Styles

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...

Just got back from Smackdown in DC! My friend who I went with keeps telling me how he got to meet a lot of the wrestlers at the garage entrance last time RAW was in town, so we went extra early to do the same. Problem was it was cold and sleeting outside. We hung aroung, and didn't see much. I noticed a guy wearing a WWE tag walking toward us, it was Harvey Whippleman! We said hello and I asked "How's Kamala" which caused him to do a double take and start laughing. My friend then told him he should be on TV to which he answered "its not my job anymore" before saying goodbye and walking off. We also saw Dawn Marie pull in her Durango and waved hello. We also saw Earl and Dave Hebner and Sgt. Slaughter walking into a chinese restaurant across from the arena. We said hello but decided against bugging them further. Before the doors opened, someone said "hey John Cena's signing autographs!" We thought he was joking but sure enough, Cena was there in the Modell's (sporting goods) store that's attached to the arena. He was buying something like 5 basketball jerseys and signing some autographs but was just leaving as we walked up to him. I guess "we couldn't see him" We had floor seats, off to the side of the announcer's desk. Last time my friend went to RAW he got to talk to Little Naitch Charles Robinson and starting retellling him the histoy of his time as WCW interim president and fighiting Gorgeous George we he apparently found very amusing. As they were setting up the ring, there he was helping out, so we called him over and seemed to recognize my friend but forgot his name. He introduced me, had a good laugh at me studying old WCW tapes and shook our hands before leaving to the back. The guy is just really nice, and I'd reccomend anybody who comes early to a show to stop to chat with him. Interesting to note, I felt kind of like I was at a TNA show when ICP were there because directly across from us were a group of ICP fans, Juggalos I guess decked out in ICP gear. Throughout the night they'd chant various ICP things, and also TNA and ECW stuff so we had some good times. First match I think was a dark match. Johnny The Bull and Palumbo vs. 2 jobbers who were supposedly from DC. Decent heat for the "hometown" boys. FBI won, forgot how though. Velocity: Chimmel introduced "Josh Mathews and his assistant, Michael Cole!" which was pretty funny. To be perfectly honest I don't really remember the finsihes to any of the matches, they were all pretty forgetable. Akio defeated Funaki. Funaki got a good pop, we tried a "Jimmy Yang" chant but it didn't go very far. Ultimo Dragon defeated Shannon Moore. HUGE pop for Dragon at his entrance but then it got deafly quiet during the match. O well. I'm pretty sure finish was his flipping reverse DDT thing. Sakoda over. S2H. Big shock here. Scotty was over huge but we were being dicks and cheering for Sakoda. He hit the worm, but Sakoda got out and got a win with his feet on the ropes! I got to slap hands with Taz as he came out and told him "FTW brotha" to which he nodded the affirmative and with his hand. Smackdown started out with Paul Heyman coming out. Big ECW chant from the Juggalos. And then immediately Vince came out to a huge pop. Vince talked down Heyman for letting Benoit, the winner of the Rumble go to RAW and asked him what he was going to do. Classic Heyman speech where he says he was going to do exactly what Vince Mcmahon would do. "When Hall and Nash jumped to WCW, what did you say? SCREW HALL AND NASH! and you created new stars. When Hulk Hogan left you, what did you do? You said SCREW HULK HOGAN! You screwed Bret Hart! (big "You Screwed Bret!" chant) Vince: " (very matter of factly)Yes I did". So Heyman says "Screw Chris Benoit" and tonight we're going to do the Smackdown Royal Rumble over again and declare a new winner who will face Brock at No Way Out for the title! Eddy replaces Benoit and Hardcore Holly replaces an injured Matt Morgan. All night long we were treated to really funny backstage sketches of Dawn Marie helping various superstars pick their numbers with dialogue about Dawn grabbing their balls and then Heyman getting pissed and belllowing how they have to grab their own balls. Funny stuff, really, especially since it was a running joke all night. ' Bashams defeated Kidman and PAUL LONDON!!!! ME and the JUggalos tried a "TNA" chant for London and gave Paul all the love in the world but no one else in the arena gave a shit. Kidman missed the SSP, Bashams win. Rey defeated Noble in a good match. EVeryone was cheering for Noble in our section yelling things like "White trash!" and "Redneck Messiah" good times. He started punking out Nidia, Rey stopped him, won with the usual. Afterwards Nidia takes of the glasses, showing she's not blind and leaves Noble. OOOOH~! There was a backstage segment where someone took Eddy out and Rey thinks it's Chavo. Chavo is there with Chavo Sr. and they claim innocence. Angle is also pissed about it and tells Heyman he better not give Eddie's spot to Chavo. Heyman says he'll play Eddy's music and if he can come out he can still be in the Rumble. Lesnar does an interview. HUGE Goldberg chants. Brock just generates HUGE heat. He insults the town and basically calls out Goldberg. He says its a privelage we even get to see him perform. He challenges any Smackdown superstar for a nontitle match. Everyone thought it would be Goldberg...it's....Orlando Jordan. Yeah. Basic squash, OJ got in some token dropkicks and such though. Fans were actually really into it though. Brock wins with the Brock Lock (stretch muffler). Royal Rumble was seriously excellent, and I don't think it was just because I was there live. Just really good work all around. The Juggaloes were huge into Rhyno chanting for him and chanting Juggalo at him. Everyone gangs up on the Big Show, Show fights them all off. Everyone's huge into Cena. Cena gets eliminated by Show but then from the outside helps eliminate Show. Funny spot sees poor Shelton Benjamin tied up in the ropes with Billy Gunn with Gunn's foot stuck across Shelton's throat, Haas came RUNNING over and carefully pried them apart, as Shelton collasped to catch his breath. Funny shit. After Holly was elimnated a pretty good nananan hey hey hey goodbye chant was done. Good riddance. Fans really into Eddie. Lots of Eddie chants. Eddie actually screwed up a few spots. He was supposed to a headscicors to eliminate Haas but he didn't go over so he had to kind of throw him over after. He also landed ackwardly on Rikishi with a frog splash like his knees going into Kish's face. Ouch. There was also a spot with Eddie and Angle both teasing going over the top and they nearly did, Eddy was this close to slipping off to the floor and one of the ref's RUSHED over and gave him a little lift back up. Woops! Rikishi gave everyone a stinkface, including a classic expression by poor Shelton before he got it. Angle and Eddie were the last 2. These 2 had a really good match with each other throwing suplexes at each other all over. Angle's neck is either better or he's going to seriously hurt himself. Eddie put Angle in the ankle lock. Lots of eliminaiton teases, finally Eddy flips Angle out for the win and has an emotional celebration. Crowd was into Eddie. He gave a thank you speech after and vowed to become the first MExican WWE champ at No Way Out for La Raza. Great way to end the show. We caught Earl Hebner again near the entrance stage and he was nice enough to give us autographs. I told him I thought it was an awesome show and complimented on the use of Eddie. We saw Orlando Jordan hanging around too and got his autograph. We jokingly told him to be careful and that must have been a hell of a match and he kind of shook his head and said "it was tough". Good show. The RUmble match I'm confident will come out just as good on TV. Viva la Eddie!!!

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

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.

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]

<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...

Come on everyone knows Clark killed his chances the second he became the only candidate not to appear on The Factor, where Americans turn to find the no spin truth from the most powerful name in news. ......what, you know he's going to bring it up in his talking points the day Clark drops out....

I don't know but I think that's a great question for Ask The Proffesor with Mike Tenay! I modified your question a little and sent it in, let's see if he posts it: I know Don Callis was a wrestler before he became Cyrus in ECW, but I don't know any of the details. Was he any good? Where and when did he wrestle and why did he retire to become a commentator/Jackyl/manager/MBA/TNA Management Consultant? Thanks! -Mike (Maryland)

-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.

Let me stress I'm defending Nash the least, I don't want him either, but he's not quite as useless as Duggan or Steiner, but I'll agree he's DONE. I'm more positive on Shamrock and Hall though for the previously stated reasons.