MAILBAG: Did The Rock Punch John Cena At The Hall of Fame?

SEScoops Mailbag for April 22nd

(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)

Q: A few years back, there was a story about R-Truth and John Cena being in an altercation at an airport while Truth was still with TNA. Around the same time, Truth went on YouTube and had some harsh words for Cena in a rap song. They’ve claimed to be friends since Truth returned to WWE or at least did some backstage stuff during the Cena/Nexus storyline on Raw. Was there ever any real heat between the two? – Michael A.

A: The video you mention where Truth raps on Cena is still up on YouTube and is actually hosted by TNAWrestling. Supposedly, the two men ran into one another at an airport in Charlotte, NC back in 2006 after the video was posted. Whatever words may have been exchanged, I don’t believe there was any legit heat between them. Certainly, since Truth came back to WWE, both guys are cordial with each other and, by all accounts, are friends. With Truth seemingly going heel now, if he ends up staying on Raw with Cena, it may be a good time to start a program with the two of them. Besides, Cena needs something fresh to kill time before his battle with The Rock. Truth is charismatic enough on the mic where I think it could be very entertaining.

Q: With the recent news about “major changes” coming to TNA, could this possibly mean that Paul Heyman is on his way to save the company or is this just another letdown like we’ve seen time and time again? – Kenon Wilson

A: How many times have we heard that “major changes” are coming to TNA? It is true that they are moving forward with something of a rebranding campaign, pushing the “Impact” name harder and giving at least some thought to changing the name of the promotion (I can’t see this happening). If they want Heyman, they can probably still get him, but they would have to acquiesce to all of the previous demands he had made, which included a stake in the company and the ability to hire and fire people as he sees fit. These were things that Dixie Carter was unwilling to give him. If it’s true that Janice Carter (not this Janice), Dixie’s mom, is taking a more active role in TNA, then perhaps she would be more open to that as a possibility. At the end of the day, Heyman has other projects he is involved with, including a Brock Lesnar autobiography due out later this spring. If he ever was brought in, I think he would be a huge asset, but no one man is going to be able to “save” TNA. It would just as important to the health of the company to get rid of certain people than it would be to bring in others.

Q: A while back when Kurt Angle wrestled Samoa Joe, early in the match Kurt’s bell got rung and, reportedly, Joe called the rest of the match. Is it predetermined who calls the match in the ring? Do they alternate who makes the calls or what? – Rob F.

A: I’m not a worker, so I don’t know for sure. Generally speaking, there’s usually a ring general in there who calls the basic flow of the match. If someone’s bell gets rung and the match continues, the other person would have to step up and take over one would think. The referee can also play a vital role in this situation as he can relay instructions to each competitor from the back.

Q: Do you think we’ll ever see Rey Mysterio and Sin Cara feud, or better yet, partner up and be a tag team? – Coty K.

A: I sure hope so. With the upcoming draft, I’d move Cara over to Smackdown anyway and that would allow for them to eventually be paired off, preferably as partners first and later as opponents. Rey certainly knows how to work the lucha style and I think they would have great chemistry together. Besides, what else is left for Rey to do once he wraps up his feud with Cody Rhodes?

Q: When The Rock first showed up before WrestleMania 27 and said “Cena started talking trash about the Rock,” what did he mean? I read online that Cena ripped him in an interview after Rock had left and I was wondering if that was it. I also read that at the 2008 Hall Of Fame ceremony when The Rock was inducting his father and grandfather, Cena turned up with a black eye, and people said it was Rock who gave him it because of the things he said in the interview. Do you know if I’m on the right track and if the whole black eye thing is true? – Adam Meads

A: This is why WWE dropped the ball by not doing a better job of explaining the back story to the Rock/Cena feud. Yes, Rock was referring specifically to a U.K. Sun audio interview from January of 2008 where Cena basically said that Rock only “did this” (wrestled) to “do something else” (make movies). Cena also used some very non-PG language to get his point across. Keep in mind that Cena did this on more than one occasion and was likely urged to do so by Vince McMahon. Rock was not said to have been angry at the time, but rather, more surprised by the comments than anything else. As for the Hall of Fame ceremony, Rock did not give Cena a black eye. There was no backstage altercation. It reminds me of Hulk Hogan showing up to WrestleMania 9 with a black eye, which he credited to a jet ski accident. Of course, that didn’t stop people from saying that it actually came from a Randy Savage punch as the two supposedly had heat at the time. Whatever the real reason, the Savage story sounds only slightly more believable than Rock cold-cocking Cena.

Q: How come people like Viscera, Cherry and Husky Harris are taken off TV or fired because of their weight, but fat flabby Brodus Clay gets a contract on the spot? – Ryan B.

A: Were Viscera, Cherry (wait, what?) or Husky Harris ever a bodyguard for Snoop Dogg? No? Well, there’s your answer.

Q: So there’s a video on YouTube that shows Vince Russo “shooting” on Bill Goldberg after the WCW New Blood Rising PPV. It has Tank Abbott in it and Russo is calling Bill a chicken shit and starts screaming at production to show what looks like a legit fight. I was wondering if it was at all legit, and what’s the story behind it? – Mike Cornblatt

A: Ahh, the classic Russo worked-shoot. Don’t take anything you see with Russo on TV very seriously. I do believe he went into business for himself with the Bash at the Beach 2000 shoot on Hulk Hogan, but aside from that, all of these angles with him swearing up a storm and “shooting” on someone are about as real as Velvet Sky’s chest.

Q: Did Jamie Noble really retire due to the attack from Sheamus or did they just have Sheamus to attack him to write him off because he wanted to retire? – Rory “RoRo” Bennett

A: WWE wanted Noble to work as a backstage agent. As such, he had planned on retiring from the ring. They merely used the attack by Sheamus as an effective way to get him over as a monster heel.

Q: I have a few old WrestleManias on VHS tape from back in the day. Tonight, I sat down to watch newer copies that a friend gave me on DVD and noticed something very strange. Some of the wrestler’s theme music had changed, very obviously digitally added later, and it also sounds like Howard Finkel’s ring announcements have been re-done too. Most notably the first thing I caught was WrestleMania 6, Andre/Haku vs. Demolition. Demolition’s classic Rick Derringer theme was removed and [replaced with] some cheap instrumental knock off. I can’t imagine they’d lose the rights to use a song that was performed exclusively for them. [It also] seems like Koko B. Ware and Dusty Rhodes’ music have been swapped out too. It’s certainly not a royalties thing now as Rhodes is currently USING that theme, isn’t he? – Steve

A: Actually, it’s specifically a royalties issue. Jimmy Hart may well still have ownership over some of that old music as he played an instrumental role in that area many years ago (both in WWF and WCW). Whatever they don’t own, they’re unlikely to use as part of a DVD release or on their Classics on Demand channel, each of which is a product or service that they profit from. Allowing Dusty Rhodes to use his “Common Man” theme on TV every now and then is fine. It’s very much like Sandman being able to use his Metallica theme at the first One Night Stand PPV during the initial live airing of that show, which was then edited off of the subsequent DVD release. It’s the same deal with Undertaker’s old Limp Bizkit entrance.

Q: What are your thoughts on all the backstage heat on Trish Stratus and people saying she wanted the spotlight on her and also rumors that she slept with Vince? – Tyler Johnson

A: That’s funny, I wasn’t aware that Trish Stratus had any backstage heat. Just because John Morrison is an immature buffoon and a handful of divas were jealous of Trish getting a Mania payoff, that doesn’t mean she had backstage heat. As for Trish sleeping with Vince, why of course she did! Don’t you remember 10 years ago? I mean, he was making out with her right in front of his comatose wife. He probably sat his wife in the corner and jackhammered Trish in front of her, too!

Keep those questions coming to sescoops@gmail.com and remember to include your name!