Steve Lombardi (@brawler4real) is a professional wrestler known for his 33-year career in WWE where he wrestled under the name Brooklyn Brawler. He was also known as Abe "Knuckleball" Schwartz and Kimchee. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Indianapolis, IN to talk about how his career got started, having matches with pretty much everyone including Hulk Hogan, Paul Orndorff, The Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart and many others, being The Rock's first WWE opponent in a dark mark in 1996, getting a win over Triple H on Smackdown in 2000, the hilarious backstage segment he did with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, his legacy as the greatest enhancement talent ever, whether he should be inducted in the WWE Hall Of Fame and much more.
00:00 Intro
00:41 Finding his love of wrestling at 16 years old
03:26 Advice Jimmy Snuka gave him early on in his career
06:09 Working as a supermarket manager and getting to know wrestlers
08:08 Ricky Steamboat giving him offense in a match
10:35 Joining the Bobby Heenan family
13:11 Why did he rip up his shirts?
15:50 What was it like to be The Rock’s first match?
21:59 Does he still keep in touch with The Rock?
23:33 Having The Ultimate Warrior’s first match
27:14 Being known as a ‘jobber’ in WWE
28:48 Wrestling Bret Hart as Doink the Clown
32:58 How he came up with Abe Knuckleball Schwartz
36:19 Beating Triple H with help from Chris Jericho
39:38 Wrestling HBK in the main event at MSG
44:02 Backstage segments with Stone Cold Steve Austin
46:38 Being ok with saying ‘yes’ to any job
47:20 Will he be inducted into the Hall of Fame?
48:03 Was there any talk of him winning a championship?
49:36 Wrestling The Rock again during the attitude era
50:44 Being on the first show in the Barclays Center?
52:29 Wrestling Ryback in his last WWE match
55:29 What was his relationship like with Vince?
57:10 Most memorable moment that he’s witnessed in WWE
58:42 Memories of working with Kurt Angle
01:00:22 What does he think of the current era of pro wrestling?
01:02:45 Smaller wrestlers becoming more prominent
01:05:29 Why was he let go after 32 years
01:08:15 What was the legacy that he left behind?
01:08:57 Advice he would give to aspiring wrestlers
01:11:32 3 Things Brooklyn Brawlers is grateful for
