Man, this weekend is getting totally away from me…let’s mailbag it before y’all think I expired or something!
Jack G kicks us off with…”Hey RD, have you ever seen the horrible Bobby Heenan impression on the old Hulk Hogan’s Rock N Wrestling cartoon? The wwe vault channel has been uploading them, and the newest episode had his character in it. It was so horrible I don’t even think it would’ve fooled me as a little kid.”
Those voices were all pretty bad. I mean, not bad, per se, but the challenge is when you voice characters that are actual people, it always sounds wrong. So you throw Brad Garrett (yes, of Everybody Loves Raymond fame) as Hulk Hogan and you’ll always say, “No no no. Brother.”
Mike M wants to know…”What’s your Mount Rushmore (Lessmore?) of bad wrestling announcers?”
Current day Jim Ross, Mark Madden, Superstar Billy Graham, and as much as I hate to say it because he’s actually a nice guy, Rob Bartlett.
Thomas M turns it up to eleven with…”How was Spinal Tap II? Maybe a short non-spoiler review?”
I loved it. It felt like spending time with old friends, telling some old jokes while at the same time coming up with new bits that have you howling as well. To the folks who say, “It’s not as good as the first one”, all I can say is well, yeah. The original is one of my top five movies of all time (especially when you watch it with the alternate commentary with the guys in character as they bemoan the fact they were victims of a “hatchet job”) so expecting to match that brilliance is a wee bit unrealistic.
Rob N ponders…”Thoughts on the 30th anniversary of the debut episode of Monday Night Nitro (if hasn’t been asked already).”
Makes me sad. It makes me sad because Nitro was in so many ways what turned wrestling around from the dodrums of the like 1993-1994. Those were dark, dark days in wrestling, and Vince had no idea what to do to fix things. Bischoff did, and that was to completely reinvent what a wrestling show should be – making it live, making it completely unpredictable. I’m not just saying stuff like Lex Luger showing up out of nowhere, but also bringing in the best from Mexico and Japan.Sure things collapsed, but not before we had some very fun years.
Ryan G asks…”What is your initial reaction & thoughts to WWE’s announcement that WM 43 will be in Saudi Arabia?”
Wasn’t surprised at all. This company will do anything, anything, to maximize every penny they can get. If folks are stupid enough to pay $70,000 (!!!!!) for WrestleMania tickets, do you honestly think those same fans will care where any given show is? They only thing that ever cools off WWE business is WWE doing stupid things, and they generally don’t do that anymore. They just do boring things, the same stuff repeatedly, to play it safe. The big thing now is that Saudi is paying so much that they essentially get to book the show, which means we’re going to see every oldie goldie they want back in the ring. Shawn vs. Taker III on its way!
Kevin W wants to know…”Do you think the WWE-TNA partnership ends any other way other than TNA becoming a fully-owned subsidiary of TKO?”
I honestly think TKO doesn’t really want to own it, they just someone, anyone, to be the number two promotion other than AEW. Here’s the thing: they want AEW gone, but if Tony were to vanish, WWE would have a monopoly. That leads to issues on its own and what better way to combat than by having TNA as your own personal monkey?
Taylor W urges me to do something that I am not sure anyone wants by asking…”WHEN will we get a new RD Reynolds-affiliated podcast again? The world needs it.”
Does it? If it does, what should be the subject? RD needs that. 😉
Joseph is playing well in this particular market with…”Is Mike Check still waiting for the vocals to come in, on “Music Box Dancer”?”
I mean, if you want the RD and Mike Check Show I may be game.
Dustin N has me blinking repeatedly with…”Do you think the Santino Marella/Beth Phoenix/Vladimir Kozlov sitcom pilot will ever see the light of day? If so, will it be so bad it’s good, or just absolutely terrible?”
Wait, what? How have I never heard of this such thing? Details people, details!
Jeremy W wraps us up with…”Has there ever been something in wrestling people hated that you never really understood?
For me it was the old school blue steel cage. I get it was a pain in the ass but honestly isn’t every cage match? The fact it was big enough to hook their leg or arm into meant you could get some really good spots out of it. Bret Hart v Owen Hart wouldn’t be the five star classic and all time greatest cage match (in my opinion) without their ability to use that cage for their spots.”
The other thing with the big blue cage is that it made things way more visible for those watching at home, so it was essentially a win-win. I think the issue was the fact it was BRIGHT BLUE, so it looked like something you’d see at the playground. That was honestly at the top of my list so I think great minds think alike there.
And that’s all for this week…keep sending in those questions and I’ll keep answering them!