Thursday, January 15, 1987
Daily Nebraskan
Page 5
' L-J Ulj llAJ Jj
Roberts .
Featuring
iy Hart
ouih of the SouSfV
By Jeff Apel
Diversions
Rowdy Roddy Piper isn't expected to be
there, but the feud between adorable Adrian
Adonis and the Scotsman best known for
wearing a red and black kilt will still be
ongoing when the World Wrestling Federa
tion makes its debut in Lincoln Monday.
Jimmy Hart, Adonis' manager, said the
feud with Piper originated when Adonis was
asked to fill in on Piper's wrestling talk show,
"Piper's Pit."
Almost immediately after filling in for the
Europe-bound Piper, Adonis changed the
appearance of the show by decorating the
walls with flowers and renaming the program
the "Flower Shop."
Hart said while he and Adonis both thought
the program change was for the better. Piper
became so enraged when he returned from
his European wrestling tour that he tore
down Adonis' feminine-looking studio.
v That action set off such evil feelings
between Piper and Adonis that the two
wrestlers are now out to get one another, Hart
said.
"We're in a war," Hart said. "But we're
ready to come out in combat fatigues and
kick ass."
Hart said because of such rivalries wres
tling is now able to maintain a steady stream
of fans.
Despite a slight decrease in the overall
interest in wrestling in the mid-to-late 70s,
Hart said the WWF is back stronger than ever,
largely because of special wrestling events
like Wrestlemania I and Wrestlemania II.
Those two events not only helped to rekin
dle the interest of long time fans but also
helped to gain new fans, Hart said.
"Wrestling is big everywhere," Hart said.
"Everybody has heard about it. We just put it
on a broader spectrum."
WWF's acquisition of Vince McMahon Jr. as
the league's president also helped increase
interest, Hart said.
McMahon, who bought the federation's
television rights from cable television giant
Ted Turner, turned the league into an instant
success by getting the best athletes availa
ble, Hart said.
Hart said the WWF's superior athletes
keep the three major wrestling organizations
the WWF, American Wrestling Association
and the National Wrestling Alliance from
forming a unified alliance.
"The WWF is so far ahead of everyone it's a
joke," Hart said. "We don't need anybody else
because we don't see their talent. They need
us more than we need them."
Hart said he is somewhat mystified by how
he and the wrestlers he manages earned the
villain label.
Because of their "bad-guy" image, Hart
said, it isn't unusual for obnoxious fans to
hurl cups of beer when any of the wrestlers he
manages compete.
Hart said he partially solved the problem of
all the insults he normally gets by carrying a
megaphone to the ring so he can shout
instructions to his wrestlers.
Hart said it was through the use of his
megaphone he earned the nickname "The
Mouth of the South."
"It doesn't bother me that people don't
like us," Hart said. "Everybody is human, and
I just want to be Jimmy Hart. When you
snooze, you lose."
j Photo courtesy of NBC Television
Hart said he is looking forward to competing
in Pershing because it will mark the Lincoln
debut of the Honky Tonk Man, a wrestler he
describes as an up-and-coming star in the
WWF ranks.
The Honky Tonk Man will face former
intercontinental champion Pedro Morales in
one of the feature matches on the card. Other
top matches include a midget tag-team match
and a match between Jake "The Snake"
Roberts and 400-pound King Kong Bundy.
Pershing officials said Tuesday that plenty of
tickets remain for Monday's event. Wrestling
begins at 7:30 p.m.
Hart said he's interested in how the fans in
Lincoln will treat the wrestlers.
When he tours near his home in Memphis,
Tenn., Hart said he runs into rednecks in
cowboy hats who like to yell and scream.
Hart said that crowd is a sharp contrast
from the fans the WWF gets in New York. He
said fans in the Eig Apple are more the type
that say "Hey brother, how's it going?"
"Wrestling fans everywhere are fairly
knowledgeable," Hart said. "It's just some
act differently than others."
