Ask 411 Wrestling 12.06.06: Royal Rumbles, Backstage Altercations, Rejects and more!
Posted by Steve Cook on 12.06.2006
Including some lost questions from the past! I really ought to read my own columns more often so I don't make these kinds of mistakes...
It's time to Ask 411 Wrestling! I am your party host Steve Cook, and this week we've got a new batch of questions along with some I forgot to include earlier! I do make mistakes sometimes...but you guys already knew that, right?
Question E-Mails still in the inbox: 34
Now, I'm not sure how valid the first correction in this section is, but it's too good not to include...
Corrections & Additions
"Akeem the African Dream was unable to make his scheduled Survivor Series appearance in 1989 due to problems with his work visa. Clerical errors by Akeem's manager,"the Doctor of Style" Slick, resulted in deportation back to deepest darkest Africa. At the immigration office, the Slickster told the 7 foot tall female clerk quite a story, said he'd love her forever more so she proceeded to file the proper paper work. A short time later Akeem was able to return to the United States." - Andrew Broka Jive Soul Bro Fan Club Member-Elite Status
"I vaguely remember this controversy over the Don Harris' shirt or tattoos because it came around the same time as another mainstream controversy (Late '02, early days of TNA?).
I believe Target was under scrutiny for having apparel with the number 88 on it, that had been used by numerous Nazi gangs, skinheads, etc. for H being the 8th letter of the alphabet, HH= Heil Hitler. I thought Harris' tattoo or shirt had the 88 in question on it.
Similarly, I believe around the same time, the Umbro soccer company came under fire for unveiling a shoe named "Zyklon" which was a gas famous for its use in concentration camps and the holocaust. These stories all seemed to combine briefly in the mainstream media.
So ultimately, the most racist wrestler/gimmick would probably be Don Harris taking Jeep Swenson's Final Solution gimmick (before renaming it Ultimate Solution), wearing Umbro Zyklon's, being managed by Col. DeBeers, in a feud with Bad News Brown while taking make-up tips from Roddy Piper. " - Justin
"This is from the Philly Raw when Nash just came back from injury. I went to this show and saw Nash walk into the ring, and promptly make a bad cut on his leg and get injured. And the Trish incident is so noticeable because they were in a tight camera shot and youi saw everything. Philly fans are brutal and they were booing them when they messed up in the ring. It was sometime in '03 I think." - freddyfingers
"A reader by the name of Johan replied 2 weeks ago that the reason he believed Christy Hemme was fired by WWE was because she didn't want to sign a smaller contract and didn't want to go to a wrestling academy.
If memory serves me correctly, this is completely false. I remember her signing a contract extension similar to the one Ashley signed a few months back. (I think it was 2-4 years) I also remember her being sent to OVW for more full time seasoning and her posting something on her website saying she was thrilled with that opportunity because she really enjoyed her work and wanted to get better. Like a day after that post she was let go for, as WWE said, "budget cuts."
I doubt money was that much of an issue because I suspect she's currently getting less from TNA than anything she would have been offered by WWE. Overall I think the situation was sort of sad because Christy really did seem to want to learn to improve and was fantastically hot and fun to watch. Oddly enough, the next Diva search saw the fans pick Ashley who seemed in the same mold as Christy. I wonder if after her Playboy shoot if WWE will let her go too?" - Bobby D.
Guys using the same gimmicks in different promotions -
DDP and The Rock were both the Peoples Champion round
about the same time. - Chris Page
"last week you were asked if Johnny Polo ever wrestled on TV. back in late 93 early 94 i was a relatively new wrestling fan, but i remember seeing polo wrestle at lest twice. the first was when he and one of the Quebecers took on ether Marty Jannetty and the 123 kid or the Hart Brothers and won. The next week Polo had a one on one match with a member of the other team. I am sure there are more but these are the only ones I can remember of the top of my head
The Rockers Hart Foundation title match the reason was not exactly that the turnbuckle came off but that the match was held in an unofficial ring and a title change can only happen in an official ring
Also with the Clique i think it should be noted that, despite what some revisionist say, Triple H was not a core member, he was also a junior member/bag carrier
As fare as wrestlers with the same name goes how about Shane Douglas and Sting both being known as the franchise, or George Steel and a road warrior both being known as the Animal." - rafff18
"Anyways, I would love to add on the "2 - What is CM Punk doing with his hands before a match? (I'm sure it's some kind of punk related gesture, but I don't have any clue what.)" question. You are correct, it's a wrist warming exercise and it comes from Judo and also from Jujitsu. I practice the second one and I do use it before each class. I know that CM Punk as a background in Judo, he pick it up there." - JPB
"Also, a response to this question: "1 - Why is it that when two wrestlers "really hate each other" they get into a pull-apart brawl where they just punch each other and roll around on the ground (SEE: Joe, Samoa and Angle, Kurt), yet when they get into the actual match it's back to suplexes and wrestling moves? - Tim Dennie"
I've always thought about it like this: In kayfabe terms, if you are under emotional duress (like blinding hatred), your ability to overcome your opponent is threatened because he may be able to use your mental state against you. Outside of sanctioned matches you can brawl all the live long day, but when it's match time you'd better have your game face on. So wrestlers must be calm, smart, and disciplined in order to win, which is why many matches start with "testing" or "icebreaking" sequences filled with technical prowess (so one can guage the opponent's skill level and state of mind) and then devolve into last-resort sequences like blading, sledgehammers, and top-rope spots; the idea is that both guys start out level-headed, but after a while they pull out the stops and start taking desperate measures.
Realistically, having a rolling-on-the-floor-punching-each-other fight as an actual match archetype is a very, very bad idea. Realistic maybe, but it's not something anyone will pay to see (no skill, no finesse. Tsk, tsk). It's useful in showing how much two guys hate one another, however, so brawls are used to build to an upcoming match rather than act as the climax itself.
Steve Austin made a living bending this psychology to its limits, just by brawling at every opportunity and making it look good. Bret Hart went in the other direction and kept his character fairly level-headed throughout the length of his matches, and got over based on his mastery of technique." - Greg
"And the kayfabe explanation according to Ricky Steamboat is basically that while the two guys hate each other, they've generally had some time before the match to cool off, and decided that they'd rather win to embarass their opponent *and* further their career, so instead of going balls out as they may expect, they play it smart and use their wrestling skills.
Him and Flair apparently did this in the territory days, with them having a pull apart brawl causing a no-contest one week, then having a no DQ match the next and barely even touching for the first 10 minutes because of how cautious they're being.
It makes sense to me, and I figure it's really as good an explanation as any." - Brendan Tihane
"They (Harris Brothers) wear t-shirts because one of them had a plastic surgery mishap (actually suing the surgeon), and to keep the "twin switch gimmick", they had start wearing
shirts so you couldn't tell them apart during the matches, while they were the Bruise Brothers." - Alan Thomas
"Regarding the question
about the steel cage swtiching to a chain linked fence, from a blue-bared cage,
the WWE changed that in 2000. The blue cage was last seen the night after
WM14-when X-Pac and the Outlaws joined DX, and the Outlaws took the tag titles
back from Cactus Jack and Chainsaw Charlie.
In 99, the 'E changed to a black bared cage, I'm guessing, because black cages
have "attitude." The black cage can be seen from St. Valentine's Day Massacre
(Austin vs McMachon) and a match in October between the Rock and Trilpe-H, which
is on the Bloodiest Steel Cage Matches DVD. The chain linked came in for a
Rock/Benoit cage match on Raw, somewhere around WM16 to the summer of '00. Keep
in mind, these all relate to TV matches, but I'm sure some joker will email you
about some house show he saw back in the day." - mpogo27
"The last time the Blue (or black) Steel Cage was used in the WWF was St. Valentine's Day Massacre in February of 1999 with Vince McMahon vs. Steve Austin." - Bobby
"December 27, 1993 - RAW: Johnny Polo defeated Marty Jannetty.." - Johan Dahl
And then Polo had another match with Jannetty on January 31, 1994's Raw, which was won by Jannetty. Thanks to everybody who wrote in on this one...considering Raven's had like 200 shoot interviews I'm surprised I'd never heard him talk about it before.
"Hey, a quick tidbit about the blue barred cage... WWE had brought it out of "retirement" for a house show match for the IC title. I believe it was Jericho vs. Christian, however, I could be wrong on that. Regardless, the fans didn't really take to the cage too well, probably since it's associated with the Rock & Roll "cartoon wrestling" era. Anyway, by the time the match was TV ready, they opted instead for the mesh.
Oh, and as for "Father" James Mitchell's scalping of Raven. According to him, he accidentally had the buzzcutter facing the wrong way and was afraid of ruining the segment by stopping to turn it around.
As for wrestlers in feds using other nicknames... Ernest "The Cat" Miller was in WCW and Stacy Carter was "The Kat" in WWE. Also, Miller admits that he took his name from "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd, who had wrestled in the WWWF and into the WWF. However, I think the biggest was Jericho referring to himself as a "Living Legend" which led to a lawsuit (not sure whatever happened there) with Larry Zbyszko. However, Zbyszko had originally used the name "The New Living Legend", having taken "The Living Legend" from Bruno Sammartino.
Oh, and a quick note on The Rock and HBK's hatred. Apparently they were to work a feud around the time Smackdown started. There was a ME of The Rock vs. HHH, where HBK was the ref and Sweet Chinned The Rock. Apparently this was to lead to HBK vs. The Rock on PPV with HBK coming out of retirement at least for that match. However, according to rumors, HBK showed up the following week "in no condition to compete, let alone be on TV" and the feud was dropped. I guess Vince tried again for 'Mania, but no dice. As much as I love The Rock, I gotta say that he's got no real reason to step into the ring and compete again. Although, when Harry Smith does get on TV, it would be awesome if Rocky would "do Bret a favor" and put the kid over in a big match." - Jimmy K
I should have related Mitchell's story about it from his ROH shoot interview. Raven was not happy about it, no sir.
"I just wanted to comment as well about the Shawn Michaels - Rock heat. As far as Wrestlemania XV goes, the company wanted to do a triple threat with Austin, The Rock and Mick Foley originally. HBK complained about this as he felt the title match at Wrestlemania should be a one-on-one match, so it got changed to Austin vs. The Rock. He, however, wanted it to be Austin vs. Foley, not Austin vs.HHH. This was documented in "Have a Nice Day".
Also, I just wanted to note that when Michaels was around during HHH's first title reign in fall of 1999 he made derogatory comments about the The Rock being handed his fame on Byte This! This led to him being written out of storylines and the disbanding of the group of him, HHH, Chyna and Shane McMahon which had been formed on the previous week's Smackdown. I hope this clarifies a few things." - Kale
Liam Roche also wrote in backing up HBK's push for Austin v. Foley at WM, not Austin vs. Triple H. Considering that Triple H was not quite a main eventer at that point, that would make more sense.
"This is in response to Ric Flair's likelihood of "wrestling until he dies..."
While there isnt an official "Retirement" for wrestlers, let's not forget that the E has started looking after the older wrestlers since they brought back the Hall of Fame, signing many older veterans to "Legends" deals. Guys like Hacksaw Jim Duggan work a lot less than they used to, and are at least still getting a paycheck. Also, I'm sure that when Ric Flair is ready, he'll be able to cut his wrestling down to part time like the Undertaker, or even become a "producer" like other wrestlers of his generation (Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat, etc.)
Also, I think that Ric Flair and Jim Ross in the broadcast booth would be killer in an old school sorta way.
Finally, I think that part of the reason Ric still wrestles full time is because it probably pays better than a Legends deal. Between alimony to his old wife and paying for his new one, he needs all the $$ he can get." - Virgil Wade
"I'm wondering how many e-mails you're getting asking to tell Darknightwolf101 that Brock Lesnar's F-5 was Marc Mero's TKO." - soshbill
Not too many, because the F-5 ended like a DDT and Mero's TKO kinda ends like a Stunner. They're different moves.
"In the most recent ask 411mania (November 29th) you
received a question from "Bryan Jones" in relation to
the blotch on Jeff Hardy's arm. It is in fact a tattoo
most of which is covered by the armband he wears,
however." - Brett Sullivan
"In response to your question "What does the 'CM' in CM Punk stand for...I used to wrestle with him in IWA Midsouth and Dave Prazak gave him that name and it stands for "Crooked Moonsault" cause thats how he did a moonsault back in the day. That's what I'm told at least." - Travis
Well, it does stand for the Chick Magnets tag team, but Punk likes to change it around depending on what kind of mood he's in, and Prazak has a very similar sense of humor from what I can tell. And his moonsault probably was crooked like Tom Lawrence's.
"First off, about Nick Patrick placing his hand under the referee's shoulders to push them up for a three count... I always dug this move and I remember another WCW referee who had previously done this on occassion. "
It was that ref in the 80s that always would push back when flair tried to intimidate him...tommy rogers, maybe? he was great.
"As for Hakushi's 'tattoos', I always assumed they were done in that far eastern "tattoo" style of painting. I forget the exact term, but it was a "celebrity fad" a few years back and while they weren't permanent, they didn't wash off easily."
Mendhi? guess it could be, and that would explain why they didnt come off during a match, but that shit STAYS on you til it's ready to come off, so if he did that, he'd still have them on after the show. for a while.
"Then again, it could've just as easily been a Sharpie marker. I had used permanent markers to "paint" my face for my senior year's final school spirit day leading to homecoming in the style of Road Warrior Hawk (school colors were black and red). I did this purposely instead of using the face paint, since I didn't want it to wear off from sweat. It only took about half an hour after the game to completely wash away the marker with a bar of Lava."
Interesting....
Macho Machine? Dragon Machine? Animal Machine? AWESOME! I'd buy a Machines dvd. Sadly, in the match listing provided, macho, dragon, junkyard, rebel, and honky machine didnt have any matches :(
"If I remember correctly, they stopped using the blue barred cage in either 1997 or 1998."
The first non-blue cage I remember was St Valentine's Day Massacre, Austin vs McMahon, and that was a black barred cage. Then again, I hadn't watched much wrestling for the 2.5 years before that, other than during the summer or over xmas, since i was in college at the time.
As for wrestlers using the same nickname in different companies, didnt Butch Reed used to go by "Hacksaw" Butch Reed, around the same time that we had "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan? That whacky butch reed, always trying to be something he's not.
Although Doom rocked.
I want a Doom/Steiners dvd." - Manu Bumb
The ref Manu's thinking of is Tommy Young, who was without a doubt one of the greatest wrestling referees of all time. Really, anybody trying to be a referee should study him on tape because he's as good as there ever was at the craft.
"This is pretty much a general question, do you know where I can find WWF dvds from '96 to 2002, without the WWF signs being censored, cause that's really annoying." - Mike
You're not going to find them in stores...I'm thinking your best bet is to look around the Internet, places like ebay where people might be selling older DVDs. Otherwise, it's not going to happen.
"What was WCW's biggest attendance record?
Also, why does it seem WCW never ran in big arenas, because i can hardly find a
crowd of over 20,000 in even WCW's most popular days?" - finoj05
The biggest WCW crowd number I could find was 38,196 at the Georgia Dome for the July 6, 1998 edition of Monday Nitro where Goldberg won the WCW title from Hollywood Hogan. WCW did like to run domes sometimes, even when it really wasn't necessary, but the fact is that they never could really draw an insane amount of people on a regular basis, and they didn't put their biggest events in the domes. Surely Starrcade could have drawn over 40,000 in a dome during WCW's peak, but they were holding it in Washington's MCI Center every year at that point. One of the classic 1989 Flair vs. Steamboat matches took place in the Superdome, but it only drew 5,300 people because...well, people are idiots.
Kollision in Korea drew 190,000 people in North Korea, but it was a joint production of WCW & New Japan, so I'm not thinking it would count in this discussion. And people were forced to go to the event by the North Korean dictator.
"I have a few questions, the 1st one is with regards to the new dvd about the WWE Championship.
When the dvd goes over Eddie G's win over Brock Lesner, JR puts him over as being the lighest, smallest wrestler to win the championship to that date (Rey would go on to beat this records) My question is, surley that aint right. I would never have thought that he was the smallest or the lighest..surley Shawn Michaels was lighter during his title reign.
2nd question is regards to the whole Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels thing
Do you ever know if they ever had a fight when the cameras were off..surley something must have happend after the whole Sunny comments by Shawn. Also, after watching a few dvd's etc, HHH has been on camera telling Shawn not to worry as Bret wont try anything when he is around. Was HHH seen as the (for want of a better phrase) the "big guy" in the locker room? If so, that suprises me as Bret wasnt exactly a small guy, not to mention the Bulldog or that." - Garry from Edinburgh, Scotland
1. Michaels is billed at 6'1...whether he actually is or not can be debated, but Eddie was definitely shorter than him. As far as billed weights go, Eddie was billed at 228 lbs while Michaels is currently listed at 225 lbs...I believe he was heavier back then than he is now, so odds are he was probably heavier than Eddie was. So I'd be willing to give JR the benefit of the doubt there.
2. Bret & Shawn did have a real fight backstage at a WWF Raw taping during the summer of 1997. Michaels quit the WWF after it happened, but Vince convinced him to come back and turned him heel, even pushing him as the top heel over Hart. Even back then, Punishment = Push in the WWF/E. Triple H is a few inches taller and weighs quite a bit more than Hart, but really he was probably being full of himself more than anything else. I don't believe Triple H has ever been considered a locker room enforcer along the lines of guys like Bradshaw or Ron Simmons, but I could be wrong.
"This (Royal Rumble) used to be my favorite event, and I still like elements about it, but it was so much more interesting when it was more random and believable. Now, every year, is it just me, or is it that the first or second guy in the ring is nearly guaranteed to be the last or second to last guy in the ring? Of all the Royal Rumble's, how many times has this happened? Do you find it anticlimactic that it does happen so often? Once or twice within a 15 year time span would be cool, but not every other Royal Rumble. Also, how scripted is the order of throw-outs? It would seem like in an event like this, it's so chaotic with so many bodies involved, there might be some leeway... i.e., Marvelous Mike Maloney (the fake wrestler here), he has to get thrown out of the ring between the tenth and fourteenth throw-out... logic like that." - Jesse Nelson
The first or second guy making it to the end has happened five times in the Royal Rumble's nineteen year history (1992, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2006), but what I think makes it seem so anti-climatic is the fact that two out of those five times have occurred in the last three years. It did mean something back in 1992 when Gorilla Monsoon was going on about how nobody with the number 1-5 had ever made it to the end of the Royal Rumble while Bobby Heenan yelled at him to shut up, but now...not so much. They would do well to get away from that in the next few years so that when they do it, it's more special.
The Royal Rumble has been meticiously planned out almost every year by Pat Patterson, who came up with the concept for the match. The order of eliminations is considered very important...it's more of a controlled chaos than actual chaos. Surely there are some mistakes, but they put a lot of thought into making sure everything works out right.
Have always been a fan of Ace ("Cowboy" Bob Orton) and wondered if he left WWE on bad terms after the Undertaker/Hepatitis situation. Wish something had been done teaming him and Piper. Any chance of Orton returning? - Richard
There's always a chance...WWE is very forgiving and always seems to give people several chances. I wouldn't expect him to return anytime soon though, especially if Undertaker's still pissed about the whole hepatitis thing.
why would they make those vignettes for shannon moore's new gimmick the reject, give him a new look, create some hype, just to have him job? - Patrick
Because...they're idiots? Seriously though, somebody probably realized that the concept wasn't getting over and it was pretty much squashed shortly afterwards. And with Moore's emo kid character, it was going to be tough to see him as a legitimate threat towards anybody.
What in your opinion is the most devastating finishing move? I thinks its got to be the vertabreaker. - Greg
The Vertebreaker, also known as Homicide's Cop/Gringo Killa, definitely has to be near the top of this list. It's a highly dangerous move where if the opponent lands the wrong way, they can wind up in a wheelchair. Another dangerous move has to be the Burning Hammer. Sticking with LAX, the Border Toss has to rank up there...but I think I'd have to go with Petey Williams' Canadian Destroyer as being the most dangerous move in wrestling. A regular piledriver is dangerous enough...adding a flip to it is just asking for trouble. And if the wrestler taking it can't flip with it enough, the results can be disasterous.
I asked the question about the phantom 80's tournament that was supposedly won by Jerry Lawler and was surprised how much attention it got. Anyways (doubt this will get the same reaction), I remember before Wrestlemania 3 Hulk Hogan was on Piper's pit (don't think it was the necklace breaking segment) that had Piper show Hogan a "giant sized" championship belt that was made specifically for Andre just in case he won the match. My question is, what happened to that belt? I would imagine Vince would keep it for nostalgia purposes, but have never seen or heard about it since." - Randy
It's funny you bring this up, Randy...one of the missing questions from the November 15 edition of this column involved a giant sized title belt being sold on Highspots.com. So you can get a copy of it there...as for the official belt it's probably laying around Titan Towers somewhere.
"i remember watching raw back in 93 or 94, and The king took phone calls from fans live on the air while a match was going on. He would have the calls hooked up to this thing called the "Royal Flusher" where he would hang up on them..The only other thing i remember from that night was some kid saying "bite me" while the king hung up on him.... i was wondering if you knew what that whole concept was about and what the wwf was trying to accomplish with this gimmick." - Ron
The concept was just something that they thought could get Lawler more over as a heel and make the show more entertaining. I don't think they did it too many times, if not just that one time, so it might have been better on the drawing board. Not to mention, Raw was usually taped these days and unless they staged the calls they couldn't do it every week. Of course, it's highly likely that they did just stage the calls.
OK, this deserves a bit of explanation...Ask 411 reader Tav e-mailed me with some questions he said I didn't answer...I remembered seeing them and thought I had answered them for the column, but after looking some, apparently I didn't. Furthermore, I found out that some of the questions from the 11.15.06 edition didn't even make it into the finished product. Word count issues maybe...at any rate, here are the questions I didn't get in that week...we'll get back to this week's batch at the line...
Neil asks about a rumored match for WrestleMania XIV that didn't happen...
"I remembered reading somewhere that at the one wrestlemania where mike Tyson appeared, the original plans were to have Mick Foley face Terry Funk in a exploding cage match, but as mike Tyson appeared the plans were scrapped.
Is this true as I have tried to research this and can find nothing on it."
Yes, it was proposed by Foley to Vince McMahon. It was discussed in "Have A Nice Day"...originally the proposal was a best of seven death match series that would end with an explosing ring match that would air at WrestleMania, live from Funk's Double Cross Ranch in Amarillo, Texas. Vince liked the idea, but the plans for it were scrapped once Tyson was signed to come in, because Vince didn't think an exploding ring match would go over well with the mainstream audience.
Casey Johnson has some questions about belts...
On highspots.com I spotted this new belt: http://www.highspots.com/product.asp?id=15527&category=71
It claims to be the one made for Andre around WM3, but I've seen pictures of Andre with his belt, and it is identicle to Hogan's belt of that time (except for the waist size). So what the heck is this belt??
Andre won the belt after WM3, of course...at the time that show took place, the WWF title belt looked like it does in that picture. I can't honestly say for sure that the WWF made a version of that title belt big enough for Andre...it's possible that the company selling this is just trying to work people into spending 600 bucks on a big-ass belt. But if anybody has proof, I would like to see it.
(EDIT: Nevermind, the existence of this belt was confirmed earlier on in the column)
My other question is this: Years ago in the "Hulk Still Rules" magazine, I saw a picture of Hogan with like 8 belts. (The WCW, and several old WWF belts were in the picture.) I've seen half of this picture online in several places (most notably, Hogan's profile on obsessedwithwrestling.com), but I can't find a copy of the entire picture. Can you help me? Where might I find one online?
After a Google search I was unable to locate one online. Your best bet would be for somebody to scan the picture and then upload it to an online hosting site.
Andrew from Manchester, UK has two questions...
"First off - is there any difference between the Sharpshooter and the Scorpion Deathlock, because they look the same to my relatively uninitiated eye!"
No difference at all.
"Second - How big is the TNA six-sided ring compared to the more traditional squared circle? To my eye it looks as though there is more space in there but I could be wrong. I beleive the WWE use a 20 feet square ring making an area of 400 sq feet, but I've no idea how long each side is on the 6 sided ring. I remember Don West making a big deal about how the six sided cage hurts a lot more when you get thrown into it because the sides are shorter than a regular ring (he said this a couple of times during the AMW vs XXX Turning Point Cage match) but no mention of how much shorter."
I don't have the exact figures, but I'm pretty sure that TNA's six sided ring is smaller than a standard WWE ring.
Greg Waite's first question was about Chris Benoit's future with the WWE title...since I answered something about that earlier we'll take on his final two questions.
2) Is the Chavo/Rey feud finally over? They've been playing it ever since Rey's debut. I know Rey just had surgery but WWE needs to do something with the Cruiserweight division.
It'll most likely resume when Rey comes back from his knee surgery. Unless they actually come up with something else for them to do...yeah, that probably won't happen.
3) Has Edge finally gone full circle with his career? I'm loving the new gimmick Rated R Superstar and I don't think he needs to turn face again. Sure the fans respect him (sorta) but he really is the guy they cannot stand.
Depends what you mean by "full circle". Usually when somebody comes full circle they return to what they were at the beginning...considering Edge started out as a troubled loner that didn't talk much I don't think he's returned to that. I do think Edge has found the persona that fits him best and the one that will bring him the most success with his career. It's funny how wrestlers are usually at their best when acting like themselves. He'll probably turn face again at some point because nobody stays on one side of the fence forever anymore, but things are going well for him right now.
"1) Does anyone still use Killer Kowalski's Throat Stomp finisher? Never seen
it, but I read about it, and it sounds absolutely devastating.
2) When someone emerges from under the ring (i.e. - Finley's leprechaun) how do
they know when its time to attack if they can't see anything? Are they miked up
or something? Who gives them their cue?" - Lev
1. Nobody uses it, and I'm pretty sure it's because nobody can do it without seriously injuring their opponent. And really, who'd agree to take something like that in this day and age? Besides Jeff Hardy.
2. I'm not really sure about that, there are probably different singals depending on what the situation is...but I can tell you that the Little Bastard gets under the ring right before Finlay's match...when the lights are turned down he comes down surrounded by officials and crew people so nobody can see him. Apparently he just leaves after Finlay's match without escorts. I think something like shaking the ring apron would be a good cue.
"My question is a strange one, and I'm not really sure if it can be easily answered other than "because they are scared":
Why has nobody in WWE ever challenged Vince McMahon on the independent contractor status? I know for a fact from personal history that to be considered an independent contractor there are certain rules you generally have to follow. I have listed some of them below (and doing a simple google search of "employee vs independent contractor" will turn up more) with specifics on why I think VKM (the man, not the Mafia) could get into trouble for misclassifying them.
1. An independent contractor controls where, when and how the work is performed. (I doubt Edge could tell the WWE where, when and especially how he is going to perform. "I don't think I can make the PPV this month, and if I do here is what I plan on doing.")
2. An independent contractor is allowed to contract themselves out to other parties. And can do so without interference from one of their jobs. (Don't see that happening anytime soon)
3. An independent contractor does not have to personally do the work themselves, and can hire outside help at their expense to complete the task. (Again, "Don't think I'll be doing the TLC Match this month, but hey I hired Gillberg to cover for me")
4. An independent contractor trains themselves, and a company providing required training is generally viewed as an employer. (WWE requiring people to train in OVW).
Along with several other rules and regulations it seems clear to me that wrestlers are NOT independent contractors. Put a roofer in any of those examples. They decide how to do the roof, you just tell them what type you want. They decide what hours they want to work, and generally the contractor you hire doesn't climb up there and do it, he hires his own help to do that. And you sure don't hire a roofer, then pay them to train how to do their job.
So why has nobody ever challenged that ruling from Vince? I mean doing so would mean insurance, benefits and Vince having to cover his portion of their taxes. I'm sure somone would end up out of work, but if you know your leaving, you could sure make life better for those people who are still there." - J
Good question. Honestly, I'm not sure. Jesse Ventura tried to start up a wrestler union when he was with the WWF, but the plan was snuffed out by Vince (with some help from everybody's favorite Hulkster). Basically, most wrestlers seem to be out for themselves and are too concerned with their career to take a chance for somebody else's own good. As long as WWE remains the #1 game in town by a country mile, I wouldn't expect anything to happen on this front.
"I was just wondering about Sargent Slaughter.
Was he ever actually a Marine or is that pure Gimmick?" - Rob Pettigrew from Chicago
Robert Remus is a former Marine drill instructor, and in fact picked up the "Sgt. Slaughter" nickname while serving in that role. So, it's still real to him damn it.
I always wanted to say that.
"Hey, I've got some questions about Gregory Helms.
1. I read on a few sites that he's been a problem backstage, or better yet, has had a lot of problems with other wrestlers, is this true and if so do you know of any examples?
2. Also, I've heard he has some beef with Edge, is this simpley out of association with Matt?" -Dann Carrara
1. I've not heard about Helms having backstage heat, but then again you usually don't hear all that much about him.
2. Considering Edge & Helms haven't crossed paths that much in WWE (I don't remember them working together before the Lita stuff off hand, but I'm sure somebody does), I think that is most likely the source of any beef between them.
"I watched the Road Warriors dvd again some time ago and
wondered about the match between them and the Hart Foundation.
It took place on 03/12/91 about 2 weeks prior to Wrestlemania 7 (03/24/91) where
the Harts lost their titles to the Nasty Boys. Now the Harts should have been
champs in their match against LoD on Wrestlefest if logic serves me right but it
wasn´t a match for the titles. Unfortunately they didn´t show the Hart´s
entrance or any other footage of the titles (which they should have held by that
time). LoD won the match and after it they signaled that they wanted the belts
(you know when they do that gesture in front of their belly). Now what I´m
asking myself is this: To me it´s a bit strange that they win against the
reigning champions, "celebrate" with them in the ring and then showing everyone
that they wanted and deserved the titles. That´s like a slap in the face to the
opponent.
Now could it be that it was "common knowledge" that the Harts would lose at WM7
and that LoD was destined for a title run or was it just the old case that the
WWF showed the footage after WM7 and wanted it to look like the Harts weren´t
champs at all anymore?" - Schnee
The match was aired on the April 2, 1991 edition of Prime Time Wrestling, at which point the Foundation had lost the tag team titles to the Nasty Boys at WrestleMania VII. The belt gesture probably didn't make much sense to the live crowd, but to the home viewer it meant that the LOD were coming for the Nastys and business was picking up.
"anyways.. you were talking about bundy's 5 count to end his matches...in the same vein, I always wondered, when Dibiase applied the million dollar dream, why did the ref only life the opponents arm one time to give Dibiase the win...what was the logic of this?
also, in the last coliseum you mentioned old coliseum videos and piper....i distinctly remember seeing a tape where piper in a handicap tag match decides to select his tag team partner from the crowd... lo and behold he selects a superfan..that dark skinned fellow with short hair and glasses, usually seen alongside jim martin guy at ECW shows.... am i stoned or is this something you remember as well..(i asked this of the last 411 guy..he didnt answer...)
and one last question...WHY for gawd sakes.. do they keep pushing Cena down our throats.. sure he's been getting bigger pops from the crowd recently, but not nearly the strength they should be to keep the belt on him for the better part of 2 (!!!) years... shouldnt someone earn his spot before a company puts this much investment into him...or do we have to wait for the Marine DVD to tank too before they see what a waste of time this whole thing is.... " - Captain Greatness
The Captain doesn't like Cena too much.
1. The referees could have been giving DiBase the benefit of the doubt, since the MDD was a devastating submission hold that put his opponents to sleep rather quickly. Or......maybe he paid them off. We might have to alert the athletic commission about this.
2. I don't remember this, and am having a tough time finding a list of Coliseum Video match listings on the Internet, but it wouldn't surprise me if it happened because it sounds like the kind of thing Hot Rod would do. Anybody see this?
3. Cena is over with the kids and his merchandise sells really well. That's really all WWE needs to justify pushing him the way they do. Maybe he doesn't get the pops that an Austin or Rock or Hogan did...but really, who in WWE does these days? He's as deserving as anybody else in my book, even if he isn't the greatest technical wrestler in the world. I'm not saying WWE's going to reach new heights with him on top, but right now they've got nothing else.
"A recent question about Bob Backlund reminded me of something that's been puzzling me for a while. Back when Backlund was being put over as a crazy SOB, there was a TV segment in which a guy came to the ring and invited Bob to apply the Crossface Chickenwing as a demonstration. Of course, Backlund lost some marbles and applied the move tighter when the guy asked for him to stop, and Bob had to be ripped away from the guy. This was done to put over the viciousness of the Chickenwing, but my question is, who was the victim? At the time, I think I knew who he was, but my memory escapes me." - Greg
Lou Ginafriddo (spelling on the last name might be wrong) was a long-time writer for WWF Magazine who was involved in this angle with Backlund. In a later issue of the magazine, Lou wrote about how he and Backlund had been good friends back during Backlund's first run in the WWF, and he had demonstrated wrestling holds on him before without hurting him, so he was surprised that Backlund would go to those lengths. Good kayfabe stuff that just wouldn't hold up today, but a 10 year old me bought into it. And Vince McMahon trying to rip Backlund off of Lou was pretty exciting because Vince never got involved physically back then.
1.earlier I mentioned the Hart brothers who were of course Bret "hitman" Hart and his younger more athletic and charismatic brother "The Rocket" Owen Hart. If you couldn't tell from my description of them I liked Owen better then Bret, and even after he turned on him Owen was still one of my favorites (but not my favorite that was Razor Ramon). I agreed with Owen and cheered for him in his feud against his brother, because I agreed Bret was taking all the opportunities (keep in mind this was before I know about Bret's history). my question is, did you ever cheered for heel that almost everybody hated.
2.my next question is about New Japans IWGP title. I have read several places that in 1983 Hulk Hogan beat Antonio Inoki in a tournament to become the first IWGP champion and months later successfully defended the title against Inoki at Sumo Hall. Yet when I looked up the history of the IWGP it says that Inoki became the first champion in 1987 beating Masa Saito in a tournament. What happened to the title in the four years between Hogan becoming the first champ and Inoki won the title?
3. finally because I just got finished watching a daily show retrospective, what happened to Jeff Costa AKA Lobsterman? - rafff18
1. The first heel I really cheered for on a regular basis was Brian Pillman. This was because of Pillman's past as a Cincinnati Bengal, his good promos and tremendous athleticism. Because of Pillman I became a Steve Austin fan when they formed the Hollywood Blondes, which is probably one of the most underrated tag teams when the discussion of "greatest tag team ever" is had. As for Bret vs. Owen, I was pretty solidly in Bret's corner because Bret had established himself as a WWF Champion and one of the best wrestlers in the business. I admitted that Owen had talent, but thought of him as a bit of a crybaby. Once they reconciled and formed the Hart Foundation, I was ready to accept Owen for what he was. I liked Austin better, but the Hart Foundation were good foils for him.
2. The IWGP Hogan is credited with winning was a 10 man tournament. They had six of them (approximately one a year) before officially making the IWGP Heavyweight Title, and this was the first of them. Inoki won two, Andre the Giant won one, and Saito won the last one.
3. You can check out Lobsterman's website right here. His blog is kinda hard to follow, but he seems to be working on promoting some sort of wrestling group.
Well, that wraps up this edition of Ask 411 Wrestling. Tune in next week when I'll answer some more questions! Of course, in order to do that I'll need some fresh new questions, and that's where you guys come in. E-Mail me at scook411@hotmail.com and ask me anything you want to know about professional wrestling or anything relating to it. The only rule I really have is that since this thing will be posted Wednesdays at 3:00, I won't be answering anything that shows up...let's say after Raw on the Monday the week that the column is posted. You can send it, but it won't be answered here until at least the next week. Oh, and make sure you have something about "Ask 411" in the subject title, so I know you're not And if it's a correction or addition, please be sure to mention that in the subject.
