Source: Inside The Ropes
Ernest Miller was on Inside The Ropes (www.facebook.com/theinsidenetwork) last Thursday and he had lots to say about Brodus stealing his gimmick and his time in WCW. Here’s some of the highlights:
How he broke into WCW: It was like 1996, I was a competitor in martial arts and was a karate instructor. One of my students was Garrett Bischoff. I met with Eric, and he thought it would be a really good idea to come in and be a part of WCW. About a year later I came in, started training at the power plant, trained and became part of WCW.
Working with Flair, Hogan, Savage: It was fun. Not only was it a learning process. I had great teachers. Great people to watch. Being there when we had Hogan, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Goldberg, Macho Man. We had a pile of talent for me to learn from.
Partnership with Sonny Onoo: I knew Sonny before we got into wrestling. Sonny was also a competitor on the martial arts circuit. Once we got to WCW, I was able to sit down and get to know him better. At that time there was a movie with Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan and they were a great combination so we sort of copied that and we had a lot of fun.
On James Brown dance off at SuperBrawl 2000: It was a big deal for me as a big fan of James Brown. They didn’t know how it would go over. They didn’t know how the fans would react to it. They took a chance with it and it was a great opportunity.
On Russo being in charge: People didn’t know what to expect. We went from working with bookers to working with writers. To me things got easier. You had a writer like Russo who would sit down with you and go over your stuff. To me it was a transition from good to better.
On getting back in the ring in WWE with Somebody Call My Momma gimmick: You didn’t know who to listen to. You don’t know who your friends are. So many talking heads around there. It wasn’t very fun. I was in WCW I had a great time, but not one time did they say the character didn’t work. The writers in WWE told me they didn’t know what to do with the character and now they got this big old fat ass dancer out there using the call my momma thing.
On Brodus Clay stealing his gimmick: I haven’t watched it. I’ve nothing against him, he’s working for a company. I feel like someone told him to do it. He’s trying to make it work. Many fans have said he’s not as good as me and it made me popular without being on the TV show. It’s a little more than dancing. I was an athlete, I could wrestle. WWE had so many people afraid of their jobs, they never let me develop into what it could be. People like this guy out there dancing and saying call my momma, but he’s not the original. I could’ve made it work so in other words, I’m a little pissed off about it.
Quick Fire Thoughts:
Eric Bischoff: Brilliant, Smart
Hulk Hogan: Talented motivator
Vince McMahon: The Boss, and I’m not talking about Rick Ross.
Brodus Clay: Who?!
Amazing to see someone finally give Eric Bischoff his due. The man is both brilliant and smart and his record as a television executive proves it. Interesting take on Brodus Clay, too, as I couldn’t tell you anything about Ernest Miller’s time in WWE or who Clay is… 🙂
Great story…I like the part when he said they went from bookers(EB/HH) to writers(Russo). I can see how their styles differ when you look at TNA during each of their era