Rodney Mack On One Man Gang Lessons And His OVW Wait

Rodney Mack remembers learning from One Man Gang inside the ring when he was still finding his way in wrestling. Speaking on Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury, Mack recalled those early lessons and the weeks he spent watching other wrestlers before getting his opportunity at OVW.

Mack said his first matches followed roughly four or five months of training under Junkyard Dog and Rod Price. Price then took him on the road, putting him around veterans who had plenty to teach him.

“Working Sam Houston and being there, being critiqued with Michael Hayes that early in my career, Jake Roberts on the card, not working One Man Gang, getting lessons taught to me in the ring by One Man Gang. Guys like Chris Adams, I could go on and on. So, I caught on. I had no choice. I was in that with those guys.”

“So, yeah, I was blessed to be thrown into the fire. But at the same time, those guys didn’t just abuse me. They saw what I had to offer. And all those guys that I could name for another two hours all took me under their wing at some point in time. And I learned something from them. And I could honestly tell you, I learned something from anybody that you name.”

Mack’s move to OVW followed Jazz’s invitation to join her there. Asked whether he arrived before receiving a developmental deal, he said he had to wait and used that time to study the wrestlers he hoped to work with.

“Yes. And I earned my keep, so to speak. You know what I mean? I went there and I had to sit out for, I think, six, eight weeks minimum, and just sit there and watch. And being the student of the game that I was, I was at every training or in every house show and everything that I could, and I’d sit up there and just watch all the guys and learn the moves, what they did.”

“And so I go back and think about when I work this guy or [Shelton Benjamin] or somebody, this what they like to do. So I was familiar with their offense and so come in there and be able to accommodate him and kind of fit in there pretty good.”

Source: Developmentally Speaking with Bryan Asbury.

Photo: F2 Imagery / River City Wrestling (original photo); Commons attribution: Brandon Oliver. Licensed under CC BY 2.0. Flickr-resized rendition; no crop.