The Rap Sheet of George The Animal 3rd
7/8/2K5

After not doing any interviews with wrestlers for several months, I found a few people ready to step up to the plate. Don't know why, but it seems when I do one interview, several show up wanting one of their own then it dies down to nothing. Let's see if this starts a new trend. Today, a Mad Conservative interviews a man who's had quite his share of contraversey in the ring, one of the Animals. George "The Animal" the Third.

CF: Okay, I've opened almost all interviews with this question and I shouldn't disappoint readers by not asking it. How does George III best represent Bush and Reagan counties in Illinois?

G3: Politics?

CF: Actually Springfield reporters ask that one of out of staters coming to Illinois.

G3: Works for me. Ok...I have watched all of Reagan's movies, but never really liked the Ranger's baseball team. Movies let me eat lot's of popcorn, baseball I get to eat those great hot dogs.

CF: Unfortunately those same Springfield reporters throw in ficitious counties to ensnare someone like Alan Keyes, anyway you didn't fall for that trick. Please introduce yourself to all who are reading this.

G3: George the Animal 3, love child of an American Wrestling Icon, with my little brother George Jr. we are a tag team, but we also wrestle individually.

CF: You grew up in the household of a WWE Hall of Famer George Steele, how was it during your childhood with your father as a wrestler traveling the country?

G3: When we could we were with him on the road, watchim him wrestle. That's where we developed our taste for turnbuckles. He was on the road a lot while we were in school so we would have to catch him on TV when we could. It was all about wrestling and learning the trade when we were around him, when he was gone mom made us concentrate on school. School lunches were a great training ground for eating turnbuckles.

CF: What you didn't eat the food you ate the paper bags?

G3: Trust me, I AM talking about the food at school!

CF: I guess that's why I always brought my own lunch, ummm...what do those turnbuckles taste like?

G3: Better than some of the wrestlers we have to bite.

CF: Another thing the Animal is famous for is the infamous green tongue. How did it turn green? Is it gangrene or something else?

G3: Well, to be perfectly honest, it's just a tool to intimidate our opponents.

CF: What was the best thing about being a kid of the Animal and the worst thing about being a kid of the Animal growing up?

G3: Best thing was a famous dad. Worst thing was also a famous dad as well as him not being home for long periods of time.

CF: How did you cope? What did you mother think of him wrestling?

G3: We made the most of the time we had together. We also had some good friends that helped fill the void. Mom worried about him, but knew it was something he loved and was able to provide for us doing it.

CF: Anything you saw happen in the ring that gave you the biggest scare?

G3: Never really had a big scare. Sometimes, like against Andre the Giant, or someone like that we got really nervous, though.

CF: When you traveled with your father, any location that you went to you remember the most about?

G3: Our first big trip was oversees to Japan in the late 70's! It was a big deal. Our pro wrestling is big there. We travelled with Nick Bockwinkle, Gorilla Monsoon, and a whole bunch of those guys! Bruno Sammartino was there, Verne Gagne too. It was a great time and I have longed to go back.

CF: So when you reached your later teens how'd you decide you wanted to also be a professional wrestler?

G3: Actually, it didn't start out that way. I did more traditional martial arts and competed that way first. The came the army, and getting hurt there, then back to martial arts.

CF: Who were your original trainers for wrestling? Was your father your main trainer or were there others involved?

G3: Dad did a lot of the basics with training. My main trainers were down in Florida where I worked with a group, now defunct, that had a lot of names in there. Our champ was Hercules Hernandez. We also have had Greg Valentine and a nephew of Dusty Rhodes at the time.

CF: Where did you make your professional debut and who was it that you faced?

G3: That's a long time ago [12 years]...it was in Florida, Winter Haven is the town, northwest of Orlando, I believe. My opponent was Dusty Rhodes nephew, we called him Lil' Dusty. I don't remember his ring name. He looked just like the big guy, only 5' 8" and about 180 lbs.

CF: Now where have you wrestled during the bulk of your career and who were the biggest names you had matches with?

G3: I have been all around but most of it in Florida and the east coast. Now, living in Central Illinois I do most of it in IL, IN, KY, area. Promoters in St. Louis, Iowa, and Tennessee have also been in contact with us. Biggest names I have been in the ring with? One of the original Public Enemy members Johnny Grunge, Cowboy Bob Orton and Greg Valentine.

CF: Ever wrestle a match against your father?

G3: Nope, not outside the family room or back yard..

CF: Out of your entire 11 year career, what was what you consider to be your greatest match?

G3: Greatest match,eh? I would probably go back to North Carolina in 1996. Did a match at Ft. Bragg against a guy that was a tough guy. Iraqi (Iron Shiek type character, much like Hassan today), a very anti American that we had to take out, wouldn't even bite him...foul taste.

CF: He was really called "Iraqi" ??

G3: Mis typed...Iraqi Hit Man...and his name, which I don't recall.

CF: Any other major highlights from your career that fans would find interesting?

G3: Well, if anyone findes copies of the TV tapings we did in Florida, I would be thrilled to get them. The group had a contract with a local network and we taped probably 40 shows alltogether. Never went anywhere with it however, and the group dissolved. As to what happens on the road, it stays on the road!

CF: Have you wrestled under any other ring identities besides George the Third? (mask or no mask)

G3: No.

CF: In recent years you've come to settle in central Illinois away from your own Florida and east coast stomping grounds. What lured you to this area and the wrestling organizations that are here?

G3: Well, I honestly thought I was done with wrestling when I moved here to be with the woman I later married. Jr. was getting into wrestling big time with the local indy circuit and thought we would do well together. Found most of the indy feds around here are good guys to work with, so we have fun.

CF: Now I believe you've spent much of your ring time lately with two particular feds, NWC and GAW. We'll start off with NWC, how long have you been with that organization?

G3: About 4 years.

CF: Since I haven't ever seen an NWC show, can you describe the talent and atomsphere that's put on in the ring?

G3: NWC is a good group of guys from a variety of backgrounds. They do their best to put on a family friendly show. And it's a very amiable locker room.

CF: I've noticed they run in a number of small towns, what have they typically pulled in for attendance?

G3: It's varied from 40 - 50 to well over 100 in some instances. But like any organization, sometimes it's low.

CF: And your current exploits in the ring there, like who you have been facing off with lately or feuding against?

G3: There is a team from up north, The Streetwalkers [Kenny Shane Hart & Capone], who can't seem to wrestle fairly. Also, every now and then Kid Crazy teams up with someone to take us on.

CF: Coming up in late July the NWC is going outside their normal terrority of southeastern Illinois and headed for the suburbs of Chicago. Can you tell me a bit about that for those who may be reading in the Chicago area?

G3: It's a Family Fun Fest in Oak Lawn. We will be wrestling outdoors both Saturday and Sunday that weekend...a lot of matches...a lot of action! I don't know the whole card, But I am sure Homicidal Steven Davis will be there, The Streetwalkers, us, Kid Crazy, some ladies matches...a whole lot.

CF: For those readers in Chicago who will be attending an NWC event for the first time, what does a first time attendee need to know to get up to speed on what's going on during a show?

G3: Well, I know we are going to take on The Streetwalkers again...they can't seem to beat us with out cheating...and they are the Tag Team Champs right now. We'll be doing our best to end that. Homicidal Steven Davis, the champ right now, has been going back and forth with Vulcan among others, so I think things may come to a head with them. Kid Crazy apparently hates everyone, and I hate being in the ring with him, he's not crazy, he's psycho! The Patriot should be there, and he's a great guy, and he always has an exciting match. The best advice I could give someone is...BE THERE!

CF: Closer to home, my home anyway you've been wrestling for GAW since it's inception about a year ago. How did you hook up with the fed?

G3: Well, the guys from GAW have done some stuff with NWC. When they said they were starting a Decatur based fed they asked if we would help by being on their cards. WE thought it would be some decent exposure for us and we might face some opponents we never had before. Plus, we were hoping for some different flavored turnbuckles...NWC's were getting stale!

CF: But the GAW turnbuckles you couldn't do much biting into?

G3: We have once or twice...but it will happen more, I am sure!

CF: They aren't made like the WWE turnbuckles though, aren't these made of solid foam?

G3: Just takes tougher chewing!

CF: Already you've won the tag titles there twice, but most recently you were stripped of the belts after not defending them for 85 days, why did that occur?

G3: Because the boss man, Ben Taylor, has it in for us. Doesn't like us, and can't stand the fact that unconventional wrestlers...hold on, have to recover from that big word, can win on a regular basis.

CF: Sammy Da Bull won half the company recently and now there's supposedly a commissioner that's been hired. How do you see the ownership mess?

G3: I see it as typical wrestling politics. As long as I get to wrestle and they treat me fairly, that's cool. Otherwise, I might have to eat more than a turnbuckle!

CF: Who do you think this commissioner is?

G3: No idea.

CF: You seemingly have been forced to split the team and wrestle singles. Who is you number one target right now?

G3: I would have to say #1 on the list is Benjamin Taylor. He has done everything to get the tag team titles away from us, and we want them back.

CF: How are you gonna get him to wrestle you considering he hardly wrestles now?

G3: He seems to get in the ring when it suits him, so, we just may make it suit him, or we may just haul him in there!

CF: What would the GAW locker room say about you if asked about the Animals?.

G3: I hope they would say good things. I think we are nice guys and always willing to help out to make sure the group has a good product.

CF: Well I'd be a lousy interviewer if I did not ask about this. Every so often I hear some sort of grumbling from other people in the GAW locker room about you, usually over how the show is booked around you, time taken up in the ring, how you take moves, the type of match you want to wrestle, match quality...sometimes getting so heated the promoters send people home early. When you hear about complaints like this, what do you say to these people?

G3: First I would say these people need to grow up. If they have a problem with the way the show is booked they should talk to the booker. I can't say there has ever been a time when a show has been "booked around us," whatever is meant by that. I can find a few meanings in there, so I am not sure what exactly is meant. How we take moves? We can take moves as well as anyone. Some of these guys need to learn how to make moves properly...it seems as though they weren't trained quite right. As for time in the ring, I agree. Our entrances usually took too long and we have actually worked on that. If they are complaining about the end, well, look at the crowd response. The type of match we want to wrestle is the type of match we do. We do our best to fit in with the persona of our opponent. And it most often works. The quality of the match varies, as with anyone, but look at the crowds, which is the bottom line, 95% of them enjoy our shows, in any fed we have worked. It boils down to this, you go to do a match, you do what the booker tells you to do. Don't like it, don't work. I see a lot of 'prima donnas" that care only about themselves, not the show, not their partner. They don't need to be in the business.

CF: The bookers have used a lot of your input though?

G3: Some...I wouldn't say a lot, and some suggestions we have been made haven't been used at all.

CF: Is it unfair for them to look at you as a primadonna?

G3: Me? A prima donna? So far from it. I do a show, I want the group to have a good show. I don't care what the results of a particular match is, who is champion, whatever. As long as the stories make some kind of sense and the show is good. I think some people look at experience and take it as a threat. These guys wouldn't last a full show in a well established fed.

CF: Where else have you been doing shots for lately?

G3: Any bar we can find! Oh, you didn't mean those shots, did you?

CF: Shots you drink, then shots in the ring...

G3: We have done shows for GAW, NWC, NCW, HCW [AWA Heartland]. A fed in KY that I can't name, as well as another in Chicago I can't name. IPW [Iowa] is talking to us as is a St. Louis based group.

CF: Well let's go into word association. WWE.

G3: Soap opera.

CF: NWA TNA

G3: Trying hard.

CF: ROH

G3: Top notch.

CF: IWA Mid-South

G3: Good group.

CF: NWC

G3: Good locker room.

CF: NCW

G3: Been awhile.

CF: GAW

G3: Long way to go.

CF: AWA Heartland

G3: Struggling, but coming on strong.

CF: NMW

G3: Good bunch, good shows.

CF: The Chicago wrestling scene

G3: Not like it used to be.

CF: What do you mean?

G3: I am from the Dick the Bruiser days...Crusher, Wahoo McDaniel. Now, it's pretty cut throat.

CF: How so?

G3: Everyone trying to undercut the other guy...the area is big enough, everyone can have a piece of the pie. Now, they are just badmouthing each other and making it a bad scene for everyone.

CF: The St. Louis wrestling scene.

G3: Don't know anything about it...looking forward to being a part of it.

CF: Shawn Michaels

G3: Dedicated worker.

CF: Hulk Hogan

G3: A legend.

CF: George "The Animal" Steele

G3: DADDY!

CF: George Jr.

G3: My baby brother, and partner!

CF: George Foreman

G3: Great first name! His kids too!

CF: George Bush

G3: Great first name...and I think he's president.

CF: George Steinbrener

G3: Stop with commercials, stick with baseball. And a great first name.

CF: George Lucas

G3: I heard of him...a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...and he has a great first name!

CF: George Ryan

G3: Great first name...messed up otherwise.

CF: George Castanza

G3: Great first name...needs more soup.

CF: Well off the famous Georges...to wrestlers....Tommy Callaway.

G3: When he turned bad I was sad.

CF: Steven Davis

G3: A maniac...worse than us.

CF: The Streetwalkers

G3: Crime boss wannabees.

CF: Lucky Dane

G3: Great friend and wrestler...sad he retired.

CF: Kid Crazy

G3: Crazy, and too much a kid.

CF: Vulcan

G3: He's tall!

CF: Irish Revolution

G3: The Belfast Buffeters...it's that manager that drives me nuts!

CF: Gentlemen's Club

G3: They think they are cooler than they are...but their manager...WOW!

CF: The Clarks

G3: Not bad for some farmboys.

CF: Jaxson Pride

G3: Hey..the new champ...what more needs to be said?

CF: JC Michaels

G3: Overrated and now, overwrought!

CF: Hardcore KC

G3: Great worker.

CF: MS Madman

G3: Hey...can't mess with his house.

CF: Spotlight Spencer Powers

G3: The center of his own attention.

CF: Hot Commodity

G3: Cold and frustrated.

CF: Vampire Kaval

G3: Needs more sun.

CF: Jokaz

G3: Not as funny as us.

CF: Is there anyone in particular you want to get in the ring real bad? (Besides Taylor)

G3: As long as we get to wrestle, it doesn't matter who is in there with us...Maybe JC Michaels...but he's not champ anymore, so it's not worth it.

CF: Is there anyone in particular you wish to shoot on for whatever reason?

G3: Well, Tricky Dicky Moore, from our last match...you have a bite on the nose coming!

CF: Any final comments after talking these past few hours?

G3: Just to thank you for the opportunity to be heard. A lot of people are worried about getting bitten when they talk to us...but it doesn't work that way.


Fans in Chicago, you can see George the 3rd with his brother during the weekend of July 23-24 at the Bridgeview Soccer Stadium at 71st and Harlem Streets in Oak Lawn, IL as part of the Family Days Festival. Start time for each day is 3pm.

The Animals new website is at: http://www.theanimalswrestling.com