Ring Posts

Q&A with Headbanger Mosh

2009-11-07T05:33:13Z

Chaz Warrington – better known to wrestling fans as Mosh, one half of former WWF tag team champions The Headbangers – will be appearing on Maryland Championship Wrestling’s Legends of Maryland Wrestling show tonight (7 p.m.) at The New Green Room in Dundalk. I conducted a phone interview with Warrington on Friday. How much are you wrestling on the indys these days? I’ve gotten a lot more involved with doing more indy dates over the last five or six months. I just kind of took a hiatus. I started a family – I got married and I have a 5-year-old son. I kind of got the itch back and liked the idea of being able to do some shows on the weekend but still not be gone like I used to be. So are you wrestling mostly on the East Coast? Yeah, East Coast, but kind of wherever. I live down in Florida, so it’s a lot of stuff there. I got a shot coming up in Milwaukee in a few weeks. So it’s just weekend shots here and there. How far into your career were you when you started wrestling on the Maryland independents? It was just before we had signed with WWF. What are some of your memories from those days? A lot of good times. We got hooked up in Maryland because of Axl [Rotten]. Glen [Ruth, aka Headbanger Thrasher] knew Axl from a long time ago and I met Axl when we were in Memphis. Axl brought us in with MEWF [Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation] and from there we kind of broke in. It was just good old-school fun. It was good, fun people who wanted to put on good shows, have a good time, and everyone had the same agenda. There were weekends where after the shows we would go out and hang out, but the main part was that the shows themselves were a lot of fun because everyone had the same objectives. Do you think your time on the Maryland indy scene helped prepare you for going to the next level? Absolutely. My whole career was a learning curve. There were a lot of people there like Axl and others who taught me different things, so that was huge. What are your thoughts on the Legends show and seeing some of the boys you haven’t seen in a while? I’m excited about it. I think it’s going to be fun. That’s one of my favorite parts of being gone for so long and now coming back into the mix – seeing the guys I haven’t seen in so long and sitting their reminiscing and talking about the old days. That’s what I’m really looking forward to besides just being in the ring and in the locker room with the same mix of guys from 10-15 years ago. You were in the WWF during The Attitude Era and The Monday Night Wars when the company really picked up momentum and eventually surpassed WCW. What was it like being in the company at the time? It was fun because, again, the guys in the locker room were fun. Stone Cold had that fun attitude. Undertaker was fun. Bret [Hart] was still there. Owen [Hart] was there, and he was a ribber, he and Davey Boy [Smith]. It just was a really fun atmosphere. Like you said, when I first got there, WCW was winning the war, and as we picked up momentum it made everyone want to go out there and put out an even better product than what WCW was offering. I know you guys worked with The Road Warriors and some other big names in the business during that time. Do you have a favorite memory or match from your time in the WWF? It’s funny you brought up The Road Warriors because that’s one night that was one my fondest memories. It was their first match back and it was our first actual week of doing house shows. Glen and I were going over every night on the house shows. We’re like, “Oh, this is great. We’re on TV. We’re going over, and maybe this is going to be time for us to take another step.” And then we show up to TV and see “Headbangers vs. Legion of Doom.” We’re like, “Well, so much for that.” But Hawk and Animal pulled us aside and said, “Hey, we sat down and talked to Vince [McMahon] for like an hour. He really likes you guys, he’s really high on you guys.” And we’re like, “OK, here we go. We’re getting buttered up before we get squashed.” And they said, “So, that’s why Vince wants us to do a double-countout tonight.” We’re like, “Really?” So we went out there and had an amazing match with them. They got an amazing pop and I had head-to-toe goose bumps when they came out. And then in that same night we found out we were going to be on our first WrestleMania and we found out that we were getting action figures. There were like three things that were huge for us in that one night. Who came up with The Headbangers gimmick? The legendary Jim Cornette. Glen and I were wrestling as The Spiders out in Arkansas. We wanted to go to Smoky Mountain, and Cornette wanted to have us in, but he said that he just didn’t like the whole Spiders thing. He said he didn’t like the masks or anything about it. We were like, “Look, we just want to come. We’ll try whatever.” He came up with the name and then he kind of gave us the idea. He went to a Danzig concert and saw these guys stage diving, which is kind of funny because I love that kind of music and I’ve been to those kinds of concerts, so I knew exactly what he was talking about. I can’t imagine Cornette at a Danzig concert. No, me either. But he was there and he came up with the idea. He said, “You guys are from the Northeast. You have these attitudes. You have the accents.” So he was the one who created it and we started it down in Smoky Mountain. At first we just wore shorts and boots and the Slayer T-shirts – which he brought and gave to us – and from there we went to a thrift store one time to buy some more stuff to wear in the ring, and we were like, “For the hell of it we should just buy skirts and see what kind of reaction we get.” And that’s how the skirts came to be. You and Glen are going to be appearing at the upcoming Baltimore Pro Wrestling Expo together, correct? Yes, it’ll be the first time Glen and I have been together for almost 10 years. I actually spoke to him on the phone [Thursday] for the first time in about three or four years. When you went on your own after The Headbangers, you did the infamous Beaver Cleavage gimmick. It came and went pretty quickly. Is that something you think the WWF should have stuck with? Do you have any idea where it was headed? At that point it was the Attitude Era, and everything they were doing was controversial. The old saying was “even bad press is good press.” They were going to start insinuating that I was having sex with my mother. That’s where the angle was heading. What happened was, as they were kicking that off, that’s when Owen had his accident, that’s when Sable left and filed her sexual harassment lawsuit, so they didn’t want to go that route with it anymore and that’s why it got killed. Everyone was like, “Oh, that was so dumb and so on,” but I’m of the attitude that I was having fun, I was getting paid, I didn’t care. To me it was a good opportunity. I would have been out there by myself and doing my own thing. But it wasn’t mean to be, so no big deal. I’m guessing that Vince Russo came up with that gimmick. I think Russo was involved, but actually where the idea came from was Gerry Brisco. The reason was, the very first passport I ever had, I think I was like 20 or 21 years old when I got it, and Gerry always joked around every time we were on the road that I looked like Beaver Cleaver in my picture. So he would call me that, and that’s when I guess Vince [Russo] came up with the idea of it. So I think it was actually a couple years in the making of people ribbing me and talking to me about it. Do you still keep up on the business? Are you a fan of the current product? Being a fan of the business – that’s tough to say yes or no. I’m a fan of old-school business. I believe in getting in the ring and performing and actually being able to tell a story in a match and not just going out there and flying around and doing a bunch of meaningless high spots. If I’m flipping through the channels and I see somebody I know or that I still talk to, I’ll watch it. If it’s two guys that I really don’t know or the match just doesn’t make sense to me, I can’t watch it and I turn it off. For more information on MCW’s Legends of Maryland Wrestling show, click here. For more information on The Baltimore Pro Wrestling Expo on Nov. 14, click here. ]]>

Dixie Carter lays down the law on TNA Impact

2009-11-07T02:49:47Z

I found the opening segment of Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact to be one of the most compelling things I’ve seen on a wrestling program in a while. In footage recorded in an empty Impact Zone before the tapings began, TNA president Dixie Carter addressed the talent, who were all dressed in street clothes and were out of character. Her message was simple: You’re either with me or you’re against me. Carter said that anyone not on board with the creative direction of the company and the “drastic changes” that she is implementing need to find another place to work. From my understanding, Carter’s speech was a shoot, and it was directed at those in the company who have a reputation for incessant complaining. Making the meeting public definitely sends a strong message. It also conveyed to the fans that Carter is in it for the long haul and is committed to taking TNA to a higher level. It seemed out of place for the meeting to be aired during an episode of Impact, but that is exactly why it was so interesting. Other thoughts on Thursday’s show: Rhino and Team 3D are doing a great job in their roles, but I’m not all that into the story line. The ending to the Team 3D vs. Matt Morgan and Hernandez match didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Morgan and Hernandez were working on Brother Devon’s injured knee, and Brother Ray – after much prompting from Rhino – saved Devon by whacking Morgan and Hernandez with a chair. Afterward, Ray acted guilty about it, like he had no other choice. That’s what I didn’t get. Couldn’t he have made the save without using a chair? ... Daniels was really good on the mic when he was confronting A.J. Styles. I don’t think Daniels has ever looked more like a major player than he did during that segment. Unfortunately for him, he was pinned by Styles later in the show. That comes on the heels of his pinfall loss to Kevin Nash in a tag team match two weeks ago. That sure is an odd way to build up a guy for a pay-per-view world title match. ... One problem that I have with Daniels’ character is that he’s doing the “this company wants to keep me down” act. That’s way overdone in TNA, and it mirrors the motivation for Rhino’s character. ... Samoa Joe is being booked as a cunning heel who is manipulating Styles and Daniels. That’s a lot better than when he was a gullible, hot-headed babyface. ... We now know the person stalking Styles is not Daniels or Joe. Tomko? ... It turns out that Mick Foley didn’t really turn heel after all. He was just trying to bring out the best in Abyss. After Foley saved Abyss from Dr. Stevie last week, I had a feeling they might be going this route. I remember when Mr. Wrestling II and Magnum T.A. did a similar angle in Mid-South back in 1983 – except without the barbed wire baseball bat and thumb tacks. I think the Foley-Abyss angle would have worked better if Foley hadn’t already turned so many times. ... I couldn’t have booked Desmond Wolfe’s win over Cody Deaner any better. Bell rings. Lariat. Three count. Bell rings. ... “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal cutting a promo about Hulk Hogan was pretty entertaining. I’m looking forward to the first face-to-face meeting between the two. ... The Tara-Hamada match was good but too short. Even though Tara won, I thought Hamada was the more impressive of the two. ... I know that Bobby Lashley is being booked as a monster babyface (as he should), but I think it’s questionable to have Homicide get squashed by Lashley when he is facing Amazing Red in an X Divison title match at the Turning Point pay-per-view on Nov. 15. ... ODB had me laughing out loud during that bit with The Beautiful People (or the STD sisters, as ODB called them). Here’s my favorite part of the exchange: ODB: I hear your next leading man is one of the Yankees. Lacey Von Erich: Who, Alex Jeter? ODB: No, yank deez nuts!

Meet The Rock and Roll Express trivia contest: Question 4

2009-11-07T00:36:08Z

When Ricky Morton turned heel in WCW in 1991, what was the name of his manager? The first two people to send the correct answer to kevin.eck@baltsun.com win a backstage meet and greet and photo opportunity with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson at the Adrenaline Championship Wrestling show on Nov. 15 at the Annapolis Boys and Girls Club along with a ticket to the show.]]> Question 3 answer What team managed by Paul Jones upset The Rock and Roll Express for the NWA world tag team title in 1986? Answer: Rick Rude and Manny Fernandez. The first correct response came in on Friday afternoon at 4:22; the second at 4:23. Note: Please remember to e-mail your answer. Answers posted as comments on the blog will not be considered.

Quick hits on WWE Superstars

2009-11-06T23:09:35Z

• A match between two solid veterans who haven’t been in the ring against each other very often (at least not in recent years) highlighted Thursday’s episode of WWE Superstars, as Chris Jericho defeated Finlay in a hard-hitting, entertaining main event. It’s funny how Jericho never loses now that he is going to be in one of the main events at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Nov. 22, but before that he was jobbing to JTG, Kofi Kingston, Christian and Rey Mysterio. recent interview with me, Ross, when discussing Swagger, said: “Every time he gets an outing, whether it’s in the middle of Raw, or the end of Raw, or the beginning of Raw, or on Superstars, or wherever it is, he has to go out and play like it’s the NCAA finals.” • I think Swagger’s winning streak will end up doing more for his career than MVP’s losing streak did for his. • Did Michael Cole actually say that Swagger and Primo have “developed quite a rivalry?” Yeah, it’s just like the rivalry between The Harlem Globetrotters and Washington Generals. • Paul Burchill got a nice decisive victory over Tyler Reks. Reks was busted open hardway, which I believe was the result of a head butt. In keeping with WWE’s no-blood policy, a close-up was never shown and it was only mentioned in passing. ]]>

Meet The Rock and Roll Express trivia contest: Question 3

2009-11-06T21:00:18Z

What team managed by Paul Jones upset The Rock and Roll Express for the NWA world tag team title in 1986? The first two people to send the correct answer to kevin.eck@baltsun.com win a backstage meet and greet and photo opportunity with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson at the Adrenaline Championship Wrestling show on Nov. 15 at the Annapolis Boys and Girls Club along with a ticket to the show.]]> Question 2 answer The Rock and Roll Express wrestled the "new" Midnight Express on a WWE pay-per-view in 1998. What were the names of the two wrestlers the R&R Express faced that night? Answer: Bart Gunn and Bob Holly.The first correct response came in on Thursday night at 8:15; the second at 10:03. Note: Please remember to e-mail your answer. Answers posted as comments on the blog will not be considered.

Meet the Rock and Roll Express trivia contest: Question 2

2009-11-06T00:20:13Z

The Rock and Roll Express wrestled the "new" Midnight Express on a WWE pay-per-view in 1998. What were the names of the two wrestlers the R&R Express faced that night? The first two people to send the correct answer to kevin.eck@baltsun.com win a backstage meet and greet and photo opportunity with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson at the Adrenaline Championship Wrestling show on Nov. 15 at the Annapolis Boys and Girls Club along with a ticket to the show.]]> Question 1 answer Which team did The Rock and Roll Express defeat to win their first NWA world tag team title? I need the names of both wrestlers. Answer: Ivan Koloff and Krusher Kruschev.The first correct response came in at 5:20; the second at 5:26. Note: Please remember to e-mail your answer. Answers posted as comments on the blog will not be considered.

Jeff Hardy update

2009-11-05T23:42:01Z

In case anyone missed it, the drug trafficking case against Jeff Hardy was continued Wednesday in a North Carolina district court, The Fayetteville Observer reported. A probable cause hearing has been rescheduled for Dec. 2. A search of Hardy’s home in Cameron, N.C., on Sept. 11 yielded 262 Vicodin prescription pills, 180 Soma prescription pills, 555 milliliters of anabolic steroids, a residual amount of cocaine and drug paraphernalia. He was charged with felony trafficking in opium, two counts of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule III controlled substance, felony maintaining a dwelling to keep controlled substance, felony possession of cocaine and misdemeanor possession of drug parap

Meet The Rock and Roll Express trivia contest: Question 1

2009-11-05T21:33:43Z

Which team did The Rock and Roll Express defeat to win their first NWA world tag team title? I need the names of both wrestlers. The first two people to send the correct answer to kevin.eck@baltsun.com win a backstage meet and greet and photo opportunity with Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson at the Adrenaline Championship Wrestling show on Nov. 15 at the Annapolis Boys and Girls Club along with a ticket to the show. Please include your name and a daytime phone number along with your answer. Questions two through five will be asked between now and Saturday.

Trivia contest to meet The Rock and Roll Express

2009-11-05T02:17:58Z

Adrenaline Championship Wrestling has arranged a backstage meet and greet with The Rock and Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) for 10 readers of Ring Posts at the Nov. 15 ACW show at the Annapolis Boys and Girls Club. acwprowrestling.biz. ]]>

Quick hits on ECW

2009-11-05T00:00:10Z

• I’m really enjoying the ECW title program between Christian and William Regal. It’s different than a lot of title programs because other challengers are in the mix, and just when you think Christian is done with Regal, he’s not. The verbal interaction between Christian, Regal and Tiffany on Tuesday’s show was good. • The main event that pitted Christian and Yoshi Tatsu against Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson was more about the post-match angle than the match. The way Kozlov and Jackson targeted their attack on Christian’s back, weakening him up for his title match against Regal in England on next week’s show, sure makes it seem that Regal will be winning the belt. We’ll see. • What the heck happened to Tatsu while Christian was being beaten down? He hit a plancha on Jackson on the floor and he just laid there forever. • Had I not read somewhere recently that former TNA talent Lance Hoyt was wrestling under the name Vance Archer in Florida Championship Wrestling, I don’t think I would have recognized him in his short squash victory over an enhancement guy. When Hoyt (who wrestled in TNA under his real name and as Lance Rock in the Rock and Rave Infection) was released by TNA last February, I wrote that he “moves well for a big guy and has a decent look, so I wouldn’t be surprised if WWE showed some interest.” So WWE ends up signing him to a developmental deal and, of course, changes his look – and not for the better, in my opinion. What is it with WWE always making guys with long hair (Test, Christian, Billy Kidman, Zack Ryder, Kevin Thorn, Frankie Kazarian, etc.) get the cookie-cutter short-hair look? Kazarian reportedly refused to cut his hair, which is why he was out almost immediately after he came in. • I thought the backstage segment with Zack Ryder fantasizing about Rosa Mendes was pretty funny. Mendes is much smoother on the mic than she is in the ring. • The Ryder-Shelton Benjamin match was good while it lasted (about four minutes), even though Benjamin winning because Ryder was distracted by Mendes, who was sitting at ringside, was predictable. • Another program that I like is the one between The Hurricane and Paul Burchill. It appears that it will come to a conclusion with their match on next week’s show. If Burchill wins, Hurricane has to unmask. If Hurricane wins, Burchill and Katie Lea have to leave ECW. My first thought was that Hurricane will win and the Burchills will end up on either Raw or Smackdown. Then I took a look at the rosters for those two shows and realized that Burchill would probably just end up as a jobber to the stars, so he’d be better off staying put. Hopefully, Hurricane will lose and go back to being just Gregory Helms, and Paul Burchill will get a push in ECW.

Ric Flair cuts a promo on Hulk Hogan

2009-11-04T21:20:18Z

Here’s a promo from Ric Flair to promote his series of matches against Hulk Hogan on the upcoming Hulkamania Australian tour. I find it kind of sad.

It’s vintage Ozzy on Raw

2009-11-04T00:10:21Z

As a matter of full disclosure and before you read any further, I confess to being a big Ozzy Osbourne fan. I still have my ticket stub from the first time I saw Ozzy in concert in 1982 at The Baltimore Civic Center (and the most recent time I saw him live last year at Verizon Center in Washington). So while Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne’s stint as guest hosts on Raw Monday admittedly wasn’t great, I always find Ozzy entertaining, and being both an Ozzy fan and a wrestling fan, I thought it was cool to see the two entities cross paths. Sure, Ozzy called Evan Bourne “Evan Braun,” a flub that is even funnier since it’s so close to his own name, but being clueless and speaking in an unintelligible manner is a big part of Ozzy’s shtick (it is a shtick, isn’t it?). Plus, the way Bourne has been booked as a jobber as of late, it seems fitting that his name would be mispronounced. It’s certainly not as bad as Cowboy Thorton, Kofi Johnston and Summerfest. As for the the “Raw’s Got Talent” segment, it did fall a bit flat, but Chris Masters’ pecs keeping time with the Ozzy classic “Crazy Train” was hilarious. Masters’ chest has more personality than he does. Sharon constantly saying “really” in the opening segment was “really” annoying, and I was expecting more from Ozzy’s interaction with Chris Jericho. I can’t believe there was no mention of Fozzy. As you can see, Monday’s show could have been better. But for all the little negatives, there was one big positive: The freakin’ “Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne, was on Raw! One last thought on Ozzy: A live performance by him and his band would have really added to the show. In fact, I don’t know why WWE wouldn’t have all of its musical guest hosts perform. Other thoughts on Monday’s show: The non-title triple threat main event between WWE champion John Cena, Jericho and The Big Show was average at best. You can see that WWE is making an effort to restore Jericho’s credibility since he is challenging for the world heavyweight title at the Survivor Series pay-per-view on Nov. 22. After pinning Kane on Smackdown Friday, he pinned Cena on Raw and then laid out Triple H after the match. Sure, it was Big Show who actually did the damage on Cena and Triple H, but whatever. At least Jericho is winning matches again. ... It was funny how Shawn Michaels and Triple H both remarked about being yelled out and instructed what to say by as voice in their headsets while doing commentary during the main event, obvious shots at Vince McMahon and his reputation for being overbearing with the commentators during the broadcast. ... Sheamus’ powerbomb on Jamie Noble outside the ring was sick. Noble is crazy for taking that bump. It’s clear that the powers that be in WWE are going to do everything possible to get Sheamus over. At least for now, I’m not sold him being an impact player. We all want to see new stars being created, but Sheamus would not be my first choice. ... When the Randy Orton-Kofi Kingston match was announced for the show, I didn’t really expect it to happen, so I wasn’t surprised when it was turned into a six man with Ted DiBiase Jr. and Cody Rhodes joining Orton, and MVP and Mark Henry joining Kingston. It would be crazy not to wait until Survivor Series to do Orton-Kingston. ... The crowd was hot for the six-man, and Kingston, MVP and Henry got nice pops. The babyfaces going over was a good call. ... The Miz-Bourne match was good. Even though Bourne lost again, he did look like more of a threat than he has as of late. It’s a shame that Bourne isn’t being used better, but Miz winning here was the right call. Miz definitely is on the rise. ... And so it continues: Gail Kim was the first one eliminated in a six-woman battle royal to determine the No. 1 contender for Melina’s WWE Divas title. It wasn’t like wrestlers the caliber of Mickie James, Beth Phoenix and Natalya were in the match, either. The other five participants were Alicia Fox (who won), Kelly Kelly, Eve and The Bella Twins. I’m convinced Kim is going to turn on Kelly Kelly. ... Hornswoggle dressed up as Jack Osbourne was funny. He actually showed a lot of guts getting so close to Ozzy. Back in the ’80s, Ozzy’s theatrical stage show involved doing some bad things to little people. I’m sure a lot of fans wouldn’t have minded seeing Ozzy do them to Hornswoggle.

Hulk Hogan’s impact on TNA Impact’s rating

2009-11-02T23:30:31Z

Did all the media attention surrounding the announcement of Hulk Hogan’s business arrangement with TNA make a difference in the ratings for this past Thursday’s episode of TNA Impact? Yes and no. The rating for the show was a 1.3, which equals its best-ever rating (although it was not a company record for most viewers). During the first four weeks of October, Impact did between a 0.9 and 1.1. Impact also had its best showing among males 18-49 and males 18-34 since April. That’s the good news, especially since the show was going head to head with the World Series between the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. However, when the ratings are broken down, the final segment, which showed clips of the news conference in which Hogan’s signing was announced – and had been hyped the entire show – was part of the lowest-rated quarter of the episode, according to prowrestling.net. The drop in the final quarter hour notwithstanding, I think Hogan’s presence on the show – whether he’s actually in the Impact Zone or not – will continue to translate into ratings above Impact's usual level. Obviously, more eyeballs on the show is a good thing. The key to whether the partnership with Hogan ultimately helps the company grow, however, depends on the direction TNA goes in creatively now that they have more people watching. If Impact becomes The Hulk Hogan Show at the expense of younger guys such as Matt Morgan and A.J. Styles, the Hogan deal will end up doing more harm than good. Hogan has the ability to give those guys a rub, but he also needs to know when it’s time to get out of their way and not try to overshadow them.

Stacy Keibler sinks Michael Phelps in Baltimore Celebrity Smackdown

2009-11-02T22:26:03Z

Former WWE diva, Rosedale native and “Dancing with the Stars” contestant Stacy Keibler waltzed to the finals of baltimoresun.com’s Celebrity Smackdown with a decisive victory over record-setting Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps. click here. Voting ends Sunday night. ]]>

Comment of the Week

2009-11-02T09:54:23Z

The featured Ring Posts comment of the past week comes from Sebastian Pex, who wrote the following Sunday in response to the entry "Hulkamania runs wild on TNA Impact.”]]> The best part of the Hogan presser was when he arrogantly alluded that this was just like the last time he "switched gears" and joined another company and made it dominant. Really? That last company (that was infinitely bigger than TNA) that Hogan helped? The one that imploded five years after Hogan came, hundreds of millions of dollars in debt, and sold to Vince McMahon for pennies? THAT'S the benchmark? I will select the Ring Posts Comment of the Week every Monday.