Quick Hall of Fame thoughts since I was able to catch it this morning. Seeing folks give incredible speeches about their lives or the lives of their loved ones was actually pretty cool this year. Lex Luger not being afraid to talk about what a jerk he once was but how he was able to turn it around, thanking his pastor no less (!!!), was great. It also tracks with the times I’ve talked to him one on one.
As good as Lex was, it was naturally (pun intended) Fred Ottman and my friend Quake’s kids that were the headliners for me. Fred was Fred. Humble and just the nicest guy imaginable. That’s him. His story of wishing John was there with him…trust me, John wishes he was there with you too as he loved you.
Joanna Tenta Sowards and John F. Tenta…well, yeah, they brought tears to my eyes. I’d heard the story with John Jr. and Quake watching the Quakeburgers story before, but seeing John Jr. tell it in front of a big crowd, was very special. Johanna was the graceful, beautiful person I’ve always known her to be. Quake raised a great family. It’s another reason why I loved him so much, as he would talk about the kids nonstop with me. It reminds me a lot of my relationship with Bryan Alvarez – when we trade texts, it’s never about wrestling, it’s always about family and friendship. Wrestling was just the gateway. Onto the mailbag.
Rob N gets us going with…”Would a Wrestlemania week work in Hawaii? I think they could do spring break (similar to WCW’s Spring Break-Out) as the final Raw/SmackDown.”
I’m always onboard with wrestling events at places that don’t all look exactly the same. Loved it when WCW would do it at Club La Vela and to a lesser extent AEW today with them moving to smaller and more unique venues. Obviously the latter is due to other reasons, but I love it. So I’d be totally down with a wacky Hawaiian Mania for sure. Trying to figure out how to make it work from a timing standpoint would be tough, but what the heck, why not?
Dustin N ponders…”Who was a worse masked replacement team: the Creatures or the Headhunters (Clash of the Champions XIX)?”
Creatures. They weren’t even billed from the Black Lagoon!
Mike M brings the nightmare fuel with…”Thoughts on the wax figure of Triple H?”
That’s supposed to be Hunter? Looks more J. K. Simmons to me.
Joe C wants to know…”How would you book Gimmick Battle Royal 2″
I’d do it as a TNA exclusive, as it would mean we could bring back characters like The Johnsons, the Flying Elvises, Cheex, and Sting’s Guard Bird. And of course Claire Lynch needs to be there doing commentary. With TNA having a ‘relationship’ with WWE, surely they could get the rights to do this, right?
Craig B asks…”Who is the most forgotten wrestler to have a WrestleMania match?”
I’m fully convinced that George Wells only existed in our old WrestleMania 2 induction.
Arya W brings up the PLC this weekend…”Which Rumble winner is colder going into Mania?”
I mean, the world has finally joined me in despising Charlotte Flair, so I guess her.
Charles B continues the Mania questions with…”Favorite Mania of all time?”
Gotta go VIII because I was there with one of my besties. Plus Roddy-Bret and Savage-Flair were great.
Meagan N counters with….”Least favorite mania of all time?”
I absolutely HATED IX. The swerve at the end with Hogan winning the belt legitimately had me questioning why I watch pro wrestling at all.
Ryan G asks the obvious question of…”Did you watch the WM IX documentary? If so, what are your thoughts?”
I haven’t yet. I keep meaning to, but I continually find other things I’d rather do, like flossing my teeth with barbed wire. Have I mentioned how much I hate that show?
David B brings up the next big defection with…”What do you think about the possibility of Mariah May jumping to the WWE? Who would you start her up against?”
I mean, story is that’s her dream so good for her. I question that they would put her over their house made golden girl in Tiffany Stratton, but I’m also the guy that thought they’d bury Cody when he came back so what on earth do I know? With that as your guide, she’ll wind up being the biggest female star they ever had.
Cyndi S breaks out the abacus with…”Bron Breakker broke out some Steiner Math during the kickoff show. How will our country be better off if we all learned Steiner Math?”
You know what would be even better? If Gunther did it and sprinkled in some metric conversions.
Aaron M throws this one at us…”Since Nicholas was the youngest Tag Team Champion and retired Undefeated, should he be considered one of, if not the greatest Tag Team Champion of all time?”
I seriously had almost forgotten that silliness, and now you bring it back. I’ll be sending you the bills from my psychiatrist.
Joseph goes with…”As the gimmick of “Oregon-loving wrestler” did not help get Billy Jack Haynes over in the WWF, which state do you think would have worked better? Also, do you think they should have booked an angle where someone stole his hat? I hear those go over well!”
Crazy psycho from the woods seems like a persona he could have pulled off.
Andy G wraps us up with…”I was just thinking of this: when you and the others did WrestleCrap fantasy PPVs all those years ago, your wrestling persona came out to “Hip to be Square”. Why would you choose that song for your entrance music? And no quoting Patrick Bateman; that’s cheating.”
I have zero recollection of that. Everyone knows RD’s theme song was and will forever be…
And I can’t top that! I wish you all a very happy Easter. Have a great week and keep sending those questions in rightchere!