I
don't know if I've ever mentioned it
before on this here site, but your old
pal RD Reynolds is a dog lover. In fact,
prior to the birth of my son, the first
thing I'd do after getting home from
a long day of work is kiss the Missus
and play with my dueling toy poodles,
Raleigh and Piper.
Now
you're probably saying, "RD has
poodles? TOY POODLES?"
Why
yes, yessir I does.
Next question!
"You
don't do stupid stuff like dress them
up, do you? For the love of all that
is good and right with the world, please
say you don't."
The
good and the right with the world be
damned!
Check
out my pooches in their Halloween garb:

Here
we have Raleigh as Count Dogula...

...and
Piper as a princess. You wouldn't believe
how hard I had to staple that hat on
her head to get it to stick.
I
joke, I joke.
You're
probably asking why, exactly, a hardass
(yeah right) like RD Reynolds would
have poodles of all things running around
his homestead. The fact is I love them
because they're actually really smart
dogs, and you can train them to do things,
most notably not to take a big dump
on the kitchen floor.
Not
all dogs, I've learned, have the capability
to learn this "trick".
Just
ask the folks sitting ringside at Unforgiven
1999...
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A
bit of backstory first.
In
1999, Al Snow was riding high
as the WWF's hardcore champion,
seemingly having finally made
it after years of floundering
under stupid gimmicks like Shinobi,
Avatar, and, of course, Leif
Cassidy. Ironically enough,
he made it by creating an even
more idiotic gimmick - that
of a crazy man who had HELP
ME written backwards on his
forehead, all the while being
befriended by a mannequin head.
See,
kids, that right there is why
I don't ever want to induct
anything as soon as it happens.
Because sometimes, the stupidest
gimmicks are the ones that get
the most over. Undertaker, anyone?
Anyway,
poor Head was on the injured
reserve list following an incident
in which it/he/she/whatever
was impaled on a railroad spike.
Don't
ask, just trust me on that one
or we'll be here all night.
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alone in the world, Snow sought
companionship in the form of
a tiny little Chihuahua.
His
name?
Pepper.
(Pauses
for obligatory audience "awwww.) |

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Life
was good for man and man's best
friend until they met someone
who can only be described by
the term "scourge of humanity":
that's right, the vile, despicable,
and all around nasty BIG BOSSMAN.
You
see, Bossman not only wanted
Al's title, he wanted to...to...why,
it's so reprehensible that I
can't even type it.
But
you can listen to it here
(and you should, since it's
the funniest thing to leave
Ray Traylor's lips since his
debut as the Guardian Angel).
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| Channeling
the spirit of Bobby Heenan and
the Islanders, Bossman put his
plan into action, dognapping
Pepper after KO'ing Snow with
his nightstick.
Snow was no doubt mortified
at seeing his nemesis swipe
his beloved pooch, but also
by Michael Cole repeatedly wimpering
the words "Pet
Taxi" over and over
and over again. 
I'm sure he still hears that
in his nightmares.
I
know I do. |

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But
then, it seemed, Bossman had
a change of heart. He offered
to give Pepper back to Snow,
as well as to cook him a hearty
meal.
Little
did poor Al know that the two
would be one in the same!
Oh
yes - that evil Bossman cooked
up a "Pepper Steak"
and served it up to Snow on
a silver platter. After hearing
what, exactly, it was he was
dining on, Snow regurgitated
and the Bosser pummeled him
once again. |
| His
pet now nothing more than chihuahua
tar tar, Snow retaliated the
only way he knew how: by challenging
Bossman to a pro wrestling match.
But not just any old match.
A
KENNEL FROM HELL MATCH
(Oh,
and by the way, you really need
to say that in a loud, bassy,
booming voice.)
The
idea was simple: take the popular
Hell in the Cell bout and stick
vicious rotweilers inside the
outer cage.
The
only problem, of course, is
that when you're dealing with
animals, you never quite know
what they are going to do. |

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Translated:
the very happy and excited pups
promptly pissed all over the
place.
So
much so, in fact, that I thought
commentator Jerry
Lawler might actually piss himself
in the process. |
| Still,
these were rabid rotweilers.
Sure, they weren't potty trained,
but they were capable of attacking
at any moment.
And
as Bossman fell out of the cage
in their lap, attack they did.
Except
they didn't attack the Bossman
- they attacked each other!
The
dogs barked and growled at each
other, as Bossman watched on,
seemingly mystified by the proceedings.
At
least they didn't use him for
a fire hydrant. |
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After
what seemed like 7 dog years
(that's 49 to you and me),
the match finally came to
its none too exciting climax,
as Al escaped the Kennel,
all the whilst leaving the
fans in hell.
(In
fact, the match reached such
WrestleCraptastic proportions
that not only did Mick
Foley ask for it to be included
in his
Hard Knocks and Cheap Pops
DVD, he and Kevin Kelly actually
re-recorded the commentary
to make it sound like a Flair-Steamboat
classic; absoutely hysterical
and well worth the price of
the disc alone).
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These
days, Al is working in OVW in a trainer/commentator
capacity, and rarely sees in-ring action.
The Bossman, sadly, passed away a few
years back. Which is really too bad,
as one can only imagine what he might
have done in retirement.

Hot
dog, indeed.
Big Bossman: "When I get through with
you I'm gonna have some fun with that
rat you call a dog. I've been wondering
how many times I'd have to smash him
before he'd start talking to me. I've
been wondering if maybe I should stick
this night stick up his butt, dip him
in some batter, and make a real corn
dog out of him!"
Michael Cole: "Bossman's got the PET
TAXI with Pepper in it!"
Jim Ross: "Oh man, here they come!"
Jerry
Lawler: "Look
at this - that dog's got peed off I
think!"
JR:
"Look at the size of that rotweiler!"
Lawler:
"They peed off the dogs! The rotweilers
are peed off already!"
JR:
"Bossman's gotta climb back into
that cage."
Lawler:
"Be careful, don't slip on the
urine Bossman!"
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