Jerry Wiseman Interviews Percival A. Friend

In professional wrestling managers come and go but few set the standard for the rest to follow and one of those few is Maumee, Ohio resident Percival A. Friend. Beginning his career as a ring announcer and then referee, Friend eventually stepped into the ring under a hood and wrestled among the very best while wearing seemingly a different mask and identity for each opponent.

Somewhere along the way Friend became a manager extraordinaire walking to the ring with the likes of Harley Race, Roger Kirby, and Tokyo Joe to name just a scant few. From the early to the mid 70s Friend was well known across the mid-west for his managerial wizardry until life suddenly changed for the grappler and ringside advisor. Friend had a daughter and family to support and left the business while on top of his game to become a family man.

Percy Friend was the gateway for the likes of Bobby Heenan and Jim Cornette, good on the mic, good at taking bumps and good at drawing heat and excellent at getting his wrestler over. This short interview does little to introduce one to the many adventures that Percy Friend had over his career nor does it reach deep into the man who was a manger among managers. I hope to have Percival A. Friend as part of the “And then the bell rings…” shoot series soon.

Percival A. Friend will be appearing at the W.A.R.-Wrestling and Respect show on June 26th as a special guest of Jerry Wiseman and Thomas Williams. The show is nearly sold out with almost 750 tickets already gone and the only way to get in is by buying a ticket at the door for $10. This is sure to be among the most memorable W.A.R. shows this year. WAR will also be in Belle Center on July 3rd, part of the Auglaize and Allen County fairs this year and will be running in Lima as well. There is also talk that W.A.R. will invade Ft. Wayne, Indiana in the near future.

I want to thank Percival A. Friend for taking the time to talk to me and look forward to another great conversation this Saturday at the W.A.R. show at the UAW Hall in Lima, Ohio. Percy Friend is a wonderful person full of knowledge and great stories from his time in the wrestling business and I am proud to say that he is a Friend of mine.

In 2004 Percival A. Friend was honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club for his contributions to the wrestling business, an honor that was well deserved. Please enjoy this brief chat with Percy and be sure to attend the W.A.R. show this weekend and see for yourself how great W.A.R. wrestling is and how humble and honored Percy Friend is to still be a part of the professional wrestling business.

Q. Your dream opponent would be?
A. Ed “Strangler” Lewis or Gorgeous George

Q. What is your best road story? From a story I did about Alicia’s house trip to Chicago.
A. I enjoy getting in my car and going places with old friends. Dave Burzynski and I go back to the late 60′s when I was in Detroit working for Big Time Wrestling. He himself was in the business as a manager of some of the best including the original Sheik. As we pulled out of the driveway of my friend’s home in Ohio, where Dave left his car, he had no gut feelings about what was going to happen to him that day. We headed west on the Ohio Turnpike towards Indiana and soon got into the flow of westbound traffic.

It began to rain and that made the roads a little tougher to navigate on but the years of experience I had were now coming into play. I gave Dave the stack of cd’s that I carry in that car and he began to look through the titles and soon found some great oldies music to set back and listen to as the rain hit the roof of my Grand Marquis. About an hour later we crossed into Indiana and the rains started to let up a bit. We came to a rest area just East of South Bend and we both got out to stretch and shake the nearly 150 miles of setting out of our systems. I made a short call to a friend letting him know where we were and that I was only about 20 miles away from him. As we entered the car we looked back in the parking lot and there were 2 huge WWE trucks with painted trailers parked there. I assumed they were headed to Green Bay for the Monday night Raw to be held there.

About 20 minutes later I was getting off the Indiana Turnpike at the 31 bypass that used to take me many times to Bobo Brazils home in Benton Harbor just a short ways away. My mind began to do a memory check of my huge friend that has now been gone nearly a decade. The good times that we had together and the friendship we shared couldn’t be replaced with a million dollars. What I was about to do to Dave had been planned in advance for nearly 2 years and would have been a prank that Bobo would have enjoyed himself. I turned south on U S 31 and then about 2 miles down the road exited off onto highway 2 west. I began to look at the map that I had printed out and started looking for the road to turn left on to go to my friends home where we were to get lunch …. so Dave thought.

The next thing I knew I looked into the car’s rear mirror and seen red and blue lights and flashing headlights. I turned to Dave and said that we were getting pulled over and that I couldn’t understand why. I pulled off to the right shoulder and got out of the car and was met by “Barney Fife”. We began a disagreement that ended by me being put back into my car seat. I began to hurl insults at Barney and ask him why he was pulling us over. He shouted for us to give him our licenses and then he began to ask us if we had been in a rest stop just a short time before on the Indiana turnpike. We both said yes and he proceeded to tell us that we fit the description of two guys that was involved in a fight there. By now I began to hurl insults at Barney and called him ‘Flatfoot’ among some of the names. It was then that Dave told me to calm down that I would be going to jail if I didn’t stop. I was ordered out of the car and told to put my hands on the roof and then he ordered Dave out of the other side. Dave thought for sure that we were going to Jail and it would just ruin the weekend. It was then with a smile on his face that Barney went to the other side of the car and said “Welcome to Indiana … You have just been had”.

Dave was so mad at both of us that he was spitting. Something he rarely did. “Barney” shook his hand and hugged him and turned to me to ask if he had done well and I said I couldn’t have done it any better myself. I couldn’t hold back the laughter and each time I looked over at Dave’s red face I burst out again. It’s amazing what wrestlers do to keep themselves amused on long trips. We went back up the road to one of my friends local eateries and had a wonderful lunch and were soon back on the road again after taking a few posed shots together. Thank you “Barney” for making my day.

Q. Who is someone you always like to watch wrestle?
A. Kurt Angle

Q. As a promoter who would be in your money match?
A. The Original Sheik and Leaping Larry Chene

Q. Do you think tag team wrestling is a lost art?
A. It’s still alive but not in the sense it was in the 50′s and 60′s

Q. If you got the call from New York, would you change your gimmick and to what?
A. I wouldn’t change anything

Q. Do you think titles need to mean something again?
A. Yes

Q. You own a promotion, who are the first five workers you hire?
A. Yukon Eric, Hans Schmidt, Bobo Brazil, Buddy Rogers and Johnny Valentine.

Q. What is the craziest match you have done?
A. 4 1/2 man tag team match in Waterloo, Iowa.

Q. Do you prefer hardcore, traditional or a mix of the two for your own matches?
A. Traditional.

Q. Besides you, who is the best to ever step into the ring?
A. Harley Race.

Q. Who is your favorite opponent?
A. Omar Atlas.

Q. If you could change one thing about the business, what would it be?
A. Less talking and more wrestling.

Q. Does wrestling need a union?
A. YES to protect the people that are involved in it.

Q. What drew you into the business?
A. The mystery of the matches themselves.

Q. Do you think heels and faces need to be clearly defined again?
A. Yes.

Q. In the annals of wrestling, what do you want to be said about you?
A. That I was a manager that clearly knew what he was doing and did it.

Q. What decade, the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or 00s do you think best defined wrestling?
A. The 50s and 60s

Q. Do you think internet PPVs would help indie promotions?
A. No

Q. What is one thing you want fans to know about you?
A. That I am a human with many emotions and feelings.

Q. Have you ever had aspirations of trying MMA?
A. No

Q. Do you think the proposed changes that a lot of state athletic commissions will help or hurt the sport?
A. They are only interested in the money not the humans involved.

Q. Is the punishment you take worth the money you make?
A. Yes it was

Q. Is there any match you would refuse to do?
A. Anything involving nudity … there are all ages that come to the matches and some restrictions need to be in force.

Q. With more and more ladies taking on the men in the ring, would you have a problem doing a job for a woman?
A. If one was good enough to beat me at my game … let it be.

Q. How big of an impact do all the recent deaths of the boys have on the business?
A. It’s sad that deaths happen … but sometimes the stories behind them need to be squashed.

Q. Using steroids is still a sore subject among some of the boys, especially now that Ivan Putski came out and admitted using and Bruno Sammartino is against them but used them when they were legal, what is your feeling on them?
A. A natural body is always the best.

Q. Does there need to be more competition in the business and do you think TNA is the answer or does someone else need to come along and step-up?
A. Competition is always a good thing because it makes a much sharper business mind out of everyone.

Q. Does it take an addictive personality to be a pro wrestler or what type of mental attitude do you need to make it in the business?
A. You need to know and love what you’re doing and not just for the fact that you are making a name for yourself.

Q. What kind of pre-match ritual do you have before you go through the curtain?
A. Warm up, psyche up and deliver.

Q. Do you find yourself giving 100% no matter if there are 25 people in the crowd or 2500?
A. Yes and sometimes more

Q. Do you ever practice cutting a promo in front of a mirror?
A. Many years ago

Q How do you define yourself as a pro wrestler?
A. I was the best at what I did and tried to deliver a message every time I went into the ring.

Q. What is the weirdest thing you have had happen while in the ring?
A. Had a fan deliver a baby at ringside during a match.

Q. Fans either love you or hate you, what has been your worst experience with a fan?
A. Getting myself into a riot and being hit with a wooden folding chair.

Q. If you could go back to any era and wrestle for one night, where would you go and who would you step into the ring with?
A. Chicago Amphitheater and Dick the Bruiser

Q. What move do you think is overused and just does not get over now, like the carotid clutch in the 70s?
A. Choke Slam.

Q. Did you enjoy working or being a manager more?
A. Manager

Q. Who was the most difficult to manage?
A. Women wrestlers.

Q. What prompted you to leave the business at the top of your game?
A. I had a new family and wanted to be with them at all costs.

Q. If you could manage one person past or present, who would it be?
A. Buddy Rogers

Q. Are there any regrets in your career?
A. None … it was a great ride.

Q. Did you ever go to the WWWF or did you want to?
A. I was in and out in the early 60′s and enjoyed the time spent very well.

Q. Something not many people know about you is?
A. I was nearly a Dr.

Q. Give your impression on today’s wrestling?
A. More of a show than a business. Too much theatrics and glitz.

Q. What did it mean to be inducted into the CAC?
A. It was a night that my peers said to me that I was the best and applauded me for a job well done.

To read more of Jerry Wiseman’s interviews, news, and thoughts on the sport of pro wrestling, check out all of his articles at Examiner.com.