Former WWF Star From The 80′s Says Vince McMahon Forced Him Out Of Wrestling
Boris Zhukov appeared on World Wrestling Insanity with James Guttman (interview available at WorldWrestlingInsanity.comvia ClubWWI).
Boris Zhukov wins the award for the most unexpected voice from a ClubWWI.com guest. A good ol’ boy, Boris talks to James Guttman about his talent for doing impressions and changing his voice. The difference is so startling that JG asks if there was ever a consideration to work an angle with Zhukov suddenly speaking with his southern drawl. Unfortunately, WWF never did that and no other company ever had the chance. Why? Because when Boris left full time wrestling with WWF, he had no options left. For some reason, Vince McMahon saw to that.
“Full time duty I pretty much left in ’91 because I was training to be a truck driver in January of ’92. When I left Vince and stuff, I was never able to go to WCW because he never would release me out of my contract. I couldn’t even go over and do jobs in WCW back in the day. Dusty couldn’t use me at all.”
James responds with a “Wow.” As the ClubWWI.com interview continues, Boris explains that Dusty Rhodes had said he would use him, but never was able to…and it was all because McMahon had a spot in mind for Zhukov on WWF’s roster.
“After I officially left and everything, Vince kept trying to bring me back just to do jobs on TV. I said, ‘No. I’m done.’ I started doing independent shows. But he made it hard for me. Even when I worked for Universal Wrestling or whatever, they couldn’t even put me on TV. I couldn’t even get booked on WCW to do jobs.
“They wouldn’t use me at all and the territories at the time were quickly dropping out of sight. The only one left was Portland and I had no desire to move to Portland because it was all dying out anyway. I saw that happening when I was with Vince. Vince told us at a meeting one time that the territories were going and we pretty much just had to work for him. We didn’t have any place else to go and that’s pretty much what his whole goal was.”
Guttman tells Boris that this situation seems to come up a lot, especially with some tag team guys from his time period. One second, Vince was friendly and the next he was battling you. As JG points out, it didn’t sound like Zhukov had any heat with WWF but was being treated like he did. Boris explains to ClubWWI.com members that all seemed to be going well until he had to return and serve as a sub for an injured star.
“Well, he talked to me about leaving, you know. It came up after the run with Nikolai. (Nikolai turned babyface) when Reagan did the thing with ‘tear down the wall’ with Gorbachev and all that happened. There was pretty much nothing he could do with me. He told me I’d be finishing up and he got me booked in Japan and all that and pretty much gave me my notice. After we all that was worked out, I remember Macho Man had got hurt. He was in an angle with Jim Duggan.
“So Macho Man got hurt and he brought me in to take his place. I had a little run with Duggan until Macho Man came back. Then he just wanted me to come back and start doing jobs on TV because he started offering to pay for my rental car and hotel room and I knew exactly what that was. I said, ‘I ain’t doing that.’ They said, ‘Where else you gonna go?’ I said, ‘I’ll do something else for a living.’ I learned that when I first went to Atlanta and got started, old timers said, ‘Be ready for when you have to get out.’ Baron Von Raschke said to me, ‘Jim, there’s a day you get in, but there’s a day you have to leave. You have to have something else to do on the side.’”
14 comments on “Former WWF Star From The 80′s Says Vince McMahon Forced Him Out Of Wrestling”
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OMG Choices, Choices, Choices. Wrestling is a tough buisness but remember “Its a buisness” Vince kept bringing boris back because Boris wanted to come back! Boris wouldnt be complaining if he got way over during one of those fill in spots but that never happened…He should feel blessed that he had a contract because there were and still are many young talented stars that would kill to be in that position. My advice to Boris is to stop blaming someone else for his problems and to get on with his life.
i am confused. he surely didn’t have an unlimited contract, it was probably annual or whatver. Once his contract with WWE expired he surely could have went to WCW right?
It’s the way in which the contracts were written. Vince owns the television (and other marketing) rights to the character. Now, it the wrestler is recognizable as himself when he’s that character, then he cannot be recognizable as himself when he works for someone else on TV. It’s okay for him to wrestle, but without the rights to the character (himself), he’d have to start all over again. There’s no value to another promoter in that.
Boris Zhukov wrestled long before he went to the WWF, I remember seeing him at the Showboat in Vegas wrestling for the AWA and using the Boris Zhukov name, so I don’t think Vince owned that name. Just knowing Vince’s work ethics I believe he screwed Boris Zhukov.
Theres ways around that though.He owns the right to the character but not the look or the way the gimmick acts.
example-we all know who mr anderson is.only thing that changed is his last name.
Vince McMahon is an evil asshole. That doesn’t change just because he made himself rich.
I am ashamed of you.
Why couldnt all of the talent just gone out and started their own enterprises using the fame that vince had created for you and just used vince just like he was using you? After wrestling started to die out UFC started coming in with something different. Why didnt yall just create your own company and go off and create your own multimillion dollar company? The market was and still is out there obviously.. just look how much it is to get a ticket for a UFC fight. Maybe all the wrestling knocked a few braincells loose but you guys shoulda been in it to learn the business and not just be a part of it. You allowed yourself to just be a puppet. Your only anger can be with yourself. Realistically hes not related to any of you is he? He doesnt owe you jack shit aside from whats in the contract you guys AGREED on. He doesnt have to like you.. or really give a shit about if you go off and become a millionaire. You all had such great opportunity to branch off and do something very similar but different so it didnt conflict with any contracts but you stayed in too long in the role that you signed on for. He signed off as the boss and unfortunately that never changes. Bottom line.
They can do that, but they cannot take the marketing rights to their characters with them. That can and does include their name and likeness, if they used that for Vince. In the old, old days, there were famous wrestlers who did take their followings with them when they switched promoters, but that was an easier proposition for a variety of reasons.
The biggest one being the local and regional loyalties that fans had back then. Others include the fact that most of those guys wore masks that concealed them from their audience, yet were known by their faces away from the events. Vince made sure that every interaction that his guys had with the fans was through him, even if they wore masks inside the ring, but not always outside of it.
I’m not sure what your point is… ? That anybody can start a successful multi-million dollar business if they try hard enough (false)? That, just because someone doesn’t have a good business acumen, business owners should be allowed to abuse them? What?
Good timing of this information, especially when McMahon’s wife is running for the Senate in Connecticut! Something stinks and it’s not sweat!
Hey wwe wrestling,
I want see on tv for 50 chennal when on your t.v. for wwe?
Boris was just another run of the mill heel in the 1980s. When he left no one noticed
I wouldn’t trust Mcmahon for anything.
I’ll never forget what he did to Dr D David Shultz.
In 1984, 20/20 reporter John Stossel was doing a report on the legitimacy of pro wrestling in the WWF.
When Mcmahon heard about this, he told Dr D David Shultz to smack John Stossel in the face to show how real Wrestling was.
We all know the WWF got bad publicity for this.
John Stossel filed a lawsuit against the World Wrestling Federation but it was settled out of court for $425,000.
David Schultz was then fired by Vince McMahon and Mcmahon blamed him for hitting John Stossel. This was upsurd cause it was Mcmahon who told Dr D David Shultz to smack Stossel.