Ric Flair was fired by WCW Monday, effective immediately, after both sides failed to reach an agreement on a contract extension which would be from June 1, 1992 through May 31, 1994. The official word was faxed Monday afternoon by Jim Herd to Flair's attorney, Dennis Guthrie, in Charlotte, that Flair's contract is being terminated effective August 1, 1991. Flair was scheduled to drop the WCW title to Barry Windham on 7/1 in Macon, GA in a revised plan decided upon within the past week that had been the subject of many behind-the-scenes problems. WCW officials weren't expecting Flair to show up to Macon (he was originally scheduled to be on vacation until Wednesday's show at the Meadowlands but was given the word last week to be in Macon). The revised plan was for Windham to defend the title against Lex Luger in Baltimore, with Windham's title victory airing on TBS either this coming Saturday night or the day before the Baltimore show. It was announced in Macon, which airs on television on Saturday, basically the truth, that Flair has been stripped of the title due to contractual problems and that the top two contenders, Windham and Luger, would wrestle for the held up title on 7/14 at the PPV show from Baltimore in a cage match. This marks the first time in the 43-year history of the NWA/WCW that the world heavyweight title didn't change hands in the ring.
Hey Scott, In a shoot interview Barry Windham claims he was scheduled to beat Flair for the title when Flair left over his contract issues. He states he was going to get a "run" with it but when Flair left they went with Luger instead. I find those comments a bit far fetched because the entire summer build up was for Lex vs Flair in a cage at GAB 91 with Luger finally beating Ric for the title. Plus Windham was teaming with Arn Anderson and still technically a Horsemen at time. Was there any truth to that all? Also could Barry have carried the belt during this period with any success?
Barry is correct, believe it or not. Well, I mean, correct in the sense that he was scheduled to beat Flair for the title at a house show and then drop it to Luger at the earliest possible opportunity, but then Flair left with the title before anything could be set up to change the belt. Here's the relevant thing from the WON at the time:
I guess it can be reported here that the original plan was for Flair to drop the title to Luger in Baltimore.
This is from an excerpt of the review Bayless is putting up tomorrow he posted in the live thread.
ReplyDelete"Ricardo's is asked on what can get you heat backstage. He tells a story of how after a few weeks on the main roster, Seth Rollins came backstage after his match and grabbed an ice pack to put on the back of his neck. Ricardo noted that Rollins did not appear to take a bump on it or anything but must have been in some pain. Cena sees this and went up to Rollins and asked him how many matches he has had on the road to which Rollins said that he has had three. Cena walked right off after that, implying that he had not yet earned the right to use the ice pack. Also, while on a tour or Europe, Summer Rae came backstage after she was doing her dancing gimmick with Fandango and put an ice pack on her ankle and got chewed out by Randy Orton as a result."
Leave it to Orton and Cena to manage to make even backstage gossip extremely boring.
ReplyDeleteI don't get it. Would they rather have the guys taking pain pills?
ReplyDeleteYep. Then they don't have to pay them royalties on their DVDs and merchandise .
ReplyDeleteBecause they're dead, you see.
ReplyDeleteYou know who really loved ice packs? Balls Mahoney.
ReplyDeleteI'll see myself out.
Wait, wait...so you could say that had Ice-Pac Heat?
ReplyDeleteWindham was handsomely rewarded later with a little song called 'He's Smokin'.
ReplyDeleteCena's as much a dick as Orton and Undertaker and JBL on "etiquette" nonsense. Shockedface.jpg.
ReplyDeleteI still say Orton yelling at Summer was unfair, since they could've made a great team: Summer Rae managing Summer's Eve.
ReplyDeleteAt least he got an all access pass into the T-Shirt Club 5 years later.
ReplyDeleteThis is more of an instance of the locker room shunning newer talents for using ice packs rather than how the Shield got buried though.
ReplyDeleteA legit POTYC. I legitimately laughed out loud.
ReplyDeleteMy reaction to how immensely stupid this is: http://www.movingimage.us/images/exhibitions/media/reaction_gif/nathan-filliion-speechless.gif
ReplyDeleteIce packs are serious business
ReplyDeleteAssuming this is true, fuck John Cena.
ReplyDeleteScott just won the internet for today with this post.
ReplyDeleteThis is nothing new. About a decade ago, Aaron Aguilera (aka Carlito's bodyguard Jesus) ended up in the doghouse for going to the company chiropractor (who was ostensibly available to everyone on the roster, but of course the unwritten rule was that only guys like HHH and Undertaker were allowed).
ReplyDeleteRicardo told a story about something like that involving the company masseuse.
ReplyDelete"This marks the first time in the 43-year history of the NWA/WCW that the world heavyweight title didn't change hands in the ring."
ReplyDeleteLOLOLOLOLOL! Oh what was to come!
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ReplyDeleteIt was Michael Hayes who stooges him out. Pos
ReplyDeleteThat's probably the best-written spambot message I've ever seen.. still sucks grammatically, but not as much.
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ReplyDeleteIt's always a BMW... I think it's a secret Nazi plot.
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I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteBecause X-Pac Heat doesn't exist! [/anti-smark humor]
Ice packs? I could maaaaybe see if it was some expensive healing method, or some new-age high-tech thing that veterans maybe didn't have access to back in the day, but ice packs? The simple method that people have been using forever? So dumb.
ReplyDeleteI don't even... I mean, I don't get... I just... Ice Packs? Really? Can you imagine an unwritten rule that NHL rookie's aren't allowed to use ice packs or have access to the team masseuse? Or a new actor on a TV show getting heat b/c they ate a sandwich at catering? I can see if there are only a few ice packs available that the rookies would let the veterans have dibs, but anything other than that is beyond archaic. This company really deserves the scorn it gets.
ReplyDeleteThat means they're learning, and that means Skynet.
ReplyDeleteWow.. Right?
ReplyDeleteCost him what "reign"? He was going to drop it in 2 weeks anyway. I mean, yeah maybe they would have made Luger choke AGAIN and draw a feud out more, but I doubt it. All signs pointed to summer '91 being the official trigger-pull on Lex, one way or another.
ReplyDeleteIs it better to be a transitional champ or never be champ at all?
ReplyDeleteGood question...ask Tommy Rich when he wakes up.
ReplyDeleteOr Backlund...who I doubt ever sleeps.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this is one of those things that is *technically* true, but typical inflated wrestler ego stuff.
ReplyDeleteIIRC (I think it comes out in future Observers) the whole idea of making him drop it to Windham at that particular date was to protect their own asses contractually.
Barry was obviously going just a stopgap for Luger.
Was Lex always supposed to turn? Or was it because Flair left?
ReplyDeleteHorrible puns are always amazing. Horrible puns about obscure Wrestling Terminology is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThis is truly beyond ridiculous. You never, ever see stuff like this pulled in the UFC.
ReplyDeleteJust the fact that it's 2014 and guys are still getting buried by petty "wrestler's court" bullshit is ridiculous, that stuff should have ended at least five years ago.
I'm sure Mr. Backlund could rent a shit about his second reign, since his first was like 6 years long or something like that.
ReplyDeletePretty sure it was cause Flair was leaving. It was supposed to be Lex FINALLY shrugging off the choker label and beating Flair for the world title after match after match of getting screwed or cheated or Flair just running away.
ReplyDeleteYeah but he didn't get a song with such intelligent lyrics as "He does this, he does that" like Sting or a song that rattles off amateur wrestling stats like the Steiners.
ReplyDeleteYeah I don't think the turn was in the cards at all. I'm sure they would have had Flair/Lex feud the rest of the Great American Bash Tour before having him move on to other heels.
ReplyDeleteA motivated Luger vs Rude in 1992 would have been interesting, though overall I just feel Luger makes a better heel/tweener than a babyface.
...I don't get it
ReplyDeleteSometimes I'm like "Wrestlers have it bad, they're mistreated by their bosses and society thinks they're all crackheads and they have to kill themselves for dickhead fans that want to get themselves over on TV."
ReplyDeleteAnd then I'm like "Fucking carny idiots deserve everything they get."
'Earning the right' to use an ice pack? What a fucking ridiculous statement.
ReplyDeleteOf course they have to put up with this kind of shit because there's nowhere else for them to go.
Professional wrestling might be the most embarrassing goddamn thing in existence for how it treats its own.
ReplyDeleteI've taught in high schools where kids didn't have such a warped sense of rights and privilege.
I love it when guys who don't need the money call bullshit on WWE's practices. RVD can peace out whenever he doesn't feel like putting up with their ludicrous bullshit, but he knows he'll always be able to get a paycheck out of them whenever he wants. And Brock Lesnar doesn't give a roaring shit about THIS BUSINESS, and you know what? He's making out like a bandit, getting paid seven figures to wrestle a handful of matches per year.
ReplyDeleteI wish more guys had the "fuck this profession" attitude instead of this warped reverence that prevents them from making a fuss when they aren't treated like human beings. I get that they need to put food on the table, but any job that treats its employees (oh right, "independent contractors") like this is no job worth having, no matter how much you dreamed about being IC champion as a kid.
Any employer tells me I can't go to a chiropractor on my own time can kiss the fattest part of my ass while I walk out the door. And if you don't stick up for yourself because "This is my dream and WWE is the only game in town!" then you need a new dream. Or a backbone. Whichever is easiest to cultivate.
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, easier said than done. But when you need hip replacement surgery at 45 because Bill DeMott decided you need to run the ropes and do dives off the top until you shit blood, you'll wish you'd said something then.
John Cena
ReplyDeleteGives You Shit About Etiquette
Is Exempt from the Company Dress Code
........Dammit.
ReplyDelete*Upvote*
I wonder if John yells at Nikki for needing an ice pack after sex: "You haven't paid your dues yet. You're going to Bill DeMott's school and you're going to run the ropes for four hours straight. Then after that, you're going to Undertaker's house, you're going to shake his hand, you're going to thank him for the privilege of being my girlfriend and then you're going to tell his wife that she's the greatest diva in WWE history. And then and only then can you use an ice pack after sex".
ReplyDeleteThe same Randy Orton who has an insanely long and detailed "flexibility and mobility" routine before his matches and loses his shit if it has to be cut short or gets interrupted?
ReplyDeleteNot that having such a routine is bad, mind you. I know he does it to minimize injury risk, and that's the entire point: let everyone do what they feel they have to do to get through the meat grinder in one piece - whether that's a mobility routine or ice packs - and mind your own business and take care of yourself. Who cares if the person next to you doesn't have the exact same pre- and post-match routine as you?
I remember reading in the Funk/Flair shoot (I believe) where they made fun of DDP icing down after every match so I guess ice packs are one of those unwritten code of conduct in the locker room.
ReplyDeleteI think the tradition lives on because since the new guys had to go through the initiation process, once they become veterans they probably feel the next generation of talent has to go through the same process too, just because they went through it and feel the new guys shouldn't get a get out of jail free card.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just the wrestling business, anytime you work for a new company, you probably need to pay your dues and do things you're not happy with when starting out and if you stay with the company long enough, then you expect the next crop of new workers to go through it too, just because you went through it yourself.
DDP didn't even start wrestling full-time until he was in his 40's, he more than anyone needed ice packs.
ReplyDeleteGiven what's known about Windham's lack of work ethic/general laid-back attitude (depending on who you talk to), I doubt he really cared *all* that much about being world champ. Hell, if he really gave a damn, he would've stepped up in the late 80's when he was a massively over face.
ReplyDeleteJohn Cena's such a prick.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, for an example look no further than John Morrison. He wasn't a main eventer or a huge star in WWE and he's been gone for what? 3 years now and he hasn't looked back since.
ReplyDeleteA guy like Ziggler could make it on his own outside of WWE, he has charisma and good looks, he'd be perfect for some kind of job in Hollywood.
How Punk managed to become a main eventer is beyond me with so much bullshit to deal with is beyond me.
ReplyDeleteGood timing and one well-placed promo.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if this is so much about the ice pack as it is about Randy's serious issues with women.
ReplyDeletePaying your dues is very different than hazing. Especially hazing which could have damage on a dude's muscles.
ReplyDeleteAlso, weirdly enough, part of it is that he DIDN'T put up with the etiquette bullshit.
ReplyDeleteCena is the only one allowed to rise above ice packs.
ReplyDeleteOf course wrestling takes it to the ultimate extreme, but I'm just speaking generally.
ReplyDeleteLou Thesz was awarded his very first world title due to Orville Brown's career ending car crash.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the car crash happened inside the ring..
ReplyDeleteSee, when I hear about shit like this, I am completely sympathetic to a guy like CM Punk walking out on the company. All this little shit would drive me absolutely insane, especially when all guys like Punk want to do is go out there and have awesome matches (and bang every diva).
ReplyDeleteYeah, I tried to delete that...was so tired last night I completely glossed over the first reign haha.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting how that works.
ReplyDeleteLuckily for him, Punk is just one of those people that truly doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. I mean, I'm pretty confident and comfortable in my own skin, I don't mind if a co-worker doesn't like me, but I'd find it pretty tough if EVERYONE that I worked with disliked me. I don't think I could purposely piss off everyone around me.
And I'm sure one of his exes could get him a decent role if he asked nicely.
ReplyDeleteThey had cars back then?
ReplyDeleteWADDAMP WAMP WADDAMP WOMP!
ReplyDeletePlaying devils advocate here... could this be about the availability of said ice packs? Like perhaps there's only 2 or 3 of them? And its just another unwritten rule that the veterans get preference?
ReplyDeleteYeah ok, no. Even I can't defend this one.
He had Paul Heyman to steer him through the landmines for the first part of his WWE career, but I'd say the rest was just pure perseverance, dedication, and being unwilling to fail.
ReplyDeleteWorked pretty well for the Iron Sheik.
ReplyDeleteJoey.. may I play Devil's Advocate too? http://33.media.tumblr.com/2da97c1053a9ca3cd2836d8685b693e6/tumblr_mv6sqlF4yM1r3yxp8o1_500.jpg
ReplyDeleteI don't see the big deal here. Why shouldn't ice packs be reserved for the veterans, who need them more, since they have taken more bumps?
ReplyDeleteSorry, Vince Jordan hacked my account, there. Anyway, yeah, this is totally stupid, but whatever. That's kinda what WWE is nowadays.
Flair's such a douche.
ReplyDeleteI see no reason for any of that other than "that's the way it's always been." I need more than that to not think of it as dumb and archaic.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Dolph is quite as charismatic as he thinks he is, outside the ring anyway.
ReplyDeleteNo way Flair would've put him over in the '80s.
ReplyDeleteDid Cena or Orton get the ok from Jerry Lawler? If anyone knows their ice packs....
ReplyDeletehttp://camelclutchblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/SS2.gif
"In three years I'll be back and you'll be gone!" - Ric Flair over the phone to Jim Herd after Herd fires Flair
ReplyDeleteRonnie Garvin thinks so
ReplyDeleteLogic should dictate that he'd get pink slipping a long time ago, yet he was a multiple time champ and probably will get into the HoF eventually.
ReplyDeleteWhenever he's being interviewed he actually sounds like a human and not a robot.
ReplyDeleteOne of the nice touches after some ROH main events is when the trainers come in with ice packs. Really helps to put over the physicality of the match. But I guess if a WWE vet is watching, they just think "Pfft! Pussies! They never main-evented Wrestlemania! Hell, I didn't get to take Asprin until after my third 30 day stretch on the road!"
ReplyDeleteAnd Ric was off by a year and a half, wasn't he?
ReplyDeleteHahaha awesome
ReplyDelete