Forgotten WWE Talent: Mordecai

Hi everyone today I will talk about a forgotten talent named Mordecai. This will be about how I felt about him, his promos, matches and his disappearance.
For those of you who don’t know, Mordecai was a character who was developed and designed to feud with The Undertaker. His character was someone who wanted to rid the world of sin. Weeks leading to his debut there were vignettes shown on Smackdown. At Judgement Day, he made his debut in a quick match against Scotty 2 Hotty. This began his attempts to rid the audience and WWE superstars of sin by destroying wrestlers such as Billy Kidman, Akio. His first competition came when he went face to face with Hardcore Holly. Their match was more of a fist fight of brute strength than a wrestling match. The end came when Mordecai won with his Crucifix Powerbomb. He did a promo where he stated he had chosen the first victim for his crusade but not soon after he was defeated by Rey Mysterio in an upset victory and never to be seen again. The life span of this character in total was 2 months and 7 days. In those 2 months and 7 days he had 2 pay per view matches and one televised match. That just shows how things can always change in the WWE.

In my opinion, Mordecai was a great character who had the look and powerhouse moves. He looked scary with the white gear and the white facial hair. In 2004, I was 11; I remember loving the promos and being hyped to see his debut against Scotty 2 Hotty. When I saw that I knew this guy was going to be my new favourite because he was different and seeing into the future I would have loved to see him against the Big Show and The Undertaker. Other feuds that would have worked with Mordecai would have been against guys like Billy Gunn (could have been around Billy Gunn’s days in DX and calling himself Mr. Ass) and Matt Morgan. It would have been hard to build feuds with other big men because during this time WWE had their brands split into 2 different entities. Even with that being said, they could have built him as a monster by destroying smaller guys so when he faced bigger guys it would fell like two giant/powerhouses facing off. Everything about him made me intrigued even his finisher which was fittingly the crucifix/cross power bomb.  It was a real bummer that they didn’t do anything with him. Even one face to face confrontation with the Undertaker would have been special because we would have seen what could have been. It would have been the Pale Rider vs The Lord of Darkness. Another thing that bothered my about his exit is it was a lose/lose situation. WWE gained nothing from Mordecai losing to Rey Mysterio in an upset victory. Rey was already the cruiserweight champion and didn’t need Mordecai to elevate his career. They could either let Big Show take him out (this was 2004 Big Show so it would have been passable for him to beat one or two new guys) or they could have had a surprise opponent and it would have been someone from RAW jumping ship someone like Rhyno, Palumbo or Test to come to Smackdown and Mordecai could have been their first victory in their fresh start on a new brand. Another conclusion could have been I don’t know have him do the thing he was meant to do face the Undertaker and if there are problems along the way try to throw your money at them to try to help Mordecai to improve him to be a big draw one day. But hey I’m not Vince Mcmahon thus I can’t make these decisions. This has concludes Forgotten Talents and bid you all a good day. If you enjoyed this post please be sure to check out my other posts.


Crash Holly
Independent Wrestling
Kurt Angle
The Miz

Why Crash Holly was a highlight of the WWF

In wrestling having a character/persona is important. As a kid I didn’t understand it as much as I do now. For a wrestler to succeed he must have the look, the wrestling abilities, the character and the microphone skills. It’s a bonus if they can connect with the fans. While listing all those I’m still puzzled as to why Crash Holly didn’t have a more prominent role as a wrestler. I mean it’s not like we didn’t get to see him be involved in some of the most memorable moments in WWF/WWE history. If you asked anyone who watched wrestling in the Attitude era they would probably remember the WWF Hardcore Championship being defended until 24/7 rules because Crash Holly was a fighting champion. We saw him defend his title in a hotel room, at the circus, while getting a massage, at the laundry mat, the baggage claim area at the airport, and the most memorable being the brawl at fun time USA between Crash and the Headbangers team. Crash defended the title against male wrestlers, female wrestlers, clowns, referees, WWF authority figures and the Godfather’s female friends. Crash held that title 22 times in his career. The Hardcore title was a wonderful thing and Crash was the best guy to hold it because he is a little guys who wants to prove something. He wanted to be seen as big as Stone Cold, The Rock and Triple H.

Even in his debut with his cousin he was introduced as a superheavyweight and tried to make people believe he weighed 400 pounds. Brought to the WWF by his cousin “The Big Shot” Hardcore Holly, Crash was Hardcore Holly’s back up when he was backed into a corner. Quite comedic because usually when someone is backed into a corner they call on someone who is bigger and stronger than they are for assistance. Not someone who is smaller than they are. That’s exactly Hardcore Holly did he called on his small cousin Crash for some assistance. They were pair of cousins who are 6’0 and 5’11 on paper you wouldn’t think this would equal success in a land of stars and big men. But at this time, WWF did a lot of things that were different. Things didn’t go their way they usually do with families in WWF as on Crash’s first night they brawled all over the arena to see who the tougher Holly was. But after this brawl they fought between rivals and partners until they were able to compromise and were able to coexist to become Tag Team Champions. I personally don’t remember the Holly Cousins reign with the tag team titles because it only lasted 2 weeks. 

But as for the Holly cousins they were an important part of my childhood. I mean when ask normal people who watched WWF back then to name 3 tag teams they would say Dudley Boys, Edge and Christian and Hardy Boys because they revolutionized tag team in the early 2000s. But the Holly Cousins including Molly Holly weren’t far behind in my book, in their 3 years stint when they were apart or together they were entertaining. If it was Hardcore and Crash teaming, fighting each other for the Hardcore Title or the famous Romeo and Juilet feud they were in with the Dudleys where Spike Dudley loved Molly Holly.

Shortly after this rivalry with the Dudleys, the Holly cousins broke up and that was followed by Crash Holly being released from the company in June of 2003. He did wrestle the independent circuit again and even for NWA-TNA. On November, 6th, 2003, Mike Lockwood known to fans as Crash Holly passed away from what was ruled a suicide. In wrestling the toll count seems to increase more and more and most of the wrestlers that die usually do at a young age. The media has covered the stories where wrestlers die from suicides, heart attacks and sometimes natural causes. Wrestling to the outside world is seen as a fake sport where men are muscles and just do heavy amounts of drugs. The world of wrestling is constantly evolving to depend more on talent than how big someone’s muscles are. After seeing so many of my heroes it’s better to not think of their death but remember their careers and remember the emotions they made me feel and what they taught me. Wrestling will always be the number one thing in my life and Mike “Crash Holly” Lockwood to me will always be someone who had a great character and great wrestling skills but most importantly someone who managed to be the highlight in a company of big muscle men with his comedy and willing to do anything. 

Superstar Spotlight: Part One - Hero's Welcome Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle is a name known to many fans of the WWF after its battle with WCW ended. He is my opinion was one of the important factors that made WWF so amazing. He was the definition of "Intensity, Integrity, and Intelligence" I mean he made a career out of being the definition of those three things. But he didn’t have the normal man's career to being WWF superstar. Coming into the WWF, Kurt was already a gold medalist in 1996 Olympics. Yes, Kurt Angle won the medal for the United States and he won that medal with a broken “fricken” neck (As he had told everyone who would listen). 

After the Olympics, he was offered a contract by the WWF in 1996 but he turned it down. It took another 2 years for the WWF to add the amazing talent to their roster. After approximately 11 months after he signed, he made his debut. And to be fair as a young Canadian kid I didn’t understand why a man wore his country’s flag on his tights. But then again I didn’t understand much as a kid. It took me almost a decade to be in awe of this man. In his first match, he showed traits that would make him one of the greatest wrestlers to ever wrestle. He put his amateur wrestling skills at work while facing his opponent Shawn Stasiak and he took time out of the match to get out of the ring, get a microphone and inform the crowd that they shouldn’t boo an Olympic gold medalist and how he came to the WWF for the fans.

He made his American hero character his own something special and the sky was the limit for the rookie Kurt Angle. I mean in his rookie year he won 3 titles and a prestigious tournament known as the King Of The Ring, 2 of which he held at the same time (European Title and Intercontinental Title) and the other being the World Heavyweight Champion while having great matches/rivalries with amazing wrestlers such as Chris Benoit, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H and The Undertaker.

As his wrestling career was collecting accolades, he was continuously growing as an entertainer. Kurt Angle made the role of the American hero to perfection. He wasn’t the American hero the people wanted, but he was the hero they needed. Week by week every time he was on the microphone he was always able to make the fans boo him. Not that it was a challenge, keep in mind this is 2000’s WWF television. Times had changed from when fans listened to their wrestling role models as they drank their milk, took their vitamins and said their prayers. By the time Kurt Angle arrived we had seen the rise of the hothead, beer drinking, no-nonsense, and uncensored Stone Cold Steve Austin, and the rowdy, degenerates known as Degeneration X.

Fans at this time loved to cheer the bad guys and hated the good guys. The WWF knew it and so did Kurt Angle. So whenever he was on the microphone was able to tell the fans that by showing the 3 “I”’s, being good Americans and having a role model like Kurt Angle he could do anything. Given by anyone else that message is quite uplifting but Kurt was able to deliver his message in such an arrogant way it was easy to boo for him. This was fantastic because during this time he teamed up with a tag team that was also great at getting boos from the fans with their shenanigans backstage and on the microphone, the team of Edge and Christian.

These three in my opinion were underrated because all three were great on the microphone, in the ring, but they were missing something special. The something special came in the form of a 5 foot 9 295 pound man beast known as Rhyno. Rhyno was a one man wrecking crew but with Kurt, Edge and Christian they created one of the greatest formation/stables in wrestling history. Team R (hyno) E(dge) C(hristian) K(urt). I mean numbers don’t lie. During the time Team RECK was in existence they had won the World Heavyweight Champion (Kurt), they had the World Tag Team Championships 6 times (Edge and Christian), Rhyno held the Hardcore Title 3 times and the King of the Ring tournament was won by Kurt in 2000 and Edge in 2001. To top it all off the final four men in the 2001 King of the Ring were Team RECK. That just shows how great each man was but together as a force they were unstoppable.

Even though Kurt was unsuccessful in winning the King of the Ring, his night did not end there. For there was another challenge that waited him….

My take on Hero’s Welcome – I believe Kurt Angle is one of the unsung heroes of the WWF Attitude era. I mean I understand that he entered near the tail end of the timeline but his impact was/is memorable. Sure he isn’t Stone Cold, The Rock, Undertaker or Mankind but he was the perfect opponent for all of them. He was a really great in the ring and on the microphone. Each feud/rivalry he had he was a great adversary. Kurt’s rise happened quite quickly, but he was being prepared during his time on minor shows like Sunday Night Heat. His time in the beginning was time well spent in creating a character and Kurt was great at learning the WWF style.  The way I saw it in the world of badasses he was the clean cut all American guy who instead of a night out would prefer to go home and drink milk and sleep. The definition of good guy was embodied by Kurt Angle but when no one cheered for Kurt Angle. Kurt Angle cheered for himself.

Part 2 will be coming out in the next week please like, follow and subscribe.

Independent Wrestling is probably the greatest thing that ever happened to me

Hey all,

If you were to ask people who liked/grew up with wrestling before why they stopped watching the usual answer is because it got boring. After the merger between World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation now World Wrestling Entertainment there wasn’t an alternative that was exposed to fans. There wasn’t a big battle between two major companies. So either you liked the WWE or you didn’t and stopped watching. But there has always been an alternative. Something that isn’t televised but has great wrestling, awesome talents, and cool fans and that is Independent Wrestling. Just like music, wrestling also has an independent side to it. A side that show the talents of a large number of athletes that put their all into their matches. Blood, sweat and tears and you may be wondering why they do it. The reason they do it is for the passion.

My relationship with Independent Wrestling started when came across a podcast called The Art of Wrestling podcast created by professional wrestler Colt Cabana created in 2010 shortly after his release from the WWE. 

Before podcasts were popular as they are now Colt Cabana had the idea of starting a podcast where he could relax and talk to his friends about the life of a professional wrestler. Ever since I can remember I have been reading biographies about wrestlers and wanting to learn more so when I discovered Colt Cabana’s podcast I was excited to learn about wrestlers that I knew of/heard of. The conversations were fun and interesting so I got more invested and started listening to the stories of wrestlers I hadn’t heard of that were wrestling on the independent circuit. Every story was unique and that podcast helped me pass time on public transportation. I got to learn the stories and struggles of individuals. I discovered that going to the WWE was the dream of only some of the wrestlers not all of them. A large number of wrestlers wanted to wrestle in Japan. I didn’t know a lot about wrestling in Japan, but I wanted to know why wrestlers wanted to go there instead of the bright lights of the largest sports entertainment (wrestling) company in the world. As I did my research I discover new talents and new talents I never saw in the WWE. I was amazed at such wrestlers like Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, and Hiroshi Tanahashi and my personal favourite Kenny Omega. Kenny Omega holds a special place in my heart and its not only because he is a fellow Canadian but because he had a one on one match with a 11 year old female child and it was amazing. 

I got to learn about so many new people but it got to the point where learn wasn’t enough I wanted to watch them live so I looked for some Independent companies in the Toronto area to see world class athletics and I was able to stumbles upon Smash Wrestling thanks to James Kee who is the managing director of Smash. He told me about their next show and I was super excited to go to it. And it was an amazing experience that I attended the one after that and it did not disappoint. It’s safe to say I got invested in the Toronto independent circuit.

That was December, 13th, 2013; it’s almost been 2 years since my first independent show. Since then I have attended 9 independent shows, got to meet multiple wrestlers that I admire and got to enjoy countless matches with a crowd that was as invested as I was. I found out that wrestlers on the independent circuit are really awesome people when you meet them (you may need to watch out if they are on little to no sleep) but other than that you should be good.

On November, 15th I will be going to Hamilton for an event hosted by Alpha One Wrestling that features the man that got be invested to Independent Wrestling Mr. Colt Cabana himself. Super excited about that because I will get to thank him in person for changing my life.

This is the end of this week entry. Everyone who reads this should find their local independent companies and attend a show or two. You might have an awesome time. (You probably will have an awesome time).

I wanted to thank a few people here. Wrestlers who I’d met and were super cool and nice people.

The Young Bucks, Kevin Owens/Steen, Ethan Page, RJ City, Kyle O’Reilly, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano,  Drew Gulak, Rich Swann and Tommy Dreamer.

Superstar of The Week: WWE Superstar The Miz

Today's superstar of the week is WWE's The Miz. The reality star who became the WWE world champion. 

I understand some people don't like the Miz because of his reality star past. But think about it, he is an entertainer. It is what he is paid to do and a damn good one at that. I mean in wrestling it is important to have your good guys (babyfaces) to love and bad guys (heels) for fans to hate. And The Miz gets the fans to boo. Sometimes it's because of what he says and sometimes it's because of his face alone makes fans boo.  Not a lot of people can get that reaction out of the fans in the modern day of wrestling. But no matter how you feel about him you have to give him respect because he has given us a lot of good stuff over the past few years. He hasn't done it alone. With John Morrison, we got "The greatest Tag Team of the 21st Century *Insert head tilts here* we got a great tag team when new tag teams weren't really there. 

I mean you had the Hardys and DX with whom Miz and Morrison had great matches with but we also got something that wasn't done before but since has grown to be one of WWE's main features. I am talking about web shows and yes I'm talking about The Dirt Sheet. That show complimented both Miz and Morrison in a great way and it did it without having them on TV which sometimes isn't always a bad thing. I mean on the show they got to showcase their creativity and develop their characters. After the greatest tag team of the 21 century was forced to disband, he joined Big Show which was a great tag team as well for that time. And I know the theme song wasn't the best... (Jeri Show) was much better but what can you do). After this, we got to see The Miz get the spotlight as he won the WWE Championship.  That moment was great because people hated him it was great. I mean if you watch the video you can see the first row of people in shock over what happened. And you can also see one little girl not very happy about the outcome.

                               

But this moment was a dream come true for the kid who grew up running around his house like the Ultimate Warrior. You can read his lips as he says "I told you so" to all of his critics. In the later months, he was a great variable to make even the hardcore fans like John Cena because the fans hated the Miz so much. He was one of the if not the top heel during that time. With Alex Riley as his rookie, it was a great pairing. Then following the end of Miz and Riley and his reign as WWE champion came The Awesome Truth = Miz and R-Truth. On paper, it doesn't sound like the best team but just watch the aftermath of Hell in a Cell 2011 to see how much hate they had by the fans as they interrupted the main event and attacked all participates in the match. They had so much potential, but they lost to The Rock and John Cena and nothing really came from them after that (was that really need it). Next came a Intercontinental Title Run which made him the 25th Triple Crown Champion in WWE history and spending time with Ric Flair and stuff. Which wasn't memorable because The Miz we are used to the heel Miz who will make fun of the crowd and tells them to shut up. But lets pretend like it never happened.    

Now we are at the aftermath of Miz and Mizdow pairing which was one of most raved thing on television. People love Mizdow and that Niagara commercial with The Miz's facial reactions simply gold. We have a Miz who still makes people hate him whenever he comes out, but he has found a way to make the crowd boo loud and it is amazing. I hope the WWE gives him another opportunity to shine because I know he can take the ball and run with it. With his skills on the microphone, his wrestling but most importantly his reactions

 This is why WWE’s The Miz is Dragon Suplex Blog's Superstar of the Week.