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http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-whole-shebang-is-a-stupid-nickname-and-other-pointless-arguments-and-embarrassing-discussions-ive-had-with-johnny-gargano/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-whole-shebang-is-a-stupid-nickname-and-other-pointless-arguments-and-embarrassing-discussions-ive-had-with-johnny-gargano/#comments Wed, 09 Sep 2015 22:23:28 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Johnny Gargano NXT http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=14066 “The Whole Shebang is a stupid nickname.” “The Cat’s Pajamas? That’ll never catch on.” “You’re gonna call your finisher The Hurts Donut..? What are you, twelve years old?” “Why are you saving a tweet inviting Chris Pratt to PWG in your drafts?… …what do you mean you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity?! That’s unnecessary.” “Stop […]

“You’re gonna call your finisher The Hurts Donut..? What are you, twelve years old?”

…what do you mean you’re waiting for the perfect opportunity?! That’s unnecessary.”

“Why do I always have to be the first to die in any scenario where an animal is chasing us?!..

..because I’m a little guy with cerebral palsy isn’t a good reason! Why wouldn’t the animal want the bigger guy?!”

All we do is argue. Over everything. Honestly, the majority of the time, I argue for the sake of arguing with him . I figured all of his nicknames would catch on. “Hurts… Donut?..” is funny to say, as ridiculous of a name as it is for a finishing move. I still don’t understand the logic behind the Chris Pratt tweet. I’ll admit, ‘endos’ is pretty catchy, and yea, I could see myself probably being the first to die in some random scenario in which a gigantic animal of some sort would be in hot pursuit of us– because I’m a small guy with cerebral palsy, I guess.

That’s what brothers do. They argue over everything. It’s weird how close we are, actually, because despite our similarities, Johnny Gargano and Gregory Iron probably should have never became friends.

Johnny always really kept to himself outside of wrestling, and in many ways still does. When I started training to pro wrestle, I remember thinking that Johnny hated me, and I don’t blame him. Lots В of people hated me when I started training, and for good reason. I was the bitter, smart mouth 19 year old kid with a disability in his arm and a chip on his shoulder. When JT Lightning wasn’t around, Johnny ran training, and eventually, even though he was only 18 years old, JT put Johnny 100% in charge of training. Gargano had been training two years at that point, and had already wrestled guys like Nigel McGuiness, Christopher Daniels, Zach Gowen, and Alex Shelley, which gave him so much experience and knowledge very early on.

I found out Johnny lived on Storer Avenue, a neighborhood that I grew up in all of my life. Johnny didn’t drive, and because I was trying to erase my label as a jackass within the school, not to mention that I appreciated him taking the time to teach me–В despite the fact that I was an ass hat– I’d offer him rides home, which he’d decline.

Occasionally, we’d talk on AOL instant messenger (really dating myself here, guys), and I think it started because he did some creeping, and found the MySpace profile of this girl that I told the class that I found attractive at Ring of Honor Cleveland shows. Knowing I didn’t have the guts to talk to her in person, he sent me her profile and said I should message her. I wouldn’t, and so he followed it up by sending me the MySpace page of Lorelai Lee, a female wrestler at Cleveland All Pro Wrestling at the time that he thought I’d have a chance with. Knowing Johnny now, I’m sure he did that for his own amusement, hoping I’d messaged Lorelai, who I’m 99% certain I’m not compatible with at all.

So we’d have these small, pointless conversations occasionally, and then one day, he messenged me on AIM telling me that me his then girlfriend dumped him. I thought it was random, because I thought this dude hated me, but I tried to help him through it. If he did hate me, I wanted him to stop having said hatred. Eventually, our small conversations turned to bigger conversations, and before I knew it, Johnny was inviting me over for sleepovers at his house.

Think having sleepovers at 18 and 19 years old is weird? First off– no, it’s not. Secondly, a weird sleepover would consist of us creeping all night on girls on MySpace, randomly one night finding old costumes and around 3 a.m. Johnny and I deciding to stand in his room wearing those costumes, a kid sized White Power Ranger outfit and a custom made Shawn Michaels outfit, respectively…

Most of the time, we spent our time lifting weights in the upstairs of his house. I’d been lifting weights since I was 16, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that Johnny didn’t push me to work harder at weightlifting. Though he’s pretty reserved in public, Johnny is ultra competitive, and I am, too. That competitive nature drove us both to become bigger and stronger, and it’s largely because of him that I’m so dedicated to weight lifting to this day.

It goes without saying, Johnny made me a better wrestler as well, but Johnny Gargano is in a league all his own. I’ve known for a long time that Johnny was ready for WWE, and I’ve told him that I know in my heart that he’s destined to one day be WWE Champion. Even as good as he is, and as cocky as he gets with me in private, he’ll just brush that comment off, but he’s got the look, the charisma, the skill. He has “it.”

Johnny and I had a pretty cool little rivalry in Cleveland wrestling nearly ten years ago– crazy to think that a decade has gone by already. The rivalry culminated in a Last Man Standing match, in a building that the year prior, I almost lost my life in. I remember we thought the match was great in the moment, but we can’t even watch it back now. We sucked, but the match isn’t what’s important– it’s after the match.

Johnny and his family, even only two years into our friendship at that point, had been there for me so many times. Now I don’t know if you guys know this about me, but I have a tendency to get pretty emotional (see YouTube and various videos of me crying). After the match, with blood running down my face, oiled up in spandex tights, I started crying, and I hugged him, thanking him for everything. He told me to stop crying and laughed. I told him I loved him. He responded with, “Thanks, man.”

I’m not writing this for me. I’m writing this for the guy that for ten years has argued with me like a brother over the stupidest things. It’s hard to express to him how proud I am of him, so I wrote this embarrassing article. Much like every “I love you,” I know he’ll no sell all of this– but he’ll appreciate it. Tonight, my brother gets to live out his boyhood dream on the WWE Network for NXT at 8 p.m. Even though we get under each others skin on a regular basis, I couldn’t be happier for my brother.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-unappreciated-artists-of-pro-wrestling/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-unappreciated-artists-of-pro-wrestling/#comments Thu, 03 Sep 2015 00:22:38 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs CM Punk Eddie Guerrero Edge Shirts The Young Bucks http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13929 Professional wrestling is difficult to make money at. It’s very much a D.I.Y. business. As your own marketing machine, you must constantly be hustling in order to make a decent living. For a pro wrestler, the hustle doesn’t end after you secure various bookings, update your website calendar with your upcoming appearances, and post entertaining […]

Professional wrestling is difficult to make money at. It’s very much a D.I.Y. business. As your own marketing machine, you must constantly be hustling in order to make a decent living. For a pro wrestler, the hustle doesn’t end after you secure various bookings, update your website calendar with your upcoming appearances, and post entertaining and informative tweets that promote yourself, while cleverly fitting it all within the constraints of 140 characters. The hustle continues online and into show day at a little place us wrestlers call “The Gimmick Table.”

Whether it’s a virtual area on a website or live and in person, you may be more familiar with the gimmick table under its more commonly used title of “merchandise stand.” Wrestlers go out to the ring, have the best possible match that they can, and then head on over to the gimmick table in hopes that you’ll support them with a few extra dollars. Of course, there is no better way to support your favorite independent talent than by throwing down your hard earned dinero on some merchandise bearing their name or likeness.

Back in the old days of independent wrestling В fifteen or twenty years ago, you’d go over to the gimmick table and see that the merch was much more simplistic: A plain black shirt with generic font stating a wrestler’s name. A pixelated 8 x 10 photo. Maybe even a best of VHS tape or DVD with a makeshift label written in black Sharpie slapped on it somewhere.

In 2015, the merchandise game has vastly changed, making it appear as though guys have huge warehouses where they produce mass quantities of their own merch. Dudes have colorful DVD’s and blu rays for sale. They have several different high quality glossy photographs to buy. Giant posters. Rubber bracelets. Tiny wrestling buddies. Foam fingers. Buttons. Stickers. Hats. Shorts. Koozies– I’ve never used a koozie in my life, but people buy them. Nearly anything you can think of now, wrestlers will produce and sell it.

And the shirts… the shirts are the best and the most creative that they’ve ever been. Gone are simplistic comic sans font tees, and in their place are highly artistic parody and original tees, many that seem to bear no resemblance to a wrestling tee at all (making it much easier to wear in public). With the rise of Chicago based Pro Wrestling Tees , and smaller independent wrestling tee companies like Top Rope Tuesday ,В the wrestling tee game could only grow to be bigger and better.В For the bigger names on the independent scene, the paydays are good, but a good t-shirt design can make your take home cashВ much better.В Just ask guys like The Young Bucks and Colt Cabana, gimmick table juggernauts.

Which brings me to today’s topic: the unsung heroes of the independent wrestling scene. The artists behind the artistic wrestler. The guys that make it possible for us big tough brutes to garner an extra $20 spot from a loyal fan. I’m talking about the t-shirt creators themselves:

Dave Bogart, Hiroto Fukanaga, Jaims Van Der Beek/Jeremy Tate, Derek Sharp and Curtain Jerker Designs, Jill Thompson, Jake and Derek of Top Rope Tuesday, and countless others, many that can be foundВ right here.

The above that I’ve mentioned I’ve known for years, and they are incredible at what they do. Their artistic ability is second to none, and all are genuine individuals that I’m happy to say are worth investing your money into for a good design, especially since they will go above and beyond for you in terms of quality and quickness. Many of them have been fortunate enough to extend their designs beyond independent wrestlers, with people like Jill and Dave, and Jain designing shirts for the likes of CM Punk, Edge, Kevin Nash, and many more. It’s pretty incredible how far they’ve come.

Well, just like the wrestler, like myself, that depends on pro wrestling to make money, cartoonists and designers depend on you to make money for a design. So, random example, if you’re– let’s say– I don’t know– a wrestler– and you ask any one of these artists to design you a shirt, and they do it– you pay them for their time.

I can’t speak for many of the above, but I can speak for my buddy, Hiroto. Hiroto is an artist from Japan that I’ve known for five years that has done work for many big advertising companies and cartoons, including Mega Man. He also happens to be a huge wrestling fan, and has done design work for many independent wrestling talents and promotions over the years. Though it’s sometimes difficult for us to communicate due to that whole language barrier thing, Hiroto has always worked fast, efficiently, and has kept his prices for designs more than fair. Yet, for some reason, many independent wrestlers over the years, particularly recently, have decided to get a design– and then refuse to pay him, or flat out ignore him.

Imagine going into work, doing your job, and on payday, you don’t get your check. You knock on your bosses door to ask him where your money is, and he sits behind the lock door ignoring you, hoping that you go away and forget that you’re owed money for the work you put in. That’s what Hiroto is experiencing right now, and it’s just plain wrong. Hiroto has a family, just like me– just like you. If you want him to draw, pay him. If you want me to wrestle, pay me. Or don’t ask.

Support independent wrestling. Support independent wrestlers. More importantly, support the independent artists behind the wrestlers. Helping them helps us wrestlers, and it helps you wear something on your upper body that is overly stylish.

If you’re a independent pro wrestler, you have money, and you want a decent design, do me a favor and look into some of the individuals listed above. If you’re an independent pro wrestler and you’ve stolen a design from one of these artists, you’re not a pro… you’re just a con.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/summerslamamania-weekend-2015/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/summerslamamania-weekend-2015/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2015 01:57:37 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs independent wrestling NXT Rey Mysterio Jr. Summer Slam WWE http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13753 As a wrestling fan, you should have no disappointment after this weekend of wrestling. On television, you got an awesome NXT Takeover on Saturday, an enthralling SummerSlam on Sunday, and an excellent Raw on Monday.В If you were in the New York/New Jersey area, not only did you have the option of attending the WWE events, […]

As a wrestling fan, you should have no disappointment after this weekend of wrestling.

On television, you got an awesome NXT Takeover on Saturday, an enthralling SummerSlam on Sunday, and an excellent Raw on Monday.В If you were in the New York/New Jersey area, not only did you have the option of attending the WWE events, but you could have attended some incredible independent events put on by Ring of Honor, House of Glory and Pro Wrestling Syndicate, with the last two promotions featuring rare in ring wrestling appearances by the one and only Rey Mysterio Jr.

Because of budget constraints, many independent wrestling promotions run in smaller halls and have less expensive production values, but ROH, HOG, and PWS put on high quality productions with incredible athletes that puts many promotioms to shame. This weekend was no difference. I can’t really speak about the ROH event, as I wasn’t there, but I heard it had a great turn out and was a great card. I did have the pleasure of being on both the HOG event and PWS with my tag team partner, Zach Gowen.

The selling point of the HOG event on Friday was a first time ever match up between Amazing Red and Rey Mysterio Jr. Dubbed “At Last,” the bout was wrestled in honor of the late, great, and legendary Eddie Guerrero, who as we all know, was best friends with Rey, and was a huge fan of the work of Red. The match did not disappoint. The nearly 1,000 people in attendance were treated to a high flying, fast paced contest that chances are, will never occur again. Every guy in the locker room found a spot in the beautiful NYC Arena to watch as two of the greatest luchadores of our generation. I was proud to be a small part of the card, teaming with Zach and Red’s immensely talented student Nicky Heat, and even prouder to watch a contestate that meant so much to Rey and Red.

PWS was a spectacular card in it’s own right Saturday night. Featuring Rey opposite Red in Tag Team action, the card also featured the likes of Brian Myers, Mick Foley, and of course, The Handicapped Heroes and our deaf manager Hush defended the Tag Team Titles against the ultra talented Heavenly Bodies. The Ballroom in New Jersey was a sell out, a testament to PWS and it’s loyal fan base. Many in attendance could have chose to spend their money on WWE and NXT that evening, yet spent their hard earned money on The Syndicate.

Speaking of NXT– what an event! I got the opportunity to sit down and watch it this morning, and the card was sweet. The fans in Brooklyn were into every character and every match. Seeing Jushin Liger in a WWE ring was surreal. The K.O. vs. Balor ladder bout ruled, and Bailey vs. Sasha Banks was one of the best wrestled and most emotionally driven matches not just in the history of NXT, but WWE in general. Kudos to those two ladies for keeping the Diva’s Revolution going strong.

I mentioned it on social media, and I’m standing by it: SummerSlam 2015 was an instant classic. Every match, from first to last, was something special, however, there were complaints about the Jon Stewart interference in the WWE Championship/U.S. Championship match, but had no problem with it. In my opinion, it didn’t taint the match, and gave WWE additional exposure using a celebrity, who mind you, actually follows the product religiously and has respect for what the wrestlers do. You’re telling me if you have Jon Stewart on your wrestling event, you wouldn’t utilize him to garner the most attention possible?

Also, news flash, guys– SETH ROLLINS IS A HEEL. Heels cheat. Many were saying it made him look weak by cheating. Those who made that comment clearly don’t get wrestling. Furthermore, Jon didn’t do it for Seth– or The Rock– he did it for The Flair.

In the main event, the finish between Undertaker and Brock Lesnar was– unique. I had no problem with it Sunday night, and still don’t, really.. except technically speaking, I don’t think the time keeper could have seen Taker tapping from his point of view. All things considered, it was a great television finish, but I think it left a lot to be desired for the live crowd. A finish like that really has to be spelled out to those in attendance, and I’m not sure that it was. All and all, though, great main event.

SummerSlam usually has that WrestleMania feel, and 2015 was no exception. That feel carried right over into Raw, having a post-Mania Raw type-atmosphere. Brock killing Bo Dallas. The return of The Dudley Boyz. The debut of a new Wyatt Family member. The return of Sting. What a night… what an extended weekend for wrestling.

You don’t have to like everything that happened live or on TV in the world of wrestling this weekend… but you’re not allowed to be angry. If you’re threatening to cancel your WWE Network after what you were treated to over the last few days, perhaps you’re only watching wrestling so that you have something to complain about.

If Jon Stewart ends up winning the Heavyweight Championship,В then you’re allowed to complain and cancel.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/its-called-a-safety-rail-for-a-reason/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/its-called-a-safety-rail-for-a-reason/#comments Wed, 12 Aug 2015 01:19:40 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Hulk Hogan Macho Man Roman Reigns WCW http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13380 This past weekend at a WWE live event, during a match between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns, one particular fan felt the need to throw a replica Money in the Bank briefcase at the back of Reigns’ head. What a moron. Why did he do it? YouTube fame? If he did, from my research, there […]

This past weekend at a WWE live event, during a match between Bray Wyatt and Roman Reigns, one particular fan felt the need to throw a replica Money in the Bank briefcase at the back of Reigns’ head.

Why did he do it? YouTube fame? If he did, from my research, there seems to be no clear footage of the incident. Could it have been a case of him having liquid courage? Maybe, but can you really call a person that, without provocation, chucked a briefcase ten feet from behind a protective guardrail courageous?

Sometimes, provoked or not, fans can take professional wrestling a bit too serious, to the point in which they think some sort of physical involvement on their behalf will make things better.В I know from personal experience. В I guess it’s a testament to the wrestler and their character. Whether it’s a polarizing good guy or a dastardly villian, if you can get someone emotionally invested into your persona that they want to fight you, you must be doing something right. However, as a fan, it’s never right– or smart– for you to get involved in the action.

The man that launched a briefcase at the head of Reigns, as dumb as he apparently is, was still smart enough to know that had he entered the ring to try and attack the WWE Superstar, he just might have left in an ambulance. Entering the ring at a professional wrestling event is no different than walking onto an NFL football field while a game is in progress. By entering a physical environment for which you do not belong, you relinquish all of your rights. The organization, nor the performer, is responsible for what happens to you next.

Today, I thought I’d take a look back at some of my personal favorite fan versus wrestler moments… and trust me… rarely does the fan come out on top:

Leading up to their inevitable encounter at WCW Starrcade 1997, Hollywood Hulk Hogan was out to prove that he and the nWo could destroy Sting. During his cage encounter at Halloween Havoc 1997 with the late “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Hogan was hellbent on making an example out of him. While wearing a Sting mask, Hollywood, along with Randy Savage and the nWo tried to beat down “Hot Rod.” Unfortunately, one Sting Fan didn’t particularly like this, and proceeded to jump the rail, climb the fifteen foot high steel cage, and attempt to stop the onslaught on Piper.

Hogan and Macho Man were quick to pounce on the Sting fan, with Macho holding the fan so that Hulk could deliver some punches and kicks. Even when Doug Dillinger and his crack WCW Security staff tried to intervene, Savage continued to try and maul the Stinger fan. Sucked to be that guy!

If you blinked, you might have missed it, as the WWF camera crews were quick to cut away from it when it happened just a few weeks away from WrestleMania X-8, but some a-hole thought it was a good idea to try to attack the then Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Boy, was he wrong.

As Macho Man was applying lipstick to “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash, a fan entered the ring, and Savage was all over him. Randy loved fans… not so much when they decided to enter the ring though.

This is one of the few cases in which a fan got over on a wrestler. To WCW Security’s credit, they were quick to act on the incident. Knowing Raven like I do, I’m honestly shocked he didn’t jump on this guy.

If there is one thing that sucks more than getting beat up by a wrestler on live television, it’s getting beat up by ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta, and a referee nicknamed “Pee-Wee.” This wasn’t the first time a ref got the better of a fan, though…

Despite the slogan, WCW wrestlers and officials didn’t play when it came to fans entering the squared circle.

During a match involving Dean Malenko and Psychosis, a fan thought it’d be cool to get involved.

It wasn’t “The Man of 1,000 Holds” that the ignorant spectator had to worry about. It was referee Brian Hildebrand.

Upon spotting the fan slide in, Brian delivered a picture perfect knee strike, one that would make any MMA fighter applaud. He followed that up with a textbook front face lock before the embarrassed fan was pulled from the ring. Without question, this one is my favorite, and judging from his reaction on commentary, it was Bobby Heenan’s, too.

Got a favorite fan versus wrestler moment within the guardrails that I didn’t mention? Let me know!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/three-super-rare-cheap-vintage-wrestling-tees-from-my-collection/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/three-super-rare-cheap-vintage-wrestling-tees-from-my-collection/#comments Fri, 07 Aug 2015 03:16:10 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13342 Can you tell I’m grasping for straws for an article this week? In all seriousness, in the last week, I’ve had to deal with two deaths in the wrestling community. One was, of course, the legendary “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. The other was my friend and co-owner of AAW Wrestling, Jim Lynam. Both passed away suddenly, […]

In all seriousness, in the last week, I’ve had to deal with two deaths in the wrestling community. One was, of course, the legendary “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. The other was my friend and co-owner of AAW Wrestling, Jim Lynam. Both passed away suddenly, and entirely too young, Roddy at 61, Jim at just 42 years of age. It’s hard to sit here and write about wrestling as I think of these two men, and how wonder just why life is so damn short and unfair. May they rest in power.

I’m going to try and stay busy, however, and fufill my writing obligations. So, as I stared out into space of my room, waiting for an article idea to enter my brain, I began to process just what I had my eyes fixated on:

My shelve of t-shirts. Lots of shirts. I own more shirts than most girls own shoes.

Anyhow, you may or may not know that I have a slight obsession with vintage t-shirts– В the thinner and older the tee, the better– and it should come as no surprise that some of my favorite vintage tees involve professional wrestling. I’ve been collecting vintage shirts, wrestling and non-wrestling related, for quite some time now, dating back to when I started going to thrift stores back in my early teens. In the last four years, one might say that it’s become a slight addiction.В It’s a rush finding an odd, crazy, smelly old tee, made even better when the price is right. Today, I’m going to show you three of my most random, cheapest thrift store, garage sale, and internet finds.

I found this gem about three years ago at a thrift store in Lorain, Ohio. It’s a little larger than I’d like, size large, but it fits me just fine because of the missing sleeves. I paid $3.75 for this bad boy.

I gotta be honest with you, I popped pretty huge when I found this one at a Cleveland area garage sale. I’d always wanted a soft, tight fitting tee with the iconic WWF logo plastered huge on the front, but I didn’t know if I’d ever get my hands on one. In the summer of 2013, I bought this size small version. The man that I bought it from, an older gentleman, claimed that he bought it for his son at a WWF event at the Richfield Coliseum in the mid 80’s, and his kid only wore it a handful of times. Though a little pricey for a garage sale, this shirt was worth every penny of the $10 that I spent.

It’s not exactly a wrestling tee, but it has its wrestling related orgins. Suburban Commando starring Hulk Hogan, for better or for worse, is one of my all time favorite films. Merchandise from that film is very hard to come by, so you can imagine my delight when I saw this one, featuring the movies’ main villian, on a vintage tee site online. It’s a little smaller even for me– 16″ across the chest, 23″ from the neck to the bottom. As it was released in 1991, it was most likely sold as a child’s shirt. Regardless, I bought it and wear it, despite the fact that it’s a belly shirt when I lift my arms. If you wear a hoodie or a flannel over it slightly open.. problem solved. For $12 shipped, I couldn’t pass it up.

Wanna see more of my t-shirt collection? Do you have any sweet vintage finds that you’d like to share? Send them my way via social media!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/forever-burning-bright-remembering-hot-rod/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/forever-burning-bright-remembering-hot-rod/#comments Sat, 01 Aug 2015 07:59:25 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Roddy Piper http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13228 “Well, what we’re dealing with is one of the original Village People here, with his manager Jimmy Hart, who keeps kissing the belt leaving all that lipstick on it. I heard the Mountie out here saying,В ‘First thing I’m gonna do,’ pounds his chest, I don’t know him, he’s something. ‘First thing I’m gonna do, I’m […]

I didn’t know how to start this. I’m shocked. It’s 2:41 a.m. I’m sitting in a hotel room in Charlotte, North Carolina, where I should be sleeping in preparation for a 10 a.m. autograph signing with Zach Gowen at the NWA Legends Fan Fest.В At around 6 p.m. yesterday, as I was driving through West Virginia, I read the news that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper had past away. So instead of resting, I sit here thinking about one of my all time favorite wrestlers.

“Hot Rod” was always quick to remind you– without Roddy Piper, there would be no Hulk Hogan. That statement has never felt truer than it does right now. Hulk Hogan was the ultimate hero in the 1980’s World Wrestling Federation, and Piper was the relentless villian, hellbent on destroying Hulkamania.

RoddyВ had incredible drawing power in the 80’s because he was a master of a lost art: he had the ability to draw “heat.” I’m not talking about the “You’re A Bad Guy So I’m Gonna Boo You” heat. I’m talking the “I’m Gonna Wait For You In The Parking Lot And Stab You” type heat, the type of heat that no one attempts to do now because of everyone wants to be the “cool” bad guy. As a wrestler with a disability, it seemingly defies logic for a guy like me to be a villian, and yet I go out of my way to be the best villian. I’ve ripped so many pages out of Piper’s play book over the years, though I couldn’t even come close to the “Hot Rod.”В Nobody can.

He wasn’t happy with you just hating him– Roddy Piper thrived on making you want to kill him. Fans were willing to buy tickets to the arena and to close circuit TV venues to see Piper get his ass kicked, and it was because of this that it was a no brainer to have Piper headline opposite of Hogan at WrestleMania, before WrestleMania had a number attached to the end of it. Without Roddy Piper, there may have never been a sequel to that first ‘Mania. Hell, one could argue that had it not been for Piper, the WWF and pro wrestling as we know it may not even exist today.

I grew up exposed to the babyface Piper of the early 90’s. His hair was a little longer then, and his allegiances were a tad different, but the presentation was the same. He always walked to the ring with a purpose, fire in eyes, ready to scrap. He was a hellraising, kilt wearing, bagpipes playing bad ass.

It’s hard for the average person to wrap their head around that last sentence. How can someone wear a kilt, play bagpipes and be a bad ass, you ask? Well, just when you think you have all the answers…

Even though Piper played a good guy during the 1990’s, he wasn’t a hero in the traditional sense. He was a rebel. He was the original anti-hero, marching to the best of his own drum. In his own words, he was “Rowdy” before it was cool. If we never had Roddy Piper, we wouldn’t get “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, CM Punk, or Dean Ambrose.

He was the first of his kind, and yet, after all of these years, he managed to remain one of a kind. He had unmatched wit and charisma. He was believable. If you didn’t watch wrestling but saw Roddy Piper, you could look at him, stop and say, “I know everything else in wrestling is phony, but this guy is the real deal.” He was never as big or as strong as Hulk Hogan or The Ultimate Warrior, but he made you believe that you ran into him in a dark alley, it’d be in your best interest to get on his goodside.

By all accounts, despite being a certified B.M.F… Roddy Piper was a sweetheart. If he met you, he took time to hear your story, what you were about, and to tell you just how special you are. I never got to meet Roddy. Last month, the idea was being tossed around to have Piper come into AIW in Cleveland for Absolution X, their version of WrestleMania. The idea was to have Roddy host “Piper’s Pit,” with myself and The Iron Curtain as his guests.

For me, to share a ring with “Hot Rod” would have been the thrill of a lifetime. Unfortunately, a deal was never reached, and I ended working with Vader instead (still a surreal moment). Had they got Piper, for absolutely no reason other than the fact that he had done it at WrestleMania VI, I had planned to paint myself half black, all with the intention to pop “Rowdy” Roddy Piper. I laugh just sitting hear thinking about that…

I think my all time favorite Piper match is his bout from WrestleMania VIII with Bret Hart. It was arguably Piper’s best wrestling matches, a helluva story, and one of the few times Roddy actually lost a match clean– a testament to the respect Roddy had for “The Hitman.”

As I finish writing this, it still hasn’t really hit me. First Dusty… now Roddy. I didn’t know these men personally, but dammit, they profoundly impacted my life. I have a hard time wrapping my head around death– just ceasing to exist. After Dusty passed, I probably watched the WWE tribute video for him 50 times. I’m sure the same thing will happen after his airs this coming Monday on Raw. I managed to hold back tears last month for The American Dream, but I can’t make any promises this time.

I really hope that there is a beautiful place that we go to when our time here expires, and if there is, I hope Roddy showed up all out of bubble gum, ready to raise just as much hell beyond this place as he did in it.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-kilq-rules-but-does-the-dvd/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-kilq-rules-but-does-the-dvd/#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2015 01:19:07 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs DX Kevin Nash nWo Scott Hall Shawn Michaels The kliq http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13200 I have Netflix, like so many others on the planet. There are lots of categories to choose from: Comedy. Horror. Sci-Fi. Action-Adventure. Musicals. It even gives you a selection of movies and TV shows to watch based on previous views. “Because You Watched Face/Off.” “Because You Watched Happy Gilmore.” “Because You Watched Pride & Prejudice.” […]

I have Netflix, like so many others on the planet. There are lots of categories to choose from: Comedy. Horror. Sci-Fi. Action-Adventure. Musicals. It even gives you a selection of movies and TV shows to watch based on previous views. “Because You Watched Face/Off.” “Because You Watched Happy Gilmore.” “Because You Watched Pride & Prejudice.”

Point being– there are a lot of choices on Netflix. My absolute favorite category on the streaming service would have to be the documentaries. Being a wrestler, there isn’t any type of documentary that I enjoy more than wrestling documentaries, and it’s no secret that WWE has made some of the best wrestling related docs in the last decade, setting the bar at a new level with “The Rise And Fall of ECW” back in 2004. Since that WWE Home Video release, it’s been pretty much a given that on the day that they come out, I go out and pick up the latest doc offering from WWE. Today was no different with the release of “WWE: The Kliq Rules.”

Going into it, I didn’t have high expectations for it. Two months ago, when WWE released Jerry Lawler’s WWE DVD, I wasn’t completely satisfied. It wasn’t bad by any means– I just felt like it could have been better. While they covered more of Lawler’s Memphis run than I had anticipated, they completely glaze over almost all of his WWE feuds.

I’m getting off topic, though. This is about “The Kliq Rules.” When the chapters leaked out onto the internet, it didn’t seem too long of a doc. The selection of matches seemed– too sweet– but I had seen all of them but one. Living in a time where the WWE Network is a thing, I guessed that this documentary would run about an hour in length, and be a rehash of a lot of previous footage, interviews, and topics. I mean, how many times can we discuss the formation of the nWo, the formation of DX, В the Monday Night War, etcetera, without it feeling old..?

The only thing I got correct was the documentary length, which is 1 hour and 6 minutes. Other than that, right from the beginning, “The Kliq Rules” felt like a fresh offering from WWE. Since the release of CM Punk’s WWE biography in 2012, WWE seems to try and differ the way that the cold opens begin the docs, trying to make them feel like actual documentaries instead of a cookie cutter WWE docs of old:

The documentary starts with a shot on Shawn Michaels, with the individual behind the camera asking, “Why do we think that we’re still talking about The Kliq twenty years later?” It segues into an intimate discussion between Shawn, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman, and Triple H in a locker room at a WWE live event. After a brief video package, it explains how all of the members of The Kliq met, starting with Shawn and Hall meeting all the way back in 1985 in Kansas City, and ending with Triple H joining the group behind the scenes of the WWF in 1995.

This is followed by stories like how The Kliq named came about (it was believed that Lex Luger dubbed the group as The Kliq, but in a new interview, Luger divulges who actually originated it), and the orgin of the infamous Kliq “Too Sweet” hand gesture. To my surprise, new interviews featuring The Godfather and Rikishi gives us a rare look into the backstage BSK group, featuring them, The Undertaker, The Godwins, and Yokozuna, how they came to be, and their thoughts on The Kliq and their backstage power.

We also get a closer look into the infamous “Curtain Call” at Madison Square Garden from May 19th, 1996, not only from The Kliq themselves and Vince McMahon, but from the perspective of Mani and Jason, the two fans that recorded the only existing footage of the incident on that faithful night. It gives the moment a fresh coat of paint and almost makes it feel new again. It also, of course, touches on Nash and Hall leaving for WCW, DX, and how The Kliq felt as though they were running the business with “Kliq North” and “Kliq South,” among other things.

In between all of this footage, we get a behind the scenes look at banter between the infamous five leading up to the inductions of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash during their respective WWE Hall of Fame inductions.

If you love wrestling documentaries like me, haven’t seen many of the matches featured in the extras, or just want to revisit some of The Kliq’s best matches, the DVD or blu ray won’t leave you disappointed. I liked the new interviews and content, however, I will say that some moments did feel like, “I’ve kinda already watched this.” Overall, I enjoyed rewatching them, but I can’t say that everyone else will.

If you have patience, have no interest in revisiting those matches, and have the WWE Network, I think you can save the $22.99 and watch it on the Network in 6 months. If you can find it for a deal, though (I found the newly released Daniel Bryan blu ray last month at Best Buy for just $9.99), I say pick it up!

Was this review helpful? Is this something you’d like to see me do more often in this article? Let me know!

http://www.cheap-heat.com/big-boot-in-the-mouth/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/big-boot-in-the-mouth/#comments Sun, 26 Jul 2015 21:59:24 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13160 The last 72 hours have been rough for Hulk Hogan. Do I reallyВ need to reiterate what has gone down? It’s unfortunate that the mistakes of celebrities get magnified because you live in the public eye. Though the actual audio has yet to be released, according to the National Inquirer website, in footage from his 2006 […]

It’s unfortunate that the mistakes of celebrities get magnified because you live in the public eye. Though the actual audio has yet to be released, according to the National Inquirer website, in footage from his 2006 sex tape with Bubba The Love Sponge’s thenВ wife, Hogan said things about his daughter Brooke and her apparent relationship with an African American like:

We all make mistakes. In his life, Hulk Hogan has done and said a lot of boneheaded things, particularly in the last decade. If this were another time, perhaps we could chalk it up as another stupid remark from The Hulkster. But if it wasn’t bad enough that he was dropping N-bombs with the hard “r,” he was basically saying, “Hey, if you’re unsure of my stance, let me make it clear by stating and then reiterating that I am, in fact, a racist.” It’s hard to come back from comments like that. In this day and age, racial prejudice is unacceptable.

That being said, the supposed quote from Hogan was recorded from a private В conversation, without his knowledge, from aВ privateВ sex tape, that was recorded without his knowledge. Now I’m not justifying or condoning anything Hulk Hogan has said or done. What I am В saying is that if all of our private conversations and actions were recorded without our consent, I think we all would be a little embarrassed and ashamed of the things that we do and that we say.

Hulk Hogan, the character, is a pop culture icon. The man behind the character, Terry Bollea, despite his social standing, is a human being, just like you and I, that screws up– sometimes more than others. I think we all need to think about that before, during, and after we decide to judge him. He’s already come out to People.com, issuing an apology for his actions.

Should WWE distance themselves from Hulk Hogan? Absolutely, for now at least. WWE is a publicly traded company, and marketing him and keeping him employed with the ongoing situation is just bad business.

WWE.com has erased most traces of Hogan.В Will he be “Benoit’ed”..? I doubt it. Though he said some racially insensitive things, he hasn’t murdered a woman and or a child. Once more,В this doesn’t make what he said justifiable.В Perhaps you believe that all sins are equal, but in my opinion, a couple of killings rank quite a bit higher on the list of unforgivable actions than a few ignorant remarks. Yes, he has negatively contributed to pro wrestling in some ways over the years, but to erase his positive contributions would require carving out a large chunk of the WWE’s historic foundation.

Some of you may be saying, ‘Well, what about Michael Hayes?’ Yes, about a decade ago, he apparently made some racial slurs at Mark Henry. He was not fired, but he was punished, serving a suspension. ‘Since Hulk Hogan was fired, shouldn’t Hayes get fired?’ That’s arguable. Though documented by witnesses that may have seen it, the Hayes/Henry incident wasn’t recorded and released to the public. Furthermore, the incident was dealt with immediately after it occurred.

Yes, Hogan’s quote is from 2006, roughly the same time frame as the Hayes incident. The difference is that the Hogan incident is just now being revealed, while Hulk is a prevalent character and ambassador for the organization. It only made sense to release Hulk Hogan from his WWE duties.

And what about the chairman, Vince McMahon saying “nigga” in a 2005 WWE promo, Or DeGeneration X, which then featured Triple H, a prominent player on screen and behind the scenes for present day WWE, Billy Gunn, a trainer for WWE Tough Enough, and Road Dogg, a backstage agent, painting themselves in blackface and portraying the all black “Nation of Domination” stable? How about the 1997 promo with Shawn Michaels and Triple HВ accusing Bret Hart of being a KKK member ? I know it didn’t happen in WWE, but “Stone Cold” Steve Austin said the “N” word in the 2005 film “The Longest Yard.” Some are saying all of these people currently employed or under WWE Legends deals need to be fired.

One of the biggest problems people have when watching wrestling is the ability to distinguish between reality and fiction. Yes, wrestling characters are sometime an extention of ourselves. Other times, however, wrestlers do things that we wouldn’t normally do in real life.

Do you really В think Rikishi goes around trying to commit vehicular homicides for The Rock? Did you believe that The Undertaker was actually having people slice their wrists in order to gain entry into The Ministry of Darkness? Did you really think I was an obsessed pervert that was stalking Veda Scott? Like any movie, wrestling largely incorporates elements of entertainment and acting– sometimes lowbrow and B-level– but acting, none the less. Wrestlers do and say things that you can never possibly do and say in real life, just like actors.

Remember when Bob Barker portrayed himself in Happy Gilmore, insulting and eventually assaulting the character of Happy? Did you actually think that the Price Is Right host was a fouled mouth loose cannon? Real life actions are far different from what occurs in a scripted show or movie.

Hulk Hogan finally put his boot so far down his own throat that he’s struggling to get it out. Will he ever be able to recover? It’s said that time heals old wounds, so we’ll see.

Am I still a Hulkamaniac? I’m kinda on the fence right now. Hulk Hogan, the character, was my childhood hero. Terry Bollea, the man, makes me shake my head a lot as an adult, but I don’t know that I could ever hate him. Maybe I should though. After all, he did block me on Twitter for saying that I wish I was as handsome as he is in this photo:

In all seriousness, I wish the best for Hulk, his family, and the fans that love him. What are your thoughts? Feel free to comment and let me know.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-need-for-a-hostile-takeover-part-iv-the-build-up-to-bash-at-the-beach-1996/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-need-for-a-hostile-takeover-part-iv-the-build-up-to-bash-at-the-beach-1996/#comments Tue, 21 Jul 2015 02:33:20 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Hulk Hogan Kevin Nash nWo Scott Hall http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=13058 (July 7th marked nineteen years since the events of Bash At The Beach 1996. This is part four of a series of articles looking back on the events that led up to the infamous WCW pay per view. To view part one, clickВ here. To view part two, clickВ here. To view part three, clickВ here) […]

(July 7th marked nineteen years since the events of Bash At The Beach 1996. This is part four of a series of articles looking back on the events that led up to the infamous WCW pay per view.

When Eric Bischoff approached Hulk Hogan about abandoning his All-American good guy red and yellow persona after over two decades, Hogan was against the idea. He didn’t see why he should abandon something that had worked.

The formula of instructing youth to train, say your prayers, and consume your vitamins had grown old, much like the kids that had once abided by the demandments of Hulkamania. Those children of the 80’s and 90’s had grown into teens and young adults, and Hulkamania had become just as passГ© and uncool as Alf and Barney The Dinosaur. If Hulk Hogan didn’t learn to change with the times, the entity of Hulkamania, once thought to have eternal life, would die a quick death. Eric Bischoff wasn’t the only prominent person behind the scenes of World Championship Wrestling that knew that this would happen.

Kevin Sullivan wasn’t just a wrestler in WCW. He was also the lead booker for the promotion. Soon after Hulk Hogan’s arrival in WCW, Sullivan created and was a member of “The Dungeon of Doom.” A stable featuring some of pro wrestling’s strangest oddities, including the likes of The Shark, The Yeti, Lochness, The Giant, and Ed “The Zodiac Disciple Butcher Barber Brother Bruti Booty Man With No Name” Leslie, The Dungeon was hellbent on destroying Hulkamania. This led to some of the absolute worst matches (The Butcher vs. Hogan in the main event of Starrcade 1994, Giant vs. Hogan at Halloween Havoc 1995, Hogan and Randy Savage vs. The Dungeon AND the Four Horsemen in a Doomsday Cage Match, В at Uncensored 1996) and most cartoony segments (The Yeti, a mummy,В hatching from a block of ice , the sumo monster truck battle on Cobo Hall, Sullivan attacking HoganВ dressed as a woman, and shaving Hulk’s mustache, В any segment in the Dungeon of Doom’s cave) in the history of pro wrestling.

Years later, Sullivan would claim that this was doneВ by design.В That’s right. Sullivan claims that in order to gain Hogan’s trust, he proceeded to put The Hulkster in the most zany and over the top scenarios ever, so he felt like his character was on par to the Superman he portrayed in the WWF. Maybe Sullivan is covering his tracks– but maybe he’s telling the truth. Despite his prevalent Boston accent and short stature, back in the 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s, Kevin Sullivan had the ability to make fans believe that he was the devil himself. That being said, just maybe SullivanВ did create The Dungeon to gain Hogan’s trust.

So why was the trust of Hulk Hogan so important to Sullivan? Well, from the beginning of Hulkamania’s run in WCW, Sullivan could see that Hulk needed to change. Hulkamania was on life support, and in order to avoid making funeral arrangements for the career of Hulk Hogan, when the time was right, Sullivan knew that with Hulk’s trust, he could inevitably convince him that becoming the biggest villian in wrestling was just what the doctor ordered.

Sullivan had multiple discussions with Hogan, and eventually convinced him that ditching the red and yellow for black, along with an alliance with the younger and cooler Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would reinvigorate Hogan’s career. Plans were put in motion to pull the trigger on the biggest heel turn of all time for the 1996 edition of Bash At The Beach. To ensure that Hogan wouldn’t change his mind and pull his creative control card, Sullivan spent all of July 6th and July 7th with Hulk Hogan, up to the very moment that Hulk walked through the curtain.

And the rest, as they say, was history.В Dozens of pounds of garbage, three leg drops onto The Macho Man, an alliance with two big time WWF Superstars and biggest acquisitions in WCW history, and one of the most surreal post match interviews of all time changed the course of wrestling history, and saved Hulk Hogan’s career. Without Hulk Hogan’s willingness to change, he may have very well faded into obscurity.

The Hostile Takeover of 1996 was necessary for Hulk Hogan, but because it led to a change in how wrestling was presented. The creation of the nWo brought a sense of realism back to the business. WCW wasn’t going to survive with things like The Dungeon of Doom. The WWF wasn’t going to make a main eventer out of a wrestling plumber like T.L. Hopper, or a disgruntled hockey player named The Goon. It was time to stop insulting the intelligence of the fans.

Gang violence and a rebellious frame of mind was uprising throughout society, and the nWo reflected that. ECW began tackling realistic issues before WCW, but it can be argued that WCW first brought it to mainstream wrestling. Without the nWo, we may have never seen Degeneration X, Stone Cold Steve Austin, or The Rock.

It’s ironic, though, because as much as the formation of the new World order changed the presentation of wrestling storylines, it’s continuation well past it’s expiration date played a large role in the real life demise of WCW, creating an opening for World Wrestling Entertainment to monopolize pro wrestling across the globe, forever changing how many pros are able to make money in this profession… even nineteen years later.

http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-need-for-a-hostile-takeover-part-iii-the-build-up-to-bash-at-the-beach-1996/ http://www.cheap-heat.com/the-need-for-a-hostile-takeover-part-iii-the-build-up-to-bash-at-the-beach-1996/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2015 21:39:37 +0000 Gregory Iron Blogs Wrestler Blogs Eric Bischoff Hulk Hogan Kevin Nash nWo Scott Hall http://www.cheap-heat.com/?p=12923 (Last week marked nineteen years since the shocking events of Bash At The Beach 1996. This is the third in a series of articles. To read part one, click here. To read part two, clickВ here.) The appearance of Razor Ramon on WCW programming had wrestling fans buzzing. The following week, when Diesel showed up […]

(Last week marked nineteen years since the shocking events of Bash At The Beach 1996. This is the third in a series of articles. To read part one, click here . To read part two, clickВ here .)

The appearance of Razor Ramon on WCW programming had wrestling fans buzzing. The following week, when Diesel showed up with Razor to play (“Look at the adjective..”) with the “Big Boys” of WCW, fans were talking even more. Wrestling purists were about to get what they had clamored for for years: The World Wrestling Federation versus World Championship Wrestling.

Due to legal reasons, Razor and Diesel were not referred to their well-known, yet copyrighted names. They weren’t called anything other than “Outsiders,” and that was done by design. From the moment that they signed their contracts, WCW President Eric Bischoff knew what he wanted to do with the two established stars, who would go on to use their real names of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash.

Rewind to just a few weeks prior to this. The date was April 29th, 1996. Nearly 70,000 people packed into Tokyo Dome to witness New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “Battle Formation.” One of the 70,000 people on hand that night was Eric Bischoff. The main goal of Battle Formation was to bring the New Japan vs. the invading UWF-I (Union of Wrestling Force-International) rivalry, the biggest money making feud for NJPW at the time, to a close.

The main event saw NJPW’s Keiji Mutoh vs. UWF-I’s Nobuhiko Takada, who was the reigning NJPW Champion. To bring the story to it’s proper conclusion, Mutoh made Takada submit, thus bringing the championship back to New Japan. Bischoff was intrigued by the idea of a rival organization invasion angle, so much that he wanted to replicate it in WCW. Upon seeing Nash and Hall, Bischoff wanted the television audience and the fans in arenas to assume that the WWF was infiltrating WCW, and it worked. It worked so well that WWF’s legal team quickly tried suing WCW, claiming that the Atlanta based organization was infringing on Titan Sports copyrights.

At WCW’s Great American Bash 1996 in June, Bischoff conducted a live interview, forcing Nash and Hall to acknowledge their real names, and own up to the fact that they were not employed by the World Wrestling Federation. The damage to the WWF had already been done, however. Despite the fact that Nash and Hall were no longer “WWF Guys,” they were still labeled by fans as “WWF Guys.” With the weekly attacks to WCW wrestlers and staff and the unannounced appearances sitting in the front row and at the announce table on “Nitro,” wrestling fans had already invested themselves emotionally into the idea that Nash and Hall had arrived in WCW, with or without WWF contracts, to prove that the company up north was the superior wrestling organization.

The Outsiders began hinting to a “third man” that was on his way to WCW. He would join them at Bash At The Beach, the company’s next pay per view, on July 7th, 1996, in a six man tag team match against WCW’s Randy Savage, Lex Luger, and Sting. Speculation began to run rapid as to just who that third man would be. Eric Bischoff was unsure of who the third man would inevitably end up being– but he knew it he wanted it to be.

If you like what you read and want to support, share the social medi links at the bottom of this page, and/or purchase a tee from me at myВ Pro Wrestling Tees store . I have a new shirt featuring me with a mustache and a cat that is “must own.”