Terri Runnels Speaks Out On Leaving WWE, Brian Pillman, Diva Search, Hardy Boys, Chyna, More
Submitted by Daniel Pena on Sunday, April 20, 2008 at 6:44 PM EST
Former WWE diva & backstage announcer, Terri Runnels, was one of the special guests on this past week's live edition (04/14/08) of Monday Night Mayhem (presented by Sweet Sunshine Sauces) -- which can be heard in streaming audio every week (hosted by The Big Mosh, Blade, & DFL), and heard LIVE at 8PM ET/7PM CT every Monday night) exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (
www.MondayNightMayhem.com,
www.OnlineWorldOfWrestling.com, &
www.ITunes.com).
This Mayhem exclusive (co-hosted by The Mayhem's National Correspondent & former ECW official, The Monster Factory's Jim Molineaux & WrestleView.com's Adam Martin) can now be heard for FREE in Windows Streaming Media, or via podcast/the MNM On ITunes.
April 14th Monday Night Mayhem (Windows Streaming Media):
www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/041408.wax
April 14th Monday Night Mayhem (Official MNM Podcast):
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/mondaynightmayhem/~3/271027420/041408.mp3
Here are some of the highlights from Terri's interview on the show, provided by The Mayhem’s host, John "The Big Mosh" Masiulionis.
The Big Mosh, Jim Molineaux, & Adam Martin welcome Terri on board The MNM airwaves, and she extends her thanks to The Mayhem for her first-ever show appearance.
Terri will be appearing at the UWF live events on May 1st (Colonial Heights, VA) & May 2nd (Harrisonburg, VA), in which some you fans have the opportunity to support The Hermie & Elliott Sadler Foundation projects, Autism Speaks, & Kyle Petty's Junction Gang Camp. Besides Terri, you fans can have the opportunity to manage such stars as: WWE Hall Of Famer Jerry "The King" Lawler, Scotty 2 Hotty, Samoa Joe, Shark Boy, Matt "Spike Dudley" Hyson, Joey Matthews, & many more. You can also bid to become the guest ring announcer for the main event match both nights. Check out
www.UWFUSA.com, as the auction runs through April 28th. Terri wants her #1 fan to win her part of the charity auction, so if you think you are Terri's biggest fan ever, now is your chance to make your voice heard, help out a noble cause, & and be rewarded in the process!
Mosh asks Terri if the transition to performing full-time in the WWE to extracting herself from the business entirely has been an easy or difficult one. Terri said "both yes & no." For the first year & a half after leaving World Wrestling Entertainment, she relished in her new role of a stay-at-home mom. After that, she purchased her own business involving youth soccer. Terri loved her eighteen years she spent in the professional wrestling ("It's in your blood...You can't ditch it."). Even though she loved her time in the road, there came a time when "the performer in her" could not watch the product. She said that it was nice to be able to step away, and that leaving was a sort of "cathartic effect." However, the memories of the business will never leave her.
Many fans remember Terri's introduction into the business as Alexandra York in World Championship Wrestling, and how that character very much differed from the controversial Marlena character in the WWE. Terri went on record with The Mayhem, saying she came up with the name of her WCW persona, while Tony Schiavone & Old Anderson that did the rest. At the time when Dustin was in the WWE, she felt that something was missing when it came to the women in the company: they had Sunny currently on the roster, and "Sensational" Sherri Martel had just left -- so they had "a hard-hitting" woman & a "cheerleader-esque" woman, but she believed that the WWE did not have a "sexy" performer, one who could possibly be a valet or manager for Goldust. Terri's sister had a doll from many a years that was named "Sun Goddess" by Bob Mackie, and that's where Marlena's "visual" came from. Dustin advised her to call Vince McMahon to pitch the idea, which she did. In the process, she landed up hearing back from Pat Patterson, who more or less said "We'll be in touch." Not that long after that conversation, she received the word that the WWE was going to work in her idea. She was hoping that just as the Goldust character was going to be over-the-top from a dramatic performance standpoint that hers could be as well (similar to the actress from the 1950's, Marlena Dietrich, from her day). Terri was a huge fan of cigars, and asked Vince if she could incorporate that into her character. Originally, the cigar was not lit at all, but after telling him "that looked stupid," she was able to smoke the cigars during the matches for the full effect she had wanted, and as Terri said..."the rest was history." Plain & simple, she loved working with Dustin as Marlena & Goldust.
Plus, in her first interview/public comments since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment close to four years ago, Terri Runnels graced the airwaves (along with The Mayhem's National Correspondent, The Monster Factory's Jim Molineaux & WrestleView.com's Adam Martin) to discuss coming back to the business, as well as break down her run as "Marlena" in the WWE & teaming with her husband (Dustin "Goldust" Rhodes), her memories of working with the late Brian Pillman, managing The Hardy Boyz (and the infamous Terri Invitational Tournament vs. Edge/Christian) & Perry Saturn, her time as Alexandra York in World Championship Wrestling, as well getting her thoughts on the product of today & the current crop of divas/knockouts, and the transition of life from inside the squared circle to outside of the business -- into working on her latest projects with children of all ages, her speaking engagements, & much more!
1996 into 1997 saw the advent of more "reality-based" storylines in the WWE. Fans to this day do not forget the angle between Goldust & the late Brian Pillman, with Terri at the center of the on-camera feud between the two. A decade after his passing, Terri wished to reflect on Brian's contributions to the business (which she described as "extremely important"), as well as one of the most controversial angles in professional wrestling history. As many people already know, Terri went out with Brian for a brief period of time in WCW. Around that time, Brian found out that he was going to be a father & that his former girlfriend was pregnant, so they thought it would be best to just remain friends. She feels that had Brian not passed, the angle between the three of them would have been one of the best angles this business has ever seen. She let The Mayhem know what was really supposed to happen in the angle: After Brian's "possession" of Terri had expired after the 30 days, Dustin & Terri were going to renew their vows in the center of the ring. When it would have come to someone objecting, Brian was to have interfered, leading to him & Dustin coming to blows. In the meanwhile, Terri was to have stayed in the center of her ring in her gold wedding dress, then jumped over Brian's bloody, beaten, & lifeless body, shocking Dustin & the worldwide audience by managing Brian from that point onward. The angle would have continued from there. The night before Brian passed away, Goldust & Brian had worked a house show, and Terri vividly remembers Brian as he was "extra rough" that night in the match. After the event, she had offered to Dustin to give Brian a ride back to the hotel, which never materialized. She did feel, at that time, he was "partaking in some things he should have not been partaking in." Looking back on that night, it's hard for her to say had & Dustin given Brian a lift back that things might not have gone down the way they did, where he was found dead prior to the PPV that next morning. She is very sad that Brian not only left behind a wife, but a daughter as well. "Wrestling lost a great wrestler...and I lost a great friend."
Fast-forwarding several years, Terri played a very integral role in the furthering of the feud between The Hard Boyz & Edge/Christian, and the establishing of the Terri Invitational Tournament (the acronym she was "not that proud of"). Terri was very pleased at the finished product of the angle between both teams, as well as how it launched their respective careers, and of course...the teased sexual nature of the whole tournament. Even though she was not old enough to be their mother, she cared about both Matt & Jeff like a motherly figure. Terri was very glad that she was able to work with both Edge & Christian as well, as she had known them for a while as well. If there is anything she could take from the entire angle, it was that "the time was fun."
She did not see her transition from her in-ring persona to her backstage announcer role as any sort of a challenge...actually quite the opposite. Terri told Mosh, Jim, & Adam that doing that "her best memories" were doing just that -- including her interviewing her time on RAW, as well as hosting WWE Excess with The Coach. She saw this new chapter of her career as a way to still get over with her fans, and not necessarily "sell herself out." Personally, she would have liked to have seen Excess last a little bit longer, especially with how well she worked with Jonathan Coachman, and if it had lasted, she would have preferred more of an ad-lib & less scripted format of the show.
Terri was very candid about her opinions on the concept of the WWE Diva Search...."I do not like them at all....It waters down the product...The women in the industry are like icing on the cake...Too much icing spoilers the cake...It's too much icing on the cake...It should be in the right doses & of the right sort." She feels that when the whole "Divas" concept took off, that they were "forced" down the fans throats, and it should be the opposite way around." Terri believes there are too many women in today's business, despite all of them being beautiful -- but many of them lack character. "It should be majority men, and the women should be the icing on the cake."
Adam, Jim, & Mosh gear up with a little Monday Night Mayhem Word Association:
The retirement of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair: "Sad...It breaks my heart to never be able to see him inside the ring ever again."
Perry Saturn: "Love him and miss him." She has lost touch with Perry, so if anyone has the abilities to get in touch with Perry that might be listening to this MNM interview/or reading this recap, Terri would like to catch up with him!
Eric Bischoff: "Canadian announcer with WCW"
Joanie "Chyna" Laurer: "Disappointed." Her daughter always used to call her "Ms. Big Joanie, and used to travel with her...not once seeing her even pick up a drink of any kind...Seeing her become what she has become is "disappointing" to Terri.
Val Venis: "Fun...Smiles...laughter...a very smart Canadian."
In this incredibly open shoot, Terri addresses plenty of additional topics in this near 60+minute interview, including her uncensored thoughts/takes on: why it is important to note & why does not see Vince McMahon as "wrestling's babysitter" (as well as why those in the wrestling business need to be responsible), if she saw any of the WWE divas "stealing" the Alexandra York look, if she was seen by the rest of those in the locker room as being given "preferential treatment" by being married to another WWE superstar, how intimidating it was for her to give Vince a call to pitch the Marlena character, the comparisons & contrasts between Alexandra York & Marlena, seeing The Blue Meanie as "BlueDust" for the first time, if it was difficult for her to switch over to the Goldust/Marlena/Luna Vachon angle after Brian Pillman's passing, the real reasons why she hated working wrestling matches with women (including Bikini Matches or "Paddle On A Pole" Matches), the media's portrayal of the wrestling business during the Benoit family tragedy, why "she would defend Triple H in a heartbeat" (and whether she thinks he deserves his spot in the business), how proud she was of Dusty Rhodes going into the WWE Hall Of Fame last year, & what it is like for her to give back to her fans at this stage of her career. Plus, Terri lets The Mayhem listening audience in on one of the most special & heart-warming stories you will ever hear involving WWE's charity work, and how her & many other WWE superstars (including "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Undertaker, & others) were able to give back to a very sick fan prior to his passing.
After wishing The Mayhem's Blade a happy & blessed Passover, in closing, Terri encourages all of her fans to check out her official website at
www.TheRealTerriRunnels.com. Is there a return to World Wrestling Entertainment in her future? Listen to this Mayhem exclusive, check out her website, & who knows...you may find out!
