Straight Shooting
by : Fritz Capp
October 8, 1999
I cannot believe everything that is either going on or that has happened this week. There are so many places that I could begin, but there is only one place that I can.
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Robert "Gorilla Monsoon" Marella passed away this week. Now I know for a lot of the younger wrestling fans this means absolutely nothing to them, but to those of us who have been watching pro wrestling for the past 30 odd years this is something akin to a major movie celebrity passing away after having been on screen for years.
I remember going to the old Philadelphia Arena with my parents and totally hating Monsoon. There really wasn't anyone who could really take him on save a Sammartino, who was the heavyweight champ. Even then, Monsoon pounded on Sammartino like I had never seen before. He was the consummate heel back then.
Some of my fondest memories of Gorilla though is him being teamed with Bobby "The Brain" Heenan at the announcers table for the WWF. Was there ever a better team put together? Although some of today's fans may argue I would have to say no. Heenan and Monsoon had a chemistry between them that just didn't quit. It was always quite humorous to see Heenan try to needle Monsoon only to have Monsoon put him in his place real quick.
My condolences go out to the Marella family in their time of grief.
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I was up at a business meeting in New York on Wednesday and when I returned home I not only found out about the passing of Gorilla but also about the horrible injury that Droz sustained in the ring at the Smackdown tapings Tuesday night. I wish Droz the best for a speedy recovery but I wonder what all those people who say that "wrestling is fake" have to say about this.
You can send Get Well wishes to Droz at:
Get Well DROZ
PO Box 2594
Ventnor, NJ 08406
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Staying on the subject of Droz for a second why is it that everyone and their mother when reporting this story bring up Owen Hart? From ESPN.com to 1wrestling.com and almost everyone in between while reporting the Droz story had to take a jab at the WWF and the Owen Hart tragedy? I am still trying to figure out what the two had in common to help support the use of Owen's name in this story. If any of you can come up with any similarities other then the fact that they both worked for the WWF let me know. Can we all let Owen "Rest In Peace"?
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Leslie Davis, that fun loving sore loser from Minnesota, once again is trying his best to get Governor Jesse Ventura removed from office. This time the charges are malfeasance and he is alleging that Ventura used his position for personal gain. Can anyone say jealousy? From everything I have read on the subject Davis has not yet been able to accept the fact that Minnesota just did not want a person like him in office and that Jesse was in fact the better candidate. The proof is in the pudding folks, since Jesse won the election this moron, instead of trying to help other people who I am sure are in need in Minnesota, has instead created a one man witch hunt against the Governor Ventura. This mostly appears to be to keep his name in the public eye, even if he does appear to be nothing but a whiner.
Here is a snippet from the AP article, "Davis, an environmental activist, alleges that Ventura used his position to make money from his autobiography and from his August return to the professional wrestling ring as a referee. Those ventures could bring Ventura as much as $2 million. If the 25 signatures Davis gathered so far can be verified, the state Supreme Court could order a public hearing."
Let me guess, Ventura's book wouldn't have sold if he hadn't been elected Governor? Give me a break. I'll bet it is safe to say that a minimum of 85% of those book sales went to wrestling fans. Minimum! Also like there is going to be a question about the signatures. (although it would be funny if they were faked) Even a losing dweeb like this guy has 25 friends he could get to sign a petition. (of course these signatures were bought and paid for with promises galore I would be willing to wager)
All in all what we have is someone who should be in wrestling not politics because all this jabrone can do is whimper and whine about something he already lost and cannot accept. Boy do I know a website this guy could work at.
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What the hell is up with the WWF and this utterly stupid Mark Henry angle? This isn't wrestling and it certainly isn't entertaining. Sorry folks but I do not find anything entertaining that has to do with having sex with your sister, or any other family member for that matter and if you do then you have a very deep seated problem and should seek professional help immediately. I said it a few months ago and at that time no one wanted to listen but the handwriting is starting to become very clear on the wall. The WWF is out of control as far as being in touch with the fans anymore. This could very well be a case of history repeating itself as this also happened to the WWF in the late 80's/early 90's, a time when it was hard pressed to find WWF fans due to their lack of product or intelligent story lines. My guess is some people just cannot learn from their past.
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There has been a contest geared for wrestling fans going on the past couple of days, have you entered it yet? Well if you haven't why the hell not? I know, you don't want a chance at the $1000.00 Grand Prize right? You don't want any part of winning on of the daily prizes either huh?
What's that? You didn't know about it? Well not because of the lack of me trying to get the news out there to you. You see, not only have I posted around on the boards this news twice in the past two days but I also e-mailed every webmaster and reporter that I could to post the press release telling you of this contest.
You say this press release wasn't on your favorite newsboard or wrestling website? Well all I can say is it should have been. This leaves me to wonder a few things:
1 - Is your favorite webmaster only thinking of himself and this is why he wouldn't share this contest with his faithful readers?
2 - Is your webmaster keeping this news to himself in the hopes that he has a better chance of winning a prize if there are not as many submissions?
3 - Is your webmaster just a jerk because he wouldn't print a press release just because the news didn't come directly to him?
If any of the above are true then all I can say is your favorite webmaster is not on your side, because every webmaster and reporter should be telling everyone they can about this chance for all of the Internet wrestling fans.
Here is the official press release from Ad-Cast on their October SlamFest contest:
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AdCast's October Slam Fest
Wrestling Contest Entry
Create the Greatest Wrestling Tag Team Ever!
Who: All Wrestling Fans and Internet Surfers
What: Enter to Win Fabulous Prizes by Creating Your Own Wrestling Tag Team
Where: Visit http://octoberslamfest.dai.net within AdCast's Network of Wrestling Web Sites
When: October 1 through October 31, 1999
How: Create the Greatest Tag Team Ever by Selecting Your Favorite Wrestling Duo from Over 700 Professional Wrestling Stars Featured on AdCast's October Slam Fest Web Site. Visitors May Enter the Contest by visiting http://octoberslamfest.dai.net
Why: For Wrestling Action and Fun! Contest Entry's are Submitted for a Drawing to Win Fabulous Prizes Including:
GRAND PRIZE: $1,000, WCW Mayhem Electronic Game and Either a Sony PlayStation™ or Nintendo 64™ Game Console
OTHER PRIZES: Games from Electronic Arts (EA) including WCW Mayhem and Many More!
AdCast reserves the right to substitute prizes of equal value..
For more information please visit the site at http://octoberslamfest.dai.net Or AdCast, Inc. at http://www.adcastdelivers.com
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How about we try something different. We all did it to vote for Ric Flair in the People Magazine Contest, maybe we can do this again, only this time the angle is we're doing it for every wrestling fan on the Internet.
Take this press release and send it to everyone you know who would be interested in entering a contest with these prizes. Have them send this press release to everyone they know, and so on and so on. (Be sure that you do not just spam this press release as it defeats the purpose and could injure the integrity of this contest seeing to it that neither Ad-Cast nor Electronic Arts would ever want to do this again.) This should only be sent to friends. Also if you like to visit wrestling chat rooms you could also put this contest out in there also, thus spreading the word even more.
So what are you waiting for? Enter the contest yourself NOW, and then spread the word to all your friends. This contest only runs until October 31 so don't delay.
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Reports are flying everywhere that Hogan has exercised a 90 day "out clause" in his contract due to the fact that Vince Russo, who recently jumped from the WWF to WCW, has no plans to push the one time biggest name in wrestling. It is also being reported that a majority of the WCW see this as a "slap in the face" to everything they have done and had to put up with because if Hogan. As well they should. If Terry Bolea has indeed opted to leave WCW because of the fact that he in no longer going to be "the big dog" in the house anymore this is the biggest slap that Hogan could give his fellow co-workers, who have time and time again had to sit in the back and watch Hogan be pushed through the roof ,whether he deserved it or not.
Hogan's heyday was with the WWF and the early part of the NWO. Since then Hogan has done nothing for WCW but hurt it time and time again. I say good riddance with my only fear being that Hogan would once again show up in the WWF. I hope Vince in not that stupid as Hogan is no longer a draw. At least not in the big markets.
Even though Hogan is responsible for wrestling being taken to the heights he took it to which allowed to reach the heights it has in recent years, it is time for him to either hang the boots up or to go out on the indie circuit and autograph signing circuit but that is about all the is left for the one time most known wrestling heavyweight champion. Hey, I know a promoter in Deptford, NJ that is hard up for decent talent. Not that Hogan is decent but at least he is a name. Wait, I can hear Dennis making that call now....
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Keeping with Hogan for another second did you get to read the transcript of him on Larry King Live? This guy is a work in progress. I'm not going to rip apart the transcript piece by piece, it would be too easy. Instead if you haven't read it look around, find it and take 5 minutes to read this piece of garbage. If you can't find it, it is still on the PWBTS 2000 site at pwbts.com
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Jerry Lawler came in third as far as voting was concerned for his bid to be Mayor of Memphis, Tenn. While inside politics played a roll in Lawler not winning the election it was not the only factor and although he did not win, he should hold his head up because he gave it one hell of a shot. Better luck nect time King.
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Have we had enough of Moolah yet? Look, I have no problem with the fact that Moohlah wrestled all those years for basically welfare and I am glad she is getting a couple of the big bucks now but lets face facts, the angle sucks, the so-called wrestling sucks and seeing MaeYoung get stripped really sucks (have I said this sucks yet?) I am for them getting some kicks but enough is enough already.
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I would like to send my condolences to all those people who have lost their favorite place to have intelligent wrestling chats, WCW.com. It seems as though certain people who cannot take criticism to save their life has now destroyed 3 years of dedication by loyal fans by creating such controversy, even among the ops, that all of the regulars and ops have left. I went there today and the room was totally empty. If you were a regular to the old WCW chat room and are interested in going to talk to your old friends goto: evilspeak.com port 6667 Everyone old friends and new are welcome and you do not have to fear someone with an inferiority complex freaking out because you disagree with him.
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Am I the only one who finds the Goldberg/Sid Vicious car routines pretty funny? And was that a great promo (thank God they are starting to get it) that Goldberg did after his match on Nitro? I really enjoyed hearing him say he was going to kick Sid's "ass" instead of all the watered down phrases that they had to use before.
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Was it really a wise move for WCW to show Scott Hall with 2 beers in his hands after all the trouble his real life drinking problem has caused him?
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Is there/was there a need for a "phantom" title change this past week on Nitro. Ya know, Lenny and Lodi were only following what WCW told them to do and now they are being ostracized because of it? How bogus is that? One (ahem) reporter stated that WCW had been getting harassed by "gay right groups" because of the way the fans yelled "faggots" at The West Hollywood Blondes when they came to ringside. My thing is..."so what"? If it looks like and egg....and it sounds like an egg.... Besides that report I have heard from many sources is one f the biggest crocks perpetrated on the Internet in...well this week anyway. I wish these so-called self professed "wrestling insiders" would just shut up and stop trying to make things up to make themselves look good in some marks eyes.
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As I said last week, I am going to share with you some of the memories of the real NWA. (Not the phony wanna-be promotion that runs out of New Jersey, but the real one that ran all those years ago. This one is from Christian Nichols :
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I have two very distinct memories of watching NWA from years past, the first is seeing a heel, newly inducted Four Horseman Lex Luger make Nikita Koloff, who at this time had turned into a monster face with Dusty Rhodes, submit to a torture rack inside a cage for the US title. I couldn't believe that Nikita actually SUBMITTED...I was shocked, and I hate to admit it, I liked Luger as a horseman.
The second was watching Ric "I-put-on-the-BEST-show-in-town, kiss-my-ass-Bischoff" Flair make Terry Funk submit to the figure four in a submission match at a Starcade or Clash Of The Champions from years ago. What made this incredible to me was that after months of chasing Flair, embarrassing him, beating him down, stalking him, hitting him with the branding iron that he carried at the time, and basically causing general hell, Funk walked over, snatched the NWA Heavyweight Belt (which was on the line)...looked at it...and handed it over to Flair, and he raised Flairs hand in victory. Awesome match with an awesome finish which made me mark out totally!
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Two great memories from a time when wrestling was wrestling, and not just an afterthought. Thanks for sending that in Christian. We'll have another one next issue.
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With that I'm outta here. Remember wrestling is nothing more than it appears to be.
Fritz Capp is the editor of Pro Wrestling's Between The Sheets - for comments or opposing viewpoints please e-mail to Fritz Capp