Is Vince basically semi-retired now?

Not really. HHH has a very active role, but Vince is still at tv every week and runs most aspects of the show by all accounts

I'm not sure if Bruno insisted on exactly that line, but I'm sure there would have been some loose agreement in place over how to handle discussions about his past differences with the company before he put pen to paper.

I read some of the names rumored to be at the latest WWE tryouts and the ones that stood out were Adam Cole, callihan, and del sol. I've seen the first two but I've only heard if del sol haven't seen him despite hearing good things. Does anyone know about him? Any matches to watch?

He is a very impressive flyer. His series of matches with El Generico in DGUSA are what standout to me.

Ok thanks man. I remember a fan asking Konnan if he was going to the WWE on his podcast and he said he couldnt because he was under contract with AAA. I think Konnan didnt want to face the reality of maybe losing someone with so much talent.

I don't think there is any chance that Bruno won't headline this year's HOF. Many of the fans probably haven't seen a Bruno match, but they at least know his historical significance with the WWE. I may be wrong, but I think the HOF would draw a different crowd than your typical WWE event and will most likely be an older crowd anyways.

When you're getting a top star level WrestleMania payoff, you're going on last.

 

Fun article, Keith.

 

John

Ok thanks man. I remember a fan asking Konnan if he was going to the WWE on his podcast and he said he couldnt because he was under contract with AAA. I think Konnan didnt want to face the reality of maybe losing someone with so much talent.

He really is impressive and ambitious in that. It is really clear he is a big fan of Rey Mysterio. Not saying he has Rey's psychology yet but definitely has his spirit.

Has him agree? HHH is so transparently phony in this interview and in the way the WON story was told that I'm surprised Bruno fell for any of it, but I never saw it anywhere that Bruno insisted that he be vindicated.

I don't think Bruno fell for it. He was lying his way through the various pieces as well, talking about how he's watching the show a lot and how cleaned up the WWE is now.

 

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

 

"It's not personal, Sonny. It's strictly business."

-Michael Corleone

 

John

Pretty much. Listening to him tout Dr. Maroon as some combination of James Andrews and the Pope was pretty funny. He basically said as long as guys are passing tests under the wellness policy, it doesn't matter what else they may be doing. I was on the fence about getting HOF tickets but leaning against it now.

So if the Hall of Fame sells out, can Bruno count that as another MSG sellout?

All the better if part of this is Bruno playing them. If that's the case, he deserves every cent of that million bucks he'll get out of this. Even if it wasn't, there is still some justice in them paying him off like this.

For those wondering about who Mick Foley think should be going on last at the HOF, he posted this on Facebook.

 

Just in case anyone's wondering: I have absolutely no problem being in any spot on the rotation at the WWE Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. I've always answered the question of "who would you most like to see in the WWE Hall of Fame" the same way: "Bruno". Bruno deserves to be in the main event spot in a sold-out Garden - the same way he main-evented more sold-out Garden shows than any wrestler in history.

 

I think this years induction class will go down in history as one of the strongest lineups in WWE history, and I'm happy and proud to be part of it, in any slot I am asked to fill.

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

The funniest part to me is when Bruno said on the Observer podcast that he never heard anyone tell anything bad about HHH, he only heard good things about him. Corporate as hell already.

Has him agree? HHH is so transparently phony in this interview and in the way the WON story was told that I'm surprised Bruno fell for any of it, but I never saw it anywhere that Bruno insisted that he be vindicated.

I don't think Bruno fell for it. He was lying his way through the various pieces as well, talking about how he's watching the show a lot and how cleaned up the WWE is now.

 

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

 

Yeah, I've heard a couple Bruno interviews that convinced me he's not some old guy who can get the wool pulled over him easily. Still comes across pretty sharp to me, and I'm guessing he knew what he was doing.

Made a really nice find that arrived today, a 4-hour dvd convert of the first Winnipeg AWA TV from Norberry Auditorium in August 1984-onward. Arena promos galore for the Winnipeg shows. Quality is so-so but I've never seen a lot of this before and it doesn't appear to have circulated before.

 

I picked this up from a guy that had some of the clips up on youtube. I don't usually have much luck with youtube guys for things like this (with a couple of exceptions), and it was like pulling teeth to get even this, but for an AWA guy like me this is a real score.

Is there other stuff the guy has that you don't?

He has more Winnipeg stuff from that era, the local tapings and interviews, but he has no time to convert more of the tapes. He would not sell them to me. It took about three-four months for me to cajole this stuff out of him.

 

I'm watching it right now and it's fun. All the interviews surround the previous Winnipeg arena show and the upcoming Winnipeg show. The note he sent said was that this stuff begins at the very first tv taping they did at the Norberry Auditorium, as opposed to their other venue (Not sure where that was, it may have been the same Minneapolis studio stuff we saw on the Minny tv, no idea) that they used previously.

 

The tv matches are really short squashes, but there are tons of interviews, and some arena matches. They are showing the Martel-Bock 8/16 title match from the arena as I type this. Nice to see the post-match promos after it setting it up from karbo, Bock, and Heenan..with more to come to set up their 9/20 rematch, I'm sure.

 

Lots of fun. **EDIT**--Heenan just said Blackjack Lanza looked like that mule that pulls the milk wagon. I love this stuff.

 

**DOUBLE EDIT**--same promo, Heenan's in a lather and says "The Fabs look like they fell off a wedding cake from San Francisco". lolololol

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

The funniest part to me is when Bruno said on the Observer podcast that he never heard anyone tell anything bad about HHH, he only heard good things about him. Corporate as hell already.

 

I've always heard that Triple H doesn't drink or use drugs, not even painkillers (all anabolic steroids were obtained with a prescription, of course). That could be the "good things" he'd heard about Triple H.

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

The funniest part to me is when Bruno said on the Observer podcast that he never heard anyone tell anything bad about HHH, he only heard good things about him. Corporate as hell already.

 

I've always heard that Triple H doesn't drink or use drugs, not even painkillers (all anabolic steroids were obtained with a prescription, of course). That could be the "good things" he'd heard about Triple H.

 

Yea Nash talked about on his shoot how Triple H doesn't, and never did, do ANYTHING. He's telling a story about passing around joints and making everyone smoke them on their last night and HHH was the only guy that got a pass.

The WWE wanted Bruno in. Trip took the lead on it, and played nice. Bruno set a price. Vince agreed to the price. Bruno and Trip are playing nice.

The funniest part to me is when Bruno said on the Observer podcast that he never heard anyone tell anything bad about HHH, he only heard good things about him. Corporate as hell already.

 

I've always heard that Triple H doesn't drink or use drugs, not even painkillers (all anabolic steroids were obtained with a prescription, of course). That could be the "good things" he'd heard about Triple H.

 

Yea Nash talked about on his shoot how Triple H doesn't, and never did, do ANYTHING. He's telling a story about passing around joints and making everyone smoke them on their last night and HHH was the only guy that got a pass.

 

In fairness, Bruce Pritchard used to say the same thing about Triple H.

I loved the time Dave was asked why HHH's body type had changed, and Dave explained that he and Stephanie were trying to conceive a child.

So I read on the luchablog how Namajague got dropped on his head on a botched Spanish Fly and got hurt. The match aired on TV this week, and it was one of the more alarming things I've seen. The bump wasn't just a blown spot, but a total "holy shit, I think that guy might be dead" botch. Not only that, but Rey Cometa kept picking him up and doing more spots despite his opponent clearly being out on his feet for half of them.

 

I don't expect Mexico to be up to date on head trauma safety issues (no one outside the US seems to be too concerned it seems), but you'd think it would be a clue when the guy you're trying to pick up to do moves on is a sack of potatoes.

I loved the time Dave was asked why HHH's body type had changed, and Dave explained that he and Stephanie were trying to conceive a child.

That's funny because, at least according to Scott Keith, Ravishing Rick Rude was pressured to continue taking steroids as he wanted to get off the gas to conceive a child himself.

That's not just a Keithism -- it was the basis of Rude's testimony in the steroid trial. However, he couldn't say Vince had explicitly told him he had to stay on steroids, just heavily implied it.

Wasn't that also the reason Randy Savage started wearing the full bodysuit in the 90s? I recall it being stated he wore that to hide his smaller build because he got off the gas to have a kid with Liz.