Hall Of Fame Announcement

WWe has announced it's next inductee in this years Hall of Fame. It is none other then "Mean" Gene Okerlund. He got the name "Mean" Gene by Jesse "The Body" Ventura in the AWA by the way. Gene will be inducted by WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan, who incidently left the AWA with Mr Okerlund for the then WWF in one of the original talent raids staged by Vince McMahon. I think this is an excellent addition to this years HOF, and "Mean" Gene Okerlund is very deserving of this honor. With a HOF lineup of Bret Hart, Eddie Guerrero and Gene Okerlund, this is looking like a very good year indeed.

Opinionated Thoughts Number Four

Well, where to start. This opinionated thoughts entry will be about my fan base, small as it may be, and the sudden fall of readership I have noticed over the past week.

When Dean Simon asked that I include some thoughts and opinions, I thought it was an excellent idea as it would give the readers of this blog an even better insight into the person that is me. However, as I have stated above, I have noticed a sharp decline in my readership this past week, and I attribute this to me not wrestling for the last several weeks. First and foremost this blog was and is not intended to have every post wrestling action related, but rather a more complete story of me, and my attempt to make it in the wrestling world. So, while I am on hiatus for awhile with this pneumonia thing (cured, I think, let's cross our fingers), I decided to invite you, my readers into my world with some news and reviews until I can get back to the ring. If I am lucky I get about five to eight visits a day to my blog, and that is down from the twenty to thirty I was getting when this started to take off. Now I did expect a downturn, but I am a little disheartened at just how much. All of this wouldn't be a big deal if it wasn't for me drawing a lot of my strength from the people pulling for me. Believe me, if it wasn't for this blog and the support I have been getting, I might not still be at it. Your thoughts, comments, insights and over all good wishes are very important for me, and I count on them more then you know. I need this to get HUGE, as someday someone who has pull and power in a promotion might hear about it, then "WE" are as good as in folks! If you visit my blog and like a particular post, leave a comment! If you disagree with an opinion or a post or anything, leave a comment! VISIT MY GUESTBOOK! Sign it and let me know you was there. That is probably the most under utilized thing I have on this blog, and after I spent hours and hours trying to put it on, it is barely used! So, before this post sounds any more pathetic with my whining, I should ask all of you for some help in advertising. Include a link to my site on your site, send a word off about this in an email you are sending out anyway. Tell a friend, write the Pope, ANYTHING would be appreciated. I have stated in the past, I am not doing this alone, I am taking each and every one who supports me with me. When I wrestle my first match at Madison Square Garden, as I stand on the middle rope gazing out over the masses of fans in quiet contemplation of the match that is about to take place, I'll look into that sea of people and I will search for you. I promise!

My Opinion:
You are only as strong as the people who support you let you be. You are on top of your success mountain for only as long as the people who support you hold you in position. You can want it, you can need it, you can dream about it, but if you have no one to support you, you can miss it. Always believe in yourself, as those who support you believe in you, and there is NOTHING you can't do!

Opinionated Thoughts Number Three

Harley Race.

Harley Race is a legend in the industry of professional wrestling. He is one that the word "Icon" could be legitimately used without disgrace. Harley Race would also have my dream of becoming a professional wrestler crushed to dust, and thrown into the wind. Please let me explain.

Harley Race is currently running a wrestling school and his own promotion in Missouri, and from what I hear, it is a top notch organization. However, one day when I was investigating wrestling schools over the internet I ran across Harley Races website and I was disheartened to read his opinion on who should be a student of the game. It appears Mr Race is of the opinion that "unless you are in your early twenties and in fantastic physical condition, becoming a professional wrestler should be the furthest thing from your mind." Well, I will tell you that I passed my early twenties a couple of years ago. I am currently 32 years old (Well, 33 this Sunday, Happy Birthday to me), and I hadn't done anything very athletic in several years as I was too involved with just living my life. And I don't care how good of shape you are in, it is a whole different world doing the things in the ring that we do, so no amount of great shape will suffice until you actually train your body to receive the pounding.

I have never been one to let anyone tell me I couldn't or shouldn't do something if it is something I really want to do. True, it would have been easier for me if I started down this road in my early twenties, I might even have been able to actually make the big time. But I had to make a living so I was unable to embark on my dream at that time. But 32 is still young enough to do things, and I have a decade of life experience over my twenty-something counterparts. Think about it, Ric Flair is still wrestling at 50-something years of age, if I get to be that fortunate then I have over twenty years to play at the game. If I choose to that is. Now I know Ric is not the norm, but he shows what you can do if you believe in yourself. I still take the slams, I do all the bumps the other "kids" do, and I get up just as fast and come back for more. So, Harley Race, I beg to differ Sir, and when I wrestle my 30th match (a quiet benchmark of mine) I am going to send you a postcard from the top of my mountain because I will be so psyched I proved you wrong. Thank God Playboy Buddy Rose and Colonel DeBeers don't have those same age hangups and they agreed to train me! Hmmm, I wonder if I showed up at Harleys school if he would have seen money in my fist and threw his philosophy out the window. Interesting thought.

My Opinion:
It doesn't matter what others think. If you believe in yourself, and want it bad enough you can do anything in this world you want to do. Nobody will hand it to you, but if you want it, all you have to do is take it. If Mr Race cares to attend my next match, I'll listen as he tells me I am making a huge mistake, then I will go into my match and tear the place down! As the fans cheer I'll look over to Mr Race and just smile.

WM22 Spoiler

Here is a quick update for Wrestlemania 22, so if you want to be surprised, don't read it.

Hall Of Fame Announcement.

Dusty Rhodes waiting until next year to be inducted to the Hall Of Fame. At this time WWE feels that with the induction of Bret Hart and the late Eddie Guerrero, there is enough star power to kick the HOF off. Dusty Rhodes is working a behind the scenes role with WWE at this time, so look for him to be named to next years Hall Of Fame.

Rey Mysterio To Headline WM22 After All.

At Tuesdays taping of Smackdown, General Manager Theodore R. Long announced that since Randy Orton cheated to win the match against Rey for Mysterios WM22 titleshot, he was going to make a three way match to include Angle, Orton and Mysterio. At this time the Undertaker is not scheduled to appear in any capacity as of yet, but stay tuned as this could change. Don't look for 'Taker to be in the title match, however, because the Undertaker is undefeated at WM and won't lose at this point.

Byte This!

WWE.com reports that Byte This was not cancelled, that it is merely taking a hiatus, to be unveiled again at a future date when they come up with some more types of web broadcasts. They also insist that both Byte This and the fired tag team The Heart Throbs had nothing to do with either one getting axed. Byte This can still be found on WWE.com in the archives section, however the last telecast that featured The Heart Throbs is mysteriously missing.

Opinionated Thoughts Number Two

The last post dealt with just one opinion, and what an open ended opinion it was. It was long winded, and I have several more to go, so I decided to do one opinion a post for your reading ease.

The Rise And Fall And Rise Again Of Independent Wrestling Promotions.

Vince McMahon is a genius businessman. Vince McMahon is directly responsible for the death of wrestling as we know it. Or knew it rather. Vince coined the term "Sports Entertainment", he threw out the time honored tradition of Kayfabe. With that being said, if I was in his shoes I can't say I wouldn't have done the same thing. The object of any businessman is to make as much money as possible, to take your business further then any other business in the same league to new heights, which he has done. However with the rise of his personal bank account came the fall of the Indies.

Back in the Seventies it was much easier for a wrestler to find a place to ply his trade. It was typical for a wrestler to work a territory for a while, then move on to another place to see if he could get as hot as he was in the previous place. They would work the WWWF, AWA, Mid South, Carolinas and Portland, to name but a few. However when Vince JR bought the WWF from his father, it began a change that evolved wrestling into what we know today. The first thing Vince did was rob all the other promotions of their best talent. He got Hulk Hogan and Gene Okerlund from the AWA. He got Roddy Piper from Portland. He went and gutted a key core group consisting of all the best talent and brought them aboard the WWF. He then went around and systematically shut down every small promotion he could, one by one. If he couldn't buy you out, he just shut you down by sucking your entire fan base away from you, and more then one promotion just folded. The one promotion that held it all up for awhile was The Briscoes out of Florida. They finally fell, and that left WWF and WCW as the giants on the hill. I often liken the rating wars of the nineties between WCW and the WWF to the fall of Communism. Ronald Reagan out spent and out thought the Soviet Union until he bankrupted the USSR, and that's basically what Vince did to the WCW.

My Opinion:
An up and coming wrestler of yesteryear had it tough, but honest. They put in the work, they drove the miles, they worked for small payoffs where oftentimes the expenses came to more then the payoff. THEY PAID THEIR DUES. Today it is very much different. I'll put it to you this way in a shoot promo I am coming up with off the seat of my pants, here it goes:
"Ric Flair. Paul Orndorf. Rowdy Roddy Piper. Dusty Rhodes! The son of a plumber! Digging ditches with his daddy at eight years old, hell man, I never even had it that good! Do you know what the difference between new wrestlers and me is? OLD SCHOOL. Let me tell you the difference so you can understand. The problem with today's wrestlers is that they have it to damn good and don't know it! It's true. Some young kid is hanging out at the mall, scarfing pizza and drinking Cokes when a WWE talent scout just happens to be walking by and thinks he just discovered the next big thing! So they sign him to a big money contract and send him off to Ohio Valley Wrestling to learn a few moves, the next thing you know he is main eventing at Madison Square Garden! I go to wrestling school and Buddy Rose says to me, "So Kid, you want to be a wrestler?" All the while I am driving my 86 Ranger 100 miles to Portland to an empty gym where it's all about the wrestling. There are no fans chanting my name. There is no big money contracts thrown my way. But that's ok. That's alright. Do you want to know why? Because that way worked for Ric Flair. It worked for Paul Orndorff. It worked for Dusty Rhodes, and it will work for me too. So, yes Buddy, I want to be a wrestler. I'll see YOU at Madison Square Garden."

Well, I hope that wasn't to bad for something just thrown together. I am so happy that Indies are starting to make a comeback. Let me set something straight here for a second. I am never going to make it to the WWE, I know that. I am never going to make it to TNA, I know that too. I didn't get into this to become rich and famous, I will probably lose more money in this then I make, but that's ok, because it isn't about fame or money for me. I am not now, nor will I ever be a professional wrestler. I am simply a huge wrestling fan that just happens to wrestle. It is the ultimate in fan participation, like a Nascar fan who gets to drive the race cars, or a baseball fan who gets to go to spring training with his favorite team. That is who I am, and how I wrestle. And I think that will show in my performance in the end. So, since I am never going to make the big time, THANK GOD for the Indies, because that is the only way for me to live this dream out, it's my fantasy that I can further then the average person.

Opinionated Thoughts Number One

I have had some request to include some of my opinions and views on the wrestling world. Well, one request, really, and I promised Dean I wouldn't mention him personally. So, Dean Simon, I will keep you out of this! (Who knew I had a humor, huh?)





WWE Programming and Storylines

Depending on what era of professional wrestling you subscribe to being the best, I do have a definitive opinion on this one. I started out watching the then WWF in the early 80's Like many I saw the exploits of the likes of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka doing his patented splash from the top rope, at a time when wrestling was a bit more grounded, and I immediately fell in love. Jimmy was larger then life, and the first wrestler who actually grabbed my attention. However as the early to mid eighties moved into the latter part of the decade I switched to Fritz Von Erichs WCCW where the Fabulous Freebirds and the various Von Erich boys were lighting up the old Sportatorium. The WWF was at that time a little to cartoonish for my liking, while WCCW was more pure to the wrestling roots. However, the local station that carried WCCW back in Muskegon, MI, where I lived, stopped carrying it, so naturally I moved to the then National Wrestling Alliance/WCW. The Four Horseman, Lex Luger, Steiners, Barry Windham and Dusty Rhodes held my attention for quite awhile until I did the unthinkable-got too busy with life to keep following it. My interest was rekindled in the mid nineties with the coming of WWE's new attitude era, and I fell in love again. I tried to watch WCW at first, but the quality went to far down the tubes. Jim Herd was running WCW then, and the quality sucked. Herd was never around wrestling, and not much of a fan of wrestling either, and anytime you have someone trying to run a wrestling promotion who is not a fan, the results will be disastrous. In my opinion he should have stayed at Pizza Hut selling pizza. That is the job he had before WCW, albeit as an executive. So I hope you can see where I am going with this, I am more a student of traditional wrestling, with a bit of the more acrobatic moves thrown in. I like interesting storylines that follow a situation from the start to it's logical end. Sadly I feel somewhat of a downturn with WWE's current writing. For instance, the big buildup to No Way Out with the Undertaker and Kurt Angle. WWE had Kurt retain his title at No Way Out, thereby making the whole Undertaker/Angle storyline meaningless. 'Taker is undefeated at Wrestlemania, and I seriously doubt they would make him lose now for the first time. Now, there have been rumbling about the quality of WWE's PPV's recently, and I feel that 'Taker was brought in to boost No Way Outs Buy rates. But in the end it all makes for an empty feeling in the pit of your stomach. How about when Edge won the title, just to give it back? He's still whining about it sure, but where is THAT going? To set up a WM match with Mick Foley? There were plenty of way's to go about setting that up, leaving the title off of him. With that being said, I would have Edge win and keep the title, but set up a feud with someone else as I feel John Cena is getting tired.

I don't know who is writing for Raw right now, maybe a couple of extra soap opera writers who are just a bit outside of their genre. The last I heard was that Stephanie McMahon was writing for Smackdown, but I see a lot of the same writing on the wall there too. So, who knows?

News Over The Grapevine

Here are a few submissions from inside the wrestling world.

Ashley Massaro Breaks her leg

Raw Diva Search winner, Ashley Massaro, broke her left leg on the February 20th edition of Raw. According to WWE, "Ashley suffered a spiral fracture of the left fibula, a non weight-bearing bone, Monday night while competing in the Diva Battle Royal to crown a No. 1 Contender for the Women's Championship. Surgery will not be required, however, Ashley will be in a cast for four weeks." I, for one, think she will give the gimpy cripple look a whole new sexy connotation.

John Cena vs Triple H at Wrestlemania 22

Triple H beat Big Show and Rob Van Dam in a three way dance to win the number one contender slot for John Cena's World Heavyweight title. This has been expected for quite some time and really isn't breaking news. In contrast Edge, who held the title for a very short moment, is going to face Mick Foley at WM22. GO MICK!

Rey Mysterio Lost His Wrestlemania Title Shot---May Get It Back
I reported earlier that Rey was going to lose to Randy Orton at No Way Out, thus foregoing his WM22 title shot, and I was right. I then alluded to a possible Angle, Orton and Undertaker three way for the title, but after some actual thought on it I just might have to retract. The Undertaker is undefeated at all the Wrestlemanias he has been in, and logic dictates he won't start losing now. The reason why you don't see much of Taker is that, unfortunately, his career is winding down and he is used sparingly to prolong his career, and to help with PPV buy rates and things of that nature. So WWE can't put the title on him without seriously increasing his in ring schedule. Thus the door is open for Rey to be inserted into the title match somehow, thereby still honoring the tradition of the Royal Rumble winner actually participating in the WM main event. I will be monitoring this closely, and report more on it as I find out new tidbits.

Vince McMahon and His Travling Hands

This too is kind of old news, but it has been going around that WWE chairman (Owner) Vince McMahon groped a tanning booth attendant a while back. According to Patty Therre at Bella Online, those accusations are true, but the matter seems to have been dropped, probably in lieu of a hefty payout. It is also going around that Vince is seeking a divorce from his wife Linda, but that is absolutely false. Think of the ramifications on splitting up assets, including WWE. Scary, ain't it?

It's Official, Eddie Guerrero To Be Inducted

I am glad to report that Eddie Guerrero was formally announced to be inducted into this years Hall Of Fame. There have been some rumbling that to induct Eddie now would not be appropriate as it may take some of the limelight away from Bret Hart's induction. I don't think so, there is plenty of room and proud hearts to induct the both of them. Look for Dusty Rhodes to be announced next. Also, Bret Hart has refused to be involved in any storylines (Unlike Hulk Hogan who made a small cameo in the Wrestlemania following his induction.), and he even turned down any pay from WWE and Titan Sports. However he is accepting travel and lodging, expect him to take the mic at Wrestlemania 22 to thank his fans and say good-bye.

Dancing With The Stars

Stacy Keibler has reached the finals of Dancing With The Stars. The finals will take place this Thursday at 8 PM EST, with the winner being announced this Sunday. Stacy's contract with WWE is up soon, and there is a strong buzz going around that she may be leaving WWE to pursue a career in acting. I wish her well in all her future endeavors!

Byte This! Bites The Dust

The WWE webcast, Byte This! has been axed from the WWE website. I don't know if the recent schenanigans of "The Heart Throbs, Byte This last guest, had anything to do with it, but it's gone. I am not sure what happened as I didn't watch it, but I guess The Heart Throbs got a little out of hand and were consequently fired the next day. Byte This! got the ax a few day's later.

Well, that's it. Later Gators!

Official No Way Out Results

The following is the official results of No Way Out, along with possible storyline ramifications.


Cruiserweight Champion Gregory Helms vs. Scotty 2 Hotty vs. Paul London vs. Brian Kendrick vs. Sho Funaki vs. Super Crazy vs. Psicosis vs. Nunzio vs. Kid Kash


Gregory Helms retained his Cruiserweight Title in a very good opening matchup. However, it is the opinion of some people that the wrestler who put the least into the match, Gregory Helms, walked away with his title after everyone else does the work. For instance, Mr Helms refused to get into the ring until the end when he jumped in and pinned Psicosis for the win. Some say he is set to feud with Kid Kash as soon as Kash's broken hand heals and he is closer to 100% Boy, I can't wait to miss that.

JBL with Jillian Hall vs. Bobby Lashley

This was a pretty good match in so far as that JBL fulfilled the time honored tradition of a veteran pulling a green kid up by the boot straps for a passable match. The match ended when Finlay interfered on JBL's behalf. I would much rather see Finlay vs JBL as they both are brawlers and there are several ways to play on a JBL/Finlay feud. I think that Lashley has a great look, and a ton of potential, but in my opinion he needs to be at OVW for a bit longer. WWE got lucky when they took a green kid by the name of Brock Lesnar and shoved him in the limelight, however Lashley is still a bit rough around the edges to be considered a main eventer.
At the conclusion of the match Batista made a surprise appearance to a huge ovation. He looked good and told the crowd he will be coming back and regaining his title. After he left the ring they showed him in the back talking to other wrestlers, with an especially warm moment for Rey Mysterio.

WWE Tag Team Champions MNM vs. Matt Hardy & Tatanka

This was a none title match, so that immediately tells you the challengers are going to win, which Matt Hardy and Tatanka did. I was glad to see Tatanka back, as he was always one of my favorites, but I am not to sure of the pairing of Matt Hardy and Tatanka. Talk about a clash in styles. Never the less, it was good to see Tatanka back and I am looking forward to any possible long term Tatanka storylines.

U.S. Champion Booker T vs. Chris Benoit

I am so glad to see Chris Beniot win the US Title, but am I the only one that is tired of the Booker T/Chris Benoit angle? Not much to describe here, it's the same match with the same spots with a different ending for a change. I am a HUGE Benoit fan, and I like Booker T almost as much, I just think they both need a fresh opponent.

Rey Mysterio vs. Randy Orton - Winner receives World Title match at Wrestlemania 22

Well, I called this one from the start, Rey was pinned by Randy with the help of the ropes. Vickie Guerrero, her daughters and Chavo were in attendance and several camera shots throughout the match cast an eerie presence. You could feel Eddie in the air. After the match a visibly upset Rey was knocking over things and punching the walls. Both Chavo and Vickie tried to console Rey and told him that he did not let them nor Eddie's memory down. Some people are saying that the word is Rey might be involved in a possible triple threat match with Angle, Orton and Mysterio at Wrestlemania, but to be honest I haven't heard anything like that from credible sources. In fact, at Wrestlemania do look for a possible three way for Angles title, but in a more likely Angle/Orton/Undertaker match.

World Champion Kurt Angle vs. The Undertaker

This was a good match! After not seeing Undertaker in much action as of late, I was wondering if there would be ring rust on Takers part, but it was exciting, fast paced and a thoroughly enjoyable match. It ended in somewhat of a controversy as both men thought they had won the match. Taker attempted a triangle choke, but got pinned instead. As the ring announcer declared that Angle had won, a furious Undertaker cornered Angle and told him that he had his number. Thus setting up a feud with Taker for Wrestlemania 22. However, as of late with storylines that don't make much sense, it would indeed make sense of an Angle/Taker match at Wrestlemania, especially after the big build up for the Angle/Undertaker No Way Out match. But then again, things have not made a lot of sense lately. Stay Tuned.


The Following is taken directly from Patty Therre and Bella Online verbatim.

Ex-ECW Star Dies

"I am sad to report that Mike "Johnny Grunge" Durham passed away on February 16. He was 39. The cause of his death seems to have been breathing problems stemming from sleep apnea but the official word has not been given. His wake and funeral will be Tuesday and Wednesday at WardÂ’s Parkway Chapel, 1000 Forest Parkway, Forest Park, GA.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to Michel Durham Memorial Fund at:
Bank of America GA7-083-01-01
500 North Lake Drive
Peachtree City, GA 30269
(770)631-3200

He left behind two sons, ages eight and three.

Durham was better known as one half of the Public Enemy tag team along with his late partner Ted "Rocco Rock" Petty. They had a near cult following in ECW and also appeared in several other promotions as PE."

I Told You So, Rey Won't Go...

A couple post ago I reported, with help from Patty Therre from Bello Online, that Randy Orton was going to defeat Rey Mysterio for his Wrestlemania World Title Shot. Well, told ya so. Check out WWE.Com via the link on this page for full news and reviews. I am sorry Rey! You deserve a lot more recognition for what and how you are doing, and it is my humble opinion that you are indeed a giant in the ring, bigger then a few of the wrestlers who are currently employed.

Personal Update 02-19-2006

It's great to be back! None of you know this yet, but I just got out of the hospital on account of this stupid pneumonia bug I have. Last Thursday I couldn't breath. Literally. I guess during the night the pneumonia that won't die decided to take up residence in my right lung and I literally could not breath. So after three days of feeling like a 90 year old man who just had a lung ripped out, I am glad to report that I now have the "most powerful antibiotic known to man", a prescription cough expectorant, and a doctors note stating absolutely no wrestling for two more weeks. This is not the way to start out your wrestling career. If it wasn't for the pretty nurses waiting on me hand and foot I would have gone crazy in the hospital bed wanting to get out. AND I AM PISSED because this is the third time since December and with today's modern science you would think they could kill a wimpy little pneumonia. But, like I said I had/have the bug from hell. And if I want to make it back to the ring sooner as opposed to later I should follow the doctors advice to the letter, which I intend to do. So for the next two to three weeks I guess I will veer from the intended content of this blog and snoop around the wrestling world trying to find some interesting things to report to you all until I can get back in the ring and re-commence my training. Speaking of which, I should call the school and let them know...I think I will do that now, so Until next time..!

News Over The Hotwire

The following bit of news is courtesy of Bella Online Wrestling Editor Patty Therre.


EDDIE GUERRERO TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE WWE HALL OF FAME.

So far the only true lock in this years induction to the HOF is Bret Hart, as was announced by WWE earlier. However word is Dusty Rhodes and Eddie Guerrero have locks as well, even though the WWE has yet to confirm this. It is also been said that the Guerrero family has agreed to be at ringside during the February 19th No Way Out pay per view when Rey Mysterio wrestles Randy Orton for Reys Wrestlemania title shot. I, for one, hope with all my heart that the bombastic storyline where Randy cheapens Eddies death is toned down a bit in the presence of the Guerreros. What was done is done, and it brought up the turn of events that brings Randy and Rey to the front for Rey to give up his title shot, so hopefully more tasteless comments on Eddies death can be averted.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH 3 WINNER MATT CAPPOTELLI SURRENDERS OVW TITLE.

WWE Tough Enough 3 winner Matt Cappotelli surrendered his OVW Heavyweight Title in an emotional 15 minute speech where he told the crowd in attendance that he has a stage 2 brain tumor. The very religious Matt thanked the crowd , who periodically broke into chants of "THANK YOU MATT!!!" and "WE LOVE YOU MATT!!!", and then offered a prayer to all in attendance. He also stated that he wishes to visit sick kids in hospitals to help bring smiles to little faces, all this coming from someone who is dealing with the same life threatening afflictions. For those who wish to pass on their well wishes to Matt, he is accepting emails at keepthefaithmatt@yahoo.com. The link to see Matts surrender speech can be found here.

For those of you who like to find out behind the camera news and events the link to Bella Online and wrestling can be found in the link section of this site. You can sign up to get Patty's newsletter where she seems to always be the first with breaking news and she is very accurate. For other news like the release of three more WWE workers, former WWE wrestler and current TNA Superstar Christian (Cage) winning the NWA World Title and a former WCW/WWE Superstar coming clean with his sexuality please click the link to her site.

Class Update For 02-12-06

Since I was home rehabbing from my pneumonia, there is no class update for this week. From a phone conversation with Buddy Rose I guess class went well and I was asked to give him a call this weekend to let him know how I am doing. I am supposed to take two weeks off from wrestling, but I am feeling pretty good, maybe I will attend this weekends class. I missed it terribly, and I can't wait to get back into the ring!

Thank GOD for antibiotics!

I would like to thank everyone who has passed on their well wishes and cheer to me these past few days. It makes me feel good that there are people out there who, first of all, take the time to follow along with my progress in the wrestling world on a regular basis, and secondly who take the time to tell me how stupid it is to actually think of not taking a couple weeks off to get better from my pneumonia! Since the masses have spoken, I am taking the next two weeks off to recuperate. All I have to say is thank you all, and thank GOD for antibiotics!

The kind of pneumonia I have is a bacterial kind, though I am not sure how a pneumonia bacteria gets into your body in the first place, and that's not to be confused with the viral type. I don't know which is worse, but I do know the bacterial sucks. Last December you may remember I didn't do anything with my blog as I had a good bout with pneumonia, so I didn't do much of anything. This go around, however, I caught it much earlier so with this last dose of antibiotics I already feel almost normal. However, that doesn't mean I am normal (My girl friend will tell you I am and always have been far from "normal", that's just part of my charm), but where I made the mistake last time is I took the antibiotic, Zithromax, only until I did feel better. My doctor told me this time that I need to take ALL the pills until they are gone as all I did last time was knock the bacteria down a notch without killing it off so it laid dormant, only to rear its ugly head again. So I am taking all the pills, though I did forgo the Oxycodone, as I hate the drugged up feeling it gives me and I would much rather deal with the pain. However, I did not follow the doctors advice to the letter, as a day after I got out of the doctors office I was outside scrubbing piggy bowls and powerwashing carpets and hacking up blood the whole day. Sick or not, chores still have to be done around here.

On the wrestling scene, don't look forward to Rey Mysterio to headline Wrestlemania for a world title shot, word has it that it wasn't the intention of Rey to challenge for the belt in the first place. It is not set in stone, as everything in wrestling can and does change in a second, but as of right now Rey will lose his match with Randy Orton at the PPV, therefore forgoing his Wrestlemania title shot. His winning the Royal Rumble was meant to usher in a bigger angle with Randy Orton playing the bad guy in exploiting Eddie Guerreros death, speaking of which...

I AM PISSED! I think that keeping Eddies name alive in Smackdown it's a great tribute to Eddie, however I echo Mick Foleys thought in this Weeks FOLEY IS BLOG on WWE.com. However it was a slap in the face to Eddies legacy, his family and every wrestler who laces his boots in the back to use Eddie's death in a way to further a storyline. For those of you who did not catch last weeks Smackdown, Randy Orton ran in on Reys ring celebration for winning the Royal Rumble where he was thanking Eddie for the inspiration he got to win the thing. Randy told Rey that he could stop looking to the heavens when talking to Eddie, because Eddie was in hell, which infuriated Rey and kicked off this new feud they have by Rey attacking Randy. Now, as far as Randy is concerned, it was an obvious work, but Randy, man, you are too good, too talented to have to resort to such cheap heat. Why? I am a huge fan of yours and you can get it done out there without that BS. And Rey, how can you allow yourself to be used in that fashion? I would have walked in the back after that segment and had a long talk with the powers that be and let it be known that you do not and will not allow yourself to be trapped in such an angle that has so much bad taste you will never get it out of your mouth! Think of Eddies wife Vicki, and her kids. Think of Eddies family and the legacy the Guerreros have given to the wrestling world in over 70 years in the industry. Most importantly, think if it was YOU that had passed , and it was being done to you. Even if Eddie wouldn't have minded, you have to think of his family. I KNOW it has to hurt them. It hurt me, and I am just some ham and egger wannabe who never got the privlidge to get to know the man. That's all I got to say about that.

I am SO SICK...

Late last night I started to feel a twinge in my back. It wasn't real painful, and at first I thought it was just a delayed reaction from one too many body slams in class last Sunday. However, during the night, the pain kept getting worse and worse until I couldn't lay down on the bed anymore. I could only breathe a partial breath, if I tried to suck in too much air then a sharp pain would shoot through by chest, literally taking my breath away. Well, this happened one time before, last December I was diagnosed with pneumonia, and I KNEW that I had gotten it again. So, following a session of coughing a little fleck of blood every now and then, I went on into the Doctors. At first they always have to check for a blood clot in your lungs, as that is life threatening, but after all the pomp and circumstance I was told that yes, Chris, you have pneumonia AGAIN. So, I was handed a couple prescriptions (Albuterol, Oxycodone and Zithromax) and clearly advised that I should not wrestle for at least two weeks since I have a severely injured lung. It is likely, according to the good Doctor, that I could collapse my lung, or even puncture it while it is in it's delicate state. So now I have a decision to make. On one hand I am not getting paid for class, so I am not letting any fans down. On the other, it is hard to explain. Wrestling, it's a sickness itself when it gets into your blood. Worse case scenario is I would have to go to the hospital and get my lung reinflated. Or, I can sit out the time and pickup where I left off. Which is hard to do, in a couple of weeks you can accumilate quite a bit of ring rust. So, please leave your comments and tell me your opinion. Should I chance it? Should I take my doctors advise? Either way it is Wednesday night as I write this, and I need to make a decision by Friday evening so I can give Playboy Buddy Rose plenty of notice. Your advise is very important to me, so if you want to have a voice in this, then leave a comment.

~~~Great One~~~

Class Update for 02-05-06

I had a wonderful time at class yesterday (as I write this). If you remember last weeks entry, I was plagued by nothing going right at all, I couldn't do even the most basic of moves without really screwing it up. But this week was every bit as good as last weeks was bad. That doesn't mean every single thing I did turned out as best it possibly could, there is still a lot of room for improvement, but everything seem to flow better. I was hitting most of my spots, I was able to think and keep up with three and four moves ahead. I was more relaxed and receptive to what each move feels like when done right. I am pretty happy with myself, I am starting to "get it".

Now, with that being said, there was no Idaho promoter. I don't know what happened, but he surely wasn't there. It's not like I was looking to getting signed, I am still far and away nowhere near ready for full time employment as a wrestler in a bonafide promotion, it just would have been neat to make a future contact. But then again, if you think about it, it's for the best, you probably don't want any future employers seeing you BEFORE you are your absolute best.

Yesterday I started out wrestling Thrash (WAPW wrestler bios) in a monkey duel drill, and I kept up pretty good. I didn't miss any spots, my bumps were impressive, and a few moves I called turned out dead on. I think out of everyone, I like to wrestle Thrash the best. For me he is just easier to work with. That's not taking anything away from Shay, Quiz or any one of the other guys, it's just that I find Thrashes style a bit more comfortable.

Secondly I wrestled some kid that I can never remember his name! But he is quite a bit smaller then me, but he's really good. When I wrestle someone smaller, it gives me a chance to practice my strength moves. It worked out pretty good. He totally put me over after I gave him a sidewalk slam off the ropes, and when I was pinning him I kept bipping his nose, maybe the start of a new gimmick? When I was working his back by stretching him across my knee I was giving him the ole' Chinese torture. I couldn't resist!

We finished up class with our typical battle royal, but this time it was not an over the top rope elimination, you had to get pinned. I was to be the second to the last eliminated, but Crazy Nate, J-Sin and Thrash, who were sitting out the match, staged a run in, and I was eliminated when Crazy Nate sucker punched me from behind, followed by a splash from Thrash, and finished off by a leg drop from the 6'4, 330 lb J-Sin. All three of them then covered me for the pin. So I got totally screwed! But that's ok, I get to see them next week, where I get to brag to them that it took all three of them to take me out!

Dean Simon and the Site That Couldn't

Well, as you all can see there are a few changes to the blog here. I send out my heart felt thanks to Dean Simon who managed to do in five minutes what I couldn't do in a month and a half! It is very important to me that Eddie Guerrero gets his kudos, but a lot of people have written in and suggested that I lose the in memorial banner that I have been including on every post. Well, thanks to Dean, I now have the banner in it's rightful place, on top of the screen. Once again, THANK YOU Dean, The Making Of A Wrestling GOD's tech guy. We are on our way now!

Tomorrow morn I head off to Portland for another bone crunching good time on the mat. And don't forget, the promoter from Idaho is going to be there, I hope to make a potential future contact. I'll update you tomorrow evening.

WikiBlog Bound!

Just a short update, I am quite proud to announce that due to the support I have received from all of you, my blog was put on WikiBlog. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for helping me with this little experiment in Sports Entertainment! I might also have another announcement about a new team member soon, stay tuned.

Blog Update

I first want to say thank you for all the wonderful emails and comments that I have been receiving. It feels great that all you are supporting me as I go through this process! I have been given some excellent advice from some of you and I have taken great attempts at following it whenever I could. Here are some of the suggestions I have received:

Frank Pozen (Franks Big Bad Blog) had some suggestions on clarification. That is how to explain myself and what am I doing. For instance why do I have a blog? Well, my blog is an attempt at several things. First and foremost it's motivation. It is quite hard on your body doing what I do, and I don't have the thought of a paycheck in my immediate future to give me the motivation to let big guys practice violence against me. If I have a lot of people pulling for me then it is a lot easier to get out of bed and drive the 100 miles or so to school knowing what's in store for me. I am a very loyal person, and it is impossible for me to give up on the people pulling for me, even when I would consider giving up on myself. Secondly it's self promotion. If this takes off then I should be able to get at least one promoter interested in me. Even a very good athlete has his competition, and open slots in the wrestling world are few and far between. Some other questions posed by Frank:

1. what's it like? Well, it's a lot of things. It's my dream. It's my hopes. It's my pain. It's my DRIVE. Physically it's hard, but it's a lot of fun as well. I just wish I started on this ten years ago!
2. Who's training me? Some of the best that the "old school" has to offer. Playboy Buddy Rose and Colonel DeBeers have wrestled the likes of Andre The Giant, Shawn Michaels, Hulk Hogan and SGT Slaughter. And for you wrestling historians; Buddy Rose wrestled in the very first match at the very first Wrestlemania against Tito Santana. He wore a mask and wrestled as the Executioner.
   
3. What about my fellow students? Some of my fellow students are very, very good. There's Thrash, who's built a lot like me who can take the best bumps of any other student I have seen there. I shouldn't call him a student though as he has already wrestled and been paid; the hallmark that makes you an actual pro. There's Quiz who reminds me a lot in looks to Booker T but who wrestles sort of like Rob Van Dam. Shay has a unique look, I call it Hollywood. Without asking him his ethnicity it looks like he may have some Asian or Polynesian, and he wrestles like a good technician. Our smaller guys like Bud Barber and James Freeman do some stuff that would make any Luche Libre proud. I would not be surprised to see some of these guys really hit the big time. Check out the WAPW website for more wrestler bios. Also a clip of our students in action can be found on this blog in the "Holiday Wishes with a Wrestling Flair" post.

My friend Kyle (One Red Paperclip) said I should change the layout, use a smaller font and lose the "Bravenet Crap". Well, I decided on the font to use, I lost Bravenet (I was trying to set up traffic exchange, more on that later) and as for the layout, I am computer illiterate. I have been trying to put a favorite links section on my sidebar but it won't let me. I put the html code where it told me to and it didn't work, anyone with the knowledge, please let me know.

My man Perkoff! (lariato.blogspot.com/) So far he has been, oh, the most excited for me? His site is phenomenal as he has stats down to Nielson Ratings and I am not sure but what looks like PPV buy rates. And his wrestling commentary is great too! He's from Sweden, according to him "The land without a wrestling scene." So I plan on sending him the tape of my wrestling matches. I'll have it autographed by Buddy Rose and Colonel DeBeers so then it might be worth something!

There are many, many more people that deserve mention here, but I need to close this out so as not to run to terribly long. I'll be sure to include more of you in future posts. Please keep the ideas and the feedback coming, I really appreciate it!

Paying Tribute To A Champion

Eddie Guerrero
Tribute Video
Featuring Here Without You
By 3 Doors Down

Eddie Guerrero
Tribute Video
Ring Of Honor

Hello all!

For you Eddie fans I have included a couple of my favorite tribute videos. I really like the one from WWE. It touches your heart, at least it does mine. But my favorite one is from Ring Of Honor. It's a shoot style interview, shot in the locker room after he lost to Super Crazy, and in his own words, it captures the heart of Eddie Guerrero. This is how I remember him and the number one reason why I am going to wrestling school. Enjoy!

And this is where the masses come in...

Ok, now it is time for the interactive part of this endeavor. In pasts post I have told you that whomever shall support me, that we were going to do this together. My success is your success, when I make it to the top, you make it to the top. I meant that and now here is where you come in:

I want as many ideas as you can come up with for my wrestling character. Now, before you get excited don't go making me into the Bigshow or Hulk Hogan. Those are some naturally big guys, and we have to make as good a gimmick as we can that fits in with my own physical characteristics. If I had to make a comparison in my body size I would say I am built like a Tazz and/or Rhyno. I am 5'10 and between 220 in a good month to 250 in the winter. However it is very important that I am not pigeon holed into a Rhyno or Tazz mold, those characters were already done. What would YOU like to see? I have some ideas for my psychology that, unfortunately, I can't disclose publicly lest someone does it before me, but it involves a lot of crowd interaction. And it can be done either as a good guy, or a bad guy, face or heel as it is put in the business. I need quality ideas here as very soon the character that you help me build will need to start taking shape. And you will see him on the blog first. The whole feel of this blog is going to change soon, kind of like it is being written by someone else...The character YOU created!

I'm back, and I'm bad!

Hello all! I am back from not having access to the computer for over 24 hours on account of the internet being out here in Oregon. It goes without saying that I was more then chomping at the bit to come back online to work on our blog.

Ok, this is the deal, I have been very happy with the feedback I have been getting from everyone, and I have had some fantastic ideas given to me. I plan on taking all the information and incorporating it into my blog. And as you might have noticed I now have a guestbook! Please stop by and sign it so that I know who and where my friends are. And keep the ideas coming! I appreciate it more then you will ever know!

Thanks for reading!