“When you get a Texan and Oklahoman together, they are either going to do two things: fight each other or sit down and drink a beer. He was too damn big for me to fight at that time. I chose to sit down and have a beer with him.”
This is what Gerald Brisco said regarding the origins of his friendship with John “Bradshaw” Layfield. If you’ve heard or seen their “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw” show, you immediately sense there is a special bond between the two. One built on mutual interests including a love of wrestling and football. Perhaps Brisco saw some of his himself as a competitive athlete.
He fought hard to recruit him for WWE back in the mid-1990s. A time when the war between WCW and WWE was hot and heavy. A member of Vince McMahon’s inner circle for decades, his opinion certainly went a long way.
“Jerry and JJ Dillon pulled me aside in the shower,” Layfield recalled. “[Jerry] said, ‘I understand you’re going to WCW. Well, I don’t want you to go. How will I know you’re not going to WCW and take our contract.’ I hadn’t seen a contract. I said, ‘Well, how do I know I got a contract?’ He said, ‘You have my word.’ He stuck out his hand, and I shook it. We’ve been friends ever since.”
“One fo the most giving people,” Brisco added. “I see the work he does not just in America but Africa and Bermuda where he sets up these rugby leagues.”
Bradshaw’s philanthropic efforts combined with his accomplishments in the business made him an ideal candidate to be recognized by the Cauliflower Alley Club as the 2022 Iron Mike Mazurki honoree. The WWE Hall of Famer and multi-time world champion, along with Brisco, will be part of the 56th Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion. The ceremony takes place September 26-28 at the Plaza Hotel & Casino.
“It’s a huge honor,” JBL said. “I look at the guys who won the award including Gene LeBell, Lou Thesz, ‘Stone Cold’ [Steve Austin], Harley Race, Jesse Ventura. I never dreamed of being in the Hall of Fame. I just love this business. I wanted to be in it. Going into the Hall of Fame with names like this. I feel like I should be buying a ticket to be in the room with those guys including Mr. Gerald Brisco.”
Brisco knows the importance of the CAC over the years as it has helped colleagues in many ways. He stresses the organization not only helps the old-timers but today’s talent too.
“It’s so important that our current wrestlers get out and get involved and come to these CAC events,” Brisco said. “See exactly the camaraderie that the talent gives out to the fans that come to these. This is a tremendously attended event that is in Las Vegas every year.”
Much the contrary to many veterans, JBL and Brisco have a positive outlook on the current landscape of pro wrestling. They feel the business is certainly booming.
“My opinion is it is as healthy as it has ever been in the history of the business.,” Brisco said. “You have so many choices now…If there is something on Raw or SmackDown I want to watch, I’ll watch it, but my favorite go-to is the NXT show. You’re going to see a lot of raw and young talent building that dream and taking the next step. You see their successes and feel their failures too. Watching like John and I do, you can see a failure. Not as a person. A failure of a spot and see the disappointment in their body language and expression.
“But 99 percent of the time they are right on the money. To see these kids come from absolutely never seen a wrestling ring before or what the ropes or turnbuckles are like to taking a giant step center of the ring. You are there seeing them take that first step and see how uncoordinated that first step is. Then you see how they advance, makes goosebumps come to both of our arms.”
Layfield added that “the business is as hot as it can be. These guys have their own buses and own plane. I’m not saying that in a disparaging way. I love it. I wish we had that. They are making a ton of money, and good for them. We’re not those old guys who say they don’t deserve it. Those guys deserve it as much as we did. I’m so happy there are billion-dollar TV contracts selling out huge arenas. It’s fashionable to knock the current business. You seem smart if you do and a ‘mark’ if you put it over. You have to put it over. Something is going incredibly right. All these independent shows are drawing. I hadn’t seen that in 20 years or more, maybe the late 1980s territories that drew. It’s a wonderful time.
Visit the CAC site for more information on the organization and to attend the CAC Reunion.
