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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

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