Abdullah The Butcher Speaks Out - HOF Induction, More
Abdullah the Butcher recently spoke to Main Event Radio (CJLO 1690AM in Montreal) about his WWE Hall of Fame induction and more. Check out the highlights:
On his induction: "They called me about a month ago. When they called me I was sleeping and they told me they want to put me in the Hall of Fame; I jumped up and said just a minute. I ran to the bathroom really fast, started putting water on my face, started smacking my face. I ran back and he says 'This is Johnny Ace, we want to put you in the Hall of Fame.' I thought I was dreaming. I'm the one who started hardcore. I started hardcore on Johnny Rougeau, the Rougeau brothers, Maurice [Mad Dog] Vachon, and my manager Eddie "The Brain" Creatchman. I was in the business for many years. I scared a lot of people but they all liked me. I was not expecting it when they told me they were going to induct me into the Hall of Fame. They left me for last because I am #1. They left me for the last because I was the only one left."
On why he never wrestled for WWE: "The guys in the wrestling business, when you're a top man and you're drawing a lot of money, they don't want the promoter to bring you in so they started to make up a lot of stories about Abdullah the Butcher. They told Vince don't bring him in because he's going to stab people with a fork, he's going to do this, he's going to do that."
On the people who have emulated him: "It's not the point that somebody tries to take your style. If you look at Mercedes Benz style, now you've got other cars who started looking the same way. They're trying to sell cars. The guys who are trying to do what I used to do, they're trying to draw people. It's the same reason I did it. I'll never retire though...I'll keep going. I started in 1961, 50 years. I loved working with all my opponents, it was always a pleasure to wrestle. I would also like to thank the fans, a lot of people helped me get into the Hall of Fame, they wrote into WWE asking for me. Thank you very much and may God bless you all."