The Maestro's unfinished symphony
By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM! Wrestling
The Big BossMan never walked a beat in his life. The Undertaker's greatest
"supernatural power" is his ability to make himself disappear into thin air
after a house show. The Artist doesn't have a record contract and the only
thing the Acolytes really protect is their spot in the company.
In the star-studded world of pro-wrestling fans grasp the fact that just
like actors in motion picture films, wrestlers play fictitious roles
supplied to them by bookers. Though lately things have opened up somewhat,
very few wrestlers have the opportunity to build their gimmicks around
their own personal interests and backgrounds. In that way, Robert Kellum's
transformation into the snobbish and devilish Maestro was unique.
When Randy Savage gave the name "Gorgeous George" to his girlfriend, Kellum
-- who was wrestling under that persona as a tribute to his Great Uncle --
was left high and dry in World Championship Wrestling. Legitimately upset
that the switch had occurred without his permission or knowledge, Kellum
demanded a meeting with then WCW Vice-President, Eric Bischoff. Through
their discussions, The Maestro was born. Kellum convinced Bischoff to allow
him to draw from his life-long interest in the arts to invent an
extravagant heel. Kellum was so sincere about developing his creation that
the classically-trained pianist insisted really playing the piano during
promos with his valet Symphony -- who he says was a "happy-go-lucky"
personality that always made him laugh.
"I created the character and he was originally supposed to be a Phantom Of
The Opera-type thing," Kellum told SLAM! Wrestling. The plan was for The
Maestro to lurk in the rafters and dark passages and cause general havoc
for many of WCW's wrestlers. According to Kellum, he fleshed out the
persona submitting many elaborate scenarios to the various WCW booking
committees. His ideas were either ignored or given to other wrestlers.
Because of that, his feuds with Ernest Miller and Buff Bagwell never really
got the attention or depth he felt they deserved.
"It was crazy. Every booker that came in really didn't want to do much with
me," commented Kellum, expressing his profound disappointment. "I had to
deal with a lot of politics and a lot of cliques that I wasn't included in.
That's what I was up against. I did everything the best I could to show
them I had talent and I became quite miserable."
With the very public departure of his close friends -- The Radicals -- to the
WWF, Kellum was left to fend for himself. Remarkably, five years ago,
Chris Benoit and Kellum tried out for the WWF together in dark matches. The
federation didn't show much interest in either man at the time which is
startling in light of The Canadian Crippler's current push in the WWF and
Kellum's impressive credentials. Kellum started his career as a collegiate
wrestler. He then built on that foundation training with veterans Nelson
Royal, Gene Anderson and
Ivan Koloff in North Carolina.
"I have so much respect for those guys as they taught me so much about the
business, what to look out for and what to work on. It was a big honour to
be trained by those guys," spoke Kellum of his teachers.
Kellum also learned the art of submission wrestling with the UWFI group
training with such heavy-hitters as Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn. The
knowledge he gained there improved his skills greatly. Kellum grappled in
Smoky Mountain Wrestling as Robby Eagle and worked in Mexico for a short
time as well with Jake "The Snake" Roberts. The experience south of the
border really knocked Kellum for a loop.
"The first thing I asked Jake was...Am I going to have to do all this
flying around and crap? I am not an acrobat. I'm a wrestler. And Jake
said...Do you honestly think I can do a hurracanrana?"
Kellum's travels also brought him to Canada where he worked with
Edge and
Christian in the eastern part of the country. His most memorable moment was an
incident involving the late
Owen Hart and King Kong Bundy. All three were
traveling on the road together one rainy night. Kellum pulled over to drop
Bundy at his hotel. As The Walking Condominium was taking his luggage out
of the back of the van, Hart turned around suddenly and told Kellum to
"floor it". Unaware that Bundy hadn't finished retrieving his belongings,
Kellum did just that. The speed at which Kellum took off threw Bundy's
luggage all over the parking lot ticking off the Big Man.
"You can imagine this 500-pound man chasing after us, cussing us out,"
chuckled Kellum. "Owen was in the passenger side laughing his butt off. It
was so funny! Owen was a great guy and a good friend."
A personal request by superstar Randy Savage brought Kellum to the "big
leagues" -- World Championship Wrestling. Though his stay there was short
and tumultuous causing him to ask for his release earlier this month,
Kellum was glad to have made the acquaintance of those wrestlers who were
as mindful of the history and tradition of professional wrestling as he is.
One conversion Kellum recalls vividly is his chat with perhaps the greatest
wrestler of any time: "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair. Kellum was down about
the state of the modern wrestling in which cutting a promo or a few dance
steps means more to some fans than actual in-ring ability.
"Flair told me that wrestling goes in trends. It has its peaks and valleys.
And, that it was always up to the technical wrestlers like us to keep the
die-hard fans interested once the valley stage hits and the casual fans
flock away from the scene," remembered Kellum.
Since his exit from WCW, Kellum finds himself entertaining offers from
other promotions and once again exploring his roots, his love of the
written word and music.
"I like poetry. I am a writer too," Kellum stated proudly. "I have a huge
creative outlet more or less. It keeps me from being bored."
He stands firmly by the decision he made to pack up and leave World
Championship Wrestling behind. Wherever he ends up, Kellum is confident
that the bold move was the right one.
"There comes a time when you've got to make a stand or you can't live with
yourself," he said.
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