Gary Michael Cappetta Kicks Off Tour
The legendary ring announcer has 40 years’ worth of wrestling anecdotes.
From Bruno Sammartino to Ric Flair to Matt Hardy, the “World’s Most Dangerous Announcer” has introduced fans to championship matches for decades.
His name is Gary Michael Cappetta, and he’s going back on tour around the United States.
Based on his memoir published at the dawn of the millennium, Beyond Bodyslams is Cappetta’s one-man show of behind-the-scenes stories from a 40-year career spanning WWE, AWA, NWA, WCW and even ROH. From meeting a young Vince McMahon to spending a week on the road with the Undertaker to holding Mick Foley’s sliced off ear (which he has fan footage of), GMC has countless tales for wrestling diehards.
The tour kicks off May 19 in Richmond, Virginia, followed by Baltimore on July 6, Scranton on August 4, Atlantic City on August 25, Chicago on September 21, Pittsburgh on October 6 and Winston-Salem, North Carolina on November 23 as part of WrestleCade.
In Richmond, he will be celebrating Andre the Giant’s birthday. In Pittsburgh, he’ll be celebrating Sammartino’s birthday in his hometown.
Cappetta will also be guest ring announcing for Stand Alone Wrestling in Atlantic City on August 25, Berwyn Championship Wrestling in Chicago on September 22 and International Wrestling Cartel in Pittsburgh on October 6.
Tickets are available here for Richmond, here for Baltimore and here for Atlantic City. You can also get tickets for WrestleCade here.
Follow Cappetta on Facebook and Twitter.
In a phone interview last week, Cappetta covered a wide range of topics from the forgotten psychology of pro wrestling to enjoying Miz TV. Below are edited excerpts from the 60-minute conversation on Corrigan’s Corner on Team LeftJab Radio.
Are you surprised the Undertaker is still wrestling in 2018?
Cappetta: “No. When I met him, he was a very young man. I mean, Kevin Sullivan is still wrestling.”
That’s a good point.
Cappetta: “And how many times a year does he wrestle?”
Typically, once a year.
Cappetta: “If you were to collect a huge paycheck to keep you available to wrestle once a year, wouldn’t you?”
(laughs) Absolutely.
Cappetta: “So no, it’s not surprising. Anyone would. How many minutes did he wrestle at WrestleMania? Not entrance, just physically exert himself.”
About three minutes, but he also wrestled a longer match at the Greatest Royal Rumble a month later. It’s impressive because while he can still perform, you know he has to be hurting after these matches.
Cappetta: “Right, so what a performer has to consider is what is that hurting worth? For working two days a year and being off 363 days a year, how much are you willing to sacrifice? And he actually doesn’t need to wrestle in order to draw people. He and Vinnie have a working relationship that is profitable for both of them. So I think it’s great that he continues to do what he does.”
When you say Vinnie, it feels like a bygone era. Today he’s referred to as Mr. McMahon, but when you were starting out, he was just Vinnie the boss’ son, right?
Cappetta: “That’s right. He was in his late 20s or 30 and his dad needed an announcer. So he put his son out there and that’s the McMahon that I know. I actually just saw him a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh. I hadn’t seen him in years and years.”
Were you surprised to see him at Bruno Sammartino’s funeral?
Cappetta: “No. First off, it was nice to see that whatever animosity there might have been between WWE and the Sammartino family, it was obvious that all was mended. Stephanie took part in the funeral mass. She had read a note from Triple H who had brokered the deal for Bruno to enter the Hall of Fame. It was well done and very nice to see.”
For somebody who grew up watching Bruno, where would you rank him among the all-time greats?
Cappetta: “Top five. There would not have been a healthy WWF to purchase and take forward and expand if it wasn’t for Bruno. I kind of chuckle when I hear Mr. Today Wrestler is seven-times world heavyweight champion. But how long did he hold that title for? Sammartino was a two-time champion, but he held it for a long stretch of time and carried the promotion on his back.
There’s a big difference and it sort of diminishes the title. That kind of phraseology is meant to build up the personality for the here and now, but it shuts out the historic importance.”
Absolutely, and that’s one of the main criticisms about today’s product. A guy like Bruno seemed like a credible, legit competitor whereas most of the guys today are just exchanging titles back and forth. Those kind of touches from back in the day made it feel like a real sport.
Cappetta: “You can still do it. You’re not going to convince the public that it’s real, but it’s easier to suspend disbelief when you treat it seriously and like an art form. At the WWE pay-per-view before last, a featured match was Styles versus Nakamura. A week or two before, those two fellas were on the same team. There’s a value for something being the first time these two guys step in the ring and face off. People will tune in or buy a pay-per-view or buy a ticket for that.
But if they’re on the same team a week or two before, it doesn’t make any sense to me. But it does make sense in sports-entertainment. It doesn’t make sense in pro wrestling.”
Right.
Cappetta: “I can’t imagine Bruno Sammartino teaming with Larry Zybskzo in the height of their feud. But it’s not ridiculous if you don’t consider it a feud, just an attraction. I can enjoy Raw and Smackdown for the athleticism of the wrestlers, which is through the roof, although I wish they’d stop slapping their legs. I think The Miz is incredibly talented and I enjoy his Miz TV segments. But I don’t tune in for a pro wrestling show, even though there is a lot of good wrestling on it.”
Are people surprised that you’re up to date with pro wrestling? There are so many guys from your generation that are simply turned off by the current product.
Cappetta: “I love it too much to be turned off by it. Any little erosion of the art form of pro wrestling is like a drip, drip, drip process. If there aren’t those who can evolve with the times but understand the basics of what makes it great, if we disappear, then pro wrestling is going to turn into something we can’t recognize. I know the power of pro wrestling and its powerful existence in people’s lives. I know that from my own experiences as a fan, as well as from the people I’ve met at my shows.
Many people aren’t surprised as much that I’m in touch with pro wrestling. They’re just surprised that I’m still alive. (laughs)
The other thing is I want to connect with the younger generation of wrestling fans. I want them to know I support indie wrestling. Although I’m a little bit behind on the newer wrestlers, I go out to indie shows all the time. I buy a ticket and sit up in the cheap seats and watch what’s going on.”
Do you have a favorite era that you enjoy talking about at your shows?
Cappetta: “Not particularly. Different eras were fun for different reasons. For the first 10 or 15 years, it was the excitement of being part of the show. The next 10 years or so was being the most visible and traveling the world. And these last 15 years is very satisfying giving back to the business that provided those first 25 years.
That’s why I began working with Ring of Honor in its infancy doing backstage interviews. When you think about the roster back then, Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, CM Punk, Cesaro, the Briscoe Brothers…to work with that generation and see where they are today, is awesome.”
Do you keep up with ROH today? I know it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything because there’s so much wrestling available.
Cappetta: “Yeah, and it’s healthy for everybody. When I see the success of Cody, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, I call it the democratization of wrestling. That’s a group of guys who have gained power, mostly independent from a major corporate organization. If WWE ever seeks them out or if they ever want to go to WWE, there’s an even playing field that didn’t exist in the past. I would compare them to Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody and Abdullah the Butcher, who didn’t need American promoters in order to have a successful wrestling career. They were able to call their own shots.
And now they’re All In promotion in Chicago. I wish them well. They’re really sharp. It was more difficult to do in the past because today there are free marketing tools available online, but they’re very savvy in how they use them.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68dHCELC-oE
It’s mind-blowing how popular they’ve become just by using social media.
Cappetta: “The main thing I’m concerned for with today’s wrestler is what they put their bodies through. It can definitely lead to a shorter career, and I don’t want to see that happen. In past generation, we lost so many wrestlers due to synthetic substances. I’m afraid that we’re going to lose wrestlers young, even if it doesn’t mean the end of their life, sooner than need be. I don’t know that any thrill you get or any enjoyment you bring is worth hobbling from 40 years old to the last 40 years of your life. Especially when there are ways to capture people’s imagination with less impactful moves.”
That goes back to what you said earlier about Undertaker being able to draw without actually wrestling.
Cappetta: “Now there’s one time I don’t mind being called out of touch. (laughs) I still believe that pro wrestling should be a sport in which two people enter the ring trying to defeat their opponent. So everything they do once they step into the ring, should contribute to that. Logic has always been the underpinning of what’s important in pro wrestling. Anything they do that’s not logical toward defeating their opponent in an efficient way shouldn’t be done.
Here’s an example: When you have your opponent out on the floor, and you climb to the turnbuckle facing the ring and you flip backwards, that’s just stupid.”
(laughs) I swear to God that was the exact scenario in my mind.
Cappetta: “And this one got me in big trouble on Twitter. When you have a bunch of guys standing in a circle in the ring and they all throw a kick so that their toes touch, it doesn’t belong in a match. The comeback I get is that Gary, it’s entertaining. My response is so is Daffy Duck, but he’s not pro wrestling. But Gary, it’s what the fans want. Well, you don’t have to give the fans what they want all the time. If you did that, how boring would it be.
You educate the fans if you yourself know better. Some guys do and they just do it for a quick response. Some guys don’t, and they just do it because they see other guys do it.”
I would be remiss in not bringing up your thoughts on Joey Ryan then. Do you know who he is?
Cappetta: “I do know who he is and I’ve never seen him do what I’ve read he does. I really don’t have a comment about it.”
(laughs) But that would fit what you’re saying. It’s not logical.
Cappetta: “What I said to you, that long explanation I gave, I just want to leave it there. I don’t want to mention names. If it applies to them, they can hear it or not hear it. I will tell you that if you don’t do what I laid out, you’re lessening if not your career, you’re lessening the impact you’re having. What I laid out for you is a recipe for long-term sustainability and success.”
I understand. We won’t throw anyone under the bus. So let’s talk positive. Besides The Miz, who else are some of your favorites in WWE?
Cappetta: “I like Roman Reigns. I don’t understand what exactly they’re doing with him, and I don’t really understand why the fans boo him, other than they’re following what somebody else said they should be doing. Anybody that saw the WrestleMania match between him and Lesnar, you’ve got to have respect for these guys. What a brutal match. That would be a match I’d show someone who says these guys aren’t athletes.
Of course, I go way back with his dad Sika. I like Finn Balor, although I worry about his well-being over the long term. I did a stage show in the Atlanta area in October and I get a message from Luke Gallows. He owns a shop in the area and his message was ‘Gary, I heard you’re coming to town. If you’d like to advertise your show or use my shop as a ticket outlet, say the word and you can have whatever you want.’ How cool is that?
Wow, had you ever met him before?
Cappetta: “Not to my memory. I’m always very careful with that question because I don’t want to offend anyone, but I’ve met 10,000 people over the last 40 years.”
Listen to the full interview here.
About Author
Mr. Cappetta was, an is, a great announcer and tremendous ambassador for pro wrestling. Reading this interview brought back lots of memories, and his insights carry a great deal of weight in my mind. I’m happy to see that he is still going strong.