Jump to content
TSM Forums

JimmyHendricks

Members
  • Content count

    454
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Community Reputation

0 Neutral

About JimmyHendricks

  • Birthday 07/14/1982

Recent Profile Visitors

990 profile views
  1. JimmyHendricks

    10 Years Later

    We were having a blast. We left to go get food just as the show was starting, and saw an oddly placed funnel cake stand in the middle of nowhere. It was fully operating, so my friend bought one. We arrived back at our seats as the Hardcore Holly/Al Snow "falls count anywhere" match was starting. And wouldn't you know it, they ended up fighting at that exact same funnel cake stand, hitting each other with them. Now were knew why there was this one isolated stand. Heh! Then it was time for The Godfather to face the Blue Blazer. They put the "next match" screen up on the TitanTron. Many have mistakenly said that THIS was when Owen fell, since the crowd reacted in some form. I think it truly was the crowd popping at the sight of an upcoming Godfather match, and that meant the Ho's would be appearing, which was always a cheap pop. The arena was then darkened, since a video montage was playing, so while I was watching the TitanTron, I saw a mass falling from (what ended up being) the ceiling. I saw him flop into the ring. I immediately thought it was a dummy, since Sting would send a mannequin down to distract the nWo before appearing on the other side, or coming up through the ring, etc. I actually said, "Whoops! That wasn't supposed to happen!". Within 5 seconds or so, I could see that Owen was moving, like he was trying to sit up. He was able to lift his arms a foot off the canvas, and tilt his bent legs back and forth as well. After about 15 seconds, this stopped, his legs straightened out, and he never moved again. Earl Hebner was the referee in the ring, looked at Owen, did the whole "shocked referee" look (hands on head), then ran to the announce table side of the ring, frantically waving his arms at King and J.R. to get help. Everything was quite morbidly silent (save for the video) for the next 40 seconds or so, as medics came down. At this point, it looked just like an injury angle from TV. Coupled with Hebner's reaction, I initially thought it was a work. I noticed a police officer (a real KC one, recognized the uniform) was with them. At this point, the now infamous "Take my vitamins and Drink my milk" interview with Owen was playing, and I began to think that it wouldn't make sense for them to work an angle while a video package was playing. I now started to believe that it was an accident. The interview ended, and we saw J.R. on the Tron, but with no audio. It was exactly what was on TV, complete with "fell from the ceiling" motions. A note on the lack of audio: Many have said that it was to keep the crowd from knowing, so not to bum them out, but I think the opposite. It would quite odd to hear J.R. speaking over the speakers as Owen was dying in the ring. Suddenly, I see the police officer giving Owen CPR. It then hit myself (and others): He's DEAD. We started to wonder if it truly was Owen or not, since there had been multiple people playing the Blazer over the last few months (Owen, Jarrett, even some African-American guy). A woman had a program (remember those?) with a printed match listing that Kemper Arena had inserted, and it plainly said, "Godfather vs. Owen Hart" on it, no Blazer mention. I never figured that one out, but it clarified who it was in the ring. As we all know, they worked on him for several minutes (10 or so), and I kept thinking that they had revived him, since it didn't make sense to me to keep him there in the ring if his heart had stopped. I saw defibulator(sp?) paddles, but never saw them used. They eventually moved him to a stretcher, and wheeled him out VERY fast. The crowd popped for that. The speed that they rushed him out of there again elevated my suspicions that he was in bad shape. At this point, I, my friend with me, and most of our section thought that the show was over. Seemingly, so did others. I would estimate about 2,000 of the 18,000 sold out crowd left at this point. They weren't going to piss or get nachos, those seats remained empty. I don't think it was out of disgust or shock, we truly thought the show may be over. However, it continued, and THAT made me think that Owen was OK. A few matches later, a backstage segment was shown where Vince was being loaded into an ambulance (I think the Corporate Ministry had attacked him eariler on Heat, but I can't remember). When they showed the ambulance, for a split second the crowd erupted, undoubtedly thinking it was Owen, and that he was OK. Of course, it wasn't Owen, and he was dead by this point. After the Union/Corporate Ministry match, we saw J.R. and King on the TitanTron, again with no audio. It seemed very out of place, and I think we all knew what they were announcing. When Austin came out for his title match with Undertaker, he got a loud pop, but not as loud as Gangrel had gotten to open the night in a dark match. I think we were all bummed out by this point. As we all know, Taker pinned him for the title, and the show went off the air at this point. Austin remained in the ring, grabbed a mic, and said something to the effect of, "If you want to bring that son of a bitch back, give me a hell yeah", to which we responded, of course. I'm assuming he meant Taker. He toasted a couple of beers, and left. The ring announcer (not Finkel) announced that tickets for the next house show would go on sale that Saturday, and it was officially over. Now remember, this was 1999, where cell phones couldn't get a reception very well inside an arena, texting was just a forgotten phone option, and all phones could essentially do was dial/receive calls, and play "snake". Because of this, when we got out of the arena (where EVERYONE was talking about Owen) I called my parents at home, where it was all over the news. I'll never forget asking my dad to turn on the news, but he was a step ahead of me: "Yeah, I saw that on the news--about Owen Hart? (What happened?) That he died! They took him to Truman Medical Center where he died!" The drive home was pretty much a blur. I remember watching KMBC-9 news where funny enough, The Coach (who was employed as a sportscaster at the time) gave a report on the accident, having been ringside (as a fan and correspondent). The next morning, I got up early (well, an hour) to catch all the morning national news programs, which all led with Owen as the story of the day. I still have the KC Star newspapers from the 24th and 25th ("Pro Wrestler Suffers Fatal Fall"). I felt that Owen's death would be the biggest (negative) pro wrestling story ever, and of course that would change eight years later. This one, however, remains the most tragic, since Owen by all accounts was genuinely a good guy all around. Yes, they should have stopped the show. We thought they were going to. Do I understand why it continued? Sure--but they could have easily stopped it. But I know they wanted to deliver a complete show so no one could justify asking for their money back. A business decision. While someone died in the ring during the same show. It just doesn't make sense to me.
  2. JimmyHendricks

    10 Years Later

    Having been there in the arena that night, it brings back horrific memories. I can still remember thinking that he had just fallen from the lighting above the ring, until I saw a police officer giving him CPR. I knew right then that it wasn't good at all--essentially Lawler's reaction when he came back to the announce table while J.R. was announcing. I most definitely does not feel like 10 years have passed. My, time goes by fast. I truly believe Owen would have gotten out of the business within a couple of years. I hear people talk all the time about how he could have been a World champion, etc. That was never going to happen. In fact, if Bret would have still suffered his concussion and retired as he did, I think Owen would have followed right along with him. He certainly wouldn't be a HHH or Kane and still be wrestling today. It's a shame, but despite hateful, spiteful fans, it WAS an unfortunate accident, and Vince McMahon is not a "murderer", either. It was about 8:40/7:40c or so when he fell. I will say a silent prayer in about a half hour.
  3. JimmyHendricks

    Ridiculous old school rumors

    Sounds legit. I remember that rumor as well. Not the "renting WM 14" part, but I remember reading a completely serious news story about how Tyson, unable to be reinstated into boxing, had decided to sign full time with the WWF as an on air performer/wrestler and would debut as the higher power. Of course, that never happened. I do remember reading how it actually was Vince in the outfit when he revealed his face to Austin on the RAW before the big reveal (via front row fans who saw his face).
  4. JimmyHendricks

    The Savage / WWE bad blood

    I think the only thing that can bring Savage back in any capacity is if his DVD set sells well. It may cause Vince to see the money potential, and work out a deal. What other time would be better to bring him back?
  5. JimmyHendricks

    This is not a Test - Andrew Martin dead

    http://www.jrsbarbq.com/blog/jr-remembers-...-friday-evening From J.R's Blog: Late last night I received word that Andrew Martin aka Test had been found dead in his apartment/condo in the Tampa, Florida area. Andrew would have been 34 years of age this Tuesday. I hired Andrew in the same class with his other fellow Canadians Edge and Christian in the late 90's in an outstanding group of young talent whose advanced training was over seen by future WWE Hall of Famer Dory Funk and by Tom Prichard. Andrew left WWE over two years ago and had wrestled off and on, briefly in TNA, and also on the independent circuit primarily on international tours. I spoke at length with Andrew, as did my wife, last year in Orlando at Wrestlemania 24 and he seemed very happy and looked to be healthy and in great physical condition. He spoke of his real estate endeavors and the fact that he was strongly considering going back to school and becoming accredited as a physical therapist. Andrew had done well in WWE, saved his money, made some good investments, and told me he only wanted to wrestle when "he wanted to" which the randomly scheduled international tours would allow him to do. He did not express interest in the American indy scene and was genuinely excited about the prospects of the aforementioned physical therapy career. Andrew had always told me that he never wanted to wrestle past the age of 35 which was why he "listened to the lectures" as he told me with a smile that sunny day in Orlando in WWE's headquarter hotel. I honestly had never seen him happier. Late last summer, reacting on the suggestion of others, WWE reached out to Andrew to ask if he needed some help handling some alleged personal issues that he was rumored to have been experiencing. Andrew had been gone from WWE for over two years but had remained friends with many still associated with WWE. The rumors of Andrew's issues were true and he was afforded the opportunity by WWE to attend The Hanley Center Rehabilitation facility in West Palm Beach, Florida for several weeks beginning in August of 2008. Andrew successfully completed the WWE funded program and was highly regarded by the Hanley Center with being such an asset to them after completing the program of which Andrew took seriously, according to the facility. Since being released from the facility after successfully completing the program, Andrew had been doing well in his 12 Step AA program and was in contact with WWE with regular phone calls. Ironically, Friday was the day for his regularly scheduled "touching base" but when called his voice mail box was full. I was not aware that Andrew was having problems and did not know of is rehab stint until recently. Test, a name provided Martin after he portrayed a security person who tested the band Motley Crue's mic with the obligatory, 'test...test...test," always seemed to be a bright young man who knew what he wanted in life and was seemingly looking forward to his future and getting an education in physical therapy. It is comforting to know that Andrew was receiving support from WWE and it was also encouraging to know that he was seemingly on the road to recovery in the past several months. The exact cause of Andrew's death won't be determined for a few days after the results of an autopsy have been released. I will remember this young man as a bright, intelligent individual and am thankful that my last conversation with him was so positive and that he was excited about his future in a new field. Our sincere condolences go out to his family, friends, and fans and may God rest his soul. It's another wrestler death that puts WWE and Vince in a negative light, but it seems that they were more than willing to help him out, even after he left the company.
  6. JimmyHendricks

    Watchmen

    I saw this opening night at midnight, in a sold out IMAX. It’s been a combination of being busy and wanting to wait a couple of days before posting my thoughts to let everything digest. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. There were lots of things that bugged me, most of them little. I think we’re in a real honeymoon phase with this film, where people are determined to like it no matter what because they waited so long for it. Don’t get me wrong-it was good, but Dark Knight was miles, miles better. I sense a Superman Returns/Spider-Man 3 revolt by summer or so. By the time the DVD comes out, I think everyone will be hyped for the director’s cut instead of the theatrical edition, which will hopefully fix most of the nagging problems I had. I’m blacking out everything from this point on, but honestly, if you are reading by this point in the thread and complain about spoilers….. I don’t think Snyder blew it, but I think the studio made sure to put their coat of paint on it before they would release it.
  7. JimmyHendricks

    Meeting Sports Entertainers - Autographs, etc.

    I met Batista in 2007: http://forums.thesmartmarks.com/index.php?...p;#entry2569419
  8. JimmyHendricks

    Saturday Night's Main Event

    I posted this in the DVD thread in the WWE folder, but it's on this set, so here goes: In the Hogan/Bundy match that opens disc 2, after Andre chokes Hogan out and Duggan makes the save with the 2x4, Duggan smacks the ring apron with it, a big piece flying into the crowd. They never showed that camera angle again after that. Did that seriously fuck a fan up?
  9. JimmyHendricks

    The OAO WWE DVD Thread

    In the Hogan/Bundy match that opens disc 2, after Andre chokes Hogan out and Duggan makes the save with the 2x4, Duggan smacks the ring apron with it, a big piece flying into the crowd. They never showed that camera angle again after that. Did that seriously fuck a fan up? This set is all kinds of awesome, though.
  10. JimmyHendricks

    Legends of WrestleMania

    This has probably become a instant buy for me because of the ring carts. When the original shots of Andre WALKING to a WM III ring surfaced when the game was announced, I was PISSED. But with the footage of Bam Bam in the cart, I'm guessing it's an option you can toggle on or off. This is the nostalgic wrestling game I've always dreamed of. Unless it gets absolutely horrid reviews across the board, it's a day one purchase for me. Funny, I haven't even cared about SvR for about 5 years now, but this game has me pumped.
  11. JimmyHendricks

    NFL PLAYOFFS

    I just stopped by this thread to say how annoying it will be hearing all the New York sports media people (ESPN, SiriusXM, etc.) going on and on about the Giants falling apart on Monday, rather than how impressive Philly and Arizona played. During the season it's the Giants and the Cowboys. They've seemed to finally get over mentioning Dallas every 10 seconds, and now this. Also, if I hear about how it's a negative to have a bye week and the last 54363 Super Bowl champions were Wild Card teams, I'm going to barf.
  12. Some of this post is 100% incorrect. in the words of Stone Cold.... WHAT? No, he's correct. The smoking skull belt is not the attitude era title. The first attitude era title (ie: big eagle) was blue. The second one was black. Is your reading comprehension fucked? He claimed the second attitude strap with the black leather had no side plates....I posted pictures proving it does. a) Oh. Maybe next time you should bold which part of the sentence you're referring to. b) He said side bars, not side plates. I assume that means the bars that stuck out on the side of main centre plate. I think they were free floating to begin with but then became a "solid" part of the mold. Not 100% on that, if anyone has close-up pics I'd love to see, though. c) Fuck you. The b) part is what I was referring to, he described it exactly. My wording was off a bit in my last post, and I modified it to make it more clear. The first blue Big Eagle that Austin was given after WM XIV had raised side bars, the second black-strapped Big Eagle (that Rock was given at Survivor Series 98) had side "bars" that were part of the mold of the center plate, but not raised. Sorry for all the turmoil this caused.
  13. JimmyHendricks

    Aronofsky's "The Wrestler"

    Wow, after seeing this, I can't believe Aronofsky had the balls to actually show this to Vince. He had to know what the reaction would be, I hope. I'm sure any backlash against the industry will be met with swift cries of "It's a movie, they oversensationalized it" or "In the WWE we take care of our performers". But like the NFL, once you're done, you have nowhere to go. I guess Vince can't be blamed if someone like Randy the Ram's contract runs out, he's released, and keeps wrestling another 10 years and destroys his body, but too many ex-wrestlers got into the business because they had nowhere else to turn, and when that ran out, they were lost. That's kind of what this film shows. I can't believe Nic Cage was actually slated to play the lead in this, and understand completely why Aronofsky fought for Mickey Rourke. He brings a broken down presence to the character that Cage simply cannot do. Perhaps 10 years ago, but not now. I shudder to think how the scenes with Evan Rachel Wood could have played out if Cage were in that role. The small little subtle things, like the hearing aid, Randy rocking out to 80's music, and the entire autograph signing made it so much more realistic than say, Randy the Ram simply being broke and popping pills for 90 minutes or something. I bet there were TONS of washed up wrestlers trying to land a part in this film. It was essentially Beyond the Mat II, but I was more emotionally invested in this film.
  14. The spinner replica sells like crazy, both the "real" replica and the foam belt one. Vince wants that thing all over TV. That's always been the mentality behind WWF/E merch.....if you wear it on TV, it sells. Austin had about 15 different shirts alone in 1998. I hate the spinner belt, and would love to see either the Undisputed Title (with bigger plates, like Rock had, the original one HHH was awarded looked more like the WWE North American Title or something) or a completely new belt, but I don't see it anytime soon. I can remember in one of the Austin videos, I think it was "Hell Yeah", he talked about the "first night" he was awarded the WWF title (blue strap) after WM 14, when he went to stun Vince, the belt jumped up and cut him in the chin. I don't think it was that exact night, because I rewatched that segment and he didn't get cut, but it corroborates that story, I guess. I can remember one of the center plate side bars (like what the Winged Eagle belt had) on the original blue strapped Attitude belt Austin was awarded being broken, because JMAR had a website with a picture of it, with the caption saying it was "Abused by Austin"....which is kind of ironic. Austin used to always chuck his belt into the ring while walking down the ramp, especially when he was I-C champ. The second model of the Attitude era title was exactly the same, except with a black strap and the scratch logo.....and no raised side bars, they were just designed into the edge of the flat center plate. I believe this broken belt was the reasoning behind the Winged Eagle belt being in the Austin zamboni segment, where Vince was going to award it to either Kane or Undertaker....since the Attitude belt was broken and they didn't want that on TV. I can also remember the Winged Eagle belt that Bret carried around October of 1997 having the top WWF logo broken off. I was at the 10/6/97 RAW (day after Pillman's death), and Bret was on the ramp giving an interview to Shawn and HHH in the ring. He held up the belt, saying something like, "Until you have THIS, you aren't the top guy, blah blah blah" and you could plainly see the broken plate.
  15. JimmyHendricks

    The OAO WWE DVD Thread

    That is an unbelievably awesome listing, which makes me suspect it somewhat. I can see it being clipped like the best of Raw set, which would royally suck. But if it's all full and complete (with Jesse commentary), it might be the best set they've put out that wasn't wrestler-specific.
×