Hack-Man Pro-Wrestling Are pro wrestlers role models? Yes and no. Page

Last updated 26 February 2003


Are pro wrestlers role models? Yes and no.

By Mike Mooneyham Of The Post and Courier staff

Sunday, May 28, 2000

Should professional wrestlers be role models?

Two WWF performers recently posed that question provided contrasting takes on the subject.

Two-time NCAA wrestling champion Kurt Angle, who parlayed his 1996 Olympic gold medal success into a lucrative professional career, says the answer is "a definite yes," but with a disclaimer.

"I think we do send a message to the kids. This is for families to get together and be entertained. It's not for kids to go out in the back yard and do. I think we're continuously trying to send that message through public service announcements and commercials. We have a responsibility, but so do the parents."

To children, athletes are ideals, setting standards of excellence in sports and success in life. Angle, though, realizes that everything seen on the screen today is not necessarily for widespread consumption. And, of course, the fact that the modern version of pro wrestling is more entertainment than sport means that the performers fans see are portraying characters that are often diametrically opposite to the person playing that role.

"I'm a big believer in God and a good Christian, but entertainment is entertainment," says Angle, who has made hundreds of motivational speeches since the '96 Olympics for corporations, colleges, elementary, junior high and high schools. "There's going to be good things for people, bad things for people. It's just like anything else you do in the world. Whatever it is - The Undertaker 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin or the Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle, you're going to see something that you like here. You might not be comfortable with everything, but there's always something for everyone. And that's what I like about this business. But parents have to be responsible and monitor what their children watch. We have shows for kids on the weekend, so they have a choice."

The WWF's Al Snow, on the other hand, says don't look at him - or any other wrestler - if you're looking for a role model.

"I'm a role model for my own children, and you, as a parent, should be a role model for your children," says Snow, 36, who has a son and daughter ages 10 and 12. "But nobody outside of your house should be a role model for your child. If your child is looking outside your home for a role model, then something is missing inside your home. I believe it's OK for your child to idolize me. Adults idolize other people. They idolize athletes, actors, singers. My own son idolizes Michael Jordan. He idolizes Steve Austin, he idolizes Jeff Gordon. But, without a doubt, the only people he looks to as far as being role models are myself and my wife."

Snow says he is bothered when people try to "excuse away" inappropriate behavior.

"I don't want to hear any boo-boo face BS about being a single parent. I could give a care less. Why? Because it's just another excuse to me. I am on the road almost 250 days a year or more. Basically my wife is a single parent. I am away from these children, but I am still very much a force and a factor in their lives and they still look to me at being a role model in their lives. If you're gonna have a bad seed, you're gonna have a bad seed, no matter what you do as a parent. You can be the greatest person in the world, you could be Mary Poppins, and the child could still grow up to be an adult with a high-powered rifle. But at least you did what you had to do.

"I take responsibility to raise my own children. I don't ask my friends, I don't ask my family, I don't ask my neighbors, I don't ask my children's teachers, I don't ask their friends. I damn sure don't ask the news or entertainment media to raise my children. I make a fairly decent living wrestling, therefore I can afford to have more than just one TV in my home. But I'd say 90 percent of the time my children watch TV is with either me or my wife or both of us at the same time. We exercise our right, and if something comes on the channel that we don't like, including wrestling, then during that period of time we turn the channel, and turn it back after that segment is over. If, by chance, our children are somewhere else in the house watching another TV set, then I get up and go see what they're watching."

The 18-year veteran admits the WWF product is geared toward "a more sophisticated audience."

"The content of the WWF, as much as what wrestling has always been and always will be, is a reflection of what society is," says Snow. "People aren't going to relate to something they don't see in their daily lives on a regular basis. So you have to put it out there. It also goes back to the sophistication of the audience. The audience is far more sophisticated, so we have to be with our performance and storylines."

The 30-year-old Angle says he realizes that sports heroes come and go, and that sometimes they go down hard. The failings and imperfections of many pro wrestlers, specifically, have been well documented. Yet some have larger-than-life images and are considered icons even among their peers.

"A friend and I used to use a 1-5 rating system when we watched wrestling, with 5 being the worst and 1 being the best," says Angle. "I won't say who 2 through 5 were, but No. 1 was always Ric Flair. And I'm not necessarily saying that Ric is still the best on the mic or the best worker, but I think Ric has done a lot for the business. People enjoy watching him, and he's very entertaining. He's the complete package. I think this business and the people who are fans of the business owe a lot to him. Ric deserves to be that No. 1. When you're comparing someone to the best, you're comparing him to Ric Flair. Ric Flair is the best."

Angle, who is one year into a five-year contract, says he didn't seriously consider the pro ranks until a couple of years ago.

"Ten years ago I would have said you're joking," Snow says of the prospect that he would have been a professional wrestler. "But here I am."

The former Olympian, however, has taken to the professional part of the sport like a duck to water.

"I believe I was meant to win the gold medal. But I feel more comfortable in this ring than I did the amateur wrestling ring. And that's a tough thing to say. It's amazing how I caught on. I think that's why when I went out and tried out the first day, the second day they came up to me with a contract. They didn't want to see anything else. That was it."

Angle said he went through the motions of talking to the other major organizations before signing with the WWF, but he never seriously considered either one.

"No offense to ECW, but they did a couple of things that I wasn't real comfortable with. They also put up a screen that they were more legitimate wrestling. I didn't understand until I got there, but they were just being more graphic," says Angle, referring to a controversial crucifixion angle involving Raven, Sandman and Sandman's son.

"That was a comical one," says Angle. "I didn't have any problem. At that point in my career I was doing a lot of motivational speaking for kids trying to stay on the right path, and all of a sudden they're doing an angle with a little kid putting his dad up on a cross crucifying him. I said I hope they don't show this one on TV.

"I feel really good being in the WWF. It's important to be happy with your life and what you're doing. I know everybody has problems - we all do, I do - but for the most part, you want to enjoy your life and get through your problems. If you don't like what you're doing, try to find something that can take up your time that you can enjoy."

The Pittsburgh native, who has been with the WWF for little more than a year, began his stint in Memphis where he trained and worked local shows while also doing WWF dark matches twice a week.

"I really still don't know much about the business. Maybe I don't deserve to be in the position I'm in right now, but I'm very grateful for what they've done and I just want to do my job. So far people have been happy with that, and that makes me happy. It's fun. If you're having fun, that's when people will say you're improving. As long as I keep my head on straight and keep doing what they tell me to do, the sky's the limit."

Jim Ross, head of the WWF's talent development, is one of Angle's biggest boosters.

"Kurt Angle's development with the sports-entertainment structure of the World Wrestling Federation is nothing short of amazing. This young man has a huge upside potential and will be a future Federation champion. The only thing that can take the Olympian down is the 'man in the mirror,' but that applies to everyone on the roster. Becoming a star doesn't mean one has to become a jerk, too. I think Kurt will be just fine."

Angle's cocky in-ring character and mic ability have drawn natural comparisons to The Rock.

"Rocky's a great example," says Angle. "I would never compare myself to him because he's done so much in such a short period of time. But he's the kind of guy that I'd love to gun for."

Angle's "Olympic hero" gimmick really wasn't a gimmick, but rather an exaggerated extension of his real-life character.

"I was looking to be just the opposite," says Angle. "But they had a plan for me. They said, 'Be yourself. Be America's Olympic hero, and turn it up a thousand degrees. Have a ball and smile all the time. These people love you, even though they don't.' And it worked. From the first minute on it was amazing the reaction I got."

  • A recent article by Martha Hart, Owen's widow, in the Calgary Sun may have revealed the direction of the family's lawsuit against the WWF.

    She wrote:

    "My husband, Owen, waiting 10 minutes suspended six stories above a dark arena, trusting who he thought were expert riggers with his precious life. Little did he know he was hooked up to a make-shift contraption which included a quick-release snap shackle clip meant for the sole purpose of rigging sail boats.

    "Then it happened. The hook that was practically the equivalent of a paper clip released and Owen fell. As he lay dying in the ring, he struggled for his last breath, trying so hard just to live - to live for me and his children. And after he lost his fight for life, they just scooped him up and ordered the next match out.

    "Where's the humanity? Would he have wanted the show to go on? Absolutely not. Those vivid images haunt me every day.

    "The WWF might want to take care of me and my children, but the bottom line is they didn't take care of Owen."

    Owen's brother, Bret, will appear on "The Last Word" with Jim Rome on Fox Sports Monday night. The topic is the mainstream popularity of pro wrestling.

    Among the highlights of the interview taped last week:

    On Vince McMahon insisting that the show go on after Owen's death, saying that Owen would have wanted it that way: "I'm sure that if Vince had dropped (his son) Shane from the ceiling the show would have been stopped ... Who is he, Vince McMahon, to speak for my brother? For them to wheel my dead brother past a bunch of distraught wrestlers and go 'you're on next' ... to do that is such a rotten thing to do."

    On Vince McMahon: "Vince McMahon ... he's such an unsavory human being. I have trouble saying 'human being.' I don't think he has any integrity whatsoever."

    On unions: "Wrestlers need a union. Even rodeo clowns have a union. Let the wrestlers decide whether they want to have a union."

    Hart will appear with Diamond Dallas Page on The Donny and Marie Show on Aug. 14.

  • WCW deserves credit for slapping Marcus "Buff" Bagwell with a well-deserved 30-day suspension without pay for punching a company employee who merely asked the short-tempered "superstar" to step out out [sic] the way while he was doing his job.

    The pompous Bagwell had the audacity to tell police that he thought the WCW crewmember "was being rude," adding, "He works for us, he shouldn't be so pushy."

    His poor handling of the situation and his refusal to apologize reportedly have placed his future with the company in jeopardy.

    Bagwell, who was charged with battery, is scheduled to appear in court on July 11. The WCW employee is considering filing a civil lawsuit. The human resources division at TBS is looking into the matter.

  • Yet another WCW performer is facing major legal trouble. Juventud Guerrera, who was charged a couple of years ago with DUI and fleeing police during an incident in Penn Station, Pa., is facing jail time in the case.

  • Kevin Nash will defend the WCW heavyweight title in a three-way dance with Ric Flair and Jeff Jarrett at Nitro this week.

    Flair, coming off an inner-ear problem that caused a major scare at Thunder two weeks ago, will build toward his Great American Bash showdown with son David with the stipulation that he must retire if he loses. Hulk Hogan also will have that stip in his bout with Billy Kidman, but naturally The Invincible One will come out on top.

    Despite many backstage, political attempts over the past two years to kill off his character, Ric Flair has become a pivotal part of the company once again, delivering the company's strongest numbers and continuing to cut the most compelling promos. He has embraced the "team player" concept espoused by Bischoff and Russo and has been a team leader in the locker room as well, telling friends that he is willing to live with the pain in order to help WCW in a crucial time in the ratings war. He has even offered to further delay shoulder surgery, despite the fact that specialist Dr. James Andrews told him that he should have had the surgery long ago.

    Flair once again proved that he is WCW's biggest ratings draw when his two segments on Nitro two weeks ago pulled in the show's strongest numbers. Nitro, on the strength of Flair's segments, recorded its best rating since early this year with a 3.11 last week going against Raw's 6.56. An unopposed segment featuring an interview with Flair and footage from his home did a 4.1, while the Flair-Jarrett match at the end of the show did a 3.29. Not surprisingly, the Hulk Hogan segment at 2.5 was the lowest-rated quarter on Nitro, although the blame most certainly will be placed on the shoulders of Billy Kidman who, not so coincidentally, "lost" girlfriend Torrie Wilson to the Hulkster the following night on Thunder when Hogan obviously exercised his creative control.

  • Lance Storm, who did a clean job in his last ECW match with Justin Credible at the Hardcore Heaven pay-per-view, is expected to make his WCW debut at this week's Nitro in Salt Lake City.

    Storm is the latest ECW performer to leave the company for more financially lucrative offers in the Big Two. ECW has been hit hard during the past year by the departures of The Dudleys, Tazz and Mike Awesome. Sabu also prematurely bolted the company, but was prevented from joining WCW since he still had a valid contract with ECW.

    Storm, who signed a three-year deal with WCW, said on his Web site that he was a "little nervous about surviving in a much bigger and more experienced locker room."

  • WCW announcer Mark Madden was ordered to make the comment on last week's show that you won't find a lot of DQs on Nitro (a knock on the DQ finish the night before in the Rock-Triple H match), but he added the line about no clusters, which is humorous considering the number of run-ins each week.

  • Mark Coleman was backstage at last week's Nitro and is expected to join Rick Steiner and Tank Abbott in the shooters group.

  • Daffney is engaged to a member of the band Stuck Mojo.

  • Jim Cornette is promoting a show on June 23 that will celebrate 30 years of pro wrestling at the Louisville Gardens. Among those appearing will be Stan Lane and Steve Keirn reprising their Fabulous Ones team with Jackie Fargo in their corner going up against Derrick King and Jason Lee managed by Rip Rogers.

  • Japanese mat great Tomomi "Jumbo" Tsuruta, 49, died May 13 at the National Kidney Hospital in Manila, Philippines, where he had undergone kidney transplant surgery.

    The 6-3 Tsuruta, one of the greatest and most popular wrestlers to ever come out of Japan, was an accomplished basketball player and swimmer in high school and didn't take up wrestling until college, and in a matter of months became a national champion in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. He found himself at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich only 18 months after beginning his amateur career and took seventh place in the Greco-Roman division.

    Tsuruta, an accomplished scientific wrestler, launched his pro career shortly after being trained by the legendary Funk family in Amarillo, and within five weeks of his pro debut was challenging Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA world title.

    Tsuruta was an immediate superstar in his native Japan where he was quickly recruited by "Giant" Shohei Baba for his fledgling All Japan promotion. One of the most memorable feuds of the mid- and late '70s saw Tsuruta and Baba team up against Terry and Dory Funk Jr.

    Tsuruta, who had been battling hepatitis since 1992, had secretly undergone treatments for liver cancer during the past year in Japan and later visited kidney hospitals in Brisbane, Australia, and Manila, where he died of excessive bleeding following a kidney transplant in which the kidney of a murder victim failed to take.

    Tsuruta, who had a degree in sports physiology, traveled to Oregon last year to take a teaching job at the University of Portland, but returned to Japan when his health condition worsened.

    Tsuruta was a three-time Triple Crown champion (defeated Stan Hansen in 1989, Tenryu in 1989 and Hansen in 1991), a three-time International heavyweight champion (defeated Bruiser Brody in 1983, Hansen in 1986 and Brody in 1988), a five-time United National heavyweight champion (defeated Jack Brisco in 1976, Bill Robinson in 1977, Dick Murdock in 1980, Abdullah The Butcher in 1981 and Harley Race in 1982), a seven-time world tag-team champion, a five-team Real tag-team tournament winner and a 12-time Carnival tournament winner. He won the AWA world title from Nick Bockwinkel on Feb. 23, 1984, in Tokyo. He defeated Vader on April 18, 1989, in Tokyo to unify the NWA International, the PWF and the NWA United heavyweight titles.

  • Longtime Charlotte resident The Barbarian (Sionne Vailahi) recently received his WCW release. Barbie was a main-event attraction for Crockett Promotions in the '80s when he hooked up with The Warlord as The Powers of Pain. The two enjoyed big-money programs with such teams as The Road Warriors and The Koloffs.

    Also receiving WCW pink slips were The Maestro (Robbie Kellum), whose gimmick was considered a major flop, and Mike Jones, whose ever-changing monikers included Curly Joe, Shane, Vince and Virgil.

  • Viacom Inc.'s UPN, the No. 5 broadcast television network based on ratings, will air the games of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc.'s new XFL football league starting in February.

    UPN will broadcast the games live on Sundays from 7-10 p.m. The XFL is partly owned by General Electric Co.'s NBC. Financial terms of the agreement weren't disclosed. NBC reached an agreement earlier this year to air XFL games on Saturdays starting in February.

  • Mike Awesome, who has spent the bulk of his career in Japan, is no stranger to WCW. He began doing jobs for the company nearly 10 years ago, appearing under the same name, and regularly put over WCW stars such as Scott and Rick Steiner, Ron Simmons and Butch Reed, while working for Florida independents. He also wrestled with a mask as The Pro.

    "I was just a jabroni," he said.

    Awesome said the differences between WCW and the previous promotions he worked for are monumental.

    "You don't get a time limit," Awesome said. "You just go out there and they tell you who's up, who's down and just go out there and do it. You put it together and you go. Here, with it being TV, everything is so regimented. It's very much connect the dots. You've got a certain amount of time to do your stuff, you've got to get it done and get out. And that affects match quality. That's the biggest drawback. I like all the other little things. Here it's so professional. It's chaotic, but everything is just so structured and so organized. You know what's going on, you know where you're supposed to be, you're not in the dark about anything. You're not waiting until 2:30 in the morning to cut a promo. You get to the arena, and there's a list of what you're doing and everything you're involved in. When you're done, you leave. That's definitely an advantage."

  • WCW's constant flip-flopping from reality-based storylines to utterly nonsensical storylines is baffling and confounding to much of its audience.

    A recent example was David Flair stating on a recent Thunder - in three different segments - that he had a long-legged blonde girlfriend (true), that he was engaged to Daphney (not true), and that he had never seen a woman naked (doubtful).

  • Randy Savage, whose WCW contract expired in January, has yet to sign with the company despite a recent appearance. Savage failed to receive any significant offers from the WWF, which wasn't willing to put him in the elite category of highly paid superstars.

    Savage and the former Gorgeous George (Stephanie Bellars) are no longer an item. His ex-valet and girlfriend recently participated in an adult video.

  • Vampiro (Ian Hodgkinson), Evan Karagias (Evan Kavagias) and Norman Smiley all signed new contracts with WCW. The deals included $500 bonuses for working house shows.

  • Scott Hall, who recently underwent neck surgery, continues to rehab and is expected to return to WCW soon. Hall reportedly has remained sober during his recuperation and is telling friends that he has turned over a new leaf.

    Eric Bischoff recently said the situation with Hall remains up in the air for now.

    "I don't know exactly what Scott's situation is," said Bischoff. "It's a complicated situation, and I think anybody who really understands what's been going on with me and with Scott and WCW over the last couple of years realizes that I've tried to support Scott in every way that I could, and I still feel the same way. Something has to change. I believe that Scott Hall is one of the most talented people in the industry - in either organization. Unfortunately his personal circumstances prevent that from being what we all recognize in Scott."

    Sources say the call to bring Hall back in will be made by Brad Siegel - not Bischoff.

    "I pray for Scott's sake that he makes the changes and the choices that are best for him and his family," said Bischoff. "If he could still be part of wrestling, that's great, because when the real Scott Hall and the one that I know is there deep down inside walks into an arena and steps up to the plate, he is an incredibly great player to have on the roster. But until he gets his own situation resolved ... I want him healthy in every way - physically, mentally, emotionally. Then he's very valuable."

  • Sources say one of the reasons Bobby Eaton's contract was not renewed was because he had stopped training wrestlers at the Power Plant.

    "When you don't work and do what the company tells you, you're going to get fired," said one source. "He was supposed to be going down to the Power Plant, and he didn't. He was supposed to be training guys. They even gave him a rental car to use to drive down there and back. He didn't go the Power Plant and kept the car for almost seven weeks. That's one of the main reasons he's no longer with the company."

  • Four ECW "fans" were escorted out of the building at the Hardcore Heaven PPV when they allegedly nearly pushed New Jack off the balcony moments before he made his 14-foot dive onto the table. New Jack, who narrowly averted serious injury at the previous PPV due to a botched balcony spot with Vic Grimes, continues to flirt with danger, and one can only wonder when his luck runs out.

  • Simon Diamond's new valet, Angel Orsino, worked as Riptide on the Florida independents.

  • Some sad news to report. Bill Solowesky, better known in wrestling circles as Klondike Bill, is suffering from a form of Lou Gehrig's disease. The Charlotte native, who was a main-event attraction in the Carolinas during the '60s and '70s doing a strongman gimmick and billed as "the Kodiak (Alaska) bear," was a longtime employee for Crockett Promotions and WCW where he supervised the ring crew.


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