Q&A #1

Wrestling's Past Q&A #1

Thanks to everyone who tweeted questions for the Q&A. We aim to make it a regular thing. Hope you enjoy.

Jack C Winsley @winsleytowers: Probably get asked a lot but best match of all time? Split between HHH vs Cactus Jack or Mankind vs Undertaker.

Very difficult question. I’ve thought about it a lot and having watched a ridiculous amount of matches over the last 25 years I can’t think of one that was better than Shawn Michaels versus The Undertaker at Wrestlemania 25 so I’ll go with that.

Boris @bogga100:  Giant Gonzales. Greatest big man ever? Discuss.

I have to say if I was making a shortlist of worst wrestlers of all time, Giant Gonzalez/El Gigante would definitely be on the list. He was very impressive to look at but was unable to do very much in the ring at all. Depending on your definition of “big man” I would say The Undertaker as he was over 300lbs and 6’10”. Going up another level in size you have Bam Bam Bigelow, Vader, The Big Show/The Giant or Andre The Giant when he was more agile in the 70s and early 80s.

Boris @bogga100: How old were you when you finally accepted it's just a show? Be honest!

Not sure exactly. It wasn’t an instant thing but more of a gradual realisation. I remember talking with my friends at school after watching a particular show and saying things like, “I know some of it is fake but that bit was real!” 14 years old maybe?

Aidan Cronin @aidancronin4: Is there anywhere u can watch the old fights? Or is it just YouTube?

Well the obvious first and that is buying the DVDs. Tagged Classic DVDs are the best way of seeing the older WWF PPVs for example. Places like You Tube are good as you say. The WWE Network is rumoured to be coming to the UK soon and that will feature a load of vintage shows also.

Mr Spud @MrSpud1: 80s The Sheep Herders did they exist? If so what happened to them?

They did exist. The Sheepherders (or The Kiwi Sheepherders) was the former name of The Bushwackers, Luke Williams and Butch Miller. Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan also wrestled as the New Sheepherders in the 80s, and Williams and Boyd teamed under the Sheepherder name in the absence of Miller. In contrast to the comedic value of The Bushwackers, The Sheepherders were a much more serious team. The Bushwackers are now retired. Morgan lives in New Zealand and Boyd passed away in 1999.

Paul @fasteddiefalco: Why isn't Haku given more recognition?

Well we gave him a shout out on his birthday, does that count? Haku, real name Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita was, according to many of his peers, legitimately one of the toughest men in the industry. He started in the WWF as King Tonga before becoming one half of “The Islanders” with Tama. He also wrestled as Meng in WCW.

Dbroda doubleking @cog_doubleking: Pls what is going wit CM Punk? I wanna see him in d ring
Haider Farooq @haider82uk:  Where is CM Punk?? And when is he coming bk??

Well CM Punk walked out on WWE the night after this year’s Royal Rumble. According to who you listen to he either walked out because he was upset with the direction of his character, didn’t want to face Triple H at Wrestlemania, was unhappy with the WWE Network and how it would affect his PPV bonuses, or he was simply burned out. Nobody knows the full story and it’s being kept very quiet. Chances are something will be worked out and he’ll be back in a WWE ring again soon. Then again, maybe he’ll never return.

Jason Dunn @dunny8376:  Where is the Doctor of Style, Slick, nowadays???

I believe he is a Church Minister. He has made a few special appearances back in WWE such as Raw 1000 in 2012 when he played the part of the Reverend in Daniel Bryan and AJ Lee’s wedding. I thought he was brilliant by the way.

Ben Devonshire @Devstheoriginal: Greatest WWF tag team?

Difficult one. My personal favourites are the British Bulldogs, the Hart Foundation and The Rockers.

Dan Brown @eeezagood: What happened to Texas Tornado? 1 of my old favourites.

Kerry Von Erich passed away on February 18 1993. He died as a result of a self inflicted gunshot to the chest aged 33. Kerry had recently gone through a divorce and was about to be arrested on a drugs charge. He was already on 10 year’s probation for another drug conviction and this time he was likely going to be jailed with a lengthy sentence. According to his father he suffered with an addition to pain killers after having his foot amputated in 1986 and never recovered. The fact that he wrestled with a prosthetic foot was kept a secret from most until his death in 1993.

Joe Poulton @PublicspeechJoe: Who has more wwe wwf championship belt wins Hulk Hogan or John Cena?

John Cena has had more WWE Championship reigns with 11 to Hogan’s 6. However Cena’s total days as WWE Champion amounts to 1191 compared with Hogan’s 2185.

KH @slimshandy808: Do you think certain wrestlers (Cena, cough cough) having certain creative control ruins events/storylines.

I don’t believe John Cena does have creative control in his contract. Even if he did he wouldn’t need to use it. For better or worse, as the WWE’s main star he is always favourably treated.

Jake Walsh @JakeWalsh95: What is your all time favourite #WrestleMania?

For me it’s a toss up between Wrestlemania 17 and Wrestlemania 19.

Dale Clements @Mr__Dale:  What are your top 5 royal rumble moments?

Difficult to pick out individual moments so I'll give you my top five Royal Rumbles. In no particular order, 1990 won by Hulk Hogan, 1992 won by Ric Flair, 1997 won by Steve Austin, 2002 won by Triple H, 2007 won by The Undertaker.

Oviedo Baby @gary_1980:  Austin or The Rock ?

I was a big fan of both. Stone Cold Steve Austin was the bigger star in the wrestling world, but The Rock became a bigger star in the mainstream. Personally I had a slight preference for The Rock.

Ricki187 @ricki187187:  Was Tatanka really of traditional Indian heritage?

Yes. Tatanka, real name Chris Chavis, is legitimately of Native American descent. He was born in Pembroke, North Carolina the home of the Lumbee Native American Tribe.

Bryan Horswell @BHorswell: What is your favourite Undertaker match from Wrestlemania?

His match with Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 25.

It’s MY Arsenal Opinion @ARSENALDvbrisG: Favourite Wrestlemania Main Event? Mine are Hogan/Mr T tag match, Ironman Match Brett v HBK, and Undertaker v HBK.

If we determine “Main Event” as the match that goes on last then I would go with The Rock versus Stone Cold Steve Austin from Wrestlemania 17, Triple H versus Chris Benoit versus Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 20 and Undertaker versus Shawn Michaels from Wrestlemania 26.

Ghostface  @GhostFace150:  Did Lex Luger really have a steel plate in his arm?

Yes. He was involved in a motorcycle accident and had a steel plate inserted during surgery. For storyline purposes it was used as the reason why he was able to knock out opponents so easily.

Chris Georgiou @thegeospur: Know where I can purchase some of Ravishing Rick Rude's trousers? They were boss.

If you mean his in-ring gear, then no. I do know that he had them specially designed so unless his family auction them off at some point then you're out of luck.

Luca @boomer_blink182:  Is Vampiro from WCW in a rock band? And who r they?

For a short time he was a member of a hip-hop group called Dark Lotus. I can’t say I’ve ever heard any of their music. On another semi-related note he was once a bodyguard for pop group Milli Vanilli.

Dean Rabson @deanorab1981:  Whatever happened to Paul Bearer’s urn?

The original urn disappeared (not literally) after its "power" escaped during The Undertaker’s casket match with Yokozuna at the Royal Rumble in 1994. Paul Bearer returned with a new jumbo sized urn at Summerslam of the same year. That one was then stolen by Kama and melted down into a chain which Kama wore. Bearer then had another urn after that and I think he had yet another when he returned in 2004.

Ghostface @GhostFace150:  How many different snakes did Jake use during his time in WWF/WWE?

Officially four I believe. Pythons Damien and Lucifer, the cobra used in the angle with Randy Savage and Revelation, the bright yellow snake from his run in 1996.

Stuart Akister @StuartAkister:  Will Stone Cold Steve Austin ever return?

Ryan Shepherd @shepaldinho Will Stone Cold ever return?

As a wrestler? Extremely unlikely. By all accounts Austin is very happy with his life away from professional wrestling. There is always talk around Wrestlemania time that he may return for one more match, but as the years go by the likelihood of that ever decreases. He retired in 2003 due to the condition of his neck so the chances of him making a return to the ring eleven years later are pretty much nonexistent. If you need a dose of Stone Cold check out his podcast, it’s great.

Donnie Lucente @donlucente:  What is the best behind the scenes real feud fans know little about?

I could probably write a book on just the ones that I know about! Here’s a few you can look up off the top of my head… Bret Hart/Shawn Michaels, Iron Shiek/B. Brian Blair, Mr.T/Rowdy Roddy Piper, Matt Hardy/Edge, Jeff Jarrett/Kurt Angle, Bruno Sammartino/Vince McMahon, Ric Flair/Bret Hart, Ric Flair/Mick Foley, Hulk Hogan/Randy Savage, Arn Anderson/Sid Vicious, Ric Flair/Eric Bischoff, Jim Cornette/Vince Russo, Bret Hart/Vince McMahon. One of the most tragic ones was the death of Bruiser Brody which you should also look up. There are countless others.

Robert Mehew @robertmehew:  Injuries aside in 1991, should Mr Perfect have won the WWF championship?

He was never scheduled to as far as I’m aware. Perfect had a feud with Hulk Hogan in later 1989/early 1990 over the WWF Championship but that was as close as he came. As a big fan of Curt Hennig I would have loved to see him as WWF Champion but the truth is, at that time there were better candidates who were bigger draws. If he didn’t suffer a serious back injury in 1991 then who knows what would’ve happened. Hennig was a first class worker and an amazing athlete but sadly he was never the same after the injury.

Faizul Islam @FaizanFaizul:  Why Rey Mysterio was wearing mask?

The mask is a very important part of a Mexican wrestler’s identity and is a big part of the tradition of Mexican wrestling or Lucha Libre. Mysterio removed the mask for the first time in his career in February 1999 in WCW and continued to wrestle unmasked until he signed for WWE in 2002. His decision to wear the mask again angered a lot of fans in Mexico as it went against the Lucha Libre tradition.

 

@wrestlingspast

 

Looking Back At: Wrestlemania 8

I recently watched the WWE's True Story of Wrestlemania and something stood out and bothered me about it. Well a couple of things bothered me actually. One being that the feature came across more of a ‘Best of’ rather than telling us, as the title suggests, the ‘True Story of’. If anybody is going to watch it, then the feature on Wrestlemania 9 is probably the best part as far as giving you a real insight. The other thing that bugged me was the way they portrayed Wrestlemania 8. They were very down on the show which I found quite strange considering it was one of the better events of the first decade of Wrestlemania's, certainly from an in-ring standpoint. I thought maybe I was looking at the show through rose tinted spectacles because it was one of my favourites as a kid so I decided to stick the DVD in and give it another watch.

First things first, the show was in the Hoosier Dome and any time a Wrestlemania is held in a large arena with over 60,000 fans on hand then it seems like a big show from the get-go. Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby "The Brain" Heenan were on commentary for what I consider to be their best effort as an announce duo. Heenan in particular was at the top of his game during this period, while Monsoon had such a great voice and a style which added so much drama to the action in the ring. Opening match duties went to Tito Santana and Shawn Michaels, who had recently joined the singles ranks after his famous bust up with Marty Jannetty. The match was very good with Michaels, the young arrogant heel managing to withstand the onslaught of the veteran who was having a little bit of resurgence under the "El Matador" guise. The finish was a bit soft though as Santana, trying to slam Michaels back into the ring from the apron fell back as Michaels held onto the top rope and that was enough for a three count. Still, it was the correct result as they tried to push Michaels as a future contender for the Intercontinental Title.

The Legion of Doom appeared for an interview with Mean Gene Okerlund. They didn't wrestle on the card due to Hawk’s suspension. They didn't say a lot of note. I guess it was just a way to introduce Paul Ellering to the WWF fans. Next up was The Undertaker versus Jake "The Snake" Roberts, minus the snake which had been barred from ringside following the shocking angle where Randy Savage was bitten by a cobra. This match was nothing more than a glorified squash as Roberts did the honours on his way out of the WWF. The Undertaker survived two DDTs before hitting Roberts with an extremely safe looking Tombstone Piledriver on the outside of the ring. Perhaps they should have shot that from a different angle. Anyway, Taker rolls Jake back inside for an easy three count. Basic action really as most early Undertaker matches were due to his zombie-like gimmick.

The same could not be said of the Intercontinental Title bout which was a classic as Rowdy Roddy Piper defended the title against friend and former champion Bret "Hitman" Hart. Piper was magnificent in the pre-match interview also. The all-babyface affair started out exactly as that but as the match wore on, Piper began to resort to heelish underhanded tactics as he looked to retain the only singles title he would ever have in the WWF. Hart bladed in the match but managed to convince Vince McMahon that the blood was caused accidentally, something Ric Flair would not get away with later on the card as he was fined heavily for blading right on camera. The action was back and forth with Piper getting increasingly more desperate as Hart refused to be beaten. "This is a hell of a match" proclaimed Heenan. The end came as the referee took a bump allowing Piper to bring the ring bell into the match with ideas of finishing Hart by any means necessary. Piper began to have second thoughts as the crowd turned on him before finally breaking out into cheers as he tossed the weapon away. It would be the end for Piper though as Hart countered the sleeper into a pinning combination to take the championship. It was all smiles at the finish as Hot Rod presented the title to the Hitman for a happy ending.

After watching Lex Luger drink a glass of milk (?) and talk about the WBF we get to the 8-man tag team match, the highlight of which may be Family Feud Host Ray Combs slagging off the heel team before the bout. The match itself was ok for what it was with Virgil, the Big Boss Man, Sgt Slaughter and Hacksaw Jim Duggan defeating The Mountie, Repo Man and The Nasty Boys.

Next was the match of the night as Macho Man Randy Savage challenged Ric Flair for the WWF Championship in a heated belter. The story was Flair had been claiming the love of Elizabeth and had even gone so far as to photoshop himself into pictures with her to prove it. Savage played the enraged husband brilliantly as he charged to the ring to pound the Nature Boy. The tide of the bout turned as Mr. Perfect, who was Flair's Executive Consultant, nailed Savage in his knee with a chair and continued to get himself involved in the match. Savage sold the knee injury fabulously as he would many times throughout the year. Elizabeth stormed out to the ring as various WWF officials tried to prevent her from doing so. If you look closely you'll see one of them is none other than a young Shane McMahon. With Flair distracted by Elizabeth's appearance, Savage surprised Flair with a roll-up and a handful of trunks to win the title. It all kicked off after the bout as Flair forced a kiss on Elizabeth causing the Macho Man to go ballistic! Finally things calmed down and Randy and Elizabeth stood victorious in the ring as the fireworks went off in the Hoosier Dome. The Savage-Flair feud was far from over though. The post match interview with Flair, Perfect and Heenan was fantastic.

As everyone in the arena tried to calm themselves after the "Macho/Flair Affair", Tatanka made his PPV debut and defeated "The Model" Rick Martel in a short, straight-forward match-up. Like the opener it was designed to help establish the younger talent as the Federation began to look towards the future. Next up was Money Inc. against The Natural Disasters for the Tag Team Championship in a poor match up. At one stage in the bout Typhoon inexplicably fell down the wrong way from a double clothesline! Just as Earthquake was about to finish IRS off, Ted DiBiase and Jimmy Hart pulled him from the ring and decided to head home with the belts. Yes, that was the finish. It was designed to gain more heat for the tag champs but an ending like that is not good enough for a title match at Wrestlemania. Just before the second half of the "Double Main Event" Owen Hart faced Skinner in a quick, throwaway match. Owen was cheap-shotted before the bell, didn't get a single offensive move in but kicked out of Skinner's finisher and beat him with a roll-up. All in just over a minute! Bad night for Steve Keirn.

Finally came the showdown between Hulk Hogan and Sid Justice. It was billed as Hogan's 'Farewell Match' as they teased the retirement of pro wrestling's biggest star. In reality Hogan was being moved out of the spotlight as the steroid scandal was about to hit the WWF hard and due to his stature the Hulkster was going to take the brunt of it. This match came about as Sid had the audacity to eliminate Hulk from the Royal Rumble and Hogan took exception to it. Sid then turned into a lunatic, a part which he played very well. Hogan made his entrance to a booming ovation and looked to have a tear in his eye perhaps taken aback by the response. The match itself wasn't very good but as usual for a Hulk Hogan match, the crowd created a great atmosphere. Hogan sold for most of the bout and made his trademark comeback at the end. The only trouble was as Hogan hit the leg drop the pin fall was supposed to be interrupted by Papa Shango, except Shango had missed his cue and was nowhere to be seen. Sid, probably feeling he had nothing to lose as he was soon to be leaving the company, kicked out. The referee then called for a disqualification as Sid's manager Harvey Whippleman entered the ring. Shango finally arrived and helped Sid attack Hogan before the place went crazy as the Ultimate Warrior charged down to the ring to assist the Hulkster. The match may not have been the best and they may have messed up the finish but the fans were delighted to see Hogan and the Warrior together in the ring to close the show as the fireworks exploded in the Hoosier Dome. It was a great ending to an overall really good Wrestlemania. Nearly fourteen years after first watching it, I still enjoyed it. 

 

 

Other notes:

 

·        Wrestlemania 8 would mark the end of Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Roddy Piper's full time WWF careers. Hogan would return for a short run in 1993 and wouldn't be seen in the WWF again until 2002. Piper returned for one match with Jerry Lawler in 1994 and made a few special appearances before signing with WCW in 1996. Jake Roberts also left the company shortly after the event. He would return for one more run in 1996.

·         The main event was originally supposed to be a "Dream Match" between Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair but the idea was scratched after matches between Hogan and Flair drew poorly on the house show circuit.

·         The British Bulldog versus The Berzerker match did not take place as scheduled due to time restraints.

·         The Bushwackers beat The Beverly Brothers in the dark match before the PPV.

Stars of the show: Bret "Hitman" Hart, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Gorilla Monsoon, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.

@wrestlingspast

The Mega Powers

The main event of Wrestlemania V was the culmination of a storyline which stretched back a massive 18 months and had no doubt been planned much further back than that. Hard to believe really considering these days WWE tend to only book a few weeks in advance. There are exceptions of course such as The Rock and John Cena but apart from the announcement they would headline Wrestlemania a year in advance there was only a few weeks of actual tv product, the rest was just occasional insults on twitter. Back in October 1987 Randy Savage was attempting to regain the Intercontinental Title from the Honky Tonk Man on Saturday Night's Main Event and just as he looked like being successful the Hart Foundation ran in to cause a disqualification. This led to the famous scene where the Harts held Savage allowing Honky to smash him over the head with his guitar. Elizabeth ran backstage for help and returned with Hulk Hogan who saved Savage from the 3-on-1 assault. A new alliance was born and would become known as the Mega Powers. At Wrestlemania 4 a similar incident occurred where the Macho Man was battling Ted DiBiase in the tournament final to crown an Undisputed WWF World Champion and Andre the Giant, who was at ringside with DiBiase was interferring in the contest. Once again Elizabeth ran backstage for the help of the Hulkster. In the end Hogan nailed DiBiase with a chair enabling Savage to win the championship and also gain revenge for himself. Hogan had been cheated out of the title by a DiBiase scheme and then eliminated from the tournament by his interference. The Mega Power alliance had been solidified.

 

Come the inaugural Summerslam event in August 1988, there were subtle signs of unrest between the Mega Powers. Savage looked miffed when Hogan hugged Elizabeth following their win over Andre and DiBiase in the main event. A similar scene took place following the duos victory at the Survivor Series but this time Savage pointed an accusing finger at the oblivious Hogan. Jesse Ventura did a wonderful job of stirring things up on commentary and later in backstage interviews but any question of dissention was denied by the Macho Man. A further incident took place at the 1989 Royal Rumble where Hogan inadvertently eliminated Savage from the Rumble match causing the latter to accuse the former of a double cross. Just as it looked like they would come to blows, Elizabeth entered the fray to help smooth things over. Things finally did come to a head on February 2nd during The Main Event where the Mega Powers battled the Twin Towers. During the action Savage was thrown from the ring by Akeem and landed on Elizabeth. Nobody saw the move coming and it looked quite shocking at the time. Hogan ran to Elizabeth's aid as the jealous Savage pointed the accusing finger at his partner once again. While Savage continued the match, Hogan carried Elizabeth backstage for medical attention before returning to help the Macho Man. Savage, angered by the attention Hogan gave to Elizabeth and for being abandoned during the match, slapped the Hulkster and returned the locker room leaving Hogan to battle the Twin Towers alone. Following the match Hogan returned to the medical room where Randy was yelling at Elizabeth. Savage then turned his attention to his partner, exploding with accusations of betrayal and using Elizabeth to get to the title. As Hogan looked to Elizabeth to talk some sense into her man, Savage blindsided Hogan and attacked him as Elizabeth begged him to stop. It was a powerful segment and one which sealed the end of their partnership beautifully.

 

The match itself, much like everything that preceded it, was expertly worked. Elizabeth proclaimed she would be in a neutral corner and would continue to support both men, which only led to her being ejected from ringside for causing complications in the match. Savage initially played the cowardly heel but showed a more intense mean streak as the match progressed. Hogan, the classic babyface, weathered the storm before making his signature comeback to win with the big boot-leg drop combination. The match was very well received and the event was a hit financially due to the hard work put in over the previous 18 months. It remains a shining example of how to work a top program for a Wrestlemania main event. It didn't even end there as Hogan and Savage continued to battle throughout the summer on the house show circuit and then with the addition of Zeus and Brutus Beefcake for the rest of the year. In the ring the Hulkster and the Macho Man had fantastic chemistry right from their first meeting in 1985 to their last in WCW some 14 years later. The last match between Hogan and Savage in relation to this feud took place in January 1990 on Saturday Night's Main Event. It just shows you that if a feud is booked correctly, it can last a long time and more importantly, can mean something to people.

@wrestlingspast