Old Wrestling School (The Territories , NWA/WCW , ECW , AWA etc)

[SUPERECWFAN1]

In a shoot from early 2010's the late Roddy Piper discussed how David Sammertino never worked out. And the sad pressure a lot of 2nd and 3rd generation stars have.


- Piper is told of the time line as Bruno had returned as color commentator alongside Vince. And the same show David debuts. He admits Bruno helped open the door for that.

- He brings up that David was a nice kid. That he worked out great in gym and was so nice backstage and real respectful. That he was under pressure because his dad was Bruno Sammertino and its not easy. It wasn't easy being his son.


- Piper brings up how there is a pressure on 2nd generation and 3rd generation guys. His son was 24 and wanting to get into business and Piper told him , go do something else. That its hard to follow and as he jokes , how do you follow Moses when he parts the sea ?


- He enjoyed Bruno and got along with him during this time. They did a Piper's Pit and he called Bruno an Italian slur which got great heat (I won't link the video given it. But its on Youtube and illustrates why Piper's "Rowdy" act worked so well. He literally did wild things and we saw it. Unlike the WWE who tried to proclaim Dean Ambrose was LUNATIC FRINGE and did really tame things or Ronda Rousy who tried using Piper's entrance etc. i did link 2nd Piper's Pit below)

Anyhow years later , many years later in 2000's his son Colt and him are in Toronto and Bruno is doing a signing at a place. They go see him and he introduces Bruno to his son , and Bruno leans in and tells his son how Roddy called him an Italian slur in a promo. 20+ Years later ! Which Piper laughs about.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvJtPbymBBU

[SUPERECWFAN1]

A viewer asked Jim Cornette about his 1 night ECW Invasion and how it came to be. Plus the whole story he may have tried to hold Heyman up. But here we go....


- Cornette remembers getting the call from Chris Candido who was still a close guy he liked. Chris detailed that ECW needed a special "surprise" and that almost every month for the ECW Arena shows they would have a surprise happen. Cornette joked that kinda ruins the entire deal of a surprise aspect if your doing it each time. During this time they were running the ECW Invasion angle with WWF in 1997. They needed someone to show up who hated ECW as much as Lawler did onscreen and wanted him to do it.


- Jim debated this and decided to ask for 1 thing. He told Candido he didn't want paid for the appearance or anything else. That he wanted Paul E. to apologize to NWA President at the time Dennis Coralluzzo who the company had swerved back in 1994 when ECW became Extreme Championship Wrestling. Candido called back and said Heyman would apologize to him at the show as they agreed to the angle.


- Jim was in New York and was picked up in a limo with Coralluzzo which he didn't ask for. They went to Morton's Steakhouse and the guy told em Paul Heyman would pick up the tab for whatever they wanted. So Jim and Dennis ate like kings. Steaks and more comically. Dennis was getting cigars and more and the bill had to be like over $400 by the time they were done. But they never agreed on this.


- Because it surprised him Heyman would do this and have it drove to Philadelphia. It was dark and he was showed in. As explained , only the guys working the match know what was gonna happen. No one else knew (none of the workers knew backstage) as Cornette was hidden with Dennis. Heyman didn't want anyone to see them before hand to shock even a lot of the locker room.


- Heyman met up with them and apologized to Coralluzzo as Cornette wanted (and he didn't want paid for this). The 2 men agreed to work together and ECW talent could appear on his NWA shows from here on. Paul would also help NWA talent out as well. Everything seemed like he wanted.


- He gets rushed to the ring in dark as lights are off and suddenly in ring the placed exploded as he was railing away with tennis racket on people. Jerry Lawler was supposed to take the cane and 99% of the time will miss hit exactly to not cause an injury. But tonight he was off , as Dreamer took a shot right to the testicles. Which caused him later to be rushed to hospital. Lawler didn't mean to do it and he had no clue then. As he gets in corner and Tommy is insane pain ! He can't move or sell anything at this point.


- So fans are throwing trash in the ring and it was great heat for them. He gets rushed back by security and Paul throws him an envelope as he is riding back in limo. Its here he discovers Paul gave him $750 bucks for the appearance (which he said he didn't want). Then much later he learns Paul claimed Dennis was trying to steal ECW talent for the NWA and really didn't do what he promised he'd do.


- But as Jim said , this was the genius of Paul E. He give him all this stuff he didn't want (limo ride , big fancy dinner , and payment) and he can tell people . Look at all I did for Cornette and he wasn't happy. But he didn't want any of that and just wanted the 1 thing and then it didn't happen later.


- As a comical ending Candido called a couple weeks later and asked Jim if he wanted to do the Asbury Park show for ECW. Cornette was like , no . Because he didn't do what he said he would do. As his co-host brings up there seemed to be more there to do since he had showed up that 1 time. Because you know there was more left to do there with things. Yet it didn't happen. Cornette agrees that he knows there was more they could have done since that 1 night he wailed on some guys and there never was payback after it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3vAZaS6wGI&t=991s

[SUPERECWFAN1]

In a shoot Ronnie Garvin (Hands of Stone) discussed his 1st aborted AWA run that didn't happen...


- Garvin starts off discussing how he had a match for AWA in mid 1970's with Greg Gagne. That the 2 weren't expected to really have a big match. But they seemingly CLICKED in ring and tore the house down in a solid one. A fact that Verne wanted him to come to AWA.


- He brings up that at the time he was working in Mid-Atlantic and didn't want to go work in Minnesota. That he didn't like the snow and cold weather and Verne would try a number of times to get him to go up for AWA to work. Also as Garvin put it , he liked what he was earning in Mid-Atlantic and that as long as he made what he felt he needed to make at end of each year he was fine.


- Then he had issues with George Scott as booker which grew more and more. Finally he decided to go ahead and take up Verne on his offer and this was around late 1970's. So Greg was excited and told him he could start any time and there was plans for him there. Garvin being a nice man wanted to give Crockett and Scott a months notice. He also told him he could lose at house shows but not on TV during this.


- Garvin went to check his bookings for the month and saw he was due to lose on TV to Angelo Mosca . He was talked into losing 1 match on TV to Mosca since he liked him and did that.


- It was a week later he learned Scott had Mosca take the tape up to Minnesota where he was due to start working and sink that. Garvin claims he was PISSED and stormed into office. Cussing out Scott and really wanting him to try something so he could put him through a glass window. But he didn't and Crockett didn't either. So he left , slamming the door as he heard it break.


- He never did get to do the AWA then. Where it was doing good at the time due to this. It was near the end of the promotion and his career he did finally a decade later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LvGLXJL-zY

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Shane Douglas discussed Francine in a shoot and how well they 2 worked together.


- Douglas brings up how he had returned to ECW that spring and was watching everyone do promos. Francine went to get on the mic as she was with Pitbulls and wearing the leather get up. Anyhow she struggled and was nervous. Shane came over and pulled her to the side and started working with her. Telling her , you hang out with us all right ? Just act natural and do what your doing here. He coached her very well and while he was doing it Paul Heyman was watching this...as an idea clicked in his head.


- Paul told Shane he was gonna pair them together onscreen. That as Paul E. claims every Captain of the Football team needs that head cheerleader and Shane was it. Shane claims it took her not too long to "click" on with everything. That he was a student from Bill Watts , Dusty Rhodes and knew how to work the camera well and he taught her the ropes of it. That she became a natural. The tricks she'd use like slide up his leg and kiss the belt was all her. That she really became great at it.


- Paul E. did not want Francine staying with anyone on the road except Shane. That he wanted the guys in the back plus the dirt sheets to believe that her and Shane was a real life couple. Which as Shane joked didn't make it easy on him but his wife understood they were great friends. That him and Francine were just good friends and that is all it was. But the guys in back believed it because she'd stay in his motel room etc. A fact that he was confronted by Taz n company who called him hyprocrite for sleeping with Francine while married.

Shane went ahead and said , yep you got me. And took it because he wanted to keep the act real as possible. But as he said looking back it takes a little shine off things because the belief was they were a real life couple.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSHBG_PX2bs

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Jim Cornette's co-host Brian Last told a story about his comical fan fest Wrestlemania X experience. Where he met a bunch of the wrestlers as a teenage kid before the show and things there. The 2 had been discussing Crush (Brian Adams rip) who was working a blow-off match against Randy Savage at the PPV.

- Anyhow as Last claims he was with 2 adults as they met some people there. 1 was selling art work which was really good. The other was Hillbilly Jim who sold him classic 1980's WWF video tapes which he loved. But one of the adults soon had to go to the bathroom.


- As they walked in , there stood Pat Patterson , Crush and Randy Savage going over what he later realized was the finish of their Falls Count Anywhere match in the bathroom. Savage looked at them and told em they had to leave. The adult there with Last was like , I have to really go pee as Savage in his classic voice , "I don't care , get outta here damn it !"


- Later watching the match they realized where the Savage/Crush match ended as it was that bathroom area they were chased away from by Macho Man.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGhih_zWnwA&t=305s

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Its been awhile for me to do this. But here we go....


- In his podcast Eric Bischoff discussed the talk of Paul Heyman possibly being signed in 2010. Bischoff tells Conrad Thompson he isn't shocked it didn't happen. Because he knew that Heyman and the Carter family would be like oil and water. That Paul would want creative control and him & Hulk Hogan had that. And it was in their contracts and Paul wouldn't have done it. Him and Heyman had talks last year while in WWE and he regrets not asking him about this then.


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- Then the story goes to Jim Ross and TNA trying to sign him. Bischoff at one point claims either him or someone brought up Jim Ross backstage. But he knows he wanted a solid ring announcer to do play by play. That as TNA started to gain all this attention in 2010 and get a push from Spike TV , he brought it up to Dixie that they needed a play by play guy and Jim Ross is the #1 guy out there. Also nothing against Mike Teney but Bischoff felt he was best as a color commentator and wanted to shift him there if Ross was signed.

Sadly the deal didn't get done for Ross (Conrad claims it was a low offer) and we now have Jim Ross doing AEW.