Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Wednesday, September 21, 2005 at 11:09 AM EST

The following was transcribed by Betsy Byrd of wrestlingweekly.com:

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo on wrestling, smoking, and poetry and "Primetime" Elix Skipper on TNA, training, and taking the big bumps:::

The September 18 edition of Wrestling Weekly with Doc Young and Les Thatcher delivered as they welcomed second generation wrestling veteran, Lanny Poffo, and TNA and indie superstar, "Primetime" Elix Skipper, plus more wrestling discussion with Bryan Alvarez.

Figure Four Newsletter and Wrestling Observer Live co-host, Brian Alvarez, first joined Doc and Les for discussion about the current headlines from the past week in wrestling including John Cena vs. Kurt Angle for the WWE Title at Unforgiven, the return of Triple H, Jeff Jarrett getting the belt at TNA, and the release of the Ultimate Warrior DVD.

Lanny Poffo

Les began the interview by discussing his history with the Poffo family as he watched as a fan his father, Angelo Poffo, wrestle in the 1950s. Les joked that he was really showing his age by admitting that he literally watched Angelo's kids, Lanny and his brother "Macho Man" Randy Savage, grow up and then retire themselves.

Lanny talked briefly about the early days when he and his brother worked for his father's promotion, International Championship Wrestling. He said for a few years it was great but that he and Randy eventually "aborted to get to WWF." He said the end of the promotion was a "merciful ending" as the fed had already hit a "downward spiral" after a good couple of years' run.

Doc brought up Lanny's tendency to use poetry in his gimmicks and that using poems in his performances was because he really does love poetry. Lanny joked, "I got my start in the men's room." He went on to say that his love for writing started in the fifth grade when it was encouraged by a teacher after she read two of his essays.

Lanny is the author of two books of poetry, Leaping Lanny: Wrestling with Rhyme and more recently, Limericks from the Heart (and Lungs), a book of anti-smoking limericks for kids. In fact, his book of limericks was nominated for a prestigious Newberry Award. Although the book did not win, he said it was still a "thrill to be nominated."

Limericks are five-line humorous verses but many of the limericks in his book are not funny. He wrote 335 of them and divided them into different age appropriateness from small children to college-age adults, all carrying an anti-smoking message. He says he makes a point to include "ridicule to peer pressure" in his limericks. He went on to say that "It's not the smokers, it's the smoking" he hates, explaining why he's crusaded so vehemently against smoking. He goes to schools and talks to kids about his anti-smoking message in the belief that if catches them young enough, they will never start. He said statistically smoking often leads to other things including drug use and even teenage pregnancy.

A listener asked in light of his strong anti-drug views how he feels about steroid use in the wrestling business. He said that when he was at the WWF Vince McMahon tested the wrestlers regularly for illegal drugs. He said he wasn't sure because he was on his way out when Vince was facing accusations of steroid use and distribution at the WWF, but he believes bodybuilding promoter Joe Weider had something to do with the lawsuit because of competition issues.

Les asked Lanny about what got him into wrestling and he went on to talk about how he and his older brother Randy wanted to become baseball players. Randy in fact took it the furthest as he became a minor league player. Although he was obviously eventually cut, Lanny asked, "I'd say he got the last laugh, wouldn't you?"

Asked if he ever got heat from the boys for incorporating poetry into his gimmicks, Lanny said, "No matter what you do you'll get heat with the boys." He said when he was performing at the Boston Gardens he wrote a humorous poem that insulted the Bruins. But before he could finish, the crowd went crazy. He usually threw Frisbees into the crowd with poetry written on the back but after the crowd got mad he said, "No Frisbees for you!"

When Les asked about the health of his father, Lanny said he is "slowing down quite a bit." Angelo Poffo is now 80 years old. Lanny says he takes him to church every Saturday night and tries to keep his spirits up through laughter. His parents had always supported their sons in their career choice, often traveling and living in the locations where their sons worked.

Lanny, who just turned 50 said, "Turning 50 is a tremendous accomplishment in wrestling." He thinks it is a "sad situation" how many wrestlers don't make it that far. In addition to currently being a certified credit counselor, lecturing and making appearances at schools, Lanny is also completing his online teaching certificate so he can teach ideally 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade kids. He even recently appeared in a Tony Little infomercial touting the Gazelle Elite and accepts occasional bookings to wrestle but according to him, "only on weekends."

For more information about Lanny Poffo, his writing and his work, log on to www.lannypoffo.com.

Elix Skipper

Elix, talking from location in Georgia, began by talking about training with Les Thatcher at Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati, OH after being released by the WWF/E. Previously trained at the Power Plant in Atlanta, he "brought the same attitude to Les' school." He always knew he needed to get his rest the night before because he never knew what would happen when he trained with Les. He said he would make the day go faster by competing as hard as he could and that he really enjoyed some of the special guests who came to the training facility like Dean Malenko. He said the environment was conductive to learning because "everybody was learning from everybody."

He says it's great working for TNA and everyone is dying for the premiere of TNA on SpikeTV in October, "We can't wait for Spike to start up." He said everyone at TNA is anxious to "go head-to-head with WWE so bad." Asked if he thinks TNA and WWE can co-exist, he believes it will be good for WWE to have the competition. He says TNA just keeps doing what their doing while WWE puts out product no one wants to watch.

Talked turned to the huge bump Elix took off the six-sided cage in 2004 when he leapt on "Wildcat" Chris Harris to inflict a hurancanrana on him from the top of the cage. Les light-heartedly chastised him for the daredevil move because Elix said, "He (Les) got on me about that." He said about the move, "I just thought I could do it." He said the place went crazy after that move but it meant even more because afterwards everyone came out from the back. He said, "It's one thing to get the fans but when you get the boys from the back."

Elix loves the six-sided ring saying that because "it's different" they could do so much with it and have fun. A listener asked if big spots such as the one he took from the cage could somehow cause viewers to become "desensitized." Elix said that he believes that if it is done right and that it makes sense, he doesn't think so. He often discusses doing "crazy" moves beforehand in order to analyze whether doing it would have impact and meaning.

Les asked him about his infamously fast motorcycle. He said that bike, the one he would take from Cincinnati home to Atlanta on weekends during his days with HWA was stolen from his garage while he was in Japan. He said he would regularly push 200+ while driving down the interstate. Les said he would "cross himself" when Elix would travel from Cincinnati to Atlanta.

Doc asked about Elix's "Primetime" moniker. Elix said it was originally coined by Glen Gilberti after Glen witnessed Elix doing flips to warm-up before a show. Glen said, 'Are you kidding me?' and described the warm-up as "primetime." Afterward, Elix talked to Terry Taylor about using the name and it stuck. Leaving to start the show, Elix ended the interview by saying, "You know what time it is-primetime, baby!"

For more information about Elix Skipper and where he'll be appearing, check out www.primetimeelixskipper.com/.

"The Professional Wrestlers' Workout & Instructional Guide," authored by Wrestling Weekly's own Les Thatcher with Harley Race and Ricky Steamboat will be released in bookstores this week. The manual, complete with photos of wrestling moves and holds as demonstrated by Nigel McGuinness and Matt Stryker, is 256 pages of "how maneuvers are executed effectively and safely, the physical conditioning needed to perform them, and the thought process involved in piecing together an actual match" plus much, much more!

Wrestling Weekly Radio featuring Doc and Les can be heard every Sunday from 6:00-8:00 pm EST at http://www.wrestlingweekly.com.