Portland Wrestling Legend On Slapping Newscaster For Calling Wrestling "Fake", Kicking A Fan, WWF

As noted, AfterBuzz TV this week presented a supersized episode of Sean Waltman's X-Pac 1,2,360, which you can watch in the video above. The show featured Portland wrestling legend "The Grappler" Len Denton and the first one-legged competitor in pro wrestling history, Zach Gowen. They sent us these highlights from Len's interview:

What led to him kicking a fan, who would later sue Len and the promoter for $150,00:

"He's giving Tully [Blanchard] all kinds of BS. He's getting in his face, he's spitting on him, he's saying you're mama's this and that, just carrying away. I see this kid. So I said, hey, Tony [Anthony] let's go back and get Tully before something happens. I mean, he can handle his own but we just wanted to handle his back. So Tully sees us come out there, he takes a poke at the guy. The guy ducks, goes on his hands and knees and Tully pulls his big coat over his head. So I had this big old, thick boot, right? I shoved Tully out of the way and I just kicked him in the face. When I kicked him with that big boot he split his lip from here all the way up to his eye."

His reaction to a newscaster calling wrestling fake on live TV:

"The guy opens up the interview like this – 'Hey everybody, we're at the fair here for channel whatever. We had a good, fun night tonight because everybody knows wrestling is fake.' First thing he says out of his mouth. He goes, all the fans had fun, they enjoyed all the fake wrestling. I turned to Tony, I said, watch this, buddy. The guy hit the call letters, I grabbed him and I slapped him as hard as I could and I grabbed the mic and I said, what did you call wrestling, son? "

Turning down an offer from WWF:

"Everything started kicking off in WWF and guys were getting big contracts, and [Roddy] Piper's over there. Me and Roddy had started this transmission shop, Piper's Pit Shop... I promised Roddy if he invested the money that I wouldn't walk out and leave it. So of course a year later we got the shop going, he invested money to buy the property and everything, and then Michael Hayes called me–Hey Lenny, we got a spot for you over here. I'm like, you've got to be kidding me. But I gave the man the word so I wouldn't do it. [Hayes] actually called me twice, I think."

Mistaking Stan "The Lariat" Hansen's cowboy boots for a garbage can, while spitting chewing tobacoo:

"Stan comes over and I'm talking to somebody, he moves the garbage can, takes his cowboy boots off and puts them right there. I go back to watching TV, I'm just filling his boot up, not even noticing. That was unreal man. Stan Hansen of all guys. All of a sudden me and him notice it at the same time. I'm like, don't kill me brother! Stan, please! I started cleaning it, wiping it, doing everything. He was mad as a pistol, brother."

You can check out the full X-Pac 1,2,360 episode in the video above, or download the podcast version on iTunes at this link.

Comments