Was very sad to hear of the passing of Kevin Sullivan this week. I was very blessed to meet him and share a stage with him at Starrcast a few years back (pictured above with me, Blade, and Jordan), and he was just so friendly and generous with his time. I remember calling him prior to the show just to get a feel for things he’d be comfortable discussing, very typical pre-show planning stuff. But we wound up talking about tons more than that. I remember specifically going over in detail the 1975 World Series (!!!!) in which my Reds beat his Red Sox in a thrilling seven game war. On the wrestling side, we discussed the Dungeon of Doom, and he told me about how it as designed to make Hulk Hogan comfortable in his new environment. You see, Hogan had always fought the giant monster heel in the WWF, so why not follow suit in WCW and just ramp it up so that it was playing to what Hogan liked to do? It wound up in many ways a farce (and an original WrestleCrap induction!), but he was trying to juggle egos and make things work. He was just a really fun person and I will be praying for his friends and family. He will be very missed. Onto the mail…
Chad A kicks us off with…”Biggest wrestling theme downgrade? Like who had an all time great theme and replaced with something horrible”
Countless options to choose from here, as I think anything after Undertaker’s first theme was way worse than the original. I also think the very briefly used first Honky Tonk Man theme is great and I like it more than the one everybody knows. It may not fit the character as well, but’s the definition of a toe tapper. But the correct answer will always and forever be any song that brought Ricky Steamboat that wasn’t “Sirius” by the Alan Parsons Project.
Aaron P wants to know…”So Jeff Hardy has returned to TNA after his AEW contract expired. My question for you is this: Will TNA be able to keep Jeff on the wagon this time, or are we doomed to see a repeat of Victory Road 11?”
I always think that Jeff won’t do something stupid, but I’ve found those wishes are often dashed. That said, I would hope TNA has better checks and balances in place to ensure it doesn’t. They seem to be better organized today from the very little I’ve seen of their product so yeah, fingers crossed.
Mike M ponders…”What’s your Mount Rushmore of stand up comedians?”
I’ve never been a huge stand up comedian fan, but I do find myself sometimes going down the rabbit hole with YouTube binges of the likes of Redd Foxx and Don Rickles. But serious question – do comedy clubs still exist in 2024? I did used to go to them back in the 90s, haven’t heard anything about them seemingly in years.
Anthony L asks…”What cartoonist gimmick do you feel sorry for the most?”
You’re asking about a wrestler who drew comic strips?
David B plays What If via…”What would you do with Shane McMahon if you were booking him in AEW?”
As Bobby Heenan once told me about Greg Gagne…”I’d push him. And I’d push him hard.
Right off a cliff.”
James C wants to know…”Taking the gimmicked refs (ie: heel Danny Davis and Nick Patrick, etc..) out of the equation, who are your LEAST favorite referees to watch and why?”
I remember watching Bronko Lubich in World Class and he was bypassed far my least favorite referee ever. God bless the guy but he could barely move by that point. It made every match he was in very difficult to watch.
Rich V ponders…”Who is a wrestler that you didn’t appreciate when you were younger who you now appreciate looking back?”
Tito Santana for sure. He was a white meat baby face at a time where I was more about lunatics like Randy Savage, so me and my friends always downplayed him. Going back and watching his matches now I was a total fool as he was GREAT.
Dylan F wraps us up with…”What’s the Best movie starring a wrestler in your opinion?”
No question in my mind, it’s Ed Wood with George “The Animal” Steele as Tor Johnson. I absolutely LOVE that movie with all my heart. Not only the best movie with a wrestler, but it may be Johnny Depp’s best and it’s VERY high on the list of my all-time favorite Tim Burton films. If you’ve never seen it, stop what you are doing immediately and go watch it now. You’re reading WrestleCrap after all, so this is something I promise you will love.
In fact, I think I may go watch that now myself. But keep those questions coming in rightchere!