On the debut episode of his “No BS With The Bull” podcast on VOC Nation former pro-wrestling star Manny Fernandez spoke about how he got his start in wrestling, then calls out legendary personality Jim Cornette for saying he had stolen valor, an accusation that Fernandez did not take easy. Highlights are below.
Talks coming up in football:
“My biggest dream was to be in the NFL (for) at least 10 (or) 12 years. That was my biggest dream. I had a great high school and junior college career where I made JC all-American. (I was) recruited by almost every major college in football coming out of high school in 1973, but my mom got sick with diabetes and I didn’t want to leave home. I wanted to be near her so I went to junior college.”
Goes after Jim Cornette for questioning his Valor:
“Jim Cornette is about as manly as a cup of tapioca pudding… You’ve got to look where it’s coming from. And I did something very stupid when he posted out there about stolen valor – which really hurt me, really really hurt me; destroyed me. I gave up my (college) football career when I could have played at UCLA, went and wrestled there and played football there, USC, all the PAC 10 schools back then – Washington, Washington State, Oregon, Oregon State – I had scholarships to small offense from all of them… (When Cornette posted that) I got so angry that I went and posted my DD214 and my Service Connection (showing) my service in (Vietnam)…(My girlfriend) was so angry that I went and posted my private life on Facebook that she didn’t want to talk to me for months.”
On his start in wrestling:
“It all started with a guy named Kelly Kiniski, Gene Kinkiski’s kid. Kelly Kiniski was our second string center… He was so pigeon toed, (when he snapped) the ball he would always step on my pinky toe. And back then we had metal cleats, not (rubber); man did that hurt…every time Kelly stepped on my toe I would beat him upside the head…that’s how Kelly (relayed how tough I was to) Dick Murdoch. Dick Murdoch was a big booster (for) West Texas State along with Terry Funk. They’re big backers of the West Texas State program… So Murdoch would show up for practices every now and then…eventually we kind of got introduced by Kelly, he kind of watched me play and it went from there.”
On the rumors of Dick Murdoch being racist:
“I had nothing but positive experience with (Murdoch). I didn’t have a problem with Dicky, he and I were very close. That’s the hard part. One day he was there…next thing I know I heard he passed. He had a heart attack…I never experienced (racism) with Dickie.”
Check out the full episode below.