Bruce Prichard Recalls Boogeyman Lying About His Age to Get on Tough Enough

– On the latest Something to Wrestle With, Bruce Prichard discussed the Boogeyman lying about his age in order to get onto Tough Enough in 2004. Back then, he was not yet the Boogeyman; he was Marty Wright, and lied and said he was 30 instead of 40 in order to meet the age requirement for tryouts. Wright was ultimately cut after he had to admit his real age, but was brought into OVW for developmental where he took on the Boogeyman character. That character, of course, brought him to WWE and has made him an incredibly memorable character both there and on the independent scene.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On Boogeyman lying about his age: “All I remember was Marty being part of the big cattle call for talent. And when they got in, he said he was 30. We said, ‘Really? Are you only 30 years old?’ And he stuck to it, man. And they had him go on, and said, ‘Where’s your license?’ And he says, ‘Well, I don’t have it here, it’s in my car.’ And so [they said], ‘Okay great, we’ll wait.’ Everything shut down, and Marty’s standing there, and then they said, ‘Yeah, we’ll wait.’ He left the ring, ran to his car, got his license, came back and gave it to ’em. Like, ‘Uhhhh, Marty? You’re not 30 years old.’ [laughs] And he’s like, ‘Yes, sir.’ But I think that it was almost just the steadfastness of ‘By God, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Even though you caught me red-handed, I’m still gonna stand up here. And I will outwork, and I will f**king beat any of these young kids you got here physically. Doesn’t matter how old I am.’ And what Marty fought for.”

On Wright’s skills and physique: “And the truth of the matter is, is that he was probably in better shape than anybody in that tryout at the time. And still to this day is probably in better shape than most of the guys in developmental. I mean, he’s a phenomenal athlete, and he just had a hell of a gimmick, man. [imitates Wright] ‘I’m the Boogeyman! And I’m coming to getcha!'”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.