Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling From: jewell@Data-IO.com (Cal Jewell) Subject: [rec.sport.pro-wrestling] FAQ (part 01/02) Message-ID: Followup-To: poster Summary: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for rec.sport.pro-wrestling Keywords: FAQ RTFM Sender: news@data-io.com (The News) Supersedes: Reply-To: rspw-faq@Data-IO.com (rspw FAQ Comments address) Organization: The r.s.p-w FAQ Cabal Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 17:30:44 GMT Expires: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 17:31:58 GMT Lines: 752 Archive-name: pro-wrestling/faq-part01 Version: $Id: body.n,v 3.62 1993/11/12 22:40:53 jewell Exp $ Editor: jewell@Data-IO.com (Cal Jewell) Posting-frequency: approximately every three weeks Previous-editor: jnelson@iastate.edu (Jeremy Nelson) Original-editor: a0cb@odin.cc.pdx.edu (Chris Bertholf) Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for rec.sport.pro-wrestling part 1 of 2 Generated: November 30, 1993 Please read this document before posting to rec.sport.pro-wrestling. If you don't want to see this posting anymore, please add the subject line to your kill file. Given the dynamic nature of the professional wrestling world, the information in this document should be considered "volatile". That is, the probability that something in this document is incorrect or outdated increases with time. Comments, additions, suggestions, and corrections are encouraged. Send them to rspw-faq@Data-IO.com Changes are marked with a preceding "|" (a pipe). You can skip to them by typing g^| in most newsreaders (e.g., rn, trn). Note: this FAQ has been formatted as a digest. Many newsreaders can skip to each of the major subsections by pressing ^g (CTRL-g). Contents of the FAQ: 1. Upcoming Events 2. Deaths 3. Injuries 4. Where Are They Now? 5. NWA 6. WCW 7. WWF 8. Japan 9. Mexico 10. Miscellaneous 11. More Information 12. Tape Trading Contents of part 1: 1. Upcoming Events 2. Deaths 2.1. Is the Ultimate Warrior dead? 2.2. Is Andre the Giant dead? 2.3. Is Kerry Von Erich dead? 2.4. Is Dino Bravo dead? 2.5. What is the story behind the death of Bruiser Brody? 2.6. Is Adrian Adonis dead? 3. Injuries | 3.1. Did Sid Vicious and Arn Anderson really get stabbed in England? 3.2. Is there really a metal plate in Lex Luger's forearm? 3.3. What happened to Cactus Jack? Did Big Van Vader really beat him up? 3.4. What's the deal with Brutus Beefcake's face? 4. Where Are They Now? 4.1. Who is the Ultimate Warrior and where is he now? 4.2. Why did Sid Justice/Vicious leave the WWF? 4.3. What happened to Demolition? 4.4. What happened to Tully Blanchard? 4.5. Where is Sgt. Slaughter? 4.6. Where is J.J. Dillon? 4.7. Where is George "The Animal" Steele? 5. NWA 5.1. What happened to the NWA? 5.2. How many Four Horsemen have there been? 5.3. Who were the original Midnight Express? Who else has wrestled as the Midnight Express? 5.4. Other than the Road Warriors, who else was in the Legion of Doom? 6. WCW 6.1. Why did Ric Flair leave WCW/NWA for the WWF? What was the deal with the "Real World's Champion" belt? 6.2. Why did Lex Luger leave WCW? 6.3. Is Jesse Ventura really a mayor? 6.4. Who has had the shortest NWA/WCW title reign? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks to all who have contributed, (listed in alphabetical order): Chris Bertholf, Curtis Desjardins, Mark Duell, Ray Duffy, Maurice Forrester, Otto Heuer, James Hussell, Cal Jewell, Herb Kunze, | Dominic Macika, Robert McMullen, Jeremy Nelson, Andy Patrizio, Stephen Patterson, Bob Rusbasan, Sean Ryan, Dave Scheid, Dave Scherer, David Sipila, Jason Steeves, Hisaharu Tanabe, Gary Will, Christopher Robin Zimmerman My apologies if I inadvertently omitted your name from the list. ------------------------------ Subject: 1. Upcoming Events This section lists the upcoming major events and cards that the major wrestling promotions are having. | WCW PPV 27 Dec 1993 StarrCade Charlotte NC | NJ ?? 01 Jan 1994 ?? Tokyo Japan | WWF PPV 22 Jan 1994 Royal Rumble Providence RI | WCW PPV 20 Feb 1994 Super Brawl ?? | WWF PPV 03 Apr 1994 WrestleMania X New York NY | WCW PPV 12 Apr 1994 ?? ?? | WCW PPV 22 May 1994 Slamboree ?? | WWF PPV 19 Jun 1994 King of the Ring ?? | WCW PPV 17 Jul 1994 Beach Blast ?? | WWF PPV 28 Aug 1994 Summer Slam ?? | WCW PPV 18 Sep 1994 Fall Brawl ?? | WCW PPV 21 Oct 1994 Halloween Havoc ?? | WWF PPV 23 Nov 1994 Survivor Series ?? | WCW PPV 27 Dec 1994 Starrcade ?? Note: The 12 Apr 1994 WCW PPV is rumored to be for crowning the new WCW Light Heavyweight champ. Note: regular house shows are not listed for space reasons. ------------------------------ Subject: 2. Deaths 2.1. Is the Ultimate Warrior dead? No. See the "Where Are They Now?" section for more information. 2.2. Is Andre the Giant dead? Yes. Andre the Giant (real name Andre Rene Roussimoff) died in his sleep on January 27, 1993 in Paris, France. He died of natural causes (heart attack). At the time of his death, Andre was 46, weighed 555 pounds, and was 6' 10" tall. 2.3. Is Kerry Von Erich dead? Yes. Kerry Von Erich (real name Kerry Adkisson) died on February 18, 1993 in Shady Shore, Texas. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the heart. His suicide is believed to have been prompted by a warrant for his arrest on drug charges the day before. He was 33 and was survived by his wife and 2 children. 2.4. Is Dino Bravo dead? Yes. Dino Bravo (real name Adolpho Brescino) was murdered in Laval, Quebec, Canada on March 11, 1993. He was found at home, shot 17 times (combination of .22 and .38 caliber). Although unsubstantiated, his death was rumored to be connected with the bootleg cigarette business in Canada. 2.5. What is the story behind the death of Bruiser Brody? Bruiser Brody (real name Frank Goodish) died as a result of failure of the blood to clot and bile poisoning in Puerto Rico on July 17, 1988 as a result of a three stab wounds to the abdomen, including one stab to the liver. He was stabbed (some say murdered) by Jose Huertas Gonzales (aka Invader #1). It should be noted that Gonzales was acquitted of any wrongdoing, claiming that the stabbing was done in self-defense. Several of the North American wrestlers who were in the lockerroom at the time (including Tony Atlas, Dutch Mantel, and the Youngbloods) were not able to testify at the trial because they did not receive their notifications to testify until AFTER the trial had finished. It is generally believed that Gonzales killed Frank Goodish in cold blood and got to walk away from it a free man. 2.6. Is Adrian Adonis dead? Yes. Adrian Adonis (real name Keith Franke) died in an automobile accident on July 4, 1988. The accident took place on the Trans Canada Highway near Lewisporte, Newfoundland. The accident involved a mini-van which contained Adonis, Dave "Wildman" McKigney, and the Kelly Twins (Pat and Mike, real names William and Victor Arko). The van swerved to avoid hitting a moose in the road and plunged down a 10' to 15' embankment into a pond. Adrian was 34. Adonis, McKigney, and Pat Kelly were killed. Mike Kelly had his legs crushed in the accident and hasn't returned to wrestling. Adonis had just come off a Japan tour, his first since leaving the WWF, and was working for McKigney while waiting to start for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The fact that they swerved to avoid hitting a moose should not be questioned. There are more people killed by hitting several tons of moose than are killed by missing them. ------------------------------ Subject: 3. Injuries |3.1. Did Sid Vicious and Arn Anderson really get stabbed in England? | Yes. In fact, they stabbed each other. Here's what is believed to | have happened: | On Wednesday, Oct 27, 1993, Arn Anderson (real name Marty Lunde) and | Sid Vicious (real name Sid Eudy) began squabbling on a bus while | returning from a show in Cardiff, Wales. Later that evening, | somewhere between 2:30AM and 4:30AM, Vicious went to Anderson's room | at the Moat House Hotel to apologize. When Anderson answered the | door, Vicious hit Anderson with a chair. In apparent self defense, | Arn grabbed pair of scissors and attacked Sid, stabbing Sid 4 times, | primarily in the stomach. | Sid wrested the scissors from Arn and stabbed Arn 20 times. As a | result of the stab wounds, Arn reportedly lost 1.5 pints of blood | and almost lost an eye. Fellow WCW wrestler 2 Cold Scorpio (real | name Charles Skaggs) is credited with separating the two, and | possibly with saving Arn's life. | The results: Both were taken to the hospital following the incident. | None of the wounds were serious as the scissors were blunt (ie, most | wounds were less than 1/2" deep). Following treatment, both were | deported. Both were suspended indefinitely from WCW. | The first reports following the incident had Sid and Arn involved in | a bar fight. Less than a week later, those stories were proven to be | false; apparently the bar fight story was planted by WCW in an | attempt to coverup the incident. | Not only was this incident a public relations disaster, but it also | threw a monkey wrench into WCW's plans. They had planned to turn Sid | face and give him the WCW World Title. Obviously, WCW this incident | forced WCW to recast their plans. | To make matters even more interesting, in the days following the | stabbings, there were reports that several WCW wrestlers threatened | to not work an upcoming Clash unless Sid was fired and Arn was | allowed to wrestle. (Remember, the stabbings took place only 2 weeks | before Clash XXV.) | As it turned out, the wrestlers were at the Clash. 3.2. Is there really a metal plate in Lex Luger's forearm? Yes. Lex injured his arm in a motorcycle accident on June 8, 1992 in Atlanta, Georgia. 3.3. What happened to Cactus Jack? Did Big Van Vader really beat him up? In April 1993 WCW ran an angle involving Big Van Vader and Cactus Jack, the build-up of which was designed to span two matches. The first match aired on TBS on April 17 and ended with Jack winning via countout. During the match, Jack apparently suffered a broken nose and other injuries, and required 24 stitches. In the rematch, which aired on TBS on April 24, Vader won via countout when Jack was unable to return to the ring after being powerbombed on the concrete floor by Vader. The powerbomb was supposed to set up an angle where Jack would be "injured", enabling him to take a few months off to recuperate from the real injuries he'd already suffered and had been working nightly on. According to some reports, even though Vader attempted to protect Jack on the powerbomb, Jack's head hit the floor hard, causing a severe concussion and loss of feeling in his hands. Until late June 1993 there continued to be some question about the severity of Jack's injuries and whether this was an "angle gone wrong" or a very clever bit of booking, or both. The best guess is that it was a little of both: there was an angle planned and Jack got beat up a little more than was planned. While Cactus was taking time to recover, WCW started running a series of "Where's Cactus?" segments in late June and early July. The much maligned segments featured a female reporter (Cathryn White) looking for Cactus Jack. In late June 1993, reports surfaced that Cactus was not happy with the way WCW was bringing him back. The segments were dropped and Cactus was brought back at the August 1993 Clash. 3.4. What's the deal with Brutus Beefcake's face? On July 4, 1990 Brutus Beefcake was involved in an accident that smashed his face. He was on a lake in Tampa FL, when a parasailer crashed into his head. The force of the impact collapsed part of Brutus' skull. On the way to the hospital, the paramedics (and fellow wrestler and friend B. Brian Blair) had to hold Brutus' skull in place by the roof of the mouth. Since then, Brutus has undergone massive plastic surgery to rebuild his face. As of November 1993, Brutus still has several surgical steel reinforcing plates in his head. In spring of 1991, Vince McMahon wanted to bring Brutus back to the WWF. The idea was to build a gimmick around Brutus' head full of steel, but his doctors dissuaded Brutus on the grounds that severe damage could result if he were to receive a blow to the face. Undeterred, Vince brought Brutus back (albeit unannounced to the fans) for a short stint in summer 1991. Brutus, working under a furry mask, made several run-ins, beating on heels each time. Nothing became of the "furface" angle, but shortly thereafter, Brutus resumed doing the "Barber Shop" interview segment. Brutus finally returned to the WWF on February 1, 1993 when he was interviewed by Vince McMahon on Monday Night Raw. This was Brutus' first announced appearance in the WWF since WrestleMania VIII (April 1992). Brutus returned to the ring on February 15, 1993 and was attacked by Money, Inc. Hulk Hogan and Brutus teamed up (as the Megamaniacs), took on Jimmy Hart as their manager, and faced Money, Inc. at WrestleMania IX (April 4, 1993). As of November 1993 Brutus does not appear to be part of the WWF's longterm plans. ------------------------------ Subject: 4. Where Are They Now? 4.1. Who is the Ultimate Warrior and where is he now? The Ultimate Warrior is Jim Hellwig. Always has been. As of November 1993, Jim Hellwig is still alive. During his stints with the WWF, the Ultimate Warrior underwent several cosmetic changes, each of which started a new round of rumors. The changes included getting his hair dyed, getting his teeth capped, gaining and losing weight (mainly through muscle gain/loss), and changing the amount and style of face paint he wore. Despite the different "packaging", the Ultimate Warrior has always been the same person. Vince McMahon suspended the Ultimate Warrior from the WWF after SummerSlam '91 (August 29, 1991) when he demanded more money. There are reports that the Ultimate Warrior hit McMahon -- or at least took a swing at him -- but they remain unconfirmed. The Ultimate Warrior did not reappear in the WWF until WrestleMania VIII (April 5, 1992). Shortly after returning to the WWF in April 1992, the Ultimate Warrior became unhappy with his pay and with what Vince had planned for him. Apparently, the Warrior was scheduled to wrestle Nailz in the matches following the Survivor Series (November 28, 1992). The Warrior was not happy. On November 8, only 20 days before the Survivor Series, the Warrior quit the WWF without giving notice. On the November 16, 1992 fifteen seconds into the "Prime Time Wrestling" show, Vince McMahon announced that the Ultimate Warrior would not be in the Survivor Series. Since then, the Ultimate Warrior's name has not been mentioned in the WWF. The Ultimate Warrior started working the independent circuit as "The Warrior". | In September/October 1993, Jim Hellwig reportedly changed his name | to "Warrior", presumably so he would be able to use the Warrior name | without having to worry about the WWF's lawyers suing him. Reports | have also surfaced that he is advertising Warrior-related | merchandise out of Bill Apter's wrestling magazines, (Pro Wrestling | Illustrated, etc.). 4.2. Why did Sid Justice/Vicious leave the WWF? Sid Eudy (aka Sid Vicious, aka Sid Justice) was suspended from the WWF in May 1992 for using somebody else's urine concealed in a Visine bottle to pass a drug test. According to some reports, including as the May 4, 1992 issue of Arena Report, Sid used Harvey Wippleman's urine. Persistent rumors also attribute Sid's frequent drops off the face of professional wrestling's map to his love for softball. It seems that Sid has a penchant for playing softball (and not wrestling) in the spring and summer. 4.3. What happened to Demolition? They split up. Here's what they've been doing: Ax (real name Bill Eadie) reportedly left the WWF because of a heart problem. He has worked in many different promotions under many different (but similar) names, including: Axis the Demolisher; Ax of Demolition; Demolition Ax; and teaming with Blast as New Demolition. Eadie also worked with the GWF on their production staff until January 1991. Smash #1 (real name Randy Culley, aka Moondog Rex, aka Dead Eye Dick) only worked a few early dates as Demolition Smash. He is mentioned here only for completeness. Smash #2 (real name Barry Darsow) picked up where Smash #1 left off and ended up wrestling 95%+ of the matches that Demolition Smash was involved in. When Demolition broke up, Darsow left the WWF and worked a stint in the indies before returning to the WWF as Repo Man. Some reports have him now (November 1993) selling cars while other reports have him (ironically) selling car alarms. Crush (real name Brian Adams) left the WWF and wrestled in Portland under his real name and in Japan as Crush of Demolition. Currently, Demolition Crush is hailing from Kona Hawaii and wrestling as Crush in the WWF. So, unless Smash #1 is wrestling as Blast, which is not believed to be the case, there are/were actually 5 members of Demolition: Ax, Smash #1, Smash #2, Crush, and Blast. 4.4. What happened to Tully Blanchard? After getting suspended/fired from the WWF in November 1989, Tully Blanchard spent a few months in the AWA and then retired and became an evangelist. Depending on who you listen to, Tully was fired for failing a drug test (the WWF story), or Tully was tired of the WWF and failed the drug test on purpose, hoping to get released from his contract (Tully's story). There have also been reports that Tully had failed a drug test quite some time before he left the WWF. The results were held as a sort of trump card. Later, Tully was scheduled to job for the Ultimate Warrior at the Survivor Series '89 pre-show and in the Survivor Series itself. Tully was not pleased and he didn't follow the script at the pre-show. At a result, the WWF hauled out the results of the old drug test and used them as an excuse to fire Tully. In the process, the WWF got rid of Tully and saddled him with a "drug rap". Tully was supposed to return to WCW at Slamboree '93 (May 23, 1993) but apparently Tully and WCW were not able to agree on the terms of his return. Reverend Tully can be reached at: Tully Blanchard Ministries P.O. Box 2724 Matthews, North Carolina 28106 4.5. Where is Sgt. Slaughter? Up until September 1993, the Sarge (real name Robert Remus) was reportedly working for the WWF in an unspecified front office job. In late September 1993, he reportedly left the WWF. Why he left and under what circumstances is unknown. 4.6. Where is J.J. Dillon? J.J. Dillon, former manager and advisor to the Four Horsemen, is working in a front office job with the WWF. Story has it that J.J. got the WWF job by promising to bring in all kinds of NWA talent with him. 4.7. Where is George "The Animal" Steele? George "The Animal" Steele (real name James Meyers) has been reported to be a high school teacher in Michigan and working in a front office job for the WWF. He's been reported as the football coach at Detroit's Madison High School through the 1985 season. He's also been reported as a road agent and booking agent for the WWF. Some reports also had him in Britain for SummerSlam '92. ------------------------------ Subject: 5. NWA 5.1. What happened to the NWA? The National Wrestling Alliance was formed in 1948 as an association of local promoters from several cities in the US who agreed not to compete against each other and to recognize a common world champion who would make occasional appearances in all of the member territories to defend his title against local contenders. Original members were almost all from the mid-west, and represented the promotions in St. Louis, Des Moines, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Columbus, OH. Dozens of promoters from across the US and around the world were affiliated at one time or another with the NWA. The NWA was the dominant force in pro wrestling for 35 years, but things began falling apart in the early 80s. The Los Angeles promotion, which had been run into the ground by Gene & Mike Lebell, closed at the end of 1980. A year later, Roy Shire's San Francisco promotion folded. Cable TV changed the whole face of wrestling in the early 80s, as promoters could now get simultaneous national exposure for their shows. Ole Anderson, who controlled Georgia Championship Wrestling, was the first to try to take advantage of cable TV by promoting outside of his own territory into areas. He ran shows throughout Ohio and Michigan, as well as in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other areas. The promotion changed its name from Georgia Championship Wrestling to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and for a while in 1983 gave up the rights to the Georgia territories to try to promote nationally. In the summer of 1983 it was rumoured that WCW was pulling out of the NWA after they chose not to announce that Harley Race had defeated Ric Flair for the world title on June 10, 1983. Eventually they did recognize Race and continued within the NWA, including a planned copromotional effort with Jim Crockett into the northeast -- the heart of WWF territory. Despite Ole's mismanagement, WCW was doing pretty well competing against the other group that was trying to go national: Vince McMahon's WWF. But the competition ended in May 1984 when Jack & Jerry Brisco -- investors in Georgia Championship Wrestling who must have been frightened by the direction Ole was taking the promotion -- sold control of the company to Vince McMahon. The WWF took over the TV spot on TBS. Very few of the wrestlers from Georgia agreed to work for McMahon, and Anderson formed a new group, which came under the control of Jim Crockett by March 1985. Crockett paid McMahon US$1 million to get back the rights to the TBS time slot. Toronto had featured Jim Crockett's wrestlers since October 1978, making it the first territory to bring in talent from Mid-Atlantic. But by 1984, Crockett did not feel that he could spare his wrestlers for any shows in Toronto, and the quality of the Toronto cards plummeted. With his area starved for talent, Jack Tunney had little choice but to make a deal with Vince McMahon -- taking one of the hottest areas for wrestling out of the NWA and into the WWF. Later in 1985, Jim Crockett announced that he would no longer allow NWA champion Ric Flair to accept more than 2 dates per week outside of Crockett-promoted shows, and that from that point on, promoters would have to pay a guaranteed amount, rather than the 8% of the gate that was traditionally paid to the NWA champion. Crockett would also insist that he supply the wrestlers for the top half of the card for any show on which Ric Flair appeared. This pretty much marked the end of the NWA as it had existed since 1948. In February 1986, Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich) -- who was trying to take World Class national at this time -- pulled his promotion out of the NWA and recognized his own world champion. Later in the year, Crockett took over the St. Louis promotion -- the flagship of the NWA since 1948 -- and brought in his own wrestlers for shows there. He also briefly took control of Bob Geigel's Central States promotion in Kansas City. Geigel tried to start up again in February 1987 and briefly recognized his own world champion before the promotion folded in 1988. Crockett bought out the Florida territory in February 1987, and a few months later took control of Bill Watts's UWF (which had not been a part of the NWA). By the end of the year, all of the territories has been homogenized into a single Crockett-controlled entity, which still ran under the name NWA, but really had little to do with the group that had existed for the preceding 40 years. The only former NWA territories that still operated in the US were Don Owen's group in Portland, and the promotion in Alabama, which no longer claimed ties to the NWA. Turner Broadcasting bought control of Jim Crockett's promotion in November 1988. This group still referred to itself as the NWA, but began to put more emphasis on the name World Championship Wrestling, until they finally dropped all references to the NWA on January 1, 1991. After buying back Ric Flair's championship belt, WCW brought back the NWA name in 1992 for both a singles and a tag team title. So far, the only promotions to use the belts are WCW and New Japan. The NWA still exists on paper, and several small independent promotions have recently joined the NWA, but they have not been able to arrange for any appearances by the NWA champion, even though that is supposed to be guaranteed to them by their membership. 5.2. How many Four Horsemen have there been? Well, they've always been called the Four Horsemen but over the years 11 different wrestlers have been Horsemen. In addition to the original Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, and Ole Anderson) the following wrestlers have at one time or another been a member of the Four Horsemen: Lex Luger, Barry Windham, Sid Vicious, Sting, Kendall Windham, Butch Reed, and Paul Roma. Supposedly, Kendall Windham and Butch Reed were Horsemen for 1 week in January or February 1989. Here is a rough (and incomplete) chronology of who was a Horseman: 86/01 First reference to "Four Horsemen" RF, AA, TB, OA, JJD 87/02 Luger joins & Ole turns RF, AA, TB, LL, JJD 87/12/02 Luger turns and leaves the group RF, AA, TB, JJD 88/04/20 Windham turns on Luger and joins RF, AA, TB, BW, JJD 88/09 Blanchard/Anderson leave RF, BW, JJD 89/02 Dillon leaves --Horsemen inactive-- 89/12 Arn Anderson returns RF, AA, OA 90/01/02 Sting joins RF, AA, OA, S 90/02/06 Sting kicked out RF, AA, OA 90/04 Sid Vicious joins RF, AA, OA, SV 90 Ole retires, Barry Windham joins RF, AA, SV, BW 91/04 Vicious leaves WCW --Horsemen inactive-- 91/07 Flair fired 93/05/23 Flair returns, Roma added RF, AA, OA, PR Tully Blanchard was supposed to rejoin the Horsemen at Slamboree '93 (May 23, 1993) but he and WCW were unable to agree on a price. Instead, WCW brought in "Pretty" Paul Roma to be the fourth Horseman. 5.3. Who were the original Midnight Express? Who else has wrestled as the Midnight Express? The Original Midnight Express was Randy Rose, Dennis Condrey, and Norvell Austin. They originally worked out of Alabama. At the end of 1981, Condrey, Rose, and Austin went to Memphis as the Midnight Express and wrestled there until the summer of 1982 when they returned to Alabama. In 1983 they wrestled in Alabama as "Midnight Express Inc." and had several other members: including the Midnight Stallion (aka the Mongolian Stomper), Ron Starr, Rick Harris (aka Black Bart), and Wayne Farris (aka Honkytonk Man). Condrey left Alabama in 1983 and teamed up with Bobby Eaton in Mid-South, where they were joined by another guy from Memphis: Jim Cornette. In this form -- "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton, "Loverboy" Dennis Condrey, and Jim Cornette -- the Midnight Express moved on to the NWA/WCW where they won the NWA World Tag title. Condrey left and was replaced by "Sweet" Stan Lane. Eaton and Lane held the NWA US Tag title three times. In fall 1991, Cornette had a falling out with WCW Executive Vice President Jim Herd. Cornette left WCW to work in the independents. Shortly thereafter, Cornette convinced Stan Lane to join him. Bobby couldn't join them because he needed a steady income (to support his family) and wasn't guaranteed that outside of WCW. In early 1992 Jim Cornette and Stan Lane teamed with with Tom Pritchard as the Heavenly Bodies in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Eaton joined Lane and Pritchard for some 6-man tag matches, but not under the name Midnight Express. In May 1993, Jim Cornette, by then a major player in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and Lane had a falling out. Lane left SMW and was replaced by Jimmy Del Rey. Note: some of the confusion seems to stem from an angle WCW ran in the mid/late 80s which featured the Midnight Express (Rose & Condrey, managed by Paul E. Dangerously) vs. the Midnight Express (Eaton & Lane, managed by Jim Cornette). 5.4. Other than the Road Warriors, who else was in the Legion of Doom? Using a concept similar to the Four Horsemen (all for one and one for all), the NWA/WCW version of the Legion of Doom consisted of the Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal), Jake "the Snake" Roberts, "Precious" Paul Ellering, and King Kong Bundy. Genichiro Tenryu joined the Road Warriors for 6-man tag action, but it's unclear whether he was part of the LOD. Finally, depending on whom you talk to, Ted DiBiase was also a member of the LOD. When the Road Warriors jumped to the WWF in mid 1990, they called themselves the Legion of Doom, but that was merely a marketing- driven name change from their NWA/WCW personas of the Road Warriors. In the WWF, the LOD moniker referred only to the tag team of Hawk and Animal. ------------------------------ Subject: 6. WCW 6.1. Why did Ric Flair leave WCW/NWA for the WWF? What was the deal with the "Real World's Champion" belt? The short answer to why Ric Flair left WCW is money and respect. In early 1991 Jim Herd, then the WCW Executive Vice President, decided to cut Ric's salary as part of an ongoing cost cutting plan at WCW. Herd wanted to cut Flair's salary from US$780,000 to US$350,000 a year. Ric was understandably furious and began negotiations with the WWF. Ric left (or was fired, depending on who you talk to) WCW on July 1, 1991. He left holding (and owning) the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt. Flair's contract with the WWF started on October 1, 1991 and was for a reported US$1.0 to 1.25 million for two years. When he arrived in the WWF, Flair proclaimed himself the "Real World's Champion" and used the NWA belt to back up his claims. Interestingly enough, Ric Flair was still recognized as the NWA World Champion by many NWA-affiliated promoters and by many independent promoters. This changed when WCW, under the direction of Kip Frey, put pressure on the NWA to get Flair's belt back. The ownership of the belt and the right to be called the "NWA Heavyweight Champion" was taken to court. Flair and WCW eventually settled the matter out of court in spring 1992. The exact terms of the settlement were not disclosed, but it was rumored that the NWA/WCW bought the NWA belt back for US$28,000. 6.2. Why did Lex Luger leave WCW? Lex Luger's disappearance from WCW in February 1992 had a lot to do with his lack of love for the business. WCW's contract with Luger was a three year deal that ran through March 1993. The contract guaranteed Luger an annual salary and specified a maximum number of dates Luger had to work. This second part (maximum number of dates to work) is not uncommon. Nobody at WCW anticipated Ric Flair jumping ship in July 1991. When that happened, WCW had to choose between Luger and Sting to succeed Flair as champion. Sting's run as champion in 1990 was not as financially successful as WCW had wanted, so they went with Luger. Suddenly Luger was working more dates. By the end of 1991 Luger had already worked the number of dates specified in his contract. So, he had every legal right to refuse to work any more shows. Further, WCW still had to pay him his salary through March 1993. If he had any love for the business or some interest in his future or the future of WCW, he might have been a little more flexible. As it was, he refused to work any more dates: no TV tapings, no Clashes, no Pay-Per-Views. Nothing. Luger further told WCW that he wouldn't mind leaving when the second year of his 3-year contract ran out in March 1992. WCW negotiated with Luger and reached a settlement wherein Luger agreed to work one final show (SuperBrawl II, February 29, 1992) and drop the WCW title to Sting. In return, WCW agreed to let Luger leave the company (perhaps with a cash settlement, but that is unknown) with the proviso that he couldn't wrestle for any other North American wrestling promotion until March 1993. Luger took a few months off and then popped up in the WBF, Titan Sports' now defunct World Bodybuilding Federation, in the summer of 1992. Luger "debuted" in the WWF at Royal Rumble '93 on January 24, 1993. Note: he just "debuted" at the Royal Rumble; he didn't wrestle. 6.3. Is Jesse Ventura really a mayor? Yes. Jesse Ventura is the real life mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Brooklyn Park is a suburb of Minneapolis and has a population of 56,000. Jesse was elected in November 1990 to a 4-year term as mayor. 6.4. Who has had the shortest NWA/WCW title reign? If you count negative title reigns, then the Fabulous Freebirds have the shortest reign in wrestling history: -6 days. The Freebirds lost the NWA/WCW Tag titles to the Steiner Brothers on February 18, 1991. Six days later, on February 24, 1991, the Freebirds beat Doom for the titles (the same titles the Freebirds lost 6 days before). Of course, the title change was aired in normal sequence on TV (ie, the Freebirds won the belts and then lost the belts). ------------------------------ End of rec.sport.pro-wrestling FAQ part 1 of 2 ********************************************** -- Send suggestions/comments/etc. to: | "Those who cannot remember history rspw-faq@Data-IO.com | are doomed to repost it every month, or | with diffs marked with change bars." ...!pilchuck!rspw-faq | -- Ed Vielmetti Newsgroups: rec.sport.pro-wrestling From: jewell@Data-IO.com (Cal Jewell) Subject: [rec.sport.pro-wrestling] FAQ (part 02/02) Message-ID: Followup-To: poster Summary: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for rec.sport.pro-wrestling Keywords: FAQ RTFM Sender: news@data-io.com (The News) Supersedes: Reply-To: rspw-faq@Data-IO.com (rspw FAQ Comments address) Organization: The r.s.p-w FAQ Cabal References: Date: Tue, 30 Nov 1993 17:31:19 GMT Expires: Mon, 3 Jan 1994 17:31:58 GMT Lines: 1310 Archive-name: pro-wrestling/faq-part02 Version: $Id: body.n,v 3.62 1993/11/12 22:40:53 jewell Exp $ Editor: jewell@Data-IO.com (Cal Jewell) Posting-frequency: approximately every three weeks Previous-editor: jnelson@iastate.edu (Jeremy Nelson) Original-editor: a0cb@odin.cc.pdx.edu (Chris Bertholf) Answers to Frequently Asked Questions for rec.sport.pro-wrestling part 2 of 2 Generated: November 30, 1993 Please read this document before posting to rec.sport.pro-wrestling. If you don't want to see this posting anymore, please add the subject line to your kill file. Given the dynamic nature of the professional wrestling world, the information in this document should be considered "volatile". That is, the probability that something in this document is incorrect or outdated increases with time. Comments, additions, suggestions, and corrections are encouraged. Send them to rspw-faq@Data-IO.com Changes are marked with a preceding "|" (a pipe). You can skip to them by typing g^| in most newsreaders (e.g., rn, trn). Note: this FAQ has been formatted as a digest. Many newsreaders can skip to each of the major subsections by pressing ^g (CTRL-g). Contents of the FAQ: 1. Upcoming Events 2. Deaths 3. Injuries 4. Where Are They Now? 5. NWA 6. WCW 7. WWF 8. Japan 9. Mexico 10. Miscellaneous 11. More Information 12. Tape Trading Contents of part 2: 7. WWF 7.1. Who is Yokozuna? Where is he from? 7.2. Who is Doink the Clown? 7.3. What is the story behind the WWF 'King'? 7.4. Did the WWF really gross US$1.7 billion in 1992? 7.5. What was the WWF's first Pay-Per-View? 7.6. Who had the shortest WWF title reign? 7.7. Who won the first Royal Rumble? 7.8. Is Bret Hart the first person to hold all 3 WWF titles? 7.9. Why did the Legion of Doom leave the WWF in 1992? 7.10. Why did "Ravishing" Rick Rude leave the WWF in 1991? 7.11. Are Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth really married? 7.12. Who runs the WWF? 7.13. Did Pat Patterson really win the first WWF Intercontinental Title? 7.14. How long was Buddy Rogers WWF Champion? What is the story behind the forming of the WWF? 7.15. When did the WWWF become the WWF? 7.16. Are Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake really brothers? 7.17. Are "Macho Man" Randy Savage and The Genius (aka Leapin' Lanny Poffo) really related? 7.18. Was Adrian Adonis really a homosexual? 8. Japan 8.1. The All Japan Triple Crown comprises what three titles? 1. The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) title -- PWF was the original major title when Shohei "Giant" Baba started All Japan. 2. The United National title -- A title from the old Japan Wrestling Association which actually began as a Los Angeles-based title in the early 70s. 3. The International title -- Previously the NWA International title, which is also connected to an old JWA title. 8.2. Are Keiji Muto and The Great Muta the same person? What's with Keiji Muto and "The Great Muta"? 8.3. What's the story behind Jushin Liger? Why do some people call him Jushin Riger? 9. Mexico 9.1. What are CMLL, EMLL, and AAA? 9.2. What is Lucha Libre? 9.3. What's with all the masks in Mexico? | 9.4. I don't know Spanish, what does mean? | 9.5. What's with all the midgets in Lucha Libre? 10. Miscellaneous 10.1. Who was the first World's Champion of professional wrestling? 10.2. Who had the longest reign as NWA, WCW, WWF, or AWA champion? 10.3. How big is a wrestling ring? 10.4. What is a wrestling ring made of? | 10.5. Who is Steve DiSalvo? 10.6. Did Ken Patera really spend time in jail? 10.7. Didn't the Ultimate Warrior and Sting wrestle together once? 10.8. Have any wrestlers held belts in the AWA, NWA/WCW, and WWF in the last 15 years? 10.9. Is Sgt. Slaughter a real sergeant? 10.10. Is Big Boss Man a real prison guard? 10.11. Who was the Missing Link? 10.12. What is an "outlaw promotion"? 10.13. What is a shoot? What are some examples? 10.14. Who are the Von Erichs? 10.15. Is Lance Von Erich really a Von Erich? 11. More Information 11.1. Where can I get more information about ? 11.2. Where can I get a copy of this FAQ? 11.3. How can I subscribe to these wrestling sheets that everyone talks about? 11.4. Can I get Herb's TidBits by e-mail? 11.5. Bibliography 11.6. Where can I get match results? 11.7. Where can I get archived r.s.p-w posts? 11.8. How do I contact my favorite wrestlers? 11.9. I can't post. Is there an e-mail address I can use? 12. Tape Trading 12.1. How do I rate a match? 12.2. Where can I talk with other tape traders? 12.3. What are these compilation tapes I keep hearing about? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Subject: 7. WWF 7.1. Who is Yokozuna? Where is he from? Yokozuna (real name Rodney Anoia) is not Japanese, either by birth or by ancestry. Rather, he is of Samoan descent and is from San Francisco. To the best of the net's knowledge, he has never been a sumo wrestler at any level. Further, since his introduction in the WWF, he has always been announced as being from the Polynesian Islands and not from Japan. Before joining the WWF, he wrestled in the AWA as Kokina Maximus. By the way, Yokozuna means Grand Champion and is the highest award that can be bestowed upon a sumo wrestler. 7.2. Who is Doink the Clown? The original Doink the Clown was Matt Osborne (aka Big Josh, aka "Maniac" Matt Borne). The second Doink that appeared at WrestleMania IX (April 4, 1993) was Steve Keirn (aka Skinner). As of November 1993, there have been reports that, in addition to Matt Osborne and Steve Keirn, Steve Lombardi (aka Brooklyn Brawler, aka Kim Chee) has also wrestled as Doink. When talking about the various Doinks, they are usually referred to as JoshDoink (Matt Osborne), GatorDoink (Steve Keirn), and BrawlerDoink (Steve Lombardi). 7.3. What is the story behind the WWF 'King'? The answer depends on which WWF 'King' you are referring to: the King of the WWF (KotWWF) or the King of the Ring (KotR). The first King of the Ring (KotR) tournament was held in 1985 and was won by Don Muraco. Harley Race won the second tournament in Foxboro, MA on July 14, 1986, and was thereafter called the King of the WWF. (Note: this is the only point the KotR and the KotWWF have in common. Race's victory was used as an excuse to call Race the KotWWF.) Race was still called the KotWWF after Randy Savage won the 3rd KotR tourney on September 4, 1987 in Providence, RI. Note: the tournament normally receives about zero publicity outside of the city it is held in. The 1993 KotR Tournament, in Dayton OH, was an exception, with the tournament receiving a lot of publicity and being televised as a PPV. The winners of the WWF King of the Ring tournament have been: 85/07/08 Don Muraco Foxboro, MA Defeats Iron Sheik in final 86/07/14 Harley Race Foxboro, MA Defeats Pedro Morales in final 87/09/04 Randy Savage Providence, RI Defeats King Kong Bundy in final 88/10/16 Ted DiBiase Providence, RI Defeats Randy Savage in final 89/10/14 Tito Santana Providence, RI Defeats Rick Martel in final 90 NOT HELD 91/09/07 Bret Hart Providence, RI Defeats Irwin R. Schyster in final 92 NOT HELD 93/06/13 Bret Hart Dayton, OH Defeats Bam Bam Bigelow in final Back to the King of the WWF: when Harley Race left the WWF, they announced he was hurt in a match against Hulk Hogan (despite wrestling later at WrestleMania IV). After weeks of hype and suspense, Bobby Heenan announced that he had chosen Haku to be the next KotWWF. To cement the passing of the crown, Haku faced and defeated Harley Race at the Royal Rumble on January 15, 1989. Haku started "defending" the crown as though it were a title. He lost the crown to Jim Duggan on April 25, 1989. Duggan subsequently defended the crown before losing it to the Macho Man, Randy Savage on August 30, 1989. After winning the crown Savage started referring to himself as the "Macho King". Savage faced the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VII (March 24, 1991) in a "loser retires from wrestling" match. Savage lost and retired from the WWF, taking the KotWWF's crown with him. The Kings of the WWF: 86/08/05 Harley Race Foxboro, MA 88/06/21 Haku Houston TX 89/04/25 Jim Duggan Des Moines, IA 89/08/30 Randy Savage Portland, ME 91/03/24 In late 1992 Jerry Lawler arrived in the WWF and declared himself the King of the WWF. Lawler has been using the "King" gimmick for many years now (since early 1973). Lawler's current angle seems to be a continuation of his old "King" persona rather than a continuation of the old WWF "King". 7.4. Did the WWF really gross US$1.7 billion in 1992? No. Or, more accurately, very likely not. The WWF is a privately held company and, as such, is not required to disclose their finances to the public. Thus, there is little or no chance that we will ever know how much the WWF makes. Knowledgeable sources report that the WWF makes a lot of money (probably a couple of hundred million US$ in 1992), but definitely not the US$1.7 billion the WWF claimed for 1992. 7.5. What was the WWF's first Pay-Per-View? The answer depends on how you define "first" and how you define "Pay-Per-View". WrestleMania I (March 31, 1985) was distributed on a same-day tape-delay basis primarily via closed-circuit TV (ie, it was shown at 1PM in all U.S. time zones). Reports also have WM I available as a PPV in a select few markets (such as Honolulu). Also, due to technical difficulties with the closed-circuit broadcast, WM I was shown on local TV on a later date in a few markets, including Pittsburgh. Shortly after WrestleMania I, the WWF held "The First Annual Wrestling Classic" on November 7, 1985. The Classic was aired as a Pay-Per-View. The Classic took place at the Rosemont Horizon near Chicago and was widely distributed as a PPV, hence it's designation as "the WWF's first PPV". 7.6. Who had the shortest WWF title reign? Andre the Giant, followed closely by Yokozuna. Andre beat Hulk Hogan for the WWF title on February 5, 1988. Shortly after winning the title, Andre gave/sold the belt to The Million Dollar Man (Ted DiBiase). The following week, WWF President Jack Tunney declared that Andre vacated the title when he gave it to DiBiase. Thus, Andre held the WWF title for a mere 105 seconds. Yokozuna beat Bret Hart for the WWF title at WrestleMania IX (April 4, 1993). Upon winning, Yokozuna's manager Mr. Fuji challenged Hulk Hogan, who accepted after asking Bret Hart's "permission". Hogan and Yokozuna wrestled for the title. Yokozuna lost the title, holding it for 128 seconds. 7.7. Who won the first Royal Rumble? Jim Duggan won the first Royal Rumble on January 24, 1988 in Hamilton, Ontario. The first RR was not a PPV, rather it was a special card that was televised on the USA network on cable TV. The widely held belief that John Studd won the first Royal Rumble is incorrect. Studd won the first PPV Royal Rumble, which was held on January 15, 1989 in Houston, TX. Interesting side note: the first Royal Rumble was designed as direct competition for the NWA's Bunkhouse Stampede PPV. The strategy worked. The Bunkhouse Stampede was a flop. 7.8. Is Bret Hart the first person to hold all 3 WWF titles? No. Pedro Morales has also held all 3 WWF titles: WWF World title in February 1971 WWF Tag title (w/ Bob Backlund) in August 1980 WWF Intercontinental title in December 1980 and November 1981 Technically, Pedro held the WWWF (and not the WWF) Title. So, if you wanted to, you could split hairs and say that Hart was the first to hold all three WWF titles. 7.9. Why did the Legion of Doom leave the WWF in 1992? Depending on who you listen to, you'll hear different reasons. But their breakup and subsequent departure from the WWF is widely believed to be related to two things: drugs and their perceived future in the WWF. The breakup started in February 1992 when Hawk was suspended from the WWF for drug use (not steroids). Hawk wanted to quit the WWF and Animal wanted to stay. Vince agreed to bring in "Precious" Paul Ellering if they both stayed. Hawk and Animal were reunited with Ellering at WrestleMania VIII (April 5, 1992) and were soon worked into an angle where they were talking to Rocko, a ventriloquist's dummy from their childhood (or so the story went). Rumor had it, the LOD were not happy with the Rocko angle. An article in the September 1992 issue of Penthouse magazine revealed that Hawk had failed a drug test. When Hawk read that, he was reportedly *furious* since the test results were supposed to be private information. Hawk immediately quit the WWF. To replace Hawk, the WWF teamed up Crush and Animal as the Legion of Doom. This didn't last long as Animal soon quit. Hawk went to Japan and teamed with Kensuke Sasaki. They had planned to call themselves "The New Road Warriors", but at the last minute they decided not to use "Road Warriors" name, so they became the "Hell Raisers". Despite the name change, they kept the same makeup, spikes, and power wrestling gimmick. Kensuke Sasaki became known as "Power Warrior." Hawk has also wrestled in Europe. Paul Ellering has likely returned to his other interest, sled-dog racing, although this is unconfirmed. 7.10. Why did "Ravishing" Rick Rude leave the WWF in 1991? Rick Rude was fired from the WWF over a money dispute with WWF owner Vince McMahon Jr. The dispute stemmed from a neck injury Rick received while wrestling for the WWF. Although he was unable to wrestle, the WWF did not tell the fans about the injury and continued to use Rude's name to draw fans to the arenas. When the fans were told of Rude's leaving the WWF, they were told that he was suspended because his manager, Bobby Heenan, had been insulting the Big Bossman's mother. In the WWF, if you don't wrestle, you don't get paid. To compensate for his lack of income, Rude thought he deserved a percent of the gate proceeds from shows where his name had been used as the draw but where he did not wrestle. Vince didn't agree and Rude ended up with nothing. Vince would not schedule him for matches and he would not let Rude out of his contract. As a result, Rick didn't wrestle until his WWF contract lapsed in late 1991 and he joined WCW. Interesting side note: it has been reported that Rude has legally changed his name from Richard Rood to "RAVISHING RICK RUDE" (including the capitalization). 7.11. Are Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth really married? Not any more. They were divorced in 1992. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (real name Randy Poffo) and "Lovely" Miss Elizabeth (real name Elizabeth Hewlett) were officially married December 30, 1984 in Frankfort, KY. Their "Match Made in Heaven" was just a gimmick Vince McMahon used as a draw for SummerSlam '91. 7.12. Who runs the WWF? Good question. Since the WWF is a privately held company, we have no way of knowing their exact internal structuer. Regardless, most reports have Linda McMahon (Vince's wife) as President of Titan Sports (the WWF's parent company) while Vince McMahon Jr. remains CEO and Chairman of the Board of Titan Sports. Linda McMahon became Titan's President in late May 1993. Speculation was that this was merely making official an arrangement that has existed for a couple of years now: namely that Linda had been handling most of the business end of things, while Vince Jr. was more involved creatively. Reports also suggest that Vince Jr. stepped down as Titan's President in late May 1993 partly as a result of the U.S. government's investigation of the WWF. Although the exact nature of the investigation is not known, it is believed to center around the WWF's various sexual scandals and around the WWF's use and abuse of steriods and other controlled substances. Vince Jr. was given control of the WWF by his father, Vince Sr. Although Vince McMahon Sr. died in May 1984, he had turned over control of the business to his son sometime around late 1982 or early 1983. Specifically, McMahon Sr. divested his Capitol Wrestling Corporation (under which he promoted the WW[W]F) in late 1982/early 1983. McMahon Sr. then incorporated Titan Sports as the WWF's new parent company and gave half of Titan's stock to his son. Vince Sr. also gave 1/6 stock each to Arnold Skoaland, Phil Zacko (who was his figurehead promoter in Philadelphia and surrounding regions) and Robert Marella (aka Gorilla Monsoon). Skoaland and Marella were also given guaranteed 10-year jobs with Titan. Upon receiving their shares of Titan stock, Skoaland, Zacko, and Marella promptly sold them to McMahon Jr. for $100,000 each, primarily out of their uncertainty of Vince Jr's business skills. 7.13. Did Pat Patterson really win the first WWF Intercontinental Title? Yes and No. Pat Patterson was the first holder of the WWF Intercontinental Title but he did not win the title in a tournament in Rio de Janiero as the WWF claimed on TV. Instead, he was simply given the title in September 1979. Pat was the WWF North American champion at the time, so the WWF basically just renamed the N.A. title the Intercontinental title. The tournament victory was a convenient way to introduce the new title and the new champion. 7.14. How long was Buddy Rogers WWF Champion? What is the story behind the forming of the WWF? Buddy Rogers lost the NWA title to Lou Thesz in Toronto on January 24, 1963. The promoters in the Northeast U.S., led by Vince McMahon Sr., did not agree that Rogers should drop the title to Thesz so they decided not to recognize Thesz as champion. Their decision led to the forming of the WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation), the forerunner of today's WWF. As it turns out, McMahon was the business manager of Rogers during his title reign and he felt that Rogers had incredible potential as champion. Potential that extended well beyond the time that the NWA had given him to be champion. Rogers was not recognized as the first WWWF champion right after losing to Thesz. Instead, Rogers was awarded the WWWF title in mid- April 1963, with the expanation that he has won a (fictitious) tournament in Rio de Janerio. He lost the title to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963. Rogers would have likely had a longer reign as champion, but, he suffered a heart attack shortly before the match with Bruno. This explains both the brevity of the match (47 seconds) with Bruno and the subsequent disappearance of Rogers from the ring. Some reports have Rogers almost had to be wheeled into the ring, due to his weakened condition. Rogers retired after this match and, as wrestling retirements go, he didn't return to the ring until 1967. 7.15. When did the WWWF become the WWF? The best information available suggests that the name change took place on April 9, 1979. The change was purely a cosmetic one. Ownership and front office personnel remained unaffected. About this same time, the WWF phased out their North American title and replaced it with what is today known as the Intercontinental title. For the sake of clarity, all WWWF and WWF titles mentioned in this document are referred to as WWF titles. 7.16. Are Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake really brothers? No. Hulk Hogan and Brutus Beefcake are just friends, not brothers. The confusion stems from the time they spent wrestling together as a brother tag team: Terry "Hulk" Hogan and "Dizzy" Ed Hogan. 7.17. Are "Macho Man" Randy Savage and The Genius (aka Leapin' Lanny Poffo) really related? Yes. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (real name Randy Poffo) and The Genius (real name Lanny Poffo) are brothers. Their father, Angelo Poffo, was a pretty good wrestler in his day. Angelo was the promoter for International Championship Wrestling in Lexington, Kentucky, where Randy and Lanny held several titles. 7.18. Was Adrian Adonis really a homosexual? No. "Adorable" Adrian Adonis (real name Keith Franke) was a happily married heterosexual. ------------------------------ Subject: 8. Japan 8.1. The All Japan Triple Crown comprises what three titles? 1. The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) title -- PWF was the original major title when Shohei "Giant" Baba started All Japan. 2. The United National title -- A title from the old Japan Wrestling Association which actually began as a Los Angeles-based title in the early 70s. 3. The International title -- Previously the NWA International title, which is also connected to an old JWA title. 8.2. Are Keiji Muto and The Great Muta the same person? What's with Keiji Muto and "The Great Muta"? Generally speaking, when outside of Japan, Keiji Muto wrestles as The Great Muta, and when in Japan he wrestles as Keiji Muto, his real name. However, to muddy the waters, Muto has also wrestled in Japan as The Great Muta. It has also been reported that New Japan Pro Wrestling ranks Muta and Muto separately (ie, treats them as different people). Furthermore, since 1992, Muto has used the Muta gimmick at every major card he's wrestled in New Japan. He reportedly doesn't use the Muta gimmick at smaller house shows. While there is no set-in-stone delineation between the two wrestling personas, Muto generally wrestles as a babyface and Muta wrestles as a mysterious heel. Interestingly, Muto wanted to kill the Muta gimmick (and even announced that he was done with it) but New Japan booker Riki Choshu decided to keep the gimmick around. 8.3. What's the story behind Jushin Liger? Why do some people call him Jushin Riger? Jushin Liger (real name Keiichi Yamada) started his wrestling career in early 1984, wrestling under his real name and primarily working prelim matches. In the fall of 1988, the Jushin Liger cartoon show debuted on TV- Asahi. Satoru Sayama (aka Tiger Mask) had quit New Japan five years earlier and New Japan decided they needed another character like that to attract children. The Jushin Liger cartoon became very popular and the idea of getting a wrestler to play the character seemed natural. Yamada was chosen to play Liger. In December 1988, Yamada left to go to Europe with an announced absence of two years. He left because Japanese promoters believe that you can't repackage a wrestler as a star after having him work prelims for so long. Thus, they usually send a wrestler on a tour of other areas and then promote the wrestler differently when he returns. During the absence, Yamada designed the Liger costume. Five months later, on April 29, 1989, Jushin Liger debuted defeating Kuniaki Kobayashi in the Tokyo Dome in front of 53,000 fans. The name "Jushin Liger" is widely explained as follows: Jushin is a Japanese word meaning "god of beasts" and "Liger" is a combination of the English words "LIon" and "tiGER", so the name is supposed to mean "God of Lions and Tigers". Jushin Riger is derived from how the Japanese pronounce "Jushin Liger". In Japanese, there is no distinction made between the "R" and "L" sounds, thus the name has been mistranslated and mispronounced as Jushin Riger. For what it's worth, the wrestler spells it "Jushin Liger". ------------------------------ Subject: 9. Mexico 9.1. What are CMLL, EMLL, and AAA? CMLL - Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre EMLL - Emprese Mexican de la Lucha Libre AAA - Asistencia Asesoria Administracion They are all wrestling promotions located in Mexico, kind of. The EMLL wrestlers hold the CMLL titles. The CMLL is the "world governing body" that EMLL is a part of. In reality, EMLL and CMLL are run and owned by the same people. The Triple-A is straightforward: its wrestlers hold the AAA titles. 9.2. What is Lucha Libre? Lucha Libre is a phrase that describes the professional wrestling most commonly found in Mexico and Puerto Rico. Lucha Libre is usually used to describe Mexican wrestling, which incorporates high flying, acrobatic wrestling with a sense of live theatre. Lucha Libre in Mexico is often characterized by tests of Machismo. The Mexican wrestlers will often apply what appear to be lame slaps to their opponent's chest and face not in an effort to "hurt" their opponent, but moreso as an insult to his manhood. The phrase "Lucha Libre" is an idiom that best translates to English as "the free fight". Derived from Lucha Libre is the word "Luchador", which refers to the men that wrestle the Lucha Libre style. 9.3. What's with all the masks in Mexico? The masks worn by the Luchadores are inspired by ancient Aztec traditions of masked warriors. The mask is considered the most precious thing a Luchador has. When a wrestler loses his mask, he has suffered the ultimate dishonor, the ultimate humiliation. Very few wrestlers will make it through their entire career without losing their mask. Only the true legends get to retire with their anonymity intact. El Santo (The Saint) is perhaps the most famous case of a Luchador retiring without ever being unmasked. When he died in 1984, El Santo was burried with his mask on. |9.4. I don't know Spanish, what does <some_word> mean? | Obviously, there isn't room to define every word you'll hear if you | watch a Lucha match (especially if it's done in Spanish :-). | However, here are a few words which should help you figure out a | little of what's going on: | tope (toe-pay): a flying headbutt into a standing opponent. | plancha (plahn-cha, plahn rhymes with lawn): a flying crossbody, | generally delivered from the top rope. | technicho (tek-knee-ko): a face (good guy). | rudo (rue-dough): a heel (bad guy). | caida (ky-e-da, ky rhymes with tie): pinfall. Primera caida = | first pinfall. Segunda caida = second pinfall. Tercera caida = | third pinfall. |9.5. What's with all the midgets in Lucha Libre? | Midgets are very popular in Lucha Libre. Exactly why is unknown, but | they usually work harder and have more high spots than their | American counterparts. While midgets in American wrestling are | generally used as comic relief, the midgets in Mexico are generally | part of serious matches. That's not to say that there isn't comedy | in Lucha midget matches, but it's not as prevalent as it is in | America. | Alos, it's very common to see midgets adopt the gimmicks, wrestling | style, face/heel status, and costume as their larger counterparts. | Further, midgets also adopt the name of their larger counterpart and | transform it to the diminutive; for example the "big guy" is Mascara | Sagrada and his midget counterpart is Mascarito Sagrada. Also, | there's Octagon and Octagonito. As you may have guessed, appending | "ito" to a word stem transforms that word into the diminutive case | (ie, it refers to a smaller version of the word). ------------------------------ Subject: 10. Miscellaneous 10.1. Who was the first World's Champion of professional wrestling? William Muldoon, who wrestled during the 1870s and 1880s, is widely considered to be professional wrestling's first World Champion. Muldoon retired in late 1891 after having held the Greco-Roman title since 1883. He was followed by Frank Gotch, who is considered the greatest wrestler of all time. Interestingly, many wrestling historians consider Gotch to be the most overrated wrestler of all time. Gotch retired in 1911 and again in 1915, and died in 1917. Muldoon retired undefeated. Gotch retired undefeated as world champion, but had lost a few matches earlier in his career. 10.2. Who had the longest reign as NWA, WCW, WWF, or AWA champion? Bruno Sammartino held the WWF World title for 2803 days: May 17, 1963 to January 18, 1971. Lou Thesz held the National Wrestling Association (later the National Wrestling Alliance) Heavyweight Championship for 2795 days: July 20, 1948 to March 15, 1956. Verne Gagne held as AWA World title for 2625 days: August 31, 1968 to November 8, 1975. On the women's side, Mildred Burke held/claimed the Women's World Title from 1937 to 1954. 10.3. How big is a wrestling ring? Rings vary in size, but the "standard" size (or at least the most common) is 18' x 18'. Perhaps the next most prevalent ring size is 20' x 20'. The WWF reportedly uses a 20' square ring while the WCW uses a 18' square rings. Despite how it appears on TV, the squared circle is indeed square. 10.4. What is a wrestling ring made of? Wrestling rings vary more in composition than they do in size. The most common ring ropes are usually steel cables covered with a rubbery plastic coating or colored duct tape. Many other types of ring ropes have been reported, including plain rope, barbed wire (!), rope covered with tape, painted rope, and painted garden hose over steel cable or rope. The ring floor is usually a layered affair: a layer of canvas on a layer or two of padding on a layer or two of boards on top of some sort of structural support. The padding can be anything, from old blankets to foam, to non existent. The boards are sometimes sheets of plywood layed on top of long boards (generally 2 x 12 or 2 x 10). The canvas mat is just that, a canvas mat. |10.5. Who is Steve DiSalvo? | Steve DiSalvo has wrestled all over the world, including as Steve | Strong in Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, and as the Minotaur in WCW. | He really exists. | For a short while Steve DiSalvo was an "in joke" on r.s.p-w. It | started in mid 1991 when Sean Ryan mentioned that the WCW's Diamond | Studd (really Scott Hall) resembled Steve DiSalvo. Not knowing any | better, other r.s.p-w'ers took Sean's remark to be the explanation | for the different looks of Scott Hall. Shortly thereafter, "The | Diamond Studd is not Scott Hall... It's Steve DiSalvo" posts began | showing up on r.s.p-w. | What began as an honest misunderstanding quickly mutated into | r.s.p-w'ers answering "Who is...?" questions with "It's Steve | DiSalvo!". | By early '92 the Steve DiSalvo "joke" had run its course, rearing | its ugly head every now and then. For some reason, in mid 1993 the | "joke" popped up again. This time, many newbies made DiSalvo "jokes" | in the hope that invoking DiSalvo's name would make them look cool. | By most accounts, the attempts backfired. | Editorial comment: As many other r.s.p-w old-timers will attest, the | joke has run its course and is now nothing more than an annoyance. 10.6. Did Ken Patera really spend time in jail? Yes. Patera spent 2 years in jail, primarily for assaulting a police officer early in the morning on April 7, 1984 in Waukesha WI. Patera and fellow AWA wrestler Masa Saito had wrestled that night (April 6) in Watertown WI and went drinking afterwards. Later that night they went to McDonalds (in Waukesha?) but were being too loud and were asked to leave. Patera got upset and threw a rock through a window in McDonalds. The police were called and they caught up with Patera and Saito at the Holiday Inn in Waukesha. In the process of being taken into custody, Patera and Saito roughed up the two arresting officers (one male, one female). The female officer received the brunt of Patera's anger; she walked away with a broken jaw and several missing teeth. Both Patera and Saito served time in jail: Patera for two years and Saito for a shorter period. (Saito was not only given a shorter sentence, he also was given time off for good behavior.) Upon his release, Patera jumped to the WWF and had a lively feud with Bobby Heenan and the Heenan family. Patera left the WWF and returned as "a reformed man" to the AWA where he feuded with the Destruction Crew (aka the Beverly Bros, aka Minnesota Wrecking Crew II). If you are good at research, you might want to dig through syndicated columnist Mike Royko's columns from this time. Apparently Royko was incensed at the light sentences Saito and Patera received and wrote a column about the incident. 10.7. Didn't the Ultimate Warrior and Sting wrestle together once? Yes. They received their first major exposure in Memphis, Tennessee in November 1985. Jim Hellwig (aka the Ultimate Warrior) and Steve Borden (aka Sting) wrestled under their real names as The Freedom Fighters. They were originally a face tag team but they turned heel after about 3 weeks. Toward the end of their 2 month stint in Memphis they wrestled as the Blade Runners: James "Rock" Hellwig and Steve "Sting" Borden. They soon moved to Mid-South Wrestling. After this, they split up and Hellwig wrestled as the Dingo Warrior in World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas before moving to the WWF. After a few months in the WWF as the Dingo Warrior, Hellwig received his new identity: the Ultimate Warrior. Sting moved on to Bill Watts' UWF and then on to NWA/WCW. 10.8. Have any wrestlers held belts in the AWA, NWA/WCW, and WWF in the last 15 years? Yes. Only three wrestlers have done it since 1977. The Legion Of Doom (Hawk and Animal -- The Road Warriors): AWA Tag in August 1984 NWA 6-Man Tag on 3 different occasions, starting in May 1986 NWA Tag in October 1988 WWF Tag in August 1991 Larry Zbyszko: WWF Tag w/Tony Garea in November 1978 NWA Western States Heritage Title in January 1988 AWA World in February 7, 1989 WCW Tag w/Arn Anderson in September 1991 10.9. Is Sgt. Slaughter a real sergeant? To the best of the net's knowledge, Sgt. Slaughter is not and has never been a real sergeant. 10.10. Is Big Boss Man a real prison guard? Yes, at least he was before he started wrestling professionally. And yes, he really is from Cobb County, Georgia. 10.11. Who was the Missing Link? Dewey Robertson. He started wrestling in 1965/early 1966 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He wrestled as the Crusader in the mid- 70s -- wearing all-white trunks and mask and declaring he was crusading for the return of "scientific" wrestling. Back under his real name, he was the top wrestler in Toronto in 1979/early 1980, winning the Canadian title tournament and cleanly defeating AWA champ Nick Bockwinkel and NWA US champion Jimmy Snuka. He also held the Mid-Atlantic tag team title a few times in this period and went on to be one of the top guys in Bob Geigel's Central States promotion before becoming the Missing Link. It should be noted that the Missing Link did not wrestle as Damien Demento. 10.12. What is an "outlaw promotion"? It was a promotion, usually an independent promotion, that ran against the grain. Back when regional promotions were the heart of the wrestling business (ie, before the 1980s) promoters agreed to work certain promotional areas and they actually worked with each other. When a promotion tried to start up in an established promotion's area, all of the other established promotions would send in their top stars and run megacards to kill the outlaw promotion. 10.13. What is a shoot? What are some examples? "Shoot" can mean many things, but it generally refers to when a wrestler stops cooperating with other wrestlers. A shoot can be the real thing, i.e., when a one wrestler is really trying to hurt another wrestler. A shoot can be when a wrestler changes the ending of a match. A shoot can be when a wrestler stops cooperating with the other wrestler(s) in a match just to make the other wrestler(s) look bad. Sometimes the booker will tell a wrestler to make a match a shoot to teach another wrestler a lesson. Two of the most significant "let's go at it for real" shoots took place on April 15, 1925 when Stanislaus Zbyszko defeated champion Wayne Munn and on March 2, 1936 when Dick Shikat defeated champion Danno O'Mahoney. In both cases, the match was for the world title and in both cases the champion was supposed to retain the title but didn't. Both Zbyszko and Shikat won the title by legitimatly out wrestling their opponent. A "try and hurt the other guy" shoot took place on September 2, 1985 when Satoru Sayama (aka the original Tiger Mask) faced Akira Maeda. Maeda was dq'd in 18:57 when the referee stopped the match because he felt it was getting too dangerous. The match turned from a stiff wrestling match into a genuine shooting death struggle, i.e., both wrestlers were kicking the crap out of each other and it got out of hand. Interestingly, Sayama and Maeda were co-presidents of the UWF and each wanted to take the company in a different direction. Perhaps this shoot resulted more from their business differences than anything else. Perhaps the most (in)famous shoot took place on November 19, 1987 during a match that featured Riki Choshu, Masa Saito, and Hiro Saito vs. Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, and Osamu Kido. About 12 minutes into the match, Choshu had Kido in the scorpion deathlock. Maeda walked over and visciously kicked Choshu in the face, legitimately breaking 3 bones. Choshu lunged after Maeda but the other wrestlers keep them apart. Barely a minute later Choshu (his face horribly swollen by now) pinned Takada and went after Maeda again. But again they were kept apart. By now the crowd was aware of what was happening and started chanting MA-E-DA and SHOOT since Maeda had been developing into something of a cult hero. Maeda was suspended and ultimately fired. This match is on JoMosh's first tape. Many consider Maeda's shoot kick (and his post-match taunting of Choshu) to be one of the low points of Japanese pro-wrestling. A shoot kick is a kick that is not pulled; it's the real thing. An example of a "teach them a lesson" shoot took place on April 27, 1985 when the Road Warriors (Hawk & Animal -- relative newcomers to professional wrestling) wrestled Larry Hennig & Jerry Blackwell (two veterans) in Madison, WI. The Roadies weren't selling any of H & B's moves (i.e., they were making H & B's punches/kicks/etc. look ineffective). H & B got upset and tempers flared. H & B ended up beating the Roadies up in the ring. The differences were eventually patched up but the lesson was learned. The Road Warriors now sell their opponent's moves. An example of a "teach him a lesson" shoot took place on April 29, 1986 when Andre the Giant wrestled Akira Maeda. Partway into the match, Andre stopped selling Maeda's moves. Many believe that this was a setup by the New Japan front office to teach Maeda a lesson. Maeda was known for throwing "shoot kicks" in his matches and the promoters wanted to get a message to Maeda. This shoot is widely believed to have backfired on New Japan. Instead of teaching Maeda a lesson, the shoot made Maeda look good and futher enhanced his growing reputation as a wrestler known for shooting on his opponents. Another example of a "stop cooperating" shoot took place on April 1, 1991 when John Tenta (aka Earthquake) wrestled Koji Kitao at a SWS/WWF combined show in Kobe, Japan. Kitao and Tenta were not the best of friends. Both were former Sumo wrestlers. Kitao was a Grand Champion while Tenta was just "okay" as a Sumo and had actually fled Japan when faced with the demands of the sport. Tenta also had a poor reputation as a pro-wrestler from a previous stint with All Japan Pro Wrestling. To Kitao, it was somewhat of an insult for him to job (lose) for Tenta. A few days before their April 1 match, Kitao had jobbed for Tenta at a show at the Egg Dome in Tokyo. At the Egg Dome show, Kitao was heavily booed while Tenta was heavily cheered. This was probably the straw that broke the camel's back. At their match in Kobe, Kitao had been told to do another job for Tenta. Kitao was not happy and did not want to. The match took place anyway and it quickly got out of hand. A few minutes into the match, Tenta started swearing a blue streak at Kitao, who had started shooting. This match is on Herb's first tape. Not surprisingly, the stories about what happened differed. Tenta said that Kitao did a shoot takedown on him and Kitao then refused to co-operate. Kitao said that Tenta had been instructed by the Great Kabuki to "teach Kitao a lesson" and that he (Kitao) was only defending himself. This match got a lot of mainstream attention because Kitao, who already had a bad boy superstar image, grabbed the house mic after the match and said that pro-wrestling was fake. Of course, his comments weren't shown on TV. An example of a "stop cooperating" shoot took place in January 1987 when Lex Luger was wrestling Bruiser Brody. Luger was in his last week with the promotion and he had already agreed to work for a rival promotion, which angered some wrestlers in the dressing room. A few minutes into the match, Brody stoped selling Luger's moves. A scared Luger quickly got himself DQed and left the ring in a hurry. This match is on Herb's first tape. 10.14. Who are the Von Erichs? To begin with, there are no "real" Von Erichs. The Adkisson family has used the last name "Von Erich" for their wrestling personas for years. Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich) wrestled in the 50's and 60's with a German gimmick, complete with goosestep and claw hold. He enjoyed quite a bit of success, including winning the AWA World Title in July 1963. Waldo Von Erich (real name either Bill Sheppard or Bill Siebert) is not an Adkisson. He wrestled around the same time as Fritz, forming a tag team with him. Waldo won the WWF US Tag Title w/ Gene Kiniski in 1964. Jack had six sons, five of whom were involved with wrestling. Jack's first son, Jackie, died of electrocution at age 6 in 1959. David Von Erich (nicknamed "the Yellow Rose of Texas") began wrestling on June 28, 1977. David enjoyed great success in Texas and the NWA. Like Kevin, he held many belts in WCCW, and he also held the Missouri Heavyweight title. In 1982, he traveled to Florida where he wrestled as a heel and held the Southern Heavyweight championship, the North American Tag Team title w/ Dory Funk Jr., and the Florida TV Title. This could be the only case where one of the Von Erich sons wrestled as a heel. According to resident r.s.p-w historian Gary Will (will@ecf.toronto.edu), David was scheduled to beat Harley Race for the NWA title in November 1983. But the Crocketts, who were very influential within the NWA at the time, came up with the idea for Starrcade. Jack Adkisson (aka Fritz Von Erich), who was on the NWA board, agreed to postpone David's title reign until 1984. David was given the Missouri title instead, beating Ric Flair for the belt in September 1983. By all accounts, David was well on his way to being a major star in the NWA. Sadly, David died in Japan on February 10, 1984. The official cause of death was listed as an intestinal infection, but it is widely believed that David died of an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol. David was 25. After beating Kerry Von Erich for the NWA World Title on May 24, 1984, Ric Flair held the title for over two years. Had David been alive, he almost certainly would have traded the belt with Flair during that time. Mike Von Erich' first match was on November 18, 1983 in San Antonio, where he beat Buddy Roberts. His "official" debut was 6 days later in Reunion Arena, where he beat Skandor Akbar. He won the WCCW