Interview '08

Recently, I was contacted by yet another great wrestling magazine for an in-depth interview with them. Here is a transcript of the phone conversation.

First of all, I would like to thank you for taking the time to research my history in the world of professional wrestling. Many people have wanted me to give an interview, but I have not responded to them, mainly because of the way that some people take words and twist them into their own little world and come up with a completely different story, rather then the one submitted.

I have a trust in you that seems to be better than I have experienced before. Kind of like trusting a family member close to me. Perhaps now, the world can see me as a different person by this interview.

I grew up in Flint, Michigan, and, as a young man of just 11 years of age, I attended my first live match at the old I.M.A. Auditorium in 1956. I was a guest of the Big Brothers of Flint. My Uncle Don and his son, Don Junior, took me along as their guest. I have a lot of great memories of my Uncle Don and his brothers, Bob and Basil, and will cherish them until I go to my grave.

On that great card was Bobo Brazil meeting The Crusher (Ricky Cortez, masked), Dick "Mr. Michigan" Garza and Jim Hady met Steve Zold and Dynamite Johnny Gates (a Steve Austin of his time). There were also midgets on the card and a couple of other great bouts.

I began attending the Saturday night matches at the Arena on North Saginaw Street and soon became friends with most of the wrestlers that came to be a part of the cards. In 1962, ring announcer Irv Chimovitz could not be there to call the action, and I asked the promoter, Leo Donoghue, if I could have a shot at announcing. The rest is history, as later that year, I was asked to be a special referee due to Al Thomas not showing at a card in Saginaw that I was attending.

Also later that year, Larry Chene and Buddy Rogers took me under their wings and started training me for the ring. Larry drilled me in Catch as Catch Can style mat techniques, while Buddy taught me how to walk, speak and dress the part of a champion. Of course, there were others that had a vital part in my training and coming of age in the ring.

I started my wrestling career in Toledo, Ohio, just outside of where I live now, in a match with Dr. Jerry Graham. I wore a bright green outfit with a matching mask that had a white face to it. I won the match by disqualification but ended up with two badly sprained ankles in the process. Jerry just never knew his own strength and grabbed me by the mask and threw me over the top rope and I ended up in the second row of ringside for my efforts.

I continued to wrestle and referee on occasion and, in 1968, I became a manager for Stan Frazier, who wrestled under a hood as "The Convict"; I was known as "His Attorney." After a short stay with him that lasted about six months, I came back home to the Detroit wrestling office and was a utility man for them. I did just about anything that was needed, from carrying the ring to being a referee, to ring announcing and wrestling.

In late 1969, I went to Canada and discovered Black Angus Campbell, and our association became a main event status wherever we went. I dressed like the late Ernie Roth, a.k.a. The Grand Wizard, a.k.a. Abdullah Farook, manager of the Sheik and many great stars that headlined cards on the East Coast. I chose to dress like him because of the anger it gave me from the fans. I enjoyed being "different" from other managers that had come before me, and I liked the reactions that the fans gave me every night. Men like Leo "The Lion" Newman, Ralph "Wild Red" Berry, Classy Freddie Blassie, Captain Lou Albano and a few others became household names by their ringside antics. Ernie Roth was a good friend of mine early in my career; in fact, he was Best Man at my wedding. May he rest in peace ... Shalom.

I wrestled in a lot of different areas called territories. They were run by independent promoters and, usually, under the supervision of an alliance or federation. Some of the best were Detroit, Ontario, Buffalo, Charlotte, Tampa, Amarillo, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Calgary. I managed in a lot of those territories and handled stars like Black Angus, Roger Kirby, Tank Patton, Ripper Collins, The Patriot (Bobby Hart), Hank James, Black Jack Black, and Don Fargo, just to name a few.

I retired from the business for good in 1976, just six months after my daughter Teri was born. She and Nancy, my wife, came to Kansas City to spend a week with me, and when they left, my little six-month-old daughter hugged my neck and called me "DaDa." I went to Des Moines that night and turned in my notice. The promoter darned near bit off his lower lip when I made my decision, as I was a good money producer.

I enjoy going to reunions like the Cauliflower Alley Club and the Newton, Iowa International Wrestling Hall of Fame and seeing old friends. Some that I still keep in contact with are Harley Race, Mad Dog Vachon, Pampero Firpo, Lord Littlebrook, Ox Baker, Bob Roop, Flying Fred Curry, Irish Mickey Doyle and others. I wish sometimes that I could turn back the hands of time and see all my friends that have gone on to that great ring in the sky.

While some call wrestling a show and not a sport, it's caused its share of injuries to my body. I have had both ankles broken and sprained … my little fingers on both hands broken ... right leg broken ... Collarbone broken and lower back injuries that needed to be corrected by surgery (L4 and L5 discs blown). I also have no cartilage left in my nose after having it broken for the sixth time. I have had my ears drained four times to prevent cauliflower ears, and both knees have been repaired twice. I am living proof that the hurt bodies in Professional Wrestling are there and real.

I have a great interest in Ghost Towns and have been to a lot of them in person as I traveled all the major highways in the Old West. Towns like Rhyolite, Nevada; Bannock, Montana; and Cripple Creek, Colorado are just a few that come to mind. I have an extensive library of books and videos on towns that are there no more. I guess I got this from watching a lot of cowboy movies at the Strand Theater, in Flint, when I was young. Stars like Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, The Durango Kid, Hoppy and a few others that gave young people an image to live up to were instrumental in guiding me towards the west. I was just naturally curious as to what the towns looked like and how they came to vanish.

I still watch some of the matches on WWE now and have seen Randy Orton come into the fold as another third-generation grappler that has made it to the big top. I had the pleasure of meeting Kurt Angle in Las Vegas a number of years ago, and he really impressed me as a true athlete and a remarkable young man. His humility and humbleness as he met me will be remembered for some time. Not many people give me that same persona when they shake my hand for the first time.

Even though there are no managers in the WWE besides the artificially enhanced young ladies that accompany some of the guys to ringside, some of the independent circuits have managers at ringside, just like the old days. I can think of a few that come to mind; Chief Paul Farber, Smokin' Sam Hennessey and a few others have not let this important part of wrestling die away.

The greatest day of my life in wrestling as a manager was when Angus fought Dory Funk Jr. in Wichita, Kansas before a sellout crowd of over 10,000 people and held him to a 60-minute draw with neither man getting a fall counted. I even got into the ruckus by standing up and taking a swing at Dory when he landed outside the ring ... worst mistake I could have ever made. It caused a riot that took over 20 law enforcement men to contain.

On a side note, the worst day in my career was when I arrived at an arena in Omaha and was told that, the night before, Larry Chene had been killed in a one-car accident on his way back from a card in Wisconsin to Detroit. His car left the road at over 120 miles per hour and crashed. He was dead on impact.

In closing, I would like to thank the men who have paved the way for me to become the Epitome of Wrestling Managers. Men like Buddy "Nature Boy" Rogers, The Sheik, Dick The Bruiser, Jim Hady, Gorgeous George, Bobo Brazil, Larry Chene and a host of others. If it had not been for the long trips and lonely nights, there would have not been a Percival A. Friend or a Green Hornet or any of the other names I was given in the business. I am eternally grateful and can never repay you for what you have given me.

If you get the chance to see or meet one of the old-timers that have made their niche in wrestling, stop them and shake their hand and let them know that they are still wanted and accepted by fans. If you know some of the old stars and can call them or drop them a note, let them know how much they meant to you and the rest of the fans.

Lastly, say a prayer for the finest people that have ever lived … our family of superstars that have been called to that big ring in the sky.

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