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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 25, 2020 12:22:08 GMT -5
So, Vice premiered both parts of the Chris Benoit feature, on Dark Side of the Ring, last night. Part 1 gets into who Chris was, from seeing the Dynamite Kid to working in Japan, WCW and the switch to the WWF. It covers the angle with Kevin Sullivan that put he and Nancy together. It also gets into Chris' friendship with Eddie Guerrero, from when they first started working with each other in New Japan, when Eddie was portraying Black Tiger, the rival of Tiger Mask (who was Koji Kanemoto, in those days). It covers their rise together, and provides a look at who Eddie was, as a person, with input from Vickie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Chavo Jr. It shows how Eddie's death affected Chris' mental state and how he did and did not deal with it.
The piece also goes into Nancy's background, from fan Nancy Toffolini, who attended the Championship Wrestling from Florida matches, to being a model for a photo shoot with Billy Jack Haynes, to becoming the Fallen Angel in Kevin Sullivan's army. It then takes the couple to WCW and her transformation into Woman (shame they didn't have anything about the Robin Green bit she did, with Rick Steiner, that led into her being Woman). Then the issues she was having with Kevin Sullivan, the angle that put her together with Chris, that led to their real relationship.
It gives you David Benoit's perspective of his father. He and his sister Megan are Chris' kids, from his first marriage, which broke up around the time he was put together with Nancy. David speaks of Nancy being another mother and his bond with Daniel. Nancy's sister speaks about her sister as a person and sibling.
It goes into the tragedy, with the basic details and the strange text message that Chavo received.
Part 2 covers the details and also features the author of Ring of Hell, which examined Benoit's life and the events. He brings up the grisly details, plus the first responder speaks of the events that led them into the house and what they found. We see the WWE tribute, before they had full details (though there is some debate about exactly when Vince knew it was being treated as a murder-suicide). They discuss the guarded comments of William Regal, who was a neighbor of Chris, in WCW, and knew of some of what was going on between Chris and Nancy. It goes into the media reporting and the friends and family trying to make sense of it.
The piece also features Chris Nowinski, former Tough Enough I contestant and WWE wrestler, whose career was ended by concussions. He has been a major pathfinder in CTE research, related to concussions in athletics. He approached Michael Benoit, Chris father, to examine the brain tissue of Chris for CTE, which revealed massive brain trauma, particularly in areas of the brain affecting emotional responses.
Daniel speaks of his loss in heartwrenching detail. He also speaks of vile treatment by people trolling him because of his father.
There is a positive end to things and healing moments. Really well done piece that is both hard to watch and satisfying in trying to bring closure.
Vice has a feature, After Dark, which had Chavo and Tommy Dreamer on there, talking about the piece and their memories; plus, some deleted clips, such as Chavo talking about being trolled on twitter, by a-holes who repost the verbage of Chris' last text to him. Daniel speaks of cyberbullying for similar things. The Ring of Hell author and others talk about the sadistic nature of the training in the New Japan Dojo, where Chris trained for 6 months. The book documented the brutal discipline of it, plus the rather vicious prank culture (ribs) of the Calgary Stampede wrestling promotion, which were part of the formation of Chris' behavior. It got into his harsh discipline of young wrestlers who he felt were unprofessional, forcing them to do endless hindu squats. That book was a bit tabloidy; but, it did cut through some of the apologetic BS coming from the wrestling world and fandom.
Jim Cornette spoke with the producers on a recent podcast and participated in some stuff for this season (and the Montreal Screwjob episode, from season 1). He talked about having to pause it three times to get up and get away from it for a time, crying about the people he knew. He also brings up the season finale, which will be the Owen Hart story, with the main POV being his wife, Martha Hart. Outside of her book, this is the first piece to really tell the story from her POV and not WWE spin or wrestling fans. It also will feature his children, Oje and Athena, who were pretty young when he died, as well as the foundation Martha started, with the settlement from the WWE, which has since been used in philanthropic endeavors, in Owen's memory. That one sounds like it will be really good.
Next episode focuses on New Jack, the ECW wrestler. I hope Cornette is involved, talking about his breaking in in Smoky Mountain, as part of the Gangstas. New Jack would cut these really edgy promos that were designed to rile the predominantly white fans of the territory, to the point is caused Cornette some trouble with tv stations.
The Dino Bravo episode should be interesting, as he was gunned down in his home, while involved in illegal cigarette trafficking, in Quebec. The Road Warriors episode should also be interesting, as I'm sure Animal will talk greatly about Hawk. The Brawl for All will probably be the lightest episode in tone, as it is pretty much a trainwreck of farcical dimension. Fake wrestlers getting hurt in a shoot boxing tournament, that was supposed to be rigged to put over Dr Death Steve Williams; but was won by someone else, who got knocked out in a fight with a sideshow boxer and got dumped by the company. Only problem is, wel will have to listen to Vince Russo say "bro" every third word.
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Post by Batflunkie on Mar 25, 2020 14:09:36 GMT -5
Looking forward to the New Jack and Owen ones!
Love Cornette, his contributions to Kayfabe Commentaries were amazing and he's always been an interesting person in the business and to listen to
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 29, 2020 16:14:56 GMT -5
If you are bored in self-isolation/quarantine, the NWA has posted some content to help tide things over. They have the full match of Cody rhodes defending the NWA World title, against Nick Aldis, at NWA 70, last year. Cody won the title at the All-In PPV that ROH promoted, which basically served as an audition for Tony Khan and what would become AEW. This was the rematch, which they promoted through the Ten Pounds of Gold series, where you see Cody training for the match and having Diamond Dallas Page in his corner for his entrance, while Nick Aldis has Jeff Jarrett (who helped promote the show locally, in Nashville), as well as Dory Funk Jr and Tim Storm, who Aldis originally beat for his first title reign.
The card features the title match, the tournament to crown the National champion, a women's title defense with then-Champion Jazz (of ECW and WWE fame), Tim Storm in a singles match, a cruiserweight match, and The Kingdom of Josephus (Crazzy Steve and Shannon Moore, with Jocephus managing) vs the War Kings (Crimson and Jax Dane).
Jim Cornette called the action. There were audio problems on the night.
They also posted the NWA Pop Up Event, where Aldis defended against James Storm and David Arquette was involved in a match that led to Jocephus getting his head shaved. Arquette returned to pro wrestling in 2018, working with Championship wrestling from Hollywood and then several indie promotions, while filming a "documentary", You Cannot Kill David Arquette. The storyline went that Jocephus had offered "absolution" to Arquette, who rejected him. This led to a match between the two, with the partner of their choice. Jocephus had The Spiritual Advisor (the silent bald woman that accompanies him) and Arquette had Tim Storm (who was engaged in a feud with Jocephus to get a shot at Aldis, which included an empty-arena match, with Impact Wrestling). The show was promoted by Crimson's Tried -N-True indie promotion, in Tennessee, in front of a crowd of 1100 (which ain't bad, for an indie promotion). Crimson and Jax Dayne, as the War Kings, were accompanied by Road Warrior Animal, who also backed them at NWA 70. Tne NWA National title was defended and there were qualifying matches for the Crockett Cup (including the War Kings match).
Finally, if you haven't watched Ten Pounds of Gold or NWA Powerrr, I encourage you to do so; it's great content and great wrestling, mixing old and new schools. Ten Pounds of Gold was the documentary/promotional vehicle for NWA branded events and World title defenses. You can see the progression of things from when Billy Corgan bought the trademarks and titles to the launch of NWA Powerrr. In the first episode, you meet the then-current World Champion, Tim Storm...
The NWA had gone through some serious ups and downs. The wrestling wars of the 80s led most NWA promoters to either shut down or sell off. Detroit and Los Angeles were early casualties, shutting down before Vince McMahon starting expanding outside the traditional borders of the WWF. Toronto and Calgary sold off to McMahon, with only Montreal and Vancouver staying somewhat affiliated with the NWA, in Canada, until they shut down. EMLL was still a member, but had always done their own thing, with the NWA Lt Hwt, Middleweight and Welterweight titles being defended in Mexico. Florida went in decline with Eddie Graham's suicide and the loss of Dusty Rhodes to Crockett and Mike Graham eventually sold it to Crockett. Georgia broke up when the Briscos sold their shares to Vince McMahon and Black Saturday occurred, where Vince appeared onWorld Championship Wrestling, instead of Gordon Solie and introduced taped matches from the normal WWF venues. The outrage from fans was massive and Georgia co-owner Ole Anderson was able to get an early Saturday morning time slot on WTBS, for Championship Wrestling from Georgia, with some of the wrestlers that had been working for Georgia Championship Wrestling and some from Memphis. That promotion ended when Crockett bought the World Championship Wrestling timeslot from Vince McMahon and put his wrestlers (including Ole and a few of the Georgia guys) on his show. Sam Muchnick retired in St Louis and the WWF moved in to take over Wrestling at the Chase. They also partnered, for a time, with Paul Boesch, in Houston. The Von Erich's pulled out of the NWA and ran World Class as the World Class Wrestling Association. Nick Gulas went under and sold off what remained of the Mid-America territory (Nashville and Chattanooga) to Jerry Jarrett. memphis remained a non-member and mostly booked the AWA World title, though they did co-promote a couple of shows with Crockett, where Ric Flair defended the NWA world title. Harley Race and Bob Geigel sold off Kansas City to Crockett, who ran it for a while, before Geigel bought it back and re-dubbed it the World Wrestling Alliance, before shutting down completely. Indianapolis was on life support by the early 80s and Bruiser and Snyder sold off their remaining interest and the WWA moved to Toledo, OH, with Dr Jerry Graham Jr running things, to smaller and smaller crowds. This is where Scott Steiner got his start. Bill Watts was not an NWA member but booked the title and attended conventions. He rebranded Mid-South as the UWF and ran for a few years, before selling off to Crockett, who buried the promotion and its stars, except Sting and Rick Steiner. The Funks had shut down Amarillo some time before, with Dick murdoch briefly promoting it. The Fullers ran Pensacola and Alabama as Continental Championship Wrestling, before selling off to Dave Woods. It was rebranded as Continental Wrestling Federation, and ran for a year or so, under Woods, with Eddie Gilbert booking. Ron Fuller started a new promotion in Knoxville (USA Championship Wrestling) but shut it down within about a year. Hawaii was done by about 1986. All-Japan left the NWA and went on its own, while New Japan made an alliance with WCW, after the Turner buyout. Steve Rickard was promoting in new Zealand and the South Pacific, but running fewer and fewer shows. Puerto Rico was not a member, but booked the title, though they mostly went on their own, by about 1986/87.
By the end, the only ral active NWA promoter was Steve Rickard and when Ric Flair left WCW, taking the belt with him, WCW dropped the NWA affiliation and the NWA stripped him of the title. At that point, it was dead. Under Kip Fry, WCW realligned with the NWA Board and they ran a tournament, in Japan, with New Japan, to crown a new NWA World Champion, with Masahiro Chono winning. The title eventually passed onto Barry Windham, who was supposed to drop it in a unification match with Ric Flair (WCW World Champion) but, the partnership ran into difficulties and broke up, which is why the title was renamed the WCW International World title, claiming that a group of WCW-affiliated promotions recognized it as the World title.
A New NWA gre up in the early 90s, including New Jersey promoter Dennis Coralluzzo, ECW promoter Tod Gordon, Smoky Mountain promoter Jim Cornette nd Steve Rickard. A tournament to crown a new NWA World Champion was set up, with Shane Douglas of ECW booked to win. Unbeknownst to Coralluzzo and Cornette, Gordon an Paul Heyman were planning a double-cross. Douglas cut a promo, after being presented the belt, where he trashed the NWA name, saying it was dead and declaring himself the new ECW World Champion. At that point, ECW went from Eastern Championship Wrestling to Extreme Championship Wrestling. Heyman was the puppet master here, using the shock value of the moment to get publicity for his new vision. Gordon and Coralluzzo had been rival promoters in the New Jersey and Philadelphia area and this double0cross also soured things between Cornette, who was loyal to Coralluzzo and Heyman. The NWA soldiered on, with new NWA-affiliated regional promotions popping up, under the leadership of Coralluzzo. Howard Brody started NWA Florida and would become the president. Jim Crockett started a new promotion in Texas and was a member, for a time. NWA Wildside ran in Georgia, and Music City Wrestling in Nashville. Shinya Hashimoto's Zero One promotion in Japan became a member, as did the Hammerlock promotion, in the UK. Soom, other NWA promotions popped up.
This continued into the 2000s, with the World title being voted on by the Board, at the annual convention, then the title defended on member promotion shows. Each member had their own NWA-branded titles. In 2002, when Jeff Jarrett launched TNA, he brokered exclusive use of the NWA World title. Dan Severn was the current champion, but could not appear on the inaugeral PPV. he was unceremoniously stripped of the title and Ken Shamrock won it in a tournament. TNA withdrew from the NWA after 2 years; but, retained the rights to use the World title and tag-titles, while adhering to Board decisions about the titles. In 2007, they dropped the titles completely.
The NWA continued, with member promotions coming and going. In 2012, Houston promoter Bruce Tharpe sued the NWA board for insurance fraud and, in the settlement, gained control of the NWA brand name and trade marks. Tharpe ran it as a franchise operation, with various indie promoters paying a franchise fee to use the NWA name and book the title. This is probably the lowest point of the NWA, after loss of WCW. the 90s NWA was a bit of a joke, with wrestlers like Mike Rapada holding the title; but, it still had some clout and top international wrestlers in matches for the title. At this point, the title was being traded around between wrestlers at different franchise promotions with an average of nearly 2 title changes per ear, across a decade, vs a dozen prior to TNA (though TNA had about 20 in 5 years). Probably the only notable champions of this period were Blue Demon Jr, becoming the first masked NWA World Champion and first from Mexico and Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan holding the title, in Japan. Finally, the belt was won by Tim Storm, who had been the NWA north American Champion, for NWA Texoma. Storm held the title when Bruce Tharpe sold the NWA name and trademarks to Billy Corgan.
Ten Pounds of Gold begins with Tim Storm and ends with NWA Powerrr. There is a lot of great material, in between, which helps introduce the people who wrestled on Powerrr. It also does more to build Aldiss as a credible champion than Impact ever did with him, when he held their title (or James Storm or Eli Drake).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 1, 2020 10:41:49 GMT -5
not a huge wresting fan any longer.. can't tell you who most of the participants are anymore. tho I watched religiously thru the "attitude" era and folding in the WCW folks . . . stone cold, Rock, Hardy Boyz, Chyna. . etc.
caught a few eps of the 1st season of "dark side of the ring". . . but wasn't hooked. the 2 part Beniot episode was so good tho? yeah, when I realized it was eps 1 & 2 of the 2nd season? set the DVR to record series.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 1, 2020 17:41:55 GMT -5
Watched the New Jack episode last night. Nothing I didn't really know; bu, they had footage of his cutting of Mass Transit (a 17 year-old Eric Kulas), which led to criminal charges and a civil case, and his later stabbing of a wrestler in Florida, which led to charges, which were dropped. Jim Cornette is heavily featured in the beginning, talking about bringing in the Gangstas to Smoky Mountain and the volcanic heat New Jack drew with that crowd, pressing the White Fear button bigtime. They show bits of some of his promos, including the one where he gave a shout out to OJ Simpson, saying "Two down..." They have the footage of the Gangstas attacking the Rock N Roll Express and doing the Rodney King beating on Ricky Morton.
D-Lo Brown, who was part of the Gangstas in Smoky Mountain (so someone could bump for them, like Buddy Roberts, in the Freebirds) gives some insight and reaction to the Florida stabbing. Sandman provides input from ECW (sounding like the drunk, pilled up idiot that he is), plus New Jack himself. After Dark has some cut footage, which includes Mustafa Said, his partner in the Gangstas.
The only thing missing was his appearance in beyond the Mat, where Barry Blaustein gets him an audition, in Hollywood, with New Jack thinking he is going to be in films. CCTV films, maybe; but not Hollywood. Of course, we get plenty of footage of New Jacks scar tissue forehead, which comes close to rivalling Abdullah the Butcher.
On the Wrestling Classics Message Board, we have thrown around ideas for season 3 topics, with one favorite being Abdullah the Butcher infecting Devon Nicholson, aka Hannibal, with Hepatitis C and his attempts to claim the judgement he won against Abby (who the WWE put in their Hall of Fame, despite his past in and out of the ring).
I'd love to see them cover the Poffo ICW and All-Star Wrestling outlaw groups and talk with Lanny (who was in the Randy Savage and Elizabeth one) , Ronnie Garvin, Bob Roop and Hustler Rip Rogers. The All-Star guys were Knoxville wrestlers who broke away from Ron Fuller's Southeastern promotion and ran in opposition, which helped kill the town. It has only recently surfaced that they recorded a video expose of wrestling, where they gave real names and that wrestling was a work. None of them has really spoken about what they intended, other than to maybe blackmail the NWA or Fuller to keep it quiet. Meanwhile, Angelo Poffo, after booking in the Maritimes, in Canada, started a promotion in Lexington, KY, to run against Memphis, with Randy Savage and Ronnie Garvin regularly issuing challenges to the opposition. They talked a bit about it in the Savage/Elizabeth one; but there is so much more to cover They could also talk to Paul Christy about the end, when the Poffos sold him the belt, which he used for a bit after they made peace with Jarrett and went to work in Memphis.
The ring attendant sexual scandal in the WWF is a no-brainer, as is Vince's steroid trial and alternative plans, if he was convicted (Jerry Jarrett would run the company in a much leaner fashion). The downfall of WCW would be interesting, as would the rise and fall of ECW.
The owen Hart episode sounds like it will be really good, with Martha and the kids involved, plus the shot they use of Owen, from the Stampede days, wearing the North American title belt. Owen was fast becoming the best worker in North America, at that point, and was wasted for some time, in the WWF, until the feud with Bret. They also screwed up a money angle with Owen going after Shawn Michaels and Triple H over the montreal Screwjob. It started well, with Owen attacking them through the sun roof of a limo; but, Michaels wouldn't work with him and went out of his way to bury him on promos and it went nowhere. Chances are, if they had gone with it, Owen would still be alive, as he wouldn't have been doing the Blue Blazer stupidity. The really sad part of the whole affair was the whole point of him entering the ring from above was to have this spectacular entrance, spoofing Sting's attacks on the NWO and have Owen unhook, take a couple of steps and trip over his own feet. None of that was necessary. If they wanted to do something like that they could have just had him vault the ropes and catch his foot and splatter into the ring. No one had to be dangled from 75 ft in the air, in an unsafe or safe harness set-up.
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 1, 2020 19:40:06 GMT -5
Sandman is actually fairly intelligent, believe it or not, even if he isn't the best wrestler and even calling him one is kind of a stretch. Was nice to see him in the New Jack episode regardless
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 7, 2020 17:29:34 GMT -5
Tonight's Dark Side of the Ring takes a bit of a lighter topic: the stupidity of the WWF Brawl for All...
Vince Russo tries to justify the dumbest idea since the Gobbledy Gooker and it is especially ironic, since he had never been in a real fight and knew jack (see what I did there) about wrestling.
This was a concept with no upside. Professional wrestling is a "work," a con, where a fake fight is done that tries to convince the audience that they are seeing a real sporting contest, while mixing in a morality play of the virtuous, athletic her vs the evil heel, who cheats and takes short cuts. Good always triumphed in the end. Within that world, you had guys who were legitimately tough, either "shooters" (technical experts school in submission techniques) or just tough-as-leather brawlers (guys like Harley Race or Haku/Men/King Tonga). In the classic years of wrestling, the wrestlers protected the mystique of the business, always speaking of it in sporting terms and as if the fights were not pre-determined by the booker. In doing so, they were expected to be able to handle people who might challenge them to a fight outside the ring. Some promoters fired guys if they lost a street fight (like Bill Watts, of Mid-South/UWF). The NWA, in its fledgling days, was embarrassed by its champion getting beat up in a fight. After that, one of the pre-requisites to become World Champion was being able to handle civilians on the street and attempts at a double-cross, in the ring (there were several notable double-crosses in the teens and 20s, which is where the idea of the Montreal Screwjob and the double-cross of Wendy Richter came from). Lou Thesz, probably the most accomplished legit wrestler to hold the NWA title, was a "hooker." He trained in Greco-Roman wrestling and then learned submission from Ad Santel, a noted hooker. he taught him "hooks," crippling holds that could break limbs and tear ligaments, potentially causing permanent damage. The story goes that when he faced Nature Boy Buddy Rogers for the NWA title, after Rogers had avoided matches with Thesz (the NWA threatened to give his $25,000 bond on the belt to charity if he reneged on the match), they were finally brought together for a one fall match (instead of 2 out of 3). Thesz, in the ring (per his memoir), told Rogers they could have a good match or they could do it for real, in front of the crowd. Rogers was an ex-cop and not someone to get into a fight with; but, Thesz was 10 levels above him and he knew it. he told Thesz "Let's have a good match." Rogers, in his 70s, subdued a mugger, outside a restaurant, proving that he was not all show.
The Brawl for All was a toughman contest style torunament, where the guys fought in boxing gloves, with no wrestling. It was supposed to get Dr Death Steve Williams over as a tough guy, which he legit was; but, he was a wrestler, a wrestling and football standout at the Univ. of Oklahoma. You want to get him over, let him stretch people. The fights weren't worked and guys punched to win and people got hurt left and right, which meant they couldn't do their worked matches, which people were paying to see. This wasn't some dive bar trying to draw a crowd. it was a pro wrestling organization. One of the tropes of wrestling was that a wrestler could always defeat a boxer, since a wrestler had more weapons. this was the premise of the Ali-Inoki fight, which was supposed to be a work, until Ali got cold feet and wanted a shoot, which was filled with rules to protect him. The match was a fiasco. MMA grew out of submission-based wrestling groups in Japan, as well as Brazilian vale tudo. The Japanese wrestlers had trained under Karl Gotch, a submission wrestler, in the New Japan dojo and wanted to do a more realistic style of wrestling. That led to the Japanese UWF, where they threw out theatrical moves for more legit holds, submissions and strikes. Eventually, the UWF split into factions, one being Pancrase, where they did the UWF style, for real, leading to Ken Shamrock becoming a name in MMA, as he was King of Pancrase and a top fighter in the UFC. From there, we got the Pride Fighting Championship and others.
Doing MMA made sense, but not a toughman tournament. In the end, the wrong guy won and got knocked out by a sideshow boxer, Butterbean. It didn't draw a dime and hurt their regular shows. And, it was Vince Russo's stupid idea, as confirmed by all others, though Russo claims other wise, when faced by criticisms. He was only responsible for the good stuff!
Right.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 8, 2020 11:00:15 GMT -5
So, The Dark Side of the Ring episode on the Brawl for All aired. Not quite as intriguing as some of the others; but entertaining. They featured Jim Cornette, Vince Russo, Jim Ross, Darren Drozdov, The Godfather and Bart Gunn. Russo takes credit (but not blame) for it, saying John Layfield (Bradshaw) was boasting in the locker room about how he would beat everyone, if it were real and he wanted to see him get his comeuppance. Pretty stupid reason for putting together something which got guys legitimately hurt, when they work in a profession where they try to make it look real without hurting anyone. Ross says he thought it was different, they were trying new things to try and fight the ratings war and it was a way to give a "rub" to some undercard talent. Cornette thought it was a dumb idea from the start.
They claimed that the draws were totally random, picked out of a paper bag. Bart Gunn disputes this as his first match was against his tag-team partner, Bob Holly (as The New Midnight Express). He also said the word was that the office wanted to use this to push Steve "Dr Death" Williams. Winner was supposed to get a cash prize and a program with Austin. Dan Severin pulled out of the tournament, as he saw legit chances of being hurt, with no upside and Godfather advanced. Droz fought Bradshaw and got a clean takedown on him, that was supposed to be awarded points, which would have put him ahead of Bradshaw, yet Bradshaw was given the decision and advanced. Gunn knocked out Williams and then felt like the office lied to him that there would be no heat. He beat Bradshaw and was now supposed to get the program with Austin. Instead, he got the bout with Butterbean, at Wrestlemania. They sent him to a boxing camp to try to suddenly pick up boxing. Butterbean saw that he was going to try to box and just started moving aggressively to launch shots. Bart had no defense and was knocked out quickly. Said that if Gunn had tried to brawl, as in the tournament, it was anyone's fight; by trying to box, it made it his fight.
Bart was de-pushed and then released and went to Japan for a couple of years, before leaving wrestling. Said after his first round win over Holly, they were still sharing a room and a rental car and it was pretty awkward that first night or two.
Covered what happened to Droz, as both he and D-Lo Brown talk about their match where D-Lo slipped while delivering a Liger Bomb and Droz landed on his neck and ended up paralyzed. He bears D-Lo no ill will and they have talked many times. He seemed to be in pretty good spirits and didn't let it permanently affect his outlook. D-Lo obviously carries it with him and his career never recovered.
Russo only regrets the shots to the head, with knowledge of concussions, now. Cornette condemns it as a stupid idea from a guy who was getting dumb ideas from Jerry Springer and disrespecting his profession. He says he yelled at Russo after Williams loss, saying he just cost the company $5 million dollars, as Williams was the one guy they could have put with Austin and have it draw, as Doc had worked on top and could get over (he wasn't that great a promo, though).
Godfather mostly talked about getting high and not taking things seriously, which got him in dutch with his wife, when he lost.
Not great drama, but, pretty good encapsulation which does address the stories that the tournament was being worked in the bracketing and the office set it up to get Williams over. Ross denies it, though a lot of other people, over the years have said exactly that and the treatment of Gunn does suggest he was punished for winning.
As far as Russo goes, it didn't really give Bradshaw his comeuppance, as he got a push, as part of the Acolytes and ended up one of the top guys. He continued to be a bully until announcer Joey Styles knocked him out with one punch. That took him down, in the eyes of the boys. The bouts didn't draw, the lve crowds hated them, WCW got better ratings when the bouts were televised and it killed Doc's push, as he tore a hamstring and had a long recovery time, got some minor features, then was out. He was fighting cancer not much later. Gunn was fed to Butterbean and then dumped by the WWF, and ended up working for New Japan, briefly, then was out of wrestling. So, no money was earned, no one got over, and they lost talent to injuries. Not one of the better ideas out there. Russo remained unrepentant and Cornette still got overheated about things, though he was referring to Russo in general, including their time in TNA, though the editing makes it sound like he threatened him over this. Russo acted like the threat was a joke but he did actually obtain a restraining order against Cornette (Cornette sells autographed copies of it on his website).
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Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2020 19:27:52 GMT -5
I watch Monday Night RAW and Smackdown with my hubby. I really have to give these guys credit for soldiering on with no live crowds...it's incredible in so many ways.
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Post by Batflunkie on Apr 8, 2020 19:35:36 GMT -5
I watch Monday Night RAW and Smackdown with my hubby. I really have to give these guys credit for soldiering on with no live crowds...it's incredible in so many ways. It's honestly just plain weird being able to hear what the wrestlers and ref are saying in the ring
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 10, 2020 23:37:55 GMT -5
If you watched the Dark Side of the Ring premiere about Chris Benoit, I urge you to listen to Jim Cornette's podcast, where Kevin Sullivan speaks about his relationship with Nancy, her family, the discrepancies in timeline's presented, issues in Benoit's first marriage and rumors of issues with Nancy, and something ignored by the Vice program; Nancy's arrest for domestic violence for stabbing Kevin Sullivan. The episode lays out a story that Sullivan gave Nancy a black eye and that he declined to be interviewed and denied the incident. He again denies it and gives a timeline that refutes the one portrayed in the episode. It's Sullivan's side of the story.
Now, Sullivan is an old school worker, who was part of the pioneering of "shoot" angles, where they blurred reality and fiction. You can't necessarily take for gospel things he says; but, that is true for most wrestlers who broke into the business before the late 90s, with the internet (including the people that did appear on camera in the episode). Cornette backs up many things Sullivan says, and co-host Brian Last has data that confirms problems with statements made by Nancy's sister and in the narrative of the episode. It's an interesting rebuttal to the episode, while also talking about the trolling and conspiracy theories, plus a broader look at Nancy's career in the business.
I don't necessarily believe everything Sullivan says; but, he presents some logical arguments to things that have been said in fandom, in wrestling reporting (the Wrestling Observer and other news sources) and by "the boys."
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 10, 2020 23:51:02 GMT -5
I watch Monday Night RAW and Smackdown with my hubby. I really have to give these guys credit for soldiering on with no live crowds...it's incredible in so many ways. It's honestly just plain weird being able to hear what the wrestlers and ref are saying in the ring That's how it traditionally was and is in Japan. It's really eerie when you watch Japanese matches, the first time, as the crowd is very quiet, until a big move and doesn't really get worked up until they are doing nearfalls. I would hope you aren't hearing the wrestlers calling spots, as a lot of WWE performers, these days, are bad about calling them loudly and get picked up by ringside mics (Cena is notorious for it, as can be seen in the Botchamania series, on Youtube). Studio wrestling usually let you here the ref and the workers; but always in the context of a performance. You'd hear stuff like "Ask him, ref!" "Break the hold!" etc, plus the ringside crowd. What you didn't here was "Shoot me into the ropes, drop down, reversal and grab the arm!" That would be the spots being called. A worker prided themselves on not being heard by anyone, including the ref. The ref's would feed instruction, based on signals given them. In the WWF, Gorilla Monsoon would be positioned where the referee would see him (now called the Gorilla Position) and would take off his glasses or visibly adjust them to tell the ref to pass on to the wrestlers it was "time to go home," and move into the finish. Most matches were given a finish, by the booker, which might consist of no more than "Austin goes over in a DQ, when the Rock does a run-in. Austin and his opponent would improvise everything else. The great thing about NWA Powerrr is that it brings back the studio atmosphere of the crowd interaction with the wrestlers and the wrestlers improvising with the crowd or using that in their promo. A perfect example is Aron Stevens and his interactions with the crowds, especially Tennessee Santa (dude in orange Santa hat). ECW had that with some of their fans, like Sign Guy and Cowboy Hat, who were regulars at the ECW Arena.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 14, 2020 18:27:50 GMT -5
Tonight's Dark Side of the Ring episode focuses on Jimmy Snuka and girlfriend Nancy Argentino...
For those unfamiliar with the case, Argentino was Snuka's girlfriend and traveled with him to tv tapings in Allentown, PA. Later, after the tapings, police and emergemncy services were dispatched to Snuka's motel room, where Argentino was found badly injured and rushed to hospital. She died of head injuries consistent with a moving body striking a stationary object. Examination by the coroner's office found multiple cuts and bruises, consistent with domestic violence. Snuka was arrested, but released without charges being pressed, after a WWF representative arrived at the police station. Argentino's family brought suit against Snuka for wrongful death and won a default judgement of $500,000, which was never paid, as Snuka claimed he was broke.
For years, rumors and stories persisted about Snuka's fits of rage and violence against Nancy and rumors that the WWF paid off the police to drop charges against Snuka, who supposedly pretended he didn't speak English. The WWF had great political influence in the area, as they had been running tv tapings in Allentown, going back to the days of Vince Sr. Many believed that the WWF hushed up the incident, though they soon cut ties qwith Snuka, who had drug issues on top of other problems.
In 2013, the district attorney for Lehigh County said they were re-opening the still unresolved case. In Jan, 2014, he announced that evidence had been turned over to a grand jury. In Sept 2015, Snuka was arrested on charges of 3rd degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Snuka's defense team waived a preliminary hearing and it went to trial in May 2016. Snuka's defense centered around his fitness to stand trial, due to mental deterioration from years of head trauma (concussions from his superfly leap and years of drug and alcohol abuse). Eventually, Snuka was ruled not mentally fit to stand trial and the case was dismissed. meanwhile, Snuka had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. He also took part in a class action suit against the WWE for traumatic injuries, which was dismissed. He died in 2017.
In between, Snuka was released from the WWE and spent his time in the New England independents, with sporadic returns to the WWE and brief shots in WCW. he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996. The WWF kept him at arms length when the heat was on, but let him back in when it quieted down. they also gave a contract to his son, James Jr, who wrestled as Deuce, part of the tag-team of Deuce N Domino. His daughter Sarona currently wrestles for the WWE.
Snuka was legit from Fiji, but his family moved from there to the Marshall islands, then Hawaii, where he spent his formative years. He spoke perfectly fluent English (Fiji was a British colony), in an Island accent and dialect, but would play the ignorant savage to the public as a persona and when it was to his advantage with civilians. He cut promos in various promotions, including the WWF, yet the story goes he played dumb with the police after Nancy's death.
Should be an interesting episode. Next week covers the murder of Dino Bravo, who was involved in cigarette smuggling in Quebec, after his days in the ring (he had connections to a crime family, through marriage, I believe). Bravo had been a top draw in Toronto and Montreal, before going to the WWF and was featured well there, especially on Canadian tours, which made his death, especially the manner, quite shocking.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 14, 2020 18:52:04 GMT -5
The WWE is resuming taping matches for broadcast, after being designated "essential" business by the state of Florida.The article fails to note that the WWE has their Performance Center in Orlando, FL and tapes the NXT program there, making them a large financial contributor to the area. They also have a long history of contributing to politicians and getting special compensation, such as to NJ governor Christie Todd-Whitman, who got them reclassified as entertainment, rather than sports, in New Jersey, removing them from oversight of the athletic commission and related taxes. They started running at the Meadowlands soon after. A member of the production crew has already tested positive for Covid-19, which makes taping already suspect and you wonder if the whole crew has been tested.
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Post by codystarbuck on Apr 15, 2020 11:28:26 GMT -5
Watched the Dark Side of the Ring episode. Didn't really add anything new to the story and end up being the weakest one, so far. Not surprisingly, it glosses over Snuka's previous career in wrestling, before coming to the WWF in the early 80s. The story takes place in 1983, so it isn't surprising; but, it makes it seem like he emerged there, out of whole cloth, rather than worked in Portland and Crockett, before coming there. That would also tend to dispute the image of him as a naive island boy. They do mention him living in Hawaii, but make it sound like he was homeless, which contradicts some things I have read.
Sam Fatu, aka Tonga Kid adds some interesting stuff, as he was traveling with Snuka nd Nancy Argentino and didn't recall her getting out of the car to urinate on the side of the road, which was Snuka's story. He did say violent behavior wasn't like Jimmy; but, there are stories of him warning rookies about Snuka when he was using cocaine, which was constant, in this era. Buddy Rogers quit as his manager and handler because he was tired of babysitting Snuka while he snorted up in the car and was a trainwreck most of the time.
It gives a bit of a picture of Nancy; but not as much as Nancy Toffolini/Sullivan/Benoit or Elizabeth Hulette, in those episodes.
The newspaper investigation definitely threw a light on the slip-shod nature of the Lehigh County investigation, particularly the documents they got related to the family's civil suit, which included documents from the investigation, which were denied them, because the criminal case was still open (that was the excuse given) They include transcripts of interviews, until the last meeting, with Vince McMahon present, that has no transcript and the case abruptly comes to a halt soon after that meeting. The story is that Vince had a briefcase full of money and plenty of political pull, as the WWF taped in Allentown, on a routine basis. By contrast, on the basis of the newspaper story, 30 years later, the district attorney's office turned over case evidence to a grand jury, which handed down an indictment, with no real new evidence. The coroner's report was rather damning, as it noted injuries consistent with a head striking a stationary object but not consistent with a backwards fall to the ground, as Snuka claimed. It noted bruises and abrasions consistent with domestic violence and recommended treating the case as a homicide.
The Lehigh Police Chief of the time makes one valid point, about conflicting testimonies not being strong enough evidence for charges, as people remember things differently and stories change in the retelling and are clouded with the emotion of the moment. However, he makes excuses for things in documentation that come across rather weak, like he didn't do his job and is being caught out at it, especially the coroner recommendation and the lack of a transcript from the McMahon meeting.
Ultimately, there is no real closure in anything. Snuka was released due to his mental state and died not too long after. What was weird was the interview with Snuka's later wife, from his last days. At times she seems to defend him, at others she seems sympathetic. I don't think she really knew more than she said, but definitely knew that Snuka probably lost control in a rage and hurt Nancy, but had no comprehension of what he had done. He was majorly messed on drugs for years and suffered regular concussions, suggesting his head was never straight, from the 80s on.
The sad part is the family really never got closure, other than an airing of the facts in the case. They lost a sister and her killer went free and never acknowledged or comprehended what he had done.
This one, like the Savage and Elizabeth one, just felt like it was covering old ground, with little new to add. By contrast, the Gino Hernandez one cleared up several things and the benoit one added a lot of detail, apart from Kevin Sullivan, and Cornette helped cover that in his podcast.
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