On the latest edition of ‘No BS with The Bull’ Manny Fernandez on VOC Nation, Manny talked about RVD’s mention of him during his WWE Hall of Fame speech, an incident he had with a young Van Dam working stiff, not liking Ric Flair, and much more. Highlights are below.
Recalls working with a young RVD:
“Oh yeah when he was young he came in and worked for a guy named Greg Price; we had a couple matches throughout Georgia. The kid was respectful and listened…he was taught right, he was taught respect.”
Shares a story of a time RVD busted him open hardway:
“When I was younger and training people and mentoring people, I was hot headed. I had a quick temper; if you did something out of the norm in the wrestling ring, I shut you down and did something (back). You got put in your place right away…(if) you gave me a potato I gave you a receipt… We were in there and Rob knows his karate, and he was so limber and he could stretch and do the splits and the spinning kicks like (Jean Claud Van Dam). Rob could do the same things as him. So I let him do that; I let him be himself… I came off the rope maybe too hard and too fast and he was too close; I called for a spinning kick to the face, and I caught his heel right in my mouth and I was bleeding and it busted my mouth open… I turned around and the ring was empty, I didn’t see anybody… the referee (says) ‘he took off for the dressing room because he thought you were going to (retaliate)’… back then when I was young and stupid, I had a very bad temper and I was quick to react.”
On getting mentioned in RVD’s HoF speech:
“My phone blew up after he did that. Al the people that I had trained or mentored were texting me and sending messages (that) Rob Van Dam had mentioned (me) in his speech… I appreciate that.”
Talks his relationship with R-Truth:
“R-Truth and I have a real close bond because he stuck around longer than anyone I know. He was that good. He would go up and down the road with me and I’d take him to New York (and) New Jersey and I’d get him on (independent) shows… R-Truth was flexible (like Van Dam); he could do the splits and jump high in the air, and I used that when he worked against me. I let him do all that. I never tried to curtail anybody’s style to mine. I let them be themselves…I never would take anybody’s style (away from them), they have to be themselves (in the ring).”
On working with Ric Flair:
“He only had one match. That’s all he ever did over and over and over. That stuff was borning…I couldn’t stand it… I wrestled everybody that was a world champion, that ever wore that world title, and they all had different styles. From Dory (Funk) to Terry (Funk) to Harley (Race), Jack Brisco, all those guys had a different style and you could wrestle that style without shutting you down. Ric Flair took that away from me when I had my first match with him. I couldn’t do the things I did when I wrestled against all these other world champions because he had to do the flip in the corner (and his other standard moves). I’m like ‘dude you do this every time and it’s getting kind of stupid; I have to stand there and wait for you, this is pretty dumb.’ I didn’t like (the business to be) exposed (with silly stuff).”
On Flair being a bad person:
“He was on a show in Virginia Beach and he ran up the bar tab because he wanted more money from the promoter because the show did good. (When) the promoter said no (he went and) ran up the bar tab at the bar for like two grand – buying (premium liquor) like he was a big shot – and then he took off and left the promoter with a two grand bar bill. That ain’t funny… when you make (people) spend money (or) cost them money, that’s not a good rib… I didn’t go for those kind of things.”
Full episode can be found below.