Titans of Wrestling #59: Interview with Kal Rudman

[JerryvonKramer]

http://placetobenation.com/titans-of-wrestling-59-interview-with-kal-rudman/

 

 

Johnny and Parv had a chance to chat with the legendary Kal Rudman: WWF commentator, star of The Today Show and The Merv Griffin show. Renowned philanthropist. Inductee to the Philadelphia Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame.

[Johnny Sorrow]

To put our cards on the table. We screwed up. Our skype recorders malfunctioned and we lost the first half of our interview. But thankfully, Kal stuck around and what we did get was great.

[Eegah]

That was tremendous, Kal seems as lovely a fellow as youd expect and his ball busting was great. Thanks for the interview guys, what a legend!

[Johnny Sorrow]

I'll give a rundown of what didn't record later. But it was a pleasure and an honor. The man at 86 is as sharp as a tack and funny as hell.

[bradhindsight]

Hell, you and Parv should do a 2-man reaction show to your own interview.

[Ricky Jackson]

Big props to Johnny for putting this together. Amateur recording can sometimes be unpredictable and frustrating with random lost audio, and there isn't much you can do about it. Still, a half hour with Kal motherfucking Rudman is bad ass and I'm proud of my boys. Titans 4 Life

[Eegah]

It really was a great show. Having Kal on after so many hours of analysis is great. You guys were respectful and awesome, Kal rules!

[shoe]

Good job boys!!!

[CFTV]

Great get!!!!

[SevenKeys]

Loved this , almost felt surreal that you had the man himself after he had been such a part of titans discussions on previous episodes

[JAC]

That was very cool. I can't believe you guys didn't laugh at his half-wit joke. I just about spat out my tea listening to that line this morning. I'll ascribe that to nerves. Too bad the whole thing didn't make tape, but kudos to you for tracking him down and getting a fun little interview out of him. Also, nice save on catching Buddy Rogers as the wrestler from Camden. I suppose it's like being on Jeopardy (or Brainbuster). These nuggets of trivia are easier to remember when you're not on the spot!

[JerryvonKramer]

I really wish we could have had the first half of this cos Kal just fucking owned Johnny and then when I came in, he owned me too. All I asked him was why he transitioned from the booth to being the interviewer in 1982 and his response was "In typical British fashion ... Let me tell you, I've been broadcasting since the 1950s! So why don't you shut your fat mouth!"

 

He also told us a story about Moolah chasing him around the ring because he'd called her age out on commentary that basically had us on the floor. I also asked him a question about Gorilla Monsoon and he went on this whole spiel about how the English have the worst pronunciation and speak the worst English anywhere.

 

His affections are also clearly for the Backlund era. We asked him pretty open questions, and he took it to Backlund rather than Hogan, which I thought was interesting.

 

He also told us that him and Dick were told nothing by the office and just made it up as they went along. Which is what we'd always thought.

 

And there was a bit where he burst into giving us a bit of the sort of commentary he used to do. When I saw it hadn't taped, I think I lost my own body weight in sweat.

[SomethingSavage]

I really wish we could have had the first half of this cos Kal just fucking owned Johnny and then when I came in, he owned me too. All I asked him was why he transitioned from the booth to being the interviewer in 1982 and his response was "In typical British fashion ... Let me tell you, I've been broadcasting since the 1950s! So why don't you shut your fat mouth!"

 

He also told us a story about Moolah chasing him around the ring because he'd called her age out on commentary that basically had us on the floor. I also asked him a question about Gorilla Monsoon and he went on this whole spiel about how the English have the worst pronunciation and speak the worst English anywhere.

 

His affections are also clearly for the Backlund era. We asked him pretty open questions, and he took it to Backlund rather than Hogan, which I thought was interesting.

 

He also told us that him and Dick were told nothing by the office and just made it up as they went along. Which is what we'd always thought.

 

And there was a bit where he burst into giving us a bit of the sort of commentary he used to do. When I saw it hadn't taped, I think I lost my own body weight in sweat.

 

That sounds tremendous. I'll take what I can get here though. This one's a big win, guys.

[Ricky Jackson]

Great job guys! Kal was more awesome than I ever could've imagined

[Superstar Sleeze]

Fun interview! Parv & Kal watching modern wrestling would be something I paid to listen to.

[Ricky Jackson]

 

The boys will be back in about two weeks. Card subject to change, as we may first review the September and October 1982 Spectrum shows as a farewell to the wonderful commentary of Kal Rudman.