Rocky Johnson Says Ole Anderson Is The Biggest Racist In Wrestling

Rocky Johnson talked to Wrestling INC’s WINCLY podcast and revealed the biggest racist in wrestling and more. Highlights are below.

On Ole Anderson Being The Biggest Racist: “That was him. He was the biggest racist in the wrestling business. He would let you know. He didn’t like me and I didn’t like him. He called me names and I called him names but he never threw any punches. A couple of times in the ring he tried to get stiff with me but he found out it didn’t work because I stood my ground and if you’re gonna beat me, you’re gonna beat me for real. He was not a well-liked person in this business.”

On Black Stereotype Gimmicks: “When I went to Tennessee they had them stereotyped. When I wrestled, I always considered myself an athlete and a wrestler. Even though it was a work, I kept myself in shape and when I went down there, they had them on TV eating watermelon and fried chicken,” said Johnson before adding that they used to cover black wrestlers in honey and dump feathers on them. I wasn’t going to play that role. I wasn’t an Uncle Tom and I never was gonna be. So they had no choice – it was either that or they never were gonna use me. I just let them know I don’t play that game. I came here as an athlete and I’m gonna leave as an athlete whether it’s today or six months from now. And that’s when I became the first black, southern heavyweight champion. The system in which I came up in was that every territory had to have a black, a white…if you went to Texas you had to have somebody that was a cowboy or one that was from Mexico. There wasn’t that many Afro Americans in the business at the time so I moved around a lot. But every time I moved around, I made money. They brought me in but not just as a stereotype.”