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Glacier Almost Joined WWE In 2000, Reveals Gimmick He Was Offered

August 21, 2019 | Posted by Joseph Lee

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Glacier revealed that he almost joined the WWE in 2000 and revealed that the company pitched a state trooper gimmick to him at the time. It was based on the law enforcement background in his family. Here are highlights:

On negotiating with WWE: “When we [WCW] were bought out, [WWE] wanted me to send a tape. I consulted with Terry Taylor about what I should put together and he came up with a great idea, ‘If I were you, I would pitch Ray Lloyd in a highlight reel of Glacier to show them some versatility.’ “It was just one of those things where I didn’t really wanna get that personal because in the wrestling business they have the power to do whatever they want to do. It was nothing against WWE but it was just too personal to me to put into the wrestling business. And at the end of the day, I ended up turning them down. I was tired of being on the road and it wasn’t a great offer because they didn’t have to offer anything great at the time because they owned all of the cards.”

On turning WWE down and working with Dusty Rhodes: “During that time there was a lot of uncertainty with one major power going under and with anybody brought onboard, you won’t really sure what they were gonna try and do with you. Because of the other things that were a little more certain for me, I went the other way and I don’t regret it. The decision to work alongside Dusty for those four years was life-changing. I tell anybody to think of who your childhood hero is and put yourself in my shoes. I had my childhood hero asking me to be his right-hand guy. That goes beyond words to how thrilled I was to be in that position.”

On meeting Evel Knievel: “One of my favorite stories I tell all the time is when I broke in in April of ’87 right after I finished playing college ball in Valdosta, Georgia. I was making my way through the indie scene in Georgia and I had a good friend in Atlanta that I was visiting. This was in the summer of ’88 and I go into a local sports bar to meet up with my friend. I was waiting on him and thank God he was running late because in walks two of my childhood heroes, outside of my parents, in The American Dream Dusty Rhodes…and Evel Knievel! Not long after that I moved to Atlanta to pursue my wrestling dream and everything worked out pretty good.”

On the comedy event he’s involved in: “A good friend of mine, Johnny Swinger, he still lives in Atlanta and we’ve been friends forever. He first contacted me a couple of months ago when they were getting things going,” Glacier said before noting that Buff Bagwell and Raven have also done the show. He asked me if I would be interested in doing it and once he explained it, I said, ‘Heck yeah – we can sit around and talk about wrestling!?’ It was a lot of fun; it was a great crowd and great atmosphere. It’s for a great cause with Project Lunchbox and there were 4-5 comedians that warmed the crowd up so by the time we got up there they were primed and ready. We shared some good, ol’ fashioned wrestling stories with them.”

On Project Lunchbox: “I was a school teacher for 14 years and the Project Lunchbox charity that the Tall Tales benefit, it’s ProjectLunchbox.com and it’s to raise money so children, who are in certain situations where maybe they don’t eat a healthy meal on the weekend, Project Lunchbox makes sure they have lunches and food so they don’t go hungry. The money that’s donated and has been raised in the Atlanta community stays in the Atlanta community. It’s just a great charity to be a part of and I’m thrilled and honored that they asked me to be a part of it. Being a teacher, no one wants to see a child go hungry. So this is a great charity and all proceeds to back into the community to help some kids who need it and can really appreciate it.”

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Glacier, Joseph Lee