Message-ID: 

Ebon Bear wrote:

>>>>Some wrestlers who this year was the first year they weren't listed:
>>>>   Ron Simmons
>>>
>>>Didn't he supposedly retire at the begining of this year? The PWI 500
> 
> only
> 
>>>lists guys who've made a fair number of in-ring appearences (something
> 
> they
> 
>>>instituted when Shane started doing matches a few times a year).
>>
>>I think he retired shortly after the WWE in its' infinite wisdom split
>>up the APA.
> 
> 
> You know, I have to question the logic there, Bradshaw on his own is an
> utter waste, Simmons alone isn't much better. As a team, they put bums on
> seats and were kind of amusing.

True.  But look at how many popular tag teams the WWE has tried to split 
up for one or both to go on to be popular singles.  There's an odd need 
for the WWE to make everyone they can a popular singles star, even at 
the expense of a popular tag team.  Matt Hardy's the only good example I 
can come up with.

>>>>   Chris Benoit
>>>
>>>Neck injury.
>>
>>I think he was the quickest to return from the neck fusion surgery.
> 
> 
> I think you're right, he certainly seemed to be back quicker than the
> others.

SCSA had a more f'd up neck, and Lita's recovery just happened to be 
slower.  Am I forgetting someone who had the surgery?  I know Edge did, 
but he hasn't returned so I didn't use him, and Angle had an alternative 
procedure.

>>>>   Buff Bagwell
>>>
>>>Dire worker, pissed off pretty much teh entire mainstream.
>>
>>Just using this chance to give Hurricane some mad props in sticking up
>>to the big dummy and coming out on top in a legit scuffle.
> 
> 
>>From what I hear, Helms is pretty mild-mannered backstage and Bagwell
> somehow managed to piss him off so much that Helms walloped Bagwell with a
> dumbell. Ignoring whether Helms was right or wrong (hey, if you're giving up
> that much size and weight, do what you have to), what the hell did Bagwell
> do that riled him that much?

IIRC, it was a couple of weeks before WCW debuted on RAW and a lot of 
the WCW guys were training together in a WWE center.  For whatever 
reason Buff was going off on how he was gonna make it big in the WWE and 
that the smaller guys, zeroing in on Helms weren't gonna make it because 
they were too small.  First shot was from Bagwell as he slapped Helms, 
laughed, and said something to the point of "what're you gonna do about 
it?", to which Helms wailed on him.  I have no memory of Helms using a 
foreign object of any kind.

>>>>   Shane Douglas
>>>
>>>Injury-prone. With XPW going under, I doubt he'll be in next year.
>>
>>That and I don't think he's too popular amongst promoters either.  He
>>only shown up in NWA TNA in the last few months, hasn't he?
> 
> 
> Shane Douglas is a lot like Kevin Nash: Despite both being overweight,
> injury-prone and lacking any kind of drawing power, they keep getting
> booked. My guess is they know where Brian Adams keeps the photos that ensure
> he keeps getting booked.

Nash is quite the behind-the-scenes politicker, so that may be some of 
the explanation (and rumor has him showing up in another week or two as 
the mystery man who's gunning for Goldberg and the $100,000).

My guess is that Douglas is like that, only on a smaller scale, citing a 
lot of the hot stuff he was involved in in the heyday of ECW.

Michael


--- Internet Rex 2.29