It was interesting to hear Ronnie Garvin confirm what many of us suspected. He was really being buried for no apparent reason. It was a no brainer to Ronnie as champion. The guy was a legit tough guy. His rise was undeniable simply because the average working guy who was one of the biggest demographics of wrestling at that time could identify with one of their own.

Dusty Rhodes turned Barry Windham, Ronnie Garvin, and the Road Warriors heel in 1988. He booked himself into matches with all 3. The only turn that made sense and drew money was Barry Windham turning heel and joining the Four Horsemen.

I never really liked Ronnie back in the day but now I appreciate his matches. He looked so stiff and real. Looked like a real tough dude. No gimmicks needed. Just a straight ass kicking.

So true. Dusty ruined it for everyone!!

Ronnie Garvin and his cool flattop haircut/hairdo. I first got a flattop at age 13 in 86', I brought a copy of PWI and showed the stylist a picture of Ron Garvin. Little did i know I'd have to use gel & hairspray the whole time i had that do.

Ronnie Garvin makes a lot of sense in the way Dusty Rhodes booked the NWA. Trying to expand the Mid-Atlantic territory to a national promotion was a huge mistake! Even though the WWF was expanding across the USA and Canada, the NWA would always have their fans!

Big fan of Ronnie. Loved his hard hitting style, and his feud with Flair was awesome.

It was great having Devon Nicholson interview 'Rugged' Ronnie Garvin☺ He's a true legend, an all time great, and a personal fave of mine👍 Keep it going with the awesome interviews, Hannibal TV

I have always wanted to hear an interview with Garvin where he talked about his title reign. Thank you Hannibal for posting this!

He's spot on about Dusty. Rhodes would always book himself with whoever was hot. The Rock N Roll Express, The Road Warriors, and Magnum T.A. to name a few.

Ronnie is right, the Rock & Roll were super over and popular.

Very good insight into the fall of Jim Crockett Promotions to Turner in 1988.

I can attest, Ronnie Garvin was big time over in Baltimore. He was coming in when Georgia Championship Wrestling ran Baltimore in 1984. He won both the TV Title and National Title in Baltimore. As far as his nonsensical heel turn on Dusty at GAB 1988, I do have to correct him on one thing. It was 80/20 he was being cheered, that moment got a huge pop. Yes, he was super over in Baltimore and of course that was squandered as he was gone from Crockett Promotions weeks later and the whole angle wound up not meaning anything.

Everybody Black or White has a uncle or grandfather like Ronnie Garvin !# A man's man !

I love hearing inside stories from Ronnie Garvin he is the man!

I remembered that like it was yesterday! Ronnie was in the back rubbing the $ all over his chest laughing, I loved it!

Great to see The Rugged One. Great wrestler. Loved that infamous Garvin Stomp, still ongoing by Randy Orton. That kid's got talent.

This man will still KO anyone ! You can see and hear in his voice as he even says about Dusty' " God rest his soul " I am 55 now and remember ALL of this and these men who took and gave a POUNDING to each other 300+ dates a year !!

I WAS ONE OF HIS BIGGEST FANS AND NEVER KNEW WHAT HAPPENED TILL NOW WOW

Great job Hannibal good inside on what was going on during that era from one of the all time greats Ronnie Garvin. Thanks for posting Joe Munoz

As a matter of fact I remember it just like yesterday when Ronnie won the big gold belt from Flair, only to drop it back to him like 2 months or so later....and he never got a chance to defend the belt against anyone else during his run... I was like 12 back then and it never made sense to me, it seemed so weird....

Loved watching Rugged Ron wrestle every single time.

Ronnie Garvin needs to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.........

Hands of stone! Looking good sir. I still playfully threaten my kids and now my grandkids with the "Garvin Stomp!" Lmao. Ronnie Garvin, a genuine bad ass.!

wow ron garvin has aged .i often watch his matches from when he was in his early to mid 40 s and he didn't look to bad at all for a 40 plus year old man performing like he eas was 25 years old.ron garvin a true wrestling legend

What a pleasure to listen to Ronnie Garvin.

If memory serves me right, it was the World Class who first came up with the triple steel cage Tower Of Doom match, cos I still have my issue of PWI & they have a pic of it in the magazine. I think this was back when the Freebirds were feuding with each other & Buddy Roberts (may he RIP) tried to cut Michael Hayes's hair & Terry Gordy (& may he RIP) came in to stop it. But I can't recall the NWA having the Tower Of Doom match before World Class did. Interesting side-note to the Tower Of Doom is, I have that match in my NWA wrestling game. I even named my Christmas night PPV after it. Its called "Gloom In The Doom" Its one hell of a match, I can tell ya that. lol

Ole Anderson said the same thing.

He is so right about taking Starcade out of Greensboro. Never should of done that

Ronnie Garvin wins the title and was(as said by Ronnie) really over as a tough guy. The NWA/WCW is set up perfectly with a new face with the belt and can have had a solid time period with his run. The fans would have enjoyed watching him lock horns with so much talent walking around the place. So what do the "minds" do, but turn it into a short title run just another mistake by the wheel spinning company. Watched it and never could understand why?

Rugged Ronnie Hands of Stone was the Canadian Stone Cold before the attitude era. The guy decided to hang it up because it was hunting season. Badass

My hometown of Saginaw, MI had a good turn out for Nitro, WCW & Georgia Championship wrestling in the early 80's. Unsure if Ronnie would consider Saginaw one of the town's they couldn't turn a profit. City leaders sold our arena to the county and we never did see live wrestling again. They charged promoters alot to rent the facility so now I understand why. Decline is definitely the word to describe the early 90's.

I believe the Baltimore statement. My older cousins talked about Garvin like he was Austin lol

I’m watching 87-88 Crockett for the first time, and I’m just getting to the Garvin turn. Shocked the hell outta me. Interesting getting the back story.

Gate was $300K but you lost $60K. That tells it all!

IA with everything Big Ron is saying here. if anyone was getting over huge, Dusty had to connect himself to them. no matter who the wrestler/s were.

Man I miss NWA wrestling the best in the world

As a kid watching Southeast Championship Wrestling, I saw Ronnie Garvin wrestle in the Middlesboro National Guard Armory, and the Harlan National Guard Armory. He was my favorite wrestler of all time, and I'm glad to see him doing well. Long live the Garvin Stomp!

Ron Garvin in the ring NWA classics for sure, but even after that in WWE the guy was all around classic pro an inspiration to watch.

good stuff hannibal hands of stone is a legend!!!

At the time I wondered about Dusty and that terrible polka dot outfit. Ronnie's explanation makes sense.

damn the video quality on this shoot is A++, Dev.

I remember Ronnie as Mr. Knoxville (TN).

The Garvin Stomp, was the funniest gimmick. Loved it.

wow this is so interesting. and it now all makes sense to me. i used to go to the matches in roanoke va. and the rock and roll express along with so many others were always there but never dusty rhodes. those were some great matches but only those of us lucky enough to be there were able to enjoy it because they never televised those matches.

Ronnie is spot on about the Mid Atlantic territory. I grew up in the heart of it (Charlotte). While the WWF (as it was at the time) grew to a national product, the Mid Atlantic had a regional product I believe that would have endured. If Crockett would have stayed between Atlanta, Northern Florida, Eastern Tennessee, along I-85 corridor through the Carolinas into Virginia, and as far north only as Baltimore, they would have had a region more solid than anybody including WWF national product. The problem, and Ronnie is right they let Dusty and his ego get in the way, by buying jets, going to Chicago and Las Vegas and essentially abandoning their base. (Hence that's what happened to NASCAR). Furthermore they wasted money buying other territories, when in reality all they ended up with was a few trucks and some rings. This prompted the sale to Ted Turner that had no experience or any love for the business that ultimately resulted in its demise.

If JCP had stayed East of the Mississippi River, they would still be in business.

He doesn't mince words about his feelings about Dusty ever does he....lol I kind of chuckled at the part where he noticed that when he turned heel, half the fans cheered, and considered it a bad thing, getting such a divisive crowd.. Nowadays that kind of response is common place (and I am still not sure it's a good thing either). heels aren't hated anymore and faces aren't loved anymore

Great hairline for somebody his age!

Wild to hear Garvin's speaking accent, a mix of the Carolinas and French Montreal Quebecois, where he is originally from!

Ronnie and Windham never recovered from their heel turns. Wasn't handled properly.

He was around when I watched and I regard Ronnie as a utilitarian guy like Arn who you can insert In any situation . I never liked Dusty , but Dusty’s popularity could only enhance The RNR express .

As a Chicago kid who was at Starrcade '87 and most every Chicago-area show of the Crockett Era, I hate how true these tales of over-booking and over-spending are.

Ronnie Garvin is a legitimate bad ass. His rugged, hard-hitting style was very real. I saw a shoot from the Road Warriors, and they even said that Ronnie Garvin was one of the toughest guys they ever faced. Animal said that after his match him, he was war slap out!!! I hated to hear the negative comments about Dusty. I do, however, believe what he said. I hated it because I loved Dusty Rhodes as a kid. Especially what he said regarding the Rock n Roll Express. Great shoot!!!

I hated that the AWA wasn't carried on Detroit TV, so I missed things like Ronnie becoming TV champion, or the early days of the Midnight Rockers.

These young guys don't know it but ronnie garvin was a bad m'fer back in the day,

I agree. I never got why Dusty was over. He sucked as a Booker too

Ronnie Garvin was so over people don't realize. Should have been champion for several months Defending it many times. Dusty was so jealous of him

Ronnie Garvin was my favorite Wrestler in the 80s. I love the Garvins.

This was the heyday of Pro Wrestling. Garvin knows what he's talking about. I was a fan. I can't agree or disagree. But I loved it all! And I miss those days. RIP Dusty.

He's covering a lot of points that others have covered both good and bad.

taking Starrcade 87 to Chicago was a big screw you to the Carolinas since it was the Carolinas that made them.

Ronnie G. was the real deal.....decent promos,in shape,brawler,great worker and good looks.....

I think Ronnie is just being honest telling it like it is

"This interview is brought to you by Visine"

"Sort of a Spanish guy??" Al Perez, dude! Ha ha. You teamed with him for months!

I can hear that Ybor City/ West Tampa dialect in him .. Anyone who knows it , can hear it immediately

World Class did the 'tower of doom' match first. They called it something different.

Dusty did the same thing in WWWF in the 1970's with Superstar Billy Graham.

Greatest wrestler ever with the best-ever wrestling move - a punch in the face.

Always loved Rugged saw him wrestle in L.A. sports arena against I believe it was Greag valintine 1989 WWF it was the best house card ever. Andrea the giant rowdy piper demolition Rick Rude it was dope.

Hands of Stone beat the Great Andre the Giant something terrible up in Knoxville, Tennessee in the 70’s. He was hailed as undefeated but the Original Sheik and Rugged Ronnie defeated him.

From the fan reaction you could tell Ron was over, But you could tell people in office was not behind him.

"...And he put polka dots on his ass.", I'm still laughing.

Great guy. He reminds me of my Grandpa

I never liked Garvin but I have new respect for him knowing he couldn't stand Rhodes just like I couldn't. What a joke Dusty Rhodes was. Horrible wrestler and a terrible gimmick! John Wayne Rhodes...

The old adage is still true: You can't book and wrestle at the same time. One or the other, but not both. Fine to have a former wrestler as a booker but an active wrestler cannot stay impartial.

Ronnie Garvin contradicts himself. He said Dusty was jealous because Garvin beat the 4 Horsemen. Wasn't it Dusty that made that happen though? Garvin didn't actually beat them in a real match. Dusty booked that to happen that way.... So he doesn't want to give Dusty credit for getting him over, but he wants to rip Dusty for the other stuff. Come on man.

Al Perez. Former WCCW world champion.

Thanks Hannibal

I think Ron has a point. Dusty in polka dots and Dustin as as a transvestite. Vince made money and laughed all at the same time

This shoot is gold

But THE THING IS NOBODY told Dusty NO!!!! JCP simply didn't have the business moxie to stay in the game long term. With ALL THAT legendary talent, JCP never had a toy line for example! Even the AWA AT LEAST had toy line! LOL Dusty didn't own the company. That's what made Vince such a beast! Wrestling was in his blood and it was a family thing. BUT he had the new age marketing acumen needed to dominate in the 80's and long term. And from there, got world class bookers to carry out his vision in ring and with the angles. Crockett didn't have the business acumen and WASN'T as hands on with everything like Vince was. So I don't blame Dusty, I blame Crockett. The financial people of JCP should have reigned in the spending LONG BEFORE! and grow the company in a more organic and thoughtful way. They had the roster, national cable TV, syndication, etc. for a great foundation. In the new age of wrestling, they should have been the Richard Pryor to Vince's Cosby Show. Two totally different brands of the same genre. BUT both were huge on a mainstream level. Cosby was more marketable ONLY BECAUSE he was more clean cut (im talking image not real life LOL!!). But Pryor was still a mainstream force WITHOUT being in Jello commercials and clean cut! Pryor streamlined his image ENOUGH for the masses to rally around him. BUT still kept most of his edge. JCP sadly NEVER got that formula down... Vince's Attitude Era was really the FIRST adult oriented wrestling product that got over HUGE on a mainstream level because it combined transcendant star power, great marketing and production, and enough superior in ring guys (over on a main event level) to balance everything out. Imagine a prime Ric Flair with the Horsemen WITH a strong marketing and production machine behind them. That ENHANCED the edginess of JCP. And not make it TOO cleaned up. We see how huge Flair is now in pop culture way past his prime and as a senior citizen! IMAGINE how huge he would have been mainstream wise BACK THEN!!!

what does a booker do exactly anyone??

At 9:10 Q: How did Vince McMahon try to embarass Dusty Rhodes? A: "When he put polka dots on him, and gave him a black girl in the corner"

While I believe what he's saying and no disrespect to Dusty, but I doubt the territory would still be going today no matter what.

They spent 11 million on that private jet.

Ronnie was to real and rough for most of the Sissy's in acting entertainment

@539 Productions this person is a commercial pilot he talk very little about it at 0:50 -1:10 not much safer tho.

AL Snow said it best if you are an active wrestler you should not be the booker because you are going to book yourself sooner or later as the guy and it doesn't work ...

One of the best to ever do it!

sounds like dusty forgot to put his muffla in LOL

About the only thing I disagree with Ronnie on is, the NWA still being here today. And I'm not talking about the NWA that's out there now, I'm referring to the same one Ronnie is in this shoot. And what I disagree with him about is, not even Ronnie knows if the NWA would still be here today, because none of us have a crystal ball & can see into the future. Not saying the NWA would or wouldn't be here today, but then again, that's cos I don't have a crystal ball to see into the future with. So who's too say if the NWA would still be here or not? But other than that one statement he made, Ronnie was spot on with everything else he said.

Idk why but i was a huge huge Ronnie Garvin fan. I always wanted him to be the WCW champion

Ronnie looks great,,,,,,,,,,,,,, i can't believe he's not in the hall of fame

Fromer?

Ever notice Ronnie Garvin and Miss Atlanta Lively are never in the same room?

7:13 They were gonna team him up with.... Al Perez. I thought the matches between Flair and Garvin were great! I was one of the few who wanted to order the Starrcade 87 P.P.V. over the inaugural Survivor Series. DAM Cable co. in PA. wouldn`t carry it...

He was stone cold before stone cold

2240 hrs. If Dusty was bankrupting the wrestling org, can anyone explain why he was allowed to continue in this vein until the end of the org?