Bruce Prichard Reveals His Talks With Dusty Rhodes to Join WCW in 1992 to Manage Cactus Jack and The Barbarian, Why the Deal Fell Through

– On the latest Something to Wrestle With Bruce Prichard discussed how he at one point he nearly made the jump to WCW in 1992, but it didn’t pan out. In 1991, Prichard was fired from WWE. In his talks with Dusty, the idea would’ve been to bring Prichard into WCW to manage The Barbarian and Cactus Jack. However, it seems WCW never got back to him in a timely manner, and Prichard received the option to return to WWE anyway. As a result, the deal fell through, and Prichard returned to WWE. Below are some highlights.

Prichard on his talks with Dusty Rhodes to join WCW: “Well, I’d been talking to Dusty, and the idea was to bring me in to manage The Barbarian and Cactus Jack. The idea was to have a little stable to go against Sting. Sting was champion at the time, and they were looking to create that heel factory and work against Sting for the championship. And Dusty wanted a new different mouthpiece. He wanted to bring me in and do that. So, in the interim, the offer came up to go back to WWE, and no one would answer my phone calls or return any of my calls to WCW as I just wanted to talk to them about it and kinda get everyone to lay it out for me and weigh my options to have as much information as I could.”

Prichard on why the deal didn’t work out: I couldn’t get anybody to answer my calls. This was before cellphones and internet and e-mail, so I sent a Federal Express to the office. I sent one to Jim Ross, one to Bill Watts, and one to Dusty. And finally got a phone call about a day later after they’d receive the FedEx. And it obviously didn’t transpire, but in a lot of ways, that opened the door for Cactuc Jack, who Cactus became the mouthpiece for Barbarian. And you got to hear the verbal skills of one Mick Foley. And I think that that was a good choice, and it was also one of those moments, if you look back at the career of Mick Foley and his time in WCW where he was able to shine and step forward as a shining star. So, maybe that was a good thing for everybody involved. ”

Prichard on if he had talks with anyone other than Dusty and Jim Ross calling him after it fell through: “Prior to, no. It was all Dusty. And then it was Jim Ross who called me, and *In Jim Ross’ voice*, ‘God damn, boy. You really pissed off the cowboy [Bill Watts]. I said, ‘Well God damn, Jim. Wouldn’t been nice for somebody to return my calls over the last few days when I’ve been calling, leaving messages. And I had to make a decision. After I sent the FedEx, and I still didn’t hear from anybody, I thought well, you know what? If they’re telling me about how I’m going to be this top guy and mouthpiece for all the guys and they have all these big plans for me, but they won’t even return my calls, maybe it is all bulls***, and there’s nothing there for me. So, I decided to move on.”

Prichard on if he regrets not being on camera more: “Not at all. I enjoy being behind the camera more. It’s fun to perform, and it’s fun to be out in the spotlight. However, I like behind the scenes much more.”

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.