Brian Pillman | Shane Douglas | The Von Erichs | Vader | Brutus Beefcake | Doink |
Ravishing Rick Rude | Triple H | Jerry Lawler | Al Snow | Assorted Questions |
World Wrestling Federation | World Championship Wrestling |
Brian Pillman
1. Is Brian Pillman really dead?
-Yes, Pillman was found dead in his hotel room on October 5, 1997 and his death
was announced just prior to the commencement of the WWF PPV IYH: Badd
Blood. Contrary to popular belief, it was later found that Pillman died due to
natural causes and more specifally an abnormal heart defect that he did not know
about.
2. Who were the Hollywood Blondes?
-Brian Pillman and Steve Austin comprised the team in the year 1993 and they
were an instant hit as the duo went on to capture the WCW/NWA tag titles later
that year. However, soon after they were hit by terrible booking which caused
them to split and head their own separate ways. Austin and Pillman, for those that
do not know, were best friends in real life.
3. What was up with him and Marlena before his death?
-Goldust and Pillman engaged in a stipulation match whereby if Pillman won, he
would get Marlena for 30 days and 30 nights. Brian did in fact win the match and
was granted control of Marlena, however, his death interrupted their angle and
Marlena returned to Goldust briefly before leaving the WWF with a leave of
absence.
Shane Douglas
1. What is his relationship with WCW?
-In one word, horrendous. Douglas and WCW parted ways on horrible terms and
since then Shane has become one of the most vocal wrestlers (along with Steve
Austin) to voice his displeasure at the way they run things down south. He was
particulary disgusted at his lack of a push and lack of payment and with that in
mind it is doubtful he will ever return to WCW again. However, it is interesting to
note that his tenure in WCW was BEFORE Eric Bischoff gained control of the
helm.
2. What is his relationship with WWF?
-Not that good either because of one man, Shawn Michaels. It is a known fact that
Douglas despises Michaels. The reason for this stems from Douglas' days as "Dean
Douglas" in the WWF in 1995. Shane was already angry at his relatively low salary
in WWF and to make matters worse he felt miffed at the fact that he was not
allowed a clean win over Michaels due to the "Syracuse Incident" (check FAQ,
Part 1). Michaels ended up forfeiting the title to Douglas at one of the PPVs and to
make matters even worse, Shane was made to job the belt to Razor Ramon almost
immediately. Ramon, as you may know, was/is a good friend of Shawn's.
The Von Erichs
1. Who were they?
-Technically speaking, there were no Von Erichs. The Adkisson family adopted the
"Von Erich" persona as their wrestling name for many years. Throughout the
years, there has been no fewer than 8 Von Erich family members competing in pro
wrestling, making them one of the true wrestling families of the new era. They
included Fritz, Waldo, Kevin, David, Kerry, Chris, Mike, Lance and Mark. Kerry
achieved the most success in the ring (WCW champion and WWF I-C champion)
and is also important to note that not all members of the "Von Erich" family were
really related. If you're interested in knowing who really was part of the Adkisson
family, email me and I'll look into it.
2. Why are the called a "tragedy"?
-Well, in short, David was found dead in his hotel room in 1984, Kerry shot
himself in the chest in 1993, Mike died in 1987 due to an overdose (intentional),
Chris died due to a self-inflicted gun shot wound in 1991 I believe and Fritz, the
father, died in 1997 after a battle with lung cancer. Kevin Von Erich is the only
suriving son of Fritz.
Vader
1. What happened in Kuwait?
-Vader appeared on a Kuwaiti talk show and the host naturally asked him if
wrestling was really fake. Vader apparently lost control for a minute or two and
attacked the host in an attempt to show how real it is. The host sued him but the
end result was that he was given a $200US fine for his efforts.
2. What's the deal with him and Paul Orndorff?
-Just before Vader's jump to the WWF in 1995, he was involved in a backstage
scuffle with WCW booker Paul Orndorff, which some of you may remember as
"Mr. Wonderful" in his WWF days. As the story goes, Orndorff got the better of
Vader in the fight and WCW chose to blow the story way out proportion with their
claim that WCW wrestlers were tougher than WWF's since Vader was jumping
ship.
3. Why is he no longer in the WWF?
-Unfortunately, Vader was released in the fall of 1998 after repeated warnings by
WWF officials that requested him to lose weight and get in better ring shape fell on
deaf ears. His release did not allow him to go to WCW but rather All Japan or
ECW only. Vader chose Japan and is currently wrestling there while enjoying
tremendous success.
Brutus Beefcake
1. Is he really Hulk Hogan's brother?
-This is one of those stupid rumors that eventually gains so much steam, people
start believing it as fact. Ed Leslie (Beefcake) and Terry Bollea have always been
good friends but they are in no way related to one another.
2. I heard something happened to his face. What was that about?
-Back in 1990, Beefcake and Killer Bees member B. Brian Blair were parasailing
and some freak accident caused Blair to spin wildly out of control and slam into
Beefcake's face with his knees. Brutus' entire face was shattered and it required
re-constructive facial surgery to put his face back together. Beefcake did not
recover until 1993 and it effectively ruined his successful career up until that point.
3. Has he been anyone else before?
-Hell yeah! Here's the latest list: "Dizzy" Ed Boulder, Brutus Beefcake, Brutus
"The Barber" Beefcake, Furface, Brother Bruti, The Butcher, The Man with No
Name, The Man With No Face, The Zodiac Man, The Clipmaster, the Booty Man
and most recently the "Disciple" (of WCW fame).
Doink
1. How many Doinks have there have been?
-Well, if you're asking how many people have played the part of Doink, the answer
is 4. The original guy was Matt Borne, he was then followed up by the guy who
played as "Skinner" (Steve Kiern). At this time, there were two Doinks on WWF
TV as they did their angle with Crush. Then Steve Lombardi (The Brooklyn
Brawler) stepped in to play the part after which the final Doink, Ray Licachelli
entered the picture. It's funny to note that Licachelli was a virtual nobody in the
wrestling world and the WWF pretty much picked him off of the streets to play the
part with the the midget Dink.
2. Where is he now?
-Who cares? Actually, to the best of my knowledge, "Doink", the persona is still
active in some of the independent promotions.
Ravishing Rick Rude
1. Why doesn't he wrestle anymore?
-In 1994, during a match with Sting, Sting jumped off of the top ropes and landed
on Rude's neck, fracturing several vertebra. Rude was forced to retire from the
sport because of it and was consequently sued by WCW for breach of contract.
WCW believed that the injury was not as serious as it was made out to be. Rude
couter-sued and eventually was awarded millions as part of an insurance policy. It
was suspected that he would never return to WCW again but after brief
appearances in ECW and the WWF, he showed face on WCW and is still with the
company at the time of this writing. It is highly unlikely he will ever compete as a
wrestler in light of the injury described above.
2. How can he be "Ravishing Rick Rude" in ECW, WCW and WWF?
-Well, because he legally changed his name from Richard Rood to Ravishing Rick
Rude and thus holds all rights to being called that in whatever promotion he
chooses.
Hunter Hearst Helmsley
1. Is he really married/engaged to Chyna?
-As far as both let it be known, they are NOT married nor engaged but evidence
has shown that they are "romantically involved". Take that for what it's worth.
2. Will Triple H go to WCW soon?
-Not anymore. There were hot rumors that since his contract with the WWF was
ending very soon, Helmsley would opt for a pay increase and a lighter workload in
WCW. Eric Bischoff even threw some numbers around rather discreetly and they
were incredible to say the least. However, just a few short months ago, HHH and
the WWF nailed down an extension to his existing contract and he is not going
anywhere for the next several years. Case closed.
Jerry "The King" Lawler
1. What happened between him and Andy Kauffman in the 1980s?
-It all started when Kauffman, who kept no secret about the fact that he wanted to
become a "heel" wrestling manager, began taking shots at the business of pro
wrestling in general. The target of most of his accusations was directed towards
Memphis wrestling fans in particular, and as everyone very well knows, Jerry
Lawler is Memphis wrestling. Lawler took the initiative and challenged Kauffman
to a match. The latter agreed and the match turned out to be a total bust as Jerry
whooped Kauffman and injured his neck in the process. Things settled down
somewhat after that but a year or so later, the two appeared on David Letterman
and the interview(s) ended with Lawler shoving around Kauffman. Andy
responded my going absolutely nuts and yelling every known profanity at Jerry on
live national T.V. The outburst got huge national coverage and was talked about
for several months and ultimately resulted in Kauffman getting his shot as a
wrestling manager in Memphis wrestling. It was there that the King got his final
revenge on Kauffman after which Andy disappeared from the wrestling scene
altogether. However, and this is very important to know, all of the above that I just
said was 100% "worked", meaning it was carefully planned out ahead of time.
Lawler and Kauffman were in fact really good friends in real life.
2. What about Jim Carrey?
-Same sort of stuff as above but not to the extent of the Kauffman-Lawler
incidents of the 80s. Basically, it was done for added publicity for both guys but as
always, the press does their part by overreacting and blowing everything out of
proportion. So I guess what I'm saying is that they don't hate each other, it was all
a fake publicity stunt.
3. Is he related to the Honkey Tonk Man?
-Yes, Lawler and Honkey Tonk Man (Wayne Ferris) are real life cousins.
4. What about Brian Christopher? Is he really Jerry's son?
-Yep. Lawler and Christopher are legitimately father and son. The denying thing of
last year was all for the angle.
Al Snow
1. I don't understand what the deal is with Head. Can you tell me?
-Okay, I can try. Al Snow was arguably the greatest jobber of his time. From Leif
Cassidy to Shinobi to Avatar, Snow's job was basically to get other wrestlers over.
All this despite the fact that he is/was considered far more talented than those he
was getting over. Since the WWF really had no use for Snow under his jobber
aliases, they moved him on over to the ECW as part of a talent exchange. In one
of his first interviews with ECW, Snow shot from the lip in what the insiders call a
"shoot interview". He pretty much described his hard road in the WWF and how
he had so often paid his dues but had nothing to show for it. He ended it off by
saying that to get any sort of push in the WWF, you need to "give a little head"
(figure it out) and he would start his time in ECW by giving his opponents some
"head". "Head" turned out to be a mannequin head that Snow would use as part of
his insanity gimmick and the fans loved it. He has since returned to the WWF with
his new gimmick.
2. Does this have anything to do with the J.O.B. Squad?
-Yes, very much so. As described above, Snow was the epitome of a jobber, ie. a
wrestler who never wins and gets other wrestlers over with their respective angles.
So in short, the J.O.B. Squad is a Snow-led group of underused and underutilized
wrestlers (ie. the jobbers) who have formed a union of sorts to oppose those
athletes who get pushes and are used effectively. Their motto is "pin me, pay me"
in reference to the their wrestling life in general. Obviously, the group is sort of an
inside joke to the "insiders" who really know what the word "JOB" means. That's
you and me, I guess.
Assorted Questions
Where is Sting?
-Still with WCW. To the best of my knowledge, Sting has been granted an
indefinite leave of absence to tend to personal, non-wrestling related matters.
However, he has popped up at a few house shows now and again (substituting for
the injured Bret Hart) but has not been brought onto WCW T.V. as of yet. It is
expected that he will return to the roster full-time sometime later in March, most
likely near the end to help combat the WWF and Wrestlemania 15.
What happened to Amhed Johnson and will he ever show up in the WWF or
WCW?
-The answer to the first part of the question is that he the WWF fired him. There
were likely a variety of reasons that contributed to his release but the popular
consensus is that Amhed was unwilling to "job" to Kurrgan (then managed by
Jackyl) for the sake of getting the latter over as a mega heel. Furthermore, it was
no secret within the business that Amhed had a knack of playing it rough at times
and this caused a lot of injuries to his opponents. Furthermore, Johnson is arguably
the most injury prone guy that wrestling has ever seen. It did not help his case that
he was always laid up in the hospital from everything from car accidents to kidney
problems. So they fired him. As for him returning, I doubt it will happen anytime
soon. Re-read the above sentences and you'll see why neither of the big two really
would want to risk in an investment as shaky as Amhed Johnson.
Where is Yokozuna and will he ever come back?
-Yokozuna, last I heard, was living and training in Las Vegas, in hopes of an
eventual return to the WWF later this year. The simple fact is that Yoko is just too
obese to pass any of the physicals the WWF presents and it would be a huge
hazard to his health to allow him to continue wrestling. However, he left the WWF
on rather good terms, so a return down the road is definitely a possibility. At this
time, Yokozuna is still upwards of 600lbs.
What do you know about Gangrel?
-I know that he is technically considered a real vampire since he is associated with
some whacked out cult-like group of people thinking they are vampires. I have
even heard that he drinks real blood but that's not confirmed. Gangrel (David
Heath) as almost everyone knows is married to Luna (Angel Vachon) in real life.
Has Rob Van Dam ever wrestled in either the WWF or WCW?
-Yes. He wrestled in WCW in 1993 as "Robbie V", who was virtually a jobber. In
1997, he was part of the "ECW Invasion" on RAW and wrestled two superb
matches on the then WWF Monday Night RAW.
I've heard Paul Heyman is gay. Is this true?
-Tough to answer. Let's just say this...he has never been married, still lives at
home and there always "gay cracks" made about him within the business. But since
he has never "come out of the closet", no one knows for sure.
Does he really own ECW and what's up with him and Jim Cornette?
-Yes, he officially owns ECW. He bought the company in 1996 from former
owner Tod Gordon and is currently the big boss. Heyman and Cornette simply do
not get along. It is unknown what the cause of this problem really is but I suspect it
has at least a little to do with the fact that in the late 80s and early 90s, both guys
managed teams called the "Midnight Express". Name calling started and cheap
shots started and still continue to this very day.
What does "4:20" mean? I see it on lots of the signs.
-4:20 is the police code for marijuana possession, so basically it refers that Wrestler
[X] in "[X] 4:20" is a put user.
Which of the WWF women have posed nudes and if so can you send me some
pics of [insert name here]?
-Only Sable...and no, I will not send anyone nude pics. Fortunately for me, I got
better things to do.
Who were the Machines?
-Obviously, Giant Machine was Andre the Giant, but the other two were a bit hard
to figure out. The Super Machine was Bill Eadie, who the majority of fans know
as Demolition Ax. The Big Machine was "Blackjack" Mulligan, who we know as
Barry Windham's father.
World Wrestling Federation
1. Who owns the WWF?
-The McMahon family, although it has been known that the official owner in the
eyes of the courts across the country is Linda McMahon, while Vince actually does
the controlling and general running of the business. I suspect it has something to do
with taxes of the such as to why Linda is declared as the legal owner.
2. What is the WWWF?
-Same thing as the WWF. Before 1979, the WWF was known as the WWWF but
for business reasons it was shortened to WWF. The company was still exactly the
same.
3. Did the WWF get sued for sexual harassment charges?
-Yes and no. They were charged with such claims although no legal action was
taken. In 1992, three WWF employees came forth with complaints of sexual
harassment and took their stories to the national level by appearing on talk shows,
etc. Two of the employers named in this accusation included Pat Patterson and
Vince McMahon himself, although the latter's involvement was proved to be false.
Pat Patterson's sexual orientation is not a well kept secret as he is openly gay,
although his in-ring gimmick of yesteryear was to act macho and tough as to shake
off the "gay" image. This next bit is a bit disturbing, but more than one ex-wrestler
has indicated that a "sex for push" deal has been struck before although to
Patterson's and the WWF's defense, this has NEVER been proven. On a sidenote,
Pat Patterson's sexual preferences is still a huge joke around the company...that's
why Jim Ross always alludes to "rear end work" when tying it into Brisco and his
garage. No need for me to go ANY further...
4. Who are the WWF's bookers?
-Overall Booking: Vince McMahon
-Storylines and Angles: Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard (Brother Love)
-Characters and Interviews: Jim Russo, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
-Shane McMahon is also involved with his father in guiding the company's overall
direction and product. Sargeant Slaughter is said to have some booking power as
well, although he STILL assumes the "Commissioner" role off-camera, as Shawn
Michaels, as of this writing, holds it on-screen.
5. Was the WWF ever part of the NWA?
-Yes, from 1971-1983, the WWF was considered an NWA regional promotion but
by the time Vincent K. McMahon Jr. took control of the promotion, he wanted to
abolish all ties with the NWA and step out of their shadow. The rest is history.
World Championship Wrestling
1. Who owns WCW?
-Time Warner and WTBS. Ted Turner, although a majority stock-holder does not
hold ALL power of WCW following the Time-Turner merger, but he basically
funds the promotion, although in no way does he run it. That honor (or not)
belongs to Executive Vice President, Eric Bischoff.
2. How is WCW related to NWA?
-Just before Ted Turner entered the picture, Grant Crockett and his new
promotion broke off from NWA to seek their own success. However, to further
alienate themselves from the Crockett-led NWA, Turner and his associates gave
rise to a new name and new belts, etc. Enter WCW. I'm not that familiar with
WCW history, so this may be highly inaccurate. If you have more info, please pass
it along.
3. Who are the WCW bookers?
-WCW operates very differently from the WWF. Rather than planning their
storylines out with logic, they tend to favor on the fly booking, which means that
more often than not, what we see on TNT is just useless shit thrown together a
few hours before airtime. The main power belongs to Eric Bischoff, who does
much the same things that Vince McMahon does in the WWF. He guides the
company in the general direction that he wants. Kevin Sullivan and Craig Leathers
also have limited power with booking and as always, Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash
have a lot to say as well as how things will turn out. In the end, I'm guessing that
Bischoff and Hogan run the show, with input from Sullivan and Nash along the
way. |
