WWE General Discussion - September 2008

[haVoc 0]

I remember a story about Norman Smiley knocking out Rick Steiner in a bar around the time Steiner was stiffing the Hell out of the younger talant in WCW.

 

Anyone else hear of this?

[Jaxxson Mayhem 0]

I remember a story about Norman Smiley knocking out Rick Steiner in a bar around the time Steiner was stiffing the Hell out of the younger talant in WCW.

 

Anyone else hear of this?

 

 

Yeah. With one punch.

 

 

 

143. Norman Smiley once knocked out Rick Steiner with one punch in a bar fight.

Source

 

 

 

[cabbageboy 0]

Ernest Miller was a guy who had phony charisma and couldn't really work and was a bad fit for WWE. I think Smiley could have gotten over. He wouldn't have been a main eventer by any means, but at least over in a Too Cool and Rikishi sort of way.

[I'm Broke..Brother! 0]

Considering how long it took to get rid of Scotty 2 Hotty, it's probalby a good thing Smiley never arrived in the WWE

[Noah Fentz 0]

Please don't remind of those days!

[bob_barron 0]

2 Cool and Rikishi were awesome in 2000. Once they got depushed, and Scotty just became a jobber with the WORM, he never recovered. I'm amazed they kept him on the roster for so long.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Awesome, I agree with both Noah and Canadian Dragon about something.

[Noah Fentz 0]

2 Cool and Rikishi were awesome in 2000. Once they got depushed, and Scotty just became a jobber with the WORM, he never recovered. I'm amazed they kept him on the roster for so long.

 

I'll have to admit, I liked Too Cool's entrance theme, but as soon as they came out, it was all over. Too bad "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher got himself canned, he was a good worker. The breakup of the group could have been fun.

[bob_barron 0]

They were a fun opening match gimmick that somehow became insanely over. I remember marking out bigtime when they won the tag titles thanks to Joe C's interference

[RedJed 0]

Found this article on the AP wire, thought I might as well post it....

 

WWE wrestles for share of Japanese market

 

TOKYO -Posing for a snapshot with a glittery championship belt in a packed theater, Seigi Nishiyama was among some 600 fans who can't get enough of World Wrestling Entertainment.

 

"The stories are so much more detailed compared to Japanese wrestling — it's like watching a movie," the 34-year-old food manufacturing employee said Sunday.

 

WWE is famous in the United State for its brand of professional wrestling, a kind of simulated sport and performance art that combines brute force with elaborate soap-opera story lines and larger-than-life characters with names like the Undertaker and Rey Mysterio.

 

WWE's big push to market itself in Japan is nowhere clearer than at gatherings like Sunday's SummerSlam Festival, a raucous party that charges fans a $30 admission fee to watch recorded WWE pay-per-view events on giant video screens.

 

The videos can also be watched at home, but going to events gives fans things they can't find in their living rooms — such as guest wrestlers flown in from the U.S., booths selling WWE T-shirts and key chains as well as plenty of camaraderie in this niche but seriously dedicated crowd.

 

WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., racks up annual global pay-per-view sales of $100 million. It won't disclose regional breakdowns, but it sees Japan as one of its most important overseas markets.

 

The latest push is spearheaded by the WWE's Japan office, which opened this year and is its only overseas office devoted to a single nation. The office hopes to woo Japanese newcomers, including teens and families, not just its usual 20-40 year-old fan base.

 

It remains to be seen whether WWE can follow the path of such American imports as Hollywood movies, hip-hop music and Disneyland.

 

Japan has its own brand of professional wrestling that is less outrightly fictional than WWE. The WWE is open about how no real fighting is involved. But Japanese wrestling is historically inspired by its American counterpart and boasts its own heroes and themes.

 

WWE's only Japanese superstar is 40-year-old Shoichi Funaki, who goes by the ring name Funaki. He acknowledges that Japanese are just starting to enjoy WWE, with all its boisterous exchanges and flamboyance, complete with heckling.

 

"Japanese fans are changing," he told The Associated Press. "The key is to give them more opportunities to watch WWE. If they see it, they'll get it."

Funaki said working with the WWE requires him to sell his created character to fans as a full-fledged entertainer, not just an athlete, as well as more obvious challenges such as mastering English and staying in top shape.

 

WWE's weekly TV shows — called Raw, SmackDown and ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) — feature ongoing story lines.

 

"Even if you've never watched it before, you can jump in and start watching because it's good versus evil," said Ed Wells, vice president and general manager of WWE Japan. "We always refer to ourselves as sports entertainment. We created that genre in the U.S. and it's something that we are now, as of this year, taking really worldwide."

 

Takayuki Hioki of Sports Marketing Japan, which runs WWE's Internet and mobile businesses in Japan, said WWE can catch on in the same way Major League Baseball has with Japanese baseball fans.

 

The WWE mobile Web site offers ringtones, screen wallpaper and video clips. It already has 35,000 users in Japan who pay $3 a month for the service, Hioki said.

 

Atsushi Oonita, a Japanese wrestler not with the WWE, is a former legislator is a respected social figure in Japan. He said WWE can improve its chances for success by making cultural adjustments, such as headhunting stars who appeal to Japanese tastes — perhaps a sumo wrestling champion.

 

But Oonita was optimistic that WWE's arrival would boost the overall popularity of wrestling. Right now, he says wrestling is getting bashed by such combat sports as mixed martial arts.

 

"Japanese are a very suppressed people," he said. "And so it takes a special kind of performance skill to fire up their passion. You can't overdo it. But I wish WWE all the best."

 

[RepoMan 0]

 

This defies description

 

It's dosn't work for me because he seems self aware of how rediculous it is.

 

[DerangedHermit 0]

WWE's only Japanese superstar is 40-year-old Shoichi Funaki, who goes by the ring name Funaki. He acknowledges that Japanese are just starting to enjoy WWE, with all its boisterous exchanges and flamboyance, complete with heckling.

 

It's a stretch calling Funaki a superstar

[Silence 0]

WWE's only Japanese jobber is 40-year-old Shoichi Funaki, who goes by the ring name Funaki. He acknowledges that Japanese are just starting to enjoy WWE, with all its boisterous exchanges and flamboyance, complete with heckling.

 

It's a stretch calling Funaki a superstar

 

Fixed for accuracy.

[Thanks for the Fish 0]

Certainly explains why Funaki keeps his job. I wonder if he is booked as a star via creative editing like Khali is for India programming.

[Anakin Flair 0]

Here's a kicker- Batista is on tonights Iron Chef America as a Judge. The battle- Snails. So weird seeing a wrestler on a cooking competition show.

[Anakin Flair 0]

I remember a story about Norman Smiley knocking out Rick Steiner in a bar around the time Steiner was stiffing the Hell out of the younger talant in WCW.

 

Anyone else hear of this?

 

 

Yeah. With one punch.

 

 

 

143. Norman Smiley once knocked out Rick Steiner with one punch in a bar fight.

Source

 

68. Macho Man had his way with Stephanie (she was about 14 then) back in 94/95 and that Vince found out and that was the true ending for Macho Man in WWF.

 

I'd like to know if there is any truth to THAT.

 

 

[Golgo 13 0]

The problem with that is Stephanie was 18 then. If Savage and Stephanie at 14 did happen, it would've been in 1990 and revealed much later. Not to mention Savage had a calm television departure from WWF and was allegedly negotiating with them before deciding to go back to WCW in 1997 and again after he left in 1999/2000. Savage being off his rocker, difficult to work with, and wanting too much money is probably the reason for his heat, not what's likely an urban legend.

[Boxer 0]

Did Chris Jericho and Undertaker ever feud? I was trying to come up with fresh feuds in the WWE and besides this one and Edge vs. Jericho, everything else has pretty mucg happened.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

The only time I remember them fighting was Undertaker pinning Jericho in a triple threat match or fatal four way match (I'm sure somebody else knows) on Smackdown to win a title shot against Kurt Angle at SSeries 2000.

 

They've never had a singles match against each other and Jericho said in his comeback WWE magazine interview that he wants to wrestle Taker! I'm hoping for a WM match between the two.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

--Ashley Flair, the daughter of Ric, was arrested on Friday in Chapel Hill and charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer. She was with her father and got into an altercation with police at a convenience store. She has a court date scheduled for 10/6. This story was reported at http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=...&id=6377701

More details on Flair situation, Flair beaten and bloodied in fight

 

An updated news report on WTVD has more details on the arrest of Ashley Fliehr, Ric's 22-year-old daughter.

 

The station reported that Chapel Hill police were called for help when they heard a commotion in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Saturday night, not Friday as was first reported.

 

The police report said Flair, his daughter and a third person, a 22-year-old man were in a fight which left Ric bloodied and bruised up. Flair refused to file charges.

 

Police say a taser gun was used on Ashley Fliehr, who is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

 

Ashley Fliehr wouldn't comment, saying it was a family matter that has been resolved.

 

F4W

F4W

[Matt Young 0]

BANGKOK, THAILAND, Sep 08, 2008 -- Giant Australian actor/wrestler Nathan Jones, winner of the world's strongest man contest, was side-swiped by a cement truck while jogging recently in the pre-dawn hours in Bangkok, Thailand. He suffered severe damage to his left arm. There is no report of what damage was done to the truck in its collision with the 6ft 11 in, 320 pound Jones. The driver took off, though there were witnesses and the police are pursuing leads.

 

Forty-year-old Jones had just signed a deal with wrestling organization TNA Entertainment to re-enter wrestling in the United States, but nerve damage to his arm will sideline him for three months, by which time doctors have told him he will be fully recovered.

 

Huh?

[Lil' Bitch 0]

For No Mercy I see this based on last night:

 

World Heavyweight Title (Steel Cage, I Quit, or Last Man Standing)

Chris Jericho Vs. Shawn Michaels

 

WWE Championship

HHH Vs. Jeff Hardy

 

CM Punk Vs. Randy Orton (Orton could be lying about his injury!)

 

Rey Mysterio Vs. Kane

 

The Big Show Vs. The Undertaker

[cabbageboy 0]

To back up a bit, Too Cool was a fun faction for a while. But I agree 100% with Noah on the notion of Brian Christopher being the guy who truly carried the group. In between Scotty doing the Worm and Rikishi doing the Stinkface, someone had to actually work a match. And that was where Too Sexy came into play. Take him away and you have a couple of goofs doing comedy wrestling.

[Silence 0]

Take him away and you have a couple of goofs doing comedy wrestling.

 

Which is what happened when just Scotty and Rikishi reunited in 2003.

 

[King Kamala 0]

I actually think they were all decent to good workers given the opportunity but the comedy gimmick just sort of dragged them down and by the time Christopher got released in '01, Scotty and Rikishi really didn't seem to give a fuck about anything other than cashing their paychecks.

[The Truthiness 0]

--Ashley Flair, the daughter of Ric, was arrested on Friday in Chapel Hill and charged with assaulting a law enforcement officer. She was with her father and got into an altercation with police at a convenience store. She has a court date scheduled for 10/6. This story was reported at http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=...&id=6377701

More details on Flair situation, Flair beaten and bloodied in fight

 

An updated news report on WTVD has more details on the arrest of Ashley Fliehr, Ric's 22-year-old daughter.

 

The station reported that Chapel Hill police were called for help when they heard a commotion in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Saturday night, not Friday as was first reported.

 

The police report said Flair, his daughter and a third person, a 22-year-old man were in a fight which left Ric bloodied and bruised up. Flair refused to file charges.

 

Police say a taser gun was used on Ashley Fliehr, who is charged with assault on a law enforcement officer and resisting arrest.

 

Ashley Fliehr wouldn't comment, saying it was a family matter that has been resolved.

 

F4W

F4W

 

 

Fuck, Foley, Hogan, and Austin somebody has to give Flair his own reality show.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

Only if we get to see him rant at a fast food employee over the use of insider terms.

[The Truthiness 0]

It would be awesome if he chopped the guy afterwards.

[Enigma 0]

[cd213 0]

I always liked Scotty, but I was never a fan of Christopher or Rikishi, but they were good workers. I still remember the match Scotty had with Melenko for the Light Heavyweight title. I don't remember the PPV, but I remember the match was awesome. IIRC, Scotty won with a DDT off the top rope or something of that nature.