Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: “Dangerous” Danny Davis
Date: 05/30/2026
Your Host: James Walsh
Growing up watching wrestling, the first person who ever made me scream at the TV in anger was “Dangerous” Danny Davis. The crooked referee who would make controversial calls that always benefited the bad guys got under my skin like few ever had and, if I’m honest, like few have since. He did his job and did it well! And, he joins me in 2026 to talk about his time in pro wrestling and beyond.
From Mr. X wrestling the likes of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund to becoming the controversial referee/wrestler who pinned “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith at WWE WrestleMania III, cost Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake the Tag Team Titles at WrestleMania IX, and all points in between, we cover a lot of ground with the once street kid turned legendary pro wrestler.
We also discuss his recent induction into the New England Music Hall of Fame as he performs Native American music that speaks to his bloodline.
“Dangerous” Danny Davis’ book is available on www.DangerousDannyDavis.com through Walking on Hot Waffles. His brand new action figure is available for purchase through Title Run Toys and is in the classic WWF Hasbro style. His classic LJN style from Collect Major, the “Big Rubber Guys” action figure is hard to get but it is out there should that be your thing!
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“DANGEROUS” DANNY DAVIS:
On being inducted into the New England Music Hall of Fame:
“There is life after wrestling! There is. And, this means as much to me as any wrestling honor could. I owe it to my Grandfather. He taught me about my indigenous heritage. He taught me about the history of it. And, because of him, I know about my Native American heritage. So, I owe it to him that I’m being given this great honor.”
On what instrument he plays:
“About 17 years ago, Daryl “Black Eagle” Jamison came up with this medicine drum, the Eastern Medicine Singers. They have taken this all over the world including to Europe, out west, Texas… And, the reception has been great. People really want to know more about the Native American culture and they flock to these powwows.”
On the popularity of Native American culture right now:
“It is a good thing. Until 1967, we were not permitted to practice our religion or culture in public. It wasn’t until Governor Michael Dukakis signed the Freedom of Religion Act into law that we could. And, from that, we became aware of some fo the treaties that were still applicable. And, we were able to put on these powwows and practice our culture and religion. And, we’ve gotten some of the land that was once ours back. I won’t get too political with it but a lot of the beliefs of the Native American culture went into the American constitution. So, it is a good thing that we are seeing more interest in our culture. But, there is some bad too as some don’t want to recognize us as much as they should. But, certainly, these powwows and these events are things that people are flocking to and are expressing more and more interest in.”
On writing his book:
“I was approached by Kenny about doing a book and I saw that a lot of wrestlers had just put books out or were doing books at the time and I wasn’t interested. But, he kept bugging me and bugging me about doing one and when I said i wasn’t interested, he asked why. So, I told him just what I told you. I didn’t want to just do another wrestling book. So, he said, “How about if we go a different direction with it?” And, we certainly did. We wrote the book as more of an inspirational book. Yes, it is a wrestling book. But, it is an inspirational story as well. Because… If you have a dream, that is your dream. No one can take that from you! And, I’m proof of that… Nobody believed in a 135 pound street kid ever being able to make something of himself… So, yes, it is a wrestling book. But, it is not just another wrestler’s autobiography. We tried to take it a different direction than that. And, a big compliment I’ve gotten is people said to me, “Without this book, our son might have gone a different direction.” Or, “My daughter might have gone another way.” It really means a lot to me that people who have read it have given the book as a gift to someone else that they know because they felt the message in the book could help them. That means the world to me.”
On getting into pro wrestling:
“I owe a lot of that to Chief Jay Strongbow. Chief Jay Strongbow took me under his wing. He was kind of training me and my friend Rick McGraw. He always told me to always be ready. And, one night in New York, it was the winter and there was bad weather… He said, “Get your gear and put on the mask. You’re working tonight.” I said, “With who?” He said, “With me! I want you to go out there and I want you to listen to me… Listen to every thing I have to say. And, most importantly, don’t touch me!” (laughs) He also knew about my Native American heritage..”
On becoming a referee that favored the bad guys:
“That sort of happened by accident. I was out there calling them as I saw them and the people started to notice and react. I would catch heat for it when I’d go back through the curtain but they said, “That is a heck of an idea” and let me keep doing it when I didn’t even know they were watching me.”
On becoming one of the first heel referees:
“It is always good to be the first at something. I was the first to do it on a grand scale like the WWF. Everyone remembers the first!”
On being different as a referee:
“Well, I refereed a Killer Kowalski match. He was getting older, was under a mask. But, I refereed his match and after it, he said, “Would you come to my training school and teach my referees how to do it? That was great!” Well, I figured if someone like him liked what I was doing, I was going to keep doing it. Well, either Vince McMahon or Pat Patterson noticed it and they started having me make controversial calls on purpose. I had no idea what the plan was. But, they had me go out and do it. And, the people really hated me when I would make a bad call!”
On dawning the unique ring gear:
“That was a Vince McMahon thing. But, I understood why he did it. If Jake Roberts had the snake, Koko B. Ware had the bird, I needed something that made me stand out. I had the ring gear. It wasn[‘t my choice. But, it made me stand out!”
On wrestling at WrestleMania III in front of 93,000 fans:
“That goes back to the book. Imagine a 135 pound street kid that nobody believed in or thought could make something of himself performing on one of the biggest cards in the history of professional wrestling. And, scoring the fall over the “British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith for his team. If you’ve never lived something like that, it is indescribable. It is hard to express in words. But, you eventually settle in and it becomes just another night at work. And then, it ends. And, you wish it could have lasted forever… In a way, it did. People still talk about this all the time. But, to walk out there with Bret “The Hitman” Hart and Jim “The Anvil” Neidhart… It was incredible.”
On if any fans ever tried to attack him during his heel run:
“(laughs) Good question! Back in the earlier days, we didn’t have a wide entrance way. There was no entrance way. You basically walked through the people. Then, they put up a rope and people understood not to cross it. But, as time went on, we got a larger entry way so people couldn’t get as close to us. Yeah, there were nights that we were told to stay in the ring because of the crowd. There were times we would leave the arena and there would be people waiting and they’d way up if they wanted to mess with me or not. And, if they saw your car and what car you got out of when you arrived, you knew you’d need a pick up truck that night. But, fans were fans back then.”
On getting action figures made of him now by two different companies:
“In the beginning, when the WWF started making action figures, nobody really realized how big it would become. Jakks Pacific signed me to make 3 different action figures of me as part of the WWE Legends. One of Mr. X, one of me as a referee, and one as “Dangerous” Danny Davis. But, before those got made, WWE went with Mattel and those never happened. A few years ago, Matt Cardona approached me about making a “Big Rubber Guys” figure of me like the old WWF action figures and he did. That one sold out real fast. Then, Title Run Toys just recently made a new action figure of me (Hasbro style). I love what both did. Get them quick because they sell out fast!”
On his favorite Owen Hart rib story:
“(laughs) Well, there’s a rumor going around that Owen Hart put a handful of Valium in the coffee pot… We had a 50 gallon coffee pot and he put valium in it. Everyone was walking around not really sure what was going on. (laughs) And, when we’d be traveling in the airport, we’d be on the escalator, he’d get on first and when he got to the end, he’d push the button to turn it off so everyone else would have to walk. (laughs) And, we were in italy, and we were in one of the squares and they had people there selling gimmicks and we were on the bus. So, Renee Goulet says, “All right, this is a sacred place. So, everyone watch your language. No swearing.” Well, he got off the bus to buy some of the gimmicks and Owen snuck up behind him and snatched the money from his hand. Renee didn’t know who did it and he started screaming, “You mother***er!” because he thought one of the sellers snatched it. He was screaming, “F Bombs” and we were roaring laughing. (laughs)”
On his thoughts on Vince McMahon:
“Without Vince McMahon, I would either be dead or in jail. Now, I’m not saying Vince McMahon is an angel. I’m just saying that to me, in my life, without Vince McMahon, I would be dead or in jail. I owe a lot of my success to Vince McMahon and I won’t say anything bad about him for that reason.”
On Vince McMahon ever being tough on him:
“Vince McMahon was a businessman. He told me once, I’m telling you this not to be cruel but because I have a business that I have to protect.” That makes sense. To be successful, sometimes you have to be vicious!”
On the legacy of Hulk Hogan:
“Hulk Hogan was larger than life. He was. He came around and Vince McMahon Sr. wanted him to be an Irishman. He wanted him to dye his hair red and speak with an Irish accent. Well, he didn’t do that. And, Vince McMahon Jr. took over. And, Hulk Hogan was everything Vince McMahon envisioned a wrestler should be. Hulk Hogan was the right guy at the right time. And, he did the most with it.”
On if he realized the WWF had become much larger during his time there:
“Yes because of where we would travel and the crowds that would be there. In the old days, a guy could wrestle as Joe Schmo in Dallas or somewhere like that and then wrestle in New York the next week and nobody knew who he was. With the TV exposure and the closed circuit TV, before it became pay per view, everyone saw the guys on WWF TV. We knew things were changing. I don’t know if we knew just how big what we were doing was. But, we knew it was growing fast.”