C.M. Punk

By Mike Mooneyham

July 22, 2007

It could have been the highlight of his career. But the match never happened.

CM Punk was scheduled to face Chris Benoit for the vacated ECW world title on the evening of June 24 at WWE’s Vengeance pay-per-view in Houston. Benoit, of course, never showed. The following night Punk and the other superstars of WWE received the chilling news that Benoit, one of the most respected performers in the company, had allegedly killed his wife and his 7-year-old son before taking his own life.

Punk, like the rest of his colleagues, was stunned and saddened.

“Mind, you, when I first heard, there were no details. I was pretty sad. I was disappointed because I was supposed to wrestle him at the pay-per-view. I guess I was confused and disappointed. Obviously my confusion would grow the next day.”

The tragedy hit Punk especially hard since he grew up a fan of Benoit.

“I was always a huge fan of Chris Benoit and was extremely influenced by him and his work ethic,” says Punk. He says he was even more flattered when he first met Benoit, and the Canadian-born wrestler told the youngster that he was a fan of his.

“That paints a picture of who Chris Benoit was. He was a student of the game. He was a student when he really didn’t need to be anymore.”

But, says Punk, Benoit was first and foremost a teacher.

“I think that’s the relationship he and I had. We were buddies, and he’d go out of his way to talk to me. Not only about wrestling, but about the music I liked and what was going on in my life. He took care of everybody in the locker room. He asked questions, and he wanted to know what was going on with everybody.”

Benoit was a product of the old school of wrestling, a graduate of Stu Hart’s infamous dungeon facility in Calgary, and knew when to push the right buttons, says Punk.

“He could also be very stern. I remember staying late many times cleaning up the locker room. But I did it not just because I had to do it, but because it was what needed to be done.”

The 28-year-old Punk says Benoit was constantly giving him advice.

“He always told me to push myself. He told me that no matter how hard I worked, I could always do better. He’d tell me when my match wasn’t good and what I did wrong. He trained with me. I would go to gyms and work out with Chris. It was always intense, and he would always be there yelling at me and pushing me. I was pushing ridiculous weight and doing extra reps. He always would settle for nothing but the best for myself.”

The tragedy has left Punk – and all his WWE counterparts – at a loss. He says he’s not sure what should be done. There are more questions than answers, and Punk says he wonders if anyone will ever know exactly what happened that fateful weekend in suburban Atlanta.

“An awful thing happened, and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it. I know the guy who did it … but I was friends with him. As far as answers go, I don’t think we’re ever going to find out exactly what happened. It’s not like we can crack open someone’s brain and analyze it and figure out why they did what they did.

“And honestly, me being the straight-edge guy, everyone’s jumping all over the steroids thing. If I’m not mistaken, he was on Xanax, but it was prescription level, and that was all on the up and up. But that stuff scares me. Anything that alters your feelings or anything like that … That’s precisely why I’m drug-free. I don’t even take Advil. I’m extreme with things, and I don’t preach to anybody about being straight-edge. I just tell people to live their lives like they want, but understand it’s a conscious decision. I’ve got no answers for anybody. I’m looking for some myself.”

Punk, whose real name is Phil Brooks, is a straight shooter inside and outside the ring who espouses clean living and what he calls a “straight-edge” lifestyle. He’s gritty and unorthodox yet grounded and disciplined, and is a strong advocate of being drug- and alcohol-free.

“I don’t do drugs, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink. I don’t do anything that would interfere with me trying to be a better athlete and a better wrestler. I can have fun without drinking and that kind of stuff.” There’s a reason, though, behind Punk’s chosen lifestyle.

“Growing up, my dad had a little problem with the alcohol,” says the Chicago native. “He wasn’t the typical alcoholic – he didn’t beat me, he wasn’t abusive to my mother. It was just something I saw. Even my mom would constantly have to have a glass of wine before bed. They both smoked like chimneys.”

Punk has spoken in schools and to children through D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) programs.

“It’s something I’m passionate about. I’m the perfect ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ kind of guy. I have full-sleeve tattoos, I got long hair, I got my lip pierced, I don’t shave. I look stereotypically like I might be doing and selling drugs. I’m honest about it. I know that. The fact is I’m not. When I was growing up and I had the D.A.R.E. program, to me it was kind of laughable because you had this cop who you couldn’t identify with talking to you and saying, ‘Hey, drugs aren’t cool.’ To a lot of kids that doesn’t cut it. I really don’t go in and preach to kids. I just tell them my story and I tell them there’s nothing wrong to saying no (to drugs). You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. You might get made fun of, but trust me, in the end it all works out.”

Punk, who meets Johnny Morrison (the former Johnny Nitro) for the ECW world title at tonight’s Great American Bash pay-per-view, says he’s gotten a push despite his size.

“I attribute it to work ethic and knowing what I’m doing. Pro wrestling is an art form, and I’ve always been an artist. I had a full ride to an art school that I neglected to take because I was busy wrestling. I definitely don’t think it’s the size of the guy. I’m a perfect example. I just work hard and I think I connect with the fans on some level. Whether it’s good or bad, I think I’m the kind of guy you either love or you hate, but there’s something about me that makes fans want to watch.”

Punk, who joined the company a little more than a year ago, says he’s enjoying the ride.

“Life’s good. It’s hectic, and I’m very, very busy. I lead a crazy lifestyle, but it’s good.”

He also likes working with Morrison. He sees himself and Morrison as the frontrunners in the ECW title picture, but adds that he has a “peculiar curiosity” about Big Daddy V (the former Viscera). “I think Matt Striker is shining as his mouthpiece.”

He also sees The Miz as a vastly underrated performer. “I think Miz gets a bad rap. I know when I first met Miz I hated his guts. But that’s Miz. But I think a lot of people maybe have that same story for me too. We don’t compromise who we are, and maybe we’re a little abrasive and out there when you first meet us. But he’s definitely underrated as wrestling goes.”

Punk also says he’s pleased with the way ECW has evolved.

“A lot of it has to do with the guys I mentioned. It has everything to do with talent. We’re all young and we’re all hungry and we all want to go above and beyond. You’re only going to get out of it what you put into it.”

Punk sees tonight’s match as the possible pinnacle of his career to this point. “Winning the world title would be like a big middle finger to everybody who said I’d never be anything. That’s kind of the way I live my life. I’m very goal-oriented. People said I’d never get a job. Boom – I got it. They said I’d never be on TV. Boom – I was on TV. Nobody thought I’d ever make it this far, but I’m just going to keep pushing forward and doing the best I can. There’s setbacks, but I just get back on my horse and ride and work harder and harder. Eventually the cream rises to the top.”

As far as a dream match, Punk says he would love to square off with current WWE champ John Cena. If he could pick his all-time favorite opponent, it would be the late Jumbo Tsuruta in his prime.

“I’m a huge Japanese wrestling fan. Jumbo Tsuruta is one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. I’m sure a lot of the younger guys don’t know who in the hell he is, but they should. That’s just a pick off the top of my head, but who’d pass on (Ric) Flair in his prime?”

- Hermie Sadler and his UFW (United Wrestling Federation) crew delivered another top-notch show Thursday night at Rick Hendrick Jeep Chrysler. The only major setback was the no-show of Ricky Morton, half of the original Rock ‘N Roll Express, for whom last weekend’s three-city weekend tournament was named.

Morton reportedly backed out of the event due to a financial dispute. According to a post by Tracy Smothers, Morton requested more money after finding out what his partner, Robert Gibson, was receiving.

“He was not even booked to appear until he was already listed on the advertisements. He did not know he would be teaming with Robert until he gave Sadler the info to contact him,” according to Smothers’ post. “Then he learned that Robert was going to be making three times what he had agreed to work for. Ricky didn’t feel that it was fair for him to have ‘to carry Robert’s fat (behind) again’ by doing all the work and all the talking while Robert stands in the corner making three times what Ricky was supposed to get. He discussed the issue with Sadler in an attempt to resolve the issue before deciding to cancel his appearance. He felt that he was disrespected by Sadler and has no interest in working for him again. He is sorry about having to disappoint the fans that were looking forward to seeing him.”

Sadler was also disappointed and upset that Morton bowed out at the last minute.

“Since Ricky Morton decided to offer a public statement on his decision to cancel his appearance on our shows this weekend, I wanted to make one to clear the air about what happened,” countered Sadler. “I contacted Ricky over two months ago and told him that we wanted to do a tag-tournament in the honor of the Rock ‘N Roll Express. I asked Ricky if he was OK with it, invited him to be on the shows, asked him what he wanted me to pay him, agreed to the full price he gave me and made a deal with him. I called him back the following week and told him I thought it would be neat for the Rock and Roll Express to wrestle in the tournament, and he gave me Robert Gibson’s number to call him.

“Just as I did with Ricky, I called Robert and asked him to be on the shows and tag with Ricky in the tournament. I heard nothing out of Ricky until this week. He called me Monday and asked me if I had gotten in touch with Robert. He called me Tuesday and wanted to make sure I had reserved him a hotel room. He called me Wednesday and said he may have to be late to the Friday show in Myrtle Beach as his son had fallen and he needed to take him for a CAT scan. Then yesterday (Friday), while Earl Hebner and I were driving to Charleston, he called me and said he was not coming to work the show for our agreed price. I could not make out much of what he was saying but he seemed agitated.

“The bottom line is that we made a deal for him to work three shows for us and for he and Robert to present the trophies to the winners Saturday night in Columbia. He called me the day of the show and wanted more money and canceled. I guess he thought we would do whatever he wanted. Other than for injury, this is the first time someone we advertised for our shows did not appear. I personally apologize to our fans for this unfortunate incident.”

- George’s Sports Bar, 1300 Savannah Highway, will air the Great American Bash pay-per-view at 8 p.m. tonight. Cover charge is $7.

- Old School Championship Wrestling will hold a show July 29 at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek. Top matches are Malachi vs. Sixx for the title of Hardcore King, and The Foreigners vs. The Armed Forces. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8. Kids 12 and under is $5. For more information, call 824-1477.

- Wrestling For Jesus will hold a benefit show Aug. 25 at B&H Banquet Hall, 1505 W. North St., Summerville. Among those performing will be former NWA world champ Ron ‘The Truth’ Killings, Chris Hamrick, Dynamite Dave, T-Money and more. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $12, and children under 6 are free. For advance tickets or more information, call Willie Atkinson at 926-5774.

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/2009/11/08/hello-world/feed/ 0 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/2009/11/01/hogan-again-in-spotlight/ http://www.mikemooneyham.com/2009/11/01/hogan-again-in-spotlight/#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/2009/11/01/hogan-again-in-spotlight/feed/ 0 http://www.mikemooneyham.com/2007/12/30/benoit-tragedy-mars-year/ http://www.mikemooneyham.com/2007/12/30/benoit-tragedy-mars-year/#comments Mon, 31 Dec 2007 01:24:31 +0000 mlong http://www.mikemooneyham.com/?p=1656

Chris and Nancy Benoit

By Mike Mooneyham

Dec. 30, 2007

The pro wrestling industry will not soon forget 2007.

Never before in the history of the business has one story garnered such mainstream attention as the Chris Benoit double murder-suicide in late June. It was a gruesome, grisly tragedy that far transcended professional wrestling, yet its link to the business added another dimension that made the story even more sensational.

The face of pro wrestling would forever change the day the 40-year-old Benoit, wife Nancy and 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their suburban Atlanta home. The wrestler, who had been universally respected for years as one of the most accomplished performers in the business, took his own life by hanging himself after strangling his wife and suffocating his son. Bibles were placed near the bodies. The horrific incident drew a staggering level of public interest in the days and weeks that followed.

The story opened the floodgates for serious discussion and action concerning a number of hot-button topics including steroids, painkillers, concussions and congressional hearings. Benoit’s extensive use of steroids and prescription medication exposed loopholes in WWE’s drug-testing policy and drew media scrutiny.

The ramifications of the Benoit rampage are still being felt, and most likely will for years to come.

A nasty legal battle is expected in the wake of WWE’s recent rejection of a deal offered by Benoit’s estate. WWE has adamantly insisted that it had absolutely nothing to do with the Benoit tragedy, and balked at paying $2 million to Benoit’s two surviving children from a previous marriage. The Benoit estate would have renounced any future claims against WWE in exchange for the settlement.

Medical experts in September detailed the many concussions Benoit suffered over the years while performing. The tests showed that Benoit’s brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient. The research team claimed the damage was the result of a lifetime of chronic concussions and head trauma suffered while Benoit was in the wrestling ring.

Michael Benoit, overseeing his son’s estate, alleges the WWE knew of the head injuries, but failed to provide treatment to any of their performers or much-needed rest. He believes years of head trauma his son suffered while in the ring contributed to the killings.

“Had the WWE taken the slightest interest in its wrestlers – before it became the object of the interest of district attorneys and Congress – there is little doubt that Chris Benoit and his family would still be with us today,” Cary Ichter, Michael Benoit’s Atlanta-based attorney, recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative publicity, WWE has weathered the storm, finishing the year strong with plans for major worldwide expansion in 2008.

- Among those celebrating birthdays last week were Bill “Masked Superstar” Eadie (60), Bill Goldberg (41), Joanie “Chyna” Laurer (38), Dennis “Mideon” Knight (39) and Lanny “The Genius” Poffo (53).

- Among the many wrestling personalities we said goodbye to in 2007: Harry “Cowboy” Lang (Jan. 4, age 56); Cocoa Samoa (Ulualoaiga Onosai Tuaolo Emelio) (Jan. 9, age 62); Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow (Jan. 19, age 45); Bob Luce (Feb. 8, age 70); Jim Melby (Feb. 11, age 57); Mike Awesome (Mike Alfonso) (Feb. 17, age 42); Ray “Thunder” Stern (Walter Bookbinder) (March 6, age 76); Bad News Brown/Allen (Allen Coage) (March 6, age 63); Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd (March 11, age 68); Arnold “Golden Boy” Skaaland (March 13, age 82); Abe Coleman (March 22, age 101); Harold “Sonny” Meyers (May 7, age 83); Ferrin “Sandy” Barr (June 2, age 69); Sensational Sherri Martel (Sherri Russell) (June 15, age 49); Princess Tona Tamah (Tona Ford) (June 15, age 72); Nancy “Woman” Benoit) (June 22, age 43); Chris Benoit (June 24, age 40); Biff Wellington (Shayne Bower) (June 24, age 42); Moondog Nathan (Nathan Brian Randolph) (July 4, age 37); John “Eliminator” Kronus (George B. Caiazzo) (July 18, age 38); Ronnie P. Gossett (July 23, age 63); Tor Kamata (McRonald Kamaka) (July 23, age 70); Karl Gotch (Karl Charles Istaz) (July 28, age 82); Frank Butcher (Francisco Garcia) (Aug. 2, age 84); Bronko Lubich (Sandor Lupsity) (Aug. 11, age 81); Brian “Crush” Adams (Aug. 13, age 43); Dewey “Missing Link” Robertson (Aug. 16, age 68); Frank Fozo (Aug. 23, age 79); Karloff Lagarde (Carlos de Lucio Lagarde) (Sept. 1, age 79); Billy Darnell (Sept. 7, age 81); Enrique Torres (Sept. 10, age 85); Zack Murray (Sept. 23, age 61); Sean “Shocker” Evans (Oct. 2, age 36); Rey “The Great Kabooki” Urbano (Oct. 16); Lillian “The Fabulous Moolah” Ellison (Nov. 2, age 84); El Gran Markus (Juan Chavarria Galicia) (Nov. 15, age 68); Dave “Angel of Death” Sheldon (Nov. 24, age 54).

An upcoming column will take an in-depth look at one of those legends who left an indelible mark in the tag-team rich Carolinas territory during the ’60s.

Lex Lugar

By Mike Mooneyham

Dec. 23, 2007

America’s addiction to performance enhancement is one of the big stories coming out of 2007. And nowhere is that reflection greater than in professional sports.

The Barry Bonds debate, the George Mitchell opus, athletes shooting up with steroids and human growth hormone. The epidemic continues to sweep through American sports, and it’s unlikely that congressional hearings or all the hand-wringing in the world will change that fact. Sadly, as long as pro sports turn huge profits, it’ll be business as usual.

The fact that major league baseball and professional wrestling are rife with juiceheads is hardly a revelation. The drug infestation started long before Bonds began belting 450-foot blasts and Hulk Hogan became a colossus of the mat. And, like major league baseball, pro wrestling has not done a very good job of policing itself.

ESPN The Magazine senior writer Shaun Assael, in his latest book, “Steroid Nation,” describes how the muscle-enhancing substance has grown into the country’s most insidious drug addiction. The story is compelling and disturbing.

What’s even more alarming is that hundreds of thousands of teen-aged American athletes are likely using steroids at an age when the drugs are even more dangerous to the human body than they are to adults.

“These are kids using without medical supervision,” says Assael. “If you have a major leaguer who can afford to be monitored by a doctor, odds are that major leaguer isn’t going to do a whole lot to his health, at least for the short term. But kids are a whole different story. They’re putting synthetic stuff into their bodies at a time when their production is at its highest. It’s ludicrous.”

Sports, says Assael, is a reflection of society in general.

“What we’re seeing in baseball is what we’re seeing in society. Anti-aging medicine is one of the big boom areas. Just like Americans want to turn back the clock, so do our sports stars. The difference is that in sports, it’s competitive balance, and that’s why it’s such a thorny issue.”

But it’s not just performance-enhancing drugs. It’s also the powerful painkillers, prevalent in the physically and mentally demanding world of pro wrestling, that allow athletes to mask their constant pain from nagging injuries and endure the oppressive travel schedule and workload.

Lex Luger, who parlayed his chiseled physique into a lucrative 20-year wrestling career, recently told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he was “one of the biggest cheaters ever” and did whatever it took to sustain his abuse of drugs and steroids while in WWE and the now-defunct WCW.

Luger was the “Total Package,” a 6-5, 275-pound powerhouse and one of the biggest stars in the business, the man Vince McMahon once tabbed to be Hulk Hogan’s successor and the face of his company. He was the poster boy for an industry and audience enamored of artificially pumped-up success.

A decade later, the 49-year-old Luger is basically broke and a shell of his former self. A newfound contriteness allows him to readily admit that he was a pill-popper, an alcohol abuser and a convicted felon.

Luger, now a born-again Christian, told the Journal-Constitution that he was one of 700 patients – from a number of different sports – of a California doctor who would arrange for steroids and human growth hormones to arrive at his door chilled on ice. He says an oil-based testosterone cream that he rubbed into the body was like the “fountain of youth.”

Regular drug testing, says Luger, was hardly a deterrent. He claims he was never asked to strip when giving a urine sample, and would use clean urine in place of his own, or use Visine in his urine to mask the presence of drugs in his system.

Luger was a heartbeat away from suffering the same fate as scores of friends in the business had, and admits nearly overdosing dozens of times. He attributes a fast metabolism rate to saving his life on numerous occasions.

“I went in deep a bunch of times with pills and alcohol,” said Luger, whose real name is Larry Pfohl. “I was a pill-popper. And I abused alcohol toward the end, real bad. And I got caught with steroids in my house. I am a convicted felon. I deserved it. And I take accountability for that.”

“I am trying to help others avoid what happened in my life, and my family and friends that I devastated,” Luger told the ESPN Web site earlier this year. “I dishonored my profession. I dishonored my community, all because I couldn’t control myself and got this sick other lifestyle and drug abuse. I want to help our young kids stay away from that.”

Luger also harbors guilt for the death of his girlfriend, wrestling personality Miss Elizabeth (Liz Hulette), who died four years ago in the townhouse they shared. The cause, according to the coroner’s report, was “acute toxicity” brought on by a smorgasbord of prescription painkillers and vodka.

“I take a lot of responsibility for that – my influence in her life,” he now admits. “Her little heart and body couldn’t take what I was doing.”

Pro wrestling, says Luger, sells “bigger than life.”

“And bigger-than-life, what does that mean? A lot of chemically enhanced heroes and villains – guys my height and size or bigger. You can’t see that on the street every day. You have to buy a ticket to see that.”

“This is all about models for kids,” says Assael. “Wrestlers continue to define body image. That’s why wrestling remains in the cross hairs. We’re going to see, with congressional hearings, a whole new era of scrutiny.”

It’s difficult to single out wrestling in the steroids debate, says Assael, because of other issues such as drug and alcohol abuse.

“But I don’t know that there’s ever been a time when we’ve been this focused on this drug (steroids) in so many different areas – football, baseball, wrestling,” he adds.

Luger, whose hips have deteriorated, currently is recovering from a “spinal stroke” he suffered while attending a recent autograph convention in California. The stroke has left him paralyzed, and the prognosis is uncertain.

“I want everyone to continue to pray that God’s will be carried out through this time,” Luger said in a statement last month. “If God’s plan for me is to be a paraplegic, then I am seriously happy with that. God is in control, and since he is the creator, and I am the creature, then why should I question His decisions?”

The debate over regulation has already spilled over to state athletic commissions.

In Georgia, the Athletic and Entertainment Commission, better known as the boxing commission, is considering regulating pro wrestling in the state, although the WWE is exempt due to a 2005 statute that excluded groups with total assets of more than $25 million.

After protests from nearly 70 current and former wrestlers and promoters at a meeting Tuesday in Atlanta, the commission decided to wait 60 days until making a final decision on state regulations that would place tight restrictions and oversight on smaller wrestling promotions.

The proposed regulations, such as having paid medical personnel on hand for all events, would apply only to small-time wrestling operations. The board also wants to increase inspection of wrestlers and their organizations as well as banning any physical or verbal threats toward the audience and the use of too much grease lotion or foreign substances on a wrestler’s body.

“I think it went positive,” commission chairman J.J. Biello told the Journal-Constitution after the meeting. “We were looking for feedback. We’re open to looking at the rules and changing some things as long as it fairly represents the interest of the state and the fighters, or entertainers in this case. Our main concern is the health and safety of the performers.”

WWE representative John Taylor also was pleased.

“It’s good they listened to people who know the business,” said Taylor, an Atlanta attorney. “These rules they proposed are ridiculous.”

The WWE would not have been affected by the new proposals, but nevertheless let it be known earlier last week that the company would stop running shows in Georgia if the statute protecting them from regulations was removed. “If those regulation are applied to us, we won’t do Georgia,” WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt warned Monday.

NWA Anarchy owner Jerry Palmer was among those who argued that the new rules would put a financial chokehold on small wrestling organizations.

Furthermore, Palmer and others said, the proposed regulations would endanger wrestlers who would resort to performing in outlaw shows under no constraints.

Smackdown commentator and former world champ John Bradshaw Layfield will move into a role as a regular performer on Raw with his current feud with Chris Jericho. The program should make for some interesting promos and interplay between two of the company’s better talkers.

- “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, who helped usher in one of pro wrestling biggest boom periods a decade ago, turned 43 on Tuesday. The Texas Rattlesnake was instrumental in WWE turning the tide and winning its wrestling war with WCW.

- Last week’s Raw rating dropped back to a 3.5 after hitting a 4.2 the previous week for its 15th anniversary extravaganza.

- The planned finale for the anniversary show was to have Bret Hart put Vince McMahon in a sharpshooter as the show went off the air. Hart, however, turned down offers to appear on the show, and the revised version had Austin stunning McMahon followed by a beer bath celebration that included most of the evening’s participants.

- Latest plan for Wrestlemania 24 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando is Triple H vs. Batista. Edge vs. The Undertaker also is still on the table. And one would certainly hope that Ric Flair is in the spotlight as he attempts to win the gold one last time at the big show.

- Joanie Laurer, the artist formerly known as Chyna, is expected to be part of the cast for VH1′s upcoming Celebrity Rehab series. Dr. Drew Pinsky will host.

Season 4 Idol cast-off Jessica Sierra is the only celeb confirmed thus far. Other expected names are forgotten Baldwin brother Daniel, porn star Mary Carey and actress Brigitte Nielsen.

Chris Jericho

By Mike Mooneyham

Dec. 16, 2007

The jury is still out on the return of Chris Jericho, but tonight’s Armageddon pay-per-view could play a big role in determining exactly where his push leads.

WWE brought back Jericho last month in a move the company hoped would help fill the void created when its top star, John Cena, was sidelined with an injury that is expected to keep him sidelined until after Wrestlemania. Jericho essentially has replaced Cena in his spot and has been heavily pushed as the No. 1 challenger to WWE champion Randy Orton.

While it’s still too early to judge Jericho on his impact since returning, WWE officials will be closely watching his title match with Orton at tonight’s pay-per-view. It will mark Jericho’s first major bout in more than two years and his first big test since returning to WWE. Jericho has had only two TV matches since his return, and his usually over-the-top interviews thus far have not lived up to the company’s lofty expectations.

The 37-year-old Jericho said before returning to WWE that wrestling was no longer a be-all, end-all proposition for him. He’s financially set, and he made it clear that wrestling’s not something he has to do.

“I’ve been very smart with everything that I’ve done,” he told The Post and Courier. “I saved money and my compensation ever since I got paid a hot dog and a glass of orange juice. I put a quarter of the hotdog in the bank. I came into the business on my own terms, and I left the first time on my own terms. I’ll come back the same way, and I’ll leave the same way.”

Jericho may also have to overcome a small but vocal faction that feels the Canadian-born wrestler doesn’t have “the look” (size) to be a top-tier fixture. Jericho fought similar sentiment during his tenure in WCW in the mid-’90s.

- The much-maligned Carlito (Carly Colon) has rescinded his notice to WWE. A meeting with Vince McMahon at the recent Raw taping in North Charleston brought the two sides back together, with a renewed push in store for the second-generation performer.

Carlito made his WWE debut in 2004 by defeating John Cena for the U.S. title. He also took the Intercontinental title from Shelton Benjamin in his first match on Raw.

But WWE officials have argued that Carlito, son of legendary Puerto Rican star Carlos Colon, has failed to reach his potential, and in recent weeks he was relegated to doing jobs to the likes of midget performer Hornwoggle.

Carlito was highly vocal about his omission from this year’s Wrestlemania, complaining in one interview, “Apparently, they had to make space for Kane vs. Khali and Melina vs. Ashley.”

Sources say the technically sound Carlito is out to prove the WWE brass wrong. He took a step in the right direction with a critically acclaimed performance in his ladder match with Jeff Hardy last Monday night on Raw.

- Pro wrestling may be coming under the radar again with last week’s findings of a report by former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell that chronicled steroid use among major league baseball players.

The Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection will hold a hearing Jan. 23 when the U.S. House of Representatives reconvenes for the second session of the 110th Congress. The hearing will explore issues relating to steroid use in professional sports, and that will surely include pro wrestling.

The Committee on Energy and Commerce opened an investigation into steroid use in professional wrestling in August in the wake of the Chris Benoit tragedy.

- Karen Angle suffered a broken foot at last week’s TNA tapings. The wife of TNA star Kurt Angle suffered the injury when she awkwardly fell while leaving the ring.

- Outspoken WWE world champ Batista took some verbal shots at Great Khali during a recent interview.

“I didn’t think he deserved the world championship. I don’t want to say it made me sick to my stomach to see the title in his hands, but it really did make me sick to my stomach.”

Carolinas great Abe Jacobs will be among those inducted next June into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Hall of Fame at the Dan Gable International Wrestling Institute and Museum in Waterloo, Iowa.

- Legendary wrestling manager Bobby Heenan was scheduled to undergo major surgery late last week.

Heenan’s jawbone was destroyed by radiation therapy to treat his throat cancer, and doctors planned to take bone from his shin and thigh to construct a new jaw.

- Former pro wrestling valet Nickla “Baby Doll” Roberts, the ex-sister-in-law of Jake “The Snake” Roberts, recently told Legends Championship Wrestling that Roberts has taken WWE up on its offer to pay for nine weeks of drug rehabilitation.

Roberts, who has a long and well-documented history of drug problems, last appeared in a WWE ring when he confronted Randy Orton prior to the 2005 Wrestlemania. He delivered a drunken promo at a TNA TV taping in 2006.

- Lines of the week come from Jim Ross, who was at the top of his game for Raw’s 15th anniversary show, while observing The Godfather and his entourage of ladies hit the ring: “Even (Pat) Patterson is smiling,” followed by “Hey King, I think I see your new ex-wife.”

- George’s Sports Bar, 1300 Savannah Highway, will air the Armageddon pay-per-view at 8 p.m. tonight. Cover charge is $7.

Ric Flair

By Mike Mooneyham

Dec. 9, 2007

The formula was to have been fairly simple for last week’s Monday Night Raw at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Ric Flair, the greatest performer in the history of the business, would make his first live local wrestling appearance in more than three years. The moment would be even sweeter considering he had returned to WWE a week earlier following a hiatus of several months. His promo on that week’s edition of Raw, which aired from his hometown of Charlotte, was the highlight of the show, and his non-title win over WWE champion Randy Orton drew one of the best numbers in months for the highly rated mat program.

Some local fans remained skeptical, however, recalling past WWE shows in which Flair was pulled at the last minute for storyline reasons (selling an injury) and off-camera circumstances (fallout over a highly publicized divorce and an alleged road rage incident in which charges were later dropped).

But this event, Flair followers reasoned, would be different. Vince McMahon’s “lose and you retire” stipulation was the beginning of a can’t-miss, Rocky-like storyline, with fans tuning in each week to see if the 16-time world champion could beat the odds. And while Charlotte may be the Nature Boy’s hometown, Charleston ranks a close second, being smack dab in the heart of Flair country.

Even of more import historically was that last Monday night most likely would have marked the 58-year-old Flair’s final match in Charleston, a town where he first laced up the boots back in 1974, making his appearance that much more special. With the plan calling for Flair to retire at Wrestlemania next March, another local showing before then would be highly unlikely.

There would be no early Christmas present for local wrestling fans Monday night. Flair, once again a victim of company politics and a contract dispute, was pulled from the show. Those in attendance at the North Charleston Coliseum were left wondering why in the world were they deprived – yet again – of seeing the beloved performer who helped define a generation of wrestling in this area.

Local response was fast and furious.

“I am incensed. I don’t understand,” said longtime fan Robert Ellington of Charleston. “We’re in Charleston, South Carolina, and this is Ric Flair country. Why did we not at least even see Ric Flair get a chance to cut a promo or do a run-in? Anything with Ric Flair would have been fine. It didn’t have to be a full match. We didn’t even get to hear him talk. I just don’t understand it. That was really a bad move. WWE needs to do better than that.”

Ellington said he hasn’t seen Flair in a live appearance since 2002 and was greatly looking forward to Monday night’s nationally televised event.

“It was a decent show, but it could have been that much better with Ric Flair. The pop would have been amazing.”

Greg Pitt of Charleston also voiced his displeasure with the decision to scratch Flair from the show. He harkened back to the days when Flair worked for WCW and often found himself the victim of backstage politics.

“When WCW – and mainly Eric Bischoff -were trying to bury his career, it made me extremely angry and sad. One year after WCW folded, it was great to see the Nature Boy back on TV, and this time getting the respect he so richly deserved. As usual, though, over time he’s put in a mid-card role and putting younger talent over. It’s tremendous for the younger talent because they launch their career by getting one over on the greatest professional wrestler of all time. On the other hand, year by year, Ric has done what’s best for the business only to be put down and not given what he deserves – one final title reign.”

Pitt also pointed to why Flair has had to play second fiddle to Hulk Hogan during their respective careers in WWE.

“Vince McMahon made the overrated, overpaid Hulk Hogan … but he didn’t make Ric Flair. Ric was already the best when he went to the WWF the first time. That’s the only reason why Vince gives Hogan more liberty and Ric less. It looks as if Ric’s last match will be at Wrestlemania. Unfortunately I probably won’t see it.

“Shame on Vince McMahon and the entire WWE for not doing the right thing for tradition and the business … No one can take away what Ric Flair means to this business, this part of the country and tens of thousands of fans.”

It should come as little surprise that Raw’s ratings, which held up nicely the previous week on the strength of Flair’s return, dropped to a 3.2 for last week’s lackluster show. With a strong Monday Night Football game between New England and Baltimore, combined with many viewers tuning out after realizing there would be no Flair, the numbers suffered.

WWE is rolling the dice with this week’s installment of Raw. The company is presenting a three-hour celebration commemorating Raw’s 15 years on their air, advertising such past and present WWE luminaries as Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Eric Bischoff and Lita (Amy Dumas). Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, one of the biggest stars in the company’s history, turned down an offer to appear on the show.

Flair is being listed for the special as part of an Evolution “one night only” reunion with Triple H, Batista and Randy Orton.

- WWE has extended its contract with USA Network for two more years. Its current deal, which expires at the end of September 2008, was renewed until September 2010. The contract includes two specials per year on NBC.

- It appears that Scott Hall’s short-lived stint with TNA is over. Hall no-showed the company’s Turning Point pay-per-view last Sunday night. He claimed to have had food poisoning. No one bought the excuse, however, and Samoa Joe buried him in a promo during the event.

Hall, 49, whose career has been beset by personal problems, most likely squandered his last opportunity to work for a major wrestling promotion.

- Old School Championship Wrestling will hold a show tonight at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek. Main event will be an elimination match for a chance at “King of the Ring.” Semifinal will be pit Josh Magnum against Roughhouse Matthews. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8 (kids 12 and under $5). For more information, call 743-4800 or visit www.oscwonline.com. X-Media Productions features wrestling commentary podcasts, including OSCW shows, at www.livefromthesunsetflip.com.

Mr. Kennedy

By Mike Mooneyham

Dec. 2, 2007

For a guy who’s destined for stardom, Ken Kennedy has had more than his share of ups and downs.

There’s no argument that the charismatic heel known as “Mr. Kennedy” is a top-tier player in WWE. But injuries and suspensions have come at the worst possible times for the 31-year-old Wisconsin native.

Some have even gone so far as to label it the “Kennedy curse.”

“John Bradshaw Layfield once told me that I have his (bad) luck,” said Kennedy, one of the featured performers on Monday night’s nationally televised Raw event at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Kennedy, whose real name is Ken Anderson and whose mat moniker was given to him by WWE owner Vincent Kennedy McMahon, has only been on the WWE’s main roster for two years. But his relatively short tenure has been marked by a strong push from management and a receptive fan base. The only thing missing is a long stretch minus the injuries and other distractions.

“I was building up some steam and momentum (in late 2005), and then I tore my lat (latissimus dorsi muscle) and was out for six months,” says Kennedy, who holds the dubious distinction of having the late Eddie Guerrero’s last match. “Then I came back and built up all sorts of steam and momentum, won the Money in the Bank at this year’s Wrestlemania and tore my triceps. They told me I was going to be out for seven months, but it turned out to be only a slight tear, and I was only out for a few months. But they took the Money in the Bank off me and put the title on Edge.”

His potentially biggest angle to date as the alleged illegitimate son of Vince McMahon was set to materialize earlier this year at a Raw in Green Bay. Shortly before the event, however, it was revealed that he had been suspended for 30 days for violating the company’s wellness policy. For storyline purposes, though, McMahon announced at the show that Kennedy had been suspended for impersonating a McMahon. The role of McMahon’s illegitimate son went to Hornswoggle.

What made the situation worse is that Kennedy had been very vocal defending the company in the aftermath of the Chris Benoit tragedy and the impending steroid scandal. Kennedy, who admitted taking steroids earlier in his career, had even told one media outlet that he quit taking the muscle-enhancing drug “because I knew that having a job with the WWE was way more important than the 10 pounds of extra muscle that the steroids gave me.”

Unbeknownst to Kennedy at the time, his name would later turn up on a list of clients of the Orlando-based Signature Pharmacy, a site that had been raided by law enforcement agencies in February for distributing steroids and other prescription drugs to clients who had not been examined by doctors. Between October 2006 and February 2007, according to documents, Anderson had received shipments of anastrozole, somatropin and testosterone.

Kennedy says he didn’t catch a lot of heat from the company when his name turned up on the list.

“I had a legitimate medical reason to have it,” he says. “How was I supposed to know my doctor’s a quack? I was injured and had a legitimate reason. I tore my lat in 2005. I had surgery, went home and had a staph infection that I almost died from. I lost about 45 pounds in about three days. I had a legitimate medical reason for having it, however my name turned up on that list. Vince and the company’s hands were tied. They had to suspend me.”

Kennedy says the incident was a learning experience for him.

“It’s one of those things. But stuff happens in this business. I’m going to learn from my mistakes. I’m not going to make that same mistake again. I’m just going to keep pushing on and moving forward.”

That being said, Kennedy agrees that stringent drug testing is a good thing.

“Change is always good in any business. This company has changed a lot since I got here. Things are a lot different in the locker room. The atmosphere is a lot different. It’s much different than it was 20 years ago.”

Kennedy claims the drug problem is not as prevalent as it was years ago in the wrestling business.

“I know a lot of people don’t want to hear this and it’s not the most popular answer with everybody, but a lot of the guys who have passed away come from that era when this business was a rock-star atmosphere. These guys lived like rock stars and they partied like rock stars. They did all the drugs. I’m not condoning drug use – anything in moderation is OK – but these guys went to the absolute extremes. It’s no wonder when you mix steroids with recreational drugs and alcohol … the combination of those three is a deadly cocktail. They’re experiencing heart problems and all kinds of other stuff. A lot of those guys are flat broke because of it.”

Kennedy, an avid Packers fan who grew up in a small fishing village in Wisconsin called Two Rivers, about 30 miles south of Green Bay, says he plans to take full advantage of his opportunity in WWE. The company loves his blue-collar work ethic, drive and passion for the business, and McMahon views him as a potential Wrestlemania headliner.

“I worked so hard to get here,” says Kennedy, noted for his unique gimmick of announcing his own ring introductions. “It wasn’t like I was an overnight success. I worked about 6 1/2 years on the independents and spent about six months down in Louisville for OVW. So I was in the business about seven years when I made my debut on WWE programming.”

Kennedy also feels like he belongs.

“I remember being younger in the business and thinking that when I get down to WWE I’m going to be so nervous, and that the first couple of years were going to be brutal. By the time I got here, I was so ready to be here and felt I deserved to be here, so it wasn’t a big shock to be here.”

Kennedy’s character in WWE, he says, is his actual personality with the volume turned up. His brash, arrogant ring demeanor is really just an extension of the person. He developed his mic skills while calling basketball games and starring in plays in high school.

“I always wanted to entertain people when I was a kid. I was kind of a class clown so it just kind of fit,” says Kennedy, who has a clown tattoo on his biceps, which he got at age 19 because he was voted class clown in high school and was always clowning around.”

He changed his name to Kennedy after a suggestion by Paul Heyman and a blessing from McMahon.

“When I sat down with Vince, he told me that he had no problem with the name Anderson, but there had been so many Andersons in the business. They were all legendary characters, and he didn’t want people to think I was related to them and riding their coattails. He wanted me to stand out and be my own entity.”

Kennedy initially wasn’t sold on the name change.

“I kind of thank him for doing that now, but at the time I was highly upset. My grandpa is a pretty old-fashioned guy, and it was a big deal that the Anderson name got to the WWE. But, in hindsight, it took me about three months to get used to calling myself Kennedy. Now I couldn’t imagine any other way.”

- Tickets for Monday Night Raw are $51, $41, $31, $26 and $21 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the North Charleston Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at (843) 554-6060.

- Dave Sheldon, who wrestled during the ’80s in Texas as Angel of Death, was found dead in his apartment last weekend in Bedford, Texas. Sheldon, 43, also teamed with Jack Victory in WCW as The Russian Assassins and appeared as one of the many Black Scorpions in that company. He broke into the business in southern California with Steve Borden (later known as Sting) and Jim Hellwig (later known as The Ultimate Warrior).

- Former WCW performer Hardbody Harrison (Harrison Norris Jr.) recently was convicted of charges including conspiracy, witness tampering, aggravated sexual abuse, forced labor and sex trafficking involving eight women.

Norris, 41, who acted as his own attorney during the high-profile two-week Atlanta trial, faces the potential of life in prison. He was portrayed during the trial as a predator who used his wrestling business to lure poor and vulnerable women into prostitution and forced labor.

Witnesses testified that Norris, a former Army sergeant and veteran of the Persian Gulf War, imposed a strict military structure, with each of the women assigned to a squad overseen by an “enforcer.” One witness testified that Norris beat or threatened them to keep control and that he threatened to throw one through a hotel window when she would not engage in sex with two customers.

- Old School Championship Wrestling will hold a show Dec. 9 at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek. Main event will be an elimination match for a chance at “King of the Ring.” Semifinal will be pit Josh Magnum against Roughhouse Matthews. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8 (kids 12 and under $5). For more information, call 743-4800 or visit www.oscwonline.com. X-Media Productions features wrestling commentary podcasts, including OSCW shows, at www.livefromthesunsetflip.com.

Dave Batista

By Mike Mooneyham

Nov. 25, 2007

Batista is enjoying the view from his enviable position atop the wrestling world. He’s the WWE world heavyweight champion, is coming off a pair of monumental victories over The Undertaker at recent pay-per-views and is one of the biggest names in the sports entertainment industry.

But it wasn’t always that way for the 38-year-old wrestling superstar, and the climb to the top took a heavy toll on his personal life.

Batista, whose real name is Dave Bautista, admittedly grew up on the wrong side of the tracks – in his case, the worst part of Washington, D.C., during the ’70s and ’80s, where murders were common, crack cocaine was just getting its start and homelessness was at its peak. It wasn’t a good environment, but it was home for Batista, an admitted loner who shoplifted, stole bikes, fought regularly and ran away from home.

Three murders occurred in his front yard before he was 9 years old, and he would carve out his own criminal past that included a conviction on a drug charge and an assault charge that was later overturned. His parents split when he was young, and his lesbian mother moved coast-to-coast to protect him from violence and keep the family together.

A passion for bodybuilding and a desire to do something better with his life likely saved him. That desire would evolve into a love for professional wrestling which Batista, at 6-5 and 290 pounds, had the size and look for. Despite the obvious advantage, there weren’t many good jobs in the business for someone starting out in his 30s, with very little training to his credit. The former bouncer discovered that harsh fact early on when he tried out at the WCW Power Plant but was told he would never make it in the wrestling business.

Batista, who has steadily climbed the ranks in the wrestling business since making his Ohio Valley Wrestling debut in 2000, persevered. The rest is history.

The painful truth

Batista would like to think he made the best out of a bad situation. He’s more than candid about his shortcomings and flaws, and goes into painful detail in his new book, “Batista Unleashed,” which he wrote with Jeremy Roberts. He comes clean about the choices he made and the devastating effects they had on his family.

“I’ve got a lot of them (flaws),” he jokes. “I’ve been pretty honest for the most part, which has gotten me in trouble a lot.”

Batista has regrets despite his success in the wrestling business. He left high school two credits short of graduating.

“Education is the most important thing you can get. I always preach that to my kids. I don’t want them like me … making a living with my body.”

But what about the fact that he’s one of the most celebrated performers in the industry today?

“That’s the thing. If I get hurt, I really don’t have anything to fall back on,” he says. “It’s a regret of mine. I did well in school. I’m not dumb by any means. I’m very capable. But back then I was struggling. I was struggling with my family life. School just wasn’t very important to me.”

Batista acknowledges that he stayed away from drugs and other addictions for the most part. His drug of choice was women, and that addiction cost him his marriage, destroying a relationship that had helped him climb from poverty to the pinnacle of sports entertainment.

“But I’ve pretty much worked that out of my system,” says the star of Greek and Filipino descent. “I can remember having a conversation with Chris Benoit. We were in a limo, and he was the first person in the world to ever point that out to me. I don’t want to say I was bragging, but we were talking about guys who were getting hooked on painkillers and drinking way too much, and how lucky I was not to have any of those problems. He pointed out that I did have one problem.”

“Everywhere you go, you’ve got a girl hanging around,” Benoit told him.

“It kind of hit me in the face. I had never really noticed it before. But everywhere I went I was flirting with a different girl. I don’t where all that started, because my wife was only the fifth woman I had ever slept with. I had never been promiscuous or a woman-chaser. I was actually pretty silent when it came to girls. It kind of hit me in the face then.”

Love of his life

His first marriage was a total failure, he says, and his two daughters, who he eventually was awarded custody over, were the only good things that came out of it. He calls his second wife, Angie, “the love of my life,” but he admits he made major mistakes. It was hard admitting his affairs and his marital infidelity, but it was easier putting his feelings down on paper.

Batista even dedicated part of the book to her.

In the beginning, before the big-money days, financial problems put a stress on the relationship, he says. He was rarely at home with his wife, and on the rare occasions he was, he’d be exhausted from the grind. She became distant, he says, and the relationship soured. They soon separated.

That was before the cancer.

By the time she received the diagnosis of ovarian cancer, which later migrated to her small intestine, she and Batista had split. The news of her condition, however, led to a reconciliation.

His illness put things back in perspective for Batista who, up until that point, could see little past his wrestling career. Her sickness, he says, woke him up. In a way, he says, it saved their marriage. At least for awhile.

The radiation and chemotherapy treatments were grueling. Angie lost her hair along with considerable weight. It devastated him to see her in that condition.

She gradually got better, and the two spent some time in Hawaii in between shows. But the problems with their marriage were still there. It was, says Batista, like acid eating away at them. She became more insecure, and he became more resentful. As Batista’s stature in the company rose, he says her insecurity worsened, which led her to drink. Soon after they split for good.

Batista readily takes his share of the blame for the split. He says he’d like to have done things differently.

“My wife is just an awesome girl. She deserved better.”

Closer than ever

In a totally unexpected way, he says, the book has brought them closer together.

“Since we had already talked about it and I had come clean to her, it wasn’t as bad. She was the only person I ever felt like I needed to apologize to. I love her, and I can never repay her for what she’s done for me. The funny thing is that we’re really closer than ever now. I gave her an early copy of the book and she read it. She actually said she learned a lot about me in the book, and she also got to see things in a different light. There were things she had never really taken into consideration before because we were so angry with one another. It just helped us get past a lot. We’re close again … actually closer than we’ve been in years.”

Barista rationalizes that being apart may be good for her. It may allow her to follow her own dreams. He’s helping pay for her to go back to school, and claims to have gotten a very easy divorce settlement. He says he doesn’t know what the future holds, but doesn’t rule out them getting back together at some point.

Although his life has become a dream, it’s not all perfect.

“I’d like to go back and correct the mistakes I’ve made, but I guess that’s all part of living your life. You’ve got one life to live, and you’ve got to go for it. But I miss the simple days … sleeping in your bed every night. I didn’t realize how good we had it. It was awesome just getting paid to go work out, and all the guys had a good camaraderie. But I wouldn’t go back.”

The best part of Batista’s job today is being a hero – someone who gives other people hope. In his book he recounts an experience in the Philippines where he was mobbed by thousands of fans as a car paraded him down the streets of Manila.

“It was a proud moment for me. And for them. Because I represent hope, good triumphing over evil, a guy overcoming bad stuff in his past to do the right thing and be successful at it.”

In other words, a lot like Dave Bautista.

Relationship with Melina

The current woman in his life is WWE diva Melina (Melina Perez).

“I was heartbroken after me and my wife split up, and I started dating other girls. I really fell for Melina,” Batista says.

Although he says his ex-wife thought he was sleeping with Melina right off the bat, while the two were still married, it wasn’t true. “It did make me feel guilty being friends with her.”

Batista ended up dating another WWE diva, Rebecca DePietro, who is no longer with the company. That relationship was short-lived, and he started seeing Melina again.

“I really fell hard for Melina.”

Their friendship wasn’t exactly a secret in the WWE locker room. “We’ve been open about it for a long time now,” he says.

The 28-year-old diva had dated the former Johnny Nitro (John Hennigan) – now John Morrison – since joining WWE.

“He (Hennigan) knew everything from day one. From the day we started talking,” explains Batista. “That was one of the things that a lot of people didn’t realize and didn’t bother to ask. Melina and John weren’t together anymore. He was always aware of what was going on, and she was very honest with him. They split up and moved apart, and we started dating each other. She still considers him her best friend in the world. But he always knew exactly what was going on.”

Batista also let Melina read beforehand what he wrote about her in the book.

“I still love her and am very in love with her. I wouldn’t put that out there if it were hurtful to her. I didn’t want to just throw her under the bus and put it out there without her knowing about it.”

The business, though, has even put a toll on their relationship.

“It’s been pretty rocky for us. A lot of it has to do with the business. It’s very hard to date in this business. We still talk on a daily basis, and there’s still a lot of love there. But we’re having a really hard time.

“Trying to have a relationship with anybody is hard enough, but trying to have one with people in this business, knowing what goes on, is difficult. New guys and girls coming out and coming in … it’s really hard.”

Steroids

Batista made the decision not to tackle the hot-button topic of steroids in his book.

“It’s a real touchy subject right now. We were afraid of what people would read into it. I thought it would be a better discussion for people to have with myself rather than reading it (in a book).”

And, for the record, his take on the steroids situation is that the issue is overblown.

“It’s become somewhat of a witch hunt. Our company has done everything it can to take care of it. Our wellness program is no joke and it’s serious,” says Batista, who has been tested at least a half-dozen times this year.

Batista, who is nicknamed “The Animal” due to his physical wrestling style and explosive fury in the ring, is fully aware that his chiseled physique has led a number of critics to paint him as a steroid abuser.

“They should have seen me 10 or 15 years ago when I was bodybuilding,” he laughs. “I don’t think I’m extraordinarily massive. If you put me next to a pro bodybuilder, you can see the difference in species. I’m a muscular guy, but I’ve been training with weights for a long time. There’s always going to be those people. It’s just one of those things you have to deal with.”

While he agrees that the steroids issue is an important one, he points to painkiller-type drugs as the source of many wrestling-related deaths.

“The wellness program is for the better. I think for the better not even so much as far as steroids. What scares me so much in our business is all the painkillers. They’re causing guys to overdose and die. That’s why I think this wellness program is such a great thing. The steroids is one thing, and I understand that they’re bad for you, but the main thing I think is causing guys to die young are those damn painkillers the guys are getting hooked on. I don’t use that stuff, mostly because I don’t like not having my wits about me, because I don’t want to be some zombie walking around and half out of it. I think you’d get that same sentiment around the locker room. It’s a lot more high-risk nowadays, and I don’t want to be in the ring with somebody who’s high.”

The Nature Boy

Few people have had as significant an impact on his life as 16-time world champion Ric Flair. Batista’s meteoric rise in the business really took off in 2002 when he was noticed by Flair. He says Flair’s mentoring turned him from a bodybuilder at heart to championship material.

Flair, his former Evolution stablemate with whom he shared the WWE tag-team title in 2004, schooled him on the intricacies of the business. Along with Triple H, he says, Flair put him on the fast track to becoming champion.

“The biggest thing I always tell people about Ric, and you know this to be true, is that’s he one of those guys who enjoys every second he’s alive. I’ve learned more about life than I have about this business from Ric. He taught me how to have fun on the road. A lot of times you just get stuck in airports, and you go to towns that, if it weren’t for wrestling, you’d never be there. I guarantee you he can find something good in any town he goes to anywhere in the world. He’s great with people. People gravitate to him, and he’s got such a strong life force. He’s someone you constantly want to be around. He just makes you feel good.”

Batista says Flair is in a class all by himself.

“He’s just got that special thing. It’s just magic what he’s got. I don’t think he even realizes what he does for people. I once wrote to him in a card that he taught me more about life … I just love him to death.” And Batista believes there’s a great storyline and at least one more major run for the “Nature Boy.” Flair is scheduled to return to WWE this week on Raw emanating from his hometown of Charlotte.

“I sure hope he doesn’t retire, because he’s got an awful lot of people who still want to see him perform,” says Batista. “I’d love to see Naitch get one more title run. I’ve sure been pitching for it. People will always pay to see him. He’s that good.”

- WWE will bring Monday Night Raw to the North Charleston Coliseum on Dec. 3. Ticket prices are $51, $41, $31, $26 and $21 (plus applicable fees) and are available at the North Charleston Coliseum box office, all Ticketmaster outlets or charge by phone at (843) 554-6060.

- Old School Championship Wrestling will hold a show Dec. 9 at Weekend’s Pub, 428 Red Bank Road, Goose Creek. Main event will be an elimination match for a chance at “King of the Ring.” Semifinal will be pit Josh Magnum against Roughhouse Matthews. Bell time is 6 p.m. Adult admission is $8 (kids 12 and under $5). For more information, call 743-4800 or visit www.oscwonline.com.