Jim Cornette on Why The Barbarian Didn't Have More Singles Success

[@MrSpeed-lt8gr]

Mick Foley said that the only person that Barb was afraid of was his wife.

[@buckster2575]

Facts ☝️

[@bearingcee]

Micks wife? 😆

[@samuelcatoe1927]

​@@bearingcee Barb was afraid of Barb's wife

[@dondemmeljr1765]

That is right he called her every night after the show! After that police incident she flew to LA went to his room smacked him in the forehead with a 6in stiletto heel... scarred for life 🤪💯

[@john_blues]

"He ate the cop's mace and head butted the police car.". Now that's the story I want to hear.

[@Heavy_C]

Definitely up there with Macho beating up the cops and holding a Waffle House cook hostage with a butter knife while a K-9 was latched onto his buttocks, until he got his 3am breakfast 🤣🤣🤣

[@DonDiesel85]

F.T.P❗️

[@nathangillispie51]

Jim has told it before but would love to hear again

[@alexhebert3229]

It’s a damn good story

[@unkeptorc9656]

I love how they casually moved on

[@shawngreenidge3591]

Barbarian and Meng (Haku) were great as the Faces of Fear.

[@sweetpetergeda]

Too bad WCW didn't do enough with them

[@tobiasfarragut292]

After a while they got stale and u could tell they were just collecting the checks..remember that time Meng hit everyone with the Gouzal-Tonga Death Grip and Heenan was like “THERES BODIES EVERYWHERE!!”

[@jordan_8329]

One of my favorite tag teams.

[@shadowangel2235]

Lol, no.

[@Beer_Baron_]

Always wished they had at least one tag title reign in WCW.

[@alexanderwagner4587]

Forgot about when he became Seone the replacement Headshrinker in 94 when Samu left

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

And because The Barbarian didn't wrestle barefoot, his inclusion in the 2nd incarnation of The Headshrinkers was the reason for the angle where Captain Lou (who had returned for a brief time to manage them alongside Afa) started inexplicably trying to get them to wear boots. lol

[@chrisellis4072]

Met Barbarian about 10 years ago. He was a great guy and I heard a lot of great stories. Very impressed with his background and how he became a top wrestler.

[@danielburger1775]

Barbarian was one of the best He looked amazing, had enormous charisma, and was insanely agile for a guy his size.

[@doh80]

I will always remember his top rope clothesline finish he did against Tito Santana at Wrestlemania 6

[@kikko]

Me too! The replay of that was one of the best shots in wrestling. It looked so damn brutal

[@tomsawyer5736]

Yes!Tito’s head snapped back

[@doh80]

@@kikko Yeah the way Barbarian flew and Tito getting turned inside out, awesome visual

[@smkfet]

Todd Gordon told a story in his Timeline interview where he got a call sometime in 93 or 94 from "Bob Marian" who wanted to come in and he had no idea who Bob Marian was and it took a lot of effort to work out that the person calling him was The Barbarian

[@rofbagging9749]

“Barbarian couldn’t talk” Makes sense why he was with Heenan a lot then.

[@Jrsw82]

Barbarian was definitely underrated 🤷

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

The Barbarian was awesome! He still wrestles and is still a pretty menacing powerhouse even in his older age. His best run was after he left WWF and went back to WCW, where he was challenging Ron Simmons for the World Title and also teaming with Cactus Jack in brutal Street Fights against Paul Orndorff and Big Van Vader. WCW always seemed to present Barb as an upper mid-card monster in comparison to his run in WWF, even pushing him as late as 1999.

[@crazypretzel1012]

Loved Barbarian and Meng when they were The Faces of Fear. My friend and I made them in some of the WWF games that had the create a wrestler when we were teenagers back in the day

[@wickedgood3793]

Barbarian vs Big Bossman was a damn good match. Super underrated even then.

[@steveh.2334]

Always thought that too.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

He had some lowkey bangers in 1990/91

[@Rjensen2]

Lmao, this is how to say that you didn't actually watch it.

[@Rjensen2]

​@@smarkslowplay3512 Name one.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

@@Rjensen2 vs Davey in late 1990, vs Bossman at Rumble 91 come to mind

[@MyNameIsUnavailable]

I remember him initially as KONGA THE BARBARIAN in Mid-Atlantic

[@Halbared]

Man, Barby was one of my faves back then.

[@ScottsCollection]

He actually had a title shot against Ron Simmons at WCW Halloween Havoc 1992. That's when Barbarian was aligned with Cactus Jack.

[@sweetpetergeda]

Thought I was the only person who remembered that 😄

[@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact]

I was just gonna post this too, lol.

[@adamandanna]

yeah i remember watching that, we would often watch wcw programming at my aunt;s house, we had mainly watched wwf growing up but we enjoyed a lot of wcw guys and would be surprised when a wwf guy was suddenly there. we were kids of course and the internet wasn't a big thing yet. but i remember really liking ron simmons and seeing him get the belt and i remember cactus managing barbarian for a time. Of course poor ron didn't get to main event the ppv i think that was the sting-jake match. so kind of like being wwf champion when cena isn't and he is still main eventing the ppvs. But good times

[@shadowangel2235]

And he probably would've been a better champion, considering Simmons ranks as the absolute worst drawing WCW Champion

[@markula_4040]

What a weird coincidence. I just watched part of that show including that match. Cactus had failed to win the title from Ron at the previous Clash and brought in Butch Reed as part of that stable. It seemed logical that Butch would have challenged at Halloween Havoc based on his history with Ron but he was already gone by the time of the PPV.

[@deyampert3738]

Memories....my first wrestlimg match seen live ever was Jimmy Valiant and Superstar Billy Graham vs The Barbarian and Abdullah the Butcher in the Baltimore Arena with my dad!!! 🥺 The memories....

[@Shin-Blade]

Even though Barbarian couldn't talk, he sure was smart enough to save his money!

[@RichLuciano1]

You know who also headbutted a police car? Jon 'Bones' Jones

[@jasonjimerson7046]

Yes, but can he eat mace?

[@RichLuciano1]

@@jasonjimerson7046 you know we'll find out sooner or later.

[@markbonin4158]

Jone is a monster now that he moved into the heavyweight division

[@RFNY315]

Almost spit my drink out at the wardlow part. Lol

[@markfroman738]

Barby was hell on using that loaded boot!

[@jasonamrhein9593]

The Barbarian is a legit hall of fame contender. Dude was a powerhouse from the Crockett era all through the late 90's. Agile too for a guy his size.

[@Rjensen2]

There were lots of steroid guys who were agile.

[@DastardlyDer]

@@Rjensen2 a lot weren’t.

[@Rjensen2]

@@DastardlyDer So?

[@jonathanheywood4450]

​@@Rjensen2 go on then? Who on that level

[@markant9534]

@@Rjensen2 who? bulldog ?

[@justincurran9916]

They should've had the Warlord and Barb just be a stable with Hawk and Animal and that should've been the Legion of Doom managed by Precious Paul.

[@stephendwane8166]

The wardlow thing is priceless 😂😂😂😂👌

[@thepopa]

He was King Konga (with a 'K') in Georgia, I think a half-'brother' of The Road Warriors who came in to oppose them. He teamed with Bundy a couple times against them.

[@mkl62]

No. The work was that he was in a motorcycle gang in Chicago opposite The Road Warriors. Barbarian was also known for a while as Tonga John. Back on December 30, he made an appearance in Saluda, SC in the main event vs. Brino Royce. I attended the card and he used my walker on Brino. As he made his way back, he gave me a thumbs up and said "Thanks."

[@Billinois78]

Travis Heckel should release a book filled with his artwork done for the channel. Jim and Brian adding quotations under each one, or inserting quotes from the given clip.

[@MrMctuck]

There's enough to release a calendar for the next 5 years 😂😂

[@gregoryhart5174]

I would pay.

[@Tip-TheRealTonyStory]

Now that’s a great idea 😂

[@michaelmccarthy3139]

I look back and think it funny that the Paul Jones Army, for years, was focused on nothing but feuding with the Boogie Woogie Man, Jimmy Valiant.

[@kingstonagainstcorruption2268]

Barbarian still looks tough! Saw him in Knoxville at Bobby Eatons thing in Dec 2019. Great wrestler and enjoyed meeting him.

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

He still competes on the independents and yes, is still massive! The Warlord too.

[@donjohn2695]

Even thou barb is in his 60's he's still strong as hell

[@DevoJetBoy8680]

@@donjohn2695 Absolutely! He looks almost the same too. It's uncanny seeing him and The Warlord today because they're very much the same guys they were in the 80s and 90s.

[@Rorshach1004]

Promo ability is a huge part of being a pro wrestler. Barbarian needed a good manager, but overall, for what he had to offer, he had a pretty good career.

[@jodychocolatethunderwillia8957]

I did love the bench press segment with the road warriors

[@pauljoyner4338]

Yes. That storyline was hot right out the gate, but they had two powerhouse teams and both with a limited move set that was a similar gimmick. Now I liked both teams and a hugh Road Warriors fan, but like Cornette said it turned into a boring feud that just went away.

[@lossonleonard7118]

I was at the Great American Bash in 1988 at Charlotte Memorial Stadium when they were gonna have that scaffold match. I remember that the people in the front rows where I was sitting said that they left and went to the WWF, so they had Ivan Kolloff and someone else (a guy in a mask I believe) go instead against the Road Warriors.

[@gregorykrug8034]

I swear, if you would have packed him as "The Barbarian" by his real name (Sione Vailahi), he would have made a great NWA World Champ. He had the look (even without the makeup and Mohawk) and was a legit badass. Let Gary Hart do the talking.

[@Rjensen2]

This is easily the dumbest comment in a thread full of them. Congratulations.

[@glasschin871]

He was sione in the WWF for a while in the 90s

[@Rjensen2]

@@glasschin871 And?

[@glasschin871]

@@Rjensen2 the guy said they should have packed him by his real name, they did he was in a tag team with fatu.

[@geechie-don7157]

Man I miss Gary Hart shit talking and pissing the crowd off 😂

[@j.c.ca.o.l7035]

This was a very good analysis, and in a way brings to light why they never won the belts in the WWF as a team, and why they put them with Mr. Fuji. As both Ax and Smash could do well on the mic, the Powers of Pain needed work.

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

The fans already loved Demolition even as heels, they cheered them against Strike Force at WM4. Once they ran out of babyface challengers, it made sense for them to be plucky super-underdog faces against monster heels like the Powers of Pain, Twin Towers and Andre, just like Hulk Hogan had been against Andre, Bundy and Eartquake. It all built towards the day when super dominant Demolition got screwed for the belts by those sneaky Brain Busters and the Weasel. Which in turn would have set up Demolition's glorious revenge at WM6 only the Busters got replaced by Andre and Haku.

[@HellhammerSS]

His King Konga gimmick look was awesome

[@SuperMutant2099]

Go back and watch his stuff. Guy was pretty athletic for a guy his size at the time.

[@benespinosa6725]

Lol the barbarian was awesome in Bodyslam that reference had me laughing my ass off that got me well played Brian last.

[@thecolonel3995]

You can laugh but in 95-99 the Faces of Fear were my favorite tag team. Watching them kick the shit out of jobbers on worldwide or Saturday night was great! Go back to 96 or 97 and find a match with FOF Vs RnR express.

[@Doomcustomfigs]

Best Big Boot in the Business

[@scottbauer5674]

and headbutt off the top rope, don't forget

[@sirroxalot]

I've meet dozens of wrestlers over the years, and have been loosely practicing martial arts for four decades. there are only two men in my adult life that I've ever been intimidated by: The Barbarian and Ron Simmons.' Both of them are very polite and nice, but you just knew they could handle business when you stood beside them.

[@HANGRYJIMLODLIFEALWAYSLOD]

Yes PLEASE explain this to me...Barb was a total beast and one of the strongest,fastest monsters in history!!!!

[@kiss52476]

I had the pleasure of meeting him a few years back at one of those mixed legends/local shows and Cornette is correct, nicest guy but very thick accent.

[@nickzeno4567]

He was known as Tonga John when he first started. Can't remember which territory.

[@tresfielder3148]

I remember in the kayfabe wrestling books either The Wrestler or Inside Wrestling he was Konga the Barbarian from...Chicago, lmao.

[@e11aguru]

Barbarian vs Warlord was my dream match when I was a kid. In retrospect it would've been horrible lol.

[@Mxyzptlk_Lives]

They wrestled in 1986 when Warlord was a face managed by Baby Doll. Warlord won by DQ

[@kurtisallen3879]

A “Body Slam” reference! 😂😂

[@cmon3y215]

He got title shots against Ron Simmons when he was the Champ

[@IWRInteractive]

"He ate the cop's mace and headbutted the police car." I'm done. LOL

[@hollywood21639]

Faces of fear should have won the tag titles in WCW. They were bad asses.

[@d-mo733]

Barb n Cactus and Barb with Meng/Haku were awesome! Love his work! He was under valued, under appreciated, and under utilized!

[@christophercomitini8619]

The Barbarian said in his shoot the reason why the Powers of Pain were split was because one was supposed to feud with Hogan and the other was supposed to feud with Warrion. Then Pat Patterson got involved and Dino Bravo and Earthquake got those spots.

[@rd6931]

Good info, thanks.

[@TheGreatestPlayerInTheWorld]

Underrated

[@whisperienced]

What is underrated?

[@jodychocolatethunderwillia8957]

Didn’t “Barb” comeback to WWE in the mid 90’s to team with Fatu (Rikishi) as the Headshrinkers? I remember them at survivor series as Razor Ramon’s partners

[@Mr.Majestic77]

Anyone feel that the Barbarian would be the perfect Heel Manager for the AEW faction, House of Black?

[@russellcampbell3500]

Barbarian couldn't talk that's why Vince didn't push him. Period

[@jonstefanik9400]

I loved watching Barb work!

[@coreysmith8681]

Had the privilege of working barb last year. THE most humble, kind big name I've ever met. Bumped his ass off for me AND called it. Very fortunate to meet him.

[@smokeynh5916]

Kudos to the artist, he hits it every time. At first, I was like, why this baby?

[@the_i_in_tim]

He DID get a world title match at Halloween Havoc 92

[@kennyfleck8630]

I am trying to remember if I even know what barbarians voice sounds like. I seem to remember him having a manager a lot, and I can't think of even one promo. I was born in 79 and started watching in 84-85 ish, for context.

[@RJ-sy1wi]

Ronnie Garvin brought him into GA as Tonga John who the Road Warriors were afraid of from their bouncer days

[@vycanismajoris6871]

Powers Of Pain were underrated asf. I totally loved them. It was a damn shame. In MY book, they should've been 3-time tag team champs!

[@adamandanna]

they were great, I also loved warlord when he had the half mask and little scepter with a w. not the best in ring but i was always entertained by him and barbarian with those thick ass furry boots as part of the heenan family ah great memories

[@shadowangel2235]

Mediocre Road Warriors rip-off. Nothing more.

[@Rjensen2]

They were easily the most blatant Road Warriors ripoff, right down to the paint. Hall of Fame, my ass. It would be nice to have them since they are still alive though. But a legitimate hall of fame career is just completely asinine.

[@jeffmaggard3694]

@@Rjensen2 a lot of gimmicks got ripped off. Flair and Hogan for example

[@Rjensen2]

@@jeffmaggard3694 And?

[@tim26847]

He did get somewhat of a push in WCW and faced Ron Simmons for the WCW World title

[@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact]

He also had a brief reign as US Tag Team champion with Dick Slater around that time. Unfortunately, WCW ended up retiring the belts and they would be the last team to hold that championship.

[@Drummajortsu]

That wasn’t a push that was terrible booking for Simmons.

[@robertlancaster4538]

This will be interesting. I was always mystified why (Konga0 The Barbarian didn't get more push. For such a robust fellow, he was quite mobile.

[@Jammer90210]

Barbarian vs. Ron Simmons for the WCW World Title at Halloween Havoc 92. So he did have one main event push in his career at least.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

Barb looked like a damn BEAST!

[@stressfree219]

One of my favorite wrestlers of alltime was the barbarian 💯💯💯

[@geechie-don7157]

Powers Of Pain was some HUGE ma’fukkas. Still scary looking lol

[@niall6759]

BARBARIAN IS A MONSTER OF A MAN ...HE WAS EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE BACK IN THE DAY ...

[@tomh1593]

Tonga John was one of his first gimmicks. Then Konga In Georgia, then the barbarian in Crockett.

[@jaythor70]

Imagine if you will- Konga and Haku could have been awesome in the 80s with Skandar Akbar in Mid-South and World Class in Devastation Inc. Tag Team gold vs the likes of the Von Erichs, JYD, Rock and Roll Express. Then have Gary Hart manage them in WCW with Great Muta and facing the likes of the Steiners, Dustin and Barry Windham, Sting and Luger. Talk about a monster stable!

[@deanbibb3680]

He had some good house show matches against Ron Garvin in 1986, for what that was worth to either of their portfolios at the time.

[@gregthenotacowboysfan]

Faces of fear!

[@FallicIdol]

I liked the Warlord

[@kingnotail3838]

Watched a lot of shoot interviews with him, and he seems like a cool as fuck guy

[@jackytreehornsghost]

People liked the spectacle of Road Warriors power. My favourite matches of theirs when I was 8-10 years old were the brutal jobber squash matches.

[@philiptamer8995]

He started in GA ,to feud with the ROAD WARRIORS

[@Heavy_C]

I’m sure he didn’t invent this, but Barb was the first guy I remember doing an avalanche belly to belly off the top rope. I remember Scott Steiner doing it in 89, but he was sitting with his legs grapevined around the turnbuckle. Seoni was doing it standing up, and that was a massive back bump for a dude who went 280-290 easy. But he tossed whoever it was clear across to the opposite corner with such ease. And I’m sure his opponents trusted him completely cause it’s like you’re a baby in his arms. He did that shit every single week on Nitro for years, and it always got a huge pop. He’s definitely not a guy you put a belt on to draw money. But Vince or Eric could’ve done something with him chasing and menacing a baby face world champ. Like when he replaced Samú in the Headshrinkers. Imagine if instead of that, Vince reintroduces him during Bret’s mid 94 world title run. Seoni comes out and destroys Bret… maybe led by Corny. Out for vengeance for Yoko or something. And week after week he menaces and destroys Bret. And then at Summerslam Bret defends his title in the main event. Those guys would’ve made poetry together. Bret did a lot more with a lot less, and Barb could work his ass off. That could’ve drawn a bit I think, during that down period. Bret probably would’ve loved it.

[@brianlogan4243]

1993 Barb had a main event run in WCW vs Ron Simmons but it didn't get over. . The kick was the big weapon. He is seen as a goon that cant talk and a meat head in the fans eyes. He must have a manager as a heel, Corny is right. The Road warriors had the gimmick and they were faces. They simply got over first before barb. It shows you how special The Roadies were.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

Yeah, all they allowed him was grunts and snarls.

[@Rjensen2]

You'd think if you knew a guy enough to call him by his real name you would know how to spell it.

[@Rjensen2]

You also should realize that they aren't actually suplexing their "opponent". It's cute that you actually think that but come on....

[@nbaldwin45]

@@Rjensen2 The point wasn't about how far Barb threw his opponent, it was about the big back bump he took himself

[@animalmother1582]

He was in some great tag teams early on in NWA. He really sold for babyface tag teams moving toward a run. I think he could have been a legit US champion. Have Lex drop it to him and feud around for a couple months, and drop it back to Lex. But, it did come down to getting someone to get him some heat on the mic. Would have preferred to see him tag up with Muta in the late 90s, than Buzz Sawyer. I think that blend of power and crazy agility would have made for some great matches.

[@malcolmnetworkgaming3284]

Definitely underrated and underutilized. Should have won a couple of Championship. One of my favorites

[@Spider_King]

Barbarian did get a small main event push when he first returned to WCW. I'm pretty sure it was against Ron Simmons

[@ebransc09]

Was it a Cactus/Barb/Reed faction?

[@mustardviking5943]

@@ebransc09 Cactus was managing Barbarian and Tony Atlas. Weird time lol

[@smarkslowplay3512]

One of the most random sudden main event pushes ever. See also Jinder Mahal in 2017 or Mabel in 1995

[@jonharrison9222]

He was pushed as a monster heel in WCW to feud with Ron Simmons.

[@metallicbigtoe3949]

Love the Gene Anderson story with Barb, "No Gene, please !", "Say you're a pussy", "I'm a pussy Gene" 😂

[@mkl62]

They were managed briefly by Baron Von Raschke when they first went to the WWE.

[@trussdprocess5003]

He started out as tonga john then went up 2 georgia n adopted the king konga moniker...the story was he was a former member of the road warriors biker gang looking 4 vengeance...

[@tobiasfarragut292]

Watching those old WCW 92’ 6:05 shows were pretty fun with weekly jobber ass whoopins by Ol Barb’ he got that Title match with Simmons or whoever tf was the champ..sting??

[@JeffSayYes]

Could have been a great tag team 🏆 champ

[@EGarrett01]

Hawk and Animal loved their gimmick, made it look amazing (the spiked shoulder pads, etc), could cut an awesome promo, and had a great finisher (Doomsday Device). Barbarian and Warlord were more just physically impressive guys who were given the gimmick, didn't take it much further then mild facepaint and black tights, couldn't talk, and had a run of the mill finish. The crowd wasn't really going to connect with them the same way.

[@georgejackson4426]

Why did they ever break up the Powers of Pain? When they first came to WWF they beat Demolition in numerous non title matches on house shows. Once they got Mr. Fuji as a manager they started to suck. I didn't think they were Road Warrior clones as some say. Powers of Pain and Power and Glory were underrated AF.

[@stevensingleton6742]

He would have been good with Fuji by himself.

[@CarolinaPoet]

I thought Barbarian was gonna get a new, decent push when he lasted until the end at the Bunkhouse Stampede. Of course, Dusty won, but maybe an angle about sour grapes from Paul Jones would've been good.

[@kevinharris1981]

Don’t shit on the Faces of Fear. They were a highlight of my Monday nights knowing some poor jobbers were about to hit a pair of Buzzsaws

[@wesleypipes5017]

Feel like the powers of pain as a team should’ve gotten a better push. Road warrior ripoffs or not, they had a great look. Could’ve given them any heel manager during the 80’s and 90’s

[@dondemmeljr1765]

Did many many shows with Barbarian a very nice guy definitely not one to light as fuse.... same can be said for most Islanders....Barb was a truly big athletic badass! 😳💯

[@stevengrvp]

He was good

[@weseisenschenkslostmusclec9123]

Andre couldn't talk either. Give him a good manager.

[@chrischar9428]

But he wasn't 6'10

[@jonathanheywood4450]

​@@chrischar9428 so then talking doesn't matter?, 🤔

[@chrischar9428]

@@jonathanheywood4450not if he was that big

[@jonmccormick8683]

Barbarian needed to become "Japanese" and team with Masahiro Chino and become the Mafia Kick tag team.

[@SynDC6]

Brian Last: Barbarian had Bobby Herman as his manager in WWF along with Mr. Fuji.

[@smarkslowplay3512]

Herman The German?

[@kurtvanderbogarde8402]

"DEMOLITION, YOU HAD BETTER BE HOT! OR YOU ARE NOT!!!"

[@jackscott6395]

I remember barbarian vs Big boss man and was blow away by the barbarian

[@arlichar11]

cause he wasnt used right... vince wasnt good at using his talent correctly.. he had his certain guys he gave the push too, barb wasnt one of them...