The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock, the Webmaster, or anyone else connected with this site. They are mine, and mine alone. If you agree with me, OK, and if you don’t agree, oh well....
Greetings, wrestling addicts!
In my last column I mentioned that I was contacted by an individual in another state asking if I could identify the wrestler in the above photo, which I could not do. I asked for your help, and my old friend from Tennessee who calls himself "Jack Flash" responded and correctly identified the wrestler as Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon. I was able to verify that information as correct when I found the same photo on the internet. I appreciate it!
I was saddened to read of the death of a wrestling pioneer, Waldo von Erich. I remember seeing him numerous times in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area playing the part of Fritz von Erich's brother, although Waldo was not related to Fritz in any way. Waldo was usually brought in as a tag team partner of Fritz during a feud with someone. One such occasion was a tag team match, Fritz & Waldo von Erich vs. (as best I can remember) The Missouri Mauler & Brute Bernard, who were managed by Gary Hart. It was a 2 out of 3 falls match. Waldo's plane was supposedly late, so Fritz had to start out by himself and lost the first fall. Just as the second fall started, here comes Waldo running to the ring in street clothes and he won the second fall. The third fall ended in a double count out when the match spilled out of the ring. It took them about 15 minutes to fight their way to the back with referees Danny Plechas and Bronco Lubich trying to break them up. Fritz & Waldo von Erich also held the NWA American tag belts for a while in 1967. It is interesting to note that, while Waldo von Erich is best remembered for his German heel gimmick, when he came to Texas to team with Fritz in those days, the German gimmick did not come with him. He was, on those occasions, the brother of Fritz, and was a babyface all the way. Oh well, enough of my walk down memory lane - check out my In the Spotlight column here at hollywoodjimmy.com for exerpts from several articles about Waldo von Erich that are worth the read. Thanks for the memories, Waldo von Erich.
In my last column I talked about the Donald Trump buys RAW angle, and how I hoped Vince would not run it into the ground by letting it get old and stale. So, what does Vince do? He ends it the very next week. I sure am glad that Vince listens to me! LOL, yeah, right, uh huh, sure, heh heh.... I guess the angle, while short lived, accomplished what it was intended to accomplish. It got the ratings up, and that's what matters most.
The recent talent shuffle in WWE, which the Trump angle helped facilitate, leaves one WWE star in limbo. That individual is Dustin Runnels, better known as "Goldust." Frankly, I enjoyed seeing him teamed with Hornswoggle, but the move of Goldust to ECW without moving Hornswoggle pretty much ends that. While all the other guys who have been moved have been pretty much visible, Goldust seems to have dropped out of sight. He has talent. He can contribute if given the chance in the right role. I hope WWE Creative gets creative and finds something for him, but I fear that he's on the way out - again.
OK, let's change directions and talk about wrestling on the local scene.
EPW has taped their first two TV shows. The first one will air at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday night, July 15, on My MS Network. That's the same network that airs Smackdown, so if you are in north Mississippi and you can watch Smackdown, you should be able to watch EPW Wrestling. The haters came to the message board in droves when the announcement was made that EPW had a TV deal, and they posted their comments and hateful BS... but the bottom line is that all of them wish they could be a part of EPW's TV venture. EPW will tape another TV show this Saturday night, July 11, at the EPW Arena in Booneville. Bell time is 8:00 p.m. You never know what will happen in EPW! Look for some new faces in EPW in the coming weeks, as the new booker takes EPW in a new direction.
TFW has returned to the wrestling scene in north Mississippi after a long absence. The show Friday night 7/3 was a good one, and things are going to get better in the coming weeks. The Asylum w/Tony "The Weasel" Watts vs. Syn & Stunner was a very good match. Watts says The Asylum will be back this Friday night, 7/10, and that "nobody is safe." Don't miss the show this Friday night at the TFW Arena, 2913 Hwy. 178 in Skyline. Bell time is 8:00. Look for some new faces and changes in TFW as well in the coming weeks. Of course, the haters are once again bashing TFW on the boards. So what else is new? These are most likely the same people that are bashing EPW. Let the haters hate, let the bashers bash, let the posters post - but TFW is back and there's not one thing they can do about it.
Speaking of the Asylum, it was great to see Wraith return to wrestling at the recent XOW show. I hope it was not just a one shot deal - I hope he is back for good. Wraith has been gone too long. The Asylum (Psycho & Pappy) are an awesome team. They are in demand all over the mid-south. They are one of the best teams in the area, if not THE best. The addition of Wraith would add an entire new dimension to The Asylum - even more violence, unpredictability, & insanity - Psycho, Pappy, & Wraith - what a force that would be!
I was sorry to hear about the demise of NWA Charlotte. This promotion putting on some very good shows and was enjoying some success, but they were screwed out of their building, much the same way TFW was screwed out of theirs several months ago. That's a shame.
That's all for this time, wrestleholics! If you have any feedback or comments or whatever, you can email me, or you can leave a comment here. Whether you love me or hate me, you read the column, and that's what is important. Thanks for dropping by.
The Axeman has spoken.
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