Ask 411 Wrestling 06.25.08: BSK, Embarassing Losses, Sabu's HOF Chances & More!

Posted by Steve Cook on 06.25.2008

Honesty may be the best policy, but it's important to remember that apparently, by elimination, dishonesty is the second-best policy.



It's time to Ask 411 Wrestling! I'm Steve Cook, and I hope you're having a wonderful week. My week is going pretty well, as I got to see TNA in Cincinnati on Sunday night and I'm getting to see ROH in Dayton Friday night! Woot! On the downside, that means that I'm not really motivated to write anything of substance this week. I know, I know…what else is new, right?

It's all right though, because I did write a couple of things you may find interesting. Buy or Sell featured John Gregory and myself in a discussion of things such as Mike Quackenbush as a possible heel, Japanese fellers coming to America, and fat kids as GHC Champions. Good times. I also appeared in this week's edition of Hidden Highlights, where JP Prag accused me of eating three people. I'm more offended by his fetish for wearing dresses…that just isn't right.

Comments, Corrections & Other "C" Words

I was amazed to learn that the Starrcade theme song was "Far From Over" by Frank Stallone. Frank Stallone? Wow, the NWA sure had their fingers on the pulse of America, didn't they?

You said that Glenn Jacobs was the only Kane except
for once when the Undertaker donned the mask to trick
somebody. How could you possibly forget about HHH
playing Kane during the Katie Vick angle. That was
classic huh? And what about the fake Kane from a
couple of years ago that lead to the awesome Kane vs.
Kane match? Lol - seal

Ugh and ugh.

To add a little history to your Wrestling in the Northwest Answer...

The Oregon Boxing and Wrestling Commission was indeed the only state governing body to routinely test wrestlers even after the veil of kayfabe was lifted. When the Commission was formed, the head (I can't remember who it was at the moment) had a vigorous disdain for wrestling and was out to prove that it was just a bunch of juiced-up muscle heads. There was an aggressive campaign to completely disband the Commission, but the main scope of the Commission now is MMA and to issue licenses to promoters (wrestling and MMA) and to fighters (MMA mainly).

When Don Owen had the Portland Wrestling brand in Portland, the group routinely toured from as far north as the Seattle area to as far south as Klamath Falls and even into northern California (when the promotion was at it's peak). The promotion had names come through like Jesse Ventura, Roddy Piper, Playboy Buddy Rose, Ed Wiskowski (Colonel DeBeers), Adrian Adonis, Matt Borne (and his father Tony), Lance Von Erich, Rip Oliver, Buzz & Brett Sawyer, among others... The NWA even sent their touring Champion to the area and I got to see Ric Flair wrestle Brett Sawyer two-out-of-three falls for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Portland Wrestling was considered a "launching pad" for a number of "hall of famers" when Don Owen had the promotion going full-tilt. Don was widely known for being able to pay his wrestlers and treating them fairly, with honesty and respect. When he didn't have work for a wrestler, he told the wrestler exactly that. No B.S., no lies... and ended up being a bastion of integrity in the business. Unfortunately, when his lead TV sponsor went bankrupt, the money started drying up as well. He ended up selling the promotion to Sandy Barr (Jesse's Dad) and while Sandy was a serviceable wrestler and very good referee, he was not much of a business man. Combined with the hatred of Wrestling that the Commission had, ANY promotion would have failed. He also had a wrestling school in Portland that was a bit on the shady side as well. By this time, the WWF had gone international, global even, and Barr ended up selling the promotion to the Kafoury family. They could never bring the brand back to the heights that it once had, as they had no TV deal, no widespread promotional base/plan and no "Touring Champions/Attractions" that the NWA was willing to send to the "outpost" of the Northwest.

Beyond that, there just isn't enough of a base to send a regular show to Portland, Seattle or Vancouver. I was at the Tacoma Dome Raw show in July of 2000, and the Raw Taping in Feb of last year (The Wrestlemaina build-up with Trump), and while there were descent turnouts, the Tacoma Dome was not a sellout as it was during that gawd-awful Invasion angle. By coming every two to four years, they are almost guaranteeing better gates than running shows up here more often. – Caleb Smith from Eugene, Oregon

I think this is what one of the commenters was talking about when he said that readers' insight was more valuable than mine. If all of my readers came off as intelligent as Caleb, I'd be inclined to agree with that. Until we reach that point, I recommend that the displeased commenter go check out the 411 Fan Forum, as I'm sure it will fulfill all of his desires and cravings.

a recent question was asked asbout owen hart and the hall of fame, from jim Ross' own mouth, he said that Owen was not in the hall of fame because Martha hart his widow does not want to be assoicated with WWE in anyway, so until Martha says yes, its not gonna happen. – Nick

Let me start off by telling you that the WWE is coming to El Salvador with their SummerSlam tour. Woo-hoo!!! Finally. Too bad young Randall will probably not make it. Quick comment about the Spanish announcers. Hugo, Carlos and now Marcelo call their matches, I would say on their own, meaning Vince, or anyone else, is not telling them what to say. They include storylines in their comments but then just call the matches as they go, and do an awesome job!!! They do not translate what J.R. and company say. Hope that helps. – Ivan

Excellent column as always. One of the very few things I make a point of reading weekly. Anyways, a reader asked how you would compare Backlund's popularity. From everything I've seen and read (I have a ton of wrestling books and a lot of old MSG house shows) the only reason Backlund even got the belt in the first place was because Vince Sr. promised it to him even before Superstar Billy Graham beat Sammartino. According to Graham's book he was told before he beat Bruno the date and location he was going to lose the belt to Backlund. Graham as we all know became a HUGE draw and was supposed to be a heel but much like Austin was cheered when it wasn't planned. Graham and everyone else knew he was the bigger draw but McMahon kept his word and gave the belt to Backlund. They tried everything to get him over it just didn't work. Backlund was not over. He was scientific but dull in the ring, had very little charisma and couldn't work the stick. Most of the shows he worked he was on in the middle of the show because he wasn't exciting. Commonly you'd have Andre, Putski, Strongbow or others in the main. This is completely different from when Hogan worked the middle of the card because he was regularly booked to get to the next town or worked two matches a day. With Backlund it's simply because he wasn't the draw. You always heard how many times Bruno and Hogan sold out the Garden but you never hear it with Backlund. – Mike G.

I have to admit that I'm biased in favor of Backlund because I loved his Psycho Bob mid-90s run in the WWF. Tell me that wasn't one of the most hilarious characters of all time. You're a liar if you say it wasn't. Mike speaks the truth here, but I'd rather drink Drain-O than watch a Jay Strongbow main event match. Just saying.

"That fell through due to Viacom not wanting to give Vince any more airtime after the XFL debacle."

Actually, it wasn't that Viacom didn't want to give WWE more airtime, its just that they didnt want WWE to air any non-WWE programming, which is why we got stuck with "Excess" on saturday nights instead of 2 hours of wrestling.

I still can't believe a show was actually called "Excess". If they ever rename WWEcw "we dont care anymore", that'll take the title of most appropriately named show, but until then, "Excess" has it.

Actually, doing favors for someone in the business WORKS. Just ask my former hooters girl. she got great seats and backstage passes. even got randy orton to grind his crotch on the ropes for her. never invited me tho. hence the "former" part. free beer only gets you so far in my book.

Also, I've gotta disagree with your strategy for PPV tickets, especially WWE ppv tickets where the first 6 rows are MUCH higher than the rest of the floor seats. When I got tickets to No Mercy 2006, I got on right as they went on sale, and ended up stuck with 6th row tix at first. I then opened a new window right away, searched, and got floor seats further back, so I buy the 6th row tix, and BAM! i end up with the other tickets. Booooo!!! A few hours later, I get back online and find 2nd row tix opposite the titan tron, right behind the announcers table, so I call TM and tell them about what happened earlier, how I bought the wrong tix due to my browser error, so they gave me a 1 time exception (which i will NEVER use again, now that i know better) and let me cancel those tix and buy new ones. Go back and watch for me, I'm the indian in the superman shirt with a beer behind JBL. yup - i'm THAT guy.

It was that day that I realized that 99.9% of fans get on ticketmaster and ask for "best available", including myself, and then they realize that the best tickets are between $150 and $300 (if not more), so they release those tickets and go for something cheaper ($300 a ticket adds up for a family of 5). I haven't had a chance to test this theory since then (wow, havent been to a ppv since 2006), but it makes perfect sense to me. So for PPV, I would recommend waiting a little bit til people release the ringisde tix. thats my plan for next time.

as for house shows - good luck. I got a front row ticket to the greensboro house show that took place the weekend the matt hardy/edge/lita story hit the net, and got HHH to flip me off for my sign that said "Edge betrayed V1", but that was just random luck. the only other time I got first row was back at Survivor Series 2001 (WWE vs WCW/ECW), and that ticket cost $400. I need to watch that ppv again. who could've guessed those would be considered "the good ol' days" compared to what we've had since then? ewwwwwwww.

I wish WWE would sell the first 6 rows at different prices per row. that would give us a better chance at getting first row. plus, they give A LOT of front row tix to friends of the business. At the No Mercy ppv, there was a BABY that had a front row seat right in front of me. little piece of shit. and they had a ticket for him, so they got to take a chair home for him. and they all (there were......at least 5 of them) got free tix to the show. I never figured out which jack-ass wrestler gave them tickets, but if I do, ITS ON! - Manu Bumb

I think Manu just called a baby a "piece of shit". This seems like a fine time to move on to this week's questions, doesn't it?

Questions!

I have been watching AWA on ESPN Classic. Who was Rocky Mountain Thunder, and did he go to do anything else? – Patrick

Before getting into wrestling, Greg Boyd played seven years in the NFL as a defensive lineman, bouncing around from New England to Denver to Green Bay to San Francisco to the Los Angeles Raiders. Much like other professional football players who didn't last long in the league for one reason or another, Boyd decided to enter the world of pro wrestling. I couldn't find any information on where he went after the AWA closed up shop, but Rocky Mountain Thunder randomly popped up in WCW in 1995 during the phase where WCW was signing everybody under the moon that had ever stepped foot in a wrestling ring. As far as I can ascertain, he had one match with Jim Duggan on a WCW Saturday Night taping, and it was so bad that it never saw the light of day. I don't think he did anything in wrestling after that.

was wondering if you could help me out with a couple of questions about 2 WWF/E storylines from around 98/99.

The first of these was the introduction of Jeff Jarret as the NWA champion, aligned with Cornette and I think the Rock N Roll Express and the New Midnite Express of Bart Gun and Bob Holly. What exactly was Vince or the NWA hoping to achieve with this angle? Why did the NWA agree to let Vince use their belt as a cheap prop in a shoddy storyline for a company that already had 3 main singles titles in the World, IC and Euro Championships?

I should correct you and point out that Jarrett was not the NWA World Champion, but the NWA North American Champion. The NWA was desperate for attention in 1998, as they had completely dropped off the radar after ECW double-crossed them in 1994 and hadn't done much of anything to regain momentum since. Eventually Dan Severn, who was the NWA World Champion at the time, came in with that title belt, but nobody really cared because the NWA guys hadn't done much other that feud with Bradshaw & the Headbangers, who nobody cared about at the time. Vince was trying to replicate the New World Order angle in a really half-assed way, and the NWA was trying to get their name out there.

Secondly concerns the revelation that Vince was the Higher Power behind the Ministry. I remember there being a lot of speculation amongst the IWC at the time that WWF had tried to contact guys including Jake Roberts, Warrior and even Shawn Michaels about filling the role but ended up settling for the very anticlimatic revelation that it was Vince. Is there any truth in rumours that it was supposed to be someone else or was Vince the only option considered? – Mike F.

I'm of the school of thought that the other options were just thrown out there to try and throw us off the scent. Even though Vince being the Higher Power didn't make much sense, that was obviously the direction they were headed in.

JTG (probably not the Cryme Tyme guy) has two questions…

1) I was watching this shoot interview Jeff Jarrett did on youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o8JT5Ikc6Y). I love it, one of the best interviews I have ever seen, but did he getting any heat in the locker room for calling people out (hurting vince's ego, HBK and the klique, steve austin)? I mean he just got back from WCW I believe and there had to be some bad blood there to begin with. He states that is what Vince wanted but man he had some real fortitude to run with that much.

I don't think anybody had an issue with what Jarrett said…other than Steve Austin, who refused to work a program with Jarrett later on due to a combination of his considering JJ not in his league and the things JJ had said about Austin 3:16 being "blasphemous". This led to Jarrett leaving the company in 1999, so perhaps we can credit Austin for helping create TNA. Vince got what he wanted out of the promo, and Bret & HBK were too busy fussing and feuding with each other to notice Jarrett.

2) I have been wanting to ask this question since the Benoit tragedy happen, who the hell does Marc Mero think he is? Does anyone like or respect this man? Why has he gotten so much attention? because he was saying what they wanted to hear? I remember an interview he did with steve blackman where he was just came off as a condescending Ahole. I was young when he had his shot and remembering even then that he was dumb. Was he considered a talented wrestler? All he did was bring in Sable to the WWF/E and had a somewhat cool finisher.

Penguin *bgca says:
As Johnny B Badd in WCW he had a decent little character and was an alright performer. Better than Glacier at least. But on the whole, the reason he get's interviews is because he's bitter about no longer wrestling and wants to talk shit about it.
Penguin *bgca says:
People who want to hear shit talked about wrestling would thus, be more inclined to bring him on their shows.

I'm sure somebody likes Mero and somebody respects him. I can tell you that Mick Foley did not have much respect for Mero and the fact that Mero made more money than he did for a long period of time. He did get the attention of the media because he was a former pro wrestler and he was saying things that they believed in and wanted to emphasize in their coverage. Whether you believe them or not is up to you. His wrestling ability…as Penguin said, I'd classify him as decent. Good enough to have watchable matches with good performers. Nothing terribly special, but he wasn't all that bad until injuries broke him down during the last days of his WWF run. He made a brief comeback in TNA during the FSN era, and he wasn't all that bad there either. I did like the Badd Blaster. I dunno, I'm not a huge Mero fan but I can't really work up any hate towards him. He has an opinion and he's entitled to it. Opinions are like a-holes…you know the rest.

Seal has several questions…

1.) Have there ever been any women hardcore matches?
While it wouldn't be pretty, have women ever "bladed"
before in wrestling? More specifically the WWF/E.

For the last couple of years, IWA Mid-South has run a Queen of the Deathmatch tournament. I think that answers your first question. As far as your second question goes, I don't think any Divas have bladed, but Lita was busted open in a match with Ivory at Survivor Series 2000. That wasn't due to a blade, and it was pretty disgusting. I can't remember any other instances of Divas bleeding, but I'm sure somebody will remind me. As far as the Knockouts go, Roxxi was bleeding before and after she got her head shaved, but she did not blade. Generally, women don't need to cut their faces up because their faces are a big part of what keeps them viable in pro wrestling. Guys can do it because nobody really cares what their face looks like.

2. After thinking about Ric Flairs career, who do you
think is the lowest guy he ever jobbed to? I know on
an episode of Raw a few years ago he jobbed to Rico.
I would probably say him. But if not Rico, then who
would you say? Umaga maybe?

Vince Russo. If it's not Russo, it's Eric Bischoff, and frankly the Bischoff loss might have been more pathetic because it happened at a Starrcade. And people wonder why WCW went out of business.

Same Question for Hulk Hogan. Not counting the
Mountie, err Jacque Rougue that he lost to at a house
show as Jacque was retiring, who do you think is the
lowest wrestler Hogan jobbed to? And I mean after he
became big. I heard a long long time ago, that there
used to be a wrestler called "The Genius" that later
became a manager, that Hogan once lost to. Is this
true?

Yes it is. On the November 25, 1989 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, Hogan lost to The Genius, who happened to be Randy Savage's brother Lanny Poffo, by countout. At the time Genius was the manager of Mr. Perfect, and Perfect helped Genius win the match by hitting Hogan with the WWF title belt. Later in the show Perfect & Genius destroyed the title belt in a memorable incident. I don't think Hogan's jobbed to any other managers that were relegated to job duty before they became managers, so Genius would be the answer you're looking for.

Hey, Jacques Rougeau is a former WWF Intercontinental & Tag Team Champion, show him some respect!

3. Speaking of Hogan, before Wrestlemania 23, he got
a lot of heat for wanting too much money to wrestle
"The Big Show." Someone at 411 said "there was no way
that Hogan could slam The Big Show." At Hogan's age,
it would be quite amazing. But he did it, at his own
fundraiser show. Who was it at 411 that grilled Hogan
about not being able to do it and did he ever say
anything about it again?

I don't have the slightest idea. For all I know, I might have said it. Heck, it wouldn't surprise me…I'm not a very big Hogan fan and I'm always looking for stuff to bash him over. But in any event I don't think Hogan slamming Big Show is that big a deal. If Big Show didn't want Hogan to slam him, he wouldn't have. It works that way with most bodyslams.

4. Whatever happened to the Beverly Brothers?

Ah, Beau & Blake Beverly. Also known as Wayne Bloom & Mike Enos, they had attained some success in the AWA as the Destrucion Crew before making their way to the WWF. After their departure, both Bloom & Enos headed to the indy circuit, both eventually winding up in WCW. They briefly reformed their tag team there in 1997-98, but that didn't last long. Enos lasted longer in WCW than Bloom, but both of them were gone from wrestling by 2000.

Finally,
5.) I know you've touched on this before but if
someone at the Royal Rumble that was not supposed to
go over the top rope, and "skins the cat" back in, but
accidentally falls in front of the cameras and
everyone, do they have a back-up plan just in case?
For example, when Shawn Michaels first did it when it
came down to him and British Bulldog, and Shawn
slipped or something, it seems they would have just
said that British Bulldog wins. I've just been
curioius about that. Or if the winner somehow gets
injured. It seem s like they would have a back up
winner just in case.

Penguin *bgca says:
They're not gonna have someone like mark henry do the skin the cat thing. It's typically people that can do the move. I would guess that if something like that happened, either the wwe video editing machine would take over and re-write history, or they'd just have the accidental rumble winner somehow lose their title shot in the leadup to wrestlemania.

What he said. If something messes up, they'll figure out a way to get things the way they want them.

Has HHH ever gotten a one on one pinfall over the Undertaker? I remember them feuding over the years, but I'm under the impression that Taker has always gotten the one on one victory and never lost to HHH. – Travis

Well, it wasn't a clean victory, but Triple H did pin Undertaker on the August 26, 2002 edition of Raw. He did so after Brock Lesnar hit Undertaker with the Undisputed title belt. This was notable for Lesnar leaving Raw and making the title exclusive to Smackdown, which led to the creation of the World Heavyweight Title.

Scott brings us some questions from the Windy City…

I was wondering do you think that The Million Dollar Title could be coming back into the mix seeing as how Ted Dibiase II is following in his father's footsteps? I personally think it would be a good idea to help get him over and it could finally justify WWE putting the title in the Smackdown vs. RAW game for the last three years? I mean what was up with that? Not complaining by any means it's just the title wasn't on TV since 1996 and then BAM! It shows up in a video game...lol

I wouldn't rule out a return of the title, though I don't think they necessarily need to do that to get Ted Jr. over. As for why it was in the video game, DiBiase had returned to WWE as a road agent after many years outside the company, and I reckon they thought it'd be something cool for the video gamers.

Next question pertains to Elijah Burke. It's obvious that there portraying his character as being in some sort of rut and with the return of Cryme Time, rumors that Teddy Long could be taking over RAW as GM, ECW moving with the RAW shows and the announcement of the Draft what do you think the possibilites are of them doing some sort of "New Nation"? I know I brought this up before but I believe that this revamp of a once powerful stable would mesh well with the new RAW/ECW combination. Think about it, you have Shelton and Burke repping ECW and Teddy Long could "pull some strings" on RAW with Estrada by allowing Cryme Time to occasionally appear alongside them on ECW. Lets be honest the "gangsta" gimmick was fun for awhile but it's time that they turn them heel and get serious. Throw Ron Simmons in as a mouthpiece/part-time competitor for the group and I think you have one powerful stable that can contribute to BOTH shows. More so ECW.

We talked about something similar to this last week. I completely forgot about Burke, who would be a decent addition. Check it out!

Also about ECW being moved and taped before RAW I was just curious where that puts the WWE tag titles? Do you think Miz/Morrison will drop the titles before the Draft? Or will they just finally move them to SD? That would be the better fit. Lets face facts, Morrison has what it takes to be in the main event. I wouldn't mind seeing him feud for the US title for a little while and then move up the ladder. As for the Miz, I'll admit I was skeptic about him from day one but he has proven himself A LOT since teaming w/Morrison. I could see him getting in the US title picture somewhere down the line or if they drop the tag titles before the draft they could possibly keep him on ECW and throw him in that title picture.

I'd like to see Miz & Morrison on Smackdown, but the fact that they still haven't lost the titles leads me to believe that Finlay & Hornswoggle will win them at Night of Champions. Which I think is a totally horrendous idea, but that hasn't stopped WWE before. I'm pretty high on both Morrison & Miz these days, they make a pretty good tag team and they're entertaining.

Can you talk about Christian Cage's stint in RoH? Obsessed w. Wrestling only has about two matches up with him wrestling for their promotion, but what was the kayfabe story behind it? – Paatgan

Christian's first appearance on May 12, 2006 was built up as him appearing in ROH for one night only. Nothing more, nothing less. The second match sprung from the first match, as Christopher Daniels challenged Cage to a singles match. Those were Christian's only two appearances with the company, and he did a Straight Shootin' Series interview as well.

Something I noticed whlie watching Smackdown over the course of the past few years - the ring announcers (Michael Cole and his revolving door of handlers) would pause, usually during a wrestler's opening theme music, to shill the sponsors (skittles, playstation, etc) and take turns listing the products. Cole and Tazz did this, I seem recall Cole and Coach doing it (though I could be wrong), and Cole and Foley definitely do this now as well. The only exception was JBL. He NEVER shillled the sponsors' products. Not once. I'm positive.

I always attributed it to him wanting to maintain some small bit of kayfabe (in that pushing candy and videogames on national TV was beneath him as a heelish wall street tycoon), but now that he's got his own product, and is pushing it shamelessly on Raw, I'm wondering if there may have been some kind of legal conflict of interest all along if he were to verbally back WWE sponsors, either with his own in-the-works energy drink, or with whatever legit wall street connections he had or has. – BJC

Penguin *bgca says:
I don't think I ever remember a heel color commentator shilling anything. I would assume that would have more to do with it than any conflict of interest.
Samoa Steve says:
didn't Lawler shill stuff when he was a heel?
Penguin *bgca says:
Well when was the last time Lawler was really a heel?
Penguin *bgca says:
97?
Samoa Steve says:
well, he did back Vince a lot during the Austin run
Penguin *bgca says:
I don't remember them really shilling alot of stuff at commercials during those days though
Samoa Steve says:
what about when Tazz first became a commentator?
Samoa Steve says:
he was a heel for a little while there
Samoa Steve says:
and I'm sure Heyman did some shilling
Penguin *bgca says:
I didn't have upn
Penguin *bgca says:
so...I don't know
Samoa Steve says:
I like your original answer though
Samoa Steve says:
heels shouldn't be pimping products, damn it
Penguin *bgca says:
if there was some sort of conflict of interest, wouldn't that mean that stock picking shows (like jbl has been on) couldn't have corporate sponsors?
Samoa Steve says:
you know, I don't watch enough CNBC to say how that works
Penguin *bgca says:
I've watched them before
Penguin *bgca says:
they have commericals
Samoa Steve says:
yeah, but it's not like McDonald's presents Stockwatch 2008
Samoa Steve says:
you know, like how all the sports shows have main sponsors
Penguin *bgca says:
like red stripe and pti
Samoa Steve says:
yeah
Samoa Steve says:
College Gameday built by the Home Depot
Samoa Steve says:
stuff like that
Penguin *bgca says:
espn are whores though
Samoa Steve says:
they really are
Penguin *bgca says:
but really, who would eat candy shilled by a heel?
Samoa Steve says:
I dunno, if it was a fat heel I would assume they have expert knowledge on the product
Samoa Steve says:
and looking at JBL these days, he might be going a bit heavy on the hershey bars
Penguin *bgca says:
its all that mamjuana
Samoa Steve says:
poor guy

I'm not sure we had an actual answer anywhere in that conversation.

1.With the rumor going around that Umaga will be drafted to Smackdown, do you see him receiving a World Heavyweight Title reign in the near future?

I always say anything is possible, but I don't see Umaga as championship material. Sure, he's better than Great Khali, but who isn't? Umaga's one of those guys you put up against babyface champs to give them trouble, but you don't put them over unless you want to shock people. Can you imagine Umaga on Regis & Kelly?

2.That new russian dude I think his name is Koslov or something.I kinda dig the dude.Anyways my question is do you see him going far in the WWE and also why in the hell did he change his finisher to that reverse ddt? It looks like a crap from a bigger dude and hes not no Sting by far and also that Argentine Backbreaker was cooler.

His WWE name is Vladimir Kozlov. He's big and has a decent look, so I could see him getting pretty far in WWE. As far as his finisher goes, I'm not sure what he's using because he finished Jamie Noble off this week with a headbutt to the chest. We'll see how he develops in the coming weeks.

3.Whats up with WWE using Elijah Burke so poorly.I know he still has a lot to learn and stuff, but the guy has potential and the way that he's been jobbed to death(preferrably by CM Punk) I see it hard with the E eventually repackaging him and maybe giving him a push as a big player one day. – Jack the Ripper

I think the Elijah Burke fans need to be patient, not everybody gets pushed to the moon upon entering the company, and if he sticks with it and impresses people he could get a shot to do something big. I think all fans of young up and coming wrestlers need to be patient. Then again, Burke is 30 years old, and that's pretty old by wrestler standards these days. I dunno, maybe WWE doesn't see him as a big money ballplayer.

With Sabu now most likely being reitired what do you think the odds are of him being inducted into the WWE hall of fame? – Tom

Not good.

Oh, you want me to elaborate? Sabu was a very influential wrestler, no doubt about it. Many of the recent daredevils and guys who like to use tables owe a lot to Sabu for inventing/popularizing a lot of things that they do. That being said, Sabu's WWE run didn't go all that great and he didn't exactly leave on the best of terms. I wouldn't be holding my breath waiting for Sabu to be enshrined in the WWE HOF.

Christopher has three questions…

1. When the British Bulldog returned to the WWE back in 1999, did anybody want to give him a major title run?

I don't think that was ever seriously considered, even though Bulldog hinted at that in his early interviews and he challenged for the title on a couple of occasions, I don't think it was ever in the plans to make the British Bulldog the WWF Champion. I can't imagine why it would have been, to be honest with you. Bulldog was past his prime and feeling the effects of a major back injury that he suffered during his run in WCW. It was amazing that he did what he did in the WWF during his final run considering the physical condition he was in.

2. Did Eric Bischoff or anybody in WCW had a feeling it was a bad idea to bring Warrior to WCW?

I'm sure they did (I mean, anybody who had worked with the guy in the past would have thought it wasn't the best of ideas to bring him in), but they felt that the possible reward was worth the risk.

3. since Scott Hall took advantage of the Rehab program WWE offered to any and all former employees of theirs, does this mean both WWE and Hall are on good terms now? and if any other wrestler that left WWE on bad terms and took advantage of the rehab program would it help re-create good terms between them?

From the tone of recent interviews, I don't think Scott Hall harbors any bad feelings towards WWE. That doesn't mean he'll be appearing on Raw next week, it just means that he isn't bitter. I'm sure that any other wrestler WWE puts through rehab would feel the same away, assuming that the rehab takes.

Ivan has three questions…

Questions:
1. I remember reading somewhere that after Bret was inducted into the HOF, he and Stone Cold were having a drink backstage or something, and Hulk Hogan came over to congratulate Bret and offered a handshake, and that both Bret and Steve just shrugged him off. Any truth to that?

I have heard that rumor, and I believe it made the rounds in the dirtsheets shortly after WM. I wasn't there so I can't confirm it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did happen. Hart & Austin are certainly no Hulkamaniacs.

2. Going back to the screwjob, it is said that the Undertaker actually made Vince come out of his office or whatever, and apologize to Bret. Is that true? Taker must be a force to reckon with backstage then.

That is not true. At least according to Vince's spin of it, he was going to try and talk to Bret backstage after the match no matter what happened to him. I believe he even said he gave Bret a "free shot", which in retrospect may not have been the best of ideas.

3. What had happened to Batista's eye for his match with HBK at Backlash? I could have sworn I saw him with a black eye. – Ivan

Two words: jet-ski accident.

What?

I just had another quick question for you. I was watching Tom Pritchard's Straight Shootin' DVD and he mentioned that at the time when the Kliq was in power there was another faction called BSK that called a lot of the shots. Do you know who this group was and who was included in it? – Brett from Dubuque

If you look at Undertaker's stomach, you'll notice that the initials BSK are tattooed on it. According to Percy Pringle, it stands for "Bone Street Krewe", which is Undertaker's group of friends. Others say it stands for "Back Stage Krew", or perhaps "Brotherhood of Solitary Knights". In any event, the BSK group Pritchard was referring to in the interview was Undertaker and his friends. Paul Bearer was one, and I reckon peeps like Bryan Adams, Brian Lee, Mideon and other known friends of UT were in the group.

so you think a tna main eventer could go to WWE and be a main eventer right away? im asking regarding both present main eventers (excluding kurt angle and booker t), and in the future, if you think TNA will ever be competitive enough that their main event guys could move over and not be considered B talent right away. – Manu Bumb

Probably not. Heck, most people who came over from WCW didn't get in the main event right away. Chris Benoit was WCW Champion when he left there, and once he got to the WWF he was placed right into the Intercontinental title scene. He had a couple of main event matches, but he was not a main eventer right away.

Has anyone ever won main event matches at Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, Summer Slam, and Survivor Series all in the same year? (Shouldn't that be considered a Grand Slam, since it is more like what a GS is in tennis and golf, as opposed to winning four different titles?)

I know Bret Hart almost did in '94, winning the Rumble Match, beating Yokozuna at WMX, beating Owen at Summer Slam, but then losing to Bob Backlund at Survivor Series. – Casey

There have been several close calls featuring men like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Triple H and others, but no wrestler has ever won main event matches at those four shows all in the same year. It will not happen this year either, since John Cena lost at WrestleMania after winning the Royal Rumble.

Thoroughly enjoy reading your site each week from Australia.
One question that came to mind after watching Royal Rumble
Anthology- has Koko B Ware ever won a singles match on WWE PPV ? – Rhett

He won a couple of dark matches at PPVs, but Koko never won a singles match that appeared on a PPV. Ware lost singles matches at WrestleMania III (Butch Reed), Summerslam 1989 (Big Bossman), WrestleMania VI (Rick Martel), and Royal Rumble 1991 (The Mountie).

As we all heard this week before Raw there was a dark match between Bryan Danielson and Lance Cade and Bryan actually won! (which was a big suprise for me because he have no contract with the WWE).
Do you think that people in the WWE are looking for someone to fill in Benoit place? A new guy that will be the "ass kickin' " technical man? Someone that will maybe make the crowd forget about Benoit and the in ring abilities that he had?
If so, do you think that Danielson can be that guy? – Liron

To answer your first question…no. I don't think WWE feels there's a need to create a "new" Chris Benoit that hopefully won't go on a murderous rampage and make people feel sick for supporting pro wrestling. WWE has chosen to forget that Chris Benoit existed, and I support that notion.

I am a huge supporter of Bryan Danielson, and anything that gets him on my television set every week would be a good thing. Well, I shouldn't say "anything", because I'm sure WWE or TNA could easily come up with something that would make me actively hate Danielson. But I am in full support of him signing with WWE and hopefully making a big name for himself on the biggest stage in professional wrestling someday.

Well, that's all we have time for this week! If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns or pornography, feel free to send it to [e-mail]. Until next time, booooooohica!