Manny Fernandez will be joining the VOC Nation lineup with a new podcast, “No BS with The Bull” on March 12, and he marked the announcement with an appearance on the network’s Wrestling with History podcast. “The Bull’ spoke about his upbringing, his relationship with Dick Murdoch and why he never saw Murdoch as a racist, never working in the WWE, and much more.
On rumors about Dick Murdoch being a racist:
“When I started my career, I loved Dick Murdoch. He took me everywhere, I drove for him. I drove him everywhere… I never found (him to be racist). That was the rumor (about him), and that’s why he was called Captain Redneck… He was never racist around me…he was really dedicated into training me and getting me straight…”
On respecting the business:
“When I messed up (in training), Murdoch would knuckle me upside the head. Sometimes I’d come out of that ring with about 10 knots on my head. That’s how serious they were about it… Back then you had to earn the respect of the old schoolers. You had to respect them. You come into the dressing room and there was guys like Dusty (Rhodes) and even Ernie Ladd and all the guys that were in there; Bugsy McGraw, Don Muraco, Sir Oliver Humperdink – you went over there and shook their hands and you respected people. If you got out of line and acted stupid, you paid the price. That was part of the business. If you weren’t going to respect the business, they didn’t respect you.”
On never jumping to WWE:
“I told him to F off. I spent thirty some years in the ring. I didn’t want to work for Vince because I’m not a politican. I got in a lot of trouble coming up in the business because I didn’t brown nose (or) kiss (up to) nobody. If you didn’t like what I was then do what you’ve got to do. I didn’t want their belt, belts didn’t mean nothing to me. I watched Terry Funk draw more houses when I was coming up in the business without a belt… My mom raised a man, not a dumb (person). I didn’t have a father so my mom raised me. She taught me to be a man. So I’m not going to go there and let (them) humiliate me and put bull horns on my head, come out there like a raging bull like they did Terry Taylor and all that… Struggling in the early parts of your life makes it easier in later parts of your life. I didn’t need that. I had just signed with New Japan anyway.”
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