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Being Bad Was "Wonderful" For Paul Orndorff

Posted: Jun 3rd 2010 By: CMBurnham

big part of wrestling is loving to hate the bad guy. One of the best at being hated was "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.

"It was in my blood," says Orndorff. "That was more me than anything. I had a temper which I'm not proud of, some of the things I've done. But I had a very large temper and that's what kept me going in football. I loved to hit, I loved that contact and it was the same way in wrestling but I had to make it look like I was really doing it and I did that."

Orndorff wasn't always being booed by the fans but during the height of his career with the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-1980's the fans absolutely despised him. He was so good at being hated that he ended up in the main event of the original WrestleMania back in 1985 where he teamed with Roddy Piper against Hulk Hogan and Mr. T.

"So I came up with this plan to be the heel, I wanted to be the bad guy and I knew I could do it and I could do it good," explains Orndorff. "And I did. I got the opportunity against Hogan and we broke every record there was to be broken and they still are records."

That they did when the two had one of the greatest feuds in wrestling history during 1986. After going back and forth for half of the year, it culminated during a steel cage match on Saturday's Night Main Event where the Hulkster got his hand raised.

However, wrestling had begun to take its toll on Orndorff. He suffered an injury to his right arm during a weightlifting accident and refused to have surgery because he was making so much money working with Hogan.

"Being a perfectionist and trying to be the best there is, that's what I was striving for everyday. I would try to better myself and get on myself if I didn't. I pushed myself a lot, more than I should have. I gave more to the business than most did. That's the way I was. I wanted to be the best and I wanted to be recognized as the best."

He ended up retiring from wrestling in 1998, only to return a few years later despite the lingering damage to his right arm which was noticeably smaller. Eventually, he made his way to World Championship Wrestling but had to stop wrestling in 1995 when injuries forced him out of the ring for good.

"It bothered me simply because I was out of the limelight. But it didn't take me long because I was home with my family which I hadn't been home with in 20-plus years."

Following his stellar career which spanned nearly 25 years, he is still dealing with the toll that wrestling put on his body.

"Nobody wants to get hurt. In all the years I've been an athlete, I never got hurt so it was new to me. But when you have an injured spinal cord ? mine was a spinal cord injury which I've had three neck surgeries because of it ? I'll tell you, it affects you mentally. There's things that I can't do now and gradually it's getting worse. So, I don't know where it's going to lead me to."

But it's a decision he made a long time ago when, back in 1976, he was watching wrestling with his father-in-law and decided that he could do well in the business following his days of playing football at the University of Tampa where he excelled as a running back.

"I had a very interesting career in this business, almost 25 years," says Orndorff. "And it was a learning experience too. There's a lot to learn just about life in general because you're a long way from home for weeks at a time, away from your family. I'm one of those guys who gets homesick really bad but I managed through it. I had to man up and I did."

Now ? at 60 years old ? he's sitting back in retirement but he still keeps in touch with fans at various appearances like the Promolast Atlanta Reunion Pro Wrestling Fanfest that takes place in Atlanta, GA this Friday and Saturday (find out more at PromolastEvents.com). He'll be a part of the event along with other wrestling stars "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, Ron Simmons, Booker T and others.

"I think I need that to go and spent time with them and talk with them and mingle with the people. I'm not like I used to be. It's not like I'm still the bad guy. I enjoy it very very much."

But being the bad guy wasn't all bad for him as he is now a member of both the WWE Hall of Fame and the NWA Hall of Fame. He had to do something right to earn the nickname "Mr. Wonderful".

"I've had a gun pulled on me. I've had my car rocked and scratched and everything else. I've been hit with chairs. When that starts happening to you, then you're doing something right."

Tags: Paul Orndorff, WWF, Roddy Piper, WCW, Ted DiBiase, WWE, NWA