Interview With Sammy Hall - Part 1

This is part 1 of an interview with Sammy Hall. The interview was done on 9-12-09 in Tupelo, MS.

******

I appreciate you doing this interview, Sammy, I've been chasing you for about three years now, and I'm glad I was finally able to pin you down.

I know that, Axeman, I am a very busy man.

I know that, Sammy, and that's why I am very glad you took the time out of your busy schedule to do this.

You've been involved in professional wrestling now for how long?

Since September 3, 1976.

That's a long time, just over 33 years - how did you get started in pro wrestling?

When I got out of the Marine Corps.... First of all, I used to go to all the Tupelo shows that Herman Sheffield put on. He was the promoter in Tupelo at the time. When I got out of the Marine Corps, I went and visited Herman, and he told me, he said well, you want to be a wrestler, huh. And I said yes sir. And he said I've known you since you were just a little bitty boy, and I said yes sir. And he told me, he said it looks to me since you're fresh out of the Marine Corps, you look like you're in better shape than most of my wrestlers. And that's what got it started. Herman Sheffield taught me everything I know about professional wrestling, and to me, Herman Sheffield is and will always be the best wrestling promoter I have ever known.

So you've wrestled for a long time, you've promoted, and now you're with the Athletic Commission, you're a Deputy Athletic Commissioner, correct?

Yeah, Deputy Commissioner. I work for John Lewis and Patrick Turner.

OK, and as a Deputy Commissioner, what are your duties and responsibilities?

My job is to go to wrestling shows and collect taxes and sell licenses.

Are you familiar with what Mr. Garry White has said about you and the Commission in an interview posted on rasslinriotonline.com?

I've read it, but, you know, I have all the respect in this world for Mr. Garry White. I really do. I've never ever had any hard feelings towards Mr. White. I don't know why he called me a drunk. It's funny... In my younger days, yes I did drink. But it has been over 23 years since I've touched a drink. I wasn't what you'd call a full blown alcoholic back in my younger days, but I did drink. When I found out that we were gonna have a baby girl, well I quit. I'm talking about just quit drinking. And you know what, I lost all my friends, or friends I thought I had. When you stop doing stuff like that, you know you think you've got friends, but you don't have - you really don't have any true friends because of the alcohol - that's the truth. As long as you're buying and drinking, they're your best friends, but you stop, you haven't got any friends left. And that's where I'm coming from.

In the interview, Garry White said you were so drunk at the Tupelo show that you could not even write out the license form. He said, "Sammy was so drunk, he couldn't even write the license out, hell I think our ref, Kellen James, ended up doing that, so we could get the show started." How do you respond to that?

There is no truth whatsoever to that. The referee did hand out the license forms that I had prepared for them. Other than to say that, I'm not even going to go there, I was not drinking, I do not drink, I have not had a drink in over 23 years, nothing. But people are going to talk, they're gonna say things that are not true. That's one thing I don't like about that message board. It just gets a lot of stuff started. But back to Garry White, I never saw him in the dressing room. I do not recall seeing him in the dressing room.

OK, Garry White goes on to say, "I will say this for Cory Maclin, yes he gave them a check but Sammy kept holding the show up, he was suppose to start at 6 but he held it up until 7...." Did you hold the show up until 7:00?

Yes, sir, I was just doing my job, but it was not 7:00. That show could have got started at 6:00 if Mr. Corey Maclin had not stalled it himself by not wanting to pay me for the license and the permit.

So it was Maclin's refusal to pay for the license and the standard fees that held the show up?

Yes, he wanted the wrestlers to pay for their own licenses, which I understand that, but I was told by Patrick Turner that when I got there that Corey was going to pay for all the wrestlers licenses and the permit.

So the show did not start until all the licenses and permits were paid.

Right.

He goes on to say, "Also in my opinion, The Mississippi Athletic department is a joke. All your other commissions in various states offer you more than just a piece of paper, when you buy a license in other states, you have a physician or have to be checked by a doctor, you get life insurance (not much) but you do get it. Mississippi you get a piece of paper and that’s all. I remember when Mississippi had decent deputy commissioners, Lonnie Broadway and even Old Man Billy was both good commissioners. Sammy Hall is a joke! How in the hell can a commissioner work for a wrestling promotion and still do business as a commissioner? He actually considers himself a wrestler, because of the promotions that let him get in the ring and wrestle." What do you think about those comments?

Well, you see, that's their opinion. I think that the Athletic Commission in the state of Mississippi is the best thing that ever happened. If we did not have a Commission in the state of Mississippi, you'd have people running over each other, running against each other in the same town on the same night, it would just be confusion. There would be no rules.

Mr. White goes on to ask the question, "How in the hell can a commissioner work for a wrestling promotion and still do business as a commissioner? He actually considers himself a wrestler, because of the promotions that let him get in the ring and wrestle." How do you respond to that?

I've been in this business since 1976, OK? I don't know how long he's been in the business. But I know... When you have been trained by the very best, what else can you say, I mean....

So it is not a conflict of interest for you to be a Deputy Commissioner and still work on shows?

No. sir. You can call John Lewis or Patrick Turner with the Mississippi Athletic Commission. They will tell you. There is no conflict whatsoever. When I became Commissioner in the state of Mississippi, the only reason I quit wrestling was out of respect for all the guys. Why should I go to a show, collect their money, and then get in there and participate myself? Why would I want to do that? I only do benefits out of respect for the guys. I can work with any promotion that I want to work with. I can wrestle at any time. I can wrestle on paid shows. But I only do benefits.

Do you currently own a wrestling promotion?

Yes. sir, I do. It's called Bad Boys Promotion.

And it's not a conflict of interest for you to own a wrestling promotion and be a Deputy Commissioner?

No.

OK, let's change direction a little bit. Say I'm a wrestling promoter. I decide I am going to have a wrestling show at a certain town. I get it all set up and have a building and have the workers lined up and sell a bunch of tickets and all that, but I have not bought a Promoter's License, I haven't sent in any paperwork, and I have not paid any fees. You show up to my show to sell me a license and collect the appropriate fees, and do what needs to be done, and I tell you I'm not paying it, get out of my dressing room. What do you do?

First of all, I go in with all respect. To gain respect, you have to give respect. You never will receive respect unless you give respect. With all respect I go in and ask for the promoter and tell him what I'm there for, and if he refuses to follow the rules, by all rights I could shut the show down.

OK, if you tell the promoter that you are shutting the show down, and he says no you're not, we're gonna have this show, then what happens?

All I have to do is get the city police or the county sheriff. I do work for the state of Mississippi. All I have to do is just call 911 and get a policeman out there or the sheriff's department out there, and the show will be shut down.

Fair enough. There is a rule, or at least I've been told there is a rule, that a wrestling promotion cannot run on the same night within 30 miles of another wrestling promotion. True?

It's not 30 miles, it's in the same zip code. It cannot be in the same zip code.

You know, three years ago I went and talked to John Lewis about this, and this was at the time when guys were wanting to wrestle when they were under age, and in the rule book it reads that you cannot participate in a match if you are under the age of 18 years old. Well, I went and talked to John and got everything straight to where if a parent or legal guardian signs papers giving permission, and the promoter says that the kid under the age of 18 has been trained, and they feel like he's able to participate without hurting someone or getting hurt himself, he can participate under the age of 18. I went to John and got all this straightened out just to help these guys out. I'm not bragging on myself, but without me going to Jackson, these guys would not be able to get licensed until they are 18 years old. I sympathize with promoters and parents, and I went and got that rule changed. Now, today, if you are under the age of 18, with the signature of a parent or legal guardian, a guy or a girl can get licensed under the age of 18. That helps keep them off the streets & everything on weekends or whatever. There has not been one person in the wrestling business that I have not helped in some way or the other, and like I say, I'm not patting myself on the back, I just... I love the sport and I love it with all my heart. And there's nothing I would not do to help someone. But some people you just cannot help. I will agree, I've written Promoter's Licenses to a few promoters who don't even need a license, and I tried to help them. But you know, I'm looking to the future, and all this stuff I've been accused of... I have done my job with the Athletic Commission to the best of my knowledge and ability. I do the things that's best for the Commission, the wrestlers, and the promoters themselves. I just don't know how to put it to you any other way, Axeman, I've done what I could do, tried to please everybody, and I'm getting sick and tired of this stuff. A lot of people that are not even wrestlers or promoters or whatever get on that board and down everybody and run down everybody's shows. I just don't know why everybody can't just get along. I'm getting sick and tired of it. And you know, and I am not officially saying this, but I think in the near future it's going to get so bad that The Mississippi Athletic Commission will probably, I'm not saying it's going to happen, but probably make it harder on everybody to get a license and run shows and participate in wrestling matches, as hard as it is in boxing. Boxing and wrestling, they are two different sports. I think before long that everybody who participates in wrestling will start having to have a physical, HIV test, and it's gonna be harder. I honestly believe it's gonna be harder to keep wrestling as it is here in Mississippi. There are a lot of people, and you know this to be true, there are a lot of people who cannot even afford $30.00 for their license, much less getting a physical on top of that, having all that blood work done. You go to Louisiana, you have to have HIV test and all that good stuff. You go to Missouri, just try to get a license in Missouri or Kentucky. Go up there and see just what all you have to go through. Really and truly the promoters and the wrestlers here in Mississippi today have got it made. They say that the only thing you get in Mississippi is a card. Well that's not true. It's to keep everybody organized, so they won't be running on top of each other every night. Like, there can't be two shows run in the same zip code on the same night or the same day. I've got a promoter that just don't understand that. Say you were running a show on a Friday night. And you had been running a show on Friday, or Saturday or whatever night for a long time. And then another promoter wants to come in and run the same town. Do you think it would be right to let them come in and run the same town on the same night that you have been running for a long time? Well that's what the Commission is all about. It's hard enough with the economy like it is today to even draw a decent crowd. Once you let two promotions run on the same night in the same town... I just don't understand these people's way of thinking. But you know what? In the near future I'm thinking about running shows, and you know what, I'm gonna do it just like I do it now, anybody that works for me, when they come to that dressing room, I'm gonna be just like Herman Sheffield was. If you do not want to do what I tell you to do, you're not gonna work for my show, I don't care who you are, where you came from, or how long you've been in the business. I'm gonna be a promoter that puts on a good show, gives the people what they want to see, and that's all I want to say about all this.

OK, let's change directions again. There was an incident in Booneville, MS, recently involving a tag team called Pure Destruction and a young wrestler called LSD who was in the ring with them. LSD apparently claims that he was injured in that match. You went up to Booneville and looked at the tape the day after that match, did you not?

I sure did.

What did you see when you looked at that tape? Did you see Pure Destruction do anything illegal or anything wrong?

No, I sure did not. I'm not taking up for Pure Destruction. I'm not taking up for that guy, um, LSD. If LSD had known how to take that certain bump, he would not have gotten hurt. As a matter of fact, Pure Destruction did not hurt the guy. They more or less, and I hate to be saying this because it's going on the internet, but they took care of the guy. When they went for the move, the guy held on. And when he held on, he lost his balance. If he got hurt, he got hurt on his own. Those two guys did not intentionally hurt that guy. I know a lot of people say I was there, I saw the match. Well, I was not there that night. But I did see the tape, and I do not believe, with all my heart, that Pure Destruction tried to hurt the guy. They were there to make a point, to get across to the people, to the audience, what they were all about. But as far as intentionally hurting this guy, he was not hurt intentionally. If he got hurt, IF he got hurt at all, it was his own fault.

OK, the move in question, if I remember correctly, was a double spine buster. Basically what that is is a back bump.

Right.

And that's one of the most basic things there is in pro wrestling, a back bump.

Right.

And LSD botched it not once, but if I remember right, three times.

Three times.

In your opinion, should LSD be in the ring at all?

I think he needs a lot more training. If he cannot take a back bump without trying to hold on to someone, I think he needs a lot more training. I'm not going to say he should not be in the ring at all, I just think he needs a lot more training.

You see, that's what's wrong with wrestling today. These guys who get in there and get trained just enough to where they buy them a set of boots, and half of them can't even afford wrestling gear. But once they have had that first match, you can't tell 'em nothing. After that first match it's over with. I'm a wrestler, girls look at me, look what I can do, I'm a wrestler. You cannot train them any more after that first match. That's the reason I say that if a wrestler... he's got to have it in his heart. He's got to have it in his heart to get out there and perform. And he's got to know how to take these bumps. He's got to know how to give these bumps without hurting someone or without getting hurt himself. But once a guy, I don't care who he is or where he's come from or who he is today, for a while, until you get seriously hurt, you know everything. And you don't really know nothing after that first match. After that first match the guy thinks he's a wrestler and you can't tell 'em nothing else. They need to keep training and training. Every time I get in that ring I learn something new. There are no two people that wrestle alike. They might go through the same moves, but the way they drag you, the way they approach you in the ring, no two people wrestle alike. But once you think that you know it all you better sell your boots and get out of the business. Every time I step in that ring I learn something. And I been in it 33 years. And the day you stop learning something, that's the day you need to get out of the business. And I think everybody, I don't care how long you've been in the business, 10, 11, 12 years, they need to work on their moves, they need to get in there and work out every day, or every other day, or as often as you possibly can, because the day that you stop, the day you think you know everything, buddy that's the day you need to get out of the business. You never get too old to learn anything.

End of part 1. Part two will follow soon.