ESPN Site Covers Pro Wrestlers Dying Young
ESPN owned website FiveThirtyEight.com has posted a new article looking at pro wrestlers tending to die young, and it notes, albeit incorrectly, that 33% of the talents who appeared on the WrestleMania 6 card are now dead.
The information is slightly askew, however, as it includes Miss Elizabeth as a 'Mania 6 performer but fails to mention Bobby Heenan, Mr. Fuji, Jimmy Hart, Lanny Poffo and Slick, all of whom are still alive. You can check out the article at this link.
Has Extreme Rising Folded?
The Facebook page of Extreme Rising was shut down sometime today, as well as the Twitter page for the promotion. According to PWInsider.com, Extreme Rising's Steve O'Neill is expected to release a statement regarding the promotion, which is set to run events this Friday and Saturday at the old ECW arena in Philadelphia.
Coachman Recalls Famous Rib Played by Vince
Former WWE announcer Jonathan Coachman recently spoke with Back Sports Page to discuss his time spent with WWE, his transition to ESPN and more. Coach had the following to say regarding rumors of a classic rib played on him by Vince McMahon:
What you read and heard was 100% true. The thing about WWE is you have to be accepted on many different levels. From 2003 on, I was one of the boys. If you were willing to put your neck on the line and get in the ring, that separates you from everybody else. Up until that point, I had to be accepted into the crew, so to speak. Basically, Jerry Brisco came up to me in 2001 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and he said he wanted me to run a football pool. $10 to pick all the games, and everybody did it. And I started on a Tuesday, it was a Smackdown taping, I’ll never forget it. I had my own room I did interviews in, and all the sudden two cops show up. They were very serious, and said I understand you’re running a gambling pool. You sold one to one of our undercover cops here. It’s a felony in North Carolina and we’re going to have to take you in. So we’re walking down the hallway, and we stop in front of Vince’s office, and they said we should probably let him know because you’re not going to be here for a while. We walk in and it’s Vince, Triple H, Stephanie, The Rock, Kevin Dunn and Jerry Brisco. I should have known that, with Jerry in the room, something was going on, but I was so terrified because I was 26 years old. The real cops proceeded to tell Vince they’ve caught me in a gambling pool and we need to take him downtown. Vince got in my face, and he was an inch away from my nose. He was cursing, telling me my priorities were bad, and spending company time to run a gambling pool. This entire riff lasted 45 minutes. At the end of the office bit, the officer said it was $1,500 to get me out, and Vince said F-no, he’s on his own. They handcuffed me, and I asked if there was anything I could put over my face. Vince threw me a pair of sweaty gym shorts that got stuck on my face. I walked out of the office and the first person I see is The Undertaker. He looks at me with shock, and it was so real because no one else was in on it except those people in the office. They walked me out, and all the fans could see me and they drove me about a mile down the road, and got a call on the radio that they had to come back to pick up something. They turn around, come back, and everyone’s there with Vince in front of everybody laughing their asses off. Greatest rip in the history of the business, and for about 10 minutes I literally walked to a place in the building and started crying. I thought my career was over. I thought how can I tell my dad I got fired over a $10 football pool.
The entire interview, which covers more of his career in television and who his favorite wrestlers are, can be found at this link.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
