DeansPlanet.Com <--- The Greatest Website Of All Time ---> Dean S. Planet Interviews Tom Zenk

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DP Celebs / Interviews

Tom Zenk

Former Pro Wreslting Star

Dean S. Planet: What was it like wrestling in Wrestlemania 3 in front of a record setting crowd at the Pontiac Silverdome?

Tom Zenk: As I rememner it Dean, WWF wanted us to start off Wrestlemania III with a hot match. I think we had 5 minutes and 30 seconds with a little cutesy finish. We'd been working a program with Orton and Muraco for a few weeks leading up to Wrestlemania III. Everything was on cue and we did all the spots. The show was a definite high spot in my career. It was all downhill from there!!

Wrestlemania III
The Can-Am Connection (Tom Zenk and Rick Martel) vs. "The Magnificent" Don Muraco and 'Ace' Cowboy Bob Orton w/ Mr. Fuji

(Tom's account of the events)
Don Muraco and Rick Martel begin the match. Muraco gets himself stuck in a side headlock, shoots Martel into the ropes and gets shoulder-blocked down. Muraco backs Martel into the corner, unloads with heavy punches and knee thrusts. Muraco whips Martel into the opposite corner, Martel gets out of the way of a charge and hip tosses Muraco to the mat. Martel leap frogs himself right into a leg scissors of sorts. One, two, nope. Martel tags to Tom Zenk and a double monkey flip sends Muraco down. Orton is now legal. The heels regroup as Zenk waits impatiently. Both men grapple and now it's Zenk's turn to get stuck in a side headlock, but he sends Orton into the ropes and Orton shoulder-blocks him. Zenk recovers and grounds Orton down with submission holds.
Muraco comes in and nails his own partner as Zenk sidesteps a punch - a pinning attempt is imminent. One, two, Orton kicks out. Martel gets tagged back in and works over Orton's left arm, then tags in Zenk. Muraco gets tagged and distracts Zenk enough for Orton, on the outside, to deliver a knee to the back of Zenk. Zenk plays the face in peril as the crowd boos the heels. Muraco with a neck-breaker leads to a fist from the second turnbuckle from Orton. One, two, Zenk kicks out. A whip into the ropes and they both hit head to head. Zenk lunges towards his corner and tags in Martel. Muraco is tagged in too. Martel is on fire, as he whips Muraco into a corner.
Muraco goes upside down and over. Now all four men are in the ring and pandemonium breaks out. Both members of the Can-Am Connection whip their heel opponents into each other and Muraco back body drops his own partner. A double dropkick by the Can-Am on the heels leads to a switch over the top and a high cross body from Martel to Muraco. One, two, three. Can-Am the winners in 5:36..
Lots of double-teaming there, but that's what made it fun.

The Can-Am Connection

Zbyszko In A Head Lock

Dean S. Planet: Do you think is was wrong to let Hogan win that night?

Tom Zenk: Winning or losing, it's all down to politics. The Hogan-Andre match at Wrestlemania was the main event but it got blown away by Steamboat over Macho for the Inter-Continental title. That made Hogan VERY unhappy, but he got his revenge later. They took the belt from Steamboat and gave it to Hogan's buddy Honkey Tonk Man. And that was basically the end of Steamboat's run in the WWF.

Dean S. Planet: Is Rick Martel really that big of a jerk as what I hear?

Tom Zenk: No, no I like Rick - Rick's a real nice guy. My only dispute with Rick is that we were part of the same tag team but he cut his own deal with Vince and lied to me about it. Rick told me we were getting the same pay - but he was taking twice as much. When I found out, I left WWF. Otherwise Rick's a great wrestler and a nice guy. A much better wrestler than most guys in the business today - but did Rick ever get paid a million dollars like DDP?

Dean S. Planet: Who do you think is the most over-rated wrestler of your era?

Tom Zenk: Positively DDP! Has DDP ever worked Japan? Has Vince ever hired DDP? The only reason DDP got a job in AWA was because he was willing to work for free. I heard a few months ago, DDP went to Vince looking for a job and Vince was too busy to see him!! No, the only person who ever recognized DDP's 'talent' was his next door neighbor Eric Bischoff - so what's going on there?

Dean S. Planet: What do you think of Vince McMahon?

Tom Zenk: Vince ... Vince was fine but Vince was cheap - he doesn't pay well. Have you ever heard anyone brag how much they're earning at WWF? The only money guarantee in my contract with WWF was $50 a night for TV tapings. Check it out in Dynamite Kid's book. Vince is only as good as he has to be. And he still owes me money from Wrestlemania III.

Tom Kicks Opponent In Japan

The Original High Flyer

Dean S. Planet: Who has been your toughest opponent?

Tom Zenk: The WCW bookers - they were more concerned with pushing their sons and their buddies than pushing the real talent. That's why WCW makes $80 million a year losses and why it's about to be sold off. So how come it took so long for TBS to find out?

Dean S. Planet: Which was a tougher sport to compete in, pro wrestling or body building?

Tom Zenk: Well, everything I achieved in bodybuilding was basically down to me. In wrestling, you don't get anywhere without getting caught up in politics and egos and fighting for spots. Like Austin and Goldberg saying, in wrestling you learn to 'Trust no-one." That's a tough way to live, I reckon.

Dean S. Planet: In the 80's, who do you think was the best between Hogan, Martel, and Flair who were all champions of their respective feds?

Tom Zenk: Definitely Flair. It's a shame he stayed around too long and has no legacy in his son.

Dean S. Planet: Which of your world titles are you most proud of?

Tom Zenk: The Hart Foundation clued me in back in the WWF - holding a title meant months on the road without a break and no extra money. The Harts couldn't wait to drop the tag titles to get back to a normal schedule. Since then my attitude has been - "Give THEM the belt and give me the money."

Rick Martel, Tom Zenk, and Curt Henning

Zenk The Champion

Dean S. Planet: Do you think there will be a professional wrestler union in the future?

Tom Zenk: There has to be - and I'm looking to veterans like Jessie Ventura, Bret Hart and Roddy Piper who are all outspoken advocates of a wrestling union. I believe Alex Rodriguez just signed a contract with the Rangers for $252 million. Yet there isn't one baseball team, including the New York Yankees, that takes in half as much money as the WWF. The average salary of a WWF wrestler is about $700,000, it's not guaranteed and its less than half the salary of the average major league player - and only one-fifth the average salary of a player on the Yankees. How do you explain that? - players unions!! I hear there's going to be no unions for the XFL either and XFL players will be making only $35,000-$50,000, plus bonuses -- less than one-twentieth the average NFL salary. Now I'm sure that Jessie won't go along with that, Jesse's a union man himself (Screen Actors Guild) - half his voter base is unionized labor. And he went on record in Playboy (Nov 1999) calling for hookers to be unionized - so what's the difference?

Dean S. Planet: What is your take on the murder of Dino Bravo?

Tom Zenk: I heard he got shot in his favorite chair fourteen times. I guess he was in some business deal that went wrong, importing cigarettes across the border or something. But that's just hearsay. And it was someone that he knew. He let them in the house and they shot him in his favorite chair. It's too bad. Dino was real nice to me, all the time I spent in Montreal.

Dean S. Planet: Canadian media has accepted pro wrestling as a sport much more than the American press. Why do you think there is a difference in beliefs about the validity of the sport?

Tom Zenk: I think you still see this in the way Bret Hart kayfabes some of his newspaper columns. Maybe they just protect the business better in Canada.

Dean S. Planet: What was your favorite town to wrestle in?

Tom Zenk :I liked the North West a lot - and Montreal. And a lot of places in the south where people asked us to come home and eat with them, or send some vegetables over to the hotels we stayed at. How hospitable is that?

Tom Ready To Rumble

Jim Ross Interviews Tom

Dean S. Planet: As you probably know, Stan Hansen announced his retirement recently. You two tangled in All Japan and in the WCW. What was it like wrestling against "The Lariat".

Tom Zenk: Stan was plain miserable. Wrestling's a dance, and both guys have to work together to put each other over. But not Stan. Stan didn't call matches and he ignored all the spots. That meant he screwed up the match to stop his opponents looking good. At the same time, it made Stan look strong. I remember Stan telling Johnny Ace - "Even if you can't get the match over, you've got to get yourself over." In my opinion, he's a clumsy stiff worker. He'll take your head off with a clothesline, then say "Sorry brother, I didn't see properly." I hear he's ruined his back or something? Poor guy.