Nikita Koloff on Why No WWE?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2018
- Nikita Koloff on Why he never joined WWE?
Legendary WCW/NWA/AWA competitor "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff discusses why he never competed in WWE when the majority of his wrestler friends from Minnesota, some of whom were less talented than him did go there and do very well. There was also a lot of talk of a dream match between Nikita and Hulk Hogan and some points due to Hogan doing will vs Monster heels.
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I always wondered why he didn't go to the WWE. Hulk Hogan vs. Nikita Koloff could have been a huge money making match.
@@Hi-kq1vi I always liked the tag team The Foreign Legion. The Iron Sheik and Nicolai Volcoff made a great heel team. They never got a great push though as a team. Maybe they were a little too old by this time and there were too many younger tag teams coming in to the WWF at that time.
Also they probably would have changed his character. Vince did that a lot in those days.
Probably didn't want to give his ass to Vince. I wouldn't blame him.
Sure more money and after Hogan used creative control where would Nikita go from there? Mid card level. Nikita was a top guy from day one and left a top guy. He made the right choice
dildonius just replace Zeus with Nikita...that’s Save’s all the trouble lol
IMO - Nikita was smart about the business. He was loyal, and knew when it was time to get out wrestling while his body was still intact.
Nikita was fantastic as the Russian Nightmare. Stayed in character 24/7, very convincing worker. Standout, even in the best locker room in the business during the mid 80's. He looks happy and healthy here, good for him. Thanks for the memories Steve...
This guy is even cooler than I expected. I always enjoyed his matches.
I'm at peace with Nikita never going to WWF(e) but a Randy Savage v. Koloff feud for the IC strap could have been epic.
He would be booked like a monster, face Hogan and get jobbed until he became a comedy act, I think his legacy and match quality were better in NWA facing Magnum TA
Exactly. He'd have had a single match with Hogan, lost. Within two years he'd be wearing sunglasses, dancing in the ring.
@@frankcabanski9409 Uhhh, that never happened to Orndorff. They had the feud of the year and Orndorff had the biggest success of his wrestling career in that 5 months. He was already a natural fit for the WWF with a monster Russian heel. There's a difference between Nikolai Volkoff, who was on the downside of his career by the mid-80s, and a young Nikita Koloff who on the gas was pretty much as big as Hogan. Are you kidding? They would've printed money. Only thing that would've made it better is if Koloff had gotten the Rocky IV gig as Drago.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 This what about Nikita, not Orndorff.
@@manuginobilisbaldspot424 lets focus on Nikita, Orndorff is a different person
What about Macho vs Nikita
or Warrior vs Nikita
those matches would've been big money ones as well
I remember once hearing him say that Vince only wanted for Nikita to be a part of a stable. In Jim Crockett/NWA/WCW he was a major player. He and Sting made the right moves of not jumping ship.
bullshit
I'm glad he stayed! The mid 80's was the best time for wrestling and to me, Mid Atlantic wrestling was the best there was!!!
Nikita Koloff was 1 of the best gimmicks in wrestling history. He took off IMMEDIATELY n never looked back
no way
@@melekelewis2945 yes way
@@airemoutreigns6366 I disagree
He was relevant for about 4 years, 5 years tops. Good , short career. After 1989, he was just going through the motions.
GOD bless you Nikita!
Loyalty to a company is a rare trait in this day and age, and I have to admire him for that. It seems like everyone has a price they will eventually sell out for. Not Nikita. But does he make a big deal about it? Not at all! I'm shocked!
His plan was to retire when he was 35
and he did...
So did he need WWE
????????
But he accomplished his goal..
And he did it without suffering any career-ending or shortening injuries (like CTE, for example). What’s not to admire about having one’s priorities in all the right places, like one’s health and family. I say bravo, man.
@@DeeEllEff just that nasty hernia
He's obviously got CTE if he thinks he left $30million the table when he retired? @@DeeEllEff
He could still be in the WWE Hall of Fame since they own WCW. Never too late.
Loyalty Nikita is awesome!
He was booked and created in Nwa. I get his point. He seems comfortable.
This is awesome! Loved Nikita back in the day.
A legend remember seeing him at Norfolk scope many times
They probably would of dubbed him the “Kremlin Gremlin “
I loved Nikita as a kid. Training in the dungeon and matches with the road warriors were great!
This dude was a beast
Gotta respect a guy choosing loyalty over cash.
Wow I really thought Nikita Koloff was Russian until now. He was the 1st wrestler I ever watched on TV.
Vince would have more than likely have forced Nikita to change his gimmick because too often he couldn't stand the fact that other promotions outside of the WWF could make stars and gimmicks that got over. Hence why he put Dusty in polka dots, made Terry Funk into Chainsaw Charlie, etc.
He'd have made him Trucker Thomas or something with his Minnesota roots.
"I don;'t see you as a Russian nightmare. I see you as a deranged trucker, hauling loads, stopping at arenas to legally beat people up in the ring."
They would have made a video of Thomas delivering the WWE ring. Hogan disrespects him - Thomas attacks Hogan from behind.
Don't forget "The Red Rooster!" 🐓🤣
Look what Vince and Paul (aka HHH) did to Sting. Made him job...with interference by The Kliq.
He's lucky he didn't go. That's was a terrible era in the wwf. He woulda made Nikita something like an evil Ice Cream man.
Kool Kumasi Dusty Rhodes , Steve Keirn, Barry Windham , Harley Race, Killer B's......
Your right the wwf at that time period was very much like a cartoon show compared to wcw where the wrestler's where made to been seen has athletes especially when it was under bill watts control. When you have wrestlers that are tough or are formers professional athletes it makes it look believable.
What was that blue garb they put on Ron Simmons? I could see Nikita with some weird name and costume and never reference the Russian gimmick.If it's not Vince's idea, he generally doesn't do a lot with it.
@@KoolKumasi I'm talking about wcw in the early 90s there was not that much gimmicks. Most of the characters were former athletes or known to be toygh outside of the wing.
salim yeboah hate to break it to you wwf was whooping wcw ass then wwf guys drew millions unlike cartoonish nwa wcw who had poor rings and camera shit where's wcw now dead wwf best era ever proof in the pudding
Money comes and goes. Loyalty is forever. It's not judged by what happens it's just who you are.
The WWE had a track record of taking great wrestlers and ruining them with bad gimmicks.
They STILL do
What WWE did too The American Dream Dusty Rhodes was probably one of the worst.
@@galactus4mac for sure man,hurt my heart to see him out there in polka dots.
No lie, Terry Taylor's Red Rooster gimmick is #1
Exactly…. I think Vince made it a point to embarrass NWA competition once they were his
smart, humble man
He did the right thing staying in the NWA/WCW he has a legacy over there
Bruh WCW is now part of WWE history so basically Nikita is part of wwe history now
You have to give him a lot of credit and respect for someone who values loyalty, very very rare in todays world. You're a good man for staying with your principles regardless if it cost you in dollars, that's not everything at the end of the day.
Though I agree, when he made his decision, it was almost forty years ago (I know, time flies). Men and women were much more loyal back then when it came to their jobs, with many working at the same place for 25-50 years until they retired. Both my parents were like that, and they weren't alone.
Koloff seems like a down to earth stand up kind of guy. Great interview 👍
Nikita was huge back in the day. When he joined forces with Dusty Rhodes at Starcade the place went nuts!
Nikita Koloff vs Hulk Hogan was always one of my personal dream matches, back in the day. While it never happened, I was able to have the match on Showdown: Legends of Wrestling for the PS2. Not the best wrestling game but, for me, it has the best roster of any wrestling game ever.
Calvin Carpenter Nikita would’ve made Hogan look bad which it’s something of a no no at that time. Vince always made sure that Hogan wasn’t tarnished and made look bad against others.
@@darkpitch1 I was a Hulkamaniac growing up but, I have to admit, that 💯% right on this one. Just look at how the potential Hogan/Jake Roberts program was scrapped because the fans cheered for Jake. There's no doubt in my mind that something similar would've happened with Nikita.
I liked Nikita since I saw him in a magazine with Uncle Ivan and that other Russian guy,this was way before the internet or nation wide t.v. ot was a treat the first time I saw him on t.v.
I loved the character and his stories of keeping keyfave everywhere he went.
I ll always liked him and always will,I m glad he is healthy and happy.
One of my favorite wrestlers growing up the Russian nightmare
Always liked this guy
Koloff saying that he’s a fan of both the Twins & the Vikings makes me very happy.
I was a kid in The Deep South in the early 80's...every kid watched GCW and we all emulated our fav wrestlers all week in school and on the playground...if the figure four leg lock truly worked, every damn boy in my neighborhood/school would have been maimed for life..step one of smartening up as a kid is to realize what looks real vs what would hurt you for real..The russian sickle would damn near kill the other kid haha
That’s great to here that loyalty means something to someone , I’m the same way , my honor is my loyalty , that’s something we r missing now days , loyalty and respect
I'm so glad Nikita speaks so well of Jim Crockett Jr. Crockett gave Ric Flair his big break as well and all Flair wants to do these days in interviews is kiss Vince McMahons ass!
Flair is such an ass kisser he says his best friend is Triple H. How is he going to stab Arn in the back like that?
Koolazzmike How do you thing Charlotte is where she's at? She must be good at blowing Triple H as Ric Flair is at kissing Vince McMahon's ass.
@@Cameron_611 I haven't followed wrestling in over 15 years. But I have seen Charlotte all over the internet
Koolazzmike That's nothing more than a fake account by some woman or dude who needs a life other than impersonating wrestlers.
@@Cameron_611 And what about Charlotte's so called leaked phone photo's? I think that was the price she paid to be there and it was a jab at Ric. What man wants nude pics of his daughter aired? Only the desperate or hateful. JMO
vince always buried wrestlers from other promotions..look at harley race, hanging from the ropes by his toes !!! dusty in poka-dots !!! the warriors weren't the road warriors they were prior to joining wwe..list goes on and on..hogan vs nikita 1985 would have been incredible. but vinnie mac would have made nikita look bad, cause he always wants to the world to think that any wrestler not from wwe..sucks.
nikita made the right choice, and i respect him for that. he was incredible and i will always like him.
brian centi
Vince didn’t bury Sid
Road Warriors were over, because they refused to change for Vince. He basically had to take that team the way it was or they wouldn't go out to the ring. They had all the leverage at that time, because they could get paid anywhere.
Vince did the same when he bought WCW. So much talent made to look like they couldn't compete with the WWE guys. I hated that crap.
brian centi, McMahon burying talent from outside the WWF during that time is not true.
Ricky Steamboat, Greg Valentine and Roddy Piper all made the jump from the Carolinas and were major stars in the WWF.
Randy Savage came in from Memphis and was a huge main event player.
Ted Dibiase was a top heel for years with a gimmick that fans still remember to this day.
I agree Vince buried alot of them from other promotions don't know why but he did just look at Black Bart, Scott Casey and so on
Too bad Sting didn't follow that path,he'd still have a career in wrestling. And this is coming from a guy who wanted to go to WWE,but lets face it WWE isn't for everyone. Whether you're their creation or not,you're not guaranteed to make it big.
My all time favorite wrestler!
I am so use to his Russian accent man. It is hard to believe that it is his real voice man.
I have so much respect for this guy
Nikita was 100 times better than hogan could have ever wished to be.
I'm glad he didn't. Vince has screwed over some great talent
He was notorious for underpaying wrestlers
Agreed- looking how McMahon buried so many talents from other territories into the 2000's- not much more to say.
It just wasn't meant to be nikita was meant to stay in jcp while Hogan was meant to face Bundy at wrestlemania 2
Nikita was big and scary and believable. True old school wrestler. You don't get that anymore.
But Nikita, you worked for the AWA, Atlantic Coast Wrestling, the PWF (Florida), Tri-State, and the UWF IN 1989/1990.
U a great dude 👍 👌 👏 great minds think alike. Nothing but loyalty appreciate that
I'll never understand, and based on this interview, I don't think they understand why some of these big name guys didn't jump to the WWF for big time money. I remember Ronnie Garvin's interview with PWI after signing with the WWF and he was covered in money bragging about how much he was now making, and that guy was a WWF jobber. He had a legendary cage match with Ric Flair and he was jobbing to Greg Valentine and then everybody in the WWF but who cares, he made a ton of money, apparently. I guess Vince didn't know Ron was 5'8" til he signed him.
Ronnie Garvin's first WWF gimmick was a referee. And he beat Hammer...if I do recall correctly.
Him and sting. Were. 💯 loyal. To the company. 👋 hats off to them.
Loyalty ❤ Good man.
1985 Hulk Hogan v Nikita Koloff would have been a site to see.
I can hardly understand him with his thick Russian accent. .just kidding ..great preformer. .
LOL
Also back in the day, the WWF had Nikolai Volkoff. Vince McMahon probably didn't see much point in bring more "Russian" heels into the WWE/WWF. IMO the Koloff's were more entertaining. The tag-team matchup between the Koloff's and Rock 'n' Roll express was a classic!
Class Act! 🍸
A good man
He's not Russian! It's just odd to see that name below someone who sounds like a chill California guy...hahah. I was also clueless because I was almost sure he DID wrestle in WWF. But I suppose I was just confusing him with Ivan and Nickolai.
Edit - Apparently he's more mid-western than Californian.
Nikita and Jake the Snake would’ve been a great program
Would Nikita’s Russian gimmick have lasted even if they assign him a new character?
Even though he wasn’t up there, sometimes I wonder if Nikita would’ve just been another Nikolai Volkoff as the anti-Russian hysteria was gone after 1989.
i'm so glad that he didn't stoop to sign with wince mchamm
I saw an interview with someone once (can’t remember who) that said Vince promised Nakita the world title and a feud with Hogan from the beginning and Nikita turned him down. A few years later they spoke again and Vince told him IC title as best is all he will ever be. Not sure it that interview was face based or not.
Man. We were robbed of so many potential great matches and fueds.
WWF introduced Dusty Rhodes to millions of more people than those who'd heard of him prior to coming into the company; however, Dusty's WWF run never rose above mid-card, not even an I.C. belt. Had Nikita jumped to Vince's company, the outcome would have been the same. He'd probably have feuded with Tito or Dino and that would have ended his career.
Dusty was old in WWF
Dusty was the number to 3 face at the time
WWF HAD DUSTY SELLING OUT MSG WITH SUPERSTAR, WWE HAD HIM IN POLKA DOTS!
It would have never happened even if he did go to then WWF. Just take a look @ some other talent who was huge elsewhere that ended up being lower to mid carder in WWF. Harley Race One Man Gang Butch Reed Rick Martel Terry Taylor. I'm quite sure back then the WWF would have tried to give Nikita a new persona like they did with the Sheepherders ( bushwhackers) big bubba rogers (bossman). Nikita would have been watered down in WWF back then just take a look @ Nikolai Volkoff
Agreed. If it's not a Vince creation, he'll rename it for the rights (if they weren't already nationally over) or water them down as Vince's creations are superior.
Loyalty. I think very highly of nakita and with his morals.a good man that stayed loyal to the man that helped him get his start. By far the best wrestling was nwa in the 1980s and he was a big part of It. It's a joke now and the ratings prove it.
One of the best of all time in my book big fan of nikita koloff wish he would made the jump to wwf loyalty is real tho
Its a good thing that Nikita never came to the wwf,cause vince would have ruined his character and hogan wouldnt have let nikita win,they would've buried the mans career!!!
Not a character
If it happened on 1986 for WM2 then no way should Hogan have lost. He was the hottest ticket in wrestling.
Now of it was 90 or 91 then Nikita could have worked as the transition heel to beat Hogan and then lose to Warrior.
Because as big as Hogan/Warrior was it's never good long term to put a baby face over a baby face.
Hogan would have never put Nikita over. Savage, Hart and Steamboat would have been up for it, but never Hogan.
Its so wierd hearing nikki talk normal
‘I’ before ‘E’ except after ‘C.’
I always loved those Jim Crockett wrestling shows on Saturday mornings. I hated it when Turner bought WCW and ruined it and all those other southern regional wrestling promotions.
Never bite off the hands that feed you...
It’s so weird hearing Nikita Koloff talk without his gruff “Russian” accent.
Loyalty over money? Speaks volumes
When he came back with hair, I was sorta over Nikita, and over wrestling. It’s sorta like “color Andy Griffith” vs “black and white Andy Griffith.” “Nikita” vs “Nikita with hair.” I’ve never watched a color Andy Griffith.
Not only did he grow hair but his physique changed. He lost muscle mass, probably due to stopping enhancements. A less muscular, full head of hair Nikita was just ordinary.
@@davidkos74 yea...it was strange, to me, that ANYONE thought that was a good idea.
No doubt Hogan would have won but it might have been funn
LOVE IT. PRO WRESTLING👍 over SPORTS ENTERTAINMENT👎. A N Y T I M E
Not sure how much money he drew when he turned face but I hated the face turn and that might of been a good time for him to jump.
what was that thing he used to say, kayfabe------shzdoadah?
I would've stayed loyal too...NWA
I really thought he was Russian when I was a kid
This guy had kid taking other kids head's off (THE RUSSIAN CYCLE)!
agreed, i remember giving some kid a russian sickle in his own backyard. His mom wanted him to never play with me again.
@@gary6754 good, you were generating heat..thats step 1 to a big draw! I got spanked probably 5 times over the years for applying rasslin finishes to other kids and their mommy complaining..this was the south in the early 80's...every kid watched GCW..if the figure four leg lock truly worked, every damn boy in my neighborhood/school would have been maimed for life..step one of smartening up as a mark is to realize what looks real vs what would kill you for real..like wahoo mcdaniel wailing on your face with a 10 pound arm cast
What happened to his career he went missing later on
He had always said that he wanted to retire by age 35, and when he got hurt in his match against Vader he was almost 34 and didn't want to rehab and come back for a year or less so he retired.
Wow his english is so much better now..jk.
I always wondered, and now i know why he never went to wwf.
I can see he was a guy who didn't need to go to the wwf and was loyal to JCP NWA. I am glad he didn't go and that he retired when he did.
He was the only one who could've kicked the NWO asses.
Like Chuck D of Public Enemy: "NO SELLOUT!"
He had me thinking he was a Russian all the way, Lol. Good actor too!
i expected him to speak russian.Lol
yeah its weird.
His English greatly improved doesn't even have an accent anymore
live and die by the gimmick
Loyal to Verne n awa n Minnesota lol
He would have been buried in WWE like the road warriors were.
I thought he did as a tag team
you know i got a Question.back in days with wrestling,kayfabe was a holy Thing.even in your normal life you had to Keep it...so....the "russian" Wrestler had to talk that "russian" way outside the ring?i mean...they went to the store and had to talk like a russian then or what?
Makita kept that up all the time he didn't even speak for his first year
@@chrischar9428 🤣 imagine you meet your future wife in that time and she thinks "wow what a big strong russian guy" and then after the wedding.....
@@Plexpara you know there are tons of stories about guys not smartening up their families
Yes. Nikita never broke character back then.
Nikita in WWF would have gone exactly the way Vader in WWF went.
He had some of the same qualities that made Steve Austin a star. The total aggression, the who gives a f*ck attitude. Lol. He would have been huge in WWE.
I remember reading in pwi in 1991 or 1992, that Nikita did wrestle in wwf as the masked predator, but then this gimmick was given to someone else!
He missed out in the Nekita action doll figure
True. He really would have made tons of money in merchandising alone.