EDISON, NJ – Dressed to the nines and eager to impress, “The Doctor of Style” Slick made a rare appearance at a New Jersey convention earlier this month. Decked out in a funky hat and zoot suit, Slick showed that he is still able to captivate a crowd.
Slick. Photos by Chris Sokol
Now a preacher in Texas, Slick (Ken Johnson) started as a managed in the Central States territory around Kansas City before getting the call to head to the WWF. Among his charges in the Fed were Butch Reed, the Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Big Bossman, Akeem, Warlord, Paul Roma, Hercules, Zeus and Rick Martel.
“It was certainly my pleasure to be a part of the Legends of the Ring convention. It was great seeing guys like Typhoon and Paul Bearer, I look forward to doing future events,” a delighted Slick told SLAM! Wrestling at the Saturday, October 1st Legends of the Ring convention at the Holiday Inn at Edison, NJ.
Slick, alongside Paul Bearer, Bryan Clarke, The Bolsheviks (Nikolai Volkoff and Boris Zhukoff), Typhoon and Kevin Sullivan were all part of the first autograph session.
Promoter Terence Brennan brought the third Legends of the Ring convention to Edison, NJ. Dealing with the last-minute losses of Sid Vicious, Doug Gilbert (Sid and Gilbert were coming together and gave Brennan less than two days notice of their no shows) and Brian Adams, Brennan was sent into panic mode, scouring the phone books for a worthy replacement, which he found in the form of Buff Bagwell.
After all the no-shows were appropriately taken care of, the convention went off with great success.
From left: Boris Zhukoff, Bryan Clarke, Slick, JJ Dillon, Typhoon, Paul Bearer.
In the theme of being “Slick”, Brennan added to the production value of the show, utilizing a sound system that played music throughout the day, including entrances for the stars who were on hand. The first autograph session ran smooth thanks in part to numbered tickets, a benefit when it comes to keeping the line in control.
Typhoon, a rare convention go-er was also pleased with how things ran, “I thought the event was great. Everyone showed up, everybody was polite, very nice. It was just great being out here and seeing some of the guys.” With all the mainstream guests around, as well as various independent promoters, it was a surprise that recently-released WWE stars Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko made a short appearence to sign autographs and take pictures, absolutely free.
From there, VIP ticket holders packed into a separate room where a Question and Answer session with all of the talent was conducted. The fans were more into this Q & A than previous ones this reporter has attended, not holding back when it came to asking the hard questions. This made for a more interesting, more provocative session.
Wrapping things up, the second autograph session took place with “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, Doink The Clown (Ray Apollo), JJ Dillon, Buff Bagwell, Luna Vachon and The Steiner Brothers (Rick and Scott).
Rick and Scott Steiner pose with a fan.
“I had a great time signing some autographs and meeting some pretty people. So next time we’re in town, like the game show host says, ‘Come on down’, tough guy. Hooooo!” an enthusiastic Jim Duggan stated.
Legends of the Ring III will go down in the books as another top notch convention. With any luck, Legends of the Ring IV won’t be too far down the line.
RELATED LINKS
- Sep. 20, 2005: Slick new legend in convention mix
- www.legendsofthering.com