Black Widow
05-21-2008, 08:01 PM
Tuesday’s announcement that William Regal has been suspended for 60 days from the WWE is regrettable on many fronts. When I was in charge of the WWE talent roster a few years ago we sent Regal to drug rehab as he struggled to overcome his issues. Regal eventually became a success story as he cleaned himself up and got on with his life and career. In recent years, Regal has been a hard working, reliable and viable member of the talent roster. As a talent perhaps even to the point of being under utilized in the eyes of some. I do not know the details of his recent 60 day suspension but I do not think that Regal has "fallen off the wagon" and retreated to his misdirected ways of years gone by. Nonetheless, something went awry and the WWE Wellness Program, which is more thorough and organized than ever before, dropped the hammer on the talented Brit. With no pay for 60 days, two strikes against him and a family to care for, Regal finds himself in a challenging position. Some weak minded individuals could "poor me" it and say to hell with it and revert back to those aforementioned issues, but, I do not think Regal fits into that category.
This should be a great lesson for every one on the roster….be careful of every thing one ingests, including over the counter supplements that might contain even traces of banned substances. Education again becomes a key term in this issue as it is incumbent on each individual with which this program applies to know what is banned and what is not.
Inevitably some wrestlers will always continue to try and "beat the system" and eventually they will be caught and punished. My gut wants to say that William Regal was not intentionally trying to beat the system, but nonetheless the blood work doesn’t lie.
I know that Regal has many peers who are pulling for him to return better than ever in 60 days and I count myself among them.
Great to see that this Monday’s Raw in Denver has been sold out now for quite some time. It seems like it has been forever since were in the Rocky Mountain area and I am looking forward to it. The last time I was in Colorado it was a long day at the office as the CU Buffaloes beat Oklahoma on a last second field goal to upset the Sooners. That was my first trip to Boulder and I can see why so many folks enjoy that beautiful part of America. I wonder if Dr. Death Steve Williams or Leon "Vader" White will drop by and say hello to their friends in the WWE while Monday Night Raw is in their home area.
Mick Foley, by his own admission, is finding his new role as the color analyst on Smackdown to be a challenging one, but the intelligent Foley will no doubt be his diligent self and become a mainstay at the announce desk over time. Over my many years at the announce desk I have seen some of the greatest promo guys ever join the announcers for commentary for a match and get completely exposed and not in a good way. Bottom line, broadcasting wrestling, especially in today’s ever changing marketplace, is not an easy job. Speaking in sound bytes, telling stories, being a narrator, asking questions without providing the answers and changing one’s vocal inflictions without always yelling are skills that takes time and effort to master. Mick Foley has never not given great effort and his knowledge of the business and natural sense of humor will serve him well as time goes on in addition to him continuing to develop chemistry with Michael Cole….if that is his real name. Mick may find that "finding his rhythm" as a broadcaster is just as challenging as getting hired by the WWE back in the day, even though that seemed to have worked out well for all involved.
Yours truly is still on track to attend the Cauliflower Alley Club convention, at least two days of it, on June 10-11 and I may have "recruited" Stone Cold Steve Austin to attend as well. Steve loves the heritage of our business and if his schedule allows he may well venture to Vegas and enjoy the festivities which most likely means my bar tab just took a hit. This is not a done deal but there could be a "Texas Rattlesnake" sighting in Las Vegas in a few weeks. I had better stock up on plenty of J.R.’s Beef Jerky for this trip as there may be a couple of "all-nighters" in my future in Vegas where a little snack is needed.
As I mentioned here a week ago, I really enjoyed my trip to Tampa, hanging out with the American Dream, seeing the WWE’s new state-of-the-art training facility and observing the young men and women train in hopes of some day becoming WWE Superstars. I did not go into any detail regarding the names of the prospects who I thought might have a better chance of making it than others and I likely won’t for the time being. First of all, it’s hard to assess talent in 24 hours or so plus I certainly do not want what I might write here to adversely affect or discourage any one in the program. However, I can say that the WWE cupboards are not bare but at the same time I did not see any one I would call up "tomorrow". "Don’t pick ‘em too green" as has been said in this space before.
That reminds me….I promised the "Dream" some more Chipotle ketchup….I’ve got him hooked. :)
I see where the WWE’s next event in Monterrey, Mexico is already sold out and it looks as if the upcoming 4 day tour of Mexico is going to do big business. The potential money that wrestlers will be making in the future in cities outside the USA is scary.
Wrestling fans in the Bay area of San Francisco and Oakland will get to see two Monday Night Raws produced on Monday June 9. One will be live, followed by a taped version, that will air the following Monday. The entire presentation should still be completed by 10 p.m. or so Bay Area Bomber time. Speaking of the Bay area, San Fran, the Cow Palace, long time wrestling promoter Roy Shire, etc do you think that any of the young tag teams of today ever think to watch tapes/DVDs of the combo of Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens who ruled that area for years? Patterson and Stevens were arguably one of the top 5 tag teams of all time and that statement may be somewhat conservative.
No, I did not forget that it was almost 9 years ago at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, the same arena Monday Night Ray emanated from this week, where Owen Hart fell to his death. We did not speak of it on air nor did I think that we would, but it was definitely a point of discussion for many of us during the day especially for the King and me on our drive down from Omaha on Monday. Jerry and I sat in the same exact spot this past Monday night that we sat 9 years ago on the saddest night of our careers. After Monday’s show went off the air, some fans in attendance started an "Owen" chant which was emotional for many of us that were Owen’s friends and especially for those of us that were actually in attendance that night.
We may not have spoken of the moment 9 years ago on the air but it was in many of our hearts throughout the day and evening. It’s impossible for me to walk into Kemper Arena without thinking of Owen Hart.
Thanks for checking out our on line store. I am told that this site will be back fully operational soon so we can begin our popular Q&A features. Bear with us….it could be this week.
Boomer Sooner!
J.R.
jrsbarbq.com
This should be a great lesson for every one on the roster….be careful of every thing one ingests, including over the counter supplements that might contain even traces of banned substances. Education again becomes a key term in this issue as it is incumbent on each individual with which this program applies to know what is banned and what is not.
Inevitably some wrestlers will always continue to try and "beat the system" and eventually they will be caught and punished. My gut wants to say that William Regal was not intentionally trying to beat the system, but nonetheless the blood work doesn’t lie.
I know that Regal has many peers who are pulling for him to return better than ever in 60 days and I count myself among them.
Great to see that this Monday’s Raw in Denver has been sold out now for quite some time. It seems like it has been forever since were in the Rocky Mountain area and I am looking forward to it. The last time I was in Colorado it was a long day at the office as the CU Buffaloes beat Oklahoma on a last second field goal to upset the Sooners. That was my first trip to Boulder and I can see why so many folks enjoy that beautiful part of America. I wonder if Dr. Death Steve Williams or Leon "Vader" White will drop by and say hello to their friends in the WWE while Monday Night Raw is in their home area.
Mick Foley, by his own admission, is finding his new role as the color analyst on Smackdown to be a challenging one, but the intelligent Foley will no doubt be his diligent self and become a mainstay at the announce desk over time. Over my many years at the announce desk I have seen some of the greatest promo guys ever join the announcers for commentary for a match and get completely exposed and not in a good way. Bottom line, broadcasting wrestling, especially in today’s ever changing marketplace, is not an easy job. Speaking in sound bytes, telling stories, being a narrator, asking questions without providing the answers and changing one’s vocal inflictions without always yelling are skills that takes time and effort to master. Mick Foley has never not given great effort and his knowledge of the business and natural sense of humor will serve him well as time goes on in addition to him continuing to develop chemistry with Michael Cole….if that is his real name. Mick may find that "finding his rhythm" as a broadcaster is just as challenging as getting hired by the WWE back in the day, even though that seemed to have worked out well for all involved.
Yours truly is still on track to attend the Cauliflower Alley Club convention, at least two days of it, on June 10-11 and I may have "recruited" Stone Cold Steve Austin to attend as well. Steve loves the heritage of our business and if his schedule allows he may well venture to Vegas and enjoy the festivities which most likely means my bar tab just took a hit. This is not a done deal but there could be a "Texas Rattlesnake" sighting in Las Vegas in a few weeks. I had better stock up on plenty of J.R.’s Beef Jerky for this trip as there may be a couple of "all-nighters" in my future in Vegas where a little snack is needed.
As I mentioned here a week ago, I really enjoyed my trip to Tampa, hanging out with the American Dream, seeing the WWE’s new state-of-the-art training facility and observing the young men and women train in hopes of some day becoming WWE Superstars. I did not go into any detail regarding the names of the prospects who I thought might have a better chance of making it than others and I likely won’t for the time being. First of all, it’s hard to assess talent in 24 hours or so plus I certainly do not want what I might write here to adversely affect or discourage any one in the program. However, I can say that the WWE cupboards are not bare but at the same time I did not see any one I would call up "tomorrow". "Don’t pick ‘em too green" as has been said in this space before.
That reminds me….I promised the "Dream" some more Chipotle ketchup….I’ve got him hooked. :)
I see where the WWE’s next event in Monterrey, Mexico is already sold out and it looks as if the upcoming 4 day tour of Mexico is going to do big business. The potential money that wrestlers will be making in the future in cities outside the USA is scary.
Wrestling fans in the Bay area of San Francisco and Oakland will get to see two Monday Night Raws produced on Monday June 9. One will be live, followed by a taped version, that will air the following Monday. The entire presentation should still be completed by 10 p.m. or so Bay Area Bomber time. Speaking of the Bay area, San Fran, the Cow Palace, long time wrestling promoter Roy Shire, etc do you think that any of the young tag teams of today ever think to watch tapes/DVDs of the combo of Pat Patterson and Ray Stevens who ruled that area for years? Patterson and Stevens were arguably one of the top 5 tag teams of all time and that statement may be somewhat conservative.
No, I did not forget that it was almost 9 years ago at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, the same arena Monday Night Ray emanated from this week, where Owen Hart fell to his death. We did not speak of it on air nor did I think that we would, but it was definitely a point of discussion for many of us during the day especially for the King and me on our drive down from Omaha on Monday. Jerry and I sat in the same exact spot this past Monday night that we sat 9 years ago on the saddest night of our careers. After Monday’s show went off the air, some fans in attendance started an "Owen" chant which was emotional for many of us that were Owen’s friends and especially for those of us that were actually in attendance that night.
We may not have spoken of the moment 9 years ago on the air but it was in many of our hearts throughout the day and evening. It’s impossible for me to walk into Kemper Arena without thinking of Owen Hart.
Thanks for checking out our on line store. I am told that this site will be back fully operational soon so we can begin our popular Q&A features. Bear with us….it could be this week.
Boomer Sooner!
J.R.
jrsbarbq.com