Joe King
From Berlin, Germany by way of Savannah, Georgia comes Vern Von Roske. He came in a foreign exchange student our Freshman year of high school. He immediately grabbed mine and everyone else’s attention with his look. Corn rows, knee high socks, painted finger nails, and Insane Clown Posse T-shirts. Then I found out he loved wrestling and wanted to join our backyard fed, EWA(Extreme Wrestling Alliance). From his first match, I could tell he had something. What he lacked in size, he more than made up for it with his aerial assault. He could hit a “Swanton Bomb” and a “Kurt Angle Moonsault” with perfection! He then became a savior of our promotion when we got kicked out of our original home for being too violent.
Me and him were the first two to “make it” and have a professional wrestling match. We wound up having two singles matches against each other before branching out on our own. He would go on to have success all over Georgia in promotions such as: R&B, SGWA, GPXW, NAWA, and SGI. His most notable feuds include battles with the likes of: Joey Devito, “Playboy” Jason Hayes, Johnny Romano, Pinky Hayes, and Ricky Silver.
He was also my opponent in the greatest match of my career in one of my last outings in a Fatal 4-Way in Ludowici, Georgia along with Penny Koloff & Arctic-X.
I hadn’t spoke to Vernon in years! It sure was great to catch up with him. He’s always been a very cool, hard-working, and real f’n dude! I asked him a few questions and here’s what the legend had to say:
•Who were some of your influences in pro wrestling?
VVR: I grew up watching Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart. Smaller guys who were able to make a path in a business run by larger guys. Also really loved ECW, so a good bit of wrestlers I liked came from there and led to the more “hardcore” stuff I did. RVD, Sabu, Jerry Lynn.
•How has your body held up with your High Flying/Hardcore style?
VVR: My body has held up as best it can, all things considered. I’ve got constant knee pain, lower back and neck issues, and limited use of 1 hand. But I’m not immobile, so I take it as a win. Honestly, I shouldn’t be walking with some of the stuff I did.
•If you could go back and change one thing in your pro wrestling career, what would it be?
VVR: If I could change anything, I’d stop sooner than I did. I did some serious damage the last year I worked, and I would go back and avoid that.
•Do you see the business in better shape, worst shape, or about the same in 5 years?
VVR: I don’t see the business changing too much in the next 5 years. I think the fan base will drift off slightly, but I don’t think it’ll have a huge effect. Not like the early 90s almost killed the business.
•When Glacier Co-hosted The Wrestling Wrap-Up with us…exactly who’s idea was it to play the hardcore highlights tape immediately after he told everyone at home that we were NOT A HARDCORE FED!!!???
VVR: Dude, I have no idea who made that call! I’ve been mad about that for years and I’m convinced it’s why Glacier was kinda rude with us when we worked for Dusty. I’ve thought about that a lot, and I honestly think Freddie Coley did that. He had the most pull then and didn’t really like us being there. Redd had our backs, so I can’t think it was him.
