WWE Confidential April 26, 2003

June 21, 2003

WWE Confidential April 26, 2003

For those of you reading this at sites other than The Smart Marks, be sure to check out my latest two columns.

The first contains reviews of Phone Booth, Total Recall, From Hell, and Boogie Nights. You can read it HERE.

The second is a review of a NWA compilation with matches and segments from the old Worldwide show. It features the first incarnation of the Horsemen feuding with Dusty Rhodes and The Rock ‘n’ Roll Express’ legendary feud with Jim Cornette’s Midnight Express. HERE is the link for that one.

This week on Confidential: Bill Goldberg speaks, Kurt Angle’s surgery and the Acolytes visit inured US troops at a medical facility.

Cover Story

Bill Goldberg talks about his guaranteed contract from WCW that paid him to sit on his ass at home. Supposedly his body NEEDED the time off. Give me a break. Guys like Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit are probably more beaten than Goldberg and they NEVER took or even asked for as much time off as Bill supposedly NEEDED. Essentially he came back because the fans kept bugging him too and he was sick of hearing it. He truly is a man of the fans.

Goldberg would like to think that he evolved as a wrestler, but will still keep what brought him to the top in WCW, the intensity and power. They just HAD to squeeze in a clip of Goldberg spearing Bret Hart. I guess the temptation was too much for Vince to handle. Bill wants to jump right into the action and prove himself against the current wrestlers in the WWE.

Bill honestly thinks that the Rock is the best in the business. Now he starts kayfabing, saying how the one thing he doesn’t like about the Rock is how he thinks that HE is the best. Before being a God in wrestling, you have to beat everyone, including Bill Goldberg. The rest of this segment is just a recap of the feud between the two. Fascinating.

Segment 1: 0/1

Bradshaw and Ron Simmons visit some of the soldiers who were shot in Iraq. The army dude in charge calls the duo “Heroes of sports”. Simmons makes a conscious effort to thank all the troops. I always wondered, when someone like Bradshaw visits the troops, do the generals and what not explain just WHO Bradshaw is before he shows up? Do you think the soldiers are told to cheer for him? I only ask because I highly doubt Bradshaw is a household name, yet he did get a big pop a few months ago when he went to Afghanistan.

From there the two visit a national cemetery and place a wreath on a soldier’s grave.

Lastly they go to the Pentagon and see where the military decisions are made. Unfortunately for Bradshaw all the classified information is off limits. Yes, he actually said that. This show is really not going very well.

Segment 2: 0/2

Kurt Angle has been suffering from chronic neck pain and migraines for the last seven years. Since he reaggravated his neck injury about a month ago, he has been taking painkillers on a daily basis. Karen Angle mentions that he has had neck pain for as long as she’s known him.

At WrestleMania, Kurt had Brock in the anklelock and Brock kicked him off, causing Kurt to hit the back of his head on the mat. At that point he heard a pop. He says that after the F5, he knew that was all his neck could take.

His current list of injuries includes calcium buildup in his neck, numerous bone spurs and two herniated disks, which in turn caused nerve damage and numbness in his arms. Dr. Hae-Dong Jho explains the surgical procedure. Some clips of the surgery are shown.

Afterwards, Kurt is obviously still drugged up, but he claims to be pain free and if he doesn’t reinjure his neck over the next few years, he would know that he made the right decision.

Segment 3: 1/3

Back to Goldberg and how he attained so much success in wrestling. He was a football player at first, but since he wore a helmet like everybody else, he was nothing special. That is where wrestling comes in. Clips of his debut match against Hugh Morrus are shown. “First impressions are everything.”

He doesn’t know where he would be if it wasn’t for wrestling. He liked the locker room atmosphere, being part of a team, and independently making it to the top. He felt very guilty for getting pushed harder than guys that were in the company for years. Winning the title from Hulk Hogan in the Georgia Dome was the coolest experience of his life. He had a number of friends and old teammates in the crowd that night. I don’t care what anybody says, THAT was the night that Hogan passed the torch. Goldberg closes the segment with the usual motivational speech. I liked this segment because I was a fan of early-Goldberg, which was what was featured here.

Segment 4: 2/4

From the Vault: WWF Title Cage Match- Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka ~ May 19, 1980, as chosen by Tommy Dreamer

It seems like they are resurrecting this segment YET AGAIN. Odds of us seeing another one next week, I would say 20% if that. Let’s see if the matches are clipped to all hell like they usually are.

This was of course from Madison Square Garden. It is famous because this is the first time Snuka climbed to the top of the cage. Generally everyone thinks the first time he did that was against Don Muraco, but in this match he misses the splash. He hits it against Muraco. In a strange bit of trivia, Tommy Dreamer, Bubba Ray Dudley and Mick Foley were all in attendance for this match. Obviously none of them knew each other at that time.

We join as Snuka slams Backlund and drops a forearm from the second rope. Backlund stops Snuka from walking out the door. Backlund knocks him off his feet with some rights. Snuka stops Backlund from leaving. Bob throws Snuka face first to the cage. Backlund slingshots him into the cage again, as Jimmy is a bloody mess. Backlund grinds his face into the cage. Snuka starts to mount a comeback with some Fijian chops. Snuka slams him in the middle of the ring and comes off the top with a kneedrop. Superfly with a suplex. He climbs to the top of the cage, he leaps and MISSES. WOW, he had some great distance with that one. This gives Backlund the opportunity to crawl out the door.

Segment 5: 3/5

Torrie Wilson did a Playboy autograph signing in New York City. Torrie thinks that the guys are so adorable when they act all tough in front of their friends, but can’t even look her in the eyes once they get to the table. She adds that the WWE fans are the best in the world.

Next week: NOTHING!! That probably means another rerun. I’m not complaining.

Segment 6: 3/6

The show started off miserably, but the relatively lengthy Backlund-Snuka match helped to put it over the top. If they keep the From the Vault segments at that length, I sure as hell wouldn’t mind. That is of course if they actually remember to do the segment ever again. It was also nice to hear from Kurt Angle and see some early Goldberg clips.

For the five of you who are ordering the PPV tonight, enjoy it.

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