The MeeThinks Saturday Spectacular 06.09.07
Posted by John Meehan on 06.09.2007
Rock served divorce papers and MVP served hard time. Tough week, eh?
Welcome back, all. With wrestler divorce, criminal records and injuries getting some major ink this week it's proving most difficult to "stay positive" -- but hey, I went 7 for 8 in last week's PPV predictions! Curse you, Randy Orton. Grumble... grumble...
Anyhow... let's see what we can do.
On tap this week:
Rocky Files for Divorce
MVP's Criminal Past, Mugshot Hits The Webz
Samoa Joe & Co. Take On WWE's "Basic Instinct"
Scott Steiner Suffers Neck Injury
YouThinks: What's Bob Backlund's Problem?
YouThinks: Did Triple H Screw Goldberg After All?
YouThinks: Don't Forget Squeegee Sid!
YouThinks: Stinger Brings His A-Game
YouThinks: Is Christian a WWE-ject?
YouThinks: Planchas, Presses, Paul London and Policy
Well, this is usually the part where most IWC know-it-alls will use this as the latest example to point out that how tough the 'rasslin' business is, and that "wrestler marriages don't usually work out." To these folks, I'll say three things:
1) Rock's divorce comes a good five years or so AFTER he'd wrapped up his wrestling career. So you can't blame the "road," the "daily grind," the "ring-rats" or "the business" for his marriage going south.
2) This is the part where somebody points out that "well, Hollywood marriages don't usually work out either." To that point, you should keep in mind that Rock's wife, Dany Garcia Johnson, *isn't* a celebrity in her own right. So it's not like we're staring at a split between Justin and Cameron here, folks.
3) Hate to say it, but pro wrestlers aren't the only people who get divorced these days. Fact of the matter is, just about HALF of all first-marriages WORLDWIDE tend to end up in a divorce. A handy little statistic to keep in mind for all of you fellas out there who are no doubt being dragged to a summer full of nuptuals as everybody you knew from college (and their brother) is tying the knot on an almost weekly basis.
Cheery, eh?
But keeping things wrestling-related here -- people will point to so many of wrestling's "failed marriages" as proof of just how tough the business is. But whether we're talking one performer in the spotlight (Batista, for example, recently divorced a non-wrestler spouse; while Mick Foley remains married to his own non-performer wife) or two -- the bottom line is that for every wrestler marriage out there that FAILS (Austin/Debra, Kidman/Torrie, Savage/Liz, Sullivan/Woman, Goldust/Terri, etc.), there's probably just about as many out there that MAKE IT (Vince/Linda, Trips/Steph, Shawn/Whisper, 'Taker/Sara, Benoit/Nancy, Haas/Jackie, etc.). Pretty much a one-outta'-two scenario, and just about par for the 50% divorce rate that is the worldwide average these days.
I'm not saying that 'rasslers are the prototype for "good relationships" mind you -- far from it, actually. I'm just asking people to keep things in perspective here and realize that the failure rate among wrestler marriages is probably really not all that different from the worldwide average. The difference is simply that we hear about the wrestler splits moreso than those of the Bobs, Marys and Joes next door.
Get To Know M.V.P. Smackdown's "Montel Vontavious Porter" Has a Criminal Past
Making his way to the ring, hailing from Miami, Florida, standing 6' tall and weighing 180 pounds -- he is Smackdown's Most Valuable Player and YOUR United States Champion...
Alvin Burke!
Err, I mean...
Hassan Assad!
Wait no... that's...
Antonio Banks!
Scratch that... it's --
MONTEL VONTAVIOUS PORTER!
Yes folks, it seems that the IWC's newest wrestling celebrity just so happens to be the same fella' who spent 9 1/2 years of an 18-year kidnapping / armed robbery sentence locked up in the Florida Correctional Facilities system. This, of course, leads us to THE (long sounding "eee") major question of the wrestling year:
WHY HAVEN'T THEY PAIRED THIS GUY WITH CRYME TYME YET!?!?
Hahaha, I keed, I keed. The bigger (and far more important) question here is simply:
SO WHAT'S THE BIG FREAKIN' DEAL ALREADY?
People make mistakes, and younger people make 'em all the more egregiously than more mature ones. Our pal MVP was born in October of 1973 and arrested in January of 1990, which puts him at just three months older than 16 at the time of his infraction. Not making any excuses for armed robbery, mind you -- but the simple fact of the matter is that MOST teenagers do stupid stuff. Busting mailboxes, boozing before getting behind the wheel, downloading movies illegally, knocking over convenience stores -- what have you; we ALL have done dumb (and possibly illegal) stuff in our younger days, and a LOT can change about a person in ten years' time.
As such, it's pretty small and vindictive for people to write MVP off as a "company black-eye" or a "career criminal" when the truth of the matter is that he yeah -- he was young and stupid... but he served his time, turned his life around, and has moved on.
So yeah, MVP was a delinquent in his youth. But ya' know what? I'd MUCH rather have my celebrities and stars be people who've turned their lives around from bad-to-good rather than see so many of these same stars go from "bad-to-worse" (coughAustinRobVanDamLindsayLohancough). Chris Benoit, meanwhile, mighta' "stole" some other guy's wife -- but that was over a decade ago, and he's proven quite the family man AND the in-ring performer in the 10+ years since that time. True, Booker T might have attempted to rob a Wendy's back in his teens, but he's made a FAR greater impact (and turnaround) in his wrestling career since getting his life back on track. And MVP? Yeah, he might have been a royal screwup as a misguided 16-year-old with an ego problem and a firearm... but these days? He seems to be doing quite alright for himself as Smackdown's hottest new superstar... so I've got absolutely no problem in giving the guy the benefit of the doubt since all signs suggest that he's served his time and turned his life around.
Obviously, this has drawn comparison's to WWE's parody from a few years ago... [I'd embed it, but then it'd be taken down. Let's just say http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiJz_dHLiE]. So which video comes out on top?
Production? WWE. You can totally see the budget difference between the two.
Comedy value? TNA. Eric Young brings the awesome in spades.
Starring Diva? Tough call, but I'm gonna' have to say WWE and Stacy.
Closing bit? TNA's outtakes EASILY trump Moolah and Mae.
Overall winner? A close one, but I'll give the nod to TNA here -- solely for the dancing Samoa Joe. :)
In case you're a glutton for punishment, however, there is also another YouTube video making its rounds on the webz these days of Christopher Daniels rocking out in a "Risky Business" parody to the tune of Nine Inch Nails' "Hand That Feeds." But there's NO WAY I'm linkin' to it... and the less said about that one, the better.
Earlier this week while wrestling in Puerto Rico, TNA star Scott Steiner was accidentally kicked in the trachea, thus necessitating emergency surgery. Here's the latest, courtesy of the WrestlingObserver:
Scott Steiner is recovering from trachea surgery in an Intensive Care Unit in San Juan. He awoke from the surgery for the first time yesterday morning and was said to be in good spirits. Steiner is listed in stable condition and will remain in ICU for the next few days for observational purposes. There is still no timetable on his return to the States as he is not allowed to travel.
This just sucks all around, as the Steiners/3D match was shaping up to be a HUUUGE part of the Slammiversary pay per view. Likewise, for guys like Scott Steiner injuries NOT caused by a "chemically enhanced sensitivity" (like Batista's back injuries and the like) are a rarity -- and in-ring injuries are NEVER a good thing.
(Some will recall the certifiable scare that swept the WWE locker room following RVD's inadvertant decimation of Triple H's windpipe from a few years back).
In any case --
Here's to a healthy and safe recovery to Big Poppa Pump. Though I was never much impressed with the man prior to his stint in TNA, he has been OUTSTANDING in his role as the resident badass old-timer, and I for one was very much looking forward to seeing what he and Ricky could do in a feud against the Dudleyz in two weeks.
Incidentally,
If TNA is hurting for a replacement match for their PPV -- let Mee be the first to suggest one final blowoff between James Storm and Chris Harris. After a slow start at Lockdown (shudder), these two have really brought it in back-to-back encounters. Sacrifice was thoroughly kickass, and this week's schmozz on Impact was easily the best match I've seen on free TNA programming all year long. So TNA management, if you're short on undercard matches for Slammiversary -- I guarantee you fans will be more than happy to see one final installment of HARRIS vs. STORM!
Now if only TNA hadn't already exhausted just about every gimmick match possible between these two...
YouThinks Reader Mail
I shoulda' figured that poking the beehive of controversy that is "The Top Ten Real-Life Feuds of All Time" would inevitably draw some comments and feedback from the loyal MeeThinks readers. Not surprisingly, y'all came through in spades -- so here's three quick e-mails regarding the "worst of the worst" 'rassler feuds of all time.
We'll start with some YouThinks from Chris Page, who has a quick question on one of the older beefs on the list:
On the list of real life feuds that you listed, sure
enough I know the deal behind nine of the ten (and even all the honourable mentions), but I've never heard about this deal with Bob Backlund and Arnold Skaaland that you put so high on the list. What's the story there?
- Chris Page
Good question, Chris, and one with an answer that I'm guessing more than a few of the newer wrestling fans out there might be interested to learn.
Long story short -- as he neared the end of his FOUR YEAR "Howdy Doody"-like babyface run as champ (hey, that's Jesse Ventura's words, not mine!), fans were getting pretty tired of Backlund. Think Santino Marella meets Rocky Maivia -- not a good thing.
Problem was, it was just 1983 -- and so having a once-dominant babyface champion submit cleanly to a dastardly heel (like Shiek) wasn't really in the realm of possibility to old-school wrestling audiences. And so an angle was worked where Iron Shiek assaulted Backlund before a match (I'm pretty sure he gave him a good whacking with the dreaded Persian Clubs, if I'm not mistaken!) -- and shortly thereafter (December 26, 1983 to be exact) the two would have a title match.
Since Backlund was "injured," a loss to a heelish challenger wouldn't be nearly as damning to the guy's credibility. After all, Vinny Mac needed to keep the former champ looking strong in case the Hulkamania experiment blew up in his face, right? Anyhow, cut to the championship match itself -- and Sheik has Backlund locked in his famed Camel Clutch submission hold, wrenching away on the champ's already-weakened back. Well anyhow (as many Bret Hart fans will recall), Backlund refuses to submit -- and so his manager, Arnie Skaaland decides to throw in the towel for him, thus ending the match and awarding the title to The Iron Sheik (for about a week or so, but that's a whole 'nother story, BROTHER)!
Keep in mind -- this was ALL PART OF THE ANGLE.
But since it's still 1983, since Backlund is "old school" as they come, and since Vince has yet to publically come out and say "yeah, wrestling is fake" -- a further "worked-shoot" angle was borne out of this whole schmozz where our pal Bob Backlund took his kayfabed gripe against Skaaland one step further. Again, it was all just one big angle and whatnot -- but for the better part of 20 years ('till Skaaland's death not so long ago, actually), Backlund made it a point to talk smack on the guy in just about EVERY interview possible. Mainstream media, wrestling promos, shoot interviews -- you name it. Even though there was no real heat between the two men backstage or in "real life," Backlund totally "lived the gimmick" and made it a point of bashing his former manager, saying stuff about how Skaaland betrayed his trust, and going off on rants like "I'll never talk to that man again as long as I live!
Gotta' hand it to Backlund for committing to the angle, and that's why I've ranked his beef with Skaaland among the greatest wrestler feuds of all time. Plus, Backlund's willingness to play up a storyline for 20 years has provided TONS of conspiracy theorists with enough precedent to speculate that Bret Hart and Vince McMahon (or Hogan/Russo, etc.) have actually been in are all just doing the same thing and "working the marks" after all. For as they say, "if you see it on television, then it's a work."
Well, maybe. ;)
Chris Jacobs has another real-life-feud question from more recent years:
Triple H/Goldberg -- What were they feuding about?
-Chris Jacobs
This one's a lot easier than the Backlund/Skaaland beef, as it really just boils down to nothing more than a shouting match between two 'roided up superstars at an autograph signing/convention.
Kinda' like Sheik and Warrior, actually.
Basically, Goldberg was WCW's only real "home-grown" star of the Monday Night Wars era. In turn, he thought (and still thinks) himself to be something of a "big deal," and so he was all too content to bury rival company WWE in every media opportunity he had following their buyout of WCW. After all, Goldberg never really much liked the wrestling business anyhow -- and since he was comfortably riding out the remainder of his guaranteed Turner contract from WCW, why BOTHER playing nice with those guys from up north, eh?
Anyhow, Goldberg's yammering boiled to a head one day when he ran into Triple H at an autograph signing. Triple H (then in full "I run this shit" mode, having recently worked his way into the McMahon-family circle of trust) was having none of it, and so a few heated words were exchanged for all to hear. Since Hunter was riding high on the WWE powertrip express, a bunch of folks thought it was pretty much the nail in the coffin for Goldberg's chances to ever make a debut for the McMahon family's wrestling organization.
Turns out they were only half-right, as Goldberg eventually accepted a WWE contract buyout in 2002 and then showed up in WWE to wreak some havok shortly thereafter. Only problem was, Bill had (understandably) pissed just about everybody off prior to his tenure with the company, and so even though he managed to win a handful of matches (and a title) while under WWE's employ -- he was booked against type (no squash matches, long and uncomfortable promos, short title reigns, cheap wins, etc.) and thus pretty much exposed to be not all that great a performer in the long run.
The night after he won the World Title (November 17, 2003) in WASHINGTON D.C. (I was there!) the fans had already begun to turn on the guy, and less than three months later after having fulfilled all of his required contractual appearances for the company, he was back to his old tricks of "riding out the guaranteed payday" on WWE's dime while his supposed "mega-match" against Brock Lesnar limped its way toward WrestleMania XX (I was there, too ;) And, of course, both men were booed out of the building.
So even while Bill eventually wound up working for Hunter's in-laws -- one can't help but wonder: did Triple H's backstage beef with Goldberg ultimately hamstring his tenure in WWE?
Finally, Mike Oberegger chimes in with another possible nominee for one of the truly great (or truly awful, depending on how you look at it!) wrestler beefs of all time:
Top ten fueds? You forgot Sid and Arn fighting with a pair of scissors. That HAS to be in the top ten.
- Mike Oberegger
Lol. Good call, Mike!
But as my good buddy and fellow 411 "veteran" Steve Cook pointed out earlier this week, Sid and Arn's blowup was pretty short-lived in the scheme of things. Though the scissors/squeegee/etc. stabbing incident (depending on what story you hear) did ultimately cost the Psyco one his job in WCW back in 1993, *both* guys eventually squared things up between them and ultimately wound up working together on a number of occassions thereafter.
So yeah, definite honorable mention for Sid/Arn's stabbing incident -- but still not quite a top ten material.
While we're flashing back to the WCW heyday, Fixxer had some Thinks on what all might warrant inclusion on a "best of" Sting DVD some time on down the road:
I saw your response to the letter concerning quality Sting matches, and I'd like to add my two cents.
There is a lot of quality Sting out there both in terms of workrate and great dramatic matches. Before getting to them, a few comments about Sting/Hogan. I don't believe any of their matches cracked the two star mark--not even Starrcade 97, which should have been the awesome blowoff to a year-long fued. Instead, we get a poorly booked match that essentially had Hogan dominate Sting==topped off with the bogus fast three count.
HOwever, there is much better stuff with STing
Flair: Of course, Flair and Sting always matched up pretty well. THe Clash 88 is probably their best encounter, but I also like the 94 match when they unified the titles.
Cactus Jack: While they may have done more matches on TV & House SHows, the Beach Blast 92 encounter is a fun wild brawl.
Vader: IMO, most consistently awesome opponent for Sting, as every time they faced off, it was at least a 3 1/2 star match.
Regal: THey had a highly overlooked match at GAB 96
There is also some very good tag matches with Sting, including Wargames 92, Sting & Luger v. Steiners, and a pretty good (albiet 10 minutes too long) Chicago Street FIght as he teamed with BOoker T to face the Road Warriors at Uncensored 96
I'd say they have more than enough for a good 2 or 3 DVD set if they wanted to put one together.
- Fixxer
No arguments from me there, Fixxer. Like I've said in the past -- Sting might not be the most technically sound of performers, but he certainly DOES bring the enthusiasm into most of his programs so that even the crappiest of them (Vampiro, for example) still have that "big match feel" that so many other more skilled wrestlers often can't seem to master. Orton/Benoit, for example, was hardly a "classic." And even Benoit/Eddy at the first One Night Stand (hence the "y" spelling) felt like a veritable "dud" when you consider what those two guys were/are capable of.
Switching gears from The Stinger's archives to talk of one of Sting's current feuds (well, not really -- but one of his recent ones, at least), Larry Dieter has some Thinks to share on The Instant Classic, Christian Cage:
Meehan,
Huge fan of your column. I met you once at a RAW show at the Verizon Center. First Time Writer.
I disagree with you and Thomas Williams on not wanting to call Christian a WWE-ject. Now its true that Christian was not released from WWE because of backstage problems (Rhyno), a percieved lack of character (Bashams), or Stephanie's ire (Christy Hemme). Christian did not have any of these issues. Christian's problem was that he was a GOOD wrestler. He was a GOOD ring technician, GOOD on the mike, and showed GOOD character development. With as many disaster cases as the WWE has had, with guys who were terrible in the ring (Vladimir Kozlov), couldn't handle emotional pressures (Nathan Jones), or had no character development (Rodney Mack), its not hard to see why guys who are GOOD, dependable preformers are sought after and likely to be retained on the roster for many years. However, (from the perspectives of WWE decision-makers) Christian was never great in any of these areas. He never recieved a one-on-one world title program, even after the WWE established two world titles (Nor is it likely that if Christian stayed he would have held the ECW title either).
So if you are in an organization, and have worked diligently for 5, 6, 7 years, and have never been promoted but simply moved laterally (through the mid-card) throughout your company, is it any wonder that you would want a change of scenery? Tired of never getting the kind of opportunity in the WWE to be a defining star (What if he slept with Lita....?), he looked for a place where management would give a bigger push to someone who was on a WWE webcast show for 10 minutes than someone who held indy-titles for 10 years, Christian WWE-jected himself to TNA. Christian should indeed be proud of himself - as proud as Doug Flutie winning championships in the Canadian Football League.
Sincerely,
- Larry Diter
Good hearing from you, Larry!
I see your points in noting how Christian really had very little but lateral movements ahead of him were he to have stayed with WWE, but on the flip-side, I usually reserve the term "reject" (or WWE-ject) to refer to guys who were shown the door by their employers against their will. True, Christian was probably just doomed to spin his wheels as a "moderately sized fish in a big pond" if he stuck with the 'E (I know my esteemed colleague, Ryan Byers, would happily agree to such a statement). But at the same time, so would have Scott Hall as "Razor Ramon" way back in the mid-nineties. And we all know how THAT one turned out (for a good, long while, anyhow).
TNA is, regrettably, a LOT like WCW in a number of ways. Like TNA seems to go on a hiring binge every time WWE cuts a midcarder these days, WCW made it a point of hiring old-time WWF guys ALL THE TIME throughout the nineties -- but it wasn't until guys started leaving McMahon's company ON THEIR OWN ACCORD (Savage, Luger, etc.) that business began to pick up. Rhyno was fired by WWE and spent most of his tenure with the company quibbling over directionless undercard programs, so he was already damaged goods when picked up by TNA. Killings was a curtain-jerking WWF nobody who was likewise let go, and so his run with the NWA Title meant little to nothing. The Voodoo Kin Mafia, for all of their big talk, were BOTH cut loose from the WWE fold after countless chances to get over on their own without the help of Triple H... and so fans reaction to their "jump" to TNA was lukewarm, at best, and laughable at worst.
Anyhow --
Christian, while wasted in the WWE, also managed to garner a TON of fan support and popularity while spinning his wheels in their midcard. When he was penciled in to battle Cena one-on-one for the WWE Title and the "powers that be" decided to hedge their bets at the last second and make the bout a three-way, fans HATED the fact that the guy wasn't being given a chance to shine on his own merits -- and so it became all too clear that Christian was worth more than WWE thought of him. When Christian "jumped" to TNA a few short months later, he was still being ACTIVELY PURSUED by WWE to re-sign with the company. Like Scott Hall before him (or even Lex Luger, come to think of it) -- Christian might not have been main-eventing in WWF/E, but it was a well-known fact that he was still bringing a fair number of fans in to see him do his thing in the company's upper-midcard.
So when he bolted for TNA (on his own accord, mind you) -- yeah, he might not have worked his way to world champion-level credibility before the jump (like Angle shortly therafter), but by making the switch (WITHOUT WWE forcing him out the door!) it was perfectly clear from the moment he debuted in TNA that this was a guy who's time was long overdue.
Long story short -- "technically" an E-ject, I suppose... but more likely a case of unrec-E-gnized potential.
While we're talking potential, Joakim has some Thinks to share regarding WWE's resident tag superstar standout, Paul London:
Hey, Meehan.
To clarify, The Shooting Star Press (specifically the top-rope
version) was banned long ago along with the 450 Splash beause of a string of injuries to the cruiserweights (Juventud, Chavo and London himself). It's unclear if Paul London was told of the ban this before or after he used a 450 on a match, but it was more or less in the same timeframe. Reportedly, he lost his CW Title not because he did it, but because he went to Vince to try to convince him to let him use it.
The rules had been the same for a long time now, even though many sites are reporting this as new rules.
The recent Shooting Star was actually not a Shooting Star Press, it was a Shooting Star Plancha (to be honest, I don't really know the difference, but that's what was reported), so London didn't technically perform a banned move, which is probably why Vince was so civil with London when he informed him that if he did the move again he'd be fired.
-Joakim
Thanks for the clarification, Joakim. To be honest, I too am not quite clear on the difference between a Shooting Star Press and a Shooting Star Plancha. I'm guessing one (the SSPress) probably involves coming off of the top rope, whereas the other (SSPlancha) involves vaulting one's self OUT of the ring and onto the floor in "shooting star" bicycle-kick-like fashion. If that's the case, then the SSPlancha is actually probably MORE dangerous than the SSPress (one's in the ring and onto the mat, the other's off of the top rope and onto the floor)... but since North American commentators (coughJRMichaelColeMikeTenaycough) are notoriously spotty when calling the moves in the ring -- the term "plancha" is usually thrown around all too liberally these days, so that just about EVERY attack where one wrestler jumps to the outside of the ring is termed as such.
Kinda like Cactus Jack's "diving elbow plancha," or Undertaker's "guillotine legdrop plancha." Haha. Not that I've ever heard them called as such, mind you, but with the precedent that we hear all-too-often on TV these days (basically, "if you land on the floor, then it's a plancha") -- I wouldn't be all that surprised if I did :).
In any case -- you're right. The Shooting Star Plancha is hella dangerous, and so it's a bad idea for an already injury-riddled roster to keep risking their safety with this sort of thing. My best guess is that with all of the recent injuries, people are a bit more sensitive to safety these days in WWE and so that's probably why we're hearing about it again.
We'll close this sucker out with two YouThinks on the recent Goldust debaucle. First up, BigDawg:
Hey, big time fan of your column, and 411 in general here. Not only did Dustin no-show the May 25th Bad News Allen tribute show in Cochrane, he also no-showed the following night @ PWA Mayhem in Edmonton.
I don't know if it is possible to boo someone out of the building if their not there, but we sure as hell tried. That sucks as his presence would have only added to the stacked card, which was main-evented by Samoa Joe vs Johnny "Havok" Devine, but many fans were looking forward to meeting the son of a son of a plumber. It's not like we have name talent just hanging around waiting for a phone call around here. Thankfully the card was stacked with local and outside talent: Abby the Butcher and Jim Neidhart to name a few more, and we all went home happy. Sounds like he's fallen on hard times, which happens to the best of us. Hope you get it together Dustin. Thanks John, and keep up the good work!
- BigDawg
Appreciate the feedback, dude! And it sounds like, for a "local" show, you still were able to witness a fair share of quasi-A-list (or former A-list)-level talent... so here's hoping you had a good time on a show that honestly featured more "household names" than your average ECW show.
ZING!
I keed, I keed.
Wrapping up, Chris Johnson has some additional Goldie stories to share from South Carolina. The plot thickens:
I recently went to a CWA event in Columbia SC and Dustin Runnels was there and he seemed fine to me....however they did charge to get pictures with him in the ring...they kind of did this haphazardly and really quickly which leads me to believe they just wanted to help him get a quick pay off. So it is possible this is true. He is touted to be at the next event here in a few weeks so I'll see if I can't get a little Q& A with him.
- Chris Johnson
Eesh. Celebrities charging money for autographs is bad enough, but thrice-fired pro wrestlers doing the same at indy shows? Yikes.
I've always thought it was really sketchy when I'd hear stories about how Michael Jordan used to charge people "$50 bucks for every letter in my first name, and $100 bucks for every letter in my last name." (That's a $950 signature, for those of y'all keeping score at home). Then again, I've also heard stories of how Jordan once charged "The Rocket" Roger Clemens something insane like $10 grand for a signature one time, famously warning the guy thereafter "that's why you never charge kids for autographs."
But regardless, with what little all I know about backstage drama in OTHER "legit" sports.
1) Michael Jordan was/is a compulsive gambler.
2) Roger Clemens was/is, by most accounts, a thorough-going asshole.
In either case -- we're looking at two guys who've charged money for people to stand alongside them in the past. With Goldust, we're looking at a third -- and if he *really* is cashing in plane tickets and no-showing while haphazardly charging fans for autographs, chances are better than not that Dustin -- like Clemens and MJ -- is either something of an asshole himself (not likely) or simply has fallen on hard times. Here's hoping that we hear more and better news on this front shortly, yes?
And With That, I'm Outta' Here...
That'll do it for Mee this week. BIG week for wrestling on the horizon with the THREE HOUR DRAFT SPECIAL on Monday, ECW on Tuesday, Impact on Thursday (complete with more greatness from Mahatma Sonjay and Black Machismo -- "Snake Roberts ruined my wedding! Oooooh yeeeeah!"), Smackdown! on Friday and Slammiversary next Sunday -- so enjoy the week ahead, and *always* stay positive!
