56-year-old former WCW and WWE star overjoyed by Hall of Fame induction
Dozens of wrestling Hall of Fames exist outside of WWE's annual inductions before every WrestleMania event. In a recent interview, Bill DeMott spoke about his pride at recently being inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.
DeMott, aka Hugh Morrus, is best known for his in-ring career with WCW. The 56-year-old also wrestled for WWE before becoming the company's head trainer. In July, he joined the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame alongside Conrad Thompson, Gary Albright, Haku, Les Thatcher, and Tom Burke.
On the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling Podcast, DeMott explained how much the Lou Thesz Award meant to him:
"I don't know how it came about. The only way Lou Thesz's name and mine would be in the same sentence would be when Stone Cold gave me the Thesz Press. It was really cool to be inducted and given the Lou Thesz Award this year, and I hold that as one of the biggest accomplishments of my career, so it was really cool." [4:43 – 5:04]
Lou Thesz wrestled between the years 1932 and 1990. He held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for a combined 10 years, making him the longest-tenured champion in the title's history.
In the same interview, DeMott discussed the moment he thought his career might be over after a match against two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan.
How former WWE star Bill DeMott broke into the wrestling business
After initially trying to become a football player, Bill DeMott started training as a wrestler in 1988. He competed in ECW and Japan before making his name in WCW and WWE.
Asked if he always wanted to wrestle, DeMott made it clear he was more passionate about football:
"No. No, no, no. I was a casual fan at best. I was a football guy. I played in high school. I had an opportunity to play in college. Obviously that didn't work out, but I told the story that night in Waterloo [Hall of Fame induction location]. My dad brought me to a gym in Brooklyn. I'm convinced my father thought he was taking me to a boxing gym. Instead, he took me to Johnny Rodz's wrestling gym." [7:01 – 7:30]
Rodz told DeMott he could not wrestle but he was allowed to watch training any time he wanted. Offended by Rodz's assumption that he could not be an in-ring competitor, DeMott paid the trainer $3,500 to teach him how to wrestle.
Do you have any memories of watching Bill DeMott in WCW or WWE? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.