Interview: Stevie Richards and Gillberg

They discuss injuries, how they got their gimmicks, and their thoughts on the late Gary Albright

April 26, 2000

Before the memorial show began, both Josh Pontrelli and I caught up with Duane Gill AKA Gillberg and Stevie Richards.

Tavares: I'd like your thoughts on Gary Alrbight and on tonight's memorial show.

Gillberg: Well, I think it's a shame man. I'm a wrestler you know. I'm just glad to be alive and to do this. He died doing what he loved. That's why I'm here.

Richards: Well, every time every single one of us step into the ring, for WCW or WWF or ECW or WXW, no matter where we work, we always have that risk. We always take that chance. You never know. I mean, I stepped into the ring and ended up paralyzed. Duane (Gillberg) has had multiple knee injuries. He's had his bell rung. He's been knocked out. He didn't know where he was. Unfortunately, for Gary Albright the risk was a lot greater. What happened to him was a lot worse because it never happened to us. All I can think about is that he is in a better place. And, it was his time to go with God and now we're here today to make sure people don't forget about him. We're here to help his family too. Because that's what we are in wrestling.

Tavares: A giant family.

Richards: Yeah, a lot of people talk about how cutthroat it is, how people stab each other in the back, but what it comes down to is people like Duane and me and other people who have been around each other, almost a decade, we become like a family. Like brothers and sisters. Afa is like an uncle to me. Sammy and all those guys (the relatives), are helping them out and supporting them, to remember Gary.

Gillberg: I can't add nothing to that. That's exactly what it is (what Richards said). We're here to make his name live on.

Richards: It happens so often on wrestling where there are so many hours of television. There's so many guys running out and we're kinda like, in a way, being treated like pieces of meat. The fans don't care. It's like a "whatever" kind of society. We're not like that. We want to remember everybody - everybody that had died in and out of the ring in this profession. Because people like Gary Albright have been around a lot longer than me, has pretty much paved the way, and has played a part in why I am making a very decent living and why wrestling is so big today. He may not have been WWF champion, but he paid his dues. He was a legend in Japan.

Gillberg: He was a God in Japan. He was unbelievable.

Richards: That's probably the only thing Gary may have left undone is not leaving his mark here in the United States. Of course, in the locker room and amongst the boys, he has left a mark and we're never gonna forget him. So, hopefully that will translate into tonight from the ring to the crowd.

Gillberg: And, it will for sure. With the amount of people that are here, it will.

Pontrelli: I have a question for Gillberg. What does it feel like to emulate Goldberg?

Gillberg: Well, I'm not emulating Goldberg.

Pontrelli: I know, but you're spoofing him actually.

Gillberg: Gillberg is a comedy act. It's something for the people to laugh at. It's exactly what it is, pure entertainment. I'll be wrestling as Gillberg tonight, but only a little bit more serious.

Tavares: Did you enjoy it?

Gillberg: Oh yeah.

Tavares: What did you think of the idea when they presented it to you?

Gillberg: Actually, we were all sitting around, Al Snow and Paul Bearer, we were talking about it. I said, "Yeah, I've even wrestled as Gillberg on the independents," because I was doing kinda like what Stevie does now. I was making fun of everybody on the independents. I was just picking people out. Paul Bearer started laughing and kept on going, "Gillberg, Gillberg." Then the next day in the lunch room everybody was going, "Gillberg, Gillberg," when I walked in. Then I went home. Two days later I was told to get my stuff together. I was going to be Gillberg. They had no idea what I was going to do when I walked through that curtain.

Richards: Everyone thinks that so much is planned so far ahead in advance, but so much is on the fly. So much is done right there on the spot. More times than not, we don't know...

Gillberg: We have no idea.

Tavares: What about with your gimmick? You're doing everyone's characters.

Richards: That's kinda squashed now.

Tavares: Big Show has got it now. How do you feel about that?

Richards: They (the WWF) had other things planned...

Gillberg: I don't care what you say, you're going out there making fun of all these people. They'll remember you more if you went out there and squashed somebody.

Richards: Oh no, I don't care. People today don't remember who wins or loses. Tonight they're gonna remember that I'm wrestling Scott Taylor. It doesn't matter who wins or loses. They're gonna remember me, hopefully me stomping in the corner, and they are definitely gonna remember Scotty going for the worm. But, it was a lot of fun doing a parody gimmick. Now it's over and hopefully in their eyes I'll go onto something much better. Not to say it wasn't good. It doesn't matter. I've proven in the WWF, in any gimmick thrown at me, I can adapt and get over with.

Gillberg: Lets get the J.O.B. Squad back. You, me, and Meanie. We can all come back and help Al out. He is the all superior leader of the J.O.B. Squad. (we all share a few laughs on this)

Pontrelli: How's your foot healing?

Richards: It's about almost 95% healed. I still have to tape it up and I have to wear braces. I have to wear special orthopedic boots. And, it's just like my neck injury the first year it's going to be real difficult. It hasn't hurt me in the ring. I just can't move around as much as I did before, except it's very sore all the time. It hurts. I had the worst fracture in a foot you could have. They put a screw in there, move all the ligaments and tendons. It was rough. Plus I had two staph infections. I came down with a couple of infections in my foot and I couldn't walk on it.

Gillberg makes crying sounds to tease fun at Richards.

Richards: I've had the worst luck. I don't get those nagging little injuries.

Tavares: You get those major ones.

Gillberg: Just counting the days till he gets hurt again. We begin a raffle to see how long until Stevie gets hurt.

Richards: I've got a couple of parts, so I'll put some money down. I want to win this one.