On Episode #64 of Retro Wrestling w/Gene Jackson, Gene welcomes Pez Whatley Jr. for a conversation honoring the life, career, and legacy of his father, “Pistol” Pez Whatley.
Gene opens the episode by explaining that he's still under the weather health wise, so this episode will be audio only, but he wanted to make sure this interview happened in time to help promote the upcoming 'Pez Whatley Invitational' in Red Bank, Tennessee: a one night tournament created to honor Pez Whatley’s legacy and celebrate Black wrestling excellence.
From there, the conversation becomes much more personal than a standard career retrospective. Pez Whatley Jr. talks about growing up as the son of a professional wrestler, traveling with his father during the summer, watching him work territories like ICW and Continental, and getting an up close look at a wrestling business that still guarded kayfabe closely.
One of the most important parts of the episode comes early, when Pez Jr. discusses his father’s amateur wrestling accomplishments. He confirms that Pez Whatley was the first African-American wrestler at UT Chattanooga, and adds that father and son also became the first father-son state wrestling champions in Tennessee.
Pez Jr. also provides a fascinating look at what it meant to grow up around the business when kayfabe was still protected. He understood that his father was not literally fighting for his life every night, but he also never viewed wrestling as “fake.” In his words, there is nothing fake about large men throwing themselves around a ring and colliding with one another. The performance may be exaggerated, but the physicality is very real.
There is also some genuinely new insight into the Shaska Whatley character and the exact inspiration for the name itself. That is a piece of the story Gene had never heard before, and it gives some real background to one of Pez Whatley’s most memorable identities.
The conversation gets more serious when Gene asks about the racism Pez experienced during his career. Pez Jr. says it was very real, both among some people within the wrestling business and among fans in certain towns. That part of the interview may be uncomfortable to discuss, but it's important because it puts Pez Whatley’s career into fuller context. He was not just working matches and cutting promos. He was traveling during an era and through places where the dangers outside the ring could often be far more real than anything happening inside of it.
The emotional center of the episode comes near the end when Gene asks what Pez Jr. wants people to remember about his father outside the ring.
His answer is simple and powerful: Pez Whatley was the best person he ever knew.
That makes the Pez Whatley Invitational feel especially fitting. Pez Jr. says he never imagined someone would someday create a wrestling tournament in his father’s honor, but he's very proud that day has come. in his opinion, Pez deserves it. The fact that others believe strongly enough in his father’s legacy to put in the time and work to honor him means a great deal to the family.
This is not simply an episode about Pistol Pez Whatley the wrestler.
It is about Pez Whatley the father.
The amateur wrestling champion.
The trailblazer.
The heel who could make a crowd furious.
The man who became Shaska Whatley and Willie B. Hurt.
And, most importantly, the man his son still describes as the best person he has ever known.
Head out to the TWE Arena in Red Bank, Tennessee this Saturday September 19. Bell Time is 7:30pm, tickets will be available at the door but can also be purchased in advance at TWETickets.com
