His deep booming voice was the voice of WCW Thunder for the first year of that shows existence. He also was the later voice of the
American Wrestling Association and currently is the voice of Tony the Tiger. Yes, he's Great! And, he's Lee Marshall, the latest
guest on WrestlingEpicenter.com's The Interactive Interview!
Also on this week's show, "The Queen of Extreme" joins us to discuss her weekend in California including her hob knobbing with
some of Hollywood's biggest stars and even her meeting porn star Ron Jeremy! Plus, all the latest happenings on my personal
favorite web site on the planet, www.MissyHyattandFrancineTV.com. Two beautiful women with incredible galleries, behind the
scenes video, exclusive chats, and so much more. If you've not registered for that site yet, do it now! You'll be glad you did!
LEE MARSHALL
-- After Francine joins us for a solid 15 minutes, we welcome Lee Marshall to the show for close to a full 60 minutes!
-- Lee joins the show and thanks James and Chuck for having him on.
-- Lee is part of Wrestle Reunion through friends he made way back when in the AWA. He wasn't able to be a part of the first one in Tampa but has juggled his schedule around so he could attend the one coming up in Philadelphia. James and Chuck mention they too will be in attendance at the event in Philadelphia. Hopefully a few fans there will actually talk to us.
-- Ironically, Lee Marshall got his start in wrestling at the old Phoenix Madison Square Garden and also was on the radio on the AM dial on 1230 AM. James and Chuck are currently on "The Blaze" 1260 AM so it is sort of a homecoming for Lee.
-- Lee was actually employed by the WWF when they began making their national push when Red Basteen called him and said that Vern Gagne was interested in hiring him to do announcing for the AWA shows that would air on ESPN. Lee was excited for the opportunity and took it because this was the first time wrestling had gotten that network exposure.
-- Lee says the AWA was the top ordination for many years but ultimately failed to change with the times. "There were some real hardliners in the AWA that always maintained that the wrestling would always surpass the gimmickry. Well...." And, we know the rest of the story as the AWA closed.
-- "Eric... I'd like to say I taught him everything he knows," says Lee when asked about how Eric Bischoff got the position he did in WCW. Lee feels Eric became the head of WCW because he was always interested in learning about the business from all avenues be it production, in ring, financial, or any other avenue. Eric's interest and accumulated knowledge turned heads at WCW, namely Ted Turner's, and the rest is history.
-- Lee got involved in WCW through Eric. Eric wanted Lee to come in sooner than he did but they were unable to reach a mutual agreement upon his living arrangements. The main problem was Lee lives in Las Angeles and wasn't interested in moving to Atlanta. Eventually, Eric offered him a deal where Lee would travel to all the events and wouldn't have to move.
-- "The travel really wore me out and ultimately became a health issue for me,' says Lee
-- Traveling with Bobby Heenan was always nothing but fun for Lee. Lee mentions that a lot of the insiders know that there was a "Bobby Heenan VS Lee Marshall feud" going on behind the scenes but in reality, it was nothing more than an angle someone came up with. They got along really well because they are both very corky guys much like Chuck and James are, says Lee.
-- Still on traveling, Lee mentions that the rule in WCW was if the next shot was 200 miles or less, you had to drive but if it was more, you could fly. So, one day of traveling saw himself, Bobby Heenan, Tony Schiavone, and Mike Tenay traveling and stopping at a southern restaurant where the "Blue Plate Special" was "Hot Dog Salad."
-- Lee says the backstage atmosphere of WCW when he was there was, "Really very good!" Lee says wrestling has always been very fraternal. As a matter of fact, he only got involved in wrestling himself because his grandfather was a wrestler. He mentions that he and Ted DiBiase basically grew up together in the business.
-- Lee puts over James and Chuck for offering something different on the radio dial. Lee says way back when, the radio used to be so much more personal than the television because if you're listening to the radio, you're probably listening alone in your room or in your car whereas everybody in the family gathers around the TV. Lee says when he started, radio DJ's were charismatic and intelligent and knew a lot about what they were discussing be it their area, the music they play, or whatever it was their pacific station or show was designed for. These days, it's "one size fits all" and Lee feels that is a real shame.
-- James mentions that the same day Batista appeared on Good Morning America, he stopped by The Interactive Interview (archived audio still available at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com) and says Batista and the WWE representative seemed so happy that we actually watch the product and asked valid questions instead of the typical "How much can you bench press?" questions that non-specialty shows ask.
-- Lee says it can be tied to wrestling as well because way back when, there were territories to work and learn the craft. Now, the guys learn as they're on TV if they're lucky enough to get signed by the only game on TV right now.
-- Lee mentions that wrestlers could learn more by listening to legends like Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan talk in the locker room for 1 year than they could by wrestling for 5 to 10 years.
-- Somehow we end up talking about the Honkytonk Man and how he was supposed to be the first Brutus Beefcake character but he got ill and couldn't do it.
-- Lee doesn't feel wrestlers get enough credit for being the athletes they are.
-- Lee feels WCW closing was bad for the business stating, "I don't like one company controlling everything." He mentions that is not a knock on Vince but is just his honest take that one company does not benefit the business.
-- Lee says WCW thought they were at an advantage because they were owned by Ted Turner and for a while, it was to their advantage. "WCW was a television company that produced wrestling whereas the WWE is a wrestling company that happens to produce television." Lee mentions that WCW used to sell out venues and it really didn't matter what they drew in terms of attendance because to Turner, it was about advertising revenue. Of course he became conscious of ticket sales when they started selling out major venues but that wasn't quite as important to WCW as it was to the WWE.
-- Lee enjoyed doing the ever popular and ever fun Women of Wrestling promotion. "Anything David McClain does is done with a wink and a smile," says Lee about the owner of WOW.
-- Lee feels WOW had a following but just ran out of steam.
-- Doing color with Bobby Heenan was tremendous for the Unleashed pay per view. He says Bobby is so deserving of being part of the Hall of Fame and he knows with his health problems, he is so proud to be honored as such.
-- James mentions that Bobby Heenan joked to him a few years back, "It was the first time I ever looked up a guy's trunks" when discussing the Unleashed pay per view. Lee laughs and jokes that it may not have been knowing Bobby.
-- Lee will be appearing at Wrestle Reunion and recently had occasion to sit down with Larry Zbyszko and Bruno Sammartino. Now, Larry will be wrestling Diamond Dallas Page at Wrestle Reunion in Philadelphia on August 26-28. If Larry wins, he gets 5 minutes alone with Bruno in the ring.
-- In his interview with Larry which, by the way, you can listen to at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com right now in the Interviews area, Larry mentions that he is bothered by the fact that it is always Bruno and Larry or Vern and Larry or Hogan and Larry when he feels maybe it should be Larry and Bruno and so forth. And, to a point, Larry may have a case there.
-- James mentions that Larry actually paid him the best compliment he's ever been given in this business when Larry called him nearly a year after their interview just to talk to him for a little bit about the business. Lee mentions that a lot of the wrestlers appreciate guys who truly understand the business the way James does and aren't just "marks." Chuck then puts James over for being a walking wrestling encyclopedia.
-- Lee mentions that we talked about the death of WCW but we should talk about the deaths of people like Curt Hennig and Rick Rude. Lee says people don't understand the hardships that wrestlers face and how taxing it can be on their bodies from the ring work as well as their families for being away for so long so often.
-- Lee was aware that Curt used the party drugs that ultimately lead to his death.
-- We then roll into word associations with such names as Hulk Hogan, Tony Schiavone, and more! You'll have to listen for those but you will hear why Lee defends Hulk Hogan so hard and why Tony Schiavone, while more talented than the Braves TV announce crew, can't get a job doing that.
-- For the past 6 years, Lee Marshall has been the voice of Tony the Tiger. So, we let Lee go after he gives us a special treat. "They're Great!"
-- Chuck and James wrap up with a song that is fitting in an off kind of way as they play KISS covering an oldies song. Off the Love Gun record, it's "Then She Kissed Me," a cover of the girl group song made famous by the Crystals so many years ago.
***** We welcome you to tune in next Tuesday night at 10 p.m. EST as we will be joined by none other than Paul Bearer! Submit questions for Paul right now at www.WrestlingEpicenter.com and be sure to tune in at that same web address next week! We're only going to get bigger and better!