Willie Mack Talks WWE Deal Falling Through, Hulk Hogan's Racist Tirade, Being Homeless, More
Recently on MLW Radio's VIP Lounge, 'The Mack' Willie Mack appeared on the show to talk about his troubled upbringing, Hulk Hogan's racist comments, and the dark days following his WWE deal falling through.
Mack was born to a drug addict mother and found himself in foster care as a child. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, California, Mack saw professional wrestling as his ticket out of a bleak situation.
"It was like, growing up as a kid, you notice stuff a lot and I saw half [of those] fools not go [anywhere] in life and I was like, 'I want to do something different and make people proud and be happy to see me instead of scared and afraid when I'm coming up.'" Mack continued, "when I was four years old, the first thing I saw on TV was some [professional] wrestling. I saw Hulk Hogan and somebody talking some trash about who they [were] going to beat up and it looked like they [were] having some fun and entertaining the crowd and I said, 'hey, that's what I want to do.'"
While Hogan was the first professional wrestler to capture the imagination of Mack as a young child, Mack took umbrage with Hogan's racial tirade. When VIP Lounge co-host MVP asked Mack what he thought of Hogan's belief that African Americans are unworthy of dating his daughter, Brooke, Mack joked that he would not be interested in dating Brooke Hogan.
"Well, Hulk Hogan doesn't need to worry about me dating his daughter. Doing something else with is daughter, that's a different story." Mack continued, "he'd be mad as hell, but I don't care."
Apparently, 'The Mack' was brought into Lucha Underground after his WWE deal fell through. Mack acknowledged that when approached by Lucha Underground personnel about joining its roster, he was homeless and suffering from depression.
"[I] got signed [by WWE], did their little tryout for like three days, [I] busted my ass, and then I had a little physical [examination] and the doctor, after six months in, the week I was supposed to report, because I was supposed to be there October 26, 2014, and the doctor said, 'I don't like how low your blood pressure is. I don't like how one of your knees feels.' And they said, 'oh, we can't sign you because of that' and I'm like, 'what the f–k?' And that messed me up bad because, it was like I busted my ass and nothing was wrong with me then, but now it's time for me to go and you all pull that a week before I'm supposed to go down there. That ended up leaving a nigga homeless and I was depressed as hell. I was like, I thought that I had let my mama down, my daddy, [and] anybody who ever supported me. I felt like the worst dude on the planet. I was not feeling wrestling. I was like, 'I'm going to stop', but then, luckily, Konnan hit me up and then [Lucha Underground Executive Producer Chris DeJoseph] hit me up. And they said, 'hey, we heard what happened to you and wanted to invite you down to Lucha Underground.'"
In addition to these topics, Mack talked about being inspired by Samoa Joe and 2 Cold Scorpio, his dream opponents, and much more. To check out the show, click here. If you use any of the quotes that appear in this article, please credit the VIP Lounge with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: MLW Radio's VIP Lounge