the-w.com/2015.02.the-w.com.tar/the-w.com/pub/users/chris/rspwfaq.txt

Text File | 2000-02-27 | 400KB | 8,369 lines

This version written by "Netcop" Scott Keith and updated 13.12.1999
This version reformatted for text by Christopher Robin Zimmerman 28.2.2000

Copyright Stuff
   This document copyright 1998 LPK Enterprises. Portions of this
   document were written by Dominic Macika as part of the original RSPW
   FAQ, on which this document is based. Entire concept created by Cal
   Jewell.

Boring crap
   This document is complete and accurate to the best of the author's
   knowledge. The author does not claim to be the final word on the
   matters of the document, merely a collector of the best information
   available at the time of it's generation. The author does not presume
   to judge the intelligence or morality of questions asked, but merely
   answers based on frequency and relevance to professional wrestling.
   The author makes no personal judgments about the wrestlers,
   organizations and people mentioned in this document, but merely
   attempts to reflect the general consensus shown on the newsgroup
   rec.sport.pro-wrestling

Blatant cry for attention
   Comments, additions, suggestions, and corrections are encouraged. Send
   them to [e-mail].

The document itself is archived at:
   http://www.rantsylvania.com/home/rspwfaq/.

Table Of Contents

0.1 Prelude   - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Wrestling But Were
                Afraid To Ask ...
0.2 Prelude 2 - A Beginner's Guide to Pro Wrestling

1.  Part One - Individual Wrestlers and Personalities

1.1. Shawn Michaels
1.2. Hulk Hogan
1.3. Vince McMahon
1.4. The Clique
1.5. NWO
1.6. IV Horsemen
1.7. Ultimate Warrior
1.8. Ric Flair
1.9. Sid Vicious
1.10. Brian Pillman
1.11. Sting
1.12. Midnight Express
1.13. Randy Savage
1.14. Shane Douglas
1.15. Steve Austin
1.16. Cactus Jack
1.17. Von Erichs
1.18. Goldust
1.19. Vader
1.20. New Breed
1.21. Demolition
1.22. Brutush Beefcake
1.23. Doink
1.24. Hacksaw Jim Duggan
1.25. Jerry Lawler
1.26. Rick Rude
1.27. Curt Hennig
1.28. Big Bossman
1.29. Undertaker
1.30. Stevie Richards
1.31. Diamond Dallas Page
1.32. Raven
1.33. Al Snow
1.34. The Big Show
1.35. Chris Benoit
1.36. The Nation of Domination
1.37. Bret Hart
1.38. Roddy Piper
1.39. Andre the Giant
1.40. Eric Bischoff
1.41. Rob van Dam
1.42. Paul Heyman
1.43. Goldberg
1.44. Insane Clown Posse
1.45. Jake Roberts
1.46. Powers that Be

2.   Part Two - Organizations

2.1. World Championship Wrestling
2.2. National Wrestling Alliance
2.3. World Wrestling Federation
2.4. Extreme Championship Wrestling
2.5. Other Promotions
2.6. Japan
2.7. Mexico

3.   Part Three - The Monday Night Wars

4    Part Four - Stupid Wrestling Tricks

5.   Part Five - Miscellaneous
5.1. Did [X] ever play organized football?
5.2. How are all the Samoan wrestlers related?
5.3. Title Changes
5.4. Shoots
5.5. Wrestling Bloopers, Swerves and General Oddities
5.6. Pay-Per-View
5.7. Who was [X]?

6.   Part Six - Famous Deaths UPDATED 1999.12.13

7.   Part Seven - The USWA

     Reference Materials
A.   Appendix A: Wrestling Title Histories
B.   Appendix B: Monday Night Ratings History
C.   Appendix C: Addresses of Major Federations
D.   Appendix D: Dave Meltzer on Survivor Series 1997 NEW 1999.12.13
E.   Appendix E: Contributors

----------------------------------------------------------------------
0.1 RSPW FAQ Prelude - Everything you ever wanted to know about
                   professional wrestling but were afraid to ask

0.1. Is wrestling fake?

   In a word, yes.  In many more words, yes, very,
   totally, completely, utterly fake.  Anyone who tells you
   otherwise is either very misguided or simply attempting
   to add to the myth surrounding the sport known as
   "kayfabe."

   On the other hand, "fake" is relative.   The sport is
   fake in that the results are predetermined and the
   athletes cooperate with each other, but the actual
   moves are generally executed with contact made and
   pain inflicted.  Only the best wrestlers can pull off
   devastating-looking moves with causing some sort of
   pain to the opponent.

   Wrestling has been predetermined since before the
   turn of the century (1880s to be exact) no matter
   what anyone may try to tell you.  Unless the person
   who is so nostalgically telling you about "when it was
   real" is 120 years old, they are mistaken.

0.1.1. Is wrestling even a sport?

   Legally, no. In order to be classified as a sports event, you have
   to have a certain number of state-certified doctors at
   ringside in case of injuries.   Both the WWF and WCW
   have forgone this measure in exchange for the monetary savings.

   As well, Vince McMahon stated as a matter of record
   to a Seattle court that wrestling was predetermined, which prevented
   it from being promoted as a "sport" or a "competition" in that state
   or any other.

   So the end result is Vince McMahon promoting "sports
   entertainment," a term which means nothing outside of
   professional wrestling, and WCW referring to the
   "wrestling industry" or "wrestling business," both of
   which circumvent calling it a sport.

   Unless of course it's in Maryland, in which case a
   doctor must be present at ringside by law.  But this
   seems to be unique to that state.

   On a sidenote, the newsgroup is called
   "rec.SPORT.pro-wrestling" because it's a spinoff the
   original rec.sport.misc group.  The original proposal
   was for the less catchy "rec.ARTS.pro-wrestling" but it
   was felt that since the group's principles were already
   established in the sports hierarchy it would be best to remain there.

0.1.2 What is "kayfabe"?

   The term Kay Fabe comes from ancient carnival talk,
   appropriate as professional wrestling has it's origins in
   the carnivals. Kay Fabe practices were old tricks, from
   three card monte to cure all elixirs and, of course,
   magic acts. A kay fabe violator exposed the secrets
   behind these practices. In wrestling, the term has
   come to mean not exposing that the business is
   worked. In the 80s, Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger
   Mask, wrote a book entitled Kay Fabe, exposing many
   secrets of the business.

0.1.3  Common Acronyms

   The following is a list of common acronyms used on
   this newsgroup that you may run across, compiled
   with help from Jeremy Soria and Jeremy Billones.

   DQ    disqualification
   DCOR    double counted out of the ring
   COR    counted out of the ring
   BTW    by the way
   IMO    in my opinion
   IMOHO    in my own humble opinion
   IMODO    in my own damn opinion
   Ob    obligatory, as in ObWrestling
   PPV    pay-per-view event
   ROTFL    rolling on the floor laughing
   RTFM    read the FAQ man
   STFU    be quiet :-)
   TTYTT    to tell you the truth
   WTF    what the heck :-)
   YMMV    your mileage may vary
   AFAIK    as far as I know
   OTOH    on the other hand...
   ROTFL    rolling on the floor laughing
   ROTFLMAO    rolling on the floor laughing my ass off


0.1.4  How do I rate a match?

   When rating a match, or reading match ratings, it is
   important to consider what exactly is being rated.
   Some people prefer to rate matches based on how
   much they enjoyed the match, others rate matches
   based on the workrate involved in the match. The
   most popular way of rating matches is through the
   5-star system, originated by Norm Dooley and Jim
   Cornette. It was originally designed to rate the
   workrate of a match. Here's how Dave Meltzer, editor
   of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, has described
   the 5-star rating system

   *****      Match of the year candidate

   ****1/2  An almost-perfect match

   ****        Excellent

   ***1/2     Extremely good

   ***          Good

   **1/2       Better than average but nothing special

   **            Average

   *1/2         Below average but not atrocious

   *              Pretty bad, but at least some action

   1/2*         Terrible, but at least a high spot in there somewhere

   DUD        Of no value

   -stars       Not only terrible, but completely offensive to
                       the ticket-buying public


   In the end, any form of match ratings is *always* a
   matter of personal opinion. One person's match of the
   year is another person's snoozer.

0.1.5  Are matches scripted or improvised?

   A bit of both. Type "A" wrestlers (like most of WCW's cruiserweights
   and people with strong training backgrounds like the
   Armstrongs and the Harts) can usually go into a ring
   and make up a watchable match with no time needed
   beforehand.  Brad Armstrong and the Great Muta once
   improvised a ****1/2 match on five minutes notice for
   WCW Saturday Night, for instance.

   Type "B" wrestlers (most everyone else) will generally
   have an idea of the finish and flow of a match, and will
   "call spots" during the match (whisper moves into their
   opponent's ear) to keep the match fresh and
   interesting.  This is the most common match method.

   Type "C" wrestlers (Hogan, Kevin Nash and most roided
   monsters) will generally plan out the entire match
   beforehand, and sometimes choreograph the action
   days in advance to ensure a minimum of trouble. The
   Hulk Hogan-Ultimate Warrior match from 1990 was
   rehearsed several times, weeks before the event.

   The rule is generally that one type of wrestler v. the
   same type of wrestler are usually capable of producing
   at least a decent match, because the styles are
   compatible.  The trouble comes when the "C" type
   wrestlers fight "B" type wrestlers, because those on
   the lowest tier of match quality are generally incapable
   of improvising a match, and a wrestler who *is*
   capable of doing so will be bored and disinterested in a
   choreographed match.  The most glaring example of
   completely mismatched styles was Shane Douglas v.
   Pitbull #2 at ECW's Barely Legal PPV, where Shane
   attempted to improvise a match and the Pitbull was
   desperately trying to maintain a match flow devised
   hours before the match began.

   In the end, of course, the above is merely a general
   guide and not an iron-clad classification of wrestling
   styles.  Feel free to use your own judgment.

0.1.6  How do wrestlers bleed?

   There are two ways, and two ways only, for a wrestler to draw blood
   during the course of a match: The first and by far the most common, is
   by blading. A wrestler will wrap tape around his wrists in order to
   conceal a razor blade underneath.  Some put the tape on their
   fingertips, as a matter of personal preference.  When the time to
   bleed comes, the wrestler will generally roll out of the ring and hide
   himself from view of the fans as best he can, then expose the razor
   blade and quickly swipe his wrist across his forehead to cause himself
   to bleed. Cutting one's self anywhere but the forehead is EXTREMELY
   dangerous and is rarely done for obvious reasons.

   The other way to bleed is "hardway," that is to say a legitimate cut
   or injury which causes blood to flow. The most common cases are a
   broken nose, or a particularly hard shot to the ear.

   The mythical "blood capsule," which supposedly resides
   in the wrestler's mouth until the time to bite down on
   it comes, DOES NOT EXIST IN WRESTLING.  This urban
   legend came about because Hollywood uses it on a
   regular basis, and those outside the wrestling business
   assumed wrestlers were simply actors and thus used
   fake blood. Any blood coming from a wrestler's mouth
   is probably there because he bit his tongue, not a
   blood capsule.

   The AIDS scare of recent times had diminished the
   thirst for blood somewhat in North America, but the
   recent direction of the WWF and the ECW fanbase
   have contributed to a resurgance in popularity for the
   venerated blade.

0.1.7  What is work?  What is workrate?

   You may have read people on RSPW calling themselves
   fans of "workrate" or calling someone a good "worker"
   and are probably wondering just what they're talking about.

   Well, they're talking about a lot of things, actually. For instance,
   "work" is the general term for any match performed by one or more
   wrestlers. They are said to "work" a match. Wrestlers are thus called
   "workers" and the more talented they are, the better a "worker"
   they are considered.

   Now, as a match progresses, it is possible to separate
   the match into "action" and "inaction" portions.  When
   the wrestlers are doing something (working, in this
   case), that's the action, and when they're in a resthold or lying on
   the mat after a double-knockout or whatever, that's the inaction.  The
   ratio of action to inaction is the workrate, and that's what everyone
   gets so high-and-mighty about.  A wrestler whose matches have lots of
   action and a minimum of resting has good workrate, and a wrestler who
   spends the entire match in a reverse chinlock has bad workrate.

   But wait, there's more! In a more general sense, anything in wrestling
   that is faked for the purpose of making money is "a work".  If the
   promotion is doing so knowingly, they are "working us".  The opposite
   of work in this sense is "shoot".   If a given event is a work, it is
   generally part of an angle.

0.1.8   What is an angle?  How is different from a feud?

   It is important to remember that in any wrestling match, there are
   generally three things that can be determined with good "acting" on
   the part of the wrestlers:  The gimmick, the feud and the angle.  This
   tells who is wrestling, who they're fighting, and why they're
   fighting, in that order.

   Take, for instance, the nWo.  The gimmick is their "raison d'etre",
   the central concept behind the wrestlers.  In the case of the nWo,
   they are a group of renegade wrestlers who are trying to take over
   WCW.   That's the gimmick.  They are fighting with the rest of WCW.
   That's the feud.   And the nWo constantly attacks WCW wrestlers
   before, during and after the matches. That's the angle.

   Gimmicks are more prevalent in the WWF, which is much more
   character-based.  Thus, you get cartoonish characters like the
   Undertaker and Kane, whose whole range of wrestling moves is centered
   around their gimmick:   Immortal dead men.  In the WWF, it's generally
   very easy to take a given wrestler and point out his gimmick (eg, TL
   Hopper is a wrestling plumber).

   The feud is pretty straight-forward.  Wrestler A doesn't like Wrestler
   B and they fight.  The reasons behind it and actual people involved
   generally don't affect that basic formula.

   The angle can sometimes be more complex.  We never really know anymore
   if the reasons for fighting are part of the storyline or based on some
   real-life problem the wrestlers have with each other, and both
   promotions have been known to exploit that. However, an angle
   can be best summed up as "Why is this wrestler fighting that
   wrestler?"

0.1.9  What is a booker?  What is booking?

   Once the reason for the wrestlers to fight each other
   has been established, someone has to pick which one
   will win and how. That's the job of the booker.  The
   person who "gets the book" is in charge of picking winners.

   You may also hear a match described as "overbooked",
   which generally means that there's either too many
   stipulations (barbed-wire baseball bat cage match, with 4 titles on
   the line, a manager locked in a cage at ringside, etc.) or too many
   people running in to allow the pin to take place (Sting v. Randy
   Savage from Spring Stampede 98 is a very good example of
   overbooking). Remember, wrestling is aimed at the lowest common
   denominator, and less is always more.

0.1.10  What is a face?  What is a heel? What is a tweener?

   This one is pretty easy: A face, short for babyface, is the "good
   guy".   He acts in the interests of the fans first, will save his
   friends from being attacked, and will not attempt to purposely hurt
   another wrestler.

   A heel is the "bad guy".  He acts in his own interests, he will insult
   the fans, he will turn on his friends, and will often maliciously
   attempt to injure other wrestlers.

   A tweener is a term invented in 1996 to describe Diesel's final run in
   the WWF, as he was acting like a heel while getting a face reaction
   from the fans.  This would also apply to the current behavior of Rocky
   Maivia, who is acting like a heel but getting a massive babyface
   reaction.  Generally "tweeners" are actually heels.

   A wrestler will "turn" from one to another.   A face will do a "heel
   turn" and a heel will do a "face turn".

   It should be noted that these designations are universal, although
   some aspects are played up more in America than in Japan, and vice
   versa.

0.1.11  What is heat?

   If a wrestler does his job correctly, he will draw a strong reaction
   from the fans, which is heat.  If both wrestlers are on their game,
   the fans will sustain the "heat" throughout the entire match.

   Heat also refers to the reaction that a certain wrestler draws from
   the fans outside of the ring.  A wrestler who the fans particularly
   hate is said to be drawing "heel heat" and will need to be beaten by a
   babyface to "take the heat off him."  It is best for a wrestler to
   draw heat the same as their orientation (ie, a heel should draw heel
   heat). If a heel is drawing face heat, then he will usually be made
   into a babyface to sustain that heat.  The Undertaker is the best
   example of that.  Rocky Maivia (before he became "The Rock") is the
   best example of the opposite:  A babyface drawing heel heat.
   Ironically, Rocky is now experiencing the exact opposite phenomenon a
   year later, which shows how weird the tastes of fans can be.  The
   "face getting booed" syndrome is much more rare and shows bad booking
   on the part of the WWF more than anything.

   Drawing no heat all is the kiss of death in wrestling.

   There is also "bad" heat, which is unintended negative heat. When
   either a face or a heel draws bad heat, it is generally not because of
   any actions done by the character, but simply because the fans can no
   longer tolerate the person.  Jeff Jarrett drew massive amounts of bad
   heat while in WCW, and as a result was not brought back when his
   contract expired.  Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff are moving from heel
   heat towards bad heat -- ie, the fans are simply tired of seeing them
   and boo out of frustration rather than genuine dislike of anything
   they say.  Bad heat is considered undesirable because it can actually
   hurt the drawing power of the person receiving it, since it can never
   be resolved in the ring.

0.1.12  What is a job?  What is a jobber?

   Job is the all-purpose term for a loss in pro wrestling. Any loss, by
   any means, is a job.  It has nothing to do with the amount of
   interference or the severity of the loss or the position on the card
   -- a loss is a job, period.

   If one jobs constantly, then one is defined as a jobber. The pure
   jobber is becoming a rarity in wrestling and is usually found on WCW
   Worldwide Wrestling, a syndicated program.  Barry Horowitz is the most
   famous of the "pure" jobbers, those who never win and exist merely to
   make their opponent look really, really good.  Many times the jobber
   is actually the more talented wrestler.

   Up one notch from the jobber is the somewhat-less-lowly "jobber to the
   stars," abbreviated JTTS.  A JTTS can beat a jobber, but is not in
   serious contention for any titles and will usually lose major matches.
   Most of the current roster of the WWF can be classified as "jobbers to
   the stars".

   There are different kinds of job.  If a wrestler is pinned or submits
   without falling prey to blatant illegalities, than he has "jobbed
   cleanly".  "Clean" is relative when it comes to wrestling, by the way.
   A certain amount of cheating on the heel's part is expected and
   tolerated within the boundaries of what is considered "clean." Hitting
   your opponents with brass knuckles while the referee's back is turned
   and pinning him is a clean win. Having the Four Horsemen run in and
   hit your opponent with brass knuckles and pinning him is considered to
   be screwy, a term which will be covered in a moment. Generally, a
   one-on-one victory with a pinfall is considered to be clean.

   The grey area occurs with the term "screwy", a variation of the word
   "screw-job" which comes later.  A screwy win is a pinfall or
   submission which probably wouldn't have occured had some drastic
   action on the part of the heel not taken place.  Here's an example,
   purely hypothetical:   Chris Benoit is wrestling Hulk Hogan. Benoit is
   dominating and hits his submission move, and were the match to
   continue along this path it would not be reasonable to assume Hogan
   could win. But Hogan's friends come into the ring and distract the
   referee, allowing one of them to do something to Benoit which DIRECTLY
   allows Hogan to get the pin and the unlikely victory. This is "screwy"
   because Hogan wasn't going to win unless something illegal happened.
   However, if Benoit were to kick out of Hogan's pin attempt and
   continue the match without Hogan's friends interfering further, then
   the eventual outcome would be *clean* because the interference didn't
   have a DIRECT effect on the outcome.   As you can tell, this is a very
   hazy area to cover.

   The other extreme comes with the venerable "screw-job".  A screw-job
   is any disqualification, countout, draw, or other ending which is not
   a pinfall or submission.  It is, in other words, any non-ending. If
   one wrestler is disqualified, it's a screw-job.  If they battle to an
   exciting 60-minute draw, it's a screw-job. If they're both counted out
   of the ring, it's a screw-job. If the Maryland State Athletic
   Commission stops the match because one guy has a trickle of blood on
   his forehead, it's a screw-job.  Any time the fans are deprived of
   seeing one wrestler "go over" another cleanly (or even somewhat
   cleanly) they are being "screwed".  The screw-job is considered
   extremely damaging if used as the finish to a major match, as can be
   evidenced by the booking style of Dusty Rhodes.

   There are other variants of the "-job" family, but the only widely
   used one is the "stretcher-job", in which the loser ends up going out
   on a stretcher.

0.1.13  What is a mark?  What is a smart?

   There are many interpretations and beliefs on this matter, and
   hopefully this will educate you enough for you to make your own
   decision on it.

   The first, and most traditional, meaning of the word "mark" comes from
   carnivals and con-men, who called the paying customers "marks" in
   reference to them being the target of the scam. Under this criteria,
   we are all marks, because we are all wrestling fans and thus all the
   targets of the giant scam that is wrestling.

   But...  Modern times have changed the meaning of the word somewhat.
   Thanks to the proliferation of the internet and "insider" newsletters,
   the word "mark" has come to stand for the ever-dwindling group of
   wrestling fans who still "believe." That is to say, those who think
   that wrestling is real and will cheer and boo those that the
   federations wish them to.

   But... The booking style of both major federations has changed
   drastically in the past few years, to the point where the face/heel
   orientation of a given wrestler is almost dictated by the fans, so
   that a wrestler will be a babyface not because that is how they are
   booked, but because that is how the fans respond to them. Under these
   conditions, fan response due to booking can hardly be classified as
   "markdom".

   But... There are another group of fans, the self-proclaimed
   "smarts", who have access to what they think is the inner workings of
   the business and who tend to view wrestling on a different level than
   the so-called "marks."  These fans will tend to cheer the heels and
   boo the babyfaces. Most people who are actually connected inside the
   wrestling business refer to these "smarts" as "smart marks" or
   "smarks" for short. 98% of the fans on the internet are "smart marks".
   Always remember that we only know what they want us to know, and any
   information divulged by either Eric Bischoff or Vince McMahon is
   probably a lie told to sell tickets.

   But...  Many "smart marks" will actually classify themselves as
   "marks" for specific things.  For example, WWF fans will call
   themselves a "WWF mark" because they watch WWF programming and
   buy WWF merchandise. Some even extend this to a given wrestler (Chris
   Benoit being the best example).

   But....  Futhermore, many of the "smart marks" will actually end up
   displaying the very behavior they think they oppose, upon entrance
   into the atmosphere of a given live wrestling show. ECW fans go out of
   their way to act the opposite of what they think "marks" should act
   like, while at the same time actually going all the way around and
   becoming marks themselves because that's how ECW expects them
   to act.

   So....  In the end, a mark is whatever you want it to be. Many times
   on the 'net the term "marks" is used as a blanket reference to those
   who are not "in the know" and who generate the majority of the revenue
   for the various promotions.  This is the most popular usage and most
   generally accepted.   But, of course, we are all marks.

0.1.14  What does "over" mean?

   "Over" can mean many things.

   The most common usage is to say that a wrestler is "over".  That is to
   say, the wrestler draws either strong face heat or strong heel heat.
   "Getting over" is the main objective in wrestling.

   This can also apply to a move which draws an instant reaction from the
   fans and/or can be reasonably expected to end a match when applied.
   This would apply not only to recent finishers like the Diamond Cutter,
   Stone Cold Stunner and Liontamer, but also to older moves which can
   still end a match, like the sleeperhold, figure-four leglock and DDT.
   In all cases, it can be said that the move is "over".

   "Over" is also a verb, which is to say that one wrestler can be "put
   over" another, and get the win.

0.1.15  What is a pop?

   A "pop" is a loud and instantaneous reaction from the fans for
   anything.  This can include a ring entrance, big move, pinfall,
   interview segment, chairshot or whatever.  For the best example of a
   "pop", listen to the crowd when Steve Austin enters an arena today or
   when Hulk Hogan did so 10 years ago.

0.1.16  What is a push?

   This one is also debatable.

   A wrestler who is given a series of wins in order to improve his
   standing in the eyes of the fans is said to be "pushed."  This is the
   standard way to push a wrestler.

   But...  Chris Benoit, in WCW, wins more matches than he loses, yet
   hardly any are against quality opponents and he has yet to win a title
   in that promotion.  He is not "pushed" because he is not considered a
   serious threat to anyone's title or position in the company by the
   fans. He receives minimal airtime to develop his character and is left
   to get over through his ringwork.

   But...   Bill Goldberg is pushed, despite a complete lack of quality
   opponents.  He receives no airtime to develop his character and has
   gotten over entirely on his ringwork.  He draws massive crowd
   reactions and is thus featured heavily and is thus a "pushed"
   wrestler.

   But...   The WWF's recent move to mainly interviews on their weekly TV
   has generated a different kind of push, one where the wrestler in
   question gets massive amounts of air-time and gets over huge, without
   actually stepping in the ring.   Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Steve
   Austin all enjoyed massive increases in heat through interview
   segments with a minimum of wrestling. Undertaker rarely wrestles on
   TV, yet has enjoyed one of the biggest non-stop pushes in wrestling
   history, one lasting over 7 years without a period of heavy jobbing.

   And... There is also the matter of the "negative push", whereby a
   wrestler actually *loses* a string of matches and ends up with a
   better position in the company than when he started the streak. Chris
   Jericho was turned into a heel by way of a negative push, and Leif
   Cassidy was on the same track before leaving the WWF for ECW. This
   push is rare and only works in some circumstances, but it does exist.

   So...   Whereas in the past a push could be described as winning a
   lot, now it's more like winning + airtime + quality of wins + quality
   of opponent + other intangibles = push.  It is no longer a simple
   question to answer, that much is for sure.

0.1.17  What is a resthold?

   When wrestlers need to take a rest during a match, or figure out the
   next series of moves, or just can't decide what to do next, they will
   apply a reverse chinlock, an armbar, a side headlock, or any other
   equally non-damaging hold which only serves to stretch out the match
   and give the wrestlers time to breathe. These are called restholds,
   and they are incredibly boring for the fans if applied longer than
   about a minute and will usually incite "Boring" chants from the more
   vocal segments of the audience.

0.1.18  What is selling?  What are ring psychology and transitions?

   [Note:  The following was written by Herb Kunze and is reprinted with
   permission]

   The easiest way to simultaneously describe transitions and psychology
   is to note that in the absence of these two elements a pro-wrestling
   match reduces to a choreographed series of spots. The word spot is
   used to described an event (or sometimes a sequence of events) in a
   wrestling match. For example, a german suplex attempt reversed with a
   go-behind into a german suplex might (not surprisingly) be called a
   german suplex reversal spot. A high spot is a particular type of spot
   involving a wrestler flying through the air in some way. In the 1980s
   in North America, exciting high spots were top rope splashes (Jimmy
   Snuka), top rope cross body blocks (Kevin von Erich), and top rope leg
   drops (Bobby Eaton); wrestlers like Ricky Steamboat and Greg Gagne
   were thought of and promoted as high-flying wrestlers. In the 1990s,
   moonsaults have become routine; Twisting dives, splashes, and
   cross-body blocks are now state of the art. Somersault topes
   (pronounced toe-pay, generic term for a dive out of the ring),
   corkscrew topes, and firebird (450) splashes are moves of top flying
   wrestlers.

   To repeat then, in the absence of transitions and psychology, a
   wrestling match becames little more than a collection of spots. Some
   of the most glaring examples of this in my memory are the Eliminators
   vs. Dudleys match from the Barely Legal PPV on 04/13/97, the Rob van
   Dam vs. Too Cold Scorpio match from the Living Dangerously PPV on
   03/01/98, and Taka Michinoku vs. Aguila from the WrestleMania XIV PPV
   on 03/29/98. In each of these matches, the wrestlers glaringly moved
   from one spot to the next, essentially putting on a gymnastic stunt
   show.

   In the context of pro-wrestling, I've seen psychology defined as doing
   the right thing at the right time. Of course, that means doing the
   right thing to build a match (i.e. keep the fans focused on the match,
   draw heat, etc.). Psychology encompasses a lot of things, and
   sometimes seems to conflict a bit with match booking, especially in
   this era in North America where matches often have far more than the
   finish booked out in advance. As time passes, psychology changes: good
   psychology in the early 1980s may not work well in the late 1990s;
   matches are often shorter (even on PPV), loads of new moves have
   surfaced, and the style of wrestling evolves. In Japan, psychology
   plays an essential part in the story that a match tells; in North
   America, it's often an afterthought or forgotten altogether. Let's
   look at some elements of psychology:

   Selling - reacting appropriately to the supposed impact of a move. It
   means staggering for a punch and taking a bump (falling down) for the
   third punch, say. It means using facial expressions to show pain or
   anguish while in a submission move or as a tough match wears on. It
   means using mannerisms that suggest that a body part is sore after a
   move that supposedly hurts it has been applied (limping after a
   leg-lock, favouring an arm after an arm hold, etc.). Now that long
   matches don't happen much any more in North America, the idea of
   selling in the fifteenth minute of a match a leg injury that occured
   in the third minute is slowly becoming a lost art. Guys like Ricky
   Steamboat and Ric Flair were the masters of this idea in the 1980s. Of
   the top guys in this era, Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels stand out. Of
   the younger guys, really only the lighter weight guys with
   international experience have a deeper level of ability when it comes
   to selling. To complicate matters, some guys develop into draws even
   though they do not sell many moves. Sid (Vicious, Eudy) and Ultimate
   Warrior rose to the top in an era that disregarded ability despite the
   fact that they couldn't sell to save their lives. On the other extreme
   of the scale, Curt Hennig developed a reputation for overselling
   simple moves: who can forget those insane twisting bumps from a simple
   clothesline (in recent times carried on by Goldust)? And Terry Funk
   has turned his selling into a punch drunk comedic adventure.

   Pacing - leaving the right amount of time between moves. After a
   doubleknockdown spot, how long should a wrestler lie on the mat, how
   slowly should he regain his senses, etc.? The best answer is that it
   depends on the match, on how deeply the fans are into things, on the
   story that the match is trying to tell. In this era of quick matches
   for short attention spans, there have been some two-minute television
   matches that had enough action in them to fill a ten-minute chunk and,
   with wrestlers with limited ability being pushed, we've also seen
   ten-minute matches that really only merited two-minutes of time for
   the story they had to tell. Even in North America, it is often said
   that matches have an initial "feeling-out" period as the wrestlers act
   more tentatively before going into the body of the match. In Mexican
   trios matches, the wrestlers often pair up: when A & B & C face D & E
   & F, we first see A & D trade a few moves, typically with one of them
   winning the battle for machismo that is lucha libre, then B & E take
   their turn, and then C & F take their turn, before we return to A & D.
   Only after those initial periods do we enter the body of the match. In
   the key Japanese groups, after a slow match body with some key spots,
   the match builds to a time interval in which hot moves are traded back
   and forth, with many near falls to build the excitement. All of these
   ideas have to do with pacing.

   Sensible moves. This is a function of booking these days. It doesn't
   particularly make sense for a wrestler to perform moves that affect
   lots of different parts of his opponent's body. From a story-telling
   standpoint, it makes sense to settle down to a single body part or
   tactic to build to a sensible finish. Some holds, like the facelock in
   All Japan are used as generic wear-down holds that the fans accept as
   fatiguing the recipient of the move; in this case, it doesn't much
   matter whether a match ends with a power bomb or a submission
   because both are believable. However, it's bad form to spend an entire
   match working over an opponent's leg before ending the match with a
   surprise armbar submission; this just doesn't happen in Japan. In
   North America, no effort is put towards this aspect of a wrestling
   match. While both the WWF and WCW have tried to establish various
   submission or finishing moves as devastating, with limited exception,
   they put very little effort into building to those moves. Diamond
   Dallas Page, Steve Austin, and Chris Jericho can hit their finishers
   from any position; the lure is when the finisher will come along not
   what needs to be done along the way to make sure it sticks. Is it any
   wonder that the typical crowd reaction for a match is a large pop at
   the start, mostly silence throughout, and then a pop for the finishing
   move? Or that bookers and wrestlers alike have increasingly little
   idea how to fill the match time between those two pops? All Japan
   pro-wrestling probably has consistently the best in-match psychology
   of any promotion in the world, thanks to the top four players in the
   group: Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Jun
   Akiyama. A typical marquee match in the group lasts 20+ minutes, often
   with every move from the get-go meaning something; in other words, the
   match builds logically to the "near fall" spots that pepper the last
   few (sometimes ten) minutes. For example, who can forget the famous
   backdrop driver finish of the 08/31/93 Kenta Kobashi vs. Steve
   Williams match. Kobashi's selling at the end of the match was a
   masterpiece (in general, the top four guys listed above have a knack
   for taking a series of hot moves and getting up just a notch or two
   more slowly each time). The psychology of the match was great. Taking
   a broader view, my favourite series of matches from a story-telling
   and match quality standpoint might well be the Naoki Sano vs. Jushin
   Liger series from 07/89 through to 01/90. A detailed rundown is on the
   web. The beauty of that series is how the psychology in each match was
   based on the previous bout. From the intensity of the wrestlers to the
   moves and reversals (and reversals of reversals), this series was a
   work of art the likes of which we'll never see in North American
   wrestling. Remember the finish to WrestleMania XIV's Steve Austin vs.
   Shawn Michaels main event? Superkick attempt, stunner attempt, etc.,
   with each guy trying to counter with his big move. This same subtle
   "learning of an opponent's moves" comes into All Japan pro-wrestling
   matches as well. Often, the counters are peppered throughout matches.
   This means that somebody watching tapes of matches from Japan better
   appreciates the matches once he's developed some understanding of the
   large assortment of moves that different wrestlers use.

   Consider the much-beloved "table spot," wherein a wrestler crashes
   through a table, be it in the ring or on the floor. The table spot
   where Bret Hart was sent crashing through a commentators table was
   fantastic. Compare it to a typical table spot: the table has to be set
   up, a wrestler has to be plopped onto the table, the wrestler doing
   the spot has to get into position or run off the ropes, somebody goes
   through a table. Throughout all of this, time stand stills. It's not
   unusual to see a minute or two pass wherein the victim of the table
   spot has to act comatose. Unless the person doing the spot misses,
   it's nonsense. And if he misses time and time again, it becomes
   nonsense for that reason. It's a great stunt, though.

   Transitions are the bridging maneuvers between spots. They are the
   staple of pro-wrestling, the essential elements holding the spots
   together to build a match. When somebody runs down a match, it often
   becomes a list like "clothesline, body slam, suplex, pin." That
   disjoint list of moves sounds more like a wrestling move exhibition
   than a wrestling match because the transitions are not
   listed...because they aren't important, right? I don't think so; I
   think it is very important to recognize the difference between a move
   exhibition and a match.

   I remember with amazement how Ric Flair or Ricky Steamboat could work
   off an armbar for ten minutes without a single "boring" chant. This
   was a time when the psychology of such action was clear to fans; don't
   get me wrong: I don't want to see that today and I don't think it
   would work today. The point was that they had dozens of ways to move
   out of an armbar into a spot of some sort and then return to the
   armbar. It's a tremendous skill that is lacking today in North
   America. That ability to float from spot to spot seamlessly is what
   makes the top four All Japan guys so great. It's what makes the past
   half-year of Jushin Liger & co. vs. Shinjiro Otani & co. in New Japan
   so great. It's what made the 1988-or-so to 1994-or-so All Japan
   Women's product so incredible. In this latter promotion, the rookie
   girls were only allowed to use a few elementary maneuvers (dropkicks,
   slams, clotheslines) in their matches while they learned about
   psychology and transitions; only later, did they add in the modern
   moves.

   Recall the Eliminators vs. Dudleys match from the ECW Barely Legal PPV
   on 04/13/97. I remember the raves that that match drew on the net.
   With a clear mind, watch the match and see how many times the
   wrestlers just stand there before moving into the next spot. It's like
   somebody took a tape of a match and cut out all of the transitions,
   replacing them with a shot of the wrestlers standing still. It's a
   highlight reel, not a match. The same is true of the other two matches
   mentioned at the start of this discussion.

   One of the worst spots that has surfaced in wrestling in recent times
   is the top rope leg drop across an opponent who conveniently sits on
   the second rope with legs out of the ring while leaning backwards into
   the ring and holding on to the top rope awaiting the move. This was
   the finishing spot in the La Parka vs. Psicosis match at Spring
   Stampede a few nights ago. The first few times I saw it (in ECW, by
   Sabu), the victim literally got into that position pretty much on his
   own, sometimes waiting forever for the bump. It's a horrible spot. La
   Parka tried to sell that he'd been crotched by the second rope and
   that he was losing his balance in the tangle, but it still came across
   weakly. I recall Billy Kidman being the recipient of this spot on a
   Nitro/Thunder show recently. In that instance, he was standing on the
   second rope, yelling at the crowd. He was dropkicked in the back,
   almost fell over the top rope, hung on, wobbled back towards the ring,
   lost his footing on the second rope, and held on to the top rope to
   avoid slipping all the way through. In the time it took for him to
   bounce around like that, his opponent (a Mexican wrestler) climbed to
   the top rope and hit him with the leg drop exactly as he was turning
   into the right position. That's the best transition into an this
   awkward spot that I've seen.

   Jump to Jushin Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani from 03/17/96; the match had
   phenomenal transitions, the pacing was excellent, the selling was
   top-notch. The match ended with Liger hitting a palm strike to Otani's
   chin, knocking him senseless for the pin. To New Japan fans, that
   finish instantly established the palm strike as a finishing blow. The
   Observer called this a must-see match that was very close to match of
   the year calibre. Since that time, Liger has used that blow as a
   finisher in many matches, wrapping psychology and transitions around
   it, to the point that it has become an integral part of Liger's
   offence. It allowed Liger's matches to tease an over finisher while
   the reducing the number of crazy spots that Liger has to do.

   Since the majority of the brawling matches we see (here or in Japan)
   are deficient when it comes to psychology (the pacing in Japan is
   better, but that's about it), we're left looking for transitions from
   one nonsensical spot with poor selling to the next one. It doesn't
   really happen in ECW all-out brawling matches. In matches that mix in
   some wrestling, like the famous triangle match on 02/05/94 in ECW or
   the Masato Tanaka vs. Wing Kanemura match on 08/01/96 in FMW, a  ****
   affair can result and receive level praise from some fans. Maybe those
   fans don't think that psychology and transitions are important, opting
   instead to judge matches like highlight reels or stunt man
   performances, but I find that too unfair an approach to the wrestlers
   that actually tell sensible stories with great matches. And that's why
   I comment about psychology and transitions when discussing wrestling.

0.1.19  What is a squash?

   A match, usually featuring a name star against a jobber, in which one
   person gets in 99% of the offense and is allowed to showcase his moves
   and/or get himself over with the crowd. Common in the 80s and almost
   nonexistant with the onset of the Monday Night Wars.

0.1.20  What does "stiff" mean?

   "Stiff" refers to three different things:

   The meaning within context of a match is to say that one or both
   wrestlers is connecting with their moves hard enough to either hurt
   the wrestler, or at least make it seem like it "really hurt" the other
   wrestler. Ken Shamrock worked extremely "stiff" during the initial
   period of his current WWF run, before he learned to pull his punches
   better.  Vader is also noted for "working stiff", although in his case
   he simply makes it appear that he's hitting very hard.

   The other common meaning is usually applied to bodybuilders who
   move to wrestling:  They are unable to move with much fluidity and
   grace, and are thus "stiff".  Doug Furnas is a perfect example of
   someone who started out "stiff" before his exhibition muscles became
   "real" muscles which allowed him more flexibility in the ring.

   The third, and most snide, meaning, is that which is applied to large,
   muscular wrestlers who are able to move quickly but choose not to as
   part of the characters, or who are generally considered untalented.
   Sid Vicious is the wrestler most commonly called a "big stiff".
   Current WWF wrestler Kurrgan would also fit this description.

0.1.21  What is a "Sabu match?"

   ECW wrestler Sabu, who made a large name for himself on the
   independant circuit, also single-handedly created a new match formula.
   This was not a good thing.

   If you'll recall the discussion on transitions and psychology from
   question 0.18, one of the points was that a match devoid of them will
   seem to be lacking something.  Sabu's heat came from his amazing
   spots, usually involving tables and chairs. However, because that's
   *all* the ECW crowds would pop for, he eventually stopped *anything*
   in between the eye-popping spots. He would simply rest or walk around
   aimlessly.  Hence, the "Sabu match", which is spot-rest-spot with
   nothing in between. Further, as the ECW wrestlers were signed by the
   WWF and WCW, other wrestlers began adopting this style, usually the
   younger luchadores who didn't know better.

   For the best example of a "Sabu match", watch the Saturn v. Kanyon
   match from WCW Great American Bash 98, or taken to the largest
   extreme, Mankind v. Undertaker from King of the Ring 98.

0.1.22  What is the "tag team formula?"

   Many people call certain tag team matches formulaic, but not many
   people have actually explained what that formula is.

   First, one team must be a well-defined face and the other a
   well-defined heel.  The two teams will be evenly matched to begin, or
   the faces will dominate. The heels never dominate the early portion of
   the match.  Many tags are generally made on both sides Eventually, at
   a point when it appears the faces will get a quick and decisive win,
   the heels will cheat and temporarily injure a member of the face team
   and gain the advantage. That wrestler is now known as the "Face in
   Peril" or, as I like to say, the one playing Ricky Morton.  This
   wrestler is almost always the more talented one. As an aside, the
   formula was perfected by the Midnight Express v. Rock N Roll Express
   feud, during which Ricky Morton was the Face in Peril 9 times out of
   10 and the one most often associated with the role. The Face in Peril
   will be beaten mercilessly by the heels, as they "cut the ring in
   half" by making sure he doesn't get anywhere near his corner.  At some
   point, he will escape their clutches and make the tag, but the referee
   will be distracted by the heel on the apron, allowing the heel in the
   ring to do further damage while the referee escorts the other face
   back out of the ring. Finally, the heels will make a critical tactical
   error, allowing the Face in Peril to gain just enough energy to
   somersault to his corner and make "the hot tag", namely the tag that
   brings in the fresh man. The energized wrestler will take on both
   heels, dominating them by himself. From here a chaotic brawl will
   ensue as all four wrestlers battle in the ring and the referee fights
   for control. The booking of the match dictates the finish. This
   formula is applicable to almost any tag team match in the WWF after
   1986 and any match in WCW after about 1993.  Some variations may
   occur, but the formula has worked for years and continues to do so
   unchanged.

0.1.23  What is a "blowoff match"?

   Quite simply, the big money match to settle a feud between two hated
   rivals.  It is called a blowoff because the tension builds until it
   needs to be blown off.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
0.2 Prelude 2 - A Beginner's Guide to Professional Wrestling

   [Note:  This section is for the true beginner to pro wrestling.  Be
   forewarned, some of this will sound stupid and obvious if you are more
   than a casual watcher.]

0.2.1. What is professional wrestling?

   Professional wrestling (also known as pro wrestling, "rasslin'", pro
   graps, and plain old wrestling) is a hybrid of sports and
   entertainment, wherein athletes give the illusion of competition while
   participating in soap operatic storylines.  The actual wrestling tends
   to incorporate a mixture of mat wrestling, brawling, martial arts,
   gymnastics and method acting.  Contrary to popular belief, the
   athletics involved are not "fake", even though the outcome is
   predetermined. Contact is made and injuries do happen, more often
   than most fans would like to see.

0.2.2. Why does anyone watch it?

   For the same reason people watch TV shows:  To be entertained. Some
   enjoy watching for the athleticism involved, some enjoy watching for
   the stories, some enjoy watching the wrestlers nearly kill each other
   in a particularly gruesome match.  We, as wrestling fans, are
   entertained by it and we therefore continue to watch. And yes, we know
   it's fake.  And no, we don't care. Most people realize that "ER" isn't
   really taking place in a hospital and George Clooney isn't really a
   pediatrician, but they watch and are entertained despite that.  It's
   called "suspension of disbelief" and it's the most basic concept of
   theater -- to ignore the fact that what you are watching is not "real"
   and simply be entertained.

0.2.3. What are the "rules"?

   Short answer:  Whatever fits the occasion. Long answer:  There's quite
   a lot of basics, actually. Keep in mind that wrestling is unique in
   that any one of these rules may be changed due to a pre-match
   stipulation, unexpected circumstances, the whim of the referee, or the
   promoter sitting at ringside screaming at the timekeeper.

   Ways to win...

   - Pinfall:  Hold your opponent's shoulders down to the mat for a count
   of three.  This can be augmented by holding onto any part of the
   opponent's body desired, except for the tights.  Most common method is
   to "tie up" the legs by hooking them.  Any part of the wrestler's body
   may be touching any section of the opponent's upper body and be
   counted as a pin. Thus, a foot on the chest is an acceptable pinning
   method (although not very effective) but sitting on their legs is not.
   If the opponent is able to lift one or both shoulders off the mat
   before three seconds has elapsed, the pin is broken.

   - Submission:  Make your opponent give up. This can be done in any
   number of ways, as long as no illegalities are involved. Illegalities
   are counted as choking, hitting below the belt, or use of a foreign
   object.  The opponent can submit in one of three ways: Saying "I quit"
   or some variation thereof, answering "Yes" when the referee asks if he
   wishes to give up, or deliberately tapping the mat with a free hand.
   It should be noted that the "tap-out" is NOT intuitive to wrestling
   and was only added due to the popularity of the mixed martial arts
   events of the late 90s.  It should be noted that submission is the
   least desirable result for the opponent, as it signifies weakness in
   the eyes of the audience.

   - Involuntary submission:  The referee has the authority to stop the
   match at any time that he feels one wrestling unable to continue. This
   may be from loss of blood, serious injury, or simply being rendered
   unconscious by a sleeper hold.  Unless the stoppage is due to a
   conscious attempt to end the match by the victor (ie, a sleeperhold)
   this method of victory is NOT regarded as decisive.

   - Disqualification:  One wrestler commits an illegal act and causes
   the referee to stop the match and it award it to his opponent. Common
   causes are use of a foreign object, outside interference, failure to
   break a hold upon reaching the ropes, failure to carry out other
   instructions from the referee, or physically striking the referee.

   - Countout:  One wrestler is out of the ring and cannot make it back
   in by the referee's count of 10 (or 20 in Japan).  The count is to be
   broken once the wrestler is fully inside the ring.

   - Draw:  Neither wrestler wins.  This occurs from the time limit
   running out, both wrestlers being disqualified, both wrestlers being
   counted out, both wrestlers simultaneously pinning each other, or a
   no-contest being declared (no decision rendered).

   Titles...

   Note:  Every one of these rules has been broken, quite glaringly, at
   some point, but unless otherwise stated they always apply.

   - A wrestler wins a title by defeating the current champion in a
   match.  The victory must either be by pinfall or submission (voluntary
   or otherwise).  Titles do not change hands on a countout or
   disqualification.

   - Once gained, a title must be defended every thirty days, except in
   special circumstances.

   - A wrestler may not hold two singles titles at the same time and will
   usually be forced to vacate the lesser one.  Precendent has shown that
   a singles and a tag team title being held simultaneously is
   acceptable.

   - A champion may give up his title any time he chooses, although he
   has no say in who it is awarded to next.  A title may not be given,
   sold, traded or lended to another wrestler without losing it to him in
   the ring.

   - Defense of the title should in theory be against the #1 contender to
   the title and no one else.

   Gimmick matches...

   - Tag team:  Two or more wrestlers are matched against a team of two
   or more other wrestlers. Conditions for victory are the same as a
   singles match unless otherwise stated.  In order to switch off to
   another member of the team, a "tag" must be made: Specifically,
   contact from hand to hand, with the wrestler on the outside making
   contact with a piece of rope tied to the ringpost. The rope is
   optional, but the wrestler on the outside must still be no more than a
   foot or so away from the corner of the ring for the tag to be legal.
   Variations include handicap (one team bigger than the other),
   elimination (match ends when all members of a team have been
   pinned/submitted/disqualified), Texas Tornado (all wrestlers are in
   the ring at once), and combinations of the above and other gimmick
   matches.

   - Battle royale:  A number of wrestlers (usually 10 or more) are in
   the ring simultaneously, and elimination occurs by being thrown over
   the top rope and landing on the floor with both feet.  Last man
   standing wins. Variations include The Royal Rumble (30 men total with
   2 men starting and a new wrestler entering every 2 minutes), World War
   III (3 rings connected and 60 men total) and King of the Hill (2 rings
   connected, everyone starts in one ring, moves to the other ring as
   eliminated, winner of first ring faces the winner of the second ring
   to determine overall winner).

   - Cage match:  A large fence or cage is placed around the ring to
   prevent outside interference or escape by the wrestlers.  The cage is
   legal for use as a weapon. There are two major variations: Old-style
   (Winner is determined as in a normal match, except there are no
   disqualifications), or WWF-style (Winner is the first to climb over
   the cage and touch the floor, or exit via the door). There are any
   number of variations in the material of the cage, ranging from regular
   fencing to thick steel bars to barbed wire.  The cage itself may be
   connected to the ring apron or touching the floor, it may or may not
   have a roof, and in some cases it is electrified.

   - Death match:  The match continues until one man is physically unable
   to continue.  This is generally determined by ability to make it to
   his feet before the referee counts to 10.  Pinfalls count but are only
   used to determine the point at which the referee begins counting. The
   name may be modified as "Texas Death" or "Alaskan Death" or any number
   of locations, but the rules generally remain the same.

   - Strap match:  Winner is the first wrestler to physically drag his
   opponent to all four corners, consecutively, and touch the
   turnbuckles.  If the wrestler making the challenge is Russian, a chain
   will generally be used.  If the wrestler making the challenge is
   canine-related, a chain connected to a dog collar on either end is
   generally used.

   - "First person to..." match:  Winner is the first wrestler to fulfill
   the objective of the match.  Common variations:   First blood (winner
   must make his opponent bleed), I Quit (winner must make his opponent
   say "I Quit"), Tuxedo (winner must strip his opponent of his
   clothing), Casket (winner must place his opponent in a coffin and
   close the lid) and Ladder (winner must climb a ladder and retrieve
   something of value).  Many, many, others exist, too numerous to
   mention here.

0.2.4. Are they *really* hitting each other?

   Generally speaking, yes. Most punches connect, although they are
   pulled.  The perception of the wrestler swinging at air while stomping
   the mat for effect came about due to the efforts of lazy wrestlers
   like Hulk Hogan, who happened to be the most media-exposed wrestler
   ever. That method is used by those who don't trust their opponent to
   cooperate properly, or if the opponent is unable to take an actual
   punch to the head. Most of the time, if executed properly, a wrestler
   will react to a blow from his opponent at the exact moment of impact,
   making it appear "real". When the opponent reacts too soon, thus
   moving out of the way before the move hits, then the "fake" perception
   comes about. Many wrestlers have the reddened chests and bloody
   noses to prove the reality of the shots delivered at times.

0.2.5. What does "The Big Two" refer to?

   There are two major organizations competing for the dollars of
   wrestling fans:  The privately owned World Wrestling Federation and
   the Time-Warner owned World Championship Wrestling.  They are
   virtually tied for revenue, ratings, merchandise sales and attendance.
   Neither is "better" than the other -- they are merely very different
   with two very different groups of fans at this point. Both are
   catering to a more adult audience at this point:   The WWF caters to
   the "hardcore" audience with a blend of violence, harsh language,
   sexual overtones and melodramatic storylines. WCW caters to the fans
   who grew up watching the WWF in the 80s by recycling the stars of that
   era, in addition to many new young stars wrestling an entirely
   different style. WCW's roster of wrestlers is roughly 3 or 4 times the
   size of the WWF's. WCW is generally regarded as a good way to get
   introduced to many kinds of wrestling at once, while the WWF has a
   specific audience which likes specific things.

0.2.6. Who are the major players in wrestling?

   If you listen to conversations from casual and long-time wrestling
   fans alike, the following names will inevitably come up...

   - Goldberg.  The former WCW World champion, a one-man wrecking
   crew who only started 10 months ago and has destroyed 112+ opponents
   on the way to the World title.  He generally wins in under five
   minutes and is worshipped by a large chunk of fans for his total
   dominance and business-like manner, despite an admitted lack of
   technical skill. Trademark move: The spear (a running tackle),
   followed by The Jackhammer (a delayed suplex into a powerslam).

   - "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.  The former WWF World champion, a
   foul-mouthed, beer-swilling rebel who is currently embroiled in a
   bitter feud with the owner of the WWF and may be the victim of a
   conspiracy against him.   His t-shirts sell at the rate of 1 every 40
   seconds and he is arguably the most popular wrestler in history.
   Trademark move:  The Stone Cold Stunner (a three-quarter facelock into
   a jawbreaker).

   - "Hollywood" Hogan.  Formerly known as Hulk Hogan, he is an instantly
   recognizable celebrity worldwide thanks to his years with the WWF.  He
   turned evil in 1996, forming the New World Order in WCW and is
   currently the most hated man in wrestling, for many reasons having to
   do with both his in-ring character and his personality in real life.
   Trademark move:  None since 1996, although he used the legdrop
   extensively prior to forming the nWo.

   - DeGeneration X.  In the mold of Steve Austin, they are a group of
   foul-mouthed rebels who just don't care about anything and are beloved
   by WWF fans.  Led by Hunter Hearst Helmsley. Trademark move:
   Crossing their arms over their crotch in the shape of an X and yelling
   "Suck it!"

   - Shawn Michaels.  Inspiring a truly love-hate relationship with the
   fans, he is undeniably the most gifted wrestler in recent history, but
   is also the biggest jerk.  Known for taking insane falls and being
   able to make *any* opponent look good.  Received mainstream attention
   by losing the WWF World title to Steve Austin, with involvement from
   Mike Tyson. Trademark move: Sweet Chin Music, a standing sidekick to
   the opponent's head.

   - Eric Bischoff.  President of WCW and the man who steers the rudder
   of that ship, he was hired by the near-bankrupt company in 1993 and
   turned it into a profit-making machine by 1996 with the introduction
   of a rival Monday night show and signing of all the wrestlers money
   could buy.  He will generally take credit for everything done by WCW
   if given a chance. In character, he is the mouthpiece for the nWo.
   Trademark move:  Firing people by Fed-Ex.

   - Vince McMahon.  Owner of the World Wrestling Federation, he has
   final say over all stories and matches and is the creative force
   behind it.  He inherited the company from his father in 1983 and took
   control of the wrestling world by making Hulk Hogan his top star. He
   usually prefers to give credit to his wrestlers...as long as they're
   working for him.  In character, he is the evil promoter Mr. McMahon,
   the thorn in the side of Steve Austin who will do anything humanly
   possible to get the WWF title off him. Trademark move:  Sitting at
   ringside yelling at the timekeeper.

   - Other major names you've probably heard of before: Randy
   "Macho Man" Savage, The Undertaker, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper,
   Bret "Hitman" Hart, Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Vader.

   - Names you probably haven't heard of, but you will:  "The Rock"
   Rocky Maivia, Sting, "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash, The Wolfpac, The New Age
   Outlaws, Kane, Mankind, Chris Jericho, Ken Shamrock.

0.2.7. Which shows should I watch?

   In terms of current wrestling shows on pay-per-view, both
   organizations hold one per month. The WWF has five annual shows and
   seven specialty shows, called "In Your House" and with unique
   subtitles. The five annual shows are Royal Rumble, Wrestlemania, King
   of the Ring, Summerslam and Survivor Series.  Most of the major
   happenings are at these five shows, with the "In Your House" shows
   setting up the major shows. Wrestlemania is the focal point of the
   schedule, with the winner of the Royal Rumble receiving a shot at the
   WWF title at Wrestlemania. The Survivor Series usually consists of a
   series of 8-man elimination tag team matches, plus a defense of the
   World title. WCW has twelve shows of about equal value.  As of last
   year, they were Souled Out, Superbrawl, Uncensored, Spring Stampede,
   Slamboree, Great American Bash, Bash at the Beach, Road Wild, Fall
   Brawl, Halloween Havoc, World War III and Starrcade. Starrcade is the
   focal point of the schedule, held annually in December.   The winner
   of the World War III battle royale traditionally receives a shot at
   the WCW World title at some point.

   Historically, most of the major happenings in the WWF have happened at
   Wrestlemania.  The "best" of the bunch are considered to be III, VI,
   VIII, X and XIV.  A very good history of the WWF can be obtained only
   by watching Wrestlemania and Summerslam shows through the years, as
   they are the two major focal points for storylines and matches.

   The major history of WCW is less easy to follow, because different
   ownership and leadership have led to different shows being the focal
   point. Starrcade was the major show to see from 1983 until 1989, at
   which point different formats for the show were experimented with.
   Since the "Hulk Hogan era" began in 1994, the quality of that
   particular annual show has declined greatly. Most of the "real action"
   has been occuring at the June/July combo of Great American Bash and
   Bash at the Beach in recent years.  Almost everything else has been of
   neglible value, historically speaking.

0.2.8. What is the UFC and why do pro wrestling fans care?

   The Ulimate Fighting Championship has influenced pro wrestling to a
   huge degree and vice-versa, as wrestling began to incorporate the
   martial arts and ground fighting submissions of the UFC, while the UFC
   began to be dominated by wrestlers.

   The topic of the UFC is best saved for another document, but it is
   basically a "no holds barred" tournament of fighting, pitting many
   different fighting styles against each other.  Current WWF wrestlers
   Ken Shamrock and Dan Severn made a name for themselves in the UFC.
   The tap-out method of submission was taken from the UFC, due to the
   mainstream popularity of them.

   Many wrestling fans also follow the UFC, searching for a "real"
   alternative to wrestling that still incorporates the basics of
   wrestling.

0.2.9. What does "RSPW" mean?

   Rec.sport.pro-wrestling, or RSPW for short, is an internet newsgroup,
   a sort of public board where wrestling fans with access can spout off
   about whatever they want.  In 1993, the group had so much influence
   that WCW used to change storylines on the fly to keep readers from
   guessing on the newsgroup. The quality and influence of the group has
   decreased exponentially since then, but it remains one of the largest
   newsgroups in all of Usenet and a good place to find others to discuss
   wrestling with.  The primary objective of this entire document is to
   answer all the re-occuring questions that pop up on that group before
   they can be asked.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Part One - Individual Wrestlers and Personalities

1.1 Shawn Michaels

1.1.1. What is Shawn's real name?

   Shawn's real name is Michael Hickenbottom, not
   Shawn Hickenbottom.

   The confusion comes about like this:  Shawn's full
   name is Michael Shawn Hickenbottom.  In the part of
   Texas where he comes from, people are generally
   called by their middle names for whatever reason. So
   most people, including friends and family, are apt to
   call him Shawn and not Michael.  However, his legal
   name IS Michael Hickenbottom, even if no one calls
   him that.

1.1.2. Is Shawn gay?

   To the best of anyone's knowledge, Shawn Michaels is
   not a homosexual.  Shawn was married last month,
   which should hopefully end the rumors once and for all.

1.1.3. Why did he forfeit all those belts?

   Shawn has not only set a record for winning titles in
   the WWF, he has also set a record for losing them by
   means other than actually being pinned in the ring.

   He has won the Intercontinental title three times.
   The first one was won from Davey Boy Smith on
   10/27/1992 and lost to Marty Jannetty on an episode
   of Monday Night RAW, 05/17/1993. The second was
   regained from Jannetty on 06/06/1993, and he was
   eventually stripped of it due to not defending within
   the 30-day period, which was in turn due to Michaels
   "sitting out" during a contract dispute.  The third title
   was won from Jeff Jarrett at In Your House II
   (07/23/1995) and forfeited to "Dean" Douglas at In
   Your House IV (10/22/1995), due to injuries sustained
   from the so-called Syracuse incident.

   NOTE: A popular misconception has Shawn losing one
   of his I-C titles to Razor Ramon at Wrestlemania X's
   famous ladder match and regaining it at Summerslam
   95's ladder rematch. This is patently WRONG. Shawn
   was not champion going into the first ladder match,
   Razor was. Shawn was only carrying around a belt.
   Conversely, Razor was not champion going into
   Summerslam, Shawn was. Razor won *his* fourth title
   shortly after this match, which may be where the
   misconception comes in.

   Shawn has won the WWF tag team titles two times
   officially, and twice under very suspicious
   circumstances.  He has never lost a WWF tag team
   title in the ring.  The first disputed title reign was the
   infamous "phantom" title reign of the Rockers in 1990,
   which will be covered later.   His first officially
   recognized tag title in the WWF was his reign with
   Diesel in 1994, which lasted from 08/28/1994 until
   shortly after Survivor Series of that year. He vacated
   the tag titles when the team split up, rather than
   losing them in the ring.   The team of Michaels and
   Diesel re-teamed at In Your House III (09/24/1995) to
   win the tag titles from Owen Hart and Yokozuna while
   both Shawn and Diesel held the I-C and World titles
   respectively. However, a technicality as to the legal
   man pinned gave the belts back to Owen and Yoko the
   next night on RAW. Whether or not a one-day title
   reign for Shawn and Diesel actually existed is a matter
   of much conjecture, although it should be pointed out
   that Pro Wrestling Illustrated recognizes a title reign,
   and they are generally considered to be the authority
   on these matters.  His final reign came with partner
   Steve Austin, as they teamed up to defeat the team
   of Owen Hart and the British Bulldog on 05/25/1997,
   then were stripped of the titles after Shawn "injured"
   himself in a legitimate fight with Bret Hart a few weeks
   following.

   Shawn is a three-time World champion.  His first reign
   began at Wrestlemania XII, 03/31/1996 as he defeated
   Bret Hart, and ended cleanly at the hands of "Sycho"
   Sid (11/17/1996) at the Survivor Series. Shawn
   regained the title at Royal Rumble 1997 (1/19/1997),
   only to forfeit it on live TV in February, due to "losing
   his smile." In reality, this was a combination of injuries,
   painkiller addiction, and unwillingness to job to Bret
   Hart at Wrestlemania 13, which was the plan at the
   time. Ironically, Shawn regained the title on 9/11/1997
   from Bret Hart in the most controversial match in
   modern history, and lost it to Steve Austin at
   Wrestlemania XIV, 03/29/1998.

   Shawn also held the European title from 09/20/1997
   until December of 1997, when it was dropped by him in
   a "fixed" match against partner Hunter Hearst
   Helmsley, which is as good as a forfeiture by my
   books.

1.1.4. What happened in Syracuse?

   The details will never be fully known, but what is
   generally known and/or accepted as truth is this:

   Shawn Michaels, Davey Boy Smith, and Sean "1-2-3
   Kid/Syxx" Waltman were in a bar in Syracuse.  An
   altercation occurred with other patrons of the bar,
   which led to a heated argument.  What it was about
   will likely never be known.  The three wrestlers
   retreated to their car, only to be followed by
   anywhere from 3 - 14 men, depending on who you
   believe.  One side continued provoking the other,
   before Shawn himself got into a physical confrontation
   with the men. Some of the men kept Smith and
   Waltman at bay and delivered a beating to Michaels,
   which left him in a Syracuse hospital with head injuries
   and assorted bleeding.

   There were two indirect results of this attack:

   1)  Shawn was (supposedly) left too injured to defend
   his Intercontinental title and had to forfeit to "Dean"
   Douglas.
   2)  Shawn was left with residual head injury and was
   further "injured" by an enziguri delivered by Owen Hart
   shortly after Survivor Series 1995.

   The first result is debatable at best, but Shawn was
   likely injured, and in all fairness looked in very poor
   health the night of the show.   The second result was
   100% work by the WWF, used to promote ratings and
   build Shawn as a babyface.  He was fully recovered by
   the time of the angle, and was never in danger.

1.1.5. What happened, with respect to Shawn, in Montreal?

   Shawn's part in the Montreal fiasco may never be fully
   known, but several things *are* known:

   1) A meeting with several high ranking officials in the
   WWF was called the night before Survivor Series.
   Shawn was there, Bret Hart was not.

   2) Shawn was fully aware of Bret's aversion to
   dropping the title to him.

   3) According to Bret Hart, Shawn promised not to
   degrade Bret Hart or formally accept the World title
   shortly after the match ended. Shawn proceeded to
   degrade Bret Hart while formally accepting the World
   title on RAW the next night in Ottawa.

   4) Shawn himself acted surprised at the shocking
   decision when he was declared the new World
   champion out of nowhere.  He also played along with
   the storyline of the match, even after the bell rang.

   The author leaves it to you, the reader, to decide for
   yourself whether Shawn was "in on the fix" in this
   case, since the only one who really knows for sure is
   Shawn himself.

   For more on the Bret Hart situation, please see Appendix D.

1.1.6. Does he really hate Bret Hart?

   Yes.  Not only does Shawn Michaels the character
   hate Bret Hart the character, but Mike Hickenbottom
   the person has been feuding off and on with Bret Hart
   the person since 1992.  The exact circumstances of
   the feud's beginning are unknown, but it is generally
   accepted that the breaking point for their relationship
   was Wrestlemania XII and the buildup to it.  Bret did
   not want to job the World title to Shawn, and Vince
   wanted Shawn as the #1 man for the company.  The
   feud lay dormat for months after Bret "retired" in 1996,
   and kicked into full gear in 1997 as Bret and Shawn
   engaged in an impromptu lockerroom brawl in June of
   1997. Bret has publicly stated his dislike for Shawn in
   interviews, as has Shawn. Shawn has also been
   notable in public attempts to sabotage Bret's personal
   and professional life, as with the "Sunny days"
   comment (see related question). In short, they hate
   each other's guts and both may very likely be much
   happier apart from each other as they now are.

1.1.7. Are the Rockers former WWF tag team champions?

   Yes and no.  Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty won
   the WWF tag team title from Bret Hart and Jim
   Neidhart in October of 1990 at a taping for Saturday
   Night's Main Event.  Neidhart had been fired and was
   filling contractual obligations, which including jobbing
   the tag titles to another team.  In what should have
   been a minor point, the top rope broke at one point
   during the match. The Rockers defended the titles for
   a week after that, but then Neidhart was re-hired by
   the WWF, and Vince McMahon decided that the title
   change never actually happened, in one of the goofier
   decisions of the 90s, and one of many to affect the
   careers of Shawn and Bret.  As an explanation, a story
   was sent to Pro Wrestling Illustrated about the rope
   break causing an "unfair working environment" for both
   teams, and hence the title reign was annulled. This
   was simply to cover up for the fact that they reported
   the title change as fact a week prior and needed a
   reason to no longer report it as such.  The title
   change was edited out of the Main Event broadcast,
   and that was that.

   Almost.

   Since this is professional wrestling, and things like this
   never go away quietly, in 1995 the phantom title reign
   was resurrected out of nowhere as WWF announcers
   began hailing the Rockers as former tag team
   champions in a bizarre turnabout, since the title reign
   had only been an urban myth of sorts that very few
   had even heard about. No footage was ever shown
   and the details were never discussed in detail, but as
   of this writing, the WWF recognizes the phantom title
   reign as an offical reign, although it should be noted
   that no one else does. Feel free to make your own
   judgment on the matter.  Everyone else does.

   The Rockers are, of course, two-time former AWA
   World tag team champions, although the prestige of
   those belts was (and still is) minimal compared to
   WCW and the WWF's versions.

1.1.8. Who is Charles Austin?

   In December 1990, Austin and The Genius (Lanny
   Poffo) jobbed for The Rockers (Jannetty & Michaels) at
   a WWF television taping at the Sun Dome in Tampa FL.
   Before the finish, Jannetty executed the Rocker
   Dropper on Austin. Instead of taking the planned
   face-first bump, Austin attempted a forward roll and
   wound up landing on his head, breaking his neck. The
   match then finished when Jannetty rolled a limp Austin
   over and Michaels came off the top rope with a splash
   for the pin. At the time of the accident, doctors
   feared that Austin would be a tetriplegic (paralyzed
   from the neck down) for life. By mid 1994 Austin had
   regained some feeling in his arms and legs and can get
   around with crutches. Austin sued the WWF, Jannetty,
   and Michaels for US$3.8 million. Michaels was
   dismissed from the suit by a judge. In April 29, 1994,
   after a two-week trial and deliberation, a Hillsborough
   County FL jury awarded Austin US$26.7 million. The
   jury determined that Titan Sports was 90% responsible
   (US$23.5 million), that Jannetty was 5% responsible
   (US$1.3 million), and that Austin was 5% responsible.

1.1.9. Was Shawn ever in any adult movies?

   No.  The person you're thinking of is Sean Michaels, a
   relatively famous porno actor and a completely
   different person. To the best of anyone's knowledge,
   Shawn Michaels has not done any work in the adult
   film industry.  The confusion arises because many
   magazines used to spell Shawn as "Sean" during his
   time with the Rockers.

   Shawn did, however, pose wearing only the WWF
   championship in an issue of Playgirl in 1996.

1.1.10. What was the "Sunny days" comment?

   Tammy "Sunny" Sytch has commented on a few
   occasions that she would have liked to manage Bret
   Hart.  This was somehow construed by Bret's wife as
   meaning that Bret and Tammy were somehow
   romantically linked.  This of course caused much
   tension in the Hart household, which went away with
   time.

   Until Shawn Michaels, in his eternal quest to annoy
   Bret Hart, made an off-hand comment in an interview
   about Bret's "Sunny days," which then re-fueled the
   Hart family tension and became yet another reason for
   the two to hate each other.

1.1.11.  What does "HBK" stand for?

   Newer fans might not be aware that Shawn's nickname
   before the "show-stoper, scene-stealer..." spiel was
   the Heartbreak Kid, which he started abbreviating as
   "HBK" and never uses anymore except for calling
   himself "HBK."

1.1.12.  Where is he now?  Is he coming back?

   Shawn was severely injured going into Wrestlemania
   XIV against Steve Austin, and has been recuperating
   at home ever since.  He is not expected to return until
   1999, if even then.

   More recently, Shawn actually announced his
   "retirement", although most feel that if Shawn can
   work, he will.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.2 Hulk Hogan

1.2.1.  How many World titles has he held?

   Ten.  He held the WWF World title five times from
   1984 until 1991, and held the WCW World title five
   times from 1994 until 1999.  For a more detailed listing,
   please consult the title histories section of this
   document.

   The IWGP title may also be counted, although for the
   sake of simplicity only North American titles are
   generally recognized in this document.

1.2.2. How did he get a black eye in 1993?

   The official word from the WWF was that he was
   injured in a parasailing accident, which was a very
   blatant allusion to Brutus Beefcake's accident.   The
   explanation given on TV was that he was beaten up
   by Ted Dibiase's thugs.   In reality, he got into a minor
   scuffle with Randy Savage over Elizabeth's sleeping
   arrangements while she was presumably away with
   Hogan. Savage later apologized, although the question
   of Hulk and Liz' relationship still remains a question to
   this day. Savage and Hogan remain friends today.

1.2.3. Why did he leave the WWF in 1993?

   Money and booking power.  Vince McMahon felt his
   time in the WWF was almost done, and wanted to
   make Bret Hart the #1 man in the company, with the
   result being lower pay for Hogan and less say in his
   angles.  Hogan instead decided to temporarily leave for
   Hollywood and make movies, and eventually signed
   with WCW in 1994.

1.2.4. What is his theme music?

   "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" by Jimi Hendrix, off the
   "Electric Ladyland" CD.

1.2.5. Why did he turn heel in 1996?

   When WCW hired him in 1994, they were hoping for a
   mega-babyface to bolster the ratings and attendance
   for WCW.  Unfortunately, Hogan's ego and booking
   control resulted in excessively cartoonish angles that
   turned off the fanbase and further resulted in fans
   actually *booing* the super-heroic Hulk Hogan by
   1995. Drastic measures were needed, in this case a
   heel turn. When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash entered
   WCW in 1996 (see "the nWo") they promised a "third
   man" to aid in their "takeover" of WCW. This third man
   was supposed to be the incoming Bret Hart, but this
   was foiled by Hart's dedication to the WWF. So on the
   night of the event, it was decided to turn Hogan heel
   and introduce him as the traitor, since the logic was
   that if they don't like him as a face, it couldn't hurt to
   turn him heel.

1.2.6. Who owns the rights to "Hulkamania", "Hulk Hogan" and
   "Hulkster"?

   Marvel Comics. Marvel came out with their Incredible
   Hulk comic book character long before Vince McMahon
   dreamed up Hulk Hogan. When the Hulk Hogan
   character was created, McMahon gave Hogan the title
   "The Incredible Hulk Hogan". Marvel objected to the
   use of their intellectual property. Specifically, Marvel
   objected to the use of all words derived from their
   "Incredible Hulk" comic book character. So, Titan
   Sports and Marvel Comics worked out a deal: Titan
   recognized Marvel as the owner of the Hulk-derived
   words and Marvel gave Titan an exclusive license to
   merchandise the Hulk-derived words. When Hogan
   joined WCW in 1994, WCW obtained a license to
   produce Hulk Hogan merchandise. Presumably the
   details were similar to the license the WWF had.

   As an addendum, Hogan attempted to have his
   wrestling name permanently changed to "Hollywood"
   Hogan to circumvent the deal, but that does not
   appear to be working as well as he would like.

1.2.7. Is he related to Horace Boulder?

   Yes.  Horace (Boulder) Bollea is Hogan's nephew.   He
   competed in the WWF briefly as a masked jobber
   named The Predator, and has to date done nothing of
   note in the wrestling business.  He is the only known
   relative of Hogan's to be actively wrestling. Horace
   recently joined the "nWo C-Team".

1.2.8. Voodoo Chili?

   Okay, there's a running joke on RSPW about Hogan
   and "Voodoo Chili", and here's why:  Hogan uses
   "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)" from the "Electric
   Ladyland" album as his entrance music.  On the same
   album, there's another song called "Voodoo Chile".
   "Voodoo Chile" is an 18-minute long jam session that
   stuck on the album for god-knows-what reason, and is
   much different than "Voodoo Child (Slight Return)"
   which closes the album. Mike Tenay, being a boring
   fuddy-duddy, has likely never listened to Hendrix in his
   life, and thus confused the songs on an episode of
   Thunder, and even worse, pronounced it "Voodoo
   Chili", creating one of the greatest running jokes in the
   history of our sport.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.3 Vince McMahon

1.3.1. Does he really own the WWF?

   Yes and no.  He retains all the booking power, monetary power,
   figurehead power and general pull associated with being chairman of
   the board of WWF Entertainment, Inc., but as of this writing it is his
   wife, Linda, who is the official owner of the World Wrestling
   Federation.

1.3.2. Did Vince McMahon get indicted?

   Yes. On Friday, November 19, 1993, the Brooklyn, NY office of the U.S.
   Department of Justice handed down an indictment against Vince McMahon
   and Titan Sports Inc. The indictment contained charges of conspiracy,
   possession (of steroids) and possession with intent to distribute. No
   wrestlers were indicted. On July 22, 1994, after deliberating for 16
   hours, the jury found McMahon and Titan Sports not guilty of the
   charges.

1.3.3. Did he really get into a fight with Bret Hart?

   Yes.  Following the World title match at Survivor Series 1997, Bret
   Hart went back to the dressing room to find Vince McMahon waiting.
   According to Bret, he warned Vince not to be there when he was done
   showering.  When Bret returned, Vince was still there and Bret punched
   him in the face, knocking Vince off his feet and breaking Bret's hand
   in the process.  The two were either then broken up (Vince's story) or
   Vince was dragged away by his son Shane (Bret's story). Either way, it
   really happened.

1.3.4. Wait a minute...WWF Entertainment? What happened to Titan Sports?

   In 1999, Vince McMahon issued an Initial Public Offering (IPO) for the
   WWF, putting it on the open market for the first time in the company's
   history. As a side-effect, the company was officially renamed from
   what Vince felt was the outdated "Titan Sports" to "WWF Entertainment"
   to better reflect the new "Attitude" of the WWF. The basic structure
   of the company remains essentially the same, with the possible
   exception of a promotion for Shane and Stephanie to higher positions
   in the company than they officially held before the transition.

1.3.5. Is Vince a billionaire, then?

   Depending on the level the stock is at, yes and no. Above
   approximately 19 points, yes. Below that, maybe, depending on his
   other assets (his house, his own stocks, etc). Most estimates put the
   deciding point at about 15 points.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.4 The Clique

1.4.1. Who are in the "clique?"

   The so-called "clique" consisted (and may still consist) of Mike
   "Shawn Michaels" Hickenbottom, Kevin "Diesel" Nash, Scott "Razor
   Ramon" Hall, Sean "1-2-3 Kid" Waltman and Paul "HHH" Levesque (Hunter
   Hearst Helmsley).   The five men are best friends in real life. During
   the time when all five were in the WWF simultaneously, they held
   almost all the booking power and would only sell moves for and put
   each other over. All five reportedly hate being called the "clique."
   The hand sign currently used by the nWo was originated by them.
   Davey Boy Smith was never a member of the group, despite rumors that
   circulated at the time. Undertaker was never a member of the group,
   despite rumors that circulated at the time.  Louie Spicoli was never a
   member of the group, regardless of his friendships with Waltman and
   Scott Hall.  The closest things to "new recruits" to the clique are
   the New Age Outlaws, since Billy Gunn is a good friend of Shawn
   Michaels and Jesse Jammes is a good friend of Sean Waltman.

   The name "clique" was coined by sheet writer Wade Keller.

   The "clique" is not to be confused with The Kliq, which was babyface
   Shawn's collective name for his fanbase from 1995-97, so named as an
   inside joke to those who knew about the supposed existance of the
   "clique".

1.4.2. Why did Hall, Nash and Waltman leave the WWF in 1996?

   Drugs, money and injuries, in that order.

   Scott Hall failed two drug tests in early 1996 and it was made known
   that his services would no longer be required by Titan if he couldn't
   clean up his act.  Hall was offered a larger and easier deal by WCW,
   and he left after jobbing to Vader on PPV. He has since re-entered
   drug rehab on two occasions and is widely thought to be intentionally
   attempting to get fired so he can rejoin the WWF.

   Kevin Nash was simply offered more money by WCW, and accepted. He left
   on amicable terms with the WWF, and may still be in contact with the
   WWF from time to time.

   Sean Waltman suffered a series of concussions and/or neck injuries
   from 1995 until 1996, and by April the health risk was no longer worth
   the money being paid (and the complaints about not being with Hall and
   Nash in WCW).  He was released from a valid contract later that year
   and showed up as the sixth member of the nWo, dubbed Syxx, late in
   1996.  Ironically, he was recently released by WCW for exactly the
   same reason he was originally released by the WWF.  Even more
   ironically, the WWF then proceeded to re-sign him, dub him X-Pac, and
   give him an even bigger push than before.

1.4.3. Are they still friends?

   Yes and no.  Hall & Nash recently split up but their friendship is
   well known, and Shawn was spotted wearing an "Outsiders" t-shirt on at
   least one occasion last year. Whether this indicates ANYTHING is
   debatable at best.  As always, feel free to make your own judgments on
   the subject, since reports vary wildly as to their contact with each
   other since the move to WCW. And please keep in mind all comments on
   TV are usually there to throw off people like us. ;) Recent reports
   have the Outsiders lobbying to get Shawn Michaels into WCW.

1.4.4. What was the "MSG Incident?"

   As a way to solidify the urban myth of the "clique," Shawn, Diesel,
   Razor and Hunter engaged in a "group hug" in the center of the ring in
   Madison Square Garden after the final match between Diesel and Shawn
   Michaels.  This is widely regarded as an inexusably egotistical
   breaking of kayfabe on everyone's part.  Shawn could not be punished
   for the incident due to his status as WWF champion, but Hunter was
   "de-pushed" and reduced to the rank of JTTS for the remainder of the
   year as punishment.

   In late 1997, as part of the "DeGeneration X" angle, Shawn and Hunter
   showed a video of the incident on live TV.  The angle was that Shawn
   was trying to get fired so he could join the nWo in WCW, but in
   reality it was all a part of the storyline.

1.4.5. Who are/were "DeGeneration X?"

   As of this writing, DeGeneration X consists of Hunter Hearst Helmsley,
   Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac.

   The group was founded by Shawn Michaels, who was "fired" from the
   group by HHH on the 03/30/98 version of RAW.

   Rick Rude was a member at one point, but left for WCW late in 1997.

   Mike Tyson joined prior to Wrestlemania XIV, but it was merely a ruse
   on his part.

   Chyna served as bodyguard since it's inception until recently, when
   she joined Vince McMahon's Corporation, then split off on her own
   entirely as a singles wrestler.

   The New Age Outaws (Road Dog & Bad Ass Billy Gunn) joined after
   Wrestlemania XIV to reform the group, and Gunn left recently to persue
   a singles career, then rejoined when it failed miserably.

   The group split up for most of 1999, before reforming in late 1999
   under the leadership of HHH once again, this time as despised heels.
   However, the New Age Outlaws have been notable for remaining babyfaces
   in their matches, so how long the heel status of the group in general
   will last is anyone's guess.

   The basic idea of the angle introducing the group was that DX is the
   remains of the real life "clique" acting like degenerates and trying
   to get fired so they can join the nWo in Atlanta, although the letters
   "nWo" are never mentioned on TV.

   It should be noted that "writer" Phil Mushnick coined the term
   Degeneration X in reference to wrestling's fanbase, although I'm not
   sure why.

1.4.6. What is the "clique sign"/"nWo sign"?

   The hand signal used by the clique and adapted by the nWo is done as
   follows:

   Bring together your thumb and middle finger (like making the "okay"
   gesture, except with the middle finger).  Bring your ring finger to
   touch them, and extend your pinky and index finger straight in the
   air.

   It is also known as the "devil sign" or the "headbanger sign"
   (although it should be noted that the clique sign is actually a
   variation of these, with the middle fingers extended instead of flat
   against the palm.)

1.4.7. Where did Scott Hall go in 1998?

   Rehab.  Hall is, as indicated above, a known drug user, and his recent
   unhappiness with the situation in WCW seems to have caused a
   resurgence in that habit.  The same situation occurred in the WWF in
   1996, and Vince McMahon's solution was to simply fire Hall and let him
   go to WCW.  Eric Bischoff's solution was to give Hall the time off to
   go into drug rehab, which appeared to have little or no bearing on
   Hall's actual activities during the lay-off, which included various
   bar-hopping, griping, and (on one notable occasion) trying to crash an
   ECW show.    WCW has since turned it into an angle to deflect heat
   from the situation, but Hall's very real self-destruction is scaring
   many people in the business as we speak.

1.4.8. Are HHH and Chyna really engaged?

   There are conflicting reports on it, with some saying that they are to
   be married in November.  HHH and Chyna themselves deny the rumors
   (while in character) but they travel together exclusively and are
   constantly seen together.  That, and Chyna's recent trend towards a
   distinctly feminine look, would seem to indicate that they pair are
   romantically linked at the least.

   Of course, it's not really anyone's business but their own.

1.4.9. Are HHH and Stephanie McMahon really married?

   Common sense would seem to cover this one, but to clear it up, no, HHH
   and Stephanie were not really married in the drive-thru wedding
   ceremony on RAW. It's merely an angle. And furthermore, Andrew "Test"
   Martin and Stephanie are not romantically linked in real life to the
   best of anyone's knowledge.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.5 The NWO

1.5.1.  Who has been in it?

   nWo 0.9, May 1996: Scott Hall appears on Nitro promising a "takeover".
   The next week, Kevin Nash appears and promises the same thing. They
   attack people for the next month or so (most notably powerbombing Eric
   Bischoff through a table) until challenged by Sting, Lex Luger, and
   Randy Savage to a six-man tag at Bash at the Beach. Nash and Hall - at
   this point only "The Outsiders" - accept, and say their third man will
   be revealed later.

   nWo 1.0, July - August 1996: Hall and Nash are victorious when their
   third man is revealed to be Hulk Hogan, who over time adopts the new
   persona of "Hollywood" Hogan. The newly-christened New World Order
   begins attacking WCW wrestlers viciously. The first new members to
   arrive are Ted DiBiase (acting as a manager and "money man") and
   Vincent (acting as "head of security"). At Road Wild, Hollywood Hogan
   defeats the Giant by cheating outrageously to win the WCW World title.
   Strangely, the Giant joins the nWo two weeks later, citing the money
   as his primary reason. Also at Road Wild, the Booty Man tries to join,
   but is beaten up.

   nWo 1.1, September - November 1996: The next member of the nWo appears
   when they debut a "Fake Sting" at Wargames, who wrestles ittermitently
   over the next few months until the original Fake Sting, now called
   "nWo Sting", goes to compete in Japan as part of their version of the
   nWo. The Nasty Boys try to join the nWo as well, but are beaten up for
   their trouble. Although he is in fact the seventh member, Sean Waltman
   joins in November as Syxx.

   nWo 1.2, December 1996 - January 1997: The nWo announces a "membership
   drive", giving "all WCW wrestlers" the chance to join the nWo. In
   order, the wrestlers accepting this offer are Marcus Bagwell (soon
   redubbed "Buff"), Michael Wallstreet, Big Bubba, and Scott Norton.
   Also, Eric Bischoff is revealed as being an nWo member around this
   time, and Masa Chono and the Great Muta, visiting from New Japan Pro
   Wrestling, join the North American nWo (although they have little
   effect). At the same time, Giant is kicked out for demanding a title
   shot from Hulk Hogan.

   nWo 1.3, Feburary - August 1997: Randy Savage joins the nWo at
   SuperBrawl. Newly appointed WCW Commissioner J.J. Dillon says that
   according to their contracts, Big Bubba and Michael Wallstreet cannot
   be members of the nWo. Amidst great hype, Dennis Rodman "joins" the
   nWo, despite wrestling only one match that year as a celebrity guest
   at Bash at the Beach. Konnan joins the nWo in August. Ted DiBiase
   quits the nWo and becomes a manager for the Steiner brothers.

   nWo 1.4, September 1997 - February 1998: Curt Hennig joins the nWo
   after turning on the Four Horsemen at WarGames. Rick Rude joins in
   December. Bret Hart is invited to join the nWo, but declines. The
   Disciple joins sometime in January, although he is not named until
   March. Dusty Rhodes joins at Souled Out after turning on Larry
   Zybysko. Bryan Adams joins in January after turning on Bret Hart.
   Scott Steiner joins in February after turning on his brother Rick.
   During most of January, Louie Spicolli acts as a flunky to Scott Hall
   and wears an nWo t-shirt, although he is never "officially" inducted
   into the nWo before his death. Syxx disappears when Sean Waltman is
   fired by WCW.

   nWo 2.0, February - April 1998: Randy Savage and Kevin Nash, having
   issues with Hollywood Hogan, form the nWo "splinter faction": nWo
   Wolfpac. Curt Hennig and Konnan immediately join, as do longtime nWo
   foes Lex Luger and Sting; they immediately distinguish themselves from
   the "traditional" nWo (now known as nWo Hollywood or nWo
   Black-And-White) by wearing black-and-red T-shirts rather than
   black-and-white. Scott Hall is invited to join the Wolfpac, but
   refuses. Giant rejoins nWo Hollywood.

   nWo 2.1, May - October 1998: Curt Hennig quits the nWo Wolfpac to
   rejoin nWo Hollywood. Randy Savage is injured and disappears from the
   Wolfpac. Dennis Rodman once again is trumpeted as a member of the nWo
   for a celebrity match at Bash At The Beach. Stevie Ray joins nWo
   Hollywood in September. The Disciple quits nWo Hollywood in October to
   join the "One Warrior Nation". Horace Hogan joins nWo Hollywood at
   Halloween Havoc. Bret Hart seemingly joins, quits, and rejoins nWo
   Hollywood several times during this period, and never wears an nWo
   shirt or explicitly states his membership in the nWo.

   nWo 2.2, November - December 1998: Hollywood Hogan announces his
   "retirement", and Scott Steiner becomes the leader of nWo Hollywood.
   Scott Hall is kicked out of nWo Hollywood in November, but despite his
   efforts is not allowed to join nWo Wolfpac. Disco Inferno starts
   claiming he is a member of the Wolfpac.

   nWo 3.0, January 1999 - March 1999: Hollywood Hogan comes out of
   "retirement" to "beat" Kevin Nash in a thrown match for the WCW World
   title and reform the nWo as one single entity. The Wolfpac is now an
   "elite rank" of the nWo: its members are Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash,
   Scott Hall, Lex Luger, Buff Bagwell, and Scott Steiner. The remainder
   of the nWo (Giant, Curt Hennig, Vincent, Stevie Ray, Bryan Adams,
   Scott Norton, and Horace Hogan) continues wearing the black-and-white,
   while the Wolfpac wears black, white, and red. The Wolfpac also seems
   to be conducting a gradual elimination of the black-and-white (also
   referred to as "the nWo B-Team"); at this writing, both the Giant and
   Curt Hennig have received turfing-out beatdowns, with more likely to
   come. Konnan has been explicitly kicked out of the nWo entire. Sting's
   status is unknown. Bret Hart's nWo membership is entirely forgotten.

   nWo 3.1, April 1999 - onward:  With Scott Hall in retirement, Hulk
   Hogan back in semi-retirement, and Bagwell turfed from the group, the
   only members left are Lex Luger, Kevin Nash and Scott Steiner, and
   possibly Disco Inferno.   Steiner and Nash rarely do anything
   nWo-related (besides use the Wolfpac music).  The nWo black-and-white
   is whittled down to Vincent, Horace Hogan, Stevie Ray and Bryan Adams,
   with Scott Norton doing his own thing without the nWo name.  Soon
   after, Horace Hogan is fired, Bryan Adams is repackaged, Stevie Ray
   leaves to reform Harlem Heat, and Vincent joins the West Texas
   Rednecks, thus finally ending the group's legacy once and for all.

1.5.2. Who started it?

   The concept was originally started by Scott Hall, who "invaded" WCW on
   the first two-hour Nitro in May of 1996 (see "Monday Night Wars") and
   declared that they were taking over, although he didn't note who
   "they" were.  The implication was that is was a WWF takeover, which
   led to a later lawsuit and was publicly denied by Hall at the "Great
   American Bash" PPV in 1996.  Kevin Nash joined him two weeks after he
   debuted, and the two of them promised a third man at the "Bash at the
   Beach" PPV in July. The third man was Hulk Hogan, who coined the
   phrase "New World Order" during his heel turn interview, although in a
   nebulous and roundabout way. Commentators Bobby Heenan and Larry
   Zbyzsko later officially named them the nWo, building on Hogan's
   speech, and the rest is history.

1.5.2a. That's not what I meant.

   Oh, you mean who thought of the *gimmick*?

   Off-and-on booker Paul Orndorff is generally credited with the
   creation of the "invasion" angle, and Nitro booker Terry Taylor is
   credited with coming up with the details (the t-shirt selling, the
   black and white, the attitude).  Hulk Hogan was given much leeway in
   his own angles (as usual) and improvised a great deal of the
   mannerisms and catchphrases (as did Hall and Nash).

   And it should be noted that Eric Bischoff had almost NOTHING to do
   with the nWo's creation, although he often takes credit for it
   regardless by stating that it was based on the New Japan-All Japan
   feuds.  Which means he didn't create it, he just borrowed it from
   somewhere else.

1.5.3. What titles have they held?

   Hulk Hogan has held three WCW World titles as a member.    Scott Hall
   and Kevin Nash were tag team champions for over a year, and won them
   on three different occasions. Curt Hennig held the US championship.
   Syxx held the Cruiserweight title.  Scott Hall and the Giant were tag
   team champions.   Kevin Nash and Sting were former tag team
   champions.  Sting and the Giant were former tag team champions.  Bret
   Hart is a three-time US champion. Kevin Nash won the WCW World title
   as a member.  Scott Hall won the US title.

1.5.4. Were they a separate organization from WCW?

   No.  It is merely an angle/feud/storyline/whatever used to draw heat
   for the wrestlers involved.  Everyone involved is an employee of Ted
   Turner and WCW.

   A storyline to explain the non-firing of WCW turncoat Eric Bischoff
   stated that Bischoff still held the position of Executive Vice
   President, but JJ Dillon held all the actual power, which is why
   Bischoff could spend WCW's money on behalf of the group trying to take
   it over.

1.5.5. Didn't the WWF sue over them?

   Yes.  Vince McMahon, at the time of writing, is in the process of a
   major lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling for using the
   mannerisms and character of "Razor Ramon" on an episode of Nitro
   without prior permission from the WWF.  It is expected that the WWF
   will get millions from WCW either through a courtroom victory or an
   out-of-court settlement to end the suit.    The suit is reprinted
   below.

1.5.6. What the hell is Konnan saying?

   Konnan's three favorite catchphrases are "Orale!" (often confused with
   the Beck album "Odelay"), "Arriba la raza" and "We bout it bout it and
   rowdy rowdy".

   "Arriba la raza" is a spanish phrase, which loosely translates to
   "forward the race", and is basically a call for unity amongst
   chicanos.

   "Bout it bout it" (pronounced "bowdy bowdy") is a reference to a rap
   song by Master P, and is basically a way of saying "We're there" in
   slang.   Got a hot party to go to?  We bout it.   Got it?  The "rowdy
   rowdy" part is just to rhyme.

   To clarify a point that has become confusing, Konnan is not from New
   Jersey, that was simply an RSPW inside joke inserted into the
   document.    He is from Miami.

1.5.7. What's with all the "spot" jokes?

   In the fall of 1997, the Four Horsemen were actively trying to recruit
   Curt Hennig as the fourth member to replace Jeff Jarrett, and not
   having much luck at it.  Finally, in one of the greatest and most
   emotional interviews ever given, Arn Anderson came from the dressing
   room, announced his retirement, and personally offered Curt Hennig his
   spot in the team as his last gift to the wrestling world.    Many
   tears were shed and Hennig accepted.

   Then along came the nWo.

   In perhaps the single most simultaneously beloved and despised
   interview spot in the history of televised wrestling, Syxx, Buff
   Bagwell, Konnan and Kevin Nash dressed up as the Four Horsemen and
   re-enacted the interview, absolutely savaging the group and basically
   spitting on the career of Arn Anderson for the sake of a laugh.  Kevin
   Nash (as Arn Anderson) delivered a line about "Not my dog Spot, not a
   liver spot, but MY spot" that became instantly famous, and all reports
   said that the *real* Horsemen had to be physically restrained from
   rushing the ring and were unaware that the parody was planned.

   The Four Horsemen met the nWo in a WarGames match shortly after, lost,
   and the entire Horsemen concept was completely buried as a direct
   result.   Curt Hennig left the team for the nWo.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.6  IV Horsemen

1.6.1. Who have been members?

   Over the years 14 different wrestlers have been part of the Horsemen. They
   are: Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Lex Lugar,
   Barry Windham, Butch Reed, Kendall Windham, Sting, Sid Vicious, Paul Roma,
   Brian Pillman, Chris Benoit, Curt Hennig, Jeff Jarrett, Dean Malenko and
   Steve McMichael. JJ Dillon, Ole Anderson and Hiro Matsuda have all served
   as managers. The Horsemen name was first used in January, 1986, with the
   original group being Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson and Arn
   Anderson.

1.6.2. When did they exist?

   1986:  Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Ole Anderson form the
   original team.

   1987:  Ole Anderson is fired for missing dates and replaced by upstart
   "associate" Lex Luger.

   1988:  Luger refuses to throw a match for JJ Dillon and is fired, leaving
   three Horsemen until April of 1988, when Barry Windham turns on Luger and
   joins.

   1989:  The Horsemen disintegrate as Blanchard and Anderson jump to the WWF,
   followed by Barry Windham, and Flair turns babyface. At one point the group
   consisted of Flair, Barry Windham, Kendall Windham and Butch Reed, but it
   is highly debatable whether this Hiro Matsuda-managed foursome counted as
   legitimate Horsemen.

   1989:  Arn Anderson returns to reform the Horsemen with Ric Flair, Ole
   Anderson and new member Sting.

   1990:  The Horsemen brutally attack Sting and dump him from the group.  Ole
   retires and the two open spots are filled by Barry Windham and Sid Vicious.

   1991:  Ric Flair leaves WCW, ending the Four Horsemen.

   1993:  Ric Flair returns to WCW, reforming the Horsemen with Arn, Ole and
   new member Paul Roma. Roma turns on them before year's end, ending the
   Horsemen again.

   1995:  Ric Flair turns on partner Sting in a tag team match against Brian
   Pillman and Arn Anderson, signalling a new team with Flair, Arn, Pillman
   and Chris Benoit.

   1996:  Pillman departs for the WWF and is replaced by Steve McMichael.

   1997:  Jeff Jarrett defeats Steve McMichael to earn a spot in the team.  He
   would later be fired by Ric Flair. To this day Arn Anderson denies Jarrett
   was even a Horsemen.

   1997:  Arn Anderson retires and is replaced by Curt Hennig.

   1997:  Hennig turns on the Horsemen and joins the nWo, ending the team for
   the forseeable future.

   1998:  The Horsemen reform with Ric Flair, Dean Malenko, Chris Benoit and
   Steve McMichael.  Arn Anderson acts as a manager. The other members are
   already pushing to have McMichael replaced and at this writing they have
   done nothing noteworthy.

   1999:  Mongo is persona non grata in WCW and his spot seems to have been
   re-taken by Arn Anderson, barring a new member being added.

1.6.3. What titles did they hold?

   Ric Flair has held numerous World titles while a member.   Arn Anderson and
   Tully Blanchard held the tag titles twice.  Arn Anderson and Paul Roma held
   the tag titles once.  Lex Luger, Barry Windham and Steve McMichael all held
   the US title while members. Tully Blanchard held the TV title as a member,
   as did Arn Anderson.  Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko held the World tag team
   titles briefly in 1999.

1.6.4. Did they ever hold all the belts at once?

   Yes.  From the time when Barry Windham won the US title (05/13/1988) until
   the time when Blanchard and Anderson lost the World tag team title
   (09/10/1988) each member of the team had a title.

1.6.5. Whatever happened to Tully Blanchard?

   As of this writing, Tully is once again an active wrestler, with Dennis
   Corraluzzo's NWA.

1.6.6. Who did they beat up on to earn their reputation?

   In one of the defining moments in the history of the Horsemen, they broke
   Ricky Morton's nose by rubbing in the concrete of the parking lot, thus
   earning fans amongst the huge group of Morton-haters watching the NWA at
   the time.   The incident was very famous for the brutality displayed, given
   the standards at the time.

   But no one was beaten with more vigor than Dusty Rhodes, including multiple
   parking lot attacks, 4-on-1 muggings, baseball bat beatings, and a broken
   leg via a steel briefcase.

   Sting is another favorite target of the Horsemen, and he has the "honor" of
   being turned on by Ric Flair...TWICE!  Flair booted him out of the group in
   1990 (replacing him with Barry Windham and Sid Vicious) and then turned on
   him again in 1995 as he reformed the Horsemen.  Many beatings ensued, the
   most famous of which was at a Clash of Champions in 1990 as they injured
   his knee and put him out for months.

   Runner-up in the list is Lex Luger, who was thrashed soundly on several
   occasions in 1988 as he challenged Ric Flair for the World title.

   Randy Savage suffered several beatings in 1996 in his feud with Flair, but
   then everyone beat up Savage in 1996.

   Jeff Jarrett was dumped from the group in 1997, but no beating took place,
   to the disappointment of many.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.7 Ultimate Warrior

1.7.1. How many have there been?

   One.  Jim Hellwig is the one and only Ultimate Warrior.
   There has only been one.  He has changed
   appearance, name and wrestling tights on many
   occasions, but he remains the only man to be the
   Ultimate Warrior.

1.7.2. Is he still alive?

   Yes.  He never died.  He did sign with WCW, however.

1.7.3. Who were the BladeRunners/Powerteam USA?

   Power Team USA was a group of bodybuilders formed
   by Red Bastien and Rick Bassman in California in 1985.
   Bastien intended to train them to be wrestlers, but
   soon abandoned the plan. Upon disbanding the group,
   Bastien observed "they have great bodies, but they
   can't wrestle a lick." The members of the group were
   Jim "Justice" Hellwig (later the Ultimate Warrior), Steve
   "Flash" Borden (later Sting), Mark "Commando" Miller
   and Garland "Glory" Donnoho. Miller never wrestled
   after the disbanding of the group. Donnoho wrestled
   briefly in California as "The Myth"

   Hellwig and Borden teamed briefly as the Blade
   Runners, doing nothing notable and only really gaining
   fame for being the guys who later became Ultimate
   Warrior and Sting.

   Hellwig was also known as the Dingo Warrior in Texas
   before jumping to the WWF.

1.7.4. Did he really change his name to "Warrior?"

   Yes.  In order to preserve his character and identity
   after leaving the WWF in 1991, Jim Hellwig legally
   changed his name to "Warrior."  Furthermore, upon
   signing with the WWF in 1996, he obtained all legal
   rights to the name, image and character of "The
   Ultimate Warrior" which basically enables him to
   wrestle as that character in any federation he
   chooses, including WCW, and gives him 100% of the
   revenues.

   Recently Warrior has been claiming "victory" over the
   WWF in a legal battle of some sort, although the
   explanation given by him is so incomprehensible that
   no one is entirely sure what it means, although the
   above paragraph seems to be the gist of it.

1.7.5. Why did he leave the WWF in 1991?

   After losing the World title to Sgt. Slaughter at Royal
   Rumble '91, the Warrior was being moved into a lesser
   position in the booking sheets, and as a result he ran
   off into the dressing rooms of Madison Square Garden
   following Summerslam 1991 and wasn't seen until
   Wrestlemania VIII, many months later.

1.7.6. Why did he leave the WWF in 1992?

   Again, following Survivor Series that year, the Warrior
   was being moved into a lower slot on the booking
   sheets, in this case a feud with Nailz.   He simply
   exercised the option to leave and did so, and was
   promptly erased from history by the WWF until four
   years later.

1.7.7. Why did he leave the WWF in 1996?

   The WWF's story:  Warrior was too expensive, was not
   getting crowd reactions or affecting buyrates and
   ratings in a way dramatic enough to justify the salary,
   and was missing dates for very unsound reasons.

   The Warrior's story:  The WWF was treating him badly
   and not allowing him proper control of his character
   and not allowing him enough time off to grieve for his
   father.

   Most sources in the industry tend to side with the
   WWF in this matter.

1.7.7. What happened to "Warrior University?"

   To be succinct, it was a joke and it went bankrupt
   very quickly due to total ineptness in the day-to-day
   running of it and Warrior's generally dysfunctional
   mental state to begin with. Any other spin-doctoring
   put on the subject by Mr. Hellwig is just
   that...spin-doctoring.

1.7.8. What's with all the vomit jokes?

   In 1992, Warrior was given control of his booking and
   demonstrated exactly why that situation should never
   occur again:  He booked a feud with voodoo-master
   Papa Shango (current pimp The Godfather) wherein
   Shango would cast magic spells on jobbers and cause
   black gook to flow from their boots. Then, in order to
   really draw heat, he cast a spell that made Warrior
   puke on national TV.

   The WWF doesn't really talk about that one anymore.

1.7.9. What's the "magic smoke"?

   Just to show that no one pays attention to the
   previous question, upon entering WCW, Warrior was
   again given control of his bookings and angle.   His
   grand idea was to form the "One Warrior Nation" (it's
   the nWo backwards, you see) and that whenever he
   would enter the ring to torment Hulk Hogan, he would
   cause a huge cloud of "magic smoke" to fill the ring
   and knock out the nWo members.  A trapdoor was built
   right into the ring to allow him access as though by
   magic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.8 - Ric Flair

1.8.1. How many times has he been World champion?

   That's depends on what changes you wish to recognize.

   In July 1994, Ric Flair said many times that he was an 11 time world
   champion. This number was come to by recognizing his 8 undisputed NWA title
   reigns, 2 WWF title reigns and 1 WCW title reign. Flair has since held the
   WCW title twice more, bringing the undisputed total to 13. However in
   addition to this, there have been a number of disputed or not widely
   recognized reigns, which are listed below.

   On March 21, 1984, Flair was defeated by Harley Race in New Zealand for the
   NWA title. He regained it on March 23, 1984 in Singapore. This switch is
   only now being recognized as official in the US.

   On March 21, 1991, Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Flair in Tokyo, Japan. The
   Japanese referee for the match counted a pinfall, while the WCW referee for
   the match DQed Flair for tossing Fujinami over the top rope. Flair defeated
   Fujinami May 19, 1991 in St. Petersburg, FL to end the dispute.

   On April 17, 1994, Ric Flair and Rick Steamboat went to a double pin
   finish. On April 21, 1994, (aired on TV May 21, 1994) Flair defeated
   Steamboat to end the dispute. It was never officially announced that the
   belt was held up, although Flair gave the belt to WCW commissioner Nick
   Bockwinkel and said he wanted it held up.

   There are also stories that Flair did title switches with Jack Venano in
   the Dominican Republic and Victor Jovica in the Caribbean, similar to the
   New Zealand/Singapore title switch with Harley Race.  The Venano story has
   been confirmed by a fan who was there live to see the title change, as has
   the Jovica one.   Neither is recognized in the US as of this writing,
   although if the powers-that-be need to pump up Flair's title reigns again,
   good money says they will.

   Of course, Flair recently added title #14 to his collection by defeating
   Hulk Hogan.

1.8.2. Why did he leave WCW in 1991?

   Money and respect.

   WCW offered a 50% pay cut and greatly reduced booking power, including
   revoking his "veto clause" over World title changes, and wanted to put Lex
   Luger on top for the next year.  Flair disagreed, and the week before Great
   American Bash 1991 was either fired or quit, depending on who you ask. He
   showed up in the WWF in October of 1991 and was immediately put on top of
   the federation.

1.8.3. Why did he take the NWA World title belt with him?

   Because he owned it, sort of.  Jim Crockett had the belt specially made for
   Flair in 1985 for $10,000 US and gave ownership of the belt to Flair in
   lieu of payment of bonus money, which meant Flair thought he could take it
   with him wherever he went, even after leaving the NWA/WCW.  Ted Turner
   bought it back for $23,000 US in 1991 after a lawsuit and brought it back
   to the company.

   The question of the NWA World title is a much more complicated and
   interesting one, however, which will be covered later in this document.

1.8.4. Why did he leave the WWF in 1993?

   Vince McMahon felt he no longer required his services, and Flair wanted to
   go back to WCW, so the two mutually agreed to part ways and the contract
   was ended amicably.

   That's all there is to it.

1.8.5. What's the plane crash I always hear about?

   In 1975, Ric Flair was in a plane crash with Johnny Valentine, Bob Bruggers
   and "Mr. Wrestling" Tim Woods.  Modern medical science said that he'd never
   wrestle again.

1.8.6. Is Flair being sued by WCW?

   Well, he was.  In early 1998, WCW took Flair almost entirely off the
   booking sheets while his new contract was ironed out.  Flair assumed that
   WCW wouldn't need to use him for one particular Thunder and took the night
   off to watch his son wrestle. WCW's on-the-fly booking committee decided to
   reform the Four Horsemen the night that Flair took off, and was thus left
   with egg on their face when Flair didn't show, depsite their hyping his
   appearance the entire show. As a result, WCW is suing Flair for a reported
   $2 million in damages, citing a letter of intent to re-sign with WCW which
   stands as a valid contract. Flair was not been seen or mentioned on WCW TV
   during the lawsuit.

   The lawsuit may or may not have been dismissed at this point. Given that
   it's been almost a year since it was filed with no legal action on either
   side and Flair seems firmly entrenched in the upper card, it's a safe bet
   that it was.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.9 - Sid Vicious

1.9.1. Is Sid dead?

   No.  Sid Eudy is alive and well as of this writing.  The "Sid is Dead"
   thing is merely a misguided rumor posting that got turned into a
   runaway joke.

1.9.2. What's with the squeegee jokes?

   In 1991, when Brian Pillman was in WCW and Sid Vicious was in his
   first stint in the WWF, they got into a minor fight in a bar after a
   house show.  Pillman reportedly got the better of Sid, until Sid
   suddenly ran off outside the bar and returned with a squeegee (window
   cleaning tool) as a "weapon."    It was just too absurd a situation to
   *not* joke about...

1.9.3. What's with the scissor jokes?

   On 09/19/1993, Sid and Arn Anderson got into a fight in their hotel
   after a show in England.  A pair of safety scissors was involved,
   which caused 20 stitches for Arn Anderson and various cuts for Sid.
   Both men spent the night in the hospital and were deported the next
   day.  Sid was fired soon after and Anderson was suspended, although he
   later returned.

1.9.4. What's with the softball jokes?

   Sid likes playing softball, and will quite often put his softball
   league ahead of his wrestling federation in terms of importance.  He
   has taken mysterious leaves of absense in order to play softball on
   more than one occasion.

1.9.5. Wasn't he supposed to win the WCW World title?

   Yes.  In 1993, Sid was booked to face Vader at Starrcade for the WCW
   World title, and win.  In fact, three or four weeks of footage with
   Sid as the champion were shot at the Disney tapings. However, the
   fight with Anderson caused all those plans to be scrapped and Ric
   Flair to take his place and win the title in his stead.

1.9.6. Was he fired by the WWF?

   That depends which time you mean.

   In 1992, he faced Hulk Hogan in Hogan's "retirement" match at
   Wrestlemania VIII.  Papa Shango was supposed to run in and cause a DQ
   finish, but didn't make it in time to break up the pin. Sid was forced
   to kick out of the legdrop finisher, which caused many rumors of a
   "shoot" on Sid's part.  This is untrue, as the fault lie in Charles
   Wright.  Sid quit the promotion soon after to play softball on a
   regular basis, although the promotion's party line is that he failed a
   drug test and was fired.

   In 1997, he suffered a badly injured back which may or may not have
   become career-threatening.  In order to save costs in case it was, he
   was officially fired by the WWF with a promise to bring him back in
   1998 should he heal properly.  He never did and never was brought
   back.

1.9.7. Who were the Skyscrapers?

   The first team was Sid Vicious and Dan Spivey.    Vicious was injured
   and replaced by Mark "Undertaker" Callous.   Sid and Callous were
   *never* a team, however, despite many assumptions to the contrary.

   The launch of the careers of the Undertaker and Sid are the only
   notable things about this otherwise unnotable team.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.10 - Brian Pillman

1.10.1. Is Pillman dead?

   Yes.  Brian Pillman was found dead in his hotel room in
   Bloomington, Minnesota on 10/05/1997, and was
   announced as being dead during the pre-game of the
   Badd Blood PPV the next day. The autopsy revealed
   his death was of natural causes, and specifically
   because of a heart condition he was unaware of until
   his death which was aggravated by painkillers.

1.10.2. Why did he become "The Loose Cannon?"

   In 1994 Pillman suffered an ankle injury which almost
   completely destroyed his mobility and high-flying
   ability, and it became necessary to find a new gimmick
   which required a minimum of actual wrestling. Thus
   was born the "Loose Cannon," which basically
   consisted of him running from the ring like a coward
   and attacking Paul Orndorff from behind.  He further
   refined the gimmick in ECW, before suffering another
   crippling injury in a car accident in 1996 which fused
   his ankle and essentially ended his wrestling career
   before he signed with the WWF.

1.10.3. Who were the Hollywood Blonds?

   Brian Pillman and Steve Austin, best friends in real life,
   formed the most dominant team of 1993 and won the
   WCW/NWA tag team titles in the same year.  They
   instantly became an RSPW legend and the most
   quotable team around.   The team was hampered by
   terrible booking and ended up being more notable for
   launching the career of Steve Austin than anything
   else.

1.10.4. What was the "bookerman" interview?

   It wasn't an interview as much as a soundbite.

   In early 1996, Pillman was programmed to be feuding
   with Kevin Sullivan, in the "Rogue Horseman" angle to
   show what a nutjob he was. He faced him in a strap
   match at Superbrawl VI, where the loser had to say "I
   respect you" to the winner.  This was supposed to
   have been interpreted by "insiders" as a way for
   Sullivan to put Pillman in his place, with his contract
   being up soon. At any rate, they "wrestled" for less
   than two minutes, and Pillman suddenly grabbed the
   mike, yelled "I respect you, bookerman!" and ran out.
   Sullivan stood "stunned" for a minute, then the
   remaining Horsemen came in to finish the match.

   It was entirely a work, planned from the start by
   Pillman and Sullivan in order to fool "smart" fans and
   make Pillman look insane to the marks.  Sullivan was
   booker for WCW at the time, which is what the
   "bookerman" remark was referring to.

   It is not nearly as historic a moment as RSPW would
   like to make it out to be, but it is one of the most
   frequently asked about.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.11 - Sting

1.11.1. Why didn't he wrestle in 1997?

   WCW had a guaranteed contract system which is unique in the world of
   wrestling.  Their bigger stars had deals which state that they only
   had to work a given number of house shows, PPVs and TV shows, and then
   are no longer obligated to work any more. This was the case in
   September of 1996, as Sting's contract stated that he had worked his
   required number of shows and would have to paid at a special rate for
   any more.   So it was decided that Sting would sit in the rafters,
   attacking wrestlers now and then, and let all his injuries heal while
   developing a new gimmick.  A feud with Hulk Hogan and the nWo was
   worked out, and it was supposed to be Sting v. Hogan at Superbrawl.
   However, the ratings for the "new" Sting were so tremendous that his
   "debut" was pushed back again, and again, and again, until finally it
   was decided to simply wait until Starrcade 1997 and build everything
   around *that*.  In essense, it left Sting with nothing to do but act
   mysterious and foreboding for a year, which he did.

1.11.2. Who was the Black Scorpion?

   Speaking of mysterious and foreboding, in 1990 Sting won the NWA World
   title from Ric Flair.  Booker Ole Anderson felt that he needed a major
   arch-nemesis to build up to a Starrcade clash, so he invented a
   mysterious black-clad figure from Sting's past called The Black
   Scorpion.  The implication was supposed to be that it was Jim Hellwig,
   but it was actually intended to be the Angel of Death.    No problem,
   right?

   Of course, they screwed it up.   You know how when people like to
   snigger about how low WCW sunk from 1989 - 1994 they point out things
   like "the Black Scorpion?"  This is why:

   First of all, the Scorpion's main gimmick was doing cheap magic tricks
   to draw heat, and it didn't work (go figure).  Then they had Sting
   wrestle the Scorpion on a live Clash of Champions broadcast, only they
   stuck Al Perez in the suit.  Sting squashed him, but it was revealed
   that there was *another* Scorpion on the other side of the arena.

   The whole sideshow was distracting from the fact that they hadn't yet
   signed the Angel of Death, either.  They had Sting (who couldn't draw
   flies as champion) pencilled in to meet "The Black Scorpion" (despite
   not even knowing who it was going to turn out to be) at the biggest
   show of the year and the writing was on the wall that Anderson was
   going to be turfed out as booker pretty damn quick.

   So they did what they always did:  They went back to Ric Flair. They
   asked him to play the Scorpion in the blowoff match and reveal that it
   was all mind-games on his part all along, and as a reward he would
   receive the World title in January, which he did.   And everyone was
   happy until the NWA died a horrible death two weeks later.

   The moral of the story is never hire Ole Anderson as booker, I think.

1.11.3. How many times has he been World champion?

   Who knows?  This is very dependant on what you're recognizing as a
   World title, first of all.  Strictly speaking, Sting is only a
   seven-time champion, but WCW has somehow managed to pump the total up
   to nine.

   He cleanly defeated Ric Flair to win the NWA World title in 1990, that
   much we know.   Then it gets messy.

   In 1990, WCW officially broke off from the NWA, declaring Sting to be
   the first WCW World champion, while still holding the NWA World
   title.   Sooooo, technically speaking, Sting was a *two* time World
   champion at that point, despite never actually losing the first title
   *or* winning the second. To further complicate the matter, WCW became
   an autonomous organization on 01/01/1991, while not recognizing their
   own champion officially until 01/11/1991, when Ric Flair defeated
   Sting to win the title.  WCW has since retroactively decided to
   recognize Sting as the first WCW champion instead of Flair in order to
   "fill in" the 10 day period, but it all depends on who you ask.   This
   title reign is almost totally meaningless in the long run.

   In 1992, Sting cleanly beat Lex Luger to win the WCW World title (just
   the WCW title this time...) to become a three-time champion, despite
   the announcers calling him a two-time champion because the NWA-WCW
   thing was still taboo to talk about on TV at the time.

   In 1993, Sting and Vader traded the WCW World title in London and
   Ireland, giving Sting his fourth title reign.  Again, it was only
   called his third.

   Sting beat Rick Rude in Chicago mid-way through 1994 to win the WCW
   International World title, which is not recognized by anyone with an
   IQ greater than 2 as a legitimate World title, and the title was
   regained by Rude in Japan, but immediately vacated due to the
   controversy of the title change. Sting then defeated Vader to regain
   the vacated title at Slamboree 1994. It needs to be stressed that
   neither title reign is officially recognized as a World title reign by
   anyone but WCW.

   And of course he beat Hulk Hogan for the WCW World title at Starrcade
   97, which boosts it to six reigns, then beat Hogan again at Superbrawl
   VIII for his seventh title, although they're not pointing it out for
   some reason.  Sting also defeated Diamond Dallas Page for his eighth
   title reign recently, although it only lasted 90 minutes. And finally,
   he defeated Hulk Hogan again for his ninth title in September of 1999.

   However, cooler heads will usually point out that he clearly has 7
   title reigns and the other two are just semantics.

   As always, judge for yourself.

1.11.4. How dumb *is* he?

   Sting (the character) has developed a reputation for being far too
   trusting over the years.

   Skipping past his UWF experience, his first bad experience came as his
   good friends, the Road Warriors, savagely turned on him in 1988 and
   left him for dead en route to going heel.  In 1989, Sting was asked
   into the Four Horsemen by Ric Flair and was promptly punked out upon
   asking for a title shot.   While injured from that attack, Sting
   fostered the friendship of Lex Luger, who then turned on him in early
   1992 after winning the World title.  Sting had a good run from 1993
   until 1995, when his brain apparently fell out of his head.  Ric Flair
   once again asked for Sting's help against former friend Arn Anderson,
   and once again savagely beat Sting at an opportune moment.   Sting
   turned to longtime friend Lex Luger for help, who turned on him
   several times behind his back over a period of months.  In late 1996,
   during the nWo invasion, Sting retreated to the rafters and asked
   Randy Savage to join him.  In early 1997, Savage proceeded to turn on
   him and join the nWo.   In early 1998, Sting offered his help to a
   supposedly reformed Savage, who then turned on him again and rejoined
   the nWo.  Finally, in recent times, Bret Hart offered his help to
   Sting, who stupidly accepted it, and Bret turned on him just everyone
   else has over the years. Lex Luger recently turned on him again after
   coaxing him into a heel turn.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.12 Midnight Express

1.12.1. Who has been a member?

   Randy Rose, Dennis Condrey and Norvell Austin formed
   the Midnight Express in Alabama in 1981. The group
   moved to Memphis in late 1981 and returned to
   Alabama in the summer of 1982.

   During 1983, Midnight Express, Inc. included at one
   time or another, Rose, Condrey, Austin, the Midnight
   Stallion, Ron Starr, Rick Harris, and Wayne Ferris.

   Condrey left Alabama and joined Mid-South in 1983,
   where he formed a tag team with Bobby Eaton,
   managed by Jim Cornette, also called the Midnight
   Express. The Alabama version disbanded in early 1984,
   while Condrey, Eaton and Cornette would go on to
   achieve fame in Mid-South, World Class and finally,
   the NWA in 1985.

   In April 1987, Condrey left and was replaced by Stan
   Lane. In 1987, Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose joined
   as the "Original" Midnight Express, managed by Paul E
   Dangerously. This group came to the NWA to feud
   with Cornette, Lane and Eaton.

   Jim Cornette recently formed a "new" Midnight Express
   with Bob Holly and Bart Gunn as part of the NWA
   angle.  It failed and served only to launch Bart Gunn's
   career through the Brawl for All tournament.

1.12.2. What titles have they held?

   The Condrey-Eaton team held the NWA World tag
   team titles for six months in 1986.  The Lane-Eaton
   team held the US tag team titles three times from
   1987-1990 and the World tag team titles once for
   about a month in 1988.

   The "Original" Midnight Express held the AWA World
   tag team title for a brief period in 1988, before leaving
   for the NWA later that year.

   The "New" Midnight Express were holders of the "NWA
   World tag team titles", the legitmacy of which is highly
   questionable. The status of those "titles" is unknown
   to the author at this point, given the split in the team.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.13 - Randy Savage

1.13.1. Was he really married to Elizabeth?

   Yes. They were divorced in 1992. "Macho Man" Randy Savage (real name
   Randy Poffo) and Miss Elizabeth (real name Elizabeth Hewlett) were
   officially married December 30, 1984 in Frankfort, KY. Their "Match
   Made in Heaven" was just a gimmick Vince McMahon used as a draw for
   SummerSlam '91.

1.13.2. How many World titles has he won?

   He has held the WWF World title on two occasions, once in 1988 and
   once in 1992, and the WCW World title on three occasions, once in 1995
   and once in 1996 and again in 1998.  As an interesting historical
   note, he lost three of those five titles to Ric Flair and the other
   two to Hulk Hogan.

1.13.3. Is he related to "The Genius" / Lanny Poffo?

   Yes, the two men are brothers, and both are the sons of famous
   wrestler Angelo Poffo.  Savage's real name is Randy Poffo, which just
   about everyone knows anyway.

1.13.4.  Where is he?  Is he coming back?

   Savage is currently negotiating with WCW over a new contract, and/or
   the WWF. He is widely expected to be signing with the WWF in the new
   year.

1.13.5. Who is Gorgeous George?

   Savage's real-life girlfriend, Stephanie Bellars, bought the rights to
   the "Gorgeous George" gimmick and began accompanying Savage as his
   valet when he returned to the ring midway into 1999. She is signed
   with WCW until June of 2000 and cannot come with him to the WWF until
   then.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.14 - Shane Douglas

1.14.1. Who were the Dynamic Dudes?

   The Dynamic Dudes were the archetypal "pretty boy" tag team in 1989,
   and an experience Shane Douglas has been trying to forget ever
   since.   It consisted of himself and Johnny Ace as "surfer dudes" who
   skateboarded to the ring, and they were universally hated by the fans,
   including a memorable match at Halloween Havoc 89 (in Philadelphia,
   ironically enough) where the mega-heel World champion Freebirds got a
   bigger face pop than the Dudes did.

   They were notable for almost nothing besides being involved in the
   angle in 1990 that turned the Midnight Express heel again.

1.14.2. Why did he throw down the NWA World title?

   Jim Crockett was still officially a N.W.A. promoter even though he had
   not paid any dues since he sold his promotion. Crockett's non-compete
   agreement with Turner was about to run out and he had plans to return
   to promoting wrestling under the N.W.A. name.  He went to Todd Gordon
   (who had also stopped paying dues), who at the time had the biggest
   and most well known N.W.A. promotion (N.W.A. Eastern Championship
   Wrestling or ECW), and asked him to hold a tournament for the N.W.A.
   World Heavyweight title. Coralluzzo, however, felt that Gordon and
   Crockett were going to try to monopolize the title and, claiming
   (correctly) the tournament did not have N.W.A. Board approval, worked
   his way into the tournament planning.  Upset by Coralluzzo's power
   play Gordon arranged for Shane Douglas, the ECW Champion, to win the
   tournament and then rejected the title. Gordon then withdrew from the
   N.W.A., changing his promotion's name to Extreme Championship
   Wrestling.

   It instantly put ECW on the map and cost the NWA buckets of
   credibility.

   It also made Shane look like a total jerk, but heavy is the head that
   wears the crown.

   It should also be noted that this is mostly ECW's side of the story,
   and Dennis Corraluzo is NOT talking.  However most reports have ECW's
   side as being the correct one.

   To this day, Dennis Corraluzo complains to anyone who will listen
   about Paul Heyman and ECW in general as a result of the incident.

1.14.3. Why is he "blacklisted" from the WWF?

   He isn't so much blacklisted as he is warring with one of the
   company's principle stars.  During his brief tenure as "Dean" Douglas
   in 1995, Shane felt he was severely underpaid for his work, and was
   prevented from getting a credible win over Michaels because Shawn
   forfeited the title to him rather than job on PPV.  In addition, Shane
   felt slighted that the title was then jobbed to another member of "the
   clique," namely Razor Ramon, immediately after he was awarded it.

   The result is that Shane quit on bad terms and threatened to sue
   unless he was granted a release to work in ECW again almost
   immediately afterwards.   Vince McMahon capitulated and according to
   Shane both men vowed to never to work together again.

1.14.4. Is he related to Paul Orndorff?

   No.  This is one of those really dumb ideas that a lot of people have
   spread to the point where it's become an accepted part of wrestling
   lore, when it is in fact completely false.

   It started when a very young Troy Martin (Shane Douglas) was told by a
   promoter that he resembled Paul Orndorff and should compete under the
   name "Troy Orndorff."   This prompted rumors that the two men were
   brothers, and that Paul Orndorff's "real" name is Paul Martin.  In
   fact, Orndorff's real name *is* Orndorff.

   The two men are not related in any way, and are not even friends to
   the best of anyone's knowledge.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.15 - Steve Austin

1.15.1. What is Austin 3:16?

   In 1996, after winning the King of the Ring tournament against noted
   Bible-quoter Jake Roberts, Austin gave a memorable interview where he
   said "Talk about your psalms, talk about your John 3:16...well, Austin
   3:16 says I just whooped your ass." The quote was picked up from there
   and has since spread to t-shirts, signs and a big truck.

   So to answer the question, Austin 3:16 says he just whooped your ass.

1.15.2. What was "The Ringmaster?"

   In 1996, when Austin was introduced to the WWF, he was brought in
   as a protege of Ted Dibiase dubbed "The Ringmaster" and given
   Dibiase's "Million Dollar Belt."  The gimmick didn't work, so he
   was retooled into his current Stone Cold form, and the rest is
   history.

   It is generally brought up as an example of good wrestlers
   overcoming bad gimmicks.

1.15.3. Why doesn't Steve Austin like Eric Bischoff?

   Steve Austin has long trumpeted his poor treatment by WCW and
   specifically Eric Bischoff as the cause of his bitterness.

   Most of the bitterness he feels begins in 1993, when WCW split up
   the Hollywood Blonds in order to give Steve Austin the US title,
   and shots at the WCW World title.  Popular legend states that Ric
   Flair was willing and able to job his WCW World title to Austin in
   the summer in order to put him over even bigger.  However, Hulk
   Hogan won the WCW World title a few months into Austin's US title
   reign, thus assuring he'd never get a shot. His promised title
   shots never materialized.

   It got worse.  In summer of 1994, during the period when he was
   originally pencilled in to be WCW World champion, Austin dropped
   the US title to Ricky Steamboat and was building heat for the feud
   through a series of progressively-better matches on PPVs and the
   Clash of Champions.  The two were scheduled for a rematch at Fall
   Brawl '94, but Steamboat had suffered what turned out to be a
   career-ending injury a few weeks before. Bischoff decided to award
   Austin the title, then job him to Jim Duggan in 30 seconds on
   PPV. And Austin went along, with promises of a rematch and future
   World title shots as his motivation. They never happened.  It
   should be noted that near-lifetime WCW employee Ricky Steamboat was
   unceremoniously fired because of his injuries without pension or
   compensation, in much the same way Austin was.

   In early 1995, as Austin recouperated from an injury, Bischoff's
   secretary called and fired him over the phone, leaving a message on
   Austin's answering machine and never actually doing it in
   person. Bischoff then proceeded to do a series of interviews
   running down Austin and stating that he'd never be a superstar in
   the sport.

   Austin retaliated by signing with the WWF (and ECW in the interim).
   While in ECW, he honed his "Stone Cold" gimmick while at the same
   time coming up with a wicked series of skits (including the famous
   WCW Monday Nyquil one) which mocked Bischoff's hair, Hogan's lack
   of hair and WCW's overall attitude towards him.

   It should be noted that Austin is a 3-time WWF World champion, and
   is moving more merchandise than Hulk Hogan did in his prime.

1.15.4.  What happened to his neck?

   At Summerslam 1997, he was wrestling Owen Hart for the
   Intercontinental title, and Owen executed a tombstone piledriver
   incorrectly, bending Austin's neck at the wrong angle and causing
   temporary paralysis to Austin.  Because of a pre-match stipulation,
   Austin struggled to his feet and managed to win the title, but
   serious damage had been done to his neck.  To this date he has not
   recovered fully and has thus wrestled mainly in "garbage" matches,
   which concentrate on brawling rather than wrestling.

   It was, to confirm, a legitimate injury and not just an angle to
   make Owen Hart look like a "badass".

1.15.5. Who is/was Lady Blossom?

   When Austin got his start in the USWA in 1990, his primary feud was
   with Chris Adams, in a storyline involving Chris' wife Jeannie
   Clark. The story was that Austin stole Jeannie and it led to Chris
   finding a new wife (Toni Adams) and a mixed feud resulted.

   The irony, for those not aware, is that Austin really DID steal
   Jeannie Clark from Chris Adams in real life and they were married
   shortly after. The two hated each other because of it and the
   animosity was worked into an angle.

   When Austin jumped to WCW in 1991, he brought Jeannie with him as
   Lady Blossom, who did nothing for his career and was relegated to
   being his behind-the-scenes manager from late 91 on.  They recently
   divorced.

1.15.6.  How popular is Austin?

   While exact figures are hard to come by, some estimates have thrown
   about with regards to his merchandise numbers:

   An Austin shirt is sold every 40 seconds around the world.

   The WWF is averaging between $200,000 - $300,000 in merchandise per
   houseshow, most of which is Austin-related.

   His two videos (Cause Stone Cold Said So & Austin 3:16) are among
   two of the best selling sports videos ever.

   Austin merchandise outsells Goldberg merchandise by a ratio of 2 to 1.

   Austin has, at this point, sold more t-shirts in the past two years
   than Hulk Hogan did his entire career in the WWF.

   There are more than 10 official Austin shirt designs and dozens
   more unofficial knockoffs.

   Overall, the WWF claims Austin is the most popular professional
   wrestler in the history of the sport and it's a hard claim to
   dispute.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.16 - Cactus Jack

1.16.1. What happened to his right ear?

   It was accidentally ripped off on March 16, 1994 in a wrestling match in
   Munich, Germany against Vader. During the match, Cactus got his head caught
   between the top and middle ropes. The tension in the tightened ring ropes
   was enough to tear his right ear completely off and badly tear his left
   ear. Part of the right ear was iced and saved. The left required 12
   stitches. Cactus continued the match for another two minutes before going
   to the planned finish. Cactus was in good spirits afterwards with little
   damage to his hearing and some trouble with his balance. Cactus returned to
   the ring April 17, 1994. Reports were that Cactus was planning to take a
   few months time off to have reconstructive surgery on the ear, but it never
   happened.

   To date, he has shown no hearing problems or other ill effects.

   He did, however, file a lawsuit against WCW due to the improperly
   constructed ring ropes, which were too tight in this case.

   Sadly, he did not get to keep the ear, because he didn't know how to say
   "formaldahyde" in German.

1.16.2. What is "the amnesia angle?"

   In 1993, Cactus Jack wrestled WCW World champion Vader on an episode of WCW
   Saturday Night.  During the course of that match, the action spilled to the
   outside and Vader ended up giving Cactus a powerbomb on the bare concrete
   floor. Jack's head bounced off the concrete with a sickening and very
   audible thud and the show was immediately stopped as EMS technicians
   carried him off to an ambulance on national TV.

   As it turned out, it was merely an angle to give Mick Foley, the person,
   some time off with his family and to recover from injuries.

   But as part of the storyline, WCW began doing vignettes with camera crews
   "finding" Cactus Jack in Cleveland, living in alleys, supposedly with
   amnesia. These vignettes got progressively stupider and culiminated with a
   match against Yoshi Kwan (Chris Champion) at WCW's first Fall Brawl PPV,
   with the prize being a small bag of something belonging to Jack.

   The point of the whole thing is still pretty much unknown and is often
   cited as one of the dumber ideas in wrestling's history.

1.16.3.  What are "The Three Faces of Foley?"

   In mid-1997, while in the midst of his heel Mankind gimmick, Mick Foley did
   a 4-part "up close and personal" interview with Jim Ross in which he
   covered his life story, including his early wrestling career as a Shawn
   Michaels-type called "Dude Love" who was the kind of hep cat that the
   ladies couldn't resist.  The interview also touched on the gory career of
   Cactus Jack, and portrayed Foley as a misunderstood genius of sorts.

   The interview effectively turned him babyface, as the fans began
   appreciating Mankind's talent.  He then began actively campaigning to be
   Steve Austin's partner in the WWF Tag team title tournament, an angle which
   culminated in the first appearance of Dude Love in the WWF, as he and
   Austin won the titles.

   Finally, after a match against Hunter Hearst Helmsley as Mankind and
   another one as Dude Love, a falls-count-anywhere match was signed between
   them, and to ensure victory, he resurrected Cactus Jack.

   Foley has since switched freely between the three gimmicks, with Cactus
   Jack becoming the clearly dominant one, and Mankind all but forgotten.
   Recently, however, Cactus Jack was retired and Dude Love/Mankind, in a
   *fourth* gimmick, became a corporate puppet for Vince McMahon, eventually
   turning face and winning two World titles.

1.16.4. Where have I seen the Hardcore Title before?

   An unsubstantiated theory floating around right now is that the "Hardcore
   Title" given to Mankind as a present from Vince McMahon is actually the
   same belt that was smashed by Curt Hennig on Saturday Night's Main Event in
   1990.  While this would indicate a healthy commitment to recycling on the
   WWF's part, the likelihood of keeping a destroyed title belt for 8 years is
   unlikely at best.

   However, the belt *is* remarkably similar in damage and design to the one
   destroyed by Hennig, so it very well could be the same.

1.16.5.  Where did Mr. Socko come from?

   Oddly enough, the thing that turned Mankind from midcard joke into a main
   eventer was a simple sock.

   In late 1998, during the thick of the Steve Austin-Vince McMahon war,
   Mankind was being used as comic relief ("The son Vince never had").   One
   memorable skit had Vince recouperating in the hospital from an Austin
   attack, only to be entertained against his will by the goofy Mankind.
   Mankind proceeded to do an improvised puppet show, using a sock dubbed "Mr.
   Socko".  The next week, he put the sock on his hand before performing his
   Mandible Claw finisher, and the gimmick took off from there.

   The sock now has it's own t-shirt.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.17  Who are the Von Erichs?

   To begin with, there are no "real" Von Erichs. The
   Adkisson family has used the last name "Von Erich" for
   their wrestling personas for years.

   The patriarch of the Adkisson/Von Erich clan is Jack
   Adkisson. He took the ring name Fritz Von Erich and
   wrestled in the 50's and 60's with a Nazi German
   gimmick, complete with goose step and iron claw. Jack
   had six sons, five of whom were involved with
   wrestling.

   Waldo Von Erich was Bill Sheppard, no relation to the
   Adkissons. He formed a successful tag team in the
   60's with Fritz.

   Kevin Von Erich began wrestling in the mid-70s. He
   rarely competed outside of his home state. His few
   trips out of Texas saw him compete in Japan, and in
   St. Louis. Kevin is currently semi-retired. Kevin is the
   only of Fritz's sons still alive.

   David Von Erich (nicknamed "the Yellow Rose of
   Texas") began wrestling on June 28, 1977. David was
   the most successful of the Von Erich boys in the late
   70s and early 80s, competing in St. Louis, Japan and
   Florida, as well as his home state of Texas. David was
   found dead in his hotel room in Japan on February 10,
   1984. His dreams of winning the NWA World title were
   never realized.

   Kerry Von Erich achieved the most national fame of
   the Von Erich boys. His pinnacle came on May 6th,
   1984, when he defeated Ric Flair for the NWA World
   title in Texas Stadium, at a memorial card for David.
   This event made Fritz and Kerry the only father and
   son duo to hold World singles titles (Fritz had held the
   AWA title in 1963) Kerry lost the title back to Flair in
   Japan on May 24, 1984.

   Kerry's entire career was haunted by troubles
   stemming from drug use. On June 4, 1986, Kerry was
   involved in an automobile accident in which his right
   leg was severely damaged. It wasn't until after Kerry's
   death in 1993 that his family would confirm that he
   had lost his foot in the accident. He wrestled for the
   rest of his career with a prosthesis on his leg. He did
   not return to the ring full time until late 1987. On
   February 18, 1993, Kerry shot himself in the heart at
   his home in Sandy Shore, TX. He was 33.

   Mike Von Erich debuted in November, 1983. Months
   later he was thrust in the role of being David's
   successor, a role he never quite looked comfortable in.
   In 1985, on a tour of Israel, Mike suffered a shoulder
   separation on an exceptionally hard ring. During
   recovery, Mike contracted toxic-shock syndrome. He
   recovered, but he had lost much weight and strength
   during his layoff. He returned to the ring in July 1986.
   Mike died on April 13, 1987, at the age of 23, of an
   intentional overdose of Placidyl (depressant/muscle
   relaxant).

   Chris Von Erich, the youngest of Fritz's sons, began
   appearing at ringside for his brothers matches in the
   mid-80s. He was involved in a few angles. He finally
   made his wrestling debut in the late 80's. Chris died of
   a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head on
   September 12, 1991. Chris was 21.

   In 1985, Fritz brought in Kevin William Vaughn, using
   the ring name Lance Von Erich, and billed as a cousin
   of the Von Erich boys, a son of Waldo. In reality, he
   was no relation to either Fritz's family or Waldo. Fritz's
   plan of creating a new Von Erich eventually backfired,
   after Lance left Fritz's promotion and Fritz admitted
   publicly that he actually wasn't related.

   Recently in Texas, local wrestler Rick Lerebeus has
   been wrestling as Mark Von Erich.

   Fritz Von Erich himself passed away 08/10/1997 due to
   lung cancer, adding to the sad tragedy that is the Von
   Erich family.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.18 - Goldust

1.18.1.  Is Goldust really gay?

   No.  Neither the character nor the person, Dustin Rhodes, is a homosexual.
   Dustin is married with a child, and it was stated by WWF announcers on
   several occasions that the Goldust character was simply playing mind-games
   with the opposition, and Goldust himself stated on Monday Night RAW in
   response to a query from Jerry Lawler that he was not, quote, queer,
   unquote.

   The political reasons behind the original gimmick change and the sudden
   change of heart about it are an interesting read, but have little to do
   with the basic fact that the WWF's story is that Goldust is not gay and
   never was.

1.18.2.  Is he really married to Marlena?

   Yes.  Dustin Rhodes (Runnels) married Terri Boatwright sometime in 1992
   while the two were in WCW and they have a child, Dakota. Teri was known as
   Alexandra York at the time and Dustin brought her into the WWF at Royal
   Rumble 1996 as his "director".

1.18.3.  How many times did he win the I-C title?

   Three.

   He cleanly pinned Razor Ramon to win the championship at Royal Rumble 1996
   for his first title, that much is certain.  However, he later faced Savio
   Vega for the championship and the result was the title being held up
   pending a rematch. Goldust won the rematch to claim the title for a second
   time.

   However, traditionally a title being held up does not equate vacancy, and
   Goldust should have still been considered the champion while it was held
   up.  Which is why so many people feel that an extra title reign because of
   the controversy is unfair.

   He recently had a short title reign, defeating Jesse Jammes and losing to
   the Godfather soon after.

   The WWF stands by three, however, so that is what this document must stand
   by.

1.18.4.  Why was he fired from WCW in 1995?

   Blood.

   At the first Uncensored card in 1995, Dustin and Blacktop Bully had a "King
   of the Road" match, waged in the back of a truck. Despite a very strict
   anti-blood policy being enforced by WCW at the time, Dustin and the Bully
   both bladed themselves at the behest of booker Mike Graham.  All three were
   fired from WCW in short order, and Dustin showed up in the WWF not long
   after.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.19 - Vader

1.19.1.  Why did Big Van Vader become Vader?

   When Leon White left New Japan Pro Wrestling in
1.1993, New Japan claimed that it owned the rights to
   the Big Van Vader gimmick, as well as the name. New
   Japan won a minor victory, causing WCW to simply bill
   White as Vader from then on. The courts ruled that
   due to the popularity of George Lucas' Star Wars
   movies, New Japan couldn't claim rights on the name
   Vader alone.

1.19.2.  What happened with Paul Orndorff?

   In 1995, during the last days of Vader's tenure in
   WCW, Vader and booker Paul Orndorff were involved in
   a backstage argument which lead to blows.   Orndorff
   took Vader down and beat on him with his one good
   arm for a bit before the fight was broken up. WCW
   chose to blow this incident completely out of
   proportion given Vader's jump to the WWF and use it
   as proof of how much tougher WCW's wrestlers were.

1.19.3.  What happened in Kuwait?

   Vader was on a Kuwaiti talk show in April of 1997, and
   when host Bassam Al Otham asked whether or not
   wrestling was fake, Vader essentially lost control and
   attacked the host.  He was detained in Kuwait briefly
   following the incident, then was allowed to return to
   the US pending trial.  The end result was a whopping
   $200 US fine and a proverbial smack on the wrist.

1.19.4.  Why did he leave the WWF?

   He was fired.  Despite repeated warnings from WWF
   officials to control his weight problem or face
   suspension (or worse), Vader continued to gain weight
   to lose mobility, until he was simply at the point where
   he was a hinderance to the WWF.  He was released
   from his contract late in 1998, with the caveat that All
   Japan and ECW were the only major promotions where
   he could work, and he signed with All Japan and is
   currently enjoying success there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.20 - The New Breed

1.20.1.  Who were the New Breed?

   Chris Champion and Sean Royal.

1.20.2.  Where are they now?

   Champion wrestled in WCW in 1993 as "Yoshi Kwan" and later teamed
   with brother Mark Starr as WildSide in the USWA.  He remains in the
   independent federations today.  Sean Royal is retired and was last
   seen working in the construction business.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.21 - Demolition

1.21.1.  Who was a member?

   Demolition was originally comprised of Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash
   (Randy Culley).  The original Smash was fired by the WWF very
   shortly after the team began and was replaced by Smash (Barry
   Darsow, formerly known as Khruscher Kruschev). Crush (Bryan Adams)
   was added to the team in 1990.  Ax was fired in 1991 and the team
   was Crush and Smash upon their breakup in the same year.

   Ax wrestled in the independents as the "New Demolition" with a
   wrestler named Flash, but legal threats from the WWF ended this
   team very quickly.

1.21.2.  Why was Ax fired?

   Ax developed a fairly serious heart problem in 1990 which prevented
   him from wrestling full-time, and thus Crush was added to take the
   stress off of him. Eventually it got so bad that the risk was no
   longer worth it for a team whose time had obviously come and gone,
   so he was fired.

1.21.3.  Did they ever wrestle The Road Warriors?

   Yes.  Demolition faced them in several six-man tag matches featuring the 3
   of them against Hawk, Animal and the Ulimate Warrior, and at one
   house show in 1990 Crush was injured and Warrior no-showed so it
   was left as a tag team cage match between the original Demolition
   -- Ax and Smash  -- against Hawk and Animal.   The LOD won, in case
   you couldn't guess that.

   This was the one and only meeting between the two teams.

   Many people have the impression that they wrestled each other in
   1988, but this was a result of Demolition wrestling a lookalike
   team called the Powers of Pain (Warlord and Barbarian) on many
   occasions, a deliberate misconception on the WWF's part.

1.21.4.  Is Demolition getting back together?

   Very doubtful.  The only place they could re-unite, legally, is the
   WWF, although the Darsow-Adams team could be re-united under
   another name in WCW.  Bill Eadie is currently involved in a lawsuit
   with the WWF over the Demolition name and Darsow is signed to a
   contract with WCW, so it is unlikely either man would return any
   time soon.

   In short, don't count on seeing them again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.22 - Brutus Beefcake

1.22.1.  Is he really Hulk Hogan's brother?

   No.  Ed Leslie and Terry Bollea are good friends in real life, but
   are not related in any way.

1.22.2.  How many identities has he had?

   "Dizzy" Ed Boulder, Brutus Beefcake, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake,
   Furface, Brother Bruti, The Butcher, The Man with No Name, The Man
   With No Face, The Zodiac Man, The Clipmaster, the Booty Man and
   most recently the "Disciple".

1.22.3.  What happened to his face?

   About two weeks before Summerslam 90, Beefcake and B. Brian Blair
   were parasailing, and an accident caused Blair to go spinning out
   of control and hit Beefcake in the face with his knees. Beefcake's
   entire face was shattered, and it ruined his career.  His entire
   face had to be surgically reconstructed almost from scratch, and he
   didn't fully recover until 1993.

   He did make a few appearances as Furface, however.

1.22.4.  Furface???

   Yep.  You probably remember him.  You know, back in 1991, a heel
   like Earthquake or the Mountie would be wrestling a squash match,
   and suddenly this guy with a fur mask and an indian beaded vest
   would run down and headbutt the heel out of the ring? That was
   Beefcake.  It went on for about a month before everyone realized
   that he wasn't fully healed yet and simply dropped the whole
   thing.

   As a minor point of interest, his official name was going to either
   be "The Mariner" or "The Avenger" but it never caught on so was
   forgotten.

1.22.5.  Was he supposed to turn on Hulk Hogan in 1994?

   No.  Originally the plan was for the "masked man" to be Curt
   Hennig, who would cost Hogan the title against Ric Flair and lead
   to a reunion of Hennig and Flair.

   Unfortunately for WCW, they were unable to offer Hennig enough
   money to make giving up his insurance settlement worthwhile, and
   Hogan was unwilling to job the World title to Ric Flair. The end
   result was that Beefcake was stuck into the Black Scorpion suit as
   the evil turncoat and faced Hogan at Starrcade that year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.23 - Doink

1.23.1.  Who was Doink?

   There were, in fact, several men to don the clown suit.

   The original, and best, was Matt Borne, who began making appearances in the
   stands in 1992 and lasted until 1994 as the evil clown.

   At Wrestlemania IX, Doink II debuted: Steve "Skinner" Keirn. He was the one
   under the ring who attacked Crush and later did all the pantomime skits
   with Borne.

   Once Doink turned face, the part was taken over by Steve Lombardi, who got
   beaten at house shows as Doink on a regular basis.

   At Wrestlemania X, Ray Licachelli officially stepped into the big floppy
   shoes, along with sidekick Dink the Clown (midget wrestler Tiger Jackson).

   Finally, at Survivor Series that year, LukeDoink, ButchDoink, MoDoink and
   MabelDoink came into the picture, although they looked suspiciously like
   the Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission.

1.23.2.  Who the hell is Ray Licachelli?

   No one knows.  As far as anyone can tell, he's just some guy they found
   almost off the street and decided to stick in the clown suit. He's been
   incorrectly referred as to being the former Phil Apollo, which is wrong and
   is based on reports of him wrestling as "Ray Apollo" which is also wrong
   because no one has heard of that guy either.

   As of this writing, it is reported that Ray is doing the gimmick at
   independant shows, most recently with Afa's MSWF promotion.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.24 - Hacksaw Jim Duggan

1.24.1.  Was Duggan arrested in 1987?

   Yes.  On 05/26/1987, Duggan and "hated rival" Iron Sheik were driving home
   together after a house show when they were pulled over by the police due to
   Duggan's erratic driving.  The police officer discovered Duggan was driving
   while under the influence of alcohol and marijuana, and found the Sheik to
   be in possession of various drugs, including cocaine and marijuana. Duggan
   was released and the Sheik was given a year's probation.

1.24.2.  Did he have cancer?

   Yes.  In 1998, Duggan was diagnosed with cancer of the liver, which
   reportedly was in the form of a tumor the size of a football.   Duggan
   underwent surgery and made a full recovery.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.25 - Jerry Lawler

1.25.1.  What happened with Andy Kaufman?

   Kaufman, who had made it known several times that he wished to be a
   professional wrestling manager, and specifically a heel, began having
   "intergender" matches in 1981 with women, and of course winning
   easily.  He followed this up with a series of insulting video segments
   directed towards wrestling fans in general, and Memphis wrestling fans
   in particular.  Finally, he was challenged by wrestler Jerry Lawler to
   a one-on-one match, which Lawler won easily and injured Kaufman's neck
   in the process.  In July of 1982, Kaufman and Lawler appeared on an
   episode of Late Night with David Letterman, talking about the rivalry,
   during which Andy was pushed around by Lawler, and responded with an
   out-of-control profanity-laden tirade, and walked off the set. It made
   national headlines.  He returned to Memphis shortly after as a heel
   manager, and Lawler ended up getting his final revenge on Kaufman.

   All of the above was a carefully crafted work and was 100% fake. Just
   to clear that up.   Lawler and Kaufman were friends in real life.

   To further complicate the situation, Lawler and Jim Carrey have
   reportedly gotten into on-set altercations that closely mirror the
   above incidents while filming the Andy Kaufman bio film. These are
   also 100% fake and are merely for publicity, although the legitimate
   press is once again eating every moment of it.

1.25.2.  Did he rape a girl in 1993?

   No one knows for sure, but in the eyes of the law, no.    In 1993, a
   15-year old girl accused Lawler of raping and sodomizing her earlier
   in the year, and Lawler was to be indicted and tried for the crime.
   However, in the early part of 1994, she admitted to lying about the
   entire incident, and Lawler returned to the WWF without further
   mention of it shortly thereafter.

   Lawler's taste in women is widely known in wrestling circles, however,
   so as always, use your own judgment.

1.25.3.  How many times has he won the USWA title?

   From it's inception in 1989 until it's death in 1997, Lawler held the
   USWA World title an amazing 27 times, which is not counting the
   title's previous lineage in the CWA and/or WCCW.

   The various dates and opponents will not be listed here, and the
   reader is encouraged to look them up himself if so desired.

   As a sidenote, Jerry Lawler is credited with more championships in
   total than any other wrestler in the history of the industry, by
   far.   His total sat at more than 200 regional and World titles won at
   the time of his retirement.

1.25.4.  Is he related to the Honky Tonk Man?

   Yes.  Jerry Lawler and Wayne Ferris are cousins.

1.25.5. Did he get into a fight with Jim Carrey?

   No.  During filming of Carrey's "Man in the Moon" movie about the life
   of Andy Kaufman, stories were circulated about Carrey getting "too
   much into character" and attacking Lawler, and a huge brawl breaking
   out.  These were merely planted stories to generate the same buzz
   amidst the press that the original Kaufman-Lawler incident did, thus
   showing that Andy could still work 'em from the grave.

1.25.6. Who is Miss Kitty?

   Lawler's real-life girlfriend was brought in as a secondary valet for
   Jeff Jarrett and Debra in 1999, dubbed "Miss Kitty". Lawler has stated
   for the record that they have been in a serious relationship for
   almost nine years, and she is NOT older than his son Brian
   Christopher, as has been widely "reported" on the internet. Kitty is
   not associated with Lawler onscreen in the WWF.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.26 - Ravishing Rick Rude

1.26.1.  Why didn't he wrestle after 1994?

   In 1994, he won the bogus World title from Sting in a
   match in Japan.  During the course of this match,
   Sting jumped off the top rope and landed on Rude's
   neck, fracturing vertabrae.  Rude was forced into
   retirement within weeks of the match due to extreme
   pain, and was then fired by WCW due to breach of
   contract because they didn't believe the injury was as
   bad as Rude was claiming.

   Rude collected millions on a very lucrative insurance
   policy for the next three years, before making a
   surprise appearance in ECW, then the WWF, and then
   finally WCW.

   His death in April of 1999 finally put an end to his
   pain.  He was, ironically, training for a comeback at
   the time of his death.

1.26.2.  Did he change his name to Ravishing Rick Rude?

   Yes, which is why he can call himself as such in any
   federation he chooses.  He legally had his name
   changed from Richard Rood to Ravishing Rick Rude.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.27 - Curt Hennig

1.27.1.  Why didn't he wrestle from 1994 until 1997?

   At Summerslam '91, Hennig suffered a very serious
   back injury against Bret Hart, and was forced to take
   more than a year off to recover.  He managed Ric Flair
   in the interim, and when he made his return at
   Survivor Series 1992, he made sure to take out a very
   lucrative insurance policy with Lloyds of London in
   case such an injury occurred again.  And just before
   Survivor Series 1993, he reinjured his back and was
   forced into "retirement" while collecting a yearly
   settlement numbering into the millions of dollars.

   By December of 1996, he was either ready to return to
   the ring or the insurance company was unwilling to
   continue paying someone as obviously healthy as
   Hennig was, but in either case the WWF made him
   enough of an offer that he agreed to begin wrestling
   again.

1.27.2.  Did he lose the AWA World title to Greg Gagne in 1987?

   Yes and no.

   In a match in Gagne's home state of Minnesota, Gagne
   cleanly pinned Hennig in a cage match (albeit with
   some controversy) to win the AWA World title.  The
   title change had not been cleared with the AWA's
   head bookers.

   This set off a power struggle between various AWA
   promoters, which was a harbinger of the chaos to
   come, as one faction recognized Gagne as the
   champion and another recognized Hennig. A deal was
   worked out where Hennig would beat Gagne in a
   rematch to end the controversy.  Hennig lost the title
   to Jerry Lawler shortly after.

   Greg Gagne may or may not be a former champion,
   although most people prefer to simply ignore the whole
   thing.

1.27.3. Was he drunk on Nitro?

   Maybe.

   Officially, of course, WCW denies anything, but many
   have pointed out that Hennig (then noticeably pudgy)
   exhibited the classic signs of intoxication, including
   actually falling over during an interview.  Reports were
   that all alcohol was banned backstage as a result, and
   Hennig has since lost weight, gained speed, and
   stopped tripping over imaginary objects.

   The author leaves it to the reader to make his own
   decisions on the matter.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.28 - Ray Traylor

1.28.1.  What identites has he used?

   At various points in his career, Ray has been called Big Bubba
   Rogers, War Machine, Big Bossman, The Boss, The Guardian Angel, Big
   Bubba, Ray Traylor, and then back to Big Bossman again.

1.28.2.  Is he a former prison guard?

   Yes, he actually did work as a former prison guard, in Cobb County,
   GA, which really does exist.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.29 - The Undertaker

1.29.1.  How many have there been?

   One.  Mark Callaway is, and has always been, the only
   Undertaker.

1.29.2.  Didn't he start under a different name?

   Yes.  He was introduced at Survivor Series 1990 as
   The Undertaker and was managed by Brother Love,
   who was in turn financed by Ted Dibiase.   He was
   given a character makeover shortly thereafter, to
   "Kane, The Undertaker", still managed by Brother Love,
   and finally the Kane part was dropped again and
   manager Paul Bearer was added.

1.29.3.  Was he ever in WCW?

   Yes.  Mark Callaway competed under the name "Mean"
   Mark Callous in 1990, first as part of the Skyscrapers
   then as a singles wrestler.  He can be seen challenging
   Lex Luger for the US title at Great American Bash 90 in
   his only singles match of any note in that organization.

1.29.4.  What was the Underfaker/Overtaker/Fake
   Undertaker?

   This will require a bit of explanation.

   In 1990, Undertaker was introduced to the WWF by
   Ted Dibiase. The storyline here says that he felt
   slighted by the Undertaker's betrayal of him to go with
   Paul Bearer.

   In 1993, Undertaker began a feud with WWF champion
   Yokozuna at Survivor Series.  They fought in a casket
   match for the title at Royal Rumble 1994.  During the
   course of that match, 10 different wrestlers ran out to
   interfere on Yokozuna's behalf, beating up the
   Undertaker and locking him in the casket and thus
   giving Yokozuna the win.

   After that match, Undertaker appeared on the video
   wall and gave a long speech stating how he was not
   really dead and would return or some such nonsense.
   The lights went out and Marty Jannetty, dressed in an
   Undertaker costume, was raised to the roof of the
   arena in a crucifix position, in order to give the illusion
   of being the Undertaker and ascending to the
   heavens.

   In reality, Mark Callaway needed time off for family
   matters. This was just a new and very original way to
   give him that time off.

   Undertaker was not to be seen again in the WWF until
   after Wrestlemania X, when Ted Dibiase
   introduced...his Undertaker. This was Brian Lee
   dressed and acting like Mark Callaway, and most
   people could tell the difference immediately.

   A match between the Undertaker and the Underfaker
   was signed for Summerslam 1994 with very little real
   storyline or buildup, and at that show the real
   Undertaker disposed of the fake one with ease and
   pinned him after three Tombstones.  Underfaker was
   never to be seen or spoken of again in the WWF, and
   is considered a "taboo" subject, much like the "new"
   Razor Ramon and Diesel have become.

1.29.5.  Who is Kane?

   If you mean who plays Kane, it's Glen Jacobs.

   If you mean who is Kane the character, it's the
   Undertaker's little brother gone bad.  The storyline
   states that Undertaker and Kane were playing with
   matches as children, and as a result their parents
   were killed in a fire started by Undertaker, and Kane
   was hideously deformed, which is why he wears the
   mask.

1.29.6.  Didn't he beat Hulk Hogan?

   Yes.  At Survivor Series 1991, he scored a (mostly)
   clean pinfall over Hulk Hogan to capture his first WWF
   World title. Most fans are willing to forgive Ric Flair's
   interference.  :)

1.29.7.  What was with that mask he wore in 1995?

   In 1995, during the (brief) Bill Watts era in the WWF,
   Mabel was being given a monster heel push, which
   included destroying Undertaker with a series of
   legdrops to the face.  According to the storyline,
   Undertaker suffered eye damage and had to wear a
   purple face-mask to shield him from further damage
   upon returning.  His facial features appeared slightly
   different while wearing the mask, prompting the usual
   "Was it really the Undertaker?" nonsense on RSPW. It
   was, of course, really the Undertaker, not Brian Lee or
   anyone else.  He may or may not have had plastic
   surgery during the time off, thus explaining the facial
   differences, but it was still plain old Mark Callaway.

1.29.8. What was the "logofixion"?

   In a late-1998 episode of RAW, in order to build heat
   for his upcoming match against Steve Austin and
   cement him as a heel, a huge representation of the
   Undertaker's symbol was erected by the
   entranceway.  Austin was then tied to the symbol in a
   Christ-like pose, and the whole works was set on fire.
   Many people were offended by the so-called logofixion
   (before actually seeing the show) and having seen the
   show, generally brushed it off as silliness.

1.29.9. Who are the Corporate Ministry?

   Formerly known as the Ministry of Darkness, the
   Corporate Ministry consists of Undertaker, HHH,
   Mideon, Viscera, Bradshaw, Faarooq and the Big
   Bossman.  Their goal, as with everyone else in the
   WWF, seems to be to destroy Steve Austin.  They
   answer to a mysterious "higher power".

   They are composed of the remnants of two former
   teams:   The Corporation and the Ministry.  Former
   members of the Corporation include Paul Wight, Ken
   Shamrock and Test.  Former members of the Ministry
   include Gangrel, Edge and Christian.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.30 - Stevie Richards

1.30.1.  Who is the Blue Meanie?

   A big, fat, weird-looking guy who presented Stevie with a "Flock of
   Seagulls" t-shirt at November to Remember 1995 and became his best
   friend and partner from then on.  He had blue hair, hence the name.

   The name is in reference to the Beatles' movie "Yellow Submarine" with
   the main villains being the Blue Meanies.

1.30.2.  Who have Steve and the Meanie impersonated?

   Shawn Michaels, Diesel, The Fabulous Ones, Goldust, Baron Von Raschke,
   Public Enemy, The nWo, the Bluebloods and KISS.

1.30.3.  What is the bWo?  Who have been members?

   Perhaps the crowning glory of Stevie's goofiness was the Blue World
   Order, which debuted at November to Remember 1996 and spoofed WCW's
   New World Order.  T-shirts still sell to this day, long after they
   disbanded.

   Members were Big Stevie Cool (Richards as Kevin Nash), Da Blue Guy
   (The Blue Meanie as Scott Hall), "Hollywood" Bob Starr (Supernova as
   Hulk Hogan), 7-11 (Rob Feinstein as Syxx), Thomas "Inchworm" Rodman
   (you figure it out), Taka Michinoku, Men's Teioh and Dick Togo (The
   latter three were "bWo International" at Barely Legal).

1.30.4.  Where is Stevie today?

   In May of 1997, Stevie suffered a neck injury so severe that he
   announced his retirement, before miraculously recovering and signing
   with WCW.    Many people, especially Paul Heyman, debate the
   legitimacy of the injury to this day.

   By October of 1997, Stevie had left WCW and returned to ECW after
   failing medical exams in WCW due to his neck problems.  He made up a
   story about being forced into retirement (again) before making a
   surprise appearance at November to Remember 1997.

   Finally, two weeks after reappearing with ECW, he was forced into
   retirement (for a third time) and actually underwent major neck
   surgery to prevent permanent paralysis.   He suffered vocal chord
   damage as a side effect.   He has recently returned to wrestling
   full-time in the WWF.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.31 - Diamond Dallas Page

1.31.1.  Is he really married to Kimberly?

   Yes.  Page and Kimberly Falkenberg are husband and
   wife in real life and have been for a while.

1.31.2.  Didn't Kimberly pose nude for Playboy?

   Yes.  She and DDP posed for a special "celebrity" issue
   in 1997, and Kimberly was completely naked in many of
   the shots.  She has recently done another, equally
   naked, spread.

1.31.3.  Didn't he used to be a manager?

   Yes.  He managed Pat Tanaka and Paul Diamond to
   the AWA World tag team titles in 1987 and later
   arrived in WCW, debuting as the manager of the
   Fabulous Freebirds in 1990, then splitting off on his
   own and managing The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall)
   before becoming a wrestler and teaming with Vinnie
   Vegas (Kevin Nash).

   That's why everyone expected him to join the nWo
   when it was in it's early stages -- because he was so
   closely connected with both Hall and Nash during that
   stage of their careers.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.32 - Raven

1.32.1.  What other identities has he used?

   Scott Levy started out in Memphis as Scotty The
   Body, temporarily changed his name to Scott Anthony,
   signed with WCW as Scotty Flamingo, joined the WWF
   as manager Johnny Polo, and finally debuted in ECW as
   Raven.

1.32.2.  Who were in Raven's Nest?

   This is the ECW version of Raven's stable of wrestlers:

   Raven, Stevie Richards, Johnny Hotbody, Tony
   Stetson, The Pitbulls, Dudley Dudley, Dances with
   Dudley, Buh Buh Ray Dudley, Big Dick Dudley, Chubby
   Dudley, Sign Guy Dudley, Little Snot Dudley, Beulah
   McGillicuty, Lori Fullington, Tyler Fullington, Lupus,
   Reggie Bennett, Chastity, Cactus Jack, Brian Lee, Ron
   & Don Bruise and Kimona Wannalaya.

1.32.3.  Who are in Raven's Flock?

   No one.  The Flock was disbanded as of Fall Brawl 98
   after Raven's defeat to Saturn.

   However, this was the last WCW version of Raven's
   stable of wrestlers:

   Raven, Lodi, Sick Boy, (Billy) Kidman, (Ron) Reese,
   (Scotty) Riggs, (Chris) Kanyon and Horace (Boulder).

   Steve Richards left the group in October.  Lodi was
   originally called Skank.  Mortis was offered a position
   in the group but failed the "initiation test".  Hammer
   was turfed out for being a loser.  Saturn left because
   of unresolved playground issues with Raven,
   apparently.  Kanyon (the unmasked Mortis) joined for
   unspecified reasons later. Reese and Kidman left for
   equally unspecified reasons.

   Kanyon remains as Raven's longtime companion and
   general mouthpiece.  Lodi seems to hang around
   ex-Flock members due to withdrawl symptoms.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.33 - Al Snow

1.33.1.  What the deal with the head?

   For most of 1997, Al Snow was an underappreciated
   jobber named Leif Cassidy who put over opponents
   regarded as much less talented and languished without
   heat or a gimmick.  At the end of 1997, he was loaned
   to ECW as part of the ongoing "talent exchange"
   between the WWF and ECW (which has been entirely
   one-way) in order to find a gimmick that would work.
   Snow gave a few interviews acting crazy and nothing
   came of it, until he finally came upon a shoot interview
   where he described his experience in the WWF,
   summing it up by stating that in order to get a push,
   you had to "give a little head", in reference to the
   often-accused-never-proven "push for sex" policy in
   the WWF, and he would thus start giving a little head
   to his opponents.  The little head in question was a
   mannequin head that he talked to as part of the
   insanity gimmick, and the rest is history.

1.33.2.  What does it say on the head?

   "Help me", written backwards.  The same can be seen
   on Snow's forehead.

1.33.3.  What is the J.O.B. Squad?

   Often seen on t-shirts now, the J.O.B. Squad is the
   somewhat-fictional group of wrestlers whose motto is
   "Pin me, pay me" and is used to include anyone who is
   viewed as underappreciated, underutilized or underpaid
   by their organization. They are opposed by the evil
   forces of P.U.S.H., which includes just about everyone
   on the upper tier of wrestling.  Both terms are of
   course "wink-wink" references to insider terms.

   The group is currently dead, with Scorpio, Gillberg and
   the Meanie all fired, and Bob Holly going hardcore.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.34 - The Big Show

1.34.1.  Is he really Andre's son?

   You'd think common sense would answer this one, but sadly it doesn't for
   many.  Andre "The Giant" Rousimoff had one daughter, and that's it.  The
   "Giant Jr." angle was made up by Hulk Hogan in an effort to lend heat to
   his 1995 feud with The Giant.  Paul Wight is of no relation, although it's
   interesting to note that he does suffer from the same ailment that ended up
   killing Andre.

1.34.2.  Is he a former tag team champion? A former two-time World champion?

   Yes and no.

   As with anything in wrestling, it depends on what WCW is recognizing at any
   given moment. At Halloween Havoc 95, Giant beat Hogan by disqualification,
   but it was later revealed that the DQ rule had been secretly waived for
   that match, which meant Giant was the World champion.  He was immediately
   stripped of the title. It is unclear whether this constitutes a title
   reign, but it notable that WCW has never mentioned it again.

   At Superbrawl VII, Giant and Lex Luger cleanly defeated the Outsiders to
   win the tag team titles, but the next night Eric Bischoff forced them to
   give the belts back to the Outsiders. Common sense would dictate that this
   is not a title reign, but WCW feels otherwise as of late and is declaring
   it an official reign. So this document must stand by the official decision
   of the federation, no matter how stupid.

   With Wight's likely permanent defection the WWF, the entire point is moot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.35 - Chris Benoit

1.35.1.  Has he ever held a title in WCW?

   Yes.  Benoit finally got a title at Uncensored 99, capturing the World
   tag team titles with Dean Malenko. He followed this up by winning the
   US title from David Flair in August of 1999, and then the TV title in
   September.

   Benoit's recent gimmick has been the "greatest wrestler without a
   title" one, although he has received a few shots at the US title
   (against Sasaki in 1995, Malenko in 1997 and Page in 1998) and a few
   shots at the TV title in 1998.  Benoit and Booker T traded the TV
   title twice at house shows early in May of 1998, but WCW did *not*
   recognize them on their television programming and thus they did not
   happen.

1.35.2.  Has he ever wrestled in the WWF?

   Yes.  He wrestled three tryout matches in 1995, losing all of them and
   not impressing anyone enough to get a job.  He signed with WCW shortly
   thereafter.

1.35.3.  Why does he lose so much?

   Well, he doesn't really, but that's the perception.

   His main problem is being pushed to a higher level on the card and
   then jobbed to make others look better.  This has been happening since
   early 1996.  Why?  The most widely accepted theory is that the
   marriage of WCW booker Kevin Sullivan and Nancy (Woman) Sullivan was
   broken up largely due to an affair between Benoit and Nancy.   Benoit
   was managed by Woman at the time, and she appears with him in public
   often, adding to this theory. Sullivan, for whatever reason, was given
   control of the bookings of Benoit and "punished" him with endless jobs
   in retaliation for the affair.   This would seem to be exceedingly
   unprofessional on Sullivan's part and the kind of spiteful thing one
   could get fired for, which is a negative against the theory.

   No one but Kevin Sullivan, Benoit and Woman really know for sure, one
   would guess.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.36 - The Nation of Domination / The Rock

1.36.1. Who have been members?

   There are three distinct "versions" of the Nation of
   Domination

   Nation 1.0, 1996:  Faarooq and manager Clarence
   Mason, along with a group of nameless lackies
   (including D-Lo Brown) form the Nation of Domination,
   as a sort of parody of Louis Farrakhan's Nation of
   Islam. The very white Crush joins as a matter of
   convenience (he was already managed by Mason) and
   Savio Vega joins a few months later, turning on
   partner Ahmed Johnson.

   Nation 2.0, 1997:  Disgusted by the constant
   in-fighting, Faarooq fires everyone but D-Lo and brings
   in longtime enemy Ahmed Johnson and Kama Mustafa.
   Rocky Maivia joins in August and immediately begins
   lobbying for leadership of the group.

   Nation 2.5, 1997:  Rocky brings in Mark Henry above
   Faarooq's head and leadership bounces between them.

   Nation 3.0, 1998:  Rocky dumps Faarooq from the
   group permanently and brings in Owen Hart to replace
   him, declaring himself the ruler of the group and
   re-naming it the Nation.

   Nation ?.?, 1998:  Remaining members D-Lo, Kama and
   Mark Henry dump the newly face-turned Maivia from
   the group on an episode of Sunday Night Heat.  The
   group disbands soon after.

1.36.2. Why did Rocky suck?

   In 1996, Vince McMahon brought in a very green
   Rocky Maivia as the "next big thing" and immediately
   pushed him down the fans' throats as a
   mega-babyface, despite the fact that the fans
   couldn't stand him. This was made worse by Rocky's
   victory over HHH for the Intercontinental title in
   February of 1997, which annoyed fans so much that
   they began chanting "Rocky sucks!" at every
   appearance he made in the ring.  This finally became
   an advantage when Rocky turned heel in mid-1997, as
   the "Rocky Sucks" chant became his trademark.

   His recent heel turn caused a resurgance in the chant.

1.36.3. What's with "The People's [X]"?
   What's a "rooty poo"?

   One of Rocky's catchphrases is to call himself "The
   People's Champion", and given the wrestling fandom's
   propensity for spreading a really good catchphrase, it
   collectively dubbed his over-blown elbow drop "The
   People's Elbow", and his trademark eyebrow-lift "The
   People's Eyebrow".   Others have followed, but those
   are the most widely used.

   On another note, Rock has been known to call people
   a "rooty poo", which is a reference to a similar insult
   used by Iceman Parsons in the mid-80s.  It essentially
   means "wimp, loser or pansy".

1.36.4. Where have I seen The Godfather before?

   Probably as Papa Shango, in 1992, as the voodoo
   master.   Or as Kama, the Supreme Fighting Machine,
   in 1996 as part of Ted Dibiase's Corporation.

1.36.5. ...and why *did* Ahmed Johnson join the Nation, anyway?

   Often cited as one of the most senseless heel turns in
   recent history, Ahmed Johnson's joining of his bitter
   foes was actually explained by the WWF announcers.

   In the weeks leading up to the heel turn, much was
   made of his gang roots and how he needed a gang
   situation to stay focused, and that the Nation
   certainly was a gang.  At the "Cold Day in Hell" show in
   May of 1997, he fought all three Nation members
   (Faarooq, Savio, Crush) and was unable to beat them,
   causing the announcers to speculate he might have a
   new respect for Faarooq. And after he did join, he was
   to receive a shot at WWF champion Undertaker, but
   was forced to give up the shot due to an injury. In
   fact, injuries were much of the problem with the whole
   turn, as he was away from the WWF for most of it.

   This is not to say the turn actually made sense in the
   long run, because it didn't, but it's not like the WWF
   didn't make *any* effort to explain it.

1.36.6. ...and why *was* Ahmed Johnson dumped from the Nation
   so soon?

   Injuries and politics.

   The heat generated by the heel turn was in fact too
   much, as Faarooq's "leadership" was disregarded by
   the fans, who now openly acknowledged the bad-ass
   Johnson as the true leader of the Nation. Faarooq felt
   this was diminishing his status in the federation, and
   combined with Johnson's increasing injuries, this was
   enough to cause the WWF to book an angle whereby
   Johnson would be dumped from the group and replaced
   with Rocky Maivia, who ironically would completely
   usurp the spotlight from Faarooq more completely and
   thoroughly then Johnson ever could have.

   This turn, it should be noted, was not explained in any
   meaningful form due to the last-minute nature of the
   booking.

1.36.7. What were the "Gang Wars" about?

   In the "It seemed like a good idea at the time"
   department, the original split of the Nation produced
   three factions:  The Nation of Domination (led by
   Faarooq), the Disciples of Apocolypse (led by Crush)
   and Los Boriquas (led by Savio Vega). These twelve
   men fought each other in various combinations for
   months, with no one getting a real advantage.  It is
   widely regarded as a very bad idea that produced
   some very bad matches. The Truth Commission also
   was mixed into the Gang Wars, but we don't like to
   talk about them.

1.36.8. Was Clarence Mason really a lawyer?

   Yes.  He was a part of the WWF's legal team who
   demonstrated a knack for managing, and was given a
   job as Crush's manager and lawyer as part of an
   angle.  He did well and was expanded to a full-time
   manager by Summerslam 96.  He is, to the best of
   anyone's knowledge, still working as part of the WWF's
   legal consul to this day.

1.36.9. Why is Owen Hart a "nugget"?

   In November of 1997, Bret Hart got screwed, and
   Owen Hart took a leave of absense from the WWF to
   think things over.

   At the D-Generation X PPV in December, he returned
   to beat the hell out of Shawn Michaels following
   Shawn's match with Ken Shamrock. The next night on
   RAW, Shawn gave a speech comparing Owen to a
   nugget of feces that you just can't get rid of, no
   matter how many times you flush the toilet.

   The name was largely forgotten until the "new" D-X did
   a skit mocking the Nation, and impressionist Jason
   Sensation did a dead-on Owen Hart and stated that
   "[he] was not a nugget".  The name caught on again
   as a result.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.37 - Bret Hart

1.37.1. How was Bret "screwed"?

   To make a very long story short:

   In 1996, Bret Hart signed a 20-year contract with the World Wrestling
   Federation.   Mid-1997, Vince McMahon decided he no longer wished to
   honor that contract and informed Bret that he should feel free to look
   for employment elsewhere.  But Vince was committed to putting the WWF
   title on Bret before it began, and did so at Summerslam 97.  Bret
   accepted an offer from WCW, while still holding the WWF title, and
   wrestled Shawn Michaels for the title at Survivor Series 97.   During
   the course of that match, Shawn got Bret in his own sharpshooter.
   Vince McMahon, sitting at ringside, ordered the match stopped and the
   belt awarded to Shawn, despite the lack of a submission on Bret's
   part.  It was the first double-cross seen in the "Big Two" since the
   inception of the modern era in 1984.

   For full details on the incident the history surrounding it, please
   consult Appendix D.

1.37.2. What are the FIVE MOVES OF DOOM?

   Bret Hart's dreaded FIVE MOVES OF DOOM, capitalized as a way of
   expressing sarcasm by the newsgroup, are vertical suplex, russian
   legsweep, backbreaker, elbowdrop from the second rope and
   Sharpshooter, in that order.  The cynicism on RSPW's part came about
   during 1995 when Bret essentially wrestled the same match on every PPV
   due to limiting opponents.

1.37.3. What titles has he held?

   Bret has held the WWF World title 5 times from 1992-1997, the
   Intercontinental title 2 times from 1991-1992, the WWF tag titles two
   times from 1987-1991, and the WCW US title three times in 1998.  He
   added another US title in 1999, the WCW World title in November of
   1999, and the tag team titles with Goldberg soon after. He also won
   numerous championships in Stampede Wrestling in the late 70s and early
   80s.

1.37.4. How much money is he making in WCW?

   Most estimates place his three-year deal at around 3 million dollars
   US per year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.38 - Roddy Piper

1.38.1. What movies has he starred in?

   From the Internet Movie DataBase:

   Shepherd (1998)
   Dead Tides (1997/I) .... Mick Leddy
   ... aka Swept Away (1997) (USA: working title)
   ... aka True Vengeance (1996) (USA: working title)
   ... aka White Tides (1997) (USA: working title)
   Bad Pack, The (1997) .... Dash Simms
   Sci-fighters (1996) .... Cameron
   Jungleground (1995) .... Lt. Jake Cornel
   Marked Man (1995) .... Frank Gibson
   Terminal Rush (1995) .... Bartel
   Tough and Deadly (1995) .... Elmo Freech
   Back in Action (1994) .... Frank Rossi
   Immortal Combat (1994) .... John Keller
   No Contest (1994) .... Ice
   Love Boat: A Valentine Voyage, The (1990) (TV) ....
   Maurice Steiger
   ... aka Love Boat: A Summer Cruise, The (1990) (TV)
   Buy & Cell (1989)
   They Live (1988) .... Nada
   ... aka John Carpenter's They Live (1988) (USA:
   complete title)
   Highwayman, The (1987) (TV) .... Preacher
   ... aka Terror on the Blacktop (1987) (TV)
   Body Slam (1987) .... Quick Rick Roberts
   Hell Comes to Frogtown (1987) .... Sam Hell

1.38.2. What titles has he held?

   Piper has held too many regional championships to
   name here, but the only major titles he has held are
   the WWF Intercontinental title, won from the Mountie
   in 1992, and the WCW US title, won from Bret Hart
   early in 1999.  He won a version of the WCW US
   heavyweight title in 1983 as well, but with the murky
   lineage of NWA regional titles before 1988, it's hard to
   say for certain that it's the same as the one today.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.39 - Andre the Giant

1.39.1. Did he have a drinking problem?

   He drank a lot, but it was hardly a problem.  A man Andre's size can
   drink amounts of alcohol that will bring a smaller man to his knees.
   Andre was reputed to be able to drink entire six-packs of beer without
   feeling so much as a buzz. In his later years, he tended his own
   winery in France, but it had nothing to do with his eventual death.

1.39.2. Was he really undefeated for 10 years?

   Yes.  His last recorded defeat before Wrestlemania III was prior to
   1977, so the undefeated claim was a legitimate one.  This is not to
   say Andre didn't lose before then -- it just means that there is no
   recorded evidence of it happening.

1.39.3. Did he ever wrestle Hulk Hogan *before* WMIII?

   On the other hand, the WWF's claims of Wrestlemania III being the
   first meeting between Hulk and Andre were completely false. Hulk Hogan
   and Andre the Giant wrestled each other a number of times prior to
   Hogan's assent to stardom, most notably in the famous Shea Stadium
   card in 1981, a WWF show.  Andre won that night, by the way.

1.39.4. How did he die?

   Andre suffered from a life-long weakness of the heart due to his
   immense size.  His heart was simply no longer able to circulate blood
   by the time he was in his 40s and at a huge weight.  He died,
   peacefully in his sleep, while attending the funeral of his father in
   1993. He is missed by all who knew him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.40 - Eric Bischoff

1.40.1. What did he do for WCW?

   His actual job duties seemed to change daily, but his official title
   was "President of World Championship Wrestling".  He dictated the
   overall direction of the company, did the majority of the booking,
   oversaw the day-to-day operations of the technical aspects of WCW,
   signed wrestlers, negotiated contracts, and generally had all the
   power that Vince McMahon has in the WWF.

   Excepting that WCW is part of a larger conglomerate with a noted lack
   of patience for failure, which means that Eric can be fired at any
   time and Vince cannot. And indeed, in September of 1999, Bischoff was
   removed from his post as President and replaced by a combination of
   financial man Bill Busch and the creative team of Vince Russo & Ed
   Ferrera.

1.40.2. How long did he work for WCW?

   His first broadcast was at Great American Bash 1991, which is notable
   for generally being considered the worst PPV of all time.

   He rose to power in early 1993 when Bill Watts was fired/quit by WCW
   management.   He was initially a puppet for the larger WTBS executives
   who ran the company according to a "money first" philosophy, and when
   that strategy didn't pan out, Hulk Hogan was signed in 1994 and
   immediately paid off with higher revenues.  This solidified Bischoff's
   position as Vice President, a position was further solidified with the
   onset of Nitro in 1995.

   Bischoff was promoted to President of WCW at some undetermined point
   between mid-1997 and the present.  It's nearly impossible to tell
   exactly when because the changeover was mainly cosmetic, and the PPV
   credits still retained Bischoff as "Executive Vice President". And he
   was fired in September of 1999.

1.40.3. What does "on the fly" booking mean?

   One of Bischoff's primary strategies was to use "on the fly" booking,
   which means that matches are undetermined until the night of the show
   (in the case of Nitro and Thunder) and finishes are undetermined until
   the night of the show (in the case of PPV events).  With the huge
   roster WCW boasts, it's relatively easy to simply put 4 or 5 random
   matches on, rather than taking the time to plan out a more cohesive
   storyline.

   However, the storylines that do emerge tend to be rather haphazard as
   a result and continuity from show to show is minimal.

1.40.4. Who thought of Nitro?

   Eric Bischoff.  Ted Turner wanted a wrestling show on Monday nights,
   but the format and original template belong to Bischoff alone.

1.40.5. What's with the lawnmower jokes?

   In his (much) younger years working for Verne Gagne in the AWA in it's
   declining years, Bischoff's job duties were those of an all-purpose
   gopher, such as getting coffee, running errands and reportedly mowing
   Verne Gagne's lawn.    As a result, Bischoff was eventually promoted
   to an announcing position, and when Gagne decided to pass on the AWA's
   reign of power...

1.40.6. What's with the AWA jokes in general?

   ...Eric Bischoff took over in 1990.  His run was widely regarded as a
   total and complete disaster in every sense of the word, although the
   organization was as good as dead anyway so it can hardly be blamed on
   Eric.  He created the maligned Team Challenge Series, which actually
   resulted in buildings so empty that they had to film in a studio and
   skip the crowd altogether. Larry Zbyszko was the last AWA World
   champion under Bischoff, and was (ironically) signed away by WCW while
   still holding the title, which effectively folded the AWA on the spot.

1.40.7. Is he really a black belt?

   Yes.  Eric Bischoff is an accomplished martial artist and holds black
   belts in several disciplines.  It is not just part of the character.

1.40.8. Is he going to the WWF to "invade"?

   Never say never, but it's not particularly likely. The main factor
   against that ever happening is the fact that he still has two years
   left on his contract as of this writing, with little incentive for WCW
   to let him out of it to work for a competitor. As well, the WWF's
   workers were the victims of numerous verbal shots from Bischoff during
   his tenure as WCW President, and that would guarantee his uniform
   unpopularity in the dressing room. So more than likely, it won't
   happen for a long time, if ever.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.41 - Rob van Dam

1.41.1. Did he ever wrestle for the Big Two?

   Yes.

   In early 1993, he was in WCW as jobber "Robbie V"
   before returning to the independant scene.  In early
   1997, he wrestled on two episodes of RAW as part of
   the "ECW invasion" before returing to ECW.

1.41.2. Why is he "Mr. Monday Night"?

   His gimmick is that of a wrestler who loves to work
   Monday Nights and is constantly ready to ditch ECW
   for either of the major feds who will sign him.  The
   gimmick debuted at Barely Legal as part of his "I don't
   respect anyone" storyline.

   It should be noted that neither of the major feds have
   any interest in signing him to the author's knowledge.
   It is merely a gimmick.

1.41.3. What is "RVD 4:20" referring to?

   4:20 is a reference to a quantity of marijuana sold on
   the street, which would imply that Rob is a pot user.
   Rob isn't exactly subtle about it.  It also refers to the
   police radio code for pot usage in California, and/or
   any number of unsubstantiated urban legends referring
   to pot.  4:20 means marijuana, bottom line, and the
   means from which the term originated can be said to
   be lost to time.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.42 - Paul Heyman

1.42.1. Does he really hate Jim Cornette?

   Apparently so.  The bone of contention appears to
   start in 1989, when both men were managers of teams
   named "The Midnight Express".  A real life feud started
   between them amidst all the fake name-calling, and it
   was only worsened when Cornette formed SMW and
   Heyman was booking ECW.  The two men have
   threatened, verbally abused and outright sniped at
   each other for so long and so viciously that the actual
   cause of the feud probably doesn't even factor in
   anymore.  Neither man seems willing to comment in
   interviews what the cause of the feud is.

1.42.2. What was the Dangerous Alliance?

   In 1991, Paul Heyman was known as Paul E.
   Dangerously, a manager turned wimpy broadcaster in
   WCW.  He began a relatively famous feud with Missy
   Hyatt, in which he used a variety of cowardly tactics
   and nasty names about her.   In response, WCW
   "fired" him altogether as a broadcaster.  Shortly after,
   released from his duties as a commentator, he
   reappeared at Halloween Havoc, with his manager's
   license renewed, and debuted the new look Rick Rude
   to the shock of everyone.  In the weeks following, he
   added TV champion Steve Austin, former tag champs
   Arn Anderson & Larry Zbyszko and Bobby Eaton.  Plus
   Madusa as an advisor.   In what is considered a
   fore-runner to the nWo, the Dangerous Alliance ran
   roughshod over WCW for months, with Rude winning
   the US title and Anderson & Eaton winning the tag
   titles, until the team self-destructed at WrestleWar 92
   in the WarGames and went their seperate ways.  Paul
   E. departed for ECW soon after.

1.42.3. Does he own ECW?

   Yes.  He bought it from former owner Tod Gordon in
   1996 and is the current owner and overall boss.

1.42.4. Is he gay?

   Not that it's anyone's business but his own, but
   speculation persists about him.  For the record, he has
   never been married and many gay slurs are made
   about him by others in the wrestling business, but he
   has never stated one way or another what his sexual
   preference is so this document will not delve into the
   matter further.

1.42.5. Who is Tod Gordon and what's HIS problem?

   Tod Gordon was the original founder and owner of
   ECW, as well as a pawn shop owner based out of
   Philadelphia.  After Paul E. acquired enough capital to
   purchase the promotion from him in 1996, Tod was
   retained as a figure-head commisioner, but retained
   bitterness as his perceived mistreatment in the whole
   situation.   Then, in one of the most wrestling-tinged
   twists to hit a real life situation, it was revealed that
   Gordon was acting as a "mole" on behalf of WCW,
   giving contract information about ECW stars to Terry
   Taylor for the purposes of bringing them to Atlanta.
   The only ones to directly take advantage of this were
   Raven, Stevie Richards and Perry Saturn.  But it was
   enough.  Gordon was fired/quit immediately and went
   into a self-imposed exile until a few months ago, when
   he reappeared on NWA shows promoted by Dennis
   Corraluzzo, bringing with him a contingent of ex-ECW
   stars, in order to take over the NWA.  A long and
   involved shoot interview resulted, where he ran down
   Heyman and everyone else he could think of.

1.42.6. Does he really live with his parents?

   Yes.  His mother is financially independant and for
   whatever reason Paul has always chosen to live with
   her rather than on his own.  Much of the money to
   purchase ECW reportedly came from her.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.43 - Goldberg

1.43.1.  Is that chant real?

   Sort of.

   WCW has stopped using the canned chant as of late, but during Goldberg's
   rise to fame in early 1997, they would often pipe in a "Goldberg" chant
   during his music in order to encourage the fans to chant his name. The WWF
   has recently been poking fun at this with their "Gillberg" character.

1.43.2.  Was he really 174-0?

   No.  The record was completely made up for sake of convenience. WCW
   actually lost the proper count around the 20th match.  Best guesses put the
   actual record around 140-0 at the time of his loss to Kevin Nash, which is
   still very impressive.

1.43.3.  Is he a Steve Austin clone?

   That's a matter of opinion, but the intention was to make a Ken Shamrock
   clone, and thus show the WWF the proper way to utilize a shootfighter.
   Things just ended up working out better for WCW.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.44 - Insane Clown Posse

1.44.1.  Who are they and why do wrestling fans care?

   Violent Jay and Shaggy Too-Dope are a fringe rap group who shot to
   fame with a nationally banned album called "The Great Milenko".  They
   made some appearances with ECW thanks to their underground video
   "Strangle-mania", a compilation of FMW and other garbage wrestling
   shows with their own commentary dubbed over top.  They were signed by
   the WWF to second the Oddities and do their theme music.  They have
   worked professional wrestling matches and are trained wrestlers in the
   sense that they're no worse than anyone else who has attempted to make
   the transition from celebrity to wrestler. They signed with WCW in
   1999 and were more notable for not being there than anything else.

1.44.2.  Why did they leave the WWF in 1998?

   After a few less-than-successful months managing the Oddities (and
   eventually turning on them), the Clowns left due to what they felt was
   the WWF's failure to promote their new album.

1.44.3. Are they still with WCW?

   Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No.

   That should cover it for whatever week you're reading this.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.45 - Jake Roberts

1.45.1.  What does "DDT" stand for?

   In chemical terms, DichloroDyphenylTrichlroethane.  In
   simpler terms, a deadly pesticide that was banned by
   every civilized country in the world decades ago for
   having the nasty side-effect of killing humans in
   addition to bugs.   Of course, in the politically
   incorrect world of wrestling, it made a terrific name for
   a finishing move.

   A variety of meanings have been retroactively applied
   to the DDT acronym as it pertains to wrestling, but
   Jake Roberts summed it up best with his interpretation
   of what the move stood for:  The End.

1.45.2.  What happened to Jake?

   A variety of things.  After battling with lifelong drinking
   problems, he left the wrestling business entirely in
   1993 after being fired by WCW, and had a brief
   flirtation with Christianity, doing the church tour circuit
   in the name of religion.  He made a short-lived
   comeback to the WWF in 1996 before completely
   reneging on his "born again" vows and falling firmly
   back into alcoholism, where he resides today.  He still
   wrestles occasionally on the independant circuit.

1.45.3.  Who is he related to?

   Also in the "Whatever happened to..." category, Jake
   (real name Aurelius Smith) is the son of WCW security
   guy Grizzly Smith, and the brother of longtime jobber
   Sam Houston, as well as former WWF Women's champ
   Rockin' Robin.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
1.46 - Powers that Be

1.46.1. Who are they?

   "The Powers That Be" are the collective name for Vince Russo, Ed
   Ferrera and Bill Banks, the creative team signed away from the WWF to
   replace the departing Eric Bischoff. In storyline terms, it mainly
   refers to ringleader and meglomaniacal head booker Vince Russo, who is
   only seen from the side as a menacing arm and a New York accent.

1.46.2. When did they take over the WWF?

   Essentially, Vince Russo was given the reins of the WWF in May of 1997
   after being the editor of the WWF magazine for a few years previous.
   He had been sitting in on booking meetings and progressively adding
   ideas, until finally the job was his entirely. Ed Ferrera was added in
   1998 as a writing partner, and Bill Banks went with them as an
   associate when they left, although he had no significant input in the
   WWF during that period. Russo & Ferrera functioned as a team from
   1997-1999.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Organizations

2.1  World Championship Wrestling

2.1.1. When did the NWA become WCW?

   The NWA never actually became WCW, WCW broke off
   from the NWA.

   The company now known as WCW existed for years
   before as both Georgia Championship Wrestling and
   Mid-Atantic Championship Wrestling.  The two
   companies were both under Jim Crockett Promotions
   and so amounted to being the same thing, despite the
   different names.

   In November, 1988, Jim Crockett sold Jim Crockett
   Promotions to WTBS. Crockett promotions had been
   the promotion most widely associated with the NWA.
   In order to distance itself from the NWA, which still
   existed as a paper organization at the time, WTBS
   began to change the name of its titles and television
   programs from NWA to WCW. The change took place
   in late 1990. By January, 1991, the WCW name was
   fully in place and the NWA name was all but dropped
   by the organization.

   For the full details, please see the NWA section later
   in this document.

2.1.2. Who owns and runs WCW?

   WCW is owned by Time-Warner and WTBS. Ted
   Turner, although a majority stock holder in
   Time-Warner, is NOT the sole owner of WCW following
   the merger last year between Turner and
   Time-Warner.  The position in WTBS most widely
   considered as being in control of the wrestling
   promotion is the Executive Vice President in charge of
   Wrestling Operations. This title is currently held by Eric
   Bischoff, and has been reportedly changed to "The
   President of WCW," which means the same thing but
   pays better. In recent years Jim Herd, K. Allen Frey
   and Bill Watts have been in that position.

   Ric Flair's position as "President" is merely part of the
   storyline.  He has no real power within the company.

2.1.3. What were the "Disney tapings?"

   The Disney tapings were a series of television tapings
   that WCW had been doing off and on since 1993 at
   Disney studios in Orlando, FL. In essense, they
   pre-taped entire months' worth of matches for their
   lesser syndicated shows, and often the results would
   give away future bookings weeks and even months in
   advance.   They were often referred to with contempt
   by RSPW because of the exposing of the business
   involved and the fact that crowds were simply tourists
   given free passes to the shows while at Disneyworld
   who boo and cheer on cue, literally.

   The lamented Disney tapings (and it's spawn, the
   ironically beloved Worldwide Wrestling), met their final
   fate in August as the last set was filmed and then the
   idea retired, probably forever.  Worldwide was
   cancelled in most major markets with the change in
   format to clip show.

2.1.4. What's with all the midget jokes?

   In 1993, the free-falling WCW hit what was just about
   considered rock bottom:  Given a mammoth budget by
   Ted Turner, reported at around $1,000,000 for a
   30-second promo spot, WCW shot a mini movie of
   Sting and Davey Boy Smith battling Vader and Sid
   Vicious on the beach in one of the more surreal
   moments in professional wrestling, which is saying
   something.  The sketch was building up the Beach
   Blast PPV, and it ended with an evil midget using a
   cartoonish looking bomb to blow up a boat which Sting
   and Smith were presumably supposed to be on, as
   Vader and Vicious looked on and laughed.

   In the nearly endless list of "dumb things WCW
   management did between 1990 and 1993" this ranks
   very highly and is still laughed at today in countless
   inside jokes on rival broadcasts and on the internet.

2.1.5.  Who are the bookers for WCW?

   Best information currently has the booking situation as
   follows:

   Eric Bischoff, as always, is the head of all booking in
   WCW, although he seems to have ceded all his actual
   booking power to Kevin Nash.   Diamond Dallas Page
   does some booking (notably making himself WCW
   World champion) with the usual assistants (Janie
   Engle, Kevin Sullivan and friends) helping.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.2 - National Wrestling Alliance

2.2.1. What was the NWA and how did it get started?

   The NWA was and is the National Wrestling Alliance.

   In an effort to get around strict antitrust laws in the
   United States six mid-west promoters, Sam Muchnick,
   Al Haft, Harry Light, Pinky George, Tony Stecher, and
   Orville Brown agreed to work together and recognize a
   single 'World' champion in the heavyweight,
   Jr.-Heavyweight and Lt.-Heavyweight divisions.
   Representing the promotions in St. Louis, Des Moines,
   Kansas City, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Columbus, OH
   the N.W.A. named Mid-Western Wrestling Association
   champion Orville Brown the first N.W.A. World
   champion on July 14, 1948.

   It should be noted that any attempts to trace the
   NWA World Heavyweight title back further than this
   are necessarily fictitious. The organization simply did
   not exist. The NWA's immediate predecessor as the
   most widely recognized world title was the National
   Wrestling Association championship which was held by
   Lou Thesz at the time of the formation of the NWA. A
   title unification match was scheduled for November 25,
   1949 between Thesz and Brown and it is believed that
   Brown was scheduled to win that match. However,
   Brown suffered a career ending injury in a car accident
   prior to the match. On November 27, 1949, Thesz was
   awarded the NWA title.

2.2.2. What happened to it?

   From its formation in 1948 until 1980 the N.W.A. grew
   into the largest and most recognized wrestling
   promotion around. For over 35 years the N.W.A. was
   the true power in pro-wrestling. It had the most
   prestigious 'World' heavyweight title because it was
   truly defended around the world.  At its greatest point
   the N.W.A. had twenty-six promotions and countless
   promoters around the world including the US, Canada,
   Mexico, Japan and Australia. Some of these promoters
   were Frank Tunney (Canada), Clarence Luttrell, Fred
   Kohler, Bob Geigel (Central States), Jim Crockett
   (Mid-Atlantic), Jim Barnett, Eddie Graham (Florida),
   Jack Adkisson (World Class), Don Owen (Pacific
   Northwest), Shohie Baba (All-Japan), Steve Rickard
   (Australia/New Zealand) as well as others. In the
   1980s, however, things started to fall apart when at
   the end of 1980 the Los Angeles promotion run by
   Gene & Mike Lebell's closed. Almost a year later Roy
   Shire's San Francisco promotion also folded.

   Also in the 1980s cable TV started to changed the
   whole face of wrestling as promoters could now get
   simultaneous national exposure for their shows.  Ole
   Anderson, who was running Georgia Championship
   Wrestling, was the first to try to take advantage of
   cable TV by promoting outside his own territory.    He
   ran shows throughout Ohio and Michigan, as well as in
   Pennsylvania, Maryland, and other areas. The
   promotion changed its name from Georgia
   Championship Wrestling to World Championship
   Wrestling (WCW) and for a while in 1983 gave up the
   rights to the Georgia territories to try to promote
   nationally. In the summer of 1983 it was rumored that
   WCW was pulling out of the N.W.A. after they chose
   not to announce that Harley Race had defeated Ric
   Flair for the world title on June 10, 1983. Eventually
   they did recognize Race and continued within the
   N.W.A., including a planned joint promotional effort
   with Jim Crockett's Mid-Atlantic promotion into the
   Northeast.

   Despite what some saw as Ole's basic mismanagement,
   WCW was doing pretty well competing against the
   other group that was trying to go national: Vince
   McMahon's WWF. The competition ended in May 1984
   when Jack & Jerry Brisco, the top investors in World
   Championship Wrestling sold control of the company to
   Vince McMahon. The WWF took over the TV slot on
   TBS. Very few of the wrestlers from Georgia agreed to
   work for McMahon, and Anderson formed a new group,
   which came under the control of Jim Crockett by
   March 1985. Crockett then paid McMahon $1 million to
   get back the rights to the TBS time slot and the World
   Championship Wrestling name.

   However this caused problems for other N.W.A.
   members.   Toronto had featured Jim Crockett's
   wrestlers since October 1978 and was the first
   territory to bring in talent from Mid-Atlantic. Now
   Crockett no longer felt that he could spare his
   wrestlers for shows in Toronto, and the quality of the
   Toronto cards plummeted. With his area starved for
   talent, Jack Tunney had little choice but to make a
   deal with Vince McMahon-taking one of the hottest
   areas for wrestling out of the N.W.A. and into the
   WWF.

   In 1985, Jim Crockett announced that he would no
   longer allow N.W.A. Champion Ric Flair to accept more
   than 2 dates per week outside Crockett-promoted
   shows. Also from that point on, promoters would have
   to pay a guaranteed amount, rather than the 8% of
   the gate that was traditionally paid to the N.W.A.
   Champion. Crockett would later also insist that he
   supply the wrestlers for the top half of the card for
   any show on which Ric Flair appeared. This pretty
   much marked the end of the N.W.A. as it had existed
   since 1948.

   In February 1986, Fritz Von Erich, in an effort to take
   World Class national, pulled his promotion out of the
   N.W.A. and recognized his own world champion. Later
   in the year, Crockett took over the St. Louis
   promotion, the flagship of the N.W.A. since 1948, and
   brought in his own wrestlers for shows there. He also
   briefly took control of Bob Geigel's Central States
   promotion in Kansas City. Geigel tried to start up again
   in February 1987 and briefly recognized his own world
   champion before the promotion folded in 1988.

   Crockett bought out the Florida territory in February
   1987, and a few months later took control of Bill
   Watts' UWF (formerly Mid-South and which was not
   part of the N.W.A.). By the end of the year, all of the
   territories had been homogenized into a single
   Crockett-controlled entity, which still ran under the
   name N.W.A., but really had little to do with the group
   that had existed for the preceding 40 years. The only
   former N.W.A. territories that still operated in the US
   were Don Owen's Pacific Northwest in Portland, and
   Continental in Alabama, both of which no longer
   claimed ties to the N.W.A.

   On November 19, 1994, Coralluzzo finally crowned a
   new N.W.A. World Heavyweight Champion in a
   tournament in New Jersey.  There was controversy
   again when promoter Jim Crockett, who did not like the
   choice for champion and, according to some, was
   upset that he would not be able to control the
   champion as he did in the 1980's refused to recognize
   tournament winner Chris Candido as the N.W.A.
   Champion. Several independent promoters did
   recognized Candido as the N.W.A. World Champion,
   including Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

   In January 1995 rumors circulated that the N.W.A.
   Board served Crockett dismissal papers.  At the same
   time Crockett began to claim he and Coralluzzo ran
   two different promotions that both used the N.W.A.
   name. Crockett and the N.W.A. seemed to have an
   uneasy agreement where Crockett used the N.W.A.
   name and agreed not to crown another N.W.A. "World"
   champion.

   Crockett held a tournament for the N.W.A. World Tag
   Team title on April 11, 1995.  The tournament, which
   consisted mainly of Crockett talent, was won by
   Smoky Mountain's Rock-n-Roll Express.  On May 9,
   1995, Crockett folded his Dallas promotion and joined a
   Mississippi based promotion called Deep South.
   Renamed N.W.A. Deep South they continued to
   recognize the Rock-n-Roll Express as the N.W.A. World
   Tag Team Champions until they closed down later
   same year. The Memphis Based USWA then recognized
   the Rock-n-Roll Express as N.W.A. champions until
   Ricky Morton was fired by the promotion.  The titles
   were once again 'vacant'.

   On February 24, 1995, Dan Severn, a "Shoot Style"
   wrestler won the N.W.A. World Heavyweight title from
   Chris Candido.  At first Severn defended the title in
   "UFC style" matches in the N.W.A., the former SMW,
   Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation, Steel City Wrestling,
   and Midwest Championship Wrestling, the IWA in Japan
   and for Steve Rickard' promotion is Southeast Asia in
   an attempt to return to idea of a traveling N.W.A.
   Champion.  The IWA even crown new N.W.A. World
   Tag Team champions when Tarzan Gato & Mr.
   Gannosuke defeat Cactus Jack & Tiger Jeet Singh in a
   7-team round robin tournament.  Less than a year
   later Gato & Gannosuke left the IWA and the titles
   were once again 'vacant'.

2.2.3. What is the NWA today?

   Today, the N.W.A. still exists, however it has returned
   more to its original form of small independent
   promoters, currently 15, who recognize a single World
   Heavyweight Champion. The only relation it bears to
   the N.W.A. of mid to late 1980s is the name.
   Currently, the N.W.A. Board consists of following
   members: N.W.A. Vice-President Dennis Coralluzzo
   (NJ), Steve Rickard (New Zealand), Tony Rickard
   (Hawaii), Victor Quinones (Japan & Puerto Rico), legal
   counsel Bob Trobich from North Carolina, and N.W.A.
   President Howard Brody (Florida).  Other promotions
   include the N.W.A.-2000 promotion in North Carolina,
   Music City Wrestling in Tennessee, N.W.A. Southwest
   in Texas, Pro Wrestling eXpress in Pennsylvania plus
   another promoters in Japan and India.  The N.W.A. is
   looking for six other promoters to join soon.

   The N.W.A., through a working agreement with the
   WWF (Note: the WWF has not rejoined the N.W.A.),
   has once again gained national exposure.   Mr. Brody
   has issued an open invitation to all wrestling promoters
   to apply for membership in the N.W.A. and although a
   long way from dominance they once had, things are
   finally looking up for the National Wrestling Alliance.

2.2.4.  What is a Dusty Finish?

   One of the leading causes of the death of the NWA
   was, believe it or not, the Dusty Rhodes finish, or
   Dusty Finish for short. You've probably seen it
   hundreds of times by now if you've been watching
   wrestling for any length of time, and it is considered to
   be the most frustrating finish for fans and most
   damaging screwjob possible.  It is named for the
   booking style of Dusty Rhodes, who was in charge of
   the NWA from 1985-1988 and nearly ran it into the
   ground.

   It goes like this:

   Harry the Heel is wrestling Bobby the Babyface for the
   Blank Wrestling Federation World title in a big blowoff
   match.  Harry and Bobby hate each other, so naturally
   the fans want to see intense action, and since Bobby
   is the fan favorite, it makes sense that Bobby gets the
   big win.  But the promoters don't want Bobby to have
   the World title, they want Harry to have it.  So Bobby
   and Harry have a 15 minute match with lots of action.
   After about 14 of those minutes, Harry pulls out a
   foreign object and takes a big swing at Bobby, but
   Bobby ducks and Harry nails the referee instead. Harry
   rolls up Bobby for the pin, but the referee is out.  A
   second referee runs down to the ring, Bobby recovers,
   knocks out Harry with the very object he brought to
   the ring, and the second referee counts the pin, giving
   Bobby the World title.

   Or so we think.

   Because the first referee wakes up, tells the second
   referee that Harry clocked him with a foreign object,
   and disqualifies the heel, thus letting him keep the
   title.

   You may freely play with the format, having more than
   two referees, different decisions, different reasons for
   the first referee to be knocked out, different people
   winning the match, it doesn't matter.  The basic
   format remains the same:  Referee goes down, new
   referee counts pin by one person, crowd thinks one
   person has won, first referee awakes and reverses the
   decision. That is a Dusty Finish and it and all it's ugly
   variants (most recently Sting v. Hogan at Starrcade
   1997) are what frustrate fans and cause people to not
   want to come back to see the next show.

2.2.5.  Isn't WCW just another name for the NWA?

   No.  Absolutely not.

   This is one of the most frequently asked and wrongly
   answered questions on RSPW, and needs to be cleared
   up.

   The confusion comes from several sources:

   1) The seamless transition on WCW TV
   2) The propaganda spread by WCW
   3) WCW and the NWA had the same champions for a six month period
   4) By 1991, WCW had almost completely taken over the NWA

   WCW was formerly the Mid-Atlantic region, as well as
   the Georgia region, both of which were under the NWA
   banner.  As they grew, they became the only major
   portion of the NWA to have TV coverage, and thus the
   NWA became Mid-Atlantic in the minds of the fans.
   This was patently wrong from the start, as the NWA
   was in fact many organizations under one banner.

   The rapid loss of World Class, the UWF, Florida and
   Portland left Mid-Atlantic (WCW) as the sole major
   player in the NWA by 1988, which is the point at which
   Ted Turner purchased Crockett Promotions and the
   NWA unofficially died.

   On 01/01/1991, WCW officially dropped the NWA name
   entirely and operated without a World champion or
   World tag team champions for a period of 10 days.
   They continued to recognize the Mid-Atlantic version
   of the NWA US title, which was held by Lex Luger at
   that point, as well as the Mid-Atlantic version of the
   NWA World TV title, which was held by Tom Zenk.
   These two titles were renamed the WCW US title and
   WCW TV title, respectively, and have direct lineage to
   the original NWA versions of the titles.

   On 01/11/1991, Ric Flair defeated Sting to win the
   NWA World title, and immediately after WCW named
   him as the first WCW World champion.  It cannot be
   pointed out strongly enough at this point that these
   were TWO DIFFERENT TITLES.   Ric Flair was
   simultaneously NWA and WCW World champion, and
   one title did not follow from the other.  The WCW
   World title was created completely separate from the
   NWA World title and has NO direct lineage to the NWA
   World title, aside from the fact that the NWA
   champion happened to be the first WCW champion.

   The same situation existed with the tag team titles, as
   WCW created the WCW World tag team title at the
   same time, awarding them to Butch Reed and Ron
   Simmons, the current NWA World tag team champions.
   Again, this was a separate championship. However,
   because no distinct break ever occurred to distinguish
   the two belts, it was assumed that one simply became
   the other, when in fact this is PATENTLY untrue.
   However, the NWA was reinstated in 1992 and WCW
   World tag team champions Steve Williams and Terry
   Gordy captured the NWA World tag team titles in a
   tournament final, thus unifying the two championships
   and giving the WCW World tag team titles a direct
   lineage to the NWA World tag team titles once again.
   The lineage exists only from 1992 on, however.  For
   simplicity's sake, one is assumed all the way back to
   the NWA World tag team title's creation, although this
   is factually incorrect, despite being easier to deal with.

   The NWA World title is a different story, however.   In
   1992, after the re-creation of the NWA, Masa Chono
   was established as NWA World champion.  His reign,
   and those of the Great Muta and Barry Windham are
   regarded as legitimate World titles.  WCW pulled out of
   the NWA for good in 1993, however, which rendered
   the "NWA World championship" being defended in WCW
   totally meaningless. When Ric Flair, as WCW World
   champion defeated Sting, the WCW "International
   World champion", to "unify" the titles, it actually
   unified nothing, as the NWA had died many months
   prior to this match.

   In short, WCW is not the NWA and never was.  WCW's
   World titles were created in 1991, and there is simply
   no lineage to the NWA from before that.  No matter
   how much believers of the opposing viewpoint may
   scream their opinion on the matter, the FACTS are as
   presented above.  The constant claims of lineage back
   to 1904/1905 by WCW are simply lies used to solidify a
   heritage that does not exist.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.3 - World Wrestling Federation

2.3.1. What is the story behind the forming of the WWF?

   As NWA champion, Buddy Rogers' bookings were
   controlled by Toots Mondt, promoter in the Northeast.
   The other NWA promoters were dissatisfied because
   Mondt rarely let Rogers defend the belt outside the
   Northeast. Mondt and Vince McMahon Sr. wanted to
   keep Rogers and the NWA title, but Rogers didn't want
   to lose his $25,000 deposit on the belt. So Rogers lost
   the NWA title to Lou Thesz in Toronto on January 24,
   1963. Rogers was not recognized as the first WWWF
   champion right after losing to Thesz. Instead, Rogers
   was awarded the WWWF title in mid-April 1963, with
   the explanation that he has won a (fictitious)
   tournament in Rio de Janeiro. He lost the title to Bruno
   Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963. Rogers
   would have likely had a longer reign as champion, but,
   he suffered a heart attack shortly before the match
   with Bruno. This explains both the brevity of the
   match (47 seconds) with Bruno and the subsequent
   disappearance of Rogers from the ring. Rogers retired
   after this match, although he did return to the ring in
   1967.

2.3.2. When did the WWWF become the WWF?

   The name change, a purely cosmetic one, took place
   in mid 1979. Ownership and front office personnel
   remained unaffected. About this same time, the WWF
   phased out their North American title and replaced it
   with what is today known as the Intercontinental title.
   For the sake of clarity, all WWWF and WWF titles
   mentioned in this document are referred to as WWF
   titles.

2.3.3. Were there charges of sexual
   harassment filed against the WWF in
   1992?

   No. In 1992, former ring-boy Tom Cole, former referee
   Rita Chatterson and former TV announcer Murray
   Hodgekins came forth with allegations of sexual abuse
   by WWF employees. The group made the talk-show
   circuit, but never filed legal charges. Specifically
   named employees included booker Pat Patterson, ring
   attendant Mel Phillips, booker Terry Garvin and Vince
   McMahon himself. Patterson, Phillips and Garvin were
   dismissed by the WWF as a result of the allegations.
   Patterson subsequently returned to his position.

   Pat Patterson's sexual preference is a well-known and
   generally accepted fact of the business, however, and
   ugly rumors about trading a push for sexual favors
   have been started by more than one ex-WWF
   wrestler, but there is to date no actual evidence of
   such.

2.3.4. Who is George Zahorian?

   Dr. George Zahorian was a physician appointed by the
   Pennsylvania state athletic commission to attend WWF
   shows in Hamburg, PA and Allentown, PA. In 1991,
   Zahorian was convicted in a Pennsylvania court for
   selling steroids and other controlled substances to pro
   wrestlers and to a college strength coach. Zahorian
   was sentenced to three years in federal prison. During
   his trial, Zahorian testified that between November
   1988 and March 1990, he sold steroids to Vince
   McMahon and to many professional wrestlers, including
   two of the WWF's then-top draws: Hulk Hogan and
   Rowdy Roddy Piper. Zahorian was released from prison
   in February, 1995.

2.3.5.  Who are the bookers for the WWF?

   The WWF has three tiers of bookers.  Vince McMahon
   has final say over all booking and will generally control
   the overall direction of the product.  Jim Ross and
   Bruce Pritchard make the day-to-day booking
   decisions for the storylines and angles and generally
   wield the true power in the booking department.
   Dennis Brent, Vince Russo, Pat Patterson and Gerald
   Brisco script the interviews and storylines, and also
   design and develop the various characters used by the
   WWF.  The Undertaker is a notable Patterson creation,
   for instance.   Vince's son Shane is rumored to have
   his father's ear and specifically is to have suggested
   the more "adult" approach the WWF has taken as of
   late, and may be part of the booking committee.   Sgt.
   Slaughter has some position in the head office, but his
   job title or duties are unknown to the author.

   Former WCW head booker Terry Taylor recently joined
   the WWF's front office, although not as a booker.

2.3.6.  Was the WWF ever part of the NWA?

   Yes.  From 1971-1983, the WWF joined the NWA as a
   regional promotion and the WWF World title was
   dropped in status to the WWF title, a regional title.
   By 1983, Vince McMahon Jr. had taken over control of
   the promotion and wanted out from the shadow of the
   NWA, so he changed the name of his title to the "WWF
   Championship" and established the WWF as an
   autonomous organization with World title status.

2.3.7.  What was the Gobbledeegooker?

   Perhaps the king of the dead-end, insulting, brainless
   "surprises" to be pulled off by a major fed was this
   turkey, which debuted at Survivor Series 1990.

   For the weeks leading up to the show, a large egg was
   shown touring the arenas in which the WWF was doing
   shows.  It was assumed by most people to be a
   debuting wrestler, most likely King Kong Bundy.

   The giant egg was hyped for weeks leading up to the
   show, until finally the show arrived and with it the
   hatching of the egg. Upon opening the egg, a man
   dressed as a turkey emerged, called "the
   Gobbledeegooker" by Gene Okerlund, who proceeded
   to dance with "Mean" Gene to the overwhelming boos
   of the crowd.  It was never, ever, seen or mentioned
   again on WWF programming, except as an inside yolk.
   But only very rarely.

   The bird was played by Hector Guerrero.

2.3.8.  Is the WWF suing WCW?

   Yes.

   Or, more accurately, Titan Sports is suing Turner
   Broadcasting Systems. The lawsuit stems from the
   appearances of Scott Hall and Kevin on Nitro, who
   were basically playing the roles of Razor Ramon and
   Diesel, respectively.   The following is the actual
   complaint filed by the WWF:

   THE LAWSUIT

   Professional wrestling promoter (Vince McMahon)
   brought action against rival promoter (Eric Bischoff),
   alleging copyright infringement, trademark
   infringement, tortious interference with contract and
   violations of Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices, in
   connection with rival's employment of two wrestlers
   who portrayed copyrighted characters.

   THE FACTS AS STATED IN THE COMPLAINT Titan
   Sports, Inc., etc., ("Plaintiff") is a Delaware
   corporation with its principal place of business in
   Connecticut. Plaintiff promotes live, and on cable,
   syndicated, and pay-per-view television, professional
   wrestling under its registered service mark "World
   Wrestling Federation" ("WWF"). TBS is a Georgia
   corporation which owns and operates several cable
   networks, including Turner Network Television ("TNT")
   and WTBS. WCW is a Georgia corporation and a
   majority owned subsidiary of TBS.

   WCW competes directly with WWF in televising
   professional wrestling, associated merchandising, and
   licensing programs. Bischoff is a citizen of Georgia, an
   officer and employee of TBS, in charge of WCW's
   operations and serves as a television announcer for
   WCW programming. Plaintiff contends that success in
   the professional wrestling business depends upon the
   development of interesting wrestling characters and
   story lines. Characters must have names,
   personalities, histories, relationships, personas, and
   visual appearances that appeal to consumers. Plaintiff
   alleges that WWF programming combines
   character-driven story lines with skillful wrestling while
   WCW has no reputation for creativity. TBS proposed
   interpromotional matches in order to associate WCW
   with WWF, but Plaintiff rejected this idea.

   After wrestling unsuccessfully with WCW, Scott Hall
   contracted to wrestle for Plaintiff. Plaintiff created a
   wrestling character for Hall called "Razor Ramon," alias
   "The Bad Guy," with a distinctive Hispanic accent,
   slicked back hair in a ponytail with a curl in the front,
   a toothpick in his mouth, a vest, and multiple chains
   around his neck. Plaintiff registered the service mark
   "Razor Ramon" with the U.S. Patent and Trademark
   Office. The contract provided that Plaintiff retained
   exclusive ownership of the character's name and
   likeness and the exclusive right to distribute
   copyrightable materials based on the character. Hall
   warranted that he would not enter other agreements
   conflicting with Plaintiff's contract rights.

   Plaintiff developed Razor Ramon into one of its most
   popular characters. He has appeared in television
   broadcasts, live events, a two-hour videotape, several
   magazines, and is the subject of merchandise devoted
   to the character. He won WWF's Intercontinental
   Championship at least four times. The character is
   well-recognized by wrestling fans.Plaintiff developed
   another character using wrestler Kevin Nash who
   wrestled unsuccessfully with defendant WCW. Nash
   and Plaintiff entered into a contract with provisions
   similar to Hall's contract. Nash's character was
   "Diesel," alias "Big Daddy Cool." Diesel's trade dress
   included a goatee beard and moustache, black leather
   pants, a black leather vest decorated with silver studs
   and tassels, a black low cut tank-top shirt, a black
   fingerless glove on the right hand, black elbow pads,
   black wrist bands, sunglasses, and black leather boots.
   Diesel is visibly different from the characters previously
   portrayed by Nash at WCW.

   Diesel was added to Plaintiff's story lines and appeared
   in television broadcasts, commercial videotapes,
   magazines, and became the subject of merchandise.
   Like Razor Ramon, Diesel also became widely
   recognized and popular, winning the WWF
   Heavyweight Championship in 1995.In 1993, Plaintiff
   promoted Razor Ramon and Diesel on its "Monday Night
   Raw" television program, which was broadcast weekly
   at 9:00 p.m. EST. In 1995, defendant TBS began
   broadcasting a competing program "WCW Monday
   Nitro" at the same time. Plaintiff alleges that TBS's
   broadcast continually disparaged WWF, while WCW
   agents circulated false rumors of Plaintiff's impending
   bankruptcy in order to lure wrestlers to WCW.In 1996,
   enticed by WCW's promise of lucrative, guaranteed
   contracts, Hall and Nash contracted to wrestle with
   WCW.

   After the contracts were executed, Plaintiff alleges
   that defendant Bischoff planned to capitalize on the
   goodwill of the Razor Ramon and Diesel characters. Hall
   and Nash were to appear on WCW's broadcast as
   Razor Ramon and Diesel, supposedly representing WWF
   in an interpromotional battle. Before the broadcast,
   WCW's 900 hotlines told consumers that Razor Ramon
   and Diesel were considering leaving WWF for WCW,
   although in reality, they had already done so.
   Defendants expanded the introductory broadcast to
   two hours, starting before Plaintiff's competing
   broadcast. Hall appeared in the persona of Razor
   Ramon, although the broadcast did not refer to him by
   name. The end of the broadcast falsely conveyed that
   interpromotional matches would thereafter air on TNT.
   Fans sent letters evidencing their presumption that
   Hall was performing as Razor Ramon for WWF on TNT.
   Plaintiff attempted to dispel the rumors by
   broadcasting that Hall and Nash were no longer
   associated with the WWF. Nevertheless, Hall appeared
   on two further WCW broadcasts, perpetuating the
   false presumption. Bischoff also indicated that the
   interpromotional matches would be seen on an
   upcoming pay-per-view program. Hall and Nash did
   appear on the pay-per-view program as the
   characters Razor Ramon and Diesel. Defendants,
   however, did not refer to them by any name.

   Titan Sports, Inc. v. Turner Broadcasting Systems
   Inc., 981 F.Supp. 65 (D. Conn. 1997)

2.3.9.  Who is John Stossel?

   In the general sense of the word, he's a reporter for
   ABC and the 20/20 program.

   In the context of wrestling, he's the reporter who did
   a piece for ABC's 20/20 exposing wrestling back in
   1985.  One of the people interviewed was "Dr. D" David
   Schultz.  During the interview, Stossel asked the usual
   "is wrestling fake" question, at which point Schultz
   snapped and slapped Stossel around on national TV.
   Stossel later sued the WWF for damages and
   receieved a cash settlement reported at $280,000.

   Schultz was "blackballed" from wrestling for the
   incident and has not wrestled a professional match
   since due to the negative publicity.  He maintains to
   this day that the WWF ordered him to assualt Stossel.

2.3.10.  What's with the Pat Patterson jokes?

   Wrestling's worst-kept secret is the sexual orientation
   of Pat Patterson, who is very much gay but spent
   years acting macho in the ring to cover it up.  This is
   what Jim Ross' references to "rear end work" and the
   like are referring to.

2.3.11.  What was the Brawl For All?

   Loved by some, hated by most, and a proven ratings
   killer all the way through, the Brawl For All (BFA for
   short) was a shoot "tough-man" tournament devised
   by Jim Ross, whereby unpushed wrestlers would fight
   with boxing gloves and earn points for punches and
   takedowns.  The injuries that resulted put literally all
   the competitors out of action for big chunks of time,
   and many substitutions resulted.   The defining
   moment of the tournament came when jobber Bart
   Gunn knocked legit tough-guy Steve Williams out in
   the third round of their match, and then went on to
   knock out his next two opponents to win the thing
   outright.

   As an addendum, Bart Gunn faced "boxer" Butterbean
   at Wrestlemania XV and was knocked out in less than
   30 seconds, thus effectively killing the Brawl For All
   concept more thoroughly than all the crowd apathy in
   the world could.  Bart Gunn is expected to never show
   his face in North America again.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.4 - Extreme Championship Wrestling

2.4.1. What is ECW?

   ECW began operating in 1992 as Eastern Championship
   Wrestling. On 08/27/1994, the name was changed
   from Eastern to Extreme. It operates in Philadelphia,
   with spot shows in the surrounding Pennsylvania area.
   The wrestling operations are currently handled by Paul
   Heyman (manager Paul E Dangerously) who bought the
   promotion from former owner Tod Gordon in 1996. It is
   currently available on the Sports Channel America
   syndication package and on AIN satellite. ECW has, as
   of 1997, also branched out in the pay-per-view
   universe, putting on three shows in 1997 with four
   more planned for 1998.  Current top stars are Shane
   Douglas, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, and more. ECW does not
   rely on the traditional face/heel structure. Instead,
   uses high-impact, fast paced action to get its
   wrestlers over. Additionaly, ECW maintains it's own
   WWW site at: http://www.ecwwrestling.com

2.4.2. Who is Mass Transit?

   On 11/23/96, ECW went to Revere, Massachussetts
   for a house show.  Axl Rotten was unable to wrestle,
   so Paul Heyman asked local wrestler Eric Kulas, also
   known as Mass Transit, to take his place. Kulas had
   only turned 18 within the week, and Paul was given
   the impression that he was 19 and professionally
   trained.   A match was booked against New Jack of
   the Gangstas, and Kulas asked New Jack to blade him,
   since he had never done it himself.  New Jack agreed.

   During the course of the match, New Jack used an
   "Exacto" knife to cut into Kulas' forehead as planned,
   but he cut too deep.   He severed two arteries and
   Kulas almost immediately passed out and dropped to
   the mat, with blood pumping from his head so hard and
   fast that it actually sprayed into the crowd.  EMS
   technicians rushed to the ring as fast as possible, and
   luckily managed to stop the bleeding before permanent
   damage could occur.

   In the aftermatch, Eric Kulas has yet to work another
   professional match, and his family attempted to sue
   ECW in a very short battle which was thrown out of
   court.  The incident itself is very famous on the
   newsgroup and ranks as the one of the most
   requested tapes to trade for by new readers.

2.4.3. Who are those fans in the front row?

   I will refrain from printing real names out of respect for
   privacy, but you're probably thinking of...

   Sign Guy:  The guy who always had signs with him.
   Hat Guy:  The guy who looks like John Lithgow and
   wears a Hawaiian hat
   Faith No More Guy: The guy with sunglasses, a beard
   and long hair who looks like the guitarist from Faith No
   More

   These three seem to be the mainstays of the ECW
   crowd (although Sign Guy was pushed out by Buh-Buh
   Ray Dudley) and if you make reference to them on the
   newsgroup you should use the above names for
   maximum recognition.

2.4.4. What are the various theme music?

   ECW has the distinction of using "real" music for it's
   wrestlers, and fairly obscure music at times at that.
   Here is a rough guide to who uses what:

   - The opening theme music used to consist of a
   combination of Nine Inch Nails' "Closer" (the heartbeat
   that spells out E-X-T-R-E-M-E) which cuts to White
   Zombie's "Thunderkiss '65" (the guitar part and the
   Pitbull's music).  After Barely Legal, they switched a
   specially written, non-commercial piece of music as
   their new theme. It was also used for Rob Van Dam's
   WWF matches.

   - Taz used KISS' "War Machine" after his initial heel
   turn, but now uses a specially written knockoff
   version.

   - Tommy Dreamer used Alice In Chains' "Man In the
   Box" until recently, but has also switched to a
   specially written knockoff version for RAW
   appearances.

   - Shane Douglas uses the live version of Deep Purple's
   "Perfect Strangers."

2.4.5. Is ECW suing WCW?

   Not anymore.

   Paul Heyman was in the process of suing WCW for
   breach of contract with regards to the signing of
   Raven, but Paul's general lack of financing and legal
   power seems to have killed that idea permanantly.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.5 - Other promotions

   The Dark Cheetah maintains a web site cataloging many other
   independent promotions. It is at

   http://www.photon.co.jp/sections/6_staff/glenn/nCo/indy/indy.html

   This web site also contains the RSPW finishing moves list, at

   http://www.photon.co.jp/sections/6_staff/glenn/nCo/finish/finish.html

   Another fine web site that tracks indy wrestling is Whoo! Wrestling,
   at

   http://www.whoowrestling.com.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.6 - Japan

2.6.1. How did pro wrestling get its start in Japan?

   Pro-wrestling in Japan dates back nearly as far as it
   does in the US. In 1883, former sumo, Shokichi
   Hamada, left to tour the US as the first Japanese
   pro-wrestler. In 1887, Hamada brought 20 American
   wrestlers to Tokyo for a series of shows. The first
   show sold-out, but subsequent shows failed to draw
   any crowds. Several attempts were made to spark an
   interest in wrestling in Japan, none of which were
   successful until the 1950's. Rikidozan, who retired from
   Sumo in 1950, became Japan's first big name male
   drawing card. He made his debut in 1951. In 1953, he
   formed the Japan Wrestling Alliance. He continued to
   wrestle until his death in December, 1963.

2.6.2. What is AJPW?

   All-Japan Pro Wrestling is the late Shohei Baba's group
   in Japan. Baba, a former pro baseball pitcher, joined
   the JWA in 1960. In October, 1972, he left the JWA
   and formed his own group, AJPW. His group continues
   to promote today, with a television show on Nippon
   TV. The main titles are the Triple Crown (unified United
   National, International and PWF Heavyweight titles),
   the World Tag Team title (unified International and
   PWF tag team titles), the World Junior Heavyweight
   title and the Asian Tag Team title.

2.6.3. What is NJPW? Is it different from IWGP?

   Kanji Inoki, a japanese emigrant to Brazil, was scouted
   by Rikidozan in 1960, and brought to Japan to join the
   JWA. He later changed his name to Antonio Inoki. In
   1966, Inoki made his first attempt at breaking away
   from the JWA and forming his own group, Tokyo
   Pro-Wrestling. In 1967, Inoki suddenly rejoined the
   JWA and Tokyo Pro folded. In 1971, Inoki was expelled
   from the JWA when it as discovered that he was
   planning a coup to take over the promotion. Inoki
   subsequently formed his second group, New Japan Pro
   Wrestling and ran his first card in March, 1972. The
   group has now grown to be the largest and most
   popular wrestling group in Japan. It currently has a
   show on TV Asahi. In 1983, New Japan created the
   International Wrestling Grand Prix titles, which are now
   the main titles of the group: the IWGP Heavyweight
   title, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title and the IWGP
   Tag Team titles.

2.6.4. What other groups are there in Japan?

   There are numerous other groups in Japan. In 1994 it
   was reported that there were in excess of 30 wrestling
   groups operating in Tokyo alone. The other groups
   include the IWA, W*ING, Kitao Dojo, Michinoku Pro,
   Rings, and many more.

2.6.5. What about the Japanese Women's groups?

   The first women's shows were held in Japan in 1948.
   The women's groups caught fire in 1954, when Sankei
   Shinbun Newspaper promoted a show with Mildred
   Burke, billed as the first WWWA world champion, and
   six other American wrestlers and four Japanese
   wrestlers. They ran three consecutive sellouts at the
   old Sumo Hall. There are currently a number of
   Japanese Women's groups, including All-Japan Women,
   LLPW, JWP and Gaea Japan.

2.6.6. What is Shootwrestling?

   Shootwrestling is the idea of making wrestling matches
   seem as legitimate or "real" as possible. It got its start
   in 1984 in the original UWF group, with such stars as
   Akira Maeda, Super Tiger (Satoru Sayama, the original
   Tiger Mask), Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazuo Yamazaki.
   Also in the group were Nobuhiko Takada and Osamu
   Kido. The original UWF was popular, but for various
   reasons did not succeed. The second Japanese UWF
   formed in 1988 with Maeda, Fujiwara and Takada as
   top stars. In 1992, this group split into UWF-Fujiwara
   Gumi (later PWF) RINGS and UWFI. Currently, there are
   a number of "shoot" groups in Japan, such as Pancrase
   and Rings. UWFI aired some of its shows in the US on
   PPV under the Shootwrestling name, but the group
   folded in 1995.

2.6.7. How do I get to see Japanese wrestling?

   There is currently no Japanese wrestling available on
   North American TV, including satellite. However, if you
   live in North America and want to see it, you still have
   a number of options available. Many Japanese
   bookstores and shops in the US sell or rent tapes of
   Japanese TV shows. Check any similar shops in your
   area and ask if they carry it. Or, you can buy/trade for
   someone else who gets it. Another possibility is to find
   a friend who lives in Japan who is willing to tape it
   directly off of tv for you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
2.7 - Mexico

2.7.1. What are the major Mexican groups?

   There are two major wrestling groups in Mexico: the
   EMLL - Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre and AAA -
   Asestencia Asesoria Administracion. EMLL translates
   loosely to Mexican Wrestling Empire or Mexican
   Wrestling Company. The EMLL is the oldest existing
   wrestling promotion, having run its first show on
   September 21, 1933. AAA is run by Antonio Pena and
   owned by Mexican television station Televisa. It was
   formed in 1992.

2.7.2. What is Lucha Libre?

   Lucha Libre is a phrase that describes the professional
   wrestling most commonly found in Mexico and Puerto
   Rico. Lucha Libre is usually used to describe Mexican
   wrestling, which incorporates high flying, acrobatic
   wrestling with a sense of live theater. Lucha Libre in
   Mexico is often characterized by tests of Machismo.
   The Mexican wrestlers will often apply what appear to
   be lame slaps to their opponent's chest and face not
   in an effort to "hurt" their opponent, but more so as an
   insult to his manhood. The phrase "Lucha Libre" is an
   idiom that best translates to English as "the free
   fight". Derived from Lucha Libre is the word
   "Luchadores", which refers to the men that wrestle the
   Lucha Libre style.

2.7.3. What's with all the masks in Mexico?

   The masks worn by the Luchadores are inspired by
   ancient Aztec traditions of masked warriors. The mask
   is considered the most precious thing a Luchador has.
   When a wrestler loses his mask, he has suffered the
   ultimate dishonor, the ultimate humiliation. Very few
   wrestlers will make it through their entire career
   without losing their mask. Only the true legends get to
   retire with their anonymity intact. El Santo (The Saint)
   is perhaps the most famous case of a Luchador retiring
   without ever being unmasked. When he died in 1984,
   El Santo was buried with his mask on.

2.7.4. I don't know Spanish, what does [some_word] mean?

   Obviously, there isn't room to define every word you'll
   hear if you watch a Lucha match. However, here are a
   few words which should help you figure out a little of
   what's going on:

   aficianados (ah-fee-see-ah-nah-dohs): fans.

   caida (ky-e-da, ky rhymes with tie): fall. Or, as it's
   known in the U.S., a pin fall.

      Primera caida = first fall.
      Segunda caida = second fall.
      Tercera caida = third fall.

   castigo (cass-tee-go): punishment. Depending on the
   announcer, this may be repeated three times, very
   fast.

   cuadrilatero (sp?) (kwa-dri-la-te-roh) the wrestling
   ring, as in the quadrilateral that is the squared circle.

   enorme (e-nor-may): terrific.

   espaldas planas (ess-pahl-dahss plahn-ahs): literally,
   shoulders down. A pin.

   hurricarana (hurri-ka-rahna): a Frankensteiner when
   performed by a descendant of Hurricane Ramirez.
   Otherwise the move is known as a rana. By the way,
   Scott Steiner did not invent the move, it is generally
   believed to have originated in Mexico.

   malandrin (mawl-ahn-dreen): evil.

   pareja (pah-ray-ha): pair, as in tag team.

   pareja incredible (pah-ray-ha een-cred-eed-lay): a
   mixed tag team of a heel and a face.

   plancha (plahn-cha, plahn rhymes with lawn): a flying
   crossbody, generally delivered from the top rope.

   rudo (rue-dough): a heel (bad guy). Depending on the
   announcer, this may be repeated three times, very
   fast.

   senton (sen-ton, sen rhymes with when, ton rhymes
   with loan): a splash, only the back hits instead of the
   chest. Sometimes delivered from the top rope.

   tecnico (tek-knee-ko): a face (good guy).

   tope (toe-pay): literally "butt" or "stopper". In its
   wrestling sense, normally used to describe a headfirst
   dive into a standing opponent.

   trios (tree-ohs): three-man tag team, as in a trio of
   wrestlers.

2.7.5. What's with all the midgets in Lucha Libre?

   Midgets are very popular in Lucha Libre. Exactly why is
   unknown, but they work a differant style than their
   American counterparts, who generally just work comic
   relief matches. Also, it's very common to see midgets
   adopt the gimmicks, wrestling style, face/heel status,
   and costume as their larger counterparts. Further,
   midgets also adopt the name of their larger
   counterpart and transform it to the diminutive; for
   example the "big guy" is Mascara Sagrada and his
   midget counterpart is Mascarita Sagrada.

2.7.6. Lucha Libre confuses me, what are the rules?

   Well, there are many rules, differing with the type of
   match that is being wrestled (singles, tag, 6-man tag,
   special stipulations), but here are the basic rules for
   most Lucha Libre matches:

      most matches are trios matches, which are
      known in the U.S. as 6-man tag matches
      in trios matches, there are usually 2 referees.
      Generally, one is a heel referee and one is a face
      referee.
      most matches are 2 out of 3 falls
      one member of each team is designated as the
      captain
      when a wrestler is knocked out of the ring, one
      of his team members can enter the ring without
      tagging
      a fall in a trios match is won when the captain
      submits or is pinned, or when the other two
      members of the team submit or are pinned. This
      frequently leads to falls ending when three
      wrestlers are pinned simultaneously.

   This might not make much sense to some non-Lucha
   fans but that's the way they wrestle Lucha style and
   they've been doing it this way for decades. Lucha fans
   don't even think twice about it.

2.7.7.  How do I get to see lucha libre wresting?

   If your cable company carries the Spanish language
   station Galavision, then you get it now. At last report,
   a combined AAA/EMLL show aired Saturday nights at
   6pm (EST). If you live in the southern portion of the
   United States, then you may be able to pick up the
   Mexican satellite transmissions. Also, one Los Angeles
   local spanish language station carries lucha libre. In
   Canada, the Telelatino network carries lucha libre from
   3:45pm to 5:30pm EST on Saturdays.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
3. The Monday Night Wars

   War is hell.  Just ask Vince and Eric.

   We've seen gun-toting psychopaths, ambulance
   hijackings, World title changes, cage matches, face
   turns, heel turns, belts spray-painted, belts tossed in
   rivers, bare butts, kayfabe broken, surprise exits,
   surprise returns, invasions, multiple personalities,
   marriages broken, S&M, bondage, homosexual
   overtones, enough swearing to make a sailor blush,
   entire countries insulted, deaths mourned and New
   York Post columnists blasted.

   All of this over MONDAY NIGHT TV????

   Yes, folks, the biggest prize in wrestling isn't any
   World title, it's bragging rights to having the highest
   rated show on Monday nights.

   The war has been raging since Sept. 4, 1995, and it
   shows no signs of abating.  The two shows' combined
   ratings will usually pull in anywhere from a 9 to a 10,
   which translates to about 8 million viewers watching
   wrestling on a given Monday.

   It's big money and it's great for wrestling.

   And there's a ton of questions to be asked...

3.1.  What is Monday Night RAW?

   Monday Night RAW, or simply RAW, was launched in
   January of 1993 on the USA network as a replacement
   for Prime Time Wrestling, which had been shown in
   that particular timeslot for years and had been steadily
   declining in ratings.   RAW broke from tradition in many
   aspects:  It was shot in a much smaller venue than
   the usual arena (in this case, the Manhattan Center in
   New York), it featured a blend of comedy and
   wrestling action (Doink's antics, food fights, etc.) and
   most importantly it was filled with the kind of "what's
   going to happen next?" anticipation that was sorely
   lacking from the pre-taped shows of years past.

   These differences showed in the Neilson ratings, as
   well, as the show averaged anywhere from a 2.5 - 3.2
   rating from 1993 until 1995.

   As with all good things, it couldn't last forever.

   In late 1994, it began to become obvious that the
   effort was no longer there on the part of the WWF.
   What was once vibrant and exciting became stale and
   predictable, as they aired only one live show a month
   and taped the next three weeks around it.

   This "canned" feeling became especially noticable in
   September of 1995 with the launch of WCW's Monday
   Nitro, which immediately beat RAW in the ratings 3.2
   to 2.5 and became a major crowing point for rival
   network TNT.

   WWF RAW remained unchanged until February of 1997,
   when, in retaliation to WCW's expanded Nitro and
   ratings dominance, RAW underwent a major
   make-over.  It first expanded to two hours, live every
   week, and then underwent a name change to "WWF
   RAW is WAR" complete with warzone-themed graphics
   and arena setup.

   Due to USA's unwillingness to finance a two-hour live
   show every week, RAW was cut to being live every
   other week, a move which has served to save money
   and has not harmed the ratings noticably.  RAW
   actually beat Nitro for the first time in more than a
   year in 1998 and is now beating Nitro by more than 2
   ratings points on a weekly basis.

   RAW is pre-empted every year for the Westminister
   Kennel Dog Show in February, which ranks as one of
   the most hated events among wrestling fans.   It is
   also pre-empted for US Open Tennis coverage, and
   the occasional movie.

   RAW is broadcast on the USA network, 9-11 PM EST
   every Monday night, and 12 - 2 AM EST every
   Tuesday on Canada's TSN.

3.2. What is WCW Monday Nitro?

   On September 4, 1995, World Championship Wrestling,
   at the behest of owner Ted Turner, launched a rival
   program to try to capture some of the viewers on
   Monday nights.  Executive Vice-President Eric Bischoff
   was given a nearly unlimited budget, a prime-time slot,
   and a live show each and every week to work with.

   The show was an immediate success, drawing an initial
   audience of about 2 million viewers and maintaining a
   steady rating from there.

   The controversial tactics of Eric Bischoff were also in
   full force, as he would snidely give away the results of
   the taped RAW on the live Nitro, including a notable
   show where he revealed that Shawn Michaels would
   not only beat Sycho Sid to retain the I-C title, but
   would do it with three superkicks!

   In May of 1996, the show expanded to two hours live
   every week, beginning with a notable episode in which
   the show was "invaded" by WWF mainstay Scott Hall,
   who was maintaining the character of Razor Ramon
   despite signing with rival WCW.

   In August of 1997, the show set records when a
   televised World title match between champion Hulk
   Hogan and challenger Lex Luger drew the first 5.0
   rating in Nitro's history, as Luger won the belt in
   dramatic fashion.

   As of the present time, the show has permanently
   expanded to three hours each week, and remains live
   each and every week.

   Nitro is pre-empted every year for the NBA Playoffs in
   the spring, and for the occasional movie.

   WCW Nitro can be seen on the TNT network from 8-11
   PM EST on Monday nights, and from 12 - 2 AM EST
   Thursday nights on Canada's TSN in addition to
   whatever timeslots they can fit it in before and after.

3.3. What was the gun incident?

   On November 4, 1996, in an attempt to boost ratings
   for RAW during a taped episode, an interview with
   Brian Pillman, from his home, was hyped during his feud
   with Steve Austin.  During that interview, Austin drove
   to Pillman's home, beat up the camera crew and broke
   into the house.  Pillman defended himself by pulling a
   gun on Austin, and the signal was left temporarily,
   with the only audio being heard was something
   sounding like a gunshot.

   It was a moderate ratings success, and a public
   relations nightmare for the WWF as parents' groups
   complained loudly. Ironically, the show had been
   moved to a timeslot an hour earlier in order to attract
   a family viewing audience beginning with that show.

3.4. Who were "the fakes?"

   In September of 1996, as the WWF grew increasingly
   defensive while WCW's onslaught continued, Jim Ross
   began hyping a hotline report detailing the possible
   return of Diesel and Razor Ramon. No details were
   given, nor were the names of Kevin Nash and Scott
   Hall mentioned, but nonetheless the story continued to
   circulate and the rumors swirled on the internet about
   "out clauses" and "loopholes" in the contracts of the
   Outsiders which would allow them to rejoin the WWF.

   Finally, at the "Mind Games" PPV in Philadelphia, a
   camera cut to Savio Vega in the locker rooms, being
   beaten up by two men who appeared to be dressed as
   Razor Ramon and Diesel.  The next night on RAW, Jim
   Ross promised to "give the fans what they wanted"
   and bring back the Bad Guy.   And so, live on national
   TV, Jim Ross introduced...Razor Ramon.  Or rather,
   independent star Rick "Big Titan" Bogner dressed as
   Razor Ramon and doing his best impersonation of him.
   The next week, Diesel was introduced.  In this case,
   Glenn Jacobs with hair extensions doing his best
   impersonation of Kevin Nash.

   The two replacements lasted until the Royal Rumble,
   with the whole thing being an embarassing PR disaster
   the whole time, and both were sent down to Mexico's
   AAA promotion as part of a talent exchange program.
   Jacobs made enough of an impression to be brought
   back as Kane later in the year, and Bogner was
   reportedly going to be repackaged in 1998 as well, but
   he signed with New Japan Pro Wrestling as part of
   nWoJapan.

3.5. What is "Billionaire Ted's Wrasslin' Warroom"?

   One of the most fascinating retaliatory strikes
   launched by Titan Sports in the wake of Nitro's
   success was the series of "Billionaire Ted" skits, which
   aired at various times during WWF programming.

   The basic premise was this:  The opposition (never
   named) is run by a megalomaniacal bastard named
   "Billionaire Ted" who knows nothing about wrestling
   and shops at Sears.  His main stars are the Huckster,
   who is old, balding and books all his own angles, and
   the Nacho Man, who is older, just as bald, and is
   deathly afraid of women's shoes and coffee. Also
   included was "Scheme" Gene, who plugs his hotline
   constantly despite having no actual information.

   The skits brought a wide range of opinions to RSPW,
   with most people either calling them a brilliantly
   subversive satire of WCW, or a bitter and desperate
   cheap-shot at the winning side. Both opinions are
   valid, to be sure.

   The skits themselves got more and more nasty, with
   one notable one where "Billionaire Ted" nearly had a
   nervous breakdown at a press conference, telling his
   father to "kiss his ass" and proclaiming that his goals in
   life were "Money, power, power, money, I want it all."
   WCW was not amused and a lawsuit was pending
   before the skits were finally stopped.

   They culminated at the pre-game show of
   Wrestlemania XII, as the Huckster faced the Nacho
   Man with Ted as the special referee. Both
   "competitors" passed out due to oxygen deprivation
   after two minutes of less-than-thrilling "action."  In a
   bizarre twist, Hulk Hogan faced Randy Savage in the
   main event of WCW's Halloween Havoc 96 about 7
   months later. The skits have not been spoken of or
   mentioned on WWF programming since Wrestlemania
   XII.

3.6. What was the "Robin Hood" match?

   Shortly before nWo Souled Out in January of 1997,
   WCW teased the fans by promising a Hogan-Giant
   World title match on Nitro one night. This night, not
   coincidentally, also featured the pilot episode of a new
   show on TNT, namely Robin Hood.  Nitro continued as
   usual with no title match until about 5 minutes before
   the scheduled time of Robin Hood, at which point the
   announcers suddenly declared that they were out of
   time and couldn't show us the title match, but if we
   stayed tuned during Robin Hood, they would show us
   the match as it happened during the commercial
   breaks.

   WCW then proceeded to edit a five-minute match into
   four or five minute-long pieces that were to give the
   appearance of Hogan and the Giant fighting for 45
   minutes.  Fans instantly saw through the facade and
   the feedback was immediate and overwhelmingly
   negative for such a tactic.  Luckily, it has not been
   tried again.

3.7. What are Nielson ratings?

   The ratings numbers we see every week on r.s.p-w, or
   websites like "1Wrestling.com" are the *CABLE TV*
   ratings. One cable ratings point equals over 720,000
   households, not the 900,000 listed for network shows,
   for a total cable viewing "universe" of over 72 million
   households. A rating of 5.0 would be approximately 3.6
   million households. The share is the percentage of all
   cable TV viewers actually watching TV tuned in to any
   given show at a given time.

   The numbers carried on the various television websites
   the following week are still the cable ratings, but they
   have been adjusted to correspond to the
   *BROADCAST TV* ratings. One broadcast ratings point
   equals 980,000 households, for a total of just under
   100 million total broadcast TV viewers. Of the near
   100 million homes in America with TV sets virtually all
   of them have access to the broadcast networks, while
   only 72+ percent-or 72+ million-have access to cable
   TV. It's for this reason that the two audiences are
   kept track of separately (since it's impossible for every
   TV set in the country to tune into cable, yet feasible
   that they could all be tuned into broadcast networks).
   The two audiences are tracked separately, then the
   cable numbers later adjusted so that they can be
   compared to the overall total television audience.

   The reason Nitro and RAW's numbers "go down" is that
   they have been converted from cable TV ratings to be
   compatible with broadcast TV ratings. The share is
   also adjusted accordingly. To figure out how much the
   number will "drop", you have to know how many
   viewers either show had. To get that, multiply their
   cable rating by roughly 720,000. Then divide the
   number by 980,000 to get the new, lower number.
   Both shows drop by the exact same percentage,
   though at times it has seemed that RAW dropped less
   than Nitro. That's merely a misconception.

   The term "overnight numbers" refer solely to broadcast
   networks. The overnights are generated by collecting
   data from the 40+ largest TV markets in the country in
   order to get an early estimate on how well a broadcast
   television show did. They refer solely to the broadcast
   networks and have nothing to do with cable TV, RAW
   or Nitro. Calling RAW or Nitro's numbers the "overnight
   numbers" is incorrect. They are, simply put, the
   unadjusted cable TV numbers, solely reflecting the
   performance of each show vs. all other cable
   networks. The numbers that appear on the Internet
   and in print publications the following week are the
   cable numbers adjusted to show their performance vs.
   the entire overall television audience (cable and
   broadcast combined).

   Another misconception is that RAW's west coast feed
   isn't counted in the ratings, when the truth is that it
   is. This notion came about mostly due to wishful
   thinking on behalf of WWF fans, and were fueled by
   newsgroup posts from numerous individuals who "knew
   for a fact" that the delayed feed wasn't counted.

   There have been a number of other misconceptions
   regarding the ratings spread on the newsgroup:

   1. Ted Turner "rigs" the ratings. While this is a
   romantic notion to WWF fans, there has never been
   any evidence, much less proof, that Turmner has the
   slightest ability to manipulate the television ratings.

   2. TNT is available to more homes that the USA
   Network is. This is true, but not to the extent that it
   has been characterized on the newsgroup. TNT is
   availavble in approximately 71 million households. USA,
   from what information is available, is available in
   something like 63 or 67 million households. (And while
   we're on the subject, TBS is available to nearly 73
   million households-or virtually the entire cable
   universe.)

   3. Viewers vs. households. ALL television ratings refer
   solely to HOUSEHOLDS that tuned in, not ACTUAL
   viewers. This is one of the major shortcomings of the
   Neilsen ratings sytem, which has drawn fire from
   numerous networks-cable and broadcast-over the last
   several years. While it's FEASIBLE that RAW is actually
   seen by more people than Nitro every week, it's highly
   unlikely. Both shows would be subject to the same
   formulas when figuring out the number of viewers per
   household. The only difference would come in respect
   to the differing demographics of the two shows. With
   WCW's broader appeal, most evidence would actually
   suggest that Nitro is probably seen by more individuals
   per household than RAW is.

3.8.  Who does the theme music for RAW?

   All the music for WWF programming is done by a group
   called Conneticut Yankee, which is made up of
   members of other prominent heavy metal bands.  This
   includes "Thorn In Your Eye (theme from RAW)", "All
   Together Now (theme from WARzone)" and
   "DeGeneration X".  The confusion seems to come from
   the fact that the group uses different singers for
   different songs, but they are all by the same group,
   not Rage Against the Machine or the Beastie Boys or
   anyone else.

   They are the band who played at Wrestlemania XIV.

3.9.  Is RAW tape delayed?

   Yes.  WWF RAW is WAR is broadcast on a 7-second
   delay so USA network censors can prevent any
   re-occurance of the Bret Hart incident.

   The Bret Hart incident, of course, was Bret losing a
   cage match then-WWF champion Sid and going on a
   profanity-laced tirade live on RAW involving the
   phrases "this is bullshit," "if you fans don't like it, tough
   shit" and several uses of the words "ass," "damn" and
   "screwed."  It marked the start of the Bret Hart heel
   turn and was one of those "Was this real or not?"
   moments.

   It was not, for those wondering, real.  Bret Hart had
   prior approval from both the WWF and USA.  USA just
   didn't think he'd be so imaginative with his choice of
   language, to put it mildly.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Stupid Wrestling Tricks

4.1.  How do wrestlers throw fireballs?

   Through the wonders of flash paper. A substance
   called nitrocellulose is formed into a very brightly
   burning paper called flash paper.  It also does this
   very, very quickly. When lit (usually with a lighter
   concealed by the referee and given to the wrestler at
   the appropriate time) the paper with burn rapidly and
   produce the dramatic flash associated with a fireball.
   The wrestler throws it immediately after lighting, and if
   timed right, it will "explode" in the other wrestlers'
   face, without doing any damage.

   There is minimal danger to the other wrestler.  No one
   has ever actually been "burned" by this method of
   fireball throwing, to the author's knowledge.

   A more dramatic and realistic method is used in the
   "garbage" federations of Japan -- real fire.  Wrestlers
   will often spit a mouthful of kerosene at an open flame
   to produce a real fireball.  But then these federations
   will often have entire rings of fire so they are not an
   important consideration to North America's more
   conservative and safer fire-making.

4.2.  How do wrestlers blow mist?

   One of the stereotypical Japanese heel traits (in North
   America) is the "evil green mist" which blinds virtuous
   American wrestlers. Great Muta made a career of it.
   Here's how you do it:  Mix some food coloring in with
   normal water and fill a small balloon or baggie.  It has
   to small enough to fit in your mouth. Put the baggie in
   your mouth and at the opportune moment, bite down
   on it to release the mixture. Spit it out as dramatically
   as needed.  Try not to swallow the baggie. Sometimes
   the wrestler has it already in their mouth, sometimes
   the referee or another plant will conceal it until the
   proper time. Alternative method:  Bulk fruit drink
   crystals. Put a few tablespoons of them in your mouth,
   spit them out at the opportune time. Looks less
   dramatic but produces a better "mist" effect.

4.3.  How do wrestlers color their tongue?

   Kool-Aid.  Food coloring.  Blueberry Slurpees.   As any
   8 year old can tell you, there are a million different
   things which will change your tongue weird colors.
   George "The Animal" Steele preferred lemon-lime
   Kool-Aid, by the way.

4.4.  How do wrestlers hit each other with chairs without it hurting?

   Depends on the chair and the wrestler.

   Notice how the steel folding chair is the standard
   these days? That's because the structure of those
   chairs allows it to absorb most of the force of the
   blow.  You can generally whack someone over the
   head as hard as you like without doing much damage
   to the other guy. More inexperienced wrestlers will use
   their hands to block the chair, but in proper hands, the
   force of the chair directly on the head isn't much
   worse.  A shot to the back barely hurts at all,
   relatively speaking.   That's why baseball players
   always "turn into" a pitch thrown at them -- because
   the back absorbs the shots almost painlessly.

   Don't be stupid enough to try it at home.  Regular
   kitchen chairs will NOT absorb the impact and could
   cause serious damage to someone trying to act out a
   wrestling match.

   Kevin Sullivan is notorious for booking matches using
   "breakaway" chairs made from balsa wood, which
   shatter on impact.  This generally looks ridiculous and
   fake.

4.5.  How do wrestlers throw powder in each others' eyes?

   Two words: Baby powder.  Looks dramatic and doesn't
   do a bit of damage to the eyes.  Any "evil powder",
   including Mr. Fuji's ceremonial salt, is baby powder.

4.6.  What is a Tiger Driver?

   Also known as Ahmed Johnson's "Pearl River Plunge", a
   Tiger Driver is a double-underhook powerbomb.  Place
   your opponent in powerbomb/piledriver position, hook
   both of his arms, and powerbomb him.  The move was
   invented by Mitsuhara Misawa, the second Tiger Mask,
   and is thus named for him.    The Great Tiger Bomb
   Debate has also left many announcers (most notably
   Mike Tenay) calling this move a "Tiger Bomb".

   [Note: The next two questions are the subject of
   MUCH debate in the wrestling world, so please do not
   consider this definitive and use it as the supporting
   evidence in an argument on the matter.]

4.7.  What is a Liger Bomb?

   Often called a "Tiger Bomb" by Joey Styles of ECW, a
   Liger Bomb is a powerbomb-into-pinning-combo.
   Powerbomb your opponent, and in mid-air, hook your
   legs over his shoulders as you come down. Usually
   results in a pin.

4.7a.  What is a Tiger Bomb?

   Current usage of the name Tiger Bomb applies to three
   moves: The Tiger Driver, the Liger Bomb and the Black
   Tiger Bomb.  The first two are as described above
   (and rendered into "Tiger Bomb" by a mistaken call
   from a wrestling announcer) while the third is Eddy
   Guerrero's finisher in Japan:  A slight variation on the
   "Outsider's Edge", where he turns the move into a
   sitdown powerbomb.

   Other sources have stated this move does not exist.

4.8.  What is a Tiger Suplex?  What is a Dragon Suplex?

   A deadly move in Japan, a Tiger Suplex is a reverse
   double-underhook bridge suplex.  Stand behind your
   opponent, hook both of his arms from behind, and
   suplex him back, holding on for the bridge. Will almost
   always result in a pinfall in Japan.

   The other deadly suplex is the Dragon Suplex, which is
   a full-nelson into a bridge suplex.  Again, will almost
   always result in a pinfall when performed in Japan.

4.9.  What is a Space Flying Tiger Drop?

   The elusive Space Flying Tiger Drop is a handspring
   plancha. Usually done by Great Sasuke exclusively,
   toss your opponent to the floor, then run to the
   opposite side of the ring.  As you come off the ropes,
   do a handspring (cartwheel) the length of the ring,
   and then backflip over the top rope, onto your
   opponent. Takes incredible timing on the part of both
   guys.

4.10. What is a backdrop driver?  How come no one else
   uses it?

   In Japan, a backdrop is what we call a belly-to-back
   suplex here in North America.  The backdrop driver is
   Steve Williams' finisher in Japan, whereby he executes
   a backdrop, and drops the opponent right on his head
   instead of his shoulders.  It is an insane bump to take
   and can result in a broken neck if not done absolutely
   correctly by the person being driven.  Hence, it is not
   done in North America.

4.11. What is the difference between a tope and a plancha?

   In 1996, the mexican terms "tope" and "plancha" were
   transported to North America by Joey Styles, Jim Ross
   and Mike Tenay in order to bring a more authentic and
   professional feel to calling the matches. However, two
   years later, they have completely lost their original
   meaning and are now pretty much interchangeable
   with regards to what we see here in North America.
   Any dive over or through the ring ropes, to the floor
   can safely be called either a tope or plancha.
   Techinically, a tope is a dive from a standing position
   on the top rope to an opponent on the floor, while a
   plancha is a dive from a running position through the
   ropes to an opponent on the floor.  Most announcers
   simply call everything a plancha for simplicity's sake.

4.12. What is a tope con hilo?

   Tope is a dive, "con hilo" is "on a thread" in Spanish,
   so it is literally a "dive on a thread.", supposedly
   meaning that the wrestler is suspended on a thread
   from the heavens. Commonly called "Air Juvy" as
   practiced by Juventud Guerrera, the wrestler tosses
   his opponent to the floor, then runs from the opposite
   side of the ring and dives over the top rope, without
   touching the ropes, and lands on his opponent.  A
   mid-air somersault is often added for extra effect.

4.13. What is an Asai moonsault?

   Originated by Yoshihiro Asai (El Ultimo Dragon), the
   idea behind it is fairly simple.  Opponent is on the floor,
   you are on the ring apron.   Jump onto the second
   rope and backflip off, onto your opponent. Add a
   somersault or mid-air twist for extra effect.  Also
   known as a quebrada in Mexico.

4.14. What is a urinage?

   Another term only now becoming common because of
   the influence of mixed martial arts, a urinage
   (pronounced yur-in-a-jee) is a shoulder throw.   Two
   examples are the "T-Bone Tazplex" or Rocky Maivia's
   "Rock Bottom".  It is not a suplex as such, because
   the move is started by holding onto the opponent's
   shoulders rather than the waist.

4.15. What is an enzuigiri?

   The easiest description is "Owen Hart's kick to the
   head."  A kick to the back of the opponent's head from
   a standing position.   Or any kick to the back of the
   head, for that matter. Also called a "Ghetto Blaster"
   and used as a finishing move by Bad News Brown.

4.16. What's the difference between "reverse" and "inverted"?

   Think of it this way:  Reverse refers to the motion of
   the move, while inverted refers to the position of the
   wrestlers.  Or at least in theory.  This rarely holds true
   in the "real world" however, as announcers call things
   on the fly and forced to make up a name on the spot.
   A DDT, for instance, is a standard move, and if the
   opponent is facing up instead of down during the
   move, it's inverted. But a suplex done the same way is
   called "reverse". It should technically be called an
   "inverted suplex". A reverse suplex would be the move
   known as the gourdbuster, where the opponent is
   driven face-first instead of on their back.

   As always, use your own judgment.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.  Miscellaneous

5.1 - Did [X] ever play organized football?

   Probably not.

   This section used to maintain a listing of known
   connections between wrestlers and football, but two
   things rapidly became apparent:

   1)  The information was not easily accessible to begin
   with;

   2)  The wrestlers lied through their teeth.

   As a result, this document will no longer attempt to
   keep track of football affiliations.  If in doubt, listen to
   Jim Ross' commentary, he usually covers it very well.
   :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.2 - How are all the Samoan wrestlers related?

   The original Samoans, Afa & Sika are brothers, real
   names Alofa and Sika Anoai. Afa has two sons in
   wrestling, Samula Anoia (Headshrinker Samu) and
   Lloyd Anoai (Tahitian Warrior, LA Smooth of the
   Samoan Gangster Party). Sika has one son in
   wrestling, Matthew Anoai (Matty Smalls of the Samoan
   Gangster Party). Rodney Anoai, better known as
   Yokozuna, is the nephew of Afa and Sika.

   The Tonga Kid (Islander Tama, Samoan Savage, real
   name Sam Fatu) and Headshrinker Fatu (real name
   Solofa Fatu) are brothers. The Fatu brothers are
   cousins to Samu and Yokozuna.

   The Barbarian, real name Sionne Vailahi,is not related
   to either family, although he is of Samoan descent and
   also grew up in San Fransisco.

   Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (real name James Reiher) is of
   Fijian descent and grew up in Hawaii. He has one
   brother who wrestled as Cocoa Samoa (Sabu the
   Wildman in Memphis ca. 84, real name John Reiher.)

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.3 - Title Changes

   (Or: Stuff That Doesn't Happen In Other Sports ...)

   Professional wrestling has a unique distinction that no
   other non-booked sport has:  Title changes that
   happen outside of one man beating another.

   First, a "negative" title reign is an occurance unique to
   the pre-taped world of professional wrestling:  A
   wrestler or team actually losing a championship before
   it was won from the previous champion.

   Luckily, it has only happened twice before, and both
   times in WCW.

   The first was in 1991, when the Fabulous Freebirds
   (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin) were scheduled to
   challenge the then-champions, Doom, at WCW's
   WrestleWar show.  However, a week prior to the show
   at a TV taping for WCW's namesake TV program, the
   Freebirds appeared with the World tag team titles,
   defending them against the Steiner brothers...and
   lost!  Of course, they went on to *win* the titles from
   Doom on the pay-per-view telecast, and the Steiners
   match was shown the next week on TV, but in reality
   their title reign was in the negative numbers.

   Perhaps the most confusing title scenario ever occured
   in 1995. This would be the Harlem Heat / Nasty Boys /
   Bunkhouse Buck & Dick Slater series that resulted in
   three title changes and mass confusion on RSPW over
   which really happened.

   The WON had them as follows:

      05/21/95 Nasty Boys win them from Harlem Heat at Slamboree 1995
      05/03/95 Harlem Heat regains them a month later (aired 06/25/95)
      06/21/95 Bunkhouse Buck and Dick Slater get them over HH (aired 07/22/95)
      09/17/95 Buck & Slater lose them back to Harlem Heat. (Fall Brawl)

   Basically, the 05/03/95 match was one from the
   Orlando TV tapings that was in the can... with the HH
   *defending* (in the tapings) the belts... and beating
   the Nasties due to Blue Blood interferances. In the
   *after the fact* announcing/voice overs, it was edited
   to make it appear the Nasties were defending and HH
   won the titles.  Presto... magico... title change. The
   match aired on World Wide.

   There is also the matter of the "phantom" title change;
   that is, a title change that does not actually happen
   but is announced on TV as happening "at a recent
   (federation) show in Imoud, PA." where Imoud is
   Anytown, USA.  Examples of this are the Rock N Roll
   Express "regaining" the NWA World tag titles from Rick
   Rude and Manny Fernandez after Rude jumped to the
   WWF, Alundra Blayze's tournament win "in Memphis"
   for the WWF Women's title, and the ficticious
   tournaments in Rio de Janeiro that crowned the first
   WWF champions.

   The final, and least common, title change is the
   unintentional one.  The most famous example of this
   happened in 1994 as the Quebecers were defending
   the WWF tag team titles against Men on a Mission in
   England, and Mabel accidentally fell on one of the
   Quebecers to get a pinfall victory and titles.  The belts
   were won back by the former champs on the very next
   show.  A lesser known but more historically significant
   example was the match in 1984 between Hulk Hogan
   and Antonio Inoki to fill the vacant IWGP title.  Inoki
   had Hogan in the sleeper and Hogan managed to throw
   Inoki out of the ring to break out of the hold, but Inoki
   hit his head and fell unconscious. The referee had no
   choice but to count him out and award Hogan the
   title.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.4 - Shoots

5.4.1.  What is a shoot?

   Quite simply, wrestling is fake, and a shoot is when
   one or more participants makes it too "real".

   Shoots are extremely rare, since a wrestler who is
   known to be unwilling to work a match is likely to have
   his career cut short by promoters unwilling to pay him.

   Recently, events like the Ultimate Fighting
   Championship and the shootwrestling groups have
   caused the word to become in vogue in the pro
   wrestling world (and especially in ECW) but rest
   assured that 99% of what you are seeing is scripted.

   Remember, we only know what they want us to know.

5.4.2. What are some examples of shoots?

   Bearing that in mind, listed are some well-known
   shoots in pro-wrestling:

   25/04/15 - Stanislaus Zybysko defeated World
   Champion Wayne Munn.

   36/03/02 - Dick Shikat defeated World Champion
   Danno O' Mahoney

   85/04/27 - Road Warriors vs. Larry Hennig & Jerry
   Blackwell. Hennig and Blackwell rough up the young
   Road Warriors, who, until that time, refused to sell
   moves for their opponents.

   85/09/02 - Akira Maeda and Super Tiger (Satoru
   Sayama) wrestled to a Double DQ in 18:57. The ref
   stopped the match because he felt both Sayama and
   Maeda were getting out of hand.

   86/04/29 - Andre the Giant vs Akira Maeda (New
   Japan) Andre refuses to cooperate with Maeda and
   Maeda takes him down with several vicious kicks to
   the legs.

   87/01 - Bruiser Brody vs. Lex Lugar (Florida) Brody
   stops cooperating with Lugar, who gets himself DQed.

   87/11/19 - Riki Chosyu, Masa Saito & Hiro Saito def.
   Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada & Osamu Kido. (New
   Japan) Maeda delivers a hard kick to Chosyu's face,
   which breaks 3 bones in his cheek.

   91/04/01 - John Tenta vs. Koji Kitao (SWS/WWF)
   Tenta and Kitao, two former sumo wrestlers, stop
   cooperating but never come to blows.

   1997 - The Nasty Boys and the Outsiders stop
   cooperating after a particularly hard shot by Scott
   Hall.  Knobs and Sags rough up Hall in the ring to
   teach him a lesson.  The Nasties are subsequently not
   seen again on WCW TV.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.5 - Wrestling Bloopers, Swerves and General Oddities

5.5.1. What was the Summerslam '89 blooper?

   Gene Okerlund, Rick Rude, and Bobby Heenan were
   about to do an interview hyping Rude's match against
   the Ultimate Warrior. Unfortunately, on live PPV, the
   interview got messed up when the Summerslam sign on
   the interview backdrop fell.   Vince McMahon muttered
   "Nice move" offstage, after which Gene blurted, "Fuck
   it!"  In some locations, the audio was blanked out once
   the interview was botched, while others received the
   blooper intact.

5.5.2. What was the Nitro Nipple?

   On the WCW Monday Nitro which aired the week of
   Brian Pillman's death, the Nitro Girls were opening the
   program with a dance number (after a graphic
   expressing condolences to the Pillman family). During
   the number, however, the Asian Nitro Girl was jumping
   such that one of her breasts were exposed until the
   camera caught it and turned away from her.  Needless
   to say, this marked a Nitro Girls face turn of sorts on
   RSPW.

5.5.3. What was the Shockmaster incident?

   Another incident from 1993 which is pointed to when
   making fun of WCW during that year: It was during the
   August '93 Clash of the Champions, when Sting and
   Davey Boy Smith were guests on Ric Flair's "A Flair for
   the Gold" to introduce the surprise partner that would
   join them and Dustin Rhodes in War Games (at Fall
   Brawl '93) against Vader, Sid Vicious, and Harlem
   Heat.  Sid and the Heat came in to threaten the
   faces, who decided right there and then to introduce
   their partner, the Shockmaster (Fred "Tugboat"
   Ottman)  An explosion of pyrotechnics went off, and a
   hole was made in the set's wall through which the
   Shockmaster was supposed to come through.
   Unfortunately, there was still an uncleared section of
   the wall at the bottom of the hole, and Shockmaster
   tripped over it, falling on his face and losing his
   "Stormtrooper" helmet.  This incident caused WCW to
   change the Shockmaster's gimmick, making him into a
   construction hat wearing fat guy who happened to be
   clumsy.

5.5.4. Do wrestlers often curse accidentally?

   Yes, there have been several instances on PPV's and
   the TV shows where wrestlers, announcers, etc. have
   slipped up. For example, during a Brian Pillman vs. Eddy
   Guerrero match on one Clash, Pillman was doing his
   Loose Cannon gimmick and jumped out of the ring and
   grabbed at color commentator Bobby Heenan, who
   said, "What the fuck are you doing?"  In an angle
   where the Outsiders (then made out to be WWF
   invaders) were taken out of the arena by security,
   Kevin Nash told an officer to "Get the fuck off." During
   a Sting angle on Nitro, Eric Bischoff remarked, "He's
   really fucked up!" (which RSPW posters claimed was
   either in reference to Sting or a "drunk" Curt Hennig).
   At Spring Stampede '97, Booker T used the N-word
   when talking about Hulk Hogan.

   The WWF has also had its share of slip-ups.  During a
   brawl between Goldust and Razor Ramon on a 1995
   RAW, Dok Hendrix blurted, "Oh shit!"  In the infamous
   gun angle, Brian Pillman went overboard screaming at
   Steve Austin, going as far as saying, "Let him go, I'm
   gonna fucking kill him!"   Owen Hart said that he'd had
   "enough of this bullshit" in reference to DeGeneration X
   at the Unforgiven PPV, but this is regarded as
   purposeful.

5.5.5. Do wrestlers in one federation accidentally make references to
   competing federations?

   Yes, mostly in WCW. When the Outsiders angle was
   starting, Lex Luger did an interview proclaiming that
   "The WW, uh, WCW is united....." (A lot of sources
   rumored that Lex would be the third Outsider, so some
   people thought this was part of that) More recently,
   Ted DiBiase almost promised to lead the Steiner
   Brothers to the top of the "World Wrestling
   Federation." Sometimes, WCW wrestlers or announcers
   used other wrestlers' WWF names. Ray Traylor called
   Curt Hennig "Mr. Perfect," and Bobby Heenan once
   called Meng "Haku."

5.5.6.  Paul Orndorff vs. The Great Muta for the IWGP Heavyweight title.

   WCW announced that Paul Orndorff would face The
   Great Muta for the IWGP Heavyweight title at
   Slamboree on May 5, 1995.  The problem was that
   Muta was not the IWGP champion at this point. Shinya
   Hashimoto was.   Muta (under his real name of Keiji
   Mutoh), did defeat Hashimoto two days before the PPV
   to become the IWGP champion. He then faced Orndorff
   in the Muta gimmick at the PPV.  WCW announcer Mike
   Tenay called it "one of the worst kept secrets in
   professional wrestling" in one of his WCW Hotline
   reports.

5.5.7.  Ric Flair unifies the NWA International and WCW World titles.

   WCW announced that a match between Sting and Ric
   Flair would take place to unify both the NWA
   International title and the WCW world title.   The
   match would take place at Clash of the Champions on
   June 24, 1994.  During a WCW Saturday Night
   broadcast, Gene Okerlund announced that Ric Flair
   unified both titles in his match with Sting. The problem
   was, Gene made his proclamation almost a full week
   BEFORE the match took place.

5.5.8.  Sabu vs. Rob Van Dam for the ECW TV title.

   ECW announced some matches for the ECW PPV
   "Wrestlepalooza '98." One of the matches announced
   was Sabu taking on Rob Van Dam for the ECW TV
   title.  Problem was, Van Dam wasn't the TV champion.
   Bam Bam Bigelow was.  Another "oddity" was that
   Sabu and Van Dam haven't split up as partners yet
   either.  Lo and behold, Van Dam defeat Bigelow for the
   title on April 4, 1998 and the split up was teased.

5.5.9.  Warrior's first WWF IC title reign.

   On August 29, 1988, The Ultimate Warrior defeated
   Honkey Tonk Man in 28 seconds to begin his first WWF
   Intercontinental title reign, but fans at "WWF
   Superstars/Challenge" tapings knew of the switch
   BEFORE SummerSlam took place.  This was when the
   WWF taped TV shows three weeks at a time.  The
   tapings before SummerSlam would've had programs
   that aired before and after the PPV. UW came out for
   some squashes, but was introduced by Howard Finkle
   as "The NEW Intercontinental" champion for two of
   those matches. These matches were taped BEFORE,
   but would air AFTER the PPV. The explain it to the
   crowd, Warrior and HTM had a dark match in which UW
   defeated Honkey by DQ. However, UW left with the
   belt and was announced as the new champion.

5.5.10.  Lex Luger, WWF World champion?

   One of the most famous pre-show booking changes
   came before Wrestlemania X in 1994.  The main event
   was the WWF champion defending the WWF title twice
   in the same evening -- once with Lex Luger against
   champion Yokozuna and then whoever was champion
   after that match defending against Bret Hart later in
   the evening.   Due to Yoko's size and lack of stamina,
   the only booking that made sense was Luger going
   over Yokozuna for the title and then going on to
   defend it against Bret Hart in the main event.  BUT,
   Luger and some friends went to a local bar the night
   before the show and got decently drunk. Unfortunately
   for them, a reporter for a New York paper was there
   as well, and Luger proceeded to brag about how he
   was scheduled to beat Yokozuna and finally get the
   WWF title. The article was published in the paper the
   morning of the show, trumpeting Luger's own
   admittance of the ending, and as a result the show
   was changed so that Luger lost by DQ and Yoko went
   on to lose the title to Bret Hart in the main event,
   which didn't affect things too much because Hart was
   getting the belt either way.

   Credence is lended to this story by reports from fans
   at TV tapings leading up to WMX, where the WWF
   would have Luger "steal" the title from Yokozuna and
   come out introduced as the "WWF World champion" (to
   annoy Jim Cornette, as the storyline went) in order to
   judge the pop Luger received as champion. Guess it
   wasn't good enough.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
5.6 - Pay-per-view

5.6.1. What was the first wrestling event on pay-per-view?

   That would be the famous "Wrestling Classic" which
   kicked off nearly a decade of domination by the WWF
   of the PPV market.  It was a 16 man, one night
   tournament, won by the Junkyard Dog, who defeated
   Randy Savage in the finals.  The card also featured
   Hulk Hogan battling Roddy Piper for the WWF title.
   The show is VERY hard to find on video and generally
   having a copy will give you instant respect among the
   tape traders.  :)

5.6.2. What was the biggest PPV of all time?

   That's a tougher one to answer.  Wrestlemania III did
   a phenomenal buyrate for the time, although the "PPV
   universe" in 1987 was miniscule, so it doesn't really
   count.  The generally accepted answer is the WWF's
   Wrestlemania V, which did an amazing 864,000 buys,
   which today would translate to roughly a 3.0 buyrate.
   Nothing has since come close to matching this figure,
   except Wrestlemania VII at 750,000 buys (about a 2.6
   buyrate) and the recent Wrestlemania XIV, which did
   somewhere around 700,000 buys (for a 2.3 buyrate),
   and this year's Wrestlemania XV, which did somewhere
   between 850,000 and 1,000,000 buys, making it not
   only the biggest wrestling PPV ever, but one of the
   biggest PPVs ever.  Despite recent claims made by
   WCW, the WWF owns most of the top buyrates with
   Wrestlemania shows, with WCW's Starrcade 97 being
   the only entry comparable to the numbers earned in
   the WWF's glory days.

5.7 - Who Was [X]?

   While it's impossible to list all the various masked
   wrestlers in recent history, there any many that are
   asked repeatedly, and will hopefully be covered here.

5.7.1.  Who was Battle Kat?

   Battle Kat was the gimmick used to try and give Brady
   Boone a well-deserved push in the WWF in the late
   80s.  It was moderately successful before Boone was
   actually fired mid-stream for various reasons.  But the
   gimmick was so successful that they stuck jobber Bob
   Bradley into the costume for a time.  As a matter of
   interest, to tell the difference, Bradley is the one who
   does the handspring elbow. Bradley's run with the
   Battle Kat gimmick also killed it, not surprisingly.

5.7.2.  Who was Max Moon?

   Max Moon, or Maximillion Moves as he was originally
   known, or the Comet Kid as he was known in his
   tryout match,  was current ECW wrestler Paul
   Diamond.  The gimmick was a total flop.  Max Moon
   came on the heels of his stint as "Kato" in 1991, one
   half of the Orient Express, a team consisting of two
   Americans.  This didn't work either.

   After Paul Diamond left the WWF, the gimmick was
   actually given to the wrestler currently known as
   Konan, Charles Ashinoff.  He only lasted one or two
   tapings before the gimmick was shelved permanently.

5.7.3.  Who was Shinobi/Avatar?

   Both characters were attempts by the WWF to give Al
   Snow a workable personality, and neither worked.

5.7.4.  Who was the masked Skyscraper at
   WrestleWar 90?

   As mentioned earlier in the document, that was "Mean"
   Mike Enos.

5.7.5.  Who were the Minnesota Wrecking
   Crew II?

   In 1990, the NWA/WCW was given Mike Enos and
   Wayne Bloom on loan from the AWA, and put them
   under masks as proteges of Ole Anderson and the Four
   Horsemen.  They were put into a feud with the Steiner
   Brothers, lost decisively, and left WCW quickly
   afterwards.

5.7.6.  Who was the masked man in the
   second WarGames?

   In 1987, when the NWA introduced the Wargames
   match at the Great American Bash, JJ Dillon ended up
   injuring his arm in the first match, and was replaced by
   a masked man billed as the "War Machine." This was
   simply Ray Traylor.

5.7.7.  Who was the "Super Ninja" that
   fought the Ultimate Warrior on Saturday
   Night's Main Event?

   "Crippler" Rip Oliver, of PNW fame.

5.7.8.  Who was the Blue Blazer?

   Owen Hart, as has been admitted on WWF TV
   numerous times.

5.7.9.  Who were the Conquistadors?

   They would be longtime WWF jobber Jose Luis Rivera
   and Jose Estrada, who is the father of current Boriqua
   Jose Estrada Jr. They have the distinction of being the
   last team eliminated at Survivor Series 1988, but did
   nothing else of note in their WWF tenure, despite their
   almost cult-like following.

5.7.10.  Who was Kim Chee?

   Kamala's handler, Kim Chee, when not used as part of
   an angle, was played by Steve Lombardi.

5.7.11.  Who were the masked Knights at
   Survivor Series 1993?

   In one of the more famous "who were they" matches,
   Jerry Lawler promised to bring three "Royal Knights" to
   battle Bret Hart's team at the Survivor Series, before
   being knocked out of the match by legal problems and
   replaced by Shawn Michaels.  The knights were:

      Red Knight:  Barry Horowitz
      Blue Knight: Greg "The Hammer" Valentine
      Black Knight: Glenn Jacobs

   One of the ongoing arguments on RSPW at the time
   was whether or not the Black Knight was Jacobs or
   USWA star Jeff Gaylord, but the WWF has since
   admitted that it was indeed Jacobs.

   To repeat, it was NOT JEFF GAYLORD.  The WWF
   officially admitted that the Black Knight was Glen
   Jacobs so save yourself the trouble of sending e-mail
   outlining the case for Gaylord because it won't do any
   good.

5.7.12.  Who is Kane?

   Glenn Jacobs, aka the Black Knight, aka Unibomb, aka
   Isaac Yankem DDS, aka "Diesel".

5.7.13.  Who was Kwang?

   Juan Rivera, better known as Savio Vega.  In an
   interesting sidenote, the part was designed for the
   Tazmaniac (ECW's Taz) but he ended up staying with
   ECW.

5.7.14.  Who was the Underfaker?

   Not really a masked man, the Underfaker, or Fake
   Undertaker, or Overtaker, or Evil Undertaker, or
   whatever you want to call him, was played by Brian
   Lee, currently known as Chainz in the WWF. It is not
   the person playing Kane in the WWF.  That is Glen
   Jacobs, an entirely different person.

   It was not the "original" Undertaker or any such
   nonsense. Undertaker is, and always has been, Mark
   Callaway.

5.7.15.  Who was Lord Humongous?

   Others have played the character in independant
   federations since, but the original person to don the
   hockey mask in south was none other than "Sycho"
   Sid.

5.7.16.  Who was the Dr. X on WWF house
   shows in 1997?

   That would be WWF trainer Tom Prichard, who was
   usually wrestling Achim "Bracchus" Albrecht in
   preparation for his WWF debut.

5.7.17.  Who was the Executioner (1996
   version)?

   Terry "Bamm Bamm" Gordy.

5.7.18.  Who was Badstreet?

   Well, first of all it was originally "Fantasia" but got
   changed due to fear of legal reprecussions from
   Disney.

   It would be one of the many identities of Brad
   Armstrong.   He has also been masked under the
   names of Mr. R (from the Tommy Rich angle in 1982)
   and Arachniman (the Spider-Man knockoff WCW tried
   in 1991) and others in an attempt to find a suitable
   gimmick for him.  None has been overly successful to
   date.

5.7.19.  Who was the Dark Patriot?

   The Patriot's evil opposite (who has surprisingly not
   turned up to hound him in the WWF) is played by Doug
   Gilbert.

5.7.20.  Who was Black Blood?

   One of WCW's quickly forgotten experiments in 1991,
   Black Blood was played by Billy Jack Haynes.

5.7.21.  Who was the Super Invader?

   See, no question is too obscure for this FAQ.  :)   The
   Super Invader, seen briefly in WCW in 1992 under the
   tutelage of Harley Race, was none other than Hercules
   Hernandez.

5.7.22.  Who was Shanghai Pierce?

   In 1992, WCW introduced the jobber team of Tex
   Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce.  Pierce specifically was
   Mark Cantebury, and the team would later move to
   the WWF and be known as Phineas I. and Henry O.
   Godwinn.

5.7.23.  Who was the fake Sting?

   Which one?  :)

   The one you're probably referring to is "nWo Sting,"
   who currently competes in Japan.  That would be the
   wrestler formerly known as Cobra and/or Thunder:
   Jeff Farmer.

5.7.24.  Who was Big Josh?

   Matt Osborne, better known as Matt Borne and even
   more better known as Doink the Clown.

5.7.25.  Who were the Machines?

   Well, the Giant Machine was pretty obvious:  Andre
   The Giant. His buddies were less obvious, although you
   probably know them. The Super Machine was Bill
   Eadie, better known as Demolition Ax (or the Masked
   Superstar, depending on your time frame).  His slightly
   larger partner was the Big Machine, played by
   "Blackjack" Mulligan, who is currently best known for
   being Barry Windham's father. The "one-shot"
   Machines (Piper Machine, Hulk Machine, etc.) are
   pretty self explanatory, I think.

5.7.26.  Who was Who?

   Jim Neidhart, in one of the sillier ideas ever thought
   up.

5.7.27.  Who was Mortis?

   Current WCW star Kanyon.

5.7.28.  Who were the Russian Assassins?

   Paul Jones' team in the NWA circa 1988 were Angel of
   Death (#1, the tall one) and Jack Victory (#2, the one
   with big butt). Neither of them are Russian, to the
   best of the author's knowledge.

5.7.29.  Who were the Shadows?

   Someone sent me this one, and I found it, and it
   turned out to be an interesting bit of trivia.

   The Shadows were a generic masked team in the WWF
   in the late 80s who jobbed a lot.  One of them was
   perennial jobber Jose Luis Rivera, and the other was
   Randy Culley, who was a Moondog at one point and
   spent all of a week as the original Smash in Demolition
   before being replaced by Barry "Kick your stinking
   teeth in!" Darsow.

5.7.30.  Who was the Yellow Dog?

   In Florida, Barry Windham lost a loser-leaves-town
   match and returned as the masked Yellow Dog.  That
   was the first occurance.  In WCW in 1991, Brian
   Pillman lost a loser-leaves-WCW match (to Windham,
   ironically enough) and WCW acknowledged this irony
   by having Pillman reappear (quite obviously) as the
   Yellow Dog.

5.7.31.  Who was the Midnight Rider?

   That would be Dusty Rhodes, if you will.

5.7.32.  Who was Leatherface?

   Many have played him since, but the original was Mike
   "Corporal" Kirschner in Memphis.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
6.  Famous Deaths

6.1. Bruiser Brody

   On 07/17/1988, Frank "Bruiser Brody" Goodish was wrestling for the WWC
   promotion in Puerto Rico, when he was suddenly and fatally stabbed to
   death in the shower room by Jose Gonzales, aka Invader III. Gonzales
   was arrested and held for questioning, but because Goodish was
   American, none of the Puerto Rican wrestlers would testify and the
   American ones (specifically Doug Furnas and Dutch Mantell) were afraid
   for their own lives if they did. Officially, the murder was unsolved
   and the motives unknown, but it is a fact that Jose Gonzales did the
   killing. The lack of conviction is a legal technicality at best. The
   motive, however, will never be known.

6.2. Adrian Adonis

   On 07/04/1988, Keith "Adrian Adonis" Franke was in a van with
   wrestlers Pat Kelly, Mike Kelly and Dave McKigney, when driver Mike
   hit a patch of ice on the road and the van went off a cliff. Franke,
   Pat Kelly and McKigney were killed instantly and Mike had a severely
   injured leg. This incident is often confused with a car accident that
   happened on 07/04/1989, one year to the day after the Adonis crash. In
   this case, Davey Boy Smith, Chris Benoit and Jason the Terrible were
   driving from a show in Jasper, Alberta, and swerved to avoid hitting a
   moose. Smith and Jason were severely injured, and Benoit mildly so.

6.3. Dino Bravo

   On 03/11/1993, Dino Bravo was at home following his retirement the
   previous year. Due to rumored dealings in the Canadian black market
   cigarette trade, he was gunned down by several members of a gang, in
   violent fashion. He was 44.

6.4. Louie Spicoli

   While the cause of death has not been 100% determined yet, it is known
   that Spicoli had consumed large amounts of a drug called Soma in
   addition to large amounts of alcohol on the night of his death, which
   pretty much guaranteed something bad was going to happen. The actual
   cause of the death was suffocation on his own vomit.

6.5. Brian Pillman

   Pillman's death, despite wild claims of drug use, alcoholism, and
   various debauchery that supposedly led to his death, was caused by a
   simple heart condition that he was not even aware of. It was natural
   causes, specifically a heart attack, and had nothing to do with drugs
   or otherwise. He died peacefully in his sleep in a hotel room in
   Minneapolis.

6.6. Junkyard Dog

   Sylvester Ritter, better known as the JYD, had a somewhat more mundane
   death, falling asleep at the wheel of his car and hitting a tree.
   Ritter had said that he wanted to live long enough to see his daughter
   graduate, and in fact he was driving home from her graduation on the
   night of the accident.

6.7. Ravishing Rick Rude

   After years of battling back problems, Rude passed away by way of a
   heart attack on Apr 20, 1999. He was 40.

6.8. Brady Boone

   Although WCW seemed less than enthused about noting Boone's death,
   with Gene Okerlund making disparaging remarks about him on his hotline
   after the fact, this document will faithfully note that ex-Battle Kat
   Brady Boone hit a tree and died on the way to getting a pizza early in
   1999.

6.9. The Renegade

   After being thrust into the spotlight as an Ultimate Warrior clone in
   1995, Rick Williams crashed to earth equally quickly as the fans
   turned on him unaminously. By 1999, he was so far out of contention in
   WCW that he resorted to killing himself with a shotgun.

6.10. Owen Hart

   Arguably the best wrestler never to hold a world singles title, Owen
   Hart's death as a result of a fall from the roof of the Kemper Arena
   in Kansas City has been referred to by Mike Tenay as "the greatest
   tragedy in the history of wrestling." At this point, details regarding
   the incident remain few, but it is *believed* that the elaborate Blue
   Blazer costume worn by Hart on the night of his death got caught in
   the rigging wires which were to be used for his entrance from the
   ceiling. This is said to have triggered a safety release mechanism
   some fifty feet above the ring, with the official cause of death being
   critical shock trauma caused by an impact against the ring.

   Although the WWF has been cleared of all criminal charges regarding
   the death, a massive civil suit has been filed by Owen's widow,
   Martha, with the restitution possibly topping fifty million dollars.

   Survived by his wife and two children, Owen was a bright light in an
   occasionally dark business and is missed by all those who knew him,
   and every fan who ever had the chance to watch him perform in a
   wrestling ring.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
7.  The USWA

   Wrestling is filled with many simple, straightforward
   angles, feuds and storylines, as is the nature of the
   business. This is not one of them.

   The recently demised United States Wrestling
   Association is really the end result of the
   unspectacular deaths of three separate organizations:
   The AWA, World Class, and the CWA. In 1985, Fritz
   Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling, then a
   member of the NWA, pulled out of the group due to
   disputes over dates with the NWA champion and the
   countout rule (in WCCW, titles could change on a
   countout). The group was based in Texas and
   recognized it's own "World" champion, although the
   belt is not officially recognized as anything more than
   a regional title by anyone else.

   It did reasonably good business until about 1988, when
   financial difficulties forced Von Erich to seek
   agreements with outside federations. In this case, the
   AWA took WCCW "under it's wing" so to speak. The
   AWA was the third largest promotion in America at
   that time, and was decisively dying. In a desperate
   move to unify some of the smaller federations, AWA
   owner Verne Gagne put the AWA World title on
   Memphis legend Jerry Lawler and began promoting
   inter-promotional feuds, specifically with World Class,
   with intentions of building to a title v. title match at
   their first PPV, SuperClash III. The fact that Lawler
   was World champion of the AWA effectively brought
   the Lawler-Jerry Jarrett co-promoted CWA
   organization into the AWA fold. The three groups were
   able to peacefully co-exist for all of three months
   before major problems began arising.

   At SuperClash, Lawler defeated WCCW champion Kerry
   Von Erich to unify the AWA and WCCW World titles
   into one belt, the Unified World title. This title was
   officially recognized as the World heavyweight title by
   WCCW and the CWA....but not by the AWA, who
   continued to only recognize their own AWA World
   champion. Lawler (rightly) felt that this was ridiculous
   and pulled the CWA out of the AWA fold, despite still
   being AWA World champion. In response, the AWA
   stopped recognizing Lawler's claim to the title
   completely and separated the AWA World title from
   the Unified title, crowning Larry Zbyszko as their
   champion while Lawler continued as "Unified" World
   champion. In reality, this title was now simply the
   WCCW championship under a new name.

   WCCW and the CWA continued co-promoting, mostly
   due to Von Erich's continued financial difficulties. But a
   common name was now needed, so in 1989 WCCW ran
   an angle where Skandor Akbar took control of WCCW.
   He was opposed by Eric Embry, who won the blowoff
   match which "disbanded" World Class and created the
   USWA in it's place. In reality it was just a cosmetic
   name change. At the same time, the CWA also began
   promoting under the USWA name. The "Unified" World
   title was recognized by both promotions as the only
   World title. There were two USWA shows running at
   the same time: One in Texas and one in Memphis.

   The situation continued until 1990, when the Von
   Erichs finally ran out of money and the Lawler/Jarrett
   tandem took over control of the Texas organization,
   and subsequently took most of the talent and left it to
   die. The result was a single USWA, promoted out of
   Memphis, which recognized former WCCW titles like the
   Texas title. The CWA Southern title was changed into
   the USWA heavyweight title and given #1
   contendership to the "Unified" World title. The Texas
   territory was then taken over by the new Global
   Wrestling Federation, using much talent from WCCW.
   The USWA lasted from 1989 until 1997, when various
   money and legal problems forced Jerry Lawler to cease
   operations.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix A - Wrestling Title Histories

A. Coming soon

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix B - Monday Night Ratings History

B. Coming soon

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Appendix C - Addresses of Major Federations

Since most wrestlers would prefer not having their
home addresses published, you can attempt to
contact them through the promotion they currently
work for. Listed below are addresses for some major
promotions. If you have any additions or corrections,
feel free to send them along to the FAQ editor.

World Championship Wrestling
1 CNN Center
Atlanta, GA 30348
Phone: [phone]

World Wrestling Federation
1241 E. Main St.
Stamford, CT 06902
Phone: [phone]
Press Info: 203 353-2891
FAX: [phone]

Extreme Championship Wrestling
101 S. 10th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Ticket info: 610 544-0421
Offices: 215-928-9772

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix D - Dave Meltzer on "the Montreal Incident"

D. The following is a full transcript of a recent issue of the Wrestling
   Observer, detailing (and mean DETAILing) the whole Bret Hart fiasco.
   An unbelievable read, and one that will change the way you think about
   Bret, Vince and everyone involved, I guarantee. All spelling and
   grammar errors are Dave Meltzer's, and this is reprinted without
   permission from him.

   It will go down in history as the single most famous finish of a pro
   wrestling match in the modern era. Twenty or thirty years from now
   this story, more than any famous wrestler jumping promotions, more
   than and prominent death, and more than any record setting house, will
   be remembered vividly by all who watched it live, and remembered as
   legendary from all who hear about it later. Through the magic of video
   tape, the last minute of this match will live forever and be replayed
   literally millions of times by ten of thousands of people all looking
   for the most minute pieces of detail to this strange puzzle. But the
   story of what led to those few seconds starts more than one year ago,
   far more reminiscent of the dirty con man past of the industry than
   the current attempted facade of a multi-million dollar corporate above
   board image those in the industry like to portray outwardly that it
   has evolved into

   October 20, 1996 - Bret Hart was in a hotel room in San Jose, Ca,
   hours from making the biggest decision of his life - who would win the
   biggest bidding war in the history of pro wrestling. He had pretty
   well leaned toward staying with the World Wrestling Federation despite
   a much larger offer from World Championship Wrestling, but had changed
   his mind a few times over the previous two weeks as each side
   presented new offers. In the waining hours, Eric Bishoff and Kevin
   Nash were trying to convince him to change his mind and how great life
   was with an easier schedule. Bischoff was offering big money and a
   shot at becoming a movie star, a goal Hart had been pursuing while on
   semince McMahon was offering him, in the now immortal words of Arn
   Anderson, not just a spot but the top spot in the company, and almost
   literally to be WWF 4 life. Many close advisers of Hart's tried to
   tell him going to WCW was the best move for his present, and more
   importantly his future after wrestling. But largely out of loyalty,
   and that obviously wasn't the only factor involved, he declined the
   offer. McMahon, not to lose a very public fight, offered him the
   famous 20-year contract where he'd, after retirement in about three
   years, become almost a first lieutenant when it came to the booking
   process. Hart would earn somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.5 million
   per year as an active wrestler, and a healthy but far lesser figure
   working in the front office for the 17 years after retirement as an
   active wrestler. As part of McMahon's offer, he also was going to
   allow Hart to explain live on television his decision making process,
   should he sign with WCW. Hart flew to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where the
   WWF was holding it's live Raw taping after having already verbally
   agreed to the deal, signed the contract, and gave the interview saying
   basically that he would be in the WWF forever, figuring to be
   positioned as the top babyface and perennial champion until he
   finished his active career riding off into the sunset in a blaze of
   glory, like Hogan and Savage and the rest of the Superstars before him
   didn't. As is the case in wrestling, not all the promised scenarios
   that everyone believed were going to happen transpire as originally
   planned. And just over one year later, the feelings between McMahon
   and Bret Hart had taken a 180 degree turn, to the degree nobody would
   have ever believed.

   March 10, 1996 - Top babyface didn't last long as McMahon asked him to
   turn heel. At first Hart balked at the idea but after three days,
   McMahon presented him with two lists. One list was his prospective
   opponents as a babyface - Vader, Mankind, and Steve Austin. the other
   list was his prospective opponents as a heel, Undertaker, Michaels,
   and Austin. Hart agreed for drawing money. His opponents as a heel
   made up a better list and he and McMahon agreed that he would turn
   back babyface over the last few months of his contract and end his
   career on a positive note. He and Steve Austin did the double-turn at
   Wrestlemania. Hart himself then came up with the Anti-American angle,
   where he would remain a babyface in Canada and Europe and do
   interviews that would for the most part speak the truth, so he could,
   when the time came to turn back in the U.S., have a reasonable
   explanation.

   September 8, 1997 - Vince McMahon and Bret Hart had their first
   meeting where McMahon seriously approached Hart about his contract.
   About three months earlier, McMahon had told Hart that the company was
   in bad financial straights and that they might have to defer some of
   the money until later in the contract. This time his approach was more
   than point blank. He wanted to cut Hart's regular salary, around
   $30,000 per week, more than in half and defer the rest of the money
   until later in the contract period when hopefully the company would be
   in better shape financially. Hart declined the suggestion, because he
   didn't want to risk not getting the money in the future after he was
   through taking all the bumps.

   September 20, 1997 - About one hour before the beginning of the PPV
   show in Birmingham, England, McMahon approached Davey Boy Smith and
   asked him to put over Shawn Michaels that night for the European
   title. Smith was apparently shocked, having been told all along in the
   build-up of the show, that Michaels was going to do a job for him,
   since Europe was promised to be "his territory". the explanation,
   which made and still makes logical business sense, is that they wanted
   to build for a bigger show - a second PPV show from Manchester,
   England, Smith's former home town, where Smith would regain the title
   - the same scenario the WWF did to draw 60,000 fans in San Antonio
   with Michaels in the other role working a program with Sycho Sid. So
   while it all made sense, it was rather strange he wasn't approached
   with this idea until just before the start of the show. At around this
   same time period, McMahon approached Hart about working with Michaels.
   Hart said that he had a problem with that since Michaels had still
   never really apologized to him for the Sunny days comment, and said it
   would be hard to trust somebody like that in the ring and due to their
   past, and told McMahon that he would figure that Michaels would have
   the same concerns, since a few weeks earlier after first making it
   clear he would never work with anyone in the Hart Foundation, Michaels
   had finally agreed to work with only Smith, saying he still couldn't
   trust Bret or Owen.

   September 22, 1997 - On the day of the Raw taping at Madison Square
   Garden, McMahon told Bret Hart flat out that they were going to
   intentionally breach his contract because they couldn't afford the
   deal. He told a shocked Hart that he should go to World Championship
   Wrestling and make whatever deal he could with that group. "I didn't
   feel comfortable doing it, "Hart said of the suggestion. "I feel like
   an old prisoner in a prison where I know all the guards and all the
   inmates and i have the best cell. Why would I want to move to a new
   prison where I don't know the guards and the inmates and I no longer
   have the best cell? I felt really bad after all the years of working
   for the WCW." Hart had an escape clause in his contract since he had
   so much negotiating leverage when making his WWF deal 11 months
   earlier, in that he could leave the company giving 30 days notice and
   that he would have what the contract called "reasonable creative
   control" of his character during that lame duck period so that he
   couldn't be unreasonably buried on the way out. There was a window
   period for giving that notice and negotiating elsewhere that hadn't
   begun yet, so McMahon, showing he was serious, gave Hart written
   permission to begin negotiating with WCW and Hart contacted Eric
   Bischoff. the same day, during a meeting with Hart,Michaels and
   McMahon - Michaels told both of them point blank that he wouldn't do
   any jobs for anyone in the territory, word that when it got out made
   most of the other top wrestlers feel even more warmly than usual
   toward Michaels. Michaels later reiterated that statement to Hart on
   10/4 in St. Paul when the two agreed that for the good of the business
   that they'd work together. At a meeting, McMahon proposed a scenario
   where the two would have their first singles match in Montreal, where
   Undertaker would interfere causing a non-finish. This would lead to
   Hart wrestling Undertaker on the 12/7 PPV in Springfield, Ma., where
   Michaels would interfere causing Bret to win the title, which was
   poetic justice since it was his interference that caused Bret to win
   the title in the first place, and that Royal Rumble on 1/8, in San
   Jose, would be headlined by Undertaker vs. Michaels. During the
   meeting, Hart told Michaels that he'd be happy to put him over at the
   end of the run, but Michaels told Hart flat out that he wouldn't
   return the favor to him. Michaels and Hart spoke again on the subject
   on 10/12 in San Jose, when once again Michaels told Hart that he
   wasn't going to do a job for him.

   October 21, 1997 - McMahon approached Hart wit the idea of losing the
   title to Michaels in Montreal but promised that he would win it back
   on 12/7. Hart, remembering his conversations where Michaels was
   adamant about not doing any more jobs in the territory, was reluctant,
   saying after the way the angle had been done with him representing
   Canada and it becoming a big patriotic deal, that he didn't want to
   lose the title in Canada. He was then asked to lose to Michaels on
   12/7 in Springfield, Ma. Hart told McMahon that since Michaels had
   told both of them that he wasn't doing any more jobs in the territory,
   that he had a problem doing a job for somebody who wouldn't do a job
   back. He told McMahon that he didn't want to drop the title in
   Montreal. Later, McMahon, Pat Patterson, Michaels, and Hart had
   another meeting where Michaels, teary eyes, sad that he was looking
   forward to returning the favor to Bret an and once again talked about
   his mouth saying the stupidest things. Hart still refused to lose the
   title in Montreal. the night before, he had been asked to put Hunter
   Heart Helmseley over in Oklahoma City via pin fall due to Michaels'
   interference, but changed the finish to a count out. On this night he
   was asked to tap out to Ken Shamrock, before the DQ ending involving
   Michaels, which he had no problem doing because he liked and respected
   Shamrock and wanted to help elevate him. The personal problems with
   himself and Michaels, which had become legendary in the business,
   resurfaced once again when the two and McMahon made an agreement to
   work together but to leave their respective families out of their
   interviews. It took just one week before Michaels did the interview
   talking about Stu Hart being dead but walking around Calgary because
   his body and brain hadn't figured it out yet. By this point, Hart had
   already stopped watching Raw because he had problems wit the content
   of the show because he has four children that were wrestling fans that
   he didn't want seeing the direction it was going, so he was reacting
   to the remark based on the fact that his father and brother Owen heard
   the remarks and were upset about them.

   October 24, 1997 - McMahon, before the show at Nassau Coliseum, told
   Hart that the money situation in the company had changed and they
   would have no problems paying him everything promised in his contract.
   Hart told McMahon that WCW really hadn't made him a serious offer and
   that he really didn't want to leave but that he was still
   uncomfortable doing the job for Michaels in that situation. He left
   the country for the tour of Oman with the idea that he was staying
   with the WWF, but knowing due to his window in his contract, he had to
   make the decision to give notice by midnight on 11/1.

   October 31, 1997 - Never one to work without a flair for the
   dramatics, Bischoff finally caught up with Hart who was basically
   incommunicado in a foreign land most of the week. Just one day before
   Hart had to either give notice or stay for another year, Bischoff made
   a huge concrete offer. We don't know the exact terms of the offer,
   only that Hart said of the $3 million per year figure that both Jim
   Ross and Jerry Lawler talked about on the 11/10 Raw, that "they don't
   have any idea what I was offered", but other close to the situation
   say that figure is "close enough that you couldn't call it wrong".
   Hart neither agreed nor turned down the deal, but gave the impression
   to WCW that they had a great shot at getting him.

   November 1, 1997 - Hart had until midnight to make up his mind. he
   called McMahon and told him about the WCW offer and said that he
   wasn't asking for anymore money to stay, but that he wanted to know
   what his future in the WWF would be over the next two years as an
   active wrestler and that at this point he was leaning toward accepting
   the WCW offer. McMahon said he'd think about it and call him back in
   an hour with some scenarios. Before McMahon called back, Bischoff
   called again trying to solidify the deal. McMahon ended up calling
   back four hours later from his barber shop and told Hart he didn't
   know what he was going to do with him but that he should trust his
   judgment because of their past relationship. That he had made him into
   a superstar and he wanted him to stay and that he should trust him and
   asked Hart to give him idea of where he wanted to go. During the
   conversation, McMahon still brought up the scenario of wanting Hart to
   drop the title in Montreal, but promised that he would get it back in
   Springfield. "I realized he ha given the top heel spot to Shawn, but
   to turn back babyface it was too soon," Hart said. Like in the
   negotiations one year earlier, it was going down to the wire and he
   had until midnight t make up his mind. When he was talking to McMahon,
   McMahon told him he could extend the deadline for giving notice., Hart
   asked for the permission in writing but McMahon told him that he was
   going out to a movie that night wit his wife and said he was verbally
   giving permission to extend it and get written permission from the
   chief financial officer of the company. When Hart called to get the
   written notice he wasn't given it because he was told he couldn't get
   it in writing in such short notice. AT 7pm Bischoff called again and
   presented a deal that, according to Hart, " would have been insane not
   to be taken". at that point Hart was really having mixed emotions. He
   somehow felt bad about leaving the WCW and was hoping McMahon would
   lay out a good set of sceneries for him and convince him to stay, At
   9pm, McMahon called and, reversing fields once again, urged him to
   take the WCW offer. Hart told him that his heart was with the company
   ad it would break his heart to leave, and that he appreciated
   everything McMahon and the company had done for him. McMahon told Hart
   that he wanted him back as a babyface, and had been wanting him to
   turn babyface for two or three months but just hadn't brought it up
   until this point. he then presented a scenario to Hart, presenting it
   as a way to get Hart to stay, but obviously designed to get Hart to
   take the WCW offer. He wanted Michaels to win the title in Montreal.
   For Springfield, they would do a final four match with he, Michaels,
   Undertaker, and Ken Shamrock, that Michaels would again win. At the
   Royal Rumble, the two would have a ladder match, which Michaels would
   win. On Raw, on 1/19 in Fresno, Ca., Hart would open the show and say
   that if he couldn't beat Michaels and win the title that night. that
   he would retire from wrestling, and in that match he would regain the
   title. And then in Boston at Wrestlemania he'd drop the strap to
   Austin. Hart looked at the scenario of four major losses with only one
   win and before his midnight deadline, gave official notice to the WWF
   and signed the contract WCW had sent over, with the agreement from all
   parties that the word wouldn't leak out until 11/10 to protect the
   Survivor Series PPV. Hart went so far as to have his few confidants
   sign written confidentiality letters to make sure word of his
   negotiations and signing with WCW didn't get out until 11/10.

   November 2, 1997 - Hart and McMahon started a very amicable
   conversation wit the pressure finally off and the decision for Hart to
   leave having been made. he again suggested that Michaels win the title
   in Montreal and in what will go down as perhaps the ultimate irony,
   said they could do s screw job ending to steal the title from him, and
   that the next night, on Raw, McMahon suggested the two get into a mock
   argument where Hart would punch him, blaming him for the screw job.
   McMahon< even suggested to hardway him to make it look legit. Hart
   again refused to do the job in Montreal, saying that he had never
   refused to do a job but he wasn't going to lose on Sunday or Monday
   (at Raw in Ottawa). He agreed to put Michaels over in Madison Square
   Garden on 11/15, Springfield or anywhere else and said he'd put over
   Vader,Shamrock, Mankind, Undertaker or even Steve Lombardi. McMahon<
   then made legal threats to Hart if he wouldn't lose in Montreal. Hart
   talked about the clause in his contract giving him "reasonable
   creative control" but McMahon claimed that refusing to drop the strap
   in Montreal wasn't "reasonable". The two argued about the finish in
   Montreal and the legalities of their respective positions all day
   Sunday and well into the night before finally agreeing to do a DQ
   finish in Montreal. then in Springfield, in the final four match,
   Michaels would win the title. Bret would then go out on Raw on 12/8 in
   Portland, Me. and give a farewell interview as a babyface to the WWF
   fans and put the company and McMahon over as big as possible. He would
   apologize to the American fans and try to reasonably explain his
   actions in a way to end his 14-year assocaiton with the WWF on the
   highest note possible, something largely unheard of in pro wrestling,
   so that all parties and the fans could come out if it and his legacy
   with the company with a good feeling, Technically there was a problem,
   in that his WCW contract began on 12/1 so Hart called Bishoff, who
   when presented the scenario, agreed to allow him to work through 12/8
   with Titan. Hart asked an associate who monitors news for him if he
   thought it was possible to keep the secret from the public until
   11/10. Hart specifically asked about being able to keep it secret from
   one person until after the show and the associated laughed and said
   they would be a million dollars that person already knew.

   November 4, 1997-McMahon called Hart and said that he had changed his
   mind. He suggested now that Michaels should lose clean in Montreal,
   then he'd "steal" the title with a controversial finish in Springfield
   and Hart would get to do his farewell speech in Portland. He said he
   was going to call Michaels and present the scenario to him. By this
   point word that Hart had signed with WCW had actually been reported
   the previous night on the Observer and Torch hotlines and it was only
   about one hour later before the fokes who call those hotlines for much
   of their news started breaking the latest "biggest story in the
   history of wrestling" as their "exclusives". In response, WWF Canada
   released a press statement originally totally denying the story,
   claiming it was simply propaganda being spread by WCW. However, as the
   word got out Titan Sports in Connecticut a few hours later
   contradicting that story saying simply that Bret Hart was exploring
   all his options but not going any further, with the feeling that they
   wanted to protect the PPV show. Hart wouldn't publicly talk to anyone.

   November 5, 1997-The internet had paved the way for stories in the
   Calgary Sun, the Toronto Sun and one line in the Montreal Gazette in a
   PPV preview story about Steve Austin a line which resulted in the
   paper getting an incredible switchboard-blowing response of phone
   calls. McMahon called Hart and said that Michaels had agreed to the
   previous day's scenario, but that now he had changed his mind. He said
   the news was out everywhere and that Bret had to drop the belt before
   Monday because he couldn't have Bishoff go on television on 11/10 and
   announce the signing of his world champion while he still had the
   belt. Hart said that he would get Bishoff to postpone the
   announcement, but with Bishoff on a hunting trip all week in Wyoming.
   Hart couldn't get a hold of him. McMahon then asked Hart to drop the
   title on 11/8 at the house show in Detroit. Hart again refused,
   feeling the way everything had been built up, he wanted the match with
   Michaels, which in the wake of all the insider publicity was building
   up a life of its own like no match in the recent history of wrestling,
   to not come off as anti-climatic and for that to happen he needed to
   go into Montreal as champion. He said that he would drop the title any
   time after 11/12 suggesting he'd do it at the house shows in
   Youngstown, OH, on 11/13, Pittsburgh on 11/14, or in Madison Square
   Garden if they wanted it that soon rather than waiting for 12/7. Jim
   Ross on the company's 900 line acknowledged the statement that Hart
   was exploring other options said that nobody knows the real story, and
   in hyping the big match tossed in the phrase they'd be pushing in the
   final days leading up to the match--it will be their first meeting in
   18 months, and most likely the final match between the two ever.

   November 6,1997-In a story in the Toronto Sun, Tiger Ali Singh, at a
   press conference promoting the WWF house show the next night in
   Toronto said of Hart's leaving. "It's very disheartening. He's not
   only been a mentor, but I've been a great admirer of him since I was a
   kid, and if he leaves you're going to see a whole bunch of other
   people leaving. And I'm not going to mention any names but WCW has
   been approaching a lot of people>"

   November 7, 1997-There is no question that the power of on-line
   services when it comes to influence of pro wrestling was established
   this past week. It was generally portrayed that it was a power
   struggle between Hart and Michaels, that Michaels had won out, and to
   a lesser extent Hart was leaving over the direction of the product.
   While there was some truth to all of this, probably the greatest truth
   of all is it was simply a manipulation by McMahon to get out of a
   contract that in hindsight he wished he'd never offered. Whether
   Michaels who the wrestlers feel has McMahon's ear right now and has
   convinced him that what turned around WCW is Kevin Nash and Scott Hall
   and not Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper, and that he should and the company
   should do what they do to get WCW over. There is also a feeling
   amongst WWF wrestlers that Michaels pushed McMahon in the direction to
   rid the company of his hated rival who had apparently one-upped him
   when signing the new deal that made him so much higher paid. Maybe it
   was simply economics because the company is in financial straights.
   Hart did have a lot of problems over the direction of the company and
   his own decision was partially made based on that, but it's clear in
   hindsight that McMahon had a strong hand in manipulating Hart decision
   to get out of the contract. In the vast majority opinion on-line from
   people who really had no clue as to what was really going on, Titan,
   McMahon and Michaels were coming off as major heels. The WWF's own
   on-line site said to be the domain of young kids with no clue about
   wrestling was besieged with reports about Hart leaving and the
   so-called marks were reacting very negatively toward Titan to the
   point Titan pulled all it folders by the early afternoon which caused
   another outcry of censorship of opinions from wrestling fans. Finally
   McMahon responded publicly on-line with a letter of his own
   stating-"Over the past few days I have read certain comments on the
   internet concerning Bret Hart and his "alleged" reasons for wanting to
   pursue other avenues than the World Wrestling Federation to earn his
   livelihood. while I respect the "opinions" of others, as owner of the
   World Wrestling Federation I felt that it was time to set the record
   straight. As it has been reported recently on line, part of Bret
   Hart's decision of pursue other options is "allegedly due to his
   concerns with the "direction of the World Wrestling Federation.
   Whereby each and every individual is entitled to his, or her opinion I
   take great offense when the issue of the direction of the World
   Wrestling Federation is raised. In the age of sports entertainment,
   the World Wrestling Federation REFUSES to insult it audience in terms
   of "Baby Faces" and "Heels". In 1997, how many people do you truly
   know that are strictly "good" guys or "bad" guys? World Wrestling
   Federation programming reflects more of a reality based product in
   which life, as well as World Wrestling Federation superstars are
   portrayed as they truly are--in shades of gray...not black or white.
   From what I am reading it has been reported that Bret may be concerned
   about the morality issues in the World Wrestling Federation.
   questionable language, Questionable gestures, Questionable sexuality,
   Questionable racial issues. Questionable? All of the issues mentioned
   above are issues that every human being must deal with every day of
   their lives. Also, with that in mind, please be aware that Bret Hart
   has been cautioned--on "numerous" occasions--to alter his language by
   not using expletives or God's name in vain. He was alto told--on
   numerous occasions--not to use certain hand gestures some might find
   offensive. My point is:regardless of what some are reporting, Bret's
   decision to pursue other career options IS NOT genuinely a Shawn
   Michaels direction issue, as they would like you to believe! In the
   personification of DeGeneration X, Shawn Michaels character is
   EXPECTED to be living on the edge--which I might add Mr. Michaels
   portrays extremely well. The issue here is that the "direction" of the
   World Wrestling Federation is not determined by Shawn Michaels, OR
   Bret Hart for that matter. It is determined by you--the fans of the
   World Wrestling Federation. You DEMAND a more sophisticated approach!
   You DEMAND to be intellectually challenged! You demand a product with
   ATTITUDE and as owner of this company--it is my responsibility to give
   you exactly what you want! Personally, I regret the animosity that has
   built up between Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, but in the end, it is
   the World Wrestling Federation that is solely responsible for the
   content of this product--NOT Bret Hart --NOT Shawn Michaels--NOT Vince
   McMahon for that matter. May the best man win at the Survivor
   Series!...This only made the situation worse in regard to how fans
   were viewing McMahon and the company even worse. "You demand to be
   intellectually challenged?" By doing racial angles. The fans chose
   that direction? The asked to see Michaels pull his pants down and jump
   up and down on television? Hart was booked for his first public
   appearance before the house show that night at the Sky Dome in
   Toronto. It was on a half hour TSN (The Sports Network, the Canadian
   version of ESPN) talk show called "Off the Record" Host Michael
   Landsberg opened the show saying the show had received more than 1000
   calls to ask Hart if he was leaving for WCW. Despite the word being
   out everywhere by this point Hart would only go so far as to say that
   he had given his 30 day notice to the WWF, that he's reviewing offers
   from both groups and is strongly leaning going one way. "I'd like to
   really come more clean on this as I can, you know, that I have, but I
   have to do this thing by the book kind of thing'. Hart categorized the
   split as not being a money issue but said that he and the WWF had
   "reached" kind of a crisis or we've reached professional differences
   as to what direction that the wrestling shows are taking. You know,
   I'm not saying I'm always right, but I feel that some of the content
   of the shows goes against my belief in what wrestling should be and
   can be. Later in the show he criticized Michaels and then stated that
   "wrestling is often scoffed at as a form of entertainment sometimes.
   or it used to be. I believe it came way up and I was very proud in the
   direction which has a lot to do with where I am right now
   today-Wrestling was cleaned up and it became something families could
   watch. He talked about inner workings of the business having to trust
   the guy you are working with because you give them your body and said
   the real animosities and hatred that exists have to be set aside. He
   said that everything he has said about Shawn Michaels is about the
   Shawn Michaels character, but said that Michaels has said things that
   have hit a raw nerve with him to the point it unprofessional. The show
   aired the footage of the Shawn Michaels interview where he blamed the
   Hart Foundation for trashing the NOD dressing room and insinuating
   that Hart was a racist. Hart said that he doesn't blame Michaels for
   that, That's obviously a promotional direction and that's a poor
   concept. I think that racial tension is something to be very very
   careful with. When you start messing around with racial things that I
   don't like. Hart said that he stopped watching Raw about five weeks
   earlier because he didn't like the direction and agreed when the host
   brought up Michaels calling him the Grand Wizard (a KKK reference, not
   a reference to a famous wrestling manager of the 70s) and then brought
   up what Michaels said about his father that he didn't see. You know I
   don't mind if anyone pokes fun at my dad. Jerry Lawler's made a living
   the last two or three years saying comments about my mom and dad but
   he's always fairly humorous about it. Actually I used to get offended
   at some of the things he used to say about my mother--until I realized
   that my mother thought they were humorous and this it was kind of OK
   with me. He then spoke at length about Brian Pillman. By this point in
   certain circles and particularly within the industry, interest in he
   match on Sunday due to all the uncertainty some of which was known and
   most of which actually wasn't had reached a level not seen in years.
   For all of Hart and McMahon's wanting to keep the story quiet, word
   getting out was the greatest thing for the buy rate. There were 14,374
   fans paying $496,674 at the Sky Dome one night before the show. To
   credit the huge house to the interest in Canada since Hart leaving had
   been reported in the local newspapers would be incorrect as WWF
   officials a week before the event had figured on a crowd of 15,000.
   Obviously some fans knew and there were chants of "you sold out"
   directed at Hart. Although this should have been expected and Hart had
   been a pro wrestler for 21 years and been around the business a lot
   longer than that, the chants in his home country knowing what he was
   going through did get to him. The main event was a six-man tag with
   Undertaker & Mankind & Austin vs. Bret & Smith & Neidhart, subbing for
   brother Owen who was supposed to start back but wasn't ready to return
   after a severe concussion from a few weeks earlier. Bret was asked to
   do the job for the stone cold stunner, debated the question for a
   while then refused figuring he was the only Canadian in the main event
   in the U.S. vs Canada type match with the big nationalistic angle and
   Austin ended up using the stunner on Neidhart instead.

   November 8, 1997-The WWF ran a house show in Detroit at Cobo Arena for
   what would turn out to be Bret Hart's final match in the United States
   as a wrestler for the World Wrestling Federation. Tensions were really
   high and the prospect of a double-cross were looming by this time in
   many of the more paranoid types. By really this was 1997 and this was
   the World Wrestling Federation. That's stuff from the 20's where the
   real bad guy low-lifes were running the business. The days of making
   Lou Thesz world champion because you needed someone who could handle
   himself in the case of a double-cross had been over for more than
   three decades. That day Hart went to the one member of the front
   office he knew he could trust, Earl Hebner. While there are what you
   call a lot of good acquaintances in this business Hart and Hebner were
   genuine close friends for years. Hart said he'd use his influence to
   get Hebner to referee the match because he wanted someone in the ring
   that he could trust. Hebner said he understood the situation and told
   Hart "I swear on my kids lives that I'd quit my job before
   double-crossing you" On a personal basis a little more than 24 hours
   later, remembrance of that conversation crushed him more than
   anything. At about the same time the WWF braintrust was in Montreal
   one day early. Vince McMahon held a meeting at the hotel with Jim
   Ross, Jim Cornette, Pat Patterson and Michaels. Reports are that at
   least two of the aforementioned names looked extremely uncomfortable
   leaving the meeting. Ross on the WWF 900 line filed a report saying
   due to the tension between Hart and Michaels that there would be armed
   security backstage and the two would dress as far apart from each
   other as possible. That was a total work since Michaels and Hart
   actually dressed together and were on professional terms the next
   afternoon. He also said that McMahon was not going to announce the
   show and instead would be handling any last minute problems backstage.
   Ross also hinted that it could be Harts final match in the world
   Wrestling Federation something Hart at that point wasn't aware of.

   November 9, 1997-The Prelude-Imagine giving into the most anticipated
   match on the inside of pro wrestling in years and on the day of the
   show not having any semblance of a finish? McMahon and Hart met that
   afternoon and McMahon said something to the effect of "What do you
   want me to do,You've got me by the balls" Hart said that he just wants
   to leave the building with his head up. Hart said to McMahon "let me
   hand you the belt on Raw (the next night in Ottawa). Everyone knows
   I'm leaving I'd like to tell the truth on Raw Monday. At this point
   the "truth" wouldn't include talking about finances, contract
   breaches, arguments about finishes, or anything that would make
   McMahon or the company look bad publicly. McMahon said he agreed.,
   that it was the right thing to do and the two shook hands on it. Hart
   and Michaels were dressing together putting together a match. both
   were professional with one another and talking about putting on the
   best match possible in Harts last hurrah. agreeing to a DQ finish in
   about 17:00 after a lengthy brawl before the bell would even sound to
   start the match. As they were putting their spots together Patterson
   came in. He had a suggestion for a high spot in the match as a false
   finish. There would be a referee bump. Michaels would put Hart in his
   own sharpshooter. Hart would reverse the hold . Hebner would still be
   down at this point and not see Michaels tap out, Hart would release
   the hold to revive Hebner. Michaels would hit him when he turned
   around with the sweet chin music. A second ref. Mike Ciota would haul
   ass to the ring and begin the count. A few paces behind Owen Hart and
   Smith and possibly Neidhart as well would run down to the ring. Ciora
   would count 1-2, and whomever got to the ring first likely Owen would
   drag Ciota out of the ring. While they think they've saved the day on
   the pin on Bret suddenly Hebner would recover 1,2 and Bret would kick
   out. That would set the pace for about five more minutes of near falls
   before it would end up in a disqualification ending. Before the show
   started both Vader with his Japanese experiences and Smith told Hart
   to watch himself. He was warned not to lay down and not to allow
   himself to be put in a compromising position. He was told to kick out
   at one, not two and not to allow himself into any submission holds.
   Hart recognized the possibility of the situation but his thoughts
   regarding a double-cross were more along the lines of always
   protecting himself in case Michaels tried to hit him with a sucker
   punch when he left himself open. The idea that being put in a
   submission or one of the near falls while working spots would be
   dangerous for him would be something to worry about normally, but he
   put it out of his mind because he had Hebner in the ring as the
   referee.

   The Match:People on the inside were watching this as close as on the
   outside. Would Bret do the job? Would Shawn do the job? Would Bret
   give Shawn a real beating before putting him over? The Molson Center
   was packed with more than 20,000 rabid fans, who up to that point had
   seen a largely lackluster undercard. While the fear going in about the
   word getting out of Hart leaving hurting the PPV most likely turned
   out to be just the opposite, the sellout was not indicative of that
   either or it was well known by the advance that the show was going to
   sellout one or two days early. It appeared that about 10 to 20 percent
   of the crowd knew Hart was leaving and there were negative signs
   regarding his decision and negative signs toward the promotion for
   picking Michaels above him or the direction that seemingly forced him
   to leave. Some things were also strange and not just the absence of
   McMahon from the broadcast. Hart the champion in the main event wasn't
   scheduled for an interview building up the match. When his name was
   announced early in the show there were many boos from fans who knew he
   signed with the opposition. Once he got in the ring for the
   introduction, Michaels wiped his but, blew his nose and then picked
   his nose with the Canadian flag. He then put the flag on the ground
   and began humping it. Hart was immediately established as a babyface.
   The two began the match as a brawl all around ringside and into the
   stands. The crowd was so rabid that it appeared there was genuine
   danger they'd attack Michaels. As one point they were brawling near
   the entrance knocking down refs as planned, knocking down Patterson as
   planned and as planned Hart and McMahon had an argument almost teasing
   the idea of a spot later in the match where Hart would deck McMahon.
   Yet it was also clear that everything going on was 100% professional
   and the only curiosity left at that point was how good the match was
   going to be (it appeared to be very good) and how would they get "out"
   of the match (with something nobody will ever forget) But one thing
   was strange. Why were so many agents circling the ring and why was
   McMahon right there and acting so intense? About eight minutes before
   the show was "suppose" to end, Bruce Prichard in the "Gorilla"
   position (kind of the on-deck circle for the wrestlers) was screaming
   into his headset that we need more security at the ring, Why? The had
   already done the brawl in the crowd. The finish was going to be a DQ
   and it was still several minutes away.

   The Double-Cross:Hart climbed the top rope for a double sledge on
   Michaels. Michaels pulled Hebner in the way and Hart crashed on him.
   Just as planned. Michaels for a split second looked at McMahon and put
   Hart in the sharpshooter, just as planned. The next split seconds were
   the story. Ciota listening to his headpiece for his que to run in
   heard the backstage director scream to Hebner it was time to get up.
   Hebner, listening himself, immediately got up. Ciota started screaming
   that he wasn't supposed to get up. Owen Hart and Smith readying their
   run in were equally perplexed seeing him get up. Prichard was freaking
   out backstage saying that wasn't supposed to happen. Bret still not
   realizing anything was wrong laid in the hold for only a few seconds
   to build up some heat before the reversal. Michaels cinched down hard
   on the hold and glanced at Hebner and then looked away which more than
   one wrestler in the promotion upon viewing the tape saw as proof he
   was in on it, but than fed Bret his leg for the reversal. Hebner
   quickly looked at the timekeeper and screamed "ring the bell." At the
   same moment McMahon sitting next to the timekeeper elbowed him hard
   and screamed "ring the fucking bell". The bell rang at about the same
   moment Bret grabbed the leg for the reversal and Michaels fell down on
   his face on the mat. Michaels music played immediately and was
   immediately announced as the winner and new champion. Hebner sprinted
   out of the ring on the other side, into the dressing room through the
   dressing room and into an awaiting car in the parking lot that already
   had the motor running and was going to take him to the hotel where
   he'd be rushed out of town with his ticket home instead of staying to
   work the two Raw tapings. Michaels and Hart both leaped to their feet
   looking equally mad, cursing in McMahon's direction and glaring at
   him. Hart spit right in McMahon's face. The cameras immediately pulled
   away from Hart and to Michaels. Vince screamed at Michaels to pick the
   fucking belt up and get the fuck out of there. Michaels still looking
   mad was ordered to the back by Jerry Brisco who told him to hold the
   belt up high and get to the back. The show abruptly went off the air
   about four minutes early.

   The Aftermath: The officials left the ring immediatley, McMahon went
   into his private office in the building with Patterson and a few
   others and locked the door behind him. Hart in the ring flipped out on
   the realization of what happened and began smashing the television
   monitors left behind until Owen, Smith and Neidhart hit the ring to
   calm him down. The four had an annimated discussion in the ring all
   looking perturbed. Finally Hart thanked his fans who for the most part
   left with the air let out of their sails, gave the I love you sign to
   the fans and finger painted "WCW" to all four corners of the ring,
   which got a surprisingly big pop, and went back to the dressing room.
   He first confronted Michaels who swore that he had nothing to do with
   it. Michaels obviously afraid Hart would punch him out right there
   told Hart that he gets heat for everything that happened but this time
   it wasn't his fault and he was as mad as Hart about the finish. He
   said he didn't want to win the belt that way, was disgusted by what
   happened and to prove it would refuse to bring the belt out or say
   anything bad about Hart on Raw the next night. Hart said that Michaels
   could prove whether he was in on it or not by his actions on
   television the next night. The entire dressing room was furious at
   McMahon by this point. The feeling was that if Hart having worked for
   the company for 14 years and not missing shots due to injuries the
   entire time and having made McMahon millions of dollars throughout the
   years could get double-crossed this bad, then how could any of them
   trust anything he would say or do? People were saying that how could
   anyone trust anyone ever again and that it was an unsafe working
   environment.

   For three years after the steroid trial and all the bad publicity
   McMahon had worked feverably to change his legacy in the industry as
   not the man who ran all the other promoters out of business not the
   man who marketed pro wreslllting to young children while pushing
   steroid freaks and the man who tried to destroy wrestling history and
   create his own, not his worked Harvard MBA, worked billion dollar
   company, a man who was so vain as to give himself a Hugh award in
   Madison Square Garden as "the genius who created Wrestlemania" not the
   man who at one time tried to monopolize every aspect of the business
   for himself but instead as the working man's hero, coming from humble
   beginnings, fighting those ruthless rich regional promotors and
   through nothing but guts,gusto and vision became the dominant force in
   this industry and taking it to a new level. And now against all odds
   the generous friend trying to keep all the mall regional promoters
   acknowledging the past history of the business, fighting against
   Billionaires Ted, the man who was selling all his self-made creations
   while wasting his stockholders money because of some alleged petty
   vendetta because the WWF would never be for sale, stealing his
   patented ideas of Monday night wrestling, was banging to there and
   would outlast his enemy again and outshow in the end coming out on
   top. Three years of a facade that was largely working to a new
   generation wrestling fans who saw him as their underdog hero. The man
   who to a generation that didn't know better created pro wrestling.
   Hulk Hogan and localized interviews and rose this grimy little
   industry from carnival tents to major non-smoking arenas and who was
   the friendly face in the Father Flanagan collar who every Monday night
   epitomized the world of pro wrestling was flushed down the commode.
   Even though he was so good at hiding who the old Vince McMahon was to
   the point only those who had deal with him for many years remembered
   about not letting your guard down when the pressure was on the old
   Vince returned. Only this time it was in a situation where those who
   didn't "know" him were truly "introduced" to him for the first time.

   Undertaker was furious, pounding on this locked door and when he cam
   out to talk with him Undertaker told him in no uncertain terms that he
   needed to apologize to Hart. he went to Hart's dressing room where
   Hart had just come out of the shower. Smith answered the door and Hart
   said he didn't want to see him. Vince and son Shane McMahon came in
   with Sg. Slaughter and Brisco anyway. Vince started to apologize
   saying that he had to do it because he couldn't take the chance of
   Hart going to WCW without giving back the belt and he couldn't let
   Bishoff go on television the next night and announce Hart was coming
   while he was still his champion and said how it would kill his
   business. Hart shot back that he had no problem losing the belt and
   told McMahon that he was going to dry off and get his clothes on and
   told McMahon "If you're still here I'm going to punch you out." Hart
   called McMahon a liar and an piece of shit and talked about having
   worked for him for 14 years only missing 2 shots the entire time and
   being a role model for the company and the industry and this was his
   payback, McMahon tried to say that in 14 years this was the first time
   he'd ever lied to him and Hart rattled off 15 lies over the last year
   alone without even thinking about it. Those in the dressing room
   watching were stunned listening to Hart rattle those off and McMahon
   not offering a comeback. Hart got dressed and twice told McMahon to
   get out. Hart got up and a scuffle started with them locking up like
   in a wrestling match, Hart breaking free and throwing a punch to the
   jaw that would have knocked down a rhino. One punch Ko in 40 seconds.
   McMahon growled like he was going to get up but he had no legs. Shane
   McMahon jumped on Harts back and Smith jumped on Shane's back pulling
   him off. Not realizing there would be trouble Smith had already taken
   off his knee brace and hyperextened his knee in the process of pulling
   Shane off. Hart nearly broke his hand from the punch. McMahon's jaw
   was thought to be fractured or broken. Hart asked Vince if he was now
   going to screw him on all the money he owed him and a groggy Vince
   said "No". He told Shane and Brisco to get that "piece of shit" out of
   here and glaring at both of them told them if they tried anything
   they'd suffer the same results. In dragging McMahon out someone
   accidentally stepped on his ankle injuring it as well.

   And later: Hebner, at the hotel and on his way out of town was
   confronted by one of the wrestlers who asked how he could do that to
   one of his best friends. Hebner claimed ignorance and swore that he
   knew nothing about it and was so mad about it he was going to quit.
   Jack Lanza likely as part of another facade was begging him not to.
   Patterson, Michaels and Prichard all denied any knowledge to the boys.
   Everyone denied it, but it was clear everyone had to know from the
   production truck to go of the air several minutes early, to the
   director to get the shot perfect of the sharpshooter where you
   couldn't see Bret's face not quit, to Hebner in particular to the ring
   announcer to get the announcement so quickly to the man handling the
   music to have Michaels music all cued up to the agents who were
   surrounding the ring knowing the possibility of something
   unpredictable happening. when Hart got back to his hotel room in a
   total daze he was furious at McMahon because he knew he was screaming
   at the timekeeper to ring the bell but almost recognizing it as a
   reality of the business that he should have known better than anyone.
   But when he had a tape of the finish played to him he clearly heard
   that it was Hebners voice screaming "ring the bell" and at that point
   was personally crushed. Phone lines were ringing off the hook around
   wrestling land that night. People closest to the inside of the
   business were thinking double-cross, althought the big question was
   whether Michaels, since he looked so pissed at the finish, was in on
   it. Some more skeptical types, remembering Brian Pillman and Kevin
   Sullivan, thought it because of the prominence of the match and the
   interest, that it had to be a very well acted work. Virtually all the
   wrestlers back stage thought it was a double-cross, but a few not
   wanting to be marks were weary of fully committing to the idea. Some
   people who were close to inside thought it was the greatest worked
   finish in the history of wrestling because it got everyone talking.
   Others particularly people who had casual fans watching with them or
   those attending the show live saw how the finish to a casual fan came
   off looking so badly thought it was either a poorly conceived angle
   that was well acted by a company trying to hard to fool smart fans or
   maybe a double-cross. But by the morning the true story had become
   obvious.

   November 10,1997-When the wrestlers fully realized what had happened,
   Hart turned into almost a cult hero and McMahon's image took an
   incredible tumble. Hart himself remarked that while he had his
   problems with McMahon in the late 80's that when Phil Mushnick wrote
   all those scathing articles about him during the 90's he defended
   McMahon even thought he deep do wn knew most of what was written about
   him to be true. According to two WWF wrestlers roughly 95% of the
   wrestlers on the company were planning on boycotting the Raw taping
   that night over what happened. But as the day went on the talk
   simmered down, Hart told those who asked him that since they had
   children and mortgages that they shouldn't risk breaching their
   contract and should go. However Owen Hart, Smith, Neidhart and Mick
   Foley were so upset that all flew home, missing the tapings both this
   night and also in Cornwall Ont. the next night. Many were saying they
   could no longer work for someone who would do something like that.
   While rumors abound about Hart, Smith and Foley all quitting at press
   time it appeared none of the three truly knew their future but that
   hey all had a bitter taste in their mouth for the company. They
   weren't the only ones. Most of the wrestlers were there and with none
   of the Hart family around McMahon gave his side of the story. He
   portrayed it as if Hart had agreed to drop the title in Montreal but
   when he got to the building he said he was a Canadian hero and an ICON
   and refused to drop the title and said hart said he would give the
   belt to McMahon Raw the next night and refused to ever drop it.
   Reports were that by this time few if anyone in the dressing room
   believed a word of it. Most of the wrestlers by this time knew Hart
   was more forced out than voluntary leaving over money, although
   knowing he had signed a great money deal. Most of the heat was on
   Michaels with the belief that Michaels was younger and more in Vince's
   ear and there was a lot of bitterness because it wasn't a secret by
   this point that Michaels had told people on several occasions that he
   would never do a job in the territory. The show went on in Ottawa but
   not before Bishoff had already announced on Nitro one hour earlier in
   what was the same angle he's done so many times to tease and deliver
   the opposite that Bret hart had signed with the NWO. Bishoff opened
   the show with the entire NWO holding Canadian flags and badly
   mockingly singing "Oh Canada". WCW announcers Tony Schavone,Mike Tenay
   and Larry Zbyazko talked for most of the first hour about the
   announcement, with Schiavonne and Teneay, likely on orders from
   Bishoff acting stunned describing Hart as a second generation wrestler
   who stands for tradition. In other words positioning him as another
   Curt Henning or Jeff Jarrett, rather than the level of a Hulk Hogan to
   justify a nearly $3 million per year salary. Zybysko was the one who
   acted as if he didn't believe it. In the first commercial break Gene
   Okerlund did a 900 line tease saying how Bret Hart punched out a
   prominent official and he'd have the story on his hotline, which did
   huge business. During the hotline because of fear of legal
   repercussions the story wasn't told until late in the report only a
   sketchy version told. and McMahon's name was never mentioned. With
   more curiosity than anything in recent memory the WWF drew its
   strongest Raw rating since the early days of the Monday Night War- a
   3.39 rating and 5.16 share-largely due to curiosity stemming from the
   publicity, the match, and from the announcement about Hart earlier in
   the event on WCW and amidst all the chaos and confusion presented one
   of its all time worst show. Nitro did a phenominal 4.33 rating and
   6.39 share. Michaels opened the show Yes, he was carrying the belt.
   And what did he say about Hart? He said he beat the man in his own
   country with his own hold and that he ran him out of the WWF to be
   with all the other dinosaurs down South. And said that the few down
   there who weren't dinosaurs are his good friends and some day they'd
   kick his ass too. Those who were on the fence on the Michaels issue
   waiting for his interview to prove himself were give there final
   answer. McMahon never showed his face on camera. The fight with Hart
   was never acknowledged in the commentary although Michaels couldn't
   resist in his interview saying how hart beat up a 52-year-old man
   after the show. In the commentary nobody tried to bury Hart but Ross
   who had never used this figure before on both Sunday and Monday used
   the phrase 21-year veteran perhaps as subtle acknowledgement of Harts
   age and Lawler did bring up the $3 million per year figure as a way to
   encourage the mindless "You sold out: chants. It was acknowledged that
   it was Harts final match in the WWF although the reasons for it being
   the case were never even hinted at. The replay was pushed harder than
   ever and why not as it was the most bizarre finish in modern wrestling
   history complete with a commercial clearing showing Hart spitting in
   McMahon's face and destroying the monitors which took place after the
   show itself had gone off the air. The show dragged on and the efforts
   to push the new stars, Merro as a heel, Goldust back as a
   heel,Interrogator, Blackjack Bradshaw and Road Dog & Billy Gunn all
   came off lame. You could almost hear the crowd groan. when it was
   Rocky Maivia positioned as the next challenger for Steve Austin's IC
   title. With all the special effects the Kane gimmick still came across
   as a sure winner. And Ken Shamrock was thrust into the spotlight as
   Michael's first challenger on 12/7 after all. However there was
   another screw up. Shamrock's main event with Helmsley was suppose to
   end with Michaels interfering and then Shamrock pinning him and the
   ref counting to three, perhaps to take heat off Michaels rep for not
   doing jobs and perhaps as a way to convince Shamrock to return the
   favor for such an unpopular wrester on PPV. However the show went off
   the air with Shamrock down apparently being pinned after Michaels
   nailed him with the briefcase, however he kicked out just as the show
   went off the air. The crowd in Ottawa largely pro-Hart finally figured
   out about 15 minutes before the show was going off the air that none
   of the Hart Foundation was there and that Bret Hart situation was no
   angle. The Shamrock-Helmsley main event heat was non-consistant
   drowned out by adamant changes of "We Want Bret". Ross went on his
   hotline and did nothing but praise Hart for all his work even to the
   point of saying that he himself being right there never heard a
   submission but that the referee claimed that he heard it.

   November 11, 1997-The Calgary Sun ran an article about the
   double-cross reporting that Hart's leaving for WCW was actually
   requested by the WWF due to the WWF claiming financial hardship.

   And Where Does It Go From Here:Its hard to make sense out of all that
   happened. While Harts contract with the WWF was much higher than
   anyone else's to dismiss him as being paid above marked value is
   raising a potential valuable point. What is the Canadian wrestling
   market worth? Far more than $1.5 million per year. At the Calgary
   Stampede PPV show alone the marked was worth about $400,000 on PPV and
   another $200,000 in live gate, granted those are Canadian money and he
   was being paid in American money but you get the drift. While WWF has
   lost its foothold in the United States to WCW it owned Canada. WCW
   with TBS getting moved from premium cable to basic cable nationwide
   and with TSN picking up Nitro every week was how the tired time
   getting strong television exposure in the country. NO matter what be
   did or didn't mean elsewhere and there is no denying he was a major
   draw in the United States and probably more so in Europe, Germany in
   particular, he was the wrestling star in Canada. Beating him to the
   opportunities will mean from a Canadian standpoint every bit as much
   as Hulk Hogan joining with WCW and we've all seen what the long term
   effects of that turned out to be. It's hard to reclaim fan reaction.
   Fans are more loyal these days to brand names than ever before more
   than to wrestlers themselves. When in a similar situation only he
   didn't get into the ring and was fired before "not" doing the job, Ric
   Flair came out of a situation with Jim Herd in 1991 recognized by more
   fans as the real world champion the WCW belt became largely
   meaningless, Flair went to WWF and did big business in what was never
   called unification matches but many thought of them as such against
   Hulk Hogan. For nearly two years before Flair retired as the cult hero
   the small crowds attending WCW matches never stopped the "We Want
   Flair" chants There are multitude here and if anything times being
   different mean more people than ever will be aware of it. making
   similar chants perhaps more likely. But a lot of the newer fans also
   for the most park have less respect for the wrestlers as people and
   more as animals to perform stunts to mesmerize them. Like in other
   sports have more loyalties to the "home team" than its players who
   come and go for the bigger buck. And while everyone will put their
   different spin on what happened and like with Hogan and Bruno and
   nearly every other wrestler of the WWF beforehand, Bret Hart failed
   one of the things he wanted most out of his career and that was to
   walk away from the company without the bitterness and with many good
   memories. Both Bret Hart and Vince McMahon wanted their legacies to be
   tied together and represented all that can be good about pro
   wrestling. But the fact it is no matter how great the match with Smith
   at Wembley Stadium or at at the In Your House in Hershey were or the
   Wrestlemania match and SummerSlam matches with Owen were or the
   SummerSlam match with Hennig or the Survivor Series match with
   Michaels or any of the rest his legacy and Vince McMahon legacy will
   forever be tied together in wrestling history. The defining moment of
   both a Hall of Fame wrestler and the man who for a decade was the
   prominent promoter in the industry will be the moment that the world
   realized right in front of their eyes with no apologies and with no
   turning back to rewrite history just how truly deceitful to the core
   this business can be and just how much 14 years of being one of the
   great performers in the history of the industry truly meant on the
   inside to the company that benefited from it. Only the future can
   determine whether this was a definite moment in the hallmark of
   business when it comes to pro wrestling. Did McMahon really hand over
   the keys to Canada to WCW? Will fans really hate McMahon four weeks
   later when Michaels headlines a PPV show with a four star match? Will
   Hart be a huge success keeping WCW at it current level or even taking
   them to a higher level by having main events on PPV shows that can
   live up to the quality or the preliminary matches? Or are his best
   years really behind him and McMahon will have the last laugh as how
   much Bishoff paid for him? How long will Hart remail a cult hero to
   wrestlers for doing what none of them had the guts to do? Will McMahon
   file criminal charges for assault and will someday and stranger things
   have happened although in this case it would be hard today to believe
   it is possible will the two get back together in a few years for a
   final triumphant run??

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Appendix E - Contributors

E. Contributors to the r.s.p-w FAQ:

   Dominic's List:

   Thanks to all who have contributed, (listed in
   alphabetical order): Peter Akers, Bryan Alvarez, Jeff
   Amdur, Ideen Barimani, Chris Bertholf, Crystal Bollinger,
   Caroline Bunce, Jason Campbell, Mark Carlton, William
   Comer, Chris Corridan, Dark Cheetah, Fred Deaton,
   Curtis Desjardins, Mark Duell, Ray Duffy, Rick Duggan,
   Ted Edwards, Bryant Farley, Maurice Forrester, Charlie
   Gavinelli, Greg Gershowitz, Sheldon Goldberg, Paul
   Herzog, Hesham, Otto Heuer, Christopher Hilker, Steve
   Hooper, Rob Hoffmann, James Hussell, Rodney
   Hutchings, Cal Jewell, Ron Knight, Herb Kunze, Dominic
   Macika, Joe Marshall, Andy McDonel, Robert McMullen,
   Tom Misnik, Jeremy Nelson, Dave Prazak, Andy
   Patrizio, Stephen Patterson, Oliver Postlethwaite, Bob
   Rusbasan, Sean Ryan, Dave Scheid, Dave Scherer,
   Theo Seiz, Anthony Shubert, Nick Simicich, David
   Sipila, Jeremy Soria, Chris Stamper, Jason Steeves,
   Hisaharu Tanabe, Scott Teal, Timothy Walker, Mike
   Wallace, Matt West, Gary Will, David Worrell,
   Christopher Robin Zimmerman and many, many more

   Scott's List:

   Thanks to Hesham, Dave Scherer, Jeremy Soria,
   Jeremy Billones, Evan Schlesinger, Mark Bureau, John
   D. Williams, Shawn Carew, Rick Scaia, Jeff Amdur,
   Trevor Barrie, Gern Blanston, Danny Porter, A. Colin
   Morton, Zenon Porohowski, Barry Duquette, Herb
   Kunze, Kevin Green, Jason Robar, Jeff Despres, Vizh,
   Powrhug, Dominic Macika, Mike Palij, Mattie Carrington,
   John Henry, Gary Will, Otto Heuer, Chad Bryant, Dory
   Funk Jr. (just kidding) and multitudes of others over
   the years who I've likely forgotten.

   Special thanks to the writers of the PWI Almanac,
   Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter,
   Wade Keller of the Wrestling Torch Newsletter, Bob
   Ryder of 1wrestling.com and Michael Samuda of
   Micasawrestling.com, all of whom contributed much
   helpful information for this document.

   My apologies if I inadvertently omitted your name from
   either list.

   The preceding document is copyright 1998 LPK
   Enterprises. It may be duplicated, quoted or
   reproduced for any means informational, but not for
   any means commercial. If at all possible, please inform
   the author of this document by e-mail if you wish to
   use portions of this document.

   If you've read this far, this is the secret to eternal
   happiness: Don't buy clothes on Valentine's Day for
   someone you want to see naked. You didn't hear that
   from me.