In an exclusive for WrestlingNews.co, Steve Fall spoke with former WWE star Raymond Rougeau of The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers. Ray talked about his WWE career and why he retired at such a young age. He also talked about working for the company as an announcer, his relationship with Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, a possible Hall of Fame induction, The Ultimate Warrior, and much more. You can watch the entire interview below.
Ray Rougeau on how he was treated by Vince McMahon:
“He was hands on. He was always available. He was there if you wanted to talk to him. He would talk to you directly, but at that time, I could say our relationship was very professional. He respected us a lot because some guys could be major headaches and can have big problems, whereas my brother and I were not headaches and not problems for him. So he respected us. He liked us. He respected our work and appreciated our work.”
Ray Rougeau on the fight with the Dynamite Kid and why the British Bulldogs gave their notice:
“In a way, I think they were kind of disillusioned with their own career at that point. I think it was difficult for them to continue because Dynamite lost face. I think it was difficult for him to continue to have that aura that he had around them that was dissipated. He had to live in the same territory as us, which is no fun for him either. At the same point, I think that their best days were behind them and they were a little disappointed maybe in the direction it was going. All and all, I think they were having personal problems on top of it, plus the traveling, plus everything. I think they gave the notice for all of the above reasons.”
Ray Rougeau on Ultimate Warrior having to apologize to him:
“I’m talking with the Legion of Doom. He’s walking behind us looking like Casper the Friendly Ghost. He had a sheet over his head. He’s walking in and out of the picture behind Legion of Doom and myself. Then all of a sudden, he stops and he has a jug of water and he starts pouring water on me. That’s it. I lost it. I threw the mic down. Greg Solie was the producer, Gordon Solie’s son. I gave him the mic and I said , ‘If you want to interview him, you do it.” I walked out. I went to Vince because I was upset and I said, ‘Vince, he’s your champion. He’s the face of your company right now. He’s the babyface. I’ve always been a top babyface in Montreal. I’m doing an interview for an upcoming event in Montreal. He’s defending the WWE Championship and he’s pouring water on the announcer. Is that gonna sell tickets? I’m being honest with you. I had two solutions when that happened. One, I was gonna punch him in the mouth. Two, I was gonna walk out and I’m not interviewing him. I’m coming to see you. That’s the professional thing to do. I wanted to punch him in the mouth, but I didn’t do it.’ Vince said, ‘I’m glad you didn’t.’ Warrior came in and he chewed him out in front of me and Warrior apologized to me and I said, ‘No problem. Just be professional out there.’”
Ray Rougeau on Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff:
“They were a little more difficult to work with, but they were good guys, Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik. They were characters, but for me, it was limited what we could do with them. Iron Sheik always had the same routine, the same pattern. No matter who he worked with, he does the same thing. It was a little more difficult because you couldn’t build a story. The heat that was because of the personas they were taking in, like, you know, from Iran and from Russia. They had their heat there, but at the same time, you go out and you want to have a match and they were clumsy.”
On why Ray Rougeau left the WWF:
“I still love the business. I was overdosed on traveling. Financially, I was set. I always invested in real estate. I bought properties. From the age of 17, I started investing in real estate, so financially, I was set.”
Raymond eventually returned to the company as an announcer. He explains why in the video below.
This interview is exclusive to WrestlingNews.co. If you use these quotes, please include a link back to this page.
