Shawn Michaels Retires

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You mean Owen Hart? I remember his Wrestlemania X match vs Bret. Awesome.

Snuka in the HOF was deserved. His steel cage matches against "The Magnificent One" Don Muraco are all classics, and IIRC, Snuka was the founding father of the high-flying style in America. His daughter's ring name is "Tamina", for the record, and she manages Jey and Jimmy Uso, the sons of Rikishi. She's still green, but she's only going to get better. I'd love to see a *true* match against Natalya.

Ric Flair does still wrestle occasionally, but he helps establish younger talent when he does. As for Hogan... persistent rumors of a match against Sting this Fall at TNA's Bound For Glory. The Stinger himself is 50 something... I know they share a lot of history going back to WCW and that Sting HATES Hogan, but I DO NOT want to see them in a match. Sting dishes out good matches considering his age, but Hogan is just too crippled to put on good matches.

 

Does Bobby "The Brain" Heenan still manage all the bad guys?

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"The Magnificent One"? Is this the same person as Don "The Rock" Muraco? He was lame.

 

No, The Brain is retired... he has had it rough health-wise. He had throat cancer, and he had to get reconstructive surgery for his jaw. IIRC, he was operated for that before, but it got infected and they had to re-operate him and reconstruct his jaw.

The Brain was great as a commentator in WCW. I still own some WCW PPVs and watch some from time to time, and every time I do, it cracks me up. His arguments with Schiovane and Tenay... priceless.

 

Harbourboy... you're letting me down.

 

I'll give you the Greg "The Hammer" Valentine "Figure Four Leg Lock" if you're not careful, Barmy. Then you'll stop moaning about being let down.

 

Ugh, that it was. I consider it the best match on the card, by far, and that Wrestlemania had some very good bouts.

Ric Flair I'm not very keen on seeing in the ring, and the humiliation that he had to endure from Jay Lethal was beyond tasteless, but the man is insane on the microphone. As the manager of his current stable, Fortune, he is great. In fact, I think the idea of the stable isn't bad either - while dominant must have been around for forever, I can't help but be impressed by the roster they've got. Now if only we could get rid of Hogan, Bischoff, Jarrett, Nash and that little reminiscence angle of theirs... That is a story for another time, though.

Anyway, Michaels... I missed his initial years in the 90s, and I might have had a grudge-by-proxy against him for the whole screwjob/Bret in WCW/Bret's retirement thing. However, I can't deny he was a great performer and an all-around master of his craft. Few wrestlers in the modern era can claim to have it all like he did. He will be missed.

HB, when was the last time you were into wrestling - the 80s?

 

The last time I watched wrestling, Boris Zukoff was in a tag team called The Bolsheiviks.

 

Boris Zukoff....? Ahh, yes, of course... Nikolai Volkoff's replacement partner after the Iron Sheik was fired.

Argh, damn you HB, now I feel like watching some Iron Sheik shoot interviews just to hear him talk trash about Hulk Hogan.

And yes, Slick Ric is THE MAN on the microphone, especially since he doesn't have WWE tuning him down or keeping him on a leash.

 

I think Flair was known for his staying power. Not much moves but he sure can withstand all those moves that other wrestlers send his way. And that he still wrestle in his 60's is just a testament of that power. He's also great in promoting some of the newer talents. Playing the role of "bad influence" by having them as his teammates and then be the bad guy to help them shine as heroes.

The Blue Blazer (or Owen Hart), didn't that guy died during a high-profile match? I remember the tribute match that had his brother Bret Hart go against Chris Benoit. That was one match of pure skills and brains.

Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka... I remember that guy, most of his opponents leaves the match on a stretcher.

I think there were also a number of great oldies who past away by way of unpleasant reasons. You know, drugs, alcohol, steroids and the likes. Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig was one, Elizabeth (Macho Man's ex, and Lex Luger's wife), Ravishing Ric Rude, Bam Bam Bigelow and Crash Holly too. And there's highly publicize death of Eddie Guerero. British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith died of heart attack believed to be brought about by steroid complications. The Junk Yard Dog died in an accident. The saddest one would be Chris Benoit, suicide after murdering his wife and son, was said to be related to some drugs that increases the level of testosterone.

 

Well, to be fair to Ric Flair, I think his moveset was quite decent for when he was entering the business. To expect him to keep with the fad for high-flying acrobatics when he's in his 50s (and even that was a while ago) is absurd, but he makes do with what he has, and a good deal of theatrics. That, and his willingness to do things to himself many guys a good deal younger wouldn't. Guy must have got his blood cleaned off hundreds of rings by now . Still, I wouldn't say he was bad. I need to check some of his old stuff, like against Ricky Steamboat - I think he was quite good there, and he wasn't exactly young either.

After all, a lot of famous wrestlers weren't technical geniuses. Actually, I'd say most of the modern era WWF/E superstars I've seen were around average in that department - maybe Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin being the (positive) outliers. The best performers tended to be one or two rungs below. Besides, HB, saying that someone is less technically skilled than Owen Hart is not exactly a damning indictment - Owen was simply phenomenal in the ring .

 

Austin is a TERRIFIC technician, but unfortunately his pure wrestling was never properly showcased in WWF, and it's a damned shame. If you guys want to see a more technical Austin, his tenure in ECW has some damned good wrestling matches, and I do mean wrestling.

Back to Slick Ric, yeah, he has that staying power. Pretty much everywhere he's been, he tasted gold. NWA? Check. WCW? Check. WWF? Check. Several "Matches of the Year" and several "Feuds of the year", too. Flair has the starpower to elevate younger talent, and he's doing exactly that.

Although I'm not too keen on seeing him wrestle at 60+ (says the guy who watched Terry Funk compete in a Hardcore Match in ECW back in 2006, 57y/o), Slick Ric brings starpower to the table, and Fortune, if used correctly, is going to be a boon to all of those guys' starpower. Robert Roode was supposed to become TNA World Heavyweight Champion (back then know as the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, prior to TNA withdrawing from the NWA) back in '04, and when Fortune folds, I think it's going to happen. Roode oozes charisma, he is pretty damned good on the mic, and he can wrestle damned well, too.

James Storm I'm not too sure about. Funny how BM started as super-heels and then became faces. Could James Storm carry the company as WHC? Hmmm. Personally, I think Storm's name will forever be associated with Chris Harris and AMW. TV Title would be great, though. Storm is damned hard to understand, but he's entertaining.

Styles... multiple time Triple Crown Champ. The guy needs no introductions. He looks to be finally comfortable playing the heel role, and I could see him once more reaching for the World Title. Phenomenal? Damned right. If AJ Styles is in a match, you're going to get your money's worth. His work as one of the pioneers of the near-death X-Division has to be commended too.

 

Whatever happened to Brutus the Barber Beefcake?

 

Retired. Had a stint in WCW as a part of the NWO B-Team along with the former Virgil, Stevie Ray, Horace Hogan, and other nameless jobbers.

 

Also, he was involved in a parasailing accident that severely injured his face. From stories I've read, he needed a ton of surgery to put his face back together because most of the front of his skull was smashed. He eventually returned to wrestling after the incident and then retired.

 

And Hacksaw Jim Duggan?

 

Still works for the WWE, on a Legends Deal (meaning he can make appearances outside of WWE, like autograph signings or Indy bookings), makes sporadic appearances as a wrestler. Still carries that 2x4 and still yells "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". Not much to say, he hasn't done anything of importance. He won the first Royal Rumble, sure, but the Royal Rumble was no big deal until the 4th or 5th one.

 

Akeem - the African Giant?

 

You mean the former One Man Gang, correct? He appeared at Wrestlemania X-Seven as part of the gimmick battle royal.

He has dropped a lot of weight, so I hear, and works as a prison guard while making sporadic appearances on various indy federations. Most recently in the IWC, and I can't believe what I am about to say, but he was defeated by Hacksaw Jim Duggan.

Speaking of Duggan, I hear he is a kidney cancer survivor. Believe it or not, in WCW, Duggan was a one-time US Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time TV Champion... well, sort of, since he claimed the title as his after Hall threw it in the garbage.

 

Jake the Snake Roberts? I can't remember the name of his snake,

 

It's funny you should ask because earlier this week at an indie wrestling show, Jake Roberts formally retired from active wrestling due to health concerns. He's 55.