The Thread Killer

Click the link in my signature. They don't get much more "under the radar" than Drawing Heat, in both the book itself, and it's main subject, The Canadian Wildman. Drawing Heat was the first book I'd ever heard that candidly discussed the behind the scenes goings on in Pro Wrestling, and it really is a tragic story. The Wildman was never a household name (although he became infamous for all the wrong reasons when the bear killed his girlfriend) but he really was an underground legend in eastern Canada, as his shows were ECW about 10 years before there was an ECW. This book has info on plenty of other famous names too, especially The Original Sheik. It isn't mentioned in the book, but The Wildman actually helped train Sabu and gave him his start as "Terry S.R." and of course Adrian Adonis was on a Wildman tour when he was killed in the same accident which killed The Wildman. It is extremely well written too, as the author is a Professor at the University of Western Ontario so I'd say it is one of the better written books on wrestling I've read from a technical standpoint, if nothing else. It can be almost philosophical and poetic in parts, written from the standpoint of a non-fan wanting to understand the world of Pro Wrestling, and the journey that takes him on. Seriously...read this book.

As much as I can't stand Kevin Nash, he was actually quite funny in Adam Sandler's version of The Longest Yard. He stole every scene he was in...not that that was all that hard, but still. I remember being surprised at how natural he was as a comedic actor, which in retrospect I suppose I shouldn't have been.

I read somewhere that Rick Rude did not like Bobby Heenan and was pissed off that the WWF gave him a manager at all, especially Heenan. Which is odd to me, because having a manager preening all over him and telling him how great he was, was a big part of Rude's gimmick to me. He was fine to talk for himself, but having a sycophantic manager telling Rude (and everybody else) how great he was - that made the act. I think Rude's act wouldn't have been half as good without a manager. Although I think he is jerk of the highest magnitude, Superstar Billy Graham talked in his book about how at first he chaffed at having The Grand Wizard as a manager, until he learned that it wasn't about his promo skills, it was all about getting outside interference and a lightning rod for the fans to hate as well, for kissing his butt all the time. I really miss the Heel Manager/Heel Stable aspect of old school wrestling.

This angle did it for me. I had been a WWF/WWE fan since the early 80's, and this was the straw that broke the camel's back. It was a long time coming, and there were plenty of things that led up to that point, but prior to that I had always maintained an interest in the WWE product, watched Raw and Smackdown, and pretty much all the PPV's. I can honestly say that since the Triple H/Booker T angle, WWE hasn't gotten nickel one from me that I can recall, and if they ever have, it has never been anywhere NEAR the money I used to spend on them. I paid for every PPV, tons of home video releases, live event tickets and merchandise for years and years, and all of that stopped with this angle. I'm not one of those thin skinned easily offended types, nor am I a knee jerk liberal who takes offense or sees a double meaning in every nickname or catch phrase. It wasn't JUST the blatant racism that offended me about this angle, although that was a large part of it. It was the fact that the WWE later actually tried to claim this story was good storytelling, and stating in an article on their website written by some jackass named Brian Solomon (which later vanished) that it was good vs. evil during which good would triumph. Anybody who knows how the eventual Triple H/Booker T match went, knows how "good" won out in this story. Then they tried to claim the story wasn't actually about race for a while, that was classic. The whole ordeal was just so wrong headed (as opposed to nappy headed, as Triple H called Booker T) that I just gave up. I encourage anybody who forgot or didn't see that angle to click the link I provided. I know it's from Wrestlecrap, but they actually did a good job of documenting how bad that angle was - with sound bytes to prove the case, no less.

I've never understood the Japanese attitude towards cancer, but the fear of discrimination aspect really makes sense. That is rampant in North America as well, believe me. People are quick to applaud you for "beating cancer" and equally as quick to reject you if they think it might come back and cost their company medical plan or affect their rates. I agree with Zenjo. Too much. This disease has gutted my life, killing my mother, (and her mother and both sisters) and my poor dad is fighting it as we speak, while I have had my own fight with it. It really is a nightmare. Akira Hokuto has my fondest wishes. It sounds like she is fighting this bravely and that kind of courage is important when dealing with this awful disease. I really do wish the best for her, I hope that surgery was an unqualified success.

From everything I have read/seen, it appears Snuka is absolutely guilty and deserves to go to jail. If I was the family, I would be just as outraged and consider legal action against those who sat around with their collective thumbs up their butts for years and years, while Snuka was allowed to roam free, while the exact same evidence they are planning on trying to use to convict him was pretty much just sitting there. That is one of the real crimes here, the years Snuka got to live that his victim did not, when it could have been dealt with. I do agree with the sentiment that going after him now seems strange and almost pointless. There won't be much justice served here, even if he is convicted. He's in his twilight years but on top of that between his cancer and dementia, it's not like there is much the penal systen can do to him now, that life isn't already doing. They might be able to stop him from spending the last years of his life surrounded by his family - to a degree - but if his dementia advances he may not even be aware of that. Plus the system would have to take his illnesses into account. If convicted he might not even end up seeing the inside of a jail cell, house arrest or a hospital ward might be more likely. I also can't see my way clear to get too angry at his grandkids and family for the fundraising. Like a lot of people, I grew up worshiping my grandparents (my grandmother is still kicking at 100!) and if somebody accused them of something I would probably not want to believe it and leap to their defense, regardless of the evidence stacked against them. If my grandfather said something, to me it was the truth when I was a kid - so I can't come down too hard on grandkids for believing in their grandparents. No moral outrage, just sad. The whole situation is so sad. Justice easily could have been served decades ago if not for apathy. Doing something about this now just underscores that fact to me, and almost makes it worse for the victim's family.

I suppose I can understand people liking the music...to a degree. But all the other crap that came with it...the cocaine, the outfits, the hair, the preening and posing, the whole attitude...bleh. Anything that was even partially responsible for me having to wear bell bottom pants cannot be forgiven. Like I said, I was there, I lived it, and Disco Sucked. As an aside, I always thought Disco Inferno could have been a bigger act had he ended up in the WWF rather than WCW. I always though McMahon could have turned his look and gimmick into at least an I/C level star.

That's one of the things I have always liked about The Rock.

I find The Addiction's ring gear confusing. Daniels wears a Nazi general's uniform, which I'm not entirely comfortable with. Kazarian dresses like a biker with a bandana and denim jacket, and they are accompanied by Sabin who always looks like he just got out of bed after sleeping in his clothes. And their tights don't match. Tag Teams should have matching tights. Back in my day, teams wore matching tights, some of them with black and yellow stripes, with matching masks. Many had their names clearly marked on their gear, making it easy to identify who they were, and what team they were affiliated with. It was much less confusing.

I was THERE during the 70's. I suffered and probably will always have PTSD from that music. I am neither homophobic nor racist, and allow me to confirm for anybody who didn't have to live through disco...Disco Sucks. Carry on with your conversation. Oh...while I'm here... We all know that WWE will reflect what the people who run it like, since they seem to think that is what everybody else likes, or at least what they should like. Vince's favorite band is AC/DC and Trip's is Motorhead. (Two bands who were active during the 70's and didn't suck, btw.) Small wonder WWE thinks Hard Rock is what is needed for entrance music. You are all absolutely right in thinking WWE music is not nearly popular or diverse enough, I wager nobody with the ability to make changes has the foggiest clue what is popular. One of the reasons WWE is not really popular with the kids nowadays. I remember when they asked Heyman what he'd do if he had taken over TNA. (Aside from bankrupt it, I assume.) His answer was fire everybody over 30, find out what the most popular music was and incorporate that into the product - and he was probably smart to think that.

That recent AAA Triplemania PPV gets my vote now. Not only was it one of the worst shows I ever paid for, but it was so bad it reportedly killed AAA's future American/Canadian PPV plans. And so it should have. Between the technical problems and the booking, that show was just...so bad.

I don't get the Dudley hate in some corners of fandom right now. I don't think it can be argued that they aren't still over, and anybody who saw any of Bubba's solo work in TNA will have to admit he's in the best shape of his life right now and is still capable of bringing the goods in the ring. It's not like the WWE Tag Division is so stacked with talent that the Dudleys are taking up a "spot" that would otherwise go to a more deserving team. The WWE has what, 6 viable teams right now? And they tend to hotshot those titles around pretty liberally, no? "Worst case" scenario for fans who dislike the Dudleys is that they take the titles from A New Day - they'll still just end up dropping them back a month or two later. Besides, both Bubba and Devon went on record before coming back that they wanted to come back to WWE to finish their careers and maybe work in developmental specifically helping Tag Teams. As far as I can see, they are still very popular, they can still go, they're not going to be holding anybody back or taking anybody's "spot" and they seem to be there for the right reason, to end their careers where they had their biggest success - something they certainly earned. I'm really not understanding the problem people have with those guys.

This show is so bad on so many different levels in so many different ways. If this doesn't get better soon...Heroes of Wrestling may have a new challenger.

I can't stand Vince Russo. I think he's the worst pro wrestling booker/writer of all time, and I think he has done permanent damage to pro wrestling. I think it's sad and unbelieveable that despite his prolonged and obviously intimate association with pro wrestling, he still never really understood what pro wrestling is and should be all about. Despite that, when I read one of his blog entries this week, I found myself shocked to be agreeing with something he wrote. As far as I can recall, this was the first time I had ever agreed with anything Vince Russo wrote or thought about anything. But this is what his blog said about Dixie Carter... To me, this is shocking for a number of reasons: First, Russo actually "gets" why Dixie Carter and TNA suck, which I assumed he wouldn't since he seems incapable of understanding other blatant obvious facts which are staring him in the face. (For example: "People hate me because I'm from New York.") Mind you in keeping with his typical Russo denial, he does go on to say "I would have clearly understand, recognized and accepted my limitations, and then hired those who had the know-how and knowledge to help me" when all the historical evidence points to the contrary...Russo does NOT understand his limitations - or even sees his limitations as actually, you know...being limitations. Secondly, TNA must really be going through it's final death rattle if Russo is willing to publicly voice a negative opinion about Dixie Carter. Let's be honest, aside from Jeff Jarrett, nobody did more to help Vince Russo and extend his influence on pro wrestling than Dixie. For him to finally bite one of the hands that fed him, he must be sure that he won't be getting any more paydays from Panda. Thirdly, this does confirm the stories that the Carter family don't want TNA to succeed unless Dixie is at the helm. We've heard stories about why Heyman didn't come in, and other stories that Viacom might have stayed involved or other TV deals or business partnerships would have been possible if Dixie would have been willing to step aside and take a less important role...but I guess the Carter family either thinks TNA can only work with Dixie in charge - or they don't want it to work if she isn't. Which is really weird and shows me it's more about the Carter family than it is about business and making money. Finally, I think it's downright bizarre that Vince Russo of all people thinks Jim Ross could have helped TNA. I had the misfortune of reading Russo's first book, in which he pretty much ridicules JR. And we all know about "Oklahoma." Granted, Russo has since apologized publicly to JR for the book and the gimmick in WCW, and it appears the two are friendly to a degree now...but in what universe would Vince Russo as a pro wrestling writer be able to work in a company which was being run under the direction of Jim Ross, considering his view of pro wrestling? Makes no sense. I now have to go outside and check to see if the world is coming to an end, since Vince Russo wrote something I agreed with...

Exactly. What the WWE is doing is a clear case of prejudice and racism towards orange people. You can't just erase these poor leather skinned people from history. I can only hope that George Hamilton publicly comes out in support of Hogan.

What Toronto arena are you talking about? For huge PPV shows or RAW, WWE usually runs Rogers Centre (formerly SkyDome) or Air Canada Centre. For house shows, they've been using Richoh Colliseum at the Canadian National Exhibition (which is the arena JCP ran back in the early 90's when WCW came to town.) ROH tends to use the Ted Reeve Arena, but they've also run The Markham Fairgrounds a couple of times (which was awesome for me because it's 10 minutes from my place) and they even ran a show at The Mattamy Athletic Centre, which is the preserved part of the old Maple Leaf Gardens. And DGUSA ran the Metro Toronto Convention Centre a few times. There are a ton of smaller venues in and around the Greater Toronto Area that ROH could run, although Ted Reeve arena seems to be their choice. It's where they've run the NJPW shows the last few years.

Wahoo is a guy I really wish had more footage floating around, especially in his prime. From what I've read and the clips I've seen, he and Johnny Valentine really beat the hell out of each other, but sadly I don't know of any existing footage of their matches.

Does Sean Oliver ask Rikishi what the source of the tension is between him and "Too Cool" (Brian Christopher and Scott Taylor)? I found it really odd that Rikishi never mentioned those guys in his HOF speech, especially since he never would have been anywhere near as popular as he was without them (IMO.) But he never even mentioned them, and afterward the rumor was that he intentionally snubbed them because they had some sort of falling out. As I recall, Taylor even mentioned the snub on his Twitter, but nobody has ever said what the reason for the falling out was. I was curious if Rikishi mentioned it in his shoot interview?

Oh yeah...his old friend Dusty Rhodes has only been dead for 3 weeks, but that hasn't stopped Graham from publicly asking for his job. Yeah Billy, I'm sure the reason you haven't heard back is because Vince has been busy.

I agree that Abdullah is a total scumbag...or as New Jack so eloquently put it " ." (I can't help myself, I laugh my arse off at that rant..."you got a rib shack in a chinese restaurant you confused-ass motherfucker!") My issue is that Graham may have started off being upset about the Hep C issue, but since then he has expanded his criticisms to Abdullah cutting other wrestlers without permission...something he knew Abdullah did WAY back before he knew he had Hep C. Like I said, Graham had no issue with Abdullah in his book (and we know Abdullah has been cutting people since pretty much day one) but now that he can get some publicity out of it, he's not just outraged about the Hep C, he's outraged about the cutting and the bleeding and the horrible violence in general.

The book is equally full of funny shit as well. The "face turn that never happened" (a/k/a Stone Cold Superstar) and it causing Billy to become a complete addict was perhaps the funniest one. I agree. While I found his book interesting to read, he does not come across as the slightest bit sympathetic, and he does exactly what you mentioned...basically he tries to justify his own behavior with some real stretches. His hatred and jealousy of Backlund borders on obsessive. I don't even really like Backlund all that much myself, but even I think Graham is nuts with his Backlund bashing. The other problem is, the man is a notorious attention whore. The second half of his book is pretty much a love sonnet to the McMahon family - who he promptly turned on (again) about a year after the book came out, giving interviews to anybody who would listen to him, blaming them for every thing under the sun, and selling his beloved WWE Hall of Fame ring on eBay. And of course when Bruno got in, Graham had to do the rounds with his opinion on that. He talks in his book rather fondly about Abdullah the Butcher, whom he has now spent the past few years since slagging every chance he gets for cutting people with blades. He didn't seem to have an issue with it in his book, but now all of the sudden that there is a lawsuit and press coverage, he thinks Abdullah is despicable and is happy to tell you all about it. Rock bottom to me (right along with falsely accusing a man of being a child molester) was pimping upcoming convention appearances, claiming they would be his final appearance, since he'd be dead in a year from liver failure. (These appearances happened a few years ago, FYI.)

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This sounds interesting, but I'm always wary of anything from SBG because the man is a notorious liar. I understand that all Pro Wrestlers are full of shit - it comes with the territory and is part of the job description to a degree - but even for wrestlers, Graham is a horrible liar. He even admits in his own book that he lied and basically slandered Pat Patterson, trying to paint the guy as a child molester...just because he was bitter about Vince Jr. firing him. I own the "20 Years Too Soon" documentary that WWE put out with Graham's book (which isn't a bad read) and even his own damn wife basically admits that half the industry hates the guy for being such a liar.

I went back and watched The Dream's brawl with Abdullah The Butcher from NJPW, it really took me back and made me feel like a kid again.

Yeah Will, but in Daniels's defense, Russo didn't like him and claimed he worried too much about having good matches and not enough about his "character." They didn't share the same sediments, in other words.