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What's up, everybody? Before I talk wrestling, has anybody ever seen that show "MVP" (it is a hockey series that is VERY similar to the show "Playmakers" that used to come on ESPN. Speaking of Playmakers, am I the only one that was FURIOUS when that show got cancelled? I used to watch it EVERY week. My Dad (R.I.P.), both of my brothers, my uncles, and I used to watch it on the giant screen TV that my brother bought. We'd grill up some good burgers (sometimes, I would go and get some buffalo burgers or buffalo steaks for us to throw on the grill to mix it up a little), throw a peach cobbler in the oven (or, sometimes I would make some peach melba), and I would use my smoothie maker to make a great strawberry slush. We'd sit in front of the big screen and watch that show, and then have a blast talking about it afterwards. I was so upset when the NFL whined and cried about it, threatening to pull NFL programming from ESPN if they did not cancel the show. I really wish that another network would buy the rights and start it back up again. A not so widely known fact is that the show was filmed in Canada. Getting back to MVP, this show is also filmed in Canada (it does air here in the United States, but I am not sure if it comes on in any other countries). The premise is the same as Playmakers, only this show is about hockey instead of football. I have been hooked ever since episode one, and I am watching it as I write this article. Hey, they're playing the song "Swing Baby Swing" by my favorite Scandinavian hip-hop group, The DNC! This song used to get the crowd moving when I would play it at the parties I DJed. I actually spun it a couple of weeks ago at a small party, and followed it with "Start The Bus" by Stinkyfacecrew. The people there seemed to enjoy both. I always like playing music from the independent record labels. Just a little while back, I went to a local pizza joint that had an independent group called Bankrupt and the Borrowers who performed a full concert there. They were pretty cool, and I talked to them for a few minutes after their performance was over. Really cool guys. What was real neat was how during their performance, they had Japanese Anime cartoons silently playing in the background on a huge TV screen. The anime they picked completely went with each song. An old independent group from the 1970's that I like was Henry Turner's Crystal Band. I still have their vinyl single "Giving My Love Up To You" (which has the song "Music" on the B-Side of the record). I absolutely love music. Getting back to MVP, I bet if my Dad were alive, he would like this show, too. Well, I have his picture up here on the table while I watch it. That's about as close as I can get to him being here watching it with me.
Now, onto wrestling. I would like to spark up a debate on which title you believe (from 1st to 5th) is the most prestigious, and continue going down to the title that has the least prestige. Here are the choices: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship, The ECW World Championship, The TNA World Championship, The WWE Championship, and The Big Gold Belt (now known as the World Heavyweight Championship, in the WWE... C.M. Punk's Title).
I will give a little background of each title to throw in a little food for thought as you debate, which is the most to least prestigious title.
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship - This title has its roots all the way back to 1901, but some argue that it is only back to 1905. Here's the scoop. Georg Hackenschmidt won a tournament in Vienna, Austria to win the very first World Heavyweight Championship. However, many people disputed him being "world" champion, because the tournament was limited to people who were in Austria at the time. To further prove himself, he went to Paris, France; Hamburg, Germany; Saint Petersburg, Russia; Elberfield, Germany; and Berlin, Germany... all BEFORE the year was over, to win other "World Heavyweight Championship" tournaments. Even though he beat all these people, finally, as of January 30th, 1904, he defeated Ahmed Madrali (who many people in the wrestling world thought was the best in the world). This bout took place in London, England. Once he got a clean victory over Madrali, he was THEN recognized as the "World Heavyweight Champion." Errrr... not so quick. Over in the United States, people were saying, "You haven't beat our AMERICAN Heavyweight Champion! You've only faced people in Europe! Boooooooooo!!! You're not World Heavyweight Champion! You suck!" After MONTHS of bookers from the United States and Europe getting together, on May 4th, 1905, in front of a sold out crowd in New York, New York, the main event was Tom Jenkins, American Heavyweight Champion, vs. Georg Hackenschmidt, the (at the time) disputed "World" Heavyweight Champion. As Hackenschmidt was introduced, the crowd erupted in a chorus of boos. "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! GO BACK TO EUROPE!" Hackenschmidt, usually a face in Europe, knew how to play up to the crowd to get them to boo more. The stage was set, and the bell rings. Back then, matches were MUCH longer than they were now, so people were fully ready to sit back and watch for no less than one hour to see this catch-as-catch-can classic. Both were magnificent in-ring technicians, with many near falls. Finally, after a grueling match, with not one person in the arena still eating their food (instead, intently watching the match), Hackenschmidt, the inventor of the wrestling bear hug, locked it onto Jenkins. He begin to squeeze the life out of Jenkins, and right before Jenkins completely passed out, he tapped out and let the ref know that he could not take anymore. Hackenschmidt got a clean victory over Jenkins. The crowd was stunned. After the match was over, you heard, "The winner of this bout... and, NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW, UNDISPUTED, HEAVYWEIGHT... CHAMPION OF THE WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRLLLLD, THE RUSSIAN LIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON... GEORG HAAAACKENSCHMIIIIIDT!" As he raised both the World Heavyweight Title he won in London, and the American Heavyweight Championship, you could see tears across the arena, as Tom Jenkins was no longer the titleholder.
Setting his site on Hackenschmidt's title was (whom I refer to as the early 20th Century version of Edge) none other than Frank Gotch. Gotch, who was a face with the crowd, in real life, was an absolute creep. Wrestling matches back then were shoots, not works. Gotch, a former rival of Tom Jenkins, and former American Heavyweight Champion, would stop at nothing to become World Heavyweight Champion. He completely oiled himself up with baby oil before the match. From head to toe, he looked like a he had just got finished swimming in Crisco. He did this so that he would be too slippery to get the bear hug put on him. The match was set on April 3rd, 1908. Hackenschmidt could easily have won if Gotch had not been so hard to hold on to (because of the baby oil). After nearly two hours of wrestling, Hackenschmidt attempted the bear hug. Gotch slipped out from under him, and then HAMMERED Hackenschmidt directly in the nose (knowing that the ref's vantage point was blocked). This was a blatantly illegal move. As Hackenschmidt clutched his nose and looked to the referee to see if the ref caught the infraction, Gotch (the ultimate opportunist), snatched Hackenschmidt's ankle from behind, causing him to fall flat on this face. Gotch then put Hackenschmidt in the ankle lock submission. After starting it, he then sat down into it, synching it in. Hackenschmidt, with blood pouring from his nose, and nearly concussed from his face hitting the floor, held on as long as he could. With a picture reminiscent of Stone Cold Steve Austin at the end of his WrestleMania 13 match with Bret Hart, the bloody faced Hackenschmidt had to tap out. The crowd cheered, because an American had the title, but this was a true travesty of justice. This was Hackenschmidt's first ever loss, as he was undefeated in both his amateur career, Greco-roman wrestling career, and professional wrestling career. Gotch, much like Shawn Michaels did Bret Hart, refused to face Hackenschmidt again, ducking and dodging him for over three years. Finally, on September 4th, 1911, Gotch gave Hackenschmidt a rematch. But, before the match, he made sure that he had the upper hand. Gotch paid Hackenschmidt's training partner, Ad Santel, to deliberately injure Hackenschmidt. Santel took his "30 pieces of silver," and in the training session, did a diving tackle (like a MISSLE) directly on Hackenschmidt's knee. Hackenschmidt was so hurt, that he almost called it quits. He could barely, barely walk. Gotch then faked a neck injury, saying that he, too, got hurt in training (so that Hackenschmidt would not forfeit before the match). The match was set to be two out of three falls. Hackenschmidt told Gotch that he would only wrestle if and only if Gotch let him win the first fall (so that he would not look so bad). Gotch gave him a handshake agreement, but as soon as the match started, he blasted Hackenschmidt's knee and got the quick pin. Hackenschmidt, still wincing in pain from getting his knee punted, got it blasted one more time, and Gotch took the second fall. Over a devastated Hackenschmidt, Gotch gave him a smirk and raised up his title. Hackenschmidt, hurt, and double-crossed, retired afterwards. Gotch held the title for 5 years total before retiring (he never actually lost the title), and is the third longest reigning champion in wrestling history.
Lou Thesz, the youngest World Heavyweight Championship EVER (in ANY organization) won the NWA (National Wrestling Association, not the National Wrestling Alliance) Championship at age 21. The National Wrestling Association was affiliated with the National Boxing Association (NBA). Lou Thesz wanted to unify pretty much every title in existence. In 1948, the National Wrestling Alliance came into existence. Lou Thesz, who won multiple other world titles, was going to have a final unification bout against Orville Brown, the National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion, to become the true undisputed champion. Unfortunately, Orville Brown was in a tragic car accident that instantly ended his career, causing him to vacate the title. Lou Thesz and Orville Brown were number one contenders for each other’s titles; so, the title was automatically awarded to him. He went on to win two more titles and unified them with the NWA (now, National Wrestling Alliance) World Heavyweight Championship. He has the second longest single World Heavyweight Title Reign in men's history, and the most combined days as champion ever.
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship is still in existence to this very day. Some of the more recent people to hold this title are Christian [Cage], Sting, Ron Killings, Jeff Jarrett, Rhyno, Abyss, Ken Shamrock, Dan Severn, Raven, Sabu, and A.J. Styles.
The World Heavyweight Championship (currently held by C.M. Punk) - This title is known as The Big Gold Belt. The actual creation of this belt came during Ric Flair's NWA World Heavyweight Championship reign in 1985, as both Ric and the NWA / WCW wanted to make a much better looking belt than the boring belt they had. Because the belt was so expensive, anyone who held the title had to pay $25,000, which would be given back to him with interest once they no longer were champion. In 1991, Ric Flair, current champion, left the NWA / WCW. Jim Herd, who was WCW Vice President, would not give Flair back his money. Therefore, Flair kept the belt, and brought it onto WWF television! When I saw this, I was like, "WOW! I can't believe he did this!" I used to laugh every time Flair came out with the belt, and they blurred it. Eventually, WCW realized that they desperately needed this belt back, and paid Ric Flair $38,000 dollars ($25,000 + $13,000 interest). He gave it back to them. Because they had departed ways from the NWA and in the absence of the Big Gold Belt created a new belt, the Big Gold Belt was briefly used as the "WCW International World Heavyweight Championship." This was a fake organization used to make fun of the NWA (kind of like Stevie Richards' "Right To Censor" faction was used to make fun of the Parents Television Council). The final holder of the "international" title was Sting, who lost it to the "regular" WCW Champion, Ric Flair (who, ironically, was back in the WCW, and was using the belt that the WCW had to create because he took the Big Gold Belt with him to the WWF). Ric Flair defeated Sting and "unified" the two titles.
Eventually, this belt was used as one of the two titles that comprised the "Undisputed" Champion of the WWE (that Chris Jericho won). Chris Jericho carried this belt along with the WWE championship belt. In April of 2002, they made a single undisputed belt. However, after Brock Lesnar refused to defend the undisputed title on RAW against the Number 1 Contender, HHH, Brock Lesnar was stripped of one of the titles. He got to keep the WWE Championship, but, the World Heavyweight Championship was awarded to HHH, and the Big Gold Belt came back into play.
The longest ever holder of The Big Gold Belt is Hulk Hogan, who held it for 469 days. The person who held it the longest after the WWE bought out WCW is Dave Bautista, who held it for 282 days. The person who held the Big Gold Belt the most overall days is Hulk Hogan, who in six reigns held the title for 1,177 days. The person who held it the most overall days since the WWE bought out WCW is HHH, who in five title reigns held it for 616 days.
The WWE Championship - This title can trace its roots back to 1963. Many of the promoters in the Northeastern portion of the United States were not happy about Lou Thesz being NWA World Heavyweight Champion, because he drew pretty much no heat (or pops) at all in the Northeast. People could care less about him. The original "Nature Boy," Buddy Rogers, was a MUCH bigger draw, and was hugely popular up there. When he was forced to drop the NWA title to Thesz, many of the promoters withdrew their territories from the NWA, and created the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The WWWF was affiliated with the NWA until 1983. Even though they were affiliated with the NWA, they still wanted their own World Title. Buddy Rogers was given the first title, but, to give the title legitimacy, a story was created that he won this title in a grueling tournament that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where he defeated Antonino Rocca. This actually never took place, but this storyline was created because in arguably one of the greatest matches of all time, Rocca defeated Rogers to win the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) International Heavyweight Championship in July of 1959. The CWC is now the WWE. The title was discontinued until 1982, when it was picked up by New Japan Pro Wrestling, who, at the time, had a working relationship with the WWF (since the WWF was still apart of the NWA... the WWF did not part ways from the NWA until 1983). Getting back to the WWE Title, the longest reigning champion ever was Bruno Sammartino, who held the title for 2,803 days. This is over 7 years and 7 months. He also has the most overall days as champion, with two reigns for 4,040 days. One pretty interesting fact is that on the current roster, the person with the most days as champion is John Cena. His three reigns have a total of 793 days as champion, This is more than HHH and The Rock (who even though they each have had 7 reigns as champion, only have 329 and 297 days as champion, respectively), Bret Hart (who in 5 reigns only had 654 days), Stone Cold Steve Austin (who in 6 reigns had 529 days), and Shawn Michaels (who in 3 reigns had 396 days). Furthermore, out of the active roster, John Cena has the single longest reign (380 days). The ONLY people in WWE history who have had the title for longer single reigns than John Cena are Bruno Sammartino, Bob Backland, Hulk Hogan, and Pedro Morales. John Cena's third reign is the longest reign since 1988.
The ECW Championship - This title was originally called apart of Eastern Championship Wrestling, which was apart of the NWA. Superfly Jimmy Snuka was the first ever champion, which was in 1992. In 1994, the titleholder, Shane Douglas, won a tournament to win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. He immediately threw the title away, because of the president of NWA, Dennis Coraluzzo, dissing him on the radio. He proclaimed that the ECW title was no longer "Eastern" Championship, but now, the Extreme World Championship. ECW then left the NWA, and became an independent promotion. In my opinion, this is the toughest wrestling organization in wrestling history. The angles were great, as they pushed the envelope like never before. Never had I seen such hardcore action, and wrestlers literally beating the sh!t out of each other. Besides the brawlers, you had some of the greatest technical wrestlers ever, and Paul Heyman would let them go at it like no other promoter ever had. When I used to visit my family on the East Coast, I could not WAIT to get a chance to watch ECW wrestling! You got a chance to see what I consider the "HBO" version of wrestling. You also had people coming out to real songs. The crowd got into these matches unlike anything I had ever seen. Even though the arenas may not have been big, the people in there would go absolutely nuts for both the faces and the heels. They did not care about controversy, and went on to do angles involving sex, pregnancy, and complete bloodshed. The violence was gangsta on mammoth proportions. If you were ECW champion, you EARNED that sh!t. Now, I do not even watch ECW anymore. It is a f*cking joke. Vince McMahon f*cked it all up, and I am so sad that the younger fans who see ECW now did not get to see the old ECW. What I think should happen is that instead of ECW touring with RAW and Smackdown, they need to put it back in those hole in the wall bingo halls that are full of people who are absolutely nuts, and let Paul Heyman run it again (with NO restrictions). They need a roster of people who are REALLY ready and willing to battle it out with no fear of the blood and violence. They need some people who are not scared of the barbed wire, the table, and setting sh!t on fire. If I would have ever went into professional wrestling, I would have wanted to go into ECW. Now, it pretty much is just a shell of its former self.
The TNA World Heavyweight Championship - TNA initially was synonymous with the NWA, and used the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as its title. TNA was created May 10th, 2002, and had an agreement with NWA to use their World Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championship. But, May 13th, 2007, the relationship was over, and the TNA World Championship was created. Since then, it has been defended fiercely, and Samoa Joe is the current titleholder. TNA is arguably the most athletic wrestling organization in the United States.
One note I'd love to touch on comes from my love of the Caribbean. I frequent the Caribbean, and one of my favorite places is Puerto Rico. Whenever I am there, I always make sure that I see some World Wrestling Council (WWC) action. If you have never seen this organization, it is absolutely fantastic. The competition is fierce, there are very cool angles, and the wrestlers are beyond athletic. They work very hard, and put on a great show. There is a rival promotion down there called IWA, but I haven't seen any IWA programming as of yet. WWC is owned by Carlos Colon Sr. (father of Carlito). I'd like to talk about what I believe was one of the greatest matches of all time. The WWC World Heavyweight Championship was created in an angle that was exactly like the way the original WWWF title. Abdullah The Butcher was given the title, and appeared on television stating that he won the title in a tournament in Japan where he defeated Antonio Inoki in the finals (no such tournament took place). He held the title for 72 hours before being defeated by local wrestler, Carlos Colon Sr. A rivalry eventually ensued between Ric Flair and Carlos Colon. Ric Flair, who was NWA World Heavyweight Champion, would publicly trash Colon's title, saying that he was the REAL world champion, and that Colon's title was a joke. Colon challenged Flair for a match, title vs. title, and the winner would be undisputed champion of the "universe." The match was set to take place in a steel cage. December 18th, 1983, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, in front of a sold out crowd, the main event was Flair vs. Colon. In addition to Flair being a hated heel, Colon was in front of a Puerto Rican crowd who was completely offended by Flair saying their title was a joke. Flair was getting booed out of the building, with the crowd wanting Colon to win so badly. This match was pure brutality, with the outcome possibly going either way. After a nail-biting finish, Carlos Colon Sr. DEFEATED a bloody Ric Flair, and won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship! The crowd went nuts! He was deemed champion of the universe, and the WWC World Heavyweight Championship was renamed the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship. Eventually, Flair won the NWA Championship back. However, in a move that was completely racist, the NWA went back and "erased" the title loss Flair had to Colon from their record books. They weren't "ready" for a Latino champion or champion of color. This outraged many in Puerto Rico, and across the Latin community. We still know that Colon defeated Flair, fair and square. Many American wrestlers have gone there to wrestle, including Macho Man Randy Savage, Stan Hansen, Gorilla Monsoon, Big Daddy V, Bruiser Brody, Dory Funk Jr., and Scott Hall (who is former Heavyweight Champion, in a bout where he defeated Carlito and Apollo in a Triple Threat Match).
OK, I am going to end the article with two questions. These are not trivia questions; I really need to know the answer to both. If any of you know, please drop me a line and tell me the answers!
Question Number 1 - Is the theme music used on the episode of Monday Night RAW that aired January 5th, 2008 that The Artist Formerly Known As Goldust (who came out as Pimpdust) used when he was set to wrestle Flash Funk the same music that the WWF later used for the character, The Godfather?
Question Number 2 - This actually has nothing to do with wrestling. I met a guy from El Salvador who said that there is a Salvadorian dessert that has the exact same name as a Mexican dish that is not a dessert. He said that his first ever trip to Mexico, he was at a restaurant, and asked for that particular dist to be his dessert. He then said that the waiter laughed and asked if he was sure that he wanted that for dessert. He told the waiter yes, but was shocked when he saw a dish that looked nothing like what he expected, and had hot sauce all over it. He said at first, he got angry with the waiter, because he thought the waiter was playing a joke on him, but after extended conversation with the waiter, he realized that in Mexico, they use the same name for their dish that is used in El Salvador for the dessert, but, they are two completely different things. It's kind of like how with the word chips, in Great Britain, it means French fries, but in the U.S., it means potato chips. Does anyone know what the name of dish is that is a Salvadorian dessert, but a Mexican appetizer / dinner item? I absolutely love desserts, and want to find the recipe to that Salvadorian dish so that I can make it!
For those here in the United States, I hope that you had a beautiful Independence Day. Some of you have asked about my day job. I have my website listed below for anyone who wants to look at it. It is a work-in-progress, but I think I've done a pretty good job with it thus far. Take care everyone! This is Jorden, signing off.
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