Takin A Mulligan 09.12.09: Resting In Peace - Circa 1992

Posted by Chris Remington on 09.12.2009

I might have been the first and only person to make this man a part of a Master's Thesis!



Jumpin' On the Gun

I get letters even on my opening picture...RobRegal suggest the following

in your opening pic, it looks like you are firing a tiny gun to crack plexi-glass 6 inches in front of you, was this the intent? There's not even a bullet hole there.

Mr. Regal, the picture serves a dual purpose. When the mothership allowed me to write for the greatest site in the world, they didn't want my stammering banter to be noticed by the usual audience. So they slotted me in ratings death, which you notice is Saturday morning, when large majorities of the people who frequent the site are either coming off a bender or giggly from getting to say up past 9:30pm. My picture is a representation of me firing back but really causing no damage. Secondly, the guy in the picture looks like me and I wanted to give the masses (all 15 of them) a little peek into the hunk of humanity that I am. Thanks for noticing!

Anonymous Smart Mark offers his views on many of us who ply my trade:

Why do you idiots keep using BMP images? Have you never heard of the JPEG format?

I assume you are referring to the Ed Hochuli "Holding" picture. You see, Ed has an ego that is bigger than Hogan/Angle/Sting and HHH combined. The picture, once again, was on purpose. If you have ever heard Ed execute a penalty in an NFL game, you understand the picture usage. Thanks for taking time out of your busy day to not only encourage me as a columnist but also notice the size of "Ed". The idiots run the asylum here and it gets millions of hits per week.

Steve Cook column this week doesn't ask the question in reference to last week because I had the cooties last week. He wondered which Varsity Club member he was though.



Not pictured is Dr. Death Steve Williams, from Oklahoma. I can't remember if Ron Simmons was a part of this group for a moment either, since he was heralded from Florida State. I could look it up but frankly the speculation is better than the facts in this case. To answer the query, here is The 411-TWTF Varsity Club.

Csonka = Kevin Sullivan
Cook = Dr. Death Steve Williams
Eubanks = Mike Rotunda
The Gun = Rick Steiner

Csonka is the evil taskmaster, Cook the fierce muscle, Eubanks the technician and myself…the idiot. Plus I like barking like a dog and getting on all fours. This also means that I don't make any decisions.

Speaking of Eubanks, comment of the year was including in his own column. Not many things make me laugh out loud but when he was talking about an ex-girlie from his own Wonder Years, he pounded out this observation:

THIS was a major factor in the logic with respect to why I went weiner-exclusive when I was 26…guys tend not to be this needy.

There are so many reasons that Eubanks and I are great friends but this might take the cake. Doesn't remove my standard picture of how I envision us though.



Now that I have whetted the whistle, we get to the comment of the week from BlueOyster, as follows:

You go on so many tangents, it's impossible to see what exactly it is you're talking about. Foley is a "common man spot monkey" yet the Dudleys helped "set the bar" in tag team wrestling doing spot monkey wrestling. When did "spot monkey" become such a bad term in wrestling?? ...If you were there live and Foley got trown off the cage, you would say "oh,... he's a spot-monkey....but he is no real wrestler". Seriously? Wrestling is characters & moments so certain "spot-monkey" moments should not only be a defining moment for the athlete's in-ring work but a moment cemented in the memory of fans of the "entertainment" that is pro-wrestling. Individual or as tag-teams, I don't see the point you were trying to make, but I can read this just like I can kinda listen to a drunk chick at the bar babblin' away about things that make no sense but might have a point here and there... tanget... way off subject.... that's gimmick stealing, my bad...

Hardys are fine. Jeff was a star & everyone knew it then. Tag Teams need names, CMPunk & Kofi were champs & they had no storyline, no interaction, seperate intros to the ring, no rivalries, ... King Haku tagged with Andre the Giant & anyone watching wrestling knew their name as the "Colassal Connection" ... give the thrown together teams a name & maybe, maybe tag-team wrestling will make a come-back in WWE. As far as Matt Hardy goes, he was better as a heel IMO but his current status is only dragging Morrisson down, and I dig Morrisson's matches, not so much his character. They need to figure out a good role for Matt as a heel or he will be in mid-card limbo and deservedly so. He's boring but a staple in the WWE but he's very bland.

liked the column ( besides the political tie-ins... that's tangent crud that has no tie-in whatsoever) ... tried to phrase that nice, it creates discussion, and that's always good.

You should consider changing the "Remington-- gunisgood" gimmick for "Remington, just a drunk chick at the bar" and then the column makes sense!
CHEERS! good work, Mulligan!

I had no idea Csonka read my stuff; I thought he only criticized it for spelling and image submissions!



When I was searching for an identity, I really wish you had come along side sooner. My real name is so bland and uninteresting, so I went with something that was a slight rub off my posting names. I never really thought of "random drunk chick at the bar" but if I had, I would have considered it. It has a lot of elements that I like! Random = Rant! Drunk = Lacking Control! Bar = Dim Lights! It is the "chick" part of this that I am struggling with. I understand what you are attempting to convey here but a chick denotes something that I clearly celebrate but I also don't fit the mold for.

I lust chicks. I don't love them, that takes effort and time. I don't have the stamina for either, so I lust. I am a great listener, which at my season, I have to be. The art of listening to a "chick" is under appreciated by males and over appreciated by "chicks" from shore to shore. Thanks to the dim lights, alcohol and encouragement, I have been privy to more than a "chick" wanted to bear when she started out on her quest for some random/ranting guy to buy her a drink. Cook - you taking notes yet? So I am not a chick, I seek chicks, like a fox. I do appreciate the name suggestion though; and it makes me wonder about your posting name.

The Blue Oyster was the bar stumbled upon in "Police Academy" which is a guilty viewing pleasure for some but in reality is one of the worst movies of all time. Acting wasn't required for this film and the sequels that followed, it was just suggested. This movie and the wretchedness that followed, extended the careers of so many D-list personalities and production workers, I believe that it can be linked back to the beginning of the state of California's slide into their abyss. Your posting name might mean a lot given the way that you analyzed my column. I won't comment on the subject matter b/c I promised that the Hardy's were dead and buried after last column.

Thanks for your contribution and remember BlueOyster, come as often as your want.

Let me channel someone who would have been a hit at The Blue Oyster!

The Address



Undertaker holds a special place in my life. He was the first heel in the WWF I can remember being cheered at house shows. He had an entrance that was incredibly unique for the time. He had an aura about him that was like no other before or after him, when he was in his prime. When you are at a house show, no one is taking a break during a Undertaker scheduled match.

Undertaker was also the one of the subjects of my master thesis in April of 1992. The thesis was on the use of visuals in our society and the sight of the villainous Undertaker (I hadn't quite accepted his face turn at this point) was a primary focal point of my presentation. The people that I brought together to listen to this made me the most nervous I have ever been outside of saying "I do". The presentation was far better than the paper though and if The Iron Chef judging system existed then, I am sure I would have gotten full point value for originally and plating. Looking back, the taste of the food was just so-so.

Undertaker had just turned face by defending Ms. Elizabeth's honor against the wiles of Jake Roberts. The feud between Roberts and Ms. Liz's charge, Macho Man Savage was intense and I was sad to see it transition to Undertaker and Roberts. The WWF had bigger plans for Savage, in winning the world belt at Wrestlemania against Flair. The WWF also had other plans for other main event players at the time. Sid, Hogan, Roberts and Undertaker would be spun in a strange web of booking that would make the WWF look rudderless and lead to the head scratching mid-90s. I want to be able to drive home my point on this and I believe looking at the participants for the 1992 Royal Rumble, in which the winner would be crowned the World Champ, illustrates this better than I ever could. The lineup in the order of entry:

Davey Boy Smith, Ted Dibiase, Ric Flair (winner), Jerry Sags, Haku, Shawn Michaels, Tito Santana, The Barbarian, Kerry Von Erich, Repo Man, Greg Valentine, Nikolai Volkoff, The Big Bossman, Hercules, Roddy Piper, Jake Roberts, Jim Duggan, IRS, Jimmy Snuka, The Undertaker, Randy Savage, The Berzerker, Virgil, Col. Mustafa, Rick Martel, Hulk Hogan, Skinner, Sgt. Slaughter, Sid Justice and The Warlord

Very impressive roster! This leaves out Bret Hart, The Mountie, Tantaka, Earthquake and Mr. Perfect who was reduced to a managerial role at this point.

Wrestlemania VIII was the next PPV which saw Undertaker defeat Roberts, Hogan and Sid face off in the main event and Savage dethrone Flair's first WWF title reign in roughly three months. While WMVIII might not be the most memorable WM of them all, it certainly wasn't because a huge talent pool didn't exist. It was clearly there! The steroid scandal loomed as a dark cloud to the insiders but marks like me (I only read The Torch and PWI mags then and they weren't very timely) were confused as to lackluster feel and execution.

The Bad Shot

Welcome to the party, Bruno Lauer, aka Harvey Wippleman, the villainous manager of Big Bully Busick. In April 1992 at WrestleMania VIII, Wippleman managed Sid Justice in his main event match against Hulk Hogan which ended with Justice losing by disqualification. After Justice left the WWF, Wippleman's use was to completely waste marks like me and Undertaker's time for the next year and a half! The history tells the tale. Wippleman managed Kamala, who was feuding with The Undertaker. After Kamala was defeated by Undertaker in a Coffin match at Survivor Series in 1992, Wippleman's continued to feud with the Undertaker and brought a new wrestler to the WWF, Giant González, who interfered in the 1993 Royal Rumble and eliminated the Undertaker. Gonzalez and the Undertaker wrestled at WrestleMania IX, where Gonzalez knocked Undertaker unconscious with a chloroform-soaked rag in arguably the worse match in PPV history! The feud mercifully culminated in a Rest in Peace match at SummerSlam, which Undertaker won.

Correct me if I am mistaken but if you take a main event heel that beats the unbeatable Hogan, have him drop the belt back to Hogan less than a week later. Only to see the belt held up so they can hotshot it to Flair without Flair actually pinning any of the WWF stalwarts. Have Flair drop the belt without every defending it successfully on a PPV to the reinstalled WWF face in Randy Savage. You then take the fresh face turned Undertaker, who pops arenas in a close first to Savage as far as entrances and you have him feud with absolute trash (Wippleman's Stable) for the next year and a half.

Execution Of The Mulligan


Months passed after WM and I wondered why Undertaker wasn't allowed to face off against Flair, the man who aided him to the World Title at Survivor Series 91 but now didn't hold the World Belt and could give him a solid rub to be a fixture in the main event scene. Back when you had to use 2-way phone to phone communication to get results, I got a message when I signed onto my monochrome monitored Gateway that looked a lot like this.

WWF TITLE MATCH: The Undertaker def Hulk Hogan to win the WWF Heavyweight title!

Ric Flair came down to ringside and slipped a chair under Hogan's head as Undertaker tombstoned him!

After the controversial finish to the Hollywood Hogan vs. Undertaker match at Survivor Series, a rematch was almost immediately made for Tuesday in Texas, just six days later. This match ended in just as much controversy as Hogan used a handful of ashes from Undertaker's urn to blind his opponent, helping him get the pin and his title back for a fourth time. This title reign would also be a short one, though, as President Jack Tunney vacated the WWE Championship after the controversial endings to the last two Championship matches. The title was placed up for grabs at January's Royal Rumble…

Given the steroid scandal that surrounded the WWF and Titan at the time, the timing was fresh for a new beginning. It really wasn't too soon to pull the trigger on The Undertaker getting into the title mix on a regular basis. The man had one of the freshest gimmicks of the time. Someone that was impervious to pain, so he could take a beaten, however he had a solid offensive set for a big man that could carry the match. The man had no history in the WWF, which means he wasn't a part of the scandal. House show crowds were in the palm of his hand and his ring entrance instantly brought the audience to attention. Even the reaching from across the ring toward the urn that Paul Bearer held was classic, as he was drawing power from the souls from his collection of defeated opponents. The interviews were solid and convincing. The man was indeed "the man".

I would have had him face Flair at Summerslam, no matter if Flair had regained the belt or not. Book Flair however you like to that point but the rub from Flair would have been historic and shot Undertaker to a new height. Not only would he have gotten the rub from Hogan, in short-lived title reign, but he would have gotten the other side of the rub with the other flag bearer of the last decade as well. Undertaker would have been cemented in the main event scene of the WWF and as fans the era of the phenom would have started a lot sooner. We all WIN!



If you ever want to find "The Gun" outside of the confines of the cozy 411 caverns, you can look me up in a gaming league on POGO. Come and join us, it is pretty obvious who I am in this league.

I am also on daily on a sports radio program which you can find here

Until Next Week, "I am your champion"

Chris "The Gun" Remington