Sunday, November 13, 2011

The Axeman Speaks 11-13-11


The photo above is of my new granddaughter, Ella, who is my fifth grandchild. I am so crazy about her! Wow! Five Grandchildren - I am truly blessed!

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of Wrestling News Center, the Webmaster, or anyone else connected with this site. They are mine, and mine alone, unless otherwise stated. If you agree with me, OK, and if you don’t, that’s OK. Either way, you're gonna read this, and that's what is important.

Greetings, wrestling fans! I have several topics I want to talk about in this column, so it will probably be longer than usual. Here we go....

The following was posted by Mike Aldren at GeorgiaWrest6lingHistory.com on 10-31-11:

"There was an independent show this past weekend in Poteau, Oklahoma, promoted
by Dwayne Huckaba. He booked several well known names including Tammy Sytch and Jim Neidhart who did a pre show meet and greet. Several other guys didn't go as they hadn't received their retainer. Huckaba claimed to at least one person that he sent a check, and that the check he sent had been cashed, but didn't provide any proof.
The show was pretty much a disaster drawing less than 100 paid. Huckaba skipped
town soon after bell time when he realized ticket sales wasn't going to cover his
payroll. He hasn't since returned anyone's calls or messages."

OK, does the name Dwayne Huckaba ring a bell with anyone? It seems that this is none other than the former owner of DCW, which ran in the Mid-South area for several years. Huckaba had a good thing going with DCW for a while, and he had some excellent shows. Then he made some bad decisions and ran out of money and started doing the same thing that Mr. Aldren describes above. Apparently, Dwayne has not changed a bit. That is unfortunate. How and why he can continue to rip people off like that is beyond me. Why anyone would work for him is beyond me.


On a recent visit to a MLW taping in Memphis, I had the pleasure of seeing my very favorite MLW star, Brandi Wine, pictured above. Don't let his lovely lady's beautiful smile fool you - this gal can wrestle, and she is as tough as they come!

From the MLW site:

"Brandi Wine's maniacal laughter echoes through MLW locker room, and all of the ladies are instantly on notice that the most raucous member of their roster has arrived.

Some of the younger girls take the sound as their cue to make a hasty exit of the area. They have heard that a friendly slap on the back from Brandi will knock the wind out of you... or even dislocate a shoulder.

Whether or not it is her intent, Brandi's off-kilter demeanor frightens some of her opponents. According to her, she is just being herself.

"You never know what Brandi you're gonna get," she said while looking through her wrestling gear, deciding what to wear before a MLW show. "One minute, I'm a good girl, then I hear that bell ring and I turn into a mega-bitch."

Brandi said pro-wrestling made her crazy, but in a good way.

"I wanted to do this since I was five years old. I remember watching the National Wrestling Alliance. I loved the Rock N Roll Express, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum TA, the Four Horsemen... but my favorite was Barry Windham!

Watching them do what they did the best made me want to get in the ring and kick some ass. I made that happen with a lot of determination and hard work. If that makes me crazy, then call me crazy, but call me that at your own risk!"

With wrestling being her greatest passion, Brandi said she has to use the tools she was given in order to enjoy success in the sport.

"I'm not a high-flier; I can't get my fat ass off the ground!" she said with a chuckle. "And I'm not very technical; I'm clumsy as hell.

That approach to wrestling only adds to the crazy perception of Brandi. The word that often comes to mind for fans and opponents alike with regard to Brandi is "powerhouse."

"I guess 'powerhouse' is a good description. I like to use a front face lock because I look good doing it. And I do have powerful legs, so the figure four leg lock works for me too."

Brandi is appreciative of the fans and their comments. But the notion of how she is viewed by other wrestlers causes some of the craziness to subside and allow her to be a bit more reflective.

"I know I can be crazy sometimes, but I really love getting in that ring with the other ladies – Debbie Combs, Lei Lani Kai, Malia Hosaka, Sherri Martel, I have been fortunate to be able to wrestle all of them. I have met some of the all-time greats – Heidi Lee Morgan and Judy Martin.

MLW is a great promotion for continuing the tradition of one generation of women to pass this on to the next generation. MLW is where I got to meet the great Joyce Grable. At the same time, MLW allows me the chance meet new girls. They are so talented and MLW let's them showcase their ability."

That is high praise for MLW, coming from someone who has toured all over the world with the likes of Paul Orndorff, the Road Warriors, Greg Valentine, and Nicolai Volkoff."

If you have never seen Brandi Wine in action, you can go to www.mlwonline.com and download her matches, along with hundreds of other great ladies matches. Check 'em out - you will be glad you did.

Now, on to other things....


I was saddened to learn of the recent death of Herb Gerwig, better known in the wrestling world as as Killer Karl Kox. He was a major star in the 1960s and 70s. He passed away a few days ago in Texas at the age of 80, as the result of a massive heart attack on Oct. 20, followed by a second heart attack, which was fatal, while still in the hospital.

Kox has been praised as being one of the top heel wrestlers in his day, and has been called one of the best ring psychologists of all time. he is also recognized as being one of the best in-ring teachers of the modern era. Both Ted DiBiase, Sr. and Dick Murdoch gave Kox credit for being the guy who taught them as much about what to do in the ring and when to do it as anyone they were in with.

My earliest memory of pro wrestling is a match I watched when I was a very young child on our old black & white TV in Dallas. The match was Killer Karl Kox vs. Fritz Von Erich. As best I can remember, they had been partners, but something had happened the previous week and they were now bitter enemies. The match ended, as best as I can recall, with Von Erich hitting Kox over the head with a very large trophy.

Another pioneer in the wrestling profession is gone. RIP, Killer Karl Kox, and thanks for the memories.


Here is a little tidbit of information I recently found out about Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock:

A very distraught Hollywood recently brought a very limp duck to a local veterinarian. As he gently laid his pet on the table, the vet pulled out his stethoscope and listened to the bird's chest.

After a moment or two, the vet shook his head and sadly said, "I'm sorry,
your duck has passed away."

The distressed Hollywood wailed, "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am sure. Your duck is dead," replied the vet.

"How can you be so sure?" he protested. "I mean you haven't done any
testing on him or anything. He might just be in a coma or something."

The vet turned around and left the room. He returned a few minutes later
with a black Labrador Retriever. As Hollywood looked on in amazement,
the dog stood on his hind legs, put his front paws on the examination table
and sniffed the duck from top to bottom. He then looked up at the vet with
sad eyes and shook his head.

The vet patted the dog on the head and took it out of the room. A few
minutes later he returned with a cat. The cat jumped on the table and also
delicately sniffed the duck from head to foot. The cat sat back on its
haunches, shook its head, meowed softly and strolled out of the room.

The vet looked at Hollywood and said, "I'm sorry, but as I said, this is
most definitely, 100% certifiably, a dead duck."

The vet turned to his computer terminal, hit a few keys and produced a bill,
which he handed to Hollywood, who, still in shock, took the bill. "$1500!"
he cried, "$1500 just to tell me my duck is dead?!"

The vet shrugged, "I'm sorry. If you had just taken my word for it, the bill
would have been $20, but with the Lab Report and the Cat Scan, it's now
$1500."

Hollywood, for once, was speechless....


Speaking of Hollywood Jimmy Blaylock, he recently celebrated his birthday. While there is some discussion as to just how old he really is, as best I can determine, he is 65. Now, Hollywood is by far the biggest trouble making, cheating, scoundrel in wrestling today, but I don't wish bad things on anybody, so - and this is hard - happy birthday, Jimmy - who is now officially a member of the Over the Hill gang. For your birthday, Jimmy, I have signed you up for a one year supply of Depends....


Last, but certainly not least, I also want to wish our WNC webmaster, the lovely Tia, a happy birthday! XOXO....

Well, that's all for now. If you have any feedback, positive or negative, you can email it to me at axemanchopchop@yahoo.com - or simply leave a comment on this blog. Thanks for stopping by!

The Axeman has spoken.

No comments: