"Ghosts of Golden Boy's Past"

I'm a big believer that to know where you're going then you have to know where you've been. That's why I've spent so much time studying the history of our business. One of my biggest pet peeves is guys not knowing their own history. If you're going to be a cowboy then you should know a guy like Stan Hansen. If you insist to use the mist as part of your gimmick then you should know each color does different things. So when I decided that I was going to be "The Golden Boy" then I imediatley researched Golden Boy's of the past.



Arnold Skaaland [photo above] is a WWE Hall of Famer. He was a cornerstone of the then WWWF(World Wide Wrestling Federation) during their most formative years. Holding the the tag titles with Spiros Arion. He later retired from competition and began managing. Arnie maganged two world champions in Bruno Sammertino and Bob Backlund. He was also the one whom threw in the towel in the infamous Iron Sheik-Backlund confrontation that cost Backlund his title. It also became Backlund's catalyst for his heel run as champion in the mid 90s that resulted in Backlund attacking him. Mr. Skaaland was a loyal member of the WWE family his whole career until he passed away in 2007. I never had the pleasure of meeting him but his impact on me is evident.



Some familiar names have also been a Golden Boy. Before he was a Skyscrapper, Dan Spivey [photo above] was a Golden Boy. Spivey was brought in to WWF to team with Mike Rotundo but when that team was dismantled he was repackaged as "Golden Boy" Dan Spivey even competing in Wrestlemania 2. Jeff Jarrett was one early in his career. Before he was King of the Mountain, a member of The 4 Horseman or even J-e-double f, J-a-double r-e-double t.. "Double J" Jeff Jarrett.



Because of my proximity alot of people bring up the name of "Golden Boy" Chick Donovan [photo above]. A journeyman that laid his bed mostly in the southeast. He was apart of Jimmy Hart's First Family and even had a run as the Southern Heavyweight Champion. I just saw a match on youtube featuring Chick and he is still in tremendous shape. I would love to get together a maybe have a battle of The Golden Boys or even a tag match.

I hope that these past golden boys approve of my current use of the name. I've always shrived to be respectful to those who paved the way in our business. Over the years I've used different aspects of each of these guys interpretation of the gimmick while creating my own. When I was very young in the business these men gave me a templete to create what the golden boy is today. So I say thank you to them all because they are truly is as good as gold.