I had the pleasure of Interviewing one of the greatest female wrestlers of all time.  She trained under the late great Fabulous Moolah right out of high school. A former WWE Women’s Champion.  Also was part of the legendary tag team, The Glamour Girls.  Glamour Girls won the WWE Woman’s Tag Team Championships and they had an amazing awesome feud with the Jumping Bomb Angels.  She’s still very active in wrestling. She wrestles and helps out Shine Wrestling.  Ladies and Gentlemen, below is Part 1 of  my interview with the great legend herself, Leilani Kai.  Welcome to Gruemonkey.com!

 

GM: Growing up, who were some of your fav wrestlers to watch?

LK: The Hollywood Blondes managed by Humperdink.  (Not the Hollywood Blondes that formed in WCW with Steve Austin and Brian Pillman)  Rob Roop, and Archie The Stomper.

GM: What made you decide that you wanted to be a pro wrestler?

LK: I saw Bonnie Watson and Sherry Lee having a match and it really grabbed my attention. I began asking around, and was directed to Fabulous Moolah.

 

 

GM: Why did you want to get trained by The Fabulous Moolah?

LK: She was the only school that I was told about. I didn’t even know who Moolah was. I just seen two woman wrestle and knew I could do it as well.

GM: Moolah gave you the name Leilani kai because she thought you looked Hawaiian. What were your thoughts when Moolah told you that you would become an Hawaiian wrestler?

LK: I had some family in Hawaii, but I had only been there when I was young. I thought it was a great idea. I was happy to represent the Islands!

 

 

GM: Did you enjoy working the Indie Scene before getting signed by WWE?

LK: Oh yes, very much so. I missed it afterwards. It was always adventurous. Girls didn’t stay in territories long then, so we were always traveling.

GM: What were your thoughts on Eddie Graham? Did you enjoy working with him?

LK:  I enjoyed working with Eddie very much. It was my chance to come back home to Florida where Im from,  and work, and be around friends and family at the same time.

GM: I hear a lot of mixed reactions from people who worked with Verne Gagne.  How was your dealings with Verne?

LK: Verne was always good to us and paid better then anyone else. It was a pleasure being there.

 

 

 

GM: Who discovered you to get signed by WWE?

LK: Moolah was connected with the company and she booked me there. Her girls are the only ones that WWE would use.

GM: I heard that one of the tag matches you did with Moolah, that she didn’t want to tag you in during the match and you got heat from that. What happened with that match and after it?

LK: I wasn’t very knowledgeable to the sport at the time. Moolah being the villain that she was, she was in full effect being herself. She was in control and I was still learning. Afterwards, she scolded us like she always did.

 

 

GM: What are your thoughts on working with the Fabulous Moolah in WWE, in the ring and behind the scenes?

LK: She was a tough coach and taught us a lot. She was very well liked there and we were all privileged to be able to go to all the places she had connections with to learn and work.

GM: Do you have any interesting Fabulous Moolah stories?

LK: Once she left her wallet behind a can in the dressing room. She was hiding it and forgot about it. We drove all the way home and had to turn around and drive all the way back. It was 300 miles each way. We were so exhausted by the time we finally made it home. Another story, we all used to live in apartments on Moolah’s property. She had binoculars and would spy on us with them.  lol.

 

 

GM: Did Moolah really take most of the money they gave her to pay you and the female wrestlers?

LK: Since she’s gone now. I would rather pass on that question.

GM: What are your thoughts on Bret Hart?

LK: I think Bret is wonderful. I love his whole family. I’ve stayed overnight before at his parents house.

 

 

GM: I heard Andre The Giant liked you. What were your thoughts on interacting with Andre during your time in WWE and any Andre stories?

LK: Andre had a circle of friends. I was lucky to be in that circle. I took care of Andre on the road a lot. We were once all on a small plane and we were in a bad storm. He kept me comforted during that trip. I was so terrified. We were in a very bad storm on a seven seater plane. Andre always treated his friends great, he would rent entire restaurants  out just for us to eat at. And you never know who Andre would have coming to the restaurant when he rented it out.

 

 

That does it for part one. Stay tuned for part two with this lovely lady!