The Domain: Gaming, Pop Culture & Entertainment is proud to present the revamped version of The Rage Report.
This interview series, which initially ran from 2010 to 2012, is being revived and will include re-posted interviews with professional wrestlers.
The first interview to be posted is The Life & Times of Roland Montgomery, aka “The Food Stamp Champ” Rollin’ Hard!!! This article was originally posted on February 20th, 2012.
Credited to Adam Lash
On Friday morning, December 26th 2008, Independent wrestler Roland Montgomery, known professionally as Rollin’ Hard was taken from us after a long battle with colon cancer. He is survived by his wife Angela and their two children, Autumn and Justus. He was just 34 years old when he passed.
Rollin’ Hard began his training in the mid-90s at “Nightmare Inc.” wrestling school that is run by “Nightmare” Danny Davis himself, but soon fell under the tutelage of Ian Rotten, who continued training him. He debuted for Rotten’s IWA organization in late 1996 under the moniker “Tornado Taz”, but would start using the name “Trustworthy Taz” by year’s end. He wouldn’t start using the Rollin’ Hard name until April of 1997 when he was used in a far more prominent role.
Rollin’ would come to the ring using a mixture of popular African American-themed sitcom themes and a gigantic afro that would often grow larger by the week. While originally hated by the IWA crowd, antics like calling himself the “Food Stamp Champ” won fans over and soon he was among the IWA’s most popular homegrown stars. By the end of 1997, he’d win the IWA Television title and participate in the company’s first-ever deathmatch tournament, making it to the semi-finals before losing to Ian Rotten.
Rollin’ remained one of the IWA’s main performers for close to seven years and would win both the Heavyweight and Tag Team titles three times. Eventually though Rollin’ would be used less and less as IWA Mid-South began focusing less on the hardcore wrestling aspect of their company. His last regular appearance was on October 23, 2003, in Scottsburg, IN. He made his IWA Mid-South return, for one night only, on September 16, 2004, in New Albany, IN. Outside of the ring he was a sports coach for local children.
In October of 2005, Rollin’ was diagnosed with colon cancer and was rushed into surgery where Doctors removed a large portion of his colon. He underwent chemotherapy for six months, from November until May 2006. Even before he finished his treatment he was planning on making his return to wrestling, which he did on April 21, 2006, for IWA Mid-South. On that night he’d go on to win a bunkhouse battle royal to receive a bye in the 2006 edition of the King of the Deathmatch, which was to be held on June 2 & 3 in Plainfield, IN. Rollin’ would go on to be eliminated from the tournament by longtime friend and partner Mitch Page.
Things continued to look up for Rollin’ as a test in August came back showing him to be clear of cancer. His wrestling career though didn’t pick up as he had hoped and after the King of the Deathmatch, he was not being used by IWA Mid-South, which disappointed him. Another blow came when his doctor told him he needed ankle fusion surgery and that he’d never be able to wrestle again.
Like with everything else, Rollin’ would surprise doctors and fans alike when he made his return at the 2007 King of the Deathmatch on June 22, 2007. He’d go on to wrestle for IWA Mid-South four more times, having his last match there on March 1, 2008, in Joliet, IL. Less than two weeks later he’d find out that the cancer had returned and that this time it was not curable. He was given 18 to 24 months to live.
In addition to radiation and chemo treatments, Rollin’ underwent surgery on July 16th to remove parts of his gallbladder, spleen, pancreas and bowel system as a precaution in response to fears that the cancer had spread. His condition deteriorated so much after the surgery that he was placed on life support on July 21st. Rollin’ though continued to fight and his condition improved until eventually he was able to be taken off of it. Still, his overall condition continued to deteriorate and little could be done about it.
Rollin’s last official professional wrestling match was for IWA Mid-South, as it was Mean and Hard vs. Vulgar Display of Power Tag-Team Match at the IWA’s 500th show.
In his short life, Roland Montgomery gave himself to wrestling fans, the wrestlers who grew to see him as a brother, the kids he coached, and his family. His contributions to all of those should not be forgotten, because his story deserves to inspire as many people as possible. That would be a fitting outcome for the fighter that was Rollin’ Hard.
“This crap might get me in the end, but as of right now I have control over it and I’m gonna take full advantage of it. I’m gonna LIVE HARD till I can’t live anymore.” – Rollin’ Hard
Part 2 of the Rage Report on the Life & Times Of Rollin’ Hard
Rage Report: As part of this special edition of the Rage Report I’m doing on The Life & Times of Rollin’ Hard, I have asked everyone who knew Rollin’ to talk about their favorite memories/moments they have of him and here is what they had to say:
“American Kickboxer” Frank Mullins: I was around for the creation, {not literally} but from the conception of the Rollin’ Hard “gimmick” Seeing him make the entrance with all the “television themes” was such a blast, and to this day I cannot hear “Ghetto Superstar” and not shed a tear.
One of my favorite matches though was between Rollin’ and The Blue Meanie and both of those guys went out and did their jobs and that was to entertain the fans!
I will always try to be a part of this event, and think it is such a positive thing, in such a negative time.
“Big Bad” Bull Pain: I have many, many favorite memories of Rollin’ but probably the fondest was when he first broke into the wrestling business. It was around ’96 or ’97 and I went to wrestling school that Ian Rotten was running. He had asked me to come down and help him with some of the new guys. In fact, it was in the old Kmart building on Dixie Highway, if you can remember that. I came down to the class and looked around guys were doing all sorts of things but mainly just trying to learn how to work.
Finally, after a few minutes, Ian introduced me to a kid called Taz!!! Here is a kid at practice wearing a shirt with his name Taz on it!! I thought “What’s with this kid?” Well, anyways Ian told me he had a lot of potential and he wanted me to work with him, and train him a little bit. So I got in the ring with him and basically just beat him up. You have to realize I am “old school” and that basically means tough love. Make him respect you then after he has earned it you take him aside and really teach him the ins and outs of the business.
Well anyway this kid was cocky and pretty tough I might add. He had done well in a few local tough man competitions so he was able to handle himself. So I turned it up a few notches and basically whooped his butt. Then it happened after it was all over he walked up to me, shook my hand and said thank you for taking the time out to teach me. I was amazed that he actually just thanked me for kicking his butt.
Well, this went on for a few weeks. Every week I got tougher and tougher on him. Trying to see what he was made of. Weeks went by and I had basically given him a very rough time of it. Yet after every session he thanked me. I thought “what in the hell do I have to do to this kid to make him just give up?” You see old school training is whooping his butt till he quits. If he doesn’t quit, then he might have the heart and desire to maybe learn and make it in the business.
Basically he finally broke me. I got tired of kicking this kid’s butt every week and him showing up with a smile the next week wanting more. So finally I lightened up on the kid and started to teach him. I was able to watch him grow as a very good and entertaining wrestler.
Like I said I have many fond memories of Rollin’ all the road trips we made, all the times we worked together. He always and I mean always gave 100% out there to entertain the fans. We sweat together and spilled lots of blood together and he never once complained. He was a joy to have in the dressing room. Always happy and wanting to rib you, or somehow make you laugh.
Even when he was sick he went out there and worked his butt off for the people. When doctors told him he was too sick to ever wrestle again. He wouldn’t say quit!! He had several matches after that. I have never met a stronger and braver man in my life.
I loved Rollin’ like a son, who I had helped grow as a wrestler. But in the end, he was my teacher. He taught me what true bravery was and what true toughness was. He is a hero to me and I will always hold him near and dear to my heart. So, my favorite Rollin’ memory is just being privileged enough to have had him in my life and to be able to call him my friend. I miss you, brother.
“Commissioner” Rico Beatty: While I have many Rollin’ Hard stories, this is one of my favorites. You may recall the man known as “Old Man” Charlie who regularly sat front row at many of the local Indy shows. He was a great fan and always heckled the boys and me unrelentlessly. But I digress; we were running a show in Southern Indiana and Rollin’ was the current title holder. He had a non-title match versus Jamie Dundee aka J. C. Ice. It was a non-title match because Dundee had not been around in some time and actually had to cancel a few bookings for one reason or another. Before his absence, Jamie had been in line for a shot at the title. I forget who actually won, but after the match, Dundee demanded a shot at the title. Rollin’ grabbed the mic and said this: “Why do you deserve a title shot, Jamie? You haven’t been here since Old Man Charlie was just Charlie.” It was hilarious and impossible for me to keep a straight face.
“The Psycho Shooter” Drake Younger: Rollin’ Hard was a great wrestler and a big inspiration for guys in the Midwest that wanted to live their dream like he was. A lot of great moments come to mind when I think of Rollin. 1 that sticks out to me was the King of the Deathmatch 2007.
There was a replacement that was needed to wrestle Necro Butcher and Rollin’ stepped up to the plate instantly. It was cool for me to see how the old-school mentality works of always being there for your brothers. It was a completely selfless act on his part. I will never forget that. As you all know, Rollin was a great practical joker. One time in the back, he kept telling me that I had something on my head. As I kept swiping at my head to shake whatever was on there off, Rollin’ and Mitch were hysterically laughing. After this happened several times, I realized that Rollin had got me to unintentionally do the John Cena “You Can’t See Me” hand signal. He was always messing with me because I resembled John Cena with my haircut and all. It was a great rib and quite hilarious. That man could brighten any situation. Rollin’ will be greatly missed. Thanks for everything you did for the business brother!!!
“The Hood Ninja” Hy-Zaya: For me, I met Rollin’ when I was a brown-nosing backyard kid at 15 years old. He has never ever as long as I’ve known him, whether I was one of the boys or not, have any type of ego. When I finally became one of the boys officially, Rollin’ Hard was my first opponent in my very first wrestling match alongside my very good friend and brother J-Prodigy. He and J were really good friends, and I looked up to J because of his Swag. When it came to an opportunity for me to get in the ring, it was Rollin’ and J-Prodigy discussed putting me in the ring against them at [Bad 2 the Bone Wrestling]. When I watch that tape to this day I still teared up at the fact that my very first professional wrestling match was against those guys, and thinking back to that night I can’t forget how I thought Rollin’ and J were ribbin’ me by telling me I was working with them. They tried out all types of new moves that they wanted to guinea pig on me, but all and all they let a brother shine as well. Later through the years Rollin’ always kept his mild manner coolness and it spread throughout the locker room in what I consider the best locker room I’ve ever been a part of. A lot of guys like Rollin’ were the backbone of the I.W.A. Mid-South, and always treated me as one of the original boys, and like a little brother. As a black man in the I.W.A. Mid-South, I will forever back him up as being the “Brutha from anotha mutha” I learned a lot from his attitude about being humble and how to conduct yourself as being one of the boys. As I tear up a lil typing this I get the feeling that his spirit lives on and that he and J-Prodigy are tagged up once again in Heaven.
J-Boy: Well, I really don’t know where to start because there are so many memories of Rollin’ Hard that I have that I can think of. Honestly I remember Rollin’ as the family man who loved his wife and two kids and his parents. Rollin’ enjoyed wrestling and entertaining the fans too!!! No matter where Rollin went, people would come up to him and talk to him and he wouldn’t turn away from them. But I could go on and on for days talking about him as a person. He was like a brother to me and part of my family, but really there are so many funny stories I could tell you all about Rollin’ but some of the stories I have, I have to keep to myself. But I am going to say this, Rollin’ was well known in the wrestling business and I’m very happy to say I got to know him as a person outside of the wrestling business and I’ll never forget you my friend and all the fun times we had.
Jim Fannin: I have two very fond memories of Rollin that I will always carry with me.
The first comes from when Rollin won his first IWA Mid-South World Heavyweight Title. He had worked so hard to improve and win the respect of the fans and the other wrestlers and the night that I managed him and he beat Ian Rotten in Oolitic, Indiana to win the title he had such joy and happiness. He was like a kid in a candy store with a $100 bill. It was the validation that he was looking for to let him know that all the training, watching tapes and hard work had paid off. It was a reminder of how much we all loved the wrestling business and why we got into it in the first place.
The second memory comes from the ill-fated IWA Mid-South softball team. Dang, we were horrible. The only team we could beat in the league was the Dixie Highway Fire Department. It wasn’t a very fair league though since the other teams played softball in different leagues around town 3 or 4 nights a week and on the weekend. We would just show up and play. Rollin’, Cash Flo and Corporal Robinson were the best players on our team and each game Rollin got a little better. He was putting in some practice time and going to the batting cages so he could improve. Finally, he blasted a home run over the fence and his home run trot was a cross between Kirk Gibson’s limping trot “I don’t believe what I just saw” World Series Home Run in the beginning that morphed into Joe Carter’s jumping up and down pure euphoric sprint from his World Series winning home run. Everyone mugged Rollin’ at the plate and celebrated and it didn’t matter that we were getting crushed on the scoreboard. Rollin’ had given everyone a reason to smile and be happy.
That was Rollin’s best quality. No matter how bad you were feeling or what had just happened, Rollin could find a way to make you smile and lighten the mood. You can never have too many friends like that, the ones that constantly bring happiness and joy to the table.
RIP Rollin. I love you and you will never be forgotten.
Mad Man Pondo: My memory of Rollin’ is when he first came into I.W.A. Mid-South when they were at the old Kmart building on Dixie Highway as Tornado Taz and he wouldn’t talk to any of the boys and the boys didn’t really talk to him as he came from [Ohio Valley Wrestling] but I kept on talking to him to more and more where he finally started talking to everyone.
Mark Wolf: When I think about Rollin’, all I think about is how he was always in a good mood. He enjoyed life, whether it was wrestling, getting some guys together to go bowling, or playing softball.
“Pro Wrestling’s BFF” Nick Maniwa: It’d probably have to be all the ribs that he and Mitch Page would play on guys like convincing Deranged that paintballs on a plastic baseball bat were actually watermelon candy. So, when they hit him with it, the paint exploded everywhere. We also got to hang out a few times when he worked for [Coliseum Championship Wrestling] in Evansville when Ian was booking there. He woke me up to hear a song I was digging at the time.
Tarek The Great: We were sitting in the dressing room in the old Kmart building and Someone’s gear bag was on the floor. Rollin’ looked down and saw roaches crawling out of the bag. He yelled “What the Hell!? Oh, hell no!”! then proceeded to grab the bag and chuck it over the wall and into the crowd. Someone yelled “What the hell!!!” and we all laughed our butts off.
Richard X: One of my favorite Rollin’ Hard moments would have to be is when he and I had a boxing match on an I.W.A. Mid-South show and yes it was a work and all that but it was sure fun as hell! And my other favorite moment I have of Rollin’ is listening to him talk in the locker room about his love for his family and for the professional wrestling business too!!
Long Live “The Ghetto Superstar” Rollin’ Hard!!!
