6.28.2008
Hello Hellwig
In 1999, the Ultimate Warrior departed from WCW as quickly as he got there. And for the last decade he has remained famous by maintaining a sometimes-controversial, sometimes Gary Busey-like website. And form time to time rumors would float around concerning the possible return of the Warrior. On April 19 of this year, the Warrior resurfaced in Spain at a Nu-Wrestling Evolution event to challenge Orlando Jordan to a Heavyweight title match. The d
ate was set for the return, June 25th. During the gap between his confrontation with Jordan and his match, Warrior would appear on a radio show and "challenge" Vince McMahon to a match at Wrestlemania XXV on April 5, 2009. That possibility was dismissed by several sources including Jim Ross. Then, mere days before the bout with Jordan, a "Anti-Warrior" group claimed that if Warrior stepped foot in the ring, they, supposedly 800 strong, would storm the ring. Warrior was not threatened though as he stayed his course. Finally the grand day came and the man that has maybe burnt more bridges than anybody in the business was ready to enjoy life in the squared circle once again. When the music sounded, Warrior appeared and surprisingly was in fairly good shape. Sporting a gray buzzcut, Warrior ran to the ring as always, actually to be truthful, it was more of a jog. He entered the ring and the match was off. About fifteen minutes later, Warrior won the bout with a flying shoulder block. Warrior basked in the glory of being champion again, but he then took the microphone and vacated the title, saying that a tournament would be held to decide the next holder. And that was the end of it. The end of one of the quietest returns in pro wrestling. Nothing has been said on the matter of Warrior's next match, but one thing is for sure, don't expect Jim Hellwig's (Warrior) name inked on a WWE contract anytime soon. Let the craziness continue Jim!
ate was set for the return, June 25th. During the gap between his confrontation with Jordan and his match, Warrior would appear on a radio show and "challenge" Vince McMahon to a match at Wrestlemania XXV on April 5, 2009. That possibility was dismissed by several sources including Jim Ross. Then, mere days before the bout with Jordan, a "Anti-Warrior" group claimed that if Warrior stepped foot in the ring, they, supposedly 800 strong, would storm the ring. Warrior was not threatened though as he stayed his course. Finally the grand day came and the man that has maybe burnt more bridges than anybody in the business was ready to enjoy life in the squared circle once again. When the music sounded, Warrior appeared and surprisingly was in fairly good shape. Sporting a gray buzzcut, Warrior ran to the ring as always, actually to be truthful, it was more of a jog. He entered the ring and the match was off. About fifteen minutes later, Warrior won the bout with a flying shoulder block. Warrior basked in the glory of being champion again, but he then took the microphone and vacated the title, saying that a tournament would be held to decide the next holder. And that was the end of it. The end of one of the quietest returns in pro wrestling. Nothing has been said on the matter of Warrior's next match, but one thing is for sure, don't expect Jim Hellwig's (Warrior) name inked on a WWE contract anytime soon. Let the craziness continue Jim!6.27.2008
Foley's Original Face
It was a boyhood dream for Mick Foley to one day grow up and become Dude Love. The original idea for the retro gimmick was created while Foley got the aspiration to film a homemade movie centered around the character's quest for the WWF Championship. In a backyard wrestling match
the then-WWF Title was on the line as champion Ishmala faced Dude Love. The ultimate triumph in the film, entitled the Loved One, occurs when Dude Love ultimately claims the belt from Ishmala. What fun filming must have been for the aspiring pro wrestler, Foley. Not long after the filming of the movie Foley became an apprentice of the legend Dominic DeNucci. And after many hard years in ECW, WCW, and Japan, Mick arrived in the World Wrestling Federation as Mankind. Eventually, Jim Ross conducted a series of candid interviews with Mick, and Dude Love was revealed publicly. In 1998, Dude Love and Steve Austin became WWF Champions, a boyhood dream fulfilled indeed! Shortly thereafter Dude Love would reintroduce Cactus Jack to the business, Mick's third persona in the WWF. Yes Dude Love may have been goofy and corny but such is life. Oh, have mercy!
P.S. Mick, keep up the fabulous work on the announcer's table and enjoy your time with the legend Jim Ross.
the then-WWF Title was on the line as champion Ishmala faced Dude Love. The ultimate triumph in the film, entitled the Loved One, occurs when Dude Love ultimately claims the belt from Ishmala. What fun filming must have been for the aspiring pro wrestler, Foley. Not long after the filming of the movie Foley became an apprentice of the legend Dominic DeNucci. And after many hard years in ECW, WCW, and Japan, Mick arrived in the World Wrestling Federation as Mankind. Eventually, Jim Ross conducted a series of candid interviews with Mick, and Dude Love was revealed publicly. In 1998, Dude Love and Steve Austin became WWF Champions, a boyhood dream fulfilled indeed! Shortly thereafter Dude Love would reintroduce Cactus Jack to the business, Mick's third persona in the WWF. Yes Dude Love may have been goofy and corny but such is life. Oh, have mercy!P.S. Mick, keep up the fabulous work on the announcer's table and enjoy your time with the legend Jim Ross.
6.26.2008
The Million Dollar Maniac
"I love you, Vince," shouted a pleased fan that had just won half a million dollars. A couple loud bangs later and Mr. McMahon was eerily groaning "paul....paul" after several wrestlers including 
Triple H (Paul) came to aid the chairman when part of the Raw set left him buried in heavy rubble. Hey, wait a minute, doesn't that mean that they won't be anymore "McMahon Money Mania". Isn't it ironic that Mr.McMahon gets hurt shortly before another million would be given away to lucky fans. All sarcasm aside, it was quite a shocking turn of events to get out of the "Mania". While some people don't like the way Vince wrote himself off TV, I thought it was quite inventive. My favorite part of the whole debacle was when Vince fell through the stage and all that could be seen was a phone off its hook. It should be interesting to see how this event develops. After the interruption of Vince's death in an exploding limo last summer, we all knew that somewhere down the line Vince was going pull that ace out of his sleeve. And in joking matter I would like to wish Vince a speedy recovery.
Triple H (Paul) came to aid the chairman when part of the Raw set left him buried in heavy rubble. Hey, wait a minute, doesn't that mean that they won't be anymore "McMahon Money Mania". Isn't it ironic that Mr.McMahon gets hurt shortly before another million would be given away to lucky fans. All sarcasm aside, it was quite a shocking turn of events to get out of the "Mania". While some people don't like the way Vince wrote himself off TV, I thought it was quite inventive. My favorite part of the whole debacle was when Vince fell through the stage and all that could be seen was a phone off its hook. It should be interesting to see how this event develops. After the interruption of Vince's death in an exploding limo last summer, we all knew that somewhere down the line Vince was going pull that ace out of his sleeve. And in joking matter I would like to wish Vince a speedy recovery.6.25.2008
Down in Numbers
Monday night World Wrestling Entertainment hosted the sixth edition of their draft. This edition was arguably the most surprising and most prolific. Raw, which has always been the poster brand for WWE, came out on top with five picks that included the returning Rey Mysterio, ECW cornerstone C.M. Punk, longtime Smackdown announcer Michael Cole, Smackdown's No. 1 Contender Batista, and ECW Champion Kane. With one less pick, Smackdown would gain Jeff Hardy, "The Samoan Bulldozer" Umaga, Mr. Kennedy, and WWE Champion Triple H. However, ECW faired dismally in numbers by gaining one sole wrestler in the United States Champion Matt Hardy, leaving us to believe more was in line for the Tuesday night show going into the Supplemental Draft staged on Wednesday afternoon. That was not the case as Raw and Smackdown gained six and seven picks, respectively, with ECW gaining a disappointing four, signaling where WWE's priorities are. The four superstars that were rewarded to ECW on Wednesday weren't exactly shocking or needed. Super Crazy, a talented veteran, joins the small roster yet he will most likely be used only to be a jobber. Finlay, Hornswoggle, and Mark Henry also become members of Extreme Championship Wrestling. This is a result of their involvement in ECW Storylines prior to the draft. Among losses for ECW were several of the stars including C.M. Punk, Kofi Kingston, Big Daddy V, Shelton Benjamin, and ECW Champion Kane. There are now twenty-four members of ECW roster, eightteen of those are male wrestlers. Even though the show is an hour and that talent might be shared with Raw sometime in the future, ECW has become almost completely irrelevant. Just a few months ago, WWE stated that ECW might become a training ground of for potential stars of Raw and Smackdown. With the addition of Finlay and Mark Henry to the roster, that seems unlikely. It is no longer Extreme Championship Wrestling, it is a sometimes enjoyable, less important extension of Raw. I suggest that WWE tries to put the least bit of effort into the third brand which would transform it from a watchable show to a fairly entertaining show. Hopefully sometime in the near future WWE will make a decision: pull the plug or set forth care. Eventually the former will occur. 6.24.2008
The Voice of Wrestling
With the sixth pick in the WWE Draft, Smackdown gained Jim Ross, the voice of Monday Night. As shocked as we were, Good Ole' J.R. was as uninformed as we were. After being unexpectedly uprooted from his familiar seat beside Jerry "The King" Lawler, Ross saluted the RAW crowd for possibly the last time in his career. Ross then exchanged chairs with Smackdown Play-by-play man Michael Cole who has called all but two episodes of S-Down. Mick Foley, the Smackdown color commentator and friend of J.R., welcomed Ross to the team and the night ensued. But Jim Ross wasn't the least bit pleased with the decision. "I am not happy about this surprise development," said Jim Ross in Tuesday morning blog post, "I also contemplated calling it a career Monday night and not going to Houston to tape SD." WWE claims the move was made to add more talent and excitement Smackdown for the upcoming debut on MyNetwork this September. Jim Ross continued in saying, "As far as going to Connecticut each week to do Smackdown post production, that’s not going to happen. Either Mick Foley can handle it or the WWE can install a DSL line in my home to facilitate the work..." Who can blame J.R. for being disgruntled? I personally believe that the way WWE handled the situation was in no form or fashion acceptable. That is certainly not how you treat the greatest wrestling announcer of all-time. Also, if I were Michael Cole or Jerry Lawler, I wouldn't be all that happy. Cole is no longer the voice of Smackdown after eight long years, and the chemistry that has been built up between him and Foley is scrapped. "The King" will no longer be seated next to his great friend and his better half Jim Ross. Without that familiar Oklahoma drawl, will Raw be the same? For one, I believe it is impossible. Ross has become one of the sole reasons for my viewing of Raw every week. Yet it seems Smackdown will be much more entertaining. It seems as if WWE has achieved its goal, but the matter was handled disrespectfully. Ross himself pledges to "do all he can to make Smackdown the best program the WWE produces." "I most likely responded in a non professional way in the eyes of some fans," he stated. Those fans most not understand his role in the industry. He is definitely an irreplaceable part of wrestling history. J.R., I wish you only the best; hopefully, your voice will make as many Smackdown moments priceless as it did so many times on monday nights.J.R.'s Bar-B-Q Website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
