wrestling / Columns
Ask 411 Wrestling 08.24.11: Aches & Pains, Secrets & Lies, Parody & Copyright, More!
This is Ask 411 Wrestling, I am Mathew Sforcina, and I want to state for the record that DJ Fusion had a loaded boot on Saturday. That’s the only explanation as to how he beat me.
Ahem.
Anyway, this is Ask 411 Wrestling, as I said, but my internet connection has been slightly shotty all week, so we get an All Opinion Week again.
Yay.
But facts will pop up if they come up and I know them off hand.
Go listen to the special 50th edition of the Tom Tom Club and to 411mania’s excellent podcast. What it lacks in me it makes up for with lacking me.
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Backtalking
I (Heart) Opinion: I’ll admit that my comments about all opinion weeks are in gentle jest, they obviously aren’t the worst columns ever (that would be the Massive Q edition) but if I went into this full time it’s no longer “Ask 411 Wrestling” but “Mathew Sforcina’s Soapbox”. And only David Mitchell can pull that off.
David Mitchell’s Soapbox, not Mathew Sforcina’s Soapbox. He’s good, but he’s not THAT good.
My Wrestling Company: Well now, I think I see the major problem people have with my list. The list I gave was not where the wrestlers would be used. See, I read the question as “You can only take 12 current Main Eventers.”, not “You have 12 Main Eventers”. So I took 12 guys I wanted who are currently Main Eventers. Doesn’t mean I’d USE them as Main Eventers, just that they are at the moment Main Events are thus are part of the 12 I’d take. Hence why I needed to point out my cheating with Richards and Edwards. They are main eventers in ROH, but I took them as Midcarders since there was no Upper Midcard slots.
I mean, off the top of my head, I’d be running Cena/Orton/KK V KOW/Sara, Regal V Bryan, Del Rio would be champ and RVD and Rey would be there to get a pop, sell merch and job like motherfuckers.
And no, I would not put myself on the show. If I’m booking, I’m not wrestling. I’m sure the company would be fine without me.
Your Turn, Smart Guy…
Who am I? I was trained by someone who worked the first ever Wrestlemania. I’ve been a ninja at one point, although I was under a different gimmick in my two video game appearances. I once lost to an unmasked luchador on PPV. I was, at one point, Evil. And I once attacked Hulk Hogan in an infamous spot. Bobby Heenan didn’t like me, I once ripped off Vader, and my final major league appearance saw me Death Valley Driven, surprisingly. Who am I?
Casey lays it out nicely.
You are Ron Reis.
Trained by Big John Studd
Wrestled as Super Giant Ninja
Attacked Hogan as the Yeti
Took a DVD from Saturn
Wrestled as “Evil” in Glory Wrestling
Was Reese in two video games
Lost to Juvi at the ’98 Great American Bash
Heenan hated him because of his column in WCW Magazine
Was Big Bomb Jones, a ripoff of Vader, in Japan.
Who am I? I appeared at Clash Of The Champions V. I worked Memphis for a bit, and have feuded with someone who held the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship as well. I’m often associated with Flags, I only changed my first name when I wrestled, and one of my main tag partners had a run in ECW of all places. I am NOT Australian, but I am who?
Questions, Questions, Who’s Got The Questions?/My Damn Opinion
David starts us off with more fantasy booking. Kinda.
Hi Mat,
After reading Colin Rinehart’s report for RAW, I was one of the
unwashed masses tryign to make sense of where they could be heading
with the whole Summerslam scenario.
A thought that is a bit outside the box as the end-game, and one that
would appeal to JP Prag.
As COO, Triple H has been directed by the Board to ‘maximise value for
company shareholders’. The leeway Hunter has can be debatable.
Triple H agrees with CM Punk that Cena as Champ is a road
extremely-well-travelled, and is not in the interest of ‘maximising
shareholder value’. A stale champ does not generate viewers (Cena
doesn’t need to be Champ to sell merchandise after all).
Alongside that, CM Punk’s outspoken-ness about Triple H and his
connection to the McMahon family hits a nerve. Shareholders hate
nothing more than the Board doing under-the-table deals that hurt the
value of their shares.
So, Triple H thinks about which person as WWE Champion would be best
for ‘maximising shareholder value’. Not a stale 10-time Champ, and
not a guy who is more valuable as a outspoken outsider. So, who else
is there? … One Mr Money In The Bank, Alberto Del Rio.
WWE is all about trying to get a foothold in Mexico, Rey Mysterio is
all-merch sales (as with Cena) and no Champ credibility, and Hunter
can use someone as Champ who could be manipulated if the need arose.
In the end, of the three possible choices, Triple H would argue the
Mexican Aristocrat as WWE Champ is the best scenario for ‘maximising
shareholder value’. He tells Steph to send the text to Nash (so he
can say he did not personally send the text), and he keeps using Nash
to screw Punk around because that makes for ‘entertaining TV’.
I realise this largely ignores John Laurianitis’ role, so as a
throw-away I will say he’s being used to draw attention away from
Hunter.
What are your thoughts?
Thanks
Interesting, and possibly where they’ll go, a COOHHH/Del Rio Alliance over what’s ‘Best For Business’ would be logical. Nash as the enforcer, RR as the manager, hell give them the Fake Sin Cara as a tag partner for Del Rio.
However, I don’t think they are heading that way. I would have pegged it being Steph until Punk brought that possibility up. So now, I’m thinking it’s a third party that no-one’s considered.
Del Rio.
After all, who benefited the most from Nash beating up The Champ? And who is it that would want The Champ, not specifically Cena, nor specifically Punk, just whoever walked out as Champ, who would want that guy beat up? Who could afford to hire special phone hacking equipment and/or have a lackey able to sneak about and get HHH’s phone? Who has come out of this smelling of roses and with the title firmly around his waist (which is damn good to see, someone WEARING the bloody thing… And yes, I know the irony of me wanting people to wear belts when I don’t myself). Del Rio.
That said, they’ll probably make it Steph or HHH anyway, and then have the other one feud with them, since as it being Lévesque V Lévesque that’s totally fresh and original.
Addy asks about backstage wrestler’s antics.
Hi Mathew,
I recall you writing that the locker room atmosphere is very frat-like and that one of the requirements of getting along backstage is to party with the other guys. Makes sense, but it’s got me wondering about what that means for guys like Daniel Bryan, a socialist vegan, and CM Punk, whose legit straight edge. They’re two of the hotter properties right now but neither of them seems likely to fit in with hard party-types. Does that kind of thing result in an antagonistic relationship with the more established workers? What’s the backstage tolerance level for the un-bro-like dudes?
Thanks in advance for any reply
Depends on the locker room. Some locker rooms are more welcoming than others, and often if there’s no old school presence, you’ll find it a lot less party like. If all the wrestlers are in their 20’s, they’ll probably just compare protean shakes and talk about last week’s UFC PPV.
But, there’s two main ways to remain in the good books. You can prove yourself, or maintain the stance.
See, Edge is an example of a guy who was a teetotaller, or at least was not at all a party guy. But when he came in, one of the first times they asked him out, he went, and kept up drink for drink. He proved he could hang with the guys, and so when he then didn’t drink later on, they didn’t mind, he was a bro.
However, it’s mainly about respect, about being one of the guys. Punk goes out with the boys, he just doesn’t drink, and he’s 100% consistent about it. Bryan is, by all accounts, not a party goer. When I met him he was more interested in finding a good Vegan restaurant than anything else. But he is also a very nice guy, he gets on with everyone, and that’s good too.
It’s the same idea as why Goldust and Booker are complaining about The Young Bucks (supposedly) not shaking hands. You don’t have to mark out for people (actually that’s discouraged) but saying hi and shaking hands is a sign of respect. Wrestling is built on respect, because without you don’t have trust, and without trust, then there’s no wrestling, since when you step into those ropes, you’re trusting your opponent, your partner, the ref, everyone, with your life.
If you party, awesome. If you don’t, and stick with it, and are a nice guy, you’ll be accepted. It’s the complainers, the whiners, the bitches, those are the people who get picked on and ostracized.
Mike asks about an angle I brought up last week.
Hey man,
I know you hear this a lot but your column really is the one cloumn i make a special effort to read every week.
Anyways quick question, you included the main event of Over The Edge 1998 in your top 10 angles of all time, so i you tubed it to watch the Austin – Dude Love match.
I remember the angle but can’t remember why the Undertaker was involved in the main event?
Why did he care what happened to Austin he had his own problems to deal with?
Thanks
Taker came out because Vince had stacked the deck against Austin, with Patterson, Brisco and himself, back when that was fresh and interesting.
Anyway, the point was, the fix was clearly in, so Taker, being a fair minded individual (at the time) and also a man who was not a fan of Vince’s at this point AND not afraid of Vince came out to play Special Guest Enforcer, although for the first time he was enforcing the rules on the referee as opposed to the wrestlers.
Basically the idea was he was a good guy who wasn’t afraid of Vince who stepped up to make sure Vince played it fair, which was also a sublte nod to his role as the Locker Room Leader. Although that may or may not have been intentional, but then it’s Russo so he probably assumed everyone got that.
And now onto my favourite subject, myself. Josh?
So a lot of people are like me in that ASK411 Wrestling is their favorite thing on the website. So how do you do it? What is a typical week for you? How do you select questions to answer? I’ve submitted many questions and they all have been answered but I have notice that sometimes it can take 6 months to see my question but there are times when it only takes 1 or 2 weeks. Do you have any helpers? Are there any questions that you flat out will not answer?
Thanks!
It’s nowhere near that organised. I do this in one sitting. I get home from my day job at about 9pm or so Tuesday night, spend an hour or two fiddling about with stuff, and then I just start writing till about 3-4am.
I’ve tried doing it in stages, but I don’t work like that, I can’t really do an answer here, an answer there, I kinda need to start going and then it gets rolling and I hang on. I’ve tried doing it at other times, but I’ve formed too much of a habit to staying up Tuesday nights to do it at other times.
Questions… I tend to toss ahead any that are time based (like the “Where is Summerslam’s Cell Phone Angle Going” one above), or are very interesting and/or very easy if it’s a week like this week where I know I can’t go full bore research. Like how this question got moved up. If a question is difficult, or part of a long list, or is a mix of both fact and opinion or something like that, it’ll get put on the end of the list. I try to do the first couple of questions from the list each week, and try to make the question list shorter than when I began adding on this week’s emails. Don’t always work out that way. I have no real themes or anything when I pick questions. I just look at it, decide if I’ll do it, then either cut and paste or move onto the next one.
I do have helpers, in that some questions I palm off because I know Byers will know more about Japan than I will or Ari will blow my ROH knowledge out of the water.
But in terms of looking up stuff, nah, it’s all me, plus my friends Google, Youtube, Wiki, Online World of Wrestling, History of WWE, DDT Digest, The Dunn List…
I answer everything unless it’s something I’ve already covered, or is about backstage stuff directly related to me either about the site or about who I meet and wrestle with in AWF. So I won’t ask Dick Togo anything on behalf of you guys when he wrestles at PsychoticSlam at Blacktown RSL This Saturday Night!
Yep.
Levi discusses Sting and The Ultimate Warrior.
Hi Matt, I had a few questions for Ask411 Wrestling and wasn’t sure if I e-mail you directly or post them on the comment section. Anyway, my questions regard The Ultimate Warrior and Sting.
Email. ALWAYS Email.
1.) In your opinion, what is the more historically significant match; The Ultimate Warrior vs. Hulk Hogan at ‘Mania 6 or Sting vs. Ric Flair at The Great American Bash 1990?
Warrior V Hogan. Sting/Flair is the most important match of Sting’s career (in a positive way, Sting/Hogan Starrcade 97 is more important overall but is mostly negative) but Hogan/Warrior shaped the WWE more than Flair/Sting did, and since WWE is still around, Warrior/Hogan is more significant.
2.) Do Sting and the Warrior get along, in other words, has one of them ever made a negative remark regarding the other?
I remember Warrior saying something bad in 09…
*goes searching, taking much longer than he should thanks to his net being all crappy*
Here we go, early 2009.
On Sting: “Steve Borden is a piece of garbage. Just recently, I saw Steve for the first time since our time in WCW and he didn’t even acknowledge me. He wasn’t even on tour with TNA, yet he was carrying his belt around like some kind of big shot. We were never friends, even when we did work together, but you would think the guy would at least nod his head at me or something.”
So yeah, apparently Warrior isn’t a fan. What a shock, Ultimate Warrior doesn’t like someone. In response, I found an off hand comment from Sting about Warrior.
Sting says he really didn’t get to know him because he only spent 12-14 months with him at the beginning of his career, but remembers him being very intense and very paranoid.
So there you go. Kinda ruins the traditional view that they are buddy buddy.
3.) From what I have seen, it seems like Sting was clearly being set up to be NWA/WCW’s version of the Warrior, with the facepaint, the bodybuilder look, and the no-selling everything, and then winning the title a few months after the Warrior did. Even Sting’s original entrance music is very similar to the Warriors’. I know they both used facepaint back in their bladerunner days, but everything else seems like it was a direct response to the Warriors’ push in the WWE. So, the question is, was Sting hesitant to be pushed in this way? And did Vince McMahon or the Warrior ever make any statement about Sting being pushed in this way?
Not to my knowledge. I think both sides knew that there were similarities, which was obvious, but both felt they had the superior one and thus they didn’t mind the ‘cheap knock off’. But I’m happy to be proven wrong, as always.
4.)It seems like Sting was much more reliable than the Warrior. In your opinion, if McMahon had Sting rather than the Warrior at ‘Mania 6, and he won the title, would he have been more successful than the Warrior? Or would things have played out similarly to how they actually did, with Hogan eventually regaining the title? Thanks! Your column is great, I read it every week.
I think if Vince had Sting, he wouldn’t have been pushed like Warrior. Certainly he wouldn’t have been in the main event of WM6. Warrior was more like what Vince wanted in a champion, Sting would have had to work in the midcard a bit longer. Ron Gamble’s take was close, although I dispute the idea that Sting against Big Guys wouldn’t work.
Anyway, in the unlikely event Sting was in the main of WM6 and won the belt, Hogan would have gotten the belt back, in that he was going to get the belt back regardless, since he didn’t leave. But Sting would certainly have stuck around, and probably worked out better in the long run overall.
For all of Warrior’s problems and insanity and stuff, the guy WAS over in his first run, moreso than I think Sting would have been in the same position. But then, that’s being somewhat harsh on Vince. He might well have pushed Sting to the moon…
Bill asks a couple questions.
1. After seeing an interview with the Rock and all his belts in the background and I have a picture with DDP and his belt in 2004. Do Champions keep the belt they won and a new one is made for the next champ, or do they go and get one for themselves and a new name plate put on the old one?
They get a replica title, either given or bought at a discount, that point is still debated. The proper belts stay in circulation, the ‘Hero’ title is much nicer than the replicas.
As a rule, if it’s on TV, it’s the Hero/Best version, if it’s a house show or hanging up in their living room, it’s a replica, same as what you can buy via WWE.com, albeit with nameplate.
2. Opinion Question. Who is the new Victoria of WWE? (Underutilized/over qualified) It looks to be a contest between Gail Kim, Nattie Neidhart, and Beth Phoenix.
Thanks
Well, this one’s got a whole other view on it now, huh.
Um…
Given that Beth and Nattie are being pushed, Gail’s quit, and Kharma’s out, you’re down to taking someone like Rosa Mendes. So I guess you can argue that the Divas’ division’s well sorted right now.
That’s rather sad actually.
Michael has a couple questions.
First, it’s been well documented about Shawn Michaels dalliance with Sunny. Has there ever been any stories/rumors about him popping Sherri when she was his manager?
We’ve covered this, and the answer I gave was “No” while the comments section seemed to think Shawn had indeed, using some crude vernacular, Tapped That. But they couldn’t give proof beyond Shawn being… Well, Shawn.
Secondly, I’d heard for years about HBK-Angle’s WM match being one of the greatest ever. And I was pumped to see it as I believe, they may be the two best in ring workers I’ve ever seen. When I finally got around to it last year, I felt let down. A good match to be sure, and the end was great with HBK holding out for as long as he could before tapping, but the match felt mostly slow to me. I know people will say that HBK confused Angle by wrestling at first but to me, it just slowed the match down.
I greatly prefer their rematch(can’t remember what card but it was in Vegas). Much more action, more moves, Angle seemed super aggressive, and the superkick at the end was great(as was the one before the final one).
Now it’s my opinion, but am I that out of line for thinking the rematch is the better match?
Thank you and appreciate the time as always
And the rematch was at Vengeance.
On one level, of course not, it’s your opinion, you’re entitled to it. That said, I can see your point.
WM was the first match, plus it was at WM, plus it saw HBK tap out. All that lead to it being hailed as an awesome match. Plus it was more of a throwback to the Flair style match, the old school style wrestling match. Whereas Vengeance was more a modern WWE take on it, building off the first one. So I personally can see the argument that the second one was superior, but then I can see the argument that the first one was better. It comes down to personal preference. I seriously doubt anyone’s gonna hunt you down with pitchforks and burning torches because you rank 2 over 1.
They might call you names below, but that’s about it.
Roman is up next.
Hey matthew, love the column. Have one question for ya. I was watching wrestlemania on sunday, and something during the hhh vs taker match made me ask myself this question. HHH hit undertaker with a tombstone and went for a pin. Now, i was about 99.9% certain he wasn’t going to win. Now this is the question. Has there been any instances of wrestlers actually scoring a pinfall after they hit their opponent with their own finisher? I vaguely remember seeing somethign like that a few years back, but i can’t remember. Everyone always kicks out of their own finisher. Rock hitting austin with stunners, angle stealing moves from everyone during his matches, but it never leads to a pinfall.
Thanks in advance.
Sure they do. Hell, HBK won the WWF Title off of Bret with Bret’s own move!
Now then, I’m thinking, but most of time it’s either using a third guy’s move (I remember Orton beating Maven with Sweet Chin Music to send a message to HBK) or the feud is over the move (Eddie winning the IC title off of RVD with the Frog Splash, for instance). But outside of video games, there have been a few examples.
Yoko pinned Hogan with the leg drop at King of the Ring 1993.
Owen Hart pinned Triple H at Over The Edge 1998 with the Pedigree.
Jericho pinned The Rock right before Vengeance 2001 with The Rock Bottom, plus Benoit pinned Angle with the Angle Slam during their 2/3 falls match at Judgement Day 2001. And Mickie James pinned Trish with the ‘Mick Kick’. And I think Doug Williams pinned AJ Styles with the Styles Clash at one point.
And then there’s submissions, with Lethal making Flair tap to the figure four, Angle and Benoit making each other tap during Ultimate Submission, and Backlund/Hart at WMXI.
So it has happened.
Rich S has a list for us.
Hey great column,
I wanted to share my list of the top 50 greatest/favorite superstars ever in WWE wrestling history. My criteria is based around what the superstar means to the WWE, wrestling history of the modern era, title acclumation, loved/hated, wrestling ability, the overall greatness of the superstar, wanted to see your thoughts and spark some debate. thanks
My Top 50 WWE Superstars Of All Time
1.Hulk Hogan
2.Steve Austin
3.Bruno Sammartino
4.Shawn Michaels
5.The Undertaker
6.Bret Hart
7.The Rock
8.John Cena
9.Chris Benoit
10.Randy Savage
11.Andre the Giant
12.Chris Jericho
13.Triple H
14.Kurt Angle
15.Eddie Guerrero
16.Mr. Perfect
17.Mick Foley
18.Roddy Piper
19.Ric Flair
20.Edge
21.Rey Mysterio
22.Ultimate Warrior
23.Ricky Steamboat
24.British Bulldog
25.Owen Hart
26.Bob Backlund
27.Superstar Billy Graham
28.Sgt. Slaughter
29.Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase
30.Randy Orton
31.Jake the Snake Roberts
32.Harley Race
33.Dusty Rhodes
34.Pedro Morales
35.Terry Funk
36.Jeff Hardy
37.Kane
38.Diesel
39.Yokozuna
40.Buddy Rogers
41.Ravishing Rick Rude
42.Rob Van Dam
43.Superfly Jimmy Snuka
44.Jerry the King Lawler
45.Razor Ramon
46.Booker T
47.Brian Pillman
48.Magnificient Muraco
49.Christian
50.Big Show
My thoughts are that you cannot reach a consensus on any sort of best ever list unless you define the parameters to such a degree that there’s no choice in the matter. The only way to get consensus is to make it a categorical, objective list. And that removes the fun.
But Benoit in 9’s gonna bring the hate.
Richard has two questions.
Great column. Been a wrestling fan for a LONG time and would like to ask 2 questions. I’ll try to keep them quick.
1. Why does the WWE,in your opinion, have such contempt for tag team wrestling. I grew up on The Road Warriors, Midnight Express, R & R EXPRESS, DEMOLITION and on and on. Seems like the perfect way to use the whole roster and give some guys exposure and a shot who are now lost in the machine. What do you think?
WWE has such a contempt because Vince, most of the time, focuses on singles stars. He sees the major money in the world title, in the one on one programs. Tag team wrestling is a side bar, a gimmick, like women or midgets cruiserweights. He’ll give it attention if something catches on, but he’s focused on the main prize, and that’s a major name in a single’s program. Because he wants a roster filled with superstars, not super teams.
2. I am just now catching up with SHIMMER. I realize they are a small independent, but some of those women can really wrestle. I have seen “Kharma” used better there and giving better matches than anything in TNA (except w/Gail Kim) and they have/had a champion called MsChif who had a great gimmick, a good look and could/can really wrestle. What is the deal with her regarding any interest from the “majors”?
Thanks in advance and again, great column.
Well, she’s in ROH technically, so again, time. But while she has made at least one appearance in TNA…
I’d put the video here but I can’t find it.
She has a day job as a microbiology laboratory scientist that she seems unwilling to give up. So any interest from the big leagues is unlikely to lead anywhere, unless they offered big money for her to leave her micro job.
…
Yeah, that sucked.
Sin…? (the name’s been lost) has a few questions.
The column is awesome, you totally frickin’ rule, and all that other noise too.
Got some name questions.
In WCW around 96-97, Mike Rotunda/IRS changed his name from “Mr. Wallstreet” to “VK Wallstreet”. Was the ‘VK’ meant to be some kind of jab at Vincent Kennedy McMahon by Biscoff and company or was there some other meaning to why they decided to go with those two particular initials?
Yes, yes it was. Same as Virgil/Vincent/Shane. Bookers love making jabs at each other.
On that same note, when The Sandman wrestled for WCW in 99, was the reason he changed his name to Hak/Hardcore Hak because of some kind of copyright on the name “Sandman”? If so, who did the name belong to? ECW? Marvel? Metallica?
Apparently yes, The Sandman was trademarked. DC has owned the trademark for it in terms of comics for years.
As a wrestler, WWE owned it from 2007-2008. Sandman himself filed for it between 1999 and 2002 but H H G Corporation had it between 1997 and 2006. HHG Corp is better known as… ECW.
Finally, why is it that CM Punk was still allowed to use his indy name when others like Bryan Danielson, Colt Cabana, Mistico, ect. had to go through name changes when they joined WWE?
Thanks again! Column rocks and so do you!
Once again, Punk got in with a favourable wind with Heyman’s blessing plus WWE didn’t think he’d get over and the policy that all new guys have new names to be owned was not yet written in stone.
Might make a gif of that, it pops up enough times…
The Notorious BigHustle asks about redubbing.
What’s up. Great column, I make it a point to read every week. Anyway, my question involves WWE Classics On Demand and other programming that utilizes WWE’s vast tape library. I understand why they dub over certain entrance themes because of rights and what have you. But why on earth do they dub over things like the ring announcer? Several times, it’s painfully clear that they are dubbing over Howard Finkel’s voice for something that sounds more like a Fink impersonator doing a Smackdown vs Raw create-a-wrestler entrance. And keep in mind, this doesn’t always happen when they dub over things like “…for the WWF Championship.” I’m watching Austin vs HBK from WM14 and they clearly dub the ring announcer’s voice when the referee ejects Triple H and Chyna. So what’s up?
This is done usually for one of two reasons.
One, in reviewing the tape, the announcement is not quite clear enough. Live, they had no option but to keep going, but when they have the chance to redo it, they will.
Or secondly, they redo the music, and in redoing the music to a theme they don’t have to pay as much for, they have to redo the announcements since they have to replace it and the theme at the same time.
Either way, yes, it becomes somewhat obvious what’s going on, but what can you do…
Kyle finishes us up.
Hey 411
Brilliant website and this is my favourite column – real dedication to the cause and its all appreciated! I hope you could answer a few questions
1) Is there a lot of macho bravado with injuries – so do some wrestlers not mention they have aches, pains and potential injuries so they dont come over as ‘wussy’ or are they sensible and declare it there and then if they think something is going to affect them going forward
It’s not so much bravado as it is what comes with the territory. I mean, I’ve had some pains in my neck from getting slammed, some lower back pain, and I have a recurring problem with my right foot (Achilles Tendon Enthesopathy to get technical) that’s only recently cleared up. If you have something that impacts on your performance, you bring it up when planning the match (I can’t run much, so no criss crossing.), and if it’s major, then you, in theory, call it. But if you’re making a lot of money or it’s a big match… I worked a match with a major foot injury. Luckily it was a big elimination tag, so my in ring work was maybe 30 seconds worth.
But while complaining is seen as being wussy, it’s more that it’s part of the job rather than any sense of bravado.
2) What is the Undertaker doing with his time off – I dont mean the character but is Mark Calaway just having downtime at home or is he backstage a lot.
He’s at home, looking like a cancer patient.
3) Finally a question thats bugged me for a while now. In the 2008 Royal Rumble, legend has it only Vince, a few high up people and Cena knew he was returning that night. But how did the wrestlers left in the ring know that Cena was meant to win it, who he would meant to eliminate, what the final 3 would be and who they must of thought number 30 was going to be in the first place?
Thanks mate
In any Rumble, you only focus on what you’re doing. It’s hard enough to remember when you come in, who you toss when, and how you leave, without worrying about what everyone else does.
Now, at the time, they might had told them HHH was winning, or kept it a surprise, but either way, only those directly involved with Cena, i.e. those in the ring at the time, would be told. And even then, they might only have included those who would interact with him. The night Cena debuted on Raw, for instance, only Jericho, Christian and Tomko knew.
You tell those directly involved, but everyone else, you just not bother, since they don’t need to know. If they ask, you just lie or keep your lip buttoned. But again, if you’re being tossed at 17, you don’t care what happens next.
And on that note, goodnight all, see you next week, hopefully back to regular systems…
