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.

The Axeman Speaks 10-18-2011

This photo must be very important to an individual named David Sebastian. You see, he has emailed it to me 23 times. I have no clue why. I have no idea what he wants me to do with it. Maybe he wants me to use it in a column. It really is kinda cute! So here it is. David, please stop sending it now!

The Axeman has spoken.

The Axeman Speaks 10-18-2011

Greetings, my friends! Here is an article which was emailed to me today. It has been posted in several places on the Internet, but I thought it was worthy to pass along here.

This was written by Joe Dombrowski. I have never met the man, but I hope to meet him one day. He wrote this - therefore 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 Joe Dombrowski's alone. However, I agree with everything he says here.

PRO WRESTLERS TAKE NOTE! The Dos and Don'ts of Social Networking!
by Joe Dombrowski, www.facebook.com/joedombrowskiwrestling

One of my many pet peeves lately has been the illogical way many people within professional wrestling treat their Facebook or Twitter accounts. Some have accounts using their wrestling name, yet post information about their private life, 9-to-5-jobs, etc. Some have accounts using their real name, but use it to cut wrestling promos and promote upcoming shows they will be appearing at. Some decide to post cute and humorous comments on the Walls of people they are feuding with, or thank one another for a great match. Some decide to outwardly expose the business by airing dirty laundry, locker room sleaze, or discussing the inner-workings of their match/experience at said show. All of the above is completely counter-productive and potentially harmful to business, both your own and where you work.

The excuse of "Everyone knows" and "The business has been exposed" is complete BS. Your job is to get the viewer to emotionally invest and buy into you specifically and your story. Every post you make that goes against that perception is counter-productive to your own progression and development. It's about building and sustaining an illusion strong enough for your audience to get lost in. They want to believe. If you can't make them, they will go somewhere else.

"I can't make you believe wrestling is real, but I can make you believe that I am." - Johnny Valentine

This point was hammered home to me upon reading something Dave Meltzer wrote -

"I was in a discussion yesterday with the head of a major promotion talking about how that every major company (UFC, WWE and TNA) that has embarked on usage of twitter and Facebook has ended up having their key business metrics (ratings, PPVs) decline, while the former two bring in literally millions of fans. There is a reason why. Stars killing their aura as stars. They get people to talk about them, but they also make people less want to pay to see them because they come across like they aren't stars. Not saying some people don't come across as stars or it's a negative, but the ones that do are the minority."

Although Dave's quote was written in a different context than this blog, I still feel it applies. With that in mind, a few personal bits of advice for professional wrestlers on Twitter...

- Separate business and personal completely. If you are posting under "Wrestling Name", it should only be things that persona would post. Promos, videos, upcoming shows, etc. Nothing you wouldn't say on a microphone or to a fan at an event. Nothing too "inside". If you are posting under "Real Name", keep it completely void of fans and only accept those who know you personally. Which should be two different categories, but that's a rant for another time. Some choose to have a personal profile and a "fan page" devoted to their wrestling. Good call.

- Remember it is beneficial to create an "aura" around yourself. If you spend six days a week in the gym to look like a superstar, then get onto Facebook to complain about the fact you have to do a double shift at Arby's tomorrow, you've just undone all of your own hard work to present yourself in a certain light.

- Treat your public wrestling updates seriously. Don't LOL at the guy you're in a blood feud with and keep it in line with how your character is presented at the actual shows. If not, you undermine and belittle your own character, and make it infinitely more impossible for people to buy into you.

- Don't post that you hated your match, didn't enjoy it, blew spots, etc. If you don't even enjoy your own work, how in the world are you supposed to convince fans to?

- Remember you are a brand and commodity. It is up to you to sell you. No one will do it better than you can. Perception is reality. And you are, even if on a very small level, a public figure. Work to sell that image. Use FB and Twitter as a glorified advertisement to showcase why fans should pay to see you and why promoters should pay to hire you.

With these few mindsets, we can turn social networking from a counter-productive peek behind the curtain into an easy and widespread enhancement for the business as a whole.

Joe Dombrowski
iwcmc_dombrowski@yahoo.com
www.Facebook.com/joedombrowskiwrestling
Twitter: @joe_dombrowski

The Axeman Speaks 10-12-11

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!

A few days ago I had the pleasure and privilege of attending a taping at MLW up in Memphis. I must say, I really enjoyed myself. I got to meet one of my favorite female wrestlers, Amber O'Neal, which was a real treat. I have followed Amber's career for several years. She's great!

It was good to see Brandi Wine again. She is my favorite MLW star. I met her the first time at the MLW taping and show in Tupelo several years ago, and she's been my favorite MLW star ever since.

Another treat was seeing Lil Bit again. I have not seen her work for several years. She has improved a lot.

One young lady who was there also impressed me. She has only been in the business a couple of years, and she has a long way to go and much to learn, but she has a real desire to learn and excel in wrestling that you don't see very often. She's called Aida (pronounced Ida), also known in wrestling as Aida Marie. She's from New York, and she weighs less than 100 pounds, but I predict she will one day make a name for herself in pro wrestling, if she sticks with it and works hard, which I believe she will. Take a look at the photo above. My gut feeling is this little gal will one day prove that big things come in small packages.

That's all for now.

The Axeman has spoken.

The Axeman Speaks 10-9-2011

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.

Wrestling News Center, received the following email last week:

"Message = Copyrighted documents by MLW and TIWF being used by TFW in a recent post.
Uploading or downloading works protected by copyright without the authority of the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner's exclusive rights of reproduction and/or distribution. Anyone found to have infringed a copyrighted work may be liable for statutory damages up to $30,000 for each work infringed and, if willful infringement is proven by the copyright owner, that amount may be increased up to $150,000 for each work infringed. In addition, an infringer of a work may also be liable for the attorney's fees incurred by the copyright owner to enforce his or her rights. Please remove all unauthorized copyright material. Thank you."

This email was sent to the WNC webmaster by a guy calling himself Steven Hunter. Now, I never heard of this guy. Nobody at WNC has ever heard of him. Who he is, I do not know.

The strange fact is that the guy never says what documents he is referring to. I have looked back at the TFW posts on WNC for the month of September, and any TFW posts for October, and I see nothing that indicates any photo or document is copyrighted by anyone.

I, along with others, have emailed this "Steven Hunter," asking which photo(s) he is referring to. As of today, none of us have received the courtesy of a response.

So.... As Head Writer at Wrestling News Center, this is my final attempt to get a response from this Steven Hunter, whoever he may be, wherever he may be, whatever he may be up to here. Contact me at axemanchopchop@yahoo.com if you have a legitimate issue to discuss with Wrestling News Center. If you do not want to do that, contact the owner of Wrestling News Center, who I know has also emailed you. Otherwise, we will consider the matter closed. It's your move.

The Axeman has spoken.

The Axeman Speaks 8-15-11

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. 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! Two subjects to cover in this column, so here we go....

The top photo above is a copy of the poster for the Mississippi Championship Wrestling show this Saturday in Kosciusko, MS. Notice anything strange about this poster? The WWE Smackdown logo is used right in the middle of the poster, yet this is NOT a WWE show. The official name of the show is "1st Annual SmackDown in K-Town". I wonder if the powers that be in MCW got permission to use the Smackdown name and logo from the powers that be in WWE? Hmmm....

The poster also advertises Brian Christopher as being from WWE, which, to the best of my knowledge, he is not.

Now, I am not downing the show or any of the wrestlers they are using. I am just questioning two of the tactics they are using to promote the show. Frankly I wish MCW well with their show. They just need to be careful how and what they advertise.

OK, on to the second subject, recent WWE releases....

Gail Kim, Melina, Vladimir Kozlov, Chris Masters, and David Hart Smith were all recently released by WWE. However, Gail Kim later said she was being kept under contract by WWE until her contract expires.

OK, Kozlov, Masters, and Smith were not major players and will not be missed. They made no significant contribution to WWE.

Melina, on the other hand, is an extremely talented female wrestler, and I am surprised to see WWE release her. Oh, I know she has been injured, but still, she is a talented and attractive athlete, and, unlike so many WWE Divas, she can WORK! WWE's loss is, I sincerely hope, TNA's gain!

Gail Kim falls into that same category. Gorgeous and talented, she was never used right by WWE since they re-signed her. She should have had a major push, but instead got the major shaft. Again, WWE's loss will, I hope, be TNA's gain eventually.

Also, eight developmental talents were released from Florida Championship Wrestling by WWE, among them a female wrestler named Sonia. Now, I am rather surprised that not many posts or comments were made on the various message boards about the release of Sonia, which is the name WWE gave to Su Yung when she was signed to a WWE developmental contract. Now, I have no idea what her plans are, but I do hope she returns to this area and that we do see her involved in wrestling around here again. She is talented and gorgeous.

That's all for now. I will be back in a couple of weeks, because I have some stuff on my mind about the TFW organization I want to talk about.

The Axeman has spoken.

The Axeman Speaks 7-12-2011

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. 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, wrestleholics! Surprise! Two columns in two weeks! Betcha didn't expect that! I have some stuff on my mind, plus I will answer a couple of emails in this column, so here we go....

Randy Orton via Twitter: "If Arn Anderson isn't in the HOF next year I'll go on strike. Well maybe not go on strike, but damn it, he's earned it. Anyone else agree? He has tutored me thru out my career and speaking of the punt, his idea 100%."

Randy Orton says Arn Anderson belongs in the WWE Hall of Fame. Apparently, a number of other WWE stars feel the same way. So, does Arn really belong in the HOF? I say yes. Arn Anderson had a long and successful wrestling career. I best remember him as a member of the Four Horsemen, where he spent a large part of his career making Ric Flair look good. That was the whole purpose of the Horsemen, to keep Flair in the spotlight, much the same way the NWO was designed to keep Hogan in the spotlight. Anderson did his job, and did it well, for years. However, Anderson accomplished more than that. He held numerous titles:

In Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, he held the NWA National Tag Team Championship 1 time, with Ole Anderson; The NWA Mid-Atlantic/WCW World Tag Team Championship 5 times, twice with Tully Blanchard, once with Larry Zbyszko, once with Bobby Eaton, and once with Paul Roma; and the WCW World Television Championship 4 times.

In Southeastern Championship Wrestling he held the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship 3 times with with Jerry Stubbs and once with Pat Rose.

In the World Wrestling Federation he held the WWF Tag Team Championship once, with Tully Blanchard.

Arn Anderson had a successful career entertaining wrestling fans for many years. He continues to work behind the scenes with WWE to this day. Does he belong in the HOF? ABSOLUTELY. Will he ever be in the HOF? Who knows - it's WWE, after all. But he does belong there.

I'll tell you someone else who belongs in the Hall of Fame, and that is JJ Dillon, one of the greatest managers of all time.

On to other things....

Posted recently on the message board: "Why does Axeman bring all this up again in his column? Seems to me it is very unnecessary!" Well, it seems that someone did not like my comments about Izzy Rotten in the last column. I brought it up because it needed to be said. Period. I ain't sorry for saying it!

Also posted on the message board: "And why does Axeman post that very same picture of Lilian Garcia on WNC every 4th of July?!" Well, in case you have not noticed, Lilian Garcia is a very attractive woman. I like that picture of her in a bikini in front of the American flag. I like it a lot. That's why I post it. I like it. I like looking at it. And that's all the reason I need!

OK, to another subject:

Over the last few years, numerous things have been said on the internet about Gary "Lord Humongous" Nation, most of them negative. I have always given him the benefit of the doubt. I have kept quiet about Hugo, but I will not remain silent any longer.

EPW has booked Gary four times. He showed up and worked the first time, no problems. The last three times he was booked, he did not show. The first time he said his mother died. I certainly understand his not coming to Booneville if that was the case, and everyone else at EPW understood also - again, no problem. However, the next time he was booked, he did not show up. I don't know what, if any, excuse he gave then. This past Saturday night he was once again booked in Booneville and did not show. I don't know and I don't care what excuse he has, if any. He has way too many excuses.

Now, why EPW would book him again after the first no-show is beyond me. But the fact is that Gary got a second chance, then a third chance, and blew them both. I am certain EPW is done with him. There is no excuse for accepting a booking and then simply not showing up. No call, no text message, nothing - just did not show up. He has done the same thing at other shows around the area as well in the past.

As far as pro wrestling goes, Lord Humongous is, in my opinion, an unprofessional individual who no-shows wrestling events he is booked on more often than he shows up. He is another of the individuals I alluded to in my last column who give pro wrestling a bad name. Let this be a warning to all wrestling organizations everywhere, if you book this guy, you do so at your own risk. More than likely, he will no-show your event also.

Now to answer a couple of emails:

Paul Potts emailed me a few days ago and asked me who the 10 greatest wrestling managers of all time are. Paul, you asked me this same question a couple of years ago, didn't you? I don't know who the 10 greatest of all time are. But I will give you a few names who I think are truly great managers: Gary Hart, JJ Dillon, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Paul Ellering, Jimmy Hart, Bronco Lubich, Paul Bearer/Percy Pringle, Lou Albano, Ernie Roth, Jim Cornette, Sherri Martel, Bobby Davis. Unfortunately, the era of managers in pro wrestling, a least in the big organizations, is over.

Russell Lee asks: "Why didn't Tasha Simone come to TFW with Motely Cruz?" Well, Motely & Tasha split up a while back. She went her way and he went his way. I do not know what happened and don't care. It's not my business.

Lastly, I have been told that Kenny Valiant was upset at my remarks in my last column. Well, Kenny, if you have anything to say, send it to me. I will post it. But you know I was right.

That's all for now. I have a lot more on my mind, but I am out of time again. If you have any feedback, send it to axemanchopchop@yahoo.com. All feedback, positive or negative, is welcome.

The Axeman has spoken.