Dan Severn Talks Attitude Era, Jim Cornette, Owen Hart, Brawl For All, Leaving WWE

A former MMA fighter and amateur wrestler before joining WWF, Dan Severn was one of very few athletes to successfully bridge the worlds of all 3 disciplines, earning him the nickname of “The Beast” in the process.

After finding success in the Ultimate Fighting Championships, Severn First rose to prominence in the NWA before signing with WWF in 1997. Following a memorable angle with fellow MMA fighter Ken Shamrock, Severn was briefly managed by Jim Cornette, who commentated on Severn’s matches to get the former MMA fighter over with the pro wrestling fans. A hybrid athlete, Severn believes that he “was Brock Lesnar before there was a Brock Lesnar.”

After being a part of the infamous Brawl For All tournament, was a part of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, losing to The Rock in the semi-finals.

In 2010, Severn was recognised for his contributions to professional wrestling when he was inducted into the NWA Hall of Fame.

On Wrestling Life, Dan 'The Beast' Severn joins Ben Veal to discuss his early success in amateur wrestling before turning to mixed martial arts and later pro wrestling:

• Achieving early success in amateur wrestling

• Being paired with Jim Cornette

• Holding the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for 4 years

• Wrestling Owen Hart and memories of meeting Stu Hart

• Refereeing the Dungeon match between Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock

• The Brawl For All tournament

Dan Severn on early success:

Prior to finding success in the MMA and pro wrestling world, Severn held is own in the amateur wrestling world at an early age, holding his own with the standout stars of the division:

“As a senior in high school, I tried out for the 1976 Olympic team. Now think about that. I'm not even 18 yet, and I'm trying out for the Olympic team. I'm wrestling, and I'm beating people. All within the same one-year time span, there's a pair of brothers that were at my weight class, the Peterson brothers, John and Ben Peterson. Both of them were either a gold medalist and a silver medalist at different times. One Olympic games, one won the gold, the other won the silver. Then the next Olympic Games, they reversed roles. So in the same year, I wrestled both of them. The first one, I'm 18 years of age. I end up losing the match 7 to 5, but the referees are screwing me over. I mean, they're going, ‘This kid is 17. We can't have a 17-year-old beat an Olympic champion.’

So they're screwing me over on the points. Again, he won seven to five, I just licked my wounds. Okay, that's fine. But my freshman year, less than a year later, I'm at Arizona State University and the athletes in action, Christian Athletic Group. Again, I don't know if it's an older brother or younger brother, but I'm wrestling the other one at that time, and this is that crowd of Arizona State, and basically I pinned him. Not that I have any kind of sweet justice about that, but it just shows I'm an 18-year-old kid, a freshman in college. I had such a Cinderella freshman year, because I went 34 and 0, 24 pins before a knee injury stopped me, I pinned 5 of the 6 NCA place finishers there, including the returning NCA champ, twice in the same one-week span. He was at a duel meet at Arizona State. Then four or five days later, I meet them down in Tucson, Arizona at the Wildcat Invitational, where they got 20-odd teams there, and we meet in the finals, and I pinned him again. People are going, ‘Who is this kid? He's 18 years old. You're not supposed to do stuff like this.’ But I know no better, because, I mean, I always tell people that I have a different mindset.

When I walk on that mat, it's like, this is my piece of real estate, and you are trespassing. I need to run you off of my piece of real estate, and I will do it all within the rule confines. But in wrestling, you can be very, very physical on doing things. And I was because I was way more than just a high school wrestler, I was made more than a college collegiate wrestler because they're similar styles, but they're vastly different in different ways. But then I was also a freestyle wrestler and a Greco-Roman wrestler.

I knew the way that most high school wrestling coaches would teach, and then I simply knew how to attack most of my opponents, to throw them out of the comfort zone to where now I'm forced them to do what they did not want to do in the first place. So I use reverse psychology so many different times in my matches. I coached at two different universities, so Arizona State University, Michigan State University. But, I mean, I've been teaching sports wrestling since basically my freshman year in high school. It's amazing. So I have a gift.”

On injuries in combat sports:

Well aware of the injury concerns in the fighting world, Severn discussed how he remains in good health considering the amount of fights he has had, and why many athletes have not been as lucky:

“I'll say even when you look at all the various champions, look at how many matches they have had, look at how many matches I have had. When you have a conversation with them, and you see how they stimmer and stammer, and you get lost in this. More and more people are more impressed the fact that Dan, you're pretty sharp and you're keyed in and stuff like that. Well, I try not to take any undue punishment. Most MMA guys, I'm talking specifically about MMA now versus professional wrestling, but there's crossovers to each one, even in amateur. I said, in MMA alone, most athletes don't know how to train properly. They might say something like put on these gloves so when you get punched, we're not going to cut your eyebrows and we're not going to break your nose, you'll be okay.

But every time that you receive that percussion, your head sloshes this way, sloshes that way, to where that gray matter inside, known as the brain, gets sloshed around so much now you start to have problems later in life of CTE, Alzheimer and dementia. The sport of boxing, number one contributor for an athlete sport for doing this. Because you're punching the body and punch the head. All the knockout shots to the head. When mixed martial arts, aka, known as no holds barred, in the beginning, came aboard, you know, that was probably the number two biggest contributor that came in the scene.

You want to know the one that's going right past them, slap-fighting. Now, when you look at slap fighting, what's my defence in slap fighting? You stand there and I get to put my palm up upside the cheek here, one, two and Kapow! I would never consider doing this. But now, okay, think about this as a coach. I know how to recruit and I know how to train.”

On being paired with Jim Cornette:

After signing with the WWF in 1997, Severn was briefly managed by Jim Cornette, who found “The Beast” incredibly easy to market to the fans:

“It was the best move from, I'll say, the creative team's perspective, because I am not gonna cut some wild, outlandish type of promo, at least not at that point in time in my career, I was not comfortable with doing that kind of stuff. I was better off being, you know, I'll say I had kind of like a baby face persona, but at the same token, I'm that no bullsh*t type of a guy, because I'm not from their fantasy world. I have a track record coming from the Ultimate Fighting Championship. So again, it was an easy playoff.

They were negotiating with both Shamrock and myself almost at the same time. And basically, I mean, Shamrock just more or less said for X amount of dollars you got me. Well, I knew they did not know how old I was and had because I did not look my age. If I color my hair or stuff like that, now no one would really know, because the internet wasn't as developed as is that to me, as I go. How do you keep a secret nowadays? It's a tough world to keep a secret in today. But the professionalist term is called kayfabe where I keep dates to myself. I kayfabed everybody. I didn't tell anybody how old I was, and if I did, I lied.

I think when I was in Vince's group, I think I was in my summer, in my mid-40s, or something like that. They want to keep you for a certain time frame, because they want to invest money into that, will keep you around for a while. Jim even said in his own words, ‘You're the easiest thing to market. You're the real deal. There's nobody else in here that could stop you in the first place.’ Because I would come out with one belt around my waist, one on my shoulder, and then he come out carrying two more belts. So I had three UFC belts, and then the NWA belt. Which, again, the UFC didn't want to have anything to do with professional wrestling at the time. We’re the real deal, nothing phoney, there's nothing predetermined stuff like that. And yet, I'm the first MMA athlete ever to carry a professional wrestling title belt into the Octagon and then proceed to win the UFC title belt. Again, no one else has ever done that.

But then I'm the first guy over in WWF, at the time, that I actually carried it in a professional wrestling title belt from a different organisation, NWA, into there. I don't know if anyone else has ever done that, I don't look for that kind of trivia, because I'm still too busy living life. I always say that if I start getting around 120 and I've slowed down enough, maybe I will start looking back and reflecting on some of my moments. But I know that, and this might sound a little sick and twisted, that when I finally do pass, they're gonna find my planner, and they're like, oh my god, he still had bookings. Because that's just the way I am. I like working. But then other people, especially when they retire, as the expression goes, they put one foot in the grave, because now, what is their purpose in life? To get up in the morning have a cup of coffee. But it's like now, what do I do? They retired. You have to have purpose. I always tell people that I will retire in phases because I have retired from mixed martial arts. That is unless they make me a geriatrics Senior Assistant.”

On holding the NWA Championship for four years:

Prior to signing with WWF, Severn was one of the biggest stars in the NWA, with a lengthy reign as World Heavyweight Champion, and the one responsible for trying to breathe new life into the promotion:

“Also the NWA, the whole organisation, basically withered, almost completely away. They put it back onto me, I guess, with hopes that maybe I could spring some life. They didn't realize all the different countries that started to invite me to where now I'm going to this country, I go to that country, and they're seeing the NWA title belt again. It's in Germany, it's here, it's in Japan, and it's like the visibility that I ended up getting.

But then the internet era started coming along more and more and more. I don't even know how I did it at times. I know I did it without sleep. There's sometimes that I again, I still go sometimes just a couple days without sleep. I think the most I ever did was four days straight no sleep. Because I was so busy I had to keep on going.”

On getting signed by the World Wrestling Federation:

When WWF became interested in Severn, so too did rival promotion WCW. With a bidding war in place, Severn laid out his terms, and how he was able to make a lot more than some of the roster by making extra appearances:

“I dealt with, probably, Jim Ross primarily in the beginning. It was kind of unique, because I was first approached by WWF, and Jim Ross was basically the person I was speaking to. At first, they were looking at this crazy type schedule, and I'm going, I'm not looking to be on the road that many days. I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket, unless they're gonna pay me a load of money, okay, or something like that. I mean, I kept it kind of real with him. WCW caught wind, Eric Bischoff and a couple of other in the organisation, they brought me in, so now I'm talking to them, and they're looking at that kind of a much bigger push for me. Well, Vince and the WWF must have caught wind of this.

Again, I don't know, because I didn't tell nobody I'm negotiating, but they caught wind, and basically, they came back to me again, and they literally gave me all that I was looking for. I was looking for a much more limited schedule. I wanted to know ahead of time what my schedule was, because I’m probably one most unique people, because I had multiple lifestyles I was leading there. I had my schedule ahead time, and I could actually contact travel. The very first time I went on a gig for the WWF, I stayed at the hotel that all the other wrestlers stayed at. When the show was over, I'm going back into the lobby, there's all kinds of fans, because they found out where all the wrestlers are staying. And there's all kinds of fans are just hanging in there. And then there's all kinds of ring rats and things of that nature. I think you know what I'm talking about there, and I am going this not what I'm looking for. So from after that first time, I always find out where is everyone staying. I stayed somewhere else. But then I would fly into a city earlier that day, or the day before.

But ahead of time, I will have set up maybe an amateur wrestling clinic, maybe a submission grappling clinic, or something like that. I set up something to do the day before, or maybe something that following morning. Because again, I go to different high schools and do these little school assemblies. Then I go do my business with the for the WWF. And then when the show was done, I would go to a sports bar, and then do an appearance at the sports bar. So my 24 hours is gone, whereas the standard wrestler over there made one payday. My 24 hours is gone, but I'm pulling down 2,3, 4, or more pay days.”

On a possible WWF match with Ken Shamrock:

With two legitimate fighters in WWF at that time, Severn discussed the possibility of a major match against Ken Shamrock:

“There was a group between Owen Hart, Steve Blackman, Ken Shamrock and myself that we were kind of known as the shooters. There’s a couple of times where we actually all walked out together as a contingency. But it was never like the Godfather had this group of cronies and stuff like that, or other groups that had their groups of cronies and stuff like that. But no, we were just put into that category.

So again, as I stated earlier, I didn't really know how much control I had over my character. I figured they got a creative team, obviously, it brought me here. They’re paying me good money, they must have an idea as to how they want to use me. I always tell people that I was Brock Lesnar before there was ever a Brock Lesnar.”

On the dangers of pro wrestling:

Despite having a background in mixed martial arts and cage fighting, Severn believes that pro wrestling is more dangerous:

“I would be there, especially in the very beginning, I'm all dressed up, I'm in my costume, I'm backstage, but there's a chalkboard there, and the matches are laid up there, but they only have so much match time. That's where a lot of people understand there's a weekly show that leads up to a monthly pay-per-view. They're making money that night because people pay tickets to go for this, but they're gonna make even more money at the night of a pay-per-view, because not only do they have the arena, but now they have all these pay-per-view buys.

So there's again, let's say if there's just an average of seven matches, there's at least 14 people, but sometimes there's tag teams and other stuff in there. Let's say there's going to be 25 to 30 people that's going to be on that potential pay-per-view. But we all know in the next 30 days, somebody is going to get hurt, somebody's going to get sick, something's going to happen in their personal life.

You can't deal with that many people and not have things happen. I've been hurt far worse in my professional wrestling career than my other two things. It was safer for me to be a cage fighter. It was safer for me to be the amateur wrestler. Because you are putting your body into another person's hands. Because a lot of people say, ‘Well, professional wrestling is fake.’ I go, ‘No, we are putting on a show, a very physical show, where things go wrong.’”

On Owen Hart:

Along with being present for the Lion’s Den match between Owen Hart and Ken Shamrock, Severn shared his memories of Owen and a meeting with Stu Hart:

“I sort of have mixed emotions. Well, first off, when Ken Shamrock and Owen had their Dungeon match, it was pretty cool, because I was being brought in to be the special guest referee. So this match actually took place at his home. You got the camera crew, you got the mic, stuff like that. They're trying to see what kind of angles that they could shoot the cameras like that, and how Owen and Shamrock are going to put their match together. So while they're working on the match, I'm sitting up in the living room having a conversation with Stu Hart, and somebody must have told him, because he was asked me all kinds of questions. He's like, ‘I hear you're a shooter?’ Then he just asked me all kinds of questions. Like, what did I do? I'm a wrestler from Arizona State. I said, but I have a very much more. I have a collegiate credential, to me, but then also, I'm very well-versed in freestyle Greco Roman. But even my freshman year at Arizona State, I took a judo class, and then I started competing in judo competitions and ensemble competitions.

So I go when it comes to grappling, I know what to grab and what to do with it. So again, we just had a great conversation, and it was like a couple weeks later, when I saw Owen again at one of the other shows that were both on. He gave me an Owen Hart t-shirt, but Stu Hart had written his autograph, and he wanted to give it to me. I thought that's something I really treasure that his dad thought that much of that conversation. Because again, he would just ask me questions, and I would give him the answers, just being respectful, being inside of his home and stuff like that.”

On the Brawl For All Tournament:

Severn was a competitor in the infamous Brawl For All tournament, which saw members of the roster compete in legitimate boxing matches to see who was the toughest member of the locker room. However, Severn was not in the initial conversation:

“When the other road agents brought us in, and they pitched the idea of this Brawl For All, they basically said, and again, as I said earlier, I'm standing next to one of the road agents and they're starting to explain this Brawl For All concept. They said the only two people that are not allowed to be in it are Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn. Then as soon as he said that I'm next to one of the road agents, and I say, ‘Do I need to stay in there and listen to this anymore? He's like, ‘No, you go.’ So I left, so I didn't know nothing. A couple of weeks later, again, I'm at whatever building arena that we're at, and I'm waiting around to simply see am I going to work tonight? Am I not gonna work tonight? Because there's time that, as I said before the chalkboard, if someone's promo goes too long, if someone's match goes too long, a match has to be cut.

So I've been there before, it's work, match got cut, but I still got paid because that’s my negotiation. I'm only gonna give you so many dates, and you pay me for my dates, whether I wrestle or not. So on the Brawl For All, this goes on for a few weeks, and then all of a sudden, when the road agent comes in, he goes, ‘How would you like to be in the Brawl For All?’ I go, ‘Against who? How much?’ They gave me a name, they gave me a price, I go, ‘Fine, but I don't want to wear any gloves.’ They’re like, ‘You can't go out there bare knuckle.’ I go, ‘I won't throw a single punch. I will show you what a real wrestler can do.’

But they still made me wear the gloves, and that's kind of hard to try and take people down or try to throw them when you got boxing gloves on, although I did start training more and more with boxing gloves on, because it's easier to throw strikes, stuff like that with boxing gloves on. But if you could throw lateral drops and belly to bellies with boxing gloves on, when you don't have them on, you're even that much better. You learn to really know how to grip the body, so I had really good grip strength and just overall strength in the beginning. There was my point in time that in my youth, I could walk into a weight room and I could push whatever that machine was, I'd be maxing it out.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alex Hunt is and has been a professional wrestling fan for over 20 years after getting hooked on WWE SmackDown every Saturday morning during the Ruthless Aggression Era.

Along with being the owner and writer for news and analysis website Features of Wrestling, Alex is also the transcriber and researcher for Chris Van Vliet. He previously worked for Inside The Ropes as the head writer and transcriber with more than 5,000 articles published, and was also on AEW media calls with Tony Khan.

When Alex isn’t writing about wrestling professionally, he spends the majority of his spare time running, playing guitar or watching F1 with his cat Ron.