Don Muraco may be a racist...

[DerGunzWald]

@SteveDrums-On Ernie Ladd, I also got a chance to talk with him back in the late 90s. Such a sweet guy. The complete antithesis of his bad guy persona, wasn't he?

[rrobles707]

The name Muraco is Italian. But that's not his real last name. His real last name is Morrow and that is an Irish last name but he is Hawiian.

[Styme2002]

when was the last time you heard the term "squared circle"??...the last time you did was the end of wrestling and the beginning of sports(soap opera)entertainment...thanks vince, thanks

[ultimatewarriorz1]

right on purp13 & frogca1 exactly right , old school is classic & whatever they say is funny, not to be taken seriously

[NESBzaafied]

Muraco sounds pimp with it when he cuts promos. Reminds me of a much better Alberto Del Rio.

[JoeyPencils]

awesome promo

[TheMidnightBell07]

Hey, I thought he was Mexican. lol

[TonyChase]

Epic..... Great promo!

[Fektthis]

to the people below trying to figure out muraco's ethnicity. google it, he's hawaiin

[eslubin]

@Fektthis muraco's italian

[TheBigBadWoIf]

i never got to see as much of don muraco as i wanted to. i remember when he turned heel in florida and came in under a mask. i think steve keirn "exposed" him

[supremeobliterator]

People are to damn sensetive today !

[RPenta]

The WWE asshole writers paid by Don Vinnie-herein his dufus phase-cannot touch the old school promos-

[KitlerAdolf]

One of the best.

[danteras23]

Muraco was one of the most important wrestlers ever and doesn't get enough credit. He was a huge heel at this time. He was one of the big attractions when wrestling was entering its boom period. He was great. My favorite wrestler growing up. 

[MrConservativeGuy]

I'm still waiting to here something racist mentioned in this clip, unless merely calling someone chicano, mexican, or amigo is considered racist??????

[kamala2111]

He is magnificent!

[JonAntonyEsposito]

Yo soy un Boricua y yo gusto El Magnifico Muraco! He's the bomb!!!

[IKEEICHOLTZ]

Muraco was awesome during this time period.

[Tsiart]

I think this is a great promo. Not only is it entertaining, but it's a thinking man's promo as well. Muraco dismisses his Chicano/Mexican insults from previous interviews, not because of a new found sense of political correctness, but because using them has proven to be an ineffective psychological tactic: Tito Santana isn't riled up enough. Muraco is letting the audience know that he's trying to get inside of Santana's head.

[eslubin]

The more I watch this the more I'm comiong to the conclusion that this is one of the greatest wrestling interviews of all time.

[ratedtriplex]

@eslubin yeah i gotta 2nd that. this promo was really good. it drew me in. i normally dont watch a lot of old wrestling clips from before i started watching back in the mid to late 80s but maybe i should start.

[edvhou812]

Almost reminds me of some of the Piper promos.

[battlestarmarc]

Muraco rules !!

lol amigos amigos.

[ironfistandpowerman]

say that same feud I realize Nature Boy was doing JYD a huge favor that RF was putting JYD over same as Muraco did for Tito it seems that even though I'm sure some or many of their audience had racist views the heal vs face formula took precedence over those feelings when it came to matches . Hell RF is using that same formula to bring Jay Lethal up on tna that he did for JYD

[universalmanchild]

Misleading, nothing racist

[JohnnyBakery]

Greatest heel ever. And the best on the mic. Bar none. Not even Piper was as good of a heel or as good on the mic as Don "Magnificent" Muraco. I vaguely remember him being surrounded by a bunch of women in bikinis and talking about walking along the beach and seeing a monkey fall out of tree. Turns out the monkey was Jimmy Snuka. Too much! Saturday nights at midnight, WWOR, NYC, and The Don. It was great to be a kid in the early 80's.

[stevedrums]

@JohnnyBakery here here!!!

[upabittoolate]

@JohnnyBakery You're out of your mind. Piper was the best heel EVER. Bar none. Besides, Muraco was in the middle. You could love him or hate him.

But that promo about Snuka was epic. And it was excellent to be a kid in those days. I pity today's kids & young adults. They just don't get it.

[rko815]

The man was gold on the mic. His promos for upcoming MSG matches were the highlight of old WWWF on WOR TV in New Jersey.

[lobsterbale]

don muraco is native american BTW. i though he was italian but he is not. muraco mean white moon in a native american language.

[marmcd2003]

@lobsterbale He's Hawaiian.

[lobsterbale]

@marmcd2003 he may be a NA born in hawaii. lots of military families came there. he may be half NA and hawaiian he never confirmed. his last name is NA though.

[Gamebox27]

@lobsterbale The name Muraco comes from Italy. It's most common in the Calabria region - the "toes" of the "boot", at the southernmost part of the mainland, just NE of Sicily. It occurs most commonly in Argentina, which had large amounts of Italian immigrants. There are sites to look this stuff up.

[Gamebox27]

@Gamebox27 The Tessin region of Switzerland also has a high occurence of the name.

[upabittoolate]

@Gamebox27 Don't take for granted that he's Italian simply because he's got a common, Southern Italian sounding-name. He could pass for Italian, Latin or a guy from the S. Pacific given the context. The only confirmation we have is that he's from Hawai'i.

[Gamebox27]

Anyone in the US can move to Hawaii. Sure anyone could change their surname to something Italian (just like Jim Helwig can change his name to Warrior), but it's highly unlikely. The most likely explanation is that he is of Italian descent and ended up somehow being born in Hawaii. Maybe his dad was in the military stationed there.

[upabittoolate]

@Gamebox27 So someone in the S. Pacific having a name like "Muraco" is unlikely? Why? Simply because you say so? Or because your assumption is fact?

It's equally likely that he could be Samoan or Fijian.

[Gamebox27]

It's unlikely because that's not a Samoan name. If his mother is a native Pacific Islander, that's another thing, but the surname Muraco comes from Italy.

BTW, the Samoan alphabet has only fourteen letters:—5 vowels - a, e, i, o, u and 9 consonants - f, g, l, m, n, p, s, t, v. Funny, no ch or c to be found. K sounds are from loan words.

[upabittoolate]

@Gamebox27 I'm not Samoan. Are you? I'm not an expert on Samoan names. Are you? What I do know is that "muraco" IS a Samoan word for "plant". So let's stop being experts on names. I also know that "g" is used to make a "ck" sound in some instances. So...

[upabittoolate]

@Gamebox27 But odds on, he's paisan.

[mrnaji]

@upabittoolate no he's not

[upabittoolate]

@mrnaji He doesn't look Southern Italian? M'kay.

[mrnaji]

@upabittoolate no he isn't nor is he Sicilian

[upabittoolate]

@mrnaji What actual proof, outside of your own conjecture, do you have?

[dciguy01]

this was the original Rock. Dwayne Johnson stole his gimmick off Don Muraco.

[MarkAnthony27]

How was that racist? He was was saying let's drop the jokes and wrestle. Wow of if you were offended by that promo then you're super sensitive and need to find something else to take up you time.

[OaktownABQ]

"Oh amigos amigos, lovely lovely." LOL

[frank787922]

Muraco was a great talker and I love it

[WATCHMYGAMING]

Terrific promo. This is true greatness!

[xxpandamidknightxx]

Muraco is evil. Damn, him, Piper, David Shultz, damn!!!

[eslubin]

no one can do a tremendous interview like this now.

[mrjiveyjr]

I would love to see Iron Mike Sharpe square off against Mr. USA Tony Atlas, and more!

[kdreamland]

btw this guy is gold. What crazy promos these guys used to cut. Now if only people did these type today.

[kdreamland]

LOL Vince looks like he has bad teeth at the end.

[snootylittleman]

This is one of the best promos ever. He an Sheik were the best at this.

[cpsrfr11]

Don Muraco is a classic....I used to see him everyday when I lived on the North Shore of Oahu. Don is a great surfer and a really cool person. Yeah Don.....Aloha.

[Djteedoe420]

THE REAL & ORIGINAL ROCK!!!!!

[Rvd420WHAT]

Don "The Rock" Muraco.....truly Magnificent

[purp13]

I am hispanic and I loved the Magnificent One. These young kids today could learn alot by watching the old timers cut promos. No writers necessary.

[RevDarkehorse]

@purp13 So true. Back then there was no script. They had a general idea of what to do or say and then they went out there and improvised. I don't believe it will ever be like that again. Sadly, those days are gone. I'd like to see "sports entertainment" end and the territories and "kayfabe" return. It's unlikely, but I can dream.

[frogca1]

I am African American and the beach bum was one of my favorites. I loved to hate him back in the days but it was all entertainment. That's how the old school wrestlers were back in the days. Ernie Ladd would crack on your race as well, and he was Black. The heels in wrestling used everything in the book to promote.

[Lovelygal71]

omg, that's something else, ain't it?  hmmmmmmmmm

[stevedrums]

@frogca1 I was lucky enough to meet Ernie Ladd once - albeit briefly - and rarely have I met a man whose "goodness" shined through his soul. You could feel it in his handshake.

[thelatinsensation]

how is this racist? HEY IM LATIN, and i dont think its racist, it s just an awesome old style heel promo,

[BiscuitsMcGillicuddy]

what the fuck is a fall river? stupid fucking gook

[BiscuitsMcGillicuddy]

My name isn't Mike...you fucking dumbass white trash troll. Try again loser.

There's nothing racist about what Don Muraco said in this video. Go play the race card somewhere else where people will tolerate it. I hate you stupid assholes who hate white people (including some white people themselves...because they hate their sorry lives) playing the race card all the time.

[MrCheckraiseAllin]

How's the Fall River area this time of year?

[mrtrin]

MY GOD

If this was goin on today, and the payoff was a pay per view at the staples center... they'd blow the roof off that mothafucka

[jimgiaimo]

Don Muraco was one of the best, if not the best the 80s

[SenseiV1]

Now this is a classic promo. Clearly illustrating his point, Muraco exudes such emotion. I miss promos like these.

[popcur]

@SenseiV1 Toward the end, when the camera got closer. Made me focus on Muraco's eyes. Intensity!

[RustyTBone69]

RIP Lou Albano

[Srd1126]

Islam teaches intolerance.

[MrCheckraiseAllin]

So does Christianity.

[Srd1126]

not really--Christianity does not teach you to kill nonbelievers while Islam or at least parts of it does.

[Fanzineguru]

you obviously dont know shit about the history of christianity... XD

[IGiveAndYouTake]

Jeez even this turns into a religious war?

[BigSingh]

ADDENDUM TO MY PREVIOUS COMMENT: you won't find chanting or "USA! USA!"

[BigSingh]

RACIST? MURACO? This was made during the time when wrestling IMHO started becoming unwatchable and it started becoming more serialized.  All Muraco did was try to fire up Santana and as a rulebreaker he held no punches (which was understandable), but then when it started spilling into the ANNOUNCING, I switched over to LUCHA LIBRE because yes it's staged but it's also good guys vs. bad guys with chanting, "USA! USA!" towards foreign-born/sounding wrestlers (even the good guys).

[Countdown2Hangar18]

fuck you and your muslim shit. just watch the video and leave religion out of it asshole.

[kidscotch23]

this is wrestling it's not to be taken to heart,he's doing a promo,it's not real

[suspekt29]

Muraco jumped the shark when he became a babyface. He was awesome as a heel and deserves mad respect. Not many people could fuck him up back in the day, cept Hogan, Snuka, and Morales.

[kidscotch23]

he did beat Morales tho

[DevinHades]

Don" The Rock" Muraco. The original.

[datdamnleroygreene]

The original? Ole Anderson was one the person the moniker "The Rock" in the 70s. Ultimate (dingo)Warrior used Rock before the name he became famous for in 85. Don Muraco wasn't coined the Rock until 87/88.

[DevinHades]

Well the thing is I didn't bother completing my sentence but thanks anyway.

[rko815]

I used to record these on audio cassette tapes on Channel 9 in Secaucus, New Jersey. No VCR back then.

Muraco was the best promo in his era.

[DEANGELATOR]

vince blinks too much

[skinwalkerxxx]

What an awesome promo. Moroco should have lead a Mafia-type group.

[cocoabononohead]

Muraco is fuckin' old school. Late 70's early 80's bro!

[NCWPromoter]

On Of The Best Promo Guys EVER:):) And A GREAT Professional Wrestler Also:):) His First IC Reign With The Late Great Grand Wizard Was The Best:):) We Miss The Grand Wizard, Earnie Roth:):) My Old Friend Should Be Teaching Kids How To Work And Talk Right Now For Vince:):) God Bless:):) The Boss:):)

[CBSRADIOO]

we know Krackas can be racist..signed..Mr. Latino!

[peloton50]

this is what made wrestling great in the old days. The focus was on the wrestlers and their personalities, not on McMahon, Vicki Guerero, Triple H and all these other idiots on the scene today. You could relate to the old wrestlers because all their bias and dislikes for other wrestlers were the focus of the show. The interviews were the highlight of the evening. . The old days when Ray Morgan was the announcer. He was a classic.

[IGiveAndYouTake]

*looks in the video*

I see McMahon >_>

[malfoy2]

I read Tito Santana's autobigraphy and he said he didnt have much of a problem with the Mexican jokes from Murrocco and Jessie Ventura (who called him Chico) because it boosted him when heels did it.

He hated Ole Anderson because he called him a 'Fucken Mexican' and ment it,

[walterbrob]

the real rock

[trottachild]

hahaha, "forget about LA"

[cobaltbovine]

What was Muraco's ethnic background?.

[malfoy2]

Hawaiin

[Gamebox27]

Muraco is an Italian surname.

[BrickhouseB2]

That was a great interview! He's the heel people! It's his job to say things that'll piss you good people off!

He is very possibly the greatest heel ever! His mic skill were superior to anyone except maybe Superstar Billy Graham & Ric Flair, and he was damned sure better in the ring than either of those two!

Besides, no half-monkey Hawaiian would be racist anyway.

[littlenipper8u]

Oh no, why are you watching this if you do not get it, that is what this running comment is about, for those that remember these events, and those that are trying find out about them, I have a suggestion GET A LIFE....

[wdwlex]

Oh no! Let's all shit ourselves because someone said something about someone! Big fucking deal ppl

[biancello]

Don Muraco once did an interview about Pete Johnson that would've had the NAACP jump off a bridge . He talked about teaching Pete Johnson how 2 use a broom because he was gonna end his career . If any1 has that PLEASE post it ! It was funny as hell .

[PiquetBT52]

Well I learned that light blue suits really cover up the effects of roids nicely!

[JackStraw65]

Muraco was the best. His rants were classic and uproariously funny, and they did get racial for sure. I remember he got brutal with Rocky Johnson for example, referring to his "mammy" and how he should be pickin' cotton or working in a car wash. This was before things got really PC and it was all just part of the act. Magnificence was one-of-a-kind.

[rko815]

The Magnificent Muraco was not only a great heel, but was also a dirtier player in the game than even Ric Flair. Nobody was saying the things he was saying back then. I have an audio cassette tape from somewhere around 1981-82, where he said that he was going to send Tony Atlas back to Africa, and then he was going to get his hands on "that greasy... slimey... smelly (spits)... Pedro Morales." I used to audio tape WWOR TV Channel 9 in New Jersey at midnight on Saturdays. Before we bought a VCR.

[Love4SK]

@JackStraw65 ,muraco was a jobber

[OrigLanceR]

well, here's a guy better than, oh, 100 % of whats in vince's "promotion" now....dude just looked badass

[rganalphabro06]

Don Muraco was one of my favorite heels.

[raiders75]

One of my favorite heels when I was a kid. And also IMO one of the best Intercontinental Champs WWE has had.

[suspekt29]

Thats my nigga

[mr10tomidnight]

I miss that beach bum.I loved his tombstone piledriver too I miss his feuds with fellow Hawaiian Ricky Steamboat that was a classic.

[prairiesix]

Muraco was one h*ll of a sports entertainer especially when he was a heel.

[SouthOx]

what ever happened to him?

[RoderickStrong]

He makes surfboards now

[SouthOx]

lol really? Wasn't he also called "The Rock" Don Muraco?

[1Lawman104]

anybody that has the internet can find that type of stuff out. it really makes you look stupid, trying to act like you are smart...

[SouthOx]

I'm trying to act smart because I'm asking if he was called the Rock? lol, you answered my question though, thanks.

[1400deadwood]

'he was called the Rock'?

When he turned face he was referred to as 'the Rock'. I didn't like that turnabout -- to me he was always best as a heel.

[SouthOx]

and Lawnman, your 43 years old man. If you think I'm trying to sound "smart" because my memory served me right, thats some sad shit.

[prairiesix]

He recently managed his son Joe in World Xtreme Wrestling in Philly. He co-founded Hawai'i Championship Wrestling with Linda Bade in 2003. -Wikipedia

[MrPotatoesLatkie]

Nothing is really racist unless it comes from a belief that races are inferior, or superior to each other based on their racial genetics.

Calling someone a race based insult is an attempt to give a really nasty(an usually effective) insult to another person.

[destronia123]

But you're a racist you BELIEVE calling a member of another race by a slur is insulting or demeaning. A non-racist wouldn't wouldn't use a racial slur as an insult because they beleive in the equality of all races and so to them, any slur is meaningless and therefore not an insult.

[dimebagsixx]

uh ...?

[IKEEICHOLTZ]

Muraco was the man back in these times. His promos were great too.

[devron]

Yeah - promos were much better back in the day. This is nowhere near racist -- racist was when Flair asked Booker T to carry his bags. :-) (All's fair in kayfabe, tho.)

I used to go to the Garden pretty regularly as a kid in the late 70s-early 80s pre-Hogan and all of the heels used to take digs at the Puerto Rican and Hispanic fans (who were quite large in number). Particularly when the babyface (like in this case) was Hispanic.

BTW, Muraco was always billed as being from Hawaii.

[misterio2K]

Is Muraco from New York?

[kingdomoftheworm]

No, he is Hawaiian.

[Gamebox27]

I did an ancestry(dot)com search on the name "Muraco" and it says 6-9 families are in New York in 1920, while 3-5 are in PA, and zero in Hawaii. So while he was born in Hawaii, his family probably passed through the Northeast at some point.

[newerajj]

His matches with Ricky Steamboat were amazing.

[stevedrums]

Very few people were better on the mic than Muraco. I loved him! What a talent!

Mike Sharp was managed my Albano at around this time. He wasn't ever much more than a jobber. Maybe a step above S.D. Jones. I actually met him once and he couldn't have been nicer. I was almost disappointed he was such a nice guy. Backlund was just a strange guy.

[SeanCore31]

Iron Mike Sharp!? i remember him as the infamous weekend Superstars and Wrestling Challenge jobber in the 90s. i never knew he was a wrestling vet.

[rockabillysilly]

WWF must have still been under McMahon Sr. control here because McMahon Sr. always wanted to have a certain wrestler for every ethnicity...Putski for the Polish, Tito for the Mexicans, Hogan(even though he wasn't) for the Irish and so forth...he wanted wrestlers to appeal to everyone and draw people in because it all comes down to the monay!

[buddmann]

Lighten up guys!....Don is playing a role no different than any actor. Was Carroll O'Conner racist because he played Archie Bunker? Was Sherman Hemsley racist because he played George Jefferson?

[dp233332]

Anyone who thinks this guy was just acting or was the only flamboyantly racist guy involved in this business is crazy.

[jer114]

The promos were so much better in the old days than they are now...except for a few guys of course. But back then so many guys could just go out and talk. And they let them, with no script---imagine that!

[philblunt420]

chico santana

[joeyecw]

He was supposed to look like Pablo Escobar, I think, with the shirt and the shades.

[niggawitanaditude]

damn....thats an ol skool version of KONNAN(u know...from WCW and TNA) he spoke the hardcore truth!

[Aufreizen]

Great promo. I love that wrestling doesn't waste its time with political correctness. Two thumbs up!

[BrynMawrYamBag]

Shit....I remember these days..Fucking Vince looks young as shit LOL...I think 25 years ago Muraco was only saying the truth about our border issues before people started realizing that the cheap labor from Mexico was costing us more then it is worth.

[morbidfrost]

This was the original Rock.

[Xontar02]

Ole Anderson was Al "The Rock" Rogowski a good 20 years before Don Muraco was known as the Rock. A lot of guys in the business called Ole "Rock" behind the scenes. If anyone was the original Rock in pro wrestling , it was Ole, not Muraco.

[eslubin]

@Xontar02 They called Ole the Rock on tv also

[elpichichis]

"Amigos, Amigos" lol

[mercoid]

This was great. I totaly agree w/ phatalbert! Todays wrestlers can't hold a candle to Muraco's promos.

[mrxskull]

phatalbert is just another biased smark idiot who judges an entire generation of wrestlers just by who he sees in the WWE or TNA. Perhaps he should actually watch some other promotions before making that ridiculous claim. It is miserable pessimists like him and you that will kill this business, not todays wrestlers

[rsinghny]

Muraco was my idol when I was a kid, he was the coolest bad guy out there and a great IC champ.

[popcur]

I recalled that move he did. His opponet sitting down on his behind. Then Don did a flip from behind him. Pressing the back of the head. Like forcing him to do like a snap like situp. That is agility. AS a youngster, that was a Wow moment or me.

[eawlegendtyrant]

Great promo.

[buddmann]

The 80's best heel!

[Drumshanbohustle]

He was such a good heel! They should have pushed Don Muraco some more later on in the decade

[phatalbert73]

Modern-day wrestlers could take some hints from Muraco's mike skills. No one knows how to cut promos anymore.

[kingdomoftheworm]

Do you have any more WWF footage from the pre-Hogan era? If you do, I'd really appreciate it if you could post.