On this episode of Rick Del Santo’s Classic Pro Wrestling Talk, Rick welcomes Reno Riggins for a tremendous conversation about a career that stretched from the Nashville Fairgrounds to WWF, WCW, Global, USWA, Music City Wrestling, and beyond. Reno comes in with the kind of easygoing honesty that makes these interviews work: no ego, no bitterness, just a wrestler looking back on the ride with gratitude, humor, and a whole lot of great stories.
Rick introduces Reno as a former USWA Southern Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion, and familiar face from WWF and WCW, but the story really starts in Nashville. Reno talks about growing up there, choosing “Las Vegas, Nevada” as his billed hometown to add a little glitz to the character, and then chasing the dream by trying to get trained by the legendary Tojo Yamamoto.
The heart of this interview is Reno’s attitude toward the wrestling business. He never presents himself as the guy who had to be world champion to validate his career. Actually, one of the best parts of the episode is when he talks about understanding his role. His family would ask why he never won on TV, and his answer was simple: when he went to the bank, they didn’t ask if he won or lost.
That’s old school!
The Tojo Yamamoto stories are a major highlight. Tojo didn’t make it easy. He tried to run Reno off, then literally made him run until he either quit or proved he had the stomach for the business. Reno stuck with it, and that persistence became the thread running through the whole conversation. He didn’t get handed the door key. He found a way in, even if that meant carrying an empty FedEx box backstage and acting like he belonged there.
The WWF material is fantastic because Reno talks about the job from the perspective of someone who took pride in being reliable. Hercules gave him a rough welcome, Ron Bass took care of him, Bobby Heenan encouraged him, Terry Garvin booked him, and eventually top workers wanted him in the ring because they knew he could go. That meant something to him. It still does.
His WCW memories bring a different flavor. Working Ric Flair on his first night in, finding out “Jody” was really Jody Hamilton, and getting to wrestle the kind of competitive, sports style matches he loved as a fan gives the episode a nice balance between the WWF machine and the Crockett/WCW wrestling approach.
There’s also a lot here for Memphis and Nashville fans. Tojo, Christine Jarrett, Nick Goulas, the Fairgrounds, Jerry Jarrett’s philosophy of personal issues selling tickets, Music City Wrestling, Bert Prentice, Steven Dunn, and the Hardy Boys connection all give the interview a strong Tennessee wrestling backbone.
This is the kind of Classic Pro Wrestling Talk episode that lives up to the name. It’s not just a list of matches and dates. It’s a wrestler explaining how the business worked, how he survived it, what he valued, and why the memories still matter.
For fans of Reno Riggins, Tojo Yamamoto, Nashville wrestling, WWF enhancement talent, WCW Saturday Night, Barry Horowitz, Ric Flair, Music City Wrestling, and old school pro wrestling stories told with honesty and perspective, this one is well worth your time.
Check out more great stuff from Rick Del Santo on his YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/@TheRickDelSanto
Follow him on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/theprofrickdelsanto
