Well, Vince McMahon undid his biggest mistake of the last year last night as Bryan Danielson returned to WWE as the seventh members that we all thought (yup, me too) would be HHH who would then turn on WWE as the head of The Nexus.
More on that next week…
In an emotional afternoon at the ECW Arena,”Acid-Fest” took place yesterday afternoon, before an estimated crowd of 750 honoring the late Michael “Trent Acid” Verdi. The Verdi family did attend, and were seated ringside with neighborhood friends up in one of the Arena boxes.
When I post this column each July 4th holiday, I remember how many years it’s been since the death of former WWF referee Joey Marella in an automobile accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, while traveling to Newark, NJ from a WWF show in Ocean City, MD.
But since that tragedy happened, so much has happened in our world and in all of our lives since that day 16 years ago. The world is a very different place than it was in 1994, with terrorism and war now an everyday concern for those of us in the United States, as well as the rest of the world. The fruit of our country’s youth is coming home in bodybags from Iraq and Afghanistan on an almost daily basis.
BURT RUFF
1966 – 2010
I was very saddened yesterday to learn of the passing of Burt Ruff in Winnipeg at age 44. Burt succumbed to cancer.
Burt was born in Winnipeg on April 29, 1966 and was trained by Terry Tomko prior to debuting in Winnipeg in 1991 for the Canadian Wrestling League. Best known by the ring name “Big Mikey”, Burt was active on the Winnipeg wrestling scene from 1991 to 1994, wrestling at local community centre and nightclub shows. He made a brief comeback in the fall of 2001 for Bobby Jay’s Top Rope Championship Wrestling.
Rest in Peace – Mike “Trent Acid” Verdi
11/12/1980 – 6/18/2010
It is with deep regret that CZW management has the unfortunate duty to report on the passing of one of it’s own. Early this morning, Michael “Trent Acid” Verdi passed away in his home in South Philadelphia at the age of 29, just blocks away from the building where he helped revolutionize the business he so deeply loved. The entire extended CZW family is in mourning over the loss of one its true homegrown stars, and a man who was a friend to so many, both inside the business and out. We extend our deepest condolences and sympathies to his family and friends as they grieve for his loss.
Trent Acid lived to wrestle. From the time he first stepped thru the curtain at the world famous “ECW Arena”, it was clear that he was no ordinary wrestler. This kid from the streets of South Philly was born to entertain, and for more than a decade, he did all that and more. In his storied career, Trent Acid won titles all over the world, but the ones that meant the most to him were those that came in his own neighborhood. In 2002, Trent acheived what many would consider to be the highlight of his career when he defeated Jody Fleisch in front of a capacity crowd at the Arena to become CZW’s second ever “Best of the Best” Champion. Trent was also a gifted tag-team wrestler, tagging with longtime friend and partner to form the “Backseat Boyz”, together changing the tag-team game as we knew it, while taking their act all over the world in the process. In addition to his contributions in the ring, Trent gave back to the business outside the ring. As a trainer, he helped mold the careers of many of the next generation of professional wrestlers. His advice was priceless, and it was sought by many who wanted to be the very best at their craft.
Courtesy: www.MondayNightMayhem.com
George Schire Discusses The Idea Behind The Release Of His New Book (“Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling: From Verne Gagne To The Road Warriors”), The Legacy Of The AWA, Verne Gagne Going Into The WWE Hall Of Fame, & Vince McMahon Buying The AWA Video Library, & The Fatal Mistake In The AWA’s Demise
The author of the all-new book “Minnesota’s Golden Age of Wrestling: From Verne Gagne to the Road Warriors,” George Schire, was one of the special guests on this week’s live edition (05/31/09) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. You can feel The Mayhem live every Monday night (at 7PM ET/6PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com).
It’s already eleven years ago last week, and it seems that not that many remembered. But it was, in fact, eleven years ago last week, on May 23, 1999, at the Over The Edge PPV, that Owen Hart died in a tragic accident in Kansas City.
Here’s a reminder of that column…on a Memorial Day where perhaps we can remember some of those in wrestling from past columns .. and more importantly, remember those who have died in military service to the United States.
New Series Host Bill Apter Leads Terry Funk Down Memory Lane on “Ringside”
Owen Hart Tribute Radio Show Recap Ft. Bill Alfonso, Koko B Ware, Clarence Mason, Val Venis, Bill Apter, Vito, Godfather, Smith Hart and others
Credit: Andrew Karluk
False Count Radio/Wrestling Soup
Owen Hart Tribute Show
Hosted by JT Evans & Anthony Thomas
May 23, 2010
Hard to believe it’s been 11 years since we lost Owen Hart
The show opened with Smith Hart. Smith said that he feeled that Owen hadn’t reached his prime when he passed. He spoke about a rib that Owen did on Davey Boy Smith. Davey was taking an early flight back to Florida (where he lived at the time), and gloating about leaving early. Owen took it upon himelf to lock Davey Boy’s bag to a locker with a padlock while he was showering, causing him to miss his early flight. But that wasn’t it: Owen convinced the flight attendants that Davey Boy was a groupie, and had him escorted back to his seat.
Funk’s Corner – “Karate” Kinji Shibuya
Kinji Shibuya dropped into a defensive football stance and stepped forward bringing his powerful arms up charging and lifting me at the same time.
Kinji said, “You have got to fire out of your stance make contact and lift your opponent at the same time, look for the ball and get rid of the blocker.
We were on the wrestling mat in the garage of Dory Funk Sr.’s home on the Flying Mare Ranch in Umbarger, Texas. Mom and Dad were friends of “Bob” Shibuya, professional wrestler and former football player and amateur wrestler from University of Hawaii.
