wrestling / Columns
The Wrestling 5 & 1 04.20.13: Sasha Banks vs Audrey Marie!
So check this out, guys! My beautiful 17-inch Pavilion m7 HP laptop (ok, it’s nothing special…) decided to be a little bitch and stop charging. I’ve pinpointed the issue and have to send the sumbitch in, which means I’ll be without a pc for roughly two and a half weeks. I’m doing what I can to assure that this column doesn’t suffer, but since it happened pretty much whilst writing, I have opted to include some previously written material into the column. You guys tend to like me, so I figure you’d let me slide, right?
Greg: Fuck that shit, fix your computer and get back to work, foo!
Anyways, for the next two weeks, you will be reading (or scrolling past) my piece on Hip Hop and Wrestling: When World’s Collide. It ran during WrestleMania Week, and was pushed down due to the bevy of columns (all of which, admittedly, were more Mania-centric than that of which I wrote. In an effort to not have you guys claw your eyes out, Greg is willing to put forth some more material while I run the WWC pieces over the next couple of weeks, so don’t worry, you will still be getting the beautiful words of one of the two of us! I promise!
BRING ON THE GIRLS!
Versus
With Tony Acero
Last week, we got a bit of a surprise (at least to me), with Paige winning in a landslide against Summer Rae. This week, I’m visiting the roster of NXT again to pick two lovely ladies!
VS
The poll expires Tuesday night, and you can vote once every 12 hours. Now get voting!
I pretty much voted Paige by default. She’s a cute sexy petite chick, but definitely shouldn’t sniff the HOB. Summer Rae is just a generic blonde. Torrie, Trish, Taryn, and Maryse could wipe her out like nothing.
I get taking a handful of minutes from Rock/Cena, but why give it to Dolph’s MITB? The WWE played it PERFECtLY with the Raw cash-in.
Punk/Taker should’ve closed the show. I thought Rock/Cena would have delivered, but they really just redid last years match, except you already knew the result, and Rock’s injury slowed things down. – SS87
Summer Rae is doing a great job of being Maryse V2.0. That said though, Paige has a cult following that’s going to be hard for her to lose to Summer. I like both but still, a lot of people are going one way it seems.
BTW, Scarlett is absolutely gorgeous. What a woman. I liked her match at ROH TV last Saturday, good stuff lol. – SS87
I was completely shocked as to how well Paige did. If anything, this is all a sign that points towards the fans getting tired of the blonde chicks. Not that blondes aren’t hot, but it seems to be the go-to Diva, ala Kelly Kelly. I mean, both girls are pretty, but this really seemed like a vote for skills moreso than looks, and that surprises the hell out of me. I agree with the MiTB cash-in on RAW. I hadn’t felt that much of a fan in years, and it was done so well. I think perhaps it could have happened at Mania, too, but we’ll never know and I’m perfectly ok with holding onto the moment from RAW. As for Taker/Punk ending Mania, I think the match we saw was Main Event worthy, but the story that was told beforehand didn’t warrant a main event spot.
As for Scarlett….she is beyond beautiful, and funny to boot.
Can we get a feet pic? – Tony Atlas
I chose not to vote because I’d like to be able to decide without a pop-up ad covering 75% of the photo. – Mike Mars
You’re what’s wrong with America.
Now THAT is how you’re supposed to do the “And 1” Model presentation. Throw a few pics up, no more of this banner bullshite please! Thanks – CMWolf
Your voice has been heard! I’ll see what I can do in the future.
Is The Post WrestleMania Hangover In Full Effect?
By Greg DeMarco
WrestleMania 29 has come and gone. John Cena is the WWE Champion again. The Rock is a Hollywood actor again. The Undertaker is (almost) gone again. Triple H is semi-retired again.
What else do we have?
Well, Dolph Ziggler is World Heavyweight Champion…again? Yes, again. But that first time doesn’t really count.
The World Heavyweight Championship is relegated to being a second tier championship—again.
CM Punk is gone—for now. He’s taking time off, but he’ll be back.
The only available opponents for Team Hell No seem to be The Prime Time Players. Again.
There are no compelling reasons to watch the Divas division. Again.
Ryback turned heel, but it’s assumed to be so John Cena can overcome the big, bad heel. Again.
Sheamus is feuding with Mark Henry. Again.
Am I just being a smarky internet smark? Maybe. But the ratings agree with me. The WWE’s ratings are steadily declining. But guess what? So are TNA’s. I’d imagine independent attendance is going to take a dip as well. Think Ring of Honor’s Border Wars will do as many iPPV buys as Super Card of Honor? Think again!
The post-WrestleMania hangover is here. Fandango’s popularity is already spotty, as ChaChaLaLa has been successful, but not to the level of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” Brock Lesnar is headed to a third collision with Triple H, this time inside the confines of an unforgiving steel cage.
There are bright spots. We could see an NXT talent or two get called up to the roster. The Shield is still undefeated and crazy over. Despite losing clean to Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler is still in fact a world champ. CM Punk will eventually come back. Money In The Bank will get us excited about someone like Antonio Cesaro, Wade Barrett, Cody Rhodes or Damien Sandow holding the briefcase. We’ll have a PPV over the next few months that will shock and surprise us.
Things aren’t dire, but the WrestleMania Hangover is an unavoidable byproduct of the Road To WrestleMania. The WWE will have a hard time combating this in future years. The brand extension is done, so we have no draft. We just need to have patience, and hope for the best!
And hell, don’t forget. WrestleMania 30 is just around the corner!
You Decide: Are you feeling the post-WrestleMania hangover?
Hip Hop Is Born:
When asked where hip hop started, my easy answer is simple: 1970’s The Bronx. There’s no way around my answer to that question as there is nothing inconclusive about it. Hip-Hop was born and raised in the Bronx. Although an excessive look into hip hop isn’t what I plan on doing here, it is important to note that a lot of it came from what we know as the Projects. A focal reason is what was known as the Cross Bronx Expressway. Thought of by Robert Moses, it was to be a major highway that connected Long Island to the Bronx. Although thought to be genius, not much was thought of the inhabitants of homes that were to be torn down. In fact, some of those “homes” were already impoverished, and hardly had a chance once the highway was laid down. Soon, these families would fall into a cyclical life of poverty. With property values dropping, families being driven out, and homes being demolished, tall tenement livings were created
Starting more as a counter-culture movement, it highlighted the angst of a group of people who were poor and wanted to have fun. Race had little to do with it. In fact, after an insurgence of Puerto Ricans and various other races due to migration, it became one of the few beacons of equality in a time when equality was somewhat unheard of. Names like The Furious Five, DJ Marley Marl, and others became larger and larger in terms of popularity, but they all had one thing in mind – to simply have fun in a time that was anything but. It was an attempt to break away from something that was eating them alive – poverty. The strife would lead to a fun-loving nature, creating a time period of unity in which one man rose to the top, Afrika Bambaataa.
Wrestling is Born:
Many of you reading already know the in-depth history of the WWE – particularly how it was McMahon senior who broke away from the NWA to create the WWWF, and change the landscape of the wrestling world forever. Similar to hip-hop, there was a divide in direction. The Lou Thesz and Bruno Sammartino divide brought about McMahon leaving with his pals and creating the WWWF, but not without making a statement. McMahon wanted Rodgers (who was to drop the title) to keep the NWA title and bring it along with him, but due to a deposit (go figure), he opted to lose to Lou Thesz and move along.
Just as hip hop was being cradled to birth in the early 1970’s, so too was the WWWF, when Bruno Sammartino dropped the WWWF title (after a kneedrop!) to Ivan Koloff. This didn’t last long, of course, as Bruno would gain the title back. Names like Flair, Stasiak, Frank Williams, Roddy Piper, Stan Hansen and more became a part of the fold, and it seemed that the little engine that could – along with their golden boy Bruno Sammartino – was about to become something huge.
The Connection:
The most obvious connection is New York. The birthplace of the WWE AND Hip Hop. Aside from that, the dissention from a larger entity is apparent in both wrestling and hip hop, and a lot of the success of both hip hop and wrestling rested on the backs of one man, Afrika Bambaataa and Bruno Sammartino respectively. Both men saw what they were a part of as something larger than them, and through skill, and a bit of ego, they both succeeded, and helped their worlds succeed. One cannot talk about the history of wrestling without bringing up Bruno, just as one cannot talk about the history of hip-hop without talking about Afrika Bambaataa.
Rapper’s Message
With the development of MC’s, b-boys, graffiti artists, and clubbers, hip-hop spread throughout New York. The takeover was imminent. What started as a small, cultural movement, soon became a multi-faceted “idea” of freedom. Emptied out warehouses were used as clubs, bringing people from all over. Some would travel from the suburbs of New York to join in on these “crazy parties.” It was during these parties that one man would stand atop the stage with a microphone and his sole responsibility was to hype the crowd up. He was, in essence, the Master of Ceremonies (MC). Another man on the stage would stand behind two turntables, the every important Disc Jockey (DJ), and the synchronicity was up to them. These two initialed vibrancies of life created a world of music and positivity that eventually lead to a group called Sugar Hill Gang to create a 12 minute ode to pretty much nothing in their song, “Rapper’s Delight.” This song, like Hulk Hogan of the WWF, would catapult hip hop into the world, and it was due largely to someone believing in it.
Sylvia Robinson is known as the Mother of Hip-Hop to many people. She was the person behind the two songs that got hip-hop their mainstream accolades, “Rapper’s Delight” and “The Message.” Of course, this sounds all well and good, but the fame that Robinson gained was due in large part of copying other’s work. We now call it sampling. Just as McMahon scouted for talent that simply wasn’t his, so too did Robinson. The song 14 minute song, “Rappers Delight” actually samples a song by group Chic called “Good Times.” While “Rapper’s Delight” brought about a fun-loving ideology of music and what some thought hip hop stood for, “The Message” took a more serious approach with socially conscious lyrics and a gritty realistic approach to story-telling – something that would alter the face of hip-hop yet again.
Big Shoes to Fill:
After the eras of Sammartino and Backlund, the WWE was purchased by that big-haired dude we know as Vince McMahon Jr. Before Jr, WWWF was still a very much regional promotion. In other words, it stuck to itself and was happy with it. Under Jr., however, the plans were much different. He had an image to take the idea of sports entertainment GLOBALLY, and essentially take over the world of wrestling – and he didn’t care who he hurt in the process. First, he did it through television with All-American Wrestling, in which he would take tapes of regional promoters and air their wrestlers through HIS program. While promoters saw it as great promotion for their stars, Vince saw it as a scouting tool, as well as allowing his own promotion to latch onto the others. With the offering of money to television stations rather than free tapes, McMahon was able to take out some of the currently airing wrestling promotions. Soon, wrestlers were joining Vince’s circus left and right, including…Hulk Hogan.
The Connection:
Obviously, the stage was set for both hip-hop and WWF to take the world over, one fan at a time. While the connection may not be completely clear, I can easily see Sylvia Robinson as the Vince McMahon of her time. While Robinson may be looked at as a softer version of McMahon, there are stories of her being just as business saavy as McMahon, most notably with the forced rewrite of “The Message.” Originally, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five wanted to stick to their party music, but Brown thought it more apropos to focus on the political aspect of New York City. While McMahon was scouting talent all over the place, and looking for that spark that would set the world on fire, Sylvia Robinson found hers, and soon the world would take notice.
Vote For DeMarcette Allie Parker in the VOC Nation Babe Bracket Finals!
By Greg DeMarco
DeMarcette “Lucky 7” Allie Parker has been surprising fans and wrestlers alike by capturing the hearts of VOC Nation listeners. Victorious in her quadrant of the bracket, Allie is in the finals of the VOC Nation Babe Bracket 2013.
Allie’s final is a triple threat against Taryn Terrell and Lita. How is the final round a three-way? Good question. I don’t know either—but go vote!
To support Allie, you van vote via email or Twitter:
Tweet: “I vote for @theeallieparker in the @vocnation #babebracket2013”
Email by clicking here.
And if you’re wondering… Yes, I just promoted something for the VOC Nation. Stranger things have happened!
Hey Bruce…
Buggy Nova (former WWE NXT Diva Skyler Moon) discusses her time at NXT, her eating disorder, checking herself into rehab and her future.
The Greg DeMarco Show with Buggy Nova
Hosts: Greg DeMarco & Patrick O’Dowd
Airing live at SportsRantz and on delay at Wrestling Smash
After a near year-long absence, Buggy Nova returns to The Greg DeMarco Show to give her first interview since her WWE release.
On how she’s doing now:
“I’m okay…I’m alive…I’m still in Tampa and I’m doing good!”
On her state of mind when she signed her WWE contract:
“I was independent for once in my life and I was making my parents proud. Proving that wrestling wasn’t a waste. The whole time I was doing it [before the WWE] making less than minimum wage. I was a starving artist. [I moved] across the country and paying my own bills…being a grown up! Training was my first NXT experience…meeting everyone, legends really-all this knowledge, decades of knowledge under one roof. I am happy to say that everyone was really awesome. We all got along for the most part—girls in a locker-room!”
On her character, “Skyler Moon:”
“They let me be myself. They wanted me to be Buggy. They wanted me to be cooky & crazy and everything I wanted to be. … I couldn’t be Buggy Nova for trademark purposes; I had to change my name [to] Skyler Moon. I had some say in it, 50/50 say in it. … I liked the “moon” idea as it kinda ties into Buggy Nova, like Nova—stars, moon. … Skyler I came up with, actually. was my idea, I gave them a list of names and they liked that one.
On why she checked in to the rehab/treatment facility:
“I mentioned before I have an eating disorder. I went to treatment because I was killing myself. … Nothing else matters. … My disease is dealing with food, or no food, or too much exercise. … I was miserable and I was dying… It was either treatment or dead. … I made the decision [to go]. I knew I couldn’t give my best performance. … I couldn’t do this by myself. I needed help. I needed to put my life on hold, I needed to swallow my pride, throw my hands up in the air and say ‘Hey, I need help with this, I don’t know what else to do.’ I had to check my ego at the door and allow other people to help me with my life. … Rehab is awesome, and I wish I could give everyone who needed that opportunity, or wanted that opportunity, I wish I could give that to them. … I don’t know where I’d be without it.”
On what she’s doing now as part of her daily routine:
“Basically I’m just focusing on my recovery. Figuring out what’s best for it, what I should do, what should I not do. I’m using this time to relearn how to live life. How to balance things out, just how to be real. … A lot of discovery—without sounding like a hippie or a tree hugger!”
On how she feels when people focus on her appearance:
“I had more acceptance of myself. … I’d take that compliment and I’d put in my pocket. … I’d almost feed off of it. As long as someone was telling me I was pretty, I must be pretty. I must be doing something right. That’s what my worth was. … If I wasn’t getting any of that, my worth meant nothing. I was not valuable in any sense. Now [with my treatment] I don’t need that stuff to have self-worth. My self-worth comes from the inside. … Doing good things for other people—that makes me feel good [now]. … It’s just a new perspective. … I’m learning it for myself—not try to impress other people. Loving myself, and if you don’t like me, you don’t have to like me.”
On spreading awareness for eating disorders:
“When WWE offered me the contract one of my first thoughts was that I could bring more awareness to it. … Have more opportunities to do more fundraising/awareness work. Eating disorders today is so taboo, no one wants to talk about it. Especially with guys. … And there’s options. It doesn’t have to own you. … My eating disorder owned my, it controlled my life, it told me what to do. In a short period of time, too. … I just want people to talk about it, don’t be ashamed about it. It’s more common than you think. There is help out there. If I can help someone, then it’s all worth it.”
On training in MMA versus wrestling:
“I used to train in MMA for this company called Millennia. After I got released…they offered to sponsor me when I go back to California. The good thing about MMA is that it’s very different from professional wrestling. … I don’t have to look a certain way, it’s all about aggression. It’s really aggressive and I like that idea.”
Other topics include life without a cell phone or internet (while in rehab), what she learned about wrestling while in WWE/NXT, how long she’s struggled with her eating disorder, her reaction to the reports that she was in drug/alcohol rehab, what she learned when she Googled herself, having a Wikipedia page, her WWE release, if she wants to go back to the WWE and more.
Buggy Nova also shared her upcoming sponsorship and training with Millennia MMA as she prepares to move back to California, if she wants to fight in MMA, the differences between MMA, how she wants to use her experiences to increase awareness of eating disorders, and returning to her passions of art and baking.
For more information on eating disorder, visit the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) site at NationalEatingDisorders.org.
This episode also features an interview with ECWA Super 8 winner Damian Dragon, discussing his surprising tournament win, retiring from the ring after the final match, his plans moving forward and more!
Link to hear the full episode:
http://www.wrestlingsmash.com/1299/greg-demarco-show-buggy-nova-returns/
About the show:
After becoming a Tuesday night tradition, The Greg DeMarco Show moves to Sunday nights and on The SportsRantz Radio Network! For nearly two years, Greg has been joined by co-host and best friend “The Wrestling Realist” Patrick O’Dowd. With his unique viewpoint on the professional wrestling business, Patrick will take those fans who overact to the events of the past week and welcome them back to earth! Originally built as an extension of their near daily banter, the pair have grown into some of the most respected wrestling analysts on the ‘net.
The GDMS guest list is one of the most impressive in the business, including appearances by TNA talent “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels, former WWE Superstar Chris “Masters” Mordetzky, ECW/WWF/WCW legend “The Franchise” Shane Douglas, former 5-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion “Scrap Iron” Adam Pearce and many of today’s top independent talent including Ring of Honor World Champion Kevin Steen, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla World Champion Adam Cole, Dragon Gate USA Open The Freedom Gate Champion Johnny Gargano and independent wrestling’s #1 female star, Rain.
The show also features appearances by The DeMarcettes, the eleven hottest unsigned talents in all of women’s independent wrestling. Buggy Nova, Barbi Hayden, Veda Scott, Terra Calaway, Scarlett Bordeaux, Su Yung, Allie Parker, Cherry Bomb, Jessie Belle, Leah Von Dutch and Niki Nitro entertain fans on a regular basis during The Greg DeMarco Show!
(Showtime is 10 pm eastern, 11 pm on PPV Sundays!)
Winning Caption from Ryan Lindsey: “Brock Lesnar didn’t just break my arm.. He broke my heart.”
Hit up the ‘Mania on the TWITTER (so Ashish will like me, okay?)
http://www.twitter.com/411mania
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And 1 Model of the Week
with Tony Acero
Let’s get on with the thickness and bring up Kaitlyn one mo gain!
Get reading!
Randle’s Wrestling News Experience!
The Tuesday Communique with Nick Marsico!
Kelly’s Thursday Sports Entertainment News!
Fact or Fiction featuring Michael Benjamin and Hamond Eggar!
Tony Acero presents The Low End Theory! 
Plenty to talk about in the comments!
Wrestlemania Hangover, anyone?
Hip Hop and Wrestling?
And don’t forget about the Versus—Audrey Marie vs Sasha Banks
Until next time…
Find Tony:
Twitter: @TonyAcero411
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Find Greg:
Twitter: @GregDeMarcoShow
Facebook: Be my friend!
Wrestling Smash: Read more of my stuff!
