Ask The Professor (by Mike Tenay)

[LucharesuFan619 0]

This Wednesday (7/7/04), TNA returns to it's roots with a "Gauntlet For The Gold" featuring NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett, Jarrett's hired mercanaries The Elite Guard, 3 Live Kru and "The World's Most Dangerous Man" Ken Shamrock all battling for the NWA Title. In the gauntlet, order is determined by a pre-match draw. Two wrestlers begin the match and a new participant enters every 60 seconds. You are eliminated by being tossed over the top rope. Once we are down to the final two wrestlers, NWA Worlds Title match rules apply and the winner is determined via pinfall or submission. Also Wednesday, America's Most Wanted defends the NWA Worlds Tag Team Titles against The Naturals. Alpha Male Monty Brown and D-Lo meet in a return match where there must be a winner. 3 X Division Tag Teams meet in a Tornado Match. Plus, Kazarian and Michael Shane face cult favorites Shark Boy and D-Ray 3000. And, Big Vito joins Trinity in a mixed tag against Sonny Siaki & Desire. We'll see you Wednesday night ... exclusively on Pay Per View!

 

We invite your questions and/or comments for Mike Tenay at [email protected]. Please include your hometown, state and country. Due to the volume of mail received, Mike cannot reply personally or answer every question. To read previous "Ask The Professor" columns, click on Interactive at the top of our home page.

 

 

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FROM: MARTIN GEORGI (THE U.K.)

Could you post A.J. Styles NWA Title history for a school project I'm working on? I'm A.J.'s biggest fan.

 

ANSWER: "The Phenomenal One" is a three time X Division champion, two time NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion and two time NWA Worlds Tag Team Champion. For complete details, including dates of the matches and opponents, click on "Information" at the top of our home page.

 

 

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FROM: JIM ASHLEY

IMPACT is a good show and I make every effort I can to be sure and watch it. I love the product. Who are the guys in Jeff Jarrett's Elite Guard?

 

ANSWER: Onyx, Chad Collyer and Hotstuff Hernandez form the Elite Guard of Jarrett.

 

 

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FROM: ADRIAN (NEW YORK)

What's one of your favorite finishing moves in TNA today?

 

ANSWER: In the past few months, I think the hottest new finisher is Team Canada's Petey Williams version of the flip piledriver called "The Canadian Destroyer".

 

 

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FROM: WILLIAM P. DELLAPENTA (FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.)

I remember watching you call matches on the WCW broadcasts and along with over half the civilized world, you will always be "The Professor Of Professional Wrestling". We just got the capabilities to watch IMPACT! here and I want to know more about the X Division and the six sided ring. I've been a long time fan of your work.

 

ANSWER: The X Division was conceived by TNA management in 2002. It's an evolution of the cruiserweight division that you watched in WCW beginning in the 1990s. It affords the higher-risk, high-flying wrestlers an opportunity to compete in high profile matches. From the first night I saw (and announced) the X matches, I coined the phrase that it's not about weight limits, it's about no limits and I think that aptly describes the mindset of the competitors. To get caught up to speed on the history of the X Division and TNA, in general, I would suggest ordering the DVDs that are available on this website by clicking on "Merchandise" at the top of our home page. The six sided ring debuted in June, 2004, with our first IMPACT! show and provides the perfect battleground for the X Division and other TNA wrestlers to showcase their abilities. It also has an eye-catching look that seperates us from the competition.

 

 

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FROM: KING AZTEK

How did you become interested in Lucha Libre?

 

ANSWER: Growing up in Southern California, I was first exposed to Lucha Libre via Spanish language TV broadcasts from Mexico City in the mid-1960s. The Los Angeles based promotion (at the Olympic Auditorium) relied heavily on the luchador talent pool of Mexico so I regularly watched Mil Mascaras, Ray Mendoza, Black Gordman & Goliath, among many others, in person and on TV. In the early 1990s, I began travelling to Mexico to watch live events and I was fortunate that WCW announcers (other than Chris Cruise) turned down the chance to be a part of the "When Worlds Collide" Pay Per View in 1994. That event introduced wrestlers like Konnan, Rey Misterio Jr., Eddy Guerrero and an announcer named Mike Tenay to the U.S. wrestling audience.

 

 

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FROM: JON NALLEY (LOUISVILLE, KY.)

I'm really into NWA/TNA. Who do I have to get in contact with to join TNA as a wrestler?

 

ANSWER: Click on "Information" at the top of our home page for all the details on the next "Gut Check At The TNA Academy" on July 19 and 20 in Nashville, Tennesee. Jerry Lynn will be among the trainers. You must be 18 years old.

 

 

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FROM: JOHN CHAPMAN (HERTFORDSHIRE, U.K.)

Please can you tell me if Lord Alfred Hayes is still alive and well? I use to really enjoy his segments on television.

 

ANSWER: Lord Alfred Hayes lives in Dallas, Texas, these days and is confined to a wheelchair. I had the chance to meet him during my time with WCW and I've visited with him when he attended Cauiliflower Alley Club reunions in Las Vegas. A true gentleman of the business that everyone respects.

 

 

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FROM: ELIZABETH APREA (HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA.)

IMPACT! is outstanding! Are there plans to take it around the country? I hope so, cause my husband and I would love to attend. He does not like wrestling, but he will watch the NWA with me. You have made him a fan!!! Will there be a rematch between Jeff Hardy and "The Phenomenal" A.J. Styles?

 

ANSWER: It's great to receive e-mails like this. In fact, over 500 of you sent along your positive comments to me on IMPACT! in the past week! Our current plan is for IMPACT! to be based in Orlando, Florida, but TNA management is still exploring the possibilities of bringing our product to other cities around the world. We invite all of you to add IMPACT! to your list of must-see attractions when you visit the Sunshine State. If TNA is successful in signing Jeff Hardy, then I think it's inevitable that we'll see a Hardy-Styles rematch.

 

 

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FROM: CHRIS CUNHA (NEW JERSEY)

Where is Low-Ki?

 

ANSWER: Low-Ki is currently wrestling for various independent promotions in the U.S. and for Zero One in Japan where he returns at the end of July.

 

 

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FROM: AL FRYE (NEW YORK, N.Y.)

In this week's Star magazine there's a picture of supermodel Heidi Klum wearing a Destroyer t-shirt! Since I read in an interview that The Destroyer was your favorite wrestler, I have two questions about him. Since Dick Beyer is from Buffalo, New York, is the Arena Football League team The Buffalo Destroyers named in honor of him? Why did a wrestler of his stature assume a different identity (Doctor X) in the AWA?

 

ANSWER: That sounds just like Heidi Klum ... jumping on The Destroyer bandwagon. The first televised match and first in-person bout I ever saw involved The Destroyer in 1962 and he gets the blame (or credit) for getting me hooked on the business. While Dick Beyer did some appearances (and I think commercials) for the AFL Destroyers, they weren't named after him. In fact the franchise has relocated to Columbus, Ohio. The Doctor X idea was the brainchild of AWA boss Verne Gagne. Dick preferred the Destroyer name (and actually used it in Chicago and Indianapolis), but Verne wanted him as the Doc in the midwest.

 

 

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FROM: JIMMIE MEHEN

Will TNA come out with action figures?

 

ANSWER: Yes! TNA recently announced that it has granted Toy Biz, a division of Marvel Enterprises, the exclusive license to manufacture toys based on our wrestlers. As soon as more information is available, including release dates, we'll let you know.

 

 

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FROM: GARY J. MARCUM

I love TNA!!! Where has Flash Funk been?

 

ANSWER: Flash Funk aka Too Cold Scorpio has been primarily competing for the Japan based NOAH promotion.

 

 

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FROM: JEFF SHEPARD

I'm a big fan of yours since your days in WCW. Where is Dusty Rhodes' son Dustin?

 

ANSWER: Dustin Rhodes wrestled on a TNA PPV a few months back and is still appearing for indy groups. I see where he's billed on a show later this month for a promotion in Florida.

 

 

 

 

CREDIT: TNAwrestling.com

[Placebo Effect 0]

I'd say the first question is pretty fucking stupid.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

But not ultra!

[Guest The Last Free Voice]

I was on one of the TNA columns once.

 

Anyway, this edition of Ask The Prof. sucked. No good questions AT ALL. I could have answered all of those.

[Enigma 0]

A school project on A.J. Styles? WTF.

[Guest Donners]

Why do people say they're the "biggest fan" of somebody and not know the basic details about them?

 

And why doesn't Mike Tenay answer my question regarding the whereabouts of AJ's former tag partner Air Paris?

[Steviekick 0]

I do like the fact that he answers a few random, non TNA questions.

[LucharesuFan619 0]

And why doesn't Mike Tenay answer my question regarding the whereabouts of AJ's former tag partner Air Paris?

I'm no Tenay, but I know the guy is still wrestling. I think he took a year or something off, but I know for a fact he wrestled on an indy show about two months ago for the first time in a while that I can remember.

[TheBigSwigg 0]

And why doesn't Mike Tenay answer my question regarding the whereabouts of AJ's former tag partner Air Paris?

I'm no Tenay, but I know the guy is still wrestling. I think he took a year or something off, but I know for a fact he wrestled on an indy show about two months ago for the first time in a while that I can remember.

I saw him about a year or so ago at a show here in Tennessee. I called him Air Paris, Kentucky and he didn't get it. But it was okay, because my buddy did, and he laughed hysterically.

[Placebo Effect 0]

I also read an article about how Air Paris just doesn't have absolutely any drive or commitment to the sport at this point.

[Guest hebtheeagle]

I wrote Tenay a letter asking wheter TNA had signed Hardy. I think he'd help the buy rates for TNA, as he's probably the biggest former WWE star on the market not already in TNA, with the exception of maybe Hogan and the Outsiders.