Juggled days this week, but don’t you worry your pretty little heads – the mailbag is delayed but it’s here!
Joseph kicks us off this week with…”Do you have a favorite of the Flair-Steamboat series of 1989?”
I always loved the two out of three falls match. I know some folks did not like that due to the ending, but for me it was, as the (presumably French) kids say, “Chef’s kiss.” I also loved their later one at Spring Stampede 1994 because I was there LIVE. And in person, come to think of it. That one also had a screwball ending, but what can I say, I loved it too.
Michael B follows up the best with the worst via…”Who’s the worst KOTR of all time?”
I mean, is there a case for anyone but Mabel here? And that horrible feud he had with Diesel that ran off fans by the billions?
Benjamin wants to know…”So…would the Shockmaster have had ANY chance of actually working as a gimmick if poor Fred hadn’t tripped coming out? I mean…even if the segment went perfectly, he was still wearing a glitter covered Stormtrooper helmet and using the Black Scorpion voice. Was falling right on his arse REALLY the biggest problem?”
I thought I answered this one previously, but I’m old (just hit 55 this week!) and increasingly senile. Also lazy, so I am not going back to check. I’ve grown to love, love, LOVE me some Fred Ottman so I kinda would have loved to have seen where this would have gone. In hindsight I almost think that pratfall was good for Fred as he’s been able to laugh at himself and make that moment into something he can hang his hat on, be that a glittery Stormtrooper helmet or a cute little sailor version. Good for him.
David S ponders…”Bischoff seems to feel that even if WCW was still doing big numbers in 2001 they still would have been cancelled. So if the AOL merger had happened in 1997 and Ted Turner has lost power do you think WCW would still have been cancelled as Bischoff suggests?”
You know, I should write a book about this. Wait, I already did. Here’s the thing – if WCW was doing what they were doing in 1997, IN MY OPINION there’s zero chance they’d ever be cancelled. Again, not the ALL CAPS there. Imagine The Avengers just hit, it was one of the largest movies of all time, but Disney was undergoing a massive restructure. Would ANYONE have said, “Let’s cancel all the Marvel movies!” Of course not. There’s no possible way to say if I am right or Bischoff on this, but common sense I think is pretty clearly on my side here.
Arya W asks…”Why do you think Hornswoggle and New Japan’s David Finlay seem to not have a relationship despite being brothers? I think Hornswoggle is just mad that his younger brother is not only normal sized, but got a normal name like David.”
I’ll quiz Dylan about that the next time we chat. Oh who am I kidding, we prefer to discuss the Muppets, not wrestling. Sorry, you’re out of luck there my friend.
Mike M wants to get serious Bro with…”In your interactions with Vince Russo, what’s his BPM—Bros Per Minute—outside of the wrestling sphere?”
I’ve said this before, I will say it again – that is NOT a gimmick with Vince, it’s just how he talks. When I was in Denver with his wife and his dad for dinner, I think he called them both Bro. I find it quite charming, kinda like when I go down to Tennessee and the girls at Shoney’s call me “honey.” Terms of endearment are to be cherished regardless of their dialect. I almost feel like I should wear a t-shirt that says that.
Bryan J hits the gridiron with…”Bills vs Steelers who wins ?”
I mean, if the Bills can’t beat this version of the Steelers with a backup quarterback and TJ Watt out of the lineup I don’t quite know what to say. I really want to see them succeed as I have a ton of friends in upper New York state, so I will be cheering for them.
And we hit the two minute warning with Rob who asks…”Today, in honor of Blade Braxton , can we all be Lions fans?”
The smart aleck side of me wants to say Blade wouldn’t like that, as per his own rules, you are only allowed to cheer for ONE NFL TEAM. But I say SCREW THAT. Let’s all hold up that lukewarm can of Stroh’s and scream GO LIONS as loud as we possibly can!!!
That’s all for this week – keep those questions coming in rightchere!