Quotes

On WWE Hall-of-Famer John Minton: "John is a difficult man to describe. He was big and strong, and I was grateful that he was willing to work with me."

On Sam Fatu a.k.a. The Tonga Kid: "I had a great time with the Kid -- we were both young. He was unbelievable. He could talk, he could wrestle, and he could fly."

On his former manager, Bobby Heenan: "He was funny. I wished sometimes that the people could hear him. They saw him as a manager and an announcer. If only they could have seen him away from the ring and the TV. He was the funniest person to be around. We used to laugh all day long."

On former tag-team partner, André René Roussimoff: "I was thankful to be a part of the Colossal Connection. Working with the Giant was something that I can only describe as awe inspiring."

On Vince McMahon: "I'm not trying to kiss Vince McMahon's ass but he's great. The way he created the Superstars, the way he created what's going on today (in WWE) -- it's unbelievable."

On Stone Cold Steve Austin: "We were in WCW together. He was a great wrestler, but all of a sudden, WCW let him go. And now look at him! He's a main event superstar today."

On Dwayne Johnson: "I've known this kid since he was a baby, and look at where he is today. I'm glad to see that. Sometimes I sit back and wonder what his grandfather Peter Maivia would say about his grandson."

On his reputation for being the sport's most legitimate tough guy: "I came up in the days when you had to be tough to protect yourself as a wrestler, especially outside the ring. For the bad-guy wrestlers mainly, it was really tough for us to walk into a bar or other places, because challenges would be made against us. People would call the business fake, and it was my duty to defend the business -- that's how I put bread on the table. I had a lot of fights because I take great pride in being a wrestler and in defending my friends. But I'm not tough. I believe all wrestlers are tough -- in different ways. They all believe in protecting the business and protecting themselves."

On Tony Schiavone: Schiavone made the Tongan Death Grip better than I did. He was the one who named it and he gets the credit.