Looking back, I'm not quite sure why the High Chief was so willing to go out of his way to help me.  I mean, sure, he had no choice but to work with me...you didn't argue with Shire, and Roy had determined that he wanted me in a program with Maivia.  But there's a big difference between working with a guy (especially one that's as a green-as-grass, and strong as a bear) and actually working with a guy...if that makes any sense.

Maivia was a strong worker, not a finesse guy, but someone who still knew how to wrestle.  He taught me much during our year-long program, and never complained a single time about my many mistakes.  And trust me, some of the mistakes I made were painful for my old friend Peter!

I was brand new, and had no experience with choreographed fighting (but I I got plenty of all-to-real throwdowns when I was working as a bouncer in L.A.) and as a result, I potatoed Maivia many times during our run.  He never said a word, other than to calmly explain what I'd done wrong once we were back in the dressing room following the match.  I'm proud to say that by the time our program was winding down, I was no longer unintentionally hurting the guy, and our matches were quite strong.  The northern Californian fans certainly never got enough of us working together, that's for sure!  Still, you never want to run a good thing into the ground, and after a year of nightly on-the-job experience, it was time for both of us to move on.  We knew our paths would cross again, and they most certainly did.  But I included this photo (taken back in 1971) because it shows me and Peter in the seconds after I had accidentally delivered a really stiff kneedrop to his forehead.

Now that you know some of the story behind it, go back and take a look at my face in this photo, and you'll see just the slightest twinge of concern in my face.  I would find out after the match (from more than one person) that if you're a babyface, it's ok to show compassion for your foe, but if you were a heel, you could never allow this to happen -- even if you really hurt your friend on accident, and were were afraid for his safety.

Back in the seventies, never breaking character was the first rule they used to teach us.  And "never" meant never.

Ever...

Man, have things changed in this business!  It's just too bad that my old teacher and friend isn't around to get a laugh from it all.