Long story alert! Once again, if you’re not up for a long story, keep on scrolling”!
With A&E airing the Biography of Macho Man Randy Savage tonight, it got me thinking…
One of the most common questions that I get asked is, “How did you get your start in wrestling?”
Well, here comes the story.
It all really comes down to my college roommate, Geoff Shein and the amazing Northwestern Wildcat football team of 1995. I had graduated in 1994 and Geoff had one more year to play. I had played for the Kingsport Mets in the summer of 1994. It was with those Mets that I had gotten hit in the face with a fastball, breaking my cheekbone and damaging my depth perception in my left eye. After that season in Kingsport, I drove to Chicago to spend my offseason there. I stayed with Geoff at his apartment. We were on different schedules, him with his classes and football, me working nights as a bouncer at a nightclub in downtown Chicago. The next year, I was playing in the Yankees system after being traded from the Mets. After the season, I once again spent my offseason in Chicago. A bunch of my former teammates were still in Chicago as well, and we didn’t miss a NU football game. They had a tremendous year, making it to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA!
A bunch of us planned to go to LA for the Rose Bowl. We had to. I definitely had to see Geoff play on the greatest stage in college football. In December, I had headed to Sarasota to get ready for the upcoming baseball season. I had my ticket ready and headed to Tampa for my flight to LA. As I was checking in at the counter, I looked to my left and noticed Hulk Hogan next to me checking in for his flight too. I didn’t want to bother him, so I started off to my gate. He was behind me on the tram, I didn’t say anything, in front of me at the xray machine, didn’t say anything, walking next to me towards my gate, didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until we were both getting a magazine that we spoke. He said “How’s it going brother?” in that distinct deep voice I had heard so many times as a kid. I mentioned to him that we had a mutual acquaintance in George Steinbrenner. I had known Mr. Steinbrenner ever since I was a kid. He was a huge wrestling fan. (Shawn Powell can attest to that.) Hulk and I ended up being on the same flight to LA. We talked about baseball, the Yankees, wrestling, Macho Man being a former minor league player, etc. Hulk mentioned he was meeting Randy at the LAX baggage claim and he would introduce me when we got there. I walked with Hulk to baggage claim and sure enough, Randy was there waiting. Hulk said, “Randy, this is Dale Torborg.” Randy in his distinct raspy voice said, “Torborg? Is your dad Jeff?” I was shocked that he knew who my dad was but even more shocked that that was his actual voice. I always thought that was put on for his Macho Man persona. I told him that yes, that is my dad. He told me he was a big fan of his and that he had been a catcher in the minor leagues. He even told me how he blew out his throwing arm and spent and offseason throwing 1,500 balls a day against a wall in order to come back as a left handed 1st baseman! Doesn’t surprise me that he did that. One of the most intense human beings I’ve ever been around. His dad Angelo Poffo set the record for most consecutive sit ups with 6,033! Hulk and Randy spoke to me for a few minutes, asking if I ever thought of wrestling. At that point, I had never met anyone associated with the business. Some of my buddies over the years would joke that I should be one, but it was a completely foreign world to me. Both guys were cool as hell. We all got our bags and parted ways.
I ended up having a great time out in LA, staying at
‘s house next door to Gwyneth Paltrow, spending New Year’s Eve on sunset strip even though we almost weren’t allowed into Pasadena at about 4 or 5 am. We slept on someone’s floor for a few hours and then on to the stadium. The whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about that encounter with two of the biggest wrestling icons of all time. From that point on, I knew what I wanted to do. I did go back to Florida to prepare for the upcoming season. I still loved baseball, but after the eye injury and really struggling at the plate, my heart really wasn’t 100% in it anymore. July 1996, I hung up the spikes and started training with 2 WWF stars, Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart and The Warlord in Land O’Lakes Florida in Neidhart’s backyard ring. Definitely a learning experience. After 2 months of training, I got a dark match for the AWF. They ended up airing it. I was doing a baseball character, The MVP. (MVP stood for The Most Violent Player who liked to break all of the Yankees rules) This caught the eye of famed 4 Horseman manager and legend and WWE Hall of Famer, JJ Dillon. JJ was with WCW at the time. I went and wrestled over in India in early ’97, and when I came back to the states, JJ signed me to a WCW training deal. That’s what kicked off the journey…
So thank you Geoff and those 1995 Wildcats for changing the trajectory of my life!
Hope you enjoyed this story…
(Side note: I thanked Randy years later when we were both in WCW for really getting me started in the business. He said, “Don’t blame me!!” and started laughing.)
Story extra:
While in WCW, I went to Yankee Stadium to see a game that my dad was broadcasting. At this point, I looked nothing like my baseball days. I now had long black and white hair, black nail polish and skull rings. After the game, I see George Steinbrenner from a distance near the front lobby of old Yankee Stadium. He’s holding court with a bunch of guys in expensive suits. They’re all hanging on every word The Boss is saying. He looks over and sees me, pushes one of the suits out of his way and marches over to me. He emphatically yells, “There’s my wrestler!!” He comes over and starts smacking me super hard on my shoulders, telling me he’s been watching me on tv. He loved it that I was a wrestler. Definitely a cool full circle moment I will never forget.
7 Comments
7 Comments
I stayed at your son’s place the first night or 2 I was in California.