>>18143468I met Ivan Koloff twice, he was super nice. Met him at Wal-Mart in maybe 96 or something in VA. Anyway there was a wrestling mag I had with all the wrestler birthdays in it at home so I went home and looked up his. Also grabbed a cool magazine pic of his all bloody with a chain for him to sign. Went back with the pic and he signed it, got a 8x10 or polaroid too I think, and chatted with my little mark ass for a few minutes not like there was a line in 1996 VA Wal-Mart for Ivan Koloff on a random day.
I asked him about Abdullah the Butcher since I was a little bloodmark at the time so liked both (from all the bloody mag pics of each I'd always see) and he basically said he didn't like Abby. Forget the full details but said Abby tried starting shit with him in some locker room in Canada I want to say it was. Said he knocked him the fuck out with one punch and either broke some bones in his hands/fingers or it got all swollen from the punch. But reiterated he didn't like him and knocked him out cold. He may have used the n-word (99%+ sure he didn't but he might have I was young and could have forgotten). Maybe kayfabe I don't know but seemed too detailed and random to be totally fake.
Back to the birthday thing I said I looked up, I thanked him as we were leaving and said I'd make sure to say happy birthday on whatever his brithday was. He looked at me blown away for knowing it, like this 10 year old mark who should barely even know you knows your birthday. Rain man type shit ya feel me?
Reminded him of it the next time I met him at some indy show in NC where he lived and he did in fact remember me and laughed. He was cool. That last NC show I saw with him he did a barbed wire match too, must've been around 60 or so at the time. Bloodmark for life.
