Counterfeit Pennies 3.10.03: Holy Feedback Forum, Batman!

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So what exactly happens when your column achieves spotlight status at 411mania?

Well, let’s just say the good folks at Yahoo! start bugging you incessantly to “Upgrade your Inbox space for just 9.95 per month!” the minute your free 4.0 MB limit approaches 90 percent usage. Yeah, you know, because I don’t have any other bills to pay, right?

If you do happen to run into this problem, I suggest creating another Yahoo! account to store your old emails, thereby avoiding any expenses they would like you to incur. (Eat that and a pack of yodels, you corporate ass clowns!)

In any case, I do want to sincerely thank those of you who took the time to chime in with your own thoughts about my previous column, which highlighted my Top 5 Most Memorable North American Wrestling Moments.

In fact, the bulk of this column is dedicated to all of you who sent me feedback email over the past week. I have reprinted as many of your comments as I possibly could manage to fit in here without being too excessive, along with my responses to your remarks. Last week really was a whole lot of fun for me, and I thought it would only be fair to return the favor. (What more can I say except I am just a firm believer in reciprocity?)

There’s some really good stuff down below about all different wrestling eras, personalities and storylines. If you do manage to weed through it all and get to the end, feel free to click on the feedback link and drop me a line about anything that is touched upon this week. I’m sure my Inbox will be cleared up by then.

Chris Biscuiti presents The Counterfeit Pennies Feedback Forum Re: Top 5 Most Memorable North American Wrestling Moments.

Mark Simpson writes:

Hello. Here are some of my favorite memories from American Wrestling:

– The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith wins the Intercontinental Championship against Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart in their classic SummerSlam 1992 match-up in my part of the world.

– Jerry Lynn finally becomes a world champion when he defeated Justin Credible at Anarchy Rulz 2000 in his home state to become the ECW World Heavyweight Champion.

– Cactus Jack losing the Retirement Match to Triple H at No Way Out 2000.

– The T.I.T. (Terri Invitational Tournament) Best of 5 or 7 series between Edge and Christian and the Hardy Boyz, and their magnificent Ladder Match

– The 2002 Royal Rumble with The Hurricane nearly choke slamming Triple
H and Stone Cold Steve Austin at the same time and Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig nearly winning the Rumble.

– The epic series of matches between Masato Tanaka and Mike Awesome over the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Their matches just got better and better.

– Goldberg destroying Hollywood Hulk Hogan to become the first ever undefeated WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

– The return of the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VIII when he rescued Hulk Hogan.

– The retirement match between the Ultimate Warrior and the Macho King Randy Savage at WrestleMania VII.

Hey Mark: Those are some great memories, and I definitely appreciate the eclecticism of your list. It’s no coincidence that every list I have received so far mentions at least one Mick Foley moment, while most others mentioned storylines that involved either the Harts, Davey Boy or Curt Hennig.

In fact, as of writing this column, WWE had a poll on their site right now asking fans just who we think is the greatest wrestling family of all-time. Right now the Harts have about 42 % of the vote. The scary part is that the Vachons have 0.80 % of the vote, which actually amounts to like 2,100 votes of the 330,000 who have been polled so far. I don’t know; I could just never forgive them for Luna’s horrible run.

You also made some good points about Royal Rumble 2002, and it got me thinking about WWE and their possible decision to get rid of the King of the Ring PPV following the PPV brand split that may happen. You see, I always looked at WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble as the best of the Big Five PPVs, while Survivor Series and King of the Ring have sort of fallen out of favor with me.

Survivor Series was better with the old school format of having the four on four tag matches, as I thought it was a creative way to spawn new feuds for the year while closing up others. King of the Ring has never sat well with me, because I feel like WWE is trying way to hard with the tournament to force new stars on us instead of letting them develop naturally. For example, I am a big fan of Edge’s and I always thought he had the potential to make it big in WWF/E. But when he won King of the Ring I almost looked at it as Edge and his potential being forced down our throats. It was like WWF was saying, “Look at Edge, Look at Edge! He’s going to be a main eventer NOW!” instead of letting him just gradually get developed to a point where he could then have some viable main event feuds.

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Christopher L Smyth II writes:

Hey Chris: You will notice a WCW spin on my top 5 moments but here they are:

5. Chris Benoit and Jimmy Snuka and Jeff Jarrett in a steel cage. One of my biggest mark out moments. Watching the flying head butt and the Snuka Splash from the top of a steel cage was great.

4. Goldberg beats Hulk Hogan at the Georgia Dome. Love him or hate him it was one of the most exciting nights on TV. The place was packed and the crowd was jacked. Bonus points for Heenan’s play by play.

3. Hulk Hogan defeats Andre the Giant. Enough has been said about this

2. (Tie) Austin/Mc Mahon and the formation of the NWO. Created many great TV moments one of the best from each Austin makes McMahon wet himself and Piper calls out Bischoff.

1. Ric Flair appears on WWF television with the WCW title. Way before shoot interviews and evil owners. Ric Flair walks onto WWF TV with the big gold belt. This was more impressive because at this time WWF ignored the past of other wrestlers and refused to acknowledge other feds even existed.

Honorable mentions…

The gun incident between Austin/Pillman
The Revolution jumps to RAW
DX invades WCW
Bischoff invites McMahon to WCW for a fight
Mr Snuka meet Mr Coconut
Rick Rude appears on ECW syndicated TV, WCW Nitro, WWF Raw in same week. (Raw/Nitro the same night)

Thanks for letting me share
Christopher Smyth
Louisville, KY

Hey Christopher: Thanks for the email and the thoughtful response. You’re the second person to mention the Snuka Coconut bit from Piper’s Pit. Man, that definitely ruled.

As far as the memories, I must say that I couldn’t agree with you more about Flair showing up on WWF programming with the NWA belt in hand. I think the reason that WWF acknowledged Flair’s past was because The Nature Boy was so identifiable to begin with before his time in WWF that they were never going to claim he was home grown talent in the first place.

Another reason that WWF acknowledged Flair’s past, of course, is because I’m sure they jumped at the opportunity to stick it to NWA by showing everyone how they stole their “Real” World’s Champion away.

It’s funny, ’cause when of my rare memorable boxing moments was when Riddick Bowe actually threw one of his heavyweight championship belts into a trash basket at a press conference, rather than fight someone (I believe it was Lennox Lewis, but I may be mistaken) he deemed undesirable. I guess there’s just something about title belts that fascinates us, whether they are earned or written into a storyline.

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Joe Traupman writes:

Here is my top 5 moments in wrestling history

5: Hebner screws HHH out of the title but then is forced to reverse the decision…When Hebner fast counted and Jericho won the world title I was literally jumping up and down in my living room. To me Jericho is the man and he worked the opening promo perfectly to challenge for the title. HHH actually worked the match as a good heel by pissing good old earl off and then Hebner made the fast count. Too bad it didn’t last but it was awesome

4. Kurt Angle drives a milk truck into the ring and drenches WCW. Now this wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for the beer truck thing, but to me this was ten times funnier. Also it shut Stephanie from singing with that god-awful voice to Austin during Austin Appreciation Night. Just drenching Austin and the rest was great, but when he started chugging down the milk, it was just Kurt being Kurt. Kurt Rules!

3. Benoit vs. Hart in the Owen Hart Memorial match or something like that, which is still probably the best match I have ever seen on Nitro. They put on a clinic, and the closest we have gotten to that match is Angle/Benoit. I mean the whole time I knew Bret was winning the match but I just didn’t care.

2. Hogan joins the nWo. This was the first WCW PPV I have ever gotten and when it was over me and my cousin just stared that the screen in disbelief. I never saw it coming! I think Easy E takes credit for coming up with this idea but Hogan made the thing work Too bad Vinnie Mac had no clue how to use the nWo when it came over to the E.

1. Mick Foley beats The Rock for his first world title. I still get goose bumps when I talk about this. Mick gave his all every match no matter if 20 people or 20,000 people where watching. He wasn’t the most athletic, he wasn’t the best wrestler in the world, hey sometimes his mic work never even made sense but everyone in the arena that night, and watching on TV wanted him to win that match. Plus he put on the greatest shoot comment at the end, but not a bad one thanking his wife and his kids, who ended up balling there eyes out at the royal rumble a few weeks later after 15 chair shots! D-X and the Corporation fighting on the outside, and then the Austin interference, the 1, 2, and the 3! The 3! Mick Foley was a world champion!!

We need more people like Mick in this world.

Hey Joe: Thanks so much for the email and the fond thoughts. Man, even though it was one of my own memories, I still got chills reading you recount your memory of Mick’s first title win. As you know, I am such a huge fan of Mick’s, and it just feels really good to come across someone else who understands why he was such an amazing presence in WWF: because he was so real.

I was actually watching the Series Finale of “Oz” yesterday, and in the closing epilogue Augustus Hill, who has been our narrator since the beginning, reminds us why we are so fascinated about how life unfolds in the first place. He tells us that how we die is unimportant, but rather it’s the “Who?” and the “Why?” part that we are drawn to because that’s the human part. I think Mick was special because he represented the core elements of that human part we are simply drawn to through his baby face Mankind persona.

I, too, wish there were more people like Mick Foley in the world.

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W. Patrick Curry, a.k.a. “The Pat” writes:
Hey Chris: Sweet column. Allow me to throw my hat into the ring, so to speak. The great thing about this is that it is the Top 5 MOMENTS, so no matter what you think about what happened prior or subsequent, it is the moment that stands out.
5) “The Wind Beneath My Ring”/Milk Truck incident. Watching Stone Cold’s head bouncing over the words of that ridiculous song on the Titan Tron while Stephanie McMahon screeched the words sent me into a fit of maniacal laughter that I could not control. Having Kurt Angle then drive to the ring in a Milk Truck (which Shawn Stasiak then, literally, ran into) and hose down the entire Alliance in milk was a brilliant homage to your afore-mentioned beer truck episode. That bit made the entire botched Invasion angle worth it for me.
4) The Return of the Horsemen. I was such a huge Horseman fan. Dressing Benoit, Malenko, Mongo, Arn, and Flair up in tuxes on Nitro with such pomp and ceremony really made it feel like something great was happening. It really nailed home what a storied group the Horsemen were. Of course, they did nothing with it, but don’t get me started. But Flair cutting that shoot promo where he says, “Eric Bischoff…I hate your guts!” and then yelling “Fire me, I’m already fired! Fire me, I’m already fired!” as they cut to commercial was priceless.
3) ECW reforms on RAW. Like you said, the swerve was wasted. But to this day, I don’t think I have ever popped as hard. I remember the ECW wrestlers slowly turning around and then slowly putting it together in my head: “Wait a minute…they’re all ECDub!!” That followed by Heyman getting up from the announce table, making his way to the ring, and cutting a sweet promo was easily the best swerve I’ve ever seen. “This invasion has just been taken TO THE EXTREME!”
2) Jericho arrives in the WWF. Now THAT was a debut. The Rock is cutting a promo and all of a sudden the Millennium Clock pops up on the Titan Tron and counts down to zero. The place goes dark and you can feel the electricity. The music hits and then the name is displayed on the screen: JERICHO. And the arena exploded. I mean exploded. Two great promos later (one by Jericho, the other by the Rock), and you just made yourself some fantastic TV.

1) Foley gets off the stretcher and heads back to the ring. Everyone who speaks of that Hell In The Cell match always mentions the flight off the top of the cage, then the drop through the cage, and the thumbtacks. But the one thing that stands out most in my mind is Foley making his way back to the ring. I was in absolute awe. I was also really drunk. Everyone was completely freaked about Mankind getting chucked from the cage and I was sure he was broken in 17 places. Seeing him get off that stretcher and finishing the match was one of the most surreal things I’ve ever seen.
So, that’s my top 5. This was harder than I thought. Moments like the end of the Hart/Austin match at WM13, the Piper/Snuka coconut incident, Jeff Jarrett hitting Gary Coleman with a guitar, Hogan face to face with Andre at WM3, and Mr. Perfect getting some guy in his underwear to pose like Lex Luger and then chopping him all really stand out in my mind, too. Too bad you didn’t do a top 10.

Hey Pat: Your email was just such a fun read. I really appreciate the time you took to recant your memories, and I must say the Jericho debut is something I received a lot of emails about. My brother Matt, who writes for the 411mania Music section, is actually a HUGE Jerichoholic, and the only reason he even started watching WWF programming again was because Jericho interrupted The Rock on that fateful night.

I have admit: It was simply mesmerizing to see Jericho come out and actually hold court with a great mic guy like Rocky, and Y2J really laid the foundation for a long and prosperous WWF/E run as a result of that introductory vignette.

While Mick is indeed my all-time favorite, I would have to say that Jericho right now is my current favorite. He is consistent both in the ring and on the mic, and I just love his character’s unpredictability.

I remember when Y2J tied Chyna down and actually laid into her hand with a hammer around the same time they were Co-Intercontinental Champs, and I’ll never,
everrrrr, forget Jericho beating The Rock and Austin in the same night to win the Undisputed Championship.

When do you think will be the next time Austin and Rock both lose their matches on the same PPV let alone to the same wrestler?

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Robert writes:

Your list is OK, but ignores anything before 1990…here are some PRE 1990 watershed events:

5: Kerry Von Erich defeating Ric Flair in Texas Stadium for the NWA title in front of 40,000, circa 1984. Not widely known, as most wrestling fans today were in diapers (if even alive) when this happened.

Great crowd, great match, Von Erich clotheslines Flair after a Flair Flip, and a couple of discus punches later, 40,000 fans go home happy! (Although Von Erich dropped the belt back to Flair shortly thereafter.)

4: Ultimate Warrior over Hogan. Who says Hogan never jobbed? OK, well it was so he could go make really bad movies, but go watch the tape and find a crowd that was more into a match than that one!

3: The Four Horsemen hold all the cards. Ric Flair holds the Heavyweight Title, Ole and Arn hold the Tag belts and Tully Blanchard holds the TV title. NOBODY got heat like these guys!

2: Hogan over Andre the Giant in Toronto: 93,000 fans can’t be wrong. The zenith of Hulkamania! Hogan gets props from me for just picking up Andre!

1: Thunderlips battles heavyweight boxing champ Rocky Balboa to a draw. Sure, it was a movie, but that clip put Hulk Hogan over, and led to his victory over the Iron Sheik for his first WWF title. More responsible than anything for Wrestling’s rise in the 1980s.

Hey Robert: I think you have a very, very good point about Hogan’s appearance in the Rocky series and what that meant to WWF at the time. That was a really good catch on your part and I definitely give you credit for having a perspective beyond just the scope wrestling.

I also appreciate your list of pre-1990 memories. Thanks again.

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Furry writes:

Hey, interesting picks. Don’t think I’ve ever seen someone pick a moment involving the Ultimate Warrior sans WrestleMania VI. But I’ll take it. And here is mine (Keep in mind I’ve been watching since 1992, everything prior to that is just tapes I’ve seen):

5) Triple H Costs Stone Cold The WWF Title – First off, a great match. Kurt Angle defending his Heavyweight Championship against the rattlesnake. Unlike some Raw main events, you actually believed Austin could win the title. They told an amazing story, and it was one of my favorite Austin matches in recent years. But the moment afterwards is why I’m writing. Just as Austin seemed to have a three-count secured, none other than Triple H pulled the referee out of the ring. He dragged the referee away and Austin just gave up on Angle. He forgot about his match and invited Triple H back into the ring. The tension was amazing. I can only imagine how it must have to be in the arena. They came to blows and the crowd went wild.

4) The 1999 Royal Rumble – Confused? This wasn’t a spectacular show by any means, but it took place at the Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim. Which is only a few hours away from my home. So, I got to go, and what an experience. I’d only been to house shows before. In one night, I saw thirty-plus superstars. Austin, Rock, Foley, HHH, Owen, and Kane were all big then. And in reflection I got to see one of the Hardys take on Christian in a dark match, I saw Edge, I saw Golga. (One of those was a joke)

3) Bret Hart / Owen Hart’s Feud Before WrestleMania X – This was just great stuff. I’m including all of it. The initial argument at the Survivor Series. The interviews leading up to the Rumble tag match: Owen challenging Bret to step up to the plat, Bret saying that under no circumstances would he ever fight his brother. The Rumble match itself, where Owen kicked Bret’s “leg out of his leg”. LOL. The match at WrestleMania was a classic, but it was actually an interview before that that I love. Vince McMahon conducted a rather calm interview with Bret about his Mania match against his brother. And Bret, in an extremely somber tone, responded, “Owen wants the big match? He wants a fight? I’ll give him a fight . . . I’ll give him a damn good fight.” It doesn’t sound like much, but Bret never seemed more sincere. He conveyed sadness about wrestling his flesh and blood, but also confidence that he would overcome. The interview just seemed so real. It wasn’t over the top. Just a man thinking about what he has to do. It is still one of my favorite promos.

2) Shawn Michaels’ Return Match At SummerSlam 2002 – I am the biggest Heartbreak Kid fan. If you doubt, ask about my tattoo. (He signed my arm in September, and I had it tattooed) Well, the weeks leading up to this match against Triple H, I was more excited than I’d been in a while about my favorite sport. And watching the pay-per-view from my home with a dozen or so friends, I was hyped up. But nothing prepared me for when his music hit. As the confetti fell, no one else was in the room anymore. It was just me, witnessing the showstopper. The main event. The icon. I sometimes miss being a child . . . young and naive . . . believing in the characters . . . wanting the good guy to beat the bad guy. I think we all miss that sometimes, but it’s life. We grow up. We become smart. It’s not the same anymore. But it was for these few seconds. I was a boy again, watching my favorite good guy make his entrance to do battle with the villain.

1) Owen Hart’s Fall / The Tribute Show – I might not have written this one had it not been on your list. I think memorable, I think happy. But these were moments I’ll never forget as long as I live. I never realized how attached I was to the superstars until this night. The night of Owen’s death, I was in shock. I didn’t react. But the next night on Raw, I watched as the superstar’s said some words for their lost friend. The ones that affected me most were Mark Henry’s poem, Mick Foley’s tale of Dewey’s haircut, Debra’s disbelief, but above all else, Jeff Jarrett’s. Jarrett’s inability to speak, his promise to never let Owen’s children forget him . . . he drew tears from my eyes. I finally cried, and in a small way, for just a moment, I felt closer to these larger-than-life characters than ever.

I know these were pretty long, but I thought I’d share. I’d appreciate if you’d get back to me with feedback. Talk to you later.

Hey Furry: Without a doubt you have some excellent picks and some great memories to share. I definitely think Owen’s death and the ensuing “Raw Tribute Show” touched all of us who followed professional wrestling in some way or another.

Personally, I felt that the tribute show was a great way to pay homage to someone like Owen who gave his heart and soul to this business. Anyone who ever looked at wrestling as fake could just listen to those heartfelt comments from the WWF superstars and realize that wrestling, at times, is all too real. According to the superstars that night, Owen seemed to be one of the good guys around the locker room and on the road, and like you it was Jeff Jarret’s comments that truly struck me the most.

While I vehemently disagreed with the WWF for continuing the PPV following Owen’s fall and furiously frowned upon people like Craig Kilborn cracking jokes about Owen just one night after he passed away, I must say that the Raw tribute show was indeed a memorable moment that put a very human face on the entire situation.

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Brian from Brisbane writes:

I am Brian from Brisbane Australia. Here is a down under view of the top 5. One at least you may not have even seen unless you happened to buy the Global Warning DVD and watched the extra bits on the disk.

5. Anything the Rock has done recently since turning heel. I have never been the biggest Rock fan, but this latest move is without a doubt the best we have seen from the Rock. And another thing, the Rock should never turn face, equally Austin should never turn heel.

4. Austin v HHH in the best of 3 falls match. This was a great match. Definitely one of the best.

3. Taker v Mankind in the hell in a cell. You said in your column that you were a huge fan of Foley. How could this match not get a mention? Probably my favorite match of all-time.

2. Global Warning tour, Melbourne, August 2002. My first ever WWF/E event. I spent 20 hours on the road in a period of 48 hours for this show. And I wasn’t disappointed. The main event was Rock v HHH v Lesnar (with Pauly) for the belt. After the match HHH and the Rock dropped peoples elbows on Pauly. It was piss funny.

1. My most memorable moment in wrestling history is for its comedy value. I was still laughing at work the following day. It was the pre-match meeting between the Rock, Hogan and Kane before taking on the NWO. When Kane came in and mocked the Rock and Hogan, I have never laughed so much in my life. It still nearly brings tears to my eyes when I watch it.

It would be cool if you could print my list buddy. I have been writing letters and opinions to 411 for ages and never got anything published on the site. I have all my wrestling mates reading 411 now and it would be cool to get something on it.

Cheers from down South
Brian

I appreciate the thoughts you had Brian, as you seem to be pretty dedicated to WWE considering the amount you traveled to get to their show in Australia. The match you mentioned definitely seems like some good shit, so maybe I’ll have to pick up the DVD myself.

You made two other excellent points. The Rock, since coming back and turning heel, has been fantastic. He has been entertaining the crowd while giving rubs to guys like Hurricane and Booker, and his mic work has gotten even better since he went to Hollywood.

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Matthew Griffiths writes:

1- The Ministry of Darkness. Seeing the Undertaker emerge from a one dimensional character who could only cut promos that featured the most God awful death puns, into a leather bound Batman-esque flying freak show was all well and good, but it really wasn’t THAT captivating. It wasn’t until he found the good fashion sense to dye his boxing robe black, realized that beards don’t have to feature a moustache and sacrificed Dennis Knight that his value as a character went through the roof. Who could forget him stalking Vince and referring to “her”? We all knew he either meant Steph or Linda, but the drawn out and continuous suspense of it all was what kept me coming back. How about when Taker finally got his limo drivers license and decided to take lil’ Steph for a test drive? I still get chills watching the tapes, especially when I see Austin being sacrificed on the Takers “cross”. My all time favorite moment was seeing Vince beg Kane to stop the Taker, only for Kane to remove his mask and it was the Dead Man underneath!!! Truly classic stuff.

2- Triple H marries Stephanie. Now I’m far from a Stephanie fan, and I couldn’t hate Triple H more if you paid me, but the 3-month build-up to Test’s and Steph’s wedding was, well, kinda lame. But I digress, I totally didn’t see this swerve coming, and to see Raw go off the air with Steph bawling her eyes out, Vince cursing Triple H and Test just standing there looking goofy and confused was just plain awesome.

3- Hulk Hogan loses to The Genius. Probably one of the least memorable match ups, but to see Hogan doing the job to Lenny Poffo (even if Mr.Perfect interfered) was a turning point of sorts. All my wrestling life, I had seen so many big names do the job to Hogan to get him over, but for the first time, I saw Hogan lose in a seemingly one sided matchup. Other than WrestleMania 4 where he put over Randy Savage, I had never seen Hogan been portrayed as less than unstoppable (maybe he knew the Poffo gene pool was just too much for him) It was after this loss at a Saturday Nights Main Event in 1990, that Hogan once again did the job to put someone over…The Ultimate Warrior.

4- Paul Heyman replaces Jerry Lawler. Amidst the controversy of Lawlers resignation, the question remained … Who would replace him? Praying to God it wouldn’t be Michael Cole, I watched with baited breath. Then we see the owner of one of the top 3 companies sitting next to JR. It was an awesome moment, to think that Vince had the owner of his competition working for him. That thought would only get better when Bischoff would join WWE. I wonder if in 1998, someone told Vince that in 2002, he would have the owner of ECW and the president of WCW working for him, he would’ve laughed them out of the building.

5- The factions of the WWF. The Hart Foundation. The Nation of Domination. Los Boricuas. DOA. Degeneration-X. The Oddities. The Truth Commission. The Ministry of Darkness. The Union. The Corporation. It seemed at one point that Stone Cold was the only one not affiliated with a faction in any way, shape or form. When the factions ruled WWF, it was an amazing time. I cant put my finger on or explain why I liked them so much, but it was just the best thing I had ever seen at that point.

Other memorable mentions-

-Survivor Series 95. The wildcard match that saw faces and heels on the same team was something I thought Id never see.

-Goldust molesting Ahmed Johnson and Razor Ramon. It was a real turning point for the WWF, when they allowed a “gay” character to become one of the most hated heels in the history of the business, and devote so much air time to one of the first real life controversial characters they had ever produced.

-Mae Young. Come on, admit it, you liked Mae Young. Who cares if she took time away from “real” wrestling? The thought of an old chick that had tattoos, gave a horrible crotch chop and bronco buster, loved showing her puppies, loved to smoke and drink, was constantly horny and could take a mean bump was very funny. Don’t deny you didn’t laugh.

-DX invades WCW. Its been done to death, I know, but it was one of the first times, other than Smokey Mountain Wrestling that WWF had so blatantly acknowledged their competition.

-Hell in the Cell. Another one that’s been done to death, but any bump that still makes my stomach turn and shake my head in disbelief 5 years after it happened deserves another mention.

-The Billionaire Ted skits. They never seemed to get the merit they deserve. They were funny. They were bitchy. They made fun of the stars they once pushed so hard. I looked forward to them every week.

Thanks for your thoughts, Matthew. I have two comments in particular, the first about Heyman and the second about Goldust.

I think you made an excellent point about what could have transpired when Lawler left the WWF announcing team. I think being stuck with Michael Cole and J.R. would have been less than ideal because they are both play-by-play guys who shoot straight. Heyman was a very good choice as a color commentator because we all knew he would be opinionated and controversial. It also opened the door for Paul E. to not just broadcasting but for proving he was worthwhile enough to be incorporated in some top-tier storyline arcs. I am glad Lawler came back, if for nothing else than because it let Heyman branch out as Brock’s Agent, and now I look at Heyman as the new Bobby Heenan, except a little darker. He’s arrogant, smarmy and brilliant, though, and has proven that male valets can still be important figures in pro wrestling.

As far as Goldust is concerned, I definitely remember, just like you do, when Goldust was much more ambiguous and androgynous. My problem with the WWF/E and how they have handled gay wrestlers is that they tend to tip toe to a certain line but never actually cross it. Goldust revealed later on in his career that he was never actually a gay character, but instead that he pretended to be gay to mentally psyche out Razor and Ahmed Johnson. In the end, just like with Chuck and Billy in 2002, there was a buzz surrounding Goldust and his sexual orientation that turned out to be another WWF ruse rather than actual groundbreaking material.

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That’s all for now PEACE.

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of the dreams.”
-Willy Wonka, def poet

Aside from his weekly musings on 411Mania, Chris Biscuiti is a regular pop culture, political and pro wrestling contributor to moodspins.com.

CB is an Editor for Pulse Wrestling and an original member of the Inside Pulse writing team covering the spectrum of pop culture including pro wrestling, sports, movies, music, radio and television.