Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People 02.09.06: Win It, Round Three

Posted by Ryan Byers on 02.09.2006

Another opportunity to take some some free wrestling schwag, courtesy of your favorite author.

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to Cheap Wrestling for Cheap People. This week, instead of a traditional column, we're dusting off what is always a very popular feature around this parts. I'm going to give you, Johnny Q. Reader, the opportunity to win a fabulous wrestling-related prize absolutely free of charge. After all, free wrestling is the ultimate form of cheap wrestling.

I've done this twice in the past, but attempt number three is going to be the most ambitious. Why? First of all, I have more questions than ever before – a total of thirty in all. Furthermore, we've got a twist for the winner this time around. Whoever gets the most questions right will be able to select one of two prizes. The first is a master copy of "Ric Flair: Two Decades of Excellence," a commercial video released by WCW in 1995. It includes three of Flair's biggest matches, as well as lengthy clips from an interesting sit-down interview with the Nature Boy himself. The second prize is a complete mystery. I will say that it is somehow related to professional wrestling and consists of three items. The winner will have to choose between the prizes before knowing what the mystery package is.

Sound good? Good. There are a few rules we have to lay out first, though:

Rules & Regulations

1.) There are thirty questions below. If you want to play, send your answers to me here. The winner will be the individual who gets the most correct answers.

2.) In the event of a tie, I'll draw a name out of my purple and gold WCW: Where the Big Boys Play baseball cap, with the winner getting the prize.

3.) This may sound like an obvious point, but I'm going to mention it because some people are paranoid about handing out information on the internet: In order to win and actually get the prize, you're going to have to e-mail me your shipping address. There's no need to give it to me prior to being declared winner, but keep in mind that it may be necessary later on.

4.) On a similar note, I will pay all shipping costs, even if they wind up being international.

5.) However, the tape is in NTSC format, meaning that it will not be viewable on most players produced outside of North America.

6.) The tape has been lightly used in the past. It came to me that way, but it's played fine the one time that I've watched it. However, because I don't know what happened to the thing in its past life, I cannot make any warranties (express or implied) about how long it will last in your care.

7.) You must be eighteen years of age to enter, and you cannot enter if doing so would violate federal, state, or local laws in your jurisdiction. Sending me an e-mail with your answers serves as confirmation that you are eligible to participate.

8.) When I've done this in the past, I've made mistakes in some questions – either not realizing that there was more than one correct answer or even having an incorrect answer myself. In the event of such an error, I retain the right to determine how entries will be scored in light of the goof-up.

9.) All entries must be received by 9 PM Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, February 14.

That does it for the rules, so let's get on to the questions. This time around, I have two different categories to match the two different prizes. The first fifteen questions are about the man himself, Ric Flair. The second half of the quiz consists of questions about "mysteries" that have occurred in professional wrestling angles.

Ric Flair!

1.) One of the longest lasting nicknames in professional wrestling has been "Nature Boy." Ric Flair has obviously used it, as have guys like Buddy Landel and Scoot Andrews. However, the first Nature Boy was Buddy Rogers. Where did Rogers get the name from?

2.) Speaking of Scoot Andrews, how did he decide to use the Nature Boy moniker?

3.) Though he hasn't adopted the name, the latest in a long line of Flair lookalikes is currently making his rounds on the indy scene. The guy was trained by Steve Corino, does the Flair flip from time to time, has gotten a few tours in Zero-One, and is about as thin as a ball-point pen. Who is it?

4.) One of the least popular periods of Ric Flair's career was when he was "President of WCW" and awarded the United States Title to his son David. The IWC got incredibly pissed off, not even realizing that the whole point of the angle was that David was a completely incompetent wrestler who shouldn't be featured on the show. This was all underscored by the fact that, in his six title defenses, the younger Flair had NINE different individuals interfere or otherwise cheat so that he could keep his belt. Who are those people?

5.) Speaking of David Flair, he was once part of a stable of second generation wrestlers, attempting to play off of his relationship with his father. Who were the other two members of this group?

6.) Okay, one more question referencing David Flair, and then I'll stop. Most wrestling fans hate him, but Ric's other son gained a bit of a cult following when he appeared on WCW Monday Nitro. Who did young Reid punk out to earn his props?

7.) Of all the different things that Ric Flair has done in the wrestling industry, he's never been a prolific trainer. To this day, he has trained one wrestler and one wrestler alone. Who is it?

8.) Flair is often credited with making guys like Sting and Lex Luger in to stars. There was another muscle man who Slick Ric wanted to put over for the World Title . . . but "family" obligations prevented the youngster from taking Flair's spot as the man. Who am I talking about?

9.) A lot of people who read Ric Flair's autobiography accuse him of kissing severe amounts of ass, particularly Vince McMahon's. However, I never found it that hard to believe that Flair would actually respect Vinnie Mac, as the two have a lot in common. Of the following characteristics, which do Vince and Flair share?

a.) They were born in the same year.

b.) Both men went to military school.

c.) Both men were estranged from their biological mothers.

d.) Flair and McMahon both own millions of dollars in real estate.

10.) Despite the fact that he gained most of his fame as a singles wrestler, Flair actually started off as a tag team wrestler. Who was his first major partner?

11.) One thing that really annoys me about Ric Flair matches is that announcers always feel the need to put over the fact that he's got a "bad back," despite the fact that Flair broke the thing thirty years ago. Call me crazy, but I think it's healed by now. Anyway, in the late 90's, a lot of wrestling fans noticed that Flair had an odd, baseball-shaped lump on his back. What was it?

12.) We all love the Flair strut. Whose move was that originally?

13.) One of Flair's most prolific opponents later in his career was one of the biggest influences on his early career. Who is this man, and what ring name did Ric Flair use in order to leech off of this bigger star's heat?

14.) My favorite oft-forgotten Flair angle is the feud that he and Arn Anderson had against Doom. Ron Simmons and Butch Reed had a manager at the time, and that manager made a bet with Flair on one of the Horsemen vs. Doom matches. Who was the manager, and what was the bet?

15.) One of the things Flair is best known for is chopping the living hell out of his opponents. These chops played a big role in the singles feud that first put Ric on the map in Mid-Atlantic wrestling. Who was the other proficient chopper that made Naitch in to a big name?

Wrestling's (Un)solved Mysteries

16.) A classic wrestling angle is the one in which a wrestler is fired or suspended and then a masked individual who looks suspiciously like him shows up in the company. Hulk Hogan playing the role of "Mr. America" is our most recent example. Here's a list of other wrestlers who have participated in similar angles. Name their masked personas:

a.) Brian Pillman

b.) Dusty Rhodes

c.) Bruiser Brody

d.) Barry Windham

e.) Jimmy Valiant

f.) JC Ice & Wolfie D

g.) Andre the Giant

17.) A future WWF Champion would get his first big break in the wrestling business by playing one of the masked characters who is an answer to number sixteen. Who is this man?

18.) Wrestling's biggest "Whodunnit?" angle had to be when Steve Austin was attempting to determine who tried to run him over in an automobile. It turned out to be Rikishi, though 'Kish didn't do much with the role. Austin was given a series of clues about the physical appearance of the attempted murderer before it was finally revealed as being the big Samoan. Name two of these clues.

19.) WCW had its own vehicular manslaughter angle, this one involving a white hummer. During the original angle, the hummer driver was never revealed. Despite the fact that the original angle did not take place when he was with the company, Vince Russo booked an angle in which someone finally took responsibility for the first hummer attack. Who was it?

20.) Sometimes wrestling "mysteries" are the most fun when the viewers already know how the story will be resolved. This was the case when the tag team of Owen Hart and Jeff Jarrett were aided in their singles matches by the Blue Blazer. It was clear that the Blazer was played by Hart when Jarrett needed help and by Jarrett when Hart needed help. However, a third man also donned the Blazer's mask during the angle. Who was it?

21.) In another Russo attempt to reference past WCW angles, he had a wrestler dress up like La Parka in order to get a drop on an opponent. Dallas Page had already done this during the height of Monday Nitro's popularity. Who donned the skull mask in the rehash of the spot?

22.) This question could've gone in the Ric Flair section as well, but it makes a little more sense down here. At one point in the mid-90's, Flair was set to headline a pay per view against a mystery opponent who was billed as being blond and over 6' feet tall. The obvious implication was that Hulk Hogan was coming to WCW. He wasn't . . . at least not yet. Who was Flair's real opponent, and who was the manager responsible for hyping up the challenger before he arrived?

23.) TNA wrestling is still young, but it's had its share of mystery angles. One of these involved the debut of Mr. Wrestling III, a masked competitor who appeared to have it in for Jeff Jarrett. The character was originally played by one wrestling personality but ultimately revealed to be somebody completely different. Who were the two men?

24.) Wrestling has seen a lot of mysteries but, to the best of my knowledge, has only gotten a detective involved once. The WWF did this deed, and it was in the 90's. Who was the man, and what mystery was he attempting to solve?

25.) Most people on the internet know about Al Snow's past gimmick of "Shinobi," the mysterious masked ninja. Shinobi was just brought in to do jobs, but his first match actually had a storyline behind it. What was the story, and who was the manager that Snow had to hype him up?

26.) One of the most loved aspects of Royal Rumble match is "mystery entrant" – a guy who is not a part of the regular WWE roster but shows up unannounced and enters the bout anyway. Who is the only person to act as a mystery entrant on more than one occasion? (Note that this question is meant to be a bit tricky.)

27.) The Undertaker had to deal with an obnoxious mystery man once, and the mystery man in question was stalking his wife. When the stalker videos first aired, the man behind the mayhem electronically distorted his voice. Internet fans got audio from the show and slowed it down, revealing that Vince McMahon was the man on the mic. Of course, DDP was ultimately revealed as the stalker. Why is it that Vince did the voiceovers instead of Page?

28.) Before he WAS a mystery man, Page went through an angle in which he was assisted by a mystery benefactor who took him off of the streets while he was homeless. Who did the benefactor wind up being?

29.) Though most of our questions have been about the United States, Japan has also seen its share of masked men with hidden identities. The most popular among these are Tiger Mask and Black Tiger, each of whom have been played by multiple wrestlers over the life of the characters. A similar but lesser known character is the Convict. What two men have donned the hood to play this character?

30.) True or Flase: Glenn "Thrasher" Ruth of the Headbangers was revealed as being the man behind the G-TV segments that embarrassed numerous WWF wrestlers during the Attitude Era.

That does it for yet another trivia challenge. Remember, if you want to enter, shoot the answers to [e-mail]. I'll be back with the answers and the winner next week.