For Anybody Who Was A Wrestling Fan In the Past 15 Years

With all the wrestlers who have continued to work after serious injury and ended up wrestling into their 60s (Abdullah The Butcher, Ric Flair, Terry Funk, etc.) or died from overdosing on pain killers (Kurt Henning, Crush, etc.), it's nice to see someone bowing out gracefully before wrecking themselves. WWF/WWE Superstar Edge has called it quits after being informed that continuing would put him in danger. I was one of the people that was disgusted with his push after what happened between him and Matt Hardy but I warmed up to his character and of course Hardy has turned out to be a real douche bag (though not as bad as his drug addled brother). This was his farewell speach on last night' Monday Night Raw:



Everybody has had nice things to say about him except that idiot Hulk Hogan (though he has backtracked on it). This was his origional statement:

Quote :

@jays712 if any of the guys like me,Flair,Hardy,Andre,AA,Blanchard,orndoff,Henning would have listened to doctors we would have quit15yrsago

That was a very stupid comment IMO. If Flair had quit 15 years ago, he'd be living in luxury in retirement. If Hardy had quit, he wouldn't have embarass himself on PPV TV. If Andre had quit he could have gotten the surgery he needed instead of having to continually get larger (or at the very least live another 10 years). If Henning had quit he wouldn't have died in his early 40s. Of course in Hogans case, if he had quit some time ago, he wouldn't be ruinning any chance for TNA to compete with WWE, he wouldn't have to constantly keep himself in the spotlight which could have saved his marriage, and more deserving performers wouldn't have had to placate themselves to that washed up has been. Just my opinion of course.

Totally agree. When the whole Edge/Lita/Matt situation happened a few years ago, I thought Edge was scum and really despised the guy for real. Over the years though, I to began to forgive him and put the past behind. Some people are saying that this might actually be a storyline or something like that. Edge is set to give up the world title this Friday on Smackdown, so it should be interesting to see what happens. If his retirement is legit, at least he retired on top. Can't ask for anything better than that.

Leatherface wrote:

Totally agree. When the whole Edge/Lita/Matt situation happened a few years ago, I thought Edge was scum and really despised the guy for real. Over the years though, I to began to forgive him and put the past behind. Some people are saying that this might actually be a storyline or something like that. Edge is set to give up the world title this Friday on Smackdown, so it should be interesting to see what happens. If his retirement is legit, at least he retired on top. Can't ask for anything better than that.

Apparently it is legit, especially when personal friends of Edge not currently working for WWE (Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Bret Hart, and others) have given their best wishes. He was in a lot of pain heading into Wrestlemania and it was probably around that time that he found out. The origional plan was to turn Christian heel at Wrestlemania and costing him the title but knowing Edge would be leaving, they decided to let him go out on top. Even if he was cleared by the doctor, Edge has been saying for a while now that he only had a few years left in him. However, I don't even think he knew it would be so soon.

BTW, it's even more easy to forgive him after Matt Hardy's actions as of late. It seems that Edge just made a bad judgement call, while Matt turned out to be the real douche bag.

Yeah, I thought this was an angle until the usual run-in didn't happen.

I saw this on RAW and at first I'll be honest I thought it was a hoax but as he was talking I realized it wasn't. I've always loved Edge except that whole thing with Hardy and Lita but as it was mentioned Hardy is a real douchebag and I agree, however as time went on i warmed back up to Edge, It's nice that E&C got to do one match together but I am glad they didnt turn Christian Heel they did that before, after Edge won King of the Ring, Christian decimated Edge.

But when he started talkin about his neck I knew he was for real and I am glad they are letting him finish on top. I remember he's missed a few Wrestlemanias cuz of his neck. Its a shame he's gotta retire but totally understandable.

My Favorite memory of Edge was when him and Randy Orton came out inpersonating DX I Laughed so hard

tohostudios wrote:

Yeah, I thought this was an angle until the usual run-in didn't happen.

Me too I expected that douchebag Del Rio to make a run in as I guess he's the #1 contender for Smackdown

I remember when he first came to the WWE as a tag team with Christian... I haven't watched wrestling for years but i used to watch it all the time.

Troublezone wrote:

I remember when he first came to the WWE as a tag team with Christian... I haven't watched wrestling for years but i used to watch it all the time.

Yeah,this is me.I always liked Edge back then.

Since The Rock has left wrestling and working in movies I dont care much for it anymore.Back then I was addicted to it and wouldnt miss an episode.

Thrasher73 wrote:

Troublezone wrote:

I remember when he first came to the WWE as a tag team with Christian... I haven't watched wrestling for years but i used to watch it all the time.

Yeah,this is me.I always liked Edge back then.

Since The Rock has left wrestling and working in movies I dont care much for it anymore.Back then I was addicted to it and wouldnt miss an episode.

I used to watch wresting in the 80's when they even had that cartoon on saturday morning... I remember when Kevin Nash was Shawn Michael's bodyguard and known as "Diesel".

WWF vs WCW...

So what is it that Hardy did that makes him a "real douchebag"? I haven't been paying much attention to wrestling lately. I think the whole tragedy involving Chris Benoit's family finally broke me, no to mention the excessive mortality rate of wrestlers.

I'll always be a fan of the 80's stuff. Was just watching some old UWF and is it still ever great. I stayed a fan through to the end of WCW and ECW but after that I lost interest real quick. All the tragedies and early deaths have pretty much kept me away. Also I don't have the time to watch like I did back in the younger days - all those Monday nights spending hours flipping between shows. My wrestling fix these days are old tapes.

Good for Edge in walking away while he still can. Hope he saved up his money and can enjoy a reasonably healthy retirement. I just hope this isn't like the usual wrestling retirements where he comes back down the road. To be honest, thinking on all those ladder matches and things I'm surprised he's even walking. Some of that stuff got so crazy it was difficult to watch. Probably another reason I stopped following it. Never quite got the whole kill yourself for real element that wrestling became.

I just read a Smackdown Spoiler and if it rings true the new World Title Match will be Del Rio vs ....... Im not gonna say but lets just say someone is gonna get a World Title reign soon as both participants have never held the title

Addy wrote:

I just read a Smackdown Spoiler and if it rings true the new World Title Match will be Del Rio vs ....... Im not gonna say but lets just say someone is gonna get a World Title reign soon as both participants have never held the title

I can't stand Del Rio. He's a klutz in the ring and I think his ring announcer has more charisma than he does. I have no idea why WWE keeps pushing this guy down our throats.

I usually root for heels in wrestling but in this case I'm rooting for whoever is facing Del Rio.

sheets wrote:

So what is it that Hardy did that makes him a "real douchebag"? I haven't been paying much attention to wrestling lately. I think the whole tragedy involving Chris Benoit's family finally broke me, no to mention the excessive mortality rate of wrestlers.

After asking for his WWE release, him and his brother made a youtube video (in which both men were obviously stoned out of their minds) ranting against and making fun of C.M. Punk. In case you don't know, Punk was a real sensation in the independents until he was picked up by the company. He is straight edge (no drugs, tobacco, or alchohol), phenominal in the ring (I'd rank him up there with Jericho, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and the like). He is probably the best talker in wrestling today. With his charisma, he manages to get a reaction no matter what side he's on. When he's a face the people REALLY love him, when he's a heel they REALLY hate him (no in between-unless he's facing Cena, anybody who isn't a woman or under 12 seems to hate Cena). While I've always liked Hardy's ring work, he is no C.M. Punk and there was no reason to launch a rant against him like they did. Not to mention the fact during his last year in WWE he started to get fat and out of shape and didn't seem to have a very good attitude. That and the fact like TNA management, he excuses his brother's destructive ways and even promotes it like he did in the Youtube video.

BTW, Jeff's drug problem is so bad, during the last TNA PPV he was so inebreated that he was a danger to anyone he was in the ring with. Sting, his opponent was so ticked off that he made a quick pin (which Hardy was kicking like a mule to get out of) in a way that it was obviously not planed. No body should have to work with a train wreck like that, especially in a form of entertainment that is so dangerous if one is not in their right state. TNA of course didn't fire him or even suspend him, they just covered it up because he makes them money.

Wow, Sting is still wrestling? And they're having him wrestle people with drug problems. I'd think given his status and age he shouldn't have to put himself in those positions. Or no company should let that happen. Hope he is getting huge money out of it and doesn't end up seriously injured.

I used to see the Hardys when they used to appear for MCW in Maryland before they went to the WWF. I have to say it isn't too surprising they'd end up in such bad shape. They would do some crazy things considering they were wrestling in a high school gym in front of a hundred people. I've never seen a human being hit the ground harder than Jeff Hardy did after some insane dive out of the ring. How he didn't break both his legs and back the way he landed I'll never know. No way the human body can withstand years and years of doing that.

Looking at how bad of shape some of the 80's guys are in physically I hate to see how some of these guys will turn out. And that's if they get to live that long.

"It's still real to me, d*mnit!"


Seriously though, these guys abuse their bodies. A tough business.

Toho- Lets just say the other guy who is gonna face DelRio (who i cant stand) is someone Ive been saying for awhile they should give him a title and not the ECW title either

Quote :

BTW, Jeff's drug problem is so bad, during the last TNA PPV he was so inebreated that he was a danger to anyone he was in the ring with. Sting, his opponent was so ticked off that he made a quick pin (which Hardy was kicking like a mule to get out of) in a way that it was obviously not planed. No body should have to work with a train wreck like that, especially in a form of entertainment that is so dangerous if one is not in their right state. TNA of course didn't fire him or even suspend him, they just covered it up because he makes them money.

From my reading Jeff was very lucky not to be fired, He's ticked off some people I wouldnt expect to see him with a TNA Title run anytime soon if ever. Hell even Scott Hall didnt pull crap like that (that i know of)

Jeff needs to be in jail....use to be one of the best wrestlers..

Addy wrote:

Quote :

BTW, Jeff's drug problem is so bad, during the last TNA PPV he was so inebreated that he was a danger to anyone he was in the ring with. Sting, his opponent was so ticked off that he made a quick pin (which Hardy was kicking like a mule to get out of) in a way that it was obviously not planed. No body should have to work with a train wreck like that, especially in a form of entertainment that is so dangerous if one is not in their right state. TNA of course didn't fire him or even suspend him, they just covered it up because he makes them money.

From my reading Jeff was very lucky not to be fired, He's ticked off some people I wouldnt expect to see him with a TNA Title run anytime soon if ever. Hell even Scott Hall didnt pull crap like that (that i know of)

Speaking of lucky not to be fired, Michael Cole is lucky WWE didn't fire his a$$. He twittered the word 'faaggot' to Josh Matthews after WWE partnered with GLAAD to battle negative stereotypes and slang against gays and lesbians. It caused quite an uproar and GLAAD was calling for action. While Fit Finlay who had the Miz interupt the national anthem for some heat while not knowing National Guardsmen were in attendence got canned. Despite the fact that nobody has done more to make untalented models (the divas) actually look good in the ring. One mistake is enough to fire Finlay but not enough to even suspend or fine Cole, in fact, they continue to give him a major push. Many suspect that since Cole is such good friends with John Cena, he is practically immune from any major discipline.

Really kind of came out of nowhere, at least as far as the public is concerned. Usually the wrestling sites will be reporting something like this was coming but I don't think anyone knew until they started teasing it during commercials right before Raw.

He had a good career, and '05-'08 he was one of my faves but in recent years he hasn't been putting in his best work. Which you can probably attribute to injuries. I've felt for awhile he's one of those guys that's been around and on top for so long, he needed to go take an extended break anyway to recharge his own batteries and just because he's been overexposed. I'm happy to see him go while he's still fairly young and hasn't done some irreversible damage to his body.

Scott Hall and Jake Roberts are 2 wrestlers who need to conquer their demons...BADLY. Especially Hall. I'm really expecting him to keel over if he doesn't clean up soon.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/apr/24/last-call-scott-hall/

Sword Of The Heretic wrote:

Scott Hall and Jake Roberts are 2 wrestlers who need to conquer their demons...BADLY. Especially Hall. I'm really expecting him to keel over if he doesn't clean up soon.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/apr/24/last-call-scott-hall/

This is the unfortunate thing about wrestling, and it's way too prevalent within the industry. The stories, whether they consist of steroids and the after affects, prescription drug abuse, alcoholism, or homicide related incidents, this seems to be the rule rather than that of the exception to that rule. I recently watched an episode of "Tough Enough" which is a great show. Through 4 episodes, the piece that has stood out the most, was the end of the first show. Stone Cold is asking each of the remaining three why they want to still be there (since one is about to be eliminated). One guy stated because he wants to be able to provide for his wife and son. Stone Cold asks him if he really wants to do be a part of this industry, due to the very hectic schedule. Then he follows that up with the question, "Do you know how many times I was father of the year during my wrestling career?" "ZERO!" That was a pretty strong statement, and speaks to the rigors that is known within the industry.

Now, onto Scott Hall...I had started watching wrestling in 1984 with the culmination of the first Wrestlemania. I went to a WWF show in 1985 at the Convention Center in Indianapolis. I saw Randy "Macho Man" Savage before there was a Ms. Elizabeth. I saw "Leaping" Lenny Poffo, I saw J.Y.D., Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, and the culmination of that night's event was Nikolai Volkov and the Iron Sheik against Barry Windham and Mike Rotundo. We were in the first ten rows, because at that time wrestling just was finding its niche with the American public. I will never forget the Iron Sheik getting up in the corner of the ring (before the match) and flipping all of us off, and of course everybody gave him the finger right back. Even though this was the era of cartoonish wrestling, it was a dark match, so any extra curricular behavior was allowed to exist. When Windham and Rotundo came out to "Born in the USA", it was one of the greatest moments of my young life.

Fast forward to 1997...I worked in the Indianapolis airport, so one would run into a "Who's who" of professional sports and even a little bit of the entertainment industry. Earlier that year, I had gone to see a WCW Monday Night Nitro event in Fort Wayne, when the NWO threw the Macho Man out of the group, Syxx Pac had just joined the NWO, The Giant was a relatively new member, and Goldberg was beginning his undefeated streak. Later that year, the WCW came to Indy, though these were all dark matches. The following morning I had to work, which meant I had to open my store before 6 A.M, because this was the airport. Who should walk by that following morning in all black, no baggage, and funny enough with no one approaching him...."Hollywood" Hulk Hogan. I said to myself, you know what, he is the creme de la creme of wrestling stars, so this would be a total coup on the autograph front. Like always, my approach was one of respect. I learned this from a very early age when I was at the U.S Clay Court tennis tournament in Indianapolis (1985). I had approached a little known Australian named Kim Warwick (male player), who was known more for his doubles prowess then anything else. I went up to him and said, "Sir, can I please have your autograph". He smiled at me and said, "You're the only one that has called me sir today, and you are clearly the most polite young man here". I never forgot that, and needless to say, I decided that I would always extend that same courtesy for the rest of my years. So, here I was a 26 year old Manager of a store, and living that same approach. Except this time, it backfired...Hogan turned to me and said, "Can't do it brother".....

I will never forget the disappointment, but it was a disappointment of an adult male, rather than that of a young impressionable kid. The sad thing was, I had just paid to see this guy! He wasn't carrying a damn thing, and NOBODY was around him. He walked away, the young woman who worked across from me laughed, and I shook my head. Under my breath I stated, "What a Dick"!. The sad thing, the "Macho Man", the Giant, and Ric Flair all walked by within the hour, but I thought, if they turn out to be the same way as Hogan, I will never ever want to watch this product again (due to the wrestlers being poor ambassadors with their fans). Then again, I said, what if Scott Hall and Kevin Nash walk by? They didn't and maybe that was a blessing. These men were the reason I got back into wrestling the year prior (I was probably on hiatus from wrestling for 5-6 years). I thought the NWO storyline was maybe the best idea that had ever popped into any writers head. Within a year, I remember the WCW using Scott Hall and his substance abuse problem (which was known to be real) as part of the storyline for the Nash/Hall split. I thought it was beyond pathetic, and from that day on, I looked at wrestling differently. It never seemed to capture my attention like it once had. I suppose the Hogan incident was a causal factor, but life really seemed to imitate art, or in this case maybe it was the other way around in the case of Scott Hall and his demons.

Later that same year in 1998, the WWF had a show in Indy. The Iron Sheik, Jim Ross, and "Ravishing" Rick Rude were traveling together, in fact they stopped in my store. I remember Jim Ross being a nice guy, the "Sheik" was an a hole and Rude was somewhere in between. I never even had the courage to tell them that I was a fan and had been one of wrestling for the better part of a decade and a half. I guess, I thought it will just be another conversation with a fan and how that conversation would get lost in the myriad of other conversations they've had with other fans. They left, and after Chyna and Triple H walked by, I never got that up and close with the wrestling industry again. I suppose the Hogan incident was my "Rite of passage", in the sense that I moved further away from an industry that I really genuinely liked and at the same time, I came to the realization that the wrestling industry simply doesn't pride itself on its connection with the fans, unless maybe your some adoring female or under the age of 14. Oh well....

Unfortunatly, your encounter with Hogan is typical of not just wrestlers, but most celebrities. In that regard, I'm glad I really haven't met any celebrites because of that. Ignorance is bliss and all that. However, there are many wrestlers that would gladly give an autograph and converse with you (from what I've read of other people's experience). You probably would have gotten something from Nash. I understand he always takes time out for his fans. One thing I've been able to do as a fan with the internet is get a look behind the scenes and see which ones would be approachable. Jericho, Big Show, Dusty Rhodes, Edge, The Miz, CM Punk, Mysterio, Cena, Shawn Michaels, Nash, Mick Foley, Sting, Animal, Lex Luger now, and some others would more than likely be approachable. Ones I doubt would be are Lex Luger then, Ric Flair, Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, The Rock, John Morrison, The Hardy's, and others. There are also several who I'm not sure about such as Steve Austin, Bret Hart, Christian, Samoa Joe, Macho Man, etc.

Hogan's actions don't suprise me in the least. I always knew he was a self absorbed jerk. Now that Hulkamania is gone, I doubt he'd even give a kid an autograph. Iron Shiek, he has more problems than being an a-hole. He is a major drug addict and spends tens of thousands of dollarss on heroin, cocain, and others. You can find footge of him with his family on youtube (excerpts from a documentary) and it's just sad and pathetic. He really is a basketcase, it is no act.


Speaking of Lex Luger:

Quote :

On October 19, 2007, Luger suffered a nerve impingement in his neck that led to temporary paralysis. He underwent intravenous antibiotic treatment and was expected to make a full recovery.[88] Nearly a month after his spinal stroke, Luger was still in a quadriplegic state, having no movement in either his arms or legs. As of June 2008, Luger was said to be able to stand on his own for short periods of time and walk using a walker. As of 2010, Luger has stated in an interview that he is able to walk more comfortably, and is able to drive around after being paralyzed from the neck down before. Luger has stated in an interview he now resides in Buffalo, New York.[89]

Lex went from the big muscular wrestler to a 98 pound quadriplegic man. During that whole ordeal, Luger became a born again Christian which has helped him whether the storm. Also despite the fact Miss Elizabeth died of an overdose while doing drugs with Luger, Randy Savage holds no ill will towards him.

My only brush with wrestlers came back in the early 90s (around 93 I think). I was living in Milford, CT and worked out a Gold's Gym near New Haven. One afternoon while I was there, I heard a commotion by the entrance way. I turn and who do I see but The Undertaker, Randy Savage, Paul Roma and Jim Powers. Turned out the owner of the gym was a big wrestling fan and when WWE (WWF back then) had a show in the area, several of the wrestlers would go to his gym to work out.

Since this was the middle of the day, there weren't many people there but those of us who were just stopped what we were doing and watched these guys work out. The most impressive thing we saw was UT doing bench presses. That guy was easily pressing close to 500 lbs multiple times.

When they were done, they all posed for pictures with the gym staff and shook hands with us mere mortals. I think the funniest picture they took was one with the front desk girl and Undertaker. Her head barely came to his waist. That is one massive dude to see in person!