A Different View of Wrestling

Keep in mind, you weren't cool if you didn't have a jacked up fanny pack backstage in this era.  RIP.

That's not a bad way to go!

I saw that picture on Wikipedia. I'm almost positive that's not him. The hookers and destroying stuff with a baseball bat isn't that big of a deal. That's a Tuesday for a Hollywood producer. The heart attack from coke. Meh. I've heard that before. Being covering in vaseline, and having coke stuck to you in a police station while having a heart attack because you're covered in vaseline and doing a ton of blow, absolutely makes this the thing of legends for me.

I'd be willing to bet there are similar stories out there about Jerry Jarrett. The only difference is he told the hookers he'd pay them $250 each, but only gave them $100 because of that night's house.

Exclusive: “Russo’s Road Stories” Vol. 5: How The Heartbreak Kid Re-Booked WrestleMania XV
Vince Russo

October 2, 2014

Throughout my career, I’ve always tried to reward those who were going above and beyond the call of the squared circle. Opposed to the factitious and magical “push” that many like to believe exists, my “promoting” of the talent was based strictly on their performance, just like any other boss would rate an employee. The more you gave, the more you got – it was that simple.

Back in 1999, Mick Foley had done everything within his power to contribute to the success of the Attitude Era. Whether he was Mick Foley, Cactus Jack, Mankind, or even Dude Love, it didn’t matter. Mick came every night to play, always giving his best performance whether it was through his unique acting chops, or his unbelievable work ethic in the ring. With Mick, everything he did was based on pride. Through his years of accomplishments there was nothing left for him to prove to anybody, but Mick just wanted to be the best…for Mick.

I’m going to interrupt this story for a minute in order to share a sidebar with you that will paint the picture of how devoted Mick was to being the best. I can remember first hand watching Mick’s epic and monumental Hell in the Cell match that he had with Taker. No exaggeration – on two occasions, I thought Mick had seriously injured himself. So, when they brought him back on the gurney, I just wanted to be there to make sure he was all right.

They wheeled Mick to a room where he waited for the trainers to show up. The one vision that I will never forget was seeing Mick’s teeth through the skin above his lip. As he laid there, beaten like a man who had just been run over by a mattress truck, Mick looked up at me and said, “How was it, Vince? Was it better than the match that Shawn had?” All I could think about was: Mick, you have a family…you have kids…and you’re just worried about your match being better then Shawn’s??? But that was Mick. I’ve never met anyone more prideful than him in my career.

Getting back to WrestleMania XV – with Mick’s contributions over the past year, I had pitched Vince a three-way for the World Heavyweight Title between Mick, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin as the main event for the most important show of the year. Vince didn’t hesitate for a second. He knew Mick was both worthy and deserving to be in that match, so he gave it the green light without ever thinking twice. To me, this was just one of those moments that made all the other crap worthwhile. Having the opportunity to tell Mick that he was going to be in the WrestleMania main event – in Philly, no less – was going to bring me more joy than perhaps even Mick himself.

So, as soon as I got to the building for the next taping, I immediately went over and told Mick the news. Man…he was almost speechless – just humbled beyond words. He couldn’t thank me enough. Growing up as a kid jumping off roofs in Long Island, this was his ultimate dream. He had reached the pinnacle of a business that he loved more than anything else.

Feeling sky-high, I went back to work and started going about my business. Around the same time, I remember seeing Shawn Michaels.

Now, I’m a bit sketchy on this detail, but from what I can remember, I don’t think Shawn was even scheduled to be on the show that day. I think he was just there. At that time Shawn wasn’t the focal point, being that we were going with the “Big Three” at WrestleMania, and all our focus and attention was there. But, like Mick, the Attitude Era wouldn’t have happened without Shawn. And, on top of that, I don’t think many people remember that it was Shawn who practically single-handedly kept the entire company afloat the year before we hit pay dirt. So needless to say—I had much respect for the Heartbreak Kid.

But, on this day I knew I was in trouble.

As I went about my business, it seemed like every time I turned around, I saw Shawn “literally” in Austin’s ear. I knew what Shawn was doing because I knew Shawn AND I knew Austin. This wasn’t good. Before I knew it, Austin comes up to me and starts with “Vince . . . I’m not so sure about this three-way at WrestleMania. I was talking to Shawn and . . . . “. I knew it. Whether Shawn actually felt this way, or was just stirring the !@#$, he had convinced Steve that the three-way at WM XV should be a one-on-one between Austin and the Rock. Steve soon went to Vince, and within minutes, the match was changed. Mick was out of the WrestleMania main event.

I was freakin’ livid! Why? Because all I could think about was Mick. I had already given him the news. Now it was going to be taken away. And, no doubt, I was going to have to be the one to tell him.

At that point, I ran into Hunter – who was Shawn’s boy, of course – and cut a SCATHING promo on HBK, knowing full well that he would tell Shawn. I was pissed.

So, I wasn’t going to have this weighing on my mind all night. We had a show to do. I went to Mick, and I broke the news to him about Mania. The look on his face broke my heart, but even though he was disappointed, Mick knew, and understood, that this was the wrestling business.

After my conversation with Mick, I ran into Shawn, who I’m pretty sure was looking for me. It was obvious that he was not happy because Triple H told him about my not-so-nice promo on him. And for as long as I live, I will never forget the line that Shawn delivered to me. It was priceless! Keep in mind – at the time Shawn wasn’t particularly the most popular guy in the locker room. He was such a different cat then. Not always being in the right mind back then, Shawn spoke every word he felt – right or wrong – whether it would hurt you or not. He just didn’t care. I never saw anyone speak to Vince the way that Shawn did – NO ONE. He just didn’t care back then. So anyway, with more than one person wanting a piece of him at that time, Shawn, right in my face, told me, “You better watch out . . . because I KNOW I can take you.”

It was just classic Shawn.

Man, looking back, what a wild time. Truth is, I loved Shawn just as much as I loved Mick. We were a family. We fought, we loved, we cried – that’s what families do. The heat we had on one day would be gone the very next, and over the years, even though he was a pain in the @#$% at times, I admired and respected Shawn more than he will ever know.

Mick Foley finally made it to WrestleMania the next year – I was working with WCW.

Only in wrestling.

I miss A7X, and his stories about a young Maria.  

If Sandman put on a couple hundred pounds, he could easily pull off a ghost of Adrian Adonis gimmick.

Do NOT watch before dinner.



www.tmz.com/2014/10/10/tommy-dreamer-wrestling-blow-pop-sucker-video-joey-ryan/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Mother fucker is taking credit for The Rock name now. Jesus

Ok seriously, go to the Twittah, type "Randy Orton Vine" in the search field, and thank me later.

I watched some of those earlier. That is better than most actual RAW segments. If this keeps blowing up then surely we will get Lawler in the middle of the ring with a special segment acknowledging it and killing it instantly.

You have to respect the effort that guy puts into every single thing they throw at him.

Former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and WWE Hall of Famer Terry Funk will be wrestling on December 11th in Japan at Korakuen Hall, according to the Wrestling Observer newsletter. It will be a singles match against Mil Mascaras. It would be the first time in many years (probably more than 20 years) that Funk has had a match with someone that is older than he is.

Funk and Mascaras were supposed to wrestle some shows last year in Texas for WWL but plans fell through. They haven’t had a singles match together since the 1970s. They did have a tag match in 1983. The match consisted of the Funk brothers against the Mascaras Brothers in the 1983 All Japn Real World Tag League tournament.

Funk teamed with his brother Dory Funk last year for All Japan Pro Wrestling against Masanobu Fuchi and Osamu Nishimura. The match ended in a 20 minute time limit draw. Funk appeared as Tommy Dreamer’s tag team partner at last November’s House of Hardcore 3. The defeated Sean Waltman and Lance Storm. It was promoted as the last time Dreamer and Funk would wrestle together.