It's been a while but I'm trying something ambitious for October. Quick, daily blogs counting down the 31 scariest wrestlers of all-time. These are in no particular order.
First up is the Road Warriors. When I first started watching wrestling, Hawk and Animal were the AWA tag team champions. The makeup, spikes, and crazy haircuts made them two of the most intimidating guys to step through the ropes. Throw in Black Sabbath's Iron Man and you couldn't find a tougher twosome.
Even after bouncing around from company to company and changing their look from time to time, Hawk and Animal remained intimidating forces in the ring. They snacked on danger and dined on death and became the only tag team in history to win the championships in AWA, NWA, and WWF. Their influence is still felt today.
So today, I salute the Road Warriors and honor their legacy. Oh, what a rush.
One of the greatest tag teams of all time is without a doubt the Road Warriors. I remember at an early age seeing Hawk and Animal in action in the AWA. The duo was like no other at the time. Face paint, crazy haircuts, spikes and lots of muscle. The Legion of Doom rolled through everyone they faced eventually winning the gold in the AWA, NWA and WWF.
Courtesy: WWE
Sadly, half of the team, Hawk, died in 2003. Animal has continued on and had a brief run in WWE in 2006. I saw him at the Bacon, Bagels and Biceps Brunch at WrestleMania 22. Then in 2011, I was in the crowd as the Warriors and their longtime manager "Precious" Paul Ellering were inducted into WWE's Hall of Fame.
Now the Legend is headed to southern Illinois. Animal will be at IWA Productions this Saturday night (Nov. 17) at the Mt. Vernon Elks Lodge. Tickets for the evening, just ten bucks and proceeds go to the Team Cuff Youth Wrestling program. Many of you read my blogs about Stride Pro Wrestling and you'll see many members from that roster Saturday including Ax Allwardt, Dexter Roswell, Heath Hatton, El Magnifico, Jay Spade, Farmer Billy Hills and Hollywood Redneck.
I'm looking forward to this show as it'll be my first opportunity to meet Animal. It's also been more than a month since I've announced an entire show. Last weekend I did the Impact Wrestling tryout but it's not quite the same as announcing in front of a live crowd of fans. Be sure to join us. Bell time is 7 p.m.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin A decade before Hell in a Cell and 15 years before the Elimination Chamber there was a match called WarGames. Dusty Rhodes is created with creating the cage match concept and introducing it to wrestling fans in July 1987. The Dream got inspiration for the idea after seeing the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.
Dusty vs. Arn Courtesy: WWE
The concept included two teams, two rings and a giant cage. The match started as a one on one competition and a coin toss would determine who had the advantage when adding members to the match. The brawling continued until all members of both teams were in the ring and then and only then could the match come to an end. Something I'd forgotten though was apparently pinfalls didn't count. The only way to win the WarGames was by submission or knocking out your opponent.
July 4, 1987, saw the very first WarGames match. Despite having the disadvantage at the start, The Road Warriors, Dusty, Nikita Koloff and Paul Ellering beat the Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard & Lex Luger) and J.J. Dillon. The match concept continued a few times in '87. While the Road Warriors, Dusty and members of the Horsemen were the main staples, other competitors like The Rock 'n Roll Express, Midnight Express, Barry Windham and Big Bubba Rogers had appearances in the early matches.
I don't think I'd ever seen a WarGames match live (on PPV) until 1991. But I saw clips on NWA programming and articles in the Apter magazines. At WrestleWar '91 Flair, Windham, Sid Vicious and Larry Zbysko beat Sting, Brian Pillman and the Steiners. Sid delivered two sick powerbombs on Pillman that looked like they legit knocked out the high flyer. I remember his head hitting the top of the cage before crashing to the match. El Gigante came to the ring and surrendered the match on Pillman's behalf. The last one happened in 1998 when DDP, The Warrior and Roddy Piper beat nWo Hollywood (Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Stevie Ray) and nWo Wolfpack (Kevin Nash, Sting and Lex Luger).
Courtesy: WWE
WarGames was a great concept. Fans have wanted WWE to bring back the match, but I'd be surprised if it ever happens again. But I'd love to see it happen for old times sake at least once.
I'm counting down to the 30th annual Survivor Series by looking back at my ten favorite teams in the history of the event. Survivor Series ranks among my favorite events every year and if you've read this blog in the past you know I'm a fan of the traditional elimination matches.
One of the first wrestlers to catch my eye before I even became a wrestling fan was Kerry Von Erich. It was the early 80s and he was one of the top guys in World Class Championship Wrestling, eventually becoming the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Then in 1990 he arrived in the WWF as the Texas Tornado and quickly won the Intercontinental Championship. He lost it days before the Survivor Series but was already an established member of The Warriors.
Courtesy: WWE
The team was led by the WWF Heavyweight Champion The Ultimate Warrior. He and Kerry were joined by The Legion of Doom. But in past lifetimes Kerry was the Modern Day Warrior and LOD was, of course, The Road Warriors. This foursome is the most physically intimidating team in the history of Survivor Series.
Not only did they all look amazing, they had many accomplishments in the ring. Warrior, as I mentioned, was World Champion. Plus he had two runs as IC champ. Kerry won gold everywhere he wrestled as was a former WHC and IC champ. The Legion of Doom had been NWA and AWA Tag Team Champions and were on course to win the WWF's version of those belts too. They could have been named like their opponents, The Perfect Team.
Courtesy: WWE
Simply put, on paper, this was a dream team. But the execution of the match was a nightmare for this fan. That might be too much of an exaggeration. I was disappointed that Kerry wasn't one of the final survivors, but looking back at the big picture I understand why. I also hoped he would have eliminated someone. But more frustrating was the LOD and Demolition (Smash & Crush) double-disqualification. I've mentioned before I don't like when more than two people are eliminated at a time via count-out of DQ. By the logic applied here all three members of Demolition should have left the ring when Ax was pinned early on in the match.
Despite those nitpicks, The Warriors still hold up 26 years later as my favorite team. I dare argue anyone will knock them from that status. Thanks for checking out my countdown. Now enjoy the 2016 Survivor Series!
So far I'm pleased that most of the established tag teams in WWE will remain intact after the draft. Of course general managers could split up some of the duos as Chad suggested during our podcast and have the Ascension and the Usos pursue singles careers.
Selfie time Courtesy: WWE
I'm particularly glad to see that Breezango was drafted together and Fandango and Tyler Breeze will at least for now continue to function as a team. When both men were brought up from NXT to the main roster, I had high hopes for them. After very short lived pushes each seemed to get lost in the shuffle.
A couple months ago new life was breathed into their careers when they were put together as a team. While I'm not sure they'll become tag team champions, Breezango is no doubt getting more attention from creative than they were as individuals. There have been other floundering singles Superstars saved by getting a partner.
Oh you didn't know? Courtesy: WWE
The best example of this is the Road Dogg and Billy Gunn. Billy was transitioning out of The Smoking Gunns team and tried a solo career as RockaBilly with the Honky Tonk Man as his manager. The gimmick fell flat. Road Dogg meanwhile had departed Jeff Jarrett as the Roadie and really hadn't done much. In fact I don't really remember him doing anything until the angle with Billy started.
New Age Outlaws Courtesy: WWE
When the two first teamed up I didn't think it was a good pairing. Then The New Age Outlaws beat the Legion of Doom for the WWF tag team titles and I thought the powers that be had lost their minds. The Road Warriors, one of wrestling's greatest tag teams of all time, had just lost the gold to a couple of midcard no names. It reminded me of when Steve Regal (not William) and Jimmy Garvin beat the Warriors for the AWA straps 12 years earlier. But this was the start of something big and the Outlaws have gone down as one of the most beloved and awarded tag teams in the history of the business. Joining DX didn't hurt with them getting over either.
New Day Rocks! Courtesy: WWE
The current tag team champions, The New Day fit into this category too. Kofi Kingston was on the brink of breaking through to the main event scene but for some reason was derailed along the way. He quickly slipped into the land of the lost. Big E showed potential as a heel, but when he turned face he too got lost in the shuffle. Xavier Woods was working hard to make a name for himself. Then these three Superstars in search of an identity came together and the rest is wrestling history. I never imagined New Day would be as wildly popular as they are. The merchandising alone will put them in the books as some of WWE's greatest Superstars. After all, what other Superstar has had their own cereal?
What singles stars have you seen saved by becoming a tag team competitor?
Dozens of former WWE Superstars are taking the company to court. Some of the big names involved in a class action lawsuit include "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Road Warrior Animal, King Kong Bundy, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. & Sr., Sabu and both members of Demolition. Here's the full list of the 51 plaintiffs.
The suit alleges that the wrestlers incurred "long term neurological injuries" in the course of working for the company, while it "routinely failed to care" for them " in any medically competent or meaningful manner" and even "fraudulently misrepresented and concealed" the nature and extent of those injuries.
"Instead of upholding its duty to its employees, WWE placed corporate gain over its wrestlers' health, safety, and financial security, choosing to leave the Plaintiffs severely injured and with no recourse to treat their damaged minds and bodies."
Right now concussions and the long term impact is being studied and discussed at length. The NFL and NHL have faced similar lawsuits due to injuries players have suffered. WWE, the NFL and the NHL have change their policies to help protect Superstars and players. The death of Eddie Guerrero and the murder-suicide carried out by Chris Benoit brought about change in WWE.
Sabu
I'm not judging anyone who is a part of the suit. My biggest complaint is guys who never wrestled under the WWE banner are also trying to cash in on this situation. To my recollection Rod Price never wrestled in WWE. Guys like Sabu, Axl Rotten and Tracy Smothers suffered the brunt of their injuries years before stepping in a WWE ring. Chavo Guerrero, Sr. only had a handful of matches as did Black Bart and Bobbi Billiard.
Slick & Kamala are also suing
My point is many if not most of the names on the list were injured and "forced" to wrestle in companies other than WWE. But because Vince McMahon and his team are the last ones standing, they're the ones with the cash and are expected to be responsible. I have no doubt in some cases men and women have been asked to or have felt obligated to get in the ring despite being injured. Maybe for that they deserve some sort of compensation.
Demolition vs. The Powers of Pain (both teams are suing)
I'll be curious to see what happens to Orndorff and Animal's status in the WWE Hall of Fame. Snuka has already been "removed" due to his court case involving the death of his girlfriend in 1982. By the way the "Superfly" was deemed incompetent to stand trial in that case, which makes me wonder who added him to this class action suit. But it's also unlikely now the likes of Kamala, Demolition and Bundy will ever be inducted. I know there are bigger issues at hand than that, but I digress. Bottom line: the situation sucks. I'm sure some involved in this case don't want to attack or hurt WWE, but feel they have no other choice in the matter. I'm no legal expert, but I would imagine there could be a settlement in the works. I'd be shocked if this makes it all the way to court. But I'd be even more surprised if WWE is held liable for the injures suffered decades ago.
The Warlord and Barbarian were a couple of muscle bound guys with weird haircuts and facepaint who terrorized a couple of guys who looked just like them: The Road Warriors. This feud happened in the late 1980's in the NWA. The Warriors won the war, sending the Powers of Pain heading north to the WWF. The duo appeared in the summer of 1988 as babyfaces, after Tito Santana introduced them on Wrestling Superstars in an effort to avenge Rick Martel's injury at the hands of Demolition.
The Baron
The POP ended up wrestling at that first SummerSlam against the Bolsheviks. The Powers had a bizarre manager named The Baron who was played by former AWA tag team champ Baron Von Raschke. He didn't last long though. The match was a squash with the Powers going over. Even though they were viewed as Road Warrior wannabes by many fans, it was believed (by me specifically) they'd be the team to take the titles from Demolition eventually.
Powers of Pain with Master Fuji
Courtesy: WWE
That didn't happen either and the Powers ended up flipping roles with Demolition later that year at Survivor Series, adopting Mr. Fuji as their manager. The team split not long after that and both Warlord and Barbarian enjoyed very little success as singles stars. Warlord bested Tito Santana at SummerSlam 90. That tag match in 88 was the Barbarian's only outing at the summer tradition.
I know Kevin has started a month long series tying Halloween into the postings, but before I can start with my series, I have to get out a blog I promised writing a week ago. We had a suggestion from a loyal reader who wanted our opinion on the best appearances by wrestlers on television programs.
After thinking about it, I realized there were way more wrestling appearances than I realized. So without any more delay here in no certain order is my top 10 list of wrestlers stepping outside of the squared circle and onto a production set.
KING KONG BUNDY ON “MARRIED WITH CHILDREN”: I have to lead off this one because if it wasn’t for King Kong Bundy, the “Married with Children” family would have had a different name. King Kong Bundy was one of the creator’s favorite wrestlers so they decided to name the Bundy’s after the master of the 5 count. In this episode, Bud Bundy dresses up as the Bumble Bee and wrestles King Kong Bundy.
ANDRE THE GIANT ON “THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN”: I have to admit I don’t remember this one but it always gets brought up when the topic of wrestlers on TV gets mentioned. Before his scene stealing performance in “The Princess Bride,” Andre played Bigfoot and had a fight with the original Steve Austin.
THE ROCK ON “THAT 70’S SHOW”: During the Attitude era, The Rock appeared on an episode of “That 70’s Show” playing his father “Soul Man” Rocky Johnson. The appearance was full of inaccuracies. For example the block style WWF logo was used even though during the time frame of the show the company was still the WWWF. Take away the mistakes and The Rock showed some of the promise of being a credible actor he would later use to segway out of wrestling and into a bonafide acting career.
VADER ON”BOY MEETS WORLD”: This is probably one of my all time favorites. Vader made a few appearances on “Boy Meets World” as the father of Ethan Suplee’s character, Frankie. Frankie was the thug with a heart of gold. In this episode Vader wanted Frankie to be his corner man for a fight against Jake “The Snake” Roberts. Frankie knew very little about wrestling so he enlisted the help of Corey and Shawn to be in the corner with him to give adequate advice. The night of the match was also the same night as Topanga’s Sweet 16 birthday party, which provided the conflict for Corey. How would he be able to be at the party and the wrestling match at the same time? I recently watched this episode again and have to say it holds up pretty well. Vader’s son is currently in FCW and I’ve read message board suggestions that if he ever makes it to the WWE’s main roster, they should call him Frankie as a nod to “Boy Meets World.” I agree with this suggestion.
THE ROAD WARRIORS ON “LEARNING THE ROPES”: This is another show that I’ve read a lot about but don’t remember watching when it was on. The premise, if I’m correct, was former football star Lyle Alzado played a teacher by day, masked wrestler by night. I’m not sure what connection the show had with the NWA but several NWA stars made appearances on the show and “Dr. Death” Steve Williams was the actual wrestler under the mask during the match footage.
LEX LUGER ON “THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERBOY”: Before there was “Smallville,” before there was “Lois and Clark,” there was the “The New Adventures of Superboy.” This was a syndicated show in the late 80s. I vaguely remember watching this show on Sunday mornings. In addition to Luger making an appearance, Sting also appeared on an episode. If you watch the clip, I’m sure you’ll understand why Luger’s acting career never took off.
CAPT. LOU ALBANO ON “THE SUPER MARIO BROS. SUPER SHOW”: The late, great Capt. Lou Albano played video game plumber, Mario on a syndicated children’s show in 1989. Capt. Lou was a perfect fit as Mario. In the clip provided, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper makes an appearance as well. Children’s programming has never been cooler.
RANDY “MACHO MAN” SAVAGE ON “THE “WEIRD” AL SHOW”: Did I say children’s television couldn’t get any cooler? I was wrong. “Macho Man” wrestles a hamster. What more needs to be said?
THE BASH AT THE BEACH EPISODE OF “BAYWATCH”: In a move of marketing genius, WCW held their 1995 “Bash at the Beach” pay per view on an actual beach in California. I want to say it was held at Venice Beach, which would make sense since Hulk Hogan was billed as being from Venice Beach. The PPV tied in with an episode of “Baywatch” featuring Hogan, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Vader and Kevin Sullivan. Just watch the clip.
JOHN CENA ON “HANNAH MONTANA”: I couldn’t end the list without including the biggest star in wrestling. It’s John Cena. It’s Hannah Montana. Let’s leave it at that.
Honorable Mentions:
Bret Hart on “The Simpsons” (wanted to include this but couldn’t find a clip)
John Cena, Mickie James, Stacy Kiebler on “Psych”
Mick Foley on “G vs. E.”
Triple H on “The Drew Carey Show”
Steve Austin on “Nash Bridges”
Steve Austin, Batista, Stacy Kiebler on “Chuck”
Cody Rhodes on “Warehouse 13”
Edge on “Haven”
Can you think of any other appearances I forgot? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter.
By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger on Twitter All photos are courtesy WWE
So the WWE has new tag team champions in Kofi Kingston and Evan Bourne. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't last week the first time these two teamed up? Maybe they've had some other matches over time, but it seems like this pairing is just a couple of guys that creative has nothing for, so let's put them together.
Now please, don't get me wrong. I am a big fan of each of these guys individually. And honestly, I'm probably passing judgment too soon on how they'll gel as a tag team. My frustrations with the tag team division or lack there of have been well documented on this blog and on YouTube.
That video is from about 9 months ago. I still maintain the WWE has done very little to breath any life in the tag team ranks. This makeshift team of Kingston and Bourne is a start in the right direction. But in my opinion, the first thing they need to change is their separate entrances. I never understood why any team enters the ring as individuals.
I really felt like Michael McGillicutty and David Otunga were finally coming into their own. I really hope the WWE doesn't do the usual splitting of the former champs like they've done so many times before. If you count Otunga and McGillicutty (they need a catchy name), and Kofi and Evan (again, another name), the Usos, and sometimes Santino and Zack Ryder are there any other regular tag teams on the roster? Of course there's been speculation that the Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli and Chris Hero) are WWE bound. I hope this is true and I hope they keep this unit together.
Kings of Wrestling (photo from ROH)
If they are in fact bringing in the Kings, this could actually launch a rebirth of the tag team division. I think Kofi and Evan would have a better feud with the KOW. But I'm probably putting the cart way before the horse here. Remember when the Legion of Doom arrived in WWF in 1990? We all wanted to see them battle Demolition for the tag team titles (at least I did) and instead they ended up helping the Bushwhackers against the Natural Disasters while Demolition dropped the tag team titles to the Hart Foundation and Ax was soon out of the company.
Back then though there were plenty of tag teams that they could have different programs with different teams going on at the same time. Now it's a week to week thing and sometimes we go several weeks without even seeing the tag team champions.
I know tag team wrestling will likely never boom like it did back in the 80's and 90's. Teams like Demolition, the Hart Foundation, Rockers, Brain Busters, British Bulldogs, Killer Bees, Road Warriors, Steiners, etc. I really think the attitude era and the Monday Night Wars lead to the demise of the tag team at least in WWE.
This blog is a lot of wishful thinking, but I'm hopeful this time that we may see something happening on the tag team scene. I'm still disappointed they let David Hart Smith go and a Hart Dynasty reunion is no where on the horizon. Again, I think the WWE needs to let some of these teams simmer for a bit. Don't split them up after a run as champions. Help keep the tradition of tag team wrestling alive.
