Thanks to The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast for sending us the following:
Last week WWE Legend, Tatanka joined The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast for episode number 216. In the following excerpt the former WWE Superstar discusses the motivation behind his undefeated streak and why he was turned heel abruptly in the summer of 1994 and if he felt that was the right move for his character’s evolution. The full episode is available for download at this link.
Full Episode Download Link:
https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/tmptow/episodes/2016-11-10T21_00_00-08_00
Tatanka On The End Of His Undefeated Streak, Turning Heel At Summer Slam 94:
The impact behind his undefeated streak coming to an end:
“It wasn’t just a first loss it was how it was done. It was the WWF Champion, Yokozuna who came out with interference and with Mr. Fuji (Rest in Peace Mr. Fuji, we miss him) and then me being on the floor and actually he (Ludvig Borga) hit me with a chair and that chair shot he hit me with was the one of the hardest chair shots I have ever had and he nailed me with that chair shot. It took a chair shot from behind and Yokozuna (the WWF Champion) along with Fuji to actually cause everything to lead to my first defeat. It wasn’t just a defeat in the middle of the ring by someone’s finish, it was a defeat that was done behind my back with a chair shot that was brutal to start with and with a distraction. Would I have had that first loss at that time if those things hadn’t happened? Maybe we could still be going (laughing) it would have been the longest winning streak in all of history. “
Story lines having more of an impact and still being discussed twenty plus years later:
Two years (undefeated) were absolutely fabulous and again for you to have the first defeat that is the reason why we remember it because all of the things we did in those times are just like with the fans to be remembered and it was done so well and so great as far as the storyline and that is the reason why people retain it because it marked and etched it in. I travel all around the world and people come up to me all the time and say that I loved you then but I hated you when you turned on Lex Luger and I look at them and I say well I’m sorry, but it worked. Now you have fans begging at certain times for certain kind of story lines like that to continue going but TV has changed and pay per view has changed so much that the story lines don’t sometimes go like how they used to. Literally my first five story lines all lasted a whole year with that one opponent which is tremendous but it was a different business then because you only had four pay per views.”
Orchestrating the heel turn vs. Lex Luger and joining The Million Dollar Corporation:
“It wasn’t about the idea of me turning heel. The idea was to say he (Luger) was calling himself the “All American” and I’m saying you aren’t the all-American, I am THE first American and I’m standing here. You talk about the all-American, I am the Native American and that is one of the big issues that I had at that time with Lex too that turned things the way that it turned. Of course I was rubbing shoulders with the Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase so people thought it was good for my career because I went from being on one of the side tracks and going to the other side of the track and instantly people were booing me and you see wrestlers now and they are begging for people to boo them but people don’t boo them at all. When I changed they were instantly booing me, so guess what? It was done right. That is some of the great things that I cherish today because the great story lines of the WWE during that time of the World Wrestling Federation was tremendous because everyone was larger than life characters and the fans believed in the characters.”
