married going on 30 years to who? To Robin, my lovely, lovely wife, Robin, who you know well, and actually Nikita has a room in our house. I feel like the Apostle Paul, just so you know, Bill, I feel like the Apostle Paul, you know, where he was traveling to a town and the husband and wife said, hey, we need to feed him when he comes through, and then eventually she's like, we need to just add and build a room on to our house. And Elijah, in the Old Testament, was the same thing. Had a couple built a room just for him, Elijah. Yes, right. So hey, when they're traveling through town, they got a place to stay. Maybe it was Elijah I was thinking of.

Anyway, I think they both did. Anyway, I'm no Bible scholar, as you can tell. But all that said, so yeah, and I appreciate you always opening your home and anytime I'm passing through Asheville. We were just in Bible study last night reading Acts chapter 16, and your story was right on the money. Talk about Lydia, who took Paul and Silas in, and they stayed at Lydia's house while they were in town. Providing for the man of God. And there's much to say about that, actually. So you're married, you've got a current nonprofit that you're working with. Take a minute and tell us about that.

Okay. It's called Beyond All Borders, and what we're talking about there is borders of the heart, not just geographic borders, but going beyond what you would normally give. You know, Jesus thinking about going the extra mile or extra two miles or whatever it may be, started by some wonderful folks who, Nick, you've been friends with, most of them for a long, long time. Brad Doherty, Brad Johnson, Heath Shuler, and Dewey Andrew, a good close friend who just passed away. Bob Roberts with First Citizens Bank, George Suggs, Patrick Taylor, you know Patrick? Who's president of Texas Hydraulics Holdings, and John Teeter of Pepsi Cola here in Western North Carolina, and also Todd Campbell and Josh Holmes, too.

Todd Campbell with Two Men in a Truck and Josh Holmes with At Home Surveying. So they're all part of Beyond All Borders? They all started it. They all not only supported it, but they helped start it.

Okay. And initially, the initial incarnation of Beyond All Borders was Brad Doherty, and I, in the early days with Eblen Charities, and I've been retired now for five years, and just to reach out in different ways. Touch the community. And it's a great organization. It's all volunteer. There's 100% of any money that's raised through various events, like the Brad Johnson Invitational Golf Championship, or different things that we do, the Head Luck and Hunger, and Kajet Wrestling Tournament the day before Thanksgiving.

100% all goes back to the families in need because we don't have executive director, we don't have any employees, we have no overhead, we have no offices. We all just work together. If we hear of people, we reach out to them if they're in need, or if they know of us through various things like George with Lions Club or Eblen or whatever it may be, we just reach out and help. Yeah, you find a need and you feel it. And that's one of the things I think we figured out that about 31 or so years now, you and I have known each other. And of course, I've been a big supporter of yours over the years because I have felt like you have had, over the years, one of the most profitable nonprofits by profitable meaning that you operated, I don't want to say in a shoestring budget, just like you just said, Beyond All Borders now has no overhead, 100% of the money comes in and goes back out to the people of Western North Carolina.

But it is to take all of that experience, all the resources that come in, and whether it's help with dental work or help with getting somebody to Duke Hospital or providing a cell phone or paying an electric bill or heating bill in the cold winter in the Western Carolinas. A lot of people don't know, you said Headlock on Hunger, so I don't want to bury the lead on that. I want to make sure people understand Headlock on Hunger is a way to, and I know Ingalls and other places donate food, that you can then send food home with students on basically, let's just say, Friday for the weekend because they may have bare cupboards and no food in the refrigerator, right? People don't know, in America?

Wait, in America? And not only on weekends, a lot of wonderful groups, churches do that as well, and there's a need for a lot more, not any one group, especially Headlock on Hunger can do it all. And it's great to see other groups do it, but one thing we do is we do it for longer breaks too, for Christmas break, for Thanksgiving, for Easter, and for the summer.

It's a challenge, certainly just weekends, but looking at longer periods of time. And a lot of schools now will have a lunch program in the summer, so there's a lot of good things going on, and it's just an honor to be a small part of that, and thinking where God has led us with Headlock on Hunger, thanks to you, thanks to Jim Ross, Adam and Beth, Edge and Beth Phoenix, Jerry Briscoe, Dan Gable, JJ Dillon, so many great folks. I know Terry's worked with us, Magnum came up to the Headlock on Hunger Invitational, spoke at the Champions Breakfast, and so we're just very grateful for all of this.

Bojangles is a great sponsor, Pepsi. It's whatever we can do, and we just surrender to God and just look for those avenues and those opportunities to be able to help. And like Mother Teresa said, if you can't feed a thousand people, feed just one.

Yeah, start with just one. Well, you're also a book author. I know you were instrumental in helping me with my latest book, Nikita, A Tale and the Ring of Redemption, as told to William Murdoch. And by the way, you're going to be one of the first to know, anyway, that that book is going to soon be available on, or even by the airing of Q&A with Koloff, it may already be available on audio. And it was a difficult project. I had no idea the work that was involved in that. My man Robbie Delmore was instrumental in helping with that and making that come to fruition.

So excited about that. So keep your eyes and ears open for that so that the whole world can now download a copy of that and listen to that book. That's a great story well told. Well, and I view you anyway as a wrestling historian.

We take the history of professional wrestling back to the 1800s. But that's not the only book project you've worked on. Share real quick on some of the others.

Oh gosh. I did two books on Mother Teresa. One is called In the Final Analysis and the other is Find Your Own Calcutta. A book on essays called As I See It.

And actually on different thoughts and different people. There's an essay on Dusty Rhodes, on Dusty, and my friendship with him and with Jack Briscoe and with a lot of other folks too and a lot of people we've served and some really inspiring stories of people who were suffering or who were in need or who just would sacrifice theirself, their time, their money to help other folks too. And then finishing up a third book in a series called The Inklings. And of course The Inklings was C.S. Lewis and Tolkien and Charles Williams.

I added Lewis' wife Joy Davidman and Dorothy Sayers. But those books, there's one for Advent. There's one for Lent as we prepare for Easter.

And this one is for Eastertide which is the season between Easter and Pentecost, the 50 days. And we went back to see who was Lewis and Tolkien and The Inklings inspired by. And that was G.K. Chesterton and George MacDonald. And I thought, now who in the more modern era did they inspire? People know they inspired millions certainly. And so Larry Norman who was a Christian rock musician, kind of the father of Christian rock. Sheldon Van Auken who was a student of Lewis' wrote A Severe Mercy. And this book I'm adding Rich Mullins and Mark Hurd who were both Christian ministers. They had great ministries and were musicians. And so that should be out by Eastertide next year, by Easter next year.

So looking at maybe late February, early March. So in any of these books, I can just encourage you out there, you can pick up a copy of these. Any of these books can be incredibly inspiring beyond Ring of Redemption with the key to Koloff. That bill is written and of course I'm guessing Amazon.com is how they can go type in William Murdoch.

William Murdoch and the author page will come up and that's the best way to do it. You don't have to remember all the titles. Pick and choose, get one, get them all. And Advent I think is two editions, three editions and I know Eastertide will of course be first and then the book for Lent I think. You always want to look for the latest edition because the first edition of some of those books, if I could buy every single one that was sold and give them a new one, give them the updated one. Give the updated version of it. Some I think came out too soon from the publisher but hopefully they've gotten better.

So you see second or third edition, that's definitely what you want. And of course you were a professional wrestling fan but you got an amateur background. You were quite the amateur wrestler before you ever embarked on professional wrestling fanhood. I did have my moments. I wrestled a little bit in high school but most of my wrestling was freestyle and Greco after high school with AAU and USA Wrestling. But that was a long, long time ago but I was fortunate. I did okay. I won some things and real quick story, Mike Chapman, an old friend of ours who started the International Wrestling Institute, the Dan Gable Museum, called me one day and he said we're looking for historic wrestling spots in all 50 states that the museum can put a plaque up and say this particular match happened or this particular thing happened.

We've got Iowa of course and Pennsylvania, we've got a lot of places but can you think of anything in North Carolina? And I said yeah, yeah I've got one right off the top of my head. And he goes well great, what's that? I said T.C. Robertson High School. And he said why T.C.

Robertson? I said well that's where I went to high school. And he said well why would that be an important thing about wrestling? He said I took some of the most massive beatings any human being ever took and I think I at one time held the state championship or I held the state record for being pinned in the quickest amount of time.

So I don't know if that's what you're looking for and Mike was nice but I said well we might keep looking. But I took some massive beatings so I did. I had a couple good moments and took some massive beatings. You might parallel my first ever professional match where I won it in 11 seconds. You could have been my opponent.

Yeah except I think I got pinned like in three or four. I mean I couldn't even imagine because I don't even know if the referee blew the whistle or not but it was pretty quick. Oh my gosh.

It was pretty quick. Thank you for 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 twenty five dollars Nikita will send you his two CDs Adoration and Declaration. For a gift of fifty dollars Nikita will include his book Wrestling with Success and for a gift of one hundred dollars 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. Okay now before we get to your questions it is Q&A with Kolov. I know we got to get there eventually but so just real quick give us Asheville Civic Center or you grew up in Asheville in North Carolina but you got you got some I mean we can do a whole show on some of your memories of Asheville but give just a few highlights of a name drop here in other words on some of the man who I got to see memorable yeah and you know thanks to Greg Gore and a bunch of friends that when I first moved to Asheville brought me into their their little circle and they were wrestling fans. So what used to be Wednesday nights the old city auditorium before they built the Civic Center where you came in and first match I ever saw was George and Sandy Scott against the infernos George Scott who became a close friend years later and it was instrumental in the starting of Evelyn Charities was in the main event so I got to got to see him freshman year of high school night before Thanksgiving of course your Wednesday night Dory Funk Jr. you know world heavyweight champion against Johnny Weaver two out of three falls and you know Asheville Civic Center or City Auditorium was this old little venue that most towns had you had a stage at one end. Right. And Elvis Presley played there in the 50s. I mean I mean it was just they would have the bunk money basketball championship there. I mean you know just a tiny little towns thing and you know we're 10 feet away and we see and here comes the heavyweight champion of the world and walking into the ring and it was like oh my God.

Close enough to almost reach out and touch him. Yeah you know had the old Thes belt I mean it just is the way he walked you could tell. Yeah. The other great the great luthas and you know saw Jack Briscoe you know there who was just amazing amazing amateur champion NCAA champion world champion course saw Dusty saw Harley race when he had the belt the first time after he beat Dory two weeks before he dropped it to to Jack in Houston got to see him him wrestle of course Flair was there a lot being based on Carolinas.

Right. Got got to see the Russian nightmare against Magnum T.A. and Baron Von Rashky and got Andre got to see Andre one to one time there. So you know it was a it was a great venue remember talking to Dory one time you know and he said yeah he said you know Asheville was a great town and I said when you were champion every town was a great town.

I mean you pay you packed him in you know any anywhere anywhere that you went. So it was a lot of fun and when you got to go with with all our buddies you know and we'd finagle and a great time and you know try to get our parents to take us and pick us up of course being on a school night and it didn't start till eight fifteen eight fifteen bell time. So it was like eleven o'clock by the time time and we would all go to the side of the city city auditorium and now same in civic center and we'd wait at the back door for the wrestlers to come in and out and we just know and I don't think many people knew that's where they came we found out so like three or four of us. Yeah and you know I remember time you know George walked by you remember Harley I got still got Harley's autograph from that night and you know you're just going like oh my gosh you know Paul Jones I remember when you know Paul came out said hey boys we're going he spoke to us. Paul Jones spoke to us.

We just saw him in the ring. Mr. number one Paul Jones US heavyweight champion before you had had the US title before that's all beat Terry Funk for it. Wow some great memories all right well let's let's segue here let's transition to some of the questions you might have for me so fire away.

Well I'm kind of I'm I have a great advantage of being we've been friends for a long time and us working together on your book and a number of things. So here's one something easy something thank you of all the all the titles that you won which which were many many world titles and regional titles and national titles. What was your favorite belt of all the designs what what belt that was was kind of like this is my this is my belt. You know it's kind of in a sense it's kind of a toss-up between the the world the world tag team straps that Uncle Ivan and Nikita. Hell you know the the the old gold gold one which and we had a brown leather strap you know and and those were pretty cool I feel like the gold eagle on. I remember those yeah.

Yeah I mean I thought those were pretty classic and had a lot of course a lot of history to them. You know versus all the newer minted belts and and and then of course I'd be remiss if I didn't say the the US the US belt that Magnum and Magnum and I fought over. And it's it check it out like you know during part as part of that angle I destroyed one of them on on television I remember I think in Athens Georgia is I think is where we were filming. Yeah and I was banging it in Brad Johnson lives now. Okay okay I was banging it into the goal goal you know the the ring post or whatever somebody asked me one time recently you know what whatever happened to the pieces of that or the remains of that ago.

I don't know janitor probably tossed it in the trash we didn't think we didn't think 30 40 years ago. Oh one day this is going to be worth something you know how did we know right. Yeah you know it was more of a prop than anything else but to all of us watching on TV is going that's the world belt right. The kid is destroying the US title oh my gosh you know and I do have fans that come to me and go can't believe you destroyed that belt like you or whatever or you know hit the time the angle when I hit Lex upside presenting him with with a new US belt they were making it they had minted a new US belt and and I got to present it to him and and and my form of presentation was hitting him upside the head to to to initiate an angle a story with him. Right so anyway well you know I guess my next question is you know especially your your various runs with the US title that was such a big deal because Russian could be the world champion.

Russia can be world tag team champion North American but a Russian should not be the United States champion Fritz von Erich did the same thing you know in the 50 right after World War 2 you know German now is you know the chic up in Detroit had the US title you know world titles that's fine it's the world but nobody was happy if excuse the word foreigner. Yes yes lack of a better term had the US belt so did you did you run into much. Especially in the early days with fans resistance to that yeah especially in the early days with fans oh yeah well and and and of course you know for the avid fan out there they they know that in that what was still the Cold War era. I mean you know Ivan and Akita Kolov were were they people loved to hate us as many a fan has has told me and shared with me and so yeah if I've had one fan tell me you know that an autograph signing or you know out there you know meeting and greeting. Even at some of the you know post church services I've done or conferences and camps or wherever they're like man you know the thought of you having that you to your point the thought of you having that US belt were like no no and then and then the night I actually wanted Charlotte North Carolina.

I mean fans were hot they were mad mad mad that the new the new US heavyweight champions the Russian nightmare to get a call did not set well. Here's one you know you talked about you know snowing wrestling history and of course in in your book Tale of the Ring of Redemption you know went back to tell the readers why some things were important you know how this all came about that that wrestling just didn't start when you walked in the ring right and but but but you were there in a tremendous lineage. Two so I mean you you were kind of you they handed you the baton you know that's that started way back with William Aldean right after the Civil War. So I know you've talked many times that other folks you love working with you know Magnum steamboat you know a lot of the great guy is there anyone that you didn't work with that you may have read about or seen another territory or that you would that in retrospect thing yeah I would have loved to work with we would have a good program.

Well first of all let me let me just comment on what you just said people may have missed that again may have buried a lead there the Civil War I mean the fact that. Professional wrestling goes way back to the 1800s and all the more reason why you want to get a copy of this book but anyway beyond my own story. Yeah I mean they yeah looking back I mean you know of course the magazines at the time were really touting you know the in all this is the what ifs right of course what if so-and-so wrestled so-and-so you do that with a lot of the different guys. But you know they were touting the the Nikita Kolov Hulk Hogan you know WrestleMania matchup you know that they were kind of promoting at the time what if Nikita came to the WWF and wrestled Hogan for the world title at WrestleMania you know wow what a draw that would have been.

I'd say you know. That's not me saying that I'm saying that fans are saying that right but certainly and of course you know in my departure from the NWA later WCW when all the guys started not necessarily I guess jumping shipper but you know switching roles when Hogan came in when Macho Man Randy Savage. Oh yeah jumping to Slim Jim yeah came in Bret Hart all all these guys started coming you know Kevin Nash and you know started cutting coming into WCW and the whole NWO thing and Wolfpack and all that. It would have been fun to to in a sense to maybe have been a part of that era you know the I guess they call it the attitude era yeah you know and get in the ring with a Savage get in the ring with a Bret Hart a Shawn Michaels. The Rock you know it would have in fact what's kind of fun Billy I think I know you know this is in my other book wrestling with success at a guy named Lash LaRue do a bunch of caricatures of a lot of these different guys of The Rock and Hogan and all these different guys. But but of course I'm on top pinion for the one two three in the little dramatizations there the letter caricatures but so there's a host of those guys it potentially would have been fun to get in the ring with so yep. Yeah you know just as a fan I mean I probably have a list of you who I would love to have seen you you know go up against.

Give me a couple names. Oh gosh you know I would have I think you you know Styles make matches you know and sometimes both guys are really good but the matches aren't good because you know their styles just don't right just don't don't yeah yeah yeah. Yeah so you know I would would think Vern I think you and Vern because Ivan had some great matches. Vern Ganya for those of you who may not be all wrestling fans listening to this show Vern Ganya who was the owner and head of AWA wrestling back in the day. Yeah you know after after Ivan you'll be beating beating Bruno take took the world title dropped it. Bruno Sammartino. Brought it brought it then went then lost it to Pedro Morales yeah and then but then went to AWA and I you know reading about these in in magazines and thinking Ganya against you know Ivan was a had some great matches I think you would have had some great totally different styles but but but I think you would have some great matches with with Vern Ganya.

What's one what's I never what's one other name? Let's see I think you I think I would like to see you go you know Brett would have been Brett Hart would have been good but it would have been along the same lines as Vern you know very tight yeah very very technical kind of thing. I would think Harley race but Harley in the 70 when he first took the title in 73 okay before he became you know Harley I mean he was Harley race but but you know it's funny that the 91 the title he was introduced when he walked into the ring as mad dog Harley race when he walked out with Dory's belt he was introduced as handsome Harley race so you know I think you and Harley would be great at any stage of Harley. Yeah but I would love to have seen that early you know as he came out of the western states and had the belt just for four or five months I think that would have been a great match up a great match to see.

Wow all right all right well we if you have one more we have time for one more if you have one more or we can we can. You know I think the chic okay it far ahead I think yeah and he was totally wild any you know what wasn't that great you know technician but I think the story because storyline behind yeah because you know he did Tiger Jeet Singh you know he did a great storyline you know with him and I think you coming in. You know I know he wrestled Dory and we wrestled Terry and Jack for the world title but you coming in with our version Atlantic version of the US title he had the Detroit version of the US title and doing a title for title.

There you go that that would have been a great matching in Cobo Hall or Joe Louis arena that I would have I would have driven up there to see that legendary buildings by the way legendary buildings will William Murdoch. I'm going to encourage you go to amazon.com look up go order any of his books and I assure you you you will be blessed and what you read and beyond all borders if you're so led to support headlock on hunger and beyond all borders. I assure you will be sewing into good soil and there will be people in the Western Carolinas that will be impacted through this man and and the team around him and their work so thank you for being on Q&A with co-op today. Nick and Robbie thanks for thanks for having me. Great great to have you and go out today and have a God filled God bless day. 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. Are you looking for the perfect gift for your pastor? Well look no further bless him with a trip to the Holy Land with yours truly Nikita Koloff the Russian nightmare.

I'll be hosting this once in a lifetime trip December 27 2023 to January 5 2024 your pastor will never be the same. Go to koloff.net to get registered today. Nikita Koloff here if you're needing to buy a car and have marginal credit and considering using buy here pay here. That's worse than taking the Russian sickle Winston-Salem motor cars will put you behind the wheel of a car you can rely on while helping rebuild repair or establish your credit score conveniently located on Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem. Be sure to check them out today at wsmc1.com because you are number one. This is the Truth Network.