15 Things We Learned From Dark Side Of The Ring: Tony Atlas

15. A Horrendous Threat From His Father

Tony's childhood was fraught with danger. He once saw a man slap his mother on the behind, so she turned around and socked the dude so hard he got knocked out. Then, she turned to her kids and said they should learn from that because she wouldn't always be around to protect them. That was a teachable moment to Atlas, and he told VICE it showed him how to fight back if provoked.

Then, there was his father.

Tony’s dad hustled and gambled to make money. If it looked like he might lose, he’d then goad grown men into fighting his son. This is horrific, but Tony’s own father would threaten him by saying he’d get a worse beating if he dared to lose...to grown men! That’s awful, but again - it was the way of life for Atlas and he didn't think much of it at the time. He was too busy dodging punches.

Stop to think about that for a second though. Tony's own dad was willing to watch his son get beaten up because he owed somebody money. Then, as if that wasn't enough, daddy dearest would physically abuse his boy if he didn't send the other guy packing.

These sorts of experiences hardened Tony, but they let anger fester inside him. That became problematic later on his wrestling career when he reached the WWF/WWE. No child should be exposed to those kinds of things, being honest. Seeing his mother defend herself was one thing, but his dad throwing him to the wolves? Yuck.