On Episode #117 of the Retro Wrestling Re-View USWA Podcast, the gang continues into the second week of the 1992 USWA season with the January 11th episode of USWA Championship Wrestling and this one is all about Corey Maclin flying solo, Brian Christopher finally taking the full heel plunge, Eric Embry spreading his influence all over the show, and the “International Roughnecks” a.k.a the Moondogs making Corey lose his mind on live television.

The boys kick things off with some network business, new joke sponsor shirts, and a teaser of Corey Maclin absolutely coming unglued later in the show while trying to deal with Richard Lee and the Moondogs. From there, the episode jumps into the fallout from Brian Christopher’s boxing match with Tony Williams, Bart Sawyer continuing the “Bartman” energy, Jeff Jarrett and Robert Fuller taking aim at the Moondogs, and Tony Falk introducing Miss Jennifer in a segment that goes sideways almost immediately.

Episode #117 feels like 1992 USWA is starting to find its direction. Brian Christopher has turned the corner, Eric Embry is suddenly everywhere…again, the Moondogs are getting more dangerous by the week, Robert Fuller is somehow working as a babyface, and Corey Maclin may need hazard pay if Richard Lee keeps bringing those “crazy fools” into the studio.

REST IN PAIN indeed

On this episode of Rick Del Santo’s Classic Wrestling Talk, Rick sits down with Darryl Peterson, better known to wrestling fans as Maxx Payne and later Man Mountain Rock, for a wide ranging conversation about athletics, acting, amateur wrestling, Japan, Memphis, WCW, the WWF, music, and the long road from a rebellious kid in Utah to one of wrestling’s most unique heavy metal characters.

Maxx starts by going all the way back to his childhood love of sports. Before wrestling, he was a football fanatic, a basketball player, a shot-putter, a swimmer, a baseball kid, and eventually a serious amateur wrestler. He talks about clashing with a high school football coach, falling in love with wrestling after first hating it, and growing up in a household where watching sports with his father helped shape the rest of his life.

The strongest part of the interview may be the story of Takedown. Maxx explains that he ignored the early casting calls because he was focused on wrestling, then suddenly found himself reading for the role of Bobich. That movie didn’t just give him an acting credit it changed the direction of his life.

The Japan material is another highlight. Maxx talks about training with Red Bastien, heading to Japan with Chris Benoit, living in the New Japan dojo, doing the brutal daily workouts, and learning from veterans by asking what he did wrong instead of fishing for compliments. He also tells a very funny Dick Murdoch story after slipping off the ropes in Japan, with Murdoch advising him to take two weeks off and quit.

For Memphis fans, there’s some great material on how the Maxx Payne character started coming together. He talks about wanting to be the dark, heavy metal, Alice Cooper style monster of wrestling, then explains how Memphis was brutally hard but also one of the places where he truly learned the business. He gives Jerry Lawler a lot of credit, saying that working with Lawler was easy as long as you listened and knew when it was time to sell.

The WCW and music discussion is fascinating, too. Maxx says the guitar element truly took off in Germany after Dave Finlay and Rip Rogers told him to make it part of the act. That success helped lead to Bill Watts bringing him into WCW, where he debuted in early 1993 and played guitar at SuperBrawl. From there, he tried to create a band made up of wrestlers, with Brad Armstrong originally planned as the singer before Brian Armstrong stepped in.

The Man Mountain Rock section is blunt. Maxx says the WWF “de-rocked” him, that he should have pushed back harder creatively, and that the version of the character he wanted — black, white, skulls, heavy metal, and edge got softened into something he didn’t believe in. He also previews a documentary project using footage he shot during that period, which he says will show the behind the scenes tension from his point of view.

For fans of Maxx Payne, Man Mountain Rock, Memphis Wrestling, WCW, WWF New Generation, New Japan, Chris Benoit, Jerry Lawler, Bill Watts, Red Bastien, Brad Armstrong, Brian Armstrong, and wrestlers who tried to bring something completely different to the table, this episode is loaded.

Maxx Payne wasn’t just a big man with a guitar.

He was an athlete, actor, wrestler, musician, filmmaker, and one of those creative wrestling minds who may have been 30 years ahead of the room he was standing in.

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On Episode #10 of Beyond Wrestling w/Robb, Robb Helt returns to the Neutral Corner Lounge with Gene Jackson and special guest Scottie Wince of the RWR WCCW Podcast for Part Two of the deep dive into the sale of the USWA, Larry Burton, Jerry Lawler, XL Sports, Mark Selker, and the lawsuit heavy mess that helped bring down wrestling’s last true territory. After Part One ended with the merchandising problem, Part Two digs into the bigger sales pitch: Larry Burton’s three step plan and the part of the story that was never actually proven.

The heart of the episode is the difference between a plan and proof. Burton’s story only works if there is real value at the end of the rainbow specifically, a WWF/Vince McMahon payday. But Robb makes the legal distinction clear: even if McMahon gave an opinion that the USWA might be worth six to eight million dollars, that is not the same thing as saying, “I will buy it for that price.”

That becomes the running theme of the episode: potential is not proof. Robb explains that in litigation, potential future value can quickly turn into speculative fiction if there’s no enforceable commitment, no completed deal, and no hard evidence showing that money was actually waiting on the other side.

Basically, this episode is about peeling back the legend and asking the questions that usually get skipped. Was Burton working Selker? Was Lawler & Burton working together to work Selker? Was Lawler working Burton? Did Burton every really meet with Vince McMahon? Did Burton actually believe he had found hidden syndication money? Did Jerry Jarrett see the storm coming and take the safest way out? And the most obvious question that Mark Selker apparently never asked, if the USWA really had a six to eight million dollar value, why didn’t Jerry Lawler simply sell it directly to Vince McMahon himself rather then sell to to them two million??

That’s the question that hangs over the whole thing.

For fans of USWA, Memphis Wrestling, Jerry Lawler, Jerry Jarrett, Larry Burton, XL Sports, Mark Selker, wrestling lawsuits, territory business, and the strange legal rabbit holes that swallowed up the final days of Memphis studio wrestling, Part Two is where the story gets even murkier.