Ghosts of Wrestling Past

Nikita Koloff, Kevin, & Lex Luger

By Kevin Hunsperger

The last few weeks have been good ones for me as a wrestling fan.  Memorial Day weekend I got to meet and interview Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion Mickie James.  The Tuesday after that I met "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.  A couple of days ago, Impact Wrestling agent D'Lo Brown was a guest on our morning show.  I got to "manage" Velvet Sky at a Basebrawl event, and Chad and I went backstage and got lots of pics with stars from Impact Wrestling.

Then Saturday night, I got to interview Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff.  The experiences have been surreal.  My meeting with Lex and Nikita was awesome.  The two were speaking at The Church of the New Beginnings in Eldorado, Illinois.

As most fans know, Lex and Nikita have both given their lives to Christ.  Several things lead to their "rebirth." They both explained what happened in Part 1 of my "One on Two" interview with them. Lex's past has been well documented and he explained that it was time in jail that turned his life around.  Nikita just felt like he needed something more in his life.  He now runs Koloff for Christ Ministries and he and Lex "tag team" and speak about what Christ has meant to them.

Because the interview went much longer than I had anticipated (this is a good thing, as I normally only get a few minutes), I am going to cut it into at least two or three different parts.  Part 1 as I mentioned is already on YouTube.  I'll be working on the rest in the coming days, so be sure to check out My 1-2-3 Cents on YouTube.

One thing I was able to confirm is that Lex is indeed working for the WWE and their Wellness Program.  He hopes to add more of a spiritual aspect to it and bring in a chaplain to travel with the superstars.  I'll have more on that in the coming days.

Lex Luger vs. Nikita Koloff

The two also talked about the past and some of their favorite highlights.  Old school fans probably remember their classic U.S. Title match at the Great American Bash back in 1987.  Nikita was the babyface defending against the newest member of the 4 Horsemen in Lex Luger.  Luger went over in that match and started the first of many reigns as United States champion.

Nikita wrestled off and on for WCW/NWA until 1993.  During the interview we talked about why he never worked for Vince McMahon.  He said there were opportunities, but he was a loyalist to Crockett Promotions.  Even when he worked for the AWA, it was part of an agreement with Crockett.

Some people who saw the photo of the three of us together commented on how Lex looks old.  He is in his early 50's now and has suffered several medical issues.  But as he explained to me, he's getting older, he wasn't going to have that "Total Package" body forever, and he's just happy to be alive. With everything he's been through, Lex has an incredible attitude and a great outlook on life.  Even when they weren't on camera for the interview, we talked for about 20 minutes.  Just shootin' the breeze with two wrestling legends.  At one point I said to myself, "I'm standing here talking to Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff!  How cool is this!"  And it was cool.

This was an opportunity I'm glad I had a chance to have.  Lex and Nikita were legends in the ring and are now doing good work.  It's my hope that one day I'll be on hand to see these two men get inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.  They have certainly earned a spot there as far as I'm concerned.

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