Gooker voting is well underway at this point and, well, I can’t say I’m too surprised as to what’s “winning”. When we first started working on candidates, internally we were like, “Is there anything can even come close to the Cena thing?” At the time of this writing, the answer appears to be a pretty solid no. Voting continues for the next few days, so I think the more interesting thing will be what takes the next few spots. Regardless, tons of those inductions will be coming your way in 2026. For now though, let’s check the mailbag…
James B kicks us off with more Gooker questions namely…”It’s Gooker season. Any Gooker traditions? Rewatch the entire winning angle?”
For sure the we watch the top spot at a pretty deep level again. That’s the kind of thing we do for the folks reading this, torture ourselves anew so you don’t have to. I also look at the stuff others on staff have mentioned that I may have forgotten, like that Mint Julep thing. Somehow I had bleached that from my brain as I am guessing those reading this now may also have done.
Rudy Y wants to know…”What’s your reaction to that other Death of WCW book?”
Assume you are referring to Nitro, written by Guy Evans. I actually liked that book quite a bit. I’m always amused when folks claim the two books tell radically different stories when if you read them they pretty much say the exact same thing, just in different manners. Heck, I even called and talked to Guy when it first came out and we both noted how the base narratives were so similar. I think his book is more detailed, but I think Death of WCW is more entertaining. You can’t go wrong with either of them.
Eric D asks…”Do you keep up with the indies these days? If so, what are some of your favorite promotions?”
Sadly, not really. There’s so much wrestling on television at this point that adding indies on top of that is an impossible task, at least for myself.
Eli I puts the I into this one with…”Being from Indiana are you stoked about IU playing for the National Championship in football? Is IU your favorite college team? If not do you have a favorite?”
It’s not super common knowledge, but not only am I from the state of Indiana but my degree is in fact from IU. I don’t trumpet that fact due to the fact I had a pretty horrible experience going to college there, including them delaying my graduation for a semester due to the fact that I was taking a Microsoft Office class they felt was unworthy of my degree (although they originally approved it and sure took the money for it!!) and thus I wound up a single credit hour short of graduation amongst other things. That said, it was like 98 years ago or whatever and I should really let bygones be bygones. I’m happy for my friends who are big IU fans even if I am not. Also as a rule, I don’t follow college sports and really these days only focus on the NFL as any legit sport. Very sad that season is coming to an end as these wildcard games have been absolutely incredible.
Michael H ponders…”What is DDP gonna do now that Edge and Christian are barging in on his fitness business?”
If I were DDP, I would immediately start selling douchey looking turtlenecks in retaliation.
Joseph inquires…”Hello, Deal! Do you have a favorite Coliseum Video?”
I loved the Hart Foundation one, if for no other reason they portrayed them as having an actual building and everything! I inducted that YEARS ago, and I really owe it to myself to go back and check it out again. So fun!
Dustin N is somewhere in time and space with…”What is the best MST3k episode ever and why is it Space Mutiny?”
I LOVE that one and still watch it and the Rifftrax version probably at least once a year. That said, there are way too many to choose from – Prince of Space, Werewolf, Jack Frost…the list goes on and on. The Undead is VERY underrated. But gun to my head, I will take Santa Claus over anything else. The story of Lupita, Merlin, Pitch, and friends is one for the ages.
Matt H wraps us up with…”Will you please that horrible Cat Fight between Dawn Marie and Michelle McCool from the March 24th, 2005 smackdown? Also at the end there was a Laughably bad debate featuring JBL and John Cena. Here’s another idea for an induction: when Carlito’s arm was broken and in a sling teddy Long was embarrassing him making him do things Like shovel snow and sell Hot Dogs and Look for the undertaker. This also happened in 2005 on smackdown in the Lead up to Wrestlemania.”
That whole 2003-2006 era of WWE is ripe with stuff like you mention. Probably time to dive back into that time frame and really start hammering away. Anyone remember any other atrocities from then? Post them in the comments below!
That’s it for this mailbag, but don’t fret, we will be back at it again soon! Keep those questions coming in and I’ll keep answering them!