Though his father was WWE Hall of Famer Stan Stasiak, wrestler Shawn Stasiak never quite found his footing in the industry. There may be various reasons for that, with Kurt Angle previously sharing his belief that Stasiak lacked confidence. Speaking on “Busted Open Radio,” Bully Ray indicated that Stasiak may not have made himself the most popular person backstage, either.
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According to Bully, Stasiak used to ride from town to town with Steve Blackman and Davey Boy Smith. Blackman and Smith would sit up front and tell stories, with Bully likening car rides in pro wrestling to the locker room, with the expectation that everything said is kept under wraps. This memo did not reach Stasiak, however, and the second-generation performer made a major mistake.
One day, Blackman and Smith discovered that Stasiak was taping their conversations, with the younger wrestler stating that he would use that material as inspiration for his promos. Upon learning this, Blackman and Smith were enraged, and they informed some of the other veteran wrestlers about what had occurred.
“Ron Simmons chewed out Stasiak like I have never seen in my life in the wrestling business,” Bully said. “I’ve never witnessed an ass-chewing like this. Basically, Ron said, ‘What the hell were you thinking? Why would you do this? Don’t ever do this again.'”
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Later that night, after the show, Bully, D-Von Dudley, and Al Snow were driving to the next town when they saw Stasiak walking by himself along the side of the highway. Right away, Snow knew that Blackman and Smith made Stasiak get out of the car halfway through their trip as punishment for his mistake.
“That’s what went on in the business if you did wrong,” Bully continued. “That’s how you get educated. That’s how you learn, sometimes, in the wrestling business.”
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit “Busted Open Radio” with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
