What a Rush!

Hawk vs. Typhoon at a WWF house show in Cape Girardeau (1991)

I've talked before about the dwindling world of tag team wrestling, especially in the WWE.  Back in the day, and by day I mean the 1980's, it would be hard to deny that the most dominant team was the Road Warriors.  They were tough, intimidating monsters who pulled no punches.  Crazy haircuts, spiked shoulder pads, and fierce makeup made them one of the most memorable duos of all time.  Their manager, "Precious" Paul Ellering escorted them to the ring, carrying his rolled up copy of the Wall Street Journal.  The thinking man and his thugs.  There were a force to beat in the Georgia area in the early 80's.

The first time I remember watching the Road Warriors was when they were in the AWA in 1984.  They steamrolled all over everyone.  Hawk & Animal had just captured the tag team titles from the Crusher & Baron Von Raschke.  They wore the belts for just over a year, dominating everyone they faced.  Then it was the unlikely duo of Steve Regal (not the WWE wrestler) and "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin.  Of course, there was outside interference in the match, as the Warriors had turned face and were the good guys going into the match.

The Legion of Doom as they were also known as, left the AWA and headed to Japan.  They also wrestled for the NWA.  It didn't take long for them to be the team to beat there too.  They captured the tag team gold there and feuded with teams like the Midnight Express, the Four Horsemen, and the Powers of Pain.  Both Hawk and Animal even had singles matches against world champion Ric Flair during the Great American Bash series of matches.

The Road Warriors teamed with Dusty Rhodes and held the NWA 6 man tag team titles too.  Belts that were rarely defended.  Finally, the two snapped and turned on Rhodes and became heels again.  They would soon flip back to the side of good and lose their tag team titles to the Varsity Club (Mike Rotunda and Rick Steiner).

Really, this was probably the beginning of the end for the team as we knew them.  Sure they stayed together for the years that followed, but in 1990, they jumped to the WWF.  And things were different.  They came without Ellering.  Another change, their black spiked shoulder pads were replaced with orange ones.  Why?  IDK... And most importantly, they were no longer the Road Warriors.  Now, they were simply, the Legion of Doom.  They were still fierce and tough, but it was not the same.

The LOD feuded with Demolition, a team many thought were a Road Warriors rip off.  After about a year in the WWF, they captured the tag team titles from the Nasty Boys.  Then about six months later, Money Inc (IRS aka Mike Rotunda again & Ted DiBiase) beat them for the belts.

Then things got weird, even for the WWF.  LOD brought Paul Ellering back into the fold, but he came with a dummy (wooden one) named Rocco, who was supposed to inspire this once destructive duo.  It was a lame gimmick and by the end of the summer of 92, Hawk had left the WWF and went to Japan.  Animal stayed behind and teamed up briefly with Crush, who had been a member of Demolition a few years before.

It was much longer that Animal left too.  The Warriors reunited and jumped back and forth between WCW and the WWF.  One run in the WWF had them billed as LOD 2000, with Sunny as their manager.   Sadly, Hawk died in 2003, truly bringing an end to one of the greatest tag teams in the history of the sport.  Animal (and the WWE) tried to keep the legacy alive by creating a new version of the team with John Heidenreich.  It flopped too.  Animal would also team with and then feud with Matt Hardy.  He has since left the WWE and does some work in the independents still.  His brother still works for the WWE and Animal recently worked a FCW show (a company operated by the E).

Hopefully one day, the Road Warriors will make their way into the WWE Hall of Fame.  It would be the right way to tie up the legacy of the Legion of Doom.  And as Hawk would say, "WHAT A RUSH!"

Freak of the Week: The Original Animal

Courtesy: WWE

Long before "the Animal" Batista or Road Warrior Animal, there was another wrestler with that moniker.  George 'the Animal' Steele.  And he's this week's freak of the week.

The first time I remember seeing George was on an old WWF show back in the summer of 1983.  This was before I was a fulltime fan of wrestling, and everything was still "real" to me.  I was 10 years old at the time and remember being freaked out by the Animal.  He had a green tongue, bald head, and covered with hair on his torso.  He was a monster back then.  He didn't do a whole lot of talking, he just tore his opponent apart in the ring.  If I remember correctly it was either Mr. Fuji or Classy Freddy Blassie was managing him at the time.  He truly was an animal.

George was a heel most of his time in the WWF.  Then in 1985, shortly after the first Wrestlemania, George was teaming with tag team champions Iron Sheik and Nikola Volkoff against Ricky Steamboat, Barry Windham, and Mike Rotunda on Saturday Night's Main Event.  George was left alone in the ring.  His partners wouldn't tag him, and Steamboat ended up rolling him up for the pin.  Of course Sheik and Volkoff were upset and attacked the Animal after the match.  Capt. Lou Albano, who was managing Windham and Rotunda at the time, came into the ring and helped George.  The two were then paired up.

I remember the old skits on Tuesday Night Titans where George went through therapy to become "normal."  But it never seemed to work.  George did become a kinder, gentler wrestler.  He was still tough as a $2 steak (sorry JR), but he almost became a cartoon character.  This was of course during the rock 'n' wrestling era where the WWF was marketing to kids.

When Albano retired in 1986, George received "help" from a stuffed critter he called "Mine."  See the photo above to understand more of this.  During his run as a babyface, George feuded with Macho Man Randy Savage for Elizabeth's hand.  I remember one match on SNME that if George won, he'd "get" Elizabeth.  Of course he lost, and his poor heart remained broken.

Besides the green tongue and the stuffed animal, George was also known for his crazy walk/dance motions in the ring.  Almost like a primate moving around.  And after his matches he would tear open the turnbuckle and "eat" the stuffing inside.

George is a WWE Hall of Famer and now retired.  I remember being somewhat disappointed when I saw him in a commercial and he wasn't as wild and  crazy as he was in the ring.  He was a real person afterall.

The character though went from being a crazed lunatic to a lovable human teddy bear.  That seems to be the trend in wrestling.  Turning these violent guys into cuddly creatures.  Makes them more marketable I suppose.

So let's rip open a turnbuckle and salute this week's freak, the original animal.  "MINE!" 

Things That Make You Go, "Huh?"

Pro wrestling and logic.  Two words that do not go together, or at least not often enough.  My "wrestling roundtable" friends and I have been discussing this for years now.  Today, I'm going to site a few examples from just this week alone.

Since I always seem to pick on WWE, I'll start with them.  Although, I'll credit Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler for pointing this out during Monday's RAW.  Why in the world did the WWE roster not gang up on and eliminate John Cena and Wade Barrett from the battle royal?  Or at least try.  I don't recall any of the E guys going after Cena.  Logic would tell you to eliminate the biggest threat in the ring.  Cena was obviously odds on favorite to win, so why not gang up on him?  Even when the Nexus numbers were dwindling, you still had Miz and Morrison and RTruth and Dibiase going at it.  I know they're all feuding, but if the Nexus is really supposed to be this great threat and after all the beatdowns they've handed out, why not gang up on them.

Okay, got that out of the way.  Now on to TNA.  And I'll admit, I do not regularly watch the product.  I read a lot of the results and news and even follow Bischoff on Facebook.

My posse was discussing this morning that RVD's return to the ring comes on the same night that 3 guys are going to be battling for the title he held before it was stripped away from him.  Why on earth did they strip him of the belt in the first place?  Why not have him lose it in the ring and then suffer the injury?  Instead, we've waited for how long to get a new champ when the former champ is already back in the ring.

My friend Chad also pointed this out.  "RVD's beat down which resulted in internal bleeding and ruptured organs kept him out of action for a shorter period of time than the Pope's legit ankle injury."  Yeah, you want to write the guy off the show for a bit, but why make his injuries seem so extraordinary?  Wrestler suffer real injuries all the time, surely they could have come up with something not so severe that would still require some time off.  Just sayin'.

So Impact is live tonight.  I still won't watch, mostly because I record Jersey Shore.  I will tune in for a little bit though.  Curious to see how they build up to the rest of Sunday's big pay per view.

He's Golden, Baby

Goldust at a house show in Cape Girardeau in 1996

In the mid to late 1990's Goldust was one of my favorite characters in the ring.  He was definitely ahead of his time.  His debut in late 1995 was well before the Attitude Era.  This was a time when the WWF was still in that PG, sugar sweet era.  We had the New Rockers, the Godwins, and "Spark Plug" Bob Holly gracing the squared circle.  Goldust and his androgynous behavior was something the fed hadn't seen before.  He was more over the top than predecessors like Gorgeous George and "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.

His buildup to the match with Razor Ramon was classic, with Goldust playing the ultimate mind games with the man "oozing machismo."  It did exactly what it was intended to do.  Put Goldust over as (one of) the company's top heels.  Fans hated him.  Homophobia was running wild.  Goldie finally won the Intercontinental championship.  His run though was lackluster.  Lots of disqualification losses.  The title was held up once after a match with Savio Vega.  Goldie won it again by pinning Vega.  I don't remember all the circumstances behind that one though.

It was a few months later the mind games continued, this time with Ahmed Johnson.  But the tricks didn't work, as Ahmed was victorious and ended the reign.  At least for a few years.  Goldust would eventually turn babyface and feud with Hunter Hearst Helmsley and Chyna.  

Then by late 1997, Goldust would split with his valet Marlena and acquire the services of Luna Vachon.   

Vachon and Goldust were a match made in hell.  They were bizarre to say the least.  He even dropped the golden look and at one point I remember him with a gag ball as part of his getup.  In 1999, he'd go back to the golden makeup and hair and won the IC title for the third time by beating the Road Dogg.  A couple of weeks later he dropped it to the Godfather.

Goldust would come and go from the WWF(E) for the next several years.  He's been brought in most recently to put the younger guys over.  I believe his program with Sheamus last year really helped make Sheamus the star he is today.

Now, Goldust is back in a storyline, which I love.  He was revealed last night as the "stalker" of Ted DiBiase and Maryse.  I think this program can really work, and ultimately my guess is that DiBiase will get the upperhand.  But still, it's good to see Goldust on TV.  

You and I'll remember of the name of Ssss.... Goldust!

Monday Morning Booker

Reading over the results of Hell in a Cell, sounds like most of it went down the way I thought it would.  Don't believe me, then read Thursday's post.

For some reason I thought the Cena-Barrett match was also in the cell.  Not sure why I thought that.  Maybe because of the title of the PPV.  Hell in a Cell.  So there were only two matches inside the cell.  Okay.

Anyway, Cena is now a part of Nexus.  Apparently, so are Husky Harris and Mr. Not So Perfect Joe Hennig, I mean Michael McGillicutty.  Or that's who it's speculated as being the guys who helped Barrett secure the win.  So where does this angle go from here?  Will Cena attack other WWE Superstars and join in on the beatdowns?  He's already beaten most of the Nexus members on his own, so it can be assumed he'll be unstoppable against the rest of the WWE lockerroom.  Right?

I'm glad to see Daniel Bryan beat the Miz and Morrison.  But as I mentioned last week, I would have been happy with any of these guys winning.  I think this victory gives Bryan even more validation.  I would suspect since it wasn't Morrison who technically lost, the storyline continues between these two.  That should make for some good matches in the future too.  And by future I mean tonight on Raw.

Orton over Sheamus, no surprise.  Not even sure why that one was in the cell.  I mean, the Cena-Barrett one would have made more sense as to keep the outside interference down.  But I digress.

Kane beats the Undertaker with the assist from Paul Bearer.  Sorry, I saw this coming a mile down the road, as I'm sure most of you did.  Kind of a weird way to beat the 'Taker though.  Have him blinded by the light of his own urn.  Talk about a gimmick living it's life.  Think about it.  The Undertaker gimmick may be older than some of you reading this.

I think Natalya should have gone over on Michelle McCool.  I'm guessing we'll get some kind of rematch at Bragging Rights followed by a diva cluster at Survivor Series.

Swagger vs. Edge:  Huh?  Not sure what's going on there.  But again,  I missed Smackdown, so that one might have made more sense to me.

So, we're less than 3 weeks away from the next PPV.  What will we see at Bragging Rights?

In the Land of Giants

Big Show confronts the Great Khali (Raw after Wrestlemania 24)

I've always been a believer that wrestling "giants" need to stay on their feet.  Be monsters.  Not be tossed around like a rag doll.  Just my opinion.

I've been wanting to write something about this for a while, but after reading about last night's Smackdown (my DVR didn't record it), now is the time to write about it.  For those who missed it, apparently the Big Show was attacked by Nexus and had little to no defense.   I get that they are trying to build up Nexus and make them strong.  But it's not just that incident that bugs me.

Andre the Giant (at least according to Vince McMahon) had never been bodyslammed until his fateful match with Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3.  It was the slam heard around the world.  But doing research, I discovered Andre had been slammed by Harley Race, Kamala, and Stan Hansen too.  Then the Ultimate Warrior did it after Hogan.  This was toward the end of his career and Andre was clearly not healthy and on the downslide.

Fast forward to the late 90's and Bill Goldberg was running all over the competition in WCW.  I remember seeing him jackhammer the Giant (now the Big Show).  I didn't like that either.  Then he got jackknifed by Kevin Nash.  Then in the WWE, Cena did the FU to him.  I think he's been speared.  And he's tapped out too.

The Great Khali is just an oversized jobber.  And while he's not near the athlete Andre or the Big Show were, he's still a giant.  You can have these guys get defeated, I just don't like watching them beaten senseless, sometimes by a single person.  Which is the case many times with the Great Khali.  

And while we're on the subject, why do all the monster heel big guys eventually get turned into some sort of goofy babyface?  Big Daddy V became a PJ wearing playboy.  Khali is doing the kiss cam with the divas.  Kozlov has become Santino's sidekick.  And Mark Henry is a happy go lucky guy who's smiling all the time.

It seems like Kane and the Undertaker are really the only "monsters" left in wrestling.  Or at least in the WWE.  Perhaps it's just another step in the rated PG direction...  

Freak of the Week: Isaac Yankem, D.D.S.

Photo courtesy: WWE

This week's selection is a request from my producer, Weston.  Does the guy in the picture look familiar?  No it's not Dr. D David Schultz.  It's a different doctor.  A dentist to be exact.  

Isaac Yankem, DDS was the WWF's evil resident dentist.  He was Jerry the King Lawler's personal dentist and the King had brought him in to help with his feud against Bret Hart.  There were vignettes featuring the mad dentist inflicting pain on his patients.  He said he'd do the same to his opponents, but I think he caused fans more pain watching this gimmick. 

Most of his matches were squash ones.  The feud with Bret never got IY over.  Instead, the former champ came out on top.  I came across a video of IY vs. the Undertaker.  Ironic don't ya think.  15 years later the two are preparing for battle again, just under a different gimmick.

It really didn't get over and never lasted long.  The man behind the floss and toothpaste was Glenn Jacobs.  Shortly after the IY gimmick ended, he became the fake Diesel.  Again, that one didn't last long either.  But in late 1997, Jacobs raised all sorts kane, when he became the Undertaker's burned up and deranged baby brother, Kane.  

It doesn't take a genius (shout out to Lanny Poffo) to figure out Kane was without a doubt the right move for Jacobs to make.  He's one of the longest lasting gimmicks in the WWE.  Who would have thought that bumbling dentist with the crooked teeth himself would go on to become the world champion.

Rinse and spit and let's honor the Freak of the Week: Dr. Isaac Yankem.