Honky Tonk Man - Why I Refused to Lose Clean to Randy Savage

[@TitleMatchWrestling]

Shout out to the legendary Honky Tonk Man🔥 Watch Every HTM Interview Instantly ➡titlematchnetwork.com/wrestling-shoot-interviews-results/

[@truthBtold1212]

Probably the biggest joke who couldn't live without his gimmick or his belt. Nobody respects honky tonk Man in or out of the ring

[@truthBtold1212]

I've never heard someone cry or have excuses for every. Also the amount of lies he tells Everytime. And different ones depending who he's talking too 🤣 stop giving this bum a platform

[@corrosivecabal]

@TitleMatchWrestling Honky Tonk Man, the ego of hogan with the talent of Brutus Beefcake. Actually, that's a bit insulting to Brutus.

[@weswashburn4321]

“That doesn’t work for me brother” - Honkey Tonk man

[@user-kf3bb7ld7n]

Every wrestler has their own ideas about how invincible they should be. This is the actual problem with giving Hogan control. After that everyone wanted to say "no".

[@drumitar]

imagine trying to book Hogan vs Honkey Tonk Man

[@CharlesCarter-f9j]

Lmao right

[@danielvrodriguez81]

They all do it. Not just Hogan

[@user-kf3bb7ld7n]

@danielvrodriguez81 It wasn't what it turned into. Brett Hart didn't help matters.

[@ronaldnelson6692]

Love him or hate him, Honky Tonk Man was always a great entertainer.

[@marcinpuszczao9418]

Never even came up in wrestling conversations, I can’t recall any one conversation going back to 86

[@JpWhereIsMyShoe]

Never once had anyone said you know who the real deal was? Honky tonk man. Now that was a wrestler.

[@Natsoc1488]

​@@JpWhereIsMyShoeFACT! 😂

[@iotaeta-pi2770]

The only good thing about the Honky Tonk Man was that squash match with The Ultimate Warrior. He didn't have heel heat, he had "why tf is this guy on my screen" heat.

[@kevinyoung9557]

Absolutely .

[@bobdonda]

Great story, Honky outsmarted Vince and not a lot of people can say that. He turned his 4 month IC title reign into a 15 month reign.

[@jdzspace33]

and even know it's seen as a legendary IC championship run. But to have to drop it the way he did to Warrior....not a great way to go out. But he must have agreed to it.

[@max__p1765]

@@jdzspace33 HTM said, it was his idea. He was boasting, he is here to fight, send me someone out, anybody, he don´t care - and got what he deserved. Sad for the Wrestling fans, but he felt, perfectly fitting his character. And I am sure, he made a lot of money at their rematches during the country, boasting: he wasn´t prepared, wait, what happens, when I am prepared.

[@Rivers.Edge1]

And WWE made sure Gunther broke it.😂

[@jdzspace33]

@Rivers.Edge1 doesn't matter. Nobody takes any records at by this era serious. They don't mean anything when there is no competition drawing eyes away and the people who are champs actually have to draw.

[@_Lux_Ex_Tenebris]

Honky Tonk Man came and headlined a USO show for us at Ramstein AB Germany in I think 1994... That man had the crowd in his hands. Nice as could be, afterwards talked to every last one of us as long as we wanted to. If I remember right, he was there, Wendi Richter, Nikolai Volkoff and a few others.. HTM and Nikolai were gracious as hell to be there with us. Fun day.

[@ragnarlothbrook4652]

“There was no problem……the problem was” 😂

[@DrHDoofenshmirtzphd]

That's a misquote. He said there was no problem with Randy. The implication being their was a problem with the people running the show and and not trusting them.

[@willystiles1665]

Haha I caught that to lmao

[@fuzzluvver69]

​@@willystiles1665 Then you also caught it wrong.

[@towmater7081]

Like him or not Honkey Tonk Man was a great heel . He earned his right not to be buried. You don't have to be buried to lose .

[@MikePScott624]

Thats true he was a hell of a mid card heel and could draw heat for sure.

[@craventiger]

100% agreed. The dude is one of the real ones.

[@keithhanisek2465]

Like him or not? Are you touched? Honkey is a legend. He drew nuclear heat!

[@MrMGR1986]

Yeah thats crazy. They treated him like a job guy.

[@MarquisLeary34]

@@MrMGR1986 Job guys don't get to hold the IC belt at that time for as long as he did.

[@sickboy703]

It wasn't about dropping the belt, it's about respect. Good on HTM standing on business.

[@joemares5033]

Considering that he was later repackaged as "rhythm and blues" with Valentine, he was right to be wary of him being "built back up".

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

That didn't hurt honky tonk man That was already his gimmick pretty much. That really screwed with Valentine. Valentine was a serious wrestler who wants tagged with Ric Flair. That was his gimmick. Basically being a Ric Flair clone. Being put with honky tonk man absolutely destroyed his credibility.

[@jeffdeiderich2901]

I wasn't a fan of Honky, but I don't blame him for not taking that total disrespect. He was IC Champion for a long time.

[@kraig7777]

Jim Barnett impersonation is awesome lol

[@CinemaMack]

My boy, my boy.

[@MrJrockzus]

Stu Hart is my fav 😂

[@robertbloom4424]

The problem with and for Wayne in this situation is that "Macho Man" and "Million Dollar Man" are main even gimmicks while "Honky Tonk Man" is a midcard gimmick. Wayne was good enough in the ring and on the mic to be a main eventer for sure. He was definitely better in the ring and on the mic than Ultimate Warrior (for example). Did he have the "it factor" to have a lengthy main event run? We'll never know. Can't blame him for not wanting to risk being repackaged. The writing team had a lot more "misses" than "hits" and cost guys entire careers. We remember the hits, but the writers missed a lot more often. That said, Wayne was happy to be a solid midcard guy and he stuck it out longer than most.

[@dantecarroll2435]

right

[@dantecarroll2435]

he was ok i never thought he was a great wrestler and he certainly wasn't the greatest ic champion of all time but at least he had charisma

[@CharlesCarter-f9j]

He was great on the mic, not so much in the ring

[@danielvrodriguez81]

At that time, Macho was also a mid card wrestler.

[@dantecarroll2435]

@ right

[@stevendrumm4957]

The Main Event match on February 5, 1988 between the Honky Tonk Man and Randy Savage did not end in a double countout. It ended in Randy Savage winning the match by a countout but the Honky Tonk Man retaining the Intercontinental title.

[@Chayliss]

The mega power origin angle??? Pay up

[@danielvrodriguez81]

@stevendrumm4957 yes. He had trouble remembering. He was not sure

[@bretlinden8248]

They're talking about the SNME the previous October

[@Paulanthny]

He brained Randy with the guitar.

[@clark82]

I have always suspected that HTM version of the story is from the Oct 87 SNME match, but he talks like it’s the 88 Main Event Match. Bruce on his podcast has said that weeks before Survivor Series 87 they were told that Hogan was off the road after WM4 to film a movie and to plan to get the belt off him at the Main Event, and have him involved in WM4, but not walking away with the title. By Main Event the Mega Powers story is firmly in development and having the IC belt on him in 1988 makes zero sense (it makes slightly more sense in 87 simply to solidify his face turn, but you have to take the belt off him down the road which kills momentum). I think plans were to put belt on savage in late 87, but then Vince got excited for NHB, and hogan being off the road gave HTM another 8-9 months as IC champ, as at that time Warrior came right along and that was Vince’s next big project

[@keijikicksass]

I wonder what the convo was like when it came to Summerslam 88 and Vince was like "Warrior is squashing you in a minute" lmao.

[@max__p1765]

As I remember, Honky mentioned, Vince just told him to drop to Warrior, HTM agreed and came up with the idea of that short squash. So he was able to complain, he wasn´t prepared for the opponent for their rematches.

[@MrMontythemouse]

The BEST chickenshit heel of all time, my god, he got me and my friends mad as hell when he wriggled out of defeat time after time.

[@scribe570]

And also got away with a guitar hit.

[@yoreverend]

See, that was exactly it. You would run to the TV hoping to watch him lose... and over and over he'd get out of it!

[@lcceo22]

Lmao not even close to the best at anything😂. Jesus christ with this sort of romanticizing of mediocre talent hust because it was back in muh daye, it’s no wonder these guys have such overinflated egos.

[@MrMontythemouse]

@lcceo22 You know nothing, discredit yourself by grammer alone.

[@lcceo22]

@@MrMontythemouse I love it. You don’t understand that you were being mocked👏

[@JohnMorris-c5v]

The ONLY reason I clicked on this video is so I could change the channel on Honky Tonk Man...just like I used to when he was wrestling.

[@mringram]

Crucial

[@fantasybouthour6679]

Honky Tonk Man and Robert Patrick could be brothers.

[@Andy_3739-r1i]

You can't argue with honky-tonk man's thinking. He was a great champion! He drew a lot of money! To throw him on the trash heap was bullshit!

[@MarquisLeary34]

Losing to Randy Savage is being thrown on the trash heap?

[@HousyFootball57-qq9fm]

​@@MarquisLeary34it was the way Vince did it. He completely phased him out without so much as a conversation after HTM was a big draw for years

[@johnj.2486]

I always thought this guy was one of the better wrestlers during that era. He's a very good actor, has a strong talent for comedy. Always made me smile

[@UnpluggedIndividualYT]

HTM makes up 82% of all shoot interviews

[@Jim-Tuner]

All his "shoot interviews" are worked. Always have been.

[@coronaweeks4577]

Exactly…like McMahon would care one way or another what HTM felt if he was asked to drop it lol

[@josephorzolek2623]

@@coronaweeks4577 Agreed! Thank you for saying that! If HTM told Vince he didn't want to drop the belt, Vince would have dropped HTM from the roster. Good to see critical thinking.

[@Prossdog]

@@josephorzolek2623I think this story could have done legs for the simple reason that Honky threatened to take the belt WITH HIM to WCW. He had Vince by the balls at that point. That exact same fear was the catalyst for the Montreal Screwjob.

[@josephorzolek2623]

@@Prossdog Hello and thanks. That's a good point. The thing that shocks me is that Vince never sued Debra Miceli over her incident with the Women's title. He sued WCW because of the whole invasion angle with the Outsiders, but he didn't sue Miceli who literally misused company property and put the belt in the garbage on national television. Vince dragged out the lawsuit against WCW for years, but it was really strange that something that would actually hurt the company, in this case one of his own champions putting the belt in the trash, didn't make him want to take action? Vince can be very difficult to understand...

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

Remember that honky tonk man only got the IC belt because Hulk Hogan told them to put it on him. He worked with Jimmy Hart because Jimmy Hart and Hulk Hogan were good friends. Honky Tonk Man wouldn't have had that spot without Hogan. Not doing the job for Macho Man only helped Macho Man because he skipped the IC title and went to the world title scene. Fair or not It worked out for everybody except him. But at the end of the day he did get kind of a raw deal. And the fact that he got buried to the warrior who himself couldn't carry the business is kind of sad because while at the time it was one of the most memorable moments ever that moment really didn't last or pay off in the long run.

[@hakonsoreide]

Yes, Warrior had potential so that was a shame. If it had just been about his character and the storyline, it would have worked out fine, but his personality definitely didn't suit wrestling. He simply wasn't a team player, and wrestling only really works when everyone works together as best they can to create a memorable experience of atheleticism and showmanship. Bret Hart often uses the word "dancing" to describe what wrestlers do in the ring, but you can't dance well without good partnering skills. And in the case of Warrior, his basic wrestling skills weren't particularly good either once you looked beyond the bursts of energy and wildness of his performances.

[@leonardoyi3183]

i think you are a little unfair to warrior...warrior did carry the belt for almost a year, and beat the goat, hulk hogan cleanly. Even if warrior didn't reach the expectations of filling hogan's shoes, warrior is still a way bigger icon than HTM ever was....

[@HousyFootball57-qq9fm]

​@leonardoyi3183 not really. HTM was consistent, a solid wrestler (unlike Warrior) and had legendary heat back then. Warrior was a flash in the pan and didn't have the act to maintain the heat

[@leonardoyi3183]

​@@HousyFootball57-qq9fm not really? HTM was a solid wrestler, that's true, but Warrior whether you like it or not, was an elite superstar during his prime. His popularity during his prime rivaled that of hulk hogan. Warrior's career is a hall of fame one, HTM not that much....

[@chubbsbully7198]

​@@leonardoyi3183I'm on your side dude. Warrior easily had the two best WrestleMania matches back to back in WrestleMania 6 vs Hogan and 7 vs Macho Man.

[@Zippadeedoodaa-nt8om]

I remember Saturday Night Main Event always came on after the TV show Empty Nest.😂

[@HypePerformanceGroup]

The old timers have a lot of bad things you can say about them, but hearing $7K was a good payday when today’s guys can make $1M off a Saudi match is why you have to respect the old timers and give them a little grace

[@LifeOfATruckerOTR]

7k back then could buy you more than 7k today 7k in the 80s was life changing money to make in one night

[@valetudo025]

@@LifeOfATruckerOTRlike $20.5k for an event in todays money. I googled it, that’s good money for one event.

[@mrpelon1000]

legend people absolute legend...

[@daveschannel747]

10:00 Handshake deals? Wayne...... You should have known better! Never trust a McMahon! NEVER

[@zombiegoatt4282]

He was protecting his character in a day where old school heels didn't do jobs on TV. Keep in mind when they say TV they aren't talking about PPV's but the equivalent to Raw and Smackdown. Jesse Ventura was like this as well no jobs on TV.

[@manifoldnook1]

He was fun to hate as a cocky guitar smashing bad guy. It was a great gimmick.

[@AnEternalEnigma]

Honky Tonk Man was one of the first old schoolers to embrace the Internet and destroy kayfabe. His website and message boards back in 2000-2001 were WILD lmao

[@bsnhbksan]

fk, I remember this, so many years have passed I thought I had just imagined it all lool

[@ModernDayRenaissanceMan]

The ultimate Warrior was another one. I remember being on his website around 2000 and him outing Hulk Hogan for being a wife swapper. Which is odd because that's exactly what he got filmed for doing! That's when I realized that maybe the ultimate Warrior wasn't exactly crazy. Edit: And then when you factor how close Hogan and Vince was back in the day and you hear about him sharing women with Johnny Ace That goes with all of their personalities. I think Warrior knew a lot more than people realized and was disgusted by the behavior. Which only adds to the credibility of the current lawsuit that you hear.

[@CNotez-uo8kp]

I missed that, but I wish I didn't

[@livewithsin]

The difference between the 2 is Randy Savage wasn't a flash in the pan heel who just fell down the card after losing the IC title.

[@mindblownwatcher8536]

Great interview

[@HULK-HOGAN1]

It takes balls and self-respect to stand up for what's right. Never tread on the good employees. If it doesn't bite you in this world, it'll tear you to shreds in the next

[@hfield07]

This cant be Hogan, he never would defend workers rights

[@raulo19999]

For people that weren't around or don't remember, this was gonna be on free tv. Nearly 16M people watched that show live in their homes on a Saturday night in October. That is 4x the record for twitch and nearly double for KZbin livestreams that you can watch anywhere you have service. It was a huge deal to lose clean with no comeback in front of an audience that size. Couple that with a "repackage"... vince wanted gimmicks that he could own, trademark, and control. Until that point, they didn't work very well and they rarely did after. Had he gone through with it, the new gimmick likely would have failed and it would have been impossible to comeback as HTM.

[@Taylormademan900]

But he lost to the ultimate warrior on pay per view in 10 seconds 😂

[@Jim-Tuner]

That was the payback for getting away with not losing to savage. The events are not unrealated.

[@stevenjames3242]

Ppv is not TV. Back then it mattered. There were other feds to go too. Not everyone will watch PPV. When he lost to warrior he was on his way out as well.

[@bobc2043]

Warrior wasn’t announced so he had an out.

[@geneares5063]

And got paid lovely. Smart man.

[@Jim-Tuner]

HTM says alot of different things to justify his doing a clean short job in the middle of the ring for warrior. Many of them may or may not be true. What is true is that until a week before the PPV, the official plan was for Beefcake to win the IC title at the PPV. Then it was suddenly changed to warrior getting the belt. And the loss effectively pushed HTM down into a repackaged mid-card tag team attraction the next year.

[@tyrooneyfromdababooney7585]

Wow that was a great interview That's a classic. It shows you the shenanigans behind the scenes. Honky tonk Man held his own. 🤔😁😃👍

[@scribe570]

I wonder how fast wrestlers lose their innocence and all the reasons they wanted to get into the business, being fans themselves, turns to this politics and games-playing 24-7? It reminds me of radio DJs. All the romance of "being on the radio" that drives new people getting into the business soon loses its novelty, and what is left is morning and weekend shifts, jealous coworkers, can't break format, you don't get to pick the play list, etc. etc. (See movie Private Parts.) Honky Tonk sounds like he was enjoying himself until he got to this crossroads of whose interests were being served by just having a handshake deal. Jesse Ventura proved the last thing you want is to not have your agreement on paper.

[@PlanetBlake]

@@scribe570 kind of like that old Jimmy Stewart movie, “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”.

[@willystiles1665]

@@scribe570great comment makes a lot of sense cheers 🍻

[@FaithOverFear79]

Most underrated heel of all time.

[@PlanetBlake]

Great interview. I’ve never seen him so intense in an interview before. You could see that his anger and disgust over all that was real. I think most of us would agree that the one thing you absolutely want from your employer is to be treated like a human being and respectfully. Having to lose a match is one thing, and something I’m sure all wrestlers understand is a port of the business. But when you feel you are disrespected after all the hard work and dedication you put in, that’s not excusable. From all I’ve seen and heard over the years in wrestling. It seems that Vince burned a lot of people this way.

[@hakonsoreide]

I was wondering back in the day why HTM had the belt for so long, and the matches were sometimes a bit unfulfilling to watch the way they often ended. But in a bizarre way it made the run more iconic and interesting that it stood out for different reasons than you'd expect. I think how it changed Ted DiBiase's story arc still made for something far more interesting than your usual title exchanges, so whatever the case was, I think HTM's decision to stand up for himself at that pivotal moment created a lot of interesting storylines that Vince otherwise might not have conceived of.

[@JesseKerson]

Honky dropping it to Warrior and the Mega Powers all coming from this, can't imagine those two years going better.

[@MMB18abel]

In my hometown, when Honky Tonk Man was coming down the aisle, a fan threw a cup of beer at him and he looked at the guy and laughed. Wayne sold the heel angle very well.

[@grandduke2145]

That deal was more than fair.

[@JayMathis-fh8dn]

Refused to drop the IC title to Savage in what would probably have been a competitive match that made both look good. Ended up getting demolished by Ultimate Warrior in a squash for the belt anyway.

[@AaronT129]

Honky Tonk Man was a great Intercontinental Champion! Great character! Vince Jr was a genius for that invention! 🙌🏾💯

[@remmy1219]

He would absolutely not be hurt by losing clean to Randy. Randy was a main eventer- can’t say the same for Honky Tonk.

[@vulgar5595]

He has a valid point, it was never about putting Randy over, it was about getting a future from it

[@GoldFinger34]

He indeed would’ve been hurt. HTM would have drifted into relative obscurity a lot earlier than he did had he dropped that belt. He remembered what life was like for him as a wrestler before holding that belt. All that said, I wanted to state that HTM was a bit delusional about his prominence in the WWF, but I’ve now changed my opinion. I think he knew exactly how small a draw he really was and how little fans thought of him as opposed to other stars of that time, which is why he clung on to that belt for dear life.

[@danielhall1226]

Jeff Jarrett proved the Honky Tonk mans gimmic is timeless. As long as country music exists there can always be a version of the Honky Tonk Man. Imo

[@emiliorebenga443]

This was the match Honky did that legendary Elvis promo. Then went on to hit Macho with the guitar🔥🔥

[@stevenbean9706]

his inability to cooperate was his final nail in the coffin

[@jackspickphone6656]

This is a good interview. I always liked honky tonk man.

[@Powerdriver777]

Honky was very Hot in his prime everyone hated him like Dom becauseof the corny look. He was made for his Gimmick. He looks like someone from Tennessee. I loved to hate him.

[@xspindrift8737]

Honky Tonk Man has 99 problems, but can always come up with a few more.

[@rog1046]

Wayne if you are reading these, just want to let you know I hated u so much I loved watching u. Isn't that what it's all about at the end of the day. U were the best heel for me at that time. Glad to see you are still around and healthly....

[@Journey-of-1000-Miles]

I always liked the Honky-Tonk Man, because he spent time in the Stampede Territory.

[@dantecarroll2435]

his ego is just as big as jerry lawler's

[@BusinessOfFear]

Lawler had every right. He was the biggest draw in Memphis for decades

[@DanlowMusic]

Yeah both are super overrated and undeserving of the pushes they got.

[@DanlowMusic]

Not they they are terrible but they weren't top talent.

[@Spooky_515]

Are you serious? You grew up watching Cm punk and dolph ziggle didn’t you? lol

[@Jason-ft9oy]

They're cousins

[@boydlewis-j7k]

I remember going up from 4 yrs old watching you guys every week, you guys are awsome! Ty, Honky Tonk Man & ?

[@StewartJsR]

Yeah something just seems really legit about Tonk - I like him and I believe him.

[@Bellthorian]

I was a senior in high school and than in the military when The Honky Tonk Man was at his peek in the WWF. Honestly he was an afterthought, all those places selling out, I bet Hogan was on the card...HTM was certainly not headlining any cards.

[@PhilD22]

This man has lived his gimmick.

[@CNotez-uo8kp]

You gotta respect that

[@MMB18abel]

As a heel, Randy liked to win dirty as well, Wayne was basically playing HIS game.

[@richardthompson6366]

Protect yourself, no one else can be trusted.

[@philduchene7833]

met him in person, he had some great stories

[@RyuDaBurninator]

He does bring up some good arguments. He earned his spot and they were gonna brush him aside. Doing the job wasn't the issue, ruining his character was.

[@nunyabizness3866]

Those title matches were a true competition but only behind the scenes.

[@kalvinravn8431]

I think it was called Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine…That’s where me and my brother in the mid to late 1980’s got are information and figured out how wrestling basically Really was….We started big WWF fans in like 1983 but as we were Informed we started liking the AWA and NWA.

[@PitfallHarry72]

Mack Man instead of McMahon. 🤣🤣🤣

[@staypuftmarshmallowgamer8790]

Shake rattle and roll GOAT

[@alwaysamysteryyes2021]

He should be happy to be in the ring with Tito.

[@EGarrett01]

The Honky Tonk Man was my first memory of pro wrestling. Watching him do an interview and not knowing who he was, what the belt was, why his hair was like that, or anything.

[@CNotez-uo8kp]

He got the hair till the end

[@markhall8874]

Gotta respect the Honky Tonk Man

[@watermunteconomie3938]

Honky was and is one of the best "bad" guys who like to sing along with.

[@Vision_2025-rb]

Just imagine if Bischoff put a rocket on Honky's ass in 1994 instead of letting him go 🤣

[@thermondgilljr]

Honky Tonk was underrated.

[@markeastridge9649]

Added to my wish list: 1988 WWF Superstars Playing Cards. Standard deck with jokers. 11 wrestlers and 3 managers. Honkytonk Man is one of them. Artwork is classic.

[@nightlite9009]

He didn't need to be buried. Nor did he need to be never be seen again. He did need repackaging. But there were other ways to lose the belt and other ways to rebuild him.

[@solecreator4844]

You know the outcome of all of this, the tournament at Wrestle Mania IV, prior to that : the drama at Saturday Night Main Event where you have Andre winning the belt, due to a twin referee mixup, Ted Dibiasi getting his Million Dollar Belt later on that year... And all what comes after... You wouldn't wanted to have it any other way. The Mega Powers and the explosion of it afterwards... Come on...

[@SquawkMonk]

I get a strong feeling that Honky is the perfect example of "believe about 10% of what a wrester tells you."

[@liquidamerican8543]

Losing clean to Macho then getting repackaged actually sounds like a pretty good idea. I know he was a very over heel but pretending like people were buying tickets because of him is just ridiculous.

[@mad555555]

He was the longest reigning intercontinental champion. He was definitely a draw for house shows. He should have been repackaged but it probably would not have went well since this was the only gimmick he has ever had.

[@biggtrejo]

One of the greatest rivalries ever !!!

[@rogerfrazier4240]

One of my favorites

[@wickedsunny2011]

He will always be remembered dropping the IC belt to ultimate warrior inside 10 seconds.....

[@dary0097]

People saying He's mad About losing to Savage He's not Mad About losing to Savage he's mad cause they treated him like he didn't matter in the meeting and They were gonna Repackage him

[@maevethefox5912]

And let's be real, the HTM package was his bread and butter. He was great at generating heat on the mic, and working with Jimmy to win dirty. He was never a guy who was going to generate a run based on looks or in ring talent. They repackage him he'd have ended up as either Isaac Yankem style villain of the week, or some kind of gimmick jobber like Brooklyn Brawler and he knew it.

[@scribe570]

@@maevethefox5912 Do you think like Mike Rotundo, the repackaging would have meant a completely new look -- drop all the Elvis stuff, change hair completely, dye it, short, etc. to become a new unrecognizable heel? What a mistake to lose all that investment. Even if the HTM was getting old, you could repurpose that idea . . . a tag team of Elvises who turn on each other, feud with Jimmy Hart, or something.

[@AceGoodheart]

It's easy to judge these guys from our couch, but if we were in their shoes how would we handle things? Honky was making his best money as I.C. champion. You take that away from him and his income decreases. So yeah, I can understand why they're so protective of their title reign. After, Honky's title reign he kinda lost all momentum. Honky played a great heel and was imo a good I.C. champion because of it. Sadly, that gimmick ran it's course and he was getting older in years. A very memorable character in the WWF though.

[@prufrock1977]

Great interview!

[@travelreview5962]

Is losing to Randy Savage really killing your career? Like didn't everyone except Hulk lose to Randy?

[@Eddie-61864]

Hulk lost to Randy via 2 count outs outside the ring! The first one was actually my favorite encounter! Randy pretty much humiliated Hulk!

[@djp2513]

It would have destroyed Honky's career. Everyone wanted to see him lose so bad. Once he lost he would have been completely irrelevant. Honky retaining the belt was the best thing for him, Savage AND the WWF.

[@johncook9392]

@@djp2513 As much as I never cared for Honky, I agree with you about him retaining the belt being for the best...

[@djp2513]

@johncook9392 nobody liked Honky Tonk. That was the point! Keeping the belt on him made fans crazy! The more he retained the title, the crazier fans got! Putting the belt on Savage would have killed a ton of momentum. Savage was ready for the world title. Putting the ic title on him would have been pointless

[@danielvrodriguez81]

You are not getting the point. He didn't care about losing to Savage. He was upset that he was not going to be heard from again and repackage him.

[@corrosivecabal]

"This was sellout business, honkytonk against Jake the snake, honkytonk against Ricky steamboat, honkytonk against Randy Savage." Honkytonk and 3 guys that could sell out arenas back then in matches against a mop, and honkytonk thinks he's the draw as the mop. 😂

[@j-short5431]

You only got the belt because you were friends with whole Kogan. You weren’t the macho man Randy Savage get over it. And you weren’t the one drawing.

[@royaumeuni5730]

Great speech.

[@jokelanddotcom]

He was in denial that his gimmick ran its course

[@philleotardo8760]

He’s a great talker.

[@Bermondseybob]

"Some guy called Wayne is on the phone. He don't half sound like The Honky Tonk Man..."

[@daves2822]

Ted DiBiase had a better deal as the million dollar champ..

[@vulgar5595]

Ring Master came from that, what came from the Ring Master changed everything....And that's the bottom line

[@victorc524]

Didn't he do something similar to WCW by not wanting to lose to sting or something , Hence why he got fired by bischoff in WCW

[@darylmixan8170]

No jobs on TV? Honky had the character where a clean loss absolutely DOES NOT LOOK bad on him... Every fan knows his opponents can kick his ass... He drew and got heat because he was a slimy cheater... He was an arrogant heel with a bad body that fans loved to see get his ass beat... It only made it better and got him more heat next match when he cheated and won... because every kid knew who the better fighter/wrestler was.

[@Raydensheraj]

Loved the Honky tonk Man.... phenomenal heel.

[@BFF-Bootcamp-Belleville-NJ]

That million dollar belt was beautiful tho

[@ValleyProud916]

Over the years I've watched alot of these interview videos. Honky Tonk Man and King Kong Bundy are the only ones who seem honest and sincere.

[@frizzyred1292]

I agree, HTM was the original king of the shoot, he was one of the originals that made it popular because his were always great. I love Bundys Kayfabe commentaries one as well. Well worth buying if you can find those shoots never know when they come down from YT.

[@FunGalFaction]

I love the guy but there is the possibility that it could have turned out better if he stayed. He could have a face turn then later went back to the best heel in the business. So many times wrestlers had changes and the perception of your own fame is not the best thing to take into a negotiation. It is a selling factor, but the business at that time was the investment in putting in the whole show. But, yes, way more people got effed over than promoted to the top so if he feels good about his choices, then good on him for staying true to who he is.

[@Trumpisgod]

He’s such a mark for himself 😂😂😂

[@cjp1599]

Honkey Tonk was the master of turning heels to baby faces

[@joselozada24]

Honky was a midcarder, Randy was a Maineventer

[@marcinpuszczao9418]

I’ve only been watching wrestling since like ‘85/‘86 so my experience is limited, but I can tell you 💯 NOBODY was talking about Honky Tonk Man on the school bus, ever. Never in any wrestling conversations did anyone say “did you see what Honky Tonk Man did” 🤷‍♂️

[@kmaru80]

Agreed. But he was a solid presence.

[@yoreverend]

@@marcinpuszczao9418 Well, you're not wrong. He didnt have any actual appeal and didn't necessarily need to. During his IC title run, his role was to infuriate fans by somehow managing not to lose the title against the fan favorites who "should" have been able to beat him... akin to Mr Perfects first year, or Flairs NWA title days. The dastardly villains who should have lost but didnt. Unfortunately, once he lost the strap, they never really found a niche for him again and that was that.

[@kurtispopp]

He had a beef with Eric Bischoff about jobbing to Johnny B Badd, too.

[@raulo19999]

He was on a pet show verbal deal at that time when everybody on wcw got a guaranteed deal and a lot weren't showing up or working. I don't blame him.