MAILBAG: Who Was Responsible For Bob Holly’s Broken Neck?

SEScoops Mailbag for May 29th

(submit YOUR questions to sescoops@gmail.com)

Q: Why did Mr. Kennedy leave WWE? Was it because he landed a wrong move on Randy Orton because that’s what I heard or was it because he was on bad terms with the company? Basically, why did he leave and why does he hate Randy Orton? – Haider A.

A: Kennedy made far more enemies than just Randy Orton due to being perceived as unsafe to work with. It is believed that other top stars, including John Cena, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and possibly Undertaker all complained about Kennedy to management at one point or another. The breaking point came when he dropped Orton the wrong way during a 10-Man tag match on Raw and Orton freaked out on him backstage after the show in front of everyone. He holds Orton responsible for getting him fired a few days later, something Orton himself denies.

Q: I recently went to my first live event, but have been a fan of pro wrestling for most of my life. When I was at Raw a week or so ago, I wondered if Vince McMahon still travels to Raw events or if he mainly only shows up for PPVs or big Raws, like The Rock’s birthday. – Dennis

A: Vince travels to ALL television tapings and PPVs. Often, he will even be present backstage at Madison Square Garden for house shows. Just because he no longer appears on camera, he is still very much involved in the production aspects of the shows, especially where it concerns the announcers.

Q: What’s the back story regarding Brock Lesnar breaking Bob Holly’s neck in 2002? I’ve heard before that the botch wasn’t so much Lesnar’s fault as it was Holly’s. Supposedly, he refused to cooperate during the match, resulting in the injury. Is this true? – Matt

A: Yes, that is basically what happened. Holly had a reputation for being quite a prick back in the day, especially to young rookies. He totally sandbagged Lesnar as Brock tried to hoist him up for a simple powerbomb and Brock just dropped him on his head. It was completely unprofessional on Holly’s part. I don’t ever wish injury on anyone, but Holly totally deserved it and to this day, I get a nice belly laugh out of it whenever I watch the clip back on YouTube. You play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

Q: You recently published an article about the long-lasting animosity between Vince McMahon and Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage. In the article you stated that this involved rumors of an incident that transpired between Stephanie McMahon and Savage years ago, and that some higher ups in WWE believed it to be true. I think I remember hearing briefly about this before. Is the rumor that Savage slept with Stephanie at some point? If so, would you be able to explain the incident? More importantly, do you believe this to be true? – Andrew C.

A: Personally, it doesn’t matter what I think. It is all rumor and speculation and would be unfair to discuss this any further given that one of the parties involved is now dead and unable to either defend himself or corroborate the story. If Vince McMahon, or better yet Stephanie McMahon, ever cares to comment on this publicly, then we will know the real story once and for all. Until such time, this remains nothing more than an internet rumor without any evidence or witnesses to back it up. If something sinister or illegal happened and somebody can prove it, then man up and step forward. Otherwise, let the man rest in peace.

Q: Is RAW Roulette rigged and planned, or are the matches random? – Brad H.

A: Like most everything else in WWE, it is rigged. The only gimmick they’ve used in recent years that was reported to be genuine was the fan voting for the old Cyber Sunday PPV.

Q: I’ve been watching wrestling for a long time now and it’s been a while since WWE has had a World champion who was African American. Now I’m not a racist or prejudice or anything like that, I’m just wondering why we haven’t seen one in so long. What are your thoughts? – Herman

A: I always hate it when people feel they have to preface their statements by saying they are not a racist. Is that really what we’ve come to today? If I tell you that there are few black performers on the active WWE roster who are worthy of being World champion (and have a proven track record of making money), then it’s because it’s the damn truth. Mark Henry and Ezekiel Jackson are not the answer. However, there is one African American star that has blown me away with his performance over the last month and, in my opinion, deserves a run with the WWE Title. That man would be Ron Killings. He has been such a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stale product, I’d be proud to see R-Truth in a program with John Cena.

Q: Do you find it kind of dark that Randy Savage gets in a fatal car wreck and then WWE pulls that crap with the Big Show and Del Rio on Raw? – Ryan B.

A: No, I don’t see the connection at all. I was more offended by how stupid and unrealistic that angle was last Monday.

Q: At Backlash 2006, Vince and Shane McMahon beat Shawn Michaels and “God”. Did Shawn mind this as he is a big Christian or did he understand that it is all for show? – Richard Knox

A: He obviously didn’t mind too much since he went through with the angle anyway. If he was that bothered by it, he could have refused to do it. I do like this idea that he is a ”big Christian” (which I don’t doubt), yet he also never seemed to have a problem going out in front of arenas full of kids and getting them to shout “Suck It” at the top of their lungs. I suppose they were referring to lollypops.

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