Gerald Brisco Recalls Running Over Tommy Rich, Blames Michael Hayes

On the latest episode of Something To Wrestle With, Gerald Brisco talked about the time he accidentally ran over fellow wrestler Tommy “Wildfire” Rich with a car, a story prompted by Michael Hayes. You can check out some highlights below:

On setting the scene after a night of drinking in West Virginia: “Oh, wait a minute, John, I didn’t run him over; I didn’t leave any skid marks when I hit him. I’ll set the story up. We had been out drinking there a little bit. The three of those names he mentioned — Drake and Neil — that just didn’t happen back in those days. But anyway, we were going back to the hotel. And what had happened is -— is Michael Hayes married now? I know he was married several times —-they were hitting on some chicks there. And the chick seemed interested in Michael instead of Tommy, and Tommy was the most over guy in the world at that time. And so this young lady, she’s starting to lean over and talking to Michael Hayes, which is really pissing Wildfire off. That Freebird’s outdoing him with this barfly chick there.

“So, we had enough sense to find a bar right across the street from our hotel. It’s there in West Virginia; everybody knows it’s mountains there. The hotels are down, and the rooms are basically up the side of the mountain, you have to go around this curvy highway. So like I said, we had been drinking. I walked back to the car, me and Michael and Wildfire. I said, ‘Come on, Tommy.’ ‘No, I’ll just walk up.’ He was pissed off at Michael Hayes for trying to steal the girl, this barfly girl. So Wildfire just walks up.”

On hitting Rich: “He starts walking up here, and Freebird elbows me in the side, ‘Brisco, I bet you won’t run over Wildfire.’ Oh yeah, I just had enough. I put that old Hot Rod Lincoln in drive, I hit the gas, boom! I hit Tommy, ‘Whoo!’ Up over the top of the damn hood he goes, smashes our windshield. I’d wrecked the rent-a-car, and I’m a vice president of Georgia Championship Wrestling, carrying about $50,000 in cash with me. So we could see — it’s like one of those movies where you watch in slow motion. Wildfire, he hit that hood and he starts rolling. Well you can just see that face start to roll up over the windshield as it smashes in. You hear this ‘thud’ hit beside you there. And I think, ‘Man, I just killed Tommy Wildfire Rich.’ So I put the car in park, of course, and you have to open the door.”

On Michael Hayes’ reaction: “[He said] ‘Briscoe, you just killed Wildfire,’ or something like that. I can’t remember exactly, but something like, ‘You just killed him! You just ran over our mortgage!’ or something. I’ll open the door, and I look back at Tommy. Tommy is starting to get up. I said, ‘Michael, he’s okay. He’s getting up.’ [Hayes said] ‘Well f**k, let’s get out of here before he kills us both!’

“So I’m watching Tommy, of course, trying to make sure he’s not limping. Because now I have to explain to Mr. Barnett why his champion has road burns all over the side of his body and his face, this handsome young man from Georgia. And so we said, ‘You alright, Tommy!’ He said ‘[grumbles] Leave me alone!’ We pull off. Tommy starts limping up, and he still won’t get in the car with us. He gets up, walks up the stairs, he gets in his room. I call him later, and he starts cussing me out. But yeah, that was all because of Michael P.S. Hayes.”

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.