Is wrestling fake?

Generally speaking and in one word, YES wrestling is fake. However, upon further elaboration of the word "fake", it becomes clear that wrestling is a bit "real" too. Although the outcome of matches are determined beforehand and the athletes work together to produce what we do see, the actual moves performed throughout the course of a given one-one-one encounter are very much real. A lot of the moves that the viewers witness are executed in full motion and although they do look rather devastating, it is to the credit of the wrestler that his opponent does not get hurt. Those that do tell you otherwise that wrestling all "real" are only doing so to preserve "kayfabe".

Is wrestling considered a sport?

No, because the matches are pre-determined and no doctor is at ringside. As a result, both the WWF and WCW have adopted alternative terms to circumvent calling it an actual sport. The WWF chooses to call it's product "sports entertainment" while WCW usually refers to it as the "wrestling business".

Are the matches planned out before-hand?

That depends on who is fighting. In simplistic terms, there are considered to be three classes of wrestlers. The first type are usually the aerialists and those with a strong wrestling backgrounds. These guys can almost always step into a ring and totally improvise as the match goes on. The second class contains the majority of the wrestlers we know and these men are the average guys, from Stone Cold to the Rock to Undertaker to Sting. They will have the general flow of the battle already decided upon and will call "spots" to their opponents as the match goes on. The third class includes the non-technical wrestlers, the giants and those with limited wrestling background. These athletes will heavily "plan" out their matches beforehand and may even rehearse with their opponent a few days prior to the event. Problems arise when wrestlers of two different classes are pitted against each other since this causes a lot of confusion to both the wrestlers and the fans watching. One guy will attempt to carry out his UNPLANNED spots while his opponent will put up a huge struggle to follow the general guidelines set earlier.

Do the wrestlers actually bleed?

Yes and no. Most often, a wrestler will have a blood capsule hidden in his trunks or his shoes and his opponent hits him, he will burst the capsule and blood will spill out. Occasionally, a wrestler will really bleed but this is relatively uncommon. The other alternative is for a wrestler to hide a small razor blade in his trunks and he will cut himself when the time calls for it. This is called "blading".

How do the wrestlers not get hurt when hit by foreign objects?

In a short sentence: because they are wrestlers and know how to take bumps. Sure, the chairs are probably not made of the strongest metal you have seen but there is some physics involved as well. Most of the wrestlers, just before they are hit with the chair will move their head in the direction of the blow and this serves to sort of cushion the impact. However, to take nothing away from them, they really do get nailed and again it is a testiment to the skills they have developed as they train to become a professional wrestler.

Shawn Michaels

1. Is Shawn Michaels gay?
To the best of everyone's knowledge, Shawn is not a homosexual. In fact, he is either engaged to be married or already has been married depending on whom you talk to.

2. What happened that time Shawn Michaels was attacked by the thugs?
Well, details are still unknown, but the general consensus is that Michaels, Sean Waltman (X-Pac) and Davey Smith (Bulldog) were emerging from a bar in Syracuse, when they were confronted by a group of men. Some of the guys held Smith and Waltman back, while the rest of them gave Shawn a beating which resulted in a brief hospitalization. It also forced Michaels to forfeit the IC belt to Shane Douglas a few nights later.

3. What happened at Survivor Series during the "Bret Hart" incident?
This one is also a mystery, but most insiders agree that Shawn did in fact know about the screwjob being played on Bret Hart. Basically, Shawn, Vince and some higher WWF officials met and decided that they would end the match in Michaels' favor despite the fact that Bret was told a different story. Shawn put Hart in the sharpshooter, Vince ordered the bell rung even though Hart never submitted, Shawn walked off as the new champion, Bret punched Vince and went to WCW a few weeks later and the rest is history.

4. Who are the members of "The Clique"?
The official members are said to include Shawn Michaels, Jean-Paul Levesque (Hunter Hearst Helmsley), Sean Waltman (X-Pac), Kevin Nash (Diesel) and Scott Hall (Razor Ramon). The five men are/were best friends in "real life". Conversely, "The Kliq" is the name Shawn Michaels gave to his fans as sort of an inside joke to those that knew about the the true "Clique".

5. What happened in New York regarding the Clique?
Just prior to Hall and Nash leaving the WWF for WCW, Shawn, HHH, Disel and Razor all engaged in a group hug in the middle of the ring following a Shawn-Diesel match. This was 100% "shoot" (real) as it was one of the most blantant and obvious breakings of kayfabe ever witnessed as Shawn and Razor were both faces while HHH and Diesel were heels. Hunter was the only one who actually was punished for the incident as he was put on jobbing duty for the remainder of the year. Michaels was the current WWF champ and got off relatively light.

Hulk Hogan

1. Why did he leave the WWF?
Easy. He got more money and a lot of more booking power within than WCW than he ever had with the WWF. At the time that Hogan made the switch, the WWF was seriously hyping up Bret "Hitman" Hart and to a lesser extent Shawn Michaels as their "main man". Hogan was offered a smaller role within the company, which also inevitably included less pay. Hulk left the WWF in 1993 on modest terms and went to Hollywood to make some movies before signing on with Ted Turner's WCW the following year in 1994.

2. What happened to "Hulkamania"?
In a short answer, Turner and WCW had hoped for Hogan's appearance in their promotion to bolster the ratings and bring in more revenue. However, the die-hard WWF fans that equated Hulk Hogan to the WWF never allowed his character to take off in WCW and so a new angle was thought up for Hulk. Enter Hollywood Hogan, a big time heel and leader of the New World Order (nWo) along with the newly WWF-departed Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. It is interesting to note that originally, WCW had planned on Hogan opposing the nWo and having Hall, Nash and Bret Hart form the outlaw stable but due to Bret's choice of remaining with WWF, that plan was quickly scrapped.

3. Who owns the rights to the "Hulk Hogan" gimmick--Vince McMahon or Hogan himself?
Neither of them do. Marvel Comics actually struck a deal with the WWF and Titan Sports to have exclusive rights to the gimmick since they came up with the "Incredible Hulk" character long before the WWF introduced Hulk Hogan.

4. Will he ever come back to the WWF?
Now that is one tough question to answer. Although, Vince McMahon and Hogan parted ways rather modestly in 1993, future events that were due in large part to the WWF-WCW war has strained their business and personal relationship. Given that, it is doubtful to assume that he will once again return to the WWF. However, as the saying goes "anything can happen in the WWF" and I would never ever rule out a "Hulkamania" return to the WWF. Ever.

Vince McMahon

1. Does he really own the WWF?
Technically speaking no. Although he has full booking power, all money power, hires and fires all the wrestlers, his official position is designated as the "Chairman of Titan Sports Inc.". The actual "owner" of the WWF is his wife Linda McMahon but we all know that Vince runs the show.

2. Does he really hate Steve Austin?
Of course not. Steve Austin is the WWF's (and consequently his company's) biggest draw and as much as either party will deny it, the two do get along in "real life".

The Ultimate Warrior

1. How many Ultimate Warriors have there been?
The answer to one of the most common questions I recieve is ONE! The man formerly known as Jim Hellwig (more on that later) is the one and only Ultimate Warrior despite changes in appearance, stature, name, organizations, etc. The reason we know this is that Hellwig LEGALLY changed his name to "Warrior" way back when and NO ONE (besides himself) would ever be allowed to use that in any promotion. This leads to another point which is observable from the above facts and that is that the Ultimate Warrior never died (obviously). He is alive and is under WCW contract at the time of this writing.

2. Who were the Blade Runners?
The Ultimate Warrior and Sting back in the mid-80s, before either man made it big.

3. Why did he leave the WWF in the years 1991, 1992 and 1996?
In 1991 and 1992, he left because he was being moved in a lesser slot within WWF's roster (much like Hogan) and exercised an option in his contract that allowed him to go elsewhere. In 1996, the Warrior missed an awful lot of dates and wasn't figuring in on any of the WWF's big angles so the company decided to release him.

4. What happened to "Warrior University"?
One word...BANKRUPTCY! Neither the Warrior or his staff was proficient enough to handle the affairs of running a wrestling school so it was shut down.

Ric Flair

1. Why did he leave WCW in 1991 to come to the WWF?
Same reason as usual. WCW offered him a 50% pay-cut on a new contract and midcard status. He opted for comparable pay and a higher status in WWF.

2. Why did he bring the NWA championship belt with him?
Because Flair owned it. Grant Crockett, the NWA owner sold the belt to Flair in exchange for salary money (he was going bankrupt) and when Flair left NWA, he took the belt with him. When Ted Turner took over WCW, he bought it back from Flair.

3. Why did he go back to WCW then in 1993?
Since his services were no longer needed in the WWF and since Flair wanted to go back to WCW, both the WWF and Ric Flair mutually agreed to terminate his contract and as a result both sides remain friendly to this day.

Psycho Sid

1. Where is he now?
As of this writing, Sid is working for the ECW and is also doing some independent shows around the country. However, it is general trait to no-show a lot of events, which is what is basically keeping him out of the WWF.

2. What happened between him and Arn Anderson back in WCW?
Back in 1993, Sid and Arn Anderson got into a bit of a scuffle in their hotel rooms and Sid used a pair of scissors to stab Arn, which caused numerous stitches to close up. Arn was suspended and Sid was fired with the vow from WCW that they would never again hire him back.

3. Who were the Skyscrapers?
At first the team consisted of Sid Eudy and Dan Spivey. However, later on Sid got injured and was replaced by Mark Calloway, known to wrestling fans as the Undertaker. Contrary to popular belief, Sid and Calloway were NEVER a team.

4. Will he ever return to the WWF?
Due to his enormous drawing power, the WWF would almost surely scoop Sid up right away IF he would show some committment to the sport. Sid isn't the world's healthiest wrestler nor is he the most well-liked in the dressing room, but the simple fact that he puts "butts in the seat" (I'll quote an ignorant announcer) always leaves the possibility of him re-appearing in the WWF open. He will not emerge in WCW, especially as long as Arn Anderson is employed there.

Randy Savage

1. Is he really married to Elizabeth?
Not anymore. They got married some time in 1984 and were married throughout their WWF careers despite the "mock" wedding Vince McMahon staged at SummerSlam 91. In 1992, the two divorced on mutually amicable terms and continue to work together in the wrestling profession.

2. Did he have a brother involved in pro wrestling?
Yes, you may remember him as either "Leaping" Lanny Poffo or the Genius. Randy Savage's real name is Randy Poffo.

Steve Austin

1. Where did this "Austin 3:16" thing come from?
In 1996, after winning the King of the Ring tournament over Jake Roberts, who was a born again Christian, Austin sort of mocked Roberts by saying "Talk about your psalms, talk about your John 3:16...well, Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass." The catch phrase was picked up and endorsed to the fullest and has a lot to do with Austin's rise in popularity.

2. What was his "Ringmaster" gimmick all about?
When Austin first entered the WWF, he was dubbed as Ted DiBiase's "million dollar champion" and given the million dollar belt. His character name was the Ringmaster. However, as most of us know, the gimmick failed miserably and in a prime example of a good wrestler overcoming a bad gimmick, Austin was re-packaged and introduced as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. And we all know what happened after that.

3. Why don't Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff get along?
In short, because Bischoff never gave Austin his chance in the spotlight even after promising verbally to do so. Furthermore, soon after releasing Austin, Bischoff was quoted as saying "he will never make it big in this industry". Steve retaliated by signing with the WWF and the rest is history.

4. Is Austin the most popular professional wrestler in history?
Generally speaking, yes he is. He is moving more merchandise off the shelves than Hogan did in his prime but that could possibly be attributed to wrestling's increased popularity. Currently, Austin merchandise outsells Goldberg merchandise by a 2:1 ratio.

5. What happened at SummerSlam 97 involving Owen Hart?
In a match between the two, Owen executed a tombstone piledriver incorrectly, and in the process bent Austin's neck in an awkward position which caused partial paralysis during the match. Struggling to his feet and still able to win the match (as the scripts dictated), the move caused permanent damage to Austin and is still something from which he has not yet fully recovered from. Also as a result, this has caused somewhat ill feelings between Owen Hart and Steve Austin, which is a good reason why the two rarely wrestle each other anymore. A popular misconception is that the spot was planned to put Owen over a mega-heel but just to re-iterate, all the above was 100% legit.

Mick Foley

1. What happened to his ear?
On March 16, 1994, in a match against Vader in Germany, Cactus Jack got his head caught in the ropes somehow and the tension between the ropes got tighter and tighter until it finally snapped his right ear off. Although it was purely accidental, his left ear required numerous stitches and his right ear, although iced and saved, could not be put back on. Later on, Foley filed a lawsuit against WCW, citing improper "ring structure". On a sidenote, apart from a few balance problems, Mick feels no ill effects and no hearing loss.

2. What does the "three faces of Foley" refer to?
Just to his three gimmicks, Cactus Jack, Dude Love and Mankind. He has taken on all three personas in the WWF, with Mankind being the most common.

Dustin Runnels

1. Is Goldust gay?
Hell no. In fact, neither the character nor the person is a homosexual. Dustin is actually married with a child and the Goldust character is simply intended to throw his opponents off-guard with the mind-games that Goldust does play.

2. Are Dustin and Terri really married?
Yes, Dustin Runnels married Terri Boatwright sometime in 1992 when both were in WCW. Dustin introduced her into the WWF spotlight as his "director" Marlena at the 1996 Royal Rumble.

3. What's up with him and Dusty Rhodes?
Although father and son, the two share a very strained relationship and at this time rarely (never) talk to one another. The details of why this is so is still unclear.

Demolition

1. Who are all the people who were part of the team?
The first two people in it were Ax (Bill Eadie) and Smash (Randy Culley). The original Smash was fired from the WWF shortly thereafter for undisclosed reasons and the WWF brought on Barry Darsow to play the role. The new duo are the wrestlers people picture when thinking of Demolition. Bryan Adams (Crush) was added to the team in 1990, Ax was fired from the WWF and Smash and Crush tagged for a few months before the team dismantled later in 1991.

2. Why was Ax fired?
The main reason he was fired was because Ax had a medical abnormality with his heart that became serious in 1990. Crush was added to the team so that Ax would not be needed to wrestler full-time but when things got progressively worse, the WWF released Eadie.

3. Did they ever face Hawk and Animal of LOD?
Although they squared off in several 6-man tag matches (LOD and Warrior vs. all 3 Demolition), one night at a house show, Crush was injured and couldn't compete and Warrior no-showed. This lead to the one and only meeting between the two original Demolition members (Ax and Smash) and the Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal). The LOD won the match.

4. Are they ever coming back?
Don't count on it. The only place the Demolition team can legally come back is in the WWF and currently, Ax is in a legal dispute with Titan over the rights to his and the Demolition name and Smash is with WCW.

The Undertaker

1. Has there been more than one Undertaker?
Nope. Mark Calloway is the one and only despite his changes in appearance. The guy you see now is the very same guy who entered the WWF back in 1990. Orginally, he entered the fed as the Undertaker and as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at the Survivor Series. However, within a few weeks, the WWF sort of gave him a makeover and he became known as "Kane the Undertaker". Much confusion is brought over this considering the fact that his "brother" in current WWF storylines is also Kane. It's just a coincidence and probably due to the fact that WWF bookers like the name Kane. Anyhow, back to the topic at hand, that gimmick was short lived as well and the WWF changed him back to the Undertaker and dropped former manager Brother Love for Paul Bearer.

2. What was the "fake Undertaker" thing all about?
This one has a lot of background to it but here is the general stuff that is really important. Ted DiBiase is the guy who originally brought in the Taker but as forementioned, Brother Love took over and then Paul Bearer stepped in after that. After a match with Yokozuna in 1994, the Taker was stuffed into a casket and mysteriously disappeared. No one, not even Paul Bearer knew where he went (in character of course). At the same time, Ted DiBiase began making claims that he had gotten in touch with The Undertaker and he would bring him back for Summerslam. Paul Bearer contended that he was going to be the one that would bring the Undertaker back to the WWF. This went on and on for several weeks with both guys insisting they "had" the Undertaker. So a match was setup for Summerslam that pitted Ted DiBiase's Undertaker vs. Paul Bearer's. The "Underfaker" was Brian Lee (Chainz) dressed up like the real one and the end result was Paul Bearer's real one easily pinning the fake one led by DiBiase. After that, the subject was dropped and never talked about again from the WWF.

3. Who is Kane?
Well, if you mean who plays Kane, the answer is Glen Jacobs, the man that has previously taken on the roles of Dr. Isaac Yankem DDS and the Fake Diesel. He is not really Undertaker's brother and his face is not really burned.

The Giant

1. Is he really Andre the Giant's son?
NO!!!! It was just a publicity stunt by the WCW (Hogan in general) to lend more heat to Giant's character and to further signify a Hogan-Giant feud. Andre only had one daughter. The Giant (Paul Wight) is in NO way related to Andre.

The Rock

1. How did the "Rocky sucks" chants start?
Orginally, Rocky Maivia was brought in as a future superstar and instead of slowly building him up, the WWF immediately labelled Maivia as a bigtime "babyface" despite the fact that he was never over with the fans. What made it even worse is that Maivia was declared the WWF IC champion after a victory over HHH in 1997, which annoyed the fans so much that they started chanting "Rocky sucks, Rocky sucks" whenever Maivia appeared. Not good to have your babyface, Intercontinental champion get booed and a short while later, we all witnessed the inevitable heel turn as Maivia joined the Nation. The WWF turned what was a horrible situation into a huge advantage.

2. Why did they make him turn face and then back to heel?
Well, his face turn came about pretty much the same way his original heel turn happened. Despite being in the Nation and being a "bad guy", the Rock's famous catch phrases (The People's ...) made his popularity soar to unbelievable heights. The crowd popped him bigtime. The WWF noticed this and gradually moved him into the #2 face position in the company behind Austin. However, problems soon began to come up because now the WWF had two unbelieveably over faces and no heels to match them. As a result, the Rock turned on his fans and joined the Corporate Team, thus turning him back into a mega-heel. It is interesting to note that the same thing is happening yet again (he's getting cheered) so it would be a logical assumption to expect another face turn somewhere down the road.

Andre the Giant

1. Was he truly undefeated for 10 years?
Yes, from 1977 up until his defeat to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3, there was no documented case of anyone beating Andre. He may have lost during that time here and there, but again there are no records that show that.

2. How did he die?
Andre suffered from severe heart problems due to his immense height and weight. When he was a child, doctors predicted that he would not live past the age of 30. While attending his father's funeral in 1993, Andre died peacefully in his sleep at the age of 46 years old.

Eric Bischoff

1. What is his title in WCW?
Although Eric does not own WCW (that honor belongs to Ted Turner), he is responsible for the daily runnings of the company and his official title is "President of WCW". He looks over the booking, decides whom to hire, and controls the overall direction that company undertakes. He pretty much does the same things that Vince McMahon does for the WWF, however the big difference is that Bischoff can get fired, McMahon cannot.

Brian Pillman

1.Is Brian Pillman really dead?
-Yes, Pillman was found dead in his hotel room on October 5, 1997 and his death was announced just prior to the commencement of the WWF PPV IYH: Badd Blood. Contrary to popular belief, it was later found that Pillman died due to natural causes and more specifally an abnormal heart defect that he did not know about.

2. Who were the Hollywood Blondes?
-Brian Pillman and Steve Austin comprised the team in the year 1993 and they were an instant hit as the duo went on to capture the WCW/NWA tag titles later that year. However, soon after they were hit by terrible booking which caused them to split and head their own separate ways. Austin and Pillman, for those that do not know, were best friends in real life.

3. What was up with him and Marlena before his death?
-Goldust and Pillman engaged in a stipulation match whereby if Pillman won, he would get Marlena for 30 days and 30 nights. Brian did in fact win the match and was granted control of Marlena, however, his death interrupted their angle and Marlena returned to Goldust briefly before leaving the WWF with a leave of absence.

Shane Douglas

1. What is his relationship with WCW?
-In one word, horrendous. Douglas and WCW parted ways on horrible terms and since then Shane has become one of the most vocal wrestlers (along with Steve Austin) to voice his displeasure at the way they run things down south. He was particulary disgusted at his lack of a push and lack of payment and with that in mind it is doubtful he will ever return to WCW again. However, it is interesting to note that his tenure in WCW was BEFORE Eric Bischoff gained control of the helm.

2. What is his relationship with WWF?
-Not that good either because of one man, Shawn Michaels. It is a known fact that Douglas despises Michaels. The reason for this stems from Douglas' days as "Dean Douglas" in the WWF in 1995. Shane was already angry at his relatively low salary in WWF and to make matters worse he felt miffed at the fact that he was not allowed a clean win over Michaels due to the "Syracuse Incident" (check FAQ, Part 1). Michaels ended up forfeiting the title to Douglas at one of the PPVs and to make matters even worse, Shane was made to job the belt to Razor Ramon almost immediately. Ramon, as you may know, was/is a good friend of Shawn's.

The Von Erichs

1. Who were they?
-Technically speaking, there were no Von Erichs. The Adkisson family adopted the "Von Erich" persona as their wrestling name for many years. Throughout the years, there has been no fewer than 8 Von Erich family members competing in pro wrestling, making them one of the true wrestling families of the new era. They included Fritz, Waldo, Kevin, David, Kerry, Chris, Mike, Lance and Mark. Kerry achieved the most success in the ring (WCW champion and WWF I-C champion) and is also important to note that not all members of the "Von Erich" family were really related. If you're interested in knowing who really was part of the Adkisson family, email me and I'll look into it.

2. Why are the called a "tragedy"?
-Well, in short, David was found dead in his hotel room in 1984, Kerry shot himself in the chest in 1993, Mike died in 1987 due to an overdose (intentional), Chris died due to a self-inflicted gun shot wound in 1991 I believe and Fritz, the father, died in 1997 after a battle with lung cancer. Kevin Von Erich is the only suriving son of Fritz.

Vader

1. What happened in Kuwait?
-Vader appeared on a Kuwaiti talk show and the host naturally asked him if wrestling was really fake. Vader apparently lost control for a minute or two and attacked the host in an attempt to show how real it is. The host sued him but the end result was that he was given a $200US fine for his efforts.

2. What's the deal with him and Paul Orndorff?
-Just before Vader's jump to the WWF in 1995, he was involved in a backstage scuffle with WCW booker Paul Orndorff, which some of you may remember as "Mr. Wonderful" in his WWF days. As the story goes, Orndorff got the better of Vader in the fight and WCW chose to blow the story way out proportion with their claim that WCW wrestlers were tougher than WWF's since Vader was jumping ship.

3. Why is he no longer in the WWF?
-Unfortunately, Vader was released in the fall of 1998 after repeated warnings by WWF officials that requested him to lose weight and get in better ring shape fell on deaf ears. His release did not allow him to go to WCW but rather All Japan or ECW only. Vader chose Japan and is currently wrestling there while enjoying tremendous success.

Brutus Beefcake

1. Is he really Hulk Hogan's brother?
-This is one of those stupid rumors that eventually gains so much steam, people start believing it as fact. Ed Leslie (Beefcake) and Terry Bollea have always been good friends but they are in no way related to one another.

2. I heard something happened to his face. What was that about?
-Back in 1990, Beefcake and Killer Bees member B. Brian Blair were parasailing and some freak accident caused Blair to spin wildly out of control and slam into Beefcake's face with his knees. Brutus' entire face was shattered and it required re-constructive facial surgery to put his face back together. Beefcake did not recover until 1993 and it effectively ruined his successful career up until that point.

3. Has he been anyone else before?
-Hell yeah! Here's the latest list: "Dizzy" Ed Boulder, Brutus Beefcake, Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake, Furface, Brother Bruti, The Butcher, The Man with No Name, The Man With No Face, The Zodiac Man, The Clipmaster, the Booty Man and most recently the "Disciple" (of WCW fame).

Doink

1. How many Doinks have there have been?
-Well, if you're asking how many people have played the part of Doink, the answer is 4. The original guy was Matt Borne, he was then followed up by the guy who played as "Skinner" (Steve Kiern). At this time, there were two Doinks on WWF TV as they did their angle with Crush. Then Steve Lombardi (The Brooklyn Brawler) stepped in to play the part after which the final Doink, Ray Licachelli entered the picture. It's funny to note that Licachelli was a virtual nobody in the wrestling world and the WWF pretty much picked him off of the streets to play the part with the the midget Dink.

2. Where is he now?
-Who cares? Actually, to the best of my knowledge, "Doink", the persona is still active in some of the independent promotions.

Ravishing Rick Rude

1. Why doesn't he wrestle anymore?
-In 1994, during a match with Sting, Sting jumped off of the top ropes and landed on Rude's neck, fracturing several vertebra. Rude was forced to retire from the sport because of it and was consequently sued by WCW for breach of contract. WCW believed that the injury was not as serious as it was made out to be. Rude couter-sued and eventually was awarded millions as part of an insurance policy. It was suspected that he would never return to WCW again but after brief appearances in ECW and the WWF, he showed face on WCW and is still with the company at the time of this writing. It is highly unlikely he will ever compete as a wrestler in light of the injury described above.

2. How can he be "Ravishing Rick Rude" in ECW, WCW and WWF?
-Well, because he legally changed his name from Richard Rood to Ravishing Rick Rude and thus holds all rights to being called that in whatever promotion he chooses.

H

unter Hearst Helmsley

1. Is he really married/engaged to Chyna?
-No. This is one of those bizarre rumors that when enough people begin talking about it, everyone thinks that it is true. Hunter and Chyna are very good friends, which was triggered in the days when both individuals were training in Killer Kowalski's wrestling school. However, after both HHH and Chyna made their way into the WWF, there was a lot of talk that the two were dating and whilst in the WWF had gotten engaged. In fact, some reporters went as far as to say that the two had even set a wedding date. Well, that date was November 1998 and we're long past that, despite the two not being married. They're best of friends but nothing more.

2. Will Triple H go to WCW soon?
-Not anymore. There were hot rumors that since his contract with the WWF was ending very soon, Helmsley would opt for a pay increase and a lighter workload in WCW. Eric Bischoff even threw some numbers around rather discreetly and they were incredible to say the least. However, just a few short months ago, HHH and the WWF nailed down an extension to his existing contract and he is not going anywhere for the next several years. Case closed.

Jerry "The King" Lawler

1. What happened between him and Andy Kauffman in the 1980s?
-It all started when Kauffman, who kept no secret about the fact that he wanted to become a "heel" wrestling manager, began taking shots at the business of pro wrestling in general. The target of most of his accusations was directed towards Memphis wrestling fans in particular, and as everyone very well knows, Jerry Lawler is Memphis wrestling. Lawler took the initiative and challenged Kauffman to a match. The latter agreed and the match turned out to be a total bust as Jerry whooped Kauffman and injured his neck in the process. Things settled down somewhat after that but a year or so later, the two appeared on David Letterman and the interview(s) ended with Lawler shoving around Kauffman. Andy responded my going absolutely nuts and yelling every known profanity at Jerry on live national T.V. The outburst got huge national coverage and was talked about for several months and ultimately resulted in Kauffman getting his shot as a wrestling manager in Memphis wrestling. It was there that the King got his final revenge on Kauffman after which Andy disappeared from the wrestling scene altogether. However, and this is very important to know, all of the above that I just said was 100% "worked", meaning it was carefully planned out ahead of time. Lawler and Kauffman were in fact really good friends in real life.

2. What about Jim Carrey?
-Same sort of stuff as above but not to the extent of the Kauffman-Lawler incidents of the 80s. Basically, it was done for added publicity for both guys but as always, the press does their part by overreacting and blowing everything out of proportion. So I guess what I'm saying is that they don't hate each other, it was all a fake publicity stunt.

3. Is he related to the Honkey Tonk Man?
-Yes, Lawler and Honkey Tonk Man (Wayne Ferris) are real life cousins.

4. What about Brian Christopher? Is he really Jerry's son?
-Yep. Lawler and Christopher are legitimately father and son. The denying thing of last year was all for the angle.

Al Snow

1. I don't understand what the deal is with Head. Can you tell me?
-Okay, I can try. Al Snow was arguably the greatest jobber of his time. From Leif Cassidy to Shinobi to Avatar, Snow's job was basically to get other wrestlers over. All this despite the fact that he is/was considered far more talented than those he was getting over. Since the WWF really had no use for Snow under his jobber aliases, they moved him on over to the ECW as part of a talent exchange. In one of his first interviews with ECW, Snow shot from the lip in what the insiders call a "shoot interview". He pretty much described his hard road in the WWF and how he had so often paid his dues but had nothing to show for it. He ended it off by saying that to get any sort of push in the WWF, you need to "give a little head" (figure it out) and he would start his time in ECW by giving his opponents some "head". "Head" turned out to be a mannequin head that Snow would use as part of his insanity gimmick and the fans loved it. He has since returned to the WWF with his new gimmick.

2. Does this have anything to do with the J.O.B. Squad?
-Yes, very much so. As described above, Snow was the epitome of a jobber, ie. a wrestler who never wins and gets other wrestlers over with their respective angles. So in short, the J.O.B. Squad is a Snow-led group of underused and underutilized wrestlers (ie. the jobbers) who have formed a union of sorts to oppose those athletes who get pushes and are used effectively. Their motto is "pin me, pay me" in reference to the their wrestling life in general. Obviously, the group is sort of an inside joke to the "insiders" who really know what the word "JOB" means. That's you and me, I guess.

Assorted Questions

Where is Sting?
-Still with WCW. To the best of my knowledge, Sting has been granted an indefinite leave of absence to tend to personal, non-wrestling related matters. However, he has popped up at a few house shows now and again (substituting for the injured Bret Hart) but has not been brought onto WCW T.V. as of yet. It is expected that he will return to the roster full-time sometime later in March, most likely near the end to help combat the WWF and Wrestlemania 15.

What happened to Amhed Johnson and will he ever show up in the WWF or WCW?
-The answer to the first part of the question is that he the WWF fired him. There were likely a variety of reasons that contributed to his release but the popular consensus is that Amhed was unwilling to "job" to Kurrgan (then managed by Jackyl) for the sake of getting the latter over as a mega heel. Furthermore, it was no secret within the business that Amhed had a knack of playing it rough at times and this caused a lot of injuries to his opponents. Furthermore, Johnson is arguably the most injury prone guy that wrestling has ever seen. It did not help his case that he was always laid up in the hospital from everything from car accidents to kidney problems. So they fired him. As for him returning, I doubt it will happen anytime soon. Re-read the above sentences and you'll see why neither of the big two really would want to risk in an investment as shaky as Amhed Johnson.

Where is Yokozuna and will he ever come back?
-Yokozuna, last I heard, was living and training in Las Vegas, in hopes of an eventual return to the WWF later this year. The simple fact is that Yoko is just too obese to pass any of the physicals the WWF presents and it would be a huge hazard to his health to allow him to continue wrestling. However, he left the WWF on rather good terms, so a return down the road is definitely a possibility. At this time, Yokozuna is still upwards of 600lbs.

What do you know about Gangrel?
-I know that he is technically considered a real vampire since he is associated with some whacked out cult-like group of people thinking they are vampires. I have even heard that he drinks real blood but that's not confirmed. Gangrel (David Heath) as almost everyone knows is married to Luna (Angel Vachon) in real life.

Has Rob Van Dam ever wrestled in either the WWF or WCW?
-Yes. He wrestled in WCW in 1993 as "Robbie V", who was virtually a jobber. In 1997, he was part of the "ECW Invasion" on RAW and wrestled two superb matches on the then WWF Monday Night RAW.

I've heard Paul Heyman is gay. Is this true?
-Tough to answer. Let's just say this...he has never been married, still lives at home and there always "gay cracks" made about him within the business. But since he has never "come out of the closet", no one knows for sure.

Does he really own ECW and what's up with him and Jim Cornette?
-Yes, he officially owns ECW. He bought the company in 1996 from former owner Tod Gordon and is currently the big boss. Heyman and Cornette simply do not get along. It is unknown what the cause of this problem really is but I suspect it has at least a little to do with the fact that in the late 80s and early 90s, both guys managed teams called the "Midnight Express". Name calling started and cheap shots started and still continue to this very day.

What does "4:20" mean? I see it on lots of the signs.
-4:20 is the police code for marijuana possession, so basically it refers that Wrestler [X] in "[X] 4:20" is a put user.

Which of the WWF women have posed nudes and if so can you send me some pics of [insert name here]?
-Only Sable...and no, I will not send anyone nude pics. Fortunately for me, I got better things to do.

Who were the Machines?
-Obviously, Giant Machine was Andre the Giant, but the other two were a bit hard to figure out. The Super Machine was Bill Eadie, who the majority of fans know as Demolition Ax. The Big Machine was "Blackjack" Mulligan, who we know as Barry Windham's father.

World Wrestling Federation

1. Who owns the WWF?
-The McMahon family, although it has been known that the official owner in the eyes of the courts across the country is Linda McMahon, while Vince actually does the controlling and general running of the business. I suspect it has something to do with taxes of the such as to why Linda is declared as the legal owner.

2. What is the WWWF?
-Same thing as the WWF. Before 1979, the WWF was known as the WWWF but for business reasons it was shortened to WWF. The company was still exactly the same.

3. Did the WWF get sued for sexual harassment charges?
-Yes and no. They were charged with such claims although no legal action was taken. In 1992, three WWF employees came forth with complaints of sexual harassment and took their stories to the national level by appearing on talk shows, etc. Two of the employers named in this accusation included Pat Patterson and Vince McMahon himself, although the latter's involvement was proved to be false. Pat Patterson's sexual orientation is not a well kept secret as he is openly gay, although his in-ring gimmick of yesteryear was to act macho and tough as to shake off the "gay" image. This next bit is a bit disturbing, but more than one ex-wrestler has indicated that a "sex for push" deal has been struck before although to Patterson's and the WWF's defense, this has NEVER been proven. On a sidenote, Pat Patterson's sexual preferences is still a huge joke around the company...that's why Jim Ross always alludes to "rear end work" when tying it into Brisco and his garage. No need for me to go ANY further...

4. Who are the WWF's bookers?
-Overall Booking: Vince McMahon
-Storylines and Angles: Jim Ross and Bruce Pritchard (Brother Love)
-Characters and Interviews: Jim Russo, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
-Shane McMahon is also involved with his father in guiding the company's overall direction and product. Sargeant Slaughter is said to have some booking power as well, although he STILL assumes the "Commissioner" role off-camera, as Shawn Michaels, as of this writing, holds it on-screen.

5. Was the WWF ever part of the NWA?
-Yes, from 1971-1983, the WWF was considered an NWA regional promotion but by the time Vincent K. McMahon Jr. took control of the promotion, he wanted to abolish all ties with the NWA and step out of their shadow. The rest is history.

World Championship Wrestling

1. Who owns WCW?
-Time Warner and WTBS. Ted Turner, although a majority stock-holder does not hold ALL power of WCW following the Time-Turner merger, but he basically funds the promotion, although in no way does he run it. That honor (or not) belongs to Executive Vice President, Eric Bischoff.

2. How is WCW related to NWA?
-Just before Ted Turner entered the picture, Grant Crockett and his new promotion broke off from NWA to seek their own success. However, to further alienate themselves from the Crockett-led NWA, Turner and his associates gave rise to a new name and new belts, etc. Enter WCW. I'm not that familiar with WCW history, so this may be highly inaccurate. If you have more info, please pass it along.