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.

 

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