Rajah.com Mailbag - Edition #65 by Aree Jones
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Here is the next edition of the mailbag (finally). As always, you can send in your questions to mailbag@rajah.com and make sure you browse our archives by clicking HERE. From Bill Lambert
Welcome back Aree. Barely two months goes by and this guy has a ‘tude. The truth is - and this is the Rajah.com dirty family secret so lean in close while I tell you - we’re all procrastinators. All of us – Rajah, MTR, myself. We like to take our time, talk about something forever and then finally do something. But here I am, and there were plenty of questions in the mailbag to be answered, thank you very much. So let me begin this edition of the new and revamped mailbag by saying screw you and horse you road in on, Bill Lambert.
From: SuperBeast Swift
Orton went on to load his stuff into the Cadillac, but seemed to be having a slight argument with Punk about trunk space. Orton then turned to us again, and asked if one of us had a Pickup we'd like to trade for a Caddy. Jokingly, we responded yes. Once Punk, Mercury, and Domino had loaded up into the car, Orton was about to, when he turned to us again. This time he asked us to do an "RKO" chant along with him. We started to chant, until Mercury who was driving, slammed on the horn, drowning out all of us. Orton turned to the car, hollered something at Mercury, and the horn stopped. He then turned back to us, and asked us to do a new chant. "Mercury Sucks Cock" we chanted with Orton again, and Mercury jumped out of the Car, gave us all the finger, then jumped back into the car. Orton laughed, thanked us for attending again, then entered the car, and the four drove off. Just thought it was a funny occurrence to share. Again, thanks for hosting a great site, and keep up the great work.
Cool story. Thanks.
From: Paul
The WWE is notorious for trying to bully people into either giving them things or paying them more than they’re worth. Ask Rajah to tell the story of the then WWF trying to sue him for his website around 2000-ish. Stands to reason they’d go after a few dollars due to a WWE Shopzone mistake. Some people would have paid the higher price, but Paul is correct – if they’ve advertised it and you have proof, they can’t charge you a higher amount. Good for you Paul.
From: Jamie Hough
No one is ever “gone for good” from the WWE. I maintain that if Sable can come back to the WWE after the shit she pulled in the late 90’s, anyone can come back. A few sources seem to indicate that Dupree breached the WWE “Wellness” policy a couple of times and was suspended and busted down to OVW. I don’t know – it seems every time the WWE juggle their roster or release someone everyone immediately says it was because they failed a drug test and therefore violated the WWE “Wellness” policy. Now in some cases this may be true, and I could rant about the WWE Wellness policy for a while, but it’s sort of like every time someone leaves your workplace people shout “They were let go because they were smoking crack!” I mean really…it can’t be crack every time and it can’t be violation of the Wellness policy for people who are shuffled in the WWE. Rene Dupree is about 23 years old and according to some people he’s been under contract since he was 18 or so – maybe he’s immature, maybe the WWE just don’t have a place for him on the roster at the moment, maybe he pissed someone off. There’s plenty of time for him to develop as an athlete and grow up a little.
From: Crimsonxero
I only vaguely recall Lauren Jones, mostly because I don’t pay much attention to divas in general. She was on Smackdown as a wrestler/diva around 2005-ish but wasn’t around for very long (perhaps she violated the Wellness policy? Ha ha) and apparently left to pursue her acting ambitions.
According to Rebecca, she said she asked for her release from WWE and they gave it to her. Her official website said the WWE said she could come back anytime. I have no idea what the “real” story is, but as she is now appearing in Deep South Wrestling, I sincerely doubt she asked for her release. The problem with being a WWE Diva is that you have no stroke (with a few notable exceptions who have a little stroke, but no where near the amount a successful male wrestler has) and can be replaced instantly. Women in the WWE are largely there to look good in their underwear and there are hundreds of girls who will look good and ask for very little money for just such an opportunity. So, yeah, maybe she and Batista did break up and as the less powerful of the two by far, she was asked to leave. On a side note…who’d want to date Batista? Kinda scary.
From: DB
Elated? Wow. However, you can’t “stump” us here at the Mailbag. We’ve been doing this for far too long and we’re far, far, far too good at it. I’ve often wondered about the weird language Undertaker speaks, but not enough to try and work out what it is. Now that you’ve forced me to do so, the short answer is that the general consensus seems to be that it isn’t Latin – he’s supposed to be speaking in tongues as God or whoever is speaking through him. How freaky is that? Kinda cool, though.
Okay, well, you may have got me on the Christian theme song. I can’t seem to find any reference to another language in his theme song by Waterproof Blonde. Anyone have any clues? Write in and let us know. Apparently we’re, er, stumped…if indeed there is any other language in his most recent WWE theme song. If there isn’t, we’re not stumped and we never were!
From: Aaron D
Forget about ringside tickets. Unless you know someone or you’re some kind of celebrity, ringside seats are pretty much an impossibility, even if you have the cash. The next closest sell for about $750.00, plus ticket fee. I went to the Royal Rumble this year and I think the close to ring tickets were about the same amount. The ticket prices go down from there – usually all the way down to about $30 for nosebleed. At the Royal Rumble I wasn’t on the floor, but on the first tier and had a pretty nice view (when the asshole in front of me wasn’t holding up his sign). My ticket cost around $100. Have fun!
From: Corey
If we were at a bar together Corey, you telling me you attended the first Wrestlemania would mean I would definitely give you extra points and may even allow you to buy me a Margarita. Such information might not have the same effect on all women, but it would work on me. Just so you know. Re: the program, I have no idea how much something like that would be worth. With any collectors item the situation is that it will be worth whatever a collector is willing to pay for it. You could try listing it on Ebay, but that may not reflect its true worth. Anyone with any information to help Corey out, drop us a line.
From: Andy Dunn
You had it right the first time – it was just a storyline. Fairly creepy looking mask though, wasn’t it? I remember Vince McMahon commentating and saying it was made of bone…and I believed him!
From: Avid Reader Julie
Hi Julie – thanks for the warm greeting, but best save the love for MTR and myself as we’re the ones doing all the work. I read some of the old mailbags too and I was like “Hey! I’m funny!” I laughed the hardest at our vehement denials that DX would ever come back. Little did we know. I never would have predicted old Vinnie Mac buying up all three promotions either. WCW seemed untouchable back in the day. What do I think about the WWE now? Well, while I enjoyed attending the Royal Rumble this year, it would have meant so much more to me a few years back. I guess I was more “into” wrestling back then, more involved. I had more time for it, I guess. I still maintain that my favourite period in wrestling was from about 1993 – 1998. I watched the 1996 Royal Rumble last week and would have killed to have been at that one – Bret Hart, Undertaker, Razor Ramon, Shawn Michaels winning the rumble, Ahmed Johnson. Wait, not Ahmed Johnson. I’m not as passionate as I used to be but to be honest, I’m not sure if that’s me or the WWE. A bit of both, probably.
From: Tami
Isn’t this delightfully mark-ish? I like Vince being a jackass because he plays such a great bad guy. His facial expressions are very entertaining. A lot of people love John Cena, but he doesn’t do much for me. Good athlete, too much hype and the white rapper thing is just irritating.
From: Becky
In some cases yes. Depending on the wrestler, they will either physically rehearse the “high points” of a match (the tricky stuff) and sort of make up the rest as they go along or they will simply discuss the tricky stuff and know what they’re going to do. It sort of depends on who they’re competing against. I can’t imagine that Shawn Michaels vs Triple H would involve much rehearsal as they both know each other well and have worked together a lot. Two wrestlers more unfamiliar with one another might rehearse quite a bit. According to Eric Bischoff, Vince asks his talent to rehearse big moves and anything with the potential to go wrong. Safety first! I can’t seem to find an exact answer on this – a WWE wrestling ring is reported to be as small as 12 ft x 12 ft and as large as 18ft x 18ft. Maybe somewhere in the middle. Over the years I’ve heard a lot about wrestlers complaining that the WWE ring is hard and the ropes don’t have a lot of give in them. I also seem to recall reading that the WWE ring is bigger than most wrestling schools use, which would sort of throw off your try out, wouldn’t it? It’s like driving a truck when you’re used to a compact. Did you know you can buy your own wrestling ring for around $4500?
The Undertaker vs Damian Demento – this match is actually on the 10th Anniversary of Raw DVD as an extra. Shawn Michaels also wrestled on the first episode of Raw and was IC champ at the time (with the WHITE belt, the only true IC belt). It’s pretty cool that ‘Taker wrestled the main even on the first Raw and is still performing on Raw today.
From: Scott S
No, “mailbag” is an incredibly wonderful and witty opportunity to me to show off my ability to make snappy retorts and be a smart ass. If you would like to receive your own special edition of the mailbag, direct to your inbox and sealed with a kiss, please send $50.00 to HYPERLINK "mailto:areemichelle@yahoo.com.au" areemichelle@yahoo.com.au and remember, the best things in life are NOT free.
From: QuiXanD
Warrior: very very unlikely as he’s a bit of an asshole. This doesn’t usually stop Vince from re-hiring former talent, but seriously, the Warrior is just plain weird. I saw a preview for the Ultimate Warrior DVD the other night and Vince was saying “I couldn’t wait to fire him” and Triple H was all “He’s the most unprofessional guy I’ve ever worked with” (probably referring to the way Warrior insisted on squashing the brand spanking new Hunter Hearst Helmsley at Wrestlemania 12) so pretty much never gonna happen. Macho Man: Maybe. Vince has a soft spot for his older talent, but it would likely be a one off or a short stint. It would be pretty cool to see the Nacho Man and the Huckster face off one last time though. Ricky Steamboat: This could very likely happen as he has been employed by the WWE on and off for years. Again, it would probably be a one off with Flair, or Hogan or even Savage should he return. I’d watch such a match for sure. Note: I wrote this before Wrestlemania, so go me and my spot on predictions!.
As for Bret Hart, no, I don’t think he will ever return to the WWE. He could never wrestle again, given his health problems, and he seems to be one of the few wrestlers who can leave the ring and never look back. He’s happily remarried and probably living very well with the money he made when he was the most recognized wrestler is the industry. A lot of crap has been said about Bret Hart, but I think he’s still the best technical performer we’ll ever see.
From: Caliman
From: Chad Malone
If you’d asked this question in the mid 1990’s the answer would have been “When Vince feels like it” or “When there is money to pay them”. I don’t know actually. I assume they get paid either monthly or two-weekly like the rest of us, with the amounts varying from week to week. The WWE don’t offer large “downside guarantees”, (WCW did and it really killed the need for wrestlers to do a good job, particularly those wrestlers at the top of the food chain) so the more merchandise you shift, the more money you get.
From: Tariq
You know, I may be going mental, but I seem to recall voting in Rajahwwf.com polls at one stage. Polls are a bit of a waste of time really, and many websites have them so Rajah either doesn’t want to be like everyone else (possible) or simply can’t be bothered (more likely). Most people seem to express themselves in the Rajah forums – enter at your own risk though. And yes, Triple H’s injury is very legitimate. I daresay the time spent with his wife and daughter would be a nice compensation though.
From: Scott McMainn
Thanks. I think some wrestlers could definitely fight “for real” and even win some fights based on size and strength alone. Skill is something else though – wrestling is generally about making something look good that doesn’t actually hurt a lot. The aim of wrestling is not to hurt your opponent; it is to make it look like you’re hurting them while making it look like they’re hurting you. That’s a different skill set to beating the shit out of someone. Some wrestlers are legitimate fighters – Ken Shamrock springs to mind as he spent quite a bit of time in the UFC. And Eric Bischoff was a martial arts guy with groupies and everything (this comment will only make sense to those who have read Eric’s book ‘Controversy Creates Cash).
From: Loyd Vaughan
From: Kfrain
From: Zach
From: Shawn George
One. Question. At. A. Time.
From: Riley Keenan
I bet he wanted to invite her back to his hotel room so she could see his etchings…
From: Marti
This goddamn question has been haunting me for what feels like forever. Firstly, you can buy old wrestling tapes on Ebay. There are less available than what there used to be, and I have to admit that tapes from the 70’s would be difficult to source. Some of the 80’s tapes are still around...I have a couple which prove Hogan once had hair! I think I bought them on Ebay a few years ago. You could always try WWE.com’s “24/7” but I don’t honestly know if you can call up matches from the 70’s and 80’s, and I suspect not.
From: Eric Ferguson
That does suck. You can thank the ticket scalpers who camp out to be first in line and buy 500 tickets and then sell them off on Ebay for over inflated prices. I have to admit that the whole lottery thing in line seems a little extreme, but I believe they do a lot of things differently in Canada. Maybe this is one of them. I would go for online purchasing instead. I don’t like your chances of getting backstage, even if it is your birthday (this may be surprising for you, but we all have birthdays and after you turn 10 they rarely result in any kind of special treatment). You could always arrive super early to the arena and find the back door and hang out and wait to watch the wrestlers go in. Oh, and write a nasty letter to Ticketmaster. That’ll show ‘em! Okay, I’m being mean about this, but I do feel your pain. It is unfair for you, but think about how that guy who got there ten minutes before the tickets went on sale feels – he must think he’s the luckiest guy ever! Oops…not helping.
From: William Casey, Esq
Is that THE Bill Casey gone all fancy with the William thing? Firstly, Vince was indeed a new promoter just starting out, but he was also the son of Vince McMahon Snr (well, he would be, wouldn’t he?) so he had Daddy’s reputation to cash in on. If he’d been any other Tom, Paul or Eric, I doubt he would have been able to pull it off. But he was able to use a lot of Vince Snr’s connections, which would have been a huge help. Networking is everything, you know. Secondly, I read an interview with Vince McMahon about 8 years ago and I remember the interviewer asking Vince this very question and Vince replying that he raised all that money and convinced everyone he was capable of creating one huge promotion through the use of “smoke and mirrors”. So in short, he lied and built an entire promotion on promises. Chances are, back in the day, wrestlers weren’t being paid huge amounts of money. So Vince says to one guy who is big in his regional promotion, but feeling pissy that he’ll never have the opportunity to get over anywhere other than Kentucky and Petaluma, that he should forget about showing up at his regional promotion (where he would have been paid $20) and come work for Vince. Vince will give him $50 (to be paid only if the gate is good enough to cover wages) and he’ll have a shot at being the biggest guy in the Midwest or wherever. In short, Vince McMahon Jnr must have been one hell of a salesman. Fortunately for Vince he could walk the walk as well as talk the talk. Everyone else who has tried to start anything more than a Hicksville wrestling promotion since then has crashed and burned (are you listening, TNA?). Vince has balls, you have to admit it.
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