The Bill DeMott Experience #1
After almost 37 years of being a Professional Wrestler / Sports Entertainer I have been asked by
my mates at PW Down Under to share some thoughts, theories, and stories of my time
and experiences in the wonderfully crazy thing called WRESTLING………so here it goes.
Welcome to The Bill DeMott Experience
For those of you who may not know who I am or have only heard the names The
“Laughing Man” Hugh Morrus, Crash The Terminator, The Man of Question, or General
Rection I thought I would start with a brief introduction. My name is Bill DeMott, and I
began my journey in pro wrestling in 1988 after my father brought me to a gym in
Brooklyn, New York. I believe my Dads intention was to bring me to the boxing part of the
gym but instead we wound up watching some guys being very physical and throwing
themselves and other around.
Now, I was no stranger to athletics, I had the pleasure of playing football, throwing the
discus, shot put, and javelin in high school and…….I was one of the first, male cheerleaders
in New Jersey High School sports (don’t laugh it wound up coming in handy many years
later). That gym we attended was Gleasons Gym in Brooklyn New York and the coach was
the Unpredictable Johnny Rodz! Johnny didn’t realize it at the time, but he would change
my life forever. You see in the short time I was there watching Johnny had come over and
told me we were welcome to watch BUT, this isn’t for everyone. It wouldn’t have been so
impactful a statement , except Johnny looked me right in the eyes and made it clear he
didn’t think I was up to the task. By the time we started driving home I told my dad I was
offended by that, and I couldn’t get it out of my mind. I just got called out by a guy who
didn’t even know me, what kind of person I was, or what my abilities were.
Anyway, by the time I got home I couldn’t stop thinking about this and I found out it was
$3,500.00 to train with this man at this gym. I had many jobs after my short college
career, I was a youth football coach, a bouncer, line chef, drove a tow truck, ran a gas
station, working in a printing warehouse, painted lines in parking lots, and occasionally
did some odd jobs for some “friends” of mine. But I for sure didn’t have $3,500.00 to my
name. So, let’s just say I begged, Borrowed, and Stole what I needed. Once I had that
money, I drove to Brooklyn, handed Johnny $3,500.00 in cash and the rest is wrestling
folklore. It was a 1 ½ drive (each way) to Brooklyn, and I spent every day for hours in that
gym. I never left there until I had exhausted myself, my trainer. And was back the next day
to do it all over again. I never used the phrase or told anyone “this is my passion” or “This
is all I ever wanted to do”, because it wasn’t! I was there more because that man who
knew nothing about me didn’t think I could cut it as a wrestler!
I was your average “casual” wrestling fan, I watched it on Saturday (or Sundays, I can’t
recall) nights with my grandfather. At the time it was Bruno Samartino, Pedro Morales and
the midgets. There was NO internet, NO dirt sheets, NO social media and NO weekly or
nightly TV programs, it was magazines, VHS tapes, and the monthly show from the
Garden (Madison Square Garden). I couldn’t tell you story lines or know who was the
hottest in the industry, I was just a kid who watched it every now and then because it was
something to do.
There was a challenge on the table, and I had to see if I could conquer it so, the man who
told me it wasn’t for me became the most important person in my life at the time. I
wanted to pick his brain, learn, and be who he thought I probably wouldn’t be. I went to
libraries and rented VHS tapes; I started reading magazine and the weekly column in the
daily news about wrestling. I would beat Johnny to the gym and stay until it was dark, I
drove in the snow, heat, rain you name it. The warehouse had no heat, no air conditioning,
and the concrete floors played havoc on my body….I wouldn’t have traded it for anything.
This wrestling thing lit a fire in me I hadn’t had for a while and I wanted to learn and do
more everyday BUT, that didn’t happen. Every day it was the same thing, stretch, bridge,
and then watch other guys do the physical stuff. You see back in the day (I can use that
term because I’m 60 years old). You didn’t have a timecard, there was no mandatory
training days, you got out of it what you put into it. The more I showed up and stayed to
learn the more I was trained, taught, and most importantly talked too about this
wrestling business. You see I paid my money, so Johnny knew I was serious, No payment
plan, not showing up only once or twice a week, I was all in and had something to
accomplish. And Once my coach saw that commitment, he brought me all the way in.
And so here we are, we are all about to take The Bill DeMott Experience. My hope with
this blog is simple. I hope to make you laugh, think, and really dive deep into wrestling.
You see it’s never going to be about what you see on tv or read on the internet, it’s never
going to be about a podcast or a reality show. It’s going to be about your journey, what
YOU want to do and get out of this and how you prepare for what you think you want to
do. This is going to make you read between the lines and past the stories and memories.
This is going to challenge all those young up and comers (and veterans) to decide how bad
YOU want it and more importantly I hope it makes you look inside yourself and realize that
IF this is your journey and what YOU want to do, YOU are in charge and must put in the
work.
So, I look forward to this and I hope it helps, entertains, and makes sense to everyone.
Thank you for this great opportunity and I will be back next month.
“DO what you SAY, SAY what you MEAN, and MEAN what you do!”
