Former WWE star Bull Buchanan recently appeared as a guest on the Wrestling Epicenter for an in-depth interview covering all things pro wrestling. During the discussion, Buchanan commented on the WWE’s handling of the Vince McMahon sex trafficking allegations:
“I think they’re handing it as well as they could possibly handle it. One of the problems with society today is that people don’t treat people the way they wanted to be treated. I know all the allegations against him. But, Vince McMahon has never been anything but nice to me. When I was there, we would always have a WrestleMania after party and my family… Well, all the families, but in particular, my family would be there. It always impressed me how Vince would treat my kids and how Stephanie would take my kids over to the gimmick boxes and they would come back wearing Road Warriors shoulder pads and foam fingers and all of that stuff. He was always nice to me. He always paid me more than I thought I was worth. I hate that it has come to this. Did I ever see him do anything like what he’s accused of? No. But, I also didn’t expect to turn the corner at the Staples Center and see Vince doing that. (laughs) But, I always thought good of him and I even got along with him. I never thought I would see a world where the WWE didn’t have Vince McMahon in it.”
On his first impressions of Vince McMahon:
“When I first met him, I was scared to death of him! It is actually a funny story. Back then, it was all more of a 1 on 1 kind of thing. So, they flew me up to Stanford to meet with JJ Dillon. It was only a few weeks before he left and went to WCW. JJ took me around, showed me all around Titan Tower. Showed me the gym and all that. ANd, I met this guy, this big jacked up guy who was 6’4, 6’5. It was Dwayne Johnson! The Rock! We went to their for the first time on the same day. And, I was sitting there and I was wearing this suit. It was a suit I had for a few years and I had ballooned up a lot so this thing was tight everywhere it wasn’t supposed to be. (laughs) I probably looked like a big dork! And, the Rock? He’s in stone washed jeans, cowboy boots, and was looking like a stud! And, I saw Vince. And, Vince was huge! I didn’t expect him to be as big as he was. He walked in and he said, “What do you want to accomplish in this company?” I said, “Mr. McMahon, I will do whatever you want me to do.” He laughed and said, “I appreciate that. But, we have to find what you want to do.” And, I never had a bad interaction with him.”
On getting let go in 2003:
“Even when I was let go… And, I’ve done a lot of interviews over the years but I don’t think I ever talked about this. When they were getting ready to split me and John Cena up, I kind of knew. And, I sat down with John Laurinaitis and I was like, “Ok, what’s next for me? Baby face?” He said, “Well, we just don’t know.” So, I was kind of realizing this wasn’t going to end up being good for the home team. So, I went in and I spoke to Vince. And, Vince said, “I appreciate everything you’ve done for me. We’ll do business again someday.” I walked out and Matt Hardy met me. Matt Hardy and I started about the same time and had run into each other in North Carolina and in North Georgia before that. Matt said, “I want you to know, I went to Vince and I pitched an idea for you.” And, it was a great idea. I wish they would have done it! At the time, Matt was doing the Matt Hardy V1 gimmick and he had Shannon Moore with him and he was the “Little MFer.” And, Matt’s idea was that I could be “One Big MFer!” I think everyone realized, “Uh oh, this could be Bull’s last rodeo.” And, after that, Brock Lesnar stopped me. I had been down to OVW with Brock and he had just come up to the WWE. He said, “I just want you to know that I went to Vince McMahon and I put in a good word for you, for what it’s worth.” And, man, to see how big those guys got, to know that they went to bat for me is really humbling.”
On working for All Japan Pro Wrestling:
“I always wanted to go to Japan and work and I was lucky to get to go over there when I was still at the top of my game in terms of being in shape and able to go. And, I got to go over there with some friends. D’Lo Brown, Jamal who was Umaga in WWE, and Taka Michanuku was our group leader. And, I remember D’Lo called me before we went and said, “You know, they’re probably going to test us.” I was like, “I know.” But, in reality, we really fit right in over there. If I had gone to Japan before I had gone to WWE, I probably never would have gone to WWE.”
On the growth of Japanese wrestling while he was over there:
“When we got there, it was a little bit on its back after the death of Mr. Baba and Masawa took everybody and left. But, I think we had a hand in bringing it back somewhat. I’m not patting myself on the back too much but I think we kept it going during lean times and actually helped build it back up with the ROD. We were working with Muta a lot. And then, they brought in Voodoo Murder. They brought in Albert, Big Matt, Chuck Palumbo, and Johnny Stamboli. And, we had a great run with those guys too.”
On jumping to NOAH:
“In about 2005 or 2006, we made the jump to NOAH which was, at the tme, the number 1 promotion in Japan. And, we got to be the GHC Tag Team Champions, me and D’Lo. It was great, man. I loved it over there.”
On what he’s going to do now:
“I’m starting a school. We’re going to call it the Bull Pen, my wife or one of the kids came up with that name and we’re going to go with that. And, we’re going to run some shows. I just entered into an agreement this week to do some shows for WGTV here in West Georgia. We’ll probably run our shows out fo Bowden, Georgia. which is my home town. I’m recruiting a bunch of young studs right out of high school and it is probably about time for some of the older guys to move over and make way for some young guys coming up.”
On any regrets he has:
“You know, the only regret I have is that I just can’t do it anymore. I mean, if I could go back and do it again, I’d jump higher than I did and try to do it 8 days a week if I could. But, my only real regret is that it is over.”
