Topic: Ask me anything wrestling related

Ok, since it's a new year I decided to start something new. In this thread you can ask me anything you want about pro wrestling, be it my thoughts on an angle from the 80's or what certain people are like behind the scenes or anything else you can think of. If I know, I'll answer it (although I have to keep some things secret, you know to protect the identity of the those involved if it's something questionable and to keep it at a level to not get it banned by the mods lol).

I'll come here and answer them at around 10 pm central time every night, so if you ask a question check back the following day for the answers.

Is wrestling real, or just a show?

Watcha gonna do when the hulkster runs wild on YOU

First, who was in the Gobbledy Gooker suit?

Secondly, who was the coolest "big name" wrestler you ever got to work with?

And I quote:
Are you a true Cole Miner?

@ The Fox: I beieve that was Hector Guerrero bother of the late Eddie Guerrero that was the original Gobbledy Gooker.

How hard is it for someone to get into the Pro Wrestling business?

How insane is the Warrior and does he ever make any sense? And why is he so over the top nuts?

It was? What a terrible fate to befall someone from one of the biggest families in the business.

I dont know if he wanted to take the role or what. I dont know if this is true of his early years but he seems to like to work behind the scenes more. I know that currently he works for TNA as the Spanish announcer and a road agent. The reason that I found out about it was because of a WWE video about Eddie Guerrero where Eddie said that it was his brother, Hector.

oh yes, i would love to know if the way he comes across on the internet is how he behaves IRL, and also, has he always been that particular brand of crazy-intense? :3

@Fierce- We aren't out there trying to hurt each other (well, usually not, there are times you have to give someone a payback. Especially if they are dangerous in the ring and not protecting the other guys. We don't have insurance so being injured is money out of our pocket and something we don't like to occur to each other) and the finishes are planned. So yes, it's just a show but we do hurt afterwards, I mean just the impact from our back hitting the "mat" (usually plywood with a thin carpet over it) and our ribs hitting the ropes make about 90% of the people who try it quit pretty soon.

@Aviator- Really the only protection you have from harm is yourself and the others you are working with. You put a lot of trust into the guys to know what they are doing and vice-versa. When it comes to stuff like "hardcore" stuff you see a lot of cheap cookie sheets and trash cans because they are light and do less injury but make a lot of noise and never, NEVER hit someone in the head with an unprotected shot (either with their hand or just the angle of the shot like hitting the ring post and making it look like it hit their head). Jeff Hardy recently hit Ken Anderson with a chair in the back of the head and caused a concussion (and is getting a lot of heat over it, too) and since the Benoit murders that is the elephant in the room so to speak when it comes to injuries.

@Jump- Met Hogan, saw him a few months ago and his Hulkamania isn't running anywhere. It's amazing the lack of bumps he took in his career and to see him as broken down as he is now. I think he had his 12th back surgery recently. Maybe it's karma paying him back from holding so many people down over the years.

@Fox- As it was said, Hector Guerrero was the Gooker as for the biggest name I worked with well, in a match it would be Scott Hall, being in the ring with during an interview it would either be Flair or Piper.

@WAM- And I quote, "No, I am not a Cole Miner". I feel that if he is going to be a heel, he needs to be a heel and quit rooting for people like Cena and saying it's unfair when say, Nexus beats him down but then look the other way when A-Ri and Miz beat down Orton. He needs to study what Bobby Heenan or Jesse Ventura used to do during commentary and follow that outline. The key to being a heel is making it seem like you are believing in what you are doing, by flip flopping Cole just looks like he has no idea what he's doing and makes Mark Adamle look like Jim Ross.

@Tasuki- It's not really that hard anymore, there are lots of schools run by former wrestlers that can get you a spot somewhere. When I first started up (back in 1992, I was training while in high school) you pretty much had to know someone in the business. I was lucky that my uncle used to sell "party supplies" to some of the guys so I had my "in". Just be aware that its a lot of travel, low pay, eating cold sandwiches and paying your dues- you basically become a vagrant unless you find a promotion near you that keeps you in an area you can find a place or live at home. It's also a lot of rejection, politics, playing favorites and other things that happen in every other line of work. Don't let me get you thinking it's all bad, but there are a lot of people who can't handle it, it's all a matter of priorities and if the good outweighs the bad then it's a great business IMO.

@Crystal- The Warriors character was just that, a character. His promos were supposed to be over the top insane. I tend to agree with a lot of what Warrior (not the character but the real Warrior, I'll just call him by his old name James) James says. Once he got out of the business he became a speaker and pushes Conservative values. Without going into too much politics, people on the left find Conservative values insane because for the most part Liberals seem to want all forms of lifestyles okay-ed except the more traditional ones. I'm not saying it's every Liberal who feels that way, but the most outspoken ones are the people who get their ideals out there and they tend to be the ones who think Piss-Christ is a genuine work of art but feel that the Ten Commandments don't belong in this world. They are the same people who rant and rave but then say a Conservative is crazy for saying something because it's the opposite of what they want.

May I have your attention PLEASE, and I quote:
Michael Cole is the best thing to happen to Wrestling!

@WAM: WHAT?

Cole could be great, I'm not denying that. But I just feel that with MCMahon being so involved in what the announcers say and his insistence that Cena be everyone's favorite he hurts the announcing crew and keeps them from being what they once were. I know I mentioned Heenan before but he is (again IMO) the best color man ever in the history of wrestling (Ross or Solie being the best Play by Play guys). Find the 1992 Royal Rumble and listen to the commentary as Flair came closer and closer to winning it. Heenan seemed to be so into it, he was exhausted after the event. His commentary made you feel like he had a real stake in it (at the time he was Flair's Personal Advisor in storyline).

Maybe if they'd officially state why Cole has his Mizgasms and he would refer to him as the epitome of what a wrestler should be (say Cena is fighting the Undertaker and 'Taker gets Cena up for the Tombstone he could say "Well Miz would never be put in that situation" or "Miz would've already had both of these guys put away") and just tie him in as much as possible. It get's Cole over as a heel while still being able to call the matches with his "Dammit, that's not right!" and "Vintage Kofi Kingston"

Then again speaking just as a fan, i root for the bad guys. I always have. Heels are more fun and I don't find Cole that much fun On that same hand, I'm also a wrestler so I notice a lot of the little things that others don't and things like the anonymous GM and what Cole has to do with Miz have dragged on so long that it's gotten more annoying than entertaining.

Hope that made sense.

Why was Bret allowed to leave for WCW?

Why wasn't Owen better protected on the night of his death and why was he doing such a stupid gimmick (blue bazer)?

Edit: one more, not Hart related - Why isn't Randy Savage in the Hall of Fame?

And I quote:
@theblackdragon I see your not a true Cole Miner?
http://i46.tinypic.com/2ldceqb.gif

Obviously, WWE is the "big league" these days. As an actual wrestler, how do you feel about Vince's de facto policy of de-emphasizing the actual in-ring product to the point where they're not even referred to as "wrestlers" any more but "superstars" (one of the recent RAWs with Punk on commentary even had Cole -- clearly via a headset-prompt of Vince -- correcting him (Punk) when Punk called himself a wrestler)?

And what are your views on tag team wrestling (something else that the McMahon clan evidently despises)? Personally, i love it when it's handled right; thankfully ROH is keeping it strong, along with TNA (though TNA's division, while still good, isn't quite what it was just a few years ago).

(BTW, cool topic thread idea, RR!)

Bret's contract was outrageous. The amount of money he brought in wasn't nearly enough to pay for his contract. On top of that WWF at the time was losing money left and right to WCW and the new(ish)ly formed nWo. So Vince allowed Bret to try to make a deal with WCW while still under contract with WWF (unheard of before or after) and to break their deal when he got a better one. The whole Montreal thing really was Bret's fault IMO. When you are leaving a company you do the right thing and pass on the torch to someone else, it doesn't matter if you like them or if you're in your hometown, you do what's best for the people that got you where you are. Looking back, if it had never happened the way it did we'd never have the Attitude era like we did and Austin wouldn't have become as big as he did. In hindsight, I think the Montreal Screwjob was the best thing that ever happened to the business. It's too bad WCW was too stupid to use Bret the right way after it and take advantage of what they had handed to them or they might still be here, then again it's another example of Hogan holding someone back and making himself the story (Starrcade match with the "fast count" when Bret made his in ring appearance)

I don't know about what happened in St. Louis with Owen, but he was doing the Blue Blazer gimmick as a form of punishment for not agreeing with storylines involving him sleeping with Debra and other things he refused to do based on things he didn't want his kids seeing. It was a dumb gimmick, but Owen somehow made it work. I think it's a testament to how good he was that he could take that and make it one of the most entertaining things on the show. I had the opprotunity to meet Owen a few times and you couldn't meet a nicer person. If you met him once, he knew you for the rest of his life; he remembered me after not seeing him for almost three years. I'm glad I can call him my friend and glad that I got to tell him that in my opinion, he was the best wrestler in the world when it comes to the total package. He then tied my boots together. That's how I remember him.

Thanks for that question, billy. Brought back a lot of good memories.

Thanks for anwering my questions so eloquently.

A WINNER IS YOU!