Previews and Reviews that are Z's Views
Next Sunday, December 9th, my buddy John Beatty will be one of the guests at the Epic Comic Con in Orlando, Florida. He’ll be there along with a bunch of comic book artists, professional wrestlers as well as a couple of actors and authors. Talk about an interesting mix!
John will be sketching and signing autographs. I’ll be there hanging out as well. If you’re in the area, plan to drop on by!
I was never much of a fan of women’s wrestling. Even when I was a kid and lived and breathed pro wrestling, I didn’t care about the women mixing it up in the ring. Of course back then we didn’t have the divas or the bathing suit matches, etc. Still, the one woman wrestler that I did know was the Fabulous Moolah. It amazed me that despite the country being broken up into territories, with each having their own champion, Moolah was recognized as the Women’s Champion everywhere.
Mary Lillian Ellison aka The Fabulous Moolah was born in 1923 — the youngest and only girl of 13 children. Her mother died of cancer when she was just 8. Mary attended weekly pro wrestling cards with her dad and perhaps that’s where he love of the sport began.
Moolah was the Women’s World Champion from from 1956 to 1984. Then from 1985 – 1987. In 1999, at age 76, she won the title for a final time.
To be honest, I really didn’t like most of the angles that the WWE used with Moolah when she came back in the late 90’s. Still I admired the fact that at her age she was still able to get out there and take bumps and that her name still got a rise from the fans.
So despite the fact that I wasn’t a fan of women wrestlers, I felt it right to pay my respects to a performer held in such high regard in the “sport” that I loved as a kid. Rest in peace, Moolah. My thoughts and prayers go out to her family, friends and fans.
According to a Sports Illustrated report, Evander Hollyfield is just one of many professional athletes linked to a nationwide steroids investigation. Several professional wrestlers including Randy Orton, Adam Copeland, a.k.a. “Edge,” and Shane Helms, a.k.a. “The Hurricane,” Kurt Angle, Oscar Gutierrez aka Rey Mysterio join other pro athletes such as Jose Canseco, John Rocker, Jerry Hairston Jr., David Bell, and bodybuilder Victor Martinez on the list. You can read the full story HERE.
One of the things that I love about YouTube.com is that you can find video of almost anything. I was surprised when I found a classic pro wrestling match between “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan [accompanied to the ring by Blackjacks Mulligan and Lanza] and “Cowboy” Bob Ellis.
I’m really surprised that some network doesn’t have a weekend horror movie double feature hosted by someone like Sammy. My guess is that if kids didn’t tune in, there’d still be a good-size audience of folks like me!
When I was growing up in the midwest in the late 60’s and early 70’s I was a huge pro wrestling fan. My favorite tag team wrestlers were The Blackjacks [Mulligan & Lanza] with manager “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan.
Sometimes Heenan would even get involved in matches [usually against his will]. If you watch today’s video you’ll see a match where Heenan was signed to wrestle crowd favorite “Cowboy” Bob Ellis. Despite the fact that Heenan had recently busted his knee, he went down to the ring on crutches to seek a short postponement… of maybe six or seven months… click below and you’ll see what happens when the match is forced to go on.
WWE‘s pay-per-vue, Unforgiven, was held last night. My sons, nephew and I were able to watch it from the comfort of the local wing house, and we had a blast. It’s suprising that although everyone knows that wrestling matches are pre-determined the sport is as popular as ever.
Rick Flair, the guy in the pic to the left, is currently my favorite wrestler. Flair‘s 56 years old and still puts on a great show. The highlight for me is when he does his patented “front fall.” If you’ve ever seen Flair wrestle, then you know what I’m talking about. The Flair “front fall” alone is worth the price of admission.
If you’re a wrestling or Rick Flair fan, then you might want to check out his autobiography, To Be the Man. It, too, is worth the price of admission.
Randy Orton is the young guy next to Flair in the picture. The kid is a third generation wrestler [I used to watch his dad wrestle when I was a kid]. Although he lost his title tonight, he has a bright future.
I could give you a rundown of the matches, but if you’re that interested, you’ll probably watch RAW tonight and I don’t want to spoil it for you. And wrestling isn’t really about who wins or loses anymore… instead it’s about how good the performance was.
And as I said, we had a blast.
Brock Lesnar, touted as The Next Big Thing in the WWE, a legitimate National Champion in college and a 3 time Champ in the Pros has walked away from his multi-million dollar contract to try out for the NFL. And while Brock is big enough, strong enough, and even fast enough to make it in the NFL, he has an uphill battle to get picked up since he hasn’t played in nine years and the last time was on a high school team.
Still ya have to admire a person willing to turn down millions of dollars to pursue a dream.
Dick the Bruiser, whose real name was Richard Afflis, was a real-life tough guy. He played professional football and developed a reputation as a bar room brawler. Bruiser was listed as 6′ 1″ and 260 pounds of muscle. When his football career ended, it was only natural that he turn to professional wrestling.
Bruiser started his wrestling career in the 50’s and wrestled into the 80’s! Even after he retired, he worked as a talent scout for the WCW. Bruiser died in 1991. He was just 62. Richard Afflis aka Dick the Bruiser left a legacy as one of the most popular wrestlers to ever step into the ring.
I was fortunate to see the Bruiser wrestle live many times when I was growing up. Those memories bring an even bigger smile to my face than the picture.
Heenan spent nearly 40 years in the world of pro wrestling. He wasn’t your typical wrestler. He wasn’t gigantic. He wasn’t musclebound. He didn’t fly through the air [unless being thrown by Dick the Bruiser or some other good guy].
Fans loved or hated him, but no one was neutral about Bobby Heenan. He could “rassle” anyone and make them look better. No one could work a crowd like “the Brain.” And Bobby Heenan was witty. His one-liners and off-the-cuff comments were at times more entertaining than the matches themselves.
Bobby Heenan wrote a book where he “tells all the stories, names all the names and doesn’t care who gets mad about it.” Hulk Hogan, Andre The Giant and Vince McMahon are just a few of the many colorful characters that Heenan discusses.
Heenan’s book, Bobby the Brain: Wrestling’s Bad Boy Tells All is available now. So call him what you want… Brain… Weasel… Entertainer... but be sure and add author to the list!
Bobby the Brain rates an A
I never saw Bruno Sammartino wrestle. Still I agree that he is, perhaps, the greatest star from the golden age of pro wrestling.
Bruno will be among the first 13 inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame this weekend. They’ll have to have the ceremony without him. Bruno refuses to attend.
“Wrestling is how I made my living and supported my family, but it’s over. I don’t want anything to do with it anymore,” Bruno was quoted as saying earlier this week.
Despite a long reign as world champion, selling out Madison Square Garden over 200 times (the most ever) and his immense popularity, Bruno was blackballed from wrestling when he spoke out about, “Drugs, steroids, all the sexual stuff, bizarre things” that he saw going on in wrestling in the 80’s. Click here for the full story.
I never saw Bruno wrestle. That’s sad for me. No one will see Bruno at the ceremony as he’s inducted into the Hall of Fame. That’s sad for all fans of the sport.
I received word from an old buddy that I hadn’t heard from in nearly 30 years… back when I was 8th grade in Terre Haute, Indiana. [He found me through classmates.com.] At any rate, as we fondly remembered the “good old days,” we began to talk about tv wrestling.
My favorite wrestler was a huge Texan named Blackjack Mulligan. Yeah, that’s him pictured above. He was usually teamed with Blackjack Lanza [they held the “world title” on a couple of occasions and were managed by Bobby Heenan]. I used to watch pro wrestling on tv several times a week, and would go to see it live when it came to town or when my dad would take us to Indianapolis to see the “big” matches. I was a die hard wrestling fan until 9th grade. As I grew older I would occasionally catch it on the tube… later, as my sons got into it I found myself watching it more often as they enjoyed it. Still, the Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and the rest of today’s “Superstars” would have had their hands full facing Mulligan and Lanza managed by “Pretty Boy” Bobby Heenan!
