Shining a Spotlight 2.15.07: Hearts and Headlocks

Valentine’s Day is this week, as many of you are aware. A time when romance is all the rage, even if you don’t have someone with you. Such as myself, but that’s a totally different topic.

It made me think about how romance pops up in wrestling a lot more than you think. I’m not talking about the many, many storyline romances (far too big a list to count). I’m talking about the ways real relationships pop up in wresting and how they affect both the workers and even storylines. Love, as a great man once wrote, is a many-splendored thing but it also brings many problems as well.

The lives of wrestlers on the road are far more difficult than those of “real” athletes. They don’t get super fancy hotels or agents or personal trainers or the like. Even those who are main-eventers in WWE still have to handle smaller hotels, small diners and long car rides rather than planes. That’s a lot of pressure on the road to add to the pressure of performing almost 300 nights a year. Given that, it’s little surprise so many workers are tempted by drugs…and women.

The list of broken marriages of wrestlers is, sad to say, quite long. The pressures of the business and the fact that life on the road leaves it easy for some to stray is a factor. Add in the rise of divas or other women in the business and how they interact with wrestlers often, it creates a bond that can easily lead to something more.

Frankly, it still amazes me that Vince and Linda McMahon have remained married for over 30 years. Honestly, it boggles the mind to imagine what kind of woman could actually put up with Vince for this long. On the “McMahon” DVD, Vince actually talks about how “poor thing had to marry me.” Then again, it does seem that Linda has as much stubbornness and hard-headed mentality as her husband so maybe it’s a good match at that. Put aside her bad acting in storyline mode, Linda is actually a vibrant and downright funny person in interviews but just as cool in business as Vince can be.

In the decades before the explosion of wrestling and Vince’s national expansion, the roles of women in wrestling didn’t intersect with men. Indeed, many wrestlers actually kept it secret from their wives that it was all faked, leading to fun stuff like the wife of Mario Galenta actually brining a pistol to the ring in case someone attacked her husband. Fearful for their lives, the wrestlers made Galenta smarten up his wife who, upon realizing that she’d been worrying for her husband’s life and he’d been in no danger, didn’t speak to him for three days.

This attitude remained in place as the feeling was that wives and the business had no business mixing together. But as wrestling began its rise in the late-80’s and the WWF storylines became a bit more over the top, some families were integrated into things with interesting results. One big one was when Ricky Steamboat wanted some time off so he and his wife Bonnie could start a family. So they came up with the terrific angle of Steamboat being attacked by a raging Randy Savage, a move Steamboat sold so beautifully even many smarts were afraid he was actually injured. After some time off, Steamboat returned to beat Savage in their classic Wrestlemania III match.

WWF had planned for Steamboat to be a long-term IC champion but when Bonnie gave birth to their son, he requested a bit more time off. McMahon wasn’t happy with that and thus only three months after he won the belt, Steamboat was forced to job it to the Honky Tonk Man. He was pushed down the card before leaving the company. When he came to the NWA in 1989, he would be shown a lot with his wife and child to sell him as a babyface family man against Ric Flair’s wild ladies’ man. However, it actually seemed to take some of the edge off Steamboat. In his autobiography, Flair even says he thinks Bonnie hurt Steamboat’s career, even holding it back. Steamboat would continue to have a good career until his retirement in 1994 but in 2005, he and Bonnie divorced and as part of the settlement, Bonnie got the trademark of the “Dragon” nickname, pretty much killing the Steamboat DVD I’ve been dying to see.

One of the first major cases of a wife being integrated into a storyline came in 1988 in WWF. Rick Rude had been doing a bit where, after victories, he would get a woman from the crowd into the ring to lay her out with a kiss. At one TV taping, he approached a woman in the front row, who turned him down. Rude asked why and the woman identified herself as Jake Roberts’ wife, Cheryl. Rude started to get into her face about how she needed a real man, grabbing her and that brought out Jake. A feud ignited between the men with Roberts going after Cheryl, even wearing tights with her likeness painted on them (which at one taping, Jake yanked down, leaving Rude in just his jock strap, a pretty daring move for 1988 TV). Of course, Roberts and Cheryl would eventually divorce, mostly due to Jake’s own personal demons.

At the same time in WWF, a major relationship was being made front and center between Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth. The two were actually married in late 1984, just before Savage came to the WWF. In truth, Savage hardly needed a mouthpiece but Elizabeth had another function, which was to boost Savage’s appeal as a jerk. Savage would always keep her from speaking, acting overbearing and berating her after a loss. However, he would also be fiercely jealous and attack anyone who seemed to show interest in Elizabeth, an interesting dynamic that added to Savage’s heat. Elizabeth was always interesting in that, unlike latter divas, she didn’t come dressed to flaunt her beauty but remained mostly dignified and elegant, truly “The First Lady of wrestling.” She remained with Savage until his heel turn in 1989, making a few appearances now and then. They would have a major reunion when Savage lost his “retirement” match to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII, a great heartfelt moment.

They had a much-ballyhooed wedding at SummerSlam ’91 (their entire seven previous years of marriage had never been acknowledged by WWF before) and she would play a part in the Savage-Jake Roberts feud later that year. In 1992, to build up to their Wrestlemania title match, Ric Flair produced doctored photos of him and Elizabeth, claiming “she was mine before she was yours!” That made Savage even wilder and more incoherent than usual, guaranteeing a good match with Savage beating Flair for the belt. Elizabeth faded from the spotlight afterward and, ironically, in October of 1992, she and Savage divorced. Savage blamed Hulk Hogan a bit for influencing the decision. The two reunited in 1996 with Elizabeth as his valet before turning on Savage to join Ric Flair. She and Savage would team again as part of the New World Order. Elizabeth was having a rough time of it by 1999, hanging out with Lex Luger, having a second divorce and getting a breast augmentation. However, she still showed some dignity, refusing to do a storyline where she’d be trying to seduce the younger Billy Kidman. She would argue with Vince Russo’s attempts to have her be in her underwear, wanting to retain some of her past morality, her refusal leading to her dismissal.

Sadly, as most know, things turned out bad for her afterward. She and Luger continued to have a relationship as they bounced around the independent scene and on May 1st, 2003, Elizabeth was found dead at Luger’s home of an accidental drug overdose. Luger was cleared of wrong-doing but the stigma of being partially responsible for her death still carries with him. Apparently, her death was a blow to Savage, who’s become even crazier than he already was.

As the ‘90’s began, real-life loves began to spill over into wrestling storylines, in several interesting ways. The first of these was the wild feud between Steve Austin and Chris Adams. Austin had just broken out as Adams’ “student” but turned on his teacher. Austin was having a relationship with Adams’ ex-wife Jeanne Clark and made it public as they came to rings together. Adams himself came up with the idea as he’d be attacked by Austin and Clark for a while before his then-wife Tori Adams entered the picture. This led to some of the wildest mix-tag matches wrestling’s ever seen with the two women seeming to want to kill each other. The whole feud helped elevate Austin who would sign with WCW and take Jeanne with him. Tori would divorce Adams a few years later over his alcoholism. Clark’s biggest contribution was that she inadvertedly gave Austin the “Stone Cold” nickname. They would divorce in 1999 with Austin marrying Debra Marshall a year later and having a somewhat volatile marriage.

One of the most notable romances remains the triangle of Chris Benoit, Kevin Sullivan and Nancy. Nancy, known as Woman, was Sullivan’s wife, Sullivan the booker of WCW at the time. Sullivan decided to do an angle where Benoit and Woman would have an affair and rub Sullivan’s nose in it. Sullivan encouraged them to really sell it by staying at hotels together, be holding hands in public and such. But a funny thing happened: During the time they spent together, Benoit and Nancy fell in love for real and she did leave Sullivan for him. Thus, Kevin Sullivan has the dubious honor of being the only man in history to book his own divorce.

This led to some interesting situations. The first was that the feud between Benoit and Sullivan crossed the line into true hatred. I remember attending a Nitro taping in Chicago in early 1997 with the highlight of the card being a “falls count anywhere” match between the two. They fought all over the United Center, even inside the men’s room and you could tell this wasn’t acting or selling; these two really and truly hated each other. When Sullivan took over booking WCW in late 1999, Benoit knew he’d never get a chance to rise and thus left for WWF, costing WCW a prime player. Benoit and Nancy remain married and to his credit, Benoit refused to talk about the whole thing on his 2004 DVD, wanting to wait until his kids were older to explain it himself.

As with so many things, ECW took the wrestling romances idea to a new plateau. The kickoff to the epic Raven/Tommy Dreamer feud was Raven saying that back in summer camp as kids, Tommy had spurned an overweight girl named Beulah McGillicutty. Raven brought out Beulah, now a gorgeous woman, to play mind games with Dreamer. She was one of the first women to show how to take lumps with the memorable moment when Dreamer hit her with a piledriver, earning chants of “he’s hardcore!” from the fans. In 1996, things took a new turn when she announced she was pregnant with Tommy’s baby, acknowledging their off-screen relationship. However, Shane Douglas would reveal that Beulah was never pregnant and had been cheating on Dreamer. After demanding with who, the answer came when Kimona lay a huge kiss on Beulah. Dreamer announced he’d take them both and the wild spot nearly cost ECW their TV contract.

Beulah would team with Dreamer several times, showing her stuff in wrestling matches, most memorably her bloody battle with Bill Alfonso. She eventually grew tired of her on-screen role and was written out by having the Dudley Boys “break her neck” with a 3D. She and Dreamer married in 2002 and at the first One Night Stand, she made a return by getting into a catfight with Francine. She showed up the next year to fight with Dreamer and Terry Funk against Lita, Edge and Mick Foley but hasn’t shown up since, preferring to be a stay at home wrestler’s wife.

When it comes to a romance that changes all of wrestling, few can top Marc and Rena Mero. Mero had been wrestling as Johnny B Badd in WCW and while he had a couple of reigns as TV champion, he was more famous for his Little Richard impression. While at a diner, he met with Rena Greek, an aspiring model and they were soon wed. At Wrestlemania XII, Rena, now called Sable, was one of several women who would accompany Hunter Hearst Helmsely (then still the Greenwich snob) for his match with the Ultimate Warrior, which Hunter lost in two minutes. Backstage, Mero was being interviewed about signing with WWF when Hunter and Sable came up, Hunter berating Sable for the loss. Mero came to her rescue and she began to accompany him to the ring. Mero would have mild success, with a brief reign as Intercontinental champion but would be injured in early 1997. During that time, Sable came out more and more, getting fans wild and starting the boost of the Divas in WWF.

As the “Attitude” era kicked up in 1998, Sable started to push the boundaries for women in wrestling. She was soon given the reactivated Women’s title but her major move took place at the “Fully Loaded” PPV where she and Miss Jacqueline took part in a bikini contest with Sable stripping off her shirt to reveal her bare breasts with only handprint paint to cover them. That led to the rise of sexiness and T&A in the WWF with Sable appearing on the cover of Playboy in early 1999. She soon turned heel with an inflated ego (something Rena herself admits wasn’t far off from her attitude then), feuding with more divas before leaving the company and filing a $10 million lawsuit against them. It was eventually thrown out and she returned in 2002 to first feud, then partner with Torrie Wilson. Ironically, at the same time she and Mero would divorce although she still keeps the surname. It’s somewhat ironic that Marc Mero’s greatest contribution to wrestling is introducing the woman who would end the innocence of women in WWF.

Another romance that blurred the lines between shoot and work was Dustin Rhodes and Terri Runnels. Terri had been a makeup artist for WCW when Rhodes joined in 1991 and the two soon hit it off and were married. She inadvertently drove a wedge between Dustin and his father Dusty, when Dustin turned down an offer to go golfing with his dad because he wanted to be with Terri and Dusty actually refused to talk to him for a few years. In early 1996, Terri debuted as Marlena, the right-hand woman of Goldust, smoking a cigar as she watched his matches and acting…well, pretty strange along with Dustin. They would remain together until an angle in mid-1997 when Goldust feuded with Brian Pillman. At a PPV, Pillman won a match where he gained Teri’s services for a month. The plan was for Teri to turn on Goldust and be with Pillman (who, ironically she had dated for real years earlier). Sadly, Pillman died first so the breakup was built up in an interview where Dustin, sans the Goldust makeup, dumped Marlena on TV and became even more bizarre as “the Artist Formerly Known as Goldust.” The two eventually divorced for real but remain on good terms.

It is hard to tell how many romances are for real and how many are just based on rumor and speculation. For years, it was believed Francine and Shane Douglas were having an affair during their ECW tenure, a charge Francine denied on the Forever Hardcore DVD. Another rumored affair was between Bret Hart and Tammy Sytch, which Shawn Michaels even alluded to during an interview, hinting that Bret had “been enjoying some Sunny days.” That Bret’s divorce proceedings hinted at an extra-marital affair seems to prove this, showing even great guys can’t resist the temptations on the road.

While most will admit that getting your wife involved in the business can be a bad thing, Booker T is an exception to the rule. He was sinking a bit on SmackDown before they decided to have his wife, Sharmell, begin to accompany him to the ring. They soon built Sharmell as a schemer who would help Booker win without him knowing about it. After her cheating allowed Booker to win the US title, Booker revealed he’d known all along and he and Sharmell became a great heel pairing. The best parts were her dressing in evening gowns with her crown, often going into hysterics, like with the feud with the Bogeyman. It really has taken off with “Queen Sharmell,” and thus Booker’s newfound success, including a long run as World champion, can be attributed to getting his wife involved in things.

Another guy who definitely benefited from a real-life romance was Edge. Sure, he’d been doing okay for a while in WWF, had a few shots in the singles ranks but didn’t quite have that fan heat. But then the word hit of the affair with Lita and things took off. Lita and Matt Hardy had seemed the prefect couple when they made their relationship public in 2000, kissing on-air and going on about how they were in love. Even when Matt was a heel fighting Lita, they were still together so her sudden dumping of him got her major flack. Add to it that Edge was one of Matt’s best friends and married to boot and it was no surprise the fans hated them for cheating around on the injured Matt. This of course led to Edge getting his biggest push ever, all the way to the WWE title and remains a hot heel. Lita had actually been a face when the news broke but the constant “slut” chants forced WWE to make her heel and acknowledge the relationship in that crazy angle most still argue was shoot or work. Lita may be taking time off now but the heat of that affair continues to keep Edge at the top of RAW.

I would be remiss if I didn’t finish with the most notable real-life romance that spilled into the business which involves everyone’s favorite whipping boy, HHH. When he broke in WWF, he was in a relationship with Joanie Lauer, better known as Chyna. Keep in mind, back then, she was actually not that bad looking and her presence as his bodyguard did give HHH the heat he desperately needed at the time. They would remain through thick and thin, from the rise of DX to HHH’s finally reaching the main event but all that would change with the angle of HHH getting with Stephanie McMahon.

One of the most common charges made on HHH by his many detractors is that he was just sucking up to the boss’ daughter to elevate himself. First off, I’m sure he’s not the only guy in the WWF who would have been willing to do it. On his DVD, Vince pretty much states he never wanted Stephanie to get involved with a wrestler, knowing that was a possibility. But considering that in 1999, Stephanie was, let’s face it, pretty attractive, she was a prime target to be wooed by anyone. Hunter was just the first to win her over. As the DVD states, they did try to get with other people but kept gravitating toward each other and Hunter won Vince’s respect by refusing to break with Stephanie, even when Vince hinted his own job with the company was at stake.

Let’s not forget, HHH was already on his way to stardom before he and Stephanie got involved. Sure, you can argue that his main event hogging was given more time because he was the boss’ son-in-law but he always brought it to the big matches and the fact was, he did have the major heat from the fans. Plus, it does seem that he does truly care for Stephanie and has been ceding the main event title scene over the last year. It is interesting that while they did openly talk about their state as husband and wife before they were married, the two were split up on camera before their actual marriage. Today, they don’t really acknowledge it on screen (like when Stephanie went into labor and they joked about HHH having an inside track on who the father was) but the “McMahon” DVD does have them talking about it (with stuff like how Vince wanted to put their real wedding on a PPV and the whole family had to talk him out of it). Say what else you will about HHH but it’s hard to really blast the guy for this. Can you imagine having Vince McMahon as a father-in-law?

There are more examples, of course but those are some of the bigger ones. As you can tell, getting the spouse involved in wrestling can be hard on a marriage. I suspect a couple of these wives got so involved because it was a good way to keep an eye on their husbands on the road, not to mention made some aspects of marriage easier. In some cases, the wives can give things an extra boost while in others, the overall effects of their involvement can be even more dramatic. In many ways, it’s like most anything regarding love: It’s impossible to predict, it can lead to pain as much as joy and you could end up worse than when you went in. But as another wise man once said, better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. That could apply to love of wrestling as well as people.

Been a while since I did a mailbag so it’s filled up a bit. First off, Larry Tenelanda responds to one of my things in my “Gifts of ‘06” column:

ROH continues to rise: The more I hear of Ring of Honor, the more I think they deserve a TV show more than TNA does.” Micheal Weyer – Shining a Spotlight 12.21.06: 2006’s Gifts For Fans. ” – Micheal Weyer – Shining a Spotlight 12.21.06: 2006’s Gifts For Fans.

Huh, if ROH “deserves” a TV show more than TNA, then why don’t ROH buy television time on FSN, like TNA did for one year and provide this “great” overly hyped by the IWC community and then EARN their timeslot like TNA!

Yeah, and the WWE involving Kevin Federline has done great ratings for the WWE?
I don’t think so!

I think ROH is a bit worried that going that route may damage their standing with fans. They’re more “action than angles” and worry that might not work in the current TV landscape. I do think it’s important though and worth considering. As for K-Fed, well, WWE didn’t expect Britney to come to her senses so fast when they started the angle but it did lead to some ratings boost and free press.

Moving onto my column on Heroes of World Class, Garrett has this to say:

Your last column, on WCCW, was simply amazing. The topic tends to jerk me a bit, and I saw it was pretty long, so I set some time aside to read that column without distraction, and am I ever glad I did. I haven’t seen the documentary, and I’m only very familiar with the basics of the Von Erichs’ story, but through reading your column, I not only feel more enlightened to the story and the DVD, but I felt like I had a person there to guide me. You are a fantastic writer. My address bar tells me I’ve emailed you before and it was doubtless for the same reason. Your column is one of, if not my absolute, favorite on 411. Please, keep it up, as your insight and storytelling has been consistently stunning. Thank you for that column, I feel moved on some level, and I had to let you know. Thank you.

Thanks for such kind words, Garrett. Like the film’s director, I had a love for WCCW and it’s great to see such a labor of love brought forth. I do think WWE’s DVD will do equal justice as they might focus on stuff this DVD skims like the last few years of the company. But it was a great disc as John SJ agrees:

Bought the DVD on Friday after reading your column. Watched it 3 times by Saturday. Thanks for bringing this great title to my attention.

No prob, John. I felt it was something folks would want to get their hands on.

GMAC wrote me on my Royal Rumble retrospective:

I loved your two part article on Royal Rumble. I have a HUGE wrestling video/DVD collection with several Rumbles in it. They are:

1992 (although I don’t watch my taped version since I also have Flairs DVD), 1997 (although I don’t know where it is at the moment), 1999, 2000, 2001,
2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 (I’m going to add it when it comes out on DVD)
I’ve also seen the 1991 Royal Rumble, 1993 Royal Rumble (which I saw in person) and 1998 Royal Rumble. So as you can see, I’ve seen a lot of them. My top three would probably be: 1992, 2005, 2001 (the best all around Rumble card as far as I’m concerned)

Pretty good list. WWE is coming out with a big anthology pack of all 20 Rumbles which should be pretty awesome, especially as the first 13 were never released. Me, 1990 is my fave mainly due to the Warrior-Hogan encounter, then ’92 and 2004.

Last week’s column on blacks in wrestling got a lot of letters. Ronevsort kicks us off:

You forgot Rufus R. “Freight Train” Jones A major player in JCP and Central States. Ric Flair gave a mention to him in his book calling him a “Big Black Dancing Bear” But He was a lot more than that. Holding one-half of the NWA world tag team belts with Wahoo McDaniel, Mid-Atlantic TV Title and beating Dory Funk Jr for the Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Title. Probably held a few other titles elsewhere.(Central States, Georgia, and Florida)

I’ve heard of him but had forgotten him to be honest. He was considered mainly a mid-carder and even jobber but his litany shows he was one of the few black stars Crockett had. I’m still surprised he didn’t have more.

Andrew Critchell talks about more of the current slate of black stars:

Hi Michael –
Your article is very interesting and thought provoking.
For what it’s worth, three of the superstars who are being portrayed as the “future of ECW” (Lashley, Burke, and Cor Von) are black and as of yet no mention has been made of their race, they are just treated as regular guys. I think that’s cool.

Haven’t watched as much of ECW so can’t say for this. I do think Lashley has more potential than most give him credit for and it’s nice for WWE to actually hold off on the race card for a change.

Jeffrey Lyles brings up a guy I should have mentioned:

Liked your column on racism in wrestling. Very well written and thought-provoking. As a 31-year-old black man, I remember how excited I was
seeing Simmons win the WCW title just because I liked him and then remembering, “wow, he’s the first black champ.” Nice to see we’ve had a few more since then.
Wish you could have mentioned 2Cold Scorpio who before coming to the WWF as Flash Funk was a pretty straight up character sans his dancing which I always
found as him just being cocky like Fargo with the strut than stereotypical. Anyway, just wanted to chime in. Good column.

Yeah, can’t believe I forgot to mention Scorpio. I know a lot of folks hated the whole thing of him being like a guy out of a blackspotation movie but maybe he was ahead of the time a bit. Still, he was a gifted worker who deserved a lot better push than WWF was giving him at the time.

Montaego talks about how a black man feels about the column:

As an avid reader of the 411 site, I just wanted to say that your piece on Race and Wrestling was great!As an African American wrestling fan, it was great to see someone of another race write such an objectional view. Often times I find myself wondering why there arent more Black wrestlers. As you pointed out if you have the in ring ability and charisma anyone can make it. For a while I was disturbed by Cryme Tymes vingettes before debuting. They were so racialy charged and stereotypical, that I could understand why? Why cant we just get a regular guy come in without all of the stereotypical stuff being thrown down our throats! Although, I will admit that I love Cryme Tyme now and im hoping to see some good things from them! None the less, I just wanted to say thanks for taking such a touchy sunject and doing a great job presenting it. I look forward to reading more of your columns!

One can argue Shelton Benjamin is a normal guy but then his lack of character has kept him from really breaking out. As I noted in the column, ever since the Gangstas, the “angry black man” bit has been a steady one used by workers in the big leagues. Lashley is actually going more by his skills than his race which is a refreshing move and Cryme Tyme is getting more over than I expected now that they play it more for laughs. Hopefully, that will teach WWE something.

Rodger talks about the booking of blacks as well:

Thanks for the racism article. You’ve pretty much summed up the state of the industry when it comes to how Black wrestlers are portrayed and pushed.
It’s as if the powers that be (McMahon, Russo etc) need to take some social awareness courses. Ron Killings embarrasses me and Cryme Tyme just tells me
how the McMahons truly see black people (see The Marine for further proof). For every Rock there are five black workers that are reduced to a minstrel
show.
I hope somebody in a booking position reads your article and considers it. If I had my own wrestling company – Shelton would be my champ…at least for
a moment.

Well, I doubt most in power at WWE or TNA bother reading online columns or things would be different. As I noted, I don’t think Vince is a racist but let’s face it, he’s got some stumbling blocks when it comes to who should be pushed and what characters to go with and Russo is much the same. Too bad but that’s how it is. And yeah, seeing Shelton with a big belt would be nice, however quick.

Major Battle had a quick comment:
You forgot about Shelton Benjamin, and Bobby lashley, GM of smackdown Teddy Long who came a long ways from WCW to WWE and Rodney Mack and women like Miss jacky and Jazz.

I did overlook how black women have gone in the business but then there haven’t been as many of them to note. WWE does seem to push more for color in the Divas from Jazz and Jacqueline to Sharmell and Kristal, which deserves props. As for Long, I think that bit he did with “Thugging and Bugging” helped him immensely, getting him over with his goofy Al Sharpton like mannerisms and thus earned him his current position, something we should all be grateful for.

Finally, Don Nelson mentions a few more guys:

Enjoyed reading your column about blacks in wrestling. However, I think there are some clarifications which should be made. First, Bobo Brazil’s real name was actually Houston Evans. Secondly, you made reference to Bearcat Brown when it should have been Bearcat Wright. Further, there were some rather glaring omissions. In the 60s, there were men such as Sweet Daddy Siki and Dory Dixon. Also, in the 80s we saw such figures as Rufus Jone and Pez Whatley. Finally, while you did acknowledge Booker T, you failed to mention his brother Stevie Ray. As the “Ebony Experience” as well as “Harlem Heat” they were a very formidable tag-team. You can call this the cherry on top of the whipped cream.

I guess I must have gotten the wrong source on Bobo’s real name. Bearcat, I believe, went by both names, Brown the one mentioned in the excellent Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams book. No offense but Jones and Pez were mostly jobbers and while Stevie Ray was good, it was clear Booker was the real star of the team as he proved with his singles career.

Also around 411mania:

That Was Then continues to look at Friends of Hogan.

Ripple Effect Re-casts RAW.

WWE vs TNA takes a roundtable format.

Just S’Pose does an interesting new take on Mass Transit.

The Shimmy starts to report on Batista.

Julian counts down the Top 10 No Way Out matches.

Welcome the Kayfabe Chronicles, a nice blast at the past.

Next week, in honor of the Oscars, a look at the best (and worst) of wrestling movies. For now, the spotlight is off.