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Former NWA Star Magnum T. A. Explains Why He And Sting Never Went To WWE, Offers His Pick For Best Heel

Former NWA Star Magnum T. A. Explains Why He And Sting Never Went To WWE, Offers His Pick For Best Heel

Posted: Aug 8th 2009 By: CMBurnham

He's one of the most respected stars in wrestling history and now, more than 20 years since his last match, fans still hold him near and dear. He's the legendary Magnum T. A. and he's come to ClubWWI.com for a 32-minute shoot interview about his entire career.

Just before heading to Charlotte for this year's NWA convention, Magnum spoke to James Guttman on ClubWWI about a ton of topics. From his early days of "training" under Buzz Sawyer (and the three things he learned) to his current career after wrestling, Terry Allen has tons to talk about.

One subject that came up was Dusty Rhodes. Terry has a huge amount of respect for Dusty and spoke highly of things he could do in the ring. James brought up his stint in WWF as the Common Man. Despite his polka dot days, Rhodes still rose to the top. Magnum thinks that situations like that may have kept others from jumping ship?

"Vince (McMahon) has had his fun with a bunch of the old NWA guys at the time and I think that's why some of the guys like Sting never wanted to take that jump over because they'd always kind of been protected and taken care of with a certain amount of respect. They didn't feel that they could take that step and receive the same level of regard in terms to the professional part of it that they're used to having in their career."

Terry speaks at length about Polka Dot Dusty (Rhodes), Ricky Steamboat in Polka Dots, Dusty in FCW, today's WWE product, why he's not there as a producer, conversations with Johnny Ace, how Vince McMahon Sr. almost got the Magnum T. A. gimmick first, how Bill Watts ended up with it, his resemblance to Jake Roberts, and more.

Another big topic was the changing way that wrestling promos are done. Gone are the days of off-the-cuff improv in favor of scripted interviews. Terry talks about the difficulty he would have with that style, how he connected to fans, great wrestling storytellers, and more. But despite not being used to that style, he sees the reasoning for it.

"I totally understand why Vince (McMahon) does it the way he does because he doesn't have enough people who know how to do it. He has to control his product and that's the only way he can do it. He's got to dictate what his expectations are because he doesn't have a lot of Ric Flairs, Magnums, and Dustys who come from 15 years of experience before he's trying to capitalize on their capabilities. So that's why it's happening."

Magnum also discusses why he didn't go heel, the timing of his WCW returns, the reason he left in 1991, and tons more on ClubWWI.com. But when it comes to today's product, he's still watching. When asked who he'd want to work with, Terry gives a ringing endorsement to a top WWE star.

"If I was a baby face today, I'd love to be working with Randy Orton. Randy Orton, to me, is the epitome of what a heel is about. He's got it going on?.He's the quintessential heel, I believe, of this era. If I was 27 year old Magnum T. A. today in 2009, he's the one I'd want to work with."

 

Tags: Magnum T. A., Buzz Sawyer, Dusty Rhodes, WWF, NWA, Sting, Bill Watts, Jake Roberts, Ric Flair, WCW

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  • 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Champion
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  • 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Champion
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  • 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
  • 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Champions
  • 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Champion
  • 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
  • 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
  • 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion

Week of Sun 04-28 to Sat: 05-04

  • 04-28 1954 Red Berry def. Whitey Whittler for the TSW Tri-State Champion
  • 04-28 1976 Ted DiBiase & Dick Murdoch def. Buck Robley & Bob Slaughter for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
  • 04-28 1980 Kevin Von Erich def. Toru Tanaka for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-28 1989 The Simpson Brothers (Steve Simpson & Shaun Simpson) def. Beauty & The Beast (Terrance M. Garvin & The Beast [2nd]) for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Champion
  • 04-28 2000 Heather Savage def. Jenna Love for the OPW Oklahoma Womens Champion
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  • 04-28 2007 Eric Rose def. Jersey Devil for the UWF06 Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-28 2007 Joe Herell became the UWF06 Violent Division Champion
  • 04-28 2017 Brandon Groom def. Sam Stackhouse for the BPPW Oklahoma Champion
  • 04-28 2018 Dusty Gold def. Wesley Crane for the UWE United States Champion
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  • 04-29 2006 Natural Born Sinners (Appolyon & El Lotus) def. Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) for the ACW Tag Team Champions
  • 04-29 2006 Rexx Reed def. Carnage for the ACW Hardcore Champion
  • 04-29 2006 Carnage def. Rexx Reed for the ACW Hardcore Champion
  • 04-29 2007 Aaron Neil def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Oklahoma Champion
  • 04-29 2007 Brad Michaels def. Ryan Davidson for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2007 Bad Boy & Outlaw became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
  • 04-29 2011 The Unknown & Johnny USA def. Michael H & Mr. Big for the NCW Tag Team Champions
  • 04-29 2011 Mr. Big became the NCW Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2012 Sam Stackhouse def. Prophet for the BYEW Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2012 Rage Logan became the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Champion
  • 04-29 2012 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Damon Windsor) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champion
  • 04-29 2017 Aaron Anders became the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion
  • 04-30 1954 Frenchy Roy became the TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
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  • 04-30 2004 Shadow of Death def. Terry Montana for the TPW Hardcore Champion
  • 04-30 2011 Ryan Reed def. Rolling Thunder for the UWE United States Champion
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  • 05-01 1981 Super Destroyer def. Jim Garvin for the MSW Louisiana Champion
  • 05-01 2016 Skylar Slice def. Nikki Knight for the MSWA Ladies Champion
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  • 05-02 1969 Johnny Valentine def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
  • 05-02 1977 Stan Hansen def. Dick Murdoch for the TSW North American Champion
  • 05-02 1984 Krusher Khrushchev became the MSW Television Champion
  • 05-02 1984 The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) def. The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton & Dennis Condrey) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion
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  • 05-03 1985 Ted DiBiase & Steve Williams def. The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion
  • 05-03 2003 El Sufamilico def. Ichiban [1st] for the TPW Heavyweight Champion
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  • 05-03 2008 Miss Sheila def. Kareem Sadat for the SWCW Hardcore Champion
  • 05-03 2014 Sam Stackhouse def. Steven Sterling for the ComPro Showtime Champion
  • 05-04 1953 Mike Clancy def. Karl Von Poppenheim for the TSW Oklahoma Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 05-04 1968 Danny Hodge & Skandar Akbar became the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
  • 05-04 1969 Jerry Miller & Jim Osborne def. Danny Little Bear & Frank Dalton for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Champion
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