MMA Legend Talks About Brock Lesnar's WWE-UFC Choice, Trashes CM Punk In The UFC, More
MMA legend and former NJPW star Don Frye spoke to the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast recently about his experiences working for New Japan, as well as Brock Lesnar and CM Punk. You can read highlights below, or check out the full podcast at this link.
Brock Lesnar's WWE-UFC decision:
"I think it was a tease. He played everybody just like the media did with the whole Baltimore (Riots) thing. Congratulations, I am glad he chose to stay in the Pro Wrestling world. I think Randy (Couture) got a nice pay-off for his contributions to the UFC and to Lesnar's winning record. They (Frank Mir and Randy Couture) both got a couple of new houses and new cars out of the situation, all of their bills paid for."
CM Punk's chances to be successful in the UFC:
"There is absolutely none. They are going to feed him fish. They are going to hand pick an opponent for him so perfect that it will have all of the authenticity of a reality TV show. I think this s–t cheapens the sport. Back when I did it, it was a fight and then it was a sport, now it's becoming sports entertainment. This cheapens everything that people who came before him did for twenty years."
How he got in to NJPW:
"Brad Rhengans. They (NJPW) had hired Ken Shamrock or at least were trying to and Ken had gone and signed with WWE so Brad who took 4th in the '76 Olympics in Montreal (he should have at least a silver) was the recruiter for New Japan and they needed an American guy who was an all-around fighter, wrestler and bad-ass who can think and has some manners and he recommended me. He brought me out to Minnesota to meet Antonio Inoki, Masa Saito, Fujita and Ogawa and we just hit it off. I worked for them for two years on a handshake."
Being on the road with Mr. Perfect:
"Curt was a real good friend of Brad's, so Curt would pop in and he was just the funniest guy in the world. I don't know if you saw it but the video of "The Life and Times of Mr. Perfect" showed everything he did was just awesome. He could hit the ball out of the park, hit a hole in one, if you go to the bar with him he would win at darts hitting bulls-eyes. He was bullet-proof. One time we went over there to Japan and we hooked up in Minneapolis or L.A. and he ended up H bombing me and put a little something in my beer and I don't remember anything about the flight, getting from the flight to the hotel, don't remember checking in and I woke up and was wondering how the hell did I wake up here. He got me good and he was the king."
Is training Pro Wrestling harder than MMA?:
"It is. You really have to handle these guys with kids gloves. Goddamn, you squeeze them too hard and they scream. They are performers, they aren't fighters, they are athletes I have to give them that and you can't blame them for getting mad at you when you hurt them because they have to do this thing 27 times a month and you have to stay healthy. I was real heavy handed so I didn't make a lot of friends in the pro wrestling business."
Working against Inoki and Fujinami:
"That was just a great dance. That guy (Fujinami) is not only a great performer but just a really great guy. He knows what he is doing and is a true professional and it was a privilege to work with him. I only wrestled Inoki once and that was for his retirement. When you have a retirement match in Japan it is supposed to be a long thing, give the people their memory and give the guy a chance give a hell of a performance on his way out and I went in there and a minute and half in I broke three of his ribs. So he called the match and we went three minutes. I took a thirty year career, the biggest wrestler in the Nation of Japan and I ruined the retirement match and made him go three and a half minutes. I'm sure he wished he picked somebody else."
Don Frye also gives his very candid thoughts on his acting career, Scott Norton, Not being a fan of The Great Muta, Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice, Ronda Rousey, his stiffest fights and if he can still compete. You can hear the full podcast at this link.