I spoke with someone who attended Saturday’s George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame banquet in Waterloo, Iowa, to get their account of what transpired when Bret Hart went off on wrestling journalist Greg Oliver, as there have been some conflicting reports on some of the details.

The first thing that needs to be clarified is that Hart’s rant did not take place during his speech for the induction of his late father, Stu. There were two separate events on Saturday. The actual induction ceremony took place in the afternoon, and Hart gave the formal induction speech without incident. That evening, there was a banquet that was attended by approximately 100 people. The honorees or people speaking on behalf of the honorees made less-formal speeches, and that was when the incident occurred.

Here is what happened when Hart spoke at the banquet, according to a source who was there and wished to remain anonymous:

Hart “was wandering all over the place and rambling [during the speech]. Then he said there was something he wanted to get off his chest, and he starts defiling ‘guys who write about wrestling that never stepped into the ring.’ It was not directed right at Greg at that point. He kept saying, ‘you guys.’ It was a real nasty attack. He said books were full of lies and [wrestling writers] reported nothing but lies. Then he mentioned [Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Candadians, which was written by Oliver, who ranked Hart at No. 14 on the list of the greatest Canadian wrestlers ever] by name and referred to his ranking in the book.

“He said writers had no business whatsoever being in a Hall of Fame with wrestlers. [Note: Oliver and writing partner Steven Johnson were not being inducted into the Hall of Fame; they were receiving the James Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism.] He said they had no business being in a room with him and it made him sick. He said, ‘Either you guys go, or I go.’ At that point, Steven Johnson and his wife left.”

When Oliver did not leave, Hart did. Prior reports said that other wrestlers left with him, but the source said: “I don’t think wrestlers followed him, but some fans did.”

The source speculated that in addition to Hart being upset at his ranking in Oliver’s book, he also might not have liked Oliver’s review of his autobiography.

“It was surreal,” the source said. “It was so out of proportion to what the evening was about. It was not only inappropriate, but Bret was really on the edge.

“The sad thing is that Jim Melby’s daughter came down from Minnesota to present the award, which meant a lot to her because it was named for her late father, and she was humiliated and embarrassed. And Greg’s elderly father was there sitting next to him the whole time.”

The notion that a writer or critic is unqualified to write about a sport or an entertainment genre because “they never played the game” is narrow-minded. Being a journalist, of course I have strong feelings on the subject. But even if that is how Hart feels, he still could have expressed his opinion in a classier and more mature fashion.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

Well, WWE is certainly keeping things interesting. After last Monday’s draft resulted in Smackdown having two world champions and Raw having none, I thought it was a foregone conclusion that either Edge or Triple H would be dethroned at last night’s Night of Champions pay-per-view.

However, “The Rated-R Superstar” and “The Game” remained golden.

The big surprise was Triple H defeating John Cena. Because that match went on after Edge retained his title against Batista, it seemed like a Cena victory was a sure thing. Of course, WWE realized that, too, so they swerved us. It’s a swerve that makes good business sense because it gets people talking and most likely gets them to tune in to Raw tonight to find out what is going to happen next.

This could play out a couple different ways, but one thing I’m fairly certain of is that Smackdown is not going to have both titles for too much longer.

Here are some possible scenarios:

• A match between Edge and Triple H is signed for the Great American Bash pay-per-view in three weeks to determine an undisputed champion, who would then defend the title against challengers from both brands. If you recall, when WWE split into two separate rosters in 2002, there was just one champion for the first several months before the format was changed to each brand having its own champion. I think it’s unlikely to happen, especially with such a big deal being made of Triple H’s jump to Smackdown. Plus, having two world titles gets more guys into main events.

• Because Edge again pulled all kinds of shenanigans to defeat Batista, the WWE board of directors orders a rematch between the two, and this time Batista prevails and takes the world heavyweight title to Raw. I think this one is plausible.

• CM Punk cashes in his Money in the Bank contract, defeats Edge for the title and brings it Raw. Punk certainly hasn’t been booked like a world title contender lately, so this seems like a long shot. For this to happen, there would most likely have to be some kind of fluke element to Punk’s win. Perhaps Punk could challenge Edge for the belt, and The Undertaker returns during the match and costs Edge the title.

• An inter-promotional tag-team match is signed for The Great American Bash that pits Cena and Batista against Edge and Triple H, with the stipulation that if Edge or Triple H is pinned, they lose the title to whoever pinned them. Edge could turn on Triple H during the match, allowing either Cena or Batista to win the WWE title and setting up feud between Edge and Triple H for the world heavyweight title. I like this idea because it would have a lot of intrigue, as Cena and Batista would each want to make the winning pin, and Edge and Triple H would each want the other to lose so they could be the only champion on Smackdown. Plus, there is Triple H’s friendship with Batista, so there is the possibility that he would try to help Batista defeat Edge.

• Cena cuts a promo on Triple H and says that now the score is 1-1 between them and they need to have one more match to see who the better man really is. Cena wins the rubber match and takes the title back to Raw.

Stay tuned.

Here’s a match-by-match look at last night’s show:

WWE champion Triple H defeated John Cena: The result may have surprised me, but it certainly was no surprise that these two delivered an outstanding main event. Triple H finally got his win back after tapping out against Cena at WrestleMania 22 two years ago.

World heavyweight champion Edge defeated Batista: Edge screwed Batista again in another entertaining match. The crowd loved Batista press-slamming Vickie Guerrero.

Mark Henry defeated Kane and Big Show to win the ECW title: With Henry being the only wrestler in this match actually on the ECW roster, this one was predictable, but putting the belt on him is the right call. I don’t ever see Henry as the WWE or world heavyweight champion, but he certainly is worthy of the ECW title.

Kofi Kingston defeated Chris Jericho to win the Intercontinental title: This was the second-biggest surprise of the night, although having Kingston win the title with an assist from Shawn Michaels does make a lot of sense. The main thing this result accomplishes is that it furthers the Jericho-Michaels feud and gets the Intercontinental title out of the mix. With such a strong personal issue between Jericho and Michaels, the title wasn’t a necessary element of the feud.

The rumor was that Jeff Hardy was going to be Jericho’s opponent, and he would win the title with help from Michaels and take the title to Smackdown, but Kingston was the right choice. I originally thought he was better served staying on ECW, but putting the Intercontinental belt on him is a good sign, even though the title certainly doesn’t mean what it once did. Hopefully, Kingston won’t be portrayed as a fluke champion, as he was trapped in the Walls of Jericho before Michaels’ interference and also lost clean to JBL last Monday.

U.S. champion Matt Hardy defeated Chavo Guerrero: As the biggest star on ECW, Hardy had to win clean in his first pay-per-view match since being drafted. Guerrero is a decent worker, but his character has become a bit stale.

Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes defeated Hardcore Holly to win the world tag-team title: I figured out the Rhodes turn pretty early on in the story line – and I know I wasn’t alone in that regard – but I still liked the angle even though I suspected what was coming. With two young studs with famous bloodlines now holding the belts, hopefully more emphasis will be put on the tag-team division (what’s left of it). DiBiase carries himself well for someone so inexperienced, and I think Rhodes is going to get over better as a heel than he did as a babyface.

WWE tag-team champions John Morrison and The Miz defeated Finlay and Hornswoggle: I can’t believe I’m this happy that The Miz won a match. The thought of Hornswoggle holding a title brought back bad memories of David Arquette and Vince Russo.

WWE women’s champion Mickie James defeated Katie Lea Burchill: A solid win for James and another decision that I agree with.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

Bret Hart proved once again that the biggest Bret Hart mark is Bret Hart.

I know full well that fans of the “Hitman” will be offended by that statement, but the following story, as reported on wrestlingobserver.com, speaks for itself.

According to the report, Hart was giving the induction speech for his late father Stu at the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame last night in Waterloo, Iowa, when he went off on wrestling journalist Greg Oliver. Hart said that “either he goes or I go.”

Steven Johnson, Oliver’s writing partner, left in an attempt to diffuse the situation, but Oliver stayed. Since Oliver wouldn’t leave, Hart made good on his threat and stormed out along with several other wrestlers.

So, what is Hart’s beef with Oliver, who is so respected in the industry that he was there to be presented the Jim Melby Memorial Award for wrestling journalism along with Johnson?

According to wrestlingobserver.com, Hart hasn’t like Oliver since he wrote a book called Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Candadians, in which he ranked Hart at No. 14 on the list of the greatest Canadian wrestlers ever. Apparently, Hart was offended at not being higher on the list.

Unfortunately, this latest incident is consistent with Hart’s reputation among his peers for taking himself too seriously. When Hart and Shawn Michaels were shooting on each other on Raw during the height of their feud, Michaels called Bret “Mark Man,” and basically said that Hart really believes he is the greatest of all time and doesn’t quite comprehend that winners and losers are predetermined, and who is and isn’t pushed to the top is often decided by politics as much as wrestling ability.

The fact is that Hart’s wrestling skills are indisputable. When I listed the top 10 all-around performers that I have ever personally seen, Hart was No. 7 (I guess that puts me on his “bad list,” too, since he wasn’t No. 1 and archrival Michaels was). Anyone who knows anything about this business knows that Hart has had an outstanding career, so he should be above such nonsense and not be so insecure. Hart’s actions were inappropriate and petty, especially on a night when he was there to accept an honor for his father.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (36)
        

Predictions for tonight’s WWE pay-per-view:

WWE champion Triple H vs. John Cena: The draft last Monday added a lot more intrigue to the two world title matchups. With both champions currently on Smackdown and both challengers now on Raw, obviously one of the titles is changing hands. I’m guessing it’s time to put the belt back on Cena and have Triple H chase the world title on Smackdown.

World heavyweight champion Edge vs. Batista: If I’m right about Cena beating Triple H, then Edge somehow will cheat his way to another victory.

ECW champion Kane vs. Big Show vs. Mark Henry: Since Henry is the only one of the three who is officially on the ECW roster, I’ll go with him. The belt will help him get over, while Kane and Big Show already are established stars and don’t need it.

U.S. champion Matt Hardy vs. Chavo Guerrero: It wouldn’t make much sense to have Hardy lose here after he fought so long and hard to win the title from MVP. Plus, as the new top star on ECW, Hardy needs to be kept strong, so he’ll get the win in what figures to be a good match.

World tag-team champions Hardcore Holly and Cody Rhodes vs. Ted DiBiase Jr. and mystery partner: I’ve been saying all along that Rhodes will be the mystery partner. I think he’ll turn on Holly and help DiBiase win the title, and then DiBiase will choose him to be the co-holder. If it isn’t Rhodes, my other guess is former TNA star Chris Harris, who has yet to debut on television, but I really think it’s Rhodes.

WWE tag-team champions John Morrison and The Miz vs. Finlay and Hornswoggle: I’m certainly no fan of The Miz, but he and Morrison have had a seven-month reign and defeated teams like the Hardys and Kane and CM Punk, so it would be a travesty if they lost to a midget. I know WWE already treats the tag title as a joke, but I’m holding out hope that it won’t become a complete laughingstock, as Hornswoggle as one-half of the tag-team champions would be worse than Judy Bagwell (I think she was tougher than Buff). Morrison and Miz will retain (I hope).

WWE women’s champion Mickie James vs. Katie Lea Burchill: Burchill has two pinfall victories over James on TV, which leads me to believe James will win tonight. I like Burchill’s character, but I don’t see any reason to take the belt off James at this point.

Note: A match involving Intercontinental champion Chris Jericho has not been advertised on television or on WWE’s Web site.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (19)
        

Judging by last night’s episode of Smackdown, it looks as if there is going to be another reason to say, “Thank God it’s Friday.” And if you are one of those people who only watch Raw, well, WWE is trying hard to make you rethink that decision.

As expected, the presence of Triple H and Jim Ross breathed new life into Smackdown. The addition of Ross on play-by-play especially enhanced the show. In fact, Ross is so good that he could even make ECW into must-see TV. OK, well even J.R. isn’t that good, but he would make it a lot better.

Even though Ross initially wasn’t happy about being drafted, he is a consummate professional and has clearly put his hurt feelings aside, which is exactly what he said he would do on his blog and exactly what I would expect from him.

Having Triple H open the show with a promo was predictable but it was the right call. I did think his opening remarks about Vince McMahon’s “accident” were a little weird, however, as he was making light of it after we saw him being very concerned at the end of Raw.

Edge interrupting Triple H’s promo planted the seed for the inevitable feud between them. I can only imagine what Triple H’s peers will be thinking as they watch him participate in a story line in which his opponent tries to hold him down by abusing a personal relationship with the boss. Oh, the irony.

A few other thoughts on last night’s show:

Edge and Matt Hardy had a very good match that was laid out perfectly. Edge as the world champion has the same quality that Ric Flair in his prime had when he carried the belt, which is the ability to make his opponent look like a million bucks before pulling out the win in the end. …

Vladimir Kozlov is getting over as a monster heel. When the time comes for him to work programs with the top guys, I think it would greatly benefit him to have a heel manager to cut the promos. …

I couldn’t get too choked up about Rey Mysterio’s “final” Smackdown appearance. I can still see him every Monday, and with the relaxed “rules” regarding talent appearing on shows other than their own, I’m guessing he’ll be back on Smackdown soon enough. …

It’s always good to see Maryse win a match. Then again, it’s always good to see Maryse.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

Here is the transcribed version of the brief interview I conducted with former WWE star Jake “The Snake” Roberts last week at the Eastern Wrestling Alliance show in Parkville.

There are so many wrestling autobiographies out there now, but I would think your story would be as interesting as any of them. Are you working on a book?

I just couldn’t come up with a book deal, because these book people are [odd]. Instead of having people who don’t know me take what I say and write it the way they want to, I think what I’m going to do is put it on video and sell it on the Internet in installments. The people that buy the installments and survive the first 10 or 12 chapters, they may get a couple chapters free. I got a lot to tell. It’s going to be very unusual, because it’s going to be about me. [Publishing companies] always say, “We may have to enhance this and enhance that.” What do they mean by enhance? They’re changing the facts. I’m not about bull. It’ll be the truth.

How many independent shows are you doing these days?

One or two a week. Going out in front of people always feels good. It’s sad that in reality, you cannot go out there and do the same things you could do 25 years ago – and neither do I wish to. … I’ll never retire. It’s my passion. I hope to die in that ring.

I know that you were involved on the creative side of the business at one time in WWE. Is that something you would like to do again either in WWE or TNA?

I would love to. I just don’t know if that’s possible. I have a tremendous amount to give yet. How I’m going to give it, I don’t know. Because I’m not sure at this stage of my sobriety if I would be strong enough to accept the changes and the enhancements that they would put on what I write. I have a real hard time not calling a spade a spade. If I think you’re changing something I’ve done into [garbage], I take it personally. Why? Because it’s my baby. Power in the hand of an idiot is not a good thing, and there are a lot of idiots out there writing television.

This is kind of a philosophical question. Many of your peers have died within the past decade. As self-destructive as your lifestyle has been, why do you think you’re still here?

I think that a lot of guys died because they gave up on life. They gave up because their dream had been taken away – their notoriety, their ability to provide for their families, their love. I’m not a quitter. I used to get horribly angry at God. I was like, “What’s wrong, I’m not good enough for you to take?” I mean there’s Curt [Hennig], Bossman, Hawk. The list goes on and on. They’re all men I love. It’s not fair when you feel like you’ve been left behind. It ripped my guts out when Sherri Martel went. Sherri and I were lovers – 33 years ago. I remember being at her funeral and I said something that upset some people. I said, ‘Sherri, I thought we were good friends, but you weren’t. Good friends don’t leave friends behind.” I’m still here because God wants me to be here. I’m still here because Vince McMahon helped me to still be here.

When you wrestled Steve Austin at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1996 and he cut the famous “Austin 3:16 promo” after the match, did you have any idea that he was going to become as big as he did?

Truth be known, Vince McMahon said that Steve Austin would never be anything more than second or third match. I said, “No, that’s your next megastar.” He said, “No way.” I said, “Watch.” God, I hate being right. You know, they had Austin 3:16, but they missed the boat. What happened to Austin’s 10 commandments? Thou shalt not kill unless thou are [ticked off]. Thou shalt honor thy mother and father unless they’re [jerks]. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife unless she’s really hot. Thou shalt not steal unless you want it. I enjoyed helping guys like Steve Austin get there. Helping Ted DiBiase get there. Helping The Road Warriors get there. Helping Undertaker get there. Helping Rick Martel get there. Helping Shawn Michaels get there – OK, I was wrong on one.

Uh-oh, guess I wore the wrong shirt (I had on a Shawn Michaels shirt).

(Laughs) They have those in men’s sizes? I thought you were wearing it for heat.

To watch video of Roberts talking about how he credits Vince McMahon with saving his life, click here .

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)
Categories: Q&As
        

I’m not sure what the end result of the Samoa Joe-Kevin Nash story line is going to be, but if the payoff is that Nash turns on him, I don’t think Joe is going to be a very sympathetic figure.

On recent episodes of TNA Impact, Joe has come across as paranoid and quick-tempered, while Nash has been the voice of reason and the more likable of the two. On last night’s show, Joe was booked to look like an incompetent.

In a backstage segment prior to Nash’s match against Booker T., Joe made sarcastic remarks to Nash about his gimpy knees and lack of preparation. Nash then went out and basically dominated the match, which made Joe’s comments look silly.

During the match, Joe – who was seated at ringside – was further embarrassed. First, Booker outsmarted him and whacked him with a chair, and then when Joe recovered and went after Booker, he accidentally kicked Nash in the face.

This would all make perfect sense if the idea is for Joe to turn heel on Nash. But if the idea is for Joe to remain the top babyface in the company, then the TNA creative team sure isn’t doing him any favors.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

Booker T. has officially replaced Christian Cage as the most entertaining performer in TNA. Wearing a gaudy red robe with a leopard-print collar while sitting in his refurbished dressing room, Booker cut a tremendous promo that was both funny and serious. He delivered the line of the night after Jeremy Borash pointed to a picture on the wall of Booker and Muhammad Ali and asked, “Is that The Greatest?” Booker: “Yes, and the other guy is Muhammad Ali.” …

During his promo, Booker remarked that ratings and buy rates have been on the rise because of him. He didn’t say that. Tell me he did not just say that. ...

Brother Ray promised before his match with Cage that he was going to deliver something that we had never seen before. It turned out to be a powerbomb on Cage through a glass table. Well, I’ve never seen it before. The glass shattering all over the place and the blood-stained towel on Cage’s back made this work. …

I don't understand why Kurt Angle is so upset that his wife might have fooled around with A.J. Styles. Didn't Angle used to encourage her to "do favors" for Styles in the men's room whenever he wanted to keep Styles in line? ...

TNA is doing a good job of providing an interesting back story to the Gail Kim-Angelina Love feud. …

Awesome Kong had some difficulty getting the “fan” named Danielle up for the Awesome Bomb and she didn’t seem too pleased about it. It looks as if TNA has created a new star in Taylor, the girl who pushed Kong on last week’s show and was back last night for a post-match pull-apart. …

During a backstage interview with “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal and SoCal Val, Lethal started off in his “Macho” voice, but then slipped into his normal voice after Val said that they should hold off on the wedding. I think Lethal should just stay in character the whole time. …

I’m not impressed so far with Sonjay Dutt as a heel. He definitely needs to work on his delivery in his promos. …

For some reason, TNA has decided to pull back on ODB’s push. I can’t believe she jobbed to Moose (formerly known as Mickie Knuckles) in a hardcore match. I also can’t believe that Moose kicked out after taking a couple shots to the head with a shovel. The match was referred to as a Bimbo Brawl. Who in the world came up with that ridiculous name? Probably the same person who came up with Moose.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)
        

Here is a video excerpt from an interview I conducted with former WWE star Jake “The Snake” Roberts last week at the Eastern Wrestling Alliance show in Parkville. In the clip, Roberts talks about taking Vince McMahon up on the offer he made last fall to pay for the drug rehab of any past or present WWE performer.

Because of poor sound quality, most of the video was unusable. I have transcribed the rest of the interview and will post it later in a Q&A format.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)
Categories: Video interviews
        

Here is a clip of Jake "The Snake" Roberts wrestling in a tag-team match at last Friday's Eastern Wrestling Alliance show in Parkville. Roberts teamed with Champ Champagne to defeat Chase Rawlings and Jim Christian. This is the match I wrote about in an earlier post.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

WWE has announced the results of the supplemental draft on its Web site. A couple of the moves were predictable, some were head-scratchers and others were inconsequential.

The biggest names involved were Carlito (Raw to Smackdown), Mark Henry (Smackdown to ECW), Shelton Benjamin (ECW to Smackdown) and Finlay (Smackdown to ECW).

Here are the other moves:

Kofi Kingston (ECW to Raw)
Layla (ECW to Raw)
Hornswoggle (Smackdown to ECW)
Maria (Raw to Smackdown)
Matt Striker (ECW to Raw)
Brian Kendrick (Raw to Smackdown)
Chuck Palumbo (Smackdown to Raw)
Super Crazy (Raw to ECW)
DH Smith (Raw to Smackdown)
Deuce (Smackdown to Raw)
Big Daddy V (ECW to Smackdown)
Trevor Murdoch (Raw to Smackdown)
Jamie Noble (Smackdown to Raw)

Analysis: Carlito needed a change of scenery, and I originally thought a move to Smackdown was the answer. However, in light of Smackdown gaining Triple H (who was the target of some unflattering remarks by Carlito recently), I’m not so sure anymore that this move will benefit Carlito. Upon further review, perhaps Carlito should have gone to ECW, where he would have a legitimate shot at being one of that show’s top stars.

Henry to ECW makes perfect sense, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he comes out of Sunday’s Night of Champions pay-per-view with the ECW title. Like others, I believe his renewed push has been sparked by his role in the Michael Hayes controversy.

ECW lost two of its brightest stars in Benjamin and Kingston, and I don’t like the odds of either receiving much of a push on their new shows. I still can’t believe that Benjamin wasn’t pushed as the top star on ECW. His in-ring ability has never been in question, and I figured he would refine his “Gold Standard” character on ECW, have a couple ECW title reigns and then move to one of the bigger shows in the future. Inexplicably, he was as lost in the shuffle on the “C” show as he was on the others. If he wasn’t pushed to the moon on ECW, I certainly don’t see it happening on a show that has guys like Triple H, Edge, Undertaker (when he gets back), Jeff Hardy, Kennedy, Umaga, Big Show, MVP, etc. What a waste of talent.

As for Kingtson, I think he has tremendous upside. I think he also could have used a longer stint on ECW before graduating to a show with a large quantity of talented performers. He was starting to get over with the fans, and hopefully they won’t give up on him while he gets stuck doing jobs for the big stars on Smackdown.

The one positive for ECW in the supplemental draft is that it got Finlay, and it’s probably a good move for him as well.

Going from Smackdown to Raw is a lateral move for Chuck Palumbo. He is another guy that could be a star on ECW but is just mid-card fodder on Raw and Smackdown. Ditto for Trevor Murdoch.

D.H. Smith’s move from Raw to Smackdown means that if the rumor of a young heel stable of second- and third-generation stars being formed on Raw turns out to be true, then the son of Davey Boy Smith won’t be a part of it.

Finally, I have just one thought in regard to Super Crazy going to ECW: Super Crazy is still with the company?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (23)
        

It sounds like a cliché, but I’ll bet that every pro wrestling fan knows where he or she was when they heard about the deaths of Chris, Nancy and Daniel Benoit on June 25, 2007.

It was a Monday, and Raw that night was advertised as a special memorial show for Mr. McMahon, who had been presumed “dead” after his limo exploded two weeks earlier.

Taking some time off from work, I had been out all day and had not logged on to the Internet or watched any news on television. That evening, I was talking to a friend on the phone instead of watching Raw (I was taping it and planned on watching it later that night), and he asked me what I thought of the Benoit situation. “What Benoit situation?” I asked.

My friend proceeded to tell me that Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son were found dead in their home in Atlanta, but he didn’t know any of the specifics. After hanging up, I turned on Raw about an hour into the special three-hour episode to find a memorial, not for the fictional Mr. McMahon character, but for the Benoit family. It was as surreal as it was heart-breaking.

After the emotionally draining show ended, I got on the Internet and began reading the latest updates. I quickly learned that my theory – that the family had been murdered in their home by an intruder – was wrong. The authorities were saying that Chris Benoit did the unfathomable: He murdered his wife and son and then killed himself.

I had started this blog the month before thinking I was going to be writing about angles, pay-per-views and industry trends, and instead found myself writing about an unspeakable crime that had been committed by someone universally liked and respected by fans and his peers.

As I sat down to write my first entry on the double murder/suicide, I was sorrowful, angry, disillusioned and bewildered all at once. Pro wrestling certainly has had its share of untimely deaths, but nothing shook up fans and people in the industry quite like this.

Even a year later, I don't think most of us have come to grips with what happened. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult it must be for the family members of the deceased to try to gain closure.

There’s no way to say this without sounding trite, but the tragedy did spur some positive change. It brought mainstream attention to some of the ills of the wrestling business such as steroid abuse, painkiller addiction and concussions, which led to WWE making its Wellness Policy more comprehensive. That development undoubtedly will save lives.

Sandra Toffoloni, Nancy’s sister, also wants to make a difference. She and other surviving family members founded The Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to researching the effects of steroid abuse on the brain and body and educating high school children about the adverse effects of steroid and prescription drug abuse. For more information, go to ndbfoundation.org .

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

Jim Ross confirmed on his blog what I think most people suspected while watching Raw last night: He’s not too thrilled about being moved from Raw to Smackdown. He wrote that he actually considered quitting because of it.

I initially believed the shock and disappointment that Ross showed last night was genuine for a couple reasons. For one, I know that most of the talent doesn’t know they’re being drafted until it happens on the air, and I also know how WWE – specifically Vince McMahon – likes to torment Ross.

This is an excerpt from Ross’ blog.

“I am not happy about this surprise development. I also contemplated calling it a career Monday night and not going to Houston to tape SD. After speaking with my wife and thinking on this matter until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, I have decided to do the right thing for the fans who care and the talent who care and begin my new assignment. It has been explained to me that the WWE’s Smackdown tenure on My Network is a high priority within the corporation. Allegedly, my presence is needed in that effort.

“Many are speculating about when I learned of this development … the same time those of you were watching at home. I should have detected something with the demeanor of certain individuals either through their plastic, poker faces or the perceived smirk that I thought I might have seen on some of their faces during the day. As far as going to Connecticut each week to do Smackdown post production, that’s not going to happen. Either Mick Foley can handle it or the WWE can install a DSL line in my home to facilitate the work.”

It’s no secret that WWE has been trying to replace Ross on Raw for years, which I never have understood. As I previously stated, Raw’s loss will be Smackdown’s gain, but it’s a shame that Ross isn’t treated with more respect by his employer.

More thoughts on last night’s show:

On this morning’s post I questioned why wrestlers would care about winning matches on Raw that would enable their brand to get draft picks, specifically mentioning Edge’s motivation in the battle royal. That prompted several readers to point out that Edge’s incentive to win was that he wanted to eliminate any chance that either he or Vickie Guerrero would be forced to leave Smackdown.

That does make sense, but if that was the case, why did he just walk away and purposely lose by countout to John Cena earlier in the show? That loss also could have meant that he or Guerrero would be drafted.

Like I said before, the draft concept has logic flaws, especially when wrestlers have been routinely appearing on shows other than their own anyway. I think WWE needs to really have three separate shows or else put one big roster back together. …

A few readers also suggested that Smackdown made out better in this year’s draft than it had in the past because WWE wanted the show to be strong when it changes networks in the fall. That’s sound reasoning, but I never understood why WWE didn’t want Raw and Smackdown to be equals in the first place. …

I was surprised at how Mark Henry pretty much manhandled Triple H before losing …

Vince McMahon telling the first contestant that she gave the wrong password (she didn’t), was weird. I’m not sure if he was trying to be funny or if he really thought she got it wrong. By the way, the money giveaway segments would have been a lot more entertaining if Kelly Kelly had accompanied McMahon on all of them. …

Who didn’t know that Santino Marella was going to job to Hornswoggle in the tag-team match? …

Ric Flair’s cameo last week was a nice surprise, but why bring him back last night just to stand there and say one “Wooo!” after McMahon gave away more money? To keep Flair’s appearances special, they have to be infrequent and done for a good reason. …

Melina suffered a legitimate ankle injury, and Batista got busted open hardway after banging heads with Edge. …

I’m still not sure whether Mike Adamle is really this bad or if he is being clueless on purpose so he can be a punch line for the other announcers. When discussing the first seven picks of the draft last night, Adamle said that “ECW has been shut out.” Tazz quickly replied, “No, Mike. We got Matt Hardy.” Then, during the MVP-Tommy Dreamer match, Adamle said that Colin Delaney had just made his way to ringside, when Delaney actually came out with Dreamer.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (22)
        

Perhaps Vince McMahon should consider staying home the next time there is a draft on Raw. On last year’s draft episode, McMahon’s limo exploded into flames seconds after he got into it, kicking off the “Who Blew Up Vince McMahon” story line that was scrapped after a couple weeks in the wake of the Benoit tragedy.

Last night, the three-hour Raw draft special concluded with McMahon being taken out on a stretcher after part of the set collapsed on him. To show that it was “real,” Triple H, John Cena and Edge all broke character and tried to come to McMahon’s aid. When McMahon regained consciousness, he called out for “Paul,” which is his son-in-law Triple H’s real name.

The “accident” is being used as the story line reason for ending McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. WWE announced on its Web site after the show that the weekly money giveaways have been suspended for the foreseeable future.

I suppose this is leading to another whodunit. It might end up being a good story line, but I would be more enthusiastic about it if I hadn’t seen something so similar a year ago. No matter how it turns out, it has to be better than the McMahon illegitimate child angle, right?

As for the draft, much of it was predictable, although Triple H being sent to Smackdown was a big surprise. It was no secret that WWE was going to be moving around major stars, but I never believed that Triple H would leave the flagship show. Based on what had gone on earlier in the draft, it was obvious that the final selection was going to be a huge name, but I would have bet anything at that point that it was going to be John Cena.

Hopefully, this isn’t a swerve and Triple H really is going to Smackdown. If you recall, Triple H was drafted to Smackdown in 2004, but he quickly was traded back to Raw in exchange for Booker T. and The Dudleys. Yes, Triple H was worth a multi-time world champion and one of the most decorated tag teams of all time. But I digress.

The other surprise for me was the switching of play-by-play men, as Jim Ross went to Smackdown and Michael Cole went to Raw.

Unlike past years, when ensuring that Raw remained the top brand seemed to be the priority, Raw and Smackdown benefited equally from this draft. ECW, however, once again got the short end of the stick. It lost its top two babyfaces – ECW champion Kane and CM Punk – to Raw and gained just one wrestler – Matt Hardy from Smackdown.

Before the show began, just for fun I jotted down some moves that I thought made sense. Here’s what I came up with: Raw gets Batista, MVP and CM Punk; Smackdown gets Jeff Hardy, Mr. Kennedy, Umaga and Carlito; ECW gets Rey Mysterio, Mark Henry and Santino Marella. Like I said, some of the moves seemed obvious, but I’m pretty surprised that guys who clearly need a change of scenery such as MVP, Carlito and Marella are staying put.

My biggest complaint about the draft is the lack of logic regarding how the picks are decided and what happens when a champion is drafted. Last night, the winning brand of each inter-promotional match got a draft pick. But what is the wrestlers’ motivation for winning? Why would they care if their show gained a wrestler? Wouldn’t a heel especially not want more competition? For example, Edge went all out to win the battle royal so that Smackdown could gain two picks, which turned out to be Triple H and Mr. Kennedy – two guys that will likely be gunning for Edge’s world heavyweight title.

It would have made more sense if WWE had announced at the beginning of the show that the winner of each match would receive some type of bonus. That way, at least, they would have incentive for winning.

It also makes absolutely no sense that Kane, the ECW champion, is drafted to Raw and gets to take the belt with him. What exactly is he the champion of if he isn’t on ECW anymore? It’s the same thing with WWE champion Triple H going to Smackdown, which already has world heavyweight champion Edge. So, Smackdown has two world champs, Raw has the ECW champ and ECW has no champ.

I know some people will say that it’s just wrestling and that I’m over-thinking it, but this kind of stuff drives me crazy. Of course, as far as the belts are concerned, that all could be rectified Sunday at the Night of Champions pay-per-view.

Here’s a look at each of the draft selections in the order in which they occurred:

Rey Mysterio (Smackdown to Raw): It was time for Mysterio to leave Smackdown, but I thought he would have been a perfect choice for ECW. That show needs him a lot more than Raw.

Jeff Hardy (Raw to Smackdown): Raw had much more depth on top than Smackdown, so this is a great move. My first two thoughts were that a Jeff Hardy-Edge title program will be fantastic, and we’ll finally get the long-awaited Jeff Hardy-Matt Hardy feud. I had it all planned out: Jeff challenges Edge for the title, but Matt turns on his brother and costs him the belt because Jeff got the title shot that he never received.

CM Punk (ECW to Raw): It was pretty obvious that Punk had outgrown ECW, so the only question was whether he would end up on Raw or Smackdown. Hopefully, he won’t get lost in the shuffle on Raw.

Matt Hardy (Smackdown to ECW): So much for that Hardy Boyz feud. I’ve thought for a while that Matt was worthy of a bigger push, but being the leader of the “C” show wasn’t what I had in mind.

Jim Ross (Raw to Smackdown) and Michael Cole (Smackdown to Raw): I certainly have mixed feelings on this one. I think the addition of Ross certainly enhances Smackdown, and he and Mick Foley could make a fine team. However, I think it’s a shame that Ross will no longer call the action on the “A” show, and I’ll miss the chemistry between Ross and Jerry Lawler. I think Ross will miss it too, because he’s either a great actor or he was legitimately upset after the switch was announced. I do think that Cole is underrated, although he obviously has big shoes to fill. At least it’s Cole trying to fill them and not Mike Adamle. I thought it was interesting that Foley buried his own show by saying that he wanted to work with Ross but he was hoping to do so by being drafted to Raw.

Batista (Smackdown to Raw): He had run out of fresh match-ups on Smackdown, so this one seemed like a lock.

Umaga (Raw to Smackdown): This move also seemed like a sure thing, as it had been talked about for months.

Kane (ECW to Raw): Even though Kane is ECW champion, I think he technically was on the Smackdown roster. Whatever. On Raw, Kane won’t be regarded as anything special.

Mr. Kennedy (Raw to Smackdown): Like Jeff Hardy, Kennedy will have a better opportunity to be a main-eventer on Smackdown. A Kennedy-Edge feud could be interesting, as Kennedy never did get retribution for Edge stealing his Money in the Bank title shot last year.

Triple H (Raw to Smackdown): It’s not that the move doesn’t make sense; it’s just that I never thought Triple H would leave Raw. The one person who has to be nervous about this is Edge. He’s clearly the top star on Smackdown, but that could change with Triple H in the mix.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (87)
        

Fans of Maryland Championship Wrestling have seen Patrick Brink wrestle at North Point Plaza in Dundalk on a number of occasions. In the near future, however, they very well could be watching him wrestle in their living rooms.

Brink announced at Friday’s Eastern Wrestling Alliance show in Parkville that he has signed a WWE developmental deal and will be heading to Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa. Once there, he will try to earn a spot on either Raw, Smackdown or ECW.

Brink, 27, an Atholton High School graduate who grew up in Laurel, has been wrestling for seven years, mostly in Maryland and other cities in the Northeast. In the early part of this year, Brink decided it was time to make a serious attempt at taking his career to the next level, so he headed down to Kissimmee, Fla., to enroll in the Team 3D Academy, where he trained under the tutelage of Brother Ray and Brother Devon.

Team 3D’s training center is not a destination for beginners looking to learn the ropes. It is designed for up-and-coming wrestlers such as Brink who wish to advance their current training. “The training that I got at Team 3D’s school was by far the best training I’ve ever gotten anywhere in seven years in the business,” Brink told me at Friday’s show. “Every little detail is worked on and perfected there.”

Three months into his training with one of TNA’s top tag teams, Brink got an opportunity to participate in a tryout for WWE.

“[Team 3D’s] loyalty is to TNA, but with their students, their loyalty is to their students,” said Brink, who is 6 feet 6 and a well-chiseled 280 pounds. “Brother Ray and Brother Devon have been around long enough that they know which company each student is better-suited for. It was their opinion that I would have a better opportunity trying out for WWE.”

Brink was sent to FCW for a five-day evaluation. “I was pretty much put through the ringer to see every single thing I could do, from a promo to what I had done in the ring,” he said. “I had the confidence that I needed to make it happen. There was not one person there that made me feel like they had something that I didn’t. I knew in my heart it would just be a matter of time.”

The next step for Brink is to hone his skills in FCW and convince WWE officials that he is ready for the big time. The average time for a wrestler to go from developmental to WWE is six months to a year, Brink said, adding that it takes less for some and longer for others, while some never make it at all.

“It’s competitive. There are 60 guys down there jockeying to get on TV,” he said. “You’ve just go to do whatever it takes to separate yourself. You have to find something about yourself that makes you stand out.”

On a personal note, I’m happy to see Brink get this opportunity, although I’m not surprised. A little over two years ago, Brink gave me a crash course in Bump-taking 101 to get me ready for an MCW show in which I took a bump from former WCW star Crowbar. From the first time I met him at our initial training session, I thought Brink had “it.”

I applaud him for his determination in pursuing his dream and for having the strength to persevere after the recent death of his 15-year-old sister. It’s always nice to see a local boy make good.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 10:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

A few hundred fans took a trip down memory lane as they watched former WWE star Jake “The Snake’ Roberts wrestle in a tag-team match on the Eastern Wrestling Alliance card Friday night in Parkville.

Roberts, 53, teamed with Champ Champagne to defeat Jim Christian and Chase Rawlings. Champagne worked most of the match for his team before Roberts got the hot tag and cleaned house. “The Snake” delivered a pair of short-arm clotheslines before hitting the DDT on Rawlings for the victory.

Roberts then gave the fans what they wanted, as he pulled a large snake from his ominous bag and draped it across the fallen Rawlings and Christian. The show was supposed to end there, but Roberts wasn’t finished.

The word backstage before the match was that Christian legitimately wasn’t very fond of snakes. That little bit of information somehow made its way to Roberts. So, instead of just letting the snake slither on Christian, Roberts decided to have a little fun and shove the snake’s head down Christian’s pants.

To his credit, Christian never broke character and he sold it well. Either that or he was paralyzed by fear. Backstage after the match, a relieved Christian reported that the snake did no damage to his, um, lower extremities. Roberts responded by saying: “There are some things so foul that even a snake won’t eat it.”

I nearly had my own harrowing experience with the snake at Friday’s event. When I arrived backstage before the show, an EWA official told me to help myself to a bottled water as he motioned toward a pair of coolers on the floor. For no particular reason, I selected the cooler on the left. It was a good thing I did, because I was informed a few seconds later that if I had removed the lid on the other cooler, I would have been greeted by a snake rather than bottles of water.

Trust me, the only “snake” I was interested in greeting was Jake Roberts, who sat down for an interview with me during the show. The interview was videotaped, and I hope to post it within the next few days. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that the video is usable. Roberts is somewhat of a “low talker” and there was some background noise, so the sound quality may not be up to snuff. If that turns out to be the case, I’ll transcribe the conversation and post it as a Q&A.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
        

An appearance by former WWE star Jake “The Snake” Roberts headlines tonight’s Eastern Wrestling Alliance card at Tall Cedars Hall in Parkville.

I’m looking forward to seeing him in person for the first time in quite a while. Although Roberts was a very popular babyface for several years in WWE, I will always think of him as being one of the all-time great heels. His heel turn during the Randy Savage-Elizabeth wedding at SummerSlam in 1991 is one of the most memorable angles in WWE history.

For more information on tonight’s show, go to ewamaryland.com.

A few other notes:

Speaking of Baltimore-area independent shows, Maryland Championship Wrestling owner Dan McDevitt recently announced on MCW’s Web site that a deal to bring in Ric Flair for an appearance at the July 19 event in Dundalk fell through. After believing that an agreement was in place, McDevitt said that WWE decided last week against Flair making the appearance. “There was no reason given,” McDevitt said in a statement, “and I guess they don’t have to because they are the WWE.”

While it obviously is a huge disappointment that Flair isn’t coming, MCW still has a fantastic weekend planned for the two-day Shamrock Cup tournament on July 18-19 at the New Green Room. In addition to the MCW regulars, Tammy “Sunny” Sytch, The Iron Sheik, Balls Mahoney and Devon “Crowbar” Storm are scheduled to appear. For more information, go to marylandwrestling.com. …

I wanted to give a special thanks to Michael Sedor for his flattering words in the two-part article he wrote about me on jabandgrapple.com. …

The Ring Posts Live radio segment that I do on Wednesdays at 3 p.m. on WNST 1570 AM will return next week after a one-week hiatus.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

I watched TNA Impact on tape last night after I got home from Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Orioles went over the Houston Astros to complete a three-game sweep. Unfortunately, Impact wasn’t as exciting or satisfying as the baseball game.

Not that there was anything wrong with Impact. When you produce 52 original episodes a year, they all can’t be home runs (you know, like the towering shots hit by the O’s Ramon Hernandez, Alex Cintron and Aubrey Huff last night), and this was one of those episodes in which nothing really stood out either in a good way or a bad way. So, if you missed it, you really didn’t miss a whole lot.

Perhaps it felt like a letdown because last week’s episode was so entertaining. The first clue that last night’s show would be a step back in terms of quality occurred when the title of the episode appeared on the screen: “Fur Will Fly at the Pink Taco.” Before the title was revealed, TNA should have had the voiceover guy say: “From the creative mind who brought you Beaver Cleavage, Hugh G. Rection, Richard and Rod Johnson and Major Gunns.”

Other thoughts from last night’s show:

The Kurt Angle/Frank Trigg mistaken identity angle was weird. When Styles attacked a bald guy in a suit from behind in the parking lot, everyone assumed it was Angle. Then, when Styles turned him over, I guess we were supposed to realize that it wasn’t Angle (it was Trigg). Well, I must have been distracted looking at the Nick Markakis bobblehead I got at the game, because I never thought that it wasn’t Angle. When Trigg appeared at the end of the show, Mike Tenay nonchalantly said that it was Trigg who was jumped by Styles, but “we didn’t follow up on this earlier.” …

I thought the profile feature on Gail Kim and the “Rough Cut” segment with Matt Morgan were the best things on the show. Having the talent somewhat out of character and speaking in a normal voice is usually an effective way to get them over. While Kim is already there, hopefully the “Rough Cut” clips will help Morgan connect with the fans …

Speaking of using a normal voice, I’m not a big fan of Samoa Joe yelling and screaming his way through his promos. Joe did get in the line of the night when he referred to Kevin Nash as “the great and powerful Oz,” although I’m not sure everyone got that one. Nash, by the way, did a good job in his verbal confrontation with Joe. He was able to convey his point without raising his voice. …

In explaining why Joe gave up his private dressing room for the supposedly rank communal locker room, Don West said that “basically he’s just one of us.” Well, when he wears jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers, he definitely looks like one of us. …

During the main event, in which A.J. Styles and Christian Cage defeated Team 3-D, West referred to Styles as “the everyman.” Wait, I thought Joe was the everyman. Actually, Styles is anything but an everyman. I don’t know about you, but I can’t do the Spiral Tap or Shooting Styles Press. ..

When Styles was pounding on Tomko backstage, I was glad West said that Styles “blind-sided” him. While I have no problem believing that Styles can defeat Tomko in a wrestling match, I wouldn’t buy him beating Tomko in a fight out of the ring unless he attacked him from behind. …

Hector Guerrero’s promo was off the mark. After the brutal beat-down Robert Roode and James Storm put on LAX last week, Guerrero should have been a lot more serious and intense, especially after Jim Cornette set up the promo by saying, “It seems like you’re dead serious about getting even.” Instead, Guerrero tried too hard to be entertaining, including doing the “shoulder shimmy,” which actually cracked up Hernandez. Just imagine how much better that promo would have been if Konnan was still with LAX. …

Taylor, this week’s “fan” challenging Awesome Kong, got in a lot more offense than previous challengers and even got a near fall. Of course someone was going to make Kong look vulnerable eventually, but I think it happened too soon in the angle. …

Booker T.’s win over B.G. James was close to being a squash match. I was surprised that James didn’t get in a little more offense, but Booker does need to be booked strong since he’s headlining the Victory Road pay-per-view on July 13. …

Kaz’s win over Alex Koslov was the best match on the show. If Kaz ever figures out how to become as adept at the entertainment aspect of the business as he is with the in-ring part, he is going to be a huge star.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (13)
        

After last Thursday’s WWE news conference, Triple H was asked for his thoughts on the negative comments that Scott Steiner made about him, Ric Flair and Shawn Michaels in interviews with me last month.

Triple H disputed Steiner’s contention that he and Michaels were the only two guys in WWE who were sincerely choked up during Flair’s farewell on Raw. He also questioned whether Steiner truly believed what he said or if he was just looking to make headlines.

“When you are no longer in the limelight, you need to talk about people who are in the limelight to keep yourself current,” Triple H said.

A video of the interview with Triple H has been posted on youtube.com. The part about Steiner is about 2 minutes, 45 seconds into it.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (27)
        

Ric Flair’s surprise appearance on Raw last night brought back the unpredictability that has been missing from the show recently. It isn’t the kind of thing that can be done every week, but occasionally something totally unexpected needs to happen to keep the show from falling into a rut – which has been the complaint of a number of fans recently.

Flair made his dramatic entrance after Chris Jericho, who was cutting his first promo since turning on Shawn Michaels last week, called out Michaels, whom he knew wasn’t there. It was Flair’s first live appearance on Raw since his farewell celebration on March 31.

Flair, noting that he wasn’t allowed to wrestle anymore, challenged Jericho to a street fight in the parking lot. The segment left the fans wanting more, as Triple H prevented Jericho from following Flair outside the building. It will be interesting to see if Flair was just returning for one episode or if he is going to be a recurring on-air character.

Of course, Flair’s cameo and everything else on Raw was just a backdrop for Week 2 of McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania. The tone of the segments and Vince McMahon’s persona were different than they were on last week’s show, which drew a disappointing rating. Whether different means better is a matter of taste. WWE was trying to inject some attitude into the segments, but I thought it came off a little mean-spirited.

Asking the winners to humiliate themselves by barking like a dog and singing the national anthem is an odd way to “show appreciation to the fans” and didn’t do much for me. If I wanted to watch people degrade themselves for money, I’d watch reality shows with my wife. I didn’t think it was cool either when McMahon and even Jim Ross were mocking the winners’ enthusiasm. When one woman got overly excited, Ross said, “Now go take your medicine.”

Of course, I might just be bitter because McMahon didn’t call me last night.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

In addition to Flair’s appearance, the other surprise was Lance Cade assisting Jericho in a beat-down of Triple H and John Cena. It looks as if Cade will get the rub of being aligned with Jericho. I always thought WWE might be able to do something with Cade, especially because he has the back story of having been trained by Michaels. …

I didn’t expect the first meeting between Triple H and Jericho in quite some time to be given away on Raw. As a pay-per-view attraction, Triple H versus Jericho could be really good – if Triple H allows it to be. …

Kudos to the fans in Salt Lake City for not being mindless sheep, as they gave Cena a huge ovation when he came out to open the show. Judging by the look on his face, Cena seemed pleasantly surprised by the overwhelmingly positive reaction. …

Triple H, acting a bit heelish in his verbal confrontation with Cena, needlessly buried him. Saying that the company’s top star is uncoordinated in the ring doesn’t do anyone any good. Not only does it make Cena look bad, but if Triple H beats him, he’ll just have beaten some uncoordinated guy. …

Cena and Umaga had a good street fight match, but I’m past the point of viewing Umaga as a threat. He’s jobbed too many times lately for someone such as Cena to be concerned when Umaga is unexpectedly announced as his opponent. …

I found it interesting that several of the winners last night acted surprised and excited when McMahon called, while last week the winners mostly remained calm. Hmm. …

The giveaway didn’t get off to a good start, as McMahon picked up where he left off last week and was unable to complete the first call he attempted. It did go smoothly after that. …

After one of the winners said he was from Ohio, Jerry Lawler said that “everybody in Ohio watches Raw,” which prompted Ross to say that “Phil Savage could be next.” I worked with Savage – who is the general manager of the Cleveland Browns and is no relation to the Macho Man – six years ago when he was the Ravens’ director of college scouting and I was the writer/editor for the team’s Web site. Savage is such a good guy that I even forgave him for leaving Baltimore to run the Browns. I don’t know if Savage was watching Raw, but I do know that he doesn’t need the money. …

Jeff Hardy and Carlito had a good match, and Carlito looked strong in defeat. Perhaps Carlito, who has been disgruntled again lately, will move to Smackdown or ECW in next week’s draft and might be able to get more of a push on one of those shows. …

Mr. Kennedy had the move of the night when he speared Paul Burchill through the ropes and onto the floor. Speaking of Burchill, is it just me or is he starting to look like Triple H? In fact, from a distance, don’t Burchill and Katie Lea resemble Triple H and Stephanie McMahon? …

It had to be a shoot when Charlie Haas said that the segment with him and Mae Young last week wasn’t entertaining. While emceeing last night’s bikini contest, Haas seemed to be channeling Val Venis. That was the most personality he’s ever shown in his WWE tenure. …

You can’t argue with Maria winning the bikini contest, but can you imagine being as stunning as Maryse and never winning one of these contests?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (30)
        

Larry Zbyszko has been a world champion, the Rookie of the Year and a popular color commentator during a career in professional wrestling that has spanned four decades. He always will be most known, however, as the man who turned on Bruno Sammartino. Those who were around in 1980 when Zbyszko betrayed his mentor still talk about it as one of wrestling’s greatest angles and hottest feuds.

Zbyszko goes into detail about his career-making angle with wrestling’s “Living Legend” – including the intrigue that went on behind the scenes – as well as other experiences that he has had in the business in his recently released autobiography, Adventures in Larryland.

I spoke with Zbyszko about the book and other topics last week:

You reveal in your book that you came up with the idea of turning on Bruno and you pitched it to him. You had been in the business about six years at that point. If he hadn’t agreed to the angle, how do you think your career would have turned out?

You know, that’s a good question. If that angle didn’t happen back in those days, with the way the politics were – the McMahons were into big giant ugly guys plus other weird things, and I was never a butt-kisser – I don’t even know if I would have been in the wrestling business much longer. That made my career and it was easy after that. But if it wasn’t for that, who knows? I might have been a pro golfer.

Since Bruno broke you into the business and took you under his wing, was it difficult to play his antagonist when the time came?

It wasn’t all that difficult. I was a sharp guy. Like I said in the book, I kept my mouth shut and my ears open in those days. Bruno taught me a lot, and not only Bruno, but all the slick, old pros like [Chief Jay] Strongbow and [Gorilla] Monsoon. And by the time I saw this possibility in 1980, I was in the business five-six years or whatever, so I was pretty well-groomed by then and I was kind of ready for it.

Do you still keep in touch with Bruno?

Over the years things have kind of softened up and I talk to him once in a while. It was kind of emotional for years, but it worked out good. He’s a hell of a guy. He’s still my hero.

Was there ever any real-life heat between the two of you?

No, there wasn’t any real-life heat, but there were some years where we didn’t talk. It really wasn’t heat between me and Bruno; I think it was just more of a time when Bruno got very frustrated with the whole wrestling business and the direction it was going. But time kind of takes care of all that stuff.

When you wrestled Bruno at Shea Stadium, you said in the book that the two of you barely got a chance to speak to each other before the match. Was that a situation in which you knew the finish and then called the match in the ring? If so, is that kind of a lost art form today?

Back then you rarely if ever saw your opponent, because normally when you went to buildings, they had two separate dressing rooms – it was a very secretive kind of thing. Even in the Shea Stadium days, it was two separate dugouts. Plus, Bruno was such a big star, and the McMahons and the newspapers and everybody were so busy kissing his butt that I didn’t even see the guy. But it was different back then. Everything was just kind of done ad-lib in the ring.

Right, whereas now you’ll see guys in the back scripting their matches move for move.

It’s ridiculous. They go over a 20-minute for two hours (laughs). It’s because they can’t get any drama. It is a lost art.

In Hulk Hogan’s autobiography, he claims the reason for the big crowd at Shea Stadium in 1980 was his match against Andre The Giant, not your cage match against Bruno. Those of us who are old enough certainly don’t remember it that way. What are your thoughts on what Hogan said?

I don’t like to knock anybody, but I think the world, after what’s been happening lately, has found out Hulk Hogan’s true colors. He’s buried himself. Here’s an idiot who is trying to get a reality show based on the fact that his kid paralyzed somebody. Hogan is just not a good guy and I’m glad the world finally got to see it. No. 1, I doubt seriously that Hogan even wrote the book. It’s probably one of [Vince] McMahon’s ghost-written publications, so who knows if Hogan even said that or if it was more McMahon propaganda. But if Hogan did say it, he’s full of crap.

Anybody that knows anything about it knows back in those days, before Hogan became Hogan and broke out because he was so big and gassed up to the gills on steroids and got some movies roles, he was just Andre The Giant’s jabroni. He was on the third or fourth match with Andre, and Andre beat the snot out of him. Hogan used to follow me around the Garden crying, asking me for advice, because even though the McMahons hated me for holding them up [for 10 percent of the gross ticket sales during a dispute with Vince McMahon Sr. in 1980], I was kind of a hero to the boys.

You were the only WWWF heel during that time who didn’t have one of the big three (Lou Albano, Fred Blassie and The Grand Wizard) as a manager. Was that your call not to have a manager?

I didn’t go into the manager thing at the time because I really didn’t need one for what we pulled off. It wouldn’t have made all that much sense and it wasn’t necessary. If I would have stayed in the WWWF, then I probably would have wound up with one of them. But the way everything worked out with the McMahons, I didn’t stay there and I never went back.

When Vince McMahon Jr. started going national in the mid-1980s, I always wondered why you never returned. Do you attribute you’re not being invited back to when you held up the McMahons in 1980?

It was a combination of a couple things. They might have held a little bit of a grudge, because it got pretty personal at the time with [Vince McMahon] Junior crying on the phone – even though that was a ploy of promoters, the way they do things. But in the early ’80s right after that, which was kind of the time the old school went away and new things were happening, McMahon Jr. took over when his dad died. I wasn’t Junior’s cup of tea because he was into men’s bodies, and all he was promoting were guys like The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage and Zeus. He was into the guys who were so steroided up that they were breaking and dying, but he didn’t care. That’s the look he wanted. I wasn’t that cup of tea.

You state clearly in the book that you never took steroids. Being around in that era and seeing muscled-up guys that perhaps weren’t as talented as you getting big pushes, were you ever tempted to take them?

No, it wasn’t something I ever considered. I had such a name and reputation from the Bruno feud that I just didn’t need it. At 240 pounds for most of my career, I was plenty big enough. If I had gained another 30 pounds and my arms got bigger, it wouldn’t have made me any more money. And I’m scared to death of needles, so that took care of that.

Unlike a lot of wrestling autobiographies, you wrote your book without a co-author or ghostwriter. What was your thought process in writing the book?

I’m kind of old-fashioned. If you write a book, you should write the book. I had time to do it and it didn’t make sense to have someone else write it. It wasn’t a matter of not knowing the story – I knew exactly what happened. Plus, I wanted to put me into it. I’ve been lucky and I’m really good with the gift of gab, so writing is just a way of telling the story. And like I said, I had the time to do it, so I kind of got into it. I actually could have finished it a couple years earlier, but a couple years ago, everybody had a book. There were 50 books out there. So, I took a break and slowed it down a little bit. But I wanted it to be me and not some ghostwriter that would have messed it up and then I would have freaked out about it. I’m a perfectionist.

Your book definitely is one of the funnier ones I have read. The Haystacks Calhoun on the airplane story is hilarious. Did you set out to make the book as funny as it turned out?

People keep saying, “The book is so funny, I’m wetting my pants.” I didn’t think it was that funny when I wrote it. I put some humor in it and stuff, but I really didn’t think it was that funny. Actually, there’s a [film] company called Shaftesbury that’s interested in making a movie about it. You can’t believe it until you see it, but they’re interested. I think it could really be a cool flick. They’re kind of interested about the time, because wrestling was so different than it is today. When Bruno fell down bleeding, people in the audience died. I was actually shot at – I didn’t put that in the book because I didn’t want to give anyone ideas – and I was stabbed. There were riots every night. It was intense back then. It’s just so different today – and it’s too bad.

The focus in the book is on your wrestling career, with very little about your life outside of wrestling except for passing references, such as having a psychotic girlfriend. Did you just not want to reveal much about your personal life?

My idea was to write it like a dream-come-true story. I was like most little kids who see something on television and we want to grow up to be like our hero. That’s the story. If I got into some of the personal stuff – which, some of it was more outrageous than the wrestling life – I think it would have taken away from the story about the wrestling dream. Needless to say, now that people have gotten an idea from the book about the wrestling end, believe me, I’m talking to the publisher and I’m really thinking about writing another one that would involve a lot of personal stuff that went on during the same time as the wrestling stuff.

Now, when I write the wild and ridiculous more personal side, people can relate to the time it was going on with the things I was known for in the ring. It was crazy. I don’t know if I’m just a big believer in love or if I’m just an idiot. But I guess we’re all idiots because we keep getting married, right? So we’ll see what happens with the publisher. The sales are going great for this one, and I can write another one and make it different. But I don’t want to embarrass myself too bad (laughs).

Speaking of your personal life, you are married to the daughter of former AWA promoter Verne Gagne. These days, Triple H is a polarizing figure among the fans and his peers because he is Vince McMahon’s son-in-law. When you were in the AWA, did the boys look at you differently because you were Verne’s son-in-law?

I don’t think the boys looked at me differently, not anybody that knew me. There were always a couple jealous guys, like [Ric] Flair. You know, there’s always somebody that says something, but who cares? They actually wanted me to take the [AWA] championship belt a couple years before I did, and I switched it around and we put it on Curt Hennig, and that was before me and Kathy were ever an item. I already had a name and a reputation, so it wasn’t like Triple H coming along and getting rid of Chyna, the steroided-up lady. It was kind of a different story with him.

You mentioned Flair being jealous. What’s the story with that?

The fans might have one idea of Flair, but I know the truth. If he didn’t owe the IRS a million dollars and the promoters kept bailing him out, he probably wouldn’t have been around so long. Back in 1980 when I was doing the big Bruno thing, Flair was trying to get his break down in the South. In those days, all the publicity came out of the Northeast – the magazines and all that. He was jealous that I was getting all the big press and he was hardly getting anything. So he made some comments to the boys about, “Oh, Zbyszko ain’t nothing, it’s just Bruno. I’m really great.” I sent messages back through the grapevine that said, “Well, you just tell Flair that if he ever wants to find out about who’s great, let me know.” And he’s been kind of leery of me ever since, because he’s Flair – he’s an idiot.

But then there came a time in WCW when, because we’d been around 20 years and we never wrestled each other, they wanted us to wrestle. It would have been a great thing for the fans, which is my No. 1 priority in business. And Flair was afraid to get in the ring. He thought I was going to stretch him and embarrass him and all that because of what he said years ago, which I wouldn’t have. I look at the business as a business to make money and give the fans what they want. If you don’t give the fans what they want, it’s not good business. That’s kind of why wrestling is stale today.

So, what did you think of Ric Flair’s retirement and farewell?

I didn’t pay any attention to the retirement. It’s all hype and gaga. I never watch any of the WWE nonsense, but I was at a friend’s restaurant and they had WrestleMania on there. Remember in the book how I used to set the over-under on how many clotheslines there would be in a match? Well, when he and Shawn Michaels came out at WrestleMania, I set the over-under on chest slaps at 40. I’ll tell you what, I haven’t lost my touch. If you watch the match and count them, between Michaels and Flair, there was exactly 40 chest slaps, which is about all [Flair] can do now anyway.

It comes across in your book that you have a great mind for the business.

I had great teachers.

And you obviously learned your lessons well. Since you have that knowledge, do you have any interest in working as a backstage agent or producer?

I have a lot of interest in doing stuff, but I wouldn’t be an agent or a producer. What I would like to do is take control of someone’s creative end, because they really need help. Wrestling is really in a situation where they’re losing a big part of their audience to the Ultimate Fighting. What wrestling is doing – and I’m speaking for the fans – is stupid. Instead of watching wrestling and athletes, all you’re doing for an hour or more out of each two-hour show is watching ridiculous, stupid skits. And most of the stupid skits are about some broad with plastic boobs, and the guys are all becoming morons. It’s just so stupid.

And at the same time, they’re all complaining that they’re ratings are down, their buy rates are down. WrestleMania didn’t do nearly what they thought it would; McMahon’s stock dropped a whole bunch after that. They all keep crying the blues, but they don’t change it. They just keep doing stupid skits and pushing the same guys who they like that the fans don’t care about that much. It’s kind of like what I touched on in the book: The egos are running it for what they want, but they’re not giving the fans what they want, and the fans are turning it off.

Another aspect of the business that has changed since when you were in your prime is how promos are done. You came up with your own stuff, while today the guys are reciting words from a script. What do you think of that change?

It’s absolutely horrible. That’s why it sucks. No. 1, you’ve got writers in there who have no business in professional wrestling. Back in the old days, if a guy was smart enough to do a great interview without a script, he was a talent and you could push him and make money with him. Now they got a bunch of writers who have no business being in the business, and they’re writing all this stuff for guys who have no talent to think of their own stuff. So, they’re pushing a bunch of guys who shouldn’t be pushed and having a bunch of writers who shouldn’t be there, and they’re wondering why the business is stale. You figure that out.

You’ve worked for TNA in the past. Are there any plans in the works for you to back there?

I’d love to do some stuff with TNA. We got the book on their Web site and we’re going to push it on there. I was on camera with them for a few years and then took a little time off, but I’d love to go back on camera and I’d love to help them out behind the scenes. There’s a lot of politics, but they’re good people. The Carters are very nice people. Everybody that works there is working real hard, but in my opinion, they just need a little help. If you watch TNA, unfortunately they’re caught up in the wrestling mind-set that Junior set up. TNA has got it in their mind that, “Well, we’ve got a wrestling show. We’ve got to do all these stupid skits just like Vince does.” Hopefully, they’ll change. They have a chance. We’ll see what happens.

Any final thoughts?

I just appreciate that you like the book, and all the feedback I’ve got from everybody that read it, everybody loves it. I was concerned about the feedback because I was raised on making the fans happy. I’m just thrilled, and I hope everybody that buys the book enjoys it. It came from the heart, and if they like it, I’m happy.

To watch a video of Larry Zbyszko’s famous heel turn on Bruno Sammartino in 1980, click here.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)
Categories: Q&As
        

Whenever I’m asked what the greatest wrestling angle is that I’ve ever seen, it doesn’t take me long to answer. I was 13 in 1980 when Larry Zbyszko turned on his mentor, the “Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino, and nearly 30 years later I have yet to see anything equal it.

Overnight, Zbyszko went from being a bland, mid-card babyface to the No. 1 heel in the business (in addition to becoming one of my favorite wrestlers). Largely because of his battles with Sammartino in what then was known as the WWWF, Zbyszko would go on to have a successful career that spanned decades.

Not surprisingly, Zbyszko’s turn on Sammartino is the subject of several chapters in his recently released autobiography, Adventures in Larryland.

After Zbyszko – who really was broken into the business by Sammartino – shockingly smashed his mentor over the head with a chair three times and left him lying in a pool blood during a televised bout, matches between the former friends sold out arenas throughout the Northeast during the spring and summer of 1980, culminating in the famous cage match before more than 40,000 fans at Shea Stadium that August.

On the surface, Zbyszko’s heel turn was a basic student-turns-on-teacher angle, but it actually went way beyond that. The attack on Sammartino was viewed as second only to Judas’ turn on Jesus as the biggest betrayal in history. Sammartino, in fact, began referring to Zbyszko as “Judas,” which led to Zbyszko delivering one of the greatest comeback lines ever: “If I’m Judas, I guess we know who he thinks he is.” Sammartino was so universally loved by the fans that his protégé stabbing him in the back led to one fan literally stabbing Zbyszko in the back – well, actually his backside.

As heated as the Zbyszko-Sammartino feud was, the two wrestlers’ power struggle with the McMahons – Vince Sr. and Vince Jr. – behind the scenes was just as intense. In the book, Zbyszko pulls back the curtain and reveals a classic example of the often adversarial relationship between wrestlers and promoters. One phone call between Zbyszko and McMahon Jr., the current WWE chairman who was working under his father at the time, is almost too strange – and funny – to be believed. It’s also perhaps one of the main reasons Zbyszko was never brought back to the company after McMahon Jr. took over.

Much like Chris Jericho’s book, A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex, Adventures in Larryland tells the story of a young man following his dream to become a professional wrestler and ultimately making it big in the business. In addition to his WWWF run, Zbyszko also chronicles his stints in the AWA and WCW, including his key role behind the scenes in the creation of the nWo angle, as well as his aborted feud with Dusty Rhodes.

Another trait that Zbyszko’s book shares with Jericho’s is its humorous tone. Both recount some laugh-out-loud stories and you definitely can hear the author’s voice when reading them. Zbyszko wrote the book himself, and while Jericho did have a co-author, A Lion’s Tale clearly was not an as-told-to book. Zbyszko’s funniest stories involve airplanes, including one about the 601-pound Haystacks Calhoun that has to be on the short list of the best wrestling travel stories of all time.

When comparing the two books, however, the similarities end there. Although both tell some great stories, Jericho has a lot more of them. A Lion’s Tale is 432 pages (and the story ends with Jericho making his WWE debut in 1999), while Adventures in Larryland is 189. I expected more road stories, backstage tales, observations and opinions from someone like Zbyszko, who made his debut in the territorial days in the ’70s and also was relevant during the Monday Night Wars era (he had pay-per-view matches with Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff when WCW was at its peak).

While Jericho’s pro wrestling career was the focus of his book, he also went into detail about his personal life, which Zbyszko really doesn’t do. I was especially disappointed that Zbyszko didn’t discuss his marriage to AWA promoter Verne Gagne’s daughter, and the positives and negatives of being the boss’ son-in-law in a competitive, cut-throat business.

When it comes to writing about the women in his life, Zbyszko definitely is a tease. He mentions having a beautiful but psychotic girlfriend during the time of his big heel run in the WWWF, but only says, “I could write an entire novel about this relationship alone, but no one would believe me.” And let’s just say the chapter about love and the wrestling business is rather short.

But don’t get me wrong; I enjoyed my trip to Larryland. I just wish my visit would have lasted a little longer and I could have been exposed to more of the landscape.

Note: Check back later for a Q&A with Larry Zbyszko.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Stacy Keibler shot down a recent story on tmz.com that said she lobbied to do a nude scene in the upcoming film Mercy, but then turned down the role after director Patrick Hoelck acquiesced.

“I got an offer for the movie Mercy, and then they asked if I was comfortable with nudity, and I said no, I’m actually not,” Keibler, calling from Vancouver, British Columbia, told me earlier this week. “So I just politely declined because they really were adamant about the nudity part of that, and I was just like, ‘I’m sorry. That’s just not something I’m interested in exploring at this time.’

“I’ve been offered to do Playboy and things over and over again. Why would I do something like that for this small little movie? It was basically just a simple phone call, and I was like, ‘Thank you, but no thank you.’ The other thing is that I have a deal with ABC and Disney, and I have to go to them and get approval on everything I do. That’s just not even something that we would take to them.”

Keibler said she laughed when she found out about the story on TMZ’s web site.

“Anyone that knows me or knows my personality should have laughed at that just as I did,” the actress and former WWE diva said. “I don’t know if it was just a small little movie that wanted to get some publicity so they threw something out there or what. I think it’s just a clear example that you can’t believe everything you read.”

Unless, of course, you read it on Ring Posts. “Exactly,” Keibler said with a laugh. “Anything that’s coming from me, it will be true if it’s coming from you.”

Keibler has been in Vancouver shooting Samurai Girl, an upcoming six-hour special event on ABC Family. She plays the romantic rival of the lead character (Jamie Chung) and the ex-fiancee of Chung’s love interest (Brendan Fehr). In addition to the romantic triangle, there’s also plenty of action.

“I will be using many fighting techniques involving knives, samurai swords, and martial arts moves,” said Keibler, who said that she will be doing most of her own stunts. “In WWE, I was given the choreography of a match a few hours before going on live TV. I have been up here a month being taught properly how to sword fight and how to protect myself. It is so much more fun when I am prepared and confident in my work. … This is a really exciting role for me to play.”

The series airs Sept. 5 through Sept. 7.

Meanwhile, Keibler said she is continuing to work hard at growing as an actress.

“I feel like I am a freshman in college working to get my masters degree,” she said. “I have a long road ahead of me. I have started a new chapter in my life, and I have a lot to learn and experience. When I am not working on set, I am in class four days a week. I don't take it for granted that I have a deal with ABC. My motto has always been: Don't wish for it, work for it.”

In addition to her acting career, Keibler also continues to be a spokesperson for Axe Skin Contact Shower Gel. She is promoting a survey about men’s skin that appears in the current issues of Cosmopolitan and Maxim magazines.

***

Stacy Keibler has made several items from her personal collection available on eBay. To view the items, click here.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 8:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

A few months ago, Stacy Keibler announced on this blog that she was going to make some memorabilia from her personal collection available on eBay.

The actress and former WWE diva has given me the following update:

Once I started cleaning out my closet, I was amazed at what I had
accumulated. It has been overwhelming and very time consuming to find
photos, trading cards and DVDs and to show the authenticity to my patient,
loyal fans. Sorry that it took longer then I expected. But finally,
I am happy to tell you that there are four listings currently on eBay.

Understanding that everyone favors different collectables, I will try
to keep a variety of items rotating on the auction. At this time,
there's a dress, swimsuit, and “ring-worn" shorts and boots. Fans
should look for the subtitle “exclusively from me, Stacy Keibler” to
confirm the memorabilia is actually from me. And I have signed every
COA. As I said before, a portion of the sales will be donated to
charity. I intend to spread it around and give to several needy
organizations. Hope my fans will have fun and ENJOY!!!

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
        

Vince Russo must have hated last night’s TNA Impact, so it’s not surprise that I really liked it.

I know it sounds crazy, but last night I actually watched a pro wrestling show that put the emphasis on – wait for it – good wrestling matches. This stunning development means that either Russo has had an Epiphany or he is on the losing end of a creative power struggle.

Anyone who has ever heard Russo sound off about his concept of pro wrestling knows that he believes good matches are for Internet marks and that matches that go more than a few minutes bore viewers. The TNA creative team member and former WWE and WCW head writer also thinks title belts are meaningless props and that you can never have enough swerves, complicated stipulations, sophomoric humor and sketch comedy.

Don’t misunderstand. I don’t think viewers want to watch a two-hour show of nothing but well-worked 15-minute matches. I like the “sports entertainment” aspect of wrestling as much as anybody, and angles, backstage segments, promos and comedy all are part of the mix. The action in the ring, however, still is the most important component. Last night’s show had all of the elements that a good two-hour wrestling show should have.

To be fair, while I disagree with a lot of Russo’s booking ideas, I do think he deserves recognition for his role in creating some interesting characters. Many of TNA’s wrestlers are over with the crowd, and that is a testament to the creative team as well as the performers.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

The episode was dedicated to TNA crew member Kevin “Angus” Sinex, who died in a scaffolding accident following the Slammiversary pay-per-view last Sunday. He was 45. Several wrestlers wore armbands in his memory. Unless I missed something, however, it was only the babyfaces who had the armbands. If that is the case, I think it’s ridiculous that the heels were not allowed to engage in the public display of mourning. …

There wasn’t a bad match among the seven that were on the show. The least entertaining probably was Sonjay Dutt’s win over Consequences Creed, but it was serviceable. Speaking of Creed, after a nice buildup for his debut, he hasn’t gotten much of a push. …

There were two excellent matches: Samoa Joe versus Kaz, and The Motor City Machine Guns versus Team Japan (Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi from Dragon Gate). Kaz again looked good against one of TNA’s marquee stars before losing. A heel turn down the line might benefit Kaz, who could use the frustration of coming up just short in big matches as the motivation for the turn. As far as TMCMG, hopefully this win signifies that they are out of the doghouse and will get a push. …

Kurt Angle cut a strong heel promo in which he announced that he was putting a hit out on his wife, Karen. He said that only women were eligible to take him up on the offer because of TNA’s ban on man-on-woman violence. Of course Awesome Kong immediately came to mind, although I thought the “hit” angle would go on for a couple weeks before Kong got involved. Instead, Kong did a post-match run-in and attacked Karen after Angle’s win over A.J. Styles in the main event. Kong slapped her around a little, but for the angle to really get over, Kong should have given her an Awesome Bomb. Perhaps we’re headed to a mixed tag pitting Kurt and Kong against Styles and Karen. I think it’s a good move to get Kong involved in a top program with stars such as Kurt Angle and Styles. …

Gimmick infringement alert: Before Kong laid out Karen, Kurt did the thumbs up-thumbs down bit that Batista has established as a precursor to his finisher. …

It was announced that Karen Angle has become a contracted talent in TNA. I’m not exactly sure what that means. Is she going to wrestle? Is she going to be a valet/manager? If she’s not doing either one of those things, what kind of “talent” does she have? Don’t answer that. …

One last Karen Angle question: Why did she refer to Kurt as her ex-husband? In the story line, aren’t they just separated? …

I liked the verbal confrontation between Kevin Nash and Samoa Joe, but their on-again, off -gain alliance is starting to give me a headache. …

From a booking standpoint, I didn’t like the deal in which Robert Roode and James Storm’s victory over LAX for the tag-team title was reversed by the referee and the match was re-started because Hector Guerrero pointed out that Storm had used a foreign object to secure the pin. I thought the rule was that if the referee didn’t see it, he couldn’t call it. If every babyface complained to the ref that the heel cheated, no heels would ever win. Despite that drawback, Roode and Storm’s beat-down of LAX after the match did a great job of getting heat on the heels. …

Roode and Storm make a great team even though their characters don’t seem compatible. One guy is rich and pompous and the other is a beer-guzzling redneck. I thought it was a nice touch when Roode took a drink of Storm’s beer and then spit it out and said it tasted awful. …

More good work by The Beautiful People. Angelina Love is becoming one of my favorite heels – male or female. She cut a really good promo on Karen Angle. Her partner, Velvet Sky, had a good match against Gail Kim. …

Perhaps I’ve been too hard on backstage interviewer Lauren. She’s actually not bad. Still, she’s no Crystal. …

I hope the return of Abyss means that Jim Mitchell is going to be back on TV soon. Mitchell does a great job with his character, and if TNA doesn’t have a spot for him any longer, WWE should sign him immediately. …

It was good to see Daivari back on TV. He’s a heat magnet when he gets on the mic and he’s also a good worker. …

Here’s another reason why I liked the show: Eric Young, Shark Boy, Christy Hemme, Rellik, Black Reign, Hermie Sadler and Ace Young weren’t on it.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

When former WCW star Daffney appeared on TNA Impact last week, it was the first time she had been on a prime time cable wrestling show since 2001. Initially playing the role of David Flair’s stalker, the gothic scream queen was one of the more unique and entertaining characters during the last years of WCW.

I spoke to Daffney earlier this week to discuss what she’s been doing since WCW went down, her match against Awesome Kong on Impact, her time in a WWE developmental territory and her thoughts on the current state of women’s wrestling.

It’s been a while since we’ve seen you on TV before last Thursday’s Impact. Where have you been wrestling?

I recently moved to Charlotte. I’m from Atlanta, so I wrestled all over the Southeast, and now I’m all around the Carolinas. I was very lucky to have had the first-ever women’s singles match at PWT in California. I consider that a great honor and I had a lot of fun. I think that federation is wonderful. I wrestled a lot in Texas at Anarchy Championship Wrestling. Probably the greatest honor I have is wrestling with SHIMMER Women Athletes. If you want to see women’s wrestling, the cream of the crop, watch SHIMMER.

What are your thoughts on the state of women's wrestling? Specifically, what do you think of WWE's women's division and TNA's women's division?

I was very, very happy to hear that TNA was going to form a women’s division last fall. It was so nice to see a lot of my close friends get recruited and join the women’s division in TNA and be able to be on national television. It seems as though they took women that have worked hard and have a true passion for being wrestler, and have given them an opportunity to shine. WWE seems to me to have gone back to the state they were at when their women’s division was on top. They’re making their divas really learn how to work. They are focusing on the women that started off in the indies that worked their way up. They’re giving them the belt and making them shine. I’m really happy to see that it’s kind of come back around. For a while it was focusing on the diva search, but now it seems to me that they’re focusing more on the wrestling and the girls that worked their way up through wrestling. Like Mickie James – I’ve known her for years.

You two were roommates at one time, correct?

Yeah, but we were friends before that and we still are. Beth [Phoenix] was in SHIMMER before I was. Melina – she tried out at Tough Enough and then worked her way up. Victoria – she was signed to developmental and wanted to wrestle. So it’s really nice to see that they’re focusing more on the wrestling and trying to teach the girls that were in the diva search to focus more on wrestling and less on being divas.

What is your opinion of the bikini models and fitness models who got into the business by winning contests?

Well, I’m not really one to speak because I got into it through acting. But then I went to the Power Plant [WCW’s training center] on my own on my off days and worked my way into earning my spot. If you get discovered that way, [it’s OK as long as] you work hard and you show a true passion and you’re not there for the fame and the fortune but for true love of the sport, and there’s no complaining and no “I broke a nail” and “I don’t want to do this.” There are weird strokes of luck of how you get into the business. I think it’s all in the attitude and the dedication that you put into it once you’ve gotten your spot.

When you and the other women in WCW were being trained by Madusa, she had a reputation for being very hard on all of you. What was that training like?

That was way after I had started my training. I was at the Power Plant and I was lucky enough that Molly Holly [Mona in WCW] was there, so as soon as I started to show up on my own, I think she saw that I really wanted to learn. So she took me aside and just started showing me things. And then she moved back home, so I was the only girl. I was in there training with all the guys. I was still going to TV early and getting in the ring with Crowbar and Shane Helms. Terry Taylor was really nice and got in there with me if I had a spot in the match. I would just get in there and anybody that would show me something, I would just try to learn. So, when the time came that Vince Russo said that one day a week we’re flying [the women] to the Power Plant and you have to learn, I was kind of used to the drill. Yes, she was hard on us because you had girls there who really had no experience and training, like a lot of the Nitro Gils that were professional dancers. It was difficult to train with girls that didn’t have much experience, and they were kind of thrown into it – poor things, it was kind of thrown at them all at once, so it was kind of shocking.

When I talked to Madusa back then about the training, she said that she sent some of the girls home in tears. I’m guessing that you weren’t one of them?

No, I wasn’t. I don’t want to call them a wuss because they went home crying, because it’s tough. There have been 400-pound football players that didn’t last a day. So those girls tried. But Madusa is a tough lady and she was really tough on us because it’s a tough business.

You mentioned Melina earlier. What did you think of her screaming gimmick in WWE? Did you see that as gimmick infringement?

[Laughs]. I used to get so many e-mails: “Who do you think screams louder, you or Melina?” My answer used to always be: “Who’s Melina?” Actually, she’s a very close friend of mine now, and I’ve lost my voice, so I really can’t scream like that anymore. I stole her entrance, and she can scream if she wants.

Wow, you not screaming is like Ric Flair not doing his “Whooo!”

I don’t really do the crazy thing anymore. I’m different than your everyday average girl, but … I like to be taken more seriously as a wrestler. People are like, “Oh, we want to hire you as a manger.” And I’m like, “Well, do you want me to have a singles match?” They’re like, “Oh, do you wrestle?” Yeah, I’ve been wrestling now for eight years. When I get in the ring, I take my matches very seriously. There’s a little bit of screaming going on, but it’s not the crazy screaming for no reason and laughing maniacally and doing that sort of thing. My character has taken on a little more serious role.

I think we saw that more serious aspect during your match with Awesome Kong last week on Impact. You came out with the mouth guard and the gloves like you were prepared to fight.

Yeah, that was the point. You’re there to try to win $25,000 and the belt and you’re fighting Kong; it’s such a challenge and you’re trying to protect yourself. Yeah, I wanted to be taken seriously. I’ve heard from so many people, “Well, we didn’t like the scream.” I wanted to show that I don’t really do that anymore. I don’t think people believe that, so I’m like, “Well, just watch and see.” And I spoke in a normal voice, which I didn’t do for years.

Had you ever worked with Kong before? Were you prepared for how stiff she works?

Yes, I have worked her before. To be honest with you, she is a complete professional. I don’t know if stiff is the right word. You don’t leave a match with her going, “Oh my God, I can’t walk” or “I’m hurt.” She is a very talented woman. I think that every woman that she gets in the ring with, if given the opportunity to do what she wants to do, she elevates the person. Me being fortunate enough to know how to work her, I was prepared for how she works.

You had a WWE developmental deal in Ohio Valley Wrestling about five years ago. What was that experience like and why do you think it didn't lead to a WWE contract?

Yes, it was in 2003. The experience for me was not very positive because it was right around that time that they let all the women workers go. It was right when the WWE women’s division was at the top of their game and then it seemed to me that they decided to go in another direction. Gail Kim got let go; Molly Holly got let go; Jackie got let go; Ivory got let go. They let all the girls that could work go. And then it was diva search, diva search, diva search. I was there to be a wrestler, and I was not really given a chance to show that I could wrestle in the developmental program. I was put in a managerial role with talent that was not used to having a manager, that I had no chemistry with and that wasn’t really interested in creating chemistry with me. There are just some people that you work with that you don’t click with.

I would make suggestions. I really wanted to be with, at the time he was Carly Colon, and my character was Lucy. They were dead set against me being Daffney. I wanted to do the Lucy-Ricky Ricardo thing. And I was like [speaking in an exaggerated Hispanic accent]: “Do the Hispanic accent like this. Talk like this.” I pitched that. They shot it down, and next thing you know he’s on TV and he’s Carlito. And then I pitched [an idea for] Mark Magnus. He’s Italian, but I was like, “Man, you look Arab. You should do an Arab thing. I’ve got dark hair. They should put me in a burka and I should be called Dottie. It should be like the Macho Man-Miss Liz thing. No heat between the countries, but heat as far as you being mean to me. And then one day I rip off the burka.” Next thing you know, I get fired and then he’s Muhammad Hassan. It’s not like I didn’t try. It’s not like I didn’t pitch everything under the sun because I was so unhappy with what they gave me creatively. That’s why it was not a good experience. Their answer was: "We don’t have anything for you creatively.” And then everything that I pitched creatively was done without me.

That must have been frustrating.

Yes, and that’s why I was out of the business for a little while.

What made you want to get back in?

To prove myself to myself, because OVW pretty much sucked the life out of me and made me feel like I wasn’t any good. All the fans in WCW that would always say, “Oh, we like your character, we’re such a big fan of your work,” that was all taken away from me. I just did a few shows and I got such positive responses from people saying that it was so good to see me again that I was like, “Oh I’ll do a little bit more.” And then it just kind of snowballed. So it turned from wanting to prove myself to see if I could do it to wanting to do it for the fans.

What memories stand out from your time in WCW?

Getting schoolboy-ed by Ric Flair for him to become the world heavyweight champion for the 15th time. Then immediately afterward, taking the figure-four. Taking a piledriver from Terry Funk in England. Becoming the second woman to be cruiserweight champion. Just being part of the company and the whole experience. Being on the road – it was all just a very surreal experience.

I don’t recall the Ric Flair thing. How was it that he pinned you to win the title?

You know, suspend your disbelief. There was a bunch of us in the ring, and I don’t remember who he was fighting, but it was like, “He’s going to schoolboy you, 1-2-3, he wins the belt. He pins you, but it’s still a big schmazz in the ring and then he grabs your foot and puts you in the figure-four.” I’m like, “OK, cool.” At the time you’re green and you don’t really realize.

What are your goals in the business moving forward?

I guess just to ride the wave for as long as possible. Women’s careers are a little shorter than the guys, but I just try to do every show I can, try to keep booked pretty much every weekend.

Well, I know that you have a loyal fan base that was happy to see you on the TNA show last week.

It was real nice when I did Impact to get a lot of people saying, “Hey, it was so cool to see you; hadn’t seen you on TV in years.” It made me feel really, really good. My ODFs – Original Daf Fanatics – are true and loyal. Like I said, why did I get back in? Because of them.

Photo courtesy of Shannon Spruill

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (17)
Categories: Q&As
        

On the receiving end of a wave of highly negative publicity, Hulk Hogan went into damage control mode last night on CNN’s Larry King Live.

In addressing the infamous taped jailhouse conversations he and wife Linda had with their son Nick, who is serving an eighth-month sentence for felony reckless driving, a somber Hogan tried to paint a more positive picture of himself and his family. He invoked religion on several occasions and got choked up near the end of the show.

To King’s credit – and much to my surprise – he actually asked some tough questions, and to Hogan’s credit, he answered them all and also sat there while portions of the unflattering audiotapes were played.

Nothing Hogan said on the show changed my negative perception of him, Nick and Linda, however.

When the incriminating tapes were played, Hogan’s spin attempts fell flat. He did what people usually do when they are caught saying something offensive: He said the conversations were taken out of context and he criticized the media for “reckless reporting.” Hogan seemed to be saying, “Who are you going to believe – me or your lying ears?”

Hogan kept bringing up the fact that the tapes shouldn’t have been made public in the first place. I actually agree with him, but that’s missing the point. The fact is that the tapes are out there and there’s no taking back what was said on them.

I believe what people say in private reflects their true feelings, not what they say on a talk show or when pleading for leniency before a judge. The big problem for Hogan is that he already had a credibility issue before any of this happened. He lied about using steroids on The Arsenio Hall Show in the early ’90s and he is infamous for telling some whoppers about his wrestling exploits in interviews.

Hogan, who reportedly has hired a public relations firm specializing in crisis management, would have come off much better last night had he not tried to rationalize what was on the tapes or blame the media. He should have just acknowledged that he used bad judgment in a stressful situation and said that he is embarrassed and ashamed. He also should have issued an apology to the family of John Graziano – Nick’s passenger who was left paralyzed due to the crash and will need care for the rest of his life – for the pain the insensitive remarks on the tapes have caused them.

Here’s a look at some of Hogan’s statements from last night’s show:

On Nick’s driving: He said that Nick wasn’t into drag racing, he’s into precision driving. He also said that Nick got “a couple tickets.” Actually, Nick was busted for unlawful speeding three times in the 11 months prior to the accident, for going 115 mph in a 70 mph zone, 57 in a 30 and 106 in a 70. In a telling interview that Nick did for the September issue of Rides magazine, he bragged about getting out of speeding tickets because of who his father is. He said: “In my silver Viper, I was driving from Miami to Tampa. I got pulled over going 107 [mph] and the guy let me off. He’s like, ‘Hey, I know who you are, just keep going, ya know.’ Dude, I got back on the road and two minutes later I get pulled over going 113. Another highway patrol from the same county said, ‘I just heard on the radio that my buddy pulled you over and let you go. I’m a let you go this time. It’s your second warning. You get pulled over again, you’re probably going to go to jail.’ Three minutes later, [I was] doing 123 in a 50. The guy is like, ‘Hey, I just heard you got pulled over twice in the last 10 minutes. I got to write you a ticket.’ ”

On the tape of him saying that Graziano must have done something bad for God to punish him in this way: Hogan tried to dance around this, saying that “it’s in God’s hands.” When King pressed him for a real answer, Hogan said: “Did I say things wrong? Yes. I said them incorrectly.” He blamed it on being distraught and a lack of sleep and said he was “trying to give Nick some relief.” So badmouthing Nick’s critically injured friend is supposed to make Nick feel better?

On the taped conversation in which he and Nick discuss making Nick’s release from jail into a reality show: Hogan said, “I was trying to keep his spirits up. I was trying to help my son get through this. … That statement [about brokering a deal for Nick’s reality show], if that’s something that was too cut and dry, I apologize for that. If I was wrong, I was wrong.” He also said that this snippet of their conversation was taken out of context and that they were hoping for a miracle for Graziano so that he could be involved in the proposed reality show. “I just wish that someone would play the two hours before or the hour after and please put everything in the proper context,” he said. I don’t see how that is going to change anything, but if Hogan really wanted to prove that it was taken out of context, why doesn’t he call for the release of the tape and have it played in its entirety?

On the media’s coverage: He said there was a “lynch mob mentality,” referred to the media as “irresponsible” and labeled the coverage as “tabloid terrorism.”

On the Graziano family suing him: “You forgive them, for they know not what they do,” he said. “This won’t help John. We need to move forward.” Whether you are religious or not, Hogan using the Bible passage of what Jesus said on the cross about those who put him to death as an analogy takes a lot of gall. When speaking about the entire situation, Hogan again referenced God. “This is in God’s hands. I believe things happen for a reason,” he said. “This is to make Nick a better person. In my belief, this is to make John a better person.” Again, the last part of that statement takes an incredible amount of gall.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (87)
        

The 3.0 rating for last night’s Raw has to be considered a major disappointment for WWE. Despite news conferences and press releases, McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania did not deliver the expected spike in the ratings. In fact, the rating dropped slightly from last week’s 3.1.

I have to say that I’m surprised. While the money giveaway did not make for compelling television, I thought for sure that the prospect of winning large sums of cash would lure viewers who wouldn’t normally watch Raw or just watched occasionally. I guess it really isn’t all about the “mon-aaayy.”

WWE, which reported that there were more than 1.5 million entrants, will continue the media blitz with another news conference on Thursday.

I have a couple theories about the rating. Perhaps those who chose not to enter just weren’t interested and tuned out when the segments dragged. Or, maybe people were skeptical of the giveaway and assumed it was a wrestling angle. Now that it is out there that the giveaway is legitimate, perhaps more people will enter and tune in. Figuring out a way to make the segments more entertaining wouldn’t hurt either.

If the ratings don’t increase next week, it will be interesting to see how long the contest continues before WWE pulls the plug.

Vince McMahon can certainly afford to throw away a million dollars, but doing so with no payoff in the ratings just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 9:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (46)
        

If you’re one of the lucky people who receives a phone call from Vince McMahon during Raw telling you that you have an opportunity to win thousands or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, then there’s no doubt that you’ll love McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania.

For those watching at home whose phones aren’t ringing, well, it doesn’t exactly make for must-see TV. There were seven segments last night on Raw in which McMahon did his dialing for dollars bit, and by the third segment, the audience was booing and chanting “boring.” A few of the segments were unintentionally funny, as McMahon proved that he might be a great promoter, but he’s not so adept at dialing a telephone on live television.

On the very first call, McMahon was dialing very slowly yet he still ended up misdialing. Then he hung up on the guy just as he answered the phone. Another time, McMahon had difficulty completing the call, and then got a busy signal. On two occasions, McMahon told the contestants that they had won the money before they even gave him the password. One contestant was so excited about winning $200,000 that he uttered an expletive (which was bleeped due to the seven-second delay).

Overshadowing all of this money business was a much-anticipated heel turn by Chris Jericho. After two months of hints and red herrings, Jericho finally attacked Michaels during a Highlight Reel segment. Jericho gave Michaels a low blow and then smashed his head into the Jeri-Tron in a strong segment that got a lot of heat on Jericho. I’m really looking forward to this feud.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

The first guy that McMahon called in the money giveaway should have been automatically disqualified for making us listen to “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley – twice. Well, at least it wasn’t Ace Young. …

Speaking of bad singing, WWE tried to get Trevor Murdoch’s singing cowboy gimmick over by having him engage in a signing contest with the wonderfully awful Jillian Hall. The fans still didn’t cheer Murdoch. I like Murdoch’s new character, but I certainly seem to be in the minority. …

Was there anyone watching Raw who didn’t know that Mae Young was coming out after McMahon said that Charlie Haas had to kiss a diva? Actually, I think I’d let Mae put me in a liplock if I got to kiss Maria first (luckily, my wife doesn’t read this blog). …

The main event between Triple H and Jeff Hardy was OK but not as good as what you would expect from these two, mainly because Triple H dominated the match. I was happy to see Hardy win by countout rather than doing his second consecutive job. I was even happier when he took out both Triple H and John Cena after the match. …

How many times is Cena going to beat JBL? I was thinking that Triple H’s interference would cost Cena the match, but it didn’t happen. During the latter stages of the match, Cena almost didn’t get his foot on the rope in time to break up JBL’s pin attempt. It looked like Cena initially tried to grab the rope with his hand, but he wasn’t close enough. …

Beth Phoenix suffering another pinfall loss to Mickie James was a surprise. Perhaps the draft will send Phoenix to Smackdown and she’ll win the brand’s new women’s title. …

There was yet another miscarriage of justice, as Santino Marella was pinned again, this time in a tag-team match with Carlito against Cryme Tyme. All kidding aside, how can WWE not see that Marella would be a much more compelling heel if he didn’t lose to every wrestler, diva and D-list celebrity that he gets in the ring with?

Posted by Kevin Eck at 2:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

After scrolling through all the comments I have received about the two controversial interviews I conducted with Scott Steiner last month, I decided to chime in with my own thoughts on Steiner and his statements.

For those unfamiliar with the interviews, Steiner ripped Ric Flair, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Basically, he said that all three wouldn’t have had their highly successful careers if not for their politicking and back-stabbing – only he used much coarser language.

First, I’ll address the readers’ criticism of Steiner and how I see him:

For those who said that Steiner is bitter and jealous, I don’t think that’s the case. When I first met him about eight years ago after I became the editor of WCW Magazine, he was trashing Flair then, too, and that was when Steiner was getting the biggest push of his career. With Steiner, I just don’t think there is a lot of gray area – either he likes you or at least respects you, or he doesn’t. And if he doesn’t, not only will he say so, but he will express himself in the most rude and crude manner possible. That’s just his personality. The way he cuts people down may be over the top and even laugh-out-loud funny, but I don’t doubt that he means every word he is saying. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says, but I do respect his willingness to tell it the way he sees it.

While a number of readers think that Steiner is the biggest jerk of all time because of the way he came off in the interviews, I can honestly say that my experiences with him have almost all been positive. I’m not the only person who worked behind the scenes in WCW who felt that way, either. In all honesty, my first encounter with him was a little uneasy. When I introduced myself to him backstage at a Nitro show, he just kind of grunted at me. Then when I pitched an idea for an article I wanted to write about him in the magazine, he said that he wasn’t really interested. “WCW Magazine sucks,” he said in his gruff, Big Poppa Pump voice. Since I had just started there, I responded by saying, “Well, I’m here to fix that.” I said something about having a lot of ideas on how to improve the magazine, and that included putting him on the cover of the next issue. He ended up giving me a great interview that was part work and part shoot. His contempt for politics in wrestling was evident even then. In the article, when he talked about possibly being next in line to win the WCW world title, he said: “It’s a political game, and I’ve never been one to kiss ass and I never will. So if it happens, it happens.”

I think quite a few readers also have a misconception about Steiner’s ability as a worker and his accomplishments in the business. There’s no question that age and serious injuries have taken a toll on Steiner in recent years, but he was considered one of the best wrestlers around for more than a decade. From 1991 to 2001, Steiner was ranked in the annual PWI 500’s top 20 nine times, including four times in the top 10. Granted, Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a kayfabe magazine, but the list is a somewhat accurate measuring stick for a wrestler’s standing in the business. Personally, I thought Steiner was one of the five most dynamic performers in the country between 1989 and 1992 when he was one-half of one of the greatest tag teams of all time with his brother Rick. The agility that he displayed for someone with his size and power was incredible. No one in a major U.S. wrestling company had ever done anything like Steiner’s Frankensteiner, which was voted Best Wrestling Maneuver in 1989 and ’90 by readers of The Wrestling Observer.

Even after he became less mobile in subsequent years due to an increase in muscle mass and a severe back injury that nearly ended his career, Steiner was still having good matches on pay-per-view with the likes of Goldberg, Booker T., Kevin Nash and Diamond Dallas Page during the final months of WCW. In addition to his skills as a worker, Steiner portrayed one of the most believable heel characters I have ever seen during his run as Big Poppa Pump in WCW. He had fans legitimately hating him and fearing him, which was not easy in an era in which the business had become so exposed.

Here are my impressions of the three individuals that Steiner blasted and my opinions on the merit of his contentions about them:

Ric Flair – “The Nature Boy” will go down as one of the greatest – if not the greatest – performers of all time. That’s indisputable. Steiner’s problem seems to be with how Flair got to the top and stayed there. His verbal attacks on Flair make it abundantly clear that Steiner thinks little of him as a person. I don’t doubt that there is at least some truth to the stories Steiner told about Flair, and one former WCW employee who was there in the early ’90s told me that Steiner wasn’t off base. Wrestling is a political, cutthroat business, so it’s likely that Flair played politics to gain an advantage. At other times in his career, however, Flair was on the wrong side of the political fence, so that can go both ways. As far as my personal experiences with Flair, I found him very easy to deal with. And while I don’t think I have ever seen a grown man cry as easily as Flair, I don’t hold it against him. Heck, I’ve been known to shed a tear or two when watching a sad movie – or during the aftermath of Flair’s farewell match against Shawn Michaels.

Triple H – For someone like Steiner who loathes the political games in wrestling, it’s no surprise that he has nothing good to say about “The Game.” I don’t think it’s accurate, however, when Steiner says that Triple H only got his spot on top because he is married to Stephanie McMahon. Triple H was among the upper echelon and won his first WWE world title before hooking up with Stephanie. He deserves his spot as one of the top guys in the company. However, I don’t think he would be a 12-time world champion if he wasn’t married to Vince McMahon’s daughter. And I do think he has used his political influence to try to keep down certain guys that he perceived as a threat to his spot – namely Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam and Kurt Angle. On the other hand, he was instrumental in making superstars of Batista and Randy Orton. And, just like Flair, Triple H has been a victim of politics at times in his career, too.

Shawn Michaels – To me, there are two Shawn Michaels. There’s the one from the mid-to-late ’90s who was an immature prima donna, and there’s the current one who has conquered his personal demons and become a man of character. Michaels himself has acknowledged what kind of person he was a decade ago and that his bad reputation is well-deserved. Steiner believes Michaels still is the same guy that he was in the ’90s. Steiner worked for WWE from 2002 to 2004 while Michaels was there, so he would know better than I what Michaels is like behind closed doors. All I can say is that I have been impressed by what I have seen from Michaels since his return to WWE in 2002. I have interviewed Michaels on three occasions in the past three years, and each time he came across as honest, humble and accountable. As far as his ability in the ring, I’m on the record as saying that Michaels is the best all-around performer I have ever seen.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (16)
        

I have to admit that I’ve become more intrigued by the Kevin Nash-Samoa Joe story line, especially because Joe made it clear last night on TNA Impact that he’s “not stupid” and “doesn’t trust anyone.” Establishing that Joe is not a naïve babyface is important for his character moving forward.

After a heated verbal confrontation between the two last night, the show concluded with Nash accidentally – or accidentally on purpose – smashing Joe on the arm with a chair. The question is whether Nash will turn on Joe when he is the special enforcer for the King of the Mountain match on the Slammiversary pay-per-view on Sunday.

By all accounts, TNA is committed to Joe as world champion, so he probably isn’t losing the title on Sunday. However, I think TNA has an opportunity to elevate someone on its roster at Slammiversary by having them win the title when almost no one expects it to happen.

Here’s how I’d like to see the Nash-Joe saga play out on the pay-per-view:

During the TNA world title match between Joe, Booker T., Christian Cage, Rhino and Robert Roode, Nash inadvertently costs Joe the match, giving Roode the victory and the title. On the ensuing Impact, an angry Joe confronts Nash, who claims it was an accident. Joe doesn’t buy it and demands a match with Nash for later in the show. Nash says he’s tired of Joe’s paranoia and accepts the challenge. During their match, just as Joe is about to finish off Nash, Roode interferes and batters Joe with a chair. Nash eventually gets to his feet and halts Roode’s attack on Joe. Roode begs off, as Nash looks him in the eye and makes a throat-slash gesture. A few seconds later, they both break into smiles, and the two of them continue the attack on Joe.

The following week, Nash cuts a promo in which he reminds fans that he said that he always goes where the money is – and no one has more money than Roode. He reveals that Roode paid him to help him win the title, and now Roode is retaining his services as a bodyguard (recreating the old Shawn Michaels/Diesel act). Nash says that, “It’s not personal. It’s just business.” He says that the fans thought he was going to turn on Joe because he wanted the title, but he’d rather have money than the belt. He also acknowledges that Joe was right for not trusting him, and even though Joe saw it coming, he couldn’t prevent it because the odds were stacked against him.

From there, Joe wrestles Roode for the title at the next pay-per-view but loses due to Nash’s interference, which then leads to a Nash-Joe program. I would love to see this story line happen because I think Roode would make a fine heel champion – especially with Nash in his corner. Do I think it will happen? No. Like I said, I don’t think Joe is dropping the strap this soon after winning it, and I’m not sure that TNA management really sees Roode as world champion material (as evidenced by all the times he jobbed to Eric Young). If Joe does lose the title on Sunday, most likely it will be to Booker T.

Here are some other thoughts on last night’s show:

There was a good mix of wrestling and backstage vignettes. The Black Machismo bachelor party segments were lighthearted fun and they did not dominate the show. Kip James showing up as a stripper was just silly enough that I couldn’t help but laugh, especially when Shark Boy began throwing up on a potted plant. …

A.J. Styles showed a lot of fire both in the ring and on the mic. I do wish that, as part of his transformation from dim-witted second banana to angry, competent babyface, Styles had cut a promo explaining his character’s actions over the past year. Maybe he could have said something about losing his focus and getting complacent, which allowed him to become a follower instead of a leader, but the recent beat-downs have been a wakeup call and reignited his desire to be the best. …

The Kurt and Karen Angle debate was really good at times, but no so good at others. In other words, Kurt was tremendous, while Karen was really overacting. The Angles’ marital strife would be a lot more compelling if TNA hadn’t done it on Karen’s very first appearance, which, of course, turned out to be a ruse. …

It was evident by watching this show that TNA has turned too many wrestlers over the past several months. Roode and Booker just had a very heated, very personal feud, and now they’re teaming up. Tomko and Styles both turned on Cage and joined Angle, and then Tomko and Angle turned on Styles, and now Styles and Cage are allies again. It’s difficult to get emotionally invested in the characters when they switch sides so often. One major turn has more impact than five. …

The King of the Mountain match, which Kaz won, was good, but it probably would have seemed even better if I hadn’t watched the awesome Edge-Undertaker TLC match last Sunday. …

Mickie Knuckles, who has built a reputation on the independent scene as the most hardcore female wrestler around, debuted as the “muscle” for The Beautiful People. Angelina Love and Velvet Sky have been really clicking as a heel act, so I don’t think I would tinker with them by adding another member at this point. It’s a cliché, but Booker T. was right when he said, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” during a conference call on Tuesday. …

The street fight between Sky and ODB was a little sloppy but fun – which probably describes a night out with ODB. …

It was great to see former WCW star Daffney back on TV even if it was just to be obliterated by Awesome Kong. I’m surprised that Daffney hasn’t gotten a spot in TNA, because one of the main strengths of its women’s division is that it is comprised of distinctive characters and not cookie-cutter bikini models. I was always a fan of her gothic “Scream Queen” character in WCW. She also was one of the coolest people in the company when I worked there.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 6:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (15)
        

TNA personality Jim Cornette has declined the challenge made by Santino Marella during an interview with me last week to wrestle him in a cage match.

Marella, who did the interview in character, was responding to a question about the incident a few years ago between him and Cornette in Ohio Valley Wrestling. Marella, a student in OVW at the time, was slapped by Cornette, who was the booker, for laughing in the audience during an angle with The Boogeyman that wasn’t supposed to be funny. Cornette was fired because of the incident.

Cornette answered Marella’s challenge on wrestlinginc.com.

“I appreciate the offer, but I would rather wait and have this match with someone who can actually draw money,” Cornette said. “I am long past the point in my career where I need to work with JOB guys!

“Isn't it funny that when I slapped him in the face 17 times in Louisville, Ky., he was not too eager to fight then. But now safely hidden away in Canada at an AA meeting somewhere in Toronto, protected by Jaques and Pierre, he suddenly wants a fight, But I am happy that I was able to make the kid a name in the wrestling business since it doesn't look like he is going to do it for himself! Thanks … but NO thanks.

In talking with me about Cornette last week, Marella said:

“Jim Cornette is a loser. Jim Cornette is an insecure person. And controversy creates cash, so maybe one day, Jim Cornette, I’m going to wrap that cheap tennis racquet around you neck. I’d like to have a cage match with Jim Cornette. I’ll put that out on the Worldwide Web right now.

“This loser took advantage of a situation because he knew I would not hit him back because I was a student. He freaked out and he slapped me several times. I did nothing because I think to myself: ‘I am not American citizen. I don’t have green card. If I punch this guy, shatter his face the way my punches can actually do, then I’m going to be kicked out of the country.’ You can’t just show up somewhere and start breaking skulls, Kevin. It doesn’t work like that. But now that I’m in a position to challenge him to a cage match, I make an official challenge to Jim Cornette for the first time, right now, right here.”

Thanks to blog reader Rob for alerting me that Cornette had responded.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 5:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)
        

“The Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino heads a list of former WWE stars who are scheduled for autograph signings this summer at the new Signature Sports store at Marley Station Mall in Glen Burnie.

Sammartino’s first-ever Baltimore area signing is set for Aug. 9, according to Signature Sports owner Dave Cook. Also signing at the store that day is former WWE/WCW wrestler Bryan Clark.

Other former WWE stars scheduled for signings at Signature Sports are: Jake “The Snake” Roberts on June 20; and The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff and Tammy "Sunny" Sytch on July 18. For more information, call 443-749-0681.
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In addition to the signings, Roberts is booked for the Eastern Wrestling Alliance show at Tall Cedars Hall in Parkville on June 20, and The Iron Sheik and Sytch will be at the Maryland Championship Wrestling shows at The New Green Room in Dundalk on July 18-19. For more information, go to ewamaryland.com and marylandwrestling.com, respectively.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
        

During a conference call with Booker T. (who was subbing for Kevin Nash) yesterday, I asked him what his experience was like in WWE working with Smackdown head writer Michael Hayes, who was suspended 60 days in April for using a racial slur.

Booker laughed, and then said: “I don’t know what’s going on there with the history with Michael Hayes, but Michael Hayes always thought he was black (laughs). He’s always been a black guy in a white body, even on television the way he acted when he was a wrestler back in the day – the way he walked, the way he talked.

“I don’t look at Michael Hayes as a racist myself. I’ve been around Michael for many, many years. I actually heard him use the N-word before, but Michael Hayes has been one of the people who could get away with using it around me because I knew there was no malice involved. But I don’t know what has gone on with other people and how other people have taken it. Sometimes, if you’re not from that walk of life, you don’t know how people really are and what they really mean about what they’re saying. … Another person might say it around me and they might get heat from me.”

Here are some more excerpts from the call with Booker, who will wrestle in the main event of TNA's Slammiversary pay-per-view on Sunday against TNA world champion Samoa Joe, Robert Roode, Christian Cage and Rhino in a King of the Mountain match for the title:

Why ratings in WWE and TNA are down: “That’s a hard question, but you have to look at what we’re competing against. We’ve got a lot of competition out there, with UFC, WEC – these companies are growing fast. It’s just up to us to change our marketing strategies to keep up with the hip-hop crowd and what’s going on. I think we’re doing a pretty good job, but I think we’re going to have to do a little bit better.”

Who he looks forward to working with in TNA: “I want to give all the guys a chance to wrestle with Booker T. It’s like when I was coming up and I got a chance to wrestle with Ric Flair, Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, Bret Hart. I wrestled a lot of great legends and I learned a lot from those guys. The thing I’ve had with Robert Roode, I’m sure he’s learned a lot over the past six months, and I’ve passed a lot of experience and knowledge to him. I’m looking forward to the next challenge, which is Samoa Joe. King of The Mountain is just beginning, and being the king of TNA is something totally different.”

Bobby Lashley potentially coming to TNA: “I really can’t say exactly what Bobby’s going to do. He came down to the PWA [Booker’s Houston-based independent promotion] and graced us with his presence and did a really good job and shocked and amazed the crowd and let them know that he still has it. He’s in great shape; he looked probably better than I’ve ever seen him look, in and out of the ring. As far as his future, right now there are MMA people looking at him; I know Japan is trying to get their hands on him; I know TNA would have a spot for him if he chooses to come there. I’m just wishing the best for Bobby right now, and when he does make that choice, I hope he comes to me first and asks me which way he should go. I’m going to tell him exactly what I think. Bobby’s in a good place mentally. He left WWE quite unexpected, but I think he’s doing well and the world and his future is all in his hands right now.”

The abundance of gimmick matches in TNA: “I’ve never tried to get behind the scenes with the writing and the story lines. I’ve always concentrated on my wrestling and my performance … and giving the people what they came to see. We do have a lot of different matches. We have a lot of stipulations in matches, and it confuses a lot of people sometimes. Maybe, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The conventional way still works. Maybe we have to take a step back to take a step forward. That’s something that we will realize in the near future, and the ratings will tell us.”

Samoa Joe as TNA world champion: “Samoa Joe is the future. The guy has all the skills, all the techniques. He’s not the prototype body of a wrestler that you normally would see, but that’s the uniqueness about Joe. He has a lot to learn, though – getting on the mic, knowing how to talk, knowing how to make things real to him. … It’s just a matter of him putting himself in that position, but I think Joe is a perfect candidate to carry TNA to the next level.”

Whether he would welcome Ultimate Warrior to TNA: “He’s a character. Would I welcome him? Yeah, definitely. … As far as him making a successful comeback, that’s going to be up to him and how hard he’s willing to work and become what he was before. He had a lot of energy and a lot of testosterone built up inside of him back then, but the guy’s got to be getting close to 50 now. Hopefully, his comeback will be successful and he can come out there and shock and amaze people like he once did.”

Whether the Internet helps or hurts wrestling: "It’s a double-edged sword. Sometimes it’s great for us. For promotional purposes it’s great. But … putting stuff out there that’s really not needed [such as] locker room talk getting up on the Internet – that kind of stuff is really not what we’re made up of. I think that part of the game has really changed, but you have to know how to change and go along with the program, as well.”

Ric Flair’s retirement angle: “It was great. The buildup to it – just debating whether he was going to lose or not – was really great. And then for him to go out and have a great match with one of the true greatest workers of all time, Shawn Michaels, it was great. It was a memorable match; it was something that you just had to see. It’s time for him to make that step to the next stage of life. Ric Flair has done it, and he’s done it well. He’s the ambassador of professional wrestling. He’s the greatest professional wrestler of all time.”

The Hulk Hogan-Nick Hogan tapes being made public: “That’s the Internet world we’re living in. You have to watch what you say [and] you have to watch what you do no matter who you are. … I feel like that’s a self issue as far as watching your own back and saying things like that. And if you say things like that, you’re going to get burned sooner or later. That’s what’s happening right now. But if the tape is authentic, what kind of person are you? You have to look at it from a lot of different ways.”

Working with Sting again: “It’s been great working with Sting. … Sting has been one of the true greats of the business. He’s been a man’s man about the business. He’s been the only one who didn’t go to WWE and stayed true to who he is. And people still love him. I’m in TNA perhaps because of Sting and a couple other guys who spoke up for me before I got there. I didn’t expect to just ride in on who I was or how many titles I had or anything like that. If you’re not a person of your word and people don’t like you, you’re not going to get anywhere in this business.”

The mix of veterans and young guys in the locker room: “It’s great. The first thing I did when I got to TNA was call a meeting. I had a meeting with every young guy on the talent roster just to let them know exactly why I was there. I’m there to help those guys and to make TNA better. I’m not there to step on any toes. I’m not a big star; I don’t look at myself like that. I’ll let other people look at me like that (laughs). It’s just great to be working with the third generation of wrestlers, and hopefully I can help them and teach them as much as I can. .. It’s really not about me; it’s about them. Those guys are the ones who are going to be doing it the next 10 years.”

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)
        

We all knew it was just a matter of time before WWE champion Triple H defended the title against John Cena, but I thought a match between the two biggest stars in WWE would be held off until SummerSlam. That’s why I kept thinking that JBL was going to defeat Cena and begin a feud with Triple H.

The decision makers in WWE, however, have decided to forgo any transitional programs to get right to the marquee match-up. Cena defeated Jeff Hardy in a No. 1 contender’s match last night on Raw to earn a title shot against Triple H at the Night of Champions pay-per-view on June 29.

While some will say that Triple H-Cena is nothing that we haven’t already seen, it seems to me like enough time has passed to revisit their rivalry. It’s been more than two years since Cena retained the title against Triple H at WrestleMania 22.

As of now, this is a match-up of two babyfaces, although it might not stay that way. We keep hearing that Triple H is itching to go heel, but I’ve said time and again that I think a Cena heel turn could possibly give WWE the jolt it’s searching for.

As for Cena’s match against Hardy last night, their first-ever meeting turned out to be a very good TV main event that had the crowd popping. I really hope all the Cena bashers who think that he can’t work were watching.

Other thoughts on last night’s show:

I wrote in yesterday’s recap of One Night Stand that I hoped Hardy wouldn’t show up on Raw none the worse for wear after he hit a Swanton Bomb off an 18-wheeler, supposedly landing on Umaga on concrete. Of course, Hardy was perfectly fine last night, as he nearly defeated Cena. At least Umaga had his ribs taped. …

Speaking of selling injuries, it was a nice touch for JBL to have red marks on his neck after being choked out with a chain by Cena on Sunday night. …

When discussing the reasons for why he is giving away money on Raw, Mr. McMahon, who isn’t playing a heel during the Mr. McMahon’s Million Dollar Mania segments, never mentioned the word “ratings,” but he did say that he was trying to lure old fans who no longer watch Raw, as well as people who wouldn’t normally watch wrestling. …

I’m not sure where the Cena-Mickie James story line is going, but it has my interest – as would just about anything that involves James. Cena drinking JBL’s Mamajuana drink was pretty funny. If Cena does turn bad, perhaps he will dump the extremely likable James to get heat. …

Chris Jericho is technically still a babyface, but he is becoming more and more of an enigma. Last night, he was about to attack JBL with a chair, but just like last week when he had Shawn Michaels in a vulnerable position, Jericho put down the chair and walked away. The crowd booed him for doing so. …

A program between Mr. Kennedy and Paul Burchill is at least is something different. There’s little doubt that Kennedy eventually will become a major star, but I think Burchill just might have a nice future, as well. …

I wish there would have been a backstage segment with James and Melina explaining why they would be teaming together given their history. They could have just said something about not liking each other but joining forces to fight common enemies. Maybe WWE felt it was self-explanatory. …

I like Trevor Murdoch’s singing redneck gimmick, but it’s not getting him over as a babyface. The fans still boo every time he sings. Losing clean to Lance Cade won’t help him get over either. …

I could be reading too much into this, but I think there could be something to the speculation that a young heel faction will be formed with Ted DiBiase Jr. and possibly Cody Rhodes among its members. Hardcore Holly was upset with Rhodes backstage after they lost a non-title match against Santino Marella and Carlito. Ted DiBiase Jr. then confronted Rhodes after Holly stormed out.

When DiBiase and his mystery partner face Holly and Rhodes for the tag-team title in three weeks, I think it would make for a good angle if the mystery partner turns out to be Rhodes and the two of them attack Holly. DiBiase could pin Holly to win the title and then choose Rhodes to be his partner. Just a thought. …

It’s always good to see Marella win a match. You have to love how he does the marching band over-the-top celebration every time he gets a victory, while Carlito remains cool and just looks at him like he’s an idiot. Hopefully, Cousin Sal won’t end Marella’s winning streak at one this Friday on Smackdown.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (24)
        

WWE promised extreme action last night, and it delivered a very strong pay-per-view show in which a wrestling legend lost what was advertised as a career-threatening match, while another major star suffered a significant injury.

Edge defeated The Undertaker in a fantastic TLC match to capture the vacant world heavyweight title and – according to the match stipulations – permanently banish Undertaker from WWE.

Meanwhile WWE announced after the show that Randy Orton legitimately suffered a broken left collarbone when he landed awkwardly on a bump over the top rope during his loss to WWE champion Triple H. It is unclear how long Orton will be out of action.

Undertaker losing certainly was a surprise, although I am glad to see Edge as champion again. I actually thought Edge was getting the belt back at Judgment Day two weeks ago, but I flip-flopped for One Night Stand and predicted an Undertaker win because of the career-threatening stipulation. In other words, like a true flip-flopper, I voted for Edge before I voted against him.

I’m sure most fans – myself included – don’t believe that this is the end for Undertaker. We’ve all seen countless retirement and loser-leaves matches in which the wrestler sent packing eventually returns. It’s what we’ve come to expect.

However, knowing the reputation of Mark Callaway for being a no-nonsense man’s man, it’s conceivable that he would want to go out the way he seemingly did last night – with little fanfare and by putting over a guy in his prime who is one of the company’s top stars moving forward.

But, like I said, I don’t really believe he’s gone for good. A more likely scenario is that Undertaker, who is 46 and has been banged up for years, is taking an extended hiatus. If and when he is brought back, hopefully there will be a very good explanation, but I doubt that anyone will really care if there isn’t one. Fans will just be happy to see him back, just like they were with Mick Foley. I’m still waiting for someone to tell me why Foley is allowed to wrestle after he lost a retirement match to Triple H in 2000.

It also should be pointed out that the stipulation for last night's match called for the end of Undertaker's WWE career -- not his wrestling career -- if he lost. That means he could show up at the Impact Zone next week. Yes, that was a joke.

As for Orton, losing him for any length of time will be a big blow. Over the past year, Orton has consistently been one of the top heels and best all-around performers in the business.

Here’s a match-by-match look at last night’s show:

Edge defeated The Undertaker in a TLC match to win the vacant world heavyweight title: Based on how good their past three matches on pay-per-view have been, this was everything one would expect of a TLC match between these two. The only thing I didn’t like about the match was that Undertaker took too many unprotected chair shots to the head. They’re just not necessary. Early in the match, the combatants set up two tables on top of two others on the floor, but nothing came of it at that point. As the match proceeded to be fought outside as well as inside the ring amid a flurry of run-ins and high-impact spots with tables, ladders and chairs, I never forgot about those four tables ominously sitting there.

After more than 20 minutes of action, Edge pushed the ladder over while Undertaker was near the top, sending “The Dead Man” flying over the top rope and through the four tables. It was an awesome spot, but as Edge began climbing the ladder, I kept waiting for Undertaker to do his trademark rising-from-the-dead thing. But he never moved, as Edge grabbed the belt and a hush fell over the crowd. It was a stunning finish, and it was sold as such by Edge, Undertaker and announcers Michael Cole and Mick Foley.

WWE champion Triple H defeated Randy Orton in a last man standing match: The first 10 minutes were intense, as these two seemed well on their way to a memorable match. But then Orton took a nasty spill, landing badly on his left shoulder after being tossed over the top rope. He immediately grabbed his shoulder and mouthed an expletive. When the referee checked on him, the audio picked up Orton telling him that he broke his collarbone.

Orton, clearly in pain, seemed content at that point to stay down for the 10-count, but Triple H picked him up just before the referee got to nine. That made no sense in the context of the match, but Jim Ross tried to explain it as Triple H wanting “payback for old dues.” Triple H then called an audible and knocked out Orton with a sledgehammer shot, and the match ended anti-climactically at around the 13-minute mark. If Orton hadn’t gotten hurt, the match probably would have gone another 5-10 minutes.

Batista defeated Shawn Michaels in a stretcher match: As far as stretcher matches go, this was pretty good. What stands out is how strongly Batista was put over. He dominated the latter stages of the contest and appeared to have the match won a couple times before Chris Jericho showed up and prevented it. It was strange that Batista didn’t get upset at Jericho’s interference. Jericho tried to motivate a lifeless Michaels to fight back, but Michaels had no fight left in him, and Batista eventually finished him off. It will be interesting to see what the next chapter will be in this three-way story line. I’m hoping that Batista’s role in it is over, and now we will get to a Jericho-Michaels feud.

John Cena defeated JBL in a first blood match: They had a good brawl, but the ending was a bit unsatisfying. After Cena and JBL hit each other over the head with all kinds of objects and failed to draw blood – which actually shows how ridiculous pro wrestling is if you think about it – Cena won the match when JBL began spitting up blood while Cena was choking him with a chain. Personally, I think a first blood match should end with someone really bleeding, not someone doing a Gene Simmons impersonation. I’m surprised that JBL didn’t win, because with the first blood stipulation, he could have gotten credit for a victory over Cena without Cena having to get pinned. I don’t know why WWE brought JBL back if he isn’t going to get a run as a main-eventer.

Jeff Hardy defeated Umaga in a falls count anywhere match: This wasn’t as good as the famous Chris Benoit-Kevin Sullivan falls-count-anywhere match that I saw live at the Baltimore Arena in 1996, but it still was entertaining. They brawled outside the ring, backstage, near the concession and merchandise stands and, finally, in the parking lot. One fun spot backstage saw Hardy slide down the railing on a staircase into a cross-body block on Umaga. Once outside, Hardy again performed one of his daredevil dives, as he did a Swanton Bomb off an 18-wheeler. Reminiscent of Hardy’s plunge off a scaffold onto Randy Orton back in January, the landing was not shown on camera, although the idea was that they were on concrete. I sure hope Hardy and Umaga don’t appear on Raw tonight without a scratch on them.

Big Show defeated Tommy Dreamer, Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison and CM Punk in a Singapore cane match: Before the match began, Mike Adamle said that John Morrison had the body of Adonis. I’m assuming that he wasn’t talking about Adrian Adonis. During the match, Adamle also said that Big Show was hitting Punk like a schoolboy. He must have gone to Catholic school.

Once the bell rang, Big Show immediately was attacked by the other four competitors, which was a logical strategy. He later bled hardway, suffering a deep gash above his left eye after hitting his head on the ring steps. The blood added to the intensity, as a seething Big Show destroyed everybody before pinning Dreamer with one foot. This was a violent match – those cane shots don’t tickle – and Show again was put over as a monster. So, now we have Big Show vs. Kane for the ECW title at the Night of Champions pay-per-view in four weeks. That match-up is quite a contrast to all those ECW titles matches we saw between Morrison and Punk, and Punk and Guerrero.

At one point in the match last night, San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was seated in the front row, got physically involved. After being accidentally whacked with the cane by Guerrero, Merriman hit him back after being handed a cane by Punk. I’m assuming this was just a cameo by Merriman and not the start of an angle. He’d probably have a hard time complying with the Wellness Policy anyway.

Beth Phoenix defeated Melina in an I quit match: With all the extreme rules stipulations, the only real blown spot of the night wasn’t in a match, it was during Melina’s entrance, as one of the paparazzi fell down while he was backing up and clicking away with his camera. This match was a lot better than what I expected. Melina was given a decent amount of offense and she held up her end. She also did a great job of selling while Phoenix was stretching her.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (52)
        

Predictions for tonight’s WWE pay-per-view:

WWE champion Triple H vs. Randy Orton (last man standing match): It has been reported that Orton is listed as WWE champion in advertising for the Night of Champions pay-per-view in four weeks that has leaked out. The thing about WWE booking, though, is that plans change all the time – sometimes even on the day of the show – so I’m still going with Triple H to retain. It would bring the Triple H-Orton feud full circle, as Orton defeated Triple H for the title in a last man standing match in October.

Edge vs. The Undertaker for the vacant world heavyweight title (TLC match): I thought Edge was getting the title back at Judgment Day, but that didn’t happen and now I’m going to be a flip-flopper. When it was announced that Undertaker would have to leave WWE if he lost – and it was stressed that the stipulation meant WWE, not just Smackdown – I think it gave away the finish. Of course, no one really takes loser-leaves stipulations seriously, but I don’t think Undertaker is going to lose in what should be the climax to the program. With the tables, ladders and chairs gimmick, this match could very well steal the show.

Batista vs. Shawn Michaels (stretcher match): Stretcher matches have never been my favorite, but Michaels will likely make it as good as a stretcher match can be. Since Michaels won their first encounter at Backlash, I think this is Batista’s turn to go over. Chris Jericho, the other wrestler in this three-man angle, is not booked for a match on this show. Is this the night he finally turns heel? I could see Jericho costing Michaels the match and Batista not realizing what happened.

John Cena vs. JBL (first blood match): I like JBL in this one, especially because Cena can take the loss here without having to get pinned. A victory by JBL would set him up to face Triple H at Night of Champions.

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga (falls count anywhere match): These two work pretty well together, so I’m expecting a good match. Hardy will win because he needs to be kept strong if WWE plans on getting him back in the title picture.

Big Show vs. Tommy Dreamer vs. Chavo Guerrero vs. John Morrison vs. CM Punk (Singapore cane match): The winner of this match will face Kane for the ECW title at Night of Champions. Dreamer has no shot, and we’ve already seen Kane-Guerrero too many times. Morrison would be a nice surprise, but I don’t see it happening. That leaves Big Show and Punk. I’ve given up trying to figure out how Punk is being booked, and Show almost looks too obvious. Oh well, I’ll go with obvious and pick Show.

Melina vs. Beth Phoenix (I quit match): There’s no way Phoenix is losing this match.

Posted by Kevin Eck at 1:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)