Byte This Report

[haVoc 0]

The Agent's edition of Byte This!

 

Hosts this week are Josh Matthews and his best friend Tommy Dreamer! Guests today will be Fit Finlay, Arn Anderson (top five!) and Dean Malenko.

 

Tommy informs us that he had to change his shirt due to the colour of the blue screen; otherwise you’d just see a big fat floating head. Tommy’s thoughts on the role of an agent? They help prepare the wrestlers and keep the match organised. Without agents, it would be tough to get the show going, they are invaluable. He adds that the prisoners need wardens, something ECW lacked.

 

Segment One: Droz

 

Joined by Droz, who admits that he only got 4 ½ of his picks right. Tommy is shocked that betting on wrestling is allowed nowadays – although he thinks he would have been rich had he known as he would have betted against himself last year! Droz enjoyed Judgement Day but was shocked by Eddie’s bloodletting. But they were all great matches and he was really impressed. Good luck to Droz, as next week he is having surgery.

 

Segment Two: Fit Finlay

 

Joined by Fit Finlay! He believes that an agent passes on knowledge to the younger wrestlers. They used to learn from the more experienced wrestlers, but now there aren’t so many around, so it’s up to the agent to do it. Finlay would never say never to an in-ring return. He gets the itchy feeling every time he watches a match go down. He’d love to wrestle Tommy Dreamer.

 

He wrestled his first match in 1974 at the age of 14. He was thrown in the deep end when a guy didn’t turn up for Finlay’s father, who was a promoter. After wrestling in Ireland he travelled across Europe, wrestling seven days a week. He was asked to join WCW when he was working in Austria. He tried it out and returned to the road after his short stint, but was wooed by the money a year later, and joined the company full time. He was shocked by the schedule, as he was only working 11 days a month and couldn’t stand not doing anything for the rest of the time. Finlay was taken out of action from a bump through a nasty table, which almost took out his leg.

 

On who brought out the best in him, Finlay mentions Liger (!), and a number of European wrestlers including Sinclair, Jones and the original Black Tiger. He also remembers his run ins with William Regal in WCW. However he remembers one of his favourite matches as a handicap with him against Chris Benoit and Owen Heart, in Bremen. He also mentions that there were a number of guys who he wishes he had never wrestled.

 

Surprise guest Johnny Ace joins us live in the studio! He has come to see what his agents are up to. The first of the Dynamic Dudes comments is made. On how he treats the women of WWE, he says he treats them like the guys and teaches them to suck it up. He’s not a big fan of complainers. Dreamer believes the women’s division is at the top of its game right now.

 

On which diva has excelled the most, Finlay believes they all have done a great job – especially Trish, Victoria, Jazz, Gail Kim and Molly Holly. He tries to keep them in competition with each other, to stimulate progress.

 

Johnny Ace wants to know if when WWE visits Ireland next time Finlay will do an Irish dance. Only if he’s had enough Guinness is the answer.

 

After he read rumours on a gaming website, Phoner Peter asks if Sting is coming to WWE. Johnny Ace hasn’t heard anything about this, but says if Sting wants to get in contact they will definitely talk. He believes the role of an agent is to facilitate the talent and their matches – timing, psychology – and generally help the wrestlers to improve. This is why WWE has agents with specialised backgrounds, to cover all areas.

 

Segment Three: Arn Anderson!

 

Joined by Arn Anderson! He’s watching his kids at the moment, due to a family illness. He’s realising how difficult his wife’s job actually is… Arn believes that he is lucky that although his wrestling was suddenly taken away from him – he is still able to be close to the business in a job that he loves. As an agent, it is his job to set up the shows, and work with events co-ordinators, dj’s, and both younger and older talent.

 

4 Horsemen vs. The Dynamic Dudes? No contest. However, the question of the Horsemen vs. Evolution is a different story. Arn sees Evolution as one of the nuclei of RAW and sees a commitment to excellence in them that he saw in the 4 Horsemen. He compares Randy Orton to Barry Windham, and Batista to Lex Luger. He feels the original Horsemen were something special though. On whether he preferred Bobby Eaton or Tully Blanchard as a tag team partner – Arn compares them to apples and oranges. He believes Eaton was as good as it gets, he and Dennis with Cornette were the best tag team ever. He points out though that although he didn’t always see eye to eye with Tully, they knew what each other was doing in the ring, and worked really well together.

 

On the now skit, a Phoner asks if Arn felt there was any hostility. He had no idea about it before it happened. It pissed him off because he felt it was a personal attack. However, afterwards he addressed it with Nash and says the conversation came out ‘to his satisfaction’. Arn believes that if it pissed enough people off that they’re still talking about it today, then it worked but there are parameters – and it crossed the line of bad taste. Arn holds no ill will towards them now though.

 

Tom of Indiana says he thinks that Arn Anderson is the best interview ever, even better than Flair. Would he ever see himself utilising those skills in a managerial type role? If the situation arose he would love to assume an on-air role, as long as he was able to remain an agent.

 

Tommy remembers when in North Carolina Arn Anderson came out to spine buster Triple H and the place erupted.

 

Arn’s relationship with Tully? Their paths go different ways nowadays as Tully is out of the business so they don’t talk so much. However there is no ill will and Arn saw him just a while back at an NWA convention. He doesn’t spend so much time with Ric Flair either, although they only live 5 minutes away from each other. They don’t spend a whole lot of time socialising as they both have families.

 

He remembers a particular match which he had against Demolition, and the rub the Brainbusters got off having Andre the Giant and Bobby Heenan come to the ring to help them out. Phoner Nick wants to know if he thought the inclusion of Mongo in the 4 Horsemen was a bad idea. Although he respects Mongo as an athlete and as a person, he didn’t think he was a gifted wrestler. Arn didn’t think it was a good idea for WCW to keep dusting off the Four Horsemen concept everytime it was needed. He was happy to have Mongo aboard, which is a lot more than he can say for some other additions to the stable.

 

As for the Arquette title reign, Arn said it made him sick. He sees the world title as a religious situation, and it made him want to “puke”. The management didn’t care though, as they thought it may make the cover of USA Today, Arn thought they should have been concentrating instead on performing quality matches.

 

On his career-ending injury, Arn says that he broke his neck three times in this career. His right arm died the first time, which lasted for 3 months. 2nd time he worked through it, which led to the 3rd. He was going to wrestle Lex Luger in Vegas around 1997. The day before he was walking to Gold’s Gym and he picked up bells, and one dropped out of his hand. His left hand had died, and although he wrestled the match the next day, it eventually got to the point where he couldn’t even lace his boots. He had the area scanned, and found out that he had a lot of problems in his vertebrae. He had surgery performed and had bone taken all the way out but the doctors were unable to put the bone back in. He now has lots of rotation but no protection. And as he doesn’t know the parameters of what he can take, he did some soul searching and decided to retire.

 

Arn leaves with the thought that no-one can ask for more than to leave the business in a better state than you found it in.

 

Jeremy from Kentucky asks Johnny Ace for his impressions on Tough Enough winner Matt and OVW trainee Skyfire. Ace thinks Matt has an unusual talent and will be a great asset to the cruiserweight division after his concussion problems have subsided. He says Skyfire is good, but needs some work.

 

Segment Four: Dean Malenko

 

Joined by Dean Malenko!

 

The life of an agent isn’t much different for him as he was training guys in the past. He doesn’t really miss being a wrestler, as he gets to see a part of him up in all of the matches that he helps to prepare.

 

Dean didn’t really enjoy being interviewed for the Eddie Guerrero documentary, as he had to relive some experiences he would have rather forgotten. Dean didn’t really consider himself as one of the real Four Horsemen, he was added on.

 

Phoner Chris, who sounds really nervous, asks Dean whether he was annoyed about the nWo dominance in WCW? Dean says he would be lying if he said that there were no politics involved. He didn't complain about it, however, as WCW was still paying him. A return to the ring? He would never say never, and if he did return he would love to wrestle Kurt Angle, who he sees a lot of similarities with.

 

The best match he ever worked was one against his brother in Sepora. Phoner Shawn asks if he still has a crush on Lita. Dean said it was turned off after he saw her in the shower. He enjoyed that angle, as the fans got to see a different side of him. He hopes Lita enjoyed it as well, and if she didn’t – she should lie.

 

Matt asks if Dean is still running his wrestling school in Tampa. Unfortunately not, as he wouldn’t be able to devote much time to it, and if it couldn’t be done properly, then it wouldn’t be done at all. Maybe someday it might reopen though. Dean thinks that both Eddie and Chris Benoit both deserve their titles more than anyone else, and is proud of them.

 

Being an agent you either get the praise or the ramifications, depending on whether the match goes well or not.

 

He considers Perry Saturn his friend although he hasn’t seen him recently. They went through a lot together, especially leaving WCW, but Perry is a ‘different breed of guy’.

 

Dean leaves.

 

Next week is special guest RVD! And in two weeks Byte This has The Rock and the Hurricane!

 

Credit: 411

[Guest JSL]

Who the hell is Skyfire?

[Scroby 0]

I don't know if I would want to be compared to Lex Luger if I was Batista and I would love to see Dean Malenko vs Kurt Angle.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Dean said it was turned off after he saw her in the shower. He enjoyed that angle, as the fans got to see a different side of him. He hopes Lita enjoyed it as well, and if she didn’t – she should lie.

 

I never thought Dean could joke.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

Who the hell is Skyfire?

Seth Skyfire. He works in OVW. He had a one shot appearance in Ring of Honor against Mike Mondo (no relation to CZW's Nick Mondo).