Tony Atlas on Mark Henry’s Strength, the Hall of Fame and Abdullah the Butcher

Fred: Fred Richani of The Sports Courier, pleased to be joined by WWE Hall of Famer Tony Atlas. How are you doing, my man?

Tony Atlas: Fine, sir. How are you doing tonight?

Fred: I’m doing great. A lot of WWE fans are wondering what you’ve been doing since you left the Abraham Washington Show.

Tony Atlas: I’ve been traveling around doing different events, and this is one of the best events I like coming to. At the MMA expo, you get the opportunity to see not only professional wrestlers but people from other sports, like karate, wrestling and boxing. I just saw the World’s Strongest Man here. You can see a little bit of every sport in the world right here, and let’s not forget the beautiful ladies.

Fred: You mentioned the World’s Strongest Man. What was it like working with Mark Henry in WWE?

Tony Atlas: Mark Henry is about the strongest man I’ve ever met in my life.

Fred: Stronger than you in your prime?

Tony Atlas: Stronger than I ever wished to be. We were in Germany one time, all of us sitting on the bus, including The Undertaker and everybody, and the ramps going to the arena went downhill, so the bus had to be pushed back uphill. With a full bus of wrestlers on it, Mark Henry got out and pushed the bus uphill, running. That’s power. Then when there was a car parked and the bus couldn’t get around the corner, they’d holler, “Mark!” Mark would get out, pick up the back end of the car and set it on the sidewalk, pick up the front end and set it on the sidewalk, and wave the bus through. That’s power. And he’s a wonderful man. He’s a good father, he has a nice son, and he just had a beautiful baby girl.

Fred: Congrats to the World’s Strongest Man. You’ve had a bit of a career rebirth the last three or four years, managing Mark Henry and doing that great laugh on the Abraham Washington Show. How have those years been, from your last WWE run to now touring the country with the MMA and sports expo?

Tony Atlas: Being with the MMA and sports expo is primarily because of WWE. WWE builds our names and our reputations and makes us wanted, not only in WWE but at other events too. So WWE is responsible for me being here. Vince McMahon has made a lot of great stars: Stone Cold Steve Austin, Bret “The Hitman” Hart, Hulk Hogan. All the people who came under Vince’s tent became great stars. He’s a genius at what he does, and WWE is one of the greatest companies in the world.

Fred: You’ve experienced WrestleMania, and the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony is coming up this weekend. What does it mean to appear at WrestleMania as a wrestler and then be honored in the Hall of Fame years later?

Tony Atlas: When you get this Hall of Fame ring right here, it tells you that you’re respected by your peers, and it’s a great honor. A friend of mine has been waiting years to get this ring: Abdullah the Butcher. Abby, good luck to you, man. I know you’ve waited a long time. Abby has been in the ring for nearly 50 years, and finally, he’s going into the WWE Hall of Fame, and he’s still going strong. Congratulations, Abby.

Fred: Tony, I’ll get you out of here on this. What’s next for you?

Tony Atlas: The next thing for me is to get right with the Lord, because without God in our lives, nothing is possible. I hope every American will stop for even a few minutes and get right with the good Lord, because without God, nothing is possible. If anything ever happens in my life, I owe it to my Father in heaven. Thank you, dear Lord.

Fred: That’s great. Can we see the guns, if that’s all right?

Tony Atlas: Yes, sir. Come and get some! Twenty-twos, baby. Come on, now, don’t be afraid.

Fred: Before I let you go, our readers are going to kill me if I don’t ask you this. Can we get that laugh, just once?

Tony Atlas: It’s kind of loud over there, and it would interrupt what’s going on, but I promise you’ll get it before the weekend is out.

Fred: Sounds good. Thank you, Tony.

Tony Atlas: Thank you. Appreciate it.