Gray Ghost 50th interview w Marshall McNeil

[Scott M.R.]

Finally, someone who had the class to finish a committment, Thanks to Marshall McNeil for being the 50th Interview, as the old Gray Ghost is here to present an interview with one of the finest of the "lost art", the pro wrestling manager. I hope you enjoy, comments on indy section. Thanks again.

When did you become interested in Pro wrestling sir. and who were some of your favorites on tv/in person, and why?

I started watching wrestling when I was a little kid, about 5 or 6 years old. My dad was the one who got me into it. He had watched wrestling off and on since he was a kid (Gorgeous George time period). He’d have it on TV, I’d watch it with him, and he would take me to the WWF wrestling matches when they were in Hartford, CT. I loved everything about wrestling; the fighting, the personalities, everything. It was an awesome sight as a kid.

Growing up, my favorite wrestler was Hulk Hogan (pretty much just like every other little kid at the time). And my other favorite wrestler was Hillbilly Jim. I can’t remember why I was such a fan of Hillbilly Jim, I just was. Then when I got into my teens, I became a HUGE fan of Ric Flair. He was the absolute best, and I wanted to be just like him at the time. My other favorite was Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. I think when I was a kid, I was too young to understand Bobby’s sense of humor, so I didn’t really care either way about him at the time. But when I was old enough to understand what he was saying on commentary and in his interviews, man was he awesome!

I have seen you occasionally in some matches w one of your managing charges. Did you ever train for full time wrestling, or were you mainly a manager?

I’ve mainly been a manager in the three years I’ve been doing this, but I’ve had some training in the basics of pro wrestling (thanks to Kevin Landry, Aaron Morrison, and Antonio Thomas). Right from the beginning I didn’t think I’d be any good in the ring mostly because I’m not exactly the most athletic guy in the world. And although I’ve had some training, I am by no means a good wrestler. If I was, then I’d be the one in the ring wrestling rather than screaming like a lunatic at ring side. The guys that are full time wrestlers are the stars, period. My passion is managing.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I’m grateful for the in ring training I’ve gotten so far. The best advice I’ve received was from Jonny Idol. He told me to learn the basics of wrestling, because you never know when you’ll need it. And he was right. Sometimes I do get thrown into a tag situation with one of the guys that I manage, and I have to know what’s going on. It scares the crap out of me when that happens, but it happens.

As compared to training to wrestle, many schools also offer training to be a manager. How does that compare and what does it consist of, compared to just being a wrestler?

I’m sure that every place has their own way of training someone, but in my experience, there hasn’t been much of a difference. Like I said, I’ve had to learn the basics just like everyone else. And in learning the basics, you find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Some guys are better wrestlers, some are better referees, and some are better verbally. I think my “strength” is in my mouth (boy, am I going to get harassed for that comment) so I tend to work on my mic skills more than anything else. That’s just my opinion though.

Do you feel that when you manage that you emulate any one of your favorite’s styles, or do you basically have your own, Explain please.

I think we all emulate a favorite style in some way. In my case, some of the outfits that I wear resemble some of those that Bobby Heenan wore. Certainly the croquet mallet is reminiscent of the tennis racquet that Jim Cornette used to carry. But we all put our little twist on things. Ultimately, we all have our own personality.

WWE and TNA have moved away from the "golden age of managers" so to speak. Do you feel that is a wise decision by them, and what reasons do you think there are as to why they have taken this direction?

I really don’t know why WWE and TNA have moved away from "golden age of managers", but it is a shame that they don’t have managers any more. In my opinion, the role of the manager added a whole other dimension to the wrestler he was managing, and in some cases made that wrestler so much more interesting.

Who was the first wrestler/team that you managed, and give us some of your favorite wrestlers to manage, and some of your favorite and maybe not so favorite, haha. moments in your managing career.

The first wrestler I ever managed was Kevin Landry at NECW in the summer of 2006. After that, I started managing the Alumni Club. They were the first tag team that I managed. I’ve had a lot of fun with Tony and Alex in the time that I’ve been their manager. And I’m very grateful for being with those two guys because since they’ve brought me on as their manager, it’s given me other opportunities as well.

My favorite moment so far has to be when I managed Jonny Idol and he wrestled Antonio Thomas at EWA in Orange, Mass. a couple years back. What a fantastic match that was by both of those guys. The crowd was really into it too. And when the crowd is really into a great match like that, it’s an awesome feeling.

My other favorite moments have to be any time that I’m in the car with few other guys on the way to a wrestling event, and the time we spend together after a wrestling event over dinner and a few beers. We just tell stories, tell jokes (in my case, bad jokes – wood I?! wood I?!) and just have a lot of laughs. I love wrestling, but I’ve told Jonny Idol many times that I would be a happy man if I could drive a hour and a half to Providence, RI just to go out to a Pizzeria Uno, and come back again.

As for my not so favorite moment, it would have to be when Frankie Arion poured his chocolate Muscle Milk all over me after our match at NEPW in Agawam, Mass. Normally it wouldn’t really be that big of a deal, but there was no shower at the venue that night, and I was still planning on going to the bar afterwards! And when I did get to the bar, because I was all sticky and had a scent of stale chocolate milk and Old Spice, I couldn’t pick up any women that night! Well, maybe that’s not the real reason why I couldn’t get any women, but that’s a completely different subject….

What do you feel are some of the biggest problems you have seen from your viewpoint in independent wrestling today, and what do you think promoters should do to always give the fans a good show?

As far as what I think promoters should do, I won’t comment on this. I’ve never had any experience in promoting a wrestling event myself, so I can’t really give a good opinion on what should or should not happen.

In regards to your other question, the biggest problem I see is a lot of guys saying “we can never go back to the way things were”. I think we can. There is a whole new generation of fans (kids) who believe in wrestling, and who want to continue to believe in wrestling. I know of kids who still literally fear some of the “bad guys” and sincerely get behind the “good guys”. I think they want to experience the same thing that we experienced when we were kids. And I think we should let them.

Can you explain how the chemistry works between a manager and his "charges" during a match. many know how a tag team has to "work together". How do you determine when you have the "right chemistry" when managing a tag team?

You know you have the right chemistry with a single wrestler or a team when all you have to do is give each other a look, and you know what the other person is thinking. There are only a couple of guys that I can do that with, and that’s only because we’ve been together so many times.

Turn back the clock. Many legendary managers are no longer with us, but if you could have a BS session and a beer with one back in the day, and pick his/her brain, who would it be, and why?

Classie Freddie Blassie, and Sensational Sherri. They were so hated at times, and could really get the crowd going. And a lot of the times, they didn’t even do anything at ringside; it was just their presence alone that did it.

And even though you asked about “managers who are no longer with us”, I still have to add Bobby Heenan to this list. If for nothing else, just to laugh my ass off for hours.

Please feel free to add anything I may not have covered, Marshall, and thank you sir for being the 50th interview.

Thank you for letting me be interview number 50! And I just want to say thanks to a few of the New England wrestlers, specifically Kevin Landry, Aaron Morrison, Antonio Thomas, Jonny Idol, Dr. Heresy, Maverick Wild, Bruiser Costa, Joey Eastman, Billy King, Sonny Goodspeed, and Bob Evans. These are the guys that have really helped me progress in wrestling since I started. And to Maverick, Bob, and Dr. Heresy, thanks for the opportunities you have given me in your respective promotions.