Howdy Bill. I just remembered something that you might think is funny. I graduated from Roanoke College last spring, and the president of my class was in another elite group, aside from the class of '98. She was a card carrying member of the "Ricky and Robert Rock 'n Roll Express Fan Club!"
She also met Ric Flair more than once, as her grandfather was involved (somehow) in the wrestling business. I hope you are at least slightly amused. I have a feeling that if more people had known that, she would not have been elected class president!
I was flipping through the channels tonight when I saw Sting... on Comedy Central. The Upright Citizen's Brigade, actually. He was on for about ten seconds, introducing a mini-movie. One of the most random things I've seen in a while. Sting, in makeup, talking to a skinny guy in a cartoon cat costume. He introduced himself as "the professional wrestler, Sting." The guy asked him to do the Stinger Splash, but he declined. Funny stuff.
I was in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Tuesday the 12th of January, 1999. My wife and I were walking back from lunch and saw this semi-long line. Myself being the curious one, I asked one of the security guards what was happening. The security guard stated that WCW was having a press conference. Well! Let's see who is here! We walk in and guess who is talking on the mic?! DDP himself, getting a cheap pop, of course. Las Vegas, Bang, whatever. Meeeeean Geeeeene is on the mic, calls Randy Savage! Randy on the mic. People screaming, believe it or not Randy got the biggest pop. Randy talks, nobody has a clue of what he is talking about!
Alright I have been here 25 minutes and still have no idea of what is going on. Maybe they will wrestle to make up for Monday night! Mene Gene back on the mic, calls out Kevin Nash, Kevin talks about poker, drinking, poker, drinking, and he calls out Terry "The Hulk" Boulder, oops, sorry wrong timeline, Hulk Hogan, oops wrong federation, Hollywood Hogan, comes out to boos and hisses, and I thought Nitro was bad. He talks and says basically nothing (nothing unusual there!). Mean Gene on the mic......says that the Excalibur Hotel will be opening a theme restaurant, WCW Restaurant. The first construction will be performed today by the following personnel, and the previous wrestlers came out. They all grab sledgehammers and start pounding away at the wall. Hogan, what an idiot, could even make a dent, DDP does all the work.
Well, that's about it I felt like I went to a WCW Monday Nitro Show, all talk, never understanding what they was saying, and no wrestling. Oh well!
I was looking at the newly revamped WCW page and I noticed two things: one, the Giant is among their listed superstars; two, DDP is described as having a "Trojan" work ethic. From what I recall of the Illiad, the Trojans weren't especially industrious, and I'm not sure that the more modern connotations are any better. (Although they would give "feel the BANG" and "all jacked up" entirely new meanings.)
I believe that the word they were searching for is "Spartan," but who's going to tell them? For those who don't know, the Spartans were infamous for their militaristic culture, which was extremely severe and demanding and also produced the finest infantry of the time. Spartan wives allegedly told their husbands to "come back with your shield or on it." Of course, they also left weak babies outside to die of exposure.
Hey Bill, I wanted to put an end to a rumor real quick that still circulates the internet about Goldberg being the first man to come out as Piper's family.
I still had it on tape for some reason or another, but after seeing it, I decided to see if it was Goldberg. So I looked at it, looked at the man carefully and with 100% accuracy I can say that the man without a shadow of a doubt is not in fact Goldberg.
Thank you, have a nice day.
For the record, Schiavone is once again WRONG! Flair put up his hair for the first (and to my knowledge) only time on April 8, 1978 in Charlotte, when he defeated U.S. Champion Tim "Mr. Wrestling" Woods in a hair versus title match to win the belt for a second time.
Not that it matters to me in the least bit, but is Hellwig out of the WCW (and his mind)? I was at this mall that sells tons of wrestling tees and all the One Whacky Notion stuff was on clearence for $5.00 a pop.Always Believe (in the quick buck).
This comes from the January 19th edition of "THE TAB", a Boston-area weekly newspaper. The reporter doing the interview is Ed Symkus. His column is called "HomeGrown", as it concerns itself with celebrities from the Boston area.SATURN CONQUERS THE RING
Perry Satullo - aka Perry Saturn - moved from Cleveland to Boston 10 years ago to pursue a dream: He wanted to be a professional wrestler. After attending the Killer Kowalski Institute of Professional Wrestling, he worked the local circuit and eventually landed jobs with the United States Wrestling Association, then Extreme Championship Wrestling. He currently works for World Championship Wrestling. Now 32, he's known simply as Saturn.
Q: Who gave you the name Saturn?
A: Killer Kowalski did. When I was doing my first match he couldn't remember my last name. He knew it was S-A-T-something, so he just said "Saturn" and I never bothered to change it.
Q: Did you always know you wanted to be a wrestler?
A: Ever since I was a little kid. I think I'd been wanting to do it since I was about 5. When I was old enough I got in touch with a guy named Bill Apter, who runs most of the wrestling magazines. I asked him where to learn how to wrestle and he wrote me back and told me to try Kowalski's school. And he literally taught me everything I know.
Q: Can wrestling be categorized as a performance art?
A: Sure. I'm an actor with a lot of athletic ability. Wrestling isn't fake; it's fixed. We hit each other, and let me tell you, when you get slammed, it hurts. We're athletes that are doing an exhibition instead of a competition.
Q: Have you had a lot of injuries?
A: I had complete reconstructive surgery on my left knee. That was probably the worst. I've had multiple concussions; I couldn't even begin to guess how many concussions. I've had broken ribs, a broken left hand, a broken nose. Hey, it's not ballet.
Q: So what does it take to be a really successful wrestler?
A: You have to stay in shape, you have to know how to fall, and you have to be able to know how to work a crowd. But you also have to be able to read a map because you travel all the time. You go from city to city and you have to be able to find your way around. The hardest part about the job is the traveling. We spend most of our time in cars or in planes or in hotel rooms.
Q: Does being a wrestler make it difficult to have a family?
A: I met my wife in Boston, and believe me, you need a very patient, understanding partner. In 1998, I was on the road 267 days. So that's 267 nights I couldn't be home.
Q: How do you compare today's wrestling product with the way you remember it as a kid?
A: You know, it's totally different. Now it's more action-packed. The American fans are more cynical. They don't react the same way they used to. Today they boo the good guy in the white cowboy hat. Today they want the guy who does whatever he wants, the guy who gives the boss the middle finger.
Q: How would you describe the character you play?
A: I think he's a no-nonsense, hard-knocks, straightforward guy.
Q: Do you have total control over your own character?
A: I have control over my character, but I have limited control over what my character does as far as the finishes of the matches and who I wrestle. I have input in him and I have complete control over who I am but it's up to WCW to decide what they want to do with who I am.
Q: Is Saturn pretty close to who you really are?
A: Well yeah, the guy I play is me. But it's kind of like a magnified persona of yourself. I'm not really the person I'm portraying, but I'm very close. I don't know if I'm a legitimate tough guy but I'm sure I could handle myself on the street, no problem.