Tank Abbott's WCW years in Part 2 of our exclusive interview on the
MMA History Podcast. From negotiating with Eric Bischoff over Vince McMahon, training at the Power Plant under legends like Paul Orndorff and Dusty Rhodes, to wild angles like the jacket-on-a-pole brawl with Big Al (yes, that knife moment at SuperBrawl 2000), Tank spills the unfiltered truth on backstage politics, his near-title run, and clashes with icons like Goldberg and Sid Vicious.
Fact: Tank debuted in WCW on December 13, 1999, as a legit UFC heavyweight (with wins over Yoji Anjo and Hugo Duarte) brought in to feud with Goldberg, but navigated a rollercoaster of mutinies and mishaps until his 2000 release.
0:00 MMA history podcast intro
0:32 Joey Venti’s guest introduction
0:48 interview start
2:14 Tank Abbott vs Yoji Anjo
7:12 Tank Abbott being a large draw in UFC
11:50 experience fighting in Japan
15:09 Tank Abbott vs Hugo Duarte
21:39 dedicating fight to Frank Sinatra
22:45 never called out by Rickson Gracie
25:11 Tank Abbott vs Pedro Rizzo
27:12 incident with Pat Smith
29:28 relationship with Jeff Blatnick
30:51 thoughts on Joe Rogan
36:12 rumored fight with Butterbean
37:27 issues before Frank Mir fight
41:18 where the term “Mixed martial arts” came from
46:32 Eddie Ruiz update
48:25 conversations with WCW
59:05 training at the WCW power plant
1:01:27 locker room attitude towards wrestlers
1:05:10 introduction during WCW taping
1:08:19 pushback from the WCW locker room
1:10:36 cutting a Promo on Bill Goldberg
1:12:18 plugs/ promotions
1:14:02 grabbing owner of Chicago Black Hawks
1:15:22 issues with Bob Probert
1:16:20 issues with Terry Taylor
1:19:40 advice from Sid Vicious
1:23:05 false rumors of winning WCW Title
1:28:43 Doug Dillinger
1:29:05 Jerry Flynn
1:29:33 Mark Madden
1:29:52 Chris Cruz
1:31:28 false rumored match with Mark Coleman
1:32:20 pulling out knife during match with Big Al
1:43:40 questioned before match by the locker room
1:46:11 losing wresting match to David Arquette
1:47:38 Tank Abbott vs Goldberg
1:51:32 introduced to the ICP
1:53:36 staying in shape during WCW
1:55:31 being a fan of 3 Count
1:58:44 drinking with the ICP
1:59:56 released from WCW
2:02:20 dealings with Bob Sapp
2:03:26 interview wrap up
2:11:39 outro/closing thoughts
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