Hulk Hogan

BY MIKE MOONEYHAM

Published November 15, 2009

Are you ready for some wrestling?

Monday Night Wrestling, that is, and we’re not talking about Monday Night Raw.

That’s according to Hulk Hogan, who’s now pulling some major strings in TNA, and telling friends that he’s strongly pitched the idea of re-starting the Monday Night Wars.

Hogan reportedly is pushing a live two-hour Impact show that would go head-to-head with WWE juggernaut Monday Night Raw. The most likely time slot would be 8-10 p.m. where TNA would compete with WWE for the 9-10 p.m. spot.

Initial reports pointed to a possible startup as early as January, although Spike TV’s lineup through the first few months of 2010 doesn’t indicate a Monday night wrestling show.

It could just be a pipe dream for the Hulkster, who’s made some mighty lofty claims since joining TNA last month, including statements that he’s working to bring “Macho Man” Randy Savage and “Stone Cold” Austin into the TNA fold.

Which free-agent star would you go after if you had a wrestling company, a sizable bankroll and your initials weren’t WWE?

If you’re Dixie Carter, you’ve got to be thinking about that question. The TNA president recently made a potentially game-changing move with the acquisition of Hulk Hogan, and Spike TV appears more committed than ever to take the product to the next level.

So what next?

Carter has a great crew on her hands, but unfortunately much of that talent has been either poorly booked or received limited exposure, at least compared with their counterparts up north. The first problem can be fixed with some new cooks in the kitchen. The second is one of the reasons Carter brought Hogan in.

Jeff Hardy was one of the most “over” performers in WWE when he left that company a couple months ago. He commands a huge demographic that follows him wherever he goes. At 32 years old, he’s far from over the hill and, more importantly, he’s relevant in today’s changing wrestling industry.

Hardy is just the kind of performer who would give TNA another tremendous boost. How he would fit in with a Hogan-run promotion is anyone’s guess, but my bet is that the Hulkster’s smart enough to appreciate drawing power when he sees it.

Money alone probably won’t be enough to lure Hardy into the TNA fold. If that were true, he would have stayed in WWE. But Hardy is the rare type of wrestler who marches to his own drummer. He left WWE because he needed a break from the business. He wanted to pursue other creative interests, something he’s done in the past.

The drug charges filed against Hardy shortly after his WWE departure seem to carry less and less weight, although a final verdict has yet to be rendered.

Hardy, who was represented by his lawyer at a court date on Wednesday, didn’t show because a report from the drug lab has yet to come in. His next court appearance is scheduled Dec. 2 for a probable cause hearing regarding the drug trafficking case against him. There’s a good chance he could be vindicated.

If so it would be a no-brainer for Carter — or Hogan — to give Hardy a call. The Hulkster’s arrival in TNA gives that company a reach it didn’t have before. But Hulk Hogan is from the past. Jeff Hardy is now. He can elevate the likes of the talented A.J. Styles and Desmond Wolfe like no other in TNA.

There’s no question that TNA needs Jeff Hardy more than he needs them. But he may be just the man who takes TNA to that next level.

• Another top star who could be joining the TNA fold is former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam.

RVD told the Monday Night Mayhem show last week that he would consider the move because of Hogan’s commitment and the company’s upwardly mobile direction.

“It’s more appealing because they raised the stakes,” he said. “Hulk Hogan brings credibility and name recognition. A lot of people that don’t watch wrestling and many who haven’t watched wrestling in five or 10 years, they all know who Hulk Hogan is. He is a great representative of what wrestling can be. Should he have the book? I don’t know. Just because you have one talent in the business doesn’t mean you have something else.

“Can we get the wrestling business fun with Hulk Hogan in TNA? I don’t know, but here’s one thing, part of why it’s not interesting to watch anymore is because it’s so routine and mundane,” he said. “Every match, we have to see the babyface cry and sell, and the heel do his stuff, and the babyface make his big comeback. Every match? I don’t enjoy that.”

• You gotta love the story where Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson recently made amends for snubbing an autograph hunter.

The former pro wrestling great tracked down the offended party and offered him a part in his new movie.

A security guard on the set of Johnson’s upcoming film “The Other Guys” had approached the star and asked for an autograph and a picture for his son. Johnson uncharacteristically refused, explaining he simply couldn’t sign autographs for everyone who asked.

His actions came under fire from the New York Post and, after reading the story in the newspaper, Johnson sought the unnamed fan out and handed him a personalized photograph and a walk-on part in the new Hollywood movie. “He was very apologetic,” a source told the newspaper.

• Edge continues his slow recovery from a painful Achilles tendon injury, and he’s now able to walk without crutches.

The “Rated-R Superstar” hopes to be back in time for next year’s Wrestlemania.

• Comedian Dennis Miller is scheduled to host a special three-hour episode of Raw on Dec. 14 featuring the 2009 Slammy Awards.

Reach Mike Mooneyham at (843) 937-5517 or mooneyham@postandcourier.com.

]]> http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?feed=rss2&p=1 0 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=198 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=198#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:07:35 +0000 Mike Mooneyham http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=198

Hulk Hogan

An article by Mike Mooneyham

Published Nov. 1, 2009

Here’s three words not many saw coming.

“Hulkamania is back.”

And not only is the Hulkster back, he’s thrown down the proverbial gauntlet, and he did it in Vince McMahon’s backyard.

Hulk Hogan, one of the most recognizable figures in the history of professional wrestling, drew a line in the sand Tuesday when he announced that he was signing with Total Nonstop Action at a press conference at Madison Square Garden, smack dab in the center of the wrestling universe.

“It’s so nice to be back in New York City — in the house that Hulk Hogan built,” he said at the conference.

“There is no single name that defines an industry more than Hulk Hogan. He is a pop icon,” said TNA president Dixie Carter. “I can tell you today, on behalf of everybody in TNA Wrestling, we are so thrilled to have (Hogan) join our company. Here we are today at Madison Square Garden announcing the biggest acquisition you could possibly have.”

Hogan (Terry Bollea) declined to give specifics concerning his role with the company, but he said enough to send a signal to McMahon, with whom he has shared a love-hate relationship over the past two decades.

“Brother, I don’t know what I’m going to be doing,” he said at the conference. “I’m not planning anything right now. I’m just walking into this situation with Dixie Carter and Spike (TV) as my partners. My focus is to make this the No. 1 sports entertainment company in this business.”

Hogan, behind McMahon’s promotion, helped usher in a new era of wrestling 25 years ago when he first won the World Wrestling Federation title. The relationship, however, has soured in recent years. Hogan floated the idea of joining TNA several years ago as leverage in his on-again, off-again negotiations with WWE. McMahon has shown little interest in working with Hogan and didn’t even bring him back for the 25th anniversary of Wrestlemania earlier this year.

Hogan, during an appearance Tuesday night on “Larry King Live,” said he’s going to take the business “to a whole new level.”

“I’m going to check out the Hulk Hogan sea legs,” Hogan said. “It’s been a great career, and the fans have stuck behind me through thick and thin, and they have been loyal … I just decided I had to get busy living or get busy dying. And I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do, but I’m going to contribute as much as I can.”

A company that heretofore had seemed comfortable as a distant second to World Wrestling Entertainment in the pro wrestling landscape, TNA now seems to be positioning itself as a viable competitor, springing the biggest coup in the seven-year history of the organization.

While the company has a long way to go to match WWE’s weekly TV ratings and pay-per-view buy rates, the acquisition of Hogan is by far TNA’s highest-profile catch to date.

“I’m thrilled to be jumping back into the world of professional wrestling,” Hogan said. “My fans have been asking me to return to the business for many years on a full-time basis, but the timing or the opportunity has never been right until now. TNA Wrestling is a great company with an already excellent fan base, business and broadcast partner. I firmly believe now is the time for some change at TNA as they are positioned to jump to the next level in their development, and I’m here to work with Dixie (Carter) to help make that a reality.”

Hogan, who is expected to begin his TNA run in an authority role, reportedly was granted major concessions and has creative control. Major changes are expected to be instituted.

“He doesn’t work for Dixie, he works for her dad,” said one source, referring to Bob Carter, chairman and CEO of Panda Energy International, which has a controlling interest in TNA.

The deal was negotiated by longtime Hogan associate, former WCW executive Eric Bischoff, through Hogan’s partnership with Bischoff Hervey Entertainment Television. Bischoff and actor Jason Hervey (“The Wonder Years”) have produced a number of non-wrestling projects together.

“Additionally, BHE TV has inked a first-look deal with TNA and will be working with the organization to develop new programming extensions of the TNA brand,” according to TNA.

One immediate change could happen within TNA’s creative department. It’s no secret that neither Hogan nor Bischoff are fans of TNA creative head Vince Russo, dating back to the dying days of WCW. Sources say Hogan, who will bring in his own stable of talent, will have talks with the creative staff, which now includes longtime Russo crony Ed Ferrara, and will work with them on a trial basis.

Hogan told Time magazine that he chose TNA over WWE because he wants to help the “young wrestlers.”

“When I woke up and realized I should be my own man and be responsible for being happy, I realized I still have a lot to contribute to the wrestling business,” Hogan said. “And jumping into TNA and being a part of that company is huge. I have a chance to give back and help these young wrestlers who don’t understand the business and the art form.”

Hogan, 56, says the signing won’t affect the November tour of Australia where he will meet Ric Flair in a series of matches. Both Hogan and Flair, incidentally, have been removed from the “Alumni” page on WWE’s Web site.

Hogan told the New York Times last week that he’ll “try to get the old fake knee and fake hip cranked up again” during the Aussie tour to get a better read on whether he might be able to work some matches in TNA.

“Instead of being around somebody saying you’re too old for that or you’re going to look ridiculous out there, I’m switching gears,” Hogan told the Times, alluding to former wife Linda saying he looked “silly” in the ring during his last WWE run.”

Hogan also spent last week promoting his new book, “My Life Outside the Ring,” in which he reveals he came close to suicide until receiving a timely phone call from “American Gladiators” co-host Laila Ali. Hogan said he hit rock bottom following the break-up with his wife of 23 years and coping with his son Nick’s accident which left a friend brain-damaged and Nick Hogan being indicted on reckless-driving charges.

Hogan said Ali, the daughter of boxing great Muhammad Ali, prevented him from committing suicide in 2007 after he had downed a cocktail of Xanax and rum, picked up a gun and put his finger on the trigger. She called after noticing he had been looking distracted at work.

“There were times when I thought that a whole bottle of pills would go down easy . . . Then I noticed the gun in my hand. I was careless with it . . . I kept my finger pressed right to that trigger . . . and if I moved that finger an inch in the right direction . . . I would have blown my brains out.”

Hogan says he was distressed about his marriage failing.

“I practically begged her, ‘Please, don’t file,’” Hogan writes in his book. “Our son’s just had this accident — if we do this now, it’ll make us look like the Britney Spears family. Please don’t file for divorce.”

Hogan also claimed that his ex-wife was an abusive alcoholic who once threatened to beat their son with a wine bottle.

“In public, we were all having the time of our lives, but that public image only further masked the problems that were growing behind the scenes … There were plenty of times when Linda would lose it, but no one wanted to see that kind of ugliness on TV,” writes Hogan.

- Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.

Raw’s guest hosts last week fit in the latter category.

Once again, a celebrity fumbled through a mispronunciation of a wrestler, this time the victim being Kofi Kingston.

NASCAR’s Kyle Busch, who co-hosted the show with fellow racer Joey Lagano, referred to Kingston as “Kofi Johnston” before correcting himself. Not a major miscue, of course, but it came right after Busch declaring what a “huge WWE fan” he was. The auto racing pair looked completely out of place on the wrestling set.

- Ozzy Osbourne and wife Sharon Osbourne will serve as celebrity guest hosts for this week’s Raw.

Roddy Piper is expected to host a Raw in the next month or so.

- Matt Striker has replaced Jim Ross on the Smackdown announce team while Ross awaits more news on his health.

Striker debuted on the Smackdown announce team with Todd Grisham at last week’s Smackdown TV.

Ross is awaiting test results after going through a series of tests to “eliminate issues” that caused his latest attack of Bell’s palsy.

“I do not have the test results back but hope to hear something in a day or two,” Ross blogged last week. “We are in the process of trying to eliminate issues that could be causing my problems which gets a little dicey when one doesn’t know and is told to ‘be patient.’”

]]> http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?feed=rss2&p=198 0 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=55 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=55#comments Wed, 19 May 2004 00:19:11 +0000 Mike Mooneyham http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=55

Jesse Ventura

By Mike Mooneyham
May 18, 2004

ASHEVILLE, N.C. – As the former governor of Minnesota browsed through a local pipe shop looking for a humidor, a customer gave him a double glance before uttering, “You look a lot like Jesse Ventura.”

Ventura smiled wryly, winked and retorted, “A lot of people tell me that.”

Nearly a year and a half removed from office, Ventura is 31 pounds lighter, sports a dark beard and no longer shaves the sides of his famous dome. With a Cohiba cigar locked firmly in his mouth and looking more like Cuban dictator Fidel Castro than his most recent and refined political incarnation, Jesse “The Body” Ventura continues to evolve.

He’s worn a number of hats over the years – biker, Rolling Stones bodyguard, Navy SEAL, pro wrestler and announcer, pro football commentator, movie star, suburban mayor, governor, talk show host, Harvard professor.

His next step, he hints, could be a run for the nation’s highest office.

“Anything is possible,” bellows the gravel-voiced Ventura, in this western North Carolina town for a golf tournament and auction to benefit the Asheville-based Eblen Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides medical and emergency assistance for residents in the region.

Having stated earlier this year that he might be interested in an independent campaign for the presidency in 2008, the 52-year-old Ventura has not made a firm decision on a White House run.

“I’ll make a decision about it at some point, but am I serious about it right now? Not particularly. I like to do things to remind people that we need more than two choices,” Ventura told The Post and Courier. “It’s like I said one time on the Larry King show when I was on with (former) Sen. Alan Simpson, who was expounding the two-party system and how great it was. It’s so great it gives us one more choice than communist Russia. What could Simpson say? He sat there and couldn’t deny it. Why do we get only two choices? We need three or four choices.”

Ventura, who broke the monopoly of the two-party system with a stunning dark-horse victory in the race for governor of Minnesota in 1998, still believes the country is ready for those extra choices.

“It’s viable,” he says, “because 40 percent of the public doesn’t recognize themselves with the two parties right now. The reason it’s not viable is because the two parties will do everything to make it so it can’t. They don’t want anyone else in the game. It’s their No. 1 priority.”

Ventura adds that he’s not overly excited about either of the major candidates in this year’s presidential election.

“I’m just very disappointed in the president because I opposed the Iraqi war,” says Ventura. “I think in the long term it’s going to be a major mistake. I might be wrong … I also don’t like the fact that when he came into office he told us he was going to be a federalist president, which means power to the states. He’s done just the opposite. He’s taken power from the states and brought it the federal government instead.”

The presidential talk didn’t exactly come out of left field. Many of Ventura’s closest friends and colleagues say it’s been on his mind for years. And it’s not even the first time he’s floated the idea with a wink and a nod. “Jesse has been talking about being president of the United States for many years,” says World Wrestling Entertainment owner Vince McMahon, who has vowed to support him if he decides to throw his hat back into the political ring. “He is convinced he will be president.”

Ventura’s wife of 28 years, Terry, has told him she won’t go with him if he wins the White House. No problem, he says. “I told her if I become president, I’ll move the White House to Minnesota.”

The response typically draws laughter, although not all of Ventura’s constituents were laughing toward the end of his term as governor. He left the office disillusioned and discouraged after a frustrating final year.

JESSE VS. THE PRESS

Ventura suggests that the only thing that might keep him off the 2008 campaign trail would be the “media jackals” and their treatment of his family during his time as governor. Ventura makes no bones about his dislike for the press in his home state.

“I will never talk to them for the rest of my life,” he says bluntly. Using his message of social liberalism and fiscal conservatism, Ventura’s anti-candidate, anti-establishment self-made man image appealed to young voters, blue-collar workers and other stereotypically red-blooded males. But his relationship with the press in Minnesota rapidly soured.

Ventura insisted that the St. Paul Pioneer Press could not use his “trademarked” name and image in a political comic strip, or refused, for “security” reasons,” after 9/11, to let reporters know his daily schedule. He regularly shunned reporters who wrote critical articles about him and compelled the statehouse press corps to wear media badges identifying them as “professional jackals.”

Ventura, who has refused interviews with local reporters since leaving office in January 2003, says the state press relentlessly hounded his wife and children.

“They (the press) constantly attacked me because I embarrassed them. They’re supposed to be experts, yet not one of them predicted I would win. And then when I won, the public began to question them. They’re supposed to be the experts, but they didn’t see this coming. Then they took the attitude that they were going to prove to the public that they were wrong to elect this guy. They couldn’t get me on policy, so they had to go after me personally. And then they went after my kid.”

The manager of the governor’s residence during Ventura’s four-year reign claimed in a tell-all book that the Venturas’ son, Tyrel, frequently used the governor’s mansion for his party headquarters at the taxpayers’ expense, entertaining young women he had met at bars. Finally, when a newspaper reported that one of his “two photogenic children who attend public schools” had been trashing the governor’s mansion with hard-partying friends, Ventura decided that it was time to reclaim his privacy.

“We were facing budget cuts,” growls Ventura. “The governor’s residence is a luxury, it’s not a necessity, so therefore I closed it. They didn’t like that too well. There was a disgruntled employee who was fired, and he accused my son of underage drinking and wild parties in the governor’s residence. Well, the media didn’t ask one important question. He went home every day at 5 o’clock. How would he know what went on at midnight? He wasn’t even there. But they didn’t care whether it was factual or not. They had their story. The other thing was that my son was 22. How could it be underage drinking when he was of legal age? They didn’t care about that either.”

“THE MIND” REVISITED

Ventura began a cable television show in October 2003 on MSNBC called “Jesse Ventura’s America.” Originally billed as a “no-holds-barred” show planned for five nights a week, executives at the struggling news network eventually relegated it to a Saturday night slot. The short-lived program was canceled after a two-month run for reasons, Ventura says, that might have had to do with his political stances and his penchant for saying things that mainstream media considered over the top.

He has a lucrative three-year deal with MSNBC that ensures he will be paid the duration of the contract. “They’re paying me,” says Ventura, who reportedly was getting $2 million for his services. “I’ve got a three-year contract. It’s their call. They’re buying my silence. There’s maybe a reason for it. Who knows.”

But it’s been a semester of teaching class at Harvard as a visiting fellow at the Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics that has given Ventura a new and refreshing look at the world he left behind. The three-month academic stint earlier this year, he says, was therapeutic as well as enlightening.

“Only in America. I only went to high school, and here I am teaching at Harvard, the greatest university in the world. For me it was like rehab. For someone serving in office and then getting to go teach the young people at Harvard, it was the equivalent of a drug addict going to the Betty Ford clinic. It takes your cynicism away that you had when you get out and it made me feel that I can still believe.”

The change of scenery obviously did wonders for Ventura. He dropped 31 pounds from his 6-4 frame and is now down to 245. He trained hard during his time at the school, where he pumped iron, followed a special diet and worked out with the football team, joking that he still has three years of college eligibility left. He says he wants to lose weight slower now, but he’s determined to trim down to 220 over the next two years.

The Harvard experience was a refreshing change of pace from his four years as governor.

“It (being governor) was like standing still and jumping on a treadmill that’s going at seven, because you better hit the ground running, you’re going to run the whole four years. And when you get off, it’s like getting off the treadmill. About a week later, it finally dawns on you that you don’t have any more meetings, you don’t have to make any big decisions. Four years was enough. If I had wanted to stay, I would have run again.” Ventura says he’d jump at the possibility of returning to Harvard.

“I’ll go back if they ask me. I liked it a lot. It was a lot of fun. I was able to relate to the students because they were the same age as my children (20 and 24).”

While there Ventura taught a class comparing pro wrestling to politics. They both require a flair for the dramatic and carefully scripted conduct, he says.

“There are a lot of similarities.. You become very comfortable in front of large crowds while performing. You have to learn how to talk on TV and to be comfortable with television cameras. Most importantly, when you’re wrestling, the character you portray in the ring may be nothing like what you really are. I believe a lot of these politicians are the same. The character they’re portraying on TV is nothing like what they really are.”

CENTER OF CONTROVERSY

Many years ago he reinvented James George Janos – his real name – into a colorful showman called Jesse Ventura. The first name he simply liked, a reflection of his outlaw nature, and the last name was picked from a map of California.

Blessed with a great delivery and razor-sharp wit, Ventura was a natural behind the camera and parlayed his colorful persona – featuring bulked-up muscles and draped in a pink feather boa – into a successful pro wrestling career that ended in the mid-1980s when health problems forced him to retire from the ring. In between stints as a highly paid pro wrestling commentator, he ran for mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minn., in 1990 and served from 1991 to 1995. Between 1995 and his run for governor, Ventura had a popular radio call-in show in the Minneapolis-St. Paul market.

The entertainer-turned-politician had to convince skeptics who laughed at the prospect of having a pro wrestler occupy the governor’s mansion. CBS news anchor Dan Rather summed up Ventura’s 1998 gubernatorial election victory by saying, “People could not be more surprised if Fidel Castro came loping across the Midwestern prairie on the back of a hippopotamus!”

“You have to let them know that you don’t always live in that fantasy world,” says Ventura.

While many have criticized Ventura for his bombastic demeanor and outspoken nature, few can deny that he’s refreshingly candid, a fighter who speaks his mind. Not many governors have had brothels name rooms for their most recognizable customer.

Like his colorful wrestling persona, Ventura provided his share of controversy as governor of Minnesota, where his first proclamation was declaring Feb. 15, 1998, “Rolling Stones Day” in the state.

A self-described fiscal conservative and social liberal, he supported property tax reform, gay rights, abortion rights and the regulation of illegal drugs. While funding public school education generously, he opposed teacher’s unions. Lacking a base in the Minnesota house and senate, his vetoes were often overridden. His critics claimed he was long on talk and short on alternatives or tangible plans.

During a protest of college students, he once said, “If you are smart enough to go to college, you are smart enough to figure out a way to pay for it.” During an interview with Playboy, he publicly fantasized about life as an oversized brassiere. But he drew the most scorn for calling religion a “sham and a crutch for weak-minded people,” suggesting that people of faith are inclined to meddle in other people’s business. That unpolished gem was hardly well received in a state where 70 percent of the population regularly attends church. Ventura, the only governor out of 50 to refuse to sign a proclamation for a national day of prayer, later tried to explain the comments, but never offered a complete apology.

Even overweight folks couldn’t escape Ventura’s loose-lipped style, with the governor observing that fat people “can’t push away from the table.”

But, in the end, most agreed that he had been the biggest thing to hit the state of Minnesota since Paul Bunyan.

WRESTLING HALL OF FAME

Ventura was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame March 13-14 in New York as part of Wrestlemania festivities. He chuckles when recalling his acceptance speech.

“Who in God’s name would have thought I’d be in the hall of fame before Ric Flair,” he joked. “Then I looked back at him and said, ‘But then again, Ric, I’m sure you’ll get elected immediately after you turn 70 after you retire for six months.’ He’s the only guy I know who’ll wrestle until he’s 80.”

Ventura says that he has long buried the hatchet with WWE owner McMahon, who he once successfully sued for nearly $1 million for royalties and interest from wrestling videotapes. The mat impresario’s now-defunct XFL football league later hired Ventura as an announcer, which cased him to catch considerable flak for being on McMahon’s payroll while governor.

“Vince and I have no problem,” says Ventura. “He and I get along better today than we ever did.”

Since his last days in the business, Ventura has observed sweeping changes in the wrestling industry.

“Wrestling has changed. I worry about the young wrestlers because of their longevity. They’re not going to be able to have 15-, 20-year careers anymore. They’ll have five-year careers. But I’ve seen a change over the past two months. They’re going back to the mat. And the reason why is because they can’t have guys injured all the time. They can’t make money that way.”

A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS

A cultural icon, Jesse Ventura is a walking photo opportunity wherever he goes and a magnet for an inquisitive public that seems drawn to his openness and sizable personality.

A young lady asks for an autograph for her fiancé, and Ventura goes off into a lengthy spiel on the do’s and don’ts of marriage. “Communication is the key,” he advises, emphasizing that honesty is the best policy. “Don’t hold things back. If you’re troubled by something, it’s better to communicate than to hold things back, because if you hold things back, it starts building like a pressure cooker. If there’s a problem, talk it out. When you start not talking to each other, that’s when trouble develops and things can escalate. If something’s troubling you, talk about it in a good way and don’t be afraid. Two individuals are just that, and they’re going to rub each other wrong at times. The honeymoon will end after about a year, and that’s the critical time.”

Ventura seems genuinely interested in responding to everyone’s questions and seems to never tire of talking issues. Whether at a celebrity dinner in Asheville or on the links at The Cliffs in nearby Travelers Rest for the Brad Johnson Celebrity Golf Classic, Ventura is at home being the center of attention, shooting straight from the hip and always speaking his mind with in-your-face honesty.

“You couldn’t find a more gracious guest,” says Eblen Foundation executive director Bill Murdock, who served with Ventura on the board of directors of the International Wrestling Institute in Newton, Iowa. “He’s never too busy to talk with someone, sign an autograph or have his picture taken. He is truly a man of the people.”

Even with his diverse resume, Ventura says there’s one thing he still wants to accomplish.

“I haven’t made a hole-in-one yet. That’s one thing I want to do. I hit a shot two years ago 194 yards, ended up dead center of the hole, and I could have put my thumb between the ball and the hole. Easiest birdie I’ve ever had. Stevie Wonder could have made it.”

There’s something peaceful, he says, about being on a golf course.

“It’s better to have a bad day at golf than a good day at work.”

Bruno Sammartino

An article by Mike Mooneyham

Bruno Sammartino once had a passion for the wrestling profession. It’s now a business, however, the mat icon wants no part of.

Sammartino, a former WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) champion who was one of the biggest draws in wrestling throughout most of the ’60s and ’70s, looked on with disdain as the industry began to dramatically change in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Leading a charge against the rampant use of steroids and drug abuse, Sammartino was an integral figure in focusing widespread media scrutiny on a burgeoning problem that would affect the entire business.

Sammartino’s eldest son, David, had himself used the muscle-enhancing drug despite his his father’s warnings. But when wrestling personality Mark Madden related David’s claims in a 1991 interview that Sammartino’s younger son, Darryl, had used steroids, Bruno became enraged, vehemently denying the allegations and setting off a war that still exists today.

Officially the 64-year-old Sammartino, who holds the distinction of headlining Madison Square Garden more than 200 times, will make his final wrestling-related appearance Saturday night at the Hamburg (Pa.) Fieldhouse where he and Larry Zbyszko began their classic feud more than two decades ago. Unofficially, though, he’s already broken all ties with the business.

The “last straw,” according to Sammartino, was when Madden, now a color commentator for WCW, recently declared on a Nitro broadcast that David Arquette’s title reign probably had various world champions – such as Pat O’Connor, Buddy Rogers and Bruno Sammartino – “turning over in their graves.”

“That really ticked me off,” said Sammartino, who obviously is very much alive and well. “I contacted an attorney. It’s their business if they want to hire garbage, but when that garbage makes remarks like that because we don’t particularly care for each other, that’s something I felt I needed to do something about. I gave them a very simple choice. Either he apologize or I take him and WCW to court, and let the chips fall where they may. They made him apologize, and I washed my hands of professional wrestling.”

Sammartino said he personally didn’t hear the apology because he no longer watches wrestling shows.

“I don’t watch that garbage. An apology was made, and that’s good enough. I don’t want to get involved with lawsuits. It was done. The hell with them all.”

Sammartino added that he later learned that Madden went on “another rant” about him on an edition of WCW Live, but believed that (WCW booker) Vince Russo put him up to it.

“He just thought that it would create controversy,” said Sammartino. “He (Russo) was a big fan of mine, and he said so many times. He has nothing against me. He thought it (the controversy) might be beneficial to them.”

Sammartino made it clear that he had committed to the Hamburg show “months and months ago,” otherwise he wouldn’t have agreed to appear on a wrestling pro gram at this point. But he gave his word, he said, and he will fulfill his commitment to do an autograph session prior to the show.

“It’s not that I’m participating in a wrestling show,” he said. “I have nothing to do with wrestling, and I want nothing to do with it in the future. After this I will not do anything at all. But I had made this commitment.”

Sammartino said he recently was approached by a company from England that wanted to send a film crew down to inter view him about the present state of wrestling.

“I told them I’m not in the business any more. That’s it. Enough is enough. It’s not the business I was in. It’s over with, and I don’t want to talk about it or do anything concerning wrestling. Wrestling and my self are history. I absolutely will have nothing to do with it ever again.”

Sammartino, who held the WWWF title for 12 years during the ’60s and ’70s, had said several months ago that he might be interested if something he considered to be positive for professional wrestling was presented to him. He now says the business sickens him and points to drug abuse, gratuitous violence, sex and vulgarity.

“Wrestling was my way of making a living,” said the Pittsburgh native. “I did the very best I could. It was an even exchange. But it’s a completely different world now, and it’s one that I don’t belong in any more.”

Sammartino first retired from the business in 1981, but later returned for special matches and an announcing stint that lasted until 1988.

“When I was color commentating with (Vince) McMahon, I was making very good money. But when I found out what it was all about, I gave it all up. It wasn’t me, and I wasn’t going to be part of that garbage, regardless of how much money was involved. These guys today will sell their soul for the money. They have no respect for the business, they have no respect for themselves.”

Sammartino’s taste for the business began souring at the tail end of his career with the WWF and his son’s foray into the profession. His “feud” with Madden, a for mer sportswriter for the Pittsburgh Post- Gazette, dates back to a steroids story Madden once wrote in his newspaper. Sammartino insinuated in a 1991 interview with Madden that he had suspected son David was using steroids but never knew for sure until a 1989 health scare during a tour of Japan which led to David getting off the drug.

David, who is now 39 years old and works as a personal fitness trainer in Atlanta, claimed that his father knew about his steroid abuse from 1981 until 1989. He said that he first took steroids in 1981 while working in Atlanta and used them off and on until 1989, describing himself as a heavy user at times, particularly between 1987 and 1989. While working in Japan in 1989, David was suffering severe chest pains and went to the hospital where an EKG revealed an irregular heartbeat and the doctor told him that he was “a walking time bomb.”

“David had a couple of physical scares,” said Sammartino. “He thought I was an old man from the old school. I found out that McMahon was going to use some people to question how I could feel so strongly about steroid use and my own son was taking them. I said in an interview with Mark Madden that the tragedy was with all the young wrestlers coming up – that they were led to believe that unless they got on the juice they had no shot of making it. My son fell into that trap. But I said I believed he was off it at the time, and thank God for that.”

“Sure, my dad tried to discourage me from taking steroids, I mean, this is a guy who’s never taken a drug in his life,” David said in a 1991 interview with Madden. “We argued and everything and he was mad, but it was my life and my decision. But I never hid it. He knew about it all along. He’s the one denying it, not me. In his autobiography, he says he has three sons that have never taken steroids. Well, I have, and so has Darryl.”

Bruno, denying that son Darryl ever took steroids, warned Madden not to print the allegations.

“Madden sent David a copy of the interview, and David, to hurt me, which was his specialty, gave Madden something to print,” Sammartino said. “He said that his father talks about all these drug users, but that his brother Darryl also used steroids. If you saw Darryl at the time, you would have said `give me a break.’ Darryl was a high school kid throwing the javelin and was about 5-11 and 145 pounds. I told Madden not to print it because it was a lie. I had always cooperated with him. His mother was a teacher at the school where my kid was going. I told him to talk to his mother about Darryl, and she spoke very favorably about my son. I told him to just look at Darryl and talk to him. David was using this to hurt me. Madden gave me his word. So what did he do? He gave it to someone to print in a newsletter.

“If someone had told me about David (taking steroids), I would have said, yes, unfortunately, David choice to listen to the wrong voices rather than his father, and he did take steroids. If you knew my other sons, however, you would realize how ridiculous that claim was. I strongly resented him for that.

“David was on the road. The other kids were living here. Did he think I’d be stupid enough to know if they weren’t on that stuff? I had been a weightlifter all my life in addition to wrestling. They didn’t choose to hear the truth. The guy didn’t have the guts to print it in the Pittsburgh paper, so it was printed in a newsletter. He’s just a wonderful fellow. That blows my mind.”

A verbal confrontation ensued, and Sammartino said Madden’s “been knocking me ever since.”

“This is a guy who has a radio show in Pittsburgh who calls me a hypocrite. There are guys who actually kiss up to this piece of garbage, and that’s why I have no respect for his friends. If in my day some jerk like a Mark Madden would say some derogatory things about a wrestler … That’s why I’ve divorced myself from the business. If they can’t stand up and say to this garbage, don’t you dare talk like this about one of our people. How can they even associate with a guy like this? How dare he talk like this about one of his peers? Something like this is not accept able.”

Ironically Sammartino and Madden had their first face-to-face meeting last July at a benefit show for the late Brian Hildebrand in Rostraver, Pa. Madden was there doing his local radio show at the arena.

“He is the most gutless individual I’ve ever known,” said Sammartino. “When they did this benefit for Brian Hildebrand last year, I was there because I was invited. I had never met this guy (Madden) and didn’t even know what he looked like until somebody pointed him out to me. I went right up to him and asked, `You’re Mark Madden?’ and he started backing away. I asked him why he was acting so shy, since he had been acting so mighty on the phone lines and the radio. He said he didn’t want any trouble, yet he wanted all the trouble in the world when he was on the radio. I just asked him why he didn’t stand up for what he had been accusing me of. I’m an old man, but I kept walking toward him and calling him everything under the sun, because I was hoping, if he had an ounce of guts, that he might get mad enough to do something. I didn’t want to take the initiative, because I knew what I would have liked to have done. He never even tried to retaliate verbally. It was one-sided. He just kept backing off and saying he didn’t want any trouble. He ran off like a thief.”

Sammartino also had been at odds with Madden over comments Madden made on his Pittsburgh radio show that six-time NWA champion Lou Thesz, when he was in his 50s, challenged Sammartino when he was in his 20s and Sammartino “chickened out.”

“That is such a lie,” said Sammartino. “I don’t believe that Lou Thesz ever made that statement, but if he did, then he’s as low as Mark Madden because it’s a blatant lie and it never happened and I never chickened out. Because anybody who knows me, not that I’m suggesting I was the greatest or the toughest guy who ever lived, but I would never put my tail between my legs and just walk away. Those kinds of stories anybody would have known about back in those days. There was never such a thing. He’s been putting me down ever since.

“I take pride in what I was. Thesz said he never said that, and if anybody said that, they didn’t hear it from him. Thesz and I are not friends because he has been outspoken in a way I don’t appreciate. He’s been saying a lot about who was good and who wasn’t in the old days as far as shooting. My question is who in the hell did he ever shoot with? So I resented that.”

Sammartino said he also took exception to comments Thesz, now in his 80s, made in his book “Shooter.”

“Lou Thesz comes along in a book and says Argentina Rocca couldn’t wrestle. What’s his problem? The people that came to see him thought Rocca was pretty darn great. Lou Thesz wants to paint a picture like he was the greatest wrestler and nobody else was around. Where does he get off saying all these things? Maybe he could whip me. But I worked with this guy, and I never saw him try anything with me. Whether he could or not, I don’t know. But when I wrestled him, I was about 25 years old and 270 pounds. I didn’t like what I had seen him do with Rocca and (Buddy) Rogers in Toronto. They stunk the joint up.”

Sammartino said at the time Vince Mc Mahon Sr. had blackballed him all over the United States, and he was working strictly for Frank Tunney out of the Toronto office.

“Frank had given me a break, and I was starting to get over. Because Thesz was the NWA champion, you had to use the champion once or twice a year. So they brought in Thesz,and supposedly he didn’t like Rogers. Rogers and I never got along, but I was there so I saw it with my own eyes. Rogers tried to make a match, but Thesz wouldn’t cooperate. People were bored and were stomping their feet. What the hell is with this guy? He wouldn’t do anything. He had Rogers in a hammerlock on the mat and wouldn’t let him up. Rogers tried, tried, and just laid there after a while. Same thing with Rocca. If you didn’t go along with Rocca with his flying head scissors and dropkicks, you didn’t have much. Again Rocca tried to have a match, but the same crap on the mat and people were hollering boring. Then it was my turn.”

Sammartino said he wasn’t impressed.

“Being young and cocky and 25 years old, I thought I was the strongest guy in the world. I had some wrestling training. I went in a very aggressive fashion, and don’t misunderstand me, I didn’t go shooting with the guy, but I was very aggressive. I was pushing him because I was curious to see just how good he was, but nothing ever happened. And he’s saying in his book all these years later that `I know he’s a nice fellow, but I know from wrestling him that I could take him.’ How does he know? I set the stage but nothing happened.

“I don’t appreciate all the things he says about all these guys. It’s sad because it’s like he wants to tell the world, `I’m legit. I was for real. The other guys weren’t, but I was.’ The worst house in the history of the Garden was when McMahon and Toots Mondt brought him to wrestle Argentina Rocca. They didn’t draw crap. Not because of Rocca, because he had drawn plenty of money there, but Thesz was just not a great drawing card. When I saw him with Rogers in Toronto, they drew about a third of a house, and with Rocca it was even less. I did better with him because at the time Frank had tried to make me a star and I was getting over. We didn’t sell out, but we had about three-quarters of a house. But he never drew. They can say whatever. I wasn’t around in the ’30s or ’40s, but 1958 and after, he wasn’t a big drawing card as far as what I saw.”

Sammartino said the rift between him and David unfortunately has widened, and the two haven’t spoken to one another in nearly nine years.

“David caused me a lot of heartaches. I wanted him to go to school like his two brothers, but he refused and went into wrestling. He cost me a lot of embarrassment and pain. He burned more bridges than any wrestler I’ve ever known in this business. He didn’t seem to understand or care who his father was and what he was doing to me and my name and reputation with his behavior.”

Sammartino claims he bailed out David on numerous occasions when he “would quit every other day.

“David would have no place to go. McMahon was using that to have me put on the tights when I really didn’t want to since I had retired. David quit seven different times. He would get mad over nothing and just quit. He’s a very temperamental guy and very unreasonable. He could never take blame. He would always find some reason for it.”

Sammartino said McMahon used David as a pawn to get Bruno back in the ring.

“David said I was in the way of his big break if I didn’t put on the tights to team with him. So I put on the tights and we did very well. I finally told David that I was old and I couldn’t keep doing it. McMahon was also asking me to wrestle, and I kept begging David and telling him that Vince loves the fact that he keeps skipping out. I had a lot of injuries. But he would disappear again. I finally told him that he better be real good, because I was getting out of there.” Shortly afterward David was arrested for nailing a fan who spit on him at a New York show.

“He was done,” said Sammartino. “They kicked him out, and he couldn’t get booked anywhere. But he blamed us. Tragically he never, never took responsibility for anything. It was always some body else’s fault.”

Sammartino’s spot in wrestling history was solidified many years ago. Affectionately known to a generation of fans as “The Living Legend,” he fled his small Italian village as a youngster at the end of World War II and spent 14 treacher ous months in the mountains before returning to his ravaged homeland after German troops moved out. He and his mother moved to America in 1951 to join his father. Sammartino would eventually push his 90-pound frame as a teen-ager to a bulked 275-pound Olympic style weightlifter who would set records with a (drug- free) 565-pound benchpress and the title of North American weightlifting champion.

Sammartino became known as the `Abruzzi strongman” and the “Italian superman” and joined the pro wrestling ranks in 1958. A list of some of his memorable opponents reads like a “who’s who of professional wrestling” … Gorilla Monsoon, Fred Blassie, Bill Watts, Johnny Valentine, Ray Stevens, Argentina Rocca, Killer Kowalski, Dr. Jerry Graham, Superstar Billy Graham, Ernie Ladd, Waldo Von Erich, Bull dog Brower, Ivan Koloff, Prof. Tanaka, Pedro Morales, Dr. Bill Miller, Johnny Valentine, Buddy Rogers, George Steele, Don Leo Johnathon, Stan Hansen, Bobby Duncum, Larry Zbyszko, The Sheik, Dick The Bruiser, Giant Baba, John Tolos, Bruiser Brody, Black Jack Mulligan, Black Jack Lanza, Bruiser Brody, Nikolai Vol koff, Jimmy Valiant, Harley Race, Randy Savage, Roddy Piper, Paul Orndorff.

Sammartino spent the ensuing decades not only as one of wrestling’s top draws and most respected world champions, but also as a goodwill ambassador for the business who prided himself as champion and made a point of wearing ties and suits at public appearances.

In recent years, however, Sammartino says he has become appalled at the circus atmosphere and the increasing raunchiness of the business. He also targeted Hulk Hogan, who is widely credited with transforming the business in the mid-’80s.

“I’ve always considered Hogan a cancer to the wrestling world. A lot of people try to make him out to be the greatest thing that ever came into professional wrestling. That’s the biggest myth in the history of wrestling. I remember when I came back into wrestling as a color commentator in 1985. Vince McMahon practically kissed my ass to put on the tights to go into Boston because Mr. Hogan was the big deal and these clubs were taking nosedives. And he’s looking to a 50-year-old guy to see if I could bring it up because I had been so hot in these clubs in the past. I did and we brought Boston right up to a sellout crowd – the same thing in Philadelphia, the same thing in Pittsburgh. Hogan was such a dud it’s incredible, yet they try to make him out like he’s the greatest attraction in wrestling history. The guy is limited. Was he good in merchandising? Yes. I won’t argue that. During my era we never had merchandising.”

Sammartino questioned WCW’s “obsession” with keeping Hogan in the spotlight.

“Why doesn’t the guy leave? Why does he hang around? They’re a glutton for punishment. They deserve each other.” Sammartino also challenged the record-breaking figures allegedly generated at Wrestlemania III in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome.

“A lot of people don’t know that McMahon gave away over 30,000 seats. The place holds 90,000. They were able to sell 60,000. How can you give Hogan the credit for that? They think Hogan is a valuable asset. Guys like Hogan and (Kevin) Nash and (Scott) Hall are a cancer to the organization.”

Sammartino, who first retired in 1981, said McMahon has tried to approach him in recent years through third parties, but he had absolutely no interest in returning to the WWF.

“Two years ago when he was down and out, I got a message from Vince’s son (Shane) through another party that he wanted to bury the hatchet. I don’t hate anybody. I dislike some of the things they do. I said as long as he’s in that kind of trend, I wouldn’t be interested. I’ve known him well for a long time. Vince McMahon surrounds himself with yes men. Every body pats him on the back. Vince McMahon only has control and power over people who allow him to have control and power. I’ve known this guy for many, many, many years, and he’s the lowest of the low. They don’t come any lower than him. Look at the roles he’s got his own son and daughter playing. He has no sense of decency or morality. But watch out if you’re critical. I once told him that this kind of garbage was going to kill him down the road. Of course he hated that. I was very critical about the drugs, and I didn’t want to be around it. I said that one of these days it was going to be a scandal. He gave me the BS about `Pop being gone’ when I decided to retire. And who better than me? That’s how he lured me to come back. But it didn’t take long to see what was going on. I had to get the heck out of there.”

Sammartino left for good in 1988. “Vince had given me a contract (the year before). I skimmed through it and signed it. When I wanted out the first time, he said I couldn’t leave. I went to my attorney, and found out he had me hooked. For the next two years I was like the silent partner. I was just biding my time.” Sammartino said he has no desire to be in McMahon’s WWF Hall of Fame. “It’s not a hall of fame. What kind of hall of fame is it when he decides who will be in it? I wouldn’t want to be in that. Having fans tell me how much they enjoyed watching me wrestle and that I was a role model means a heck of a lot more than McMahon putting me in the hall of fame. That’s very rewarding. It makes me feel very good.” “There were a lot of people who I had tremendous respect for while I was in the business. But from what I see today, I have none.” Sammartino, who was born Oct. 6, 1935, maintains a strict training regiment. His weight dropped from 270 to 250 after breaking his neck in a match with Stan Hansen and is now at a steady 215. He alternates each morning between a seven- to eight-mile jog and lifting weights for several hours. “I run and watch my diet, and I’m down to 215. But that was by design.” Sammartino says the final chapter on the wrestling business is far from being written. “They can say this and they can say that. McMahon’s riding high right now. Now he’s come back because of all this crap they’re doing. But when you talk about the history and longevity of wrestling … Let’s see the long-term future for all this garbage. It will run its course. Don’t be too shocked. This XFL deal might do him in. People like (Donald) Trump with the huge bucks failed. So we’ll be here to see where this thing goes. We’ll be watching.”

Ric Flair

By Mike Mooneyham

May 25, 2003

For seven and a half minutes Monday night, Ric Flair made us believe.

He made us believe that a 54-year-old legend, with 31 years in the ring and 16 world titles to his credit, could overcome the odds and defeat a performer 20 years his junior and the reigning heavyweight champion. He took us back to a time when pro wrestling was built around issues, when angles had a payoff and, more importantly, when fans felt an intimate connection to this unique business.

That special kind of magic resurfaced Monday evening in Greenville, smack dab in the heart of Ric Flair country, where he has held court for three decades and watched the business evolve from rasslin’ to today’s brand of sports entertainment.

It could just as easily have been 1983 with Flair defending his world title against Dusty Rhodes, or 1993 with the Nature Boy putting his belt on the line against Sting. Twenty-two years after winning his first world championship, Flair found himself in the role of challenger Monday night in the Raw main event against Triple H, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, who as a teen-ager idolized Flair and studied his every move and mannerism. Now nearing the age of 34, Triple H (Paul Levesque) claims the enviable distinction of being perhaps the most powerful performer in the business, maintaining a strangehold on the title and preparing to marry into the family business.

But it was Ric Flair who dominated Monday’s show and for one special night transformed Raw into must-see TV. That it happened at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville made the event all the more special. Less than five years ago, in that very same building, Flair delivered what is regarded by many as the most memorable interview in pro wrestling history.

“It was real,” Flair declared that September evening, just months after being unceremoniously suspended and sued by then-WCW president Eric Bischoff. That night, before a sellout crowd of more than 16,000 fans chanting his name, Flair provided what may have been the single professional wrestling moment ever captured on film. It was a scene in which real life was played out in the most unlikely of places – a pro wrestling ring.

He proved last Monday night that lightning can, indeed, strike twice. Flair flawlessly set the stage for the classic “teacher vs. student” confrontation, building toward the moment with just the right touches of drama and emotion. Backstage vignettes leading up to the match were classic textbook studies, with Flair confronting Triple H and telling him that never in his career did he need a night off and couldn’t wrestle, alluding to his managerial client’s request that he “lay down” and take a dive.

Jim Ross, whose announcing brilliance rises to the fore when he feels passionately about his subject, was excellent in the Gordon Solie role of conveying the significance and impact of the match. It’s doubtful there was a fan watching who didn’t expect the Nature Boy to pull off the upset as he displayed yet again that there’s still plenty of gas left in the tank, while reminding everyone why he was the greatest of all time.

The Nature Boy worked his magic once more Monday night, but grim reality set in at the seven-and-a-half-minute mark when Triple H scored the crowd-deflating pinfall, spoiling an otherwise brilliant story. It can easily be argued that Flair should have been given the title win. An angle as strong and compelling as the one Monday night could have developed into a storyline that would have ensured fan interest and solid ratings for the immediate future. There is little interest in a Triple H-Kevin Nash rematch, especially since it’s no secret that the Game is just keeping the title warm until he hands it over to Bill Goldberg at Summer Slam. Flair’s position can only be strengthened by last week’s performance; although the two-hour Raw dropped to a 3.6 rating, the final segment with Flair and Triple H drew a 4.4, by far the highest number of the night.

The real highlight of the evening, however, would come moments after the show ended and the live cameras stopped rolling. The locker room cleared and the wrestlers hit the ring to pay tribute to the man considered the greatest performer in the history of the business. With the entire crowd on its feet, Shawn Michaels, Stephanie, Shane and Vince McMahon all came out individually to hug and give props to the Nature Boy. Steve Austin saluted him with a case of beer, followed by Triple H, who embraced his mentor, placed the world title belt on Flair’s shoulder and raised his arm. Then it was time for the crew to hoist the mat icon up on their shoulders and carry him around the ring.

The emotion-packed tribute moved Flair, as well as many of his colleagues, to tears. With the crowd demanding a speech, the Nature Boy obliged, acknowledging that he made many special memories in Greenville, where he wrestled every Monday night at the old Greenville Auditorium for many years.

The emotion of the evening was not lost on Canadian star Lance Storm, who later wrote on his Web site that “it was moments like that and people like Ric Flair” that made him glad be became a professional wrestler.

“Ric gave an emotional promo that gave me goose bumps,” Storm wrote. “When Ric told Hunter that he’d been in a 1,000 matches like that, and never once said he couldn’t wrestle, Ric Flair owned that arena. Ric bumped and chopped his way into all of our hearts one more time. Giving him a standing ovation and the respect he deserves just seemed right. There were no more heels or babyfaces, there was just an arena full of people who love Ric Flair and what he means to this industry. Everyone from Vince McMahon all the way down to the guys who wrestled the dark matches that night, stood in the ring and toasted the Nature Boy. It was one of those emotional moments that you never know when, or if, they will happen again.”

- Henry Marcus, who put Charleston and Columbia on the wrestling map during his half century as a promoter, celebrated his 92nd birthday on Wednesday. Marcus, who made the phrase “Hold your own ticket!” a lasting memory for more than one generation of wrestling fans, resides in Sumter.

- Ultimo Dragon (Yoshihiro Asai) has signed a contract with WWE and should be debuting soon. Asai was one of WCW’s top light-heavyweight wrestlers until being forced to retire in 1998 when a tendon in his arm was accidentally cut during surgery.

- Top matches for next month’s Raw brand Bad Blood pay-per-view in Houston look to be Triple H defending his WWE Raw title against Kevin Nash, Bill Goldberg returning against Chris Jericho, Christian defending his new Intercontinental title against Booker T, and Scott Steiner squaring off with former partner Test.

One match that may be added and could be the show-stealer is Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels.

- Kurt Angle has been medically cleared to return to the ring.

“I’m ready now, but we’re going to wait two weeks,” Angle told the WWE Web site last week. “I took about 30 bumps and I didn’t have any pain in my neck or head, which is a good sign. That made me feel better. I’ll get in the ring next week when I go to TV and iron out the kinks. I’m going to get a lot of practice at the house shows. I’m going to be working out before the house shows and before TVs. I’m going to go down to OVW. But it’s only been six weeks. I’m going to be a little bit sluggish, but I don’t think I’ll be too rusty. I’ll just take a few days and I’ll be fine.”

- “Dr. Death” Steve Williams was scheduled to work Raw house shows this weekend against Lance Storm.

- Hulk Hogan said in a recent radio interview that he has not spoken to Randy Savage since the death of Savage’s ex-wife, Liz Hulette, and that Savage has chosen to take the low road and not speak with him anymore. He also said that he felt true heat between himself and Shane McMahon, whose appearance at Wrestlemania at the side of beaten father Vince McMahon was totally unscripted, Hogan claimed.

- Sting (Steve Borden) and the WWE are still taking, but the wrestler told a New Zealand Web site that he hasn’t had any conversations with Vince McMahon in more than a year. An offer reportedly is on the table, but the ball is in Sting’s court. He said that he hasn’t shut the door and isn’t officially retired.

Sting and his wife are currently developing a property in Southern California as a Christian retreat.

- Brooke Bollea, 15-year-old daughter of “Mr. America” Hulk Hogan (Terry Bollea), is on the fast track to become a name in the entertainment business.

For the past year she has been taking intense piano, voice and dance lessons, and has even attracted the attention of Orlando-based hit maker Lou Pearlman, the man behind such pop creations as the Backstreet Boys, ‘N Sync and O-Town.

“I want to start having concerts, people to know me, getting to the big time,” she recently told a Florida news station. “After he’s (Hogan) opened up the door, I have to walk through it and work my own magic.”

Ric Flair

By Mike Mooneyham

May 18, 2003

Ric Flair may be 54 years old and a 31-year veteran of the wrestling business, but don’t try telling that to the Nature Boy.

His performance last week on Raw was vintage Flair and the highlight of the show, which posted its best rating in months, a 4.4 highlighted by a 4.9 quarter hour featuring the Flair vs. Hurricane and Bill Goldberg vs. Christian matches.

Despite an in-ring hiatus of nearly six months, Flair has returned with a vengeance and is headed toward a long-anticipated showdown with Shawn Michaels that could take place as early as next month’s Bad Blood pay-per-view in Houston.

Their only previous meeting was more than a decade ago on WWE television, several years before Michaels would carve out a reputation as one of the top workers in the game. Michaels considers Flair his idol in the wrestling business and has long pushed for another match with the mat icon.

Look for Flair and Michaels, who will work the respective corners of Triple H and Kevin Nash at tonight’s Judgment Day pay-per-view, to hook it up and provide a sneak preview of their upcoming bout.

And since tonight’s match is in Flair’s hometown of Charlotte, look for the 16-time world heavyweight champion to steal some thunder along with his charge, Triple H.

Nash, Triple H’s challenger, has received a disappointing reception since returning from an injury that sidelined him for the better part of a year. Once dubbed by Mike Awesome as “the laziest big man in the business,” Nash has been jeered by a number of fans despite his current role as a babyface chasing Triple H’s world title. Those catcalls should increase significantly tonight in Flair country.

Flair recently returned from a weeklong promotional tour of Australia that consisted of 16-hour days in which he pushed WWE’s upcoming tour of the continent Down Under.

- Longtime Horseman and current Smackdown agent Arn Anderson has been taken off the road and granted time off for “personal reasons,” according to the WWE office.

Sources report, however, that the 44-year-old Anderson has checked himself into rehab following erratic behavior during last weekend’s Smackdown tour of the United Kingdom where he reportedly was intoxicated on the flight overseas and at the hotel where the crew was staying.

Anderson was at Raw Monday night, but left the show early.

- Chavo Guerrero has been pulled from tonight’s Judgment Day pay-per-view match pitting him and uncle Eddie against Team Angle (Orangeburg native Shelton Benjamin and Charlie Haas).

Guerrero suffered a torn biceps and will miss an estimated four to six months.

- The Legion of Doom (Road Warriors Hawk and Animal) returned to WWE last week at Raw. As in the old days, the two refused to sell for their opponents (Rob Van Dam and Kane). Unlike the old days, however, they were asked to job.

Once outspoken critics of Vince McMahon, the born-again Roadies have since softened their stance, particularly in light of a job prospect with the federation.

“We hope we’re here for the rest of our careers,” Animal (Joe Laurinidas) recently said on the company’s Web site. “Hawk and I would like to retire here with WWE, whether it’s two years from now or five years from now. We’d like to spend our last years in the business here. And when that day comes (that we retire) hopefully we can do what a lot of guys do, and move into the office end of the business and help the guys out.

“In the past when the business was a little bit more rebellious, so to speak, there were problems that arose that have been forgotten,” Animal added. “Hawk and I have both made major changes in our lives. My family and I, since 1999, have been devout Christians. Hawk turned Christian with Shawn Michaels … at the same event, at AIM (Athletes International Ministries), last year in June. We’re changed guys.

“I respect Vince McMahon, WWE and all the guys who work for it 1,000 times more than I could before. Now that our eyes have opened up and our hearts have opened up, we’ve learned to appreciate things. You finally realize that none of this is possible without the ‘greatest champion’ making it possible. You know what I mean? We wouldn’t be here today. That’s why we’re here right now.”

“Me personally, I’ve changed my tune a little bit,” echoed Hawk. “I always used to fight the promotion. Now, I’m a Christian, and it’s all in God’s hands, as far as I’m concerned. And if he wants to bless me with a WWE deal, that’d be great.”

The two will celebrate 20 years as a team in June.

Jim Hellwig (formerly The Ultimate Warrior) responded on his Web site to Animal’s claim that he was “glad morals are coming back into the business.” Said Hellwig: “Morals are coming back? He must be confusing PAX with WWE to ease his shame about bowing and bending over at the altar of McMahon again … again. .. and again. Hey Joe, don’t feel too bad, it’s only begging. Since when were morals synonymous with born-agains behaving like hypocrites? Here we go one more time – a born-again’s piety being used as an excuse instead of an empowerment. Born-agains who don’t should be outraged.”

- Bill Goldberg worked last week’s cage match on Raw with three dislocated bones in his right hand, but shrugged off the injury.

“It’s just something I deal with and have dealt with for a long time,” Goldberg told the WWE Web site. “It’s nothing new. This injury came straight from overtraining. I’ve been involved in Muay Thai kickboxing, and I think I just weakened my hand from hitting the heavy bag so many times.”

Sources, however, say that Goldberg aggravated the injury following the May 5 Raw when he fell to the mat and jammed his hand after slipping on beer during the Austin “beerfest.”

Austin, by the way, is drinking again on-camera because his probation has expired.

- Henry Marcus, who put Charleston and Columbia on the wrestling map during his half century as a promoter, will celebrate his 92nd birthday on Wednesday.

Marcus, who made the phrase “Hold your own ticket!” a lasting memory for more than one generation of wrestling fans, resides in Sumter.

- George’s Sports Bar and Grill, 1300 Savannah Highway, will air the Judgment Day pay-per-view tonight beginning at 8 p.m. Cover charge is $5.

- Former WWE and WCW live event promoter Zane Bresloff was critically injured in an automobile accident Friday.

Bresloff, 55, suffered numerous internal injuries when he was thrown from his Ford Explorer after the car rolled over. Bresloff, who was driving through the Rocky Mountains, had to be airlifted to a Denver hospital. It was initially believed that a fractured pelvis had severed several veins and arteries.

Bresloff was the first WWF promoter in the Denver area, helping the group gain a foothold against the now-defunct American Wrestling Association. Bresloff promoted the town’s closed-circuit showing of Wrestlemania I in 1985 and the first WWF show at the Denver Coliseum.

Bresloff also promoted Wrestlemania III in Pontiac, Mich., which drew the largest indoor crowd ever for a pro wrestling show in the U.S.

- Sting (Steve Borden) and the WWE are still taking, but the wrestler told a New Zealand Web site last week that he hasn’t had any conversations with Vince McMahon “in a while.” An offer reportedly is on the table, but the ball is in Sting’s court. He said that he hasn’t shut the door and isn’t officially retired.

Sting and his wife are currently developing a property in Southern California as a Christian retreat.

- Scott Hall faces another probation violation hearing Monday in Orlando.

- Charles Warren Reynolds, who is accused of strangling Marissa Jeanne Vaziri, daughter of pro wrestler The Iron Sheik (Hossein Vaziri), is facing a pretrial appearance on a murder charge in the 27-year-old woman’s death.

Police say Reynolds made a number of spontaneous remarks “without being questioned” and a half-hour after he had been informed of his Miranda rights, according to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“She’s such a good girl, but she wouldn’t calm down,” Reynolds, 38, said during what police described in a preliminary report as spontaneous and unprompted remarks. “It’s my fault. It’s my fault,” he said at another point, according to the report. “Take me, I’ve done wrong.”

Reynolds and Vaziri, a medical secretary, lived together for a few weeks at an Atlanta-area apartment.

Vaziri’s discolored body was tucked into bed, face up, the covers pulled up to her chin, according to the police report.

Hossein Vaziri, 60, has been recovering from knee surgery and now has nightmares about his daughter’s death, his wife, Caryl Vaziri, told the newspaper.

“He keeps screaming her name out. And he’s still recovering from his surgery. So he hurts from head to toe,” she said.

- WWE parlayed its Lex Luger-Elizabeth piece on Confidential last weekend to one of the show’s highest numbers to date, a 1.1 cable rating with a 2.3 share, nearly doubling the 0.6 from the previous week. A replay had been scheduled for this weekend.

- Randy Savage, who earned a well-deserved reputation for being overly protective of his former late wife, Liz Hulette, was portrayed in a slightly different light by Jim Hellwig.

“I knew the Elizabeth the whole world knew – she was Randy’s wife,” the former Ultimate Warrior wrote on his Web site. “Few talent – if that many – ever got closer to her than that while they were married. Randy was very protective of her and did not allow a line leading to over-friendly contact. And, believe me, the lines Randy drew never had slack in them. He knew full well too many talent in the business had no scruples, so he never subjected his beloved to the chance. Let there be no mistake – wound up as the ‘Macho’ element of Randy’s life was, when it came to his marriage, he was disciplined and controlled, had class and respected it traditionally. I admired the way he handled their relationship and found it really heartwarming. In fact, that genuineness of their relationship is what made the worked parts work so well.”

- Goldust (Dustin Runnels), who has been suffering from a bulging disc and severe cervical pain, has returned to action.

Lex Lugar

By Mike Mooneyham

May 11, 2003

Lex Luger, whose chiseled physique and “Total Package” gimmick propelled him to fame and fortune in the wrestling business, now faces an uncertain future in the wake of his live-in girlfriend’s death and multiple drug charges.

Authorities say the death of Liz Hulette, 42, is not being treated as a homicide, and the official cause of death won’t be known until toxicology tests are complete. Hulette, the one-time “First Lady of Wrestling” and former wife of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, had been living with Luger at his home in Marietta, Ga., when she was stricken during the early-morning hours of May 1.

Luger, whose real name is Lawrence Pfohl, was charged with 13 counts of felony purchase and possession of a controlled substance and one misdemeanor count of distribution of dangerous drugs after investigators turned up the drugs at his residence. Reports indicate that police counted more than 1,700 pills, 100 bottles, and six boxes of assorted steroids, painkillers and growth hormones.

Police have not linked the discovery of the massive stash to Hulette’s death. Preliminary autopsy results confirmed that no sign of foul play was found in her death.

Police also had responded to a domestic violence call last month concerning a fight at Luger’s home, a $300,000-plus town house that the two had moved into last year. According to the arrest report, Hulette had two bruised eyes, bumps on her head and a cut on her lip. Luger was arrested at that time and charged with a misdemeanor count of battery.

The Marietta Daily Journal reported last week that Luger, 44, also had been arrested two days later for driving under the influence and rear-ending another car in his 2002 silver, twin-turbo Porsche. Luger reportedly had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and could not locate his license. Reports also indicate that he had a 9-mm handgun in the car. Hulette, who was a passenger, was sent home in a taxicab.

Luger’s license was already suspended at the time for failure to attend an earlier court hearing on charges of driving with an expired tag and no proof of insurance.

According to Cobb County, Ga., police department records, Hulette had been mixing painkillers and vodka shortly before her death, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported. She sat down to eat, started gurgling and then died, reports said.

“I have an emergency, medical,” Luger told the 911 operator, the Journal-Constitution reported. “My girlfriend has passed out and I can’t get her to come to … We were eating and she started gurgling. I don’t know why. Please send somebody, please.”

Luger later told the police that Elizabeth had consumed two glasses of vodka and took some medication for back pain. “I couldn’t get her eyes to focus,” Luger told the 911 operator. “She’s like totally limp … When I blow in (performing CPR), there’s just gurgling, probably from the food.”

By the time emergency crews arrived, five minutes after the call came in, Hulette’s skin had turned purplish. She was pronounced dead shortly thereafter at a nearby hospital. The full autopsy report is expected in a month or two.

The Journal-Constitution quoted Dr. Julie Jervis, a forensic pathologist at Kaplan College in Iowa, as saying that Hulette may have been the victim of the so-called “cafe coronary” in which people who are drinking alcohol and eating lose their coordination, choke on food and die of asphyxiation.

Former WCW and WWE women’s champion Madusa (Debbie Micelli) posted a commentary on her Web site regarding Hulette’s death.

“Liz and I have shared some wonderful times, laughing, crying, traveling and just plain being ‘girl friends.’ Liz has truly been an inspiration to every women in this sport and started a path for the women of today. Her beauty is priceless, her voice I can still her in my head. I cried and I cried hard and I am angry. I feel that when tragic strikes our emotions want to strike back for the fear of not knowing what or how it happened, usually that is the case … I can tell you this the reason for her death will not go unnoticed and I truly believe ‘the reason of why it happened will burn in hell!’ We miss you Liz.”

Hulette’s death, less than three months after another former wrestling star, “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig, was found dead of cocaine intoxication, has once again put the spotlight on drug abuse in the wrestling industry.

Sources say the 6-4, 270-pound Luger, whose weight had approached the 300-pound range late last year, had been working hard in recent months to get into “WWE shape.” Luger has been away from the wrestling business since 2000 except for an overseas tour last December for World Wrestling All-Stars.

Luger, the founder and operator of Main Event Fitness club in Atlanta since 1989, was an inaugural member of the HealthSouth Sports Council, a group of top athletes targeting school-age children with strong, positive messages. Luger made an appearance locally at the North Charleston Coliseum several years ago in which he discussed the importance of living a healthy, drug-free lifestyle.

Luger’s son, Brian Pfohl, was profiled earlier this year in a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The 6-8, 230-pound high school junior is a top basketball prospect who averages more than 20 points a game.

Luger’s first love also was basketball, but he accepted a football scholarship to Penn State before transferring in 1978 to Miami where he was kicked off the team at midseason for two off-field incidents. He had brief pro stints with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, the CFL’s Montreal Alouettes and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the defunct USFL, where he was teammates with Ron Simmons and coached by Steve Spurrier.

“I attended all the basketball camps growing up,” Luger told the Journal-Constitution. “I really just enjoy going to the games and watching Brian perform. I’m not one of those pushy parents. I just want him to do good in school. I’ve had more operations than I can remember. It doesn’t bother me at all that Brian doesn’t play football.”

The article noted that Brian Pfohl and his dad weren’t the only two athletes in the family. His mom, Peggy, was a standout track performer at Penn State. His sister, Lauren, is one of the top swimmers in her age group (sixth grade) in the Southeast.

“We don’t have those high-pressure parents,” Brian said. “I’ve always looked up to my dad. Away from the ring, he is a very nice and laid-back guy.”

Luger, who was trained by the late Hiro Matsuda, broke into the wrestling business in October 1985 and was immediately elevated to main-event status. He defeated Wahoo McDaniel for the Southern heavyweight title in 1986 and within a year of his debut held NWA world champion Ric Flair to a one-hour draw, earning Rookie of the Year honors that year.

Luger held the WCW world title on two different occasions and was given one of the greatest promotional pushes in the history of the then-WWF, but could never attain the popularity needed to headline the promotion. The company had even taped an interview with Luger as champion before scrapping a nine-month plan to give him the title, going instead with Bret Hart.

Vince McMahon, who once saw Luger as “the next Hulk Hogan” after a similar push with Sid Vicious had backfired, turned Luger from his “Narcissst” heel role, in which he played a pompous, egotistical character that mirrored his real-life persona, into a xenophobic American patriot draped in red, white and blue, and sent him on a nationwide bus tour dubbed the “Lex Express.” The Express was designed to generate mainstream publicity for Luger and tape him doing charity work for telecast on WWF programming. Despite well-produced videos and exposure in a number of mainstream outlets, Luger failed to spark media interest and the Lex Express derailed.

A series of “Who is Lex Luger?” videos also were aired in an attempt to sway viewers.

“A lot of my friends who knew me when I grew up are shocked when they see me in front of millions of viewers wrestling or talking because I was actually very shy and introverted,” Luger explained in the video. “Because I was rather quite and shy and introverted, I think a lot of times that’s mistaken as being arrogant by people who don’t know you.

“My friends who really got to know me knew better. But when people look at you, they want to stereotype you or prejudge you by how you look and how you act. If you’re shy but you excel at something, they think you’re arrogant or stuck on yourself. It’s like a vicious circle. The more people think about you, if you’re shy, the more it almost propagates itself. Sometimes I feel like I fight that to this day
now even in my career with people on television or in the press.”

Luger bolted the WWF in 1995 and appeared on the first-ever Nitro for WCW on Sept. 18 of that year.

- Marissa Jeanne Vaziri, 27, the daughter of Hossein Khosrow Vaziri (The Iron Sheik), was found strangled to death in a bed at a Riverdale, Ga., apartment she shared with her boyfriend. Police arrested her companion, Charles Warren Reynolds, 38, last Sunday in connection with her death.

Reynolds confessed to the crime, according to police reports, and said that he and Marissa Jeanne Vaziri, who didn’t work in the wrestling business, had been drinking and taking pills prior to the incident.

A local pastor told police that the suspect called him about 8 a.m. Sunday, asking the pastor to pray with him. When police arrived, the pastor and two church members were at the apartment.

“It’s my fault. Take me, I’ve done wrong,” Reynolds told police, according to investigators’ initial reports.

Vaziri was the eldest daughter of Hossein Vaziri, 60, who is most famous for a 29-day reign as WWF champion that ended with a loss to Hulk Hogan on Jan. 23, 1984, that ushered in WWE’s “Hulkamania” era.

- Road Warriors Hawk and Animal (Mike Hegstrand and Joe Laurinidas) are scheduled for tryout dark matches at Raw Monday night in Philadelphia and Smackdown Tuesday night in Baltimore.

Animal’s “little brother,” Johnny Ace (John Laurinidas), works as a WWE official and is being groomed to take over Jim Ross’s position as the company’s talent relations chief.

- Raw ratings dipped to a 3.5 for last week’s show. The Beer Bash overrun was the show’s highest segment with a 4.3.

- Jonathan Coachman’s ouster from the announce desk with the reinstatement of Jim Ross should lead to “The Coach” becoming part of Teddy Long’s disgruntled stable.

- The Kevin Nash-Triple H brawl last week on Raw has drawn considerable criticism. The Halifax crowd jeered Nash, the babyface, while the announcing crew tried to cover up by explaining that it was a “Canadian crowd.”

Nash, whose mobility is limited due to a number of knee surgeries, has worked only a handful of matches in the past three years while nursing a variety of injuries.

- Triple H (Paul Levesque) and Stephanie McMahon have set their wedding date for Oct. 25.

- WWE has released more than 10 members of its office staff over the past week. Also reportedly cut from the talent roster was Eric Angle, Kurt’s brother and Nidia’s love interest.

- “The Proud Prussian” Kurt Von Poppenheim, who was a major star in Oregon, passed away on May 1 at the age of 89. He wrestled from 1937 to 1964.

- Trish Stratus told a Halifax newspaper last week that she wasn’t interested in following Torrie Wilson’s lead and doing a Playboy pictorial. “It’s not my thing It’s so huge I think it might overshadow anything I might do in the industry or the ring,” said the 27-year-old WWE diva.

- A woman who was allegedly stalking WWE star Kurt Angle and his family has been arrested in Detroit.

Deann Siden, 34, is accused of following Angle across the country and threatening his family through telephone messages. Siden allegedly claimed she was pregnant and Angle was the father, but Pittsburgh-area police say there was no relationship between the two.

- Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett will participate in a charity basketball game May 31 in Charlotte to raise money for the Autism Society of America.

The M&M’s Hoops for Hope with Elliott Sadler all-star basketball game also will feature former Los Angeles Laker star John Salley, co-host of the “Best Damn Sports Show, Period,” and will pit NASCAR drivers and local celebrities against the media. The “Best Damn Sports Show” will feature its broadcast on Fox Sports Net from Charlotte’s Halton Arena.

Other Charlotte celebs slated to play in the game are NFL star Wesley Walls, who will join Elliott Sadler, Hermie Sadler, Dale Jarrett, Jeff Burton, Tony Raines, Jamie McMurray and Darrell Waltrip in an effort to raise funds for autism research.

- Sources report that Scott Hall was on his best behavior during a recent wrestling swing through Puerto Rico.

Miss Elizabeth

By Mike Mooneyham

May 4, 2003

She had style and grace, all wrapped up in a pretty package that enthralled a new generation of wrestling fans. She was a pioneer who helped pave the way for women in what had been almost exclusively a man’s business. And, more than just eye candy and window dressing, she stood her ground when promoters attempted to put her in situations she felt uncomfortable with.

The recent death of Liz Hulette, better known to millions of wrestling fans around the world as the lovely “Miss Elizabeth,” is not only a painful reminder of the fragility of life, but yet another sobering reflection of a fraternity whose members are dying far too young.

Hulette died early Thursday after police were called to the Marietta house where she lived with wrestling star Lex Luger.

While speculation abounds as to the cause of death, it may be weeks before a clear-cut answer emerges. An autopsy Friday did not reveal how the 42-year-old Hulette died, and police would not say whether they suspect she died from a drug overdose, suicide or natural causes. The results of toxicology tests could take up to two months, investigators say.

A police spokesman said there were no signs of foul play.

The arrest of Hulette’s live-in boyfriend, Luger (real name Larry Pfohl), has drawn added attention to the case. Luger, 44, has not been charged in connection with Hulette’s death, but was charged with 13 counts of felony purchase and possession of a controlled substance. According to reports, police on Thursday searched his home and turned up massive amounts of body-enhancing drugs, including the anti-anxiety drug Xanex, anabolic steroids, testosterone and hydrocodone. He also was charged with one misdemeanor count of possession, sale and distribution of a drug called Saizen, a synthetic growth hormone.

Luger, a former University of Miami football player and two-time World Championship Wrestling heavyweight champion, was released Friday on $25,000 bond for the drug possession charges. It was his second arrest in a matter of weeks.

Last month police responded to a domestic violence call at Luger’s residence and found Hulette with bruises to her head. An Atlanta TV station reported Thursday that Hulette told police she suffered a black eye and contusion after slipping while attending to the family dog. According to police reports, Luger punched her in the face and was charged with battery. He was out on a $2,500 bond in connection with that incident when he was re-arrested on the controlled substance charge.

Luger, a Chicago native, broke into pro wrestling in 1985 after brief stints with the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the defunct United States Football League. For years he was one of the most highly paid performers in the business.

Hulette, a Frankfort, Ky., native, made a splash when she debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in 1985, along with her then-husband, Randy “Macho Man” Savage. As Savage’s beautiful valet and manager, she was as responsible as anyone for Savage’s ascension to the top of the federation, along with a highly lucrative program with Hulk Hogan.

The two, whose on-camera angles revolved around their on-again, off-again love affair, divorced in 1992, with Elizabeth taking a hiatus from the business until joining WCW in early 1996. She married a Miami Beach attorney in December 1997, but the couple was divorced in April 1999. Hulette left WCW in June 2000 and never worked for a major wrestling promotion again.

Luger, who hasn’t wrestled on a full-time basis since leaving WCW in 2000, owns the Main Event fitness club in Marietta that he once operated with Sting (Steve Borden), who sold his interest in the facility several years ago following a falling out with his former partner.

Luger, one of the few remaining WCW holdouts who has yet to receive an offer from WWE, was accompanied by Hulette when he worked overseas on the latest World Wrestling All-Stars tour last December.

Randy Savage released the following statement on his Web site Thursday:

“I am deeply saddened by this news, and our thoughts and prayers are with Elizabeth’s family.”

Hulette was known as the “First Lady of Wrestling” during her successful run in the WWF from 1985-92. It would be some years later, however, before Elizabeth’s true impact on the business would be felt, as doors would be opened for a highly successful group of WWE divas.

WWE, perhaps anticipating the negative publicity that could be forthcoming, issued its own statement Friday, noting that Hulette hasn’t worked for the company since 1992.

“We are saddened to hear of the death of Elizabeth Hulette. Miss Hulette played the very popular character of Miss Elizabeth in WWE from 1985 to 1992. She finished her career at WCW, from January 1996 through January 1999. We at WWE send our sincere condolences to Miss Hulette’s family.”

- “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, one of the most influential performers in the history of the wrestling business, made it official last week when he announced that he was stepping down as an active wrestler.

“In this business, I’ve learned never say never. But I would say probably 99.9 percent out of 100 that you’ll never see Rock and Stone Cold in the ring again. I’m not wrestling anymore. That was my last match,” Austin told the WWE Web site.

While it’s unlikely that Austin will “never” see action again, it does appear that his in-ring days are numbered and probably reserved for select high-profile events. Austin’s popularity began tapering off with his largely unsuccessful heel turn in 2001, which was followed by a number of personal and professional problems that led to his suspension last June. His recent return to the company has failed to live up to expectations, and a recurring neck problem led to his decision to retire.

“I’ve got some serious problems in my neck. It’s too long and too complicated to discuss. But a lot of the reasons I walked out of this company seven or eight months ago were things I didn’t want to talk about at the time because we had Wrestlemania coming up. The biggest reason I walked away was because my health is going downhill so badly, and I can’t compete at an acceptable level to me, and at a risk factor that’s high enough to me. Everything I do in that ring is very dangerous and makes me go even further downhill. It’s potentially something where I could end up being a quadriplegic. That was the biggest reason I walked out. The creative and the political issues were just icing on the cake – the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Look for Austin to be a constant thorn in the side of co-general manager Eric Bischoff. Among his first moves will be bringing back Jim Ross and Lita to Raw.

Even in a non-wrestling role, Austin remains a drawing card and should be fully utilized to pump up the company’s sagging house show attendance. WWE can turn a negative into a plus by using Austin to create another superstar, possibly in the Austin mold.

- Stampede Wrestling’s return to Calgary Friday night not only marked the promotion’s 50th anniversary, but also the 88th birthday of Canadian mat legend and Hart family patriarch Stu Hart.

Harry Smith, grandson of Hart and son of the late Davey Boy Smith, teamed with T.J. Wilson in the main event against Black Dragon and A.J. Styles.

- Bret Hart wrote a touching tribute to his father, Stu, in the Calgary Sun.

“Make no mistake about it, even considering the many wrestlers of all shapes and sizes who I’ve locked up with from near and far, Stu Hart is the toughest man I’ve ever known,” wrote Hart. “But he is also the most fair and compassionate man and an indulgent parent to 12 children. My father has iron hands that have brought down giants – but these same hands have also gently cradled wounded birds and stroked the dogs and cats that follow him from room to room.

“My father is a man of gentle strength. He takes a common sense approach to life that enables him to keep a calm head when things go wrong or to unleash his harder side when he deems it necessary. It’s a balance I may not have understood as a young boy but that I quickly came to respect.”

- Former WWE star Jeff Hardy, now focusing on a musical career, is the lead singer of his band Peroxwhy?gen. WWE performer Shannon Moore is listed as handling programming and backing vocals.

- Bradshaw (John Layfield) came to the defense of Triple H in a recent article on the WWE Web site.

“Triple H came into this company years ago with an above-average build and above-average ring ability. His body has become the best in the business; he has become one of the best workers in this business. What is it that you guys who write bad things hate about him?

“Look at the facts. Triple H was here when Steve Austin was out injured, The Rock was making movies and Undertaker was hurt. Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho, Brock Lesnar and Kurt Angle weren’t here yet; Kane was also injured during this time. So Triple H had to carry the ball in a very hard spot, and he did a great job. He was the whole show several times, because he was the only one at the time capable of doing it. So those of you who have written bad things, keep writing. You guys love to be negative, but at least be honest about the facts.”

Miss Elizabeth

By Mike Mooneyham

May 2, 2003

Liz Hulette, known to a generation of pro wrestling fans as the lovely “Miss Elizabeth,” died early Thursday morning after being rushed to the hospital from an Atlanta area home she shared with veteran wrestler and longtime companion Lex Luger.

Rescue workers had responded to a 5:30 a.m. 911 call concerning a “sick woman” at Luger’s Marietta town home. According to police reports, Hulette, 42, was unresponsive, and was transported to Kennestone Hospital where she later died. Authorities have not yet determined the cause of death. Police, awaiting an autopsy report from the county medical examiner, said there were no immediate signs of foul play.

Luger, 44, whose real name is Larry Pfohl, was arrested late Thursday afternoon after authorities found a controlled substance in his home during their investigation. He is not, however, being held in connection with Hulette’s death.

Authorities had responded to a domestic disturbance call at the residence on Easter Sunday, during which Luger was arrested for allegedly beating Hulette, according to a police report. Hulette, who sported a black eye when she was found by police, claimed at the time that she had slipped while playing with the family dog.

Luger was out on a $2,500 bond in connection with that incident when he was re-arrested Thursday on the illegal substance charge. He was cited with violation of the state’s controlled substance act and was taken to Cobb County Jail. He is scheduled to appear this morning in the Cobb County Magistrate Court and is expected to be released on bond following the hearing.

Hulette, a former Miss Kentucky, met future husband “Macho Man” Randy Savage (Randy Poffo) during the late ’70s while both were working for the Lexington, Ky.-based International Championship Wrestling promotion run by Savage’s father, Angelo Poffo. The two joined the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) in 1985 and became one of the company’s most successful acts. With “Miss Elizabeth” serving as Savage’s valet and manager, the two turned their real-life marriage into an on-air storyline that captivated the wrestling audience.

Billed as “The First Lady of Wrestling,” the brown-haired beauty took part in one of televised wrestling’s magical moments when she exchanged vows with Savage in a highly publicized ceremony at the 1991 Summer Slam pay-per-view. In reality, the two already had been married for several years, and by this time their real-life union was falling apart. The two subsequently ended their eight-year marriage in 1992.

After taking a break from the wrestling business, Hulette, following the lead of other former WWF superstars such as Savage and Hulk Hogan, joined the Atlanta-based World Championship Wrestling during the mid-’90s.

Her second marriage, to a South Florida attorney in 1997, lasted less than a year. Luger, who hasn’t wrestled on a full-time basis since leaving WCW in 2000, owns the Main Event Fitness Club in Marietta that he once operated with Sting (Steve Borden), who sold his interest in the facility several years ago following a falling out with his former partner.

Luger, one of the few remaining WCW holdouts who has yet to receive an offer from WWE, was accompanied by Hulette when he worked overseas on the latest World Wrestling All-Stars tour last December.

Randy Savage released the following statement on his Web site Thursday:

“I am deeply saddened by this news, and our thoughts and prayers are with Elizabeth’s family.”