Bull Buchanan Interview: Talks Jim Cornette, John Cena, Right to Censor and More

On April 17, 2013, I had the pleasure of speaking with former WWE Superstar Bull Buchanan on my wrestling radio show, Oh You Didn’t Know!?, on ProWrestlingPowerhouse.com Radio to discuss his time in WWE and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, teaming with John Cena, Right to Censor and more.

Although there was a great deal of technical difficulties at first, my team of hosts and I were able to discuss a great deal with Buchanan. The first topic of discussion was Buchanan’s time in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He was asked to discuss what it was like working there and working for former WWE manager Jim Cornette.

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Outside of the obvious financial rewards of working for the WWE, it was the most fun, most stress free the most learning experience I’ve ever had in wrestling. I can say without a doubt that was one of my favorite times in wrestling of course you know when you’re making a gazillion dollars a year with Vince its hard to say that you’re not having fun but you know Smoky Mountain was a, I was very fortunate that I got to work in one of the last two of the last true territories that were guys actually made a living and paid their bills, not always on time but it was a working territory…

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Buchanan continued to discuss his time in SMW and how he met D’Lo Brown there. The two Superstars would follow each other to various wrestling promotions and became good friends.

The next topic of conversation was John Cena. The current WWE champion was paired with Buchanan in late 2002 and early 2003. We asked Buchanan if he saw John Cena’s success coming and if he knew Cena was going to be the face of WWE one day.

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Yes, and I am not patting myself on the back or tooting my own horn, I think anybody that was around and you know I’m not sure what other people say but yeah the guy could talk which is the main thing…he reminded me and it's funny to make this comparison but he reminded me of Rocky. He could talk and you couldn’t get over on him unless he wanted you to…

 

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Buchanan went on to discuss a game some Superstars would play while in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Cena, along with Batista, Randy Orton, Brock Lesnar and others would play a game where someone would throw out a random subject. Then, one of the Superstars would just have to talk about that subject. The point was that Cena was a great talker and one of the best at the game.

Buchanan also discussed how Cena gets criticized for being a bad wrestler. The point was made that Cena, as well as Hulk Hogan, didn’t need to wrestle as well because they would cause big reactions from the crowd in other ways.

The next topic of conversation was Buchanan’s time with the Right to Censor group in WWE. Big Boss Man and Buchanan had recently broken up. Although WWE initially told Buchanan that he was going to be a singles Superstar, it didn’t work out that way. Buchanan did spend time working with the Undertaker, stealing his bike. However, all of a sudden, Buchanan was asked what shirt size he wears because he was starting the Right to Censor with Stevie Richards.

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I thought it was a good idea. I honestly didn’t see it going as far as it did. I didn’t realize it was going to get the kind of heat it did, but once it started, I really enjoyed it because I think the closest thing I’ve ever done to ever actually being me, Barry Buchanan not bull Buchanan was what boss man and I did. But the right to censor thing, I grew up in church so the way I saw it was when I had the chance to get on the mic I just did when I saw in church every Sunday morning for 35 years or whatever. I couldn’t believe how much heat I got.

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Buchanan continued to discuss the Right to Censor group and riding with the Godfather. Although he never did any illegal drugs, Buchanan alluded to the idea that Godfather was a bit of a party animal. Buchanan added that Godfather was happily married and the girls aspect of his gimmick was not as realistic as other parts.

Buchanan thanked Ray Traylor for his success and talked about the importance of saving money while working for WWE. He suggested JBL teach a class to young Superstars about how to manage one’s money. It seems as though this is an issue for professional athletes in general. A number of these athletes have gone bankrupt and flat out broke.

Other parts of the interview included discussions on Buchanan’s recent appearance on Raw with John Cena, how Triple H wants to see less promos scripted and the Truth Commission being Bret Hart’s idea. 

To listen to the entire interview, click here. I apologize in advance for the technical difficulties. and I recommend fast forwarding 10 minutes into the podcast.

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