Marc Mero on Lex Luger's Changes, WWE Hall of Fame, Talks New Book "Badd to Good", more

03/20/2025 07:42 PM

Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Marc Mero
Date: 03/17/2025
Your Host: James Walsh

Here comes Johnny B. Badd, you don’t want to make him mad! He’s as pretty as a picture, he looks just like Little Richard!

That’s right. If you grew up watching World Championship Wrestling in the early to mid 1990’s, chances are you know every word to this man’s Slam Jam theme song. Complete with the Badd Blaster, a distinct look that borrowed from the late great Little Richard, and an incredible athletic ability that shined through each and everyw eek, Marc Mero was a huge part of making WCW stand out. And, in 1996, Mero joined the WWF and was a champion there as well both as the “Wildman” and boy, did he do a “Marvelous” job!

Now retired from the ring, Marc Mero is an inspirational speaker spreading good vibes to kids all over the world. A man who was a champion in both the boxing and wrestling rings using his celebrity status and life experience for good! And, his new book, “Badd to Good”, a perfect title as his autobiography spreads positivity!

You can get the book now on Amazon and from Inside the Ropes directly!  You can buy the book at this link!

https://insidetheropesmagazine.com/products/marc-mero-badd-to-good

Check out our brand new interview with marc Mero as well as our classic 2004 interview with him on www.WrestlingEpicenter.com. If you use any of this article on your site, please include a link back to our page as a lot of work went into putting it together. We appreciate you and encourage you to post it and spread the word about Marc’s book and our site as well!

MARC MERO:

On what made now the right time to write his book:
“You know, writing my autobiography is always something that I wanted to do. But, as I’ve gotten older, it became time to whre I knew the time was right. About a year ago, I was in England and I met a guy named Ben Veal , he is my co-author, He wrote a few things about me in a couple of magazines and I liked what he wrote so we started discussing him writing my whole life story.”

On the process of writing the book:
“We’ve been doing this for a whole year! Every night, we would talk on Zoom – A lot of Zoom calls. And, as we were doing it, I started sharing some of my very dark personal stories. Some bad parts of my life – Because, you’ve got to go through the bad before you can get to the good! It was a cool experience to discuss my life. We all go through adversity but through our struggles, we find our strength!”

On if it was difficult to open up as much as he does in the book:
“Well, any time you deal with death and loss, it is difficult. My brother and my sister both died at the age of 21. My mother died at the age of 58. My dad died in my arms from lunch cancer. And then, divorce… Drug addiction. Drug addiction is a big part of it. When you’re doing it (drugs),you feel good and you want to do more and more… Drugs almost ruined my life – Almost ended my life, really. It got to the point that I was suicidal. I didn’t want to be here anymore. But, thank goodness I was able to turn my life around!”

On how he became an inspirational speaker:
“I understand what people go through. From drug addiction, brokenness, divorce, death… I understand and I get it! I’ve been given this gift to help other people and it has been the greatest joy of my life. 18 years now I’ve been speaking at schools, churches, and corporations all over the world!”

On if the positivity of the Johnny B. Badd character helped him with hos overall positive messaging:
“i suppose it did in some ways. If I’m being honest, my favorite time in pro wrestling was being the Johnny B. Badd character. It was such a fun character! It was a party going to the ring! (laughs) Throwing out frisbees, shooting the Badd Blaster, kicking your booty with my Tootie Fruity! It just was one party after another! (laughs)”

On Lex Luger going into the WWE Hall of Fame:
“You know, the two guys who wrote my forward were Lex Luger and Diamond Dallas Page… I love those guyts. I couldn’t be happier for Lex Luger. It is long overdue. He’s working with Dallas right now – You know, being in the wheelchair and slowly being able to get out of it… How cool would it be to see him walk to the podium to receive his WWE Hall of Fame award? Bless him. You know, I exchanged a belt with Lex on 3 different occasions. Diamond Dallas Page and I wrestled for the World Television Title on many, many occasions. These are two great guys! Two guys really making a difference in this world. It is just amazing to see Lex now. I did an autograph signing with him not long ago and you go over to him, you shake his hand, and you give him a hung and, you know… He’s just so different from the guy he was. He was one of the biggest personas in the world! He had one of the best bodies ever in wrestling. And now, he’s so frail as far as body size goes. He sits there in a wheelchair and he told me, “Marc, I’m the happiest I have ever been.”It blows me away! To think of the life changing moment in his life, accepting Christ and changing his life. He’s just an amazing guy! I couldn’t be happier for him and I am blessed he wrote one of the forwards in my book.”

On if he wants to be in the WWE Hall of Fame himself:
“I don’t think there is a wrestler out there that wouldn’t love the opportunity to go into the Hall of Fame. But, James, don’t hold your breath, OK? (laughs) Luckily, it is not going to be what defines my life. My legacy is going to be the difference I make in people’s lives. I’m so blessed in my life. I really am! If that happens, that would be great. But, I don’t know if that will ever happen.”

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