Black History Month: D'Lo Brown

D'Lo on the news!

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger

D'Lo Brown is without a doubt one of the coolest wrestlers I've ever had the chance to meet.  He was in town last summer promoting the TNA Basebrawl event and appeared on the morning show I co-anchor (he's an agent for TNA now).  We talked briefly before the show and then of course during the course of the interview.  We talked again at the show (as I was the guest manager for Velvet Sky) and he gave me his number.  I've texted him since then and he's always responded.  I appreciate that.

I first took notice of D'Lo when he was with the Gangstas in Smoky Mountain Wrestling.  We didn't get SMW where I lived, but I read about it in magazines like Pro Wrestling Illustrated.  Based on what I read, I had the vibe that D'Lo was the newbie of the group, sort of the flunky if you will.

It wasn't long after that though that D'Lo would go national and join the WWF as a member of the Nation of Domination.  As the group got over with the fans, D'Lo would develop his trademark head swivel.  I still do it from time to time when his theme music pops up on my iPod.

Champ (from WWE)

While in the WWF, D'Lo won the now defunct European title four times.  He was also the Intercontinental champion at one point during the Attitude Era.  In fact at one point he held both belts at the same time.  If memory serves me correctly, he gave up one of the belts to Mark Henry, didn't he?

After dropping the belts and the disbandment of the Nation, he went on to form a team with Chaz (formerly of the Headbangers and Beaver Cleavage).  That duo was managed by Tiger Ali Singh.  The team didn't last long as two thirds of its members got released.  Brown stuck around and worked the mid card until finally leaving the WWE in 2003.

He bounced around to Japan and TNA, ROH, Chikara,  and even had another stint with the WWE in 2009.  Unfortunately it didn't work out and he's back in TNA/Impact Wrestling.  His style and look were different from the typical cookie cutter image the WWE has been churning out for the last several years.  It was nice to see someone who was different.

Flyin' high

I recently contacted D'Lo to find out if he's doing anymore wrestling on indy shows and he informed me that he is now retired.  It's too bad, as I would have loved to seen one more run from him.  I think the fans would dig it too, as the crowd at the 2011 Survivor Series started a "D'Lo Brown!" chant.  You better recognize!

Let ECW Rest in Peace

The Franchise & ECW are born

By Chad Smart
@chadsmart on Twitter

It was announced over the past week that Shane Douglas would be running an ECW reunion show on April 28 in Philadelphia. So far in addition to Douglas, Jerry Lynn, The Gangstas, Tracy Smothers and Raven have been announced for the show. My big question is why is this show happening?

Don’t get me wrong. I was a huge ECW fan back when the original ECW was around. I still consider Heatwave ’98 to be the best live show I’ve ever attended. I felt the first One Night Stand was a proper send off to the original ECW and really didn’t mind the WWECW even though it seemed to be done as a way for Vince McMahon to get crowds to stop chanting E-C-W.  My issue is simply there were already One Night Stand and a few Hardcore Homecoming shows featuring talent signed to TNA that gave ECW a proper demise. Then after WWE shut down WWECW, TNA had Hardcore Justice for reasons I still don’t understand. At this point ECW is like a killer from a bad direct to video horror film series. It doesn’t know when to stay dead.

Raven back in the day

ECW was a product of its time. What worked in the ‘90s isn’t going to be as relevant in today’s market. Take Raven for example. He epitomized the grunge movement at the time. Now 15 years later, he is more like Wooderson from Dazed and Confused. The guy who refuses to grow up and still hangs around the places high school kids frequent. Back when the Dudley Boyz started putting people through tables, the audience went crazy because it was something new. Now tables are used for transition moves instead of having any impact.

Add in the fact all the ex-ECW wrestlers are older and those who haven’t stayed active aren’t in the best of shape and I have to again wonder what is the point of this new ECW Reunion.  With all the independent companies out there, is there even interest in bringing ECW back? Would the ECW fit in with the current style of wrestling?

I’m guessing there are plenty of fans who stopped watching wrestling after ECW and WCW folded who would like to see the companies come back, but much like the old head bangers who wanted glam rock to return during the era of grunge, I feel most of those fans are people who are more trying to hang on to their youth and are afraid of moving forward. These same fans are the ones who want WWE to go back to the Attitude Era without realizing other than some foul language and T&A, the main thing separating the current WWE product from the Attitude Era is the larger than life persona’s of The Rock and Stone Cold. Time marches on and wrestling has to evolve or die.

Shane Douglas today

Had ECW not gone out of business in 2001 and was still around, I have a feeling the promotion would have evolved and would bare little resemblance to the ECW people fondly remember. That’s why I feel Shane Douglas and the other ECW alums need to realize simply putting the same old stars in the ring won’t enable success beyond one show. Shane has said he plans to have some new talent on the show and has plans to spin this off into a new promotion. I’m skeptical because I think once he hears the cheers from the fans, he’ll forget the new plan and rely on the old memories. I hope I’m wrong.

Whether the show succeeds or fails, I feel the final nail in the ECW needs to be hammered in and the body laid to rest. ECW had a good seven-year run. Let us remember the good times and not soil the memories by trying to recreate the past.

What do you think of the latest ECW revival? Are you interested or should ECW be put out to pasture? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.