Spring 1975

Nashville, Tennessee

With a mighty lift, Glen scooped up his opponent and slammed him down to the wrestling mat as a hard as he could, prompting a massive cheer from the Nashville crowd. His opponent, Casual T, was a stiff-necked power wrestler from the Oklahoma circuit, which meant a lot during a time where wrestling was regionally focused.

Glen picked up Casual T and threw him off the ropes before dropping him with a shoulder block on the return.

It was a dusty, small yet packed arena, and most of the fans were here to see Glen. Since signing up for tutelage by trainer Kirby Mattison over a year ago, Glen had taken the Tennessee wrestling scene by storm. His powerful moves dazzled the fans, and his long flowing golden hair had become his signature look.

With Casual T laid out in the middle of the mat, Glen stood over his body and pointed out to the crowd. He carefully pulled off his elbow pad and threw it out to the crowd before running to the ropes. He bounced off, ran over his opponent’s body, and bounced off the far ropes.

The crowd screamed upon his return to mid-ring where he fell forward and nailed his elbow into Casual T’s head.

1… 2… 3!!!

The wrestling bell rang loudly as the match came to an end and Glen got to his feet. He held both arms up and turned slowly to all sides of ring and its fans.

“Your winner… GOOOLLLLDDEEEENNNNN GLEN MILLLLEEERRRR!!!”

Glen’s hair dripped with sweat as he took the moment in. He lived for this attention; this energy that the fans gave him.

He had found his true calling.

Summer 1976

Memphis, Tennessee

Once the spring Tennessee tour had wrapped up, Glen went back to work at the Mattison’s Mat training center in Memphis. As Kirby reminded him, while he was already miles ahead of a lot of other local wrestlers, he was still incredibly raw.

You’re just scratching the surface of what ya’ got, Kirby would tell him.

After returning from Vietnam, Glen’s relationship with his father had grown close, which was a far cry from Glen’s youth when his father was a distant, stoic man. To Glen’s surprise, his father even had shared some of his old WW2 stories as they used wartime experiences to connect.

That said, Kirby had also evolved into something of a father figure for Glen because when it came to Glen’s new passion, Kirby was the one with the wisdom to guide him.

As he lay on the gym bench, Glen focused on the metal bar above him and pushed it up off the rack. In his head, he counted the repetitions of each movement until he had gotten to twenty, and then placed the bar back into a resting position.

The large, young man from Memphis sat up and let his blood and adrenaline pump through his veins. Off to his side, Glen’s peripheral vision caught sight of two figures approaching, and with the turn of his head he saw it was Kirby and a man he’d never seen before.

The man walking aside Kirby was a dapper individual dressed in an expensive suit as if out of New York City, or at least that was Glen’s best point of reference.

“Glen, stand up,” Kirby commanded, which Glen immediately obliged though still dripping with sweat. “I want you to meet someone. This is Mr. Harry Delano, he’s from Atlanta and he wants to have a brief chat with you.”

“Mr. Miller, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” said Mr. Delano with a smile while holding out his hand to Glen.

Glen smiled politely and shook the man’s hand, “Yes sir, it’s nice to meet you, as well.”

“Mr. Delano here wants to talk to you about an opportunity, and it’s one I think you should really consider, Glen.”

Glen’s eyebrows raised and he let Mr. Delano begin the expected sales pitch.

“Alright, son,” began Mr. Delano. “I’m here from Main Event Wrestling down in Atlanta; we’re a southern promotion, but we pack big arenas and are eyeballing expansion to the national stage. Now, I caught a couple of your matches on the Tennessee tour, and I think you have all the tools to go big time.”

It happened.

The break Glen was hoping for. The break Kirby had been preparing him for.

Before Glen could reply, Kirby cleared his throat and put his hand up on Glen’s back.

“Glen, before you reply, I want to give you a little perspective,” Kirby advised. “Mr. Delano is well respected out there, and I wouldn’t steer you wrong. You’ve got the goods, Glen. This is your chance to go show the world.”

Both Kirby and Mr. Delano carefully watched Glen’s reaction, wondering if this was too overwhelming for the young man.

Glen smiled.

“Let’s do it,” he replied.