Posted By James Walsh on 03/22/19
In an interview with CBS Sports, Lanny Poffo revealed that he was once attacked in the ring for insulting the Boston Red Sox during his time in the WWF as The Genius. Here are highlights:
On if he took part in drug use when it was common in the 80s: “I didn’t smoke, drink or do drugs, but in 1989 I became ‘The Genius,’ and I had a chance to be main event with Hulk Hogan for four months. I defeated him on NBC. I mean, I went from the outhouse to the penthouse for four months and then eventually back to the outhouse again. I am ashamed to tell you that I took steroids for that period of time. I got acne vulgaris and testicular atrophy. The acne cleared up and you’ll have to take my word on the other. But I only told people that because it’s the truth and because it was legal then, and I’m recommending that anybody reading this abstain from steroids. Because the good stuff about steroids is very temporary and the bad stuff is permanent. I think I got away with it because I didn’t do it much.”
On if he felt pressure to do steroids: “Nobody held a gun to my head, not Vince McMahon or anybody. But I was competing for a top spot, and I was finally getting an opportunity, and I was trying to earn it. So it was out of desperation and about being tired of being a jabroni. So I finally got to drink from the silver chalice of success, even though if I go to a shopping mall right now, you won’t find one person that remembers me. You know what I mean? Fame, if you win it, comes and goes in a minute.”
On getting attacked by a fan: “I used to be very popular in Boston, because I would say nice things in the poem about the Red Sox, or the Celtics or the Bruins. But then when I turned into a villain I used to insult the Red Sox and the Bruins and the villains and the Patriots, and they wanted to kill me. ‘I’m the Genius Lanny Poffo. I always know what’s up. The Bruins haven’t got a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The Red Sox haven’t won in years. I hope they never do. The Celtics are a travesty, the Patriots are too.’ And I start the third verse and a fan jumps in the ring, and never give a sucker an even break, I caught him between the ropes and sent him flying. I start the third verse and another fan jumps in the ring, but this time the police come and they stop the match. So that’s the kind of heat that I got with ridiculous poetry.”
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