Interview with Man Mountain Dean (Professional Wrestler)
by JSM80 (http://thejsmcafe.blogstream.com/.)
I recently had an opportunity to have an online one-on-one interview with fellow blogstream member and former professional wrestler, "Man Mountain" Dean. In it, he allowed me a glimpse into the world of pro wrestling from the perspective of a man who spent 35 years inside of the business. I supplied the questions and these are his words...
JSM: First Question I've got to ask, were you the “good guy” or the “heel”?
Dean: I was the "good-guy."
JSM: Tell us a little bit about your first experiences in the ring. How did it feel?
Dean: Before becoming a "pro" I had a lot of non-pro matches. This was "a learning ground for me."
JSM: How long have you been in the wrestling business and how did you get started?
Dean: I have been in Pro Wrestling for around thirty five years. I grew up watching the sport. I was around when men like
Buddy Rogers, "Antonio Rocca, Bruno Samartino, and "Killer Kowalski,”among others were around.
JSM: What made you want to become a professional wrestler? Did you watch it growing up?
Dean: I did watch wrestling growing up. My size was a factor, I am 6 foot 7 inches and I weighed in at over 550lbs. My shoe is a size 17!
JSM: Who were your favorite wrestlers and why?
Dean: The one I liked most, was "Haystacks” Calhone. We had a very similar style in the ring. I had many matches like his, and I also did the Big Splash.
JSM: Who was the toughest opponent you were ever in the ring with? Tell us about it.
Dean: I have wrestled many men over the years. I don't remember all of the names but some just stick out. The Meanest of them all has to be a man named "The Cuban Assassin," there was one match that sticks out between him and myself, It was a championship match held in the mountains of Kentucky. The crowd was quite angry at him, because of some things he had done to me in other "Fights" we had. They really wanted to get at him. The referee would not let the match go on, until everyone calmed down. I took the mic and said," Please folks let me have at him, that's what you are paying for.” We had our match and it was a great one that ended up in a draw. We met more times than I care to recall, but he was a tough little guy! I never did get that belt, but then again I never lost! It was always a DQ or time running out or some reason like that.
JSM: Did you enjoy your experience as a promoter? How did that compare to being in the ring?
Dean: I tried to promote for a little while, but it was a very difficult thing to do when you had large outfits, like the WWF etc...at the time to compete with.
JSM: What was your favorite or best experience in the business?
Dean: I would have to say the fans, and the young ones who would buy the photos of me that I would sign for them. It gave me great pleasure to do this. The other thing I enjoyed was doing interviews and appearing in magazines and T.V.
JSM: Were there any bad experiences you had? Did you suffer any major injuries during your career?
Dean: There were more broken bones and sprains in and out of the ring, because of my size, I was very lucky, though. I suffered back and leg injuries, blows to the head with chairs, choked with chains, double drop kicks, back body drops, four or five guys trying to take me down, and all the other moves you see today. I can say that this is a sport that requires the speed and ability to jump from 15 feet and still go on. I think we all have "bad experiences" sometimes, but the best thing to do is to forget and move on.
JSM: You mention that you have wrestled legends, such as Randy Savage, tell us about that, any stories there?
Dean: I fought Randy in many matches in the States and all over Canada. We fought handicapped, mixed tag and one-on-one matches. I, myself have wrestled against Randy for over 45 minutes in knock down fights. Randy and I fought all over Canada, and we took our fights from Nova Scotia to the Bay of Fundi. From Hazard to Paddua, Kentucky and many towns in between. We fought in some fearsome battles, you are asking me to remember one battle, but there were so many! We were Pros in and out of the ring. He had his life and I had mine, but in the ring we went in to win!
I believe we had some great matches-- too many to think about and you must remember this was in the 80's (I hope this helps a little}I must mention this, I was "special referee" to matches that he had and he didn't like that very much. He had a habit of trying to get in the ref's face, so that's when they appointed me as the special referee. I believe he had a championship match against Angleo Poffo in Paduga, I had to maintain this match, because it also was a knock down drag out fight for the belt. I believe it was a disqualification and Randy kept his belt, but that was so long ago I can't swear to it.
JSM: Are there any other “well known” wrestlers you have been in the ring with in your career?
Dean: It is very difficult to remember all the names, Angleo Poffo and Leaping Lanny, are among the ones I can recall. Do you remember a manger named “Classie Freddie Blassie?" The fans hated him, but he was a real gentleman outside the ring, but inside the ring-- forget it, he was as dirty as can be. I had the pleasure of meeting him in my life time when I was first getting started. Believe it or not, he was a really nice man.
JSM: What was the best venue that you ever performed in and why?
Dean: The best venue? There were several, for the fans... I would say those in Kentucky and Tennessee, also Canada. For the biggest, I would have to say Japan when I wrestled there. I met the champs and they were two of the toughest men I ever fought, besides the Cuban.
JSM: Have you had any interesting run-ins with fans over the years?
Dean: I have been very lucky, in that most of the time fans liked me and sought my autograph, however, I have seen and heard stories of guys that have been knifed, had things thrown at them and been injured by crazed fans.
JSM: In your own opinion, as someone who has been in the business, what has been the biggest change in the wrestling industry since the time you started?
Dean: There are two things that I have seen change over the years. Fans are demanding more and more blood! I think that they want to see injuries. Many think it is 'fake," but believe me until you get in that ring and experience it, you just don't know! The men now a days are taking chances of serious injury every time they enter that ring! Doing a back flip or a standing suplex in the ring is very hard (on the body). Then let's talk about the Cage Matches. That is a 15 foot drop, and believe me, you can feel a lot of pain. The men in that ring have to be in great shape, or they will end up in the hospital.
JSM: You mention that you still follow wrestling today, who is currently your favorite wrestler on the scene?
Dean: I admit, I like to see what is going on in the wrestling world (today). I Like seeing the "moves” that these men do, but I don't really have any favorites, I watch them all.
JSM: Seeing wrestlers, such as Hulk Hogan, Terry Funk, and Ric Flair still wrestling well into their fifties, have you ever given any thought to having that one last match or have you hung up the boots for good?
Dean: Yes, I have seen the "old timers" get into that ring and try to keep up with the younger men. I am glad they are able to do it, and I say more power to them! I would love to climb into that ring again, but I don't think I could. I have had too many injuries to my back and legs over the years.
JSM: What are you up to these days? Do you miss being in the ring?
Dean: I am still involved in the wrestling business. I am working with a local group called: The M.W.A. I am now behind a mic, instead of in the ring. I am doing the interviews and hosting the shows. Right now we're not working, because it is very difficult to get a place to hold matches. But, I am also trying to get on the radio, so I can talk about my days in wrestling, among other things. I am working with a group of men on this, among them are (wrestlers) Bryan Blade, Big Daddy Splash, and others.
JSM: Well, thank you for your time and I appreciate you sitting down and sharing with us your experiences in the squared circle, any final thoughts you would like to share?
Dean: Yes, in closing, I would like to say this to the youngsters that want to become a pro. Stay in school, if thats where you are, join the high school wrestling team, go to a gym and work out. Find a local wrestling group that will teach you. You can look them up on the Internet.{ASK.COM } is a good resource. Please don't try the things you see the wrestlers do on T.V. with your friends, you can hurt them or yourself. Thanks for your interest in me.
-MAN MOUNTAIN DEAN
JSM: Thank you, Dean for taking this time and good luck. *
Note to the readers: Please check out Dean's three sites listed below, here at blogstream, if you would like to hear more about his story or read his posts. You can find him at: (http://methinkingoutloud.blogstream.com.) (http://laughingatlife.blogstream.com.), and (http://protectingourchildren.blogstream.com.).
Dean can also be reached at his email address: deans_corner@yahoo.com.
If you would like to go “Around the blog” with JSM, please contact me at The JSM Cafe and we can arrange an interview to be posted here in the future, just send me a topic that you would like to discuss and share with the readers, and you could be the next stop around the blog. -JSM.
