Viva Las Vegas!

Arriving late Wednesday evening, I was met by the Ortons at their compound near the Las Vegas strip. We shared a great meal with Terry Gibbs, a retired professional wrestler.

He and I shared a lot of names that were our friends in the business during the past 35 or so years. We spoke about Jake Roberts and the huge snake he had that Hercules Hernandez used to kick in the bag and cause it to bite Jake when he took it out in the showers to stretch out and get itself wet.

We also shared a lot of war stories of travels on the road and how we would create ideas to make the boredom go away on long trips. It wasn't long before Terry looked at his watch and told Rhonda that he had to go and pick up his brother and his wife at the airport some 15 minutes away.

I took that opportunity to go to the guest bedroom and get some much needed rest. I had been up since 5 a.m. that day, and it was nearing 1 a.m. Eastern time. I had been awake for over 20 hours and needed some sleep.

Thursday morning, I woke at 6 a.m. and started another long day by getting on one of Orton's computers and adding some of my favorite songs to the hard drive for them to enjoy later.

Around 9 a.m., Rhonda and Rita joined me in a light breakfast. After sharing some of the gifts that I had brought with me for the Ortons to enjoy, we began to make ready the pool area for the arrival of Cowboy Bob and his wife, who would be arriving in an hour or so from St. Louis.

I began to put more stuff on the computer when, suddenly, a pair of huge hands grabbed me from behind around my neck and lifted me right out of the chair. I turned to see Barry Orton with a big grin on his face. He had just arrived from Kansas City, where he had been on business for about six weeks.

A few minutes, later the front door opened, and a huge Cowboy Bob Orton Jr. came through, nearly having to duck to make it by the heavy oak frame that surrounds the three-inch-thick inner door on the main part of the compound. There are two other gates that he had to pass through before getting to the front door. Both are armed with security casing made of the best steel.

Hugs and kisses were abound as he moved among his sister, brother and mom. He saw me and came and shook my hand and then introduced me to his wife, Randy's mom. What a wonderful smile she has. She is in the medical field in St. Louis.

Bob and I started up our visit with a game of cribbage to warm us up for the tournament the following day at the CAC. Bob is a great player, and, just like in the ring, he is perfection in motion when it came to cards.

At roughly 3 p.m., Bob and I returned to the Riviera hotel on the strip, and he went for one of his power naps, and I wandered down to the reception area for the CAC. I met with old friends Ed Wiskowski, Harley Race, Bill White and Bishop Sanderson, who was guarding the yard, so he said, as he watched the game of cribbage between Ox Baker and Bill White.

I took a sign out of my briefcase and attached it with tape before going to see Bill and Ox. It said " I BEAT OX BAKER" and had a nice picture of Ox and myself from a previous CAC reunion on it. Ox just stared at the picture and a slow burn started. He reached for the case and said "this should bring a good price on EBAY". I stopped him and stuck my hand out. BAD DECISION!!! Ox shoved my hand away and again grabbed for the case with the sign on it.

I figured it would be in my best interests to get away from Ox for a few minutes. I went to the opposite side of the room and began a nice conversation with Mad Dog and Butcher Vachon. They also were in a cribbage game amongst themselves.

Just then, a young friend from Arizona, Dyllan, and his mom came over to see me. I had met them the previous year and have been in contact with them since. We exchanged hugs and got caught up on all that had happened since we last visited.

Just then, a poster caught my eye on the table in front of me. It was of Ernie Roth, who was the Grand Wizard and also Abdullah Farouk, who managed the original Sheik. The guy that was standing near the poster asked me if I knew Ernie and I replied that, indeed, I did. Our friendship had gone back nearly 40 years prior, when I met Ernie in Winnipeg while he was doing color commentary for the matches there.

I was asked to give a 15-minute or so documentary on Ernie the next day for a tribute that is being done later this year on his life. I ended up running the camera out of power, and they also ran out of tape during my presentation.

At 7 p.m., we met with Bishop Sanderson and walked to the Peppermill a few doors south of the Riviera and were treated to one of the best meals that I had dined on in a long time. It was a special tribute evening to Bob Orton Sr., who used to frequent the Peppermill almost on a weekly basis. In all, there were 16 people at the gathering, which included all the Orton family, who had come as honored guests.

Following the dinner, I returned to the Orton compound to once again rest my tired eyes. It was almost 10 p.m., and I had been up again for 16 hours.

To be continued…

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers

2003 BWC Hall of Fame Inductee
2004 CAC Hall of Fame Inductee
2006 LWA Hall of Fame Inductee
2007 TCCW Hall of Fame Honoree