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EXCLUSIVE Doyle King Interview ONLINE - Sportatorium Memories |
Submitted By James Walsh
on 09/25/13
Show: Interactive Wrestling Radio
Guest: Doyle King
Date: 9/25/13
Your Hosts: Patrick Kelley & James Walsh
If you grew up in the 80's and early 90's, you had an awesome
childhood. You had the best cartoons, the best music, the best advances
in video games, and the best wrestling. One of those wrestling
companies that aired daily was the Global Wrestling Federation from
1991-1994 on ESPN. It aired every single day. So, if you grew up with
it and saw any of that stuff from 1992 through 1994, you'll instantly
remember this man's booming voice. If you don't, flick on ESPN Classic
sometime. If theyre not airing old college football games, it is a safe
bet they'll presently be showing a re-run of the GWF that could very
well feature this man's voice.
Doyle did more than just Global, though. In fact, he was a part of
the beloved World Class promotion, the USWA, and even Bill Watts' UWF.
All that plus various other Dallas based promotions. So, his vast
experience and knowledge translates to one of the better interviews we
have been lucky enough to bring to you in some time.
This one is special. Period. Plain and simple. This one is special.
Special to me because I knew it would be great if I could beat Doyle
into submission to do this with us and special because this information
is simply not found anywhere else online. The real story of Dallas
wrestling is told here and it is amazing to hear.
Plus, great stories about Doyle stealing the Sportatorium sign off
the front of the building before it was demolished and great memories
of guys like Bruiser Brody, Kerry Von Erich, and more. It runs the
spectrum from light and joyous to dark and disturbing. Truthfully a
great listen!
Transcript to follow shortly.
DOYLE KING:
On the demise of the GWF nearly 19 years to the day of when this was recorded: "You
may not be aware but the GWF continued on after ESPN", said Doyle which
contrasts to all information found online including Wikipedia. "The GWF
continued on as a Dallas based TV show from the Sportatorium on through
1998. Then, in 1999 and 2000 there was wrestling from there that was
called Continental."
On the GWF leaving ESPN: "They
were certainly done with us!", says Doyle jokingly as Doyle explains
that the owner of the GWF at that time, and still the owner of the
master tapes, could not get along with the ESPN higher ups. The GWF was
trying to be edgy and grity and were totally unable to do that with the
standards placed on them by ESPN. "A guy would be about to get blasted
with a chair and you'd see the crowd and next thing you know, they're
laid out!", Doyle exclaimed. Even his announcing was edited, "Did you
ever notice long periods where I wasn't talking? I quickly learned that
if I said something I wasn't supposed to say, it would not air." Doyle
says this is why a lot of storylines did not progress in the later days
of the ESPN run. The ESPN show became content that was safe to air and
not, by any means, the main event matches that had blood and violence
in them which were not able to be shown on ESPN.
On the Sportatorium: "When
I found out they were going to tear it down, I finished work, got my
ladder in the back of my pick up, got my power drill, and at noon I
drove down there and I took down the "Welcome to the World Famous
Sportatorium" lighted sign. I still have it in my garage right now",
saysDoyle. Doyle explains that the building was really old and out of
date. He laughs reading reviews of the place stating that it had air
conditioning that was never working well. He laughs because it had no
air conditioning. He describes it as a tin building with no air
conditioning in the summer and insufficient heat in the winter. "We
used to try and be closer to ringside in the winter because you got the
heat off the house lights", joked Doyle.
"The house lights
were held up with exposed wiring, exposed wiring!", says Doyle.
He even sas that the PA system that was used is in his den as it was
his PA. He says that during summer, they'd be sweating bullets calling
the action. He even remembers playing a kickboxing announcer in that
arena for Walkter Texas Ranger the TV show and that the make-up lady
kept mopping his forehead every few seconds because it was filmed in
August in Dallas which could not have been hotter or more humid. Doyle
also talks about how the arena often got flooded at ringside because it
was built to where there was not a bad seat in the house but that meant
that the ring sat lower than everything else and the river would
overflow in a rain storm and flood the bottom of the venue. He
remembers them pumping water out of there to try and get it ready for a
show. He says it was also incredibly dirty. But, it was the perfect
wrestling venue and the reason it is thought of so hlghly today was its
charms and its history.
Doyle states that wrestling continued in
the Sportatorium through 2000. Then, a Mexican wrestling company ran
from there for a short time. Then, the building was not being sued and
ended up being overrun by homeless people who burned down half of it.
He says it was an important building for pro wrestling and it still is
tough to see the empty field where the building one stood.
On Gino Hernandez: While
talking about World Class and Bill Watts' UWF, which Doyle worked for
as well, Doyle asked James what I had ever heard from previous
interviews about Gino Hernandez. James said, "Well, several people,
inclding Missy Hyatt, imply there could have been more to his death
than meets the eye". Doyle agrees. "He would not have overdosed like
that", said Doyle. This sets the stage for a series of deaths to
discuss, sadly.
On how he go to be an announcer for the GWF:
David Webb was calling the action after the Joe Pedicino era had come
to a close. Doyle was doing the ring announcer work. They did an angle
where David Webb was hit in the head and thought he was Elvis. Webb
would go on to never be seen on camera without a jelly
do ughnut. He gained 30 pounds from the experience!
After Webb, Doyle was asked to do it and he jumped at the opportunity.
On who he saw coming up in the GWF that he knew would make it:
"John Hawk, now JBL, I knew would make it if he stuck with it", says
Doyle. He says he was so good and could talk and was clearly tough and
is not at all surprised to see how successful he became and still is.
He also praises Booker T as an obvious diamond in the rough who went on
to amazing things also.
On the infamous "Bungi Chord Match: "It
was hard for me to call because you couldn't see anything and they
couldn't do anything", Doyle says. James says it was uneasy to watch at
home as Chaz threw a dropkick in the crate that was suspended by the
crane and the whole thing shook. Doyle joked that if the thing
had come down it might have been better because it wasn't a good visual
and the guys got hurt.
On Kerry Von Erich who had just returned to the Sportatorium for the GWF in 1993: "Damn
cocaine... Damn cocaine... Damn cocaine!", says Doyle with emphasis. He
states that Kerry was arrested for posession and the judge had not
decided if he was going to send him to prison or not. "Kerry did
not want to go to jail. He did not want to go to jail as a wrestler
with one foot. So, he killed himself," says Doyle.
On what impact the company hoped Kerry's return would have had:
"He was going to save us. His return in that area would have saved
us!" Doyle says they were starting to do bigger houses and it
would have only gotten bigger from there. He even states that he
believes if it had continued, Kevin would have come back and wrestled
again. But, it was not meant to be. "You should have seen him wrestle
there", says Doyle to James. James states the truth, that Kerry's
matches never made it to ESPN. Run ins and his announcing matches did
but not his matches.
On David VOon Erich: "I
remember standing outside at his funeral. There were thousands of
people there, thousands". Doyle gets quiet for a moment, "Sorry, got a
little emotional there. David was my hero".
On Bruiser Brody:
"Carlos Calon can burn in Hell. Do you know why he was killed?
Because he wouldn't take a pin. He should have taken the pin, I'd have
not thought any less of him". Doyle befriended Brody in the World
Class days. Brody was nothing like his on screen character. In fact,
Doyle introduced him to a bar Brody could go to and not be bothered. He
misses him.
On if he ever tried to go to one of the larger federations: "I did for a while... But, I had a girl."
On where he is now: Doyle
does traffic for a local radio station and stays active in radio where
he has worked for years. He used to work for a rock station known as
"Best Rock" and a smooth jazz station as well. He also is a
big fan of taking his boat out on the lake. He says if he's nto at
work, it is a safe bet he's out on the lake.
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