Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Sweet Daddy Guido Falcone
Date: 06/24/2026
Your Host: "Arizona" James Walsh

One of the coolest parts about doing a pro wrestling podcast for the past 25 years is getting to interview some of the guys who were a big part of the overall product but maybe didn't get the credit for being so important. I think the simplest term for these types of performers would be "unsung heroes." As you know, I love the Global Wrestling Federation. I loved watching it with friends after school 5 days a week. I loved the fact that a promotion based in Dallas was airing nationally on ESPN and presenting quality wrestling with future stars and great workers. I'm not blind to its pitfalls and obvious issues such as a continually changing management system which resulted in key parts of the show, top stars, being moved out for local guys to resume the top spots. Plus, the censorship of dastardly deeds that would result in a zoomed in shot of an audience member instead of allowing us to see someone like Sweet Daddy Falcone using a weapon to defeat a top babyface such as the Patriot. Rod Price has called it, "Pro wrestling's ater school special." He's right. It was. That worked in so many ways. And, didn't in others as well.

Well, one of the stars of the GWF was Sweet Daddy Falcone, Guido Falcone in later years. Tim Roberts, his real name, is an oil man these days and hasn't really looked back at pro wrestling since leaving it 25 years ago. But, in an exclusive, we sat down with the Sicilian Stallion to discuss the glory days of Memphis Wrestling, Dallas Wrestling, and the "World Famous" Sportatorium. And, a whole lot more!

We transcribed highlights below.... But, there is a ton of absolute gold. So, if you've got an hour to spend and want to know about the life and times of one of the best "unsung hero" talents of the late 1980's and 1990's, tune in and listen to our chat with Sweet Daddy Falcone!

To listen to this interview, visit www.WrestlingEpicente.rcom. We have interviewed over 900 wrestlers including the top stars of the GWF such as Rod Price, John Tatum, The Patriot, Skandor Akbar, james Beard, Jerry Lynn, "Lightning Kid" Sean Waltman, Scot Putski, Black Bart, and so many more. So, if you're after some Global goodness, check us out! And, check out our store and buy something, will ya?

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onrAr8YiPaA

SWEET DADDY FALCONE:

On what he does now:
"I got out of the business a pretty long time ago now. Today, I drill oil wells in West Texas and Oklahoma. I've been blessed to be pretty successful. And, thank God I got out of the wrestling business with my health somewhat in tact."

On how he looks back at his career:
"I wouldn't want to be one of those guys who still wrestles and lives in the past into his 60's and 70's either because he wants to or has to. I get asked a lot, "Would you do it all over again." Absolutely! The experiences I had in wrestling in the late 80's, the 90;s, and 2000's made me who I am. Plus, I got to travel the world and perform in front of thousands of people."

On how he got into pro wrestling:
"I went to high school with a guy who was being trained to be a wrestler. "Dirty Deeds" Darrin Wise was his name. He actually came up with the Sweet Daddy Falcone persona for me. His vision for it was that I was a pimp from New York City. But, I owe the Sweet Daddy persona to him."

Pm being trained at the Monster Factory:
"Larry would run shows. His shows would be trainees and maybe a few bigger names. Well, he had a connection with Jerry "The King" Lawler out of Memphis. At the time, Memphis was one of the few places left that you could go and work nearly every night. So, Larry sent some of his star pupils down to Memphis to get experience and I was one of them. Lawler put me with REggie B. Fine and Brickhouse Brown."

On how he went from Memphis to Dallas:
"We won the USWA Tag Team Titles. But, my partners got into some trouble and we knew we were all going to get in trouble for it from the office. Well, Jerry Jarrett came in and he said, "Reggie B. Fine, you're fired. But, you can go down to Dallas and work." Memphis was running the Dallas Sportatorium as the USWA at the time. And, he said, "Brickhouse, you're fired. But, you can go down to Dallas to work." Then he looked at me and said, "You're fired and you can go anywhere you want." Well, I didn't want to go home. So, I said, "Jerry, can I go to Dallas too?" Well, he sent me down there. And, I've lived here ever since... I've lived here for 36 years!"

On what went wrong with the Mephis office running USWA in Dallas:
"You know, I never was one to get involved in the politics of wrestling or who was running things. But, I've come to realize, after some time, what was going on. For example, my first big feud in USWA was against "Superstar" Bill Dundee. Well, I'm 6'5, 320 pounds at the time. And, Bill Dundee was about 5'8, 200 pounds. Is it believable that he'd beat me up? Whoever had the book at the time would be in the main events. That is sort of what Memphis always did. Anybody who went on to be anybody went through Memphis and worked with, and lost, to Jerry Lawler or Bill Dundee and they had video tapes to prove it."

On if he would agree that the Memphis booking wasn't satisfying the Dallas fan base:
"Oh, yeah. I would say there were too many Chiefs and not enough indians. Plus, Dallas fans were more interested in hard hitting wrestling and that just isn't what the Memphis style was as much."

On the GWF taking over the Sportatorium and being on the first match in Global history:
"You know, I had been in Dallas for quite some time by the time Global started in the summer of 1991. I felt I had built myself up a little having been there and working for a while and I felt kind of slighted by Joe Pedicino and them a little bit. Joe Pedicino came in running Global and he used a lot of local Dallas guys. But, he also brought in guys from his area of Georgia. For example, the first match was against "Connan" Chris Walker. Well, I had been in the business for a while by this point and I had never seen Chris Walker. In fact, I had never heard of him. But, I was booked to wrestle him and he was booked to go over. He had the look. He had the muscles, the hair, and he looked the part. But, he didn't know the difference between a wrist lock and a wrist watch. You could see in the match that there were things he didn't know how to do. Nothing against him. But, I felt I was put in a position to lose a lot of matches I shouldn't have been before they put me with the Coast to Coast Connection and started giving me a little more."

On if he ever had issues with the bookers:
"I got along with everyone real well. I knew how to turn my gimmick on and off. But, being booked against Marcus Bagwell who was the Handsome Stranger. Marcus really couldn't work well. He went to WCW and he got a lot better. But, at that time, it wasn't that way. Scott Putski was another one. Scott and I, to this day,a re great friends. He's a great man. But, when they gave him the gimmick where his finish wwas the Polish Hammer, same as his father, and Scott had such small stature, he hurt me a number fo times hitting me with that move. He bloodied my nose, loosened my teeth. That was a shot to take. But, I got alongOn

On being 22 when Global started and calling other wrestlers "younger guys":
"Well, when I say "younger guys" I don't mean their actual age. I'm speaking of their level of experience in the business. For example, I remember I saw Rod Price's first match. He was working opposition to us. We would run the Sportatorium on Friday night and do the TV on Saturday mornings. Rod was working for Tim Brooks who ran opposition to Dallas in the same area. And, we all saw there was something there with him. When he came in, he got the experience he needed. And, I don't really think people understand how good Rod Price was. He really got great."

On who he still talks to from pro wrestling:
"Rod Price is a good guy. He lives in Louisiana so our paths don't cross very often. But, I try to keep in touch with him, John Tatum, Corporal Braddock who was also a part of Devastation Inc. Action Jackson... Scott Putski and I talk all the time."

On being put with Akbar and forming the Coast to Coast Connection with Rod Price & John Tatum:
"I was very happy for the move to be paired with the Coast to Coast Connection mostly because I had been on previous bookers' shit list and they had me doing jobs, as I said, to some of the younger guys they brought in. Being put with them and having Akbar as a manager gave me my credibility back. And, I was grateful for that."

On the physical battles with the likes of Black Bart, Bill Irwin, and Rattlesnake at that time:
"Bill irwin is a great guy. He loved what we were doing too. Physical, snug. We got along great. I still talk to him on Facebook. And, when he went up to the WWF and became The Goon, he was always the same guy. That is when you know someone is a true friend. An example of the other side of that is Steve Austin."

On his issues with Steve Austin:
"Steve Austin was a guy who would kayfabe you. When he was here and he was doing the angle with Jeannie, Toni, and Chris Adams, he ahd the time of day for you. But, I went to a show when he was on top just visiting friends and he didn't have the time of day. That never sat well with me."

On Eddie Gilbert as a booker in Global:
"As far as Eddie Gilbert as a booker, I think he was a dick. Eddie never saw me the way Grizzly Smith or Akbar saw me. He saw me as a local Dallas guy who they didn't have to pay trans for and never really gave me much. Plus, I'd go in the locker room and shake hands. And, he'd look back at you like, "Who are you and why are you shaking my hand." So, he was a dick. Plus, he's another guy, stature wise... You stand him up side by side with me and it just wasn't believable that he would beat me up."

On if Bruce Prichard was a WWE mole implanted in the GWF:
"No, I don't think so."

On how he liked Bruce Prichard:
"Well, I'll tell you what. My experiences with Bruce Prichard were more after the GWF than during. In fact, Bruce Prichard is the one who gave me and my tag team partner Vito Mussolini a shot in the WWF. After Global, Bruce called and said he had a spot for us. He remembered us from the GWF. Well, at the time, Vito couldn't break away from his 9 to 5 job. Well, Bruce said he was coming through Dallas and wanted to meet up with us. Bruce was going to his Niece's wedding or something like that. Well, the week before, Scott Putski was running a show and when Vito found out how much he'd be paid, he said he wasn't going. So, I ended up having a singles match with Scott and when it came time to do the finish, I didn't position Scott right. And, I went up on the ropes and my foot got caught up. And, I came down and snapped my ACL. I had to roll out of the ring and tell the referee James Beard I couldn't go and he counted me out. Well, the next week, Bruce told me they had a spot for us in the WWF... We were going to be the Headbangers."
James: "Ironic that the Headbangers ended up being fellow Monster Factory trainees."
Sweet Daddy: "Yes."

On what Bruce told him after the injury:
"Well, he told us all this (about the Headbangers) and told me to call him when I had rehabbed my ACL. Well, things clearly had changed and it never happened."

On getting a few shots with the WWE against Barry Horowitz:
"Barry was a good guy and a good worker. It was an opportunity. It was an experience. We got to team up, Vito and I, there too and won."

On Ahmed Johnson in Global as Moadib:
"Moadib! Yes, Tony was in Global and we kept in constant contact with him. It was in part due to us (he and Vito) staying in constant contact with him and he kept mentioning us to Bruce so they did bring us (he and Vito) in for a few shots in 1995, 1996, 1997... Whatever it was. But, we never got the big WWF contract like we should have."

On if he realized Global was in trouble:
"I knew we were in trouble when they started bringing marks from the street and putting them on TV and in various roles. For example, we, the Sicilian Stallions had Jackie Goldman as a manager. Jackie Goldman was a professor at the University of Texas Arlington. So, a mark from the street was on our TV as our manager. Now, I'm not insulting Jackie. I still talk to him. I still like him. But, he should not have been in the wrestling business. He belonged on the other side of the barricadesitting with the fans."

On Sebastian, who we recently interviewed, possibly being one of those marks:
"Yeah. I'm not saying anything bad about the people. But, Sebastian was another example. I know when we were working with Sebastian, we would stiff him so he would know how we really felt. I remember one night, John Tatum superkicked him off the ring aisle... I've taken the superkick from John Tatum a lot of times. I never felt it. You barely felt that he touched you. Well, he kicked Sebastian so hard, he flew off the ring apron and, at the Sportatorium, we had these barricade with slats and he ended up flying all the way over the ring area and ended up landing right between the slats in the audience. We put our blood, sweat, and tears into this industry. When we knew that there was a mark with us in the ring who didn't pay their dues, we knew we were going to make sure they paid their dues! It wasn't his fault! Not at all! But, the blame really belongs to the people calling the shots who put the marks on the show."

On Grey Pierson buying Global:
"Truth be told, Grey Pierson was a mark as well. If he liked you, he would see to it that the person he liked was featured in a prominent position on the card. I always got along with Grey. In fact, he is an attorney. And, I have used him as an attorney in a professional means since then. But, honestly, he should not have owned a wrestling company. He should have been sitting in the crowd watching instead of calling the shots. Whenever Grey bought the company, from a wrestler's standpoint, we knew it was only a matter of time until everything went to Hell in a handbasket."

On if Kerry Von Erich brought new life to Global in late 1992:
"When people found out Kerry was returning to the Sportatorium, we had an instant sell out. There were people lined around the building. I remember that. And, Kerry was still Kerry. He had been the Texas Tornado in the WWF and had just been released after having been their Intercontinental Champion. He came back and he was an instant draw. And, I'll never forget us all sitting in the locker room. I don't recall who gave us the news that Kerry had deceased. But, I remember the feeling of disbelief. Nobody could believe he was gone. I remember, when Kerry was around, he would bring his daughters around... Lacey, who went on to be a WWE Superstar (TNA Knockout) and I can't remember his other daughter's name... I just remember how sad that was. And, we knew it was bad for business too because we had plans to have Kerry be a big part of what we were doing."

On Kerry's death and drug problems:
"I remember wrestling Kerry, which I did a number of times, and coming back to the dressing room and him not remembering we had just worked together. I have heard that Kerry was up for drug related charges and it looked like he probably was going to spend some time in prison for them. Kerry was a free bird, a free spirit. You couldn't put him in a cage... So, he did what he did."

On if ESPN's censorship of the dirty deeds hurt the GWF:
"Yeah. I mean, if you watched World Class, they would show what happened. But, if you watched us, you would miss things. It is like if you are reading a book and suddenly it jumped from page 10 to page 15, you would miss things. You would be like, "What happened?" Well, that is what happened with us and censorship. I never really knew if it was ESPN's mandate to censor violence or things they thought could upset the kids. But, that would make sense."

On the Sportatorium building:
"The Sportatorium was iconic. A little history lesson, one of Elvis Presley's first concerts was in the Sportatorium. It had character. But, I'll tell you this. You knew if y7ou worked there in the summer, you were going to sweat your butt off. It was hot! They had no air conditioning. All they had were these swamp coolers and it was hot. But, that was the price to pay to work in such an iconic place."


On Black Bart:
"Bart was a great guy. He was one of the biggest ribbers there was. He was always messing with the guys belongings and pulling ribs. I remember, one of the shots we did with the WWF, Bart was on that show and so was Bill Irwin. And, someone took a combination lock, because Bart wore the cowboy boots with the wrestling sole on them, and put it through one of the loops on his cowboy boot. He was mad. "Somebody better get that dad gum lock off my dang boot!" (laughs) But, he was a great guy. In fact, Booker T and Stevie Ray, the Ebony Experience? They got their break in WCW because Black Bart made a phone call on their behalf. And, like I said about Steve Austin, those two guys forgot where they came from too. They didn't remember or thank Bart as far as I know."

On the vibe of the Von Erich memorial show, the last GWF show to air on ESPN:
"We knew things were bad. We could see in our pay days that things were going bad. We, honestly, had hoped that another organization could come along and run the Sportatorium and get it back on track."

On the Bodyguards and Bandits PPV in 1996:
"That was a fun night. I remember I got paid $500 for that pay per view. It was cool because it aired all over the country. So, my parents in Pennsylvania were able to order it and see what we were doing. We had Ray "Boom Boom" Mancini as part of it. He filmed something at Alkatraz. In fact, they wanted us bandits to all go to Alkatraz to film something for it but I guess they ran out of money because that never happened. But, they had this guy who wanted to prove that he was a tough guy... And, well, we beat him into oblivion for that entire match. It was myself, Rod Price, JBL... A lot of us. But, it was a fun night."

On trying to save the Sportatorium:
"After Global, I got together with my friend Herb and Bob and we put in something like $200,000 into the Sportatorium. We painted the outside, we fixed up the ring and the seating. We really had a shot at it. We hired Grizley Smith and Skandor Akbar to be the bookers. But, one third of the business owners, he was half of Hhigh Voltage in Global, he insisted that they be the stars of the show. I tried to tell him, "I am one third owner and I'm trying to tell you, you're not ready for that spot." Well, they put the CWA Tag Team Titles on themselves and pushed themselves to the top and pretty much ruined our opportunity at making something of the CWA."

On if he ever wished he stuck around in the business longer to capitalize on the Sopranos success:
"I did! What Vito and I were doing would have worked well with what the popularity of the Sopranos and I think we could have made that work. But, I am glad I got out of the business with most of my health in tact."

On modern wrestling:
"I don't watch much modern wrestling because what is wrestling now isn't what I consider wrestling. I liked to get in there with guys like John Hawk, JBL, and be snug... And, that just isn't what they do now. It just isn't. I loved wrestling in my time and before. But, I'm not really a fan of what wrestling is these days."