PWTorch.com readers are invited to send Ed Ferrara questions about his experiences co-writing TV during Raw's boom period and subsequently for WCW Nitro and TNA's weekly PPV series. When submitting questions, put "ASK ED" in the subject line of the email so we can differentiate them from regular "Ask the Torch" questions and thus quickly forward them to him. Ferrara was interviewed with Vince Russo for the "Ultimate Insiders" DVD released earlier this year and subsequently did a VIP Audio Talk with me with follow-up questions to our DVD interview. Now it's your turn to ask the questions. To send in questions for Ed Ferrara, click here.

PWTorch.com reader Antonio asks (part one): What were your initial feelings of Oklahoma character, what was the background story on how it came about, was your idea or was it something you had to do against your will?

Ed Ferrara answers:

As it was probably the most visible single thing that I did during my time with WCW - not to mention the most controversial - I'm not surprised at the number of "Oklahoma" questions I've received thus far. Some of these questions I'll answer in full. For others, however, I'll refer you to the Torch Audio Talk I did a few months back, as I went over the subject in detail therein, as I'd rather spend my time (because there just ain't as much of it as I'd like) answering some of the other questions, as opposed to rehashing stuff I've said before.

Ed Ferrara (photo by Wade Keller, PWTorch)

I think I went over this in the Audio Talk, but I'll give a brief background to the character. I am a bit of a mimic and a comedian - I'm a whore for a laugh, and if I find something that makes people laugh, I'll do it to entertain them. I've always found it as a way to break the ice and get to know people. Back in my WWF days, I used to do (in private) an impression of J.R. that used to break up the Vinces (McMahon and Russo). It all started innocently enough, with my pitching what J.R.'s response would be to a certain segment we were working on. After I did it the first time, however, I found myself doing it more and more often. Those sessions with VKM were often intense and, believe me, a tension-breaker was needed from time to time.

V.R. then got the idea to put me on TV as an audience plant for a Tiger Ali Singh segment, and have me come out and do the impression. I was extremely uncomfortable with doing it as, despite our differences of opinion, I always had a great deal of respect for J.R.. I spoke with J.R. that day, and he had given his blessing. But what he and I both knew was that his blessing was pretty much given under the shadow of an unspoken-of gun pointed at his head. He knew that if he raised an objection and caused any sort of a fuss over it, VKM would be all over him about not being able to take a joke and poke fun at himself. I was under similar pressure to do the bit.

Okay, so I did it, took a sick bump for my trouble, and that was that (there's another question about that bump coming in a future installment). Flash-forward several months (?) to our time in WCW...

V.R. and I wanted to poke at WWF in every way that we could. We were number two, but we wanted to make a few waves by throwing a few stones. He then came up with the brainstorm of incorporating a J.R.-parody characters to do just that - we wanted to bring in Dr. Death, and felt it was a natural angle to play off his less-than-stellar history in the WWF ("Brawl-For-All," anyone?).

The night Oklahoma was to make his debut, I had my costume, my material, and I was ready to go. I sat down with Vince to go over one of the promos shortly before we went on the air. After I delivered it, he looked at me and said, "What are you doing? You've gotta do the face, too." I felt like the character would have made its point, and could have worked just fine as a parody of J.R. the announcer/personality, and I didn't want to push it into that ugly place. V.R., however, felt strongly that I needed to go all the way with it and incorporate "the face," which I vehemently did not want to do. We went back and forth on it for a while, until Vince said to me (because he had final say at the time), "Look, if you're not gonna do the face, I don't want you to do it at all. That's the way people are gonna be talking about this thing." In retrospect, he technically was right... as I probably wouldn't be answering this question if I hadn't done "the face."

But I thought about it, and decided to do it. I'm a performer as well as a writer, and the promise of being able to go out there in front of all those fans enticed me more than my conscience tried to stop me. I was a whore for doing it - for the attention, for the heat, for the response - pure and simple. And I'm not the first nor last guy in this business who can say that about something they're asked to do out in front of the crowd.

PWTorch.com reader Antonio asks (part two):

In retrospect how do you feel about it, and finally have you spoken to Jim Ross since and/or apologized? Would I do it again? Am I proud of what I did? How did I feel when WCW Standards & Practices (the real deal, not the Lenny/Lodi gimmick) told me I couldn't do "the face" any more?

Ed Ferrara answers:

I wouldn't do it again, I am not proud of what I did, and when I was told I couldn't do it anymore, it was like a ton of weight had lifted from my chest.

I've not spoken to Jim about it (or anything) since I left WWF. Do I wish I had apologized? Yes... but I feel that time has long since past. The damage has been done and there's nothing I could say to him that could make good for the pain I caused him by cruelly mocking him. I know that J.R. didn't have a helluva lot of respect for me during our time together - we were constantly at odds - and that was one of the reasons I constantly gave myself for doing it while I did it. So much water has passed under the bridge since then, that I don't feel like opening those old wounds again.

Also, to clarify, I feel that the only thing that was in bad taste about the character was "the face." Sans that characteristic, I think the character was a fun, valid poke at J.R., his character, and the quirks of his announcing (which is still, by far, impeccable). I felt that the character could have kept going, and it was a fun throwback to the old-school managers of the past that I grew up loving.

And, as Austin would say, "that's all I got to say about that."

Note from Wade Keller:

Ed Ferrara will continue to answer reader questions in coming days and weeks, so keep the questions coming. Direct them here and be sure to put "Ask Ed" in the subject line.

Ed Ferrara has written a collection of short stories called "Dark Consequences." I highly recommend it, especially for fans of Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside or horror movies with a sci-fi twist. You can get info on ordering a copy from him by clicking here.

To order the Ultimate Insiders DVD featuring my interview with Ed Ferrara and Vince Russo, together for the time for an interview since their split in WCW, clicking here.

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