@HitTheRopes
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LIVE THE R page 1
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REVOLUTION @HitTheRopes
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THe Miz will star in a ABC Family movie Christmas Bounty for next year. He’s also in Mick Foley’s upcoming Christmas book. I guess you’d be all about giving too when you’re with the lovely Maryse.
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Beth Phoenix may retire with the distinction of the most losses by rollup pin in a calendar year.
Hulk Hogan and Bubba the Love Sponge have settled their lawsuit over the released Hogan sex tape. Hug it out, fellas! TCC @HitTheRopes
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Was anyone thinking how insane a heel turn it would have been if John Cena kicked down that large check during the Suzanne G. Komen presentation?
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Adam Pearce and Colt Cabana laid down the NWA World Championship after their final match in the 7 Levels of Hate series was not sanctioned by the governing body. Neither man wants to claim the strap. I’m sure Eric Young will start wearing it on Impact. Former WWE Diva Amy Weber has released a nude photo spread because her laptop was stolen. It included unused nudes for a Playboy shoot. Instead of letting someone capitalize on her body she decided to be proactive. I’ll give you a moment to Google search with the SafeSearch set to Off.
Everyone loves to point out that the TNA loves to ripoff the WWE, how about the WWE deciding to go with a similar storyline to TNA’s Oscar-worthy Claire Lynch drama? @HitTheRopes
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It’s time to celebrate the best...and the worst of the month from the worlds of professional wrestling and MMA
CHUMPS
CHAMPS
No More Drama?
Big Fights. No Problem. Fans have been complaining about “fun” bouts so Dana comes out and says he will absolutely make the Jones vs Silva bout happen. We’ll hold him to it.
The main reason fight fans were okay with Jones vs Sonnen is the trash talk. They’ve apparently buried the hatchet...and the reason to watch.
Ryback
The Snake Bites
Ryback could have been shot to the top by being awarded the WWE Championship, he remained strong at HITC and will still look good as the sole suvivor at Survivor Series.
Tag Team Heaven
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In the middle of getting choked out, TUF competitor James Chaney BIT his opponent to try and get out of the hold....He ended up tapping anyways.
Do What???
It looks like the WWE is finally giving some attention to the tag team division. With being able to shine the light on more people at once, it’s overdue.
I don’t know what this is all about. It’s Ryan Bader and I’m sure Hallowen has something to do with it, but Ryan we must agree...never again.
An Ace among Eights
No Show
After years of being identified as one half of The Dudleys, Devon is finally getting his chance to shine. He slimmed down & enjoying his time at the top.
Derek Brunson was about to weigh in for TUF series but was pulled because Strikeforce didn’t release him from his contract in time? Really?
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@HitTheRopes
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: be i r c S o t Scribe
An Interview with Brian Solomon
Robert Swanson | @bobofnmac
On October 24th, I had the chance to interview someone that inspired me to be a writer. He was able to take time out of his day and grant me an interview about his time as copy writer and Editor for WWE Magazine. The man I am talking about, of course, is Brian Solomon. You can follow Brian Solomon on twitter @b_sol and head over to the vaultofhorror.net to get all of your supernatural and horror mojo. BS: What’s it going to be for again sorry? Me: It’s for The Color Commentator. It’s an online magazine that covers wrestling and MMA.
tant to have people like that. Even if he is a jerk.
Me: I can agree to that. I mean he was the first of his kind, and I think I heard Kevin Nash say one BS: That’s fake stuff, you know, MMA. It’s time good for him, he was able to carve out a niche all fake stuff, you know? in something that the other promoters couldn’t do. Me: I agree. (laughs) BS: Yes, way before the Internet. Way beBS: Well, Dave Meltzer covers both; I mean, fore. hey. Me: You ready to get this show on the road? Me: Well, when Dave Meltzer covers stuff you better listen. BS: Yes I am. I love the Miz shirt by the way. Very nice. BS: Dave Meltzer is taken very seriously in both worlds. Me: Thank you. I am a huge Miz-Markie. (laughs) Me: Really?
BS: I was at the Raw in Bridgeport a few weeks ago, which is when I think they debuted his interview segment.
BS: He is. Me: I mean I agree with some of his stuff but he seems to be in love with himself.
Me: Oh, nice.
BS: Yeah, they lowered the big M from the BS: Well…I have never met the guy but I ceiling. have heard through the grapevine that he is very pompous and very egotistical but Me: The big W turned upside down? the guy is a treasure to the business. There is nobody like him. To have somebody like BS: Yes, brilliant. him that has been following it and chronicling it and all of that stuff, it’s so impor- Me: So what have you been up to since leaving page 11
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WWE? BS: Well, right now I am working for Edible Arrangements International, believe it or not. The fruit company. I have been working mainly in marketing and communications since I left WWE. So for the past year that’s where I have found myself working for Edible Fruits International. I have launched a website called the Vault of Horror, as I think you might be aware. Me: Well, of course. BS: In the past five years since I left WWE, it has become something really big and it has become my next big thing after leaving wrestling. It has led to so many other things. I host horror movie screenings here in Bridgeport and other places. I have gotten to contribute to books and things like that. So that’s my new big passion now, the Vault of Horror. It just turned five years old.
because you talk about this whole sub-culture that you were weren’t even aware of really.
BS: That’s right. Really? Now do you mean the podcast or the Vault of Horror?
That was my way of channeling myself after WWE. I thought to myself, “Alright, you have been writing about wrestling now for seven years. It’s something you really love but I don’t want to think about it anymore. So what’s something else that I am really into?” And that was horror movies. I was always into horror movies like going way back. Just like I say on the site. I mean, even when I worked at WWE we did a special issue on Kane for the movie See No Evil. Believe it or not. I was heavily consulted (laughs) on that issue.
Me: The Vault of Horror. I mean, once I found the site I discovered a whole new culture in terms of horror that never existed.
Me: Oh, nice. That site really changed me. I basically became a ripoff of your site at first and then I transitioned into doing horror like The Onion.
BS: I am glad that happened because Tommy was really good to me and allowed me to plug whatever I needed to plug. He made sure every single time and I am sure you remember, he would let me get into this huge long plug about the Vault of Horror. I am really glad it led people to really find the site because I wasn’t really sure about that if it work or not, you know?
BS: That’s great.
Me: I remember when I discovered the Vault of Horror. It was like a few years ago actually, and it was because of Tommy Fiero’s “Who’s Slamming Who” podcast. I heard a plug about it and, boy, did that site [The Vault of Horror] open my eyes to a whole new world of horror.
The Vault of Horror thing for me, you know, @HitTheRopes
Me: So you enjoy working at Edible Arrangements? BS: I mean, I will say this, I get a lot of free chocolate-covered fruit on a daily basis. I can’t really complain about that. The thing there is the most interesting thing about working in the communications department is that I feel they need to expand
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it more. When I worked at WWE, not to compare, their corporate communications department took up half the floor of the building. I mean, I am the corporate communications there (Edible Arrangements) now. If we had some more help it would be more manageable, I think. Nothing will ever approach the blast I had ever working in the tower. I mean, you just have to put that out of your head. I mean, unless I run away with the circus that’s not an option anymore.
Down,” which actually ended up being the name of one of my departments on the WWE Smackdown! Magazine, but (laughs) my column was called “Wrestling Low Down” and I started going to Indy shows in the neighborhood and interviewing guys, and I would also cover stuff on TV. From there I wound up writing for my local newspaper the Brooklyn Spectator. I would cover Indy shows and do my own photography.
Me: I guess that makes sense.
The guys I would interview thought I was crazy because here I was a total mark (let’s face it) and I am asking them total kayfabe mark questions. These guys wouldn’t know what to do. They would be like, “Do you want me to play along or what?” And in my head I’m thinking I am like Mean Gene Okerlund. I mean, I knew the business was a work, but I figured the guys could all come up with a worked answer right on the spot. While I was doing that (in college) I would send out the articles to wrestling magazines hoping I could get a job for them.
BS: Well Scott Hall told me, and this very true, he said if you never want to leave high school, this is the business to get into. He was right, he was completely right. I don’t know if it was like high school but maybe college. It really was like being in a fraternity house. There is no other way to describe it. It was like going in there every day. It was like my second home. Going on the road, it was like going on the road with a rock concert. It was crazy. I have stories I can tell my grand kids and I have stories I can’t tell my grand kids, you know? Me: That just sounds like a wild and crazy ride to say the least. I am glad that you said that because I put questions like that in here. I mean we will get to them at one point. BS: Yes, we must be careful in this day and age. One day, I will write my book and then it will all be out the window. When I get to the point I don’t give a shit anymore I will write my book. Me: (Laughs) Alright, so the next question is what was your wrestling background growing up?
Now this is really weird. I wrote a letter to the Daily News in New York and they have a wrestling column called “The Slammer,” and it’s awful. I told the editor I could do a better job on this and they turned me down. However, the editor at the Daily News, his name is Barry Werner, he wound up being in charge of WWE Publications Department, and he wound up hiring me years later.
Now I didn’t go straight from college to BS: Well, as far as being a fan, I think I had WWE, I work for H.W. Wilson for a few been a fan since I was like 11 or 12 years years writing encyclopedias. For me though old. I mean, so many people are fans. As far it felt that all those years did pay off when I as background goes, I started in college. I finally did end up with WWE. It doesn’t get pitched an article to my college newspaper, any better than that. the Brooklyn College Kingsman. I pitched them an article called the “Wrestling Low Me: Anyways (laughs) I would have to say you have page 13
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had an interesting journey to say the least. That’s one hell of a ride and the fact that you aren’t at the Tower yet is pretty amazing. What would you say as fan growing up, was your mark out moment was?
ly I would hope that Bad News would beat Hogan for the title. I mean, for the house shows during that time they threw Hogan so many heels. So if I didn’t get the chance to make it I would be asking around school, asking people if Hogan lost the title because BS: I am sure that I am going I wanted to see Hogan lose so badly. to say something that most people say; I When he lost to Andre and they had the evil wish I could be more referee angle, even though it was so dirty, original, but when and so gimmicky, I was a 13 year old kid Macho Man crushed who was so excited to see that happen. I reRicky Steamboat’s member watching that with my dad, and I voice box with a remember when that happened I jumped ring bell. That thing off the couch and we had a low ceiling and was a moment, a my head went through the ceiling because watershed moment I was so happy. My father looks at me, and and it wasn’t just me. he would get into it too, and he looked at I am 38 years old. You talk to me and said, “Brian, I am so disappointed anybody of my general age in you. You don’t want to see him lose it that group who was a wrestling way. That was so dirty. How could you root fan as a kid, I am telling you, for that? I don’t know what to say, I am so I guarantee you that is one surprised by you.” We would actually have of the biggest things that conversations like that. stand out in their mind. It blew me away. I don’t ever Me: That’s too funny, but awesome at the same think there was ever a time. time I thought something was real or a competition. BS: Then the Monday Night Wars came and I didn’t know where the I was one of those guys switching back and line was, so watching that, forth for three hours every damn Monday I wasn’t sure if this guy was between Raw and Nitro. I was that guy goreally hurt? Steamboat did ing back and forth, back and forth for years. such a great job at selling That’s how I watched it. I marked out when that! Do You remember Goldberg beat Hogan at the Georgia Dome. that? I think about it now. You never have that same enthusiasm as you do then when you Me: I was in diapers at the time, but years later I are young like that. I can remember callremember seeing it on DVD. ing friends up and being like, “Did you just see that? Did you just see Goldberg?” Just BS: As far as being a kid though I was an an- calling people up and calling them because ti-Hogan fan growing up. I always cheered I was just that excited. You know what got for the heels. Growing up, I never really me too on Nitro, and this is my last big one. knew how the business worked, but when I will never forget this because I am a huge the WWE would advertise and hype up the Ric Flair mark, I mean massive. house show that was coming to the area, I would see Hogan on the ad and he would be Me: So am I. I love the Nature Boy. like (does Hogan impersonation), “Brother, when I get my hands on Bad News Brown BS: When they had the whole thing where blah blah blah blah.” I took that so serious- he came back to Nitro after Bischoff fired @HitTheRopes
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him and kept him off of TV and everything. When he came to Charlotte and had the Four Horseman together, I am not ashamed to say that I was almost in tears. That crowd was so hot that you could actually see and I have never seen this any other time, the hard camera was shaking. The image on the TV was shaking because the crowd was going insane. That was a huge mark out moment for me. Me: That really was a magical moment to say the least. BS: Just curious, where you do grow up watching wrestling? Me: I grew up in Colorado. Now by the time I was old enough to watch wrestling and understand what was in front of me, WWE was already in full swing. Now my parents and grandparents grew up watching the AWA. However I didn’t know about anything of this ‘til years later when WWE would start releasing DVDs on the various different territories and stuff. BS: You see, I took a huge interest in the wrestling business, going back to the carnival days. I just became so fascinated with it. I did a lot of reading about it. I have study up on the wrestling business going back to the 19th century going to the 20th century. It’s just a really fascinating subject for me. I got to interview Lou Thesz before he died. Things like that just fascinated me. I almost take a more of an interest in the old time stuff than the stuff I grew up with. It’s just something about it that just interests me. Me: Well, that whole era during Lou Thesz is so interesting just because the business wasn’t talked page 15
about openly then. I honestly feel Lou Thesz’s book is one of the best wrestling books ever written. BS: Yes. When I read that book, in my head I hear it. It’s almost like hearing Ray Liotta in Goodfellas character talking. That’s what that book is like to me. I have to say, I’ve talked to some people and it’s the best wrestling biography there is. I do wonder though just how much of it is his point of view. Obviously, he is going to make himself look good since it is from his point of view. When I got to talk to him though, I picked his brain on everything under the sun. I interviewed him for a Raw Magazine article. It was an idea that I pitched. It was just an excuse to interview Lou Thesz. The way it came about was that I heard Lou was a huge Kurt Angle fan. Obviously he would be, right? So they ran into each other at an Cauliflower Alley Club. They become huge friends apparently. They were friends and Lou respected Kurt for carrying that torch of legitimacy. Even though, unfortunately, it means a lot less now than when it did in Lou’s day. I interviewed them both. The thrill for me was being able to interview Lou Thesz. I called him up in his condo in Florida, and I got all of the Kurt Angle questions out of the way in 10 minutes. So I am like, “Alright, this is what I really want to talk to you about,” and I picked his brain about Ed “Strangler” Lewis and all this stuff. I mean, there is nobody else left on this earth to talk about these things [to].
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Me: So moving along, how did the process go for you getting hired by WWE?
loves this but also has a legit background as a writer.
BS: Well, actually it was very straight forward; you wouldn’t even imagine it. It’s 1999 and I am working at H.W. Wilson as a staff writer. It’s pretty much an entry level position. So I was looking to advance myself because I had just gotten married. I was really looking for anything being honest, and I was looking in the New York Times classifieds and I just saw the WWE logo in the wanted ads, and as a goof I was like I am going to apply. Believe it or not they actually called me. At the time they were looking to hire someone as a copy editor for WWE and Raw Magazine. I mean, it was below the position I was at with Wilson, but I figured if I could get my foot in the door it was a good thing. And I thought they had to pay to better than where I was at. So I went in October of ‘99 and I believe it was the day of or the day after the company went public.
Well, I finally got the job and I remember sitting at my desk at work when I got that call, and my first day was Valentine’s Day 2000. Then I got hired and seven years later I got harden and burnt out by the business, but not yet. (Laughs)
Well, I go for my first interview and believe it or not they wind up giving the position to somebody else. I didn’t know this ‘til much later but the woman they hired said she couldn’t do this by herself. So between October of ‘99 and January 2000, I went back up there for three different interviews. Now I was living in Brooklyn at the time and I would have to drive every time to Stamford which is about 50-60 miles. Now I only did this because it was WWE. If it had been anyone else I would have said “forget it.” However, I finally got to the point where WWE or no WWE they better give me this damn job. I can remember driving up I-95 and praying to God and asking just please let me get this job. I would sell my soul to the devil to get this job. The thing that blew my mind was this is happening. I am hardcore wrest l i n g fan who @HitTheRopes
Me: So it’s the first day at Titan Tower, what’s going through your head? BS: Well, what was going through my head was actually, I didn’t want to let on too much on how much of a fan I was. That place has a weird mentality. You may have come across this online and stuff, but they don’t want you to be a really huge fan. They are afraid of having people that are crazy marks running around the place. It’s almost like they mark out for people that don’t really like wrestling that much. It’s almost like they are like the girl that gets turned on by guys that don’t like her that much. Like half of the place are corporate types that really don’t know the business. The other half of the place is real grizzled veterans of the business that don’t consider themselves fan. That is their life, you know what I mean? So you walk that line. I didn’t want to get found out for being this Internet smart mark. So that was part of it and the other part was having a good time hazing me, which they did. My first week there I was doing proofreading for creative services, which meant things like posters, t-shirts, and newspaper editorials. So they gave me, on my first Friday at the end of the week, they brought to me the printed out manuscript of a video game cheat guide.
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manuscript, and they were like they want Perry Saturn was a dick. I could say that. me to proofread this by Monday. I mean it Scott Steiner was no prize either. Most of was like this (raises hands to simulate the these guys were very approachable. size). You know what it is, the best ones, they understood that the stories that we were doMe: Wow! ing weren’t putting money in their pocket because they didn’t get paid for that. So BS: I didn’t know they were ribbing me. I sometimes they would bitch about that. went crazy that whole weekend. I proofread They got paid for modeling a video game that whole thing from cover to cover. Now or if they were working on a t-shirt, was when they saw that I did it, they didn’t even money in their pocket. The articles weren’t have the nerve to tell me that they were rib- money in their pocket, but the smart ones bing me. I didn’t find out ‘til years later it knew we are keeping you in the public eye. was a rib. This is publicity; we are keeping your name out there, so you better treat us good. So Me: Did you ever get them back? for the most part they treated us good. It also depends on the story you were doing BS: I got them back by becoming every- on the guy. body’s boss (laughs) Me: Like between the two magazines? Me: How interested were the other wrestlers in terms of the type of articles you would do about BS: So we had RAW Magazine and we called them? it the worked-shoot magazine, and WWE Magazine was the worked magazine. Now BS: It depends on the guy. I would have to if you were doing the story in RAW, you say that most of them were very courteous. were doing a story that was closer to “reThat was one thing that I was nervous about ality” you know. [RAW] Talking about real in the beginning, was that they were going to life and I mean it was still finessed. It was be jerks or nasty or something. Almost ev- never was a total shoot like a lot of people eryone was very professional. I would have thought. I mean, it wasn’t. I mean, we were to say that nicest guy, and this is no news still sort of massaging things and talking about if matches were real. I mean, we never got that far into it. Now if it was WWE Magazine that would be more of a challenge because some of these guys were not ready to talk about their character or liked to be in character. They could only do it if it was scripted for them. Me: Like I remember WWE Magazine had an issue where Kane speaks. BS: Was that one of mine? Me: I thought so. [Interviewer note: I later found out this was wrong and Brian Solomon did not in fact write that issue.]
either, was Mick Foley. He was the nicest I worked with. I would have to say the most “un-nice” guy was…let me think about that. BS: Well, here is a little backstory on that. page 17
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Now, traditionally, the WWE Magazine, from my understanding, before I got there, in the early days those worked articles the writers didn’t talk to those guys. The magazine was originally run by Linda McMahon. It was a total publicity tool. I believe those articles were just written completely in house, without consulting any of the talent. It was straight up fiction. Now by the time I got there, Barry Werner, who was a sports editor, he was running the magazine. So for better or for worse, he had more of the sports mentality. He was a journalist, and he felt weird about making these things up. He would send us out on the field or on the phone. Even if it (the article) was a total work. Now a lot of times this didn’t work because the guys didn’t know what to say. The worst one with that was Chris Benoit. That guy had no clue about what to say unless it was reality. Like Jericho was good about cutting a promo right on the spot about how he was going to beat up a guy, but Benoit was just one of those guys that would look at me and go, “Just write about me what you think I would say, and if you want me to look at it I will.” So most of those interviews were just me writing it.
Me: That was the four separate cover issues if I am not mistaken? BS: Yes. I remember debating on who we were going to put on the four different covers. That was kind of an interesting conversation too. We were trying to represent the whole entire history of Raw you know. One of the things we wanted to do for the 10th Anniversary was to interview Vince. It was his creation and all that stuff. So that was one of the highlights of my time there. No questions about it. Shane McMahon at that point was my boss’s boss. He was running the whole magazine. He was the boss. Me: Wasn’t he in charge of New Media? BS: He was in charge of New Media, which we called it at the time. Now it is called Digital Media. He was in charge of that and print. That was his roll at the time. He then expanded into license products and also international TV. That’s really how he made his name in that company more than anything was the international contract TV stuff before he left.
At that time though, he helped get me through the door. I mean this is his dad. He set up an interview between his dad and me. I had to go down to the New York Me: So did you ever have the chance to sit down sales office of WWE. I think it’s still there with Vince McMahon and conduct an interview? in Manhattan. I have been there a couple of times. It’s were they sell their advertising. BS: Yes. I did the first actual long form in- He [Vince] was down there having some terview with Vince McMahon that was ever sort of stock holders meeting. I mean, I had done in his own magazine. It was the 10th bumped into him, but had never met him Anniversary of Raw. So it was the Holiday believe it or not, and I had been working 2002 of Raw, I think. Which was the first there for about three years. Shane did the time we did a holiday issue, or it might have introduction and was like, “Go easy on him been a special. Bri.” He gave me one of those. @HitTheRopes
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We got into the limo and I sat in the limo, just Vince McMahon and me, and the driver, of course, for about three hours going from Manhattan to Stamford in a lot of traffic. That interview lasted just about the entire time. It was just crazy. We got through the whole thing and he just started telling me stuff about his family and his life. I felt so funny that he was revealing all this stuff about Shane, who was my boss. Me: Sounds fun yet intense.
McMahon, so that’s easy to say. The nicest I will say, and I am not just kissing up because I don’t work there anymore, was Shane. Now, he was insane (just like the rest of them) but he was the nicest of the bunch. Now, I am not saying he was the sweetest guy in the world, and he was not a fantastic guy to work for all the time. Yet, he was the nicest. To a fault he was. He would actually catch heat for being too nice.
Me: I could see that, I always liked Shane. So what BS: He was like telling me how difficult was a typical day at WWE Publications? Shane would be as a kid. [does Vince impersonation] “He would break his mother’s BS: It’s so hard to describe. We had this sayheart, Brian. We had to put him in board- ing. It was this, and we didn’t invent it: “To ing school. I think maybe we were too good those who understand, no explanation is to them. Linda and I, you know, we smoth- necessary. To those that don’t understand, ered our children in love, Brian. Smothered no explanation will do.” Every day was like them, smothered them in love.” no other job you could ever imagine having. Every person that works there now is Me: So was there a bias for each kid? like this fraternity of war veterans. We still get together and we still talk all the time. BS: People have their opinions. I really How many jobs do you know that years and don’t know. However, here is a funny story years later that you involving Shane and Linda. Well, Shane was still get togetha nutjob on TV and one of the reasons why er and go for Shane didn’t do any more than he did was drinks? It’s because his mother wouldn’t let him. The like being first time he jumped off the TitanTron she on a TV was backstage crying; I mean just crying. spinoff. I mean think about. I mean it’s pretty crazy. Here is your son jumping off this thing I t was crazy that is 50 feet up in the air onto a table. She but fun at the was just like, “You can’t do this anymore. I same, and am sorry, you can’t. Technically, I am your I don’t know boss. I am not letting you do this.” how else to explain it. Our deMe: That to me is just insane. So who would you partment had a say was the nicest out of the McMahons? BS: Of the family, she is the most “normal” but that’s because she is not really blood. She is not a page 19
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lot of fans in it. Not all of the departments had that. If you worked in the accounting department I am sure it was boring as hell. We had fans that really loved it, but were not just marks; they were hip to it and smart at the same time. They were really savvy about the business.
guys went everywhere. They were on the road every day of the week. Now I would go on the road maybe two or three times a year. They would send me to a TV run, payper-view, Raw, Smackdown. We weren’t on the road constantly. Most weeks we were at the office.
The environment was very creative and very relaxed. Honestly we goofed a lot but it was part of our creative process. You know what, one of my favorite shows on TV (and my favorite TV show) is Mad Men. Now I’m not saying that we had anywhere near the class of the characters on that show, because we didn’t. Whenever I watch that show and one of the reasons it appealed to me, that show and what you see there in its own way reminded me of what it was like to work there. It was just our home away from home. It was very organic, fun, and natural. It was the best job you could have fun at a job.
Me: Now did you guys attend WrestleMania every year?
BS: There was a time when the company was smaller. That every single person was expected to be there for WrestleMania, and if you didn’t go it was frowned upon. By the time I got there the company was so big that it really wasn’t happening anymore and it was kind of a privilege to get to go. Now believe it or not, in the seven years that I was there, and that was eight WrestleMania that had passed since I had been there, I only attended two. I didn’t even go to the Garden [WrestleMania XX]. I didn’t go because my secMe: I always got that vibe ond kid was on the way at when reading. I always enthe time and I didn’t want joyed it so thank you. to be that far away and I wasn’t allowed to be that BS: You’re welcome. We far away (laughs). I went had fun editing those arto the Astrodome ‘Mania, ticles and writing them. which for my money was the best WrestleMania of Me: Now did you guys go to all time. Now some people every TV, house, and pay-perthink I say that because I view show? was there. The vibe of being there was indescribable. I worked the Fan Axxess festiBS: We would have people represented at val at the magazine booth and you feel the local TV or house show. Any event that was anticipation. The other one I attended was happening based on where we were locat- WrestleMania 23. I was in a luxury box for ed, MSG, Nassau Coliseum, Meadowlands that. It was pretty wild. Arena, I am not sure what they call it now, Hartford Civic Center, Bridgeport Harbor Me: When the company became WWE in 2002 Yard Arena, all of those places there would what affect did you guys feel at the magazine porbe people from our department there. It was tion? Wasn’t the Brock Lesnar issue the first to easy to get whatever you needed because have the WWE logo on it? they were all in one place. I don’t know if we had guys at every PPV. The web did. Those BS: It was May 2002 that we switched over @HitTheRopes
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and first issue to have the WWE on it was not a regular issue but a special. That special was the Hulkamania special. That was the first issue that I was the managing editor for. I was just a writer up to that point. They made me a manager editor. In that company, and in that department, it was big. It meant that it was my baby and that I was running that magazine. I eventually wound becoming the editor for WWE and Smackdown magazine, but before that, Hulkamania was my first big project. I remember being kind of bummed out because it’s my first project and they changed the damn name of the company. After 25 or whatever it had been up to that point of them calling themselves WWF now they are changing it? I mean it’s like changing Coca-Cola. I remember being really disturbed and thinking it was really going to affect business. I guess in the end it didn’t affect business. Our biggest thing, as it relates to the magazine, was that we had to be paranoid. You know how on TV they have to block out the old logo? Me: Yes, I do.
everyone in the company gets together and he has a state of the company address and you get to ask him questions and everything. Now when I started they were still doing it in person. Years later it became a webinar where he was in remote location (laughs). I remember it was the last one he did live and he just kept going on about the [impersonates Vince McMahon] “the damn tree huggers.” I remember everyone was bummed out and shocked. Me: So did they just burn everything? BS: Yes, well they couldn’t sell them because they had no value. They were completely prohibited from making money off that logo in any way. Me: Were you disappointment when WWE did the whole Smackdown and Raw magazine approach? If so what challenges did you face? BS: That was something forced on us unfortunately. I mean, I tried to make lemonades out of lemons with that one because they were very serious about the brand extension at that time.
The problem was that we should have never BS: We had to do that in the magazine. If of called the magazine RAW. That was Vince we had an old picture or anything, we had Russo’s idea. We should have never called it to scour that thing. Even the new pictures that because it was confusing. Some idiot in because if somebody in the crowd that had some board room saw, “Oh we have a RAW the old WWE logo on their shirt we couldn’t magazine, why don’t we have a Smackdown have it. We had to scour every image. All magazine?” not knowing that the magazine thanks to the tree huggers (World Wildlife had nothing to do with the show. So in orFund) as Vince called them. der to sell the brand extension across the board there isn’t going to be a WWE magaMe: Did Vince really say tree huggers? zine anymore. How stupid is this? It’s your magazine; it’s the WWE Magazine! BS: Yes, he did. He has thing every year called “Chat with the Chairman.” It’s where Not to mention I had just taken it over. So page 21
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now no more WWE magazine, and we have a RAW magazine already and it’s going to become a magazine about the superstars of RAW. So it stops being a shoot magazine and just became a worked magazine about the superstars of RAW. So now WWE Magazine is going to turn into Smackdown magazine and it will all about the superstars of Smackdown. Never was there a more boring idea for magazines in the history of magazines. Now I did try to make the best of it. However, I was the one and only editor of Smackdown magazine. I did the best I could with what was given to me. Our sales did go down because of that. In the end, I am proud of it, I just wish they hadn’t done the split.
To be honest, that wasn’t me. I was homegrown talent. I was some kid from Brooklyn that started as the copy editor. I was not the rock star they were looking for. Shane was living in Manhattan at the time in Tribeca and one of his friends was a guy name Tony Romando. He had worked at Maxim and stuff I think. He launched a magazine called Sync which was like a men’s lifestyle and technology magazine. Nobody heard of it, we were doing better numbers. Smackdown magazine was doing better numbers. So when Tony’s magazine went under, they brought in Tony and most of his staff got brought in. They wanted to change everything. A totally new WWE Magazine, which is the one you now see, reinvented Me: What led to switch of the magazines becoming as a men’s style magazine that’s not really more Maxim in style? based on what you see on TV. Almost antonyms from what you see on TV in a way. BS: That was the summer 2006 issue. Okay Sort of a like its own product. (laughs) it just wasn’t my favorite time working for the company. What happened A lot of us old guard people were really on was that my boss, Barry Werner and Shane the outs when that went down. A couple of McMahon never saw eye to eye. They were quit, a couple people were reassigned, and always butting heads. They had different I was one of the only people to stay on. I philosophies about the purpose of what the stood on for about a year. magazine was. So eventually Shane fired him abruptly out of the blue. They had a Me: What led to your departure? fight and fired him. Next thing I know I don’t have a boss. BS: I was just burnt out. I didn’t like the direction the magazine was going and I So from 2005 to 2006 I am directly report- needed something new. To me it wasn’t the ing to Shane McMahon, and I am running same magazine that I was hired on for. It the day-to-day operations of WWE Publica- just wasn’t fun for me anymore. tions department. For all intents and purposes I am the editor in chief of both maga- Me: Well Brian I can’t thank you enough for givzines without the title and salary. We had a ing so much time and energy and allowing me to managing editor for Raw (who was a friend interview you. I along with Hit The Ropes greatly of mine) and I was the managing editor of appreciate it. Smackdown. Now because I was this senior leader of the team I became the defacto BS: Not a problem at all thanks so much for editor in chief. That lasted about a year. I letting me go back down memory lane. mean, I tried to get that publisher spot. I For More of Brian’s Work Visit wanted that top spot. Little did I know they were looking for a rock star. They were looking for a magazine rock star in that industry who was a big deal, and was going to shake things up. @HitTheRopes
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One Coin, Five Cents (The Nickel) Albert D. | @clarkestrongbow
cessful, yet unusual, pairing of Kane and Daniel Bryan dubbed by the WWE Universe as “Team Hell No” have been bringing the once golden belts (now bronze) back into the spotlight.
Heads: Self Explanatory. The bold and the beautiful, the good stuff.
Tag Team Division:
WWE’s resident graveyard division (besides the Divas) looks to actually be rising out of the ashes. Things aren’t picture perfect but it looks like we’ve finally got some groundwork and some pieces of a foundation to work with. The sucpage 23
A-Man-Swimming-With-Sharks: You can slice the pie anyway you want to. Either Vince opened the door or the Mental Psycho Machine ran through it, Ryback is here and the man is hungry. Subway Jared had the audacity to think one Subway sandwich was enough to soothe the beast. Ryback decided to take another one. FEED. HIM. MORE. Luckily, he’ll be having a feast come Survivor Series. Should be a good Thanksgiving.
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A Year & Change: When was the last time a man held not really bad either. Got it? Great. a world title in the WWE for a year? (Or any title for that matter for that long?). It still seems like that pipe bomb was yesterday and CM Punk no longer waited for the door to open, opting to blast his way through instead. The result? Numerous wins over John Cena and partnership with Paul Heyman just to name a few. The most important one of all is the prestige of the WWE title. The last time the year-long reign feat had transpired Cena did it for 380 days.
WWE In Your House: Unfortunately, this isn’t an ode. Vince McMahon has finally managed to get a WWE show on the air every day of the week except Sundays. RAW on Mondays, NXT on Tuesdays, Main Event on Wednesdays, Superstars on Thursdays, SmackDown! on Fridays, and Saturday Morning Slam on said day. Besides the big two the others feel like throwaways, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Main Event has had some good matches and is looking good out the gate...but so was Superstars at its inception. What do you think? Are all these shows good or just over-saturation?
With CM Punk participating in the traditional Survivors Series Elimination team match, his reign is poised to last more than a year and he may pos- Extinct?: Looks like Brodus Clay may be dug up as sibly carry it all the way to New Jersey next year.... a fossil soon. provided he gets past The Great One in January. [Ed. Note: The WWE has since changed it to have Punk be involved in a triple-threat match for the title at Survivor Series.]
Once Super, Now Mortal:
Words cannot express the brilliance that has been done with John Cena over these last few years. As much as I’d like to further elaborate, I’ll save that for a little later down the road (in a Manifesto; hint, hint). Those who’ve kept close watch over time know what I’m reaching for if the subtitle wasn’t obvious enough.
Knucklehead No More: WWE’s resident laughing-
stock has a new name: World Heavyweight Champion. That’s right, The Big Show is a world champion once again and this time the MITB wasn’t cashed in on him much to everyone’s dissatisfaction. Show won in convincing fashion without getting dirty either. A well-deserved win for him. Now the question is how long can he hold on to the gold?
Tails: Why? Why us? Why them?
Ghost of Abe: The
Prime Time Players looked like they were poised and ready for a tag team title run once upon a time. Darren “No Days Off” Young and Titus O’Neil were a good pairing. Both were NXT graduates who have good chemistry, mic ability, and dance/taunts. They also had a manager by the name of Abraham Washington known to many as Abe Wash or simply AW.
Ridge: The rigid edge of my five cents. Not really good, @HitTheRopes
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The absence of AW isn’t the sole reason why the two are waiting on the sidelines for a shot and or just floating in limbo. Although Abe’s departure did hurt the team, there was a matter of bad timing and the conjuration of the team of Daniel Bryan and Kane. It now seems like the Prime Time Players have now taken a backseat to Team Rhodes Scholars. Things aren’t looking good them in the foreseeable future unless either Rhodes Scholars or Team Hell No implode.
Divas: When is the division not in shambles? It’s
becoming more and more difficult to care about the divas as they fade more and more into irrelevance. I dearly hope to eat my words here on the bright side though.
The Show, Must Go On: Although there are weeks where the entire show is a good ride from start to finish.... Have mercy on us, I beg you WWE.
Flip Thoughts:
Final thoughts as I flip the coin one last time.
Milk Carton Folks: Michael McGuillicuty, Ted DiBase Jr., Jack Swagger. etc Wherever you are, whether it be hallway background segments or lumberjack duty, remember you’re all still apart of our universe! Jim Ross’ Beard: DON’T LET HIM CUT YOU! It’s a
good look, JR!
The Ref Who Screwed Ryback: That was one heck of a
low blow! It was shown at least five times the following RAW.
Quote of The Week: “Hey, it’s that homeless guy,
Mick Foley.” - CM Punk to Mick Foley
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Sweet
Saraya
Who is She?
FCW as Paige.
There aren’t many ladies out there in the world of professional wrestling who can legitimately instill fear in the hearts of her opponents, and those in attendance, as much as Saraya Knight. Don’t let the “Sweet” in her name fool you, she can be as evil as he’s in a match.
She’s wrestled extensively in the United Kingdom since becoming a pro but has also crossed the waters to cause mayhem in SHIMMER. This October, Saraya was able to hold on to her SHIMMER Championship as she had three matches over two days for the gold. This includes a battle with bitter rival Cheerleader Melissa. The only loss for Saraya that final weekend was in a 10-woman elimination tag match. She also bested MsChif the night before the SHIMMER tapings and held off Jazz at SHINE 4. That tag match was the only loss she had the entire month.
In 1990 she met Ricky Knight and they soon became an item. Knight, a wrestler, would eventually get Saraya to become a part of the show. The rest, as they say, is history. The Knights would go on to have two kids who are also involved in the world of professional wrestling. Her daughter, Britani, is in page 27
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RECIPE OF THE MONTH
Ingredients: 1 cup orange juice 1 banana ½ cup fresh strawberries ½ cup diced pineapples 6 oz of vanilla (or fruit) yogurt 1 tbsp brown sugar
DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
Chef Ray
Aura Catering Services ‘Exquisite foods for exquisite tastes!’ 786 514 9315 www.auracateringservice.com www.facebook.com/AuraCateringService www.twitter.com/AuraCateringMIA www.yelp.com/biz/aura-catering-services-miami
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SONGS OF THE MONTH As we take a look at the relationship between wrestling and music, tis month we take a look at the songs that have had the biggest fall from grace..and wrestlers that have fared about the same. Just as last month, the songs are listed from the Billboard Top 100. Numbers reflect the songs last week and current week ranking.
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Skyfall
Beth Phoenix
Adele GlamaGamer | Adele 45 Skyfall The image of Adele and James Bond isn’t the obvious pairing at first, but close your eyes and it’s the perfect sound. So fitting for strength that is the Glamazon, Skyfall is the perfect soundtrack for the highlight reel for Beth Phoenix’s career. Pheonix slowly fades out of the memory of the WWE Universe...much like the Divas divsion has done some time ago.
Hello
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Miss tessmacher vs Tara
Karmin
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Impact Wrestling | Karmin
TNA went old school with the teacher vs. student storyline as Tara turned her back on her loyal follower. But as close as the two have been, Brooke looks to let Tara know there is punishment for turning her back on her and devoting all her attention for Mr. Pec-Tacular. For Brooke it says it all in the song, You gon’ know me like you ain’t never know me before.
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Pound The Alarm
AJ lee
Nicki Minaj igarkiman7 | Nicki Minaj 51 Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded Pound the Alarm, a crazy chick is on the loose. AJ Lee has gone from the top as RAW GM to being fed to Beth Phoenix. AJ was dangerous to her fellow wrestlers when she’s at the top, what will happen now that she’s been knocked down?
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3MB Live While We’re Young One Direction WWEAustralia5 | One Direction 31 Take Me Home For older fans, both groups could drop off the face of the Earth tomorrow and the world would be a better place. But unfortunately for older fans both bands have their place. I’m not convinced that One Direction is necessarily 3MB’s sound, but looking at the randomness that are the wrestlers thrown in the group, I’m not sure they even know.
Babel
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survivor series
Mumford & Sons WWEFanNation | Mumford & Sons 83 Babel Survivor Series would have been absolutely amazing had we been coming into it with Ryback as champ. Stock dropped just a bit but since Ryback remained strong in defeat it wasn’t a massive drop. With Babel as the anthem, Survivor Series will look for redemption and it may do so with a surprise big return from Brock Lesnar or The Rock. @HitTheRopes
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hen any publication releases a list of ranked individuals/teams/items/ what-have-you, it will never please 100 percent of the people. If it elicits a reaction and gets people agreeing or arguing then the job was done. For this month’s issue we wanted to focus on the women of the wrestling world. Five opinionated men and myself made respective rankings of the ladies based on their year in the squared circle. Wins/losses, titles won and reigns, and in-ring ability, including showmanship and mic skills, were all taken into consideration. Just know that going through the process myself, doing something like this, when there are so many talented women out there, is not an easy feat.
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Daris Brown | @HTRMRWikipedia
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“When will we see women in the judo champ turned MMA marketing UFC?” asks a reporter to Dana gold, Ronda Rousey…the Arm Bar White. Savior of Women’s MMA. White responds defiantly, “Never!”
And to make sure the hum of the camera doesn’t muffle his response, White boldly responds with an echoing, “Never!”
Rousey isn’t the first dominant female fighter in MMA. Before a performance enhancement bust, (surprise, surprise) put Chris Cyborg on the shelf she was the most feared fighter in the sport. Rousey isn’t even the first attractive lady to slide on the leather…gloves. For the first boom in women’s MMA it was Gina Carano.
Now before you say things change, this dialogue was exchanged just over a year ago. So what has caused the UFC President, Dana White, to flip his perspective so quickly? It’s all attributed to the sudden rise of the
But what sets her apart is the fact that she is the first female fighter to combine both features. Her overwhelming beauty paired with her unmatched talent has transformed her into a superstar in just a year’s time.
“Never?,” the puzzled reporter questions.
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After only two professional fights, Rousey made her jump to the secondlargest MMA promotion. Up and to that point, nobody had been able to escape the one-minute mark with the Olympic bronze medal winner. After her debut, nothing changed there. Rousey hit a ridiculous flying arm bar in just 25 seconds for the win. From that, the world was put on notice. With one more warm-up fight under her belt, another win under a minute’s time, she was fighting for the Strikeforce championship. And despite ALL of her victories, both pro and amature, coming by way of arm bar, Rousey was able to masterfully summit the champion to capture her first MMA title. Upon defeating Miesha Tate, Rousey would have her first title defense against Sara Kaufman. This bout decorated Rousey as the first female fighter to headline two Strikeforce cards. It also returned “Rowdy” Ronda Rousey back to her sub-one minute winning ways. More
importantly, it hooked Dana White. While Dana has never been opposed to women’s MMA, he’s simply stated the fact that there are not enough great female fighters. But what changed? Did he gain exclusive access to Mitt Romeny’s binder full of women, all of who just happened to be excellent mixed martial artist? Probably not. So what really changed are the dollar signs. Ronda has the sex appeal to cross over to mainstream, as evident by Dana White escorting her around on the red carpet. And unlike Carano, she’s a lifelong fighter and is not looking to drop the gloves for Hollywood. She’s here to stay. So despite there still not being a deep pool of female fighters, White sees a fighter he can make a superstar. And he can use her grace and ability to help grow the sport along the way. With this firestorm that has been her ESPN the Magazine Body Issue,
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late night talk show appearances, and countless other red carpet appearances, White will look to exceed where boxing failed. While boxing had Laila Ali, Ali did not have Chris Cyborg. A worthy opponent to help carry the sport. There can’t be light without darkness. Good without evil. Or a great champion without a worthy opponent. And after the bout, assuming they can agree on the fighting weight, we will see a fire of additional ladies hitting up the gym to become the next Ronda Rousey. Why? Because Rousey is the total package. Where there might not be a full locker
@HitTheRopes
room of amazing female fighters yet, Rousey will be the franchise player White can use to build his expansion team around. There isn’t the market, but he will create one with the help of his mega marketing machine. For a while it looked like women’s MMA would crash and burn with the impending doom that will seemingly be Strikeforce come 2013. But as Dana White told Sports Illustrated, he is “committed to the idea” and now when it comes to women’s MMA in the UFC, “It’s absolutely going to happen.”
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For the better or worse, super fights that are anything but super and just fun fights that are more like one-sided slobber-knockers are the new flavor of the season for Dana White and the UFC. While it may seem like a good idea at first, if it continues to trend, it could trouble the world’s “fastest growing sport.” At one point one of the biggest rumblings about the UFC’s was inconsistent judging, something the UFC has no control of, but now fans are calling into radio stations across the country to complain about the random matchups that are becoming more and more frequent. To which Dana White’s response has been, “if you don’t like the matchups, don’t watch.” But who can avoid them? When you drive down the highway and see a car crash, you look at the destruction. The same with a bout like Anderson Silva vs. Stephan Bonnar. You don’t want it to happen, but since you couldn’t stop it, you can’t help but rubber neck at the damage. And despite injuries and other mishaps, we can overcome these spectacles with a clear cut ranking system. Right now the UFC is flirting with the fine line of sport and entertainment. For some people, since you’re reading a wrestling and MMA magazine you are one of them, this is fine. For hardcore MMA fans, this is unacceptable. They can’t wrap their minds around the idea that some fighters can talk their way into a title shot while other fighters are yet to get their deserving bout for the gold because they lack the unstated amount of Twitter followers. You can’t blame them for being upset with the process, yet, at the end of the day, the big machine that is the UFC is a business. While @HitTheRopes
Dana White may say he’s in the fight business, he’s more specifically in the business of making money. So hardcore fans are forced to begrudgingly sit through the money bouts, but they shouldn’t have to. If you take a look at every other sport, there is a clear cut structure to the championship. From team sports like football to individual sports like tennis, there are rankings and tournaments to prevent any kind of clout. Well, that is with the exception of college football, who has a ranking system but a suspect route to the championship. And we’ve seen how great that’s done for the sport. After years of scrutiny even college football has looked to improve how they pick those worthy of a championship. And with all that being said, I know the above m e n tioned sports are not combat sports, but the rule still applies. BJJ and wrestling both run off of tournament formats. The only two that have failed to adopt a clear cut system is boxing and wrestling, and one thing that Dana White has prided himself and the UFC on is that they make fights happen where boxing doesn’t. But is he still doing this? Boxing’s fault is that they are run by a bunch of individual promoters with no single organization governing to make the big fights happen. It’s why we will never get Pacquaio vs. Mayweather. Just as a fighter can go 93-0 before fighting someone whose name has any substance. For boxing it’s all about the money fights, where a few do great and everyone else struggles. It’s everything White says the UFC
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is not. For now. But if the UFC doesn’t implement a clear ranking system then this is what they will become. So where Dan Henderson was deemed the No. 1 contender for beating out Shogun Rua, in a bout that was named many as the best MMA bout
his previously scheduled bout with Jon Jones, and despite being healthy he will have to sit as Chael Sonnen gets the matchup. Sonnen is 5 – 3, none of which were fought at 205, and is coming off a decisive loss. Hendo is 7 – 1, his only loss was at Middleweight, and was the Strikeforce 205 champ. What did he do to get knocked out of the No. 1 spot? It makes no sense…unless you think Sonnen can talk up more dollars and cents. If the UFC had a ranking system, Hendo would get his shot. Rampage Jackson would stop threatening to leave the UFC because Joe Silva (UFC matchmaker) keeps pairing him with ‘rasslers. We probably wouldn’t see interim belts collecting dust instead of being defended. Now would this cure all the negativity? No. If Jon Fitch wrestles his way to title gold, instead of being held back for lack of finishes, we will surely have a lot folks crying. But at least it’s fair. You can still have big money bouts if there was a Top 10 ranking. If a guy with a million followers on Twitters is ranked No. 10, and he defeats the No. 3 guy, shift the rankings and move on. It doesn’t prevent the fun fights from happening…well, unless one of the two men is so far out of the rankings they are one foot in the World Fighting League. If Dana White wants to continue to display his promotion as a premier sport, he has to make sure the matchups are as legit as a standing front kick to the face. The fun fights might be fun for the moment. But the novelty of a predictable win will soon die down right along with the Twitter followers. And although they are on FOX, the UFC isn’t the NFL. They are not untouchable.
ever, he is now floatBad matchups could ULTIMATELY be bad ing at the merbusiness for the UFC. cy of White and company. An injury forced him out of page 63
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Ben Henderson UFC Debut def. Mark Bocek 4/2011
def. Jim Miller via via Submission 8/2011
UFC Debut def. Manvel Gamburyan 6/2007
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def. Clay Guida via UD 11/2011
def. Kurt Pellegrino via Submission 42008
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def. Takanori Gomi via Submission 9/2011
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After two close fights, Ben Henderson looks to get a definitive victory so he’s not overshadowed by the likes of Silva and GSP. This will be no easy task as Nate Diaz is as tough as they come and looks to finally bring home gold for the 209.
def. Frankie Edgar for UFC Title 2/2012
def. Frankie Edgar to retain UFC Title 8/2012
def. Donald Cerrone via UD 12/2011 def. Jim Miller via Submission 5/2012
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Reti
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The irement
Matt OF Hughes
Tale of the Tape: Years Active: Fight Team: Championships:
With a record 18 UFC victories on his resume, Welterweight legend Matt Hughes calls it a career. While still seemingly struggling with the thought of retirement, the H.I.T. Squad founder is not hanging up the gloves without a legacy that 170-lb. fighters will be striving to achieve. He slammed his way into superstardom with his highlight reel KO of Carlos Newton, and from there he never looked back. His back and forth @HitTheRopes
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1996 - 2011 H.I.T. Squad UFC Welterweight Champion (2) UFC Hall of Fame (2010) battles with BJ Penn and GSP solidified the Welterweights as one of the promotion’s top draws. With wins over every former Welterweight champion, minus his mentor Pat Miletich, Hughes is widely regarded as the greatest Welterweight of all time. And although he will not be trading leather in the eight-sided sanctuary, Hughes will live on through his the dominance that was his Hall of Fame career. page 70
Down for the Count? Nikolai Gionti | @nikolai_gionti
From 2009 to 2011 Strikeforce was the second biggest promotion in mixed martial arts. The promotion featured many big name fighters like Fedor Emilianenko, Jake Shields, Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem, and Strikeforce was even able to pull in former UFC contender Dan Henderson. Immediately, as Strikeforce started thriving, the UFC’s parent company, Zuffa, purchased their biggest challenger in MMA and it was assumed Strikeforce would dissolve into the UFC along with all their fighters. It started when the UFC brought over Shields to challenge Georges St. Pierre for the UFC welterweight title, followed by Diaz, and bringing over the rest of the fighters was just a technicality.
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Strikeforce was still hanging on hope that it could be an independently working promotion when it announced a heavyweight grand prix to decide a champion. It included Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, Andrei Arlovski, and even Fedor. The tournament looked as if it was going to be a huge success for the company and everyone was looking forward to a semifinal fight between Fedor and Overeem, but Antonio Silva dominated Fedor and Overeem won a decision in a lackluster fight against Werdum. Overeem was subsequently released from his Strikeforce contract and signed with the UFC setting up a fight with Brock Lesnar. The Grand Prix took a turn for the worse when an alternate, Daniel Cormier, won the title. Since the Grand Prix, Strikeforce has canceled two events, but it is still clinging on to hope that it can give fans interesting fights and to fulfill the contract with Showtime. So who’s to blame for the Strikeforce demise? There are many culprits in the train wreck that has been Strikeforce as @HitTheRopes
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of late. Zuffa can take much of the blame The biggest draw in the promotion is Ronda based on how the organization has floun- Rousey, who may also be the biggest draw dered since it was put under Zuffa control. in MMA. Most of us assumed that Zuffa would dissolve Strikeforce and bring the deserving fighters over to the UFC. It did that with big name fighters like Diaz, Overeem and Shields, but it has not brought over other big name draws like Gilbert Melendez and Cormier.
She is the only fighter that is holding Strikeforce together at this point, but she doesn’t have a fight scheduled and, with Cyborg Santos suspended for the year, there are not any big name fights for her to be scheduled.
Zuffa never should have re-signed the contract with Showtime after bringing the main draws of Strikeforce over to the UFC. That contract has forced Strikeforce to put fights on that don’t make any sense just to fill cards (Rockhold-Jardine, Melendez-Healy).
Dana White has stated that he wants Rousey to be the first female mixed martial artist in the UFC, but there is not enough depth in female MMA at this point to bring her over and give her quality fights.
I’m willing to bet that based on how White feels about her that he does not want to Strikeforce hasn’t even had enough qual- bring her to the UFC for one fight and then ity fighters to handle injuries either. After be forced to let her wait for another fight or Frank Mir was injured, Strikeforce was lend her to another promotion. forced to cancel the Nov. 3 card and it has also canceled the previous card that fea- This again leaves Strikeforce’s future up in the air. Does Zuffa risk losing the biggest tured Melendez and Healy.
I don’t know what’s going on. It’s still pretty blank. ...I know that soon I’ll be fighting in the UFC, and I know that I’ll have security there. I just need to get this last fight done. It’s just lingering over me now. - Daniel Cormier on the status of Strikefoce
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It’s absolutely going to happen. The point is I’m committed to this. -Dana White on Bringing women’s MMA to UFC
draw in possibly all of mixed martial arts by liquidating Strikeforce after the promised “huge event” in 2013 or does it re-sign another one-year deal with Showtime and risk more canceled cards? The decision needs to be made soon. Fighters are losing valuable parts of their career due to this dilemma. Derek Brunson was supposedly released from his Strikeforce contract and scheduled to compete on The Ultimate Fighter but, as he was preparing to weigh in, he was told that he was unable to compete on the show.
needs to be. Strikeforce needs to give fans the biggest fight card in the history of the promotion. It needs to feature Rousey, Cormier, Rockhold and the rest of the stars. If Strikeforce gives fans a stacked card and then announces that the organization is folding into the UFC it will be a success. The fighters and fans will be given what they wanted and we will no longer have to deal with the mess that is Strikeforce.
That issue just ruined a fighter’s biggest career opportunity and don’t think this will be a one time issue. We are going to see more fighters having issues getting fights inside and outside Strikeforce if the promotion is kept together any longer than it @HitTheRopes
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Daris Brown | HTRMrWikipedia hat is the purpose of holding a championship if you never plan on defending it? The latest trend of interim titles is proving to be nothing more than a single fight hype tool. Many fighters have come out and said you are not a true champ if you were never able to successfully defend your belt. You know the saying, it’s hard to win a belt but even more difficult to keep it. But what about these new age fighters who are winning the interim titles yet never even consider defending the belt? Instead deciding to wait months on end for the true champ to return from injury, all the while the division is put on pause while their interim titles collect dust. If they are going to opt to not defend the belt, why give them one in page 75
the first place? Carlos Condit, and now Renan Barao, should be ashamed to hold their UFC gold. They are not the first interim champions, but they may be among the first to abuse it. With Condit fighting the true champ this month, he will never be forced to face his duties as (interim) champion. Barao is looking to wait until Dominick Cruz returns, which may be a full year after Barao won the interim title. A year? Really? I know the Bantamweight Division is not that deep, but are you really going to put your ego ahead of the entire division?
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Some may say the fighters have to look out for numero uno, which may be sitting out until they get the champ, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Fighters make money by stepping into the cage. Fighters increase their popularity and their legacy by going to war inside the octagon. What do they stand to gain by sitting on the sidelines? If they aren’t good enough to defend their belt while waiting for a unification bout, then they are not deserving of the gold in the first place. In the time that Barao is waiting for Cruz to get healthy, he could have taken another fight. If he manned up like Jon Jones, maybe he could even fit in two or three. Instead, he chooses to sit. Condit should have looked to GSP, not to his future bout, but to see how GSP manned up and defended the gold while he was interim champion. Or Andrei Arlovski before him. Both men transitioned their interim titles to undisputed championships. As interim champions we aren’t asking for much. Just defend the gold to keep up the value. The title fights were so long ago that the divisions are practically forgotten. Just think of the build the unification bout would get if the interim champion was actually coming off a successful title defense. He would have the win that would solidify him as a true champ, which would go towards selling the story of champ vs champ. Instead we just get a glorified No. 1 contender and a true champ waiting in the wings to take his rightful place on top of his respective division.
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