We all know how that story goes because the Superstation is just a part of the Turner empire, along with TNT, Turner Classic Movies, CNN, Headline News, etc., and on and on and on. Back when they ran wrestling at the Omni in Atlanta, now those were the days. In fact, those were the days when Jim Ross was working for them, too - you all probably know him now as JR on Monday night RAW.

Those were the days when Tommy was making a name for himself. He always did have a great sense of humor and I was lucky that he took me under his wing in the USWA. One day, we’re driving along, and it’s me, Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert in the car. It was my first time doing the weekly Tuesday night shows at the Louisville Gardens.

Tommy said "Big Business, I’ll bet you $5.00 that when you exit the interstate, there is going to be about 100 people waiting to see us."

I said, "You’ve got to be kidding, right?"

He wasn’t! He was dead serious (or so I thought). I could see a slight grin fleet across the face of "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert but he stuck with Tommy’s story, and the two proceeded to tell me how famous the USWA was in Louisville, and that people just wait to see the wrestlers’ cars when they come off the highway.

I got all excited and said, "OK, you’re on - $5.00," and that ended up being part of the beer money that night. Oh do I have some beer stories for you; actually, Ken has a few of those too, I think just about every wrestler and manager has some beer stories from the road. Anyway, we were driving down the interstate and getting closer to our exit and Tommy and Doug were still talking about all these people and how I was going to lose my $5.00s. I still remember seeing the Louisville International Airport off on the left side of the interstate and about 10 minutes after that it’s time to take our exit to the Gardens, so I’m expecting to see all these people.

Tommy enthusiastically said, "OK, Biz, look at the end of the exit, off to the left, because we’re going to have to turn and go under an overpass."

Doug chimed in and said, "Yeah, "Business," if you look real hard you’re going to see their heads soon."

And I did look hard and I DID SEE HEADS, and I started thinking, (Oh, damn - you mean the USWA is so big that people stand around in a line that runs from the Gardens to the interstate?) I was looking all over as the car slowed down and we got nearer to the end of the exit. Suddenly, both of them started laughing so hard but I was still seeing those people, they were all lined-up neat as a pin. Now keep in mind, the driver has got some responsibility here to keep his eyes on the road, so I wasn’t catching all the details and the boys knew it. I was looking at the road while taking a fast glance at those heads and that’s why they just couldn’t stop laughing. They could see that I fell hook, line and sinker for their story, and they were just cracking up. I couldn’t understand what was so funny?

When I stopped at the end of the exit and got close enough to see "the real deal," I could see that under the overpass was a MURAL! A painting of hundreds of people on a wall, but at nighttime, when all you can see from a distance is the lights from the underside of the overpass and all these shadows – well, those heads sure looked real to me.

When I finally figured out I’d been ribbed, oh, man, did the guys have fun with that. I had just been initiated into the Louisville Garden’s group of "The boys!" Tommy later told me not to feel bad - everyone falls for that. I haven’t worked in the Gardens for years; it’s been at least 6 years since I was there with the USWA. However, I understand OVW still runs shows there with Jim Cornette, as a farming talent system to the WWF. So I’d be interested to see if that mural is still up and if "The boys" are still pulling that on the new guys.

Of course, that wasn’t the end to all the ribbing, there are plenty more stories like that. I’ll have to dig a few out of the old memory banks to tell you in the coming months. I also want to tell you about the first time I worked with Sid Vicious and Harvey Wimpleman. I think Harvey is still doing stuff with the fed. He was doing backstage things for a while, and he was a manager in the WWF in the mid-late 90s. He is a great guy and an excellent mentor. The few times I got to work with him and talk to him in the USWA, he was very encouraging to me. Especially knowing that guys like him, Jimmy Hart, and many other wrestlers and managers went on to the fed. I was hoping to get there, too. But don’t count "Big Business" out yet, I’m still doing the TV deal, but now it’s with the NWA. Alas, I don’t want to stray from the USWA memories so if you want more information on that, checkout their Website: http://www.nwa-wildside.com and check their TV listings. I know they have a majority of the TV spots that the old USWA had, and most of the time, they are on in different markets on the weekends in the evenings - some mornings, too.

Someday, I’ll get around to telling you about NWA Wildside memories, but we have to wait for the present to become the past. Of course, I still remember my USWA days and thinking that there was no way that will ever be the past, but that’s the thing about time: it just keeps marching on.

I can see I’m almost out of space again. Hope you enjoyed the memories this month and next month I’ll be back with more, and it’s either going to be the ice fields story, about driving with the boys through the territory in the winter storms in the mid-90s, or working with Sid Vicious and Harvey. I still have to tell you all about my Manager vs. Announcer matches with Corey Macklin, so those stories are coming up as well.

Until next month, take care and stay safe.