You can ask a plenty questions too. All right, all right, John,
I'm alright. We're here with John Nord, here at wrestling. Don't
click legendary John Nord, the Berserker. Thank you for the time, man.
We really appreciate you. Bet you bet. What's up? Man?
Where are we going with this? Well? Go ahead. Well, you
know, as a fan in the in the early nineties of WWE, like
i've I've always the if I was ever a wrestler, I always wanted to
be in a royal rumble to me, that was so exciting. You were
in a couple two ninety three, I think, right, Yeah, what
was that like? Um? Uh, well, wasn't there a battle Royal?
I want too? Yes? You know what was that? You did?
You did? You want to? You want a battle Royal? It
was aired on Primetime Wrestling. Yeah, I was. That's the one I
remember because, uh, just the way it came down Scanner. I don't
remember many endings of the matches, but that one I did. And care
von Eric h You know they carry had a prosthetic leg and he moved around
amazingly. But I got in from a town the night before and I missed
my flight. I got to the locker room late. I was hung over
brutally. And now when I look at that match, I watched myself running
around and I remember hitting the ropes, going I'm trying to keep going.
I look like a guy and now you know one of them hangovers and pug
oh my go and uh I remember after that, Uh, a guy came
up to me from one of the amazinges. Uh North, what was that
the worst thing that ever happened to in a match? I said, Uh,
well, I sent a guy into the ropes. I went to leap
frog him. Everybody knows I can jump seven feet in the air. And
he goes, yeah, I know that, and I that fucker didn't get
low enough right, and my head hit his balls? No his yeah,
my balls hit his head and he goes, oh no, Then what happened?
I said? Then my nuts came around, hit me in the back
of the head, knocked me out, called and that guy goes, that
hadn't hurt how big man? I'm like, God, tell me John.
Why did they change the name from Viking to Preserker? The Viking name was
trademark. Some guy wrestling in Japan was going as the Viking and Vince looked
it up in the court system and it was trademark. So Vinceton touched nothing
that's trademark. But then when I got hired by Vince, I had nor
the Barbarian trademark because we were doing commercials and back home in Minnesota, I
slammed the guy through the woods and so. But then Vince said to me
he was Johnny Goes. You know, there was a form of a Viking
that were the worst, the craziest, called Berserkers, And I said,
I really didn't like the name. I kind of him. I said,
I guess if you think so, Vince, because if Vince gives you something,
an idea, you know he's gonna take care of you. If you
just go, yeah, I want to be there's m busy by kid.
You might get it done, but it don't mean Vince is gonna push it.
That's when you're in bad shape. So if he owned it, it
was good enough for me. But it ended up being great. Rick tells
a story about how when he broke when Bruns out broke in with Verne,
how Vern wanted a percentage of the earnings and all that, and Bruns was
the only guy to ever go for it. How much did vern want thirty
fifty sixty out of mine from burned in want nothing? He didn't pay me
that fucking great, so he probably did figure it in. Yeah, he
found the way right. But listen, burn Gania was my father in law's
best friend, so growing up. They graduated Robinsdale High School in nineteen forty
three. Well, I got hired in nineteen eighty four. And while I
was in Brad Ringan's camp and burn came by one day, and uh,
you know, I was in good shape, And burn said, And I
said, Burne, you probably know my father in law. His name's Joe
Elson. While his jaw dropped, he said, holding, are you sure
you you're Joe Elson's son law? I said, So. It ain't like
Burne made me a star or nothing like that. And it ain't like he
uh, but one thing I did do, because I was a loaded cannon
man, I would no show. I would you know. I never showed
up drunk or using drugs or notthing like that. But I was in no
show. Just fuck it. I ain't going to that town. You know,
there was the worst town in the start ever fired me. That's amazing.
Did did you ever go to his house for dinners like a Sunday dinner
or something. I did didn't go to his house for what the hell wasn't
it was in the summertime of eighty five. I think it was a Brad
Rankins something to do with Brad, and Brad was his guy to stretch guys
if they needed it. It was kind of sick, but it was true.
And then, uh, Greg Ganya actually didn't get along with Brad.
And Brad's one of my best friends because, you know, being great guy,
you went to Ben Easy, you know, being burns shatter, but
Greg never went to the fucking gym. And I used to tell him that,
and all you'd retaliate on me was you've got a drinking problem, and
just so fuck I was laughing so hard, you know. But in the
Wrestler, the movie with that Asner, uh that, you know, Vern
talks about having talent over for his wife's lamb chops. I wonder did his
wife make a mean lamb chop? Is that? What? I didn't know
her name was Mary, and I didn't know she did or not. But
we were out there for hamburgers on the grill, and and of course you
get me handing fucking uh whoever else was well back then, Scott Hall was
and we were just, uh, we were just about the fun. I
mean we're passing bike it insto each other, hercassetts, and we had so
much damn fun. But guys like me and Kurt and Heggstrand and Rude,
we were so tight because we grew up on the same block. You weren't
going to separate us guys. And uh we all got uh uh we all
got to Vince, you know at a pretty good time to our soul handing
uh me, you know, Lorneitis and uh uh Scott Simpson I graduated,
he was niki to call. But well all I'm you know. The main
thing is is we were so tight. We were never going to separate us
guys. If one guy got fucking fired, we were on the horn going
we got to either get him a job or we got to talk to the
poem Minnesota boys. Right. Well now we're you know, I mean not
like we had a lot of power, but we had enough power to go,
fuck if he goes, I go. Do you think Verne should have
sold to Vins because the Vinch just turned around and took Hogan and I don't.
But here's the deal is Verne just wasn't gonna get past old school wrestling.
And you guys know that and heard that. And but when Vince just
called it entertainment, listen, everybody thought that was the biggest gamble. It's
either going to be a total flop or it's gonna go to the moon,
and ended up going to the moon. Just how do the people take entertainment
and then cheer for one side? Right? You figure it out. I
can't. Nobody's been able to figure it out. Sets now, if I'm
mistaken, you worked a couple of main events tagging with Bruiser Brody. Yeah
right, what was I mean? What was he like? What was his
He's an awesome guy and actually on the way to a thing called Wrestle Rock.
Remember it? Well? Yeah, did you do a verse on the
rat? I think? Oh, what a verse on the Wrestle Rock Rumble
Round? No? I didn't, But that's funny as hell you say that
because a chic uh you know? Adding on he was like the cheapest son
of a bitch. You He would never pay a trans He would go out
there and check on his eighty four Eldorado every twenty minutes and you know,
like Tommy boy, you know, so with add and I like that.
So there was a little verse going on the shake and it's not funny.
I got it is man lots of money, right, So now me and
Henry started going U, he's the chic and it is not funny, you
know. So I was a deal but Brodyan, So we're going to the
uh Civic Center well and Jennings and I got him in from my brand new
eighty six pack up my wife and her friend and we're all in the front
cap and Frank liked stopping at you guys know what headshops are, you know,
like the skulls and the smoke lights, but they have a lot of
other shit to He loved stopping at these. I said, Frank, there's
he goes, would you pull in? Brother? Well, so I pulled
in and he didn't gonna buy. You know, we just kind of round.
But all of a sudden he sees this uh shoehorn. Right, he
was pulling on them boots and he thought the straps from maybe gonna breakers and
his feet were just getting tighter. So he bought this shoehorn that was like
about twelve fourteen inches long with the handle was like a dear antler and then
the rest was like a nice long I mean it was. And anyway,
so he left it in my truck, so I brought it here with me
to show people. U it sounds like an hot item, and it is,
but Frank could have shown this right. So yeah, that one is
what I remember on the way there, and then yeah it was. It
was a really good time. And we we got so drunk after and you
know, I'm pushing Frank to drink. I go, come on more more
and he says, brother, you have killed me. I can't hang around
you no more. No, But uh, Frank, Frank really liked me,
and uh it's because I was respectful. Were you doing Were you doing
Frank as the berserker and in the huts the furry boots? Yeah, yeah,
he said, hey, brother, sorry. He told me to start
imitating him because we had a deal with Vince for two fifty a year in
nineteen eighty eight. Um I got a front deal of the contract and Frank
was making fourteen grand a week in Japan and he wouldn't do it. And
I'm frother that the much maut going me and Brody going to New Year or
if we would have fucking slaughtered everybody. Yeah, I mean in a way.
And but my point being as two fifty a year and he just John,
I'm sorry, you know, but um, that one, that one
hurt. And then of course he died a month later. Well, John,
we want to thank you so much. Question sorry as a Minnesota guy.
Uh you still live there right in Robinsdale, Love what, um,
what do you think of Jesse as governor? What was your what was your
what was your opinion on that Jesse was a really good governor? Now let
me expound on that he was a great governor. But there's nobody else to
pick from. But he was great because he was so refreshing, you know,
besides Tyrell having parties in the Governor's match. Now that's his son's name,
right to be clear. Yeah, but I was running is I ran?
Jesse played football with my brother at northender Been Junior College and I was
fifteen years old, so I met him at fifteen. But Jesse has the
problem. If you ain't talking about fucking Jesse, he don't even make eye
contact with you. He tells you all about himself and then I go,
well, you know my family, and he's like, yeah, I got
you know, and I'm like and and he it just got old after so
many years. And then I ran his gym the summer out of high school,
and so we knew each other real well, i'd be sad as kids.
Did you ever go to Plato's retreat with him? No? Where was
that in New York? I think he used to the Plato's Retreat t shirt
on w TV. There's like a sex club. There's a sex club.
Yeah that's what Danny. Okay, do you think I mean not to get
too politically here, but do you think like that's the answer for for like
America, a third party candidate? Absolutely? Really? Hell? Yes?
Hell? Yes? Another this all or nothing. I'm totally a Democrat or
I'm totally a Republican. You fuck, goofballs. This country wasn't fucking made
by that. This country was made by courageous, hard working people that believed
in doing the right thing in their mind. You know what I mean.
It's just it ain't about a name Republican or Democrat. And of course our
moral structure, you know, and I still believe in the Ten Commandments,
and I think our country does. But our family unit in this country has
fell apart. Nobody walks in anybody doors and go, you guys having dinner.
I'll be back, father, mother, kids, It's gone. Love.
It sucks. Thank you John for the reality check. Is very,
very nice to meet you. You guys are two pretty good guys. That's
why it's hard to tell you. Right now, I'm gonna have to fuck
you up.