The Midnight News 8.14.01
Posted By Hyatte on 08.14.01
Cancer, Scherer's Source, More Funny Collins Stuff, Bradshaw, HBK's Lawyers, Ryder, and Honky Fights Back
Well... it's no longer an argument, now is it?
Steph's done more than Stuff her bra.
Just a few minutes ago, a guy wrote to me explaining how he knows a Limo Driver in an area down south who drives Steph around when she's in town. He told me that the limo driver has overheard Steph on her cell phone discussing her "boob job". He held his tongue until now out of professional discretion... which is admirable, BUT DOES ME NO GOOD WHATSOEVER!!!!!
People.... if you have cool news like this... SPILL TO ME!!! I'll report it and cover your ass quite nicely.
If you have good stories of wrestlers behaving improperly off camera, like that Sandman story I posted a week or so ago, send them over too.
BIG NOTE: Be SURE to read the column tomorrow... if all goes well, I’ll be posting a story about the WWF Sex Scandals of the 80’s and 90’s.... the GAY sex scandals.
Alrighty... let's do some work. Instead of going over some Raw feelings (long story short- I liked it) let's begin with some bad news...
AHH, THAT BLOWS
No Hold's Barred.com is reporting that Amy Robinson, the 29 year old Wife of WWF/WCW Referee Charles "Li'l Na'tch" Robinson has Cancer, and it's malignant. They didn't say what kind of Cancer, but Amy has already dealt with Skin Cancer and Cancer of the Lymph Nodes.
I got the treat of watching my Mother's head explode from the big C within a span of five months... it's no fun. Ever the trooper, Mom always found the strength to give me head twice a week, even during her Chemo treatments. Ahhh, nuthin' like radioactive head.
I wish The Robinsons well... and if that proves impossible, then I wish the Missus a quick, painless, and peaceful end.
MAY THE SOURCE BE WITH SCHERER
Horrifyingly bad pun, but check this out...
Remember that unidentified person "in the business" who wrote a editorial PROMISING that MECW will fail? The one Scherer posted and I pasted up here? It was in Friday's report? Remember that one?
Wonder just WHO the author of that piece was?
Hyatte, FYI, the man who wrote that piece on MECW for Scherer's column was Vince Russo.
Name withheld by request.
Now, obviously... I can't confirm this... but screw it... why would anyone tell me who it was as a goof and pick Russo's name out of the hat?
Russo.... I thought he was going to go away. Jeeze.
See, I won't give MY sources away, but everyone else is up for grabs!
MECF'N'W
Just some funny notes on Saturday's show and this John Collins guy.... you'll enjoy them.
From Yesterday's report (go find it... I don't feel like linking the damn thing)...
On the night of the show, Collins stayed at the front of the building and personally shook hands and thanked almost each and every fan for coming.
(1bob).
Okay... so why did I get THIS e-mail today?
Just a note to tell you that some friends and I attended the MECW show in Philly Saturday and I don't, and nor does anybody else I was with, remember John Collins at the door shaking hands. Unless he was one of the four Atlas security guards (who were not shaking hands) he
missed at least 30 people in the first 350.
Well, maybe I am pushing it here... but this Collins guy HAS lied before.
SPEAKING of Collins... want to know what his CREDENTIALS are? Well, let him tell you HIMSELF... (from an Interview found on the MECW Program sold at the Saturday show... for $3)
Question - Can you give us a little background on yourself? Who is John Collins?
Answer - Well I was the CEO of negotiating firm for the last 15 years. I am the standard father. I'm married. I have four sons, my oldest is 18 and attending Indiana University this year. My youngest is six. Quite a difference there. I've coached and am president of Little League. I've coached Babe Ruth League for the past ten years. I've coached Little League, Minor League and Tee Ball for the last 17 years. I am President of the Women's Softball Association. That's pretty much it.
Wow... how DARE anyone question his ability to build a successful wrestling promotion. The man runs a WOMEN'S SOFTBALL LEAGUE!!!!!
More on Collins... because I LOVE this...
From the said Interview in the said Program:
Question - What kind of things are you going to do to make MECW fan friendly?
Answer - Well I think we've already done something by giving everyone free tickets tonight. We are accessible. Call our offices, tell us what you think. I'll even answer my own line. We are fan friendly. That is our philosophy
Okay... great... wonderful...
BUT THEN WHY DID I GET THIS E-MAIL YESTERDAY??????????
After the show I was talking to some guys I met at the show and a security guard came over and said to leave because he wanted to get out of there. Then we headed out to the merchandise table I was waiting to meet one of the wrestlers and I was told by another security guard to leave because he wanted to get out of here. See a pattern here? I went out back
and was trying to see who was coming out and there was about 20-30 people waiting out back and guess what? Another security guard came out and told us to leave
So much for being a fan friendly organization.
Alas.... and Altamonte was supposed to be "the next Woodstock"... next thing anyone knew, Mick was singing Gimme Shelter while the Hell's Angels were sodomizing some damn hippies with their broken pool cues.
My man, Kevin Kulp supplied ALL the program info and the news of these rabid Security Guards (okay.... NOW I'm pushing it)
THE SMARTEST WRESTLER ALIVE!!!
It ain't Ric Flair, either.
It's actually BRADSHAW... who got his own write up in
The National Post.com not for his wrestling skills either....
Investing Beast by Peter Brieger
John Layfield is better known to wrestling fans as Bradshaw, a cigar-chomping, beer-drinking member of World Wrestling Federation tag-team champions, the Acolytes Protection Agency (APA). Bradshaw and his partner, Faarooq, are the federation's bad-boy enforcers, who offer protection to other wrestlers for cold, hard cash.
But outside the ring, the grappler is known for other skills, such as gardening and investing. He recently won the prize for best garden in the town of Athens, Tex. (population: 12,000). Fresh from that success, the 6-foot-6, 290-pound former offensive tackle with the Los Angeles Raiders is writing a guide book for neophyte investors.
"It's a primer on budgets and stock picking," says Mr. Layfield, 34, adding his book should be on the shelves by next year. "But it's not for people who think they'll be Warren Buffett after reading it."
He learned most of the ins-and-outs of investing while growing up in Sweetwater, Tex., about 350 kilometres west of Dallas, and watching his father, a banker, invest cautiously.
"Daddy was a very conservative investor," he recalls. "Not to the point that he put his money in a mayonnaise jar, but he was careful."
That approach rubbed off on Mr. Layfield, who prefers solid earnings to bluster about future profitability or "new" accounting methods. "I've always liked the companies that made a lot of money. It sounds simple, but many people don't do that and just chase micro-caps."
That meant Mr. Layfield stayed on the sidelines when it came to the technology runup -- and he has no regrets. "A lot of people were making money and I questioned myself sometimes, but I've never been a momentum chaser.
"I really enjoy the stock market and have been in it heavily for four years now. Before, I didn't have any money, but I was still interested."
Having just enough to get by was standard while he was moving up the professional wrestling ranks, putting in time on the European and Asian circuits. The experience taught Mr. Layfield to be careful with his money and look down the road to a time when climbing into the ring and beating his opponents silly is no longer an option.
"It's not real fun being poor," he says. "Most athletes make money when they just get out of college. But often it's all gone right after they retire. I think a disservice has been done to a lot of professional athletes who don't always realize that it won't last forever."
In the ring, Mr. Layfield is known as a ferocious competitor who uses his trademark clothesline from Hell -- a crushing straight-arm blow across an opponent's neck -- to beat opponents and keep his championship belt.
But get him talking about investing and the mean-spirited Bradshaw with the foul mouth disappears, to make way for a Texan gentleman with a soft-spoken drawl.
"I think it's a great investment climate," he says of the state of Street affairs. He believes there is a market runup in the offing, once investors pocket more money from cuts in interest rates and taxes.
He is waiting patiently. "I pick the stock first and wait for a good buy point before jumping in," he says.
Mr. Layfield's portfolio leans heavily on stocks, with names such as Dell Computer Corp. (DELL/NASDAQ), Citigroup Inc. (C/NYSE), Pfizer Inc. (PFE/NYSE) and Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK/NYSE).
Mr. Layfield says his stable of 15 stocks returned about 89% in the past year, while his mutual fund holdings averaged between 15% to 17% over the same period.
Whatever he is buying, Mr. Layfield hates high commission fees and frequently logs on to discount broker Ameritrade for cheap transactions.
Since he hates paying through the nose to invest, Mr. Layfield also dabbles with index funds, which track the performance of benchmarks, such as the Standard & Poor's 500.
"I'm a huge fan of index funds. They're cheaper and it's hard for most funds to beat the S&P; 500, although they do it occasionally."
He does, however, enlist the help of an Edward Jones investment advisor to assist with his 401K account -- the U.S. equivalent to the Canadian registered retirement savings plan -- which he describes as "one of the greatest investment vehicles ever."
Mr. Layfield knows retirement will come sooner, rather than later. With the possibility of a career-ending injury always looming, this wrestler figures he has between three and six years before hanging up his trunks.
Mr. Layfield's salary is in the six figures, but he hasn't attained the superstar status of such colleagues as The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who are rumoured to be paid million-dollar-plus salaries.
He figures TV commentary might be in his future. His dream job, though, is to become a financial advisor so he can help people plan for their retirement.
Mr. Layfield also wants to move from his three-bedroom home and hopes to find a 100-acre ranch, where he can let a legion of animals, such as water buffalo and llamas, roam. "I'm going to have more animals than you can walk through," he says.
And while Mr. Layfield hopes years of punishing work will allow for a comfortable retirement with his animals, he doesn't expect to be living the high life.
"I'd love to be making millions, but realistically I'm very lucky just to be where I am."
Thanks to Tomschopsuey... Yes, Tomschopsuey for the link.
LIVE AND IN COLOR!!!
I don't know if this is well known already, but
No Hold's Barred.com is saying that Thursday night's Smackdown from Salt Lake City will not only be live, but will debut a new Smackdown logo and new theme music by Marilyn Manson, which will air at the beginning of the show... DUUH
Finally... the three people who STILL remember and STILL miss the few weeks Raw re-vamped it's opening theme with Manson's Beautiful People are going to have our DREAMS COME TRUE!!! THE FREAKY LITTLE SATANIST IS BACK ON WWF TV!!! ROCK IS BACK DAMMIT!!!
ADVICE FOR ALL WEB MASTER(BATORS)
or Web Jerkoffs, as I like to call them (except for Widro and Ashish, of course)...
If you wish to report on Shawn Michaels and his substance abuse problems.... don't.
One wrestling magazine, called Body Slam reported that HBK won't return to the WWF until he completes a rehab program for substance abuse...
well, Attorneys for Michaels contacted them and read them the RIOT act... lawsuits... defamation of character.... posting excerpts from someone else's work without permission... (oops, that was MY headache, sorry).... all sorts of trouble unless a retraction and apology was made.
So, unless it's confirmed by either Michaels or the WWF... NEVER report that HBK has a substance abuse problem... the crackhead doesn't like it.
KIDDING!!! I'm kidding... I'm sure Shawn has led a clean, healthy life and is enjoying his retirement with his clean, healthy wife and his clean, healthy child.
You are still allowed to call him a homosexual, by the way... or at least a BIsexual.
SIX DEGREES OF RYDER FAKIN
Not sure if you noticed....
The news media has been up in arms due to recent deaths that have occurred in training camps from the professional level to the high school level as teams get ready for the upcoming football season. One of the most famous (and best, to many reviewers) "celebrity" wrestling matches took place at Wrestlemania XI, when Bam Bam Bigelow took on L.T., Lawrence Taylor. Accompanying L.T. were football luminaries Reggie White and Steve ''Mongo'' McMichael.
"Mongo" eventually had a fairly prestigious run in WCW; his valet to ringside was his then wife Debra.
"Mongo" and Debra eventually divorced and Debra went on to marry Stone Cold Steve Austin.
Austin and Debra are currently in storylines that are often, in many people's opinion, corny and lacking in humor; the type of "sports entertainment" that new promotions vow to omit from their shows, putting a "strong emphasis on actual in ring wrestling". The latest promotion to appear is M.E.C.W. M.E.C.W has been (depending on your point of view) unfairly vilified by nearly every "internet wrestling personality".
Of all the opinions that have used childish barbs, personal attacks, and general lack of coherent thought, their is one that was one of the first to appear that took this blatant criticism to another level..... A level out of the gutter and the jealous sniping. A level that has a well-thought point of view that comes from many years associated with wrestling as well as personal experience of being employed by a promotion that went from great heights to meager existence to out of business.
It was a column written by.....
Six Degrees of Ryder Fakin
Okay, I had to massage that down a TEENSY bit in order to get it to SIX degrees.... originally, it was more like nine... but Flea still rules.
BUT, PLUGS
the RAW recap is from PK. It's there... right now. It's been there since 11:17 p.m. EST.... I don't know this for a FACT... but I'm SURE it's true.
The great Blake Norton has put up his second edition of the equally as great
Norton's Notes. In this column, Blake wonders why the McMahons are even on TV anymore.... they OWN wrestling, there is no more NEED for them to be on-air. He knows his stuff and we're lucky to have him.
Josh Nason has put up another 411 Indy Report. His friends call him "Naze".... I call him... actually, not a damn thing.
Ken Anderson really does like feedback. He also likes recapping Videos. His latest review is for the first Clash of the Champions You are to read it... and enjoy it. But for CHRISSAKES.... SCOTT KEITH DID NOT CORNER THE MARKET ON REVIEWING VIDEOS!!!! OTHER PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO DO IT TOO!!!!
Here's something mind boggling for you dumb twats.... it IS possible for someone to maybe recap a classic video and be BETTER AT IT than Scott Keith???? Ever consider THAT??
And no, I'm sure SK does a fine job, just you don't have to call EVERYONE a rip-off of someone else! Jesus.
Except, of course, for TV show recappers.... if someone does them and tries to be funny at it... then yes, they ARE poor imitations of me. Yes. I started it. It's all me.
Finally, this week's Showcase column is a more "traditional" type of column. John C. uses history and structure to explain why the Rock deserves all the cheers he gets and why he deserves more credit than some smarts like to give him. No bullsh*t, just smart writing. After reading it, I hope y'all will see just how diverse the Showcase commentary can be... ANYONE can submit ANYTHING and it will be seriously looked at and considered by moi. So don't be afraid to send them to me.
TAKE US HOME, HONKY
The Honky Tonk Man weighs in on a pair of issues. One deals with recent criticism towards him from Internet goobers concerning Lawler and the other deals with Lawler.... Basically, it's one big F-You to Scherer.
When I opened this site I decided I would do the same things I did on the old 900 number line I had a few years back and I would say the things I say on interviews for radio and other Internet shows. For some reason beyond my ability to comprehend, some of the people who log on to this site have a twisted view of what I should or should not post on my own site. By God, this site belongs to me and I will do and say whatever the hell I want until the Federal Government passes a law in which websites will be censored.
As the headline reads, We Don't Bash, We Report. If I come down hard on some sanctimonious a**hole for some Bulls**t he or she might be throwing around the wrestling business and the Internet, it is not a personal attack, it is business. Do I have people in the wrestling business that I would not report on? Of course I do. Do I pick my targets? Of course I do. Do I ride them hard when I get on them? Dam right I do. Do they deserve what I give them? Hell yes they do. Remember, "if you want to dance, you have to pay the fiddler."
I find it very amusing when people do not want the truth. If your ass was in the sling and they were going to convict you of a criminal offense where you could be facing a few heavy hung cons in the cell block that needed a new bitch, wouldn't you want the truth to be told in your defense? Maybe you would want someone to "keep the truth to themselves." That is the junk I have been hearing lately about my truthful not rumored news posts and commentary.
I am going to continue to report what I feel like is news to the non-average fan. This site is for the folks who can handle the truth. And by the way, it has been 20 years since me and my first wife was divorced. Do you think I could get the King to write a two page "please take me back" love letter to send to her????
Keep this in mind, commentaries are one man's opinions, and opinion's are like a**holes, everybody's got one. On a parting note, if the King is so sadden by the loss of the Kat, why doesn't he just kill himself? Answer: He doesn't have the guts to do it.
Yeah, TELL THEM OFF, HONK!!!
Here's the other one...
I am in the process of getting my legal counsel to serve "the king" Lawler with the papers to sue him for selling unauthorized videos of me. Seems the old king has been selling numerous videos over the years of all us guys that passed through there. None of us at any time had a contract or signed a release for the video sales rights for the king to sell. I've got his ass on this and he will pay. If any other wrestlers want to get on board, we can make this a class action and get the royalties that are owed to us.
I have no idea how serious he is.
and you have no idea how tired I am.
This is Hyatte