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Dusty Rhodes WWF departure in 91

When exactly in 1990, did Dusty give Vince his official notice he was leaving the WWF to return to WCW as booker?

Dusty's WWF character really changed right after Summerslam 90 when he began his feud with Ted Dibiase.

He dropped the polka dots and went back to the more traditional "American Dream" that was in Crockett.

It seemed the feud went from Dusty looking like he would beat Dibiase in the blowoff after a lengthy feud to the entire angle switching to Dibiase/Virgil issues by the time Survivor Series 90 came along, and by the Rumble tag match Dusty and Dustin were just the backdrop to Virgil turning face.

​I don't have the exact date handy but it was known well in advance, and given that the political tide had shifted 6 million times in WCW since his departure, it's no surprise that he'd be able to come back with open arms again.  Specifically, Ole Anderson was such a colossal disaster as booker that Dusty was pretty much able to walk right into the top job again.  Although this does lead to a funny Ole story, where later on he blamed Dusty Rhodes for booking the Black Scorpion blowoff with Flair, even though Dusty was still with the WWF for another two months at that point!​

Comments

  1. Jeff is allegedly worth 15 million
    http://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-athletes/wrestlers/jeff-jarrett-net-worth/



    And I'm sure he has some outside backing.


    What's TNA's library and trademarks cost? 500k for the whole thing?

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  2. Dustys red polka dots/top hat/cane combo at Survivor Series 90 lives on forever.

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  3. Hopefully that Ole story was before the MS kicked in. That disease really screws with the memory.

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  4. Are you confusing that show with another? I remember Dusty wearing a plain black jacket to the ring at Survivor Series '90.

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  5. Man, is there ANYONE who OIe didn't ultimately sever ties with?

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  6. I like to think Reis kicked out at 3 because he knew Chris pinned him without facing the hard camera. Back to NXT for you, Benoit!

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  7. Ole is a very hateful old man from whatever shoot videos they show him in.

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  8. Plain black jacket and plain black trunks for Dusty at SS90. No hat. However, I think he wore the combo you describe for the SS90 photo shoots

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  9. XPW? Or CZW? One of them still has to be around, right?

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  10. It just dawned on me that that title was around for like 3 years and has 3 different names

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  11. At least Karen Jarrett looked fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine

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  12. I loved the Survivor's match at the end, kind of wished they'd do that again.

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  13. Flair was off tv for most of Goldberg's reign b/c he was being sued by Bischoff.

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  14. The promo photos I mean.

    http://38.media.tumblr.com/ab14296c971492a581ccb9dd78d254da/tumblr_mtnqjsvdbN1sj4xr4o3_500.jpg

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  15. Yup that's what I meant. Great photo!

    http://38.media.tumblr.com/ab14296c971492a581ccb9dd78d254da/tumblr_mtnqjsvdbN1sj4xr4o3_500.jpg

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  16. I love the story Flair told on his DVD (I think the second one) where he went back to WCW after putting Perfect over on the Loser Leaves Town match on RAW and Ole says "Ric, what value do you have to me now that you lost to Perfect on cable TV?"


    Like Ric Flair never lost a match or something.

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  17. Or back to Raw after being demoted from being a Horseman. #NancyGraceThink

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  18. So GFW is really taking after the GWF....recycling the old belts for new titles when they can't afford a new one (GWF used the tag titles from 1992-its end for ALL the titles because Eddie Gilbert and others took the belts with them when the company couldn't pay them....hmmmmm.....)

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  19. How did the Yet-TAY not make money?

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  20. Now why would Bishoff bring to attention Nick Patrick's bias officiating?

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  21. I just read about this, beginning the Death of WCW '14. In fact between this and the Kip Frey question, I wonder if someone's been doing the same...

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  22. Seems that Dusty got jobbed out worse in this era. He was the definite loser in the DiBiase feud, and I think he put over VIRGIL in 30 seconds at a house show. Sgt. Slaughter too.

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  23. Anyone who hurts Ric Flair's feelings is A-OK in my book.

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  24. I always liked how back then the WWF would weave their stories and booking in with each other.

    Loved how the Savage/Dusty feud, seamlessly transitioned to Dibiase/Rhodes, and then to Dibiase/Virgil. They wrap up one feud and get another started.

    Also, one fun note about Dusty's last WWF PPV Match at Royal Rumble, I always enjoyed how quickly Dusty and Dustin disappeared after the tag match. Dusty looks concerned, and then is gone for good within seconds, moving right to the Virgil feud.

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  25. Cornette and Austin both like him a lot. He's maligned for his out of touch booking in the 90s, but his simultaneous runs with GCW and JCP in the 70s-80s were pretty great.

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  26. I wonder what WWF would have been like in 93-today if Dusty took over from Pat Patterson.

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  27. Didn't they let him come on Nitro and rant and rave for the hell of it any time he wanted to while he was hurt? And return to a main event where he went over the Outsiders? I mean, yeah, at a certain point you probably do pay more attention to the hot act that has you winning the wrestler war than the guy who's prime was 10 years earlier.

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  28. Isn't one of the country music guys that appeared on TNA once helping Jarrett money wise? They always seem to have a lot of $.

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  29. King of the Mountain Title is such a silly name. Also the title is named after a BAD GIMMICK MATCH.



    I believe the WWE will be introducing the PUNJABI PRISON CHAMPIONSHIP soon.

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  30. Jeff and Jerry are estranged nowadays. That's what happens when you listen to Vince Russo.

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  31. Dusty Finishes left and right

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  32. That was a pat Patterson trademark for booking

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  33. I can't be the only one that thought Big Dust looked like an over weight, washed up has been when he was in the WWF

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  34. Vince knew exactly what he was doing with Big Dust. My first experience with him would be right around this period, so the only big match of his I saw was Royal Rumble '90.


    I was SHOCKED to later find out he was a former NWA World Champion from seeing old PWI covers. It made the NWA look like a joke.

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  35. Exactly! While Flair would get his ass handed to him by Dusty, Dusty was struggling against the Honky Tonk Man.

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  36. Dusty AND his son couldn't beat Ted Dibiase and a non-wrestler.

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  37. Bret and Shawn sure would lose to Dustin a lot.

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  38. Dustin got his ass handed to him by Virgil but a year later he's a pretty big star in WCW! Dusty can't beat Virgil but he can beat Luger, Windham Blanchard, ect. Dusty and the guys he beat looked like clowns.

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  39. Seemed like they were heading that way in early 1999 when they did Flair's stupid heel turn

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  40. Well, it doesn't take much to make him cry.

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  41. If you think about that in 1990 he was the same age as Triple H is today... yes he looked like an over weight, washed up has been. But even before he didn't looked much better. ;)

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  42. I'm always reminded of a great Garfield & Friends quote whenever Wyoming comes up: "There is no such place as Wyoming. Think about it. Have you ever MET anyone from Wyoming?"

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  43. You say tomato...

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  44. I couldn't stand Dusty when he was in JCP. As a kid, I couldn't believe that guys like Ric Flair, Lex Luger and Barry Windham couldn't beat Dusty. The Luger/Dusty match at Starrcade '87 made me soooooooooooo angry.

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  45. I've wished that for 25 years. I'll keep on wishing :(

    I also imagine a Grand Finale match from the 1989 Survivor Series:

    Hogan, Warrior, Dusty and Beefcake vs Savage, Perfect, Earthquake and Dino Bravo.

    Would have been epic!

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  46. Or elbowdrop jackets. I want to see him turned loose at Men's Wearhouse.

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  47. Still better than tits and ass wrestling

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  48. Even worse than that. DiBiase basically won a handicap match. Mid Match he kicked Virgil's ass and then won the match by himself.

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  49. Growing up with the NWA, I saw these guys before the WWF and was confused by why everyone who went to the WWF became a cartoon. I always thought of the NWA as the tougher organization because they fought harder and WWF was always so hokey.

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  50. He was always the aaaaammmmerican drrrrrrreeeeaaammm in the wwf

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  51. Watching Dusty's WWWF 70s run feuding with Superstar Billy Graham, he seemed over enough to get the Championship then. I know Vince Sr already decided on Bob Backlund but I think Dusty could have did well as the champ up north back then. He was the same great promo guy but also younger, quicker and less overweight. Those matches against Graham drew money too.

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  52. Toby Keith was the rumor. I'm not sure if he's involved in this, but I believe him and Jeff wanted to buy TNA at one point.

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  53. Given Vince Sr's boring babyface booking, Dusty could have done really well with the Monster of the Month.

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  54. I'm surprised they booked Giant for a match at all. You'd figure he'd have to sell that beltshot from Hog Wild more

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  55. Survived falling off a building but was KO'ed by a belt for 30 minutes.

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  56. CruelConnectionNumber2June 29, 2015 at 9:01 AM

    He gave notice in December 1990. It was the worst kept secret that he would be returning as the new WCW booker, with Ole removed right around that time.

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  57. The raw opposite this had hbk vs Austin and only did a 1.8

    I remember conventional wisdom was that raw would do well that week and many of us were shocked.

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  58. Considering Casper is a mere 215 miles from a little town called Cody I can see why WCW held Nitro there. Oh, why Cody? Because WCW senior vice-president Eric Bischoff lives there.

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  59. That was the show right after Hog Wild right? I assume many wanted to see the fallout of Hogan winning the belt back.

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  60. CruelConnectionNumber2June 29, 2015 at 9:20 AM

    There's a Nitro where Hulk has the figure 4 on Arn Anderson and Flair runs in, with Hogan, as he has the hold on Arn, rolling up Flair in a small package for a 3 count.

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  61. Psst..there's a blog just for bro's: http://www.danimalcrossing.com/

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  62. Ole is such a turd.

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  63. I just watched the promos leading to Flair-Backlund, and hoo boy did they expose Backlund as the dorkiest thing alive at the time.

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  64. Dusty jobbing to The Undertaker at Survivor Series was pretty jarring at the time. Sure, hindsight tells us Taker's debut was one of the most memorable in history and he was over like Rover the moment he stepped through the curtain, but the WWF wouldn't have known that in advance. Booking the "new guy" to go over the opposing team's captain clean was unusual for the time, especially since they were counting on Rhodes-DiBiase to draw on the house show circuit. I wonder if Vince knew going into the Survivor Series that Dusty was a WCW bound.

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  65. He's also maligned for being an asshole and a bully.

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  66. My favorite Ole Anderson story is from Lanny Poffo, who mentioned that Anderson, began spreading rumors that Lanny was gay. To both get back at him and dispel the rumors, Lanny began sleeping with Ole's ring rats, leading to his conclusion that "Ole had a big mouth and a small dick"

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  67. That looks like Papa Shango's hat

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  68. I see for Dustin the excuse could be used that he was a rookie but Dibiase took him out like a straight up Jobber and that was it for Dusty as a wrestler basically.

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  69. And also lose to an eight year old Cody.

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  70. I'm always fascinated by how often WCW ran places like Wyoming and the Dakotas when they were the premiere wrestling company in the world and probably could sell out in any major arena.

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  71. I'm not sure it took hindsight to justify putting 'Taker over Dusty right out of the gate. When Vince gets his hands on a 6'10" monster, comes up with a detailed character for him and uses him as a mystery partner, it makes sense to put him over big. Especially against a 45 year-old guy that is pretty bulletproof from a popularity standpoint.

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  72. Wyoming is actually an ancient Native American word for "no state here."

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  73. CruelConnectionNumber2June 29, 2015 at 10:25 AM

    What about future HALL OF FAMER Koko B. Ware getting crushed by the zombie?

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  74. CruelConnectionNumber2June 29, 2015 at 10:25 AM

    The reigning IC Champion would be The Shockmaster.

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  75. Didn't Dibiase basically buy Saphire too?

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  76. He looks like the bad guy in Princess and the Frog. .

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  77. WCW actually promoted Dusty's return on TV while he was still finishing up dates for WWF. Either shows Vince didn't care or... yeah, Vince didn't care.

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  78. Woah. Mike Jones was a established wrestler in the West Indies.

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  79. Backlund drew, though. Superstar talked about this I think wtih JR about how bitter he was that Vince Sr didn't turn him babyface and keep the belt on him, understandably so. He said that Vince Sr. actually asked him and Dusty to help Backlund with his charisma if they could or something like that.

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  80. Not true. Dusty was a good Booker in 1993

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  81. A lot of guys drew in the Northeast that I don't think would have elsewhere, and Bobby's one of 'em. Flair just completely demolished him on the mic.

    Backlund could go (though a lot of his stuff isn't for me), but his babyface act was super corny, at least in hindsight.

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  82. Well to be fair, the Giant was missing for forty minutes when he fell off the building.

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  83. The Yet-Tay is taller than the Giant. Look at the size of the Yeti.

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  84. That settles it. They need to hire Flair as their new spokesperson.

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  85. Why would you post it in Bayless' review? What does a year old Jim Ross clip that everyone has seen have to do with 80s wrestling?

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  86. This is a wrestling website. Jim Ross is a former wrestling announcer. Some kid spliced the infamous KOR 98 footage into a soccer match and upon that I found Me. Ross doing real boxing announcing. He could be the next Howard Cosell.

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  87. "You're going to love the way I drop elbows on these suits. I guarantee it. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

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  88. Oh how I missed LOLTNA:

    In early May, a carnival-themed stable called The Menagerie made their debut in TNA. This stable featured former Aces & Eights member Knux, a woman named Rebel, a clown named Crazzy Steve, and Rob Terry under a mask (and now going by the name "The Freak"). Oh, and two people on stilts, who eventually disappeared after one tripped on the set. The first week featured Knux returning to the ring to defeat Kazarian. The second week featured Crazzy Steve's in-ring debut, and the "match" consisted of Kazarian kicking Steve, tripping over Steve on the outside, falling over the top rope, Steve hitting a splash on balloons, and Steve pantsing the referee while The Freak distracted him and Rebel did stuff on ropes...all while The Menagerie's theme played the entire time à la New Jack. (Kazarian won that "match" by disqualification.) To put the cherry on top of that shit sundae, this was Kazarian's last match on the TNA roster (he left the company a week prior to the match airing, following the example of Daniels, who left TNA the month before).

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  89. Gotta love that they bought that and a new X Division title when they are not paying wrestlers.

    Would it be that hard to Western States Heritage up the old TNA Legends belt?

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  90. That everyone else found a year ago

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  91. also wasnt Ready to Rumble the head characters were from Wyoming going to same said arena before DDP turns uber heel on Jimmy King???

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  92. I think Torrie Wilsons debut angle also helped that buy rate bc she was just the hottest thing any wrestling fan saw on a wrestling show.

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  93. the last clash of the champions was the following summer where the guys from dinner and a movie joined NWO and Mean Gene was appalled bc he introduced them at first "as his close personal long time friends of his."

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  94. i think the joe gomez joke is starting to wear a bit thin....

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  95. Oprah NoodlemantraJune 29, 2015 at 3:00 PM

    I wish I was there for the acid trip in Orlando or Nashville that thought of that one...

    But Kazarian's win was awesomely punctuated by his reaction at the end with his arm raised: "THAT was a wrestling match!"

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  96. Oprah NoodlemantraJune 29, 2015 at 3:02 PM

    "super shredder #LOLNikkiWins mode"

    Upvote, and I'm totally using this!

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  97. Oprah NoodlemantraJune 29, 2015 at 3:03 PM

    And Jarrett and Russo's friendship has blown up too...

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  98. I could never understand why Jeff chose Vince Russo over his own father, but obviously Russo is a good salesman.

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  99. Latest Dixie awesomeness: Meltzer dropped by the F4W Board to note that Destination America had someone in attendance for the tapings where Jarrett showed up, and they weren't particularly thrilled about TNA hiding Jarrett's appearance even from the network that was airing their show. Digging the hole deeper and deeper.

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  100. I was thinking the same thing.

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  101. "Benoit rightfully gives him a shot to the head on the way out of the ring for that bullshit." So, Reis gets a shot to the head by a guy who ended up murdering his wife and kid after getting shots to the head. Just thought it was interesting to note.

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