TALK IS JERICHO
This week, Chris Jericho spoke to the living legend Jim the Anvil Neidhart with his son-in-law, Tyson Kidd, in attendance. They began by discussing how Jim wasn’t a Canadian, but because he married a Canadian, he is considered to be one.
They discussed his breakneck schedule from back in the days of the Hart Foundation, where they got 1 day off in 2-3 weeks, at best. They discussed how he got into professional wrestling, after being released by the Oakland Raiders.
Neidhart had watched wrestling and did not like it. He moved to Calgary to pursue it, nevertheless, because the money was good. Kidd added how Neidhart received hands-on training from Stu, because he was a big guy…the kind that Stu liked.
They went on to speak about the legendary Hart Dungeon, the revered place, which was actually a smelly and dingy room. Jim went on to say that back then, every bum lived in Stu’s house but he lived in the servant’s quarters.
Stu’s wife- Helen Hart chose the name ‘Anvil’ for Jim, because he holds the world record for throwing a 100 pound anvil the furthest...something he did after failing to qualify for ‘shot-put’ in the Olympics, whereas football and hockey players failed.
She even named ‘Gorgeous George’. At the time, they wanted to call him Jim ‘The Animal’ Neidhart. Jim went on to speak about his early matches, and how Dynamite Kid was the one everyone wanted to emulate. Because he’d do all the work, wrestling him was like a night off.
Jericho mentioned his look, and how Neidhart was the only guy with a beard from that time. They also spoke about picking ‘pink as their colour, because nobody else was doing it back then. Vince was a ‘colours’ guy himself and loved the idea. Tyson added how Bret and Jim were the only team in which both members looked different from one another.
Neidhart went on to mention Andre The Giant, who he felt was a great person, but drank a lot! It was half a gallon of alcohol every night. Andre would drink from the time he woke up, to the time he went to sleep.
The Wrestlemania 2 battle royal was discussed, in which Neidhart was one of the three last contestants, as well as how The Hart Foundation won the tag team titles in a match...in which the ropes came off.
At the end of the interview, Neidhart mentioned how much he loved WCW in which he got paid a lot for doing nothing at all. Jericho recalled how, back then, Neidhart and other veterans would tell Chris how the place was in trouble, and everyone needed to move to WWE.
At the moment, Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart loves being on Total Divas. And they love him too. Overall, a very fun interview indeed.
