Here, I have compiled answers to the most common questions that I receive from readers. If you
have a question, please check this list carefully before emailing me. This took me a long time to write
up and I'm not even sure if I will keep it up so I need feeback. Any additional questions, comments,
suggestions or clarification can be mailed to me at the bottom of the page.
Wrestling Questions | Shawn Michaels | Hulk Hogan | Vince McMahon | Ultimate
Warrior | Ric Flair | Psycho Sid | Randy Savage | Steve Austin | Mic Foley | Dustin
Runnels | Demolition | Undertaker | Giant | The Rock | Andre the Giant | Eric
Bischoff
Wrestling Questions
Is wrestling fake?
Generally speaking and in one word, YES wrestling is fake. However, upon further
elaboration of the word "fake", it becomes clear that wrestling is a bit "real" too.
Although the outcome of matches are determined beforehand and the athletes work
together to produce what we do see, the actual moves performed throughout the
course of a given one-one-one encounter are very much real. A lot of the moves
that the viewers witness are executed in full motion and although they do look
rather devastating, it is to the credit of the wrestler that his opponent does not get
hurt. Those that do tell you otherwise that wrestling all "real" are only doing so to
preserve "kayfabe".
Is wrestling considered a sport?
No, because the matches are pre-determined and no doctor is at ringside. As a
result, both the WWF and WCW have adopted alternative terms to circumvent
calling it an actual sport. The WWF chooses to call it's product "sports
entertainment" while WCW usually refers to it as the "wrestling business".
Are the matches planned out before-hand?
That depends on who is fighting. In simplistic terms, there are considered to be
three classes of wrestlers. The first type are usually the aerialists and those with a
strong wrestling backgrounds. These guys can almost always step into a ring and
totally improvise as the match goes on. The second class contains the majority of
the wrestlers we know and these men are the average guys, from Stone Cold to the
Rock to Undertaker to Sting. They will have the general flow of the battle already
decided upon and will call "spots" to their opponents as the match goes on. The
third class includes the non-technical wrestlers, the giants and those with limited
wrestling background. These athletes will heavily "plan" out their matches
beforehand and may even rehearse with their opponent a few days prior to the
event. Problems arise when wrestlers of two different classes are pitted against
each other since this causes a lot of confusion to both the wrestlers and the fans
watching. One guy will attempt to carry o ut his UNPLANNED spots while his
opponent will put up a huge struggle to follow the general guidelines set earlier.
Do the wrestlers actually bleed?
Yes and no. Most often, a wrestler will have a blood capsule hidden in his trunks
or his shoes and his opponent hits him, he will burst the capsule and blood will spill
out. Occasionally, a wrestler will really bleed but this is relatively uncommon. The
other alternative is for a wrestler to hide a small razor blade in his trunks and he
will cut himself when the time calls for it. This is called "blading".
How do the wrestlers not get hurt when hit by foreign objects?
In a short sentence: because they are wrestlers and know how to take bumps.
Sure, the chairs are probably not made of the strongest metal you have seen but
there is some physics involved as well. Most of the wrestlers, just before they are
hit with the chair will move their head in the direction of the blow and this serves
to sort of cushion the impact. However, to take nothing away from them, they
really do get nailed and again it is a testiment to the skills they have developed as
they train to become a professional wrestler.
Shawn Michaels
1. Is Shawn Michaels gay?
To the best of everyone's knowledge, Shawn is not a homosexual. In fact, he is
either engaged to be married or already has been married depending on whom you
talk to.
2. What happened that time Shawn Michaels was attacked by the thugs?
Well, details are still unknown, but the general consensus is that Michaels, Sean
Waltman (X-Pac) and Davey Smith (Bulldog) were emerging from a bar in
Syracuse, when they were confronted by a group of men. Some of the guys held
Smith and Waltman back, while the rest of them gave Shawn a beating which
resulted in a brief hospitalization. It also forced Michaels to forfeit the IC belt to
Shane Douglas a few nights later.
3. What happened at Survivor Series during the "Bret Hart" incident?
This one is also a mystery, but most insiders agree that Shawn did in fact know
about the screwjob being played on Bret Hart. Basically, Shawn, Vince and some
higher WWF officials met and decided that they would end the match in Michaels'
favor despite the fact that Bret was told a different story. Shawn put Hart in the
sharpshooter, Vince ordered the bell rung even though Hart never submitted,
Shawn walked off as the new champion, Bret punched Vince and went to WCW a
few weeks later and the rest is history.
4. Who are the members of "The Clique"?
The official members are said to include Shawn Michaels, Jean-Paul Levesque
(Hunter Hearst Helmsley), Sean Waltman (X-Pac), Kevin Nash (Diesel) and Scott
Hall (Razor Ramon). The five men are/were best friends in "real life". Conversely,
"The Kliq" is the name Shawn Michaels gave to his fans as sort of an inside joke to
those that knew about the the true "Clique".
5. What happened in New York regarding the Clique?
Just prior to Hall and Nash leaving the WWF for WCW, Shawn, HHH, Disel and
Razor all engaged in a group hug in the middle of the ring following a Shawn-Diesel
match. This was 100% "shoot" (real) as it was one of the most blantant and
obvious breakings of kayfabe ever witnessed as Shawn and Razor were both faces
while HHH and Diesel were heels. Hunter was the only one who actually was
punished for the incident as he was put on jobbing duty for the remainder of the
year. Michaels was the current WWF champ and got off relatively light.
Hulk Hogan
1. Why did he leave the WWF?
Easy. He got more money and a lot of more booking power within than WCW
than he ever had with the WWF. At the time that Hogan made the switch, the
WWF was seriously hyping up Bret "Hitman" Hart and to a lesser extent Shawn
Michaels as their "main man". Hogan was offered a smaller role within the
company, which also inevitably included less pay. Hulk left the WWF in 1993 on
modest terms and went to Hollywood to make some movies before signing on with
Ted Turner's WCW the following year in 1994.
2. What happened to "Hulkamania"?
In a short answer, Turner and WCW had hoped for Hogan's appearance in their
promotion to bolster the ratings and bring in more revenue. However, the die-hard
WWF fans that equated Hulk Hogan to the WWF never allowed his character to
take off in WCW and so a new angle was thought up for Hulk. Enter Hollywood
Hogan, a big time heel and leader of the New World Order (nWo) along with the
newly WWF-departed Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. It is interesting to note that
originally, WCW had planned on Hogan opposing the nWo and having Hall, Nash
and Bret Hart form the outlaw stable but due to Bret's choice of remaining with
WWF, that plan was quickly scrapped.
3. Who owns the rights to the "Hulk Hogan" gimmick--Vince McMahon or Hogan
himself?
Neither of them do. Marvel Comics actually struck a deal with the WWF and Titan
Sports to have exclusive rights to the gimmick since they came up with the
"Incredible Hulk" character long before the WWF introduced Hulk Hogan.
4. Will he ever come back to the WWF?
Now that is one tough question to answer. Although, Vince McMahon and Hogan
parted ways rather modestly in 1993, future events that were due in large part to
the WWF-WCW war has strained their business and personal relationship. Given
that, it is doubtful to assume that he will once again return to the WWF. However,
as the saying goes "anything can happen in the WWF" and I would never ever rule
out a "Hulkamania" return to the WWF. Ever.
Vince McMahon
1. Does he really own the WWF?
Technically speaking no. Although he has full booking power, all money power,
hires and fires all the wrestlers, his official position is designated as the "Chairman
of Titan Sports Inc.". The actual "owner" of the WWF is his wife Linda McMahon
but we all know that Vince runs the show.
2. Does he really hate Steve Austin?
Of course not. Steve Austin is the WWF's (and consequently his company's)
biggest draw and as much as either party will deny it, the two do get along in "real
life".
The Ultimate Warrior
1. How many Ultimate Warriors have there been?
The answer to one of the most common questions I recieve is ONE! The man
formerly known as Jim Hellwig (more on that later) is the one and only Ultimate
Warrior despite changes in appearance, stature, name, organizations, etc. The
reason we know this is that Hellwig LEGALLY changed his name to "Warrior"
way back when and NO ONE (besides himself) would ever be allowed to use that
in any promotion. This leads to another point which is observable from the above
facts and that is that the Ultimate Warrior never died (obviously). He is alive and is
under WCW contract at the time of this writing.
2. Who were the Blade Runners?
The Ultimate Warrior and Sting back in the mid-80s, before either man made it
big.
3. Why did he leave the WWF in the years 1991, 1992 and 1996?
In 1991 and 1992, he left because he was being moved in a lesser slot within
WWF's roster (much like Hogan) and exercised an option in his contract that
allowed him to go elsewhere. In 1996, the Warrior missed an awful lot of dates and
wasn't figuring in on any of the WWF's big angles so the company decided to
release him.
4. What happened to "Warrior University"?
One word...BANKRUPTCY! Neither the Warrior or his staff was proficient
enough to handle the affairs of running a wrestling school so it was shut down.
Ric Flair
1. Why did he leave WCW in 1991 to come to the WWF?
Same reason as usual. WCW offered him a 50% pay-cut on a new contract and
midcard status. He opted for comparable pay and a higher status in WWF.
2. Why did he bring the NWA championship belt with him?
Because Flair owned it. Grant Crockett, the NWA owner sold the belt to Flair in
exchange for salary money (he was going bankrupt) and when Flair left NWA, he
took the belt with him. When Ted Turner took over WCW, he bought it back from
Flair.
3. Why did he go back to WCW then in 1993?
Since his services were no longer needed in the WWF and since Flair wanted to go
back to WCW, both the WWF and Ric Flair mutually agreed to terminate his
contract and as a result both sides remain friendly to this day.
Psycho Sid
1. Where is he now?
As of this writing, Sid is working for the ECW and is also doing some independent
shows around the country. However, it is general trait to no-show a lot of events,
which is what is basically keeping him out of the WWF.
2. What happened between him and Arn Anderson back in WCW?
Back in 1993, Sid and Arn Anderson got into a bit of a scuffle in their hotel rooms
and Sid used a pair of scissors to stab Arn, which caused numerous stitches to
close up. Arn was suspended and Sid was fired with the vow from WCW that they
would never again hire him back.
3. Who were the Skyscrapers?
At first the team consisted of Sid Eudy and Dan Spivey. However, later on Sid got
injured and was replaced by Mark Calloway, known to wrestling fans as the
Undertaker. Contrary to popular belief, Sid and Calloway were NEVER a team.
4. Will he ever return to the WWF?
Due to his enormous drawing power, the WWF would almost surely scoop Sid up
right away IF he would show some committment to the sport. Sid isn't the world's
healthiest wrestler nor is he the most well-liked in the dressing room, but the simple
fact that he puts "butts in the seat" (I'll quote an ignorant announcer) always leaves
the possibility of him re-appearing in the WWF open. He will not emerge in WCW,
especially as long as Arn Anderson is employed there.
Randy Savage
1. Is he really married to Elizabeth?
Not anymore. They got married some time in 1984 and were married throughout
their WWF careers despite the "mock" wedding Vince McMahon staged at
SummerSlam 91. In 1992, the two divorced on mutually amicable terms and
continue to work together in the wrestling profession.
2. Did he have a brother involved in pro wrestling?
Yes, you may remember him as either "Leaping" Lanny Poffo or the Genius.
Randy Savage's real name is Randy Poffo.
Steve Austin
1. Where did this "Austin 3:16" thing come from?
In 1996, after winning the King of the Ring tournament over Jake Roberts, who
was a born again Christian, Austin sort of mocked Roberts by saying "Talk about
your psalms, talk about your John 3:16...well, Austin 3:16 says I just whooped
your ass." The catch phrase was picked up and endorsed to the fullest and has a lot
to do with Austin's rise in popularity.
2. What was his "Ringmaster" gimmick all about?
When Austin first entered the WWF, he was dubbed as Ted DiBiase's "million
dollar champion" and given the million dollar belt. His character name was the
Ringmaster. However, as most of us know, the gimmick failed miserably and in a
prime example of a good wrestler overcoming a bad gimmick, Austin was
re-packaged and introduced as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. And we all know what
happened after that.
3. Why don't Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff get along?
In short, because Bischoff never gave Austin his chance in the spotlight even after
promising verbally to do so. Furthermore, soon after releasing Austin, Bischoff was
quoted as saying "he will never make it big in this industry". Steve retaliated by
signing with the WWF and the rest is history.
4. Is Austin the most popular professional wrestler in history?
Generally speaking, yes he is. He is moving more merchandise off the shelves than
Hogan did in his prime but that could possibly be attributed to wrestling's increased
popularity. Currently, Austin merchandise outsells Goldberg merchandise by a 2:1
ratio.
5. What happened at SummerSlam 97 involving Owen Hart?
In a match between the two, Owen executed a tombstone piledriver incorrectly,
and in the process bent Austin's neck in an awkward position which caused partial
paralysis during the match. Struggling to his feet and still able to win the match (as
the scripts dictated), the move caused permanent damage to Austin and is still
something from which he has not yet fully recovered from. Also as a result, this
has caused somewhat ill feelings between Owen Hart and Steve Austin, which is a
good reason why the two rarely wrestle each other anymore. A popular
misconception is that the spot was planned to put Owen over a mega-heel but just
to re-iterate, all the above was 100% legit.
Mick Foley
1. What happened to his ear?
On March 16, 1984, in a match against Vader in Germany, Cactus Jack got his
head caught in the ropes somehow and the tension between the ropes got tighter
and tighter until it finally snapped his right ear off. Although it was purely
accidental, his left ear required numerous stitches and his right ear, although iced
and saved, could not be put back on. Later on, Foley filed a lawsuit against WCW,
citing improper "ring structure". On a sidenote, apart from a few balance problems,
Mick feels no ill effects and no hearing loss.
2. What does the "three faces of Foley" refer to?
Just to his three gimmicks, Cactus Jack, Dude Love and Mankind. He has taken on
all three personas in the WWF, with Mankind being the most common.
Dustin Runnels
1. Is Goldust gay?
Hell no. In fact, neither the character nor the person is a homosexual. Dustin is
actually married with a child and the Goldust character is simply intended to throw
his opponents off-guard with the mind-games that Goldust does play.
2. Are Dustin and Terri really married?
Yes, Dustin Runnels married Terri Boatwright sometime in 1992 when both were
in WCW. Dustin introduced her into the WWF spotlight as his "director" Marlena
at the 1996 Royal Rumble.
3. What's up with him and Dusty Rhodes?
Although father and son, the two share a very strained relationship and at this time
rarely (never) talk to one another. The details of why this is so is still unclear.
Demolition
1. Who are all the people who were part of the team?
The first two people in it were Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash (Randy Culley). The
original Smash was fired from the WWF shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons
and the WWF brought on Barry Darsow to play the role. The new duo are the
wrestlers people picture when thinking of Demolition. Bryan Adams (Crush) was
added to the team in 1990, Ax was fired from the WWF and Smash and Crush
tagged for a few months before the team dismantled later in 1991.
2. Why was Ax fired?
The main reason he was fired was because Ax had a medical abnormality with his
heart that became serious in 1990. Crush was added to the team so that Ax would
not be needed to wrestler full-time but when things got progressively worse, the
WWF released Eadie.
3. Did they ever face Hawk and Animal of LOD?
Although they squared off in several 6-man tag matches (LOD and Warrior vs. all
3 Demolition), one night at a house show, Crush was injured and couldn't compete
and Warrior no-showed. This lead to the one and only meeting between the two
original Demolition members (Ax and Smash) and the Road Warriors (Hawk and
Animal). The LOD won the match.
4. Are they ever coming back?
Don't count on it. The only place the Demolition team can legally come back is in
the WWF and currently, Ax is in a legal dispute with Titan over the rights to his
and the Demolition name and Smash is with WCW.
The Undertaker
1. Has there been more than one Undertaker?
Nope. Mark Calloway is the one and only despite his changes in appearance. The
guy you see now is the very same guy who entered the WWF back in 1990.
Orginally, he entered the fed as the Undertaker and as Ted DiBiase's mystery
partner at the Survivor Series. However, within a few weeks, the WWF sort of
gave him a makeover and he became known as "Kane the Undertaker". Much
confusion is brought over this considering the fact that his "brother" in current
WWF storylines is also Kane. It's just a coincidence and probably due to the fact
that WWF bookers like the name Kane. Anyhow, back to the topic at hand, that
gimmick was short lived as well and the WWF changed him back to the
Undertaker and dropped former manager Brother Love for Paul Bearer.
2. What was the "fake Undertaker" thing all about?
This one has a lot of background to it but here is the general stuff that is really
important. Ted DiBiase is the guy who originally brought in the Taker but as
forementioned, Brother Love took over and then Paul Bearer stepped in after that.
After a match with Yokozuna in 1994, the Taker was stuffed into a casket and
mysteriously disappeared. No one, not even Paul Bearer knew where he went (in
character of course). At the same time, Ted DiBiase began making claims that he
had gotten in touch with The Undertaker and he would bring him back for
Summerslam. Paul Bearer contended that he was going to be the one that would
bring the Undertaker back to the WWF. This went on and on for several weeks
with both guys insisting they "had" the Undertaker. So a match was setup for
Summerslam that pitted Ted DiBiase's Undertaker vs. Paul Bearer's. The
"Underfaker" was Brian Lee (Chainz) dressed up like the real one and the end
result was Paul Bearer's real one easily pinning the fake one led by DiBiase. After
that, the subject was dropped and never talked about again from the WWF.
3. Who is Kane?
Well, if you mean who plays Kane, the answer is Glen Jacobs, the man that has
previously taken on the roles of Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS and the Fake Diesel. He is
not really Undertaker's brother and his face is not really burned.
The Giant
1. Is he really Andre the Giant's son?
NO!!!! It was just a publicity stunt by the WCW (Hogan in general) to lend more
heat to Giant's character and to further signify a Hogan-Giant feud. Andre only had
one daughter. The Giant (Paul Wight) is in NO way related to Andre.
The Rock
1. How did the "Rocky sucks" chants start?
Orginally, Rocky Maivia was brought in as a future superstar and instead of slowly
building him up, the WWF immediately labelled Maivia as a bigtime "babyface"
despite the fact that he was never over with the fans. What made it even worse is
that Maivia was declared the WWF IC champion after a victory over HHH in
1997, which annoyed the fans so much that they started chanting "Rocky sucks,
Rocky sucks" whenever Maivia appeared. Not good to have your babyface,
Intercontinental champion get booed and a short while later, we all witnessed the
inevitable heel turn as Maivia joined the Nation. The WWF turned what was a
horrible situation into a huge advantage.
2. Why did they make him turn face and then back to heel?
Well, his face turn came about pretty much the same way his original heel turn
happened. Despite being in the Nation and being a "bad guy", the Rock's famous
catch phrases (The People's ...) made his popularity soar to unbelievable heights.
The crowd popped him bigtime. The WWF noticed this and gradually moved him
into the #2 face position in the company behind Austin. However, problems soon
began to come up because now the WWF had two unbelieveably over faces and
no heels to match them. As a result, the Rock turned on his fans and joined the
Corporate Team, thus turning him back into a mega-heel. It is interesting to note
that the same thing is happening yet again (he's getting cheered) so it would be a
logical assumption to expect another face turn somewhere down the road.
Andre the Giant
1. Was he truly undefeated for 10 years?
Yes, from 1977 up until his defeat to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3, there was no
documented case of anyone beating Andre. He may have lost during that time here
and there, but again there are no records that show that.
2. How did he die?
Andre suffered from severe heart problems due to his immense height and weight.
When he was a child, doctors predicted that he would not live past the age of 30.
While attending his father's funeral in 1993, Andre died peacefully in his sleep at
the age of 46 years old.
Eric Bischoff
1. What is his title in WCW?
Although Eric does not own WCW (that honor belongs to Ted Turner), he is
responsible for the daily runnings of the company and his official title is "President
of WCW". He looks over the booking, decides whom to hire, and controls the
overall direction that company undertakes. He pretty much does the same things
that Vince McMahon does for the WWF, however the big difference is that
Bischoff can get fired, McMahon cannot.
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