MAILBAG: Is The Warrior Just Bashing Hogan For Publicity?

SEScoops Mailbag for June 10th

(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)

Q: I’m not one to take sides, let alone Hulk Hogan’s, but I do believe that Warrior is just some crazy lying lunatic. Every bit of the story you’ve covered always mentions Warrior “planning to make a big announcement” that doesn’t even involve Hogan. I honestly think this is some sort of publicity stunt to attract people to his videos just so he can have a lot of people hear the announcement. After all, why should we as wrestling fans believe anything that comes out of The Ultimate Warrior’s mouth? – Ryan Begley

A: Obviously, it is self-promotion on Warrior’s part and he must be doing a fine job of it since he has everyone talking, and even got some play on Fox News and TMZ. Be that as it may, it’s not as though many of the allegations lobbed in his recent video have not already been talked about for years. Hogan’s name has been linked to steroids for his entire career, and he has admitted to using them, but the rumors of cocaine use date all the way back to the 1970’s. In fairness, coke was the drug of choice for many wrestlers back then, but I fully believe he used. Now, did he deal the stuff, as Warrior alleges? That may be hard to prove. I also have never heard of the Hogans being swingers before, but as dysfunctional as that family has proven to be, nothing would surprise me. At the end of the day, Warrior just comes off as a bitter old man rehashing a years-old feud.

Q: Triple H and Undertaker had a great match at WrestleMania 27, as you know, but one part really got me. I know much of WWE is rigged and this match was probably rigged for Undertaker to win, but he never really walked out. Was this because he was tired or really because he was too sick and beat up to even move by himself? Also, I see that Undertaker stops making appearances after Mania for a little. Is this because Vince gives him a break or is it because he physically cannot work for a good 5-6 months. What is he doing for the 5-6 months he is gone? – Lucas

A: You mean besides boinking Michelle McCool? He uses those months off to rest his ailing body, which now has nearly 50 years on this earth, and in “wrestling years”, he probably feels a lot older than that. At this point, he is a special attraction and simply cannot do a full or part-time schedule. Injuries take longer to heal and may occur more frequently. He’s in desperate need of a double hip replacement, which I first starting hearing rumors about over a decade ago. As for WM27, what you saw post-match was a phenomenal job of selling by a ring veteran. I’m sure he really was feeling beat up after that match, but it was all part of the story and meant to look like Triple H had taken him to the limit.

Q: I was wondering why WWE does that lighting effect during Sin Cara’s matches? Is it just for show or does it serve a purpose, like to cover small flaws or something? – Josh

A: It is to make him stand out more. In reality, it’s every bit as distracting as it was when they used a similar red light for Kane’s first matches. Plus, if you have an arena full of people cheering for Sin Cara, good luck seeing them in the darkness. I applaud their attempt at trying to help get him over more, but come on, let there be light!

Q: I noticed for a couple of years now, many WWE superstars don’t wear belts around their waist anymore. They carry them on their shoulder or just drag it with them as if it was a wet towel. Only a few superstars I can recall within the last couple of years wear a belt as if it means something: Chris Jericho, Batista, Triple H, Sheamus, Christian, etc. Is there some rule regarding this? WWE needs to treat those belts (excuse me, “championships”) more seriously if they want them to [feel] more special. What’s your take? – T. Mills

A: I know Vince McMahon was on a kick in recent years about no longer wearing belts around your waist and having to wear them over your shoulder. I don’t believe that edict is still in effect as plenty of guys wear belts around their waist now, including John Cena on Raw last Monday. I agree that it doesn’t show great respect for the title to be dragging it on the ground, but it’s a different era now and they don’t show much value for their titles anyway, so what’s the point in getting bent out of shape about it? I do recall Kevin Nash and Steve Austin, in particular, would drag their titles to the ring for many matches back when they were WWF champion.

Q: What would your list of the top 10 best promo guys in the past 20 years look like? And do you think Shane Douglas was a great promo guy when he was in ECW? – Troy M.

A: Wow, that covers a lot of ground. I don’t usually answer questions like this, but here are 10 names (in no particular order) who have to be considered among the best talkers of the last 20 years: Ric Flair, Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Vince McMahon, Jerry Lawler, Taz, CM Punk and Larry Sweeney. For those who don’t know, Sweeney was a wrestler and manager on the independent scene (most notably in ROH) for many years who was clearly influenced by the likes of Roddy Piper, Ric Flair and Bobby Heenan. He would have been a major league manager for WWE, but he had issues with depression and bipolar disorder and committed suicide back on April 11th.

Q: I may be wrong about this, but I can’t recall an episode of Raw or Smackdown ever being taped in Alaska or Hawaii. If that’s the case, I wonder why that would be. They seem to go to pretty much all the other States, but never those two. – Owen Hamilton

A: You make a very good point. I cannot recall WWE ever taping an episode of either show from those two states. They have run house shows there in the past, so I would imagine it has something to do with the cost of doing a TV taping. Of course, if they ever did decide to bring Raw to Alaska, I’m sure we would have to sit through a series of insufferable skits with a Sarah Palin impersonator.

Q: This is more of a “where are they now?” question. What ever happened to Matt Bentley a.k.a. Michael Shane? He was a big part of TNA in the early days, so is he blackballed from the industry like Teddy Hart for a “bad attitude” or something? – Andrew B.

A: Michael Shane is actually the real life cousin of Shawn Michaels. He had a good run in TNA from 2003-2007 and even held the X-Division title on two occasions. I never heard of him having an attitude problem, so I’m not sure exactly why he left wrestling, but he has not been blackballed. He did start a band called “Lost in Chaos” with some friends in Florida.

Q: I [want to get] your thoughts on PPV’s. I have noticed there seems to be more themed shows and I like that idea. That’s pretty much how it was before having WrestleMania and SummerSlam and the themes with Survivor Series and Royal Rumble. Just wondering what others may think of that. – Jared Robertson

A: Actually, WWE did not have any themed PPV’s, like they do now, before WrestleMania and Summerslam. Survivor Series likely would have been the first with the Rumble debuting the following year (though not as a PPV until 1989). I will disagree with you that all of these themed shows are a good idea. Having events every year like Money in the Bank, Hell in a Cell and TLC totally waters down those concepts, not to mention it locks you into having to do those matches at a time when it may not be appropriate to do so within the scope of your main storylines. If John Cena and Alberto Del Rio just started a new feud the month before, all of a sudden they have to have a Cell match? It’s the sort of thing that is best saved as the climax of a big feud, but often times, these gimmick shows screw that all up. I wouldn’t mind Elimination Chamber as much as it’s a nice buffer between Rumble and Mania, but I don’t see the need to have two of them on the same show.

Q: Does a superstar have to change their ring gear if they change companies like Mistico and RVD? Also, when Triple H said he would die trying to end [Undertaker’s] streak, is he gone from WWE action and just a backstage guy or will he come back to the ring and still have couple of title reigns? – John

A: As always, there are exceptions when it comes to ring gear. If someone’s gear has their name or logo on it and the promotion owns the copyright, they would be unable to use that elsewhere. Most guys have their own ring gear made, so as long as that is not an issue, they can still use it. No one was going to stop Hulk Hogan from wearing red and yellow in WCW or Sting from wearing crow face paint if he went to WWE. As for Triple H, I guarantee he has not wrestled his last match, but he will be saved for big matches only as his backstage role grows considerably. I don’t see him having more than maybe one more title reign, and even that would likely only be under dire consequences, such as if John Cena and Randy Orton both went down with injuries at the same time. I think Ric Flair’s “record” of 16 reigns is safe for now.

Q: In what way do you think Vince McMahon would have reacted had he known about the Benoit murders/suicide before Raw went live? You think he would have even addressed it? – Ryan B.

A: Some people believe strongly that, at that point, Vince already had a sense that Benoit had committed these sinister acts. Now, if prior to the show, police had publicly confirmed that Benoit did indeed kill his family, there is absolutely no way they could have aired that tribute to him. Of course it would have been addressed, in fact, Vince did just that the very next night at the start of ECW on SyFy. And he promptly said that would be the last time Mr. Benoit’s name would ever be uttered on WWE television again.

Q: Do I have a better shot of sleeping with Melina or John Cena losing the title? – Jose

A: I guess you better find some protection, but buy her some flowers first. Have fun!

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