Sad News for Wildside Fans

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

In really bad news, Bill Behrens announced earlier today that "The Original Chosen One" Rick Michaels (Real name: Ray Rawls) has been hospitalized with a herniated disk, and the doctors have said that he may never wrestle again. However, according to a message from his wife, Tonya, on the Wildside message board, he is very determined to come back to the ring.

[Guest job squad]

suckes that he is haveing back troubles

[Guest goodhelmet]

i read your interview with him SC, but since i have never seen wildside, how would you assess this loss to wrestling? is this guy a good wrestler or not?

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

He was a super worker. He'd probably blend in really easily with guys like Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson in their primes. If it wasn't for Rick, you guys wouldn't be fawning over AJ Styles; he trained him (as I've stated many, many, many, many times). So, while it may not be the biggest moment in the history of the business, it's a pretty big impact to those who have seen his work and/or talked to/met him. He was one of the good guys that you don't hear about so often, and, as bad as I want to see him work again, I don't want him hurting himself even worse by making a comeback.

[Guest netslob]

damn, that sucks. Rick Michaels is a helluva worker. here's to a speedy recovery.

[Guest goodhelmet]

well, on a related note... since i maynever get to see thi guy in action, are there any particular matches or shows that feature him that i should seek out?

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

Hmmmm....anything with Rick and David Young as Bad Attitude, Rick vs. AJ from NWA Wildside Christmas Chaos 2001, and almost any match that he had in 2002 outside of TNA, as he was on a 10-month hot streak.

[Guest Jonathan Barber]

That's sad to hear. He was a very good worker for his size. I hope he can make it back into the ring.

 

Recently, there's been so many young guys that have been forced to retire. Wifebeater was f*cked up so bad that his doctors practically forced him to quit. A lot of people don't realize that the guy isn't rich (from what I know); He's going to have to work for the rest of his life. I'm not sure if his back is seriously hurt in that it's hard to bend it or if it's just all cut up (I think that), but he's gonna' have to live with that injury for the rest of his life.

 

A BJPW wrestler was seriously injured a few days ago in a deathmatch when Madman Pondo broke a light tube on him and accidentily cut him open severely. They quickly finished the match, and the injured guy was immediately raced to a nearby hospital, which is where he almost died due to excessive blood loss. He was given a blood transfusion or something major like that and is now alright, but it sounded like quite a sad ordeal. Bull Pain was recently injured in an IWA Mid-South match, too.

 

I hope Michaels isn't forced to retire this soon in his career.

[Guest goodhelmet]

A BJPW wrestler was seriously injured a few days ago in a deathmatch when Madman Pondo broke a light tube on him and accidentily cut him open severely. They quickly finished the match, and the injured guy was immediately raced to a nearby hospital, which is where he almost died due to excessive blood loss.

and while i know there are dozens of blood freaks on this board, this statement is simply tragic. a man has to cut himself so deep, to the point where he almost fucking dies, to satisfy the thirst of the vampires. when it gets to this point, or the vic grimes fall, or the wifebeater incident, or bringing out a weed whacker, it is really tme to re-evaluate why you atch and why a guy would put himself through something so needless when it's fake after all!

[Guest pete]

Thats really sad. He was a good worker who was a good heel, and a could also be a good face. He will be a huge loss for Wildside. He has been a total pro, and the man that represented Wildside the best the last few years. Lets hope he gets well soon.

[Guest bravesfan]

On the topic of Rick Michaels, is there anyone in the WWE or NWA-TNA that you can see similarities of Michaels in? (well, besides Styles.)

 

EDIT: Also haven't seen Wildside before.

[Guest J*ingus]

Rick is just a good ol' fashion balls-out Southern rassler, in the vein of guys like Tully Blanchard and Bobby Eaton (though I don't think they ever did barbed-wire ladder matches or dove off balconeys).

[Guest Phoenix Fury Legdrop]

By the way, Jess McGrath clued in during his latest Moonsaults column on 1Bob that one of those balcony dives (the one during the balcony match with James Storm right before RM headed to the WWE camp in Cincinatti) was the beginning of the problems.

[Guest goodhelmet]

By the way, Jess McGrath clued in during his latest Moonsaults column on 1Bob that one of those balcony dives (the one during the balcony match with James Storm right before RM headed to the WWE camp in Cincinatti) was the beginning of the problems.

another hint that wrestlers need to tone it down for chrissakes

[Guest J*ingus]

From how Rick told the story, it wasn't his fault. It was a balconey match, Rick Michaels vs. James Storm, and to win one wrestler had to throw the other off the balconey.

 

Rick was going to lose, and he wanted to gimmick the fall; in this particular arena, he could've been thrown off the balconey and actually land in the locker room (where a crowd of guys would catch him), and then they'd open up the entrance curtain to show him lying on the concrete. Well, supposedly the promoter shot that idea down, insisting that the crowd actually had to see the landing.

 

So Rick got tossed off (the same balconey in Nashville that Slash dived off last week) and landed smack on the concrete, no table or anything to break his fall, in an awkward way that gave him several nagging injuries, and could've helped contribute to his current problem.

[Chunk 0]

and while i know there are dozens of blood freaks on this board, this statement is simply tragic. a man has to cut himself so deep, to the point where he almost fucking dies, to satisfy the thirst of the vampires. when it gets to this point, or the vic grimes fall, or the wifebeater incident, or bringing out a weed whacker, it is really tme to re-evaluate why you atch and why a guy would put himself through something so needless when it's fake after all!

weel said goodhelmet. when it gets to this level, it stops being wrestling, and becomes something else. i think fans of this sort of thing should consider if they are actually WRESTLING fans at all.

 

ChUnK!