MAILING IT IN
The quality of e-mails has diminished to the point where only two received in the last month are usable. You never let me down by ALWAYS letting me down.
From: Ryan
*Do you think any other WCW cruiserweights had the skills to go as far as Rey Mysterio in WWE?
Juventud Guerrera, no doubt. Juvi had one advantage over Rey: He had a good look without the mask. Rey looked like a paperboy. Juvi looked like a rock star. Juvi also partied like a rock star, and he was nuts. I was present when a naked, wasted Juvi went crazy outside a hotel in Australia and was subdued by police, arrested, then deported. A cop had Juvi in a waistlock from behind. Another cop went to mace him. Juvi ducked, and the cop maced his partner. It looked like a spot from a Midnight Express-Fantastics match. It’s a shame. Juvi was a major talent, great Lucha-style worker, very charismatic, not at all wooden like some under a mask become, and a good guy despite his problems. What a waste.
A typically weird Juvi moment:At a 2002 World Wrestling All-Stars PPV in Las Vegas, Juvi brought along several copies of a Juventud Guerrera calendar he’d produced. The photos featured Juvi in various states of undress, nearly naked, including full dorsal views of him in a thong. Juvi isn’t gay – I don’t think so, anyway – but there was no other way to interpret this calendar. When Eddy Guerrero saw it, he yelped, "WHAT THE F*** iS THIS?!?!" But Juvi acted like there was nothing even unusual about it. He could be utterly clueless.
*Is there any unsigned talent you believe could be the next big thing?
I’m amazed Shannon Moore isn’t with WWE or TNA. A worker of his youth, quality and experience that can provide a good match with any opponent should always be employed. Moore may have sabotaged himself with the tattooed punk look, and probably didn’t do himself any PR favors within WWE by hooking up with Julie Youngberg, ex-wife of paralyzed former WWE wrestler Darren Drozdov. He’s also close to the Hardy Boyz, but even that connection has done him little good.
I’m a fan of Jersey-area independent wrestler Rob Eckos. He’s just 25 but started working in 2000. Eckos isn’t spectacular, just very solid with potential for positive growth. At the very least, ROH should hire him.
Neither Moore nor Eckos will be the next big thing, however. Ricky Steamboat Jr. might be.
