Styles

Yeah, that's just what we need a trial lawyer in charge...

Oh God, what have I started! I think this is being blown way out of proportion, Eddie really didn't "fuck up" that badly at all. -The only botched spot was when Eddie was doing his "hold one guys' hand and headscissors the other" spot to Haas to try to eliminate him. They must have not had enough momentum on the move because Haas didn't go over he just kind of feel into the ropes, so Eddie immediately picked up and chucked him over the other side. Great job covering, didn't repeat it or anything. I'm sure they'll use a camera angle so it won't be noticeable at all. -The frogsplash was really just something I noticed. He landed on Rikishi's face pretty hard instead of the body. I'm sure he's fine though but when he got up he slammed Eddie pretty hard -There was at least one point where Angle and Eddie were both hanging onto the ropes and they were both dangerously close to falling out, Eddie especially was just about touching the floor and a ref ran over to make sure he didn't. In fact Eddie might have pulled himself back up on his own power, but one foot might have touched (which is perfectly legal). If anything it added to the drama and got a lot of oohs and ahhs from the crowd. There were so many close spots between Eddie and Kurt that it'd didn't matter. Ok so let me clarify! Eddie wasn't blowing spots left and right! I just was quickly recalling from memory the spots I remembered and since Eddie was the centerpiece those are a few moments I remembered. He looked really good otherwise. Hell I forgot to mention the Cat coming in and hitting offense on everyone in the match, dancing and then tossed out by (I think) Cena for the first elimination. Everyone just chill!

You will never forget the name of...SHHHHHHHHH.....Plati-tit-tit-TIT! num.... Hmmm....

He cut it down a little but he posted my question on Callis the wrestler and gave an answer (well...sort of). I've bolded it. 01.25.04 | In terms of how 2004 will unfold for TNA, this Wednesday's (1/28/04) showdown for power involving the NWA's Director Of Authority Erik Watts and Total Non Stop Action's Management Consultant Don Callis should be the most important match of the year. How will the bout affect the landscape of TNA? How will the result impact the jobs of contracted wrestlers and other TNA employees? Will the relationship between the NWA and TNA be strained by the outcome of the match? We'll answer all of those questions when Callis and Watts square off with their jobs at stake. The loser must resign. It's a No Disqualification, No Countout, Falls Count Anywhere match with wrestlers paired off in handcuffs around ringside to prevent interference. Many of you may not be familiar with Callis' in-ring background. He trained in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada in 1989 with Tony Condello, the same man who trained a young Roddy Piper in the same ring some 17 years earlier. Callis was a 5 time Canadian Champion for two different promotions. In recent years he has chosen not to wrestle. He earned his Masters Degree in Business Administration and has focused his wrestling career on management duties for several wrestling organizations in the U.S. and Canada. The importance and overall significance of the bout is obvious. Even NFL-All Pro Linebacker Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears will be in attendance to support his friend Watts. The open letter from the ownership of TNA concluded the situation the best: Don Callis vs. Erik Watts on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 ... May The Best Man Win. We'll also feature two championship matches as X Division titleholder Chris Sabin defends against top contender and former champ Michael Shane. In addition, 3 Live Kru will put the NWA Worlds Tag Team Titles at stake against The TNA Redshirts, who knocked off America's Most Wanted last Wednesday in a Number One Contenders bout. Who will The Sandman select as his mystery partner to face The Gathering, C.M. Punk and Julio Dinero? Abyss will attempt to use his size and power edge, but his opponent Wednesday, D-Lo Brown, will counter with a sizeable experience advantage. I'll conduct a sitdown interview with Johnny Fairplay, the Survivor cast member that was labelled the Most Hated Man In America and we'll also hear from the Insane Clown Posse, the Pyschopathic Records stars that invaded the TNA Asylum last week with their crew of Juggalos. Don't miss it ... This Wednesday night ... Exclusively on Pay Per View! For months I've received hundreds of letters from TNA fans who are not able to receive our weekly PPV broadcasts. Reasons range from location (international fans) to satellite providers (Dish Network viewers). Well TNA ON DEMAND is for you. You can now watch NWA TNA PPVs on your personal computer. Also, fans who ARE able to watch our PPVs can now re-live their favorite moments and shows. Fans who are new to the TNA product can watch previous shows. For more details, check out TNA ON DEMAND on this website. We invite your questions and comments to [email protected]. Remember that due to the heavy volume, Mike is not able to answer every question or respond personally. Please include your hometown and state (and country if outside the U.S.). Let's go to the electronic mailbag -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: MICHAEL TITUS I was wondering if TNA will ever bring in Bobby "The Brain" Heenan to manage? The last time I saw him was in the XWF as a "Sports Agent". Is there ever a chance I'll see him manage again? ANSWER: "The Brain" is scheduled to return as a manager for the Ring Of Honor promotion when ROH makes it's debut in the Minneapolis-St. Paul (4/23) and Chicago (4/24) markets. Jim Cornette is also scheduled to appear on those shows. I know that TNA management is also interested in using Heenan in some capacity. His second book is due to hit stores in March. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: DEMETRIUS (SANFORD, NORTH CAROLINA) Is C.M. Punk really Jeff Hardy? He looks a lot like him. I recently saw Disco, Julio and Swinger at a LAW event. Is Live Action Wrestling related to TNA? ANSWER: No and no. Depending on individual contracts, many TNA wrestlers may appear for independent promotions. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: JOE (CLEVELAND, OHIO) I think you guys in TNA are doing a great job. Any chance that TNA will go outside of Nashville for live events? Do you have any background info on Traci? ANSWER:TNA officials are looking to expand our live events outside of the Nashville area. It's certainly in the planning stages for later in 2004. The female component in the New Franchise, Traci, debuted with TNA in April, 2003. She trained for the business in her home area of Ontario, Canada where she debuted in 2001. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: MIKE (MARYLAND) I know Don Callis was a wrestler before he became Cyrus in ECW, but I don't know any of the details. ANSWER: For more background on Callis' wrestling career, see our Wednesday preview above. We'll have more details during the PPV, but consider that he teamed with Rick Martel and wrestled in South Africa, Germany, Japan and the Middle East. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: SEAN I am a huge wrestling fan and I love TNA. TNA is the best I've seen since ECW. Speaking of ECW, do you ever see it coming back? Thanks, you're doing a great job with TNA. ANSWER: I could see the WWE bringing back ECW in some form, especially now that Paul Heyman has returned to TV. It's pretty obvious that Stephanie McMahon has to return soon on Smackdown. Maybe Heyman could reform ECW. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: ARMANDO QUINTERO JR. (TEMPE, ARIZONA) In midst of the upcoming and highly anticipated America's X Cup, I have a couple of questions in relation to the AAA promotion. In AAA's near 12 years of existence, which wrestler would you consider being the pivotal reason behind their success and longevity? I also hear the AAA/LLL feud is getting intense. What advice would you give Mr. Antonio Pena in order to have similiar success as the initial WCW/nWo feud and also in hopes of avoiding a debacle similiar to that of the WWE invasion angle. ANSWER: Armando Jr. is a student at Arizona State University and the son of TNA broadcaster Armando Quintero, who provides the Spanish commentary via SAP on our PPV events. Initially, Konnan was, I believe, the one wrestler that put AAA on the map. Remember his involvement, in the main event, at the When Worlds Collide PPV against Perro Aguayo? At that point, he was a mainstream, cross over celeb in Mexico that appeared regularly on talkshows and soap operas. After Konnan's departure from AAA, I think that Antonio Pena moved more in the direction of selling the AAA brand of Lucha Libre as an entertainment package. After recent discussions with Mr. Pena, I don't think he needs my advice to keep his AAA/LLL feud hot. I'm really looking forward to the America's X Cup on February 11. This Wednesday we'll have more details on the team concept that will include singles, four and eight man tag team matches. The NWA team includes team captain Jerry Lynn, Chris Sabin, Elix Skipper and Sonjay Dutt. Team AAA will include captain Juventud Guerrera, Hector Garza, Mr. Aguila (fka Essa Rios in WWF) and Abismo Negro. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: KEITH SHELTON (FREDERICKSBURG, VIRGINIA) Whatever happened to Gary Hart? I remember he used to manage The Great Muta and Terry Funk when they feuded with Sting and Ric Flair in the NWA in the late 80s. ANSWER: Hart recently returned as a manager with the MLW group when they taped TV in Florida. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FROM: MARK WILLIAMS (PENSACOLA, FLORIDA) I've been wrestling since the age of 9 and want to know how I can go about joining TNA? ANSWER:We'll have details in upcoming days about a TNA Wrestling Training School in Nashville. Continue to check out this website for more information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mike Tenay [email protected]

More matches to come I'd assume... WHO WILL BE OUT OF POWER: WATTS OR CALLIS? This Wednesday night, the battle for power will finally come to an end as NWA Director of Authority Erik Watts will go one-on-one with TNA Management Consultant Don Callis inside the Asylum ring! In the end, only one man will have control of TNA, as the LOSER MUST RESIGN! Surely, Watts will be ready to go, as he will be backed by Goldylocks along with NFL Star Brian Urlacher (see below). On the other hand, Don Callis hasn't battled in the ring in some time! Surely, NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett and Callis will have something up their sleeves! Who will emerge as the true power in TNA? Tune in this Wednesday night on Pay-Per-View! WORDS OF WISDOM FROM JONNY FAIRPLAY! Also this Wednesday night, January 28, Mike Tenay will have an exclusive sitdown interview with former Survivor star and new TNA superstar Jonny Fairplay! Without a doubt, Fairplay will discuss his role in TNA, his alliance with Callis and Jarrett as well as the rude welcoming party AJ Styles gave him! NFL STAR AND CHICAGO BEARS GREAT BRIAN URLACHER IS COMING TO THE ASYLUM! On Wednesday, NWA Director of Authority Erik Watts dropped a bombshell on TNA when he announced that NFL star and possibly the baddest man on the gridiron - Bears superstar Brian Urlacher - will be his guest this Wednesday night, January 28 live at the Asylum! The Pro Bowl great is close friends with Watts, and will no doubt be watching as Watts faces Callis in the ring! The only question is, will Don Callis and Jeff Jarrett make the mistake of getting in Urlacher's way? TUNE IN AND FIND OUT! X CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH CHAMPION CHRIS SABIN vs. MICHAEL SHANE Two of the X Division's elite will meet this Wednesday night on Pay-Per-View as Chris Sabin defends his newly-won X gold against Michael Shane of the New Franchise! These two X superstars are no strangers to each other. Michael Shane beat Sabin in Ultimate X1 for the title - and Sabin returned the favor in Ultimate X2. Tied up, the superstar who emerges victorious this Wednesday will not only own the gold, but will prove without a doubt who the better X athlete is! THE INSANE CLOWN POSSE: LIVE THIS WEDNESDAY IN THE TNA ASYLUM! This Wednesday night on Pay-Per-View, the Insane Clown Posse will once again be on hand in the TNA Asylum! This past week, Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope brought their army of fans to the Asylum and and created quite a buzz throughout the show, even going so far as to interfere in Jeff Jarrett's match! This week, TNA has invited the ICP back, and only J and Shaggy know what they've got planned! NWA WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH CHAMPIONS 3LIVE KRU vs. THE REDSHIRT SECURITY (NORTHCUTT AND LEGEND) Last Wednesday, the Redshirt Security beat America's Most Wanted for the number one contender shot - earning them a match this Wednesday against titleholders 3Live Kru! Can Don Callis' monster security of Northcutt and Legend beat BG James and Ron "The Truth" Killings for the gold, or will 3Live Kru keep Doin' The Damn Thing? Tune in and find out! D'LO BROWN vs. ABYSS As the world witnessed this last Wednesday, number-one contender AJ Styles was injured following the main event when the monster Abyss launched him from the ring through a table on the outside! As a result, D'Lo Brown has promised to step up the plate to face the juggernaut this Wednesday night! According to D'Lo, not only is he fighting to get back in the NWA title picture, but he's seeking vengeance for what happened to AJ! D'Lo isn't coming to wrestle - he's coming for a war with Abyss! We also hope to have an update on AJ come Wednesday night! ALSO ON THE SHOW: The Sandman has promised retribution for what the Gathering of CM Punk and Julio did to him and Balls Mahoney on Wednesday! What hardcore lengths will the Sandman go this Wednesday night to take the fight back to Father Mitchell's crew? Tune in and find out! Also, where is Raven - and will he show up to the Asylum this Wednesday? IN ADDITION: MORE NEWS ON THE HUGE AMERICAS X CUP FEBRUARY 11 PAY-PER-VIEW! This past week, the NWA and AAA teams for this big inter-promotional Pay-Per-View on February 11 wre announced! Jerry Lynn returned to captain the NWA team, while AAA revealed their side! ALL THIS AND MUCH MORE ON WEDNESDAY JAN 28 LIVE ON PPV!

Correction it's Bashams vs. Kidman/London, I know because I was there. CC, the 15 in the Rumble (and it was a RoyalRumble not a battle royal) were the same Smackdown guys as at the PPV, with Eddy in for Benoit and Holly in for Matt Morgan (injured).

Me, my friend and the 5 or 6 Juggaloes. No one else in the place made a peep for the poor guy...

And some people have the nerve to question Bush not leaving a tip for takeout?

-TNA is advertising the following matches and events for next Wednesday's pay-per-view: Brian Urlacher of the Chicago Bears will appear, Erik Watts vs. Don Callis in a loser must resign match, Chris Sabin vs. Michael Shane for the X Title, 3 Live Kru vs. Redshirt Security for the NWA Tag Titles, D-Lo Brown vs. Abyss, Mike Tenay interviews Johnny Fairplay. -TNA has also listed the wrestlers who will compete in the America's X Cup tournament on Feb. 11: Jerry Lynn, Elix Skipper, Chris Sabin, Sonjay Dutt, Hector Garza, Juventud Guererra, Abismo Negro, and Mr. Aguila (formerly Essa Rios). This looks like a great tournament on paper. I would prefer to see Low-Ki or Chris Daniels rather than Skipper, but Skipper is no slouch either. -TNA officials held a meeting with talent prior to Wednesday night's pay-per-view. During the meeting, Jeff Jarrett mentioned April as a possible timeframe for the "Bound for Glory" pay-per-view and said the site may be a military base in Kentucky. Country music singer Toby Keith may perform at the show. -Vince Russo returned to TNA and looked so different from the last time he showed up that some of the crew didn't recognize him at first. Russo was clean shaven and now has short hair. He has been telling friends that he has found religion and has totally changed his lifestyle to the point that he no longer uses profanity. -The early buzz on Jonny Fairplay is that he was very respectful in the locker room and didn't appear to rub anyone the wrong way. Some of the locker room regulars had their guard up in anticipation of Fairplay living up to his reputation, but even those wrestlers have remarked that they were pleasantly surprised by Fairplay. -James Storm suffered a broken finger and a shoulder injury during his tag match against Red Shirt Security. He told friends that the injuries were suffered on separate suplexes.

I'm a Democrat, but all the other Demo candidates are various combinations of liberal pandering nutcases that it doesn't leave much of a choice. I really like Lieberman because he matches the reasons I like Bush yet also has better positions on the points I disagree with Bush. Lieberman like Bush is strong on defense, fighting the war on terror, support of Iraq/the troops, not pandering to the UN to make decisions, supports a broad middle class tax cut rather than revoking the tax cuts and is a man of character that embraces his religion and is not afraid of supporting faith based programs. At the same time Lieberman also is a strong supporter of Roe v Wade, strong on gun control, strong on the enviornment and protecting our air and reserves and is even open to civil unions (for those of you who seem to care about that type of thing). So as you can see there are many positions, mostly social that Lieberman disagrees with Bush on. Unlike some of the other candidates Joe is a good humored, mild tempered man with the expirience and convictions to run the country. The only big complaint I hear about him around these parts are his sometimes vocal stance against violence in the media, to which I say there is no candidate who would not take that position, and is not going to be something that drastically changes if he became president. So it's really a lot of talk. Anyway, I encourage all Democrats who are not happy with Dean or Kerry, and have more moderate positions to please consider Joe. He proudly campaigns that he has been told by a source that Bush is most afraid to run against him since he can't portray him as weak on defense and weak on morals like he could the other candidates. But, yes, in the most likely scenario that someone else gets the nomination, Bush has my vote. But until then, I'll support Joe! Just as a reference, here are some comaprisons from that AOL poll: Lieberman vs. Bush: http://www.presidentmatch.com/Compare.jsp2...t=7|10&invoker= Lieberman vs. Kerry: http://www.presidentmatch.com/Compare.jsp2...t=5|7|&invoker=

This is so overrated. He's not going to take away your video games and wretling as president, promise! He would need Congress to do that and they won't. All politicians are against violence in the media, Joe just happens to be more vocal than others. It's really not what you should be basing your vote on. Now, you said you were against the war, so I guess there isn't much I can do about that...

Very true, but I took the initiative to send it in, so to the victor goes the spoils!

Despite what some of you may think, abortion is not my litmus test, but Lieberman completely flip-flopped on this issue for the 2000 Election, even though his website says otherwise. Right, me neither but when given a choice...

He'll give a serious boost to the X division in terms of solid matches. I can see him eventually transitioning into a world title fued too...

What do you mean by this, Mike? Lieberman is campaigning on the fact that unlike the other Dems he's stuck to his positions and because he is the most moderate, Bush is the most afraid of running against him. From the beginning he's been strong on defense, for the war on Iraq/terror, has supported middle class tax cuts and embraces his religion and supports a faith based initiative to help social problems. So he matches what I feel are the best qualities of Bush, yet exheeds him on the enviornment and social positions like gun control and women's right to choose. If anything Clark is the one with no core principals. Lieberman is a man of principles, it's just some happen to be similar to those of the president but instead of embracing that as a startegy to win, the party is looking to go in the opposite direction.

Only good news!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THE FALLEN ANGEL CHRISTOPHER DANIELS Athlete, wrestler, actor, husband, father - is there anything Chrstopher Daniels can't do? It's been a long road for the Fallen Angel in the wrestling business, but in travelling it he's also established himself as one of the top wrestlers in the world. Respected by his peers and revered by his fans, Christopher Daniels has plenty to be proud of. In this exclusive interview with NWATNA.com's own TIm Welch, Daniels speaks on everything from his days as a struggling actor to his opinion of the team of Triple X in TNA! TW: Fallen Angel Christopher Daniels - tell us how you got into the wrestling business. FA I grew up watching the NWA in North Carolina. I was a big fan of guys like Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA and the Four Horsemen obviously. I graduated from college in 1991 and tried a career at acting and moved to Chicago to pursue that. It wasn't working out, so I found a wrestling school in Chicago called "Windy City Pro Wrestling" and decided to give that a chance. It ended up working out a lot better than I thought. I started training there in January and I was ready to wrestle matches in April. I wrestled in Chicago for about two years, and then in 1996 I moved out to California and really got a lot of opportunities from the WWF as well as overseas and everything kind of blossomed from there. TW: After acting, what was it about wrestling that made you look to it as a new profession? FA: It really started as something that my wife and I would joke about while I was acting, that if it didn't work out I could always give wrestling a try. She happened to find out about this wrestling school in Chicago, and she told me if I was serious about it I should take a look at it. I went and spoke to the school and I thought it was something I could actually do. I wasn't sure how it would end up, but I thought it was something I would give a try and at least if it failed I could say I gave it a shot. But it worked out a lot better than I thought. TW: Did anyone in your family give you a hard time about wanting to be in wrestling? FA: No, they were very supportive. You know, they worry about me physically and they worry about the injuries I could sustain doing this, but they've always been very supportive. They realized if this is something I really want to do and put 100 percent behind it, they would do the same and put 100 percent in supporting me. It was tough for the first few years because it really was a hobby at that point. I really wasn't making enough money to where I could call it a career. So there was a lot of lean times those years, but it paid off and it slowly turned into "my" career and my parents supported me back then and they continue to support me now. TW: So at what point did you decide the hobby was over and you wanted to do it for a living? FA: Well I always felt it was something I wanted to do, but independent wrestling was very unstable. So it wasn't until I started getting booked in Japan and elsewhere overseas so much so that I wasn't able to hold a regular job. That started in early 1999 when I was going to Japan regularly. I started getting bookings on the U.S. east coast regularly. It was at that point that it became my career rather than the hobby I did on the side when I worked the 9-5 job. TW: Did travelling so much start to put a strain on your personal life? FA: No, not really. I always envisioned, even when I was an actor, that I would be travelling as a job in some respect. Even living in California, not everything you do is going to be home-based. When I got into wrestling, I just went where the work was. To me, travelling is not a big deal, it's just part of the business. It's like working out and training, it's all part of the job. I've learned the travel tricks of the trade that make it easy on you, but at this point it's just second nature to me. TW: I read once where you stated that if a promotion invested in The Fallen Angel, then you would invest all your time into it. It seems as if TNA has finally given you that chance. FA: Yes, exactly. I tried for years with the WWE and for whatever reason it just never worked out. I also tried with WCW and just had some bad luck with them. I was always looking for that opportunity that would give me a chance to be put on a full-time stage and TNA is the first U.S. promotion that has done that. The people that give me a shot, I will always be loyal to them until they give me a reason not to be. And right now, I feel loyal to TNA. TW: I'm sure there have been some people during your career that helped you along the way. Who might those people be? FA: Well, as far as the wrestlers I'd have to say Mike Moran was one of the guys that helped me early on - he wrestled as one of the Texas Hangmen back in the day. He taught me a lot about ring psychology and wrestling both as a business and an artform. Most recently, guys like Raven and Shane Douglas have taken the time to sit me down to help me polish my skills and the little details that change you from being a good wrestler to a great wrestler. As far as promoters, guys like Jim Ketner who runs the ECWA on the East Coast, he was very instrumental in me getting my name out on the East Coast. Guys like Rob Feinstein and Gabe who run Ring of Honor. They've been instrumental in keeping my name in the spotlight and keeping me on the tips of the fans' tongues, so to speak. The people in New Japan have been helpful in me staying busy and gainfully employed. TW: How did you come up with not only the name Fallen Angel, but your character as well? FA: Well, I was kind of inspired by the Goldust character. When Dustin Rhodes first came out with that character, it seemed everyone had a strong reaction to it no matter what your background was because everyone has strong opinions about their sexuality. So I wanted to have a gimmick that touched on everyone no matter what their background was and the thing I decided on was religion. As far as what influenced the character, I would have to say David Koresh as well as the character Kevin Spacey played in the movie "Seven", where his viewpoint was that no one was truly innocent and everyone has sin and evil in them. I used those influences to create a character that had a God complex and someone who thought he was a leader of men and prayed on the weakness of your mind. So that was the thought process behind it. As far as the look, I wanted something that was easily recognized and a priest robe came to mind. Dory Funk Jr. told me, that visually, it was just a great idea. He liked the idea and really helped me polish it up. TW: How do you react when you read on the internet that many fans consider you one of the most underrated wrestlers in the world - as far as being recognized by the fans as one of the best? FA: I appreciate people that say I'm underrated, which in their opinion might be that I'm not used as much as I should be. I just appreciate the people that follow my career. I wouldn't have the success that I have at this stage if it wasn't for the fans I have around the world. When they say things like "he's underrated" or "he deserves better than what he's been given".... TW: But you must see the emails from fans that think you're the greatest wrestler in the world? FA: That's probably overstating it a little bit, but I'm just happy to be doing what I'm doing. It was kind of a roundabout way to fulfill a dream, but I didn't realize it was a dream of mine until I started doing it full time and realized the scope of what I was doing. Whatever they say, I'm thrilled to be at the level I am now. I'm always shooting to go farther, but I also realize there's other people who would love to be where I'm at now. I'm very appreciative to those fans that have taken the time to follow my career and watched it blossom. TW: Let's talk about you and TNA. You were a part of Triple X with Primetime Elix Skipper and Low Ki. What was your favorite aspect of being in Triple X? FA: I don't think we've had my favorite part yet. We haven't hit our stride yet, and I think there's bigger things to come if and when we get back together on television. I'm just happy to be working with two guys as good as Skipper and Low Ki. Both are great athletes that have great minds for wrestling, and I think when we all put our minds together we come up with some great stuff. Wherever this goes, it's going to be an opportunity to do more great things, so I'm excited about the Triple X story. TW: One of the things I've read is that the strong point of Triple X was that none of you were better than the other - in other words, you were all great in some way. How do you react to that? FA: I agree with that. We all have our strongpoints as wrestlers. Low Ki is such an aggressive wrestler, Elix is such a great athlete and such a good acrobat, very well-balanced. I think the fact that I am very well-rounded in everything, it makes me feel like the grounding point of the team. One of the things I feel strongly about is my storytelling ability, and that's something I feel I add to the team. No matter which two of us have been in the ring, I've always considered us a good tag team. TW: The most recent big event for you was obviously the Ultimate X2. Tell us what you thought about that experience. FA: Well, it was a daunting task to try and come in and top the first. People can debate over whether we did that. I feel like we told a very good story. We took the first one and tried to play off of it. We didn't want to copy the first, but to try and add to the mystique of it. The concept is still new and there's so many ways to go about doing what it takes to win the match. Now, I think it's up to the guys in Ultimate X3 to top both Ultimate X1 and X2. TW: Did it seem like the cables were higher than you thought they would be once you tried it out? FA: They were a little higher than I thought. When I stood on the top turnbuckle for the first time and I couldn't reach it that kind of opened my eyes a little bit to how dangerous the match could be. TW: The cables were exactly six inches higher than the first Ultimate X. FA: That's what I heard as well. TW: Well Chris Daniels, thanks for joining us here on NWATNA.com! FA: Thanks for having me!

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH JOHNNY SWINGER Like many other professional athletes, Johnny Swinger is in wrestling for the "love of he game". Not one to cause waves in the locker room or play the political games that often come with the turf, Swinger has ben living his dream in wrestling since 1993, and we're happy to say is also about to become a full-time dad! In this interview with Johnny Swinger, NWATNA.com's own Tim Welch talks to the superstar about breaking into the sport, Paul Heyman and ECW, meeting Simon Diamond for the for time and becoming an established tag team, as well as what he thought when TNA first called him to come in. TW: Tell us a little about how you got started in professional wrestling JS: Probably a lot like other guys in the business, I grew up as a fan. I just loved the wrestling business, and as soon as I got older I sought out the proper routes to get trained and for the past ten years I’ve been living my dream. I’m still doing it, and I feel lucky to be doing so. TW: What were you like before you got into wrestling? When you were younger, what did you want to be? JS: Now I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing, but my whole life was the wrestling business. I was a very weird kid growing up. I played sports, but I never really excelled at them. My only interest was really wrestling. My mother used to bang on my door during the summer when it was a nice day and tell me to go outside and play, but I was always watching wrestling. So that’s all I ever did. I played with wrestling toys and had wrestling merchandise on my wall and everything. That was my whole life. But to me, it’s no different than kids today hooked on the internet who sit in front of the computer all day long. So, I was pretty much the same way with wrestling. TW: How did you mother react when you told her you wanted to be a wrestler? JS: I think she knew I was going to do it, but with the rest of the family and friends they thought it was a phase and it would pass. When I finally started to get into it, they thought I wouldn’t last because I was much smaller back then. There weren’t “cruiserweights” per se when I started back in 1993, so they thought I would get knocked around for a few months then go back to college. But I started to get some local notoriety from it and everyone started to jump on the bandwagon. TW: Have you always been “Johnny Swinger”? JS: Actually, I started off as “Johnny Paradise”. I was driving down the street one day and I had to come up with a name for myself and I saw a tanning studio in my hometown called “Paradise Tanning” and I said well “Paradise” is a cool name, and my real name is “Joe”, but Joe Paradise isn’t very Hollywood sounding. So I decided to change it to “Johnny Paradise”. I was “Johnny Paradise” for about two years and I found out there was another guy in the Ohio independents using the same name, and since he had been around longer than me and was already known for it, I figured I should take the initiative and change it to Johnny Swinger. TW: You obviously got into bodybuilding and training for your wrestling career. Tell us a little about how that began after you broke in. JS: Like I said, when I first started I was a small guy. There weren’t too many guys that were 200 pounds and I was right at that level. So I was always trying to gain weight and hang with the “big boys”, and I’m still trying to do that today. It’s a part of the business, because your appearance is a third of your character and you have to look the part and you have to be physically imposing. That’s half the battle right there. You learn the moves and holds, but you also have to learn to develop your body to give it that superstar appearance. TW: Tell about some of the things you like to do outside of the ring. All of us have private lives outside of the ring. Tell us about yours. JS: Well, I’m actually a family fan. I have a wife I’ve been married to for three years, and we’re expecting our first child in two months. So that’s really consumed most of my life for the past six months in planning for that. Even before that, my wife and I are very close and we do everything together, so when I’m home from wrestling I devote all my time to her. I don’t really have any hobbies outside of my job, but I’m happy. I like my life. TW: Tell us about the first time you met your tag team partner Simon Diamond JS: I met him probably my second month working for ECW. I was kind of floating around and they didn’t really have too much for me to do on television. Paul Heyman was very high on Simon Diamond, but he really didn’t know exactly what to do with him at the time. Paul came to us one night and asked us what we thought about teaming up. Since we worked the same style, we figured maybe it would be a good thing. We had a match in Atlanta, Georgia and Paul Heyman was pleased with it. We started to cut promos, and he was very impressed and thought we had a good look together. We just went with it, and we did a lot of good things in ECW. TW: You and Simon obviously had a lot of chemistry together, but did it take a while for you to find that “niche” in the tag team division? JS: Yes, because before that I never had any experience being a tag team wrestler. It was actually very scary for me because I felt like “Oh man, now I have to try and think for four people instead of just one other guy.” But it was a good experience and it was a “learn as you go” situation. But Simon had some tag team experience and we worked with some good guys in ECW. After a year there I felt I was comfortable being in a tag team. After ECW folded, I was sad about it because we had some good times and good matches. Me and Simon had become good friends, and after the company ended we were not only going to be separated as friends but as a tag team. We didn’t know what the deal was with WCW – he had heard offers from them. There was interest in me from WWF, so it was a rough time there for both of us. But when we got the offer from TNA, I really didn’t expect it to happen. I was ready to move on and be a singles wrestler, but I was glad we were both able to come here and establish ourselves again as a tag team. Being that he’s one of my best friends in the business, it also makes it a joy to come to work every week. TW: So you did eventually get the call from TNA – what was your reaction? You mentioned you were thinking about moving on. Was there a lot of thinking to do on your part about the offer? JS: I was excited, like I said – the offer was for me and Simon to come in and work a long-term deal as a tag team. And I knew we could have some great matches with the tag teams in TNA, so I was excited about that. Just coming in and working with America’s Most Wanted, it actually showed what we could do. I knew we would have some great matches with them, and we did. TW: Simon Diamond once had a catch-phrase, “Simon’s got a problem”. Does Johnny Swinger have a problem with anyone or anything? JS: No, not really. A lot of people say I don’t smile enough, but a lot of my happiness is on the inside. TW: That’s good! Johnny Swinger, thanks for joining us! JS: No problem – thanks to everyone for reading this!

Didn't Dames freeze on new posters until April or something?

Wow, that's sad. I'm assuming he was sick with something. At least our first death of the year is one of old and not young age...

I posted the new Ask The Professor column, and in it he posts my question on Callis the wreslter and actually gives the answer in his opening paragraph.

This is a badly contructed poll because Bush's Democratic challenger hasn't bee decided yet. I will vote for Lieberman in the primaries and on the very slim chance he wins the nomination will again in the general election. But if anyone else gets the nomination (which is most likely) then I will vote for Bush. Since Lieberman has such a small chance of winning the nomination I'll assume the likely scenario and go for Bush in this poll.

<DIES laughing> I know! These lines are absolutely tremendous! Please keep it up!

We have a winner...

I just discovered this thread. It's 3:30 am and I've spent the last 2 hours reading the whole damn thing. I swear I have never laughed so hard reading anything at this forum. Tears literally filled MY eyes. It's starting to get a little old, but I guess when you read it in one sitting that's bound to happen. It's just so incredibly ridiculous and stupid but I can't stop reading, and the sarcastic replies and comments just add to it. The fake-fake stories with the bank and the one where theyre having sex were laugh out loud funny. When it's all said and done this is definitely classic...