The following is from ECW original “The Musketeer”
To all WZ readers,
Tommy Dreamer is a class act. He represents all that is good in our business. I had the privilege to share the locker room with Tommy from “99-01” with Paul Heyman’s ECW. Tommy is and has always been a company guy. He has always been a good soldier as Johnny Rodz (WWE Hall Of Famer) would put it. He should know, he trained Tommy, Taz, Devon, as well as myself and others. Respect, is the word that best describes Tommy. His respect for the business. The respect he has earned in the locker rooms & offices he has been part of. Sometimes the human element is lost in business decisions. Tommy never lost sight of what is really important. The people who make our industry go. What ever decision Tommy makes, I’m sure he put great thought into it. WWE and our industry is less without guys like Dreamer!
Best Wishes, in your future endeavors Tommy!
Roger Kuhn, (ECW Original, The Musketeer)
Great email. Thanks for sending that in. Although I can’t say I know Dreamer personally, his respect for the business shines through with every match he wrestles, and the heartfelt way in which he communicates with the fans and entertains them with his work. I too wish Dreamer the best in his future should he decide to leave WWE following tonight’s PPV bout.
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The following is from Jameyon
I am very intrigud by the Legacy stable on Raw. Will they add another member such as Joe Hennig, son of Curt Hennig or add a female to the group? Also Ted Dibiase looks to be the breakout star and the one who will probaly feud with Orton if Legacy ever breaks up but will he ever become the Million Dollar Champion like his dad or have a similar gimmick?
Personally, I think WWE should concentrate on elevating Rhodes and DiBiase before they consider bringing anyone else into Legacy. The main problem with the group right now is that they don’t pose a serious threat to anyone on the roster because they (aside from Orton) are booked to look too weak and easily defeatable. One of the great things about The NWO was that they were such a massive threat to WCW because of their strength in numbers that the audience felt like they were unstoppable. So you wanted to watch each week to find out who would finally bring them down.
As for your second question, I’d say DiBiase could reach the level his father was once at, but creative has to allow him to get there or he’ll end up buried. I think bringing back the Million Dollar Title would be a great idea, and would help get DiBiase over with the fans by adding an extra layer to his character and matches.
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The following is from TheNewDX
What is your opinion on Mick Foley being TNA champ? I seriously hate it. He should be retired by now. I think the “TNA managment” needs to stick there heads out of their asses and make Kurt Angle or Eric Young champ.
Hmm, first off I’m not sure you can stick your head out of your ass, I think it’s take your head out of your ass. I mean unless you’re just sticking it out to peer around the corner and then you’re putting it back in the ass, which makes total sense and is something I commonly practice, then I think the phrasing is taking your head out of your ass.
But I digress; largely. I too am not a fan of Mick Foley as TNA Champion. The problem I have with it though is not so much Foley himself being champ, but the fact that TNA is not using him to bolster new talent. Bringing in talent who made a name in other companies just to have them work with already established talents like Angle or Jarrett or Sting is not a smart move. TNA needs to be using these veterans to put over the future of TNA, the younger guys, or else when the vets retire who is going to be there to take their place?
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The following is from Chris
So WWE is trying to target a younger audience now. I haven’t seen all
that much change in their programming except for the One Night Stand
name being dropped for Extreme Rules. I guess this is a way to make
it look TV-14 without having to do any major overhauling. So they
want to appeal to a younger audience with the same product they’ve
been putting out. One kid already thought he was Jeff Hardy and tried
to swanton off a building so how much longer is it before some kid
thinks he’s Randy Orton and he punts his little friend in the head.
Back when I was a kid we used to pretend to be Hulk Hogan and Macho
Man and wrestle around in our underwear and socks and knee pads. The
worst thing that could have happened was trying to do an elbow drop
off the couch. That was as violent as wrestling was when they
appealed to kids.
Then there is TNA who makes no effort to appeal to…well…anyone I
guess. So I guess maybe WWE is doing something right.
I think Smackdown pretty much has the model of what a wrestling show
should be. They have a concentration on matches with segments feeding
those matches. RAW is just a celebration of WWE’s eye candy at this
point with Randy Orton kicking people in the head every so often to
end a show. ECW is finally coming into it’s own with Christian, Evan
Bourne and the Hart Dynasty coming into their own. If WWE wants to
truly appeal to kids it has to stop with all the dark violent angles
and get into the more over the top angles…or just go back to feuding
over a title. That used to be good enough to get an angle
over…until the title belts were so devalued you can’t do it anymore.
Anyways, I just think WWE needs to overhaul the entire product if
they expect to appeal to a younger audience. I know I wouldn’t want a
6 year old watching RAW with Orton kicking people. Monkey see, monkey
do. they need to be a little more creative and a lot less violent.
Let the matches be the violence. the point of the matches is to not
hurt eachother anyways!
I agree with a lot of your points here, but the main thing I disagree with is the argument that kids will hurt each other imitating wrestling or movies or TV, etc, etc. If you use that as a basis for an argument that I suppose you can’t do anything on TV. If a show runs an adultery story line then will a kid commit adultery so the story line should be scrapped? I understand the feeling that if you are going to promote something to children then it should be child friendly, but we can’t confuse the PG rating with the implication that WWE is offering their product to children only, when in reality they are promoting it to people of all ages and children happen to be one demographic. At the end of the day it’s a child’s parents responsibility to explain to him or her that it is not appropriate to mimic anything they see on the show. People who know how to behave properly shouldn’t be deprived of something because of other people who don’t know how to behave properly.
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The following is from Nick
My question is, will team 3d (the dudley boys) ever go in the wwe hall of fame? if not is it cause they worked for tna??
I’m sure The Dudleyz will end up in the WWE Hall of Fame at some point, but not until they are long retired and the memory of them with TNA has faded. Because yes, I agree that Vince would not condone the induction of someone who worked for a rival company so soon after they left it.
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The following is from Chris
as a former (short time only) student of Lance Storms. i met the Dudleys recently and i have to agree with Johnny Devine..Bubba is a dick. D-Von was a nice guy. but once we started talking about my training with Lance Bubba started giving me this evil eye and some attitude. the dumb bastard showed me some big disrespect when he wouldnt shake my hand. Lance and Bubba dont like one another i take it. Bubba is a stupid ass and I would have like to punch him for his idiot attitude. im a former bouncer.. i can handle my own. but as i said..D-Von, great guy. i got a story behind every superstar i have met or gotten to know as a friend. Bubba is by far the dumbest looser i ever met, please include me in a Q&A if you ever get him on the wzshow.. i wanna tell him how cool D-Von is a what a douche bag he is lol
Thanks for sharing that. I’ve only ever heard from anyone that Bubba is not a very friendly guy. When Chris Cash and I were in Detroit a couple years ago and spent time with some of the TNA talents, Bubba literally looked at both of us with daggers in his eyes and seemed as if he wanted us both thrown out of the bar. I’ll admit, however, that most people who know me would probably agree with Bubba – but that’s another issue, wink wink.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
