Gerald Brisco Talks WWE HOFer Protecting Vince McMahon, Shelton Benjamin's WWE Return, Brock Lesnar
Gerald Brisco is the special guest this week on Sean Waltman's X-Pac 1,2,360, discussing Brock Lesnar's WWE signing, Hulk Hogan's first reaction to Kevin Nash and more. They sent us these highlights:
Gerald says he didn't mind the "stooge" label, but someone else did:
"Pat Patterson hated hearing that word. He hated it. I used to rib Pat all the time. I said, Pat you and I worked for twenty years in our careers trying to have a reputation as good workers. Now forever in the history of wrestling we'll go down as two stooges. He'd say, don't say that! I said, man you're labeled now. You're a stooge."
Gerald confirms folklore that Vince McMahon brought Gorilla Monsoon to protect him on Black Saturday (when WWF took Georgia Championship Wrestling's slot on WTBS):
"That is true. That's exactly what happened. Gorilla made the trip down there and stood backstage, made sure the boss was OK. And he was OK...It wasn't just the WWF guys that respected Gorilla. He was respected throughout the industry as a standup guy and as a tough guy."
WrestleMania I almost ended much differently:
"We were ready to attack WrestleMania I with [Dick] Murdoch and [Adrian] Adonis for the title and get the titles. That's when Jack [Brisco] said, I've had enough. I'm forty years old and I'm finished. And he quit. He was one of those guys that when he walked away, he walked away. He never came back."
How Brock Lesnar's coach at the U of M, J Robinson, responded to Gerald scouting Brock:
"I called J and he said, no [Brock] is going to stay here another year. He's going to win a national title. J said, do me a favor, don't let Brock know that you're interested in him because I don't want him losing focus, He's got a tendency to lose focus and he's going to win me a national championship next year."
If he orchestrated Shelton Benjamin's planned return to WWE earlier this year:
"No, Shelton did that himself. He called me and asked me my advice on how to do it. I said, there's only one way to do it and that's to call the man. So he finally did and he got his way back. Unfortunately for him they discovered the torn rotator cuff, which is a hard surgery. So they delayed his signing. From what I hear there's a possibility that he still might appear. I'm hoping so."
Hulk Hogan's first reaction to Kevin Nash:
"I showed Terry the picture. He said, 'brother, it looks like this will be the end of Hulkamania.'"
Gerald credits Vince with saving his life, following a series of strokes:
"He said, I'm going to get you the best cardiologist in the world. I'll have somebody call you back in ten minutes. So about ten minutes later Stephanie [McMahon] called me back and said, Gerald we got you set up in Pittsburgh with a cardiologist specialist up there. They want to know when you're coming. I said, well I need to go right away, Steph. I said, I'm scared to death, and I was."
But Gerald didn't lose his sense of humor during the ordeal:
"Vince actually saved my life. They told me, you're like one of these guys you see on TV, where a guy gets out of his truck at Home Depot and by the time he gets to the door he drops dead and nobody knows why. They said, you're at that stage right now. I said, well I just won't go to Home Depot. I'll go to Lowe's."
Son Wes Brisco's in-ring career:
"So Wes is working hard and he's trying to make it, and he's struggling like everybody else. It breaks my heart sometimes to see him, and I try to talk him out of doing what he's doing. I had a really long talk with Arn Anderson. I've got to give Arn some props on this. I was telling Arn Wes' struggles and I told Arn that I want him to quit. Arn said, what did he tell you? He told me doesn't want to. Arn said, what would you do? You know, he threw it right back at me. I'd do the same thing. He said, well there's your answer. Go for it."
Sean adds his input, saying, "Wes Brisco being let go from FCW was such BS. I'm not afraid to say it... it was bullsh*t that he was let go."
Gerald replied, "Well, every coach there agrees with you."
You can check out the full interview in the video above or download the podcast version on iTunes.