What does it say about WCW when Chad Brock couldn't make it onto Nitro as a wrestler, but as a country singer? Does that mean if Barry Darsow picks up an accordion, he will get to lead off the 9:00 hour?
"Diamond" Dallas Page got the Diamond Cutter from Johnny Ace who calls it the Ace Crusher, and DDP has admitted to this and thanked Ace publicly.
I noticed that you're an Arn Anderson fan, so I decided to tell you about something I found about him. I recently purchased the June Issue of WCW Magazine and in this issue there is a feature called "2 question interview".
In case you didn't know about this, the questions were:These two questions were presented to a whole bunch of WCW Wrestlers and employees like J.J. Dillon and Billy Silverman.
- "What event in history would you most like to witness?"
- "What would you like to UNinvent?"
Here were Arn Anderson's answers:
- "The first time Adam saw Eve"
- "A woman's right to nag her brains out and blame it on PMS"
In a similar fashion to when Nash did a commercial for an Atlanta-area chiropractor, Buff Bagwell has also shot a commercial locally. This one was actually more of a family project. It was for Marietta (GA) Ford, where Buff's older brother (I can't remember his name...might be Stephen) is a dealer. Buff does his usual routine saying how great he is until wrestling's favorite mama, Judy Bagwell, came and dragged Buff away by his ears (shades of when Judy came on Nitro a while back when he was still with Steiner).Overall, it was a great job for a cheesy local commercial. Better than both Nash's chiropractor and his national Monster Truck Madness commercials put together.
The commercial first ran during locally during Nitro and is probably going to run quite often over the next few weeks. It's unfortunate it's not national to let the rest of the country see one of WCW's best speakers with Jericho off holding his ground in Titanville.
The music in the Berlyn promo is "Carmina Burana" by Carl Orff.
It's used in a lot in films (notably Excalibur) as the heart pounding section. "Oh Fortuna" is one of the best examples of simple melodies in a rich orchestra sound.
By the way, the version Berlyn uses is not very good. It sounds like three women taped it in an Atlanta bathroom.
In full version, it's worthy of a Jericho entrance. It's an interesting piece of music, and some good information on it can be found at: http://www.futurenet.com/classicalnet/reference/works/o/orff-carmina.html
Just wanted to let you know that WCW Mayhem actually looks really good. I looked at the preview from www.ign64.com and most of the details come across really well, although the pyro is kinda wimpy.
The backstage brawls look impressive (although the "Security Camera" view is kind of cheesy) and in one picture it has Bam Bam Bigelow helping DDP beat up Buff Bagwell backstage, so that looks neat. Also, the game looks like it runs smoothly from the two movies that are up so far (even though both feature The Cat... ~shudder~).
While the announcing does sound rather impressive as far as quality, the voice of Tony Schiavone is really irritating. It also has a Create-a-Wrestler mode, which looks pretty neat as you can choose his allegiance, theme music, and attitude. I hope you can do that for the regular wrestlers, too, because I will not stand for Konnan to be booked as a face. It even looks like you may be able to wrestle as Flair or Arn Anderson from this pic (attached). I'm actually pretty excited, which is bad if the game is a let-down. We'll have to wait to see if WCW can screw us again (ala WCW Nitro, both the show and the game) or if there's another Revenge waiting for us.
While standing in the check-out line, two kids, a boy and a girl who could not have been older than 13, were checking out the new TV Guide with the tastefully-dressed Kimberly on the cover. The girl kept covering up Kim's body and grilling the boy:"Well, do you think she's beautiful now? Come on, what do you think?"The boy mumbled something and the girl laughed scornfully. What do you think this means?
Greg Valentine wants to climb the professional wrestling ladder one more time.
The 46-year-old wrestling star understands that the sun is setting on his career. Unlike many of his peers who have long since hung up their wrestling shoes, Valentine figures he has one more shot at the World Wrestling Federation or World Championship Wrestling before he retires.
The clock is running.
"I won't be wrestling when I'm 50," said the former tag team partner of the Honky Tonk Man.
"I want to make it back up there one final time in the next couple of years." He didn't mention a preference for which organization.
Valentine is a wrestling chip off the old block. His dad, Johnny Valentine, grappled professionally during the 50's and 60's in major venues such as the Amphitheater in Chicago and Madison Square Garden in New York City. His family name along with a strong work ethic kept Valentine from having to suffer the 'beat-me-up" training at professional wrestling schools.
He did hook up with the famous Canadian wrestling family, the Harts.
"Bret (the Hitman) Hart's dad invited me up when I was still very young," said Valentine in an interview prior to his appearance at the Johanning Civic Center Saturday night.
The Hart family proved instrumental later in his career as well as at its inception. After touring as Rhythm and Blues with the Honky Tonk Man, he became part of manager Jimmy Hart's entourage which included the Hart Foundation with Jim "the Anvil" Neidhart and Owen Hart.
"I didn't become part of the Hart Foundation but I did stand along ringside with those guys," Hammer explained. The younger Hart became a friend.
When asked about the dangers of his sport, Valentine lowered his head when speaking about the "Hitman's" younger brother..[Owen] Hart lost his life in Kansas City just a few months ago when a toggle rope broke while being lowered to the Kemper Arena floor before a match.
"Owen's death was senseless. He was afraid of heights and didn't want to do it. (Wrestling promoter) Vince McMahon wanted him to do it, so he did," reflected Valentine. The Clearwater, Florida area resident noted that unlike the Undertaker who had been lowered successfully several times before matches, there one was huge difference.
The Undertaker was supported by three hooks while Hart was fastened by only one.
Despite his wrestling heritage, Valentine didn't rest on his papa's laurels. "I worked my butt off to give a good show wherever I wrestled," he said.
Along the way, a television announcer stuck him with the moniker, "the Hammer." His deadly elbows to the head along with the ferocity of body slams earned him that nickname. Other promoters picked up on it and the name stuck.
Valentine's big break came along in 1979 while wrestling for the National Wrestling Alliance. The NWA later became part of Ted Turner's WCW wrestling empire. One promoter took a liking to him and his career soared.
"When one promoter takes a notice, it isn't long until the others follow suit," the wrestler said. By 1984, Greg was in the big time. His salary ballooned to a hefty $600,000 that year and later climbed to more than seven figures during his biggest financial bonanza.
Don't look for Valentine under the off ramps of the Florida's interstates. This is one athlete who has taken care of business both in and out of the ring.
"Most of the guys I started out wrestling with are long gone. They either didn't take care of themselves or were willing to do those high-risk acrobatic jumps off the top rope," Valentine said. Amazingly, the athlete has never suffered any broken bones during his career.
Life on the road can be brutal, however. Touring is torture whether flying in Lear Jets and staying at the Marriott or passing time in less expensive motels and driving to your next venue.
Valentine is somewhere in between. On this particular weekend, he starred at the West Virginia State Fair in Charleston on Friday night before catching a plane to Chicago and renting an automobile to come to Kokomo. That was about his twelfth consecutive show, he said.
Why does he still do it? Greg still commands a paycheck of more than six figures annually. If he made less, he would probably retire, he said.
Even the returns home can be hard, according to the wrestler. "After I've been on the road for a couple of weeks, Julie (his wife) always wants to go out. "'Go out?' I moan," he chuckled. Nonetheless, he dons his leisure clothes and takes his wife out.
What are his future plans? His says his financial future is secure so that he can live comfortably the rest of his days. He owns property and dabbles with a Monster Truck. Also, maybe Hollywood will be calling.
He has a friend who's an agent. The opportunities have been offered previously but it's impossible to be on a movie set and tour America as a wrestler simultaneously.
When Greg calls it quits, the Valentine legacy will not continue. He's the proud papa of a set of college-aged daughters. Is there a Sable in there somewhere?
"No, they're too delicate," he grinned.
That's cool. Imagine a Hammer with a soft smile.Reprinted with permission.
Written by John Young. Copyright Kokomo Perspective/Wilson Adversting, 1999.
It's actually pretty easy to explain. I'm a "WCW fan", just like some of you are Packers fans, Celtics fans or Steelers fans. You get involved with a team, you come to appreciate what they're about, and even though the players change and they might go through really horrendous seasons, you stick with them. As time goes by, your tie to them gets deeper and deeper as, getting older, you have a true sense of history of the team.
Now, say you're a Yankees fan. And, in a couple of years, they start to really suck. Sure, some people just switch to watching a winning team, and that's cool. But some Yankees fans will stay the course. And, does that mean they'll just sit there with a goofy smile on their face while there team loses? No. Will they be happy about misused players or bad trades? No. Will they bitch about bad plays? Absolutely.
So, there you have it. Questions or problems with that? If so, bug The Cubs Fan. ;-)