The 411 From 406 » wwf

TNA Recycling Talent From The Old Days

Chewie — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 22:39:53 +0000

A couple of weeks back I tuned in to a Monday night show of TNA Wrestling and was pleasantly surprised with the show that they put on (from a wrestling perspective). I was however kind of shocked when I looked at the roster to see just how many old WWE and WCW guys were there. I suppose in retrospect this really should surprise me as there simply aren’t that many big time wrestling promotions available for the top guys. If the WWE doesn’t want you and you want to stay in the business then you’ve only got a couple of options.

As for TNA I certainly can’t fault them either… these are big names in the wrestling business and they’d be stupid just to let them sit at home or worse yet to go to work for another competing promotion. The problem that I’ve got with TNA here is the WAY they’re using their talent. When I tuned in a couple of weeks back I could have sworn I was watching a WCW Monday Nitro show from about 10 years ago. I was given a show with Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan calling the shots, Hall & Nash causing a ruckus and Sting hanging out in the rafters. I mean really… is this the best you can do TNA?

In any case, I got to thinking about just how may retreads TNA actually had so I went and did some research. Without further adieu, here’s what I found from the current TNA roster.

A.J. Styles (Allen Jones) – WCW
Bobby Lashley (Franklin Lashley) – WWE
Brian Knobbs (Brian Yandrisovitz) – WCW & WWE as part of the Nasty Boys
Brother Devon (Devon Hughes) – ECW & WWE as part of the Dudley Boys
Brother Ray (Mark LoMonaco) – ECW & WWE as part of the Dudley Boys
D’Angelo Dinero (Elijah Burke) – WWE
Dr. Stevie (Michael Manna) – ECW, WCE & WWE as Steven Richards, Big Steevie Cool, etc.
Jeff Hardy (Jeff Hardy) – WWE
Jeff Jarrett (Jeff Jarrett) – WWE, WCW as Jeff Jarrett and Double J
Jerry Sags (Jerome Saganovich) – WCW & WWE as part of the Nasty Boys
Kevin Nash (Kevin Nash) – WCW, WWE as Diesel, Kevin Nash, etc.
Kurt Angle (Kurt Angle) – WWF, WWE
Matt Morgan (Matt Morgan) – WWE
Mick Foley (Mick Foley) – WCW,ECW, WWE as Mankind, Dude Love, etc.
Mr. Anderson (Ken Anderson) – WWE as Mr. Kennedy
Orlando Jordan (Orlando Jordan) – WWE
Raven (Scott Levy) – ECW, WCW, WWE
Rhino (Terry Gerin) – ECW, WWE
Scott Hall (Scott Hall) – WCW, WWE as Razor Ramon, Diamond Stud, Scott Hall, etc.
Scott Steiner (Scott Rechsteiner) – WCW, ECW, WWE
Sean Morley (Sean Morley) – WWE as Val Venis
Sting (Steve Borden) – WCW
Syxx-Pac (Sean Waltman) – WCW, WWE as X-Pac, 1-2-3 Kid
Tomko (Travis Tomko) – WWE as Tyson Tomko
Daffney (Shannon Spruill) – WCW
Ric Flair (Richard Fliehr) – WCW, WWE
Taz (Peter Senerchia) – ECW, WWE
Tara (Lisa Marie Varon) – WWE as Victoria
Christy Hemme (Christy Hemme) – WWE
Eric Bischoff (Eric Bischoff)
Hector Guerrero (Hector Guerrero) – WWE as the Gobbledy Gooker
Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea) – WWE, WCW

32 names. And that’s not to mention some of the off camera talent such as writers, road agents and referees. The list grows even more if you include folks that have had developmental contracts with the WWE. One thing that I found very entertaining is the stories behind some of these folks. Why they went to TNA, why they left WWE, etc. If you’re looking for some good stories head to Google or Wiki and enjoy!

Damn Was That Fun

Chewie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 03:06:47 +0000

Warning: This is going to be one sappy post.

One of the really crappy things about growing up is that people have a tendency to move away from one another and friendships are tested. It becomes hard work sometimes to maintain a friendship (though Facebook has made it easier to keep in touch). I’m happy to say that Pip and I have never had that problem.

A couple of weeks back I headed out for my (nearly) yearly trip to Indy to spend the weekend with Pip (and now the lovely Lauren). I got in town on Friday evening just in time for dinner. The three of us then proceeded to sit around the dinner table until about 2:00 AM bullshitting and drinking… lots. Pip and I polished off 20 beers between us, Lauren was a champ with her wine and we even did a couple of shots. I tell you what… as I get older I tend to enjoy those quiet evenings with friends much more than a night out. Not to mention the fact that those nights out are becoming increasingly difficult to bounce back from. In retrospect Pip and I probably should have manned up and drank two more beers a piece to finish a case but we were pretty tore up. We now officially have our first goal for next year’s Beeramid: 1 case = 1 night.

Saturday was full of geeky goodness including a wrestling DVD, plenty of Rockband and a trip to BW3 with Buford and Corey to watch the Hoosiers battle Buckeyes. We didn’t get the win but DAMN was it fun. Sunday came way too quickly and it was back home to C-Town to see my family. It’s always sad when the Pip/Chewie weekend comes to an end but it’s super exciting to know that the next one is already on the calendar. WrestleMania 26 is scheduled for March 28th, 2010. See you then bro!

And yes… for those keeping track. Pip is wearing the WWF World Championship belt circa WrestleMania III and I’m wearing the WCW World Title also known as “The Big Gold Belt”.

The WrestleMania Project

Chewie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:52:26 +0000

I’m a big professional wrestling geek… have been for more years that I care to remember. If you’re a regular 406 reader you already know this. Pip and I get together every year and build the Beeramid based on that year’s drinking game. I often tell people that professional wrestling is a soap opera for guys but that’s probably giving it too much credit. Bottom line is after all of these years I still really enjoy watching it. Sure I don’t follow it to the extent that I did back in the day but I can tell you that my DVR is running every Monday night and I try to at least follow things on a semi-regular basis.

A few years ago, the WWE put out a DVD box set of all the WrestleMania’s to date (at that time it included the first 21 shows). I received that box set for Christmas one year and (being the completionist that I am) have purchased each show’s DVD since then. Those DVDs are at the center of what I’m calling “The WrestleMania Project”.

Over the next several weeks/months (or however long it takes me to get through it) I’m going to be watching all 25 WrestleMania shows and putting together posts for each show. In the past I’ve done posts about my top matches but this will be a more “all encompassing” look at each and every show. Hope you enjoy it!

“Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling” By Bret Hart

Chewie — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:03:19 +0000

He is “The Excellence Of Execution”. He is “The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be”. He is none other than Bret “The Hitman” Hart. I have read quite a few wrestling books in my day and I have to say that this one is definitely at the top of the list.

First off, if you’re not a wrestling fan you’re probably not going to get the brilliance of this book. It’s over 500 pages long and the detail that Bret goes into is just short of photographic memory type recall. He does make a reference early in the book of the fact that he kept a diary of sorts over the years but even still the details that he’s able to provide are amazing.

Bret is one of 12 children and he goes into a ton of back story about the Hart family tree which I really didn’t care for. One thing that the family history did do is frame quite a bit of the angst that is common toward the end of the book. While the Hart family is certainly synonymous with the wrestling industry this is a book about Bret. He goes into a ton of details about his marriage, his family, in-laws, etc. One thing that shocked me was how cavalier he was about his infidelity when on the other hand he was so adamantly against drug use, etc.

Speaking of drug use Bret really sheds some light on the professional wrestling locker room. He tells tales of steroids, uppers, alcohol, etc. being used like it was candy. Not only that, but he pulls no punches. He names names, talks about how he doesn’t like this guy or that guy, and calls out quite a few people for being bad workers in the ring. He obviously prides himself on his work ethic and it really comes through during these discussions.

If you’re only a WWF / WWE fan then you’re going to want to skip over about the first 200 pages or so. Those chapters deal with Bret’s time in Stampede Wrestling and other promotions prior to his arrival in the WWF. That said, I think you owe it to yourself to read that stuff cause there’s some incredible stories in there. They really provide a foundation for the wrestler that was The Hitman.

Bret talks very openly about everything from his love/hate relationships with Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Hulk Hogan, to the deaths of his brother Owen and countless other wrestlers. He provides insight into the wrestling business that I’d never seen before (even though I’ve read more than 20 wrestling titles over the years). He certainly paints some people in a good light and others he completely trashes. In fact, as I was reading this I was thinking how awesome it would be to have a “rebuttal” book where people would go through chapter by chapter and respond or defend their actions. The Vince and Shawn chapters would be AMAZING!!!

He talks openly about his divorce, his time in WCW after he left the WWF, Owen’s tragic death and his stroke. I found it weird that he only mentioned that Chris Benoit was among those wrestlers that have died (not that he murdered his whole family). I guess that’s one can of worms that Bret didn’t want to open.

I’m a big wrestling fan so I loved this. If you’re not a wrestling fan you should probably pass as you’ll never get past the Stampede years. If you’ve ever been a fan of The Hitman you owe it to yourself to pick this one up. It’s a long read but it’ll give you more Bret Hart than you ever wanted.

It’s A Sad Day Wrestling Fans – Jake Has Been Snakebit

Chewie — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 14:15:51 +0000

I’ve been a wrestling fan for probably 25 years now. I’ve watched the WWF, WWE, NWA, WCW, ECW and a whole bunch of others that are too crappy to mention (GLOW anyone???). One of my all-time favorite wrestlers is Jake “The Snake” Roberts. He was never the biggest or baddest in the ring and he never won a major title (at least that I can remember). But he was the best damn performer that I can ever remember. He could draw you into a match and really make you hate him (or love him depending on who his foe was). I can still remember some incredible matches with Randy Savage where Jake was playing the heal. I remember awesome times where he’d DDT his oponent and drape his “pet” Damien over their prone body. For the non-wrestling fans out there, Damien was a 12 foot python that Jake would bring into the ring with him.

Jake like many wrestlers has demons — plenty of them. He’s battled drug addiction, depression and a whole slew of other shit. This recent story though takes the cake. At a local wrestling show near Cleveland he was visually hammered. He could barely get through the match. His opponent called for the end of the match and then took the mic and said, “I’ve wrestled drug addicts…you are a piece of shit. You screwed over these people. Fuck you!”

This is bad folks. Most of the time, the wrestling “fraternity” will take care of stuff like this internally. The fact that a wrestler is calling out another pubically over the PA system shows just how bad this situation really is.

You can read the full gory details (and see the video) here: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/wrestling/article1696887.ece

If you’d like some more background on Jake check out his Wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jake_Roberts

Personally, I’m going to remember Jake as “The Snake” from the WWF days. It’s too bad that stuff like this has to happen to a legend. RIP Jake… you’ll be missed.