NoFistsJustFlips Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 7 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said: There is a timeline where ironically Mark Calaway doesn't become "Kane, the Undertaker" and that role somehow goes to his most notable opponent as a green wrestler, Bruiser Brody. Then, it becomes a question of what do you give the former where he can have as long a run as he actually had? Yeah shit this is also a good call. Comes in with The Undertaker gimmick and maybe gets the quickie title run at Survivor Series 91. What a world that could have been. The Undertaker does not go down as this super long term iconic character. Just a quick reskin of a territory big deal. Maybe Mark Calaway gets packaged as Nailz. And now we have this weird timeline where the prisoner gimmick becomes an icon of the business. Hard to see him getting the longevity out of that gimmick tho. What a wild rabbit hole that timeline would be. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister TV Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 21 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said: That's the interesting Catch 22 that all these scenarios posed that everyone including myself have put forward. Even when we blindly assume Frank Goodish is willing to be a good businessman, there is the reality that we're still dealing the evidence from all the sides and parties involved that this probably wouldn't go very smoothly. A lot of the turnover I brought up that happened during the Hulkamania era is cause people just got tired of it. And that's when the business was red hot. Now add in a guy who is notoriously not willing to deal with the bullshit that comes with it. Not the greatest recipe for success. Did anyone who was working with Hogan walk? You don’t think Brody knew about the payoffs guys who main evented house shows with Hogan were getting? There’s a reason none of guys who got those main events ever badmouthed the Hulkster. You don’t think he knew about the merchandise checks everyone was getting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RazorbladeKiss87 Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 I was over at PWO looking through some GWE nominee threads and was reading the Necro Butcher thread. It inspired me to rewatch Necro/Joe. Happy to report that it's still wild in the year 2024. I really have fond memories of that time in indie wrestling. I know Necro isn't everyone's cup of tea (and from what I gather he's doing now, I wouldn't be able to support his current work) but to a high school kid just discovering wrestling outside the big three he was amazing. Him and Dragon Kid are the first wrestlers I bought comp tapes of and I wish I still had them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 13 minutes ago, Mister TV said: Did anyone who was working with Hogan walk? You don’t think Brody knew about the payoffs guys who main evented house shows with Hogan were getting? There’s a reason none of guys who got those main events ever badmouthed the Hulkster. You don’t think he knew about the merchandise checks everyone was getting? He knew all that and STILL chose not to come in. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 hours ago, Cobra Commander said: how could Brody be sad when he would have access to all the cocaine that Herb Abrams couldn't snort Not to continue the Brody talk any further because we're starting to beat a dead horse, but the most frugal man in wrestling never touched coke, I bet. He lived on cans of beans and tuna. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 7 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: Not to continue the Brody talk any further because we're starting to beat a dead horse, but the most frugal man in wrestling never touched coke, I bet. He lived on cans of beans and tuna. Better not tell Vince that. "The Tuna Man" Frank Good coming at you on this week's WWF Superstars! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81tjRDK1lHL._AC_SY550_.jpg TUNA MAN 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 one of the people I went to high school with is a Samoan who has the nickname Tuna (and a last name ending in T), so he would have a solid wrestling name if he went into wrestling (my high school is in an area with one of the higher Samoan populations in the US outside of Utah/California) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coletti Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) Matt Cardona and Kota Ibushi just got name dropped on the Emmys. What a fucking world. Edited January 16 by Coletti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I saw that episode of Drugs, Inc. from SLC and was surprised to see that they had such a large Samoan population, apparently of converts that moved there... whos kids are also drug-dealing Crips and Bloods. A preacher had a cored-out bible with his drugs in it too. Neato! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 3 minutes ago, Coletti said: Matt Carona and Kota Ibushi just got name dropped on the Emmys. What a fucking world. in what context? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamhock Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, Elsalvajeloco said: Better not tell Vince that. "The Tuna Man" Frank Good coming at you on this week's WWF Superstars! When someone earlier on suggested he come in in place of Bad News Brown’s slot, I interpreted it instead as taking the gimmick. “Good-ish News Brody” equivocating on the mic before calling the audience a bunch of beer-bellied sharecroppers would have been GOLD. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 yeah the Mormons did a lot of work in Samoa and some Samoans moved to Utah or Missouri as a result (there's also a bit of a Mormon population here and a larger population of Mormon/LDS breakoff groups) Samoan dudes are pretty reasonably good at playing high school football although my HS usually kinda stunk at football. One Samoan guy was (I think) legally blind in an eye because he was accidentally stabbed in the eye while younger and he played linebacker, IIRC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coletti Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 14 minutes ago, elizium said: in what context? Spoiler Paul Walter Hauser, noted mega fan, got a win and his prepared speech was written in rhyme, mentioned both dudes and ended it with "Get the tables." https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/paul-walter-hauser-mentions-matt-cardona-and-kota-ibushi-emmy-speech Edited January 16 by Coletti 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 25 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I saw that episode of Drugs, Inc. from SLC and was surprised to see that they had such a large Samoan population, apparently of converts that moved there... whos kids are also drug-dealing Crips and Bloods. A preacher had a cored-out bible with his drugs in it too. Neato! Wait a goddamn minute. How lonely of a life are you leading where you're a crip or blood in UTAH? I feel like you're doing it wrong. Like it has to be unaffiliated from the rest of what's going on. And I am speaking as someone who comes from a state where we ended up with Vice Lords and Gangster Disciples but a good number of black people in Chicago have folks who came from either Alabama or Mississippi during the Great Migration and then some later generations moved back during various economic/redlining issues etc. So it somewhat makes sense. 21 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said: yeah the Mormons did a lot of work in Samoa and some Samoans moved to Utah or Missouri as a result (there's also a bit of a Mormon population here and a larger population of Mormon/LDS breakoff groups) Samoan dudes are pretty reasonably good at playing high school football although my HS usually kinda stunk at football. One Samoan guy was (I think) legally blind in an eye because he was accidentally stabbed in the eye while younger and he played linebacker, IIRC. A bit off topic but I bring it cause he's been in the news lately due to health: It always cracks me up when I was an old David Tua fight, and I see Afa in his corner hyping him up. Keep in mind, this is around the same time Butterbean shows up in WWF. He (Tua) was WAY too good to just jump to WWF when he was a legit boxing contender in the heavyweight division when there was record breaking purses every year after Tyson got released from prison, but if Afa could have broke David Tua into pro wrestling, he could have been the new Meng just cause he looked so badass. Height would have been issue cause he was probably 5'9 1/2" being nice, but if you thought Butterbean kilt Bart Gunn at Mania, Tua would have absolutely beheaded him. They would have at least gotten something out of a highlight reel KO instead of Bart Gunn getting sent to Japan and Butterbean becoming a super irrelevant boxer. Hell, 1999 Butterbean was already old news in boxing which makes it a bit weirder for him to get some time on Mania have to a real, legit shoot. If Vince really wanted to break into the boxing game, Tua would have been a great candidate to build a promotion behind. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stefanie Sparkleface Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said: Wait a goddamn minute. How lonely of a life are you leading where you're a crip or blood in UTAH? I suppose they wash away their sorrows with dirty soda. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 it's possible David Tua took the "Samoan wrestlers never sell blows to the head" thing to a boxing extreme by never being knocked out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 7 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said: it's possible David Tua took the "Samoan wrestlers never sell blows to the head" thing to a boxing extreme by never being knocked out Based on how he no sold Ike Ibeabuchi hitting him with like a 1000 punches (Google shows Ike landed 332 of 975, which is a crazy landed/thrown ratio at HW), I get the mental image of David Tua no selling those absurd brutal chairshots you saw routinely in WWF and ECW like how Meng would no sell those balsa wood chairshots. I am cracking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 I'd have to see the ep again but I'm 99% sure it was a Crip or Blood set and not GD or Vice Lords or Folk Nation, if they're still around (which would make sense being a mixed race gang). Likely it was Crips considering this website's claims https://gangmentality.com/utah-gangs/ Love that the first gang listed is an independent group of Mexicans who call themselves the Big Dick Gang Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, Elsalvajeloco said: Based on how he no sold Ike Ibeabuchi hitting him followed by Tua being one partial cause for Ibeabuchi going completely fucking insane and ruining his career 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: I'd have to see the ep again but I'm 99% sure it was a Crip or Blood set and not GD or Vice Lords or Folk Nation, if they're still around (which would make sense being a mixed race gang). Likely it was Crips considering this website's claims https://gangmentality.com/utah-gangs/ Love that the first gang listed is an independent group of Mexicans who call themselves the Big Dick Gang I feel like Joseph Smith would be a big supporter of that gang. 2 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said: followed by Tua being one partial cause for Ibeabuchi going completely fucking insane and ruining his career For those who don't know the story (bolded the more important part) Quote It was the American Dream, gone horribly, horribly wrong. A young boy slugs his way out of a third world ghetto and into the pro boxing stratosphere, only to fall victim to mental illness, depravity, and what some have labeled "demonic possession." No, I'm not talking about Mike Tyson, though you certainly could be forgiven for thinking so. I speak not of Mike but of Ike - Ike "The President" Ibeabuchi. As a boy in Nigeria, Ike was exposed to boxing, but he was also exposed to poverty, crime, hopelessness, and a glaring lack of education. In 1993 he was able to immigrate with his mother to Dallas, Texas, where it did not take him long to hook up with the House of Champions Gym and former welterweight star Curtis Cokes. Cokes saw potential in the sizable young heavyweight, and was proven right when Ike became a Golden Gloves champion in the space of a year. Ike turned pro shortly thereafter, impressing everyone with his strength, hand speed, and out-and-out skill. He never lost a contest, and within three years was challenging David "The Terminator" Tua for the WBC International Heavyweight Title. This highly anticipated clash of undefeated heavies did not disappoint. In fact, it set a record for the number of punches thrown in a heavyweight fight. Against all odds, Ibeabuchi triumphed by majority decision. It should have been his finest hour, not the beginning of the end. Yet, clearly, Ike was never the same after this fight. Had he taken too many of Tua's heavy left hooks to the head? Or, as some folks claim, had one specific shot -administered by Tua at some point in the middle rounds - done the damage? For the first time ever, Ike was complaining of head pain after a bout. A MRI scan, however, revealed nothing out of the ordinary. Whether or not the epic slugfest with Tua was to blame, Ike Ibeabuchi was fast becoming unglued. In a pathetic incident of what we now call "air rage," cops had to forcibly detain the incensed pugilist. He began to make ludicrous monetary demands of his promoters. He was tormented by demons visible only to his mother and himself. Much of his lunacy was reserved for his hapless sparring partners; one's head was split open, another almost had his leg broken. A few months after the Tua fight, Ike abducted the son of a former girlfriend, threw him into his car, and drove straight into a concrete pillar, permanently injuring the poor boy. This atrocity earned Ike a paltry two months behind bars, but he was forced to pay an undisclosed amount of money to the boy's mother. Incredibly, Ibeabuchi was permitted to continue boxing, where his madness seemed to work for him. He tore apart journeymen Tim Ray and Everton Davis, and became the first (and, so far, the only) man to stop "Rapid Fire" Chris Byrd. One thunderous left hook in the fifth round had Byrd down twice, and a subsequent barrage of power punches prompted the referee to put an end to the fight. A few months later, Ike summoned a lap dancer to his hotel room at The Mirage in Las Vegas. The girl insisted on a cash payment up front, which enraged Ike to the extent that he forced her into a closet and raped her. The 6'2", 245 lb fighter brilliantly sought to evade capture by hiding in the bathroom; a few strategically directed shots of police-issue pepper spray managed to "flush" him out of there. Ibeabuchi was subsequently sentenced to a whole heap of jail time for this misdeed, although rumors are circulating that various lawyers - who just happen to be fight fans - are working pro bono for his early release. They are reasonably confident that he will be out in six months to a year, despite his being anything but a model prisoner. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Yeah I just Wiki'd that dude and it's pretty wild. He wanted to be called "the President" and wouldn't do things sometimes unless told it was the "honorable" thing to do, stuck a big kitchen knife in a table at dinner in front of HBO staff and ranted about the belts... definitely a guy who needed medication. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: Yeah I just Wiki'd that dude and it's pretty wild. He wanted to be called "the President" and wouldn't do things sometimes unless told it was the "honorable" thing to do, stuck a big kitchen knife in a table at dinner in front of HBO staff and ranted about the belts... definitely a guy who needed medication. I am really, really surprised there hasn't been like a Dark Side series on boxing cause there are a BILLION stories from just the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Ibeabuchi is basically the tip of the iceberg. It would easily surpass the wrestling one just cause most of it could be substantiated and not old folk lore that got maintained through stuff like the sleaze thread. Off the top of my head: Ricky Womack, Tony Ayala Jr., Edwin Valero, Carlos Monzon's life after boxing, the suicide of promising Nevada referee Mitch Halpern, Aaron Pryor, the disappearance of Sergey Kobozev, Michael Watson, Wilfred Benitez, Michael Nunn trying to become the cocaine kingpin of Davenport, Iowa, Mike "The Bounty" Hunter (Sr.), Clifford Etienne, the whole Berbick-Ali fiasco and Don King almost being murdered by the Nation of Islam, the deaths of Robert Wangila and Jimmy Garcia, Gerald McClellan's unsavory background and then end result of the Nigel Benn fight, James Butler. Just thinking about some of these subjects make your skin crawl just because like wrestling so much stuff just went unchecked in many cases. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) The only reason I can think of them not doing it is boxing's fall off in popularity. Wrestling always has a fanbase. Football is America's sport. Celebrities and trash culture are always a thing. Boxing... well, you know even better than I do. It'd be more likely that they just do a Dark Side of Sports that has a fair amount of boxing stories. Edited January 16 by Curt McGirt 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zakk_Sabbath Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 51 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: The only reason I can think of them not doing it is boxing's fall off in popularity. Wrestling always has a fanbase. Football is America's sport. Celebrities and trash culture are always a thing. Boxing... well, you know even better than I do. It'd be more likely that they just do a Dark Side of Sports that has a fair amount of boxing stories. A bit off topic: I was thinking about this last week after a convo I was having with El Savaje about boxing numbers on SHO in the context of speculating on potential AEW premium cable/streaming viewership in the future: I wonder if there would be any money in a purposely low-budget, semi-poorly-lit, small/unique venue ('gritty!') boxing show, with more of a fight club type presentation, ala Lucha Underground or ECW. Its had to have been tried at some point, right?? Edit: I guess there was a slight bit of that in the HBO 'Boxing After Dark' DNA but I'm saying take it even further Edited January 16 by Zakk_Sabbath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts