The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle

ANALYSIS: JIM CORNETTE ON THE FOUR GROUPS OF WRESTLING'S TARGET AUDIENCE

2006-01-15T16:36:00.000-07:00

Recently, Jim Cornette took part in Ring of Honor's Secrets of the Ring-- a series where those within the wrestling industry touch on the concepts and philosophies that they personally value in making professional wrestling successful. During this interview, Jim Cornette broke the American public into four groups when it came to promoting and marketing professional wrestling. The following is a transcript of Jim Cornette's explanation.

The First Group: "There are this many people who come to see anything in a wrestling ring. They're going to come to see anybody in boots and tights in a wrestling ring no matter what. They're hardcore. They are on the internet. They want to come because either they can't get enough wrestling or they want to bitch and complain about something and say how they could do it better."

The Second Group: "This crowd likes good wrestling. Not old wrestling, not new wrestling, just good wrestling. There's two kinds of wrestling: good wrestling and bad wrestling. I don't care who presents it or what it is, that's this crowd, that's the second crowd. They want to see good wrestling and if you present a good product for an extended period of time to where it gets the point across, they will come to see you.

The Third Group: This crowd comes to see the star, comes to the see the big event. The Rock, The Steve Austin. Either somebody really gets hot like Hulk Hogan two decades ago or The Rock and Austin in the late 90's or whatever. Or Wrestlemania is hot. That's the crowd where no matter what you do they aren't going to come all the time, and they're not going to watch every week, but they know it is around. That's the third group, the people who will come for the big shows or the big stars.

Everybody else in the world is in the fourth group. They don't give two flying fucks. You could put a flying elephant in the ring, they don't give a shit because it's wrestling and they don't want to see it. They want to see ballet, fly fishing and I don't give a fuck what else. You ain't going to get them.

So you've always got these people [group one] right. And I'm not saying you should shit on them because they are your ticket purchasing patrons, but you have always got these people. If you've got a good product, you've got group number two so concentrate on that. There's really no way that you control group number three because how do you just say 'Ok, this guy is going to be the next Rock. Or the next Steve Austin or Hulk Hogan'. You can't do that, they've got to come along. That's when you get the really big house, record gates, whatever.

And the fourth group, who gives a flying fuck what you people want to see, if you people are going to god damn ballet, fuck you! Because we're doing wrestling. And the people who try to say 'Well, we're going to give people who don't like wrestling something to watch'. They've got something to watch, it's on all the other fucking stations while your program is on you dumb son of a bitch! So why do you do shit that's not related in any way to wrestling on a wrestling program. They don't stop Saturday Night Live to have Curt Gowdy give the god damn Olympic freestyle skating report. The people watching Saturday Night Live don't give two flying fucks about the god damn Olympic freestyle skating. So WHY DO IT is all I am saying?

You've got group one. If you're good you get group two. When you're lucky you get group three, and the rest of them it don't make a fuck because they're not coming anyway."

HISTORY: THE STATEMENT THAT SENT THE COWBOY AWAY

2006-01-14T16:05:00.000-07:00

With Jim Herd's disasterous reign as the chair of the National Wrestling Alliance booking committee a memory better off forgotten, a lawyer for Ted Turner's Superstation TBS named Jim Frey was inexplicably promoted to fill the void left behind. He wouldn't hold the position long, as soon therafter a colorful legend --and promotional genius -- by the name of "Cowboy" Bill Watts was signed to a deal as the new Vice President of Wrestling Operations for World Championship Wrestling. Jim Herd quietly resigned and was moved elsewhere within the Turner Organization.

If Turner brass would have read comments made by Watts in an interview several months earlier, they could have saved themselves the trouble of hiring him in the first place. Ironically, it was a future employee of World Championship Wrestling named Mark Madden who would fax a transcript of Watts's controversial interview to Turner darling and professional baseball homerun king Hank Aaron a short time after "The Cowboy" first put his imprint on World Championship Wrestling.

"Horrible" and "despicable" were the two words emphasized most by Aaron in discussing Watts' statement. Amid controvery, Watts and Turner Sports would soon part ways.

The question of whether Bill Watts's was in fact a bigot or simply a man who spoke too openly about his honest opinions on social issues has always intrigued wrestling fans. Statements have ranged from "Bill Watts was the type of guy, if he's gonna call you a n-----, he's gonna call you a n----- to your face" (Charles "2 Cold Scorpio" Scaggs) to "Bill Watts saw only one color, green". The truth may never be known, and it probably isn't particularly relevant anyway.

Perhaps in no other instance was Bill Watts' straddling this thin line more dangerously than in an interview with The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter in the summer of 1991. The following are the statements that would eventually lead to the departure of Bill Watts from World Championship Wrestling.

HISTORY: VINCE MCMAHON AND THE STEROID TRIAL

2006-01-09T19:45:00.000-07:00

PART ONE (Beta Version)

Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Early 1980's.

It looked like any other aging arena in the northeast from the outside. A crude makeshift locker room inside played host to an even cruder makeshift office. A folding table and a few files were all. It wasn't much, but to the customers it was everything. One by one they approached the office, exchanging a few pleasantries before walking away with a paper bag. Inside was any prescription drug a human being could possibly desire --all in large enough quantity to last several weeks. It came at a discount, but transactions of hundreds of dollars were routine. The affable doctor behind the office desk was always adorned in a bowtie --prepared in the event that a stray television camera happened to pass by. He finally felt like a peer to the unique brand of athlete that he grew up idolizing.

The second generation promoter could have done something to stop it, but what the doctor was doing was nothing that wasn't going on elsewhere. Other members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission could have stepped in, but they turned a blind eye. To them it was merely boys being boys. No one knew that years later, death and the strong arm of the law would lay a figurative bodyslam on the makeshift office that reverberated with enough impact to bring those involved most intimately to the brink of collapse.

* * * * *

Hollywood, California. July, 1988

The use of the studio that the two men occupied made up only a small part of the twenty million dollar budget that the upcoming promotional vehicle and full length feature film No Holds Barred commanded. It was an adventure for both. Vincent Kennedy McMahon Jr. had taken a hands on approach to the project, which fell under the Shane Productions branch of the Titan Sports Inc. umbrella. Though one of Hollywood's brightest --and most expensive --scriptwriters was tapped for the project, McMahon modified the story at will, molding it into an art-imitating-art progression in which a diabolical rival promoter with more than subtle similarities to Ted Turner attempted to raid his opposition of their biggest wrestling star. That star was Terry Bollea, better known to most as Hulk Hogan. Bollea wasn't simply along for the ride however. Fifteen months prior, Bollea's Wrestlemania III main event with the beloved "Andre the Giant" earned him the biggest one night payoff in the history of American wrestling. When the t's were crossed and the i's dotted, Bollea's involvement in No Holds Barred would guarantee him a bigger check than Vince McMahon Jr. had ever written to one of his wrestlers.

The time that the two men spent during the filming of No Holds Barred was the most that they would ever spend together. The stayed at the same hotel when they were off set, and shared a trailer when on the set. As business associates, the two men owed each other everything. Bollea's millions could have never been made without McMahon's cunning as a promoter, and McMahon's empire of hundreds of millions of dollars probably couldn't have reached such levels without Bollea as the face of the World Wrestling Federation. As friends, they grew as close as they ever would on those long days of filming in the summer of 1988.

And on this afternoon, Vincent Kennedy McMahon and Terry Bollea shared more than just road stories. On the set of No Holds Barred, Vince McMahon first approached Terry Bollea about steroids. McMahon listened intently as his biggest star explained the ins and outs of the different substances. Bollea briefed McMahon on the best way to cycle the drugs, and most likely showed his employer how to inject himself. That afternoon, "Hulk Hogan" gave McMahon part of his supply --decadorabilin and a bottle of anabar pills to be precise. Bollea didn't mind sharing his stash. "It is similar to how smokers share cigarettes" Hogan would say six years later while under oath.

* * * * *

Summer, 1989. Greenwich, Connecticut.

As social elite in wealthy Greenwich, Connecticut, the McMahon family were always in demand. Vince McMahon --a self-admitted workaholic -- rarely had the time to mingle. His third wife Linda still managed to find a few hours to let her hair down on occasion however. From humble beginnings, she relished the opportunity to establish herself as a fixture so high on the socialite ladder.

Linda McMahon's desire to be seen set off a chain of events that would save her husband and his World Wrestling Federation on this fateful evening. At what was likely another in a never ending series of stuffy dinner parties in Greenwich, Connecticut, Linda McMahon was having a conversation when the most unusual thing was accidentally mentioned off the cuff. On the outside, Linda McMahon likely played cool and disinterested. On the inside, she knew that it would change everything.

* * * * *

October 1989. Pennsylvania

The doctor's legitimate medical office was hardly a folding table in the dingy recesses of an aging arena. He didn't make a habit of writing unlimited prescriptions in this venue, but this afternoon he was making an exception.

"I'm giving you better prices than the wrestlers" the doctor said after agreeing to throw in a case of syringes for free.

He had just arranged a near $700 order that included steroids, eighteen vials of various injectable drugs and enough painkillers to ground an elephant. The recipient was William Dunn, and George Zahorian had no idea that he was wearing a wire.

* * * * *

February 1990. Stamford, Connecticut

One of Vince McMahon's chief aids walked discretely away from World Wrestling Federation offices. Looking over his shoulder to ensure that his privacy would not be compromised, he slowly fed his change into the payphone and began to dial. A payphone was the only way. If the phone call was recorded, the topple of the Titan Sports Inc. would be the least of problems. After a few rings a forty-year-old male answered. There is little doubt that this would be the worst call of Dr. George Zahorian's professional career.

In the midst of a series of mundane conversations at a dinner party, Linda McMahon had heard something that she was never meant to hear. A casual mention had been made in passing of a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission by the name of George Zahorian according to later accounts by Dave Meltzer. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was hot to him, and it wouldn't be long until the FBI would have a strong enough case to move on the doctor.

The message from Vince McMahon's representative was loud and clear. Any records that linked Titan Sports or Vince McMahon to Zahorian's illegal drug trafficking had to removed from his offices immediately and destroyed.

The doctor had grown up idolizing wrestlers and jumped at the opportunity to work for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission when the opportunity presented itself in the late 1970's. He knew that he would be assigned as Commission doctor at World Wide Wrestling Federation events in Allentown and Hamburg. Doctors like Zahorian were common in wrestling --often referred to behind their back as "jock-sniffers" due to their willingness to break the law in order to feel like one of the boys around the athletes. Sean Waltman, Scott Hall and the charismatic World Wrestling Federation champion "Shawn Michaels" would sometimes drive hours out the way to attend barbeques at the residence of a groupie-like doctor who would return the favor by opening a floodgate of prescription pills to the professional wrestlers. It was just part of the business. Zahorian began distributing controlled substances to professional wrestlers in 1981, and was ecstatic to play his part in the mechanism --until he received that phone call at least.

Almost immediately after the call, a high ranking World Wrestling Federation official by the name of Pat Patterson was having an urgent conversation of his own. It was with the prolific World Wrestling Federation Champion Terry Bollea. Patterson quietly briefed Bollea on the circumstances surrounding Zahorian, and told "Hulk Hogan" in no uncertain terms to cut of all contact with the doctor immediately and to never speak to or do business with him again. Bollea didn't listen. Several days later, he placed a phone call to George Zahorian, presumably about placing another order. Hogan wouldn't get a chance to do so. The doctor who had spent a decade desperately seeking acceptance from his idols would refuse to take the phone call from the biggest star in professional wrestling history.

* * * * *

March 1990. Pennsylvania

William Dunn once again walked into the door of George Zahorian's medical offices. Dunn was greeted by a very different man. The once jovial doctor was now nervous and reserved according to an account of the afternoon in Sex, Lies and Headlocks. If William Dunn momentarily felt regrets about setting up the doctor, they were likely drowned by thoughts of the cold prison cell he himself would have found himself occupying if not for his cooperation with the feds.

As Dunn walked out of Zahorian's offices with $25,000 worth of drugs, painkillers and steroids, he passed the two federal agents who were walking in with a warrant for the arrest of Dr. George Zahorian. According to Sex, Lies and Headlocks, Zahorian trembled when he saw the agents. Submissively, Zahorian asked permission to call his lawyer.

Moments later, the two agents heard a faint sound in the distance. It was the sound of paper tearing. When they cornered Zahorian, they found him on his knees, nervously clutching a fist full of shredded paper. When the agents pried his hands open, they found the remains of Federal Express receipts. They bared the names of Alfred Hayes and Roddy Piper --two stars of Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation. In his final act before leaving his office in handcuffs, Zahorian was attempting to protect the professional wrestlers who had played a part in landing him in such a dire position.

The effort was in vein. The FBI had been following the paper trail for months, and the names of Vince McMahon and Terry Bollea were all over it. As the hammer was about to come down on the doctor who sacrificed his professional career and freedom to get closer to the wrestlers his substances would end up putting in early graves, the early stages of a case against the wrestling promoter who didn't do a thing to stop it was slowly being built, and it contained enough to potentially put Vincent McMahon Jr. behind bars for a decade.

SITE NEWS: A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

2006-01-09T19:23:00.000-07:00

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we would like to offer another apology for the lack of content provided in the last week. Unfortunately, the source material that we planned on using for our upcoming feature examining a second fourteen week period in 1990 has been delayed in transit and isn't scheduled to reach us until the end of the week.

That brings us to our announcement. Three weeks ago, readers of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle chose The Definitive History of the World Bodybuilding Federation as the historical feature that they would like to see us examine. Your choice was good enough to lead us towards what we believe turned out to be our best work to date.

Several days ago, research began on what will be the second historical feature chosen by the readers of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. We are pleased to announce that the winner of voting was Vince McMahon's Day in Court.

When we began working on the historical feature, it wasn't meant to approach The Definitive History of the World Bodybuilding Federation in length, and was only meant to cover the actual testimony of the trial that could have put the president of Titan Sports Inc. behind bars for over ten years. It hasn't quite worked out that way however. What we have uncovered through preliminary research is a story as complex as it is fascinating, involving doctors, sound stages, huge amounts of money, paranoid payphone calls, plea bargains, the FBI, attempted destruction of evidence and more twists and turns than a Hollywood film.

The story really begins in the late 1970's, and the roots are just too interesting to bypass. To make a long story short, we refuse to make a long story short. Judging by the quantity of information that we have already compiled as credible research, we believe that by the time we have completed this feature, not only will it blow away anything in our short history, but it will be roughly three times the length of our feature on the World Bodybuilding Federation --and even that may be conservative.

Unfortunately, we are striving for quality over quantity at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle and don't want to rush anything. Even The Definitive History of the WBF left us slightly unsatisfied as we uncovered even more information that we would have liked to have included several days after releasing (look for version 2.0 at some point in the near future), and we want to ensure that the most complete and accurate version of a feature is the first and only that you will ever read.

Because it will probably be at best a week before we are comfortable enough with the completed version of this feature to release it, we have started a mailing list so that rather than coming to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we can come to you with instant email notification whenever a major feature is launched on the pages of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. You will not be spammed, your information will not be sold, and we will only notify you when something such as The Definitive History of the World Bodybuilding Federation, Fourteen Weeks in 1990, or our upcoming feature on the trial of Vince McMahon are released. To sign up for the mailing list, simply type your email address into the section labeled Mailing List on the right menu bar of our main page.

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we would like to thank you for your patience as we take the time to find credible information and fit the pieces together in the most compelling fashion that we are capable of. We hope that the final results will be worth the wait.

The following is a preview of our upcoming feature.

* * * * *

Hollywood, California. July, 1988

* * * * *
Coming Soon to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle.

HISTORY: VINCE MCMAHON'S TROUBLED 1998 AOL CHAT

2006-01-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

On August 20th of 1998, Vince McMahon, president of the World Wrestling Federation, was seated in the office of Bill Banks waiting for an interactive chat with America Online to begin. At the time, AOL and Prodigy chats were a popular new way for those within the wrestling industry to interact with fans. McMahon didn't know that midway through the chat session, technical difficulties would cause him to lose the ability to recieve questions from the approximately 5,000 AOL users logged in to interact with him. The second half of the chat would consisted of Vince McMahon talking to himself for ten minutes in rather humorous and revealing fashion. The following is a transcript of this chat. Vince McMahon used the name "WWFLive2".

WWFBBANKS: Folks....Mr. McMahon is here! We will begining in a
moment...Send your questions in for Mr. McMahon! Welcome Mr. McMahon!

WWFLive2: HELLO EVERYBODY, GOT A CUP OF COFFEE IN MY HAND GETTING READY TO TRAIN IN AN HOUR, LET'S DO IT!

Question: Who would you like to see represent the WWF as their Champion?

WWFLive2: Bob Backlund, however, Mr. Backlund is too old.

Question: Is Sid coming back?

WWFLive2: I hope not.

Question: Vince, what kind of working relationship, if any, do you
have with Paul Heyman of ECW?

WWFLive2: I hear from Paul approximately once every three
months when he wants something. That's the extent of the relationship although, on occasion, I want something from him too.

Question: What next big talent might be coming to WWF. Is Ric Flair on his way?

WWFLive2: If I told you the next big talent who was to arrive on the scene, I would spoil the surprise, however, it's no secret that I would like for Mr. Flair to be in WWF ranks, only however, when he is legally clear to do so.

Question: Why is RAW taped week after week?

WWFLive2: RAW is live at least twice per month, soon to be more.

Question: Vinnie Mac, what are your concens now that the warrior has joined wcw?

WWFLive2: None! Whose left that wcw can take? Bruno Sammartino?

Question: Mr. McMahon, Are you and Bret Hart in Cahoots against WCW?

WWFLive2: Bret is my secret agent, however, not a very good
one!

Question: Mr. McMahon, over the past two years in which WCW peaked
(probably permanently), how sure were you that your new "direction" of the WWF would reclaim it's rightful throne?

WWFLive2: I always feel that creativity coupled with LadyLuck and a very strong work ethic will eventually overcome. Despite overwhelming odds and predatory practices from Ted Turner.

Question: Vince, You must realize that many young children idolize the wrestlers of the WWF. I was wondering if you were at all concerned what the kids were picking up from the middle fingers and sex references from the wrestlers??

WWFLive2: It's the 90's! The WWF is only reflecting what is contemporary in today's society I dare say there are a great deal more middle fingers and sexual references in everyone's life then are portrayed in the WWF. Nonetheless, it is every parents discretion as to whether populace watch the WWF or any other TV program on the air.

Question: What are your thoughts on Hawk and his appearance of being drunk?

WWFLive2: Perhaps Hawk should visit Betty Ford.

Question: Vince you need to further improve your light weight division.....the belt seems almost meaningless. How will you improve this?

WWFLive2: Yokozuna is on a diet! Perhaps an influx of Ethiopian talent would be appropriate

Question: Vince, what is your true opinion on Mick Foley? Don't you think he deserves at least a title shot after all he's done to himself for the WWF?

WWFLive2: Mick Foley is one of the most extraordinary human beings on the face of the planet. But sometimes people don't get what they deserve. Although in Mick's case, he might.

Question: Mr. McMahon who in your opinion has the most talent in the WWF?
WWFLive2: Vince McMahon

Question: Where is the patriot?
WWFLive2: The Patriot is where all old patriots go, probably in a VFW home somewhere in South Carolina.

Question: Are you interested in Chris Jericho?
WWFLive2: I'm interested in any young aggressive performer who has the desire to excel.

Question: Mr. McMahon who is your favorite wrestler (active) AND WHY
WWFLive2: George the Animal Steele still wrestles for the independents. Why, because he is older than I am, I admire that.

Question: Vince, are you a fan of South Park? Will we see Golga on there?
WWFLive2: I love South Park! Chef and Cartman are my two favorite characters.

Question: Do you plan on signing randy savage when his contract expires?
WWFLive2: In the year 2032, that might be a little late.

Question: Do you respect Eric Bishoff at all? If so why? If not why?
WWFLive2: As far as a TV performer is concerned, I think he's pretty good, but, I don't know the man personally, I really can't comment.

Question: WHAT IS YOUR OPINION ON TONY SCHIAVONES COMMENTATING TWO WEEKS AGO WHERE HE INSULTED YOUR MAIN EVENT CONSTANTLY THROUGHOUT NITRO?
WWFLive2: Tony only does what he's told to do.

Question: Will we ever see Bret in the WWF again and have you spoke to him since?
WWFLive2: He might return one day to the WWF, but not at the rate that his skill is deteriorating in WCW.

Question: Vince, why didn't you show at the WCW PPV to fight Eric Bischoff?
WWFLive2: I sent Mr. Bishoff a letter indicating that any parking lot in any city in America would be a suitable location for me to meet him. Rather than me show up at a Turner PPV and increase their buy rates I chose to offer Mr. Bishoff a with no TV coverage, just Bishoff vs. Vince. I got no response.

(The AOL service malfunctions, leaving Vince McMahon alone. Vince McMahon would spend the next twenty minutes waiting for service to resume. It never did.)

WWFLive2: We're temporarily frozen, stand by.

WWFLive2: We're coming back up, stay with me.

WWFLive2: I guess we have too damn many people wanting to talk to Mr. McMahon.

WWFLive2: What the hell is going on anyhow??

WWFLive2: This is supposed to be interactive but right now it's a one way street.

WWFLive2: You might even call it the HIGHWAY TO HELL!. In which case, in a role that is unfit for me, likely I would be deemed the devil.

WWFLive2: Hang on everybody, we're still frozen, god it's cold in here. Can we say shrinkage?

WWFLive2: While we're down, I predict that all of my
predictions are likely to be verified this Monday on RAW. Can you
believe that the Undertaker drove off with his brother Kane in a
hearse last Monday. I understand they were last seen on Route
95 heading North.

WWFLive2: Can somebody at AOL please wake the hell up? Is all of America trying to talk to Mr. McMahon?

WWFLive2: We're back, finally!

WWFLive2: No we're not back.

WWFLive2: Why the hell is AOL frozen?

WWFLive2: Damn it, I want to talk to you people.

WWFLive2: More importantly, I want to listen to you.

WWFLive2: But to answer most of your question, I'm feeling fine!

WWFLive2: It's nice that everyone is so concerned with my
health and mental well being. I didn't know so many people cared.

WWFLive2: You see while this damn thing is frozen, I can
fantasize all I want. Which brings me to Sable. Wow!! Wait til you
guys see, if you haven't already, some of the new shots of Sable. Truly a classy lady. and a classy chassy to boot. Did I say boot, that's kind of nice too.

WWFLive2: Well I certainly appreciate all of the questions
coming over a frozen AOL. Come on Bob Pittman, get your shit together! The one opportunity I have to speak to everybody online and damn el nino strikes again! Or is it nanook of the
north? You guys remember the pro wrestler Nanook don't you? He worked for Jerry Jarrett in the 60's under an assumed name. Speaking of Jerry Jarrett, wonder how well he's doing selling property. He was thought of as the most beloved promoter in the history of the wrestling business, although Kansas City's Bob Gigel ran a close second. What the hell's going on? I'm still frozen! We're crashed.

WWFLive2: She's breaking up, she's breaking up.

WWFLive2: Much like DX might be doing...oops! maybe I shouldn't
have said that.

WWFLive2: I'm having a blast talking to myself. I can't hear you.

WWFLive2: I'm making alot of sense to myself, as I generally do when I am asking and answering my own questions, I'm sure yours would be more provocative:

WWFLive2: Alright AOL. What the hell is going on? You should
have known that people want to talk to Mr. McMahon.

WWFLive2: I know I do.

WWFLive2: This is really getting nonsensical, if we don't
straighten it out soon, I'm going downstairs to the no excuse gym,
open 7 days per week, 24 hours a day. My goal is to add another
quarter inch to these massive twenty inch guns.

WWFLive2: Speaking of massive, wait til you get a load of a new
WWF toy. It's called a BOSS HOSS. It's a 351 cubic inch chevrolet
engine. Fitted between my legs, 0 to 60 in 1 1/2 seconds. It's the ultimate crotch rocket!

WWFLive2: We're talking to AOL now, Susan, who claims that we may have had a problem if more than 5,000 people were trying to get in, no shit, can you imagine that. Like I said before, they just weren't prepared.

WWFLive2: Susan, I sure wish this problem with AOL were fixed. What a waste.

WWFLive2: I'm told some of you now can see this monologue.

WWFLive2: It's not a very good monologue.

WWFLive2: Mr. M: But, it's the best I can do at the moment. What I
would really like is for AOL to apologize to all of you who have
attempted to reach the WWF and yours truly tonight. I would like to
see this apology on the air and in every newspaper and we here will
apologize to our fans through WWF.COM as well as on the air.

WWFLive2: I'm sitting in Bill Banks office with a cup of coffee
in my hand that's cold, looking up at DX making some sort of gesture toward their crotch, what the hell is the matter with Bill Banks?

WWFLive2: Oops, Bill just told me to suck it!

WWFLive2: What does he mean by that?

WWFLive2: Perhaps Monica can help us out!

WWFLive2: And how about that Chris Rock anyhow.

WWFLive2: Just like he said, Bill Clinton gave Monica a job, oh
what the hell you can finish the rest. Speaking of jobs, what would I like to do to AOL at this moment, and who was that cold hearted women, Susan, that I just spoke to from AOL, who asked the questions, Did we promote, that Mr. McMahon was going to be on line tonight?

WWFLive2: That's it, I'm looking to get Bob Pitman in the ring.
How about it Bob, a Brawl for All, Pittman vs. McMahon. Knowing you, you'd probably cheat to win.

WWFLive2: It wouldn't work, just like this damn AOL isn't
working tonight.

WWFLive2: I have now begun to mumble to myself.

WWFLive2: I am boring myself out of my mind.

WWFLive2: Speaking of minds, what about that retarded Mankind?
How gullible is that guy anyhow, you want to talk messed up? I liked him better as Dude. At least Dude would shower regularly. Have you guys every smelled that stinky leather mask that Mankind wears. If you're anywhere in the first 10 rows, you have. It wasn't your neighbor flatulating next to you, it was Mankind's mask, Or, was it the aftermath of a Vader match? Or, was it the aftermath of a Vader match?

WWFLive2: If the canvas on the ring had not been changed in the
last month. and, Vader has been in the building, there will be an
odor. It's Vader Time. That sends shock waves through the WWF
lockerroom.

WWFLive2: Well it's almost time for me to go train, I must say
I thoroughly enjoyed the first five minutes of our chat. which was
interactive, just like the WWF will be interactive tomorrow with the hierarchy of AOL.

WWFLive2: If I were you I would demand a Christmas gift, a
birthday card, and an autographed picture of Bob Pittman. or Susan
whatsherface? who could not solve our problem tonight.

WWFLive2: I've got two words for AOL - SUCK IT!

WWFLive2: Wait a minute, that's Bill Banks line to me earlier,
I think he stole it from somebody else.

WWFLive2: I apologize for breathing in and breathing out and
wasting your precious time, but, perhaps, we can do it again some
other time, when AOL has their shit together.

WWFLive2: Mr. M: In the immortal words of Vince McMahon I hope it was better for you then it was for me. Goodnight.

SITE NEWS: A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

2006-01-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. we would like to wish you a very happy New Year. We would like to thank you for making our latest historical feature The Definitive History of the World Bodybuilding Federation the most successful feature in our short history. To anyone who posted a link to the feature, shared it with a friend or simply took the time to read it, your support is greatly appreciated. We feel as though we have found our niche with this type of coverage, and are confident that our best work is yet to come as we move in to 2006.

Our next historical feature will be the second phase of the Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series: Fourteen More Weeks in 1990: A Summer to Remember. Like the first phase, this feature will appear in four parts over the span of one week. We are hopeful that Part One should be completed in the next 48 hours, with the next three parts following shortly.

In the meantime, we have added a new poll. Several weeks ago, The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle asked you to select what our next historical feature would be. The History of the World Bodybuilding Federation was voted as the next to appear on The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, and the result was what we feel was our strongest coverage to date. Once again, we would like you to help determine what our next historical retrospective will be. Three new choices have been added to the poll, along with the two highest voted runners up from our last poll. When the final part of Fourteen More Weeks in 1990: A Summer to Remember has been completed, we will begin research on the next historical feaure --the winner of the poll.

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, Happy Holidays and see you soon for Fourteen More Weeks in 1990.

HISTORY: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE WBF

2005-12-27T21:48:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago, the staff of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle began research on our biggest project to date, a comprehensive feature on the history of the World Bodybuilding Federation. Finding reliable and accurate information, or any information at all on the WBF is difficult in 2005 as the federation was so unpopular and newsletter coverage so minimal. Our goal was that when complete, The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle's feature on the World Bodybuilding Federation would be the most comprehensive coverage of the organization readily available on the internet. At eight-thousand words with over a dozen sources consulted, we are fairly certain that we have met that goal.

The Definitive History of the World Bodybuilding Federation credits Irvin Muchnik's 1991 essay "Pimping Iron", the 1993 Flex Magazine peice "The Rise and Fall of the WBF", Mike Mooneyham's "Sex, Lies and Headlocks", The Wrestling Observer Newsletter and The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter, and draws information from former WWF and WBF executives, former bodybuilders and current bodybuilding enthusiasts and many more sources.

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we would like to thank you for being a part of The Definitive History of The World Bodybuilding Federation.

HISTORY: THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF THE WBF

September 15th 1990 - As the final moments of the annual Mr. Olympia competition played out, there was nothing particularly memorable about the scene. Inside of the Arie Crown Theatre in downtown Chicago, a crowd of 4,600 watched on as physically impressive --though relatively un-charismatic -- Lee Haney took the crown for the seventh consecutive year. It was a surprise to very few. It was a long night of posing, flexing, and even more posing from the traditionalist International Federation of Bodybuilding (IFBB). The sponsors, muscle-heads and product shillers in the crowd had to be exhausted. As the Olympia wound down, it seemed like business as usual. What was going on in the lobby of the Arie Crown Theatre in those final few minutes was anything but however. A carefully calculated all-out ambush was about to occur. The man behind it was Vince McMahon, and the intentions were hostile.

* * * * *

Joe Weider is a man as synonymous with competitive bodybuilding as Vince McMahon is with professional wrestling. The two men really aren't that different, both are self-made millionaires --and carnies at heart. Both are in the business of pushing Herculean physiques. In 1939, Weider self published the debut issue of a newsletter called Your Physique. Three decades later, renamed Muscle Builder, Weider was about to ride his brand of personal fitness literature to fame and fortune. According to Irvin Muchnick, in the early years, Weider knew that the core audience for his bodybuilding magazines was homosexuals, and he wasn't above using an occasional sexually suggestive headline if it meant a boost in sales. In 1983, Muscle Builder again had a change of name, this time to Muscle & Fitness, and the publication remains popular to this day.

In 1990, Vince McMahon had recently cut the ribbon on the new Titan Towers in Stamford, Connecticut, a state of the art, 9 million dollar facility that included television production facilities that were the envy of many in the business of television. In Woodland Hills, California, Joe Weider and his partner --and brother --Ben Weider controlled a bodybuilding and publishing empire from posh offices of their own. According to Muchnick, the first thing one sees when entering the offices is a bronze statue of Joe Weider's head attached to the frame of a massive bodybuilder. Joe Weider --or The Master Blaster as the then sixty-eight year old had nicknamed himself-- is an avid self promoter, with his magazines serving at times as an unofficial tribute to himself. Photos of celebrities with "The Master Blaster" and often inane articles about Joe were a typical part of the Muscle & Fitness experience. At one point, 224 references to Joe Weider were made in a single issue of the magazine. Joe Weider, like Vince McMahon, even went so far as to step on to the stage and compete in his own Mr. Olympia competition at one point. Also like Vince McMahon, Joe Weider is a polarizing figure, considered an icon and the savior of bodybuilding by some, and a conman who slings worthless supplements by others.

Ben Weider co-founded the IFBB with Joe in the late 1940's, and took the Presidential role in the 1980's as the more diplomatic of the two. His slogan --parroted by some and mocked by most --is "bodybuilding is important for nation building", and he has recited it frequently in his decades long quest to get competitive bodybuilding sanctioned as an Olympic sport.

Much like the National Wrestling Alliance controlled wrestling in America before Vince McMahon's radical vision shifted the landscape of the industry, the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) controlled bodybuilding in America in the 1940's, and the centerpiece of the AAU was their annual Mr. America contest. Ben and Joe Weider had a different vision of what physique athletics should be in America, and formed the IFBB, starting a promotional war of sorts when the IFBB held their own Mr. America for the first time in 1949. The AAU countered by blackballing anyone who ever accepted payment from the IFBB from competing in future AAU events, but in the end it was the Weider brothers who prevailed.

If professional wrestling is a niche sport, professional bodybuilding is a sport that appeals to so few that a word doesn't even exist to describe it. In 1990, the only television coverage of bodybuilding to speak of was a show called American Muscle that ran roughly once a month on ESPN --at 3am. Despite this, Joe Weider boasted to be in charge of an empire that grossed over 100 million dollars per year. At that point, Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Federation was grossing 150 million dollars per year.

But Vince McMahon was never content simply being a wrestling promoter. Before finding his calling with the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon had promoted hockey, rock concerts and stunt shows, and he always kept his eyes open for the next big challenge. He had tried his hand at promoting a boxing match and producing the film No Holds Barred in the late 1980's. Each produced tepid results. But McMahon's cut throat mentality and fearlessness of failure were what his former competitors credited for his success.

* * * * *

In the summer of 1990, the president of Titan Sports Inc. Vince McMahon Jr. announced the launch of a magazine titled Bodybuilding Lifestyles. As an amateur bodybuilder and training partner of Hulk Hogan, McMahon was enamored with the bodybuilding lifestyle and through his World Wrestling Federation pushed awe-inspiring physiques above all else. Vince McMahon’s physique had been changing drastically in recent years as he experimented with steroids and moved closer to the body type of the professional wrestlers whom he employed. In the 1980's, when McMahon and his aids would gather to screen the NWA's pay-per-views, McMahon would often disappear to another room during unimportant matches with a set of dumbbells before returning several moments later sweaty and no longer wearing a shirt according Muchnick.

As further proof of his growing obsession with the bodybuilding industry, Vince McMahon had invested heavily in a fitness nutritional system called the Integrated Conditioning Program --ICO-PRO for short --that had been making rounds in a promotional booth at Weider events throughout the early part of the year.

Nobody in the bodybuilding world quite trusted Vince McMahon --rightfully so --as he steadfastly continued to deny any intention of starting his own bodybuilding league. In late July of 1990, an announcement was made that would raise even more eyebrows.

* * * * *

Tom Platz was a golden boy of the bodybuilding profession. Blonde with good looks and his famous thirty-seven inch thighs, Platz had made himself rich in years past through competitive bodybuilding, amassing most of his small fortune endorsing products and lending his California image to advertisers of the next big thing in bodybuilding. As a bodybuilder himself, he represented the old school, with bulging --though not particularly proportional-- features.

When the World Wrestling Federation approached Tom Platz about a position with their new magazine Bodybuilding Lifestyles and the World Bodybuilding Federation, Platz was said to be thrilled, understandably so. When the formal announcement was made, heads turned in the bodybuilding world.

Vince McMahon and Tom Platz continued to insist that the magazine would be the extent of Titan Sports involvement in the bodybuilding industry.

Joe Weider played it cool, but he never liked Vince McMahon. In the 1980's, he thought that McMahon was trying to recruit his bodybuilders to make stars out of in the surging WWF. And now, he feared that McMahon might be trying to wedge himself in to the prosperous supplement market at best, or trying to topple the Weider empire at worst. As it turned out, McMahon was plotting both. Weider had no idea that McMahon's henchman had been on covert operations since the spring, secretly taking photos in the shadows at Weider's events.

* * * * *

Spectators sat restless in the Arie Crown Theatre while sponsors gave their pitches as the 1990 Mr. Olympia was coming to an end. What everyone was confronted with next was a total shock, even to Joe Weider and the competing athletes themselves. The $5,000 that Vince McMahon spent to secure a promotional booth for Bodybuilding Lifestyles at the event also bought Tom Platz, the magazine's spokesman, the stage for a moment to promote the publication in front of the 4,600 bodybuilding fans in attendance . Platz began to speak: "I have a very important announcement to make. We at Titan Sports are proud to announce the formation of the World Bodybuilding Federation. And we are going to kick the IFBB's ass!". The lobby doors opened, and beautiful women wearing sashes embedded with the Bodybuilding Lifestyles logo filed into the theatre handing out slickly presented advertising for the WBF. These fliers announced the formation of the World Bodybuilding Federation, and claimed that the upstart would change the face of the bodybuilding world forever with "dramatic new events and the richest prize money in the history of the sport". While this invasion was going on, McMahon's people were covertly slipping lucrative contracts under the hotel room doors the Olympia contestants. It was vintage Vince McMahon, and his plan was to take bodybuilding mainstream in the same way he had taken wrestling mainstream in the 80's --by crushing his opponents with better production, and by stealing their most marketable talent with more lucrative contracts and promises of the platform to make them stars. He would make Lee Haney's $70,000 first place prize --enormous money by IFBB standards --seem like pocket change.

McMahon's press release stated that the WBF was "bodybuilding the way it was meant to be", which many assumed to mean no drug testing. The Weider's had been intense on drug testing in 1990, with twenty percent of Olympia competitors being disqualified for failed drug tests that weekend. In a final touch, the WBF contingent brought along even more beautiful women with them, who mingled with the Olympia talent and flirtatiously posed for photographs with the men who weren't used to such treatment. It was a perceived taste of the lifestyle that the WBF would offer.

"I'm not angry, you can quote me" Ben Weider stated when the night finally came to an end according to Muchnick. Weider proved his lack of anger by using the same tactic that the AAU used to combat the Weider's fifty years before, effectively blackballing anyone who signed with the WBF from ever returning to compete for the IBFF. Basically, if the WBF failed, those who accepted a contract from Vince McMahon would never work in American bodybuilding again. Tom Platz, once a Weider darling, was banned from the International Federation of Bodybuilding for life.

For the duration of 1990, bodybuilders who Vince McMahon saw as potential candidates for the WBF were flown to Stamford, Connecticut first class, picked up in limos, put up in five-star hotels and treated like royalty. The WWF had a certain idea of the type of bodybuilder that they wanted, and the company was picky about who they chose to sign. Charisma and marketability would be as instrumental as physical form. The bodybuilding world was torn on McMahon's WBF. Some were thrilled that Weider's stranglehold on American bodybuilding was being threatened and that perhaps with McMahon's marketing machine that bodybuilding could go mainstream, while others feared that McMahon would disgrace bodybuilding with the campy style he brought to professional wrestling.

* * * * *

By January 30th of 1991, the months of questions as to who would defect to the World Bodybuilding Federation had come to a boil. At a press conference that afternoon at The Plaza Hotel in New York, those questions would finally be answered. Adorned in neon green jackets, black tank tops and small tight shorts, the thirteen bodybuilders Titan Sports Inc. now had under contract strutted in unison to the stage. These men were Aaron Baker, Mike Quinn, Troy Zuccolotto, Danny Padilla, Tony Pearson, Jim Quinn, Berry Demey, Eddie Robinson, Mike Christian, Vince Comeford, David Dearth, Johnnie Morant, and the biggest acquisition, Gary Strydom. The men were dubbed the WBF BodyStars. Ten of the thirteen men were IFBB's pros raided from Weider, with Aaron Baker, Jim Quinn and former Mr. Universe Troy Zuccolotto being the exceptions.

Gary Strydom was clearly the one that Vince McMahon was most excited about, with movie star looks, a freakish physique and a marketable overall package, he was being positioned as the face of the WBF. The two-year contracts offered were believed to have started at $200,000 per year and gone as high as $350,000-$400,000 per year for Strydom. Almost no one in the IFBB at the time was said to be making more than $50,000 per year, and the WBF money was nearly impossible to turn down, but most of Weider's top ranked bodybuilders stayed loyal, mostly due to fear of being left out in the cold in the WBF turned out to be a bust. Vince Taylor, Shawn Ray, Dorian Yates and Mr. Olympia Lee Haney were amongst those who remained loyal to Weider, not willing to take the potential gamble.

Vince McMahon strutted to the stage at the press conference. and announced the first ever WBF event would take place on June 15th at Donald Trump's Taj Mahal hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Many of the WBF's new stars cut promos for the press, already developing alter-ego characters comparable to pro-wrestlers in McMahon's sister company the WWF. Tom Platz took the stage and told the press that there would come a day when a WBF star would be on an airplane, and Magic Johnson would lean across the aisle and say "I saw you on television last night". Vince McMahon reportedly had bigger plans for his thirteen new stars than simply competition posing. He wanted to turn these young athletes into crossover stars who would be free of the burden and stigma attached to McMahon's professional wrestlers. He wanted to produce a show that would see these bodybuilders in skits and action features, and then cash in on his new larger than life characters. Platz spoke of the excitement that the WBF would add to bodybuilding competitions with theatrical values and overblown characters. Platz added that when it came to major talent acquisitions, the WBF was just getting started. It was an afternoon that sent tremors throughout the bodybuilding world, with Joe Weider signing his stars to contracts immediately --something that he had historically never done.

Though Weider continued to deny that the WBF was a threat, the war was on. Weider was rumored to have talks with World Championship Wrestling about co-promoting a series of pay-per-views, and he openly questioned the integrity of the outcomes of events put on by a wrestling promoter. Ironically, Weider had all but admitted to unjustly awarding Arnold Schwarzenegger the Olympia crown years earlier because Arnold's image on the cover of his magazines would outsell that of the man who most felt was the rightful winner. As Weider continued to downplay the significance of the WBF, the prize money for his events quietly began to go up, with the next Olympia having the first ever $100,000 prize.

* * * * *

On May 18th of 1991, Joe Weider's IFBB presented The Night of Champions XIII. As the show began, the lights in the theatre faded to black. On stage were thirteen tombstones, each inscribed with the name of one of the thirteen individuals who had defected to the World Bodybuilding Federation. As dramatic music played, IFBB bodybuilders destroyed the tombstones onstage, breaking them to pieces. From the crowd, newly signed WBF bodybuilder Mike Quinn shouted "You wouldn't be doing that if I were on that stage".

* * * * *

As June 15th in Atlantic City continued to draw closer, Vince McMahon and his staff were frantically trying to ensure that the WBF’s debut event would be the most spectacular bodybuilding show ever promoted. Mainstream television personality Regis Philbin was brought on board to host the first ever World Bodybuilding Federation pay-per-view --and his services didn’t come cheap.

Vince McMahon pushed the event and his “BodyStars” heavily on World Wrestling Federation, with interview and workout segments appearing on WWF Challenge, WWF Superstars and Prime Time Wrestling. A special showdown on the hit syndicated game show Family Feud was also arranged between the stars of the World Wrestling Federation and the World Bodybuilding Federation. The week-long, five episode stretch saw captain Gary Strydom, Eddie Robinson, Jim Quinn, Danny Padilla and Cameo Kneuer facing off with Brian Knobs, Jimmy Hart, The Mountie, Sensational Sherri and Bobby Heenan in a span of television still remembered today by many for all of the wrong reasons.

While McMahon was investing time and money heavily into the World Bodybuilding Federation, the stars of his World Wrestling Federation were growing frustrated. According to a former referee with the WWF, morale sunk as wrestlers saw their payoffs decreasing and money taken out of their pockets in order to “finance that stupid venture”.

Titan Sports officials weren’t entirely sure just what was going to be done with the first annual World Bodybuilding Federation Championship. Interest from pay-per-view providers was low despite the favorable relationship that they maintained with the WWF thanks to Vince McMahon’s brand of wrestling entertainment making many within the pay-per-view industry rich. Titan decision makers were probably concerned as well as to whether a bodybuilding event broadcast live on pay-per-view could simply break even. Once all things were considered, it appeared as though the first World Bodybuilding Federation Championship would either be released straight to video, or run as an inexpensive Hot Ticket pay-per-view, retailing for somewhere between $4.99-9.99.

To compound matters, Vince McMahon wasn’t having the success in marketing his new BodyStars that he had hoped. The USA Network hadn’t bitten on his idea of a weekly variety show featuring skits and action minis, and he was left with the cold reality that instead of a muscle media entertainment empire, he would simply have to try to promote bodybuilding as a sellable form of sports entertainment.

Vince McMahon knew wrestling, and knew that he would promote bodybuilders as over-the-top, in your face characters like the wrestling stars of the WWF. A long time top official of the WBF --who was thrown out of Weider events several times in the previous months once detected --claimed that he and Vince McMahon were hard at work in these early months of the WBF coming up with a hook for each of the thirteen bodybuilders. “We came up with characters for the guys just like they were wrestlers” he stated. Tom Platz’s comments at the January press conference about the WBF not turning in to professional wrestling were repeated sarcastically in certain bodybuilding circles.

As the event drew closer, videos were being rush produced for the introduction of the new character of each bodybuilder to the audience watching live in Atlantic City and at home. Rumors of a “wildman”, a “surfer dude” and a “secret agent” reverberated through the bodybuilding center of the universe, coastal California.

Vince McMahon appointed himself --along with the WWF’s Bobby “The Brain” Heenan --as the co-hosts of the first ever World Bodybuilding Federation event.

* * * * *

One day before the Taj Mahal would play host to the inaugural WBF Championship, President of WWF Television Nelson Sweglar saw McMahon's vision for the first time, watching the rehearsals for the following day’s event. Looking around at the garish scene, he immediately knew that the WBF would never be a success. Sweglar was powerless to do anything but sit back and watch the fireworks.

* * * * *

It’s difficult to find many people to talk to about the first World Bodybuilding Federation Championship. The event sold poorly on pay-per-view, and the video release moved so few copies that it is now valued as a collector’s item.

Those who did see the show will tell you that Vince McMahon lived up to his word that afternoon. The World Bodybuilding Federation was an entirely new form of bodybuilding entertainment. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing is a matter of opinion.

When curious and excited bodybuilding enthusiasts first passed through the doors of Donald Trump’s Taj Mahal casino on June 15th, the IFBB’s Mr. Olympia and the modest Arie Crown Theatre must have seemed a little less impressive. When the lights came on and Vince McMahon, Regis Philbin and Bobby Heenan welcomed a niche group of muscle fanatics to the most extravagant and expensive showcase their sport had ever known, even the biggest detractors must have temporarily cracked a smile, hoping that this would be the start of the biggest exposure professional bodybuilding had ever seen.

When the music hit for the first contestant, the events that followed would drive a divide in the bodybuilding community as wide as Berry Demey’s back. The enormous backdrop of the stage came to life --lights flashed, smoke screens worked overtime, and pyrotechnics whirled as each competitor was introduced to the crowd. More so than ever before, bodybuilding was now a spectator sport.

Each bodybuilder was given a character to portray. Eddie Robinson and heavy favorite Gary Strydom were the only two who were exempt from being tagged with a nickname. Each bodybuilder had a lengthy video that played before their first appearance, explaining their theme and character. Tony Pearson became “The Jet Man”. Johnnie Morrant was dubbed “The Executioner” and walked through fog and flashing lights menacingly with a dual sided axe. “The Future” Jim Quinn had a space helmet and sunglasses. “Dark Journey” was a chiseled bodybuilder who portrayed a Phantom of the Opera theme.

The final bodybuilder to be introduced to the crowd was Gary Strydom. The opinion that the entire WBF was fixed for McMahon’s highest paid star wasn’t weakened when approximately forty minutes into the WBF Championship, the phrase “You’ve seen the rest, now get ready for the best” echoed through the Taj Mahal Casino as Strydom walked to the stage for the first time.

The competition took part in three rounds. The third round --dubbed the Entertainment Round --was what Vince McMahon was hoping would set The World Bodybuilding Federation apart from Weider’s IFBB. Unfortunately, for many bodybuilding purists, watching Danny Padilla acting out Jack and the Beanstalk in a pre-taped video, and then watching the giant actually chase the muscleman onto the Taj Mahal stage wasn’t exactly representative of “bodybuilding the way it was meant to be” as McMahon’s early promotional fliers had promised. One particularly long routine in the 1992 entertainment round saw a video shown of Berry Demey playing roulette in a tux in the Trump Casino as a beautiful woman watched on. After a few moments of flirtatious banter, the woman handed Demey the key to her room. Eventually Demey knocked on the door to her room and she began undressing him as they sipped champagne in the video. The woman, now nude under the covers and smiling, protested as Demey threw his clothes back on so he could head back down to the competition. As the clip came to an end, Demey strutted out onto the stage wearing the same outfit that he wore in the video. After a little more posing, Demey left the stage and the video began again, with the bodybuilder winding up back in the woman’s bed.

As in previous rounds, Gary Strydom was the last bodybuilder to perform in the Entertainment Round. Adorned in a top hat with a cane, Strydom strutted around with a beautiful woman on each arm.

As World Bodybuilding Federation head judge and former Mr. Universe Don Draper --dubbed “The Blonde Bomber” -- consulted with his fellow judges as to which star would take the largest share the largest portion of the shows record $275,000 total prize money, a group of mildly coordinated dancing children branded the WBF Dancers performed for third time that evening.

As expected, Gary Strydom was handed the first-place trophy and announced as the first ever WBF Champion. Rounding out the top five were Mike Christian (2nd), Berry Demey (3rd), Jim Quinn (4th)and Eddie Robinson (5th).

* * * * *

The World Bodybuilding Federation’s premiere event had further divided the bodybuilding community. Many called the show better than the 1991 Mr. Olympia and credited McMahon for taking care of his talent far better than Joe Weider ever did, while others were outraged at what a circus Vince McMahon was turning their sport into.

Worse, a curiosity in the outcome of the WBF Championship was making rounds. Apparently, when looking at the salary structure of the bodybuilders in the World Bodybuilding Federation, the top paid star Gary Strydom took first place. The second highest paid star in the WBF took second place, the third highest paid star took third place, the forth took forth, and the fifth highest paid placed fifth at the Atlantic City event. Many pointed to this as proof that Vince McMahon was trying to fix bodybuilding just as he was professional wrestling, though few would argue that Gary Strydom --who showed up at the Taj Mahal in the best shape of his career -- was head and shoulders above the rest of the pack that afternoon. Controversy over pre-judging for the competition ensued as well. With the pre-judging closed to the public and the press, some believed that it never even occurred, a rumor proven inaccurate several months later.

* * * * *

Twelve days after what many considered to be a successful debut for the World Bodybuilding Federation, Vince McMahon received some bad news. Dr. George T. Zahorian was found guilty on 12 of 14 counts of selling anabolic steroids to four professional wrestlers (including McMahon himself) and one bodybuilder, and was sentenced to three years in prison. Zahorian --a long time wrestling fan --served as a state appointed ringside physician for the WWF in the state of Pennsylvania and had been distributing steroids to WWF wrestlers since 1981.

With Zahorian now behind bars, the heat was on Vince McMahon as the government was taking a lot of interest in the examining a man who had so many ties to Zahorian --and now two businesses built on freakish physiques.

* * * * *

At a press conference on July 16th of 1991 in New York, Vince McMahon formally announced that the World Wrestling Federation would institute a stringent drug testing policy as part of a new anti-drug program. In November of 1991, the drug testing program was finally instituted in full.

McMahon was not quick to transfer the new policy to his World Bodybuilding Federation, perhaps knowing that a lack of drug testing was the biggest competitive edge that he currently had over Weider with hardcore bodybuilding fans. Performance enhancing drug abuse had always been a fixture of bodybuilding, and if the battle between the World Bodybuilding Federation and the International Federation of Bodybuilding proved anything, it was that without steroids, the bodies valued by muscle fanatics simply aren’t possible.

In 1991, tired of losing talent to the WBF, the Weider’s quietly dropped their drug testing policy.

* * * * *

Aside from Arnold Schwarzenegger, no bigger star was ever created through the pages of Joe Weider’s magazine empire than Lou Ferrigno. A former Mr. Universe and Mr. America winner as well as an Olympia hopeful in the 1970‘s, Ferrigno achieved worldwide recognition through his role as The Incredible Hulk on a television show of the same name from 1978 until 1982.

In the fall of 1991, Ferrigno was ready to come out of retirement and return to the bodybuilding scene. Many thought that Ferrigno wouldn’t even consider the World Bodybuilding Federation due to his history with the Weiders, but things turned personal between Vince McMahon and Joe Weider as a bidding war ensued over the services of one of the most famous bodybuilders in history.

Given the salary structure of the IFBB, Joe Weider never really stood a chance. After a seventeen year absence from competitive bodybuilding, Lou Ferrigno was offered a $900,000 two-year deal with the World Bodybuilding Federation, making him in the highest paid competitor in the history of professional bodybuilding.

The promotional gears started turning immediately. It would be the biggest showdown that competitive bodybuilding had ever seen. The returning legend Lou Ferrigno would go pose-for-pose, muscle-for-muscle with the face of the WBF and current champion Gary Strydom, and it would go down in a 12,000 seat arena in Long Beach, California.

* * * * *

As 1992 began, Vince McMahon was still feeling the federal government breathing down his neck as he continued to take measures to clean up his World Wrestling Federation. Meanwhile, he allowed his World Bodybuilding Federation talent a free ride from drug testing. This wouldn’t last long however.

The biggest concern for Vince McMahon aside from steroids as January passed involved not the WBF, but his wrestling empire. Vince McMahon had been licking his chops over the prospects of signing a young star named Larry Phofl since 1988, and now, the future star who went by the ring name Lex Luger was willing and ready to sign on to Titan Sports. Bored of Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling after treading water for the better part of five years, Phofl negotiated his release from WCW. Unfortunately, the terms of his release prevented him from wrestling for Vince McMahon until 1993.

Vince McMahon, recognizing the value of cross promotion, made the decision to use Lex Luger primarily for his World Bodybuilding Federation to avoid even more legal troubles --hopefully drawing wrestling fans over to the WBF in the process. Unfortunately for the owner of Titan Sports, the legal troubles came anyway, as Turner brass felt Phofl working for any McMahon organization violated the no-compete clause and promptly got their legal team involved.

Ideas were thrown around to cross promote the World Wrestling Federation and the World Bodybuilding Federation even more, with discussions of The Ultimate Warrior, Road Warrior Hawk and Road Warrior Animal participating in some form with the WBF.

At the WWF’s Wrestlemania VIII, Lex Luger appeared live via-satellite from his home in Atlanta, Georgia. Luger played the part of the arrogant heel, running down not only the talent in the World Wrestling Federation, but the “nobodies” in the World Bodybuilding Federation as well. Luger called the WBF Championship a closed party, and wondered how a best body competition could ever be held without Lex Luger taking part.

While riding out his no-compete clause, Luger would serve as the co-host of a new show on the USA Network spotlighting the WBF stars. Luger would play the part of a jerk who stepped on other people’s toes in the gym and refused to offer a spot to those working out around him. Debuting on April 2nd, WBF BodyStars featured workout footage and personality profiles of McMahon’s contracted stars along with constant pushing of the ICO-PRO product --which thus far had been an investment displaying crawling returns. Luger’s co-host would be Cameo Kneuer, a sexed up blonde who’s curves the average fan of the World Wrestling Federation wanted to see much more than the pecs and delts of Berry Demey.

* * * * *

In March of 1992, Vince McMahon officially announced an extreme new set of drug testing guidelines for the WBF at a sit down meeting with his bodybuilders under contract. The company doing the testing would be Comprehensive Drug Testing, Inc. These guidelines were perhaps the most stringent ever introduced into bodybuilding, and tested with much more scrutiny than those introduced by the IFBB two years prior, testing for virtually everything. A renowned doctor by the name of Mauro Dipasquale was brought in to implement what both he and McMahon claimed to be “the most rigorous drug testing program in sports”. Dipasquale was known at the time for pushing diets similar to today’s low carb diets as a replacement for steroid use. Ironically, the side effects of his diet weren’t all that healthy either, as they frequently led to the life threatening condition ketoacidosis.

McMahon threatened to and did drug test his bodybuilders hard and frequently for the three months leading up to his second World Bodybuilding Federation Championship. Such a thing had never been done to this extent, and it may have been the death blow to what started as a promising run for the World Bodybuilding Federation. Around this time, Bodybuilding Lifestyles also began running a series of stories on the dangers of steroid use.

Lou Ferrigno abandoned the WBF several weeks after the drug testing began, leaving the second annual WBF Championship without arguable its biggest drawing storyline. Though he never admitted it, everyone in the bodybuilding world assumed that Ferrigno left the WBF because he didn’t want to appear on stage after being drug tested for three months, as a drug free physique could potentially ruin his reputation. Just as McMahon had the competitive advantage due to a lack of drug testing in 1990 and 1991, the Weider’s now enjoyed the same luxury with McMahon clamping down on drug abuse as the fear of prison hung over him like a shadow. Without a fine or any ill will from Joe or Ben Weider, Lou Ferrigno was given a special invitation to appear at the IFBB’s Mr. Olympia 1992 event. Ferrigno never looked back.

Without a crossover star to sell the upcoming 1992 WBF Championship on pay-per-view, Vince McMahon turned to Lex Luger --a man who meant nothing to the bodybuilding world. Luger would guest pose at the event, and Titan Sports would pray that his presence could make up for Ferrigno’s absence at the box office.

Morale in the World Bodybuilding Federation began to nosedive with strict drug testing and constant infighting. Getting off of drugs wasn’t easy, especially when the heavy rumor circulating was that Gary Strydom wasn’t drug tested as heavily as the rest of the roster --a rumor made most vocal by Mike Quinn and Mike Christian. Christian had been fined $25,000 for failing a drug test, and had become addicted to heroine in his time with the company. Aaron Baker was rumored to have never gotten off of steroids, rather simply accepting a fine of two months salary and a six week suspension that coincidentally and conveniently ended just before the pay-per-view. Gary Strydom was ready to quit the World Bodybuilding Federation before being talked in to staying to defend his WBF Championship by Vince McMahon personally. Rumors of heavy use of Human Growth Hormone in the World Bodybuilding Federation ranks swirled through the bodybuilding scene.

In the final two weeks before the Second Annual World Bodybuilding Federation Championship, many believe that no drug testing was done, as almost every bodybuilder --Mike Quinn and Gary Strydom in particular --made drastic improvements in their form.

* * * * *

Only days before the second World Bodybuilding Federation Championship, Larry Phofl crashes his motorcycle, severely fracturing his arm. Those at the scene say that the accident probably should have resulted in much worse for the wrestler known as Lex Luger. In the world of professional wrestling, Phofl was often criticized for his cardboard personality and vapid charisma. As a World Bodybuilding Federation star, McMahon saw Luger as a man who’s charisma the BodyStars could learn something from. This was certainly more of a statement on the personas of McMahon’s bodybuilders than any improvement from Phofl, and when the announcement was made that Luger wouldn’t be able to pose for the show, it was simply a matter of already-bad getting worse.

* * * * *

Forty million Americans were capable of receiving pay-per-view programming in 1992. When the smoke cleared and the numbers were compiled, the second annual World Bodybuilding Federation Championship drew a mere 3,000 buys. In San Diego County --an area of sunny Southern California that McMahon was banking on most heavily to support his new venture --only 30 households ordered the event. The buy-rate for the show was so small that most cable outlets simply considered it to be a zero.

The good news was that only 3,000 people had to witness “Pregnant” Mike Quinn breaking out of jail in a video in the Entertainment round and then showing up in stage in a prisoners uniform. Quinn looked around nervously on stage --and then he danced. He danced for far too long. And then the police showed up on stage and chased him away.

Mike Quinn was given the nickname by many in the bodybuilding scene at the time for showing up in the worst competition shape that perhaps anyone ever had at a major show, appearing around 25 pounds overweight. Quinn himself at one point claimed that part of his contract forced him to consume whatever Vince McMahon’s personal, high priced dietician demanded, even if it was the high fat diet Quinn claimed he was instructed to go on in 1992. Quinn wasn’t alone. Mike Christian came in at under 200 pounds and looked physically ill. (Almost immediately after the show, Christian checked himself into rehab) In fact, almost every bodybuilder on the stage looked terrible by bodybuilding standards, and nowhere near their shape twelve months before at the first World Bodybuilding Federation Championship. The reason for this was obvious.

Eddie Robinson, Mike Quinn and Mike Christian had competed in the 1990 IFBB Mr. Olympia --an event held when Ben and Joe Weider were drug testing the most heavily. One look at their competition shape in the 1990 Mr. Olympia and the 1992 WBF Championship made it abundantly clear that McMahon’s drug testing policies were the toughest that the sport had ever seen.

With the government looking over his shoulder, McMahon even went so far as to have Dr. Dipasquale appear on the pay-per-view in one of the intermission spots filled by the WBF dancers twelve months before. Dipasquale explained that he had developed a set of testing guidelines even more intensive than those used by the International Olympic Committee, and named all of the illegal performance enhancers that he could detect. Judging from the form of the stars of the World Bodybuilding Federation that afternoon, the Dr. wasn’t exaggerating.

For the second consecutive year, Gary Strydom was crowned The World Bodybuilding Federation Champion --this time to little fanfare. At least this year the top five didn’t finish in an order corresponding to their salary. Berry Demey and Eddie Robinson placed in the top five once again, with David Dearth --who posed with a flaming guitar earlier in the night --and Aaron Baker rounding out the top five. It didn’t really matter though. From the technical difficulties that plagued the event to the bad shape of the competitors, Vince McMahon was obviously losing interest in the World Bodybuilding Federation.

* * * * *

July 15th, 1992 - A phone rang in the Weider offices. On the other end was Vince McMahon. Two years ago, the ruthless head of Titan Sports Inc. had told the Weiders at Olympia Weekend --their own answer to Wrestlemania --that he and his forces were going to kick the ass of the company the prolific brothers had made it their life’s work to promote. On this particular Wednesday morning two years later, McMahon’s tune was different. He sheepishly proclaimed Ben and Joe Weider the fathers of bodybuilding. At the time the Weider’s were pushing a breakthrough regime involving synthetic calve implants --Vince McMahon should have known better than to try to con a conman. But Ben and Joe Weider listened politely as the head of the World Bodybuilding Federation announced that he was shutting down the WBF and ceasing production of Bodybuilding Lifestyles after the September issue. In the past a promoter as savvy as Joe Weider would have doubted McMahon. After seeing the most recent pay-per-view offering from the group however, McMahon was likely just telling the Weider brothers what they already knew.

When all was said and done, the second annual WBF Championship went into the record books as the lowest grossing event in the history of American pay-per-view broadcasting. WBF BodyStars on the USA Network had never left the ground for Titan Sports. What was supposed to be a platform to take professional bodybuilding mainstream turned into a money pit. Vince McMahon was so unsuccessful in selling advertising time that he had to buy the timeslot from the USA Network and run WBF BodyStars as an infomercial. Bodybuilding Lifestyles --which later became WBF Magazine --sold poorly compared to Weider’s proven successes like FLEX and Muscle & Fitness. After announcing the disbanding of the World Bodybuilding Federation, Vince McMahon offered to allow his bodybuilders to work elsewhere, including Joe Weider’s IFBB. Perhaps this was a goodwill gesture, but most likely McMahon was simply trying to get out of the six-figure contracts with his talent that extended until the end of 1992.

With every aspect of his bodybuilding enterprise bleeding massive amounts of money, Vince McMahon tried to counteract the losses through ICO-PRO. After investing millions in the development and production of the nutritional system, unsold ICO-PRO still packed warehouses. McMahon poured even more money into promoting the supplement, and most believe that the reason that Vince McMahon called Ben and Joe Weider that morning was to ensure that he could continue advertising his product in the pages of their magazines. Titan Sports continued to finance the production of WBF BodyStars on the USA Network for several more months merely as a promotional platform for ICO-PRO, and to give Lex Luger something to do to justify his large contract at a time when he was physically and contractually unable to lock up in a WWF ring. Eddie Robinson --a bodybuilder that McMahon took a liking too, perhaps due to his constantly towing the company line in the bodybuilding world --was kept under contract for two more years at his full WBF salary of $225,000 per year to endorse ICO-PRO. Of course with the expenses of an overpaid endorser, weekly television production and print advertising, ICO-PRO only served to lose even more money for the World Wrestling Federation.

The final Titan Sports television appearance made by the stars of the World Bodybuilding Federation saw five bodybuilders challenge five stars from the World Wrestling Federation in a tug of war on the beach. The tug of war was a legitimate, unscripted competition at the beginning. Both sides were told to actually attempt to win. The bodybuilders --who possessed strength but little athleticism or coordination -- were embarrassed by the stars of the WWF. In a planned moment, the bad guys of the WWF --including Ric Flair, Ted Dibiase and The Berzerker -- simply let go of the rope, causing the bodybuilders to fall forward in a pile like fools. This would be the last television exposure that Vince McMahon would ever give his WBF BodyStars.

As 1992 wound down, Vince McMahon simply stopped using his contracted bodybuilders. Perhaps with the possibility of a long stint in prison a reality and Titan Sports no longer looking like an indestructible force, McMahon simply had bigger things to concern himself with. Within the bodybuilding community, words like abandonment were being tossed around to explain McMahon’s actions after playing a part in convincing his talent to betray the IFBB --an organization that Joe Weider was now offering to reaccept the WBF bodybuilders into for a mere $25,000 fine. (Weider would later settle on 10% of a bodybuilders former yearly WBF salary as the penalty). McMahon flirted with the notion of turning Gary Strydom into a wrestler, but the idea was dismissed shortly thereafter.

* * * * *

In the end, The World Bodybuilding Federation lost $15 million dollars from January of 1991 until being formally dissolved in July of 1992. After pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into contracts, elaborate sets, television production, mini-movies and promotion, the outcome of the experiment spoke loud and clear. Bodybuilding was never meant to be a spectator sport. It was a lesson that Vince McMahon learned the hard way. If his own personal freedom had not been in the hands of the United States government, it might have stung a little more.

Ironically, the founder of the World Bodybuilding Federation would soon invest $5 million more dollars in legal fees for a case related to the same illegal substance that allowed the WBF to be competitive with Joe Weider in the first place.

As opposed to the WBF, no one would ever argue that McMahon’s legal fees were not money well spent. Thanks to his lawyers --and a coincidental tip his wife Linda received at a dinner party warning her that the government was hot to Zahorian --Vince McMahon would eventually be found guilty only of overestimating the public’s interest in bodybuilding.

* * * * *

May 22nd, 1993 - When the stage lights faded on at the Night of Champions XV at Manhattan’s Beacon Theatre, Dorian Yates stood in the center of the stage dressed as a preacher. Caskets surrounded him bearing the names of the WBF athletes that had last appeared on tombstones at the same annual event two years prior. As Yates elevated his arms to the heavens, the returning bodybuilders from the WBF raised from the dead and pulled themselves out from the coffins. On stage to greet them where those who had remained loyal to the IFBB. The two sides embraced in an emotional moment as the lyrics of the song “Welcome Back” reverberated through the theatre.

That night, it was as if the World Bodybuilding Federation and Vince McMahon’s plans to destroy the Weider empire had never even occurred.

The lonely looking ICO-PRO banner waving in the distance on the far side of the stage that evening was the only reminder that it wasn’t all a dream.

SITE NEWS: A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

2005-12-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone who has taken the time to follow us in our short history. We would like to take a moment to apologize for the lack of activity in our pages this week. Travel and holiday preparation have taken their toll on the output of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, but rest assured big things are on deck as we move in to 2006 and beyond.

Two weeks ago, the staff of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle asked you to determine what historical feature we would undertake next. With 35% of the vote, you chose The History of the WBF. Some of you may have noticed the first part of this feature appear briefly on The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle yesterday. Unfortunately, human error in modifying the graphics caused an accidental deletion. This feature has been rewritten --and improved in the process. Now at over 3,000 words despite only covering one-third of the life of the World Bodybuilding Federation, we are fairly certain that when completed, this feature will be most thorough spotlight on the WBF readily available online. Sources explored for the feature include The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Irvin Muchnick, a 1993 FLEX Magazine expose', written accounts from former WBF executives, statements by bodybuilders and enthusiasts, things written by those within the WWF at the time, thoughts from a former WWF referee, my own fifteen years worth of subscriptions to both Joe Weider and Vince McMahon's bodybuilding magazines, the personal knowledge of the bodybuilding and wrestling scene by the staff of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, and the roughly 25,000 words worth of scattered, credible information we have unearthed on the topic.

Thank you for continuing to visit The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle as we experience growing pains. We gladly accept any and all comments and suggestions via the contact information listed on the right column of our site. Have a safe and happy holiday and join us in the upcoming days as we release The Illustrated History of the World Bodybuilding Federation. We are also pleased to announce that a new project is now in the formulative stages: Fourteen More Weeks in 1990: A Summer to Remember. Until then, thank you for support.

PREVIEW - THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE WBF:
Nobody in the bodybuilding world quite trusted Vince McMahon --rightfully so --as he steadfastly continued to deny any intention of starting his own bodybuilding league. In late July of 1990, an announcement was made that would raise even more eyebrows. Tom Platz, one of the most beloved figures in the bodybuilding world, had signed on to the staff of Bodybuilding Lifestyles. Vince McMahon, as well as Platz, continued to insist that the magazine would be the extent of Titan Sports involvement in the bodybuilding industry. Joe Weider played it cool, but he never liked Vince McMahon. In the 1980's, he thought that McMahon was trying to recruit his bodybuilders to make stars out of in the surging World Wrestling Federation. And now, he feared that McMahon might be trying to wedge himself in to the prosperous supplement market at best, or trying to topple the Weider empire at worst. As it turned out, McMahon was plotting both. Weider had no idea that McMahon's henchmen had been on covert operations since the spring, secretly taking photos in the shadows at Weider's events...

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART FOUR

2005-12-12T20:47:00.001-07:00

In a feature exclusive to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, Fourteen Weeks in 1990 is a look behind the scenes at the crucial fourteen week period at the start of 1990. In Part Three, Wrestlemania VI was days away, with more questions than answers as to who exactly would lead the World Wrestling Federation in to the 1990's. In the National Wrestling Alliance, the booking committee was trying desperately to keep the ship afloat until a young star named Sting was healthy enough to attempt to save the promotion. Meanwhile, a revolving door of talent coming and going seemed to have no end in site for the NWA. The following is the fourth and final part of the Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART FOUR

WEEK 13: MARCH 26-APRIL 2, 1990

After weeks of build and months of speculation, Wrestlemania VI is officially in the books after broadcasting live on Sunday to over 66,000 fans in Toronto and millions world wide. In the main event, dubbed The Ultimate Challenge, Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior went toe to toe in a spectacular match that saw The Ultimate Warrior's hand raised in the end as the Intercontinental, and new WWF Heavyweight Champion. It was the first clean pinfall loss that most have ever seen Hulk Hogan suffer, and the former champion raised The Ultimate Warrior's hand in an unscripted moment before fading in to the distance while the new champion celebrated his crowning moment. The audience seemed split for both competitors, and was shocked when a new champion was crowned.

Wrestlemania VI was an enormous success, drawing 67,287 fans for a gate of $3,490,857, which easily made the super show the biggest gate in North American history. Closed Circuit revenue was approximately $600,000, down from the 2.3 million dollars and 175,000 tickets sold for last year's Wrestlemania, though shown on far fewer screens this year as the closed circuit concept continues to become a thing of the past. Wrestlemania VI drew a 4.5 buyrate on live pay-per-view, meaning that 4.5% of households that are pay-per-view capable ordered the event.

The show opened with a dark match that saw Paul Roma defeat The Brooklyn Brawler. In the first pay-per-view match, Rick Martel defeated Koko B. Ware with a Boston Crab. Demolition defeated Andre the Giant and Haku, and Andre turned on Bobby Heenan to the delight of the live crowd. The Canadian Earthquake was simply billed as The Earthquake in his squash of Hercules, likely to prevent fans from cheering for someone the WWF is banking on to be a major heel in upcoming months. Brutus Beefcake defeated Mr. Perfect in what has to be considered an upset, and in the following match Roddy Piper painted his body half black in a strange match with Bad News Brown that would end in a double count-out. The Hart Foundation defeated The Bolsheviks, and The Barbarian destroyed Tito Santana to launch his singles push. In a mixed tag team bout, Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire defeated Randy Savage and Sherri. The Rockers vs. The Orient Express ended in a count out when Mr. Fuji tossed salt in Marty Jannetty, who was unable to make it back to the ring before the ten count. Jim Duggan defeated Dino Bravo before being ambushed by The Earthquake. Ted Dibiase defeated Jake Roberts in the third count out finish of the afternoon, and The Big Bossman made short work of Akeem. Rick Rude defeated Jimmy Snuka, and of course in the main event, WWF Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior defeated WWF Champion Hulk Hogan by pinfall with a big splash.

The Ultimate Warrior made several media appearances to promote Wrestlemania in the days leading up, the most notable being on The Arsenio Hall Show. The Ultimate Warrior was the final guest of the night, and made his entrance by running through the crowd and around the studio at full speed and tossing around furniture all over the building. The audience --most of whom didn't appear to know who the wrestler was --looked stunned by his strange behavior. When Arsenio asked him if he wanted to be called "Ultimate" or "Warrior", The Ultimate Warrior claimed that only those who have "made the sacrifice" are allowed to call him by name. Hall looked confused, and made facial expressions suggesting that his guest was off of his rocker.

Steve Planamenta, manager of media relations for Titan Sports, made statements this weekend indirectly taking a dig at the National Wrestling Alliance. Planamenta stated that while other companies primary audience is 18-24 year old males, the World Wrestling Federation has a much broader, Disney like appeal. He mentioned that 38% of the WWF's audience is comprised of women, and that children make up a big percentage of the companies fan base as well. Planamenta also mentioned that The Ultimate Warrior is the favorite of younger fans, who will be the future ticket buyers for the WWF, and stressed the importance of this character being used properly to keep these younger fans involved in the product.

The Wrestlemania VI outcome has caused problems in the relationship between the WWF and Japan. The main event of the joint show on April 13rd has been promoted as Terry Gordy meeting The World Wrestling Federation Champion Hulk Hogan, with some upset in Japan that the WWF didn't tell them ahead of time about the planned title change as it significantly decreases interest in a match between the two stars. There is no word on just what Hulk Hogan will be doing in the future, but for the net two months he is booked on house shows facing The Earthquake. Many believed that Hogan would serve to establish The Earthquake as a threat for a feud with The Ultimate Warrior, but Hogan destroyed him in Syracuse at a house show the Tuesday after Wrestlemania.

In a scary sign for The WWF, when Rick Rude met The Ultimate Warrior on the same show in Syracuse, a good part of the crowd was cheering for Rick Rude to defeat the new champion.

While the WWF was flying high with their Wrestlemania extravaganza, things continue to go wrong for the NWA. In a sign of how bad things really have become, the company's champion Ric Flair was rumored to be in Toronto meeting with Vince McMahon over the Wrestlemania weekend. Flair's contract is running out in around a month, and the NWA continues to play hardball with him as those in power see him as a relic of the past who needs to be moved down the card and kept there. Flair was reportedly wined and dined by WWF management after Wrestlemania VI, and was given a solid monetary offer to join the World Wrestling Federation family. These rumors have yet to be confirmed, and should be taken as such.

Rumors have Danny Spivey being re-hired and re-fired, Buzz Sawyer getting his walking papers, and The Midnight Express looking all but gone. Scott Norton and Bam Bam Bigelow are expected soon, along with Abdullah the Butcher who will work a short program with Norman the Lunatic.

The fight between the WWF and the NWA to sign Paul Heyman continued this week. The talk is that the NWA wants Heyman back to serve as a manager for Mark Callas, who'll be returning shortly from a stint in Japan.

WEEK 14: APRIL 3-APRIL 10, 1990

The Ultimate Warrior has continued to be booed on the road for the last week after defeating Hulk Hogan for the World Wrestling Federation Championship, and the fear is that the fans who were so hot for a top level babyface vs. babyface program may now resent The Ultimate Warrior for unseating the long reigning and iconic Hulk Hogan. The Ultimate Warrior has been scheduled to work an extended tour with Rick Rude, a man WWF officials hope is unlikable enough to warm the crowd to the new WWF Champion. The Ultimate Warrior will also work with The Warlord and The Barbarian, both of which will be given heavy pushes in the upcoming weeks.

The heavy rumor circulating is that Hulk Hogan will shoot an injury angle at the hands of The Canadian Earthquake on a Saturday Night's Main Event special sometime in the upcoming weeks, the purpose of which will be to allow Hulk Hogan to take some time off to potentially film No Holds Barred II, and to give The Earthquake a huge boost before being programmed with The Ultimate Warrior.

Late rumors out of Wrestlemania VI in Toronto had Vince McMahon going to extremes to keep word of the outcome of the main event from getting out to the press, as many closed circuit locations were showing Wrestlemania on a delay. In the press box for the event, Vince McMahon refused to allow phones to be present and kept the lights out for the entire show so that no one could phone results in to radio or television stations.

The new biggest order of business for The World Wrestling Federation is the super show in Japan scheduled for this Friday, which will see another crowd over over 60,000 fans gather to watch the stars of the WWF perform. The main event of the event is turning in to a political nightmare, with Terry Gordy --a heavy favorite to win the All Japan Triple Crown in the next few months --no longer feeling as though he should have to lay down for Hulk Hogan, as the only reason he agreed to losing was because there was no other choice with Hogan holding the World Wrestling Federation Title. Talk is that someone may have to replace Gordy in the main event, with the top name rumored to be Dusty Rhodes.

Professional boxer Michael Dokes met with WWF officials in Toronto over Wrestlemania weekend, and will be starting with the company soon as a wrestler. He will be working under the ring name Dark Destruction. Andre the Giant is on his way out of the World Wrestling Federation. With a broken down body and a contract expiring in two months, Andre will no longer be working the WWF. Rumors are circulating that he may work a small number of matches for All Japan before retiring for good.

The World Wrestling Federation taped a match this week that saw The Orient Express losing to Roddy Piper and Jesse Ventura. Piper and Ventura are currently working together on the pilot for a sitcom called "Tag Team", that both ABC and NBC are said to be interested in. The match will play a part in first episode of the show, which sees Ventura and Piper as law enforcement officers who moonlight as professional wrestlers.

In the National Wrestling Alliance, The Midnight Express are expected to stay together for at least a little longer. The current plan is rumored to see Jim Cornette lease the services of The Midnight Express to Ric Flair. Bobby Eaton will assimilate well with The Horsemen, and eventually become a member, while Stan Lane will question Flair's ways and potentially feud with Bobby Eaton. Jim Cornette will then transition to the broadcast booth, where he will serve as the new color commentator for the NWA, a position the company has wanted Cornette or Paul E. Dangerously to fill for quite some time.

The political situation involving the NWA World Heavyweight Championship continues to be a mess this week. Ric Flair, no longer under contract, had a provision written into his contract that gave him the right to choose who would succeed him as the NWA champion. This man has always been Sting for Ric Flair, but with Sting sidelined with injuries and no other real options available to take the title off of the current champion, the NWA has allowed Ric Flair's contract to expire while he still holds the World Championship. At this point, Ric Flair has so much leverage that he doesn't have to drop the title until he is absolutely certain that the timing is right. If the NWA has a problem with this, Flair isn't bound to anyone and can jump to Titan on a moments notice. If Flair does agree to drop the title, he is not currently under contract, so the NWA board of directors could immediately push him down the card, or stop using him altogether. As of this point, it is in the best interest of Ric Flair professionally to hold on to the NWA World Championship indefinitely. Lex Luger is said to know that Sting is the chosen one going in to the future, so he doesn't want the title either, knowing he will be little more than an interim champion.

The future of Ric Flair in the NWA continues to be uncertain, with rumors intensifying by the week that he is headed to New York. Though Wrestlemania VII is still a year away, one of the biggest matches in wrestling history will be needed to draw 100,000 fans to the Los Angeles Olympic Coliseum as the WWF is promising. The belief as of this point is that unless someone unexpected catches fire, a rematch between Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior or --more favorably -- the first ever meeting between Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan will be needed to sell that many tickets to a wrestling event, even under the Wrestlemania banner.

On behalf of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, thank you for being a part of the Fourteen Weeks of 1990 series. Additional material on the series was made available here earlier today, with three newspaper peices detailing Wrestlemania VI and the individuals behind it reprinted below, word for word as the originally appeared in the spring of 1990. There is a possibility that in the upcoming weeks, a follow up series on the weeks following this period will appear on The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. All news and information credited to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter, Herb Kunze and various books and biographies on professional wrestling.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

2005-12-12T17:26:00.000-07:00

As a part of The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle's Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series, the following three newspaper stories represent a fraction of the coverage that Wrestlemania VI was recieving on Wrestlemania weekend, 1990. The first, printed a day before Wrestlemania, focused on the challenger in the Toronto main event, The Ultimate Warrior. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer provided quotes for the story. The second, printed on the day of Wrestlemania, pays tribute to Vince McMahon as a promoter. In the third, printed the day after Wrestlemania, a stunned columnist explains his heartache over the clean pinfall loss of Hulk Hogan, and his resentment towards The Ultimate Warrior. This columnist correctly points out the problems that would plague The Ultimate Warrior as the WWF Champion.

* * * * *

THE DAY BEFORE: March 30, 1990

"The Wrestling Doc' "

Just call the Ultimate Warrior "doc."

The heir-apparent to the World Wrestling Federation title has magic fingers. Those grappling hooks can also bring relief to opponents in the locker room.

That's because the Ultimate Warrior, a.k.a. James Hellwig, trained to be a chiropractor in Atlanta, Ga. before pursuing a career as a bodybuilder. Today Hellwig lives in Grapevine, north of Dallas, Texas with his wife Sherri, a beautiful dancer. The path to wrestling was a strange turn for a man who started out to be a chiropractor, studying for four years at the Life Chiropractic College.

In real life, Hellwig is no neanderthal. To be accepted at the school students need two years of college with mandatory science credits and a 2.25 grade point average. In 1984 Hellwig suddenly quit his studies and headed for Los Angeles and Gold's Gym. A long-time friend who knew him and Sherri during those years says the dream of being a bodybuilder was just too strong. He "fell" into wrestling when a promoter dropped by the gym and picked out the four biggest guys. A few weeks later Hellwig enrolled at a California training camp under tag-team wrestler Red Bastien.

"He came in about six weeks late because one of the guys dropped out," says Bastien, who held the 1968 world tag-team championship with partner Billy "Red" Lyons, of Dundas, Ont. After training, Hellwig started out with three other wrestlers, the Power Team USA. James "Justice" Hellwig, Steve "Flash" Borden (now wrestling as Sting in the National Wrestling Alliance), Garland "Glory" Donoho and Mark "Commando" Miller were touted as the "Ultimate American Athletes."
"
He didn't have a lot of talent, but he did have determination," said Bastien. "Talent doesn't always mean anything these days anyway. He stuck to it and would work on moves until he got it." Gerry Jarrett of the Championship Wrestling Association picked up Borden and Hellwig but recalls they were a disaster.

"They had great bodies, looked like a million dollars, but couldn't wrestle a lick," he said. After three months he dumped them and Hellwig drifted out to Oklahoma where he wrestled under the name Bladerunner Rock. He moved to Dallas in the summer of 1986 with World Class Championship Wrestling but things weren't easy and his wife Sherri worked as a dancer at clubs like the renowned Million Dollar Saloon in Dallas to pay bills. When Hellwig was refused a salary raise to $450 a week, he quit. He then went to New York, where he signed with the WWF, was named the Dingo Warrior and worked the "C" Team - warmup matches. But, such was his appeal to the fans that by 1988 Vince McMahon Jr. dubbed him the Ultimate Warrior and moved him up to top billing.

Yet, some things never change, says Dave Meltzer, publisher of Wrestling Observer. "He's better than he was, but he's still a poor wrestler," he said. "In fact, when Hellwig first started wrestling in the WWF in 1987 he was an outcast," says Meltzer. "They resented that he was getting breaks because of his body and not his wrestling ability." But looks, not talent, had become the main selling factor of the WWF. Hellwig, however, was not deterred by the rejection by his colleagues."He started helping the other wrestlers with their backs and injuries, using his chiropractic skills," says Meltzer. "He won them over."

* * * * *

THE DAY OF: April 1, 1990

"The Man"

They call him The Man. That's all. Short, concise, direct.

You don't cross The Man. It's simple. It's understood. You wrestle when your wife is nine months pregnant, because you have to. You wrestle with pneumonia, because you have to. You wrestle when your muscles are so sore that even the staged moves bring tears to your eyes, because you have to.

You wrestle because The Man says you wrestle. Vince McMahon. The Man. Godfather of professional wrestling. The creator of a billion-dollar business known publicly as the World Wrestling Federation. Ask about The Man and almost everyone has an opinion.

Genius.Greedmonger. Monopolist. Paradox. The descriptions all apply to Vince McMahon, a complex, confusing and brilliantly successful 42-year-old man who in the past seven years has transformed wrestling from schlock sport to high-priced industry.

Today, at SkyDome, the live gate of some $5-million will only begin to touch the surface of the total take of WrestleMania VI, the Ultimate Challenge. The ultimate challenge for McMahon is revenue, and today's exhibition of strength, science, and soap opera could score more than $30 million in receipts when the vast totals are amassed. Through manipulation of television, his vast understanding of cable and pay-per-view, his ability to create wrestling attractions and his keen eye for promotion, packaging and glitz, McMahon has become the only wrestling promoter that matters in a game where many previously flourished.

"He's the Howard Hughes of promotion," said Mike Trainer, attorney for boxer Sugar Ray Leonard, who knows of McMahon's reclusive ways, But even Trainer is somewhat surprised by them. On one side, McMahon is his company's No. 1 television announcer, a very public position. On the other side, he is a man who shuns publicity. He rarely grants intervies and when he does he is hardly revealing. Through a WWF spokesman, he sent word he did not wish to be interviewed for this story. Trainer worked with McMahon on the promotion of the Leonard-Donny Lalonde fight. McMahon's Titan Sports, the parent company name of the WWF, held television rights to the fight and Trainer came away with some insights into McMahon. He has nothing but admiration for the business acumen and promotional skills the boss of wrestling possesses. "If he ever went into boxing, with his zeal, he'd wipe out Don King and Bob Arum in a moment," said Trainer. "When you sit back and consider what Vince McMahon has done, not just in the U.S. but on a world scale, you can't help but be amazed. "The thing about McMahon is his great understanding of television. He has a studio in his facilities in Connecticut that is better equipped than what NBC has. If such a thing as a television expert exists, that expert is Vince McMahon."

And it was through television the WWF was launched into a financial orbit. Wrestling, before McMahon, was primarily a regional attraction. Every area had a promoter, a circuit, and a champion all its own. McMahon, whose father, Vince Sr., was the regional promoter in New York area, set out to change all that when he succeeded his father in 1983. Using his Ivy League background and his prior career as rock concert promoter, McMahon utilized a national cable wrestling show, a weekly Johnny Carson-like WWF talk show and regular weekend syndicate wrestling programs to flood the market with his product: a higher scale, glitzier, cartoon-character-like event, rendering the competition to near submission.

Out were the blood capsules of days gone by. In were big, stronger, bodies with better gimmicks. And always, the quality of the television program mattered most. The quality of wrestling mattered least. "TV is what matters to Vince," said Trainer. "He has an incredible eye about what works on television and what doesn't. I remember before the Leonard-Lalonde fight and he's talking to the announcers we're using, experienced guys like Roy Firestone. And he's telling them things that really matter. He's very hard on his TV people." McMahon's television programs have had such an impact in America that his No. 1 commentator, Jesse (The Body) Ventura, has been able to translate his wrestling career into an acting career, which includes television commercials, and a place on the broadcast crew of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In the realm of popularity, Ventura is almost as recognizable as football's John Madden and more recognizable than most American announcers.

When it comes to television and promotion, McMahon doesn't simply have an eye for what works, he has an uncanny sense of what sells. He has so many strengths: understanding the story, developing characters and plot, and maintaining subplots and rivalries. He is not only promoter but playwright. He views society through his sharp vision and shapes his wrestlers accordingly.

When the Iran hostage crisis was angry news in the U.S., McMahon took advantage of it, utilizing an Iranian bad guy called the Iron Sheik as his feature attraction. The Iranian vs. The all-American hero. Perfect pathos for the staged violence that is professional wrestling. Nothing like political turmoil to bring out the best and worst of the paying public.

First McMahon employed an army man, Sergeant Slaughter, as the foil for the Sheik. Later came the Real American, Hulk Hogan, who seven years later is still making a seven-figure salary living off his original act. The interest in trends remains. During the Elvis-is-alive period, an Elvis act-a-like, The Honky Tonk Man, became prominent. When Donald Trump became big news, so did a wrestler, the Million Dollar Man. And even in failure, McMahon can be entertaining. When the movie Crocodile Dundee was doing boffo business a few years back, McMahon introduced an Aussie of his own, Outback Jack. The fact Jack didn't make it was more a tribute to his lack of charisma than it was to McMahon's idea. The rest of the wrestling business, so put off by McMahon's success and the manner in which he has operated, has taken to bad-mouthing the big act. In deference to the WWF, where story is more important than style, the chief competitor - the Ted Turner-owned National Wrestling Alliance - introduced an advertising campaign intended to steal fans. "We're the NWA," the ads read. "We wrestle."

The points were made. But the business hasn't changed. The NWA struggles. The WWF doesn't. All because of McMahon, and the creatures he's created, and the way he has disarmed the competition. Red Bastien, a former wrestler and local American promoter, has all but given up. He is now working with wrestlers in Mexico, carefully avoiding the WWF. "If I step on McMahon's toes, he'll step on my neck," says Bastien.

Of all the characters McMahon has come up with Hulk Hogan remains not only the most successful but the most remarkable. Some will insist that Hogan's persona was purely a McMahon creation. But Verne Gagne tells a different story. Gagne, who heads up the struggling American Wrestling Association, says McMahon stole Hogan from him, seriously harming his promotion. "Wrestling was a handshake business until this kid (McMahon) came along," said Gagne. "Then he took a lot of us (promoters) by surprise. He started stealing our best performers "I developed Hulk Hogan. When he came to me he was almost begging for a chance. He couldn't even do an interview, let alone wrestle. We had to have a manager do the talking for him. We had to teach him everything. "He was developing into a pretty polished star - we taught him to pose and all that stuff he does now - and they just took him, without warning or anything. We had him booked in for a number of big cities and were left with egg on our faces. Sure, they're (WWF) successful, but without the people they took from us, they wouldn't be anywhere today. "You can call that smart. I call it greedy business. I can't say anything nice about the way this all came along." Other than Hogan, the list of Gagne graduates on the WrestleMania stage are many. Announcers Ventura and Mean Gene Okerlund started with Gagne. So did Mr. Perfect, Curt Hennig; Bobby (The Brain) Heenan; The Rockers and Rick Martel. "Hell, he hired a number of people who worked in the office here, he even hired the guy who puts up the ring."

McMahon now employs more than 400 people and there are only slight indications he is slowing down. And the other wrestling organizations have died, so has the pool of wrestlers shrunk. "One day, he's not going to have anyone to steal wrestlers from, there won't be any wrestlers left," said Gagne, "and he hasn't developed any of his own."

Knowing The Man, he will come up with something. The Godfather of wrestling always finds a way.

* * * * *

THE DAY AFTER: April 2, 1990

"Hulkamania Not Forever"

How am I going to explain this to my three-year-old? How can I look him in the eye and tell him all is not well in the world today? How do you tell a three-year-old that Hulkamania is dead?

In this historic sporting season in which Mike Tyson went down and the Maple Leafs went up, there is only depression today.

Hulkamania is dead. And even the return to wrestling of the lovely Miss Elizabeth could not alter that cold, harsh reality. The champion is gone. There is nothing left to believe in anymore. For years, a legion of wrestling fans said their prayers, ate their vitamins. did their exercise. What now is there left to cheer for but a painted-faced phoney. What is there for our children, the next generation, to believe in? In the screaming frenzy of a sold-out SkyDome, our man Hogan was beaten, defeated, downed, trounced, bounced, and everything else by a chemical creation called the Ultimate Warrior. The Warrior is a screaming savage who scares children - the reason I know this is my three-year-old, a budding Hulkamaniac, cries every time the Warrior is seen on television. My three-year-old calls the Warrior "Damien," which happens to be the name of Jake Roberts' snake.

The little guy knows a painted snake when he sees one. The Warrior, in case you're not educated to the ways of the wrestling world, is supposed to take over as the new hero of the World Wrestling Federation. This is regrettable. Besides, it won't work. You could tell by the reaction in SkyDome, not just from the kids, but from the big kids disguised as adults. There was no hysteria when the Warrior pinned Hogan. Only remorse.

Wrestlers invariably need one of two skills to be successful in this hyped religion: either their act is so good they can't miss or, God help us, they can actually wrestle.

As wrestlers go, the Warrior has no skill. As gimmicks go, his is annoying. As personalities go, he doesn't have one. The WWF, which has ridden the Hulk Hogan gravy train through a run of success, is about to find itself in difficulty. It won't be able to sell The Warrior as its largest attraction. It won't be able to pull in large network audiences for this screaming madman. And even the predicted entrance of Ric Flair to the WWF - who many believe is the best combination wrestler-personality in this so-called sport - may not be able to add life to what will likely become a struggling product.

As for Hogan, we are told he is on his way to the world of Disney. The deal, we've heard, is signed, sealed and delivered. You can't blame Hogan for wanting to move on. A wrestler's life is not an easy one. But you can't help wrestling fans for wanting him to stay. Especially the kids.

Cartoon characters, not even Ninja Turtles, get any better than this. The Warrior won't take Hogan's place. He's not qualified. In fact, we loathe such a move. In Hogan, there was a symbol. We watched him go bald, but we still believed. We watched him deal with every conceivable challenge, and we still believed. We watched him get beaten up, but never beaten. Until yesterday, when this fairy tale ended without the happily ever after.

My three-year-old will never understand.

SITE NEWS: A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

2005-12-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle is now in its sixth week of publication, with more than half a million characters logged and over a dozen exclusive features spotlighted since launch.

Those who have been with us since the beginning may have noticed some changes. Our focus has shifted away from current wrestling news, and has become more of a historical perspective on interesting facets of the colorful history of professional wrestling that aren't necessarily heavily covered in 2005. This change in direction has worked well for us, and established The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle as an easily accessible reference for the wrestling fan looking for accurate perspective on wrestling history, without having to digest excess opinion from the author --which we attempt to reserve for peices expressly labeled as editorial. No decision has been reached on if and when current wrestling news will return to our rotation. Wrestling news reports from 5, 10 and 15 years ago are currently on hold while consideration is given to their future. Consideration is being given to halting these reports, and instead focusing on block reports such as the Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series, which we believe offer a clearer glimpse at a period.

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle and our staff of one would like to take a moment to say thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read our coverage, leave a comment, or tell a fellow wrestling fan about us. The patronage is appreciated greatly. We have added contact information and a poll section to our navigation, and invite you to cast a vote for which of four events you would like to see us cover in our next historical overview.

Our coverage will continue tommorow with the fourth and final part of Fourteen Weeks in 1990, as well as the third part of an eye-opening interview with Vince McMahon, the first two parts of which can be accessed in the November archives of our Monthly Index.

Thank you for your continued support,
The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART THREE

2005-12-10T17:02:00.000-07:00

In a feature exclusive to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, Fourteen Weeks in 1990 is a look behind the scenes at the crucial fourteen week period at the start of 1990. In Part Two, the build towards Wrestlemania VI continued, and the outcome of the enormous main event remained the question on everyone's mind. In Atlanta, tensions couldn't have been higher with infighting in the booking committee, an injury plagued roster and no concrete plans for the next six months while the young star they were banking on nursed his wounds. The following is the third part of the Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART THREE

WEEK 9: FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 4, 1990

In a situation that had reached boiling point long ago, a major shakeup in the National Wrestling Alliance booking committee has occurred. Ric Flair has stepped down as the chairman of the committee, and his spot will be taken by Jim Herd, who has been highly criticized for his lack of practical knowledge and experience when it comes to drawing in professional wrestling. Under Flair's watch -which lasted a little over half of a year- ratings made a huge turn for the better, but the conflicting schools of thought behind the scenes continued to sour by the week. With incredible personal pressure on him, Flair stepped down voluntarily. Flair's last week as chairman of the booking committee saw the NWA set all time cable wrestling records for a non-special events such as the Clash of Champions or Royal Rumble.

Jim Barnett will take over duties as vice chairman, and Kevin Sullivan, Terry Funk, Jim Ross and Jim Cornette will retain their individual creative positions, with rumors of Eddie Gilbert being added to the mix. With the company no longer in position to demote Ric Flair down the card due to lack of healthy or available replacements, the current plan will be Ric Flair working with Lex Luger for the next six months, a scenario almost no one wanted but is the only real option.

Jim Herd hosted a press conference at CNN Center in Atlanta earlier this week and claimed that he was trying to negotiate the rights to use movie characters owned by Ted Turner as wrestling characters in the National Wrestling Alliance. Herd gave the example of trying to find a 6'5", 275lb man with one leg, who could be trained and brought in as Long John Silver. According to Dave Meltzer, he also asked rhetorically if Rhett Butler could pin Ric Flair.

The much hyped live Main Event special on NBC saw nothing done to advance the Hulk Hogan vs. Ultimate Warrior storyline, and saw James "Buster" Douglas botch his worked punch of Randy Savage, which was incredibly obvious to those watching at home. Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage was a poor match, and nowhere near the level of past meetings between the two. Also on the show, Dusty Rhodes pinned Mr. Perfect in further evidence of Hennig's falling stock with the company.

Before his match with The Ultimate Warrior, Hulk Hogan addressed rumors that Disney was courting him and in regards to his heavily rumored retirement. Hogan claimed to have no interest in "Holly-weird", and claimed "I'm not about to body slam Donald Duck or drop the leg drop on Jimminy Cricket". Hulk Hogan's new line of vitamins are expected to hit retailer shelves very soon.

Jack Tunney has announced that both the World Title and the Intercontinental Title will be on the line at Wrestlemania VI in Toronto. It is expected that enough tickets will be sold in the next two weeks to officially call the 66,000 seat Skydome sold out.

There has been talk that The Dynamic Dudes and Danny Spivey are being released by the NWA, and talk of Scott the Body Levy being brought in. There are also rumors about Tom Zenk or Brian Pillman being tapped as the newest Horseman, with Flair lobbying for Pillman.

Wrestle War 1990 was met with mixed reviews, featuring only two strong matches and little in terms of storyline development. Buzz Sawyer and Kevin Sullivan defeated the Dynamic Dudes in the show opener, followed by Norman the Lunatic pinning Cactus Jack Manson. In a match that Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter rated four and one-quarter stars, The Rock n' Roll Express defeated The Midnight Express in a statement, show stealing match as no one involved have contracts with the NWA waiting for them to sign. The Road Warriors defeated Mean Mark Callous and Mike Enos, and Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman defeated the Freebirds in a twenty-four minute match that Dave Meltzer claimed "went about 25 minutes too long". The Steiner Brothers defeated Arn and Ole Anderson, and in the main event Ric Flair defeated Lex Luger via count-out in a match that Dave Meltzer rated four and one-half stars. The finish of the main event was panned as being screwy and indecisive, but was done to protect the return match business that the NWA will have to do with the program in upcoming months on tour.

Lex Luger doesn't want the title at this point currently, perhaps due to the soft business that thw NWA is looking to do in upcoming months with so many departures and injuries.

WEEK 10: MARCH 5-11, 1990

Things just keep getting worse for the National Wrestling Alliance. Arn Anderson suffered a herniated disc at Wrestle War that will keep him out of action for around three months. Shane Douglas, Stan Lane, Ricky Morton and Eddie Gilbert will also be missing a good amount of time with injuries as well. Danny Spivey has officially been fired by the NWA as well for not notifying the office of the numerous dates he would be missing.

The booking situation continues to be a mess, with Jim Herd's glaring lack of wrestling knowledge becoming every more obvious and Jim Barnett seeming out of touch with what wrestling fans want in the 1990's. Ric Flair's legacy as a booker seemed to be to ensure the best quality wrestling matches possible, with Flair aggressively going after WWF talent who would have furthered this agenda, namely Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Ted Dibiase. The front office didn't see eye to eye with Flair, and let Bret Hart slip through their fingers when he was ready and willing to make a deal.

Greg Valentine has died his hair black and donned a guitar as part of a new angle in the WWF that will see him team with the Honky Tonk Man and record a single titled That's All Right Honky Tonk Hammer. Sato and Tanaka, aligned with Mr. Fuji, have joined the tag team ranks as the Orient Express. In other tag teams news, some rumors are going around that The Hart Foundation will change their names to The Pink and Black Attack.

Larry Cameron, the exceptional wrestler out of Stampede, is once again rumored to be on his way in, and talks are circulating of Dory Funk Jr. stepping out of retirement for a return to the WWF.

Wrestlemania VI will broadcast to fifty-four closed circuit locations on April 1 for those without pay-per-view capabilities.

Dave Meltzer reports that there is a young wrestler named The Lightning Kid in Minnesota and a young American wrestling in Japan as Pegasus who are supposedly incredible.

WEEK 11: MARCH 12-18, 1990

Former W.W.W.F. champions "Superstar" Billy Graham and Bruno Sammartino appeared on Entertainment Tonight this week, claiming that 90% of the wrestlers in the World Wrestling Federation --referred to by some as "The Steroid Farm" --are on steroids. While Sammartino looked exceptional for his age, Graham looked old and broken down as a result of his years in the wrestling business.

On the pressure to use steroids in the WWF, Wrestling Observer Newsletter editor Dave Meltzer stated "I could go into horror stories about wrestlers who's wives have had birth defective children; a wrestler who really didn't want to use steroids while his wife was pregnant because during fits of roid rage he had punched her, but at the times there were pressures from the top because he was getting too small; a wrestler who had a family history of heart problems, and who's doctor told him never to touch them, but without them was making 1/3 of what he was making while on them today".

There is talk that Ric Flair vs. Lex Luger at the May 19th pay-per-view will be a hair vs. hair match. Ricky Steamboat has filed a lawsuit against the NWA for using his name on promotional material for the Halloween Havoc 1989 video release.

Rick Rude was involved in a serious car accident last week in Florida. It was so severe that Rude is seeking neurological help. Rude, scheduled to face Jimmy Snuka at Wrestlemania VI, probably won't be able to wrestle on the show.

In WWF tag team news, The Bushwackers are said to be on the way out of the company, while The Rockers are rumored to be breaking up in the near future with Marty Jannetty going heel. Rumors are very strong of the Skyscrapers, comprised of Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey, debuting in the WWF as soon as next month.

Paul E. Dangerously has been in contact with the WWF and is expected to be heading in to the company soon after Wrestlemania.

Rumors continue of Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair both retiring from wrestling. Hogan is taking some time off after Wrestlemania to film a movie, which may offer a clue to the outcome of The Ultimate Challenge.

WEEK 12: MARCH 19-25, 1990

The World Wrestling Federation's public relations department has announced Wrestlemania VI as a total sellout, with all 66,000 seat gone. The event will be preceded by a 5k run as well as WWF wrestler appearances all over Toronto the day before and the day of Wrestlemania.

Tony Schiavone has given his notice, and after Wrestlemania will return to the NWA to produce and announce NWA syndicated programming. Schiavone left the NWA in 1989 when it became obvious that Jim Ross was the number one guy in the eyes of the company.

Terry Taylor will not have his contract renewed by the WWF, and is not expected to be around much longer.

Arn Anderson's injury is said to be worse than originally thought, and could possibly be career threatening. Anderson's timetable of return --at three months last week --is now said to be closer to one year, if at all. Bam Bam Bigelow and Abdullah the Butcher are on their way in with so many NWA wrestlers on the disabled list. The NWA is also expected to open negotiations with Owen Hart, Scotty Levy and Kevin and Kerry Von Erich in the next few days to fill out the roster.

The situation with The Midnight Express and the NWA continued this week. As of now, when their contract expires in May, it isn't expected that the two sides will come to a deal that would keep the Midnight Express in the NWA. The Midnight Express were going to be released last year, but the three men made it clear they were a package deal, and Jim Cornette was deemed too valuable to the NWA to let walk away. As a result, the Midnight Express were demoted to prove a point, and put in lower card matches.

Miss Elizabeth is not pregnant as has been rumored, and is simply stepping aside to allow the Sapphire character to develop without having to deal with her shadow.

Look for the fourth and final installment of Fourteen Weeks in 1990 soon, exclusively at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. All news and information is derived from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter, Herb Kunze and various wrestling books and biographies.

NEWS: CATCHING UP WITH BRUNO SAMMARTINO

2005-12-09T16:04:00.000-07:00

On October 6th of 2005, Bruno Sammartino celebrated his 70th birthday. Taking one look at Sammartino's physique and workout regime makes that number even more unbelievable.

Bruno Sammartino is one of the most prolific professional wrestlers in the history of the sport, and one of the most successful. Using methods of comparing business statistics from the 60's to modern day, Bruno Sammartino has been called the biggest draw in the history of the World Wide Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment. At what many considered to be the center of the wrestling universe, Sammartino sold the Madison Square Garden out anywhere from 45 to 187 times, depending on who one chooses to believe, and did enormous business for The WWWF at a time when the company had an awful time slot at best, and no television at worst. From mid 1963 until mid 1977 --with the exception of a three year break from 1971 until 1973 that he requested due to a back injury-- Sammartino main evented every event at Madison Square Garden for the company, doing incredible business as an Italian hero in the melting pot of New York City.

Sammartino was such a strong draw that in 1965, meetings were secretly held between Vince McMahon Sr. and Sam Muchnick, promoter of the National Wrestling Alliance. The two promoters devised a plan to unify the NWA and WWWF titles in a match that they would broadcast closed circuit to likely huge business, and Sammartino was scheduled to defeat then NWA champion Lou Thesz. If it hadn't been for a fallout with Thesz over money and Sammartino not wanting the schedule being the unified champion would have necessitated, Sammartino would have ended up in possession of both the NWA and WWWF titles. Sammartino both broke box office records at the time, and made record amounts of money at the time, being paid an unheard of 6% of the gate for all shows that he worked at one point.

When Bruno Sammartino retired in 1981, his opinion of wrestling began to sour however. He believed that he had been cheated on his gate percentages by Vince McMahon Sr. and took the case to court. The case was settled out of court, with Bruno Sammartino being paid $200,000 in back pay and given a three year contract as a color commentator for the WWF Superstars of Wrestling syndicated show. In order to help his son David's faltering wrestling career, Bruno agreed to return to action to form a tag team with him. The two did incredible business at the top, so well that soon Bruno was main-eventing on his own again while David did little of note in the lower card. When Jake Roberts failed a drug test and was found with cocaine in his system, Bruno would replace him on a tour in a feud with the Honky Tonk Man. The final wrestling appearance of Sammartino's career would see him teaming with Hulk Hogan for the first and only time, defeating King Kong Bundy and The One Man Gang before posing with Hulk Hogan.

The relationship between Vince McMahon Jr. and Bruno Sammartino has seen extreme ups and downs in the last twenty years. Sammartino chose not to return to the WWF when he stopped doing announcing for the company in 1987, critical of the direction that wrestling was headed and upset that his son was fired for punching a fan. Sammartino hated the use of drugs, particularly steroids, running wild in wrestling at the time, and ironically Bruno's own son David would eventually admit to using them to improve his appearance. Bruno would become one of wrestling's biggest critics, and even testify against the WWF in a case where preliminary wrestler Chuck Austin sued the WWF for 25.7 million dollars after suffering paralysis a match with The Rockers in 1989.

In July of last year, Bruno Sammartino attended a live taping of Raw in Pittsburgh to negotiate an offer to become an announcer for the WWE 24/7 concept, where he would speak to Vince McMahon for the first time in over twelve years. The two wouldn't reach a deal, Sammartino would get in to a confrontation with Ric Flair over comments in Flair's book, and Sammartino wouldn't stay for the main event of HHH vs. Chris Benoit that he was invited to stick around and watch. At current day, Sammartino maintains that he wants nothing to do with World Wrestling Entertainment or their Hall of Fame.

Earlier this week, Bruno Sammartino was a guest on "To the Point", which airs on The Score sports network out of Canada. Sammartino was said to be friendly and talkative, a stark contrast from his disposition when typically talking about wrestling. The following are highlights of that interview:

Bruno Sammartino claimed that it seems like ages ago that he worked all of those shows at Madison Square Garden, and enjoyed that time in his life a great deal. On the neck injury that he suffered against Stan Hansen, Sammartino called it the worst injury of his career and said that he came extremely close to suffering paralysis. Bruno claimed to now feel good for his age, despite undergoing major back, hip and knee surgeries since retirement. Bruno called Yukon Eric the strongest wrestler that he ever stepped into the ring with, and put him over as being great to work with.

When asked what the biggest difference in wrestling now, he claimed that he came from an era of excellent wrestlers, mentioning Lou Thesz and Vern Gagne, and said that while there were blondes and fancy robes during his era, the shows were about wrestling. Sammartino then mentions the scantily clad women, people being buried alive and crucifixions that occur today. He also specifically pointed out Triple H raping a corpse as well as something that he disagreed with, and claimed none of these things were wrestling. He also stated that the drug scene in WWE is appalling. Bruno said that he respects the enjoyment some people may have for this kind of entertainment, but it isn't what he thinks that wrestling should be about.

When asked about the possibility of joining The WWE Hall of Fame, Sammartino again stated that he didn't want to have anything to do with it, because it would be hypocritical after all of the criticism he has given to Vince McMahon Jr. over the years. Sammartino also claimed that the epidemic of early deaths in wrestling could be attributed to the culture of drugs behind the scenes, and cited the problem being a big reason he left the WWF in 1987. Sammartino said that he was outspoken against this because no one else is, and what he says needs to be said. Sammartino claimed that Congress should be looking into the wrestling business, but they aren't.

Sammartino finished the interview talking about the documentary on his life that he has been working on for several years now.

In 2005, World Wrestling Entertainment can no longer afford to run Madison Square Garden due to the increase in cost to rent the famous building, and the dwindling attendance at the gate for Vince McMahon, and aside from watching the occasional match of his favorite wrestle Kurt Angle, Sammartino still wants nothing to do with Vince McMahon. Some things never change.

NEWS: COUNTDOWN TO BILL WATTS' BIOGRAPHY

2005-12-08T23:00:00.000-07:00

In one of the most anticipated wrestling books of 2005, the prolific "Cowboy" Bill Watts tells his incredible story in detail at last in "The Cowboy and The Cross: The Bill Watts Story", which will be released nationally on December 15, 2005 --the same day as Eddie Guerrero's biography. The book is 350 pages, and cowritten by Scott Williams, who also worked with Terry Funk for his acclaimed biography.

"In The Cowboy and the Cross, Bill Watts takes us from his stormy upbringing and his tumultuous years at the University of Oklahoma, to his days in the wrestling business, sparing nothing in his details about football coaching legend Bud Wilkinson, ugly encounters with some of the top names in wrestling in the 1960s, and frightening stories about skirting tragedy and the law in violent altercations.

Watts talks about all the top stars of his legendary Mid-South Wrestling promotion. He explores the oil crunch that killed his company and the problems that killed his marriage. His personal tribulations coincided with his reawakened spirituality, and Watts gives readers a lot to think about as he narrates the story of the profound change God made in his life. Wrestling Observer newsletter editor Dave Meltzer calls this book a “must-read” for anyone in the wrestling business."

"The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story" joins the ranks of books by Eddie Guerrero and "Superstar" Billy Graham, all slated for release in the next four weeks.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART TWO

2005-12-08T01:18:00.001-07:00

In a feature exclusive to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, Fourteen Weeks in 1990 is a look behind the scenes over the crucial fourteen week period at the start of 1990. In Part One, the National Wrestling Alliance was pushing a young star named Sting heavily, while in New York, The Ultimate Warrior was slowly being raised to the level of long time torchbearer Hulk Hogan. In Part Two, things begin to fall apart as Mike Tyson, a man the WWF was heavily pushing as a crossover star to the WWF, went down in a stunning upset in Japan, while Sting suffered a knee injury that would put him out of action for six months only weeks before he was scheduled to win the NWA Heavyweight Title. The following is the second part of the Fourteen Weeks in 1990 series.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART TWO

WEEK FIVE: JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 4, 1990

On Saturday evening in Tokyo's Korauken Hall, Vince McMahon and Giant Baba met in the middle of the ring and shook hands, announcing that the April 13th card at the Tokyo Dome would be a joint show co-promoted by All Japan, New Japan and the World Wrestling Federation. The event should be an enormous draw, with the two major Japanese promotions working together in conjunction with the WWF and the Japanese debut of both Randy Savage and The Ultimate Warrior. This is a landmark deal for all involved, as All Japan and New Japan have not worked together since 1979, and the World Wrestling Federation has not co-promoted an event with anyone in years. The cooperation between All Japan and New Japan stemmed largely from Ric Flair pulling out of the main event of the New Japan Tokyo Dome show next week, which left New Japan vulnerable to making a deal favorable to All Japan with head Giant Baba for the supershow.

Wrestlemania VI has been offically dubbed "The Ultimate Challenge", leaving many to believe the main event will now certainly see Hulk Hogan meeting The Ultimate Warrior. There is no word on which title would be defended. Some are still speculating that this name for the show could also imply Hulk Hogan taking on Mike Tyson in what would likely be one of the biggest money matches of all time. Curt Hennig seems to have been noticeably demoted, with rumors of his involvement in the Wrestlemania VI main event from Toronto all but completely silenced.

The Saturday Night's Main Event taping on February 23rd in Detroit has a full card now. The lineup for the evening has been announced as: The Ultimate Warrior taking on Dino Bravo for the Intercontinental Championship; Andre the Giant and Haku defend the World Tag Team Championships against Demolition; Roddy Piper vs. Rick Rude in a lumberjack match; Dusty Rhodes takes on Curt Hennig; Jake Roberts meets Ted Dibiase in a grudge match; Bad News Brown locks up with Jimmy Snuka; Rick Martel takes on Brutus Beefcake, and finally Ronnie Garvin squares off with The Canadian Earthquake. The entire event will be taped, with probably two to three matches making the final NBC special.

WEEK SIX: FEBRUARY 5-11, 1990

On the morning of February 5th, The World Wrestling Federation held a press conference for Wrestlemania VI in Toronto, Ontario. The main event will officially see Hulk Hogan taking on The Ultimate Warrior in a battle of the two biggest fan favorite draws in the WWF. Both Hulk Hogan and The Warrior will remain fan favorites for the program, though both gave very strange, dark interviews over the weekend on syndicated programming. The Ultimate Warrior in particular gave a very unusual interview. The Ultimate Warrior also acted like a heel to local media at the press conference, though some say that is just what his real personality is like. At the press conference, Hogan and Warrior shook hands, and then gripped each other's tightly in a test of strength of sorts. There is no word on the planned outcome of the match, though with The Ultimate Warrior working many more dates than Hulk Hogan and Hogan not needing the title to draw, some believe that at this point it would make sense to give The Ultimate Warrior the biggest win of his career. On the prospects of The Ultimate Warrior becoming the Hulk Hogan of the 1990's, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter comments "Doesn't the thought of The Warrior in that spot make you cringe?".

When asked by local media which title would be on the line at Wrestlemania, Gene Okerlund claimed that it had yet to be determined. The Skydome will seat 66,000 for Wrestlemania, and 10,000 tickets were sold within an hour of going on sale. Within another few hours, 24,000 tickets had been sold. Ringside seats are going for $150 each.

Don King, business manager of Mike Tyson, has gone on record claiming that Mike Tyson is being paid close to one million dollars for his role as a referee at the February 23rd NBC special. On the prospect of Mike Tyson stepping in to the ring to take on Hulk Hogan, Don King said in an interview with The New York Daily News "If Vince came up with the money - and I'm talking between $100 and $200 million - I might be able to convince Mike to do it". Vince McMahon met with Don King in Tokyo over the weekend and discussed the possibility of joining forces to establish a syndicated boxing TV network that would market Wrestling supercards, Mike Tyson bouts, and cartoons and movies featuring Mike Tyson.

Tully Blanchard has met several times with Jim Herd over the past week, and should be returning to the NWA at the Clash of the Champions. The two were said to be far apart in regards to what Tully was worth monetarily to the National Wrestling Alliance. When Tully Blanchard was fired by the World Wrestling Federation for failing a drug test, he opened negotiations with the National Wrestling Alliance and was scheduled to return immediately. The NWA got cold feet at the last moment about bringing Blanchard in so soon after testing positive, fearing a public relations disaster if word got out.

In other Horsemen related news, The NWA front office wants Ole Anderson out of the ring immediately. There is some talk of Ole putting Scott Steiner over in an "I Quit" match before retiring. Sid Vicious has re-signed with the NWA after being close to jumping to the World Wrestling Federation. Vicious' new deal is for one year, with early 1991 being the earliest that he can now go elsewhere if he chooses.

The World Wrestling Federation still has many local regional promoters onboard their operations, including Gerald Bricoe in the southeast, Jack Tunney in Ontario, Zane Bresloff in the Southwest and Stu Hart in Alberta.

Whipper Billy Watson, perhaps the most popular Canadian wrestler ever, has passed away at the age of 74. Watson was found in his home in Florida on Sunday after suffering a heart attack. Watson, a former NWA World Champion, will be remembered as much for his charitable contributions as he will for his legacy in the ring. For over forty years, Watson did volunteer work for children, and helped raise literally millions of dollars using his reputation and fame as a wrestler. Watson's wrestling career came to an end in 1971, when he was out of his car aiding a fellow motorist involved in an accident and was hit by a car and pinned between it and a parked vehicle. Watson suffered a shattered left knee and nearly severed his entire left leg. While Watson's wrestling career ended, his contributions to others lasted until literally the time of his death. The bell was tolled ten time in honor Watson at the start WWF house shows in Canada over the weekend. "Whipper" Watson was one of the true good guys in wrestling, and will be missed greatly.

WEEK SEVEN: FEBRUARY 12-18, 1990

Sting suffered a serious knee injury on Tuesday at The Clash of the Champions that will require him to miss at least a few months of ring time. This is an enormous disaster for the NWA, who have been planning the World Title picture around the young star for several months. In less than three weeks, Sting was scheduled to face and probably defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle War 1990. With no main event for the pay-per-view at all right now and the number two babyface behind Sting currently being Norman the Lunatic, the NWA will have some major problems to deal with. Management is blaming Ric Flair for almost every problem in the company at this point and wants the title off of him badly, with tensions within the company approaching new highs. The new main event for the pay-per-view is looking to be Lex Luger taking on Ric Flair yet again. With Ricky Steamboat gone and not coming back due to a contract dispute, the company is badly in need of several new top babyfaces. To make matters worse, The Great Muta has quit the NWA as well.

The WWF is panicking this weekend as well, as Mike Tyson was knocked out over the weekend in Tokyo by James "Buster" Douglas in a shocking upset. The current plan is for Mike Tyson to still appear on the WWF NBC special, and he is still under contract to do so, but the fear as of this point is that Tyson will be unwilling to do such a high profile appearance after the embarrassing loss.

Tully Blanchard was backstage at the Clash of the Champions in his gear, ready to debut at the show. Ric Flair had been personally lobbying for Tully to be brought back in as the fourth member of The Horsemen, but at the last moment the two sides just could not reach a deal that satisfied both financially, and Tully Blanchard will not be returning to the NWA as of this point.

Vince McMahon is planning to make an aggressive movement into the world of bodybuilding, an industry long dominated by the iconic Joe Weider.

Rumors are strong that AWA World Heavyweight Champion Larry Zbyszko has signed to meet NWA World Champion Ric Flair in an interpromotional event on April 1st in a card that will go head to head with Wrestlemania VI. Another interpromotional event, the Tokyo Dome card that All Japan, New Japan and the WWF are cooperating on, will be headlined by Randy Savage taking on Hulk Hogan.

WEEK EIGHT: FEBRUARY 19-25, 1990

Mike Tyson is no longer involved in the Saturday Night NBC special at 10:00PM this weekend. After suffering a shocking loss to Buster Douglas, Vince McMahon took the offer to Tyson off the table and has actually signed on James "Buster" Douglas to referee Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage. The reason for this mainly boiled down to money, and Douglas was available for 10% of Tyson's one million dollar asking price, and will be working with the WWF for a one night payout of $110,000. Jack Tunney will be at ringside for the match, which is rare and suggests that he may somehow be involved in the outcome of the match. Some within the company are apprehensive about using Douglas because of his height. Like Mr. T., Mike Tyson has a huge reputation but stands well below six feet tall, which makes almost everyone in the WWF, especially Hulk Hogan, appear to tower over him. Douglas is much closer to Hogan's legit 6'5". The NWA was in the process of making a bid on Buster Douglas when the WWF approached him.

Andre the Giant has no-showed several house shows in the last week and rumors remain heavy that he is on his way out of the WWF after Wrestlemania. It is believed that Demolition will defeat the Colossal Connection in Toronto to once again wear the tag team titles.

Steve "Dr. Death" Williams is the latest wrestler to leave the NWA. He will be headed to Japan. The discussed Larry Zbyszko vs. Ric Flair match could also be off, as Zbyszko dropped the AWA World Title over the weekend to Masa Saito in Japan.

Buddy Rose and Jim Brunzell are returning to the World Wrestling Federation. Don't expect very big pushes to be given to either.

Sting had successful knee surgery several days ago with Dr. Jim Andrews in Birmingham, Alabama. Andrews suggested that Sting stay out of the ring for at least six months, but Sting is already talking about returning on the July Great American Bash pay-per-view in Baltimore.

The Great Muta quit the National Wrestling Alliance immediately after the Clash of Champions in Texas. Muta had been being buried since December, and his moral was said to be low. Those within the NWA stated that Gary Hart was too influential over Muta, as he told Muta repeatedly that Americans would never cheer a Japanese babyface. As a result, whenever Muta was asked to turn babyface because the crowd was cheering him anyway, Muta rejected the ideas and refused to become a fan favorite. Muta will probably return to Japan almost immediately.

The exodus of talent continues in the NWA, as The Midnight Express were told this week that they wanted them to re-sign for significantly less money, with many believing that the company wants to break the team up entirely and only keep Jim Cornette. Jim Cornette is insistent that the threesome remain together.

At tapings for WWF syndicated television this week, Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty showed up black and blue. According to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the two got in to a brutal fistfight, and judging from facial damage, Marty got the best of Shawn Michaels. They were sent home and won't be given work for at least a month. The duo no longer wants to work as a tag team, with each wanting a singles push

The main event for the April 13th WWF/All Japan/New Japan card is now looking to be Terry Gordy vs. Hulk Hogan, with Tenryu vs. Randy Savage, Babe & Andre vs. Demolition and Chono vs. Jake Roberts underneath.

Damien, Jake Robert's python, will no longer be used after it bit Roberts twice recently. A rubber hose is now being used in Jake's bag. Paul Roma and Hercules are now tagging under the name "Team of the 1990's".

Look for Part Three of Fourteen Weeks in 1990 soon, exclusively at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. All news and information is derived from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter, Herb Kunze and various wrestling books and biographies.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART ONE

2005-12-06T19:39:00.000-07:00

When 1989 came to an end, American wrestling was at a pivotal point. In New York, rumors of Hulk Hogan's retirement continued to swirl, problems with pay-per-view syndicators plagued the WWF, and the search for the next WWF heavyweight champion continued. In Atlanta, backstage conflict overshadowed what was one of the greatest years for any company in modern wrestling history. Lex Luger was still being pushed as the next NWA champion by some, and Ric Flair continued to hold the title. Meanwhile, the two parts of a former tag team out of California were slowly becoming the two fastest rising stars in wrestling, with ascentions and eventual falls that would mirror each other eerily. Fourteen Weeks in 1990 is a special feature at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle that will go behind the scenes in both New York and Atlanta for a look at the beginning of the end of a golden period in American wrestling.

NEWS: FOURTEEN WEEKS IN 1990: PART ONE

WEEK ONE: JANUARY 1-7, 1990

The WWF pay-per-view No Holds Barred: The Match, The Movie -taped on December 12- aired on December 27. The event featured only one match, a tag team cage match that saw Randy Savage and Zeus lose to Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake in a match saved only by Randy Savage. The pay-per-view drew a 1.8 buyrate, approximately one-third of the buyrate of the original match at SummerSlam between the two teams. The No Holds Barred pay-per-view was offered at a discounted rate. It marked the last appearance of Zeus for the company.

The most pivotal story of the first week of 1990 was perhaps the continuing conflict between the World Wrestling Federation and the companies that they relied on to syndicate their pay-per-views, Request TV and Viewers Choice. During the No Holds Barred pay-per-view, Gene Okerlund read a telegram informing fans that several cable companies were not carrying the Royal Rumble. On the pay-per-view and on WWE syndicated television over the weekend, announcers urged fans to contact their cable companies. Jesse Ventura even stated that he fought to defend America, and that he finds the cable companies withholding the pay-per-views from the public to be un-American. Coming from the WWF, who had routinely blocked their competitors from major arenas and conducted power plays to force all but a few cable operators to drop NWA pay-per-views in favor of their own, this stance by the WWF could be considered comical. The impasse between both sides stems from what the WWF feels is their fair share of pay-per-view revenues.

With 1990 now officially underway, Wrestlemania VI from Toronto, Ontario on April 1st is on everyone's mind. The rumors circulation in late 1989 had one of the following four matches being the strong possibility: 1) Hulk Hogan vs. Brutus Beefcake after a heel turn; 2) Hulk Hogan vs. The Ultimate Warrior after a heel turn; 3) Hulk Hogan & Elizabeth vs. Randy Savage & Sherri; 4) Hulk Hogan vs. Zeus. Hulk Hogan is scheduled to meet Mr. Perfect on the February 23rd Saturday Night's Main Event, and many believe Hogan might drop the title to set up a Wrestlemania rematch. With Zeus no longer in the WWF, and Brutus Beefcake not turning on Hogan at the No Holds Barred pay-per-views as many had suspected, neither seem to be likely possibilities at this point. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports that there has been recent talk of Roddy Piper leaving Prime Time Wrestling and aligning himself with Bobby Heenan as a heel to become the top challenger for Hogan, but Meltzer believes Hogan vs. The Warrior is the most likely possibility as of this point.

The lawsuit between Hulk Hogan and comedian Richard Belzer was just settled out of court. Hogan was being sued for five million dollars due to an incident that occurred six years earlier on March 28, 1985 when Hulk Hogan accidentally dropped Belzer and busted his head open just prior to Wrestlemania. The settlement is believed to be a very favorable settlement for Belzer, which was made to keep Hogan out of the negative light. Disney remains interested in Hogan due to the strong success of No Holds Barred with children, and this continues to fuel rumors of Hogan retiring.

The A-shows are currently being headlined by Hulk Hogan and Mr. Perfect, with Hennig looking spectacular. The World Wrestling Federation has been getting out of ruining Hennig's perfect record by having Lanny Poffo to take the falls in a lot of handicap matches as of late. Rick Rude and Roddy Piper are headlining B-shows.

Barry Windham continued to no-show dates for the World Wrestling Federation. He may have had a valid reason this time, as Barry had to bail both Kendell and his father Robert "Blackjack Mulligan" Windham out of prison after they tried to pass counterfeit $20 bills. Windham's time with the WWF appears to be limited.

The NWA had strong interest in Pat Tanaka to join the the stable of The Great Muta, the Dragon Master & Buzz Sawyer. The WWF knew this, and decided to sign Tanaka. He'll be heading in as one half of a Japanese tag team with Akio Sato.

Jim Herd is still heavily pushing for the World Title to go to Lex Luger, who just signed a three year contract for what is believed to be 1.5 million dollars. Ric Flair is still in favor of Sting as his next challenger. Mark Calloway has started up on television, and should probably become a Skyscraper with Dan Spivey. Other new acquisitions include The Rock N' Roll Express -working without a contract- and Jorge Gonzalez, a legit 7'6" basketball player from Argentina. Missy Hyatte is still being held off of television as an announcer until her speech teacher gives WCW brass word that she has completely dropped her Southern accent.

Rumors are abound that Billy Jack Haynes and Bob Orton are on their way back to the World Wrestling Federation. Haystacks Calhoun has sadly passed away after suffering the seventh major heart attack of his life.

WEEK TWO: JANUARY 8-14, 1990

It is now virtually certain that the main event for Wrestlemania VI will see The Ultimate Warrior challenging for Hulk Hogan's WWF Championship on April 1st. How the match will play out is still a matter of great speculation. The Ultimate Warrior turning heel at this point might not be entirely wise, as he is the second most popular star in the company and more popular with children than Hulk Hogan. There is a possibility that he would play heel in just this feud, and make amends with Hulk Hogan at the conclusion of the match. Set up for the feud should possibly begin as early as The Royal Rumble, and should definitely continue at the next Saturday Night's Main Event taping in several weeks.

The Big Bossman turned babyface over the weekend after a heel run that saw him doing incredible business with Hulk Hogan on multiple tours. In the angle, Jake Roberts stole the Million Dollar Belt and placed it in the back of the arena with his snake. Ted Dibiase instructed Bossman through Slick to get the Million Dollar Belt back. When The Big Bossman did, he gave it to Jake Roberts rather than Dibiase and then laid out The Million Dollar Man and Slick.

Sting, who's popularity has been surging for the last twelve months, was officially made the fourth member of the Horsemen over the weekend. In other Horsemen related news, Sid Vicious is probably headed to the WWF soon unless WCW can make him an offer worth staying for. He is still out of action after suffering a punctured lung at the Clash of the Champions 9 in a match against the Steiner Brothers.

Gary Hart has been fired by the National Wrestling Alliance.

Arsenio Hall, who is a wrestling fan, has been trying to get WCW talent on his show for weeks. Thus far, he is having no luck getting through to the company, as they flat out refuse to allow their talent to appear on the show as long as Hall keeps booking guests from the WWF. WCW, which hardly receives any mainstream press or appearances, should perhaps learn the old adage about beggars and choosers. Hall is said to prefer the NWA or the WWF because of the superior in ring wrestling.

WEEK THREE: JANUARY 15-21, 1990

The World Wrestling Federation has come to terms on a seven year deal with Viewers Choice to syndicate all of their pay-per-view events until at least the end of 1996. The deal was signed just over a week before The Royal Rumble, which will now be airing through Viewers Choice.

Saturday Night's Main Event was taped this week and a huge angle was shot involving Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior faced Curt Hennig & Lanny Poffo. After a big boot and leg drop, Hulk Hogan pinned Lanny Poffo. Mr. Perfect throws Hogan out of the ring, and he and Poffo brutalize The Warrior. When Hogan steps back into the ring, he accidentally bumps the Warrior, who has his back turned to Hogan. Warrior turns around and punches Hogan before realizing what he has done. The two wrestlers make up with each other, but the seeds are planted for their main event in Toronto. There are rumors that Curt Hennig will win the Royal Rumble, with Warrior and Hogan perhaps playing a part in each other's eliminations. Also on Saturday Night's Main Event will be Ronnie Garvin taking on Greg Valentine, and Jim Duggan against Randy Savage.

Barry Windham is officially gone from the World Wrestling Federation after a rocky stint consisting of numerous no-shows and a character that never really got off of the ground. More information on the situation with Barry's father Blackjack Mulligan and his brother Kendell Windham: Florida investigators confiscated around $500,000 in counterfeit money from the two, and Kendell has been fired by the NWA. His spot is probably going to be filled by Cactus Jack Manson, who has been gaining a cult following on the independents due to the insane punishment and bumps that he takes in his matches.

Andre the Giant and Haku continue to hold on to the WWF tag team championships. Andre, at 44, can hardly travel currently due to his size, and it remains unclear just how much longer the two will be able to hold on to the titles before having to drop them for the sake of practicality.

Kerry Von Erich is still being lobbied for by some in power in the NWA. There is no word on whether or not he has been or will be offered a deal with the company. John Studd is also in negotiations to come in to the NWA.

Jorge Gonzalez will wrestle under the name El Gigante, and is currently being trained by the NWA. He should debut on February 25th on pay-per-view.

WEEK FOUR: JANUARY 22-28, 1990

The WWF has reached a deal with Mike Tyson, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion and one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. Tyson will serve as referee for a match between Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan that will air on February 23rd WWF special on NBC. There was some internal debate on whether Mike Tyson should be used in this capacity, or saved until Wrestlemania VI. The thought seems to be that the WWF wants to use Mike Tyson -one of the biggest draws in sports- to get as many people watching on NBC as people so that they can see the Ultimate Warrior and Hulk Hogan's angle setting up Wrestlemania. Many are salivating over the potential box office of a Hulk Hogan vs. Mike Tyson match, but politics would prohibit almost any finish aside from the two teaming up to run off heels at the end according to Dave Meltzer.

The third annual Royal Rumble was broadcast live on pay-per-view on Sunday from Orlando, Florida. The event drew a 2.0 buyrate, only two tenths of a point higher than the No Holds Barred pay-per-view several weeks before. The undercard was rather forgettable, with Greg Valentine losing to Ronnie Garvin in an "I Quit" match being the only standout bout. In the main event, Hulk Hogan won a Royal Rumble match that saw an angle shot between he and The Ultimate Warrior. When the two were the only wrestlers in the ring, they crisscrossed the ring and knocked each other down at first, and moments later Hogan accidentally knocked The Ultimate Warrior out of the ring. The Orlando fans were rabid for the dream face-off, and Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior are now both looking to go into Wrestlemania as fan favorites.

Hulk Hogan is expecting his second child soon, and some believe he may want to take some time away from wrestling in the not so distant future.

New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling have apparently banded together in attempts to stop the World Wrestling Federation from invading the Japanese market.

The Clash of the Champions: Texas Shootout takes place on February 6th, and most believe that it will set up an angle between the Horsemen and Sting that will result in Sting taking the title from Ric Flair on February 25th in Greensboro at Wrestle War 1990. Also on the card, Lex Luger is expected to meet Steve Williams for the United States Title and Big John Studd takes on El Gigante in a battle of the giants.

The Bushwackers, who have proven to be a strong draw for the WWF, are probably going to be facing Andre the Giant and Haku at Wrestlemania and taking the Tag Team Titles.

Jesse "The Body" Ventura has signed on to do a pilot for ABC where he plays the role of an undercover police officer who moonlights as a professional wrestler.

With Stampede closing up, Owen Hart and Larry Cameron are heavily rumored to be coming in to the World Wrestling Federation some time soon.

Ole Anderson is out of the NWA booking committee, and Jim Herd and Jim Barnett are now taking much less active roles. The committee now consists of Jim Cornette, Ric Flair, Terry Funk, Kevin Sullivan and Jim Ross. Ric Flair, Jim Cornette and Kevin Sullivan are putting the matches together, while Jim Ross handled production of the TBS show and Terry Funk handled production of syndicated programming.

Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman are getting over very big, and are reminiscent of a younger and more marketable version of the Rock n' Roll Express. Zenk, who Ric Flair convinced Jim Herd to sign, had been a favorite of Flair's since first seeing him four years earlier in Portland.

Look for Part Two of Fourteen Weeks in 1990 soon, exclusively at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle. All news and information is taken from The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter, Herb Kunze and various wrestling books and biographies.

HISTORY: OCTOBER 23, 1999 - GILBERT SHOOTS ON LIVE TV

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When promoter Randy Hales opened the first live episode of Memphis Power-Pro Wrestling in April of 1998, he gave an emotional speech thanking everyone for their support. A look around the building made it clear how elated fans were to finally have live local wrestling back on television in Memphis. If they all would have known of the embarrassment that would ensue a year and a half later, they might have had very different expressions on their faces.

HISTORY: DOUG GILBERT SHOOTS ON LIVE TV

In late September of 1999, ratings had been steadily declining since Power Pro Wrestling's debut in the Spring of 1998, but viewership remained solid and the company could still claim that they outdrew the WWF's syndicated programming in the Memphis market. Randy Hale's PPW had recently been recommended by Jerry Lawler for use as a World Wrestling Federation developmental territory, and Power Pro-Wrestling along with Memphis Championship Wrestling became a final destination of sorts for talent to undergo their last evaluations before being called up to full time roles in the WWF. Kurt Angle, Russ Haas and Charlie Haas were all currently spending time paying dues in Memphis. Things were going well for Randy Hales, and also for wrestling fans in the great city of Memphis.

*****

October 9th of 1999 was just another Saturday morning at WMC-TV studios in Memphis. The studio was set up for wrestling, fans were in the old worn down bleachers, and Power-Pro Wrestling was about to go live on Channel 5 all over Tennessee. What would occur however was anything but normal, and would play a crucial part in changes that would effect the wrestling landscape as a whole in North America.

The top feud at the time was Brian Christopher and his tag team partner The Spellbinder warring with former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Tommy Rich and "Dangerous" Doug Gilbert. Christopher was the son of local icon Jerry Lawler. Their relationship was a closely guarded secret in Memphis that almost everyone knew, but it was never acknowledged on television.

When the opening video of Power Pro-Wrestling faded to black on Channel 5 that morning, Brian Christopher and The Spellbinder were on their way to the ring. They weren't quite themselves however. Brian Christopher was dressed as Doug Gilbert, and The Spellbinder --a 6'4" African American with a freakish build-- was playing the part of Tommy Rich. "Doug Gilbert" began whining in the middle of the ring about Jerry Lawler, claiming that he had gotten him blackballed from the World Wrestling Federation. "Tommy Rich", with a pillow in his shirt to insinuate a beer gut, acted drunk and eventually started pouring whiskey down his throat before pretending to pass out. The two would wrestle that night, and faced two local jobbers. Christopher and Spellbinder laid on their backs grinning and allowed the two wrestlers who never won in Memphis to defeat "Tommy Rich" and "Doug Gilbert" easily. The rest of the show was relatively uneventful, with television announcer Dave Brown openly stating that last year's Masquerade Maul --A battle royal with a Halloween costume theme-- wouldn't be occurring again this Halloween "because it was one of the worst shows in the history of television", and Jim Cornette comparing Brandon Baxter to both Adolf Hitler and WWF scriptwriter Vince Russo.

The following Saturday morning on October 16th, Dave Brown would open the show with a pleasant announcement that Tommy and Peggy Gilbert, the parents of Doug Gilbert, would be joining Power Pro-Wrestling in the WMC-TV studios. Instead however, Memphis fans saw Spellbinder and Brian Christopher walking to the ring, dressed as an elderly couple. "Tommy Gilbert" claimed himself to be a famous legend, and pulled out a program from his first main event. The program read "Tommy Gilbert vs. Moses". Brian Christopher, playing the part of Peggy Gilbert, claimed that Doug wasn't even her son, and that she was having an affair with the local ice cream man. Christopher and The Spellbinder left the ring that morning to a loud chorus of boos from the Memphis Crowd.

On October 23rd of 1999, in a premonition of the things to come, the ring broke minutes before the show was set to go to air.

Power Pro-Wrestling hit the airwaves at 10AM with a shot of a limo pulling up to the front of the studio. When the door opened, Brian Christopher walked out in a suit with flowers in his hands. He looked like he was forcing back tears, and claimed to have bad news. Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich had died. Television announcer Dave Brown treated the news as though he knew it was a farce, but Christopher insisted that it was serious and that he was going to hold a special memorial service for the fallen heroes. On Tommy Rich, Brian Christopher said that he was a good man who got his start in Memphis. Christopher said that he was the shortest reigning NWA Champion in history, and that he would always be remembered as a loser. Brian Christopher then raised the name of Doug Gilbert, and began a speech that would lead to what would happen unscripted several minutes later. Christopher tore into Gilbert, claiming that he came from a redneck town and only got the nickname "Dangerous" when he accidentally burned his parents trailor to the ground. Christopher then again brought up the affair Peggy Gilbert was allegedly having with the local ice cream man, and claimed that he gave her "special long popsicles". Christopher spoke negatively on Eddie Gilbert before saying that Tommy Gilbert and Doug Gilbert never drew a dime in their life in the wrestling business.

The "ashes" of Rich were then brought out in a beer can, and the ashes of Gilbert were brought out in a vacuum, as Christopher claimed that it was the only thing that sucked worse than Doug did. When the lights went out at the end of the segment, Tommy Rich and Doug Gilbert hit the ring to exact revenge on Christopher and The Spellbinder. The heels fled while Gilbert threw the vacuum cleaner clear across the studio. What happened next would result in a backlash far bigger than the participants likely ever expected.

Doug Gilbert had hated Jerry Lawler for years. Doug believed that Jerry Lawler had cheated his father and brother in the past, and also believed that Jerry Lawler made public comments about his brother Eddie's death being related to drugs. Doug would wear t-shirts to the ring with Lawler's mug shot on them and write defamatory pieces about Lawler in his promotion's souvenir programs when Lawler was facing statutory rape charges. Doug would also deliver ten minute speeches calling Lawler as a rapist on some shows on the east coast. Lawler hated Doug for this, and even more so when Doug left a message on his answering machine threatening to kill him several years later according to Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

Regardless of the reason, with a baseball bat in hand, Doug Gilbert approached Dave Brown, with Tommy Rich beside him. Gilbert knew that Lawler was only loosely associated with Power Pro-Wrestling, but had likely salivated for years over a live television platform to speak on Jerry Lawler, and Brian Christopher's comments on Doug's family probably made the choice all the easier.

Tommy Rich began with a promo uncharacteristic for wrestling. He spoke directly into the camera to The Spellbinder, calling him "boy", and claiming that if he wasn't doing so many steroids he would only weigh 130lbs. Rich was only following directions. He and Gilbert had been told to be a little controversial, it was that kind of a feud. To say that Doug Gilbert took it too far would be an understatement.

"Brian Christopher, you do not talk about my family" were the first words that left Gilbert's mouth that he actually seemed to mean. The following is a the transcript of the statement that followed from Doug Gilbert:

Doug Gilbert: "You do not talk about my family. You do not talk about me. Listen, you want to play the family card? He wants to play the family card with me? Oh Brian, that card can hurt you so bad son. I'm out on the street and people say 'Doug Gilbert, why was Brian Christopher dragging those four or five belts around?' Oh he was so successful here in Memphis. Brian, it kind of hurts. You know Dave there's things we aren't supposed to talk about out here. They told me a few things in the back I couldn't talk about, but I don't really remember what they was. One of them might have been, the only reason is that Brian Christopher was champion for so long was because his daddy--"

Dave Brown: (yanks the microphone away looking stunned) "Wait...wait...wait"

Doug Gilbert: (yanks the microphone back) "Because his daddy Jerry Lawler owned the company."

(The Studio Crowd is stunned)

Doug Gilbert: "I'm sorry Dave, I know I wasn't supposed to say anything. Now let me ask you something Dave, as a guy who works at WMC-TV, you can change things around, you can keep things from happening on this show right?

Dave Brown: "Well I couldn't just keep what happened off the show. We are live"

Doug Gilbert: "Well that's fine, you can't tell me when Brian Christopher comes out here, and you're going to be disrespectful to my mom or my dad? You know what, you know that little thing in your ear that people are talking to you upstairs from Dave? I think maybe you should have said it's time to go to break. See I'm not holding anyone personally responsible for what I'm saying. See, Randy Hales is upstairs with his hand on that little button that can cut me off. See Randy, if I start saying something again, and I should talk about you up there right now smoking crack--"

Dave Brown: (Pulls the microphone away) "Alright, alright now, that's not true--"

Doug Gilbert: "Oh, oh yeah Dave it is true"

Dave Brown: "Alright, you have a point, there are certain things we can't control, there are certain times that we can't--"

Doug Gilbert: "Alright Dave, let me say one more thing, you give everyone else there chance didn't you?"

Dave Brown: (looking concerned) "Watch what you say"

Doug Gilbert: "Alright, I will watch what I say. You see, someone showed me a tape with Jerry Lawler holding his fist up saying 'Doug Gilbert...I'm going to put my first in your mouth'. Now come on Dave, I ain't that corny. I would say 'You know, I'm Doug Gilbert, and Jerry Lawler raped a thirteen year old girl!'."

At that point, Doug Gilbert rushed towards the cameraman and Dave Brown frantically sent the show to an early commercial break as the live studio audience and those watching at home sat in shock of what they had just seen. When Power-Pro Wrestling came back from break, Randy Hales announced that Doug Gilbert had been suspended.

Jerry Lawler was already at odds with promoter Randy Hales, whose idea the whole angle was. Lawler was watching the show live from his home that morning, and immediately drove down to the studio and demanded a copy of the video. His behavior was so erratic that he was said to have been asked to leave the studio, and he ended up being banned from the TV5 station. This incident is thought to have played a large part in souring the relationship between Power-Pr0 Wrestling and Channel 5.

Randy Hales luck continued to get worse. What was supposed to be the hottest angle of the fall had become an enormous embarrassment to all involved. Business continued to get worse. The Occupational Health and Safety Association evaluated Power Pro-Wrestling and determined that they were severely under-insured, and wanted Channel 5 to pay $100,000 more per year. Channel 5 wanted Randy Hales to cover this increase, as well as purchase $30,000 worth of new curtains and new bleachers to upgrade the look and comfort of the facilities. Hales, largely due to his relationship with Jerry Lawler falling apart due to the angle, soon had his relationship with the WWF as a developmental territory dissolved. With Power Pro-Wrestling no longer in business, Hales now works as the manager of a Sonic Burger in the Memphis area.

Legal action stemmed from the angle as well. Jerry Lawler strongly considered pressing defamation charges against Doug Gilbert, but Gilbert didn't have any money to sue for so Lawler quietly dropped the suit. Even Peggy Gilbert got into the action, exploring legal action against Randy Hales over his promotion claiming that she was messing around with the local ice cream man.

And Doug Gilbert and Jerry Lawler are still said to hate each other. Doug Gilbert and Tommy Rich would start an opposition group to Power Pro-Wrestling several months later. The promotion, dubbed Kick Ass Wrestling, incorporated elements of groups such as Extreme Championship Wrestling. In a local radio interview promoting the groups debut event, Gilbert spent most of the time running down Jerry Lawler. Needless to say, Kick Ass Wrestling was a short lived concept. Gilbert still wrestles occasional shows for Supreme Championship Wrestling.

The aftermath of Doug Gilbert's outburst may have been the most notable impact of his career. He had gotten himself fired, created a divide between Jerry Lawler and Randy Hales that resulted in two new major promotions sprouting up in Memphis, lended a major hand in the WWF pulling out of PPW and indirectly weakened the relationship between Channel 5 and Randy Hales. Not bad for ten minutes work.

On the Saturday morning following Doug Gilbert's tirade, no mention was made of he, Tommy Rich, or the entire episode that unfolded at WMC-TV studios the week before.

Some things are better off forgotten.

HISTORY: THE MOST TASTELESS ANGLE EVER

2005-12-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle will often investigate events that happened during various periods professional of wrestling history. All coverage is unique to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle unless otherwise specified.

HISTORY: THE MOST TASTELESS ANGLE EVER

Eddie Graham was considered one of the brightest wrestling minds of all time. Once a wrestler, Graham parlayed his knowledge of the wrestling business into the promotional end and became one of the most influential men ever in the wrestling business. He was a wrestler, trainer and a very respected promoter, and in 1976 was elected President of the National Wrestling Alliance, making him the most powerful figure in the country when it came to promoting professional wrestling.

HISTORY: TOM MAGEE, THE GOLDEN BOY OF 1986

2005-12-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

"That's my next champion! That's my next champion" Vince McMahon shouted loudly to everyone around him as he stared at a monitor backstage in Rochester, New York on October 6th of 1986...

HISTORY: TOM MAGEE, GOLDEN BOY OF 1986

If an American wrestling promoter of the 1980's was to compile a list of all of the traits that they wanted in a young star to groom and some day build their territory around, that list would have a hard time competing with the resume of Tom Magee.

From Winnipeg, Manitoba, Magee was a natural athlete with 275lbs of muscle packed on to his 6'5" frame. His looks were better suited for Hollywood than the world of wrestling. Magee's background in athletics was everything one could ask from a future star.

Tom Magee held a black belt in Karate. He has a strong background in boxing. In 1982, Tom Magee won both the World and Canadian Power Lifting Championship in the super heavyweight division despite not having the traditional bulk of a typical powerlifter. He could bench press as much as 573lbs. He could squat 860lbs, and dead lift 820, and he did it with the charisma typically missing in competitive bodybuilders. In 1984, he won the Mr. British Columbia competition, as well as The World's Strongest Man championship, an event in which he had previously placed 2nd in 1982. Magee would go on to win four Louis Cyr World Strongman contests, and play football with the BC Lions. Magee was considered a phenom in strong man circles, but perhaps the sport that he stood out in the most was gymnastics.

By the time the mid 1980's came along, wrestling in America was dominated by the incredible physiques that Vince McMahon was pushing nationally. Magee was more physically impressive than perhaps anyone competing at the time in professional wrestling, and like many of his other contemporaries was looking to turn his good looks, well built body and athleticism into a career. By 1986, a movie about Tom Magee had already been made ("Man of Steel"), and he was ready to begin training as a professional wrestler. The man who chose to train Magee was the legendary Stu Hart.

Tom Magee's first match was on February 22nd of 1986. It wasn't a bad way to debut, as the very first time Magee stepped in front of an audience as a professional wrestler just so happened to be in the main event of a major All Japan show, where he took on Riki Choshu. To debut in the main event for All Japan spoke volumes for Magee's potential. After only one match, Magee became one of the most talked about wrestlers in the world. Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter said of his first match: "He was the greatest combination of strength and agility the business had ever seen".

Seven months later, Tom Magee arrived in Rochester, New York on October 2, 1986 for an untelevised match for the WWF that would serve as a tryout for the twenty-four year old rookie. Vince McMahon was in the building, and was said to be looking forward to watching a future prospect in action. The audience didn't know what to expect when they saw this monster walking to the ring. He was as tall as all but the giants of the World Wrestling Federation, better built than Hulk Hogan and looked indestructible. When Tom Magee climbed the steps towards the ring, everyone watched on, wondering what he would do next. Tom Magee then proceeded to backflip in to the ring, landing gracefully on his feet, shocking the capacity crowd.

Tom Magee's opponent that night was a young mid-card heel by the name of Bret Hart, incidentally the son of the man who trained him. Before the match, Bret Hart was said to have told Magee to only worry about doing his three best offensive moves, and Hart stated that he would do the rest. In what has been described as one of the most incredible jobs of carrying an opponent in wrestling history, Bret Hart got a match so good out of Tom Magee that not only was the Rochester crowd hotter for it than any other match on the card that night, but Vince McMahon was ready to groom Magee to be the next Hulk Hogan.

Hulk Hogan was doing strong business for the World Wrestling Federation in 1986, which at the time was running 980 shows per year, but many in the World Wrestling Federation always feared that he would only be a short term champion. House shows that he headlined drew reasonably well, but in many parts of the country -including The Madison Square Garden- others such as Roddy Piper were outdrawing him. Vince McMahon was so worried about Hulk Hogan's receding hairline hurting his longterm ability to draw that he told Jesse Ventura in no uncertain terms that he was not to mention it on commentary. The search for Hogan's successor was ongoing even with the WWF Champion remaining a mainstream media darling.

That early October evening in New York, Vince McMahon was certain that he had found that man in Tom Magee. Watching his monitor backstage, McMahon shouted to anyone that could hear him "That's my next champion!". When Magee walked through the curtain, McMahon and Pat Patterson showered him with praise and signed him immediately. McMahon was said to gloat about his new acquisition for weeks, and when everything was in order, McGee was eager to begin with the WWF. He was placed on the C-level shows, the WWF tour that featured the least amount of star power and ran in the smallest venues --often times high schools and community centers -- and was often used to give young talent valuable experience while keeping them out of the public eye. Tom Magee was given the nickname "MegaMan", and would be put over in every single match on the tour en route to becoming a runner up for the Pro-Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year award in 1986.

Tom Magee spent the next eight months working with Terry Gibbs and defeating him in short, one sided matches that showcased Magee's acrobatic offense. Gibbs wasn't looking like the wrestler that tore the house down with Bret Hart in October of last year, and no one quite knew why. Dave Meltzer has described Gibbs as a rare breed of wrestler who actually got worse with more experience, and for whatever the reason, his stock began to fall. Magee looked effeminate in the ring, and his offense was said to look terrible and be getting worse. In mid 1987, the WWF began to see Magee as a failed experiment, and another young bodybuilder became the new golden boy of Vince McMahon, Jim Hellwig who came over from Texas where he competed as The Dingo Warrior.

In 1988, Tom Magee only competed in one match with the World Wrestling Federation, a match in January with Mike Sharpe. The interest from the WWF was no longer there, and Magee returned to Japan. Perhaps the last high profile match of his career came in late 1988, when he took on Japanese Sumo legend Hiroshi Wajimi in what was widely considered to be perhaps the worst professional wrestling match of all time when it happened. It would easily get Magee his first Wrestling Observer Year End Award. While Vince McMahon must have been hoping that the award Magee would be getting in 1988 would be Biggest Box Office Draw, it was actually Worst Match of the Year that Magee walked with in a landslide.

In 1989, Magee worked his final few matches with the World Wrestling Federation. The man who was once thought to be Hulk Hogan's successor lost cleanly to perennial WWF jobbers Tim Horner and Barry Horowitz and never worked for the WWF again. Magee left wrestling quietly shortly there after, and appeared in several low budget films in 1990 and 1991, most notably a film ironically titled Stone Cold. Presently, Magee is working as a trainer at the world famous Gold's Gym in Venice Beach, California and has nothing to do with professional wrestling.

AN EXCERPT FROM BILLY GRAHAM'S BIOGRAPHY

2005-12-02T12:34:00.000-07:00

More than five years ago, former World Wrestling Federation Champion "Superstar" Billy Graham began work on a biography covering his groundbreaking career in professional wrestling. Half of a decade later, "Superstar Billy Graham: Tangled Ropes" is finally slated for release on January 10th, 2006, which will coincide with the release of the WWE DVD "20 Years Too Soon: The Superstar Billy Graham Story" one week lateron January 17th. The forward for Tangled Ropes was written by Jim Ross, as follows.

Forward: by Jim Ross

It was August 24, 2003 and was a normal Sunday afternoon in Phoenix where it was about 100 degrees and I was sweating Crisco (dry heat my Oklahoma backside!). It was the WWE’s annual summertime extravaganza known as Summerslam headlined by an Elimination Chamber match for the paying customers. But behind the scenes a very different kind of main event was going down that scorching day in Arizona. After years of exile, years filled with controversy and near death experiences, that was the day that former WWE Champion and future WWE Hall of Famer Superstar Billy Graham physically returned “home” to rejoin his WWE brethren and to slowly begin to mend fences and establish new relationships within the company he helped build.

But not everyone was overjoyed to see Superstar.

Some people have long memories and to “old school” wrestling people forgiveness, in their eyes, has to be earned. Right or wrong that’s just the way it is.

This was the first time I had ever personally met Superstar even though I had heard a truck load of stories about this colorful character from many of our mutual friends and acquaintances from my over 30 plus year career in “the business”. I had no issues with Billy, no grudges, no bad experiences or memories, he didn’t owe me money, he had not no showed an event I was involved and while I did not know him personally I felt badly for him that day. While many of the WWE Superstars embraced Billy like a returning brother who had been absent from the family for years others gave the former WWE Champion the cold shoulder. I felt uncomfortable for Billy because of how some were snubbing him but I don’t know if Billy was even aware of it that day. Superstar Billy Graham was back as the center of attention and receiving accolades from wrestlers, many of who he had never met, and loving every minute of it!

You see, Superstar Billy Graham isn’t Switzerland…he’s not neutral…on any subject. Superstar is a guy who has always been a lighting rod of controversy and as a peer or co-worker you either liked him or you did not. There was no gray area when it came to Superstar and how people felt about this man who could arguably be considered the first sports entertainer…EVER. (In all due respect to Gorgeous George.)

But, cutting to the chase, Superstar Billy Graham is simply lucky to be alive today.

He should have died several times but he was always able to get a foot on the rope before the fatal three count went down. It’s funny how that works. Billy won the WWE Title from the legendary Bruno Sammartino in 1977 in Baltimore by using both feet on the ropes to “rob” the Living Legend of the coveted championship. Ironically, when Billy lost the WWE Title to Bob Backlund a little less than a year later once again Billy had his foot on the bottom rope as he was pinned by Backlund. It almost seems like God has not only put Billy’s feet to the fire a few times but near the ropes, as well.

I respect Superstar for many things but especially for his innovative stylings he brought to “the business”. Superstar’s physique was “freak of nature” material but he has paid dearly for how he attained his “24 inch pythons”. Superstar was one of the very first wrestlers to fully grasp the psychology and importance of how to verbally communicate with the paying customers and wrestlers to this very day utilize this art form Billy perfected. He influenced the wrestling careers and in ring personas of Hulk Hogan, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, Dusty Rhodes, Austin Idol, Big Papa Pump Scott Steiner, and another life long fan of Superstar’s, Triple H, to name a few. That’s a helluva legacy.

Billy Graham has been many things in his life albeit none of them were of the low key, Ward Cleaver variety. He has been, among other things, a competitive body builder, a contestant in strong man contests, a bouncer, a pro football player, an evangelist, a motivational speaker and a pro wrestler of worldwide stature. He has run a foul of the law, has been physically abused by legendary wrestler and trainer of wrestlers Stu Hart, has clashed with the businesses biggest and most powerful promoters, went on “Donahue” to rant on Vince McMahon, and probably attempted a thousand times to “get rich quick”. He has had issues with EX’es, his children, and, as I have mentioned, has almost died more than once.

What a life. What a story. This book details in brutal honesty the life of one of the most colorful, controversial, and candid individuals I have encountered in my almost four decades in “the business”.

I am happy that I can call Superstar Billy Graham my friend. I have also had the privilege of meeting and getting to know his wife, a Saint and with out a doubt heaven sent to be the Superstar’s soul mate, his wife Valerie who has gone through more hell with Billy than any woman should have to endure in 9 lifetimes. This is really their story. It’s a story of living…dying…and surviving.

Drugs, sex, rock & roll, wrestling, preaching, beautiful people, famous friends, and more are all a part of this incredible story. This is one book you will not soon forget.

Jim "JR" Ross

AN EXCERPT FROM EDDIE GUERRERO'S BIOGRAPHY

2005-11-30T15:07:00.000-07:00

Eddie Guerrero's biography is scheduled to be released on December 20th of 2005. "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story" is said to speak candidly on the demons that Eddie faced in his nearly 20 year career in the wrestling business. The following is an excerpt from Guerrero's upcoming biography.

Chapter 23

After Starrcade, we were given a very brief Christmas break. My marriage wasn't in big trouble yet, but it was well on its way. Vickie and I were arguing all the time, usually about my partying. She was dealing with it as best she could, but I could see her frustration mounting. Even though my drinking had been a part of our life for as long as either of us could remember, it was clearly growing out of control.

"Let's throw a New Year's Eve party," Vickie suggested. "That can be my turn to have some drinks and enjoy myself."

It was a fun party. All our friends and family came over, and of course everybody got pretty wasted. After everybody had gone home, Vickie and I had a bit of a spat, though to this day, I don't remember what set it off.

Vickie went to bed, but I decided to stay up a while longer. I was feeling pretty hungry and started looking through the kitchen for something to munch on. For some reason, I had an intense craving for eggs. We didn't have any in the fridge, so even though it was three in the morning, I decided to go to the store.

As I was getting into my TransAm, I grabbed a bottle of Renutrient and threw it into the backseat. Renutrient was a legal form of GHB, a drug that promotes fat reduction and muscle building by stimulating growth hormone release. It also gives you a hell of a buzz and makes you pass out. Looking back, I realize I was still feeling upset from my fight with Vickie and thinking very bad thoughts. I'll show you, I thought. I'll hurt myself.

The store was closed, so I went ahead and drove to the next convenience store up the road. I bought some eggs and a twelve-pack of beer, and then got back in the car.

Before I drove off, I decided to take some of the Renutrient. It's a liquid, taken by the capful. Usually one or two caps would put me down, but God help me, that night I took five good-sized shots.

I blocked that memory for so long. It wasn't until much later that I remembered what I had done. It was a suicide attempt, plain and simple. Maybe I did it subconsciously, but no matter how you slice it, that was what I was doing. I was tired of life and wanted to die.

I had given up believing. I had tried to fill the empty place in my heart with wrestling. I tried to fill it with booze and pills. I was making good money and I was still feeling empty. I was miserable in WCW. I knew I wasn't going to go any higher there, and jumping to WWE hadn't even crossed my mind. I couldn't stop wondering, Is this it? Is this what I worked my whole life for?

It didn't help matters that I was constantly fighting with Vickie. I think that night was a culmination of all those bad feelings. The hole inside me had just gotten too large.

I took those five caps knowing that I was going to fall asleep. If I make it home, I thought, then I make it home. If I don't, that's okay too.

I just didn't care anymore. I just wanted the pain to stop.

I wasn't thinking about Vickie or the kids. I was being selfish, thinking only of myself. I wasn't knowingly trying to commit suicide, but it was clearly going on deep inside my subconscious. Why else would I do something like that?

I started driving, heading down Highway 54. I pushed down on the gas pedal and felt the power of my TransAm -- Vrooom! Here we go!

The next thing I knew, there were doctors all around me, holding my leg. As my eyes opened, the first thing they said was, "What are you on?"

"What?" I had no idea where I was or what was going on.

"You've been in a car accident," one of the doctors told me. "You're in the emergency room. Your leg is in very bad shape and we need authorization to start surgery on you."

I sat up and looked at my leg. "Oh wow," I said. "I'm pretty fucked up."

The doctor looked straight at me. "Yep," he said, "you sure are."

And then I passed out.

I woke up again as the doctors were trying to work on me. I freaked out and started trying to fight them off, but they grabbed my arms and held me down.

Again they asked me, "What are you on?"

"Alcohol," I told them.

"No, you're on more than that. What are you on? Tell us what you're on."

They kept pushing and finally I said, "Renutrient."

"What's that?"

"GHB."

"Okay," the doctor said. "Can you give us any contact information so that we can call your family?"

I managed to give them our phone number before going unconscious again.

I was in and out of consciousness for a couple of days. I remember opening my eyes and seeing Shaul by the bed, with tears streaming down her little face. I knew I was in bad shape -- they don't allow little kids into the intensive care unit unless they think the person isn't going to survive.

My family all came to the hospital the afternoon after the accident. My brothers and sisters all flew in from their respective homes. My mom had just flown home to El Paso after spending the holidays with us in Tampa -- she literally got to Texas, then turned around and flew back to Florida. All my friends, like Dean and Tury, came to see me. Our family pastor came and prayed over me.

When I finally came to, the police told me what had happened. I had fallen asleep at the wheel -- obviously -- while going upwards of 130 miles per hour. I came to a curve in the road but didn't make it. The car went off the embankment into a ditch and just started rolling. The embankment basically acted like a ramp, sending the car into the air, soaring up over some trees. They knew this because they found parts of the car in the treetops, which weren't all mangled like they would've been if the car had hit them.

The car flipped so many times it was flattened like a pancake. It looked like a Coke can after somebody stomped on it. Luckily for me, I shot out through the T-top as the car started rolling. I must've flown a hundred feet or so before landing in the gravel on the roadside. Vickie thinks an angel pulled me out through the T-top, because had I stayed in the car, there is no way on earth that I'd have lived.

The cops came to the scene and started dealing with the traffic situation. They saw me lying there and just assumed I was dead. Fortunately for me, a lady who had pulled over to volunteer her help saw me moving. They called for an air evac -- a helicopter ambulance -- and immediately flew me to St. Joseph's Hospital.

My injuries were pretty brutal. I'd fractured my collarbone and compressed a few discs in my spine. I had severe scrapes all over my body from the gravel and broken glass -- Vickie was still pulling little pieces of glass out of my back a month later. I was bruised and swollen all over from the trauma.

Both of my legs were a complete mess. I'd broken my right hip socket and shredded my left calf. A piece of glass had severed the nerves and ligaments so badly that there was no way the doctors could reattach them. Instead, they just pulled the skin over the wound and sewed it up. They literally removed a pound of my calf.

The worst injury I'd sustained was a badly lacerated liver. When Vickie first got to the hospital, the doctor pulled her aside. "We suggest you call your family," he told her, "because we don't believe he's going to make it through the next two nights."

By the grace of God, somehow I didn't hit my head. My brother Mando jokes that it was because of my dad's training. He taught all the Guerreros to tuck and roll whenever we fall. I guess it was instinctive. Even when I was shooting a hundred feet out of a flying car, I still managed to tuck and roll and protect my head.

I only found these things out after all was said and done. A lot of what happened -- in the accident, in the hospital afterward -- remains a mystery to me. I suppose I could've asked more questions, but I don't think I ever really wanted to know all the details.

All things considered, I was very fortunate. My hip socket broke cleanly, so they didn't have to repair it surgically. All I had to do was give it time to mend and it'd be all right.

I wasn't so lucky with my other leg injuries. After performing reconstructive surgery on my calf and thigh, the doctor told Vickie that he doubted I would ever walk again. "What does he do for a living?" he asked.

"He's a professional wrestler."

"Oh no, he'll never wrestle again," the doctor replied. "That's certain. He'll have to find another career. That is, if he makes it."

Within a couple of days it became clear I was going to survive. My liver showed definite signs of healing and it looked like I was out of the woods. The doctors told me that my physical condition was a huge factor in my ability to heal. A normal thirty-six-year-old, without my level of physical activity, would've probably been crippled for life.

Still, the doctors were all pretty surprised. They would come into my room and tell me how fortunate I was. "You're a lucky, lucky man," they said.

Yeah, right, I thought. Sure I am.

While I was in the hospital, the doctors had me on morphine drip all day long. I was able to push a button and get a dose every seven minutes. And believe me, I pushed that button every time.

Obviously I couldn't do that after I went home, so I started taking a lot of pills. Anything to stop the hurting. How could I do the physical therapy if I was in terrible pain? I had to dull the pain before I could begin learning to walk again.

But as a result of having so much painkiller in me, I was pretty much in a fog. I was like the walking dead -- only I couldn't walk!

EDITORIAL: KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE

2005-11-21T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle will occassional run editorial peices. These editorials represent purely opinions, and should be taken as such.

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle acknowledges Chico Harlan's Pittsburgh Post Gazette column for quotations contained in this editorial, and credits The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch and "It's True, It's True" as valuable sources of information.

KILLING YOURSELF TO LIVE

On August 29th of 1985, a typical American man was hard at work on a construction site in rural Pennsylvania, perched high in the air like a bird. It was a typical summer afternoon, and with autumn drawing near he was looking forward to the relief those months would bring.

Unfortunately, for some people, the autumn never comes.

In life, a fraction of a second can ripple for eternity. He knew that he had lost balance, but he didn't have time to think about it. He was crashing to the ground. His head hit concrete first. Both of his shoulders broke instantly. His skull was cracked in three places. Lesser things would have killed any other man, but not him. He picked his broken body off the ground and began the longest walk of his life. When he arrived, he checked himself into the hospital.

No one could ever tell him that he wasn't tough. And no one could ever tell him that he wasn't determined.

On August 31st, two days later, the man was pronounced dead in the same hospital.

David Angle was 55 years old, and he couldn't take his pride with him.

Twenty-four hours later, his son Kurt wasn't listening to those who were telling him not to play in the varsity football game that afternoon. Kurt thrived to overcome all things, even his father's death. Sixteen solo tackles, two touchdowns and one interception later, Kurt walked off the field after the best football game that he would ever play, feeling proud.

Little did Kurt know that he would some day be carrying his own broken body to the hospital, and positioning himself to follow in his father's footsteps of living proud, and regretfully probably dying young.

"I just wanted to talk a little bit about him, and what he meant to me. When he was on, he was the best wrestler in the business. He may have even been the best ever. He showed me a lot of things, and said a lot of things that not only helped me professionally, but personally. He cared about everybody, he loved everybody. I love you, and I'll miss you".

Kurt Angle made these comments, fighting back tears, in the wake of Eddie Guerrero's tragic death. Sadly, these comments aren't that different than those that could made about Angle himself one emotional Monday evening if he doesn't make make a drastic change immediately.

Less than eight hours after Vince McMahon and Chavo Guerrero addressed the media at a press conference in Minneapolis in regards to Guerrero's death, a broken down Kurt Angle landed on his head after taking one of the most dangerous offensive maneuvers of his career from the top rope. Like his father, Angle is tough, determined and proud. Like his former mentor and fellow Olympic medallist David Schultz, Angle is tough, determined and proud. At 36 years old, there is a good chance Kurt Angle can outlive his mentor Schultz, who was murdered in 1996 at the age of 37. At the rate Kurt Angle is going, outliving his father may be his toughest battle to date.

His checklist reads like an almanac of worst case scenarios. Nerve damage to his face. Six knee surgeries. A broken neck. Torn muscles. Bone chips removed from his upper spine. Destroyed ligaments. Dislocated shoulders. Several years ago, Angle said to the press with pride, "Look at my face. It looks like I have aged fifteen years in the last five." Angle can no longer hear out of his left ear. It has been drained 80 times.

When training for the Olympics, Kurt Angle pushed his body to the point of insanity. "I'd train so ferociously some days that I would make myself sick". That training makes getting out of bed today even difficult according to Angle, as he broke his body down at a very young age.

Five months before the 1996 Olympics, Kurt Angle cracked two vertebrae and pulled four muscles in his back, causing two herniated discs to stab into his spinal cord. The pain was intense. Doctors told him that he risked paralysis competing, but Kurt was proud. Mepivacaine was the painkiller that Kurt Angle chose, and for the next half of a year he took it constantly to make training, and eventually winning a gold medal possible. Hunched over in tears, Angle had defied paralysis and proved himself as the best amateur wrestler in the world. He wished his father would have been there to see it.

Nine years later, Kurt was in his fourth as a WWE wrestler. In an eerily similar scenario, Kurt Angle's neck was destroyed in early 2003, and he was advised not to compete in the main event of Wrestlemania 19. Maybe it was the backflip that he attempted from the top of a steel cage, fifteen feet in the air on January 14th of that year. It was a move that could end a career if the slightest thing went wrong, but in the all-or-nothing fashion typical to Angle, he went big. The result was the most graceful moonsault imaginable, and as Kurt hung upside down in the air high above the arena, time seemed to stand still for just an instant before his knees hit the mat in a landing that could not have been any more perfect. Angle had wagered his body for glory, and come out on top yet again.

But how long could he keep getting lucky? He was willing to roll the dice one more time at Wrestlemania of that year, deciding to step into the ring and face Brock Lesnar in a match that would solidify his legacy, or paralyze him for life. Angle not only stared down death, but taunted it, taking dangerous drops on his neck and shoulders before passing the World Championship to Brock Lesnar. The 54,097 fans in attendance roared in approval of Kurt flying around the ring. Kurt's wife Karen and newborn daughter Kyra probably had different reactions.

For 240 days a year, Kurt Angle wakes up in a bed that doesn't belong to him. In hotel rooms all over America, Canada, Japan and Europe. His Coraopolis, Pennsylvania home, his BMW and his family are things he seldom has the time to see. Several years ago he stated in an interview that the only way he could continue to wrestle was through the heavy use of painkillers. In 2005, Kurt Angle is going harder than ever.

In an interview with Kurt Angle and his wife Karen several years ago, Angle stated that the only time he ever physically felt 100% was right before a match when his adrenaline took over. Kurt continued "But after that, I'm right back down to the bottom again. It sucks, because if I want to play with Kyra... (Kurt looks to his daughter playing in the next room)...sometimes I just can't do it".

Karen Angle spoke: "If he gets to the point where he really can't play with her, that will be it. No matter what you have in your house, no matter how good your life is, you can't give that up. If that's what happens, that's when I'll put my foot down and make him stop."

At that moment, Kurt Angle smiled, "I'll never stop" he finished.

Kurt Angle's marriage ended several months ago, devastating him personally. He is a proud man, and wrestling is something that he is dedicated to, and excellence is his obsession. Tired of wondering if he would be in a wheelchair in a few years, as Karen Angle has publicly wondered, she opted to separate from Kurt over the summer, and their marriage never made it to the autumn.

Kurt Angle has made it clear in the past that he will settle for nothing less than being remembered as the best of all time. But is that distinction worth his life? To Kurt, a proud man like his father, it might very well be.

Kurt's physical changes over the past half-decade are shocking. His head has increased in size dramatically, which may or may not point to use of Human Growth Hormone. Angle has suffered concussions, and has major nerve damage as a result of his neck problems. His triceps appear to be on the verge of atrophy, and one of Angle's biceps is noticeably larger than the other. Kurt Angle has a history of heart disease in his family. He has a glassy look in his eyes, and is a self-admitted user of painkillers. And he shows no signs of slowing down. As a training partner once said of Kurt Angle, "He doesn't have an off switch".

Estranged from his family, Kurt Angle is said to be more focused on being the best in wrestling than he ever has been. But how many times can Kurt Angle keep rolling the dice before his luck runs out? I don't know if World Wrestling Entertainment can continue to allow him to try.

Kurt Angle doesn't need wrestling. He has made millions and has nothing left to prove, at least not to his fans. He could stay another few years, maybe end up with permanent damage to 10% of his brain like his idol Bret Hart. Or he could move on with is life, make a new career out of motivational speaking, acting. Maybe amatuer wrestling seminars.

Kurt Angle has proven in the past that pride is more important to him than anything however. It has cost him his health, it has cost him his family, and at the rate he is going, sooner rather than later, he too may find himself dragging his dying body to the hospital when doctors can no longer help, and his pride may cost him his life. Sadly, it may already have. And Kurt won't be able to take his pride with him either.

The person most qualified to speak, Kurt's long time wife Karen, spoke best when she said, "I don't think what he's doing to himself is worth it".

Neither do I.

EDITORIAL: STEALING LIFE, CHEATING DEATH...

2005-11-21T12:53:00.000-07:00

The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle will occassional run editorial peices. These editorials represent purely opinions, and should be taken as such.

STEALING LIFE, CHEATING DEATH

The untimely death of Eddie Guerrero early Sunday morning was regretfully nothing new in the shadowy world of professional wrestling. In a business that strives to keep its secrets so closely guarded, no acceptable answer has ever been given as to why so many who step through its doors pay so dearly for admission. No response is given to fans who are conditioned to care for these athletes, only to have them taken from this life suddenly in the primes of their lives with no explanation. In an industry that sees the past as something better off forgotten, reaction to these tragedies lasts for exactly two hours in prime time, sometimes four. Death has a pecking order. You might get an entire show dedicated to your memory, or maybe a ten bell salute and a music video. Or maybe, if your life wasn't so relevant, you'll get a graphic displayed as the show comes on the air. In the end it really doesn't matter, because once the screen fades to black, it's back to business as usual. As the most powerful man in American wrestling has said so many times in the face of tragedy, the show must go on.

And it goes on without you. The problem of early death ceases to exist. You cease to exist. To recognize your life is to recognize your death, and to do that is to acknowledge the uncomfortable: that you and so many of your colleagues should be alive, but for some reason, you aren't. Unless your tragedy can be neatly packaged into a DVD, or a new tag team can form a shallow tribute to you, your life is better off forgotten. And the show goes on.

To blame Vince McMahon for these tragedies is the easy way out. The media doesn't mind, nor do lazy thinkers. This solution is too shortsighted. These are problems that face the wrestling industry as a whole, and they go back at least 25 years. What we are currently experiencing is the tail end of the peak of the worst period for the death of wrestlers that the United States has ever seen. If any good news can come out of such a morbid period, it is that these tragedies should ideally soon wind down and usher in a future much less devastating to so many families and fans, and serve as a lesson to the next generations of professional wrestlers.

Twenty-five years ago, professional wrestling and America were both entirely different than they are today. Steroids were legal until 1991, and easily obtainable. To live like a wrestler was to live like a rock star. Stories were not exaggerated of many wrestlers working a 30 minute match, drinking, doing drugs and partying all night, getting a few hours sleep, doing some crank, driving all day, working out and then doing it all over again. It was a vicious though necessary cycle to preserve the way of life. Healthy diets were not the priority that they are now. A dozen raw eggs a day were a routine source of protein --nobody knew that with the protein came 900% of the recommended daily intake of cholesterol. Wrestlers like Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand injected themselves with things as extreme as monkey hormones to get an edge. From many modern wrestling books written, we can gather that many wrestlers did massive amounts of steroids at the time. The schedule was in most cases much more grueling, with World Wrestling Federation wrestlers working over 25 shows a month some months. The money was so incredible when wrestling went national that the mindset was keep up or get left behind. If you weren't working in the WWF, you were working all over the United States, and often times in Canada, Mexico and Japan where acquiring any poison in the world really wasn't all that difficult. The women, the money, the Cadillac, the lifestyle... they seemed too good to be true. And with every decision that is made in this life, there comes a price.

In 2005, territorial promoters who's obligation to a man lasts only until he burns out a town and moves to the next are extinct. World Championship Wrestling -a company that employed what seemed like a hundred wrestlers, yet where nobody answered to anyone- is gone. Thankfully for the sake of professional wrestlers and their families, Extreme Championship Wrestling is no more. In the promoter Paul Heyman's last public appearance, he apologized for being late to the ring, stating he was "in the back smoking a joint with [Rob] Van Dam". As a wrestling mind, Heyman was and still is a genius. As an authority figure who looks out for his wrestlers, he was a failure, allowing wrestlers to work while impaired, presiding over what has been reported to be one of the most drug-laden locker rooms ever, and even allowing a wrestler to walk through the curtain so intoxicated that he removed his pants in the middle of the ring in front of children. Professional wrestling, for all intents and purposes, is now a one-company industry in America though others are clawing their way up. However, the aftershocks of the 1980's wild west climate of professional wrestling are still reverberating today.

In many ways, it is a positive that Vince McMahon and Dixie Carter are the only two individuals that matter in American wrestling, because it means that professional wrestling has gone corporate. Both World Wrestling Entertainment and TNA Wrestling as a division of Panda Energy have to answer to their shareholders, and their employees have to represent their parent company in the appropriate manor. As callous as it seems, every wrestler in either company has become an investment whose livelihood the wrestling industry is accountable for to shareholders. With more and more WWE talent being recruited and trained in-house, WWE is more responsible than they have ever been for the young men and women who they make international stars out of. Drug testing is still desperately needed in professional wrestling as it is in all professional sports. However, while the pressure of substance abuse may still exist in the confines of the locker room, the reality of the ramifications is no longer a mystery, and ultimately it us up to the wrestler of 2005 to decide if the temptation of a better body, a bigger payday or a crazier party is worth the home-shattering consequences. The honeymoon period is over. Wrestlers believed themselves to be invincible in the 1980's. Twenty-five years and a dozen headstones later, the message is clear. And wrestlers are catching on.

In 2005, the wrestling business has matured, but is paying dearly for the mistakes of its past. Almost every single unexpected wrestling death of the last decade involves a wrestler who spent a lot of time going up and down the roads during the wild west era of the 1980's. The WWE wrestler of current day is a different breed. A Playstation 2 has replaced a bar fight. The internet and cell phones have replaced a line of cocaine. A healthy, low-fat diet, good cardiovascular conditioning and responsible, well researched use of steroids and supplements have replaced unhealthy meals at diners and steroid binges. At current day, athleticism is demanded by fans of professional wrestling who have grown bored with the immobile, lumbering giants of yesterday. A long road trip is six shots in eight days overseas, where catering and hotels are provided, not the 16 days straight that the WWF ran in the 1980's. With the internet and media as all encompassing as they are today, being caught with drugs or domestic abuse or a DUI are enough to get a wrestler fired and never reconsidered for employment in WWE again. No one is giving PCP to strangers on airplanes and touching the female's breasts when she is passed out and vomiting, or putting lighter fluid in a fellow wrestlers inhaler as a rib in 2005. Wrestlers have matured, and wrestling has matured with it. There is a dress code. Wrestlers are cross-promoting themselves in ways they have before. In music, in acting, in literature. Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle are the wrestlers new talent cite as influences more often than Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior. Vince McMahon has survived a trial that could have put him behind bars for 20 years, and he will not allow himself to become the defendant in another. Many of the next generation of stars -Edge and Carlito and Christian- are not the bulked up hulks of the past. Lance Storm, Christian, Edge and John Cena take pride in what they are able to do clean, without steroids. Many wrestlers, including HHH, don't even consume alcohol. Those new stars who have the finger pointed at them for possible use of steroids won't be in the business for 20 years, or even 10 in most cases with recent WWE release patterns, have better research at their disposal, and they won't be eating or doing drugs in the way stars of the past have. Wrestling is hopefully positioning itself to have an early mortality rate no better or no worse than pro football for example. Whether this is something to be proud of is a matter of opinion.

To say that there aren't still problems in wrestling would be naive. Wrestlers still party. The excessive use of painkillers and other prescription medication is still very much an issue to follow. The new steroids, or ephedrine, or whatever too-good-to-be true supplement of the moment that will eventually become illegal is probably available and being abused in wrestling as we speak. However, while warnings on labels and lectures from doctors fall on deaf ears, a friend and father sharing a locker room with you one day and being found dead in his hotel room the next speaks loud and clear. A simple look at how the average wrestler chooses to spend his free time now and 20 years ago speaks on the lessons catching on. Young, healthy wrestlers like Lance Storm and Jay "Christian" Reso saving well and being in the position to retire in their 30's speaks on the lessons catching on. Professional wrestling is an industry that can offer a lifetime's pay for eight years of service and open unlimited doors on the way out, and the responsibility of saving well and making healthy choices can't be placed on anyone but the individual performer. That lesson is catching on.

In the 1980's, a finger could be pointed at promoters for the epidemic of wrestling deaths that would occur 20 years later. In 2005, the finger must be pointed at every single man and woman who calls themselves a professional wrestler. Every wrestler is replaceable in the grand mechanism of professional wrestling, every human being in the grand mechanism of their family is not. Those who have become professional wrestlers in the last five years now share a locker room with the ghosts of those whose mistakes should be guiding the decisions of every wrestler that follows.

For Eddie Guerrero, it was too late. The mistakes of his past eighteen years followed him from El Paso to Tokyo, stalked him from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, loomed over him from Atlanta to New York, and finally and regretfully closed on him early one morning in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Eddie Guerrero did steal life, and he did cheat death. Guerrero, by every indication, should have died when he crashed his car on New Years Eve of 1999. He should have died when he crashed his vehicle one year later. But for some purpose, Eddie was granted a little more time. A little more time to lead as an example of someone who made mistakes, turned his life around and didn't want others to do the same. A little more time to be in that locker room, and use a gift his colleagues claim only he had, detecting their worries and guiding them with an inspirational scripture or simply a listening ear. When Eddie's own worries were weighing him down, he was there to support Dave Batista as his wife was suffering from cancer. He was there to believe in others who needed help believing in themselves.

Unfortunately in this life, bad decisions can take good people. Eddie Guerrero was a good person, a positive person. Someone others around him found easy to love and admire. Almost like his savior Jesus Christ, Eddie Guerrero defied death the rainy evening his car slid off the road, and returned to guide and inspire those around him, to make people smile and to lead by positive example, before finally being taken to a better place.

The message of Eddie Guerrero will continue to cheat death to generations of wrestlers to come, as those who step in to the locker room that Eddie Guerrero once occupied continue to make better decisions in the present that will affect them when they are 38 years of age. Hopefully, some day the stars of tomorrow can sit down in good health with their grandchildren and tell them stories about the time Eddie Guerrero tore the house down, and for another few moments in time, Eddie Guerrero will have stolen life once again.

NOVEMBER 14th - TOP STORIES

2005-11-14T01:23:00.000-07:00

TOP NEWS STORIES for Monday November 14, 2005

As noted earlier today, Eddie Guerrero passed away early this morning from what remain unknown causes. When Guerrero didn't answer his wake-up call, his nephew Chavo was contacted by hotel staff who remembered he and Eddie from a stay at the hotel years ago according to a statement from Chavo Guerrero Jr. at a WWE issued press conference early this afternoon in Minneapolis. When security found Guerrero, he was lifeless on the bathroom floor with a toothbrush in his mouth, and was pronounced dead when authorities arrived. Eddie's body was taken from the room, and soon afterwards Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, Chris Benoit and Chavo Guerrero Jr. were said to have spent time in the empty hotel room saying their goodbyes to Eddie according to Wade Keller of The Pro-Wrestling Torch.

The shock of Eddie Guerrero's death resonated quickly, as those in both WWE and TNA were said to be devastated. TNA--WWE's only real American competitor--paid tribute to Eddie Guerrero both on their website and on their live pay-per-view Genesis, with a graphic paying respects to Eddie opening the show. During the three hour event, fans broke into chants of "Eddie", and Team 3-D and Rhyno wore wristbands marked with the letters "E.G." in tribute to their former coworker. World Wrestling Entertainment paid tribute to Guerrero by scrapping original plans for their back-to-back taping of Raw and Smackdown later in the evening, and instead turning the evening into a four hour tribute to the former WWE Champion that will air on both Monday and Friday in the Raw and Smackdown timeslots.

Press was slow in picking up on the tragedy, but by nights end the death of the former champion was the lead story in the entertainment sections of the news sites of NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX, and was being carried by Yahoo, MSNBC, The UK SUN, The USA Today and AOL News and will almost certainly appear in the Monday edition of most major newspapers. Vince McMahon and Chavo Guerrero spoke at the WWE sanctioned press conference early in the afternoon. Both demonstrated remarkable composure, with McMahon using the standard company line that Eddie would have wanted "the show to go on" that evening. Vince stated that the Guerrero family would receive royalties from WWE "forever", and noted that Guerrero was a born-again Christian. Chavo told the press that Eddie had recently celebrated the four year anniversary of his sobriety.

Former World Wrestling Federation Champion Billy Graham will preside over Eddie Guerrero's funeral, which World Wrestling Entertainment officials are trying to make arrangements for as soon as possible. With WWE set for a long overseas tour that begins on Monday with a travel day to Italy, the company realizes they are in a difficult situation with so many close friends of Guerrero who would not agree to miss his funeral. According to Billy Graham, who spoke on Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Live tonight, Eddie's widowed wife Vickie passed word along to him that several WWE wrestlers refused to work the overseas tour if it meant missing Eddie's funeral, and she believes that WWE is now pushing the European tour back several days. This has yet to be confirmed.

Both Eddie Guerrero and Billy Graham have WWE published autobiographies scheduled for release in the upcoming weeks. Guerrero's autobiography -heartbreakingly titled "Cheating Death, Stealing Life: The Eddie Guerrero Story"- will be released on December 20, 2005. The Editorial Preview states: "With an open heart and a powerful determination, Guerrero searched deep within himself and fought to regain the life he had lost. Above all, his journey of self-discovery reawakened his relationship with Jesus Christ, and he found peace and strength in the Bible...Ultimately, Guerrero not only regained his life, he surpassed his wildest dreams. Despite all the obstacles strewn in his path, Guerrero triumphed, becoming WWE Champion...t's also the story of Guerrero's private struggle, of a son caught in the shadow of a larger-than-life father and three older brothers, of a marriage that reached the brink of disintegration before being reborn as a more powerful and fulfilling relationship. Throughout, Eddie Guerrero pulls no punches describing his battles with self-doubt and inner darkness. In the end, Cheating Life, Stealing Death is a story of great courage and personal redemption, of Guerrero's bravery in facing his disease and fighting to become a better man in every light". Billy Graham's autobiography, Tangled Ropes, is available on January 10, 2006.

On Eddie Guerrero, Dave Meltzer said: "When it is said that someone doesn't have a single enemy in the business, usually it's an overstatement. In Eddie Guerrero's case, it was true". Eddie's funeral will be held in Phoenix, Arizona, where Eddie had just relocated his wife and children to so that they could be closer to their extended family.

According to Dave Meltzer, World Wrestling Entertainment is very interested in acquiring the Mid-South wrestling video library. Featuring big, believable stars such as Steve Williams, Jim Duggan and the Junkyard Dog and all around exceptional talent like The Freebirds, Ted Dibiase and Terry Taylor, Mid-South Wrestling--or the UWF as Bill Watts would later rename it-- was an exciting predecessor to the television format that would be adapted by much larger promotions in the future, and was considered by many to be the greatest promotion of its time, competing with and defeating the expanding World Wrestling Federation in several markets in the mid 1980's. At the moment, the library is owned by Ene Watts, ex-wife of UWF promoter Bill Watts. She is asking twice the price that WWE is currently offering for the library, and a deal has yet to be reached. World Wrestling Entertainment has also yet to close on the World Class Championship Wrestling library that they have been in negotiations with Kevin Von Erich for several months regarding.

Pat Patterson is back with World Wrestling Entertainment on a part time basis after retiring last year according to The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Patterson will be working primarily pay-per-view events as an agent and will lend his proven expertise in laying out important matches for the company.

TOP STORY - CHRISTIAN DEBUTS WITH TNA WRESTLING

2005-11-13T22:05:00.000-07:00

For one week, TNA wrestling has promised the biggest aquisition in the history of their company would be debuting at their live pay-per-view Genesis. At roughly 9pm Orlando time, a countdown wound to zero, the arena lights dimmed, and Jay "Christian Cage" Reso stepped through the curtain and made the spotlight his that he had never been given the opportunity to claim in World Wrestling Entertainment. The following are photos and a transcript of the moment. Click the photos to enlarge:

"So I can guess you can imagine the question I got asked the most this week: Are the rumors that we've been hearing true? Is it true you're going to TNA? And if so, why?

Well I'll tell you this much [Orlando fans chant Christian's name thunderously] I can tell you this much. I didn't come out here to see the same guy come out and say the same damn thing week after week after week. I didn't come here to see a grown man dressed up like a doctor pulling things out of someone's ass, and you can be damn sure I didn't come here because I got fired.

Which brings me to another rumor that I want to put to bed right now. It's not true that I got lowballed. I got offered a huge sum to stay where I was. The reason that I came to TNA is the same reason everyone is in this arena right now. The same reason that everyone's watching Genesis live on PPV.

That reason is that I love WRESTLING! I've been known to crack a joke or two, say something sarcastic, pull a rib, but I don't want anyone to forget that I am without a doubt the greatest all-around performer in this sport today. It's like this...I'm tired of egos and politics. I wanna see guys in this ring busting their asses. I wanna see wrestling reinvented!

Last night I turn on Spike TV, I'm watching Impact. It reminded me about when I broke on the scene 8 years ago. There were two companies one was old and stale, one was young hungry and cutting edge. At this very moment, there are still two companies. One is old, boring, and lacking direction, and the other one iS TNA!

This is something that I want to be a part of... I want to be the biggest piece of this puzzle.

Which brings me to Jeff Jarrett. I've got 2 things to say to you. One, you should never wear white pants after labor day. Two, I've come to tna to take the one thing that's alluded me my entire career. The most important title in this sport, the NWA World Heavyweight championship. Stand up and take notice, that Christian Cage is here! And christian cage will fulfill his destiny...

...because THAT'S HOW I ROLL!"

IN TRIBUTE TO... EDDIE GUERRERO (1967-2005)

2005-11-13T14:07:00.001-07:00

The morning of November 13, 2005 was supposed to be the calm before the storm of a busy day in the world of professional wrestling. TNA was gearing up for the night's Genesis pay-per-view, which was set to be perhaps the most important night in company history with the debut of Jay Reso. Bret Hart was scheduled to appear on Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Live to discuss his upcoming DVD and Shawn Michael's comments on the infamous Montreal screwjob. World Wrestling Entertainment was readying an arena in Minneapolis for a double television taping for their Raw and Smackdown brands this evening before heading off for a long overseas tour. None of these things will be remembered when looking back on November 13, 2005, and none of them seem to matter all that much anymore.

Shortly after 8am this morning, Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his room in Minneapolis at the Marriott City Center at the age of 38. When Eddie Guerrero didn't answer his wake up call, his nephew and fellow WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr. called again. When no one answered, security opened the door to find Guerrero dead with his toothbrush in his mouth. The early belief is that Guerrero suffered heart failure. Shortly after Guerrero's body was removed from his hotel room, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio and Chavo Guerrero Jr. were said to have visited his hotel room to say their goodbyes.

Eddie had appeared on television, wrestling Ken Kennedy and looking young and full of life, as recently as two days ago. His sudden death leaves the wrestling world numb, and in a state of shock.

In Tribute To... is a regular feature at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle to celebrate the life and careers of those alive and deceased who have made a great impact on not just the wrestling business, but the fans that they have touched.

Eddie Guerrero is a wrestler who's work transcended the technicalities of simply putting together and executing a memorable wrestling match. Eddie was a man who fans loved. Not Hispanic fans, all fans. To love Eddie Guerrero was to love wrestling, and to love wrestling was to love Eddie Guerrero. Eddie wasn't a man who fans judged when he made mistakes, he was a man fans rooted for. They stuck by him. Eddie had a hard time being a "bad guy", because even when doing the most heinous of things inside the ring, fans would chant his name in tribute to him as a performer, and as a man.

Eddie has made mistakes, and he hasn't avoided them. He has faced them head on, worked hard to turn his life around, and then spoke honestly and apologetically about them in a way that made you respect him even more for it. He worked hard in the ring, whether he was on the first match or the last, and held himself accountable -perhaps too accountable- when he felt his matches could have been better. He took great pride in his work, great pride in his heritage, and great pride in his family, and Eddie Guerrero will be greatly missed by all of those who his career touched.

In Tribute To... Eddie Guerrero (1967-2005)

Eduardo Gori Guerrero Llanes came into this world on October 9, 1967 in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Conceived by his 46 year old father Gory Guerrero, Eduardo was born with wrestling in his blood. Gory Guerrero, a 40 year veteran of the sport and legendary trainer by the time of his son's birth, was an early pioneer of lucha libre and became famous for his technical prowess and unique submission holds, including the Gory special and camel clutch that he invented. Many consider Guerrero to be pound for pound the greatest wrestler in the history of Mexico. Eduardo knew that he was destined to be a wrestler from a very young age.

Like the Hart Family to Canada and the Von Erich family to Texas, the Guerrero family was the most storied family in Mexican wrestling history and perhaps the greatest wrestling family ever. Eduardo, or Eddie as he would come to be known as, was the youngest of four brothers, and would follow the lead of brothers Chavo, Hector and Mando, phenomenal wrestlers who were loved and respected for their technical excellence and exciting styles.

Eddie Guerrero grew up in El Paso, Texas watching his older brothers work their magic in the ring in Mexico, The United States and Japan. As an amateur wrestler, Eddie was impressive enough to earn a scholarship to wrestler for the University of New Mexico. Eddie had his sights set on professional wrestling however. His father began training him in a ring in the backyard of their El Paso home. At the age of 19, Eddie Guerrero made his professional wrestling debut in Mexico for the EMLL promotion on September 18, 1987. In one of Eddie's first high profile matches, he teamed with the son of another legend, El Hijo del Santo, to defeat El Gladiator Jr. and El Dandy. Guerrero would soon capture the World Wrestling Association World Trios in Tijuana with older brothers Chavo and Mando on July 28, 1989. In late 1989, Terry Funk brought Eddie to an NWA taping in hopes of getting Eddie a job with the company, but Guerrero never relieved an offer despite putting on a great match.

In 1992, Eddie Guerrero was working as a singles wrestler, and captured his first title on his own, the WWA welterweight title, which he lost on August 29, 1992 to Piloto Suicida in Los Angeles. At this point, Eddie began wrestling under a mask as Mascara Magic, or Magic Mask, in both EMLL and the AAA promotion.

In 1993, Guerrero again began wrestling under his real name and his career began to take off. Eddie took his increasing star in Mexico to New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he competed in the Top of the Super Junior Heavyweights with wrestlers he would letter spend a lot of time with the United States, including Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit and 2 Cold Scorpio. In 1994, Eddie was given the gimmick of Black Tiger, a foreign heel. As Black Tiger, Guerrero competed in the world famous Super J Cup in 1994, defeating TAKA Michinoku in the first round, and losing to Chris Benoit as Wild Pegasus in the second.

It was in AAA in 1994 that Eddie Guerrero really started to reach his potential in North America, and was ranked at 141 on Pro-Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI 500. Guerrero reformed his tag team with El Hijo del Santo, the son of the legendary Santo, arguably the most popular regional wrestler ever. The duo, The Atomic Pair, reformed the duo that their fathers made into one of the most popular ever 35 years before.

And then one of the most infamous moments in Mexican wrestling history occurred. Eddie Guerrero, along with close friend behind the scenes Art Barr, turned on El Hijo del Santo in a betrayal that shocked and enraged AAA fans. Guerrero and Barr --the Pair of Terror as they were known-- became the most hated tag team in the history of Lucha Libre, as Eddie turned his back on Mexican heritage and began wearing stars and stripes, and waving the American flag. Eddie and Art Barr formed a stable called Los Gringos Locos with Konnan and Louie Spicolli. The faction became the most hated in lucha libre, and terrorized the technicos of AAA while setting business on fire in Mexico. At the first and only AAA pay-per-view, co-promoted by WCW, Guerrero and Barr lost a masks vs. hair match with El Hijo del Santa and Octagon, and both had their heads shaved after arguably one of the best tag team matches ever.

Barr and Eddie Guerrero were so impressive in losing that Paul Heyman of ECW came looking for the duo, and wanted to bring both into his upstart promotion of out Philadelphia to feud with his hot act, Public Enemy. WCW, New Japan and the WWF all expressed strong interest in the team as well. Tragically, Art Barr passed away before that could happen. He was found dead in his room in Oregon at only 28 years of age. Guerrero was crushed, and adopted the frog splash as a tribute to his best friend.

In 1995, Eddie Guerrero began with ECW as AAA could no longer afford to pay his contract. In his very first match with the company, he won the World Television Title from Too Cold Scorpio. Guerrero's most notable work in ECW was a series of matches with Dean Malenko that got both noticed, and signed, by World Championship Wrestling. Eddie made a startling jump to 17 in Pro-Wrestling Illustrated's PWI 500.

In August of 1996, Guerrero won the Super Junior Tournament in Japan, working as Black Tiger, in a field that included Chris Benoit, Jushin Liger, Dean Malenko and Jerry Lynn, and then headed to WCW alongside Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. Several months after his debut, Guerrero defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win the United States heavyweight title. Eddie Guerrero would go on to win three cruiserweight championships, and participate in enough spectacular matches to earn him consideration as one of the best wrestlers in the world, though he was never treated as a major threat to top titles due to opinions those in management seemed to have in regards to both smaller and Hispanic talent. Tensions heated up behind the scenes as Guerrero had hot coffee tossed on him by Eric Bischoff when requesting a push and a raise. Guerrero asked for his release, both backstage and on camera on a live episode of Nitro. When he wasn't granted his release, he left the company for several months. When he returned, he was put into the Latino World Order, a play off of the popular nWo.

On New Years Eve of 1998, Eddie Guerrero was involved in a serious car accident. The collision was severe enough that Guerrero was expected to die. Guerrero, however, survived and was back in the ring in several months. In early 2000, after years of frustration with his use in WCW, Eddie Guerrero was allowed a release from his contract and left for the World Wrestling Federation with Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn.

In his WWF in-ring debut, Eddie Guerrero dislocated his elbow when landing on a frog splash, and missed several weeks of action. His injury caused The Radicalz to lose their series of matches that they were scheduled to win, and derailed the group out of the gate. When he returned, Eddie Guerrero spent most of his first year aligned with Chyna while feuding with several members of the roster. In early 2001, Eddie Guerrero developed an addiction to pain medication that stemmed from his prior car accident, and several months later was taken off of the road and sent to rehab by the World Wrestling Federation. On November 9, 2001, Eddie Guerrero was arrested for drunk driving. On November 13, his contract with the WWF was terminated.

Guerrero tried to get his life back on track, and worked for several independent companies, most notably Ring of Honor and the FWA. In March of 2002, Eddie Guerrero was rehired by World Wrestling Entertainment and almost immediately found himself in programs with both Steve Austin and The Rock. Soon, Guerrero moved to Smackdown, where he formed a tag team called Los Guerreros with his nephew Chavo, where the duo were constantly involved in some of the best matches on television.

On February 15, 2004, Eddie Guerrero defeated the soon departing Brock Lesnar to win his first World Wrestling Entertainment World Title, and would have a huge homecoming celebration when Smackdown was taped in Mexico. Guerrero defeated Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania XX to retain his title, and celebrated as the show went off the air with Chris Benoit, a man who's career mirrored his from Japan to AAA to ECW to WCW and finally to the WWF. Soon after Wrestlemania, the pressure of holding the World Championship and being responsible for drawing fans to and carrying a slumping brand were catching up with Eddie, and the title was passed to JBL. Eddie Guerrero spent the majority of the rest of his WWE career feuding with Rey Mysterio in a storyline that drew company high ratings and was particularly strong in drawing in Hispanic viewers. Most recently, Eddie Guerrero has been involved in a storyline with World Wrestling Entertainment Smackdown champion Dave Batista. There was talk that he was possibly scheduled to regain the World Heavyweight Championship at the Smackdown tapings the day that Eddie passed away.

Eddie Guerrero is survived by his wife Vickie, and his daughters Shaul (14), Sherilyn (9) and Kaylie Marie (3).

NOVEMBER 12th - TOP STORIES

2005-11-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

In a regular feature at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we examine the top stories making their way around the wrestling world. We will print news only from reliable sources, and attempt to present it free of bias, speculation and negativity. Appropriate credit will always be given to the source of the news.

TOP NEWS STORIES for Thursday November 12, 2005

Brock Lesnar has not wrestled since winning the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on October 8, 2005, and likely will not step into the ring again until he defends the title on January 4, 2006 against Kazuyuki Fujita. The New Japan Pro-Wrestling Tokyo Dome show from October 8th will air on pay-per-view in the near future in the United States. While nothing is certain because those involved in the case aren't permitted to speak about it, it is highly believed that Brock Lesnar won his court case against World Wrestling Entertainment if New Japan is permitted to air the main event in the United States. Brian Alvarez, editor of the Figure Four Weekly Newsletter, believes that Brock Lesnar is free to wrestle anywhere, including TNA. He believes that when Brock Lesnar went to World Wrestling Entertainment in attempt to re-sign with the company, he gave the impression that he was groveling for a job, hoping WWE would give him a lowball offer. When Lesnar received the low offer, he presented it to his lawyers, who used it to suggest that WWE didn't think that their client, Brock Lesnar, was valuable to WWE. The no compete clause was as a result thrown out in court and Brock Lesnar became a free agent. This series of events isn't certain, but Alvarez speculates that all signs point strongly in this direction.

World Wrestling Entertainment has released a Bret Hart tribute magazine which arrives at newsstands over the course of the next several days detailing the career of the Hart to coincide with the upcoming release of his DVD Bret Hart: The Best There Was, The Best There Is, and The Best There Ever Will Be which hits store shelves this coming Tuesday on November 15th. Early information on Bret Hart's DVD has the main feature coming in at just over two hours, with an introduction done by Vince McMahon himself. In the introduction, Vince McMahon thanks Bret Hart on putting aside their differences in order to create the very best DVD possible for Bret Hart's fans. Bret Hart appears in the introduction for the extras, explaining that he picked all of them personally. Those who speak on the documentary portion of the DVD included Roddy Piper, Vince McMahon, Christian, Eric Bischoff, Jim Ross, Animal, Steve Austin, Jimmy Hart, Gene Okerlund, Bruce Prichard, Chris Benoit, and of course Hart himself. The documentary is said to cover Hart's entire life and feature a good deal of footage from Stampede. Early fears were that the raw footage would not be able to be cleaned up and converted in time to make the DVD, but those fears appear unfounded. Bret Hart speaks on Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, his brother Owen, Ric Flair and others. An emotional segment of the DVD is said to involve Bret Hart paying tribute to all of his friends in the wrestling business who have since passed, with Bret's tribute to Rick Rude said to stand out. Extras include Bret Hart telling a story about Owen prank calling his father Stu, a story about learning the Sharpshooter from Konnan, and his thoughts on the death of his brother Dean. The DVD is said to be an inspiring and positive look at the career of Bret Hart. It hits stores nationally this Tuesday.

Though Hart is back in what he describes as "good standing" with WWE, he is not limiting his options. According to PWInsider.com's Mike Johnson, Bret Hart recently met with TNA officials Jeremy Borash and Scott D'Amore while in New York City for the RingsideFest event, where Hart answered questions in a Q&A session that we covered earlier this week. While nothing concrete was planned, both sides discussed the possibility of doing something together in the future according to Mike Johnson. Bret Hart also met Kurt Angle during the event. While the two had exchanged phone calls in the past, they had yet to meet face to face.

WWE Smackdown commentators Michael Cole and Tazz crashed the set of WWE's weekly internet broadcast ByteThis! this Wednesday and vented about what they felt to be secondary treatment that the Smackdown brand receives from World Wrestling Entertainment. Michael Cole pointed out the lack of focus WWE.com gives Smackdown. While WWE.com features pre-Raw photos as well as the live video broadcast Unlimited --which The USA Network no longer allows WWE to promote on RAW-- Smackdown receives neither. Cole went on to state that two Smackdown employees, Josh Matthews and Steve Romero, were fired from their roles hosting ByteThis! to make room for Todd Grisham, a Raw talent. Cole continued, stating that while Jonathan Coachman and Jim Ross were both given columns in Raw magazine, he or Tazz still haven't been offered a spot in Smackdown's monthly publication. Cole mentioned that a Raw wrestler that "hasn't even been featured on television" is given weekly video segments on WWE.com, implying Matt Striker, and claimed Smackdown talent aside from JBL isn't given such opportunities. Taz and Cole voiced their opinions that they were tired of hearing both on Raw television and from WWE in general that Smackdown was the inferior brand. The two men closed by saying that what they did was not an angle, and left a flustered Todd Grisham to continue the broadcast. This section of the ByteThis! broadcast was edited out of the show and can no longer be accessed on WWE.com. With WWE working harder than ever to build an inter-brand rivalry and to appeal to wrestling fans on the internet, there is no word on the scripted or unscripted nature of this segment. Michael Cole and Tazz are long time broadcast partners on Smackdown as well as close friends and travel partners with fellow WWE Smackdown voice Josh Matthews. As noted earlier in the week in our daily news coverage, Michael Cole and Tazz have lower salaries than Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler, Jonathan Coachman and will likely also wind up being paid significantly less than Joey Styles should he and WWE come to terms. Michael Cole in particular has been vocal in the past about being seen as the "B" level announcer and being shunned in favor of Jim Ross when calling inter-brand matches on pay-per-view events.

Joey Styles appeared this week on Jonathan Coachman's Coachcast, now available on WWE.com, and argued with The Coach for several minutes about a variety of topics. Joey Styles promoted this appearance on the insider website that he owns 50% controlling interest in, 1Wrestling.com. This presents an enormous conflict of interest, as Styles website is what has always been viewed as an enemy presence to WWE, as well as competition to WWE.com. To make matters worse, Bob Ryder --a tenured behind the scenes employee of TNA wrestling-- also claims partial ownership of 1Wrestling. Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter believes that Joey Styles will be forced to sell his interest in 1Wrestling.com if he signs with World Wrestling Entertainment.

15 YEARS AGO - TOP STORIES OF THE WEEK 11.13.05

2005-11-12T00:29:00.000-07:00

In a weekly feature at The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, we examine the top stories making their way around the wrestling world 15 years ago. Sources for the stories include Herb Kunze, The Wrestling Observer Newsletter and The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter.

TOP NEWS STORIES for the week of: November 13, 1990.

The Rockers have lost the tag team titles, but they didn't lose them in the ring. The Rockers defeated the tag team champions The Hart Foundation on a taping for a Saturday Night's Main Event set to air the 24th of November. Demolition Ax (Bill Eadie) and Demolition Smash (Barry Darsow) have apparently quit the World Wrestling Federation due to frustrations over being asked to play second fiddle to the Legion of Doom and wear masks. There is no word on the status of Demolition Crush, but Ax and Smash plan to take their act to Japan. This leaves the tag team roster incredibly thin, so Jim Neidhart has been offered a new contract and will stick around the World Wrestling Federation for a while. The early word is that the Hart Foundation vs. Rockers match at Saturday Night's Main Event will be edited so that The Rockers win the bout, but not the titles.

Saturday Night's Main Event airs on November 23rd at 10pm. Matches on the card include Mr. Perfect vs. The Big Bossman, Ted Dibiase vs. The Ultimate Warrior and The Hart Foundation vs. The Rockers.

The latest rumor in regards to the Survivor Series egg is that Mark Callaway will be inside and come out to reveal himself as a character named The Eggman. Callaway is in line for a mega push and according to current plans will be paired with Hulk Hogan for an extended fued sometime in the very near future. Callaway was signed recently from World Championship Wrestling, where he wrestled his last major match for the company July 7th losing to Lex Luger at The Great American Bash.

Ric Flair and Buddy Landell will square off soon over the rights to use the name "Nature Boy".

The lineup for Survivor Series 1990 from the Hartford Civic Center is looking like:

The Ultimate Warriors (Kerry Von Erich, Legion of Doom and Ultimate Warrior) vs. The Perfect Team (Curt Hennig, Demolition Ax, Smash and Crush)

The Million Dollar Team (Ted Dibiase, Mystery Partner, Honky Tonk Man & Greg Valentine) vs. The Dream Team (Dusty Rhodes, Koko B. Ware & The Hart Foundation)

The Visionaries (Rick Martel, Warlord, Paul Roma, Hercules) vs. The Vipers (Jake Roberts, The Rockers, Jimmy Snuka)

The Hulkamaniacs (Hulk Hogan, Jim Duggan, Tugboat & The Big Bossman) vs. The Natural Disasters (Earthquake, Dino Bravo, Haku & The Barbarian)

The Alliance (Tito Santana, The Bushwackers, Nikolai Volkoff) vs. The Mercenaries (Sgt. Slaughter, Boris Zukhov & The Orient Express)

Ric Flair and Butch Reed headline WCW's Clash of the Champions Thanksgiving Thunder from the Jacksonville Coliseum on November 20th.

Since Jim Cornette and Stan Lane quit the NWA, Bobby Eaton has been working hard at becoming a successful single. Eaton was said to have a match with Sting airing this Saturday night with super heat.

AN EXCERPT FROM SHAWN MICHAEL'S BIOGRAPHY

2005-11-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Following is an excerpt from Shawn Michael's upcoming biography Heartbreak & Triumph: The Shawn Michaels Story, scheduled for nationwide release on November 22nd. In this passage from Chapter 23, Shawn Michaels discusses the events that led up to the Survivor Series in 1997.

Chapter 23 - Montreal

I was sky-high the night after Bad Blood. I had perhaps the best match of my career, and Hunter, Chyna, and I were going the christen ourselves D-Generation X (which was Vince Russo's idea) on this evening's Raw. Even the thought of having to work with Bret in the coming weeks at Survivor Series couldn't bring me down. I wasn't going to let him get to me.

From my perspective, I had won the battle with Bret. I was main-eventing Pay-Per-Views while he, as champion, was working Tag Team matches. My confidence was back. There wasn't anything that he was going to do or say that I worried about. People had turned on me because they had heard a lot of untrue stores, many of which were made up by Bret. I never once gave my side, because it seemed so transparent to me, and I was the guy who is talking the loudest and defending himself the most must be hiding something.

Working with Hunter and Chyna was so much fun and I didn't want to ruin that. I also have to give Vince Russo a lot of credit. He came up with some great ideas for us. He helped create a real awesome gimmick where we were doing and saying all the things you want to in real life, but can't beause it isn't nice and you'd get in a lot of trouble. And we were very popular. As Hunter has said, in the fall of 97, DX was the hottest thing in sports entertainment not named Steve Austin.

We were in Kansas City-another sellout, by the way-and Hunter and I were doing an in-ring promo. I asked to see footage of my victory from Badd Blood. Instead, video from the "curtain call" came on. This was done to reinforce the insubordinate image of DX. Bret came out and confronted me, calling me a homeo and a degenerate. (I believe he meant it.) I responded by saying that the only reason Bret was in the main event of Survivor Series was because he was wrestling me. Bret and I were at it again, only this time, our personal animosity towards each other blended perfectly within the storyline we were conducting.

Later that night Hunter beat Bret via countout after I superkicked him while Chyna distracted him. During the match, I started picking my nose with Bret's Candian flag. I really didn't mean to offend anyone. I just figured it would get me extra heat, which it did.

At this point, I really didn't know what the situation with Bret was. My feeling was that Vince wanted to get the title off him. His contract was taxing the company way too much if he wasn't going to be the man. I didn't' know where Steve Austin was in his talks with Vince, I'm sure they already had an idea of where they were going long-range. The ideal situation for Steve was to win the title from a white-hot heel. Bret certainly wasn't one. I, on the other hand, was there. It made sense to me that Vince would want to put the tile on me and have Steve beat me.

All I knew for certain is what I talked about with Vince. I was back into performing and uninterested in the inner workings of what was happening with other guys. I talked to Vince often, but all our discussions concerned created ideas. I was not talking about other guys' business.

A week before Survivor Series I found out Bret was going to WCW. I know Vince suggested Bret go and talk to WCW again. Vince said he would help Bret get a great deal there. Vince was going to give WCW the impression that he was willing to pay Bret even more money, so WCW would up their offer to him. WCW did, and Bret signed with them.

For the last several months, Hunter and I had been speaking to Vince on the phone every Wednesday to go over any creative ideas or concerns we might have. Vince valued our opinions and set aside some time to talk to us. The Wednesday before Survivor Series, we were on our weekly conference call. "Shawn, barring some miraculous change this weekend, we are going to work a DQ. The next night Bret has promised me that he will come out and give up the title. He will go off to WCW< and we can work some sort of tournament or something like that. I'm not comfortable with that, but Bret has given me his work. I feel I can take him at his word. Regardless of the relationship that you and he have, I've always asked him to do business, but he's just not willing to do it for you. I can't change the match with someone else." I asked Vince why he didn't just have Bret drop the title to someone else the following night on Raw. I recall Vince then saying Bret had creative control over his last thirty days. "So it's not really just me, is it? He doesn't want to drop the belt before he leaves?" "No, he doesn't. It would be one thing if it were in the States, but especially in Canada. He doesn't want to do it." "All of Canada is his? We're not in Calgary. What if I didn't want to do any jobs in the United States?" "I know, I know, but that's the situation. He has creative control." There were a few seconds of silence. "I know I'm not supposed to be talking here," it was Hunter. "maybe I'm out of line here, but what kind of business is that? Who in the world says, 'I don't want to drop the belt'? You helped him to get a better deal there and he is leaving. That isn't right. That's b.s. How in the world can you trust him? This is the same guy who while he was off, after dropping the title to Shawn, went behind youu back and negotiated a deal with WCW only to come back and renegotiate a twenty-year way-out-of-bounds contract with you. He has not done good business since, and now he is leaving to get even more money, by you giving them the impression that you wanted to keep him. We have people leaving in the middle of the night and taking their belts and dropping them in trash cans on WCW. [This was in reference to former women's champion Alundra Blayze, who had done that.] We can't afford for that to happen with the World Wrestling Federation Championship!" "There's nothing we can do about that. My hands are tied. What can we do about that?" It was my turn to chime in. "I'll do whatever you want. We'll just take it off him. I'll just swerve him or whatever I have to. You tell me what needs to get done. You and this company have put up with so much from me. My loyalty is here with you. I will do whatever you want." "What are we talking about, Shawn?" "Whatever it takes. If we have to do a fast count or get him in a hold and tell someone to ring the bell, I'll do whatever you want me to do." "That's pretty serious. That has to be a last resort. I still have until Saturday to talk with Bret. That may have to be a real option. This cannot be discussed with anyone. Pat can't know, nobody can know about this but the three of us right now. It's something we will have to talk about." Hunter and I talked when Vince hung up. We both felt that Vince was already thinking about a possible swerve, but he couldn't ask me to do that. I needed to volunteer.

Bret Hart will be the guest this Sunday on Dave Meltzer's Wrestling Observer Live, where Dave Meltzer plans to read Bret Hart excerpts from Michael's book dealing with Montreal. The show can be heard live at 8pm this Sunday Night on Sirius Radio Channel 122 or stream the show at sportsbyline.com.

AN INTERVIEW WITH VINCE MCMAHON: PART 2

2005-11-10T23:09:00.000-07:00

The following interview was conducted by Playboy magazine in February of 2001. It offers a rare glimpse at the man beneath the character that drives American wrestling into the future. The following is the second of four parts, in which Vince McMahon discusses his troubled teenaged years.

PLAYBOY: OK, let's take a look at the teenage Vince. You once said that you "majored in badass".

MCMAHON: I was totally unruly. Would not go to school. Did things that were unlawful, but I never got caught.

PLAYBOY: Did you ever steal?

MCMAHON: Automobiles. But I always brought them back. I just borrowed them, really. There were other thefts, too, and I ran a load of moonshine in Harlowe, North Carolina in a 1952 Ford V8. That was a badass car at the time.

PLAYBOY: What did you get paid for running hooch?

MCMAHON: A fortune. I think it was 20 bucks.

PLAYBOY: Finally, the police caught up with you.

MCMAHON: They had a lot of circumstantial evidence. I was always in fights, too. They'd pull up and there we were, me and my group of guys, going at it with the Marines.

PLAYBOY: You fought the Marines?

MCMAHON: Havelock is right outside the Marine base at Cherry Point. There was a place called the Jet Drive-In. Real creative --The Jet, because of all of the military jets at the base. On Friday and Saturday nights it was time to get it on with the Marines. It was a challenge. Most of them were in great condition, but they didn't know how to fight. I'm not saying they were easy pickings. They got their testosterone going and they were all liquored up. Some of them were real tough. But me and my guys were street fighters. I mean, maybe you've been through basic training and you know how to operate a bayonet. That's different from sticking your finger in someone's eye or hitting a guy in the throat, which comes naturally to a street fighter. And they can't believe you're not "fighting fait". Suddenly they can't breathe and/or see, and they realize: "Oh my God, am I in for an ass kicking".

PLAYBOY: Ever come close to killing one of them.

MCMAHON: I would like to think not very close. That's not what I wanted to do. You want to incapacitate a guy. Once you get someone down you don't want him getting back up. You don't want him moving, so you make sure he doesn't. It's not pretty, but it was challenging and fun.

PLAYBOY: Finally the authorities in Havelock gave you a choice--

MCMAHON: Right. It was reform school or military school. I went to Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia, in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Military school is expensive. My mom was still my guardian and she couldn't afford it. So my dad was notified and he paid.

PLAYBOY: Your father was a pro wrestling promoter. It was wrestling money that sent you to military school.

MCMAHON: That's right. I would see him in the summertime and on the occasional holiday. That he was able and willing to send me to military school made an impression. It was a chance to start over. Maybe it doesn't seem that I changed, since I was the first cadet in school history to be court-martialed, but I at least started to change. No one really knew me at Fishburne. I had no badass reputation to uphold.

PLAYBOY: So why did they court-martial you?

MCMAHON: For no particular infraction. Again, I was lucky and a little drafty--I wasn't caught for some stuff that would have meant immediate dismissal, like stealing the commandant's car. Colonel Zinneker had an old, green, beat-up Buick, and he always left the keys in it. He also had a dog that he was nuts about. I love animals, but one day I couldn't resist giving the that dog a laxative. I put the laxative in some hamburger and the did his has business all over the commandant's apartment, which thrilled me greatly.

PLAYBOY: What finally got you in trouble?

MCMAHON: Insubordination. I had no respect for the military because they were playing military. Sure, it's an ROTC program, but we weren't in a war. We were a bunch of kids. The idea of this adult from Army ROTC ordering all of the kids around--and getting off on it--ugh! What kind of human being is that? I was insubordinate, but I didn't really have many scrapes at Fishburne. I was playing sports --wrestling and football- and that helped me.

PLAYBOY: What position in football?

MCMAHON: Offensive guard and defensive tackle. But all I really knew how to do was fight. So it was, "Bring it on!". But when you've got bare knuckles and you're hitting a guy with a helmet on, it's no good. I was used to gouging eyes and going for the throat. A big kick in the nuts is always primo--you hear the guy go "Huhhh!" and you think, his ass is mine. But you can't do that on the football field. Football is all about technique, and I was a lousy football player. In one game I was personally penalized more yardage than our offense gained.

PLAYBOY: Still, you beat the court-martial and even graduated. By then you had stolen cars and run moonshine. You'd had a drink. You'd had your first joint. You'd lost your virginity.

MCMAHON: [Pauses] That was at a very young age. I remember, probably in the first grade, being invited to a matinee film with my stepbrother and his girlfriends, and I remember them playing with me. Playing my penis, and giggling. I thought that was pretty cool. That was my initiation into sex. At that age you don't necessarily achieve an erection, but it was cool. At around the same time there was a girl my age who was, in essence, my cousin. Later in life she actually wound up marrying that asshole Leo Lupton, my stepfather! Boy this sounds like Tobacco Road. Anyway, I remember the two of us being so curious about each other's bodies, but not knowing what the hell to do. We would go into the woods and get naked together. It felt good. And for some reason I wanted to put crushed leaves into her. Don't know why, but I remember that. I don't remember the first time I had intercourse, believe it or not.

PLAYBOY: Your growing up was pretty accelerated.

MCMAHON: God, yes.

In Part 3, Vince McMahon discusses the ramifications of not having a father in his life, and getting to know his own and finding a place for himself in the wrestling business.

NOVEMBER 11th - TOP STORIES

2005-11-10T14:57:00.000-07:00

TOP NEWS STORIES for Thursday November 10, 2005

Chris Jericho followed up his first interview on professional wrestling in three months yesterday with Get in the Ring by updating his official website, ChrisJericho.com, today with more suggestive images , this time a TNA logo as well as the logo of TNA's Sunday pay-per-view Genesis. As of this point, all signs point to this being another prank by Jericho, or possibly promotion of a company that Jericho admitted to watching more of than WWE as noted in yesterdays Top Stories, and there is no reason to believe that Jericho will be appearing at this Sunday's Genesis. Chris Jericho spoke further on his thoughts on wrestling in his November 9th online commentary, which he admitted to writing alone in a hotel room on his birthday. Jericho again reiterated that he was not returning soon, though he has enjoyed watching as a fan lately. Jericho said that it was fun to see the improvement of Gene Snitsky and Kurt Angle, as well as the emergence of Ken Kennedy and MNM. Jericho questioned the use of Shelton Benjamin by WWE and couldn't understand why he isn't being given bigger opportunities, and mentioned knowing from first hand experience what the young star is capable of. Jericho stated that he had no idea why WWE would let Christian go as he is a "superstar waiting to happen". In regards to the treatment of Jim Ross, Jericho said "Don't get me started", though he put over Ross' replacement Joey Styles as a "badass". Chris Jericho is currently in negotiations to host a show for VH1, and is close to securing a role in a somewhat major motion picture.

John Layfield spoke on a number of topics several days ago in his WWE.com column. The main point Layfield spoke on was the departure of Christian from WWE. JBL wrote the following: "I never would have dreamed Christian would come after me and retire before me. Christian became one of the best ring technicians I have ever been around. I was here when Christian came in, and it was remarkable to see how far he came. His “TLC” matches with Edge, the Dudleys and the Hardys were nothing short of awesome, it is amazing someone didn’t get hurt very badly in one of those matches. I am genuinely sorry to see him go; he had become a good friend and a terrific asset to our roster. I was always amused by him and Edge’s tag team and later the Peep Show. Talking about feeling old, I was here when Christian came in and when he retired. I was with Bob Orton Jr. when he was in Japan talking about his son who was in Middle School — Randy. Now Randy is a former world champion and a true star. I wish Christian nothing but the best. He deserves it."

World Wrestling Entertainment will be releasing a DVD soon titled Blood Sport: ECW's Most Violent Matches according to WrestlingObserver.com.

A MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

2005-11-10T04:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle, the new home of news, history and analysis for the serious wrestling fan. It is our mission to deliver only the news and coverage that interests those who thrive to dig deeper into the wrestling business. This site was born of necessity. It is difficult to find coverage of professional wrestling in 2005 that appeals to the true fan and student of professional wrestling, and that isn't bogged down with negativity and bias. Our mission is to take the latest news from all of the major credible sources on a specific daily story and tie it all together in the most complete update available. Our premiere update that speaks on the status of Christian for example draws from two hotlines, two newsletters, three websites and wwe.com, and puts the pieces together in a few paragraphs to form the most complete coverage of the story available. No punch-lines, no cuteness, just the information that the dedicated wrestling fan wants. Our mission is to make our news coverage complete enough to be the only source of wrestling news one needs if they so choose. We will strive for coverage with the maturity of a newsletter. We will always credit the source of our news, and we highly encourage you to support The Wrestling Observer Newsletter, The Pro-Wrestling Torch Newsletter and the PWInsider Elite area. We will not speculate on news, and if the source of our news does, we will report it as such. We will avoid bias. We will not resort to knee-jerk reaction or sensationalism. The black and white design of our site exists for a reason. We are not a flashy presence, our mission is to let our content speak for itself. In addition to current news, each week we will offer a glimpse back in time with the stories that were breaking in the wrestling world 5, 10 and 15 years ago. To maintain authenticity to the period, our news will be presented as it was at the time. If Tim Horner was scheduled to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in mid 1990 (and obviously he wasn't), we will report that Tim Horner is scheduled to win the NWA Title in mid 1990.

Television reviews and star ratings will not be a focus here. The stories, people and events that make the wrestling industry turn, and the business side of the sport as a whole will be the dominant focus, and if three words best describe our interests, they would be the bigger picture. With the launch of the site we have part 1 of an interview with Vince McMahon conducted by Playboy Magazine, where the most powerful man in American wrestling recounts being beaten with a wrench by his step-father for attempting to stop him from beating his mother, only to have his mother sexually assault him as well. While other sites call Vince McMahon twisted, we want to know why he is the way that he is. If Lanny Poffo says something interesting about wrestling twenty years ago, we'll print it. Simply put, The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle is for the wrestling fan who is never content with only examining the surface of a story, for the wrestling fan who can never take in enough information on the industry, and for the wrestling fan who wants more information and less opinion.

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The Pro-Wrestling Chronicle

NOVEMBER 10th - TOP STORIES

2005-11-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

TOP NEWS STORIES for Thursday November 10, 2005

In the lead story of the day, WWE Champion Dave Batista suffered a torn right latissimus dorsi while taking a bump at the conclusion of the Smackdown taping late Tuesday night in Indianapolis. When the cameras stopped rolling, Randy Orton came to the ring for the dark main event. Batista stayed on the ground, and when referee Jimmy Korderis figured out what was going on signaled to the back and the match was ended quickly after Randy Orton took a spinebuster from Batista. Batista was said to be helped to the back by WWE agents without acknowledging the live crowd when departing according to fan reports from WrestlingObserver.com. This is not the first such injury of Batista's career. In March of 2003, Batista suffered two separate tears of his right tricep which were feared to be career ending.

Early this afternoon, Batista was flown to Birmingham, Alabama to meet with Dr. James Andrews, who is generally considered to be the most respected sports-injury surgeon in the country, for an MRI. According to the official website of World Wrestling Entertainment, Andrews gave the champion two choices, either rehab his back or opt for surgery and miss as much as three months of action. WWE.com reported that Batista should reach a decision by the weekend. In either case, Batista should be back in action in time for Wrestlemania 23 in Chicago on April 2, 2006. No decision on the future of the WWE Smackdown Championship has been reached as of this point.

According to the United States Department of Patents and Trademarks, Jay Reso filed for and was awarded copyrights for the phrases Christian Cage and Captain Charisma on November 02, the day after his final WWE appearance at Taboo Tuesday. World Wrestling Entertainment continues to own the rights to the name Christian for all marketing purposes in the field of wrestling. As of this point, neither party has registered a trademark for ownership of the terms Peep or Peep Show. Rumors circulated today that TNA production were in the process of putting together video packages promoting the arrival of Reso, and that the company would be calling him Chris Jin. This story has neither been confirmed or denied, though all signs seem to indicate the rumor being just that.

Justin Credible is scheduled to debut with TNAWrestling soon according to sources of BetweentheRopes radio. Between the Ropes in a long running internet and radio broadcast based out of TNA's home of Orlando, Florida. Also according to Betweentheropes, former WWE Tough Enough winner Jackie Gayda is rumored to be aligned with Raven when she debuts for the company in the near future.

Vader is gone from World Wrestling Entertainment after only two appearances with the company according to Between the Ropes. Vader was brought in largely as a request by Dusty Rhodes. As we reported earlier in the week, Dusty Rhodes is in hot water with WWE management. Vader is still signed to a WWE legends contract and will continue to be used in that capacity when WWE sees fit.

Chris Jericho granted his first interview on the subject of professional wrestling in nearly three months when he joined Between the Ropes Radio live this evening at 11pm Orlando time. Jericho stated that he did not miss wrestling at all, and though he would always leave the door open, for now he has no reason to return to wrestling as he wants to pursue other avenues. Jericho stated that until those avenues dried up, he didn't see a return to wrestling happening. Chris Jericho is coming off of a tour with his band Fozzy that makes several stops in Florida this next week, and joked that he left wrestling to spend more time at home, but that doesn't seem to be happening as of yet. When the tour winds down in a few weeks, Chris Jericho stated that he was looking forward to spending time with his family in his Tampa residence. Chris Jericho has been keeping busy lately, taking acting classes and trying to prove to himself that he can make it in Los Angeles. Chris Jericho is a regular guest on VH1's Best Week Ever, and also currently worked the red carpet at awards shows for E! Entertainment with Joan and Melissa Rivers. Chris Jericho is also working on a book which he stated wasn't an autobiography, but something that focused on a particular time in his life, though he didn't elaborate. Chris Jericho also has a lead in a film produced by the Sci-Fi Network which costars Joey Lawrence.

When asked about the picture that appeared on his website displaying the TNA logo, Chris Jericho explained it to be a practical joke on his behalf. Jericho stated that while looking at messageboards, he saw a lot of fans speaking as though they knew everything about him. Jericho put over the dedication and support of internet fans, but stated that he called his webmaster and told him to put the photo up as a joke so that he could watch the "shitstorm" unfold. Jericho stated that within hours, he was receiving calls from high ranking officials within both TNA and WWE.

On his wrestling career, Chris Jericho put over John Cena as a guy who gets a bad reputation as a wrestler who didn't deserve it, and claimed to be touched by being cheered by half of the crowd in his match with Cena as Jericho considered his opponent to be the biggest babyface in several years. Jericho also light-heartedly claimed that Kurt Angle calls himself the best in the world, but his matches with John Cena weren't nearly as good as his own. On the subject of Christian, Jericho stated how proud he was of him, and put him over as a top all around performer who never got his due because of his size. Jericho stated that he regretted never having a run with the title as a babyface, but it was hard to have regrets when you were a three time World Champion and the first Undisputed Champion. Chris Jericho called the biggest problem with wrestling today the scripted nature, and recalled writing his debut promo with The Rock in a hotel room the night before. Jericho also stated that he wasn't a fan of Vince McMahon's affinity for "toilet humor".

On the subject TNA, Chris Jericho admitted that he watches more TNA than WWE currently. In spite of that, Chris Jericho said that he loves Vince McMahon as a boss and feels a strong sense of loyalty to him, so he didn't see TNA in his future anytime soon. Jericho put over Samoa Joe as his current favorite wrestler and someone who could be a top level star in WWE almost immediately. Chris Jericho also put over A.J. Styles and Christopher Daniels, and stated that he thought Monty Brown or Samoa Joe should be the ones to take the title off of Jeff Jarrett. Chris Jericho closed the interview by plugging Fozzy and thanking his fans.