cawthon777

I really don't think Vince saw his new cash cow being Kerry Von Erich. But getting Kerry on his payroll meant that he was out of Texas and if he was out of Texas that means less competition from what was left of World Class (which wasn't much at that point).

I just saw him while watching the San Antonio Shotgun episode from before the 97 Rumble. The next week, I see the rest of the die-hard regulars sitting front row at Webster Hall in NYC. He may have been there too, I just didn't see him.

I just recently got tapes of the infamous nightclub Shotgun episodes. Since info from these shows is so hard to come by on the Net, I thought I'd post what I have thus far. 4 down, 2 to go. WWF @ New York City, NY - Mirage Nightclub - January 4, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - debut episode of the nightclub series that ran exclusively on Channel 55 in NYC; hosted by Vince McMahon and Sunny; included Todd Pettingill visiting with Rocky Miavia, Goldust, and Marlena in the VIP area, with Bob Backlund taking offense to Marlena's clevage; included Sunny announcing that the following week she would provide one of her own personal sex tapes to counter Marlena's flashing and to prove that Sunny was the sexiest woman in the WWF: The Flying Nuns - Sister Angelica & Mother Smucker (the Headbangers) defeated Henry & Phinneas Godwinn (w/ Hillbilly Jim) at around the 12:30 mark when Angelica pinned Phinneas after Brother Love hit Phinneas in the head with his book of love; during the match, the crowd chanted "Holy shit" and "Go to Hell" towards the Nuns; at one point in the contest, Pettingeil interviewed Hillbilly at ringside about the Nuns; mid-way through the bout, Brother Love made a surprise appearance at ringside to manage the Nuns; after the bout, Todd Pettingiel interviewed Brother Love and the Flying Nuns in the ring, with Brother Love renaming them the Sisters of Love (Brother Love's first appearance in over a year) Goldust (w/ Marlena) defeated the Sultan (w/ Bob Backlund) via count-out at 9:31 after Marlena climbed on the ring apron, as Goldust was about to be caught in the Camel Clutch, and flashed Goldust's opponent; following the incident, Backlund threw his jacket on Sultan so that he wouldn't see and the two left ringside; during the bout, Pettingill interviewed Backlund at ringside regarding his comments about Marlena's clevage earlier in the show; late in the contest, Backlund went to the commentary table and berated Vince McMahon, Sunny, and Pettingiel Ahmed Johnson defeated Crush (w/ Clarence Mason, D-Lo Brown, and other members of the Nation) via disqualification when D-Lo interfered as Ahmed attempted the Pearl River Plunge; during the bout, Pettingiel interviewed Mason at ringside; after the bout, the Nation held Ahmed for Crush to hit him over the head with a steel chair; moments later; Goldust, the Godwinns, and Hillbilly cleared the ring and, after he regained his senses, Ahmed led the chase outside of the areana onto 56th St. where he eventually hit the Pearl River Plunge on D-Lo on the hood of a car Mascarita Sagrada Jr. pinned Mini Vader at around the 6:30 mark with a missile dropkick; prior to the bout, footage was shown of Jim Cornette picking up Mini Vader at the Port Authority Bus Terminal after Mini Vader was driven in from Mexico; before the match, Sunny danced the Macarana as Pettingill sang "Mascarita" to the tune of the dance song; Jim Cornette did guest commentary for the bout before going ringside; after the match, Cornette verbally berated Mini Vader before both minis stripped Cornette of his pants WWF @ New York City, NY - All-Star Cafe - January 11, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - included an opening segment of Marc Mero & Sable arriving to Times Square in a limo; featured footage of the Sisters of Love being arrested outside of the Disney Store at 42nd and Broadway for solicitation; included Sunny's sex tape featuring someone in a life-size Elmo costume named Fondle Me Elmo; featured Todd Pettingill and the Honktyonk Man singing a duet; included Pettingill outside in Times Square in which Nikolai Volkoff was unexpectedly seen living in a pile of boxes; featured the announcement by Vince McMahon that Goldust was pregnant and would give birth the following week on Shotgun: Diesel II pinned Marc Mero (w/ Sable) with the powerbomb at around 13:30 after Mero became distracted by the Honkytonk Man who was talking to Sable on the floor; during the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Sable at ringside after Diesel attempted to confront Sable on the floor and she responded by throwing cake in his face; later in the bout, Razor Ramon II came ringside and attacked Mero on the floor before Rocky Miavia make the save; during the contest, Pettingill interviewed the Honkytonk Man who was watching the match; after the contest, Mero blamed Sable for the loss; after Mero left ringside, Honky came back to the ring as Sable was crying, with Miavia coming back out to rid Honky from the ring; moments later, Mero returned ringside, took exception to Miavia helping Sable, and the two came to blows Farooq (w/ PG-13, D-Lo Brown, Clarence Mason, and other Nation members) pinned Savio Vega with a spinebuster after Savio hit the corner at around the 8-minute mark; during the bout, Pettingill interviewed a fan about who he thought would be in Sunny's sex tape; the match saw interference mid-way through from PG-13 Rocky Miavia pinned Razor Ramon II at around the 7:30 mark with the shoulder breaker, despite interference from the Honkytonk Man who was at ringside during the bout Doug Furnas & Phil LaFon defeated the Headbangers (sub. for the Sisters of Love); only about 8 minutes of the match aired as the show ended before the conclusion of the contest WWF @ San Antonio, TX - Denim & Diamonds - January 18, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night - included Jim Ross doing commentary alongside Vince McMahon; featured Sunny leading the crowd with the Macarena; included the Honkytonk Man cheating to beat Mini Mankind and Histeria in a game of blackjack; featured George and Adam at the AlamoDome waiting for the next day's show; included Todd Pettingill conducting a surprise in-ring interview with Terry Funk in which Funk said he wanted to be #1 in the Royal Rumble so he could be in there the whole night, said there was no one in WCW that wanted a piece of him, called Pettingill's mother a whore, said Vince was a Yankee bastard, said the word asshole, and then urged Steve Austin to fight him in the ring, which they did briefly: Rocky Miavia defeated WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley via count-out in a non-title match at around the 12-minute mark after Goldust and Marlena came ringside and Helmsley ran off, with Goldust chasing him; on his way to the ring before the match, the champion was was interviewed by Todd Pettingill; during the bout, Jake Roberts made a surprise appearance and cleared the ring with his pet snake before joining the commentary team for the rest of the match Mini Mankind & Histeria defeated Mascarita Sagrada Jr. & Venum at 12:00 when Histeria pinned Venum with a sit-down powerbomb after Venum missed a leap off the top; before the match, Vladimir the superfan could be seen in the front row; Pettingill attempted to interview Mini Mankind before the bell but the mini didn't speak English; during the bout, Steve Austin joined the commentary team Farooq (w/ Crush, D-Lo Brown, Clarence Mason, & other Nation members) pinned Jesse Jammes at 1:55 with the spinebuster and Dominator Steve Austin defeated Goldust via disqualification at around the 5:30 mark when Terry Funk interfered and attacked Austin; after the bout, a brawl ensued involving the Headbangers, Rocky Miavia, the Godwinns, Farooq, and several others; the show went off the air as Hunter Hearst Helmsley choked Goldust with a pool cue while Funk and Austin fought their way around the ring WWF @ New York City, NY - Webster Hall - January 25, 1997 Shotgun Saturday Night: Bret Hart defeated Mankind (w/ Paul Bearer) via disqualification at around the 13-minute mark when Owen Hart - who was doing guest commentary for the bout - interfered and attacked Bret as Mankind was caught in the Sharpshooter; prior to the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Paul Bearer at ringside; before Hart's entrance, Mankind was attracted to the female dancers and cornered them until Bret made the save; after the bout, Bret battled Owen to the back Savio Vega defeated Rocky Miavia via count-out at around the 14:30 mark after Miavia injured his leg after being thrown to the floor; prior to the bout, Todd Pettingill interviewed Savio about turning on Ahmed earlier in the day at Madison Square Garden, with Savio apologizing - blaming his latin temper for the incident - and denied the rumors that he had joined the Nation; mid-way through the bout, Farooq and Crush came ringside, prompting Savio to be more aggressive in the ring; after the contest, Savio continued to attack Miavia's leg, with Crush and Farooq joining in triple teaming Rocky Jake Roberts pinned Salvatore Sincere with the DDT at 3:05; WWF IC Champion Hunter Hearst Helmsley did guest commentary for the bout; after the match, the Nation was seen looking on from the balcony; after coming back from commercial, footage was shown of Triple H hitting the Pedigree on a dazed Salvatore Sincere during the break Crush defeated Psycho Sid via disqualification at around the 8:30 mark when, after hitting the powerbomb on Crush, Sid grabbed a steel chair and swung it at Farooq and Savio Vega - before they could interfere - and then hit Crush over the head with it; Farooq and Savio arrived ringside mid-way through the bout

Mini cassette recorder. Think it was about $50 at Best Buy.

It may have been but it didn't air. That was one of the dark matches. The VHS release did include Taker / Kama and Bam Bam / Tatanka as extras. The VHS of #2 included Taker / Kama (casket) and Bret / Laffiette. Here's a more in-depth recap, noting which were dark matches of each show. In Your House #1 - Syracuse, NY - On Center - May 14, 1995 Jean Pierre Laffiette pinned Bob Holly Davey Boy Smith fought WWF Tag Team Champion Owen Hart to a draw The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) pinned Kama (w/ Ted Dibiase) with the tombstone Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Tatanka (w/ Ted Dibiase) with a sunset flip off the top Pay-per-view bouts: Bret Hart pinned Hakushi (w/ Shinja) with a reverse roll up out of a waist lock; as Hart jumped off the apron after the match, he appeared to have injured his ankle Razor Ramon defeated WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett & the Roadie in a handicap match by pinning Jarrett with the Razor's Edge after blocking the figure-4 and kicking the champion into his partner; after the match, Jarrett & the Roadie attacked Razor with Aldo Montoya attempting to make the save but failing; a man later known as Savio Vega eventually saves Razor but is escorted from ringside by officials and security KOTR Qualifying Match: Mabel (w/ Mo) pinned Adam Bomb by catching Bomb in mid-air and hitting a powerslam WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) defeated the Smoking Gunns when Owen pinned Bart following a Yokozuna leg drop on the floor Jerry Lawler pinned Bret Hart with a double leg roll up after Hakushi came off the top three times as the referee was tied up in the ropes and distracted by Shinja WWF World Champion Diesel defeated Psycho Sid (w/ Ted Dibiase) via disqualification when Tatanka broke the pin following the powerbomb; Bam Bam Bigelow made the save In Your House #2 - Nashville, TN - Municipal Auditorium - July 23, 1995 Skip pinned Aldo Montoya at 4:00 Bret Hart pinned Jean Pierre Laffiette by countering a waist lock into a reverse roll up The Undertaker (w/ Paul Bearer) defeated Kama (w/ Ted Dibiase) in a casket match Pay-per-view bouts: The Roadie pinned the 1-2-3 Kid with a piledriver off the middle turnbuckle Men on a Mission defeated Razor Ramon & Savio Vega when King Mabel pinned Razor with a belly to belly suplex after hitting a splash in the corner Bam Bam Bigelow pinned Henry Godwinn after Godwinn missed a kneedrop off the turnbuckle Shawn Michaels pinned WWF IC Champion Jeff Jarrett (w/ the Roadie) to win the title with the superkick after the Roadie accidentally tripped the champion WWF Tag Team Champions Owen Hart & Yokozuna (w/ Mr. Fuji & Jim Cornette) defeated Lex Luger & Davey Boy Smith when Yoko pinned Luger with a legdrop after Owen hit a double axe handle off the top behind the referee's back WWF World Champion Diesel pinned Psycho Sid (w/ Ted Dibiase) in a lumberjack with a boot to the face after fending off several of Sid's lumberjacks; lumberjacks included: King Kong Bundy, Kama, IRS, the Heavenly Bodies, Rad Radford, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Tatanka, Men on a Mission, Henry Godwinn, Jacob & Eli Blu, Skip, Jean Pierre Laffiette, Mantaur, Savio Vega, Bam Bam Bigelow, Razor Ramon, Bob Holly, Duke Drose, Man Mountain Rock, Fatu, Techno Team 2000, the Smoking Gunns, the 1-2-3 Kid, Adam Bomb, & Shawn Michaels; the match saw interference by King Mabel as he attacked Diesel on the floor and Shawn Michaels as he hit a double axe handle off the top onto Sid who was on the floor #2 is the better of the two shows, if only for Jarrett's "singing" performance and HBK / Jarrett.

During Survivor Series 01, you can easily spot him in the crowd at WWF NY.

Part 2 is up for those who are interested. Just follow the link I gave earlier and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Summer Slam 90 ad I don't know the timeframe of when that ad was put out, but if you squint hard enough you can see Beefcake's name as the challenger.

Perfect did cause him to be eliminated from the IC title tournament. Beefcake had about 2 months worth of title shots against Perfect before he was injured.

It was a lot more organized than the last one. The autograph sessions went by a LOT faster. The second Q&A was hosted by Bill Apter and featured the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express. Ricky Morton did most of the talking. Talked about working indy shows and how some of them can have 20 matches on the card … the crowd couldn’t wait for him to bring up the topic of Kevin Nash; Ricky tore into him pretty good, saying he doesn’t know the business and has no right to bad mouth Ricky and talk about Ricky’s life when he doesn’t know enough about him to make accusations or comments … I asked them about their WWF / WCW pay-per-view spots in 93; they didn’t elaborate too much but did say Watts was planning to bring them in but as soon as Bischoff took over he dropped them … both praised the Hardy Boyz as a team they would enjoy working with … Ricky told a great story about hanging out with a drunk Ric Flair and Flair had the notion to go out on his boat (Ricky said it was more like a yacht). Ric ends up falling out of the boat and it takes Ricky about a half-hour to find him since it’s at night. So Ric shows back up at his house in boxers, a sock, and a shirt (he was in business attire when he fell in) gasping for air as he told his wife how lucky he was to be alive. Her response, “He (Ricky) should have let you drown.” … Ricky had his young son with him during the weekend … They are thinking about doing a book in 05. After the Q&A, I was talked into having a few more beers at the bar. Spent a good amount of time talking to Doug Gentry from RF Video. He’s a great guy. He was aware of my website, which was pretty nice. Then Gary Michael Cappetta came over and just chilled out right next to me, smoking a cigarette. So I talked to him for about an hour. Apparently back when he was with Vince Sr., he also worked as a high school Spanish teacher in NJ – which is what he’s also doing now. Told a great story about working for WCW and when they would run a show in New Haven or the area, Pat Patterson or Howard Finkel would always show up in disguise and sit in the crowd. So one time Gary is sitting down at ringside and someone starts tugging at his jacket from behind. He turns around and it’s Patterson wearing a raincoat so no one would see him. Shortly thereafter, Bill Apter came over and joined in on the conversation. I think I finally got to bed around 3am. I was hoping to go to the morning church service with Tully, Nikita, Ivan, and George South since I heard good things about it in Charlotte but there was no way I could get out of bed to get there by 8. Sunday’s signing included Ivan and Nikita Koloff, Larry Zbyzsko, Ole Anderson, JJ Dillon, Tully Blanchard, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Express, and Baby Doll. We were lucky enough to get in the front row for the signing, hoping to get out of there around 1pm since there was a long drive in front of us. I had Zbyzsko sign the Boston program of him and Bruno in the main event. He took some interest in it and flipped through the pages commenting, “Ah, the Samoans … those were the good ole days.” Also had him sign a PWI Weekly with the cover story being a possible NWA / AWA working relationship (he and Sting, being the champions of both companies, were featured). He started reading it and then said that Gagne wanted to do an invasion angle but the NWA backed out. He claimed it was because they were afraid he was going to expose Sting in the ring and make him look bad. Brian was in front of me in line and as he was leaving Ole’s spot, Ole asked if he had bought his book. Brian said yes, then Ole turned his attention to me and asked the same. I paused and gave a very smart answer of “Not yet.” He replied with, “What the hell is wrong with you? Security, throw this guy out!” After the security guy and I jokingly exchanged words, with me saying I wouldn’t fight fair (the same security guy that compared me to Ferris Bueller throughout the weekend … I’m not sure where he got that but I took it as a compliment), Ole happily signed a few JCP video covers. I was honored to have Ole go off on me. JJ remembered me from Charlotte, which was very nice. All I had to say was, “I was the guy with the 3-ring binder up to here (my shoulders).” He had taken interest in the fact that I had the 1 MSG show he was part of listed in full. After going through the line, we did one last walk-through of the tables and even bumped into David Flair. David was selling autographed 8X10s and signed boxed figures of his dad at one of the tables. Said he was working a regular 9 to 5 job now. We then hit the RF table one more time and hit the road. Like I said before – just a lot of fun. I know that some people were pissed about one thing or another but I went for the experience, not solely to have so-and-so sign whatever. And I had a great experience. I have pictures posted on my website but if you haven’t seen them already here’s a link: www.angelfire.com/wrestling/cawthon777/fayetteville.htm

Saturday was busy. Woke up, hit the Shoney’s breakfast buffet (the more food in the morning the better since we were going to be at the convention all day), and went over to see how things were going. I brought with me a large box of tapes to either sell or trade and, thankfully, my friend Sam Finley – who had a table right next to Gorgeous George (yes, Savage’s ex girlfriend) – gave me $100 in credit for them. I thought that was a good deal since most of the tapes were the lesser quality Coliseum Home Videos, along with WWF pay-per-views circa 98-01. So from him alone, I picked up a signed Ric Flair book, Blassie’s book, a crap load of old Apter mags and pre-Apter mags (one of which was already autographed by Dusty Rhodes), a Bruno / Zbyzsko Boston Garden program, a WWF Brian Pillman action figure still in box, and a few other items. There were two convention rooms that were used – 1) the larger, autograph signing room with the more well known wrestling-related people from RF Video, Georgia Wrestling History, Mid-Atlantic Gateway, Wrestling Classics, as well as tables for Sensational Sherri, Terry Taylor, David Flair, Jimmy Garvin, Penny Banner, Ole Anderson, Scotty Riggs, and Bob Roop selling their various books and merchandise and 2) a smaller room with more vendor tables, among them tables with George, Steve Corino, and the Maestro from WCW (he looks totally different now, I didn’t recognize him at first). The first signing session included Mick Foley, Mr. Wrestling II, Magnum TA, Jimmy Garvin, Precious, George South, Tommy Young, and David Isley. I had items for most of the names and if I didn’t, I just had them sign the convention program. For Foley, I had him sign “Have a Nice Day” and my Roanoke Raw taping poster from November 97. After handing him the poster, he glanced it over and said, “Where am I? Oh, here at the bottom.” (that got more than a few laughs, me included) Then nudged Magnum and made a funny comment about people saying he wasn’t a main eventer. To make himself feel better, he said something to the effect of, “Well Shawn’s listed at the bottom too … so that’s okay.” On our way out to get gas and hit the ATM machine, we saw Sensational Sherri smoking outside. My friend Brian has bumped into her on many occasions and she remembered him. Jokingly I said, after seeing her with the cigarette, “That might not be the best thing for you.” Her response was something like … “When you get to be as old as I am and go through all the bullshit I’ve gone through, then you tell me what I can and cannot do.” Needless to say, I was afraid to move at that point. But the moment Sherri realized we had stuff for her to sign, she became as giddy as a 16-year old girl who’s just been asked out by the quarterback of the football team. By the way, Sherri was staying at the same Motel 6 we were in, located a block or two away. Later in the afternoon, after deciding that 2 autographed Foley items wasn’t enough, I paid the $10 fee to have my picture taken with Mick – hoping that he would sign my WrestleMania XX ticket. He was happy to oblige. The second session featured Ricky Steamboat, Tim Horner, Tommy Rich, Gene Ligon, Penny Banner, and Bill White. Stan Lane, Dory Funk Jr., and Tony Atlas were also scheduled to appear but didn’t for whatever reason; I believe Dory couldn’t make it due to the hurricanes. I know Stan showed up late, claiming to have gotten lost since the promoter of the show Greg Price didn’t call him back to help him with directions. He signed autographs in the lobby or hallway for a short time before leaving, saying that Price made it clear that he wasn’t welcome. I don’t know all the facts about the incident but even if he was a few minutes late, I know there were a ton of fans who were very much looking forward to seeing Stan and to send him home wasn’t necessary in my opinion. Rich made the session even more disappointing by just walking out after a few minutes. He returned a half-hour later, signed for a little bit, and again left. He gets the Buddy Landel award for those who know what happened at the last convention in Charlotte. A little upsetting for Brian since he brought his NWA world title replica specifically to have it signed by Tommy (he already had it autographed by Dory, Steamboat, Dusty, and Ron Garvin in Charlotte). At around 6pm we headed back to the hotel for a quick rest before coming back for the two Saturday night Q&A sessions. But before leaving, I picked up a 10-hour Superstar Billy Graham video set, a 6-hour Backlund tape, a 6-hour Muraco tape, and a tape of all the Shotgun nightclub shows from 97 – all for only $30. Brian bought a 5-tape Backlund set and a Snuka compilation. The first Q&A was hosted by former WWWF / WCW ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta and featured Tully Blanchard, with Baby Doll and JJ Dillon later joining the panel. A very interesting experience. What touched me quite a bit was Baby Doll’s story of being pregnant with her second daughter and Sam Houston – her then-husband – giving her $100 and then leaving her to fend for herself. She spent the next few minutes visibly holding back tears. Near the close of the session, Cappetta – who had been taking questions from the crowd throughout – asked the panel what they were up to now. Baby Doll is a department manager at Wal-Mart in, I believe, Arkansas. She said she was happy with her life and has been with someone for about 2 years, though she’s not looking to get married again. Tully, for those who don’t know, visits prisons to spread the word of God. He mentioned that sometimes at the prisons, he shows the I Quit match with Magnum to help in his sermon. JJ works in Delaware, has been married 3 times and divorced 3 times, and said he was very grateful for all the fans that showed up to give their appreciation to the wrestlers. He continued by saying he appreciated the fans’ support as much as they appreciated him and then broke down crying. The audience responded with a standing ovation. Cappetta, JJ, Tully, and Baby Doll then embraced on the stage as the room was lit up by flash bulb lights. I’ll be back later with memories of the second Q&A as well as Sunday’s happenings.

WWF @ Ottawa, Ontario - September 9, 1991 WWF Superstars taping: 9/28/91: Ric Flair fought Mark Thomas to a no contest when Flair stopped at the commentary table on the way to the ring, provoked Roddy Piper, and knocked Piper out with the NWA title; moments later, a groggy Piper accidentally knocked out Vince McMahon with a wooden chair; Flair then hit Piper with a chair and walked away; McMahon was soon taken backstage on a stretcher; fellow commentator, Randy Savage was unable to physically help since he was on probation (The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection DVD) Before Flair even showed up on TV, Piper spat on the NWA title during a Funeral Parlor with Bobby Heenan - saying that Hogan was the only world champion. Heenan took exception to that and when Flair showed up, he targeted both Piper and Hogan.

I just got back from the NWA Fanfest in Fayetteville, NC last night and thought I'd give a little recap for those who couldn't attend. Some names previously announced couldn't make it but that was made public about a week or so before the show. Sting, Dustin Rhodes, and Bobby Eaton were among those names. I would have liked to have met all of them but it will take more than that to keep me from coming. Really bad weather throughout the weekend. I think the hurricanes in Florida kept Dory Funk Jr. from flying up. Tony Atlas was also a no show but I'm not sure where he was coming in from so I don't know the circumstances. Got in late afternoon on Friday. My friend Brian and I decided to stop by the hotel the convention was being held at to go ahead and register and get our VIP pass. After spending some time in the ballroom (we weren't allowed in at that time) and getting a scoop on all the merchandise that would be available the following morning, we walked down the hall to the registration table. As we're rounding the corner, Brian comments on how cool it would be to bump into Mick Foley and get a free picture with him (Foley was going to be in the $10 polariod room the following day). Just as I tell him to expect low so that you'll always be surprised (for instance, expect to run into one of the enhancement guys that was scheduled to appear), who walks in front of us but former PWI editor Bill Apter ... with him ... Mick Foley. A collective whisper of "Holy shit" could be heard in the lobby as Mick signed in at the desk. He was surrounded by a small group wanting autographs and since neither of us wanted to be that annoying fan guy, we decided to hold off for the next day or at least until he got back from having dinner. He must have come back through a seperate entrance or we just missed him. Moments after seeing Mick, I had my picture taken with Bill Apter who - surprisingly - remembered me from being in Charlotte at the January fanfest. We soon entered the bar which was about 10 feet away and as we're about to sit down, we walk right by Rob Feinstein of RF Video. That was another "Holy shit" moment as neither of us expected to see him show his face after all that controversy from a few months back. The rest of the night was spent at the bar, drinking, saying hi to Scotty Riggs and Robert Gibson who showed up, and explaining the significance of the weekend to a female non-fan who was also drinking the night away. I'll be back later with a recap of Saturday's events. Now that was a VERY long and eventful day. Pictures are on their way.

I know Bret/Yoko had a Cage Match on Inside the WWF. I wouldn't call it **** but it was on a Yokozuna scale probably. Maybe that's not the match I'm thinking of then, but I definitly remember Meltzer saying once that Bret and Yoko went **** in a cage. I think that may have been San Fransisco (8/20/93) which is available on fan cam. Either that or one of the other shows from that CA tour.

Or everyone (everyone = me) expected Mr. Perfect to beat Shawn Michaels and instead we had our first screwjob IC title match at Summer Slam. That could have been SO much better ... Aside from that, the only really memorable match on the card was the tag title match.

This past weekend I was fortunate to speak in-depth with WWE Hall of Famer 'Handsome' Jimmy Valiant. He's retiring on Christmas Day after 40 years in the ring, has been running his own wrestling school for the past 12 years, and is writing a book scheduled for release in 2005. The interview is broken into three parts. I'll be posting a new section after every few days. Here's a link if you're interested: An Interview with Jimmy Valiant

I used to have it but I'm not sure it was shown in full on Saturday Night since it wasn't taped at Center Stage. I think the match aired on Pro but I could be wrong. It came from the GAB stop in Baltimore; a few of the other matches on that card were spliced into the various shows as well. I remember the Nikita / Rude match (the one where Jake debuted) as well as a Steamboat / Cactus bout were also televised.

Um, ok. I think you missed my point - that being that when you have two guys ... and one is top tier and you want the other one to get to that point ... it's not always best to have the mid-carder beat the main eventer on the first try. This has nothing to do with contracts or what was on the line and what match was more important. Benoit has to beat Orton every single night to stay champion. Orton only has to beat Benoit once to win it. So have Benoit beat Orton. Then have him make a mistake somewhere along the way, with Orton taking the belt. That's a better plan than just throwing the belt on Randy with 3 weeks buildup. 'Supposedly' is the key word here. Anything can happen between August 6, 2004 and WrestleMania XXI. At this point last year, Bret Hart was 'supposedly' going to be at WrestleMania XX - a card which was to 'supposedly' feature a unification match pitting the WWE Champ against the World Champ. Or so the Internet said. If Triple H / Orton is a long term plan - why put the belt on Orton now? And what sense is there in having Orton defend the belt at WrestleMania as a face? Wouldn't it be better for him to challenge a heel Triple H? There are too many questions surrounding this whole thing now to put in stone that Orton is winning at Summer Slam or that it will be Triple H / Orton at Mania.

... Yuh huh. Survivor Series 96. Bret vs. Austin. Austin lost but did the rivalry end there? No. Did he look bad in defeat? No, because his push to the next level was just beginning. Royal Rumble 03. Benoit vs. Angle. Benoit loses but his performance showed that he COULD be champion, given another opportunity. There are dozens of other examples here. My point is that there is no reason to hotshot the belt onto someone who the company is trying to bring to that next level. Make it a slow burn. Make the fans care about the title hunt. Stretch it out a little more. Have Benoit go over at Summer Slam, in which Orton comes very close to taking the belt, then Orton wins the belt at Unforgiven.

I can't find 1 instance of anyone by the name of Shamrock - save for one match in 89 - prior to 1997. The Nasty Boys showed up in the tail end of 1990. I'm interested to know when this took place, exactly.

Fall 98. Rock starts getting major face pops and competing in higher-than-IC-level matches. Kama slowly transformed into the Godfather. Mark Henry & D-Lo started teaming. That was about it. Throw in Henry & D-Lo jumping Rock during Raw. But they hadn't appeared together on TV for a while prior to that point.

cuz that's my fun day My 'I don't have to run' day ... I <3 Susannah Hoffs

I'm about 80% certain it was due to time.

I refuse to believe that's actually the name that will be used. It's just ... that bad. Pop Quiz: What comes before Taboo Tuesday? Answer: Manic Monday Stay tuned in 2005 for Wacky Wednesday and 'Hawaiian Shirt Day' Friday.

I'm interested to know where that info came from. I did find a few instances - VERY few - of a Ken Wayne who was around in 92 and 93. Lost a squash to Nailz and appeared on a joint card with USWA.