Ask 411 Wrestling 06.13.07: Faces in Peril, JBL vs. Godzilla, Really Tall Wrestlers, and More!
Posted by Steve Cook on 06.13.2007
Including a lot of questions about Shawn Michaels. I ain't kidding, yo.
In Memoraim: Vincent Kennedy McMahon (1945-2007)
Heaven needed a billionaire promoter.
It's time to Ask 411 Wrestling! I'm your party host, Steve Cook, and this week we've got pretty much the same thing we've got every week. So in a way it's predictable, but in a way it's not because the questions are always different! Usually.
I don't have too much to say before we get to business this week except for three simple words: Don't stop believin.
Comments, Corrections and other "C" words
Long time reader, big fan. In the 5-30-07 Ask 411 column you posted the following question and answer:
"3. At what # victory did Goldberg's streak end? And what is the longest streak to your knowledge?
The streak ended at 173 according to WCW records...the actual number was probably less than that, but it was an impressive one nonetheless. I don't know if there have been longer ones because wrestling usually doesn't keep track of records like that, so I would have to go with that one being the longest. Though, it would be interesting to see if older wrestlers like the Sheik had longer streaks...that sort of information would be tough to come by."
Well, back n 1994-95, Kevin Nash (who was Diesel at the time) was on touted as being 199-0 as WWE/F Champ before losing it to Bret Hart apx. 1 year later (he won the belt from Bob Backlund on 11-26-94 and lost it to Bret on 11-19-95 - Side Note: Backlund's 1994 Title reign came 13 years after his previous reign, which if I'm not mistaken is the longest drought between world title victories ever, but I could be wrong.) I'm sure that like the Goldberg streak the numbers were fabricated by the company, but if you go by the reported numbers than Nash's streak was bigger than Goldberg's. - Nick Ferrante
Did Diesel lose any tag team matches during his title reign? I honestly can't remember off the top of my head, so you might be right on this one.
One of your reader's asked about an old WCW promo that involved Nash using some pretty nasty language that was completely uncensored. I actually remember the promo, it was from Nitro (not Thunder). Not only do I remember the promo, I vividly remember reading a news article about it on a wrestling site the day after it aired. The article reported that TNT was informed about what Nash would be saying in advance, and they were fine with it. Apparently WCW, which had been known as the family friendly wrestling company for years, thought if Nash said the "s word" uncensored on TV, it would get over how serious he was and also give WCW some "attitude" also. Obviously it didn't work. - Scott
About 2 articles ago someone asked about any website that has a good where are they now section and asked about the whereabouts of a particular wrestler Sir Oliver Humperdink. Well I live in Key West and can tell you that he lives in a condominium in Key West called OceanWalk and he is seen around town always riding his bike around with his shirt off (it's a 2x4 mile island and he likes to swim). Also WWE referee Mickie Henson has a home in Key West and none other than Kevin Sullivan (WCW) has a home in Key Largo (which is the upper keys) he owns a gym there named Froggy's. Anyways, I thought your readers may be interested in this.
PS - Key West is one of Hulk Hogan and his wife's favorite destinations in fact it was featured on one of Hogan Knows Best episodes. I had the privilege of meeting him down here a couple of times and I can remember one time during his NWO days we were at the same beach and he was giving me the NWO 4 LIFE hand symbols. He really is great with his fans. - Robert
I've actually been to Abdullah the Butcher's House of Ribs and Chinese Food. I used to cover Atlanta as a territory so I flew down there once and my buddies told me I had to go there to check it out. I had been to ATL before and let's just not say it's a clean city. I could give good story about a strip club, but I digress.... Abby's was is a horrible section of the city, let's just say Baghdad compares favorably. The restaurant itself wasn't too bad and the food was great. He has the walls plastered with old pictures of wrestlers so that was cool to look at while I was waiting for the food. They had a little catering van with his cartoon picture on the side which was funny, too. I definitely recommend it, but I'd also bring a Kevlar vest. - Michael Grzebieniowski
I remember an episode of Thunder in its dying days when Nash wasn't wrestling much. I think he was coming off an injury (surpirse). They had him come out for color commentary on a Perry Saturn match, no relation to any feuds just for the heck of it I guess. Anyway, during the match Saturn starts throwing all kinds of suplexes. Nash starts calling them all technical like, showin off his wrestling knowledge. "That's a belly to back over head release suplex." "Here's a belly to belly bridge suplex." I don't know why, but it struck me as very funny and cemented Nash as one of the funniest guys in wrestling. Don't know why no one has given him a long standing role as a color man, probably because he doesn't want to. But anytime he's got the mic it's usually golden. - Chris
There are two books I could recommend for the guy interested in wrestling history. By the way, his emergence makes me happy to see I'm not the only geek interested in stuff like this.
First would be The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (2002), by John Molinaro. There are some questions about who was involved in the actual ranking of the wrestlers; Molinaro claims there were many experts, while there are other reports it was just Molinaro and Dave Meltzer. Either way, I can't argue with the top two, as they could go either way. They give a lot of background information with all 100, as well as a list of 10 wrestlers to watch (Kurt Angle is on this list).
Second is a book that just came out in May, National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly that Strangled Pro Wrestling, by Tim Hornbaker. The book goes into detail about the main guys behind the formation of the NWA back in 1947 and 1948, and looks at many of the best-known champions of the Alliance, including Lou Thesz, Harley Race, and Ric Flair, as well as promoters Sam Muchnick, Toots Mondt, and Pinkie George. I'm in the middle of the book, so I can't give a complete review, but from what I have read so far, I give it a high recommendation. I just got the chapter about the expansion of Capitol Wrestling, owned by Mondt and some guy named Vince McMahon. I wonder what happens...
Finally, as far as Russ Haas joining Charlie in the WW, and what happens to Shelton Benjamin, see me in about seven years. - 411's Ron Gamble
Seven years? If I'm still here in seven years I'll either be really grateful or really depressed.
About the finishers-ending-in-a-pin question: I think in recent times, AJ Style's Styles Clash has almost always been rolled up into a pin. AJ's sort of integrated the roll-up in his move. Does that count? In wrestling games, the Baldobomb and the Orange Crush always seem to end in pins. I would imagine anyone using a Dragon Suplex as a finisher would bridge into a pin naturally. Similarly, a Michinoku Driver can easily evolve into a pin. I used to think that the Ki Krusher ended in pins (coulda swore I saw one), but Wikipedia disagrees with me, so no go. - Neeraj
I think every move you list there qualifies as a "impact move into a pinning combination", which wasn't what the questioner was asking about.
Red was a commentator for the WWF north of the border, usually going by Billy "Red" Lyons (which Gorilla always pronounced oddly--for the longest time I thought his name was Billy Redlions); I've done tape trades with Canadian fans and almost every tape has him hyping house shows for Toronto or doing backstage interviews. Basically, he was doing Gene Okerlund's role for Canadian TV. You may not know he was there because by coincidence, it seems nothing he did commentary for ever gets released on DVD.
He was also used in one other capacity. Remember how if a brawl ensued between two wrestlers on, say, Superstars, referees would break it up, but if it REALLY got out of hand, guys in suits would break it up, too? Red Lyons was always one of those guys.
As far as tattoos go, I think policy has always been that they're cool with it as long as it's not out of character. Oddly, the example I have here is Phinnaes I. Godwinn. When they pushed him as just a nice, stupid bumpkin who always meant well, he wore a long-sleeved shirt when he wrestled. When they turned him heel and he began acting a little more mean-spirited and bad-ass, he was suddenly shirtless, revealing a couple of tattoos. So I think that's the policy--get all the tattoos you want as long as it doesn't screw up the gimmick. - Adam
Hey Steve, great work as always with the column. I just wanted to add something about wrestlers wearing street clothes in a brawl, having them be ripped, and if WWE compensates for them. You're right in them getting their own street clothes, but what happens to them (i.e. ripped, torn, damaged on TV) is their own risk. Batista told a story about his debut when he got called up from OVW. WWE called him and told him to go out and buy a suit. So the first thing he did was go out and get a nearly $5,000 get up, only to have the sleeves ripped off as soon as he got to the taping for the Deacon Batista character. - Eric
I think he got the $5,000 back eventually, he's done pretty well for himself so I wouldn't feel too sorry for him.
PG-13 also were bootleg rappers as part of their gimmick. When they were involved with the NOD they actually did the rap version of the orginal Theme for the NOD (which may have been the original version).
Goldbergs Jackhammer was a Pinning Combo too. - Kemdurem
Penguin and I discussed the "pinning combination" topic, and one of the first ones I mentioned was the Jackhammer. However, it's an impact move into a pin, so I didn't think it fit the question. Lots of people e-mailed in with this one, but I don't think it fits.
There's a wealth of wrestlers who use regular pinning combinations as their finisher. Witness the West Coast Pop of Reynaldo Misterio, the Clash that is frequently credited to Styles, and the T-Bone Suplex That's Actually an Exploder Powerslam Pin used by Shelton Benjaimin. I suppose you could even count "Mean" Mark Undertaker's Tombstone as a pinning combo, since he takes care to pose his fallen foe like a comatose Snow White, or, if you will, a mummy. - Matt Amazo
re: Hennig using the Perfectplex as a pinning combo and other wrestlers having similar moves. Prince Iaukea used the Northern Lights Suplex as his finisher during his initial run in WCW, but changed it once he came back as The Artist. Can't remember what to, though. Then there's Doug Williams' Chaos Theory (bridged German Suplex after pushing opponent off the ropes) and I guess maybe various versions of the Michinoku Driver would count too. - Pete
I can tell you that The Artist changed his finisher to a leaping DDT where he came off the second rope and DDTed the bent over opponent. He blew the move at least 75% of the time, so I wasn't sure why he insisted on using it.
Just responding to Brentm who was asking about some books that give a bit of history on wrestling. I just finished reading "WWE Legends" By Brian Solomon, it mostly has to do with the WWE but alot of mini bios on wrestlers before the Hulkamania era of the mid 80's. Gives some background on Capitol Wrestling, World Wide Wrestling Federation, Maple Leaf Wrestling, AWA and NWA (different regions). Includes many different wrestlers from Andre The Giant to Sammartino and Backlund as well as Vincent J. McMahon, Toots Mondt, Antonio Rocca and Buddy Roger. Also how big immigrants/ethnicity was a big part of the early days. - Jeff G.
On the subject of Austin and Miller beer, I'm not sure that he always did use Miller. He used to refer to his beers as "steveweisers" for a while too which would suggest a well known rival to Miller and, also, the now legendary "beer bath" for the corporation was supplied by a truck branded Coors. It may well be that later on he did start using Miller in an agreement between them and WWE.
Here's a link to the "beerbath": http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25btu_the-corporation-interrupted-by-aust
... man I miss Austin...
Anyways, keep up the good work. This is always one of the most interesting reads in the week! - Iain
Finishers into a pin: Shelton Benjamin's T-Bone is generally right into a pin, unless its off a ladder. I think Foley may have pinned some wrestlers with the mandible claw, but I might be mistaken. Benoit used to use a Dragon Suplex (like a German suplex from a full nelson position) as a finsher in ecw, japan and even in wcw for a little while. There were probably other guys who used just a German into a pin. I can't think of any off my head, but I'm sure there were some.
As for people being in line for title reigns and not getting them for some reason, I heard gossip of Mohammed Hassan winning the world title from Batista at Summerslam in whatever year that would have been. 2005 I think. Then he got taken off tv for that whole terrorist jazz. Probably bullshit, but I read that somewhere.
Benoit in his tights, I agree with you, but I'll also add something. Benoit needs his outfit to sell the persona as much as anyone. Like you said, he's always ready to go. To someone watching for the first time, having him in his wrestling gear when does interviews establishes that (subconsciously anyway). It's always someone's first show. - Jones
I don't think Hassan was scheduled to win the title, but he was in line for a feud with Batista that would have culminated at Summerslam.
First off with the firebreathing. My friend, who was a hardcore ECW fan, got into throwing fireballs a little for fun. He studied up on it some and said kerosene was the most affordable way to do it with a desirable effect. As for the alcohol, pure alcohol creates invisible flames in daylight. My dad showed me this one day when I was younger when he burned some strong liquor in a spoon and then with the lights off so I could see the flame. Secondly, I'm not sure 80 proof would be strong enough, as it only contains 40% alcohol per volume. I've spit flames into campfires when it was getting dark out using Bacardi 151 which is 75.5% and got some flames. A friend who spit Jagermeister (at 70 proof so 35%) got basically nothing. Oh, and breathing fire is definitely dangerous. My friend accidentally lit his hand on fire one time (the first time he was taped doing it, ironically.) He said he thinks he drooled or spit some onto his hand, but that he was also using a Zippo, which gave him a stronger flame and less control over it.
Oh, and a sidenote on Charlie and Russ Haas... I got the chance to catch them in action at the last WWE show I attended, the first Raw on TNN (April-ish 2001). I agree, they definitely would've gotten the call up. They had a pretty good ring presence and some great tag team moves (like a double handspring elbow combo). Everyone seemed to be fairly into them, I even heard a comparison or two to young Steiners and quite a few people talking about how they to see them face the Hardy Boyz. - J. Jimmy Jettison
Manu Bumb backs you up on the Bacardi 151 thing. So I guess the questioner just wasn't using strong enough alcohol. Does he need to man up? Maybe.
I saw the Hoss Brothers in a dark match in Chicago. I don't remember the match that well, but I do remember they had a bushwhacker gimmick going on, acting crazy and waving their arms around. Not to say that's how they would have been brought up, but it sure doesn't sound too successful. - Kyle
Kurt's NWA title reign doesn't count, as the NWA had already broken the ties before the match with Christian & Sting (although it was unannounced on TNA TV). It's Christian who really gets an extra reign (as he was stripped of the NWA title and quietly recognised as the first TNA title holder, then Angle beat him to win the strap only to be stripped by Cornette) in reality though I would imagine that Christian will be viewed as the last NWA champ of the TNA era and Angle as the first TNA champ - its all kayfabe baybee
Sabin's reign is unaffected as the X title was never a NWA belt - just a TNA one
As for the Dudley's they were stripped of the NWA belts and then were recognised as the first TNA tag titles so they definitely get another title reign.
This all of course assumes that the new TNA titles are worthy of world title status - but that's another debate. - Gareth
I try to avoid discussions of inane topics like "which wrestling titles are worthy of world title status". For all I care, a promotion can make their top guy the "Milky Way Galaxy Champion". What's the difference? World title status is one of the most irrelevant things that gets talked about a lot by wrestling fans.
Hey I saw in your article Ask 411, there was small bit about Jack Evans/Blitzkreig II. He actually has used that gimmick quite a few times up here in Seattle, Washington when wrestling for Pinnacle Pro Wrestling. ( http://www.pinnaclewrestling.com ) It's a smaller indy fed with wrestlers such as Davey Richards, "Torndado" Tony Kozina, and not so much since February of last year, Jack Evans. He would either wrestle as Jack Evans or Blitzkreig II or sometimes even both in the same night. Just recently he was up here and used it 2 nights in a row, as well as using Jack Evans on both nights too.
Just figured I'd give you a heads up since you and the person who were referencing it had thought he only used it once. - Jason
Jack needs to do more stateside work, that much is for sure. Stupid Japan.
The question came up whether or not the NWA recognized recent X-Division title reigns... well, technically, I don't think the NWA recognized ANY X-Divison title reigns. While there was one world champion and one set of tag champions, the X-division title was never referred to as a world title, and many nwa promotions had their own X-divison title. Bear in mind also that unlike the other championships, it was never referred to as the NWA X-Division title, it was always the TNA X-Division title.
They changed the belt for three reasons:
1) It had the old NWA-TNA logo on it. (I know you could make an argument for this, but that's just what the company called itself in the early days).
2) They were replacing the other belts anyway, and
3) That belt was really butt-ugly and had to go. - Rich
It wasn't that bad. The big "X" ruled!
Questions!
I'm not sure if you'll be able to help me with this one but I'm trying to find
online one of the old WWE "Don't try this at home" promos. All this promo was
was many of the wrestlers going through all of the injuries that they've had
over the length of their careers. It was used a couple times back during the
last time I watched RAW or Smackdown on a regular basis but that was a couple
years ago. - Richard
I'm pretty sure I know which promo you're talking about, but I couldn't find it on YouTube. I'm sure it's on some other video site that I'm too lazy to check...hey, at least I'm honest about it!
Long time reader here, really enjoying your work, keep it up.
I once sent you a question so maybe I get lucky enough and you can help me out
on this again.
It´s about Shawn Micheals and his infamous "I lost my smile" interview.
Basically I am sure that it´s common knowledge that he just pretended to have a
bad knee so he did not have to job to Bret at WM13. Is this true? I mean, did he
really have some troubles with his knee and took it as an excuse to not drop the
title or was it completely made up?
I read somewhere that out of 10 titles he held in the 90´s he only dropped 3 by
actually jobbing? Do you have any info on that? Plus, if it´s true then did he
just refuse to job or was it for some storyline purposes (like when they split
up Diesel/HBK and vacated the Tag belts) - Schnee
We've already discussed the lost smile issue, so I'll move on to the second part of your question. Let's take a look at Shawn Michaels' 1990s title history and see how it stacks up:
WWF Title: His first reign ended with a loss to Sycho Sid. His second reign ended with the losing of a smile, and Stone Cold Steve Austin ended his third.
Intercontinental Title: His first reign was ended with a loss to Marty Jannetty. His second reign ended with him being stripped of the title either to not defending the title enough or being suspended due to steroid usage (depends on who you believe), and his third ended with a forfeit to Dean Douglas after the Syracuse incident.
Tag Team Title: Both of his title reigns with Diesel ended without losses in the ring, one was because they split up and the other was due to them already holding other titles. His reign with Steve Austin ended due to Michaels briefly quitting the WWF after a backstage fight with Bret Hart.
European Title: Michaels lost this title to Hunter Hearst Helmsly in a match that wasn't much of a match.
So you could say he's either 3 or 4 for 10, depending on if you want to count his loss to Triple H or not.
Are there any "real" NWA sanctioned rules or regulations in the current incarnation of the alliance? I mean; does a governing body actually exist that would dictate certain requirements to its members?
Certainly the NWA is a shell of its former self and I can't imagine an official council of tiny indy fed promoters gathering to vote on various subjects. Am I wrong? - Lazlo Takacs
There are real NWA rules and there is a Board of Directors whose members are elected by the promoters. The current Executive Director of the NWA is Robert Trobich. They have an annual meeting every October at the NWA Anniversary Show, which features talent from various NWA promotions. And there are sanctioned rules and regulations...not that we've been able to find the NWA Rule Book yet, but we're still looking for it.
I've got a question for you. I asked this a few years ago, and the guy running the column posted some pictures for me, but they didn't work. Anyway. I've always heard that Kane was previously known as "The Christmas Creature" and that he worked in ECW. Is there any truth to this, and if so, do you have a picture? - Scott
Glen Jacobs did play the role of "The Christmas Creature", but it was in the USWA, not ECW. Here's a link to a very small picture of the Christmas Creature. I believe this took place in either 1994 or 1995. Yes, it was in December.
DarkKnightwolf101 wants to talk about talk shows...
Over the years, Piper's Pit has become one of the best segments in WWE. Also, over the years we have seen other talk show segments like Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop, Jake Robert's Snakepit, HBK's Heart Break Hotel, Jericho's Highlight Wheel, Carlito's Cabana, and Edge's The Cutting Edge. My three questions to you are:
Who was the first wrestler to have a talk show segment?
The oldest one I've seen is Rogers' Corner, which was hosted by then-manager "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. He was not a wrestler by the time he started hosting Rogers' Corner, but it's the oldest interview segment not hosted by an announcer that I've seen.
What was the story behind Piper's Pit?
Piper came into the WWF as a guy who could cut a promo better than anybody that was there at the time. They wanted to give him a place where he could use his talent to talk a lot and piss everybody off, so they gave him a talk show.
Why have we seen different talk show segments from different wrestlers?
Talk show segments hosted by wrestlers, if done right, have the opportunity to get the interviewee and the host over. It also results in more screen time for the host, who's usually a pretty good talker and can use the time to get over more. They're also useful for having places for babyfaces to get beat down by multiple heels. Talk show segments move storylines along and involve wrestlers in the show without having to book them in matches.
Here's a question that's been bugging me for a while. Who is legit taller, Paul Wight or Khali? It seemed to me that Wight was taller, but Khali is billed taller and with the camera angles WWE uses, it can be hard to tell just by looking. I've tried to find this out myself, but information on the 'net is a confusing mix of kayfabe and shoot. While I'm at it, who is tallest, Khali, Wight or El Gigante? Who was the tallest man to compete in Professional Wrestling? - Tim
Great Khali is taller than Paul Wight, as was shown when they appeared together several times in July 2006. Khali stands at 7'3 while Wight is an even seven feet. The stats here may be shoot or kayfabe, but when I saw them together, Khali was taller. Wight was heavier though, so he wasn't completely dwarfed.
El Gigante, on the other hand, was taller than both of them, standing at a legitimate 7'6. He rates as the tallest man to regularly compete in professional wrestling.
Justin R. has been reading 411 since 1999. That's before I was reading 411, and before Larry Csonka's wife was created by his "Build A Wife" computer program.
1. DO YOU THINK THAT DEMOLITION AND/OR THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR WILL EVER BE INDUCTED INTO THE WWE HALL OF FAME (CONSIDERING WARRIOR WARRIOR AND BILL EADIE SUED THE WWE)?
You know, the phrase "never say never" is uttered a lot in professional wrestling, but I would be very surprised if Ultimate Warrior was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. Very, very surprised. I would be less surprised if Demolition was inducted, but I don't think they're near the top of the potential inductee list at the moment. So to answer your question, no.
2. HOW MUCH (BALLPARK) DID TOM BRANDI PAY DEL WILKES FOR HIS PATRIOT GIMMICK?
I have no idea how much a wrestling gimmick would go for, and for what it's worth, Del Wilkes denies that Brandi purchased the gimmick from him. I haven't seen any figures on it, so I can't really say.
3. I REALLY DISLIKE JOHN CENA (HIS CHARACTER, HIS BELT, ETC.). I THINK THEY MIGHT TURN HIM HEEL AND HAVE LASHLEY TAKE HIS TITLE OR MAYBE KEEP HIM GAY, I MEAN FACE, UNTIL SUMMERSLAM AND HAVE HHH TAKE THE TITLE. WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Well, we could see a Cena/Lashley feud somewhere down the road since both men are on Raw now. I can't see the fans choosing to root for Lashley over Cena though...the kids that like Lashley like Cena even better, and the adults that generally hate Cena aren't too thrilled with Lashley either. Triple H expects to be back sometime around Summerslam, but I don't see him getting into the title picture right away, a feud with Randy Orton over his taking out of Shawn Michaels seems more imminent for the Game. I'm not really sure where WWE's heading with their title feuds, and the draft this Monday seemed to do more to make things confusing than to straighten anything out.
Honestly, I don't see them changing Cena anytime soon. Whether you like it or not, he's getting results.
I got a question about Flair's first run in the WWF back in the early 90's. Well I have a few actualy. Frist why was Flair's run so short it was just over or under 2 years if that? What were the reasons he didnt stay wiith WWF? My second question is why didnt WWF have Flair vs Hogan i dont get why they didnt produce this dream match? I know at WM 8 Hogan was suppose to be retiring but still you think Vince would take adavantage of a dream match at the time being Hogan vs Flair. - Greg Potocky
Flair & Vince McMahon came to a mutual agreement in January 1993...McMahon thought that Flair had done everything he could do in the WWF, and Flair wanted to return to WCW. Flair probably regretted that decision at some point in the next eight years.
A popular rumor is that Hogan vs. Flair was supposed to be the main event of WrestleMania VIII, but Hogan didn't want the match because he didn't want to lose to Flair. He wanted to win the WWF Title and retire with it, which was something the WWF brass wasn't interested in doing. They did have a couple of matches on house shows, but the first Hogan vs. Flair PPV match took place in WCW.
speaking of drafts... remember the nWo draft? I remember IRS and Big Bossman joining the nWo the same night in the nWo as Scott Norton and Buff Bagwell. Then two weeks later JJ Dillion fired them from WCW or some stupid reason and they were suddenly gone. My question is, as the time I thought Bossman and IRS were awesome additions to the nWo and seemed to fit well. What was the backstage reason for WCW to do this at the time?
would u even consider them official nwo members? - NYGroover82
The backstage reason for Bossman being fired from WCW was that he was on his way to the WWF. He returned there in October 1998 as an enforcer for Mr. McMahon. As for Rotunda, he went over to Japan and spent quite a bit of time as part of the nWo Japan faction in New Japan. Eventually he got kicked out of the group (I presume for losing a lot of matches), but still worked an anti-WCW gimmick on WCW Saturday Night. I would consider them nWo members because...well, why the hell not?
Know any feds in NC? Or VA, not far from raleigh/durham? I went to UWF last year, and missed a TNA house show over xmas, but thats all i know of. There used to be carolina championship wrestling, that had some shows that looked good in a nostalgia sort of way, but then they disappeared. I find it interesting that the NWA press-release regarding their title tournament came out of charlotte, but none of the matches are happening there. I know charlotte is the home of flair, aka, the most recent face of the NWA, but move on, charlotte is home to the legends fanfest, and thats it. - Manu Bumb
The Carolinas in general are something of a hotbed for indy wrestling...Dave Meltzer had a rather long list of shows going on in the Carolinas in one of his news updates last week. A site I would recommend that you check out is carolinaindependentwrestling.com. Glancing at the site, there seems to be a lot of promotions running shows in the area. I have no idea if any of them are good, but why not check a show out if it's in your area?
(I don't apply to that comment because I'm a "public figure" that hates to be seen in public)
I'm curious about 411's editorial policy. A month or so ago, there was a rumor making its away around the IWC that Michael Cole was in line to replace Jim Ross on Raw. When JR refuted that in his blog, the 411 news item made note of the fact that 411 chose not to report the rumor at the time.
Another instance was with the recent release of Arial -- 411 reported she was canned, but you guys didn't report the alleged reason why. So how do you guys determine what you'll publish and what you won't? And, what is the reason for Arial getting canned when she did? - Jake Sherlock
I went right to the top dog to answer this question, none other than the immortal Ashish!
"Well, I take it he is only interested in the wrestling news editorial policy. Basically we only post news from what we consider to be reliable sources. Half the news on the internet comes from all kinds of weird sources and many sites use them, but we don't."
The reasoning for Ariel's dismissal according to the Wrestling Observer was that she didn't have the right look for a WWE Diva. Whatever the hell that means. It didn't help that the McMahons weren't big fans of hers and she was brought up to ECW on the recommendation of Paul Heyman. Once Heyman was gonzo, the writing was on the wall for Ariel.
Scott Haynes has two questions for us...
1. I remember a Pipers Pit segment in the 90's on Raw featuring William Shatner being provoked by "The King". I watched it at a friends house and didn't have cable at the time, I always wondered was there ever ACTUALLY am match between the two and at what event was it?
It was a "King's Court" segment on an episode of Raw where Shatner was provoked into monkey flipping Jerry Lawler. They didn't actually have a match, but the next week on Raw, Shatner was in the corner of Bret Hart as he took on Jeff Jarrett, who was accompanied by Lawler. Much shenanigans followed.
2. Will you give me your personal top ten on wrestlers who shoulda been world champ but never was?
Here's mine
10.Ted DiBiase
9. Jake Roberts
8. Scott Hall
7. Owen Hart
6. Monty Brown (TNA)
5. Arn Anderson
4. Jerry Lawler (forget USWA)
3. Dick Murdoch
2. William Regal
1. Curt Hennig - Scott Haynes
I hate to correct you, but Lawler & Hennig were both world champions under the AWA banner. Off the top of my head, here's ten guys who coulda, woulda, shoulda been world champs...no order because I'm funky like that:
Roddy Piper - great talker, crazy over
The Sheik - one of the most over heels in wrestling history
Ted Dibase - technically sound like the old style NWA champions
Jake Roberts - great talker, great ring psychology
Ernie Ladd - good talker, good size, legit athlete
Wahoo McDaniel - same as Ladd
Tully Blanchard - great chicken shit heel
Johnny Valentine - tough, solid heel
Bruiser Brody - crazy lunatic
Fred Blassie - good talker, good worker
When did I start writing like Dave Meltzer?
mattitude has two questions, neither of which deal with Matt Hardy...
1) While watching "the Monday night wars" edition this month, I noticed that Scott Hall numerous time said the word "jabrone" (jah-brone) as in "jabronie". This time period is January 1997, before "the rock" was even born yet. I always assumed that The Rock came up with "jabronie" but apparently I am wrong. Can you shed any light on who actually coined that catch phrase?
"Jabroni" was popularized by the Rock, but the term goes way back in the annals of wrestling, as one of the many colorful terms in the language that is kayfabe. It's also an Italian profanity, so I would guess that it was introduced to the wrestling business by an Italian.
2) Secondly, I do enjoy "the Monday night wars" part of WWE 24/7 very much. My question is why do you think they only provide 1 episode per month of "the monday night wars"? At this pace, it will take 1 real year, to get through just 3 months of monday night wars tv episodes. I have been hoping they'd air one episode each week to keep the content fresh. My own personal guesses are either a) because if they did that, they'd burn through them all in 5 real years and they are thinking more long term (10, 15, 20 years) with the 24/7 service, or b) it really is a lot of work to go through each episode and edit for copyright issues, change music, blur out attitude logo, etc etc. Personally i really hope its not option A because I hope in 15-20 years from now, WWE 24/7 is not the only way to get wrestling content, it better be viewed as an outdated technology. What are your thoughts on that? - mattitude
My guess is that it's your second option. It's a lot of work for something that not a whole lot of people have access to at this point, and WWE's staff has more important things on the agenda than re-doing a bunch of old wrestling shows so they can air them on a platform not that many people use. There's also only so much you can put on 24/7 at one time, and they probably want to put as much different stuff as they can on there.
So my question is about TNA's six sidded ring. Obviously one of the reasons they have it is to set them selves apart from the WWE ( and any other wrestling promotion as far as i know), but is there really any other reason for it? From what i have seen it doesnt really make the wrestling that much better. So what do you think? - Joel M
It was introduced mainly to give TNA something to stand out from WWE and other wrestling promotions. At this point, it'd be bizarre if they just switched back to the four-sided ring, so I reckon they'll stick with it. Personally, I think wrestling is wrestling and it really doesn't matter how many sides a ring has...but TNA's ring does look cool. So it's accomplished what it set out to do. Simple as that.
What ever happened to Los Maximos and The Amazing Red?
Amazing Red is currently taking time off to recover from a knee injury. He's had to do this a lot during his brief wrestling career, one has to wonder if he'll ever get back to where he was in TNA & ROH during 2002. Joel & Jose Maximo still compete in the Northeast independent wrestling scene for smaller promotions like Pro Wrestling Unplugged.
What did Teddy Hart do to be blackballed from everywhere? - Corpse-Bukkake
Hart seems to have some attitude problems that get him run out of promotion after promotion. It started back in 1998, when he was the youngest wrestler ever signed to a WWF developmental contract. He got released soon after due to attitude problems. He then got kicked out of ROH after an incident where he decided to do several dives off of a cage onto unsuspecting wrestlers after a scramble cage match. For his part, he claims he was suffering the effects of a concussion. His TNA stay in March 2004 ended after a backstage altercation with CM Punk.
He has a tendency to either no-show or back out of independent bookings, which has resulted in a large number of independent promotions refusing to book him. People say Teddy Hart could be a big star in pro wrestling if he gets his head together...if he ever will remains to be seen.
Andrew Malaidack has two questions for us...
Would you clarify two concerns? First concern, while watching the moments of Shawn winning the title from Bret at Wrestlemania XII I noticed Shawn delivered precise instructions towards Earl, Earl then pauses, then proceeded towards Bret informing him, with what I can only guess, instructions from Shawn to leave the ring pronto. Bret looks shocked, and I notice Shawn will not look at Bret as Bret begrudgingly leaves the ring. I'm dying to know what exactly Shawn said (if only I could read lips). What information have you compiled on these final moments?
Shawn told Earl to tell Bret to get out of the ring so he could celebrate his title victory. He probably used harsher words, but that was the jist of it.
Second concern, when exactly did Vince confirm, that as an on air talent, he controlled the WWE? Had he revealed this "fact" by the time Wrestlemania 13 aired? While I was watching my Wrestlemania 13 DVD, I noticed that as the Iron Sheik made his way to the ring during the Rocky Maivia vs.The Sultan match, Vince can be heard to remark, "..my former champion...(pause) Iron Sheik..". Did Vince inadvertenly break characte? He certainly reacted as if he had? While I acknowledge that for some time Vince's on air role was of both an interviewer and a commentator. But at some point he directly indicated "on air", that he ran the show.
If I remember correctly, it was during an interview he was conducting with Steve Austin in the middle of 1997. Possibly the one where he got stunned for the first time, or a little bit before it. I couldn't find an exact date, so anybody who's seen the episode recently can feel free to mail it in.
P.S. If you can confirm Vince directly revealed that he was the owner after Wrestlemania 13, would you forward my discovery to Prag-Thomlison's Hidden Hightlights column?
They read this anyway, they'll find it!
As I sat here watching Saturday Night's Main Event, I realized that there was a LOT of wrestling on this week (5/28-6/3). 2 hours of RAW, plus an hour of ECW, another hour of Impact, 2 more hours of Smackdown, an hour and a half of SNME, and presumably 3 hours of ONS comes out to 10 1/2 hours of wrestling on TV and PPV. Hell, if we add in the Impact replay and A.M. RAW, it comes out to 12 1/2 hours for the week. Now, I wasn't around for the Monday Night Wars, but is there a time you can recall where there was ever this much wrestling on? Thanks. - Garrett
Well, let's take a look at 1999, a year where there was wrestling all over the place.
So yeah, there was a lot of wrestling on television during the Monday Night Wars. And I tried not to count recap shows, so don't e-mail me about WWF Superstars or any other recap show that might have been airing at the time.
Last night (June 2nd) the International Assault Tour, featuring Bryan Danielson,
Nigel McGuinness, Austin Aries, Kid Kash, and Billy Kidman came to Melbourne,
Australia. It was quite a good night of wrestling with some Australian stars
mixing it up with their more acclaimed American (and British) counterparts.
Though it got me wondering what exactly have Kid Kash and Billy Kidman been up
to since parting ways with the WWE? (Kash in particular as he was one of the
highlights of the night, jawing with the crowd and delivering a profanity laced
promo that had the smarks in hysterics and the parents covering their
children's ears, before he proceeded to beat the living snot out of scrappy
wrestler aptly named Mad Dog McCray. Kidman on the other was over with the kids
but received nothing more than a 'meh' response from the rest of the crowd.)
Anyway, why no interest from TNA or any of the major Indy Feds for Kash or
Kidman? - Lev
Well, Kid Kash is regarded as an asshole and acted as such the last time he was a member of the TNA roster. I can't see them bringing him back...if he could put butts in the seats they might deal with it, but he just doesn't generate enough interest from the fans to get away with being a dick backstage. As for Kidman, I've heard about him being backstage at several TNA shows...why he hasn't appeared on any shows I'm not really sure, but like you say in your question, he never really got much of a response out of most crowds. He's probably not high on TNA's list of people to bring in, I reckon.
I was wondering if you would be able to either find a
transcript or find a video of a particular promo that
I remember. It would have been a couple years ago,
during the JBL/Big Show feud that cumulated in the
Barb Wire Steel Cage.
On an episode of SD, in Japan, JBL got shot by a tranq
by one of his associates, and proceeded to come to the
ring, and a drowsy daze, and cut a promo about Big
Show, Godzilla, and Pizza. I remember it being really
really funny, and I want to know if my memory is
correct. Thanks. - Louis
Hurry up and click this before YouTube removes it.
I enlisted the help of Penguin, our resident Shawn Michaels expert, to answer Chris's first two questions. I took the third though because I can.
1) I've heard rumors over the last few years that Shawn Michael's "career-ending" back injury after WM in '98 was actually a work. The rumor is that he could wrestle all along but just didn't want to, ala getting jumped by Marines or losing his smile. Any word on the legitimacy of his back injury?
"Other than the fact he had a documented large scale back surgery at the time? No." - Penguin
2) Related. I've also heard that Shawn's conversion to Christianity is not as sincere as he would have us believe. He's said all the right things since is return, and his work with DX doesn't necessarily work against his religion, especially with him stepping aside during the more risque segments. Any behind the scenes word on this as well?
"When did you hear that? Every report I've read says that he's pretty serious about that stuff. Actually, that he ended up close to Eddie because of theirtheir respective "clean ups and conversions" is a more popular rumor. All accounts say he is what he portrays, a born again Christian. That's not to say he doesn't do some things that push the line, but apparently to him it's in a way consistent with his faith. and the "vince v. God" angle was alot more risky than the dx stuff anyways." - Penguin
I believe Shawn is a Christian, and besides, who ever said all Christians were sincere?
3) The "Face in Peril" technique is tired and old, or maybe just classic and understated. Either way, it always gets me thinking: Has there ever been an occassion with a "Heel in Peril" getting a hot tag and his partner cleaning house? - Chris
Heels in peril...well, I saw a match at a TNA house show in Louisville, KY on April 20th that kind of had this theme, considering LAX were heels on television and playing babyface in a match with the Naturals, who had been babyfaces the last time they appeared on TV. But LAX were getting cheered when they came out, so I'm not sure it fits the heel in peril qualifications or not. I say it does because LAX were heels, damn it!
Well, that's all we have time for this week! Don't forget to send some questions, comments, corrections or suggestions to scook411@hotmail.com. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.
