Ask 411 Wrestling: 09.27.06: Heel champs, WELLNESS~!, Salaries and More
Posted by Chris Clarke on 09.27.2006
Is there really any doubt that Hunter is the highest paid wrestler in the company right now? Lets debate that, and more, in this weeks Ask 411 Wrestling!
Hey yo.
Time for another wonderful edition of Ask 411. Thank you all for your questions, as I've got a bunch in the que and am always looking for more. Keep on sending them in please, and don't ever hesitate to write in corrections!
Errata:
John talks chicks: Chyna has a shoot video that's up on youtube, I believe it's called "why you shouldn't become a wrestler" or something real close to that. She basically said exactly what you stated, but it's just so funny to listen to her being bitter.
As for Francine, my understanding was that Vince wants her to be less of an active part and more of a show-piece. For that, she needs to drop some muscle, and tighten her ass. To bad, she always looked good, and now is no different. I'd hate to see her turn into a Stacy or something like that, tall stick things.
John also wants to talk CZW: Well, I had to weigh in on this whole iwc based anti-violence "thing"
of late. Having worked CZW shows in the past, I agree that as a whole, the company is a bit out-there most of the time and that, yes, many of the workers wouldn't last 30 seconds in a standard match. That said, I'd hope you are more receptive to the realities of what extreme matches really are then you let on. I'd say somewhere between 75% to 80% of the matches I've worked in my 10+ years in the business would constitute "extreme." Blood sells, in CZW and in the WWE. Blood sells well. I've worked death-matches on 4 continents. I've been in "cells" that make the Hell-In-A-Cell matches look like Saturday morning cartoons, and I've broken every bone in my body (literally) at least once with no regrets. I've also had some well received "old-school"
matches, most recently a 75 minute long Iron-Man match at the Wells, IL GPWF show.
Many a wrestler who are big stars now, have made their name by doing years of nothing BUT extreme matches. To give a short list, Foley, Tanaka, T Funk, Toyota, Shark, Hayabusa ...... The fact that we, as
wrestlers, choose to do hard-core/extreme/gore matches doesn't have anything to do with the ability, or lack-there-of, in most cases. It has to do with catering to the fans of a local, region, or group. When
I work shows in PA and NJ, they tend to be mostly extreme shows. Same with Purto Rico. In Mexico, the shows tend to be spot-based mat style.
In Japan, we mix mat wrestling with pyro, blood, and ninja weapons. In Central Europe, thumb tacks matches are a big thing, (don't ask me why). CZW would never work in, say, Atlanta. BJPW would die quickly in
the states. Please remember that by not being a wrestler, you don't understand fully how much training, CZW aside, goes into dealing with that style of wrestling, to do is safely. That yes, as gruesome as it looks, it's still just as worked as every other style, and we train hard to know where to cut, where not to, how to take a 30+ foot fall of a balcony and not be dead when we hit the ground, and yes, there is an art to make barb-wire somewhat safe. In the end, we're all fans, smarks and workers alike. We've all got a preference. I can't find the
enjoyment factor in things like OVW and GCW, but I mark out at AJPW and BJ shows, I hate the UFC but go nuts when watching IWA. It's all a matter a taste.
Kev talks Hooliganz: In response to the Hooliganz question in the last Ask 411 column, I attended the Newcastle Smackdown house show during the April UK tour this year and Tony Chimmel announced London and Kendrick as 'The Hooliganz' before and after the match. I don't know if this is also the case at US house shows or whether they are only allowed to use the name outside of the US fore some reason.
Game pipes in: Nelson asks: in 2002 Brock Lesnar was no doubt the hottest new superstar to come along in years. The very fact that The Rock CLEANLY jobbed to him at SummerSlam was enough to cement this idea. My question is, with all the steam Brock had going, why did they kill his heat and relegate him to Smackdown? Did he mess up somehow? Or was it that Triple-H really did not want to have to play 2nd banana to Lesnar and by creating two world titles he would never have to? Either way, I think this was the move that began the downfall of Lesnar as he was moved from the future #1 guy in the E to the #1 guy on the B show.
ask 411: I believe the answer to be 2-fold. Just like Batista today, the fed had faith that someone like Brock could be the "name" on that show. So you put someone you believe to be a strong draw there, and just let them run with it. The problem is, just like Batista is finding out now, is that when you don't have solid heels and faces around you, there is only so much one can do!
The other reason is simply that they wanted to keep him away from the real star of wrestling â" Triple H. That would keep those two from having to feud, thereby saving up a bit feud for Hunter later on. So â" why when that happens, does not Hunter go to Smackdown⦠mmmm?
I disagree, I think that they always planned to have two different titles and it looked like stephanie got one up on bischoff (and you know stephanie was very willing to play that role). I think peopleforget just how even Raw and SD! started out. Heck, not only did they start out even, I'd say SD! was the A show. Triple H was originally on SmackDown!, so were Hogan, Rock, Angle, Jericho. Remember what the Wrestlemania 19 main event was? Angle vs. Lesnar. The Raw world title match was fourth from the top of the card, behind another SD! match of Hogan vs. McMahon. I'm just illustrating that SD! was not always the B-Show.
now, the first time they shook up the rosters, Lesnar was the big get for stephanie. I think that they really just wanted to have the rosters balanced out. Remember that they also added Undertaker to SD! at this time, plus they already had Angle and the SmackDown! 6(Jericho was shipped to RAW and Rock and Hogan were taking time off), so Brock was definitely not alone on SmackDown! and I think they were trying to keep things even. Of course now it really is just the B show.
(Ed note: The decision to have separate world titles was a last-minute decision after Brock took the belt from Rock, so there was no big plan)
Jon talks Highlanders: Just read your recent ask411 and you are bang on re: the Highlanders.
Stone is still the only real measure we use in the Uk for a persons weight. Pounds have never been popular for anything other than weighing newborn babies and fruit and veg, and if you ask someone to be weighed
using metric measures they would probably become apoplectic.
It is a wonderful way to hammer home the gimmick, especially to those of us in the UK!
(Ed note: What's even funnier is that the Highlanders were discovered in the Ontario Indies - really nice guys by the way)
Matt talks Warrior: Warrior didnt press slam andre but he did body slam him with no build out of a bear hug. There's video of it somewhere, but I no longer can find it.
Tim talks more Warrior: My first wrestling event was in.. jesus... probably 89/90 in Daytona Beach... before WM6... but the main event (which was in the middle of the card) was Warrior/Andre. The match... literally, no joke... consisted of Andre coming out and standing in the ring... Warrior's music starting, him running to the ring, sliding in, running the ropes, the bell ringing while he was still running, him clotheslining Andre twice and to the ground and then doing the goofy running splash. 1...2...3. Then running out of the ring. His music has stopped for maybe ten seconds before playing again. Poor Andre. Poor poor Andre.
Jason wants to go Hollywood: The reason Hogan seems to be dressed in the Hollywood outfit at Bash '98 despite being the "Real American" up until then was that to beat Jarret he had to "Summon up Holywood Hogan and kick his ass" yeah I know.
Seems that Hogan had multiple personalities or something back then as alot of times when he needed to "get mean" he'd "summon Holywood"
Mike Awesome used to do it alot as well when he was "That 70's Guy" claiming he had "some career killer" in him today.
(Ed Note: I think it was Bash 2000 - 1998 Jarrett was still with Vince)
Gareth has a ton of stuff to talk about: Here in the UK we always use Stones and Pounds for weight (in the same way as Feet and Inches are used for height). We never use just pounds. Kilograms are used in Europe and as such the European Union often decrees that things be weighed by that measure (especially loose produce like vegetables) but for all pratical purposes Stones and Pounds are the standard units of weight in the UK.
There are EXACTLY 14 pounds in a stone. The one is derived from the other (like 12 inches in a foot).
And its always Stone, not Stones. Don't know why, but there it is. If you were to ask me how much I weigh, I would say 12 and a half stone, full stop. (Not period, that's another Americanism).
On the music videos: whilst the Highway to Hell one is very good, its definitely not the first. The Sid vs HBK feud (in which Sid beat up Jose Lothario's son, and attacked Shawn with a TV camera, and stuff) from winter 1996 was recapped very effectively in a video prior to the Rumble 97 match between the two. It wasn't of the order of later videos but it was pretty good. With dramatic music and stuff. Don't know if that was the first, but it pre-dates Summerslam 98.
Punjabi prison = worst finish ever. The wall didn't break, it just opened like a gate!
I didn't think moving Lesnar to Smackdown was a bad idea. I think it needed to be done because the huge number of main-eventers across the two rosters at that point had lead to the ridiculous series of title changes we saw over that period. It seemed to change at every ppv (off the top of my head jericho->hhh->hogan->taker->rock->lesnar between wm and summerslam). Excluding his early feud with taker (memorable only for a lame Cell match that featured taker with a broken hand and a gory blade job) Lesnar's work on Smackdown with Angle (and then Benoit for a bit) was probably the best in-ring WWE main events ever. Only Bret v Shawn comes close for technical wrestling. Unfortunately Lesnar blew what was the last genuine money match WITHIN the WWE by leaving when he did. Because you know they had the Lesnar/HHH lined up for the future. And that would have been money baybee.
Incidentally the only moves that seems to never be done anymore for safety reasons are ones where you get dropped on your head, hard, like the Owen Hart sitout tombstone piledriver and Steiner screwdriver. Hell they hardly ever do piledrivers anymore (unless your name is Lawler).
Chris talks about Russo/Hogan: Hey, just thought I'd chime in on the Hogan/Russo situation. The story I always heard was that it was pretty much the opposite of a "worked shoot" (a shot work?). The story goes that Hogan WAS originally to lose to Jarrett, and he DID use his creative control on the day of the event to put himself over instead. Russo went to Hogan and proposed one of his famous worked-shoot storylines, where Jarrett lays down for Hogan, Hogan gets fired, and Russo makes the Jarrett/Booker match for later in the night; Hogan would come back a couple of weeks down the road and win the belt in a big triple threat match with Jarrett and Booker at the next PPV. Hogan agreed to this, did his "match", got "fired", and went home... and Russo never called him to come back. I tell ya, that Vince Russo is a devious sonofabitch...
Anyway, that's just how I've put together the situation (based on bits and pieces I've picked up from news sites and Russo's own blog), so I could be wrong. I just don't think it's very likely...
TIME FOR A SET OF QUESTIONS!
Al asks: My question concerns some of the famous short term champions of the 1970s and 80s. What I would like to know is who all did Ivan Koloff. Stan Stasiak, and The Iron Shiek in the old WWWF and WWF defend their titles against? I also would like to know the defenses of Tommy Rich and Kerry Von Erich?
ask 411: Well in terms of the heel champs, they of course battled the top faces. Sheik had a strong series of rematches against Backlund around the horn, leading up to him dropping the title to Hogan. Shiekie also battled against Chief Jay Strongbow, Pat Patterson, Salvatore Bellomo and Tito Santana..
Stan Stasiak's reign was so short, I cannot find any record of who he actually battled. It wouldn't surprise me if he won the title from Pedro, only to drop it the very next show he worked. Same goes for Koloff he had a reign of about 2 weeks. He may have had a match or two in there, likely against local faces.
Kerry Von Erich, of course, had his big rematch against Ric Flair, but if you read Flair's book, no one wanted Kerry to be a long-term champion, and they planned to get the title off of him as fast as possible in a rematch with Flair. Tommy Rich was right in the thick of things, so I would expect he battled all the top heels of the territory, including the Freebirds, Flair, Race again, etc.
Jesse asks: Midget minded... first, is Finlay's little bastard friend one of the midgets he abused during the midget silliness on Smackdown... that last midget tag match? And I assume midget competition on Smackdown has been
discontinued.
Secondly, on the same topic, did King Kong Bundy actually injure the midgets in the mixed tag match he was in with Hillbilly Jim during Wrestlemania? Was he thrown out for that, or was that just the excuse because he planned to leave anyway?
ask 411: The midget division, or junior as they called it as a rib on Japan and the X-Division, is discontinued.
And what do we say about what's on TV? If it's on TV it's a work!
Eric asks: what are the specifics of the wellness program? i understand that its some form of drug testing, but how strict is it, what drugs is it testing for and how often are they tested? Not to condone the use of hard drugs but it sucks if they're grown men and they're really gonna get fired if they test positive for something harmless like marijuana.
Under the program, according to that PDF ANY prohibited substance, if found in increasing or maintaining levels in a "superstar" is reason enough to suspend and punish. I would suspect that includes THC. But I believe that it is left intentionally vague so that the top-stars don't have to take it in the face if they get a little high.
Reinaldo asks: Who is the highest paid wrestler EVER? Also, who is the highest paid currently?
ask 411: This is a touch subject because most of the time, specifics of contracts are not always let out. The Guiness Book of Records may have this info, as they used to list Andre as such. This was the day before kayfabe died, however, so the number is likely not there anymore. During the 1970s and early 1980s, it was Andre no doubts about it. Then, of course, Hogan took off with royalties, and PPV %s so that was the next bump. Then Austin hit huge with his royalties and some of the biggest PPV numbers ever. Who is the highest, relative to inflation? I couldn't tell you. All I know is that Hogan, in his WCW deal, was getting a million dollars just to show up at PPV events, plus a % of the buyrate, and the house, and merch, and extra fees. So my guess, his WCW deal is the richest ever in wrestling history.
The highest paid wrestler right now that's even tougher since Vince has really clamped down on things. My guess would be Hunter just since he's likely got stock options in the company that others don't have access to. Highest-paid non-McMahon is probably Taker as a pay-per-appearance breakdown.
JB asks: If and when Kurt Angle manages to fully heal up.......Should TNA consider hiring him?
ask 411: I would say no. While some of the TNA matchups would be great, along with the reduced schedule, I believe someone like Kurt needs monitoring. He's his own worst enemy he feels like he has to be the best kind of like the mental illness Foley has. He needs a wellness program, as it really did save his life. So while my wrestling fan part says TNA all the way, my brain says bad idea.
Alan asks: Do you know when the last time a match went to the time limit?,excluding Iron Man type of matches. I can only think of British Bulldogs V Fabulous Rougoes at SUmmerslam 89.
ask 411: Tough question but there are a few notable ones. Such as the night the line was crossed ECW Douglas vs. Funk vs. Sabu. That's the biggest one in the modern era that's for sure. Other than that one the phenomenon has really started to die out. The TV audience has been trained for the faster matches the draw doesn't sit well with them. If anyone knows some other modern era ones, please point them out.
Clyde asks: Anyhoo, I am curious--do you think Vince will ever release a Rock and Sock Connection DVD? I think it might sell.
ask 411: I bet you can already find 99% of the footage from that DVD on other Foley and Rock sets already. I know it's been a long time since Rock had a DVD, but really haven't we seen it all before on other discs? Plus Foley's humour-filled DVDs covers a lot of it. Maybe they can double-sell it with some unseen houseshow footage and stuff but really, it's all been done before.
D.Nightwolf asks: The Head bangers, Molly Holly, Rosey, Dean Malenko, Matt Morgan, Billy Kidman, Chuck Palumbo, and Johnny Stamboli. Where are they?
ask 411: RAPID FIRE!
Mosh As of this summer, Mosh was working the Indies in Florida as Chaz
Thrasher MIA, I have no new info on him. Please pass on if you know!
Rosey Recently fired by WWE, working Indies as Ro-Z
Dean Malenko currently a road agent/creative mind in ECW
Matt Morgan Rumoured to be heading back to WWE due to size, currently working a lot for NJPW.
Billy Kidman recently worked dark matches under a hood for WWE, still married to Torrie Wilson, working Indies in Florida.
Chuck Palumbo rumoured to be heading back to WWE worked some heat/velocity this year working in Mexico and Indies.
Johnny Stamboli working a lot in Japan for AJPW and in Mexico.
Jimmy asks: I was just wondering about when the WWE guys get a chance to work out. Do the arenas have work out rooms or do the guys have to go to Golds or 24 Hour Fitness in every city they go to? I remember watching the Triple H and Chyna video and they took a limo to the gym to work out.
ask 411: I think that's the best way to think about it they do have to go to those "regular people" places in a lot of the towns. Some arenas have facilities, but most of the time the wrestlers have contacts within each city where they either pay a daily fee, or likely get comped. There are marks everywhere to take advantage of!!
Alex asks: I know that Raw and Smackdown like to go to commercials during the matches, while WCW in the 90s said that they would stay with a match
until its conclusion, before doing commercials. I know these commercial breaks are planned, but has a match ever ended during the break?
ask 411: of course not. That would defeat the purpose of a commercial break, where one is enticed to keep watching to see what happens. If it ended during the break, wouldn't you be pissed?
THAT'S IT FOR THIS WEEK
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Every week, I will answer a number of questions (schedule permitting) regarding professional wrestling. It can be on any topic new, old, national, international, whatever. You can even ask me IWC questions if you so desire, I will do my best to hunt down the answers. The column will also be filled with humour, commentary, and occasional ranting. It also may not be P.C. so be forewarned!
This column will be appearing every Wednesday afternoon. I will not hesitate to open up questions to the audience if I am stumped, and I will provide "errata" warnings if I'm proven to have been smokin' da pipe.
All questions and responses should be directed to cjc739@mail.usask.ca. I would be happy to hear from you on any topic at all.
And I guess that's it for now no gimmicks, no silly lists of rules just send me some darn email. This is about the free-exchange of information nothing more, nothing less. Let's just have some freakin' fun and actually publish this column with some sort of consistency. To do that I NEED YOUR HELP! SEND IN YOUR QUESTIONS!
