A Belt for the IWC? The Disgruntled’s Real World Champ - Part 3

It was a pretty good week of wrestling without the WWE Network or indie shows to attend. Sunday was spent in the old venue for Freelance Wrestling, The Bottom Lounge, to see Pig put on a great set. A woman actually was impressed by my industrial rock-themed vest and may be sending the materials to build her one. For something that I was hoping to use as ring gear someday (anyone have 12-grande to help me start a wrestling promotion), my indie credibility seems secured.

It is also proof that my creativity is there, so if you want to help me out in finding a way to promote my B-movie pro-wrestling zomcom, Main Event of the Dead, I would happy to send you a treatment if you e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com.

Only downer was the breakup of Okada and Gedo. Right after I had bout the shirt that featured both of them being very kawaii.

And speaking of Freelance, Muhammad Ali really impressed me for the first time on “205 Live (via Hulu)” since his bout with Buddy Murphy. Since he is someone who is ripping off DJZ and never a strong promo (at least on WWE TV), he left me hoping they will not ditch the brand. If only the Hulu version could cut out the non-match segments. I cut the WWE Network off because of the sexism, but I was not missing contract signings and championship-related, face-to-face verbal sparring.

NJPW World, Being the Elite, and sales at Pro Wrestling Tees: keep this formula up and it may lead to me never consider a WWE World Champion as the premier champion in the industry. Just wait till I tap into the Honor Club. Is the Highspots Network worth it?

Regardless of my thoughts on the future champions, when Puroresu was being established, I think most of us agree it was a totally different style. Besides for swapping your American World title to a Japanese wrestler on his soil to build another fan base, there was very little crossover. Story lines are what drives the American-style while an in ring athletic spectacle is what you watch Japanese wrestling for. You can just pick a NJPW match to watch and never need a video package to give you context.

So, what I am getting at is it may not be reasonable to put the IWGP Heavyweight, GHC Heavyweight, or the Triple Crown in the running as possible Real World Heavyweight Championship.

Fortunately, there was Samoa Joe and Chris Benoit who were there to make us not necessarily watch the majority of JBL’s title reign and to make things further interesting in regards to this narrative.

See the third part of the list at the Rip'Em System Tumblr and relive "No Holds Barred."

Zeus for the WWE Hall of Fame! The Pro-Wrestling Movie Star Hall of Fame

After the induction of "Macho Man" Randy Savage, is there anyone living that has a universal scream of support to get into the WWE Hall of Fame? If you go through the promotion's world heavyweight championship history, Ivan Koloff, Diesel and Sid are the only champions prior to the Monday Night War who aren't in the Hall and are relatively inactive talents.

Ivan Koloff would probably be the best option, but maybe they're waiting for Mania to be in the Southeast again and put him in with Nikita. Sid Vicious is years away (perhaps before Michael Hayes). Was British music outlawed in the locker rooms of Bill Watts and the Crocketts? Kevin Nash may make it as compensation for the entire contract suspension. It's good to be Paul Levesque's friend because Vince McMahon would stubbornly try to get him inducted as "Big Daddy Cool" no matter how single-named wrestlers make the hall seem tacky.

I guess tackiness is actually a celebratory status in wrestling. Lita isn't in as Amy Dumas, Edge isn't Adam Copeland, and Sunny and Yokozuna were just tacky gimmicks. That's why I appreciate it when a woman wrestler comes from Shimmer or Shine. At least I know there is a Brittany Knight behind the Paige.

Tammy Sytch was a great manager, but the name came with the gimmick that inspired Chris Candido's moniker. So if security takes your sign away, tell them to respect the dead (and CM Punk). Yokozuna was a Samoan portraying a Japanese champion. How can you not call that tacky? I'm just saying it's tacky to just be associated with a foreign word instead of owning it. Why not THE Yokozuna? Ed Farhat was THE Shiek. At least that way we at least try to discover the meaning instead of the word just thinking it was just a foreign sounding name. If it can educate the youth, you have to be for it.

With tacky being what pro-wrestling is all about, you have to be behind the "Celebrity Wing" of the Hall. If we can't come up with any living wrestlers to add, at least add some speeches to the ceremony, and not take the spot light off Savage, lets turn to the (relatively) untrained. But, I'm at a lost when we start thinking of possibilities.

Maria Menounos is hosting this year's Hall of Fame Ceremony. I think Pee Wee Herman will need to enter the Rumble to earn the merit. Jeremy Piven is three months from needing to promote "Entourage." I don't know about Seth Green since I don't know when the next "Robot Chicken" season is to air (and I thought "Game of Thrones" was the only reason I may need to get Xfinity).

I have checked Netflix (and that was the extent of it) and the choice for the celebrity inductee is simple, Tommy "Tiny" Lister, the costar of "No Holds Barred."

The man who played Zeus should actually be the face of the celebrity wing of the WWE Hall of Fame. This man's stardom is owed to WWE Films, and since the WWE is all about celebrating itself, it makes perfect sense. Self congratulations Vince McMahon would probably like because of his resistance towards the Savage induction. It would also be a nice cherry on top of the Macho sundae because he was Macho King's only true tag partner.

The only celebrity more deserving of the Hall of Fame is Keith David. He is a constant narration contributor to the WWE ("The Monday Night Wars" in particular). More importantly, with Roddy Piper, was part of the greatest fight scene in all of movie history from "John Carpenter's They Live."

The Pro-Wrestling Movie Star Hall of Fame (Class of 2015):

Perhaps I should have saved this for next week's blog since I am running out of inspiration from NHB. If that proves to be the case, at least I can get back to emphasize the shilling of "Main Event of the Dead [(c) 2011-2015]," my action zom/com screenplay that I promise will out Troma "Pro Wrestlers vs Zombies. (send you suggestions on how to promote the project to russthebus07@gmail.com).

Now this Hall of Fame is based on performances, not the actual wrestlers, because lets face it, NHB denied Hogan any lifetime achievement. Do we need to discuss "Hell Comes to Frog Town," affect on Piper? Then again, that flick receives Netflix better feedback than Mr. Hogan's Opus. Thankfully, it's not streaming...yet.

Fezzik from "A Princess Bride:" The Rock has yet to provide a performance to show his pride in being from the wrestling world. Andre the Giant was cast because he was a wrestler, and actually plays a former carnie in this film.

Thunder Lips from "Rocky III:" When a role is worth losing your position in a company, it has to be remembered. I think the installment of the series was the worst (not a bad film and still enjoyable), but without it, their is no catalyst for Hulkamania.

Slag from "Escape from New York:" The character personifies a love that genre directors have for the wrestling business. Again, Ox Baker is another wrestler portraying a wrestler. I wonder if there is any fan fiction for this character.

Nada and Frank from "They Live:" A professional wrestler in a political satire, who would have thought that was possible? Piper's performance is so solid, he should have pulled a "Rock" and abandon his ring name. At least that would get him auditions instead of assumptions...and dealing with Vince over and over again. Keith, some advice for your dance partner.

Blain from "Predator:" Jesse Ventura has the best resume of supporting character (next to the final inductee), but Blain has his best line: "I ain't got time to bleed."

"Zeus from "No Holds Barred:" This thespian had to become a pro-wrestler to play this iconic role. If he didn't play it, who was going to get buried.

#MeToo and the Disgruntled’s Real World Champ Part 4

Damn, it has been a tough week. Joe Madden may have over thought the Cubs last two games. "Venom" is a so bad it is good movie which leads me to fear the fate of the Sony franchises. I seem to be getting ahead of my blogs by one week, hence I may be working too much.

And then you have the all but certain demise of the country with the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation. How do you tell a happily married man who takes you to sporting event and respects his Nike-boycotting wife that there is no way I want to stand for a flag that represents a dead country. But I respect the man, so I should not embarrass him despite his wife has said that we cannot fault powerful men for abusing their power, unless they were communist revolutionaries.

I never got away with anything growing up. Being too honest has plagued me. Striving for decency deters me from a negative path. The point is, if I screwed up, I paid, and have always paid. If we have learned anything from the Me Too Movement, is that everybody should answer for their indiscretions. It is not vengeance, it is a means to encourage protecting those whose safety is the target of those in power.

Thus, I am pondering if I should make this rant relevant to the current theme of the blog by exploring the incidents of sexual assault and harassment that I have experienced from my time in professional wrestling. You could call it hazing bullshit, but the fact of the matter is if I broke these guys faces, I risked never being booked again by that promotion. What really hurts is that the promotion never used me again. To their credit, I was booked and wisely ended up being a healthy scratch on my last trip to Southern Wisconsin for a last minute appearance by Silas Young, so at least the promotion remembered me.

It was 14 years ago. I was victimized. You cannot hold it against me if I was bumped from the card for someone less prestigious that The Last Real Man in Professional Wrestling (do not hold the gimmick against him). The culprits and facilitators are remembered, especially those who boasted about it. The stories were something I laughed off with the guys in the business like it was just a permanent marker stunt on my face, but when normal people ask for crazy and obscene stories from the business, you realize that the ones that come to immediate mind demonstrate behavior that is not acceptable. You realize that you were abused and you feel you can only blame yourself since you still want to be a part of the business. You cannot blame the sport.

But, these guys (for the most part) are friends and a couple of them have kids. There is a slim chance their life could be ruined since I am already wrestling's persona non grata south of I-80. Why be afraid of going national? Should I wait till I hear about their next job opportunity? I have not killed their present, but why do I feel like I have paid for their constant happiness I have perceived?

I suppose I should just be happy not having post traumatic stress in regards to this issue, or am I just now showing that I suffer from these stunts? Time does not heel all wounds. If this would have been realized when I was in therapy in regards to abusive relationships and and failing to prevent a gas station suicide, perhaps the Supreme Court fulfilling the wills of sex offenders for the next 20 years would not leave me considering snuffing myself (I really needed a better therapist, so probably not).

Hopefully, Ronan Farrow gets wind of this blog and helps me decide if I will name names. Provided that we get over the mess of me being a Woody Allen apologist of course. Time wears away, it does not heal. So I guess the moral is not to wound in the first place.

With that said, I would like to apologize to "Lauren" at Big Al's in Peoria (2015) if I was too handsy to begin with. It was me testing boundaries, and regardless if I stopped when told, I did wrong to begin with.

I gotta at least answer for my indiscretions, before I get this blog back on track. If only I could hold off on the posting till WWE's Evolution for the sake of cultural relevance. But, releasing this a week later may be too much time from when I wrote this.

Anyhow this blog has all the stuff marks want in bold, so the intro and transition do not matter to anyone besides me I suppose. More reason to try and be brave about abuse and the regret that people may have givien a shit about me if my struggles were more relatable than just being in my head.

See the conclusion to this blog series at Rip 'Em System Tumblr.

Triple H: Were You Inspired by Kurt Fuller in No Holds Barred?

Thank the gods for the little time I have to write this. I never thought I'd find a bright side to the 30 or so cheap cell phone sale representative to constantly shuttle to a steak house for a Christmas party in the midst of an inevitable winter storm.

I fear I did not learn from history (maybe that qualifies me for WWE creative) because I should have known the forecast could only be accompanied by independent Verizon scammers (if that Bo Dallas gimmick gets dropped, how about IVS? Tablets are big enough to use as a weapon). Screw Africa in terms of who needs to know when Christmas is.

The lack of time means I have a greater amount of time to think about a tenth chapter for my "No Holds Barred" themed Tumblr. Since the wrestling industry (can we really call the indies industrious? I'll buy a lot of stock if PWG or AAW goes public), is in a worse shape than the World Television Network, would my scarred mind allow for anything else?

So, hopefully Mr. Austin can remedy some of my mental anguish. If he wants to try and take care of all it, which I think showing some support for my wrestling zombie/comedy "Main Event of the Dead" may help, he can e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com. If Mr. Austin or any of my readers want a screenplay treatment to look over to truly know what I need help in promoting, feel free to use the same e-mail address.

Dear Steve, 

Thank you for the opportunity to submit this question for your live podcast with Triple H. You have one of the most giving podcast when it comes to entertaining your listeners. It may be said that no one can make audio chicken salad out of chicken scratch better than you do. 

My question is:

Why is the WWE offering the Network free for new subscribers in February when they are not the ones who had to endure the train wreck that was the Royal Rumble match? It seems that WWE has no respect for those that stuck around to allow the company to announce one-million subscribers. Is there no plan for retaining the current offended consumers of the product. 

If a cable company provides poor or overpriced service, there is a retention department to come to terms on how they can keep their customer. Providing a free month after a debacle to those who did not go out of their way to be slapped in the face by WWE seems like an insult to those you have already insulted.
I do not have cable or satellite television, so I do not get to keep up on the current product in a, pardon the pun, Raw capacity. If the direction seems awful, and at this time the main event at Wrestlemania is, why would I watch the current product? To this point, NXT talent from the WWE Network era seems to be underutilized when they are called up to the main roster, so the flagship looks to be sinking. Why should we believe that will change? The current consumers need encouragement, otherwise, why am I paying an extra $2.00 for the WWE Classics OnDemand's archive?
Thank you for your time and for providing the best podcast offered by a WWE Superstar.
Russ Stevens
@MainEventZombie
http://maineventofthedead.com

The Elite Disgruntled’s Real World Heavyweight Championship Title History

How have I been since I finished my intense post (two/three days have passed in that time)? It is almost like I need to put out spoilers. Am I NXT, ROH, NJPW on Axs? Or am I Impact?

Acknowledging my trauma from sexual assault in regards to the wrestling business was therapeutic. I will have probably given the post at least one more proofread, more time to work through it, relive it, regret it. At least the expectations are known...except for  a significant loss of @maineventzombie Twitter followers (80 to 75, guess I am as insincere as those saying my anti-Southern Pride blog claim). As long as Kavanaugh has not made any decisions between now and then, my outlook should not be any more dire.

With that thought, placing our cats in suspended animation when we are not at home to extend their lives should be a technology to explore and to patent. We can use my girlfriend's cat, a cooler and some dry ice to start. Then there will be no more need to inquire my readers about helping me out in finding a way to promote my B-movie pro-wrestling zomcom, Main Event of the Dead, I would be happy to send you a treatment if you e-mail me at russthebus07@gmail.com.

Placing a plug there reminds me that Redbox may need my film. "Black Water" with Jean Claude Van Damme and Dolph Lundgren amused me, but was 15 minutes too long to warrant any more coverage a submarine B-movie that was filmed on one sound stage deserves. Sound stage may be too generous. It may have been whatever floor in an office building the production company claims to be their's.

With "Main Event of the Dead," there are no illusions that there will not be a variety of sets. Trying to convince us that the same control room desk is on opposite sides of the sub will not be an issue. But, with the next rewrite, maybe we could set it in a submarine instead of Don's in Donahue or The Eagles Club in Berwyn.

"Black Water" shows me that finding the perfect length for a project is important, so since this is the end of my "Disgruntled's Real World Champion" blog, I worked on a summary of the past four entries' lists to fill up any empty space. Hopefully, my last ditch effort for discussion, will not be like that film.

See the conclusion to this blog series at Rip 'Em System Tumblr.

Is Roman Reigns the New (and Adjace) Zeus?

This one may get out a week later than I like. Credit was increased on a card I’m still using, so that necessitates me to spend to build credit. It wasn’t eBay that took up my free time at work. It was my attempt to come up with a tattoo idea of a self-destructive take on the Japanese lucky cat figurine. For those counting at home, that is cat tat number eight (5 tats, 8 cats…and that’s what happens when you don’t let your kids have pets Dad).

I’d rather go “Hollywood Shuffle” with the money I technically don’t have, but I’ve yet to come up with or receive any ideas on how to further promote “Main Event of the Dead,” my screenplay for a pro-wrestling based zombie-comedy. If you want to help out in getting my project to the point where I feel it’ll get resources from Kickstarter or IndieGoGo, send me an e-mail at russthebus07@gmail.com.

What I have come up with is perhaps the final chapter in my “The Social Impact of No Holds Barred” homage. It kind of sucks because I think a Tumblr (check out the NHB archives Tumblr “Rip ‘Em System”) should seem infinite. And if I don’t get this written by Monday 8 pm Eastern, it may be irrelevant. That would mean WWE creative is finally doing a good job, so I may not need to be so hard on myself.

I sent out a tweet last week to the lesser of the host (in terms of wrestling fandom) of the “Cheap Heat” podcast, Peter Rosenberg [@Rosenbergradio]). This was the first time I ever used the term “adjace” (the “hip?” way of saying similar but inferior, derived from adjacent).

Is pushing Roman Reigns after The Shield folded like pushing Jim Neidhart when the Hart Foundation disbanded? @Rosenbergradio #adjace

Too bad the Anvil’s Twitter account isn’t verified. He’d have liked the love he got from the response.

@BDKiiing: reigns is not good. He has the look, that is all. Hack wrestler. Charisma vacuum. Needs a mouth piece

@BDKiiing: no. Anvil was a better wrestler and more charismatic. 

@Rosenbergradio: No def not

Sorry if that is underwhelming Mr. Neidhart, just enough for me to be angry that I made it a drunken bedtime tweet. Stupid e-mail notifications. I suppose I should have said that it would have been like pushing Marty Jannety instead of Shawn from the disbanding of The Rockers to be #adjace.

There would have been a good chance I wouldn’t get any sleep from the phone constantly going off. Not placing @realjannety in the tweet seems like a good move. It “real” is the next best thing to being “verified.”

Is #real #adjace to being #verified. I know my lack of knowledge cost me a chance to be on @midnight “Tag Team Thursday,” but with all the abbreviations and phone-related symbols, ignorance may be bliss for this former English major.

This is all a complement to Michaels since I’d watch old Rockers’ matches to build an argument to prove Marty was the talent. I despised the heel so much, I wanted to believe he stunk by denying the obvious.

I doubt anyone tries to be delusional about Reigns’s stardom. Then again, I’m sure no one wanted to take the time to ponder why The Anvil never got a solo push.

Did Jim Neidhart have more charisma than Roman Reign? Yes, perhaps even more than Bret Hart. Of course I’d argue Bret had and created a more charismatic look. So look may count for charisma, hence the argument is void.

As for wrestling, I’ll have to go to Wikipedia to come up with The Anvil’s signature moves. A side from a match with Vader on the infamous taped Raw that was broadcasted against the live Nitro which featured Rick Rude’s WCW return, I can’t recall any single matches of his that weren’t jobs for WCW. Thus, I never saw his Cobra and Camel Clutches. It’s tough to say that he was nothing more than The Hitman’s prop.

WWE was wise not giving Reigns and Seth Rollins a double team finish while they reigned as tag team champions. It forced a showcase of offense by both performers. We remember and complain about the spear and Superman punch like we complained and remembered the boot and leg drop and the spear and jackhammer.

Is Roman Reigns Bill Goldberg #adjace. No, because the push was based around Goldberg’s silence. There’s no doubt that Reigns is over produced if they failed to realize how to play to his strengths…or listen to CM Punk (Chris Hero, at the very least, fit the bigger than Ambrose and Rollins attribute) instead of trying to invent his attributes.

Let’s all agree that Reigns lacks what it takes to be at the top of the marquee. He’s deficient in mic work and in ring skills (at least when there is money to be drawn with Daniel Bryan’s move set and story telling) but neither was Rocky Maivia. Of course they didn’t bring him to the headliner spot until the fans quit hijacking his shit. But, they didn’t need to be desperate to create a star (which should be the case with Daniel Bryan in year two on top [he’s got an Austin Era worth of stuff]).

If they don’t push Reigns to the top, it proves that they don’t have a method of creating stars. Sami Zayn, Adrienne Neville, Kevin Steen (until they shut down his Pro Wrestling Tees store), Finn Balor, and Hideo Itami are who we watch NXT for, not a college football player among them.

The last time I can recall a debacle like this was when then tried to make 100-millions dollars with a guy who didn’t work the indies. That guy was Zeus. No mic skills. Lacking ring skills. BELIEVE THAT.

This maybe the reason why Hulk Hogan is behind Daniel Bryan. He’s seen this movie before. You have to cheer for yourself (like I am for making my deadline).

Zeus is why Kurt Fuller was stuck in supporting antagonist role purgatory. Perhaps Vigo the Carpathian contributed a little to Fuller’s fate, but he Kurt wasn’t cutting promos in “Ghostbusters 2.” With that said, “Raw” cannot be guest hosted by the cast of “Ghostbusters 3.”

Does WWE want to see their future dragged to mediocrity for a single character? Even my blogs lack hits when I lay the Tiny Lister tribute on thick.