Here are some rarely-known facts about WWF, WCW, & ECW Wrestlers:
Other Facts:
Kurt Angle's wife, Karen, is a former-STRIPPER!! NO LIE!!
"The Heartbreak Kid," Shawn Michael's is married to former-WCW Nitro Girl Whisper (Rebecca Curci) in real-life.
Another HBK fact: Long before he was "The Heartbreak Kid," Shawn Michaels, the youngest of four kids, was a "military brat!" His father, a full colonel who flew missions in Vietnam, moved the family all over the world before finally settling in HBK's current home of San Antonio, TX.
When they're not busy risking their LIVES in the ring, the Hardy Boyz (Matt and Jeff) are making their ring attire! Not only do the Hardyz sew their own costumes, they also create outfits for other WWF wrestlers. The brothers from Cameron, N.C. learned to sew out of necessity, following the death of their mother (R.I.P.) when they were teenagers.
Believe it or not, Owen Hart (R.I.P.) is NOT the only WWF wrestler to don the cape and cowl of the Blue Blazer! D'lo Brown, Jeff Jarrett, and Steve Blackman have also!
Rob Van Dam held the ECW Television Title for 23 months. He won it from Bam Bam Bigelow on April 4, 1998, and never lost it in the ring, as he eventually had to vacate it due to an injury that kept him from competing.
Al Snow played a part in the 1993 movie, "Rudy," about the underdog who got to play football at Notre Dame.
Another interesting, yet HILARIOUS, fact about Al Snow: Al Snow and the Blue Meanie (when he was in the WWF) often travel together. Their favorite "road trip restaurant is Denny's! When Mick Foley traveled with the strange duo, he says that they would often try to play tricks on the waitresses!! One night, Al had the manager of the restaurant CONVINCED that they were a professional KARAOKE group! After a lame rendition of "Volare," they were asked to return to their seats and finish their meal.
The Godfather is a tattoo artist.
Bob "Hardcore" Holly once punched Billy Gunn in the head so hard that he broke his hand. The force of that punch knocked Gunn unconsious.
When he's not busy dropping People's Elbow's and hitting his opponents with his trademark Rock Bottom, The Rock (real name: Dwayne Johnson) gets busy by dropping lures in the ocean off the coast of South Florida. Aboard his luxury boat, Rock not only reels in the big catches but also uses the quiet time to come up with his AWESOME catchphrases! So what do you think he was doing when he came up with, "If ya smell what The Rock is cookin!?"
Shane McMahon was FAR from an angel growing up in Greenwich, CT. In fact, Shane found himself in trouble more than once. He even looked like trouble! That's right. He actually would come home sporting a MOHAWK haircut!
The very first episode of WWF Monday Night RAW IS WAR originated from to Manhattan Center in New York City. The program looked much different back then, with no Titantron, pyrotechnics, or any of the trappings of today's RAW. WWFE Chairman/Owner Vince McMahon and Bob Bartlett provided commentary. The program became an immediate hit.
Sunny, a.k.a. Tammy Lynn Sytch, is the most downloaded female celebrity in AOL history.
Shane Douglas and Paul Orndorff are cousins.
Duane Gill (a.k.a. Gillberg) and Barry Hardy made up the tag team called The Executioners in the WWF in the early 90's.
Steve Austin learned the art of the interview from Brian Pillman. Austin has admitted numerous times that his speaking ability was perfected by Brian Pillman, who constantly gave him pointers and advice. Austin and Pillman teamed together as "The Hollywood Blondes."
Steve Austin collects antiques.
Rob Van Dam has a unique weightlifting record of doing a split across two benches and lifting a 200 lb. dumbbell, the lift is called the Van Dam Lift and was actually invented by Rob himself! The move is also officially recognized.
Rob Van Dam debuted in the WWF against Matt Hardy, who he easily defeated on RAW.
In the RAW tag team tournament of summer, 1997 in the WWF, Jerry Lawler teamed with Rob Van Dam.
During his first full year in the WWF (mid-2001 - mid-2002), Rob Van Dam pinned Booker T, Chris Jericho, Kane, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Test, The Undertaker, and William Regal in one-on-one matches.
All Japan Pro Wrestling hasn't shown it's fans a count-out or a disqualification in over five years.
Road Warrior Animal and Japan veteran Johnny Ace are brothers.
The Legion of Doom/Road Warriors is the only tag team in wrestling history to hold the AWA, NWA, and WWF World Tag Team Titles.
The Undertaker's first manager in the WWF wasn't Paul Bearer, but was Brother Love.
Hawk, Animal, The Spoiler, and Jake Roberts were the original members of the Legion of Doom.
Cowboy Bill Watts came up with the idea of The Road Warriors using face paint.
Gangrel and Luna are married.
Glen Jacobs (a.k.a. Kane) was born in Spain.
Ric flair actually OWNED the WCW World Heavyweight Title belt itself up until 1991, as he originally bought it for use by the company using his own money!
Abdullah the Butcher's pro wrestling career spans over 60 years. He's wrestled for AJPW, BJPW, ECW, FMW, WCW, WWC, and many other promotions. Abby was trained by Sabu's real-life uncle, The Original Sheik.
Shinjiro Otani, Dean Malenko, and X-Pac are the only grapplers to win both the WCW Cruiserweight Title and WWF Light-Heavyweight Title.
Chris Benoit is a former-WWF Light-Heavyweight Champion, as the Light-Heavyweight Title has roots to the WWF Junior Heavyweight Title, a title which Benoit (under the alias of "The Pegasus Kid") won once in the early '90's.
Japanese junior heavyweight superstar Jinsei Shinzaki competed in the WWF in the mid-90's as "Hakushi," and went head to head with stars like Bret Hart and The Kid (X-Pac).
Al Snow (as "Mantaur" and "Avatar"), Big Vito (as "Skull Von Krush"), Chris Candido (as "Skip"), Chris Hammerick, Chris Kanyon, Jeff Hardy, Jerry Flynn, Justin Credible (as "P.J. Walker" and "Aldo Montoya"), Matt Hardy, PG-13 (J.C. Ice & Wolfie D), Raven (as "Johnny Polo"), Rikishi (as "Fatu"), Scotty Too Hotty (as "Scott Taylor"), and Tony DeVito alll wrestled on a few early editions of WWF Monday Night RAW (1993-1995).
Albert attended the University of Pittsburg, and played college football for their team from 1990-1995. He majored in special education, and minored in sign language. He became a special education teacher for a short while before attending Killer Kowalski's Malden, Massachussetts wrestling school, where he was trained by the legend and had his initiation into the business.
WCW paid Ric Flair $75,000 to give back the WCW title after he had departed to the WWF in 1991.
Ahmed Johnson played in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys.
In ECW, Dean Malenko's nickname was "The Shooter."
Vader knows how to play the piano.
Sgt. Slaughter's character was portrayed in the cartoon show, "G.I. JOE."
Road Dogg fought in Desert Storm.
Andre the Giant drank 14 bottles of wine before his match with Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3.
Perry Saturn dated Chyna before she entered the WWF. Both trained with Killer Kowalski.
The Rock's first character in the WWF was Flex Kavana. He only wrestled under that name for one match.
The People's Eyebrow was first named the "Heat Brow". The Rock called it that in college, but he changed the name do to the fact that the name didn't catch on.
The Rock is the youngest Intercontinental and World Heavyweight Champion ever in the WWF. He is also the first African American to hold the WWF Championship.
Buff Bagwell, before becoming a professional wrestler, was a model, exotic dancer,and acted in a few soft porn flicks.
17 months is the age gap between The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott).
Mike Awesome loves reading novels.
Melanie Pillman had a relationship with the Ultimate Warrior before she met Brian.
Leatherface (a.k.a. Super Leather) caused the scar on Mick Foley's left arm.
Hulk Hogan earned 1.8 million dollars with his match up against Randy Macho Man Savage at Wrestlemania 5.
Shawn Michaels is a huge Garth Brooks fan.
Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty won the WWF tag team title from Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in October of 1990 at a taping for Saturday Night's Main Event. Neidhart had been fired and was filling contractual obligations, which including jobbing the tag titles to another team. In what should have been a minor point, the top rope broke at one point during the match. The Rockers defended the titles for a week after that, but then Neidhart was re-hired by the WWF, and Vince McMahon decided that the title change never actually happened, in one of the goofier decisions of the 90s, and one of many to affect the careers of Shawn and Bret. As an explanation, a story was sent to Pro Wrestling Illustrated about the rope break causing an "unfair working environment" for both teams, and hence the title reign was annulled. This was simply to cover up for the fact that they reported the title change as fact a week prior and needed a reason to no longer report it as such. The title change was edited out of the Main Event broadcast, and thus went down in history that the Rockers never had the belt.
Did you know that WWF announcer Michael Cole graduated from the prestigious Newhouse School of Journalism at Syracuse University? Before entering the Federation, Cole established himself as a FANTASTIC newsman, working for CBS Radio. Cole even provided war coverage during the U.S.'s conflict with Bosnia, which is perhaps the ONLY job more dangerous than sitting behing a WWF announce table!
If there was EVER any doubt about Stone Cold Steve Austin's worldwide recognition factor, that doubt was demolished in 1998. Within just a THREE-WEEK period, Austin appeard on the "Howard Stern Show," "Nash Bridges," the "Howie Mandel Show," and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien!" Also, during this SAME-EXACT three-week period, Austin was photographed for a "Milk Mustache" ad, further tightening the "Texas Rattlesnake's" hold on American culture!
Former-ECW'er Chris Chetti is a former-high school amateur wrestling champion.
Former-ECW'er "The Chair-Swinging Freak" Balls Mahoney was expelled from amateur wrestling by the New Jersey State Athletic Commission. He broke the bone of an opponent with a legal hold, and when the referee pulled him off, he punched the official, breaking his jaw.
Val Venis once made a very special apppearance on "SuperAstros," a WWF television show all in SPANISH, and actually delivered his "Hello, Ladies," speech ENTIRELY in SPANISH!
As Terra Ryzing, Triple H lost to Alex Wright at WCW StarrCade 1994, his only WCW Pay-Per-View appearance.
Before he was Viscera, the well-over 400-pounder was known as Mabel, and had a VERY successful run in the WWF. Mabel held one-half of the WWF World Tag Team Titles, partnering with Mo. Mabel's career highlight was winning the 1995 King of the Ring Tournament, an EXTREMELY elight club that includes wrestling LEGEND, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, the late Owen Hart (R.I.P.), Ken Shamrock, and "The Game," Triple H.
Mick Foley loves to take his wife, Colette, and his two children, to Disney World. The same goes for Brian "Grandmaster Sexay" Christopher, who honeymooned with his wife, Terri (no, not the WWF Diva, DUH!), to Disney World following their wedding in 1998.
2 Cold Scorpio/Too Cold Scorpio competed in the WWF in 1997-1998 as "Flash Funk." He participated in the 1997 Royal Rumble, and had a short partnership with Terry Funk.
At only 3'10" and weighing only 83 pounds, Mini Max is by FAR the smallest WWF competitor EVER!
Ever since first competing in 1998, obsessed Sable Fan Tori has been on a quest for inner peace and control. A student of eastern philosophies, Tori learned about Satori, or inner peace, during a visit to Japan. The Japanese believe that your past lives control the destiny of your current life, and Satori is a state of balance between your past lives and present life. To attain Satori, Tori meditates, practices yoga, and walks her two Chow dogs in the forest near her Portland, Oregon home.
Believe it or not, former-WCW Champion Diamond Dallas Page has actually appeard in the WWF! At WrestleMania VI, Page drove the pink Cadillac which accompanied the Honky Tonk Man to the ring that night for his match.
1992's WrestleMania VIII in Indianapolis' Hoosier Dome featured two significant events: "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels made his singles debut in the WWF when he defeated Tito Santana. At the same exact event, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair made his one and only appearance at a WWF WrestleMania when he lost his WWF World Heavyweight Title to "Macho Man" Randy Savage in front of 62,000 fans in one of the two main events that evening!
Several NFL Superstars and WWF Superstars participated in a 20-man Battle Royal at WrestleMania II in 1986.The list of NFLer's include Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic, and William "The Refrigerator" Perry. Perry was one of the favorites because, at the time, he played for the Chicago Bears. The Battle Royal was eventually won by the legondary Andre the Giant.
"Good Ol'" Jim Ross made his first WWF appearance at WrestleMania IX in 1993. The event, held at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, had a roman theme and all of the announcers were required to wear togas! Ross said in an interview that that was the first time he ever wore a toga, and that he hasn't worn one since!
1988's WrestleMania IV is known for including the first and only tournament for the WWF World Heavyweight Title. Fourteen superstars competed for the gold, but "Macho Man" Randy Savage won the title when he defeated Ted Dibiase in the final round. The event was held at the Atlantic City Convention Center and was attended by such dignitaries as real estate magnate Donald Trump!
1997's WrestleMania 13 and 2000's WrestleMania 2000 are the only two WrestleManias NOT to use Roman numerals to signify the edition of the event.
King Kong Bundy infuriated the WrestleMania III crowd in 1987 by dropping one of his massive elbows on Little Beaver, a midget wrestler. Both men were taking part in a mixed tag team match, which teamed standard-size superstars with their smaller counterparts. After the incident, all participants turned on Bundy, driving him from the ring.
Q: What name id
ring announce Howard Finkel appear under at Wrestlemania
IX in 1993?
A: In keeping with the Roman theme of WrestleMania IX,
Finkel appeared as "Finkus Maximus."
Football great Lawrence Taylor appeared in the main event of 1995's WrestleMania XI, taking on Bam Bam Bigelow. The two competitors had their first run-in at that year's Royal Rumble, where Bigelow actually shoved Taylor to the ground, even though the latter was simply a spectator at the event. Taylor got his revenge and won the WrestleMania contest that year.
Owen Hart (RI.P.) finally stepped out of his older brother Bret's shadow in the opening match of WrestleMania X in 1994. The two brothers waged a classic battle, and Owen (R.I.P.) wound up defeating his older brother Bret.
The very first WrestleMania intergender tag team match took place in 1990 at WrestleMani VI, when "Macho Man" Randy Savage and Sensational Sherri took on Dusty Rhodes and Sapphire. Although the battle was closely fought, Rhodes and Sapphire wound up taking the vicotry. Sadly, Sapphire passed away in 1998. R.I.P..
"Macho Man" Randy Savage was an exceptional baseball player prior to his entrance into the WWF. Savage was a catcher in the mino leagues for several years, but never quite made it into the majors. Of course Savage found another way to use his athleticism: he entered the WW in 1985 and quickly became one of its most celebrated superstars.
Ken Shamrock made his WWF debut at WrestleMania 13, when he refereed the submission match between Bret "the Hitman" Hart and Stone Cold Steve Austin. After stopping the match and awarding Bret the victory, the former UFC (Universal Fighting Championship) champion belly-to-back suplexed Bret after the Calgary native attempted to attack him. Shamrock would end up having a VERY successful career in the WWF, including winning the 1998 King of the Ring Tournament when he defeated The Rock in the final round. He also won the Intercontinental Title several times.
March 31, 1985 marked the date of the very first WrestleMania, which was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura commentated the event.
WrestleMania XI was held on April 2, 1995. At this event, Owen Hart brought out the mighty Yokuzuna (R.I.P.) as his "surpise tag team partner" and this unusual duo won the WWF World Tag Team Titles from the Smokin' Gunns (Bart and Billy Gunn). This was Yoko's (R.I.P.) first ever WWF World Tag Team Title win.
Ric Flair was forced to leave the WWF after being defeated in a "Loser Leaves Town" match against Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig on an early episode of RAW. Although the two men had been allies at one point, the pair had a falling out, which led to this match.
1990's WrestleMania VI took place at the Toronto Skydome in front of 67,000 fans, and marked the first and only time that WrestleMania took place somewhere outside of the U.S.
WrestleMania II was held on this date in 1986, but it took place simultaneously in three different cities: New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. This was the only time that an WrestleMania event took place in more than one location. Another first: Vince McMahon commentated the New York segment. This was his first time commentating at a WrestleMania.
Personality Profile: Mideon
| Topic | Answer |
| Favorite Band/Singer | Nine Inch Nails |
| Biggest Thrill in Life | "Becoming one with The Undertaker" |
| Person He Would Most Like To Meet | Jim Morrison |
| Favorite Athlete | The Undertaker |
| Favorite Television Show | "The Simpsons" |
| Favorite Food | Sacraficial Lamb (?) |
| Favorite Fast Food | Gyro (?) |
| Secret Talent | Making The Undertaker laugh |
| Favorite Actress | Linda Blair |
| Hobbies | "Exploring the Dark Side and opening up my mind to the Ministry." |
| Wrester(s) | Favorite Hotel |
| Hardy Boyz | Hilton |
| Mick Foley | Super 8 |
| D'lo Brown | Doubletree |
| Blue Meanie | Red Roof Inn |
| Wrestler | College Attended |
| D'lo Brown | University of Maine |
| Bradshaw | Abilene Christian |
| Faarooq | Florida State University |
| Chyna | University of South Florida |
| Wrestler | Secret Skill |
| X-Pac | Rapping |
| Chyna | Belly-Dancing |
| Terri Runnels | Make-up artistry |
| D'lo Brown | Cooking |
Diamond Dallas Page (DDP) credits Bobby "The Brain" Heenen for coming up with the name, "Diamond Cutter," for his finishing move, which is basically a falling front-faced neckbreaker.
"The Crippler Crossface" was invented by Dean Malenko, not Chris Benoit, who currently uses it.
Buh Buh Ray and D-Von Dudley debuted in ECW as bitter rivals, and had several battles with eachother. Only then did they put those differences behind them and form one of the most successful tag teams in history, The Dudley Boyz. They would go on to hold a record eight ECW World Tag Team Titles, and are the only team in history to hold the ECW, WCW, and WWF World Tag Team Titles throughout their career.
Spike Dudley (Matt Hyson) was a school teacher from Rhode Island before getting into the wrestling business.
The Hardy Boyz actually aren't twins. Matt was born on September 23, 1974, while Jeff was born on August 31, 1977.
Jeff Hardy loves writing poetry and is an excellent poet.
Chris Jericho and Lance Storm teamed together early in their careers as "Sudden Impact" and "The Thrillseekers."
Lita has a tattoo on the inside of her lip that says "PUKE."
Lita is a HUGE hockey fan.
At As Good As It Gets I in mid-1997, there was an intergender tag team match main event pitting Bill Alfonso and Rob Van Dam against Beulah and Tommy Dreamer. RVD took out Dreamer early in the match (with his tag team partner, Sabu's, help), and then left the match to Alfonso, who was to take out Beulah and win the match. However, Beulah had different plans, as she busted Alfonso open with a frying pan shot. She eventually reversed an attempted powerbomb into a hurricanrana, and then pinned Alfonso for the tag team upset. Alfonso, not even a trained grappler, almost bled to death during that match, having lost one-third of all of the blood in his body!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
During one of the bloodiest matches in history, the Barbed-Wire Death Match for the ECW Title between Sabu and Terry Funk (C) at ECW Born To be Wired 1997, the wire tore open Sabu's bicep, and after the match, he had to get 100 stitches to close it! During the match, though, due to the fact that he had to finish the bout, he taped the bloody wound shut with athletic tape! 100 stitches is 40 more than Eric Kulas (a.k.a. Mass Transit) had to get to close up the wound on his forehead following the assault with an exacto knife by New Jack at a 1996 ECW house show in Revere, Massachussetts. That assault would result in a lawsuit by Kulas against New Jack, one that Jack would eventually win. Back to Sabu, during his Stairway To Hell Match against The Sandman at House Party '98, Sandman's singapore cane shot broke Sabu's jaw and tore open his mouth. So, he had his manager, Bill Alfonso, tape his jaw and mouth shut with athletic tape so that he could finish the match. The finish came when Sandman caned Sabu's face (his jaw had already been broken and is mouth busted open) a second time, and then pinned him for the 1-2-3 "win," if you could even call it that.
Before they engaged in several aerial wars on ECW Pay-Per-Views, Super Crazy and (Yoshihiro) Tajiri actually were a tag team in ECW.
Big Van Vader and Genichiro Tenryu are the only two men to hold both the top title of All Japan (the Triple Crown) and New Japan (the IWGP World Heavyweight Title). Both fully accomplished the feat in 1999, Vader being the first and Tenryu being the second.
Chyna has a boxing license.
Chris Jericho was the last graduate of The Hart Family Dungeon in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, when it was ran by Stu Hart only. It's currently ran by several of Stu's sons.
Bill Goldberg's father is a retired gynecologist.
Terry Funk first announced his retirement in 1983.
Larry Zbyszko is a licensed pilot.
Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington despises his cousin Davey Boy Smith so much, he can't bring himself to say his name.
Although former-ECW Champion Justin Credible is currently competing in the WWF, this is NOT his first time in the Federation. Justin (real name: Peter Polaco) competed in the WWF as both P.J. Walker and "The Portuguese Man O' War" Aldo Montoya? He also briefly became the third member of PG-13, going by the name P.J. Walker.
Ric Flair's children watched WWF RAW is WAR on Monday nights and only switched the channel to Nitro for Flair's segments.
From 1986-1989 Ric Flair averaged 34 minutes per-match. In that span he had 19 matches that lasted longer than 50 minutes.
Chastity appeared in the adult movie, "Live Bait."
Mick Foley (as "Mankind") debuted in the WWF on the RAW the night after WrestleMania 12. He attacked The Undertaker during his match against Goldust, prompting a long-running rivalry between the two that would see them engage in several violent battles, including the one at King of the Ring '98 in the infamous Hell in the Cell match.
The New Age Outlaws joined D-Generation X on RAW the night after WrestleMania 14 ('98). They lost their tag team titles to Cactus Jack & Chainsaw Charlie (Terry Funk) in a Dumpster Match the previous night, but regained the titles on RAW the next night in a Steel Cage Match (with the help of DX). After the match, they walked out with DX.
Vampiro's sister is a former-Miss Nude Canada.
Former-ECW'er (Super) Nova, who began his ECW career as a member of the "blue World order" (bWo, for short) alongside The Blue Meanie and Stevie Richards (a.k.a. Big Stevie Cool), is truly "The Innovator of Offense," having invented several creative manuevers like the Kryptonic Krunch, Novacaine, the Scream Machine, and the Spin Doctor. Joey Styles said it best at Anarchy Rulz '99, where he alluded that Nova's problem is that whenever he invents a new move, it always ends up being seen on Monday nights (on Nitro or RAW).
The Sandman competed in WCW as "Hardcore Hak."
The WWF owns the domain name, PayPerView.com.
Konnan briefly appeared in the WWF as "Max Moon" in 1992. Konnan played the role of the man who hailed from "outer space" for a single WWF Superstars TV taping.
The British Bulldog (Davey Boy Smith) paid the WWF $100,000 to get out of his contract to leave for WCW.
Mark Henry and Pittsburgh Steeler Kevin Henry are cousins.
Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat suffered his career ending back injury in a match with Steve Austin, while they were in WCW.
Rick Rude and Nikita Koloff attended the same high school.
Rick Rude worked as a bouncer at Gramma B's in Minneapolis before he was discovered, working with the Road Warriors and Barry Darshow.
Jerry Jarrett brought Rick Rude to Memphis, and gave him the nickname "Ravishing."
Rick Rude still held half of the NWA tag titles when he signed with the WWF (the NWA later claimed that the Rock 'n' Roll Express regained those titles in a match that never actually took place).
Paul Wight (Big Show) played college basketball at Wichita State University.
Keji Muto is the only non-All Japan wrestler to win the Triple Crown. He did this on June 8, 2001, when, while under contract to New Japan, he unseated champion Genichiro Tenryu.
Glenn "Kane" Jacob is the only man to lose a WWF title and win a different title on the same night. This happened on the April 19, 2001 edition of WWF Smackdown!, when, in the opening match, Kane lost his first and only WWF Hardcore Title to the new and practically indestrucable Rhyno (ECW's Rhino) (Triple H and Stone Cold Steve Austin interfered and repeatedly hit Kane with a steel chair, so, it wasn't a clean win, of course). That same night, in the main event, Kane and his brother, The Undertaker (the two were collectively known as "The Brothers of Destruction;" they weren't really real-life brothers, but that was part of their storylines), would end up winning the WWF World Tag Team Titles from Edge & Christian.
Chris Chetti was the first graduate of ECW's School of Hardcore, where he was trained by Perry Saturn and Taz(z).
ECW's Dawn Marie appeared in the original "Austin Powers" MTV special as one of the go-go dancers and actually had a few speaking lines.
Nitro Girl Fyre (real name: Teri Byrne) attended Arizona State University, and, before entertaining WCW crowds as a Nitro Girl, Teri was a mortgage home broker.
D'Lo Brown began his career as the "head of security" for the Gangstas in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. He later debuted in the WWF as one of the many members of Faarooq's Nation of Domination entourage.
Former-Fabulous Freebird Jimmy Garvin is now an airline pilot.
WWF's first pick for the Mr. Perfect gimmick was Terry Taylor, but later gave it to Curt Hennig.
Ryan Shamrock's real name is Alesha Webb, and she is a topless dancer from Houston, TX.
Eddie Guerrero's father, Gory, invented the camel clutch.
Gorgeous George (real name: Stephanie Bellars), spent jail time as a teenager for burglarizing a home and slashing a girl's face with a broken beer bottle.
That before Mark Henry joined the WWF, he was actually sponsored by Titan Sports during the 1996 Olympics in which he competed in the sport of weightlifting.
The former-Bart Gunn (of the Smoking Gunns) wrestles as Mike Burton for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Kevin Nash introduced Shawn Michaels to his wife, who is former-Nitro Girl "Whisper" (Rebecca Curci).
Two days before WrestleMania 9, Hogan was injured in a jet-ski accident. That explains the shiner he had when he wrestled at WrestleMania 9.
Mike Awesome and Horace Hogan are cousins (Awesome and Hulk Hogan aren't related).
Former WWF announcer Craig DeGeorge is now the number one sports anchor for an NBC affiliate in Miami and now uses his given name, Craig Minnervini (Torch).
Glenn Jacobs (better known to the wrestling world as Kane) has degrees in English and Teaching and has substitute teached a few times.
The Iron Sheik was once the personal bodyguard of the Shah of Iran.
Brian Lee (real name Brian Harris) was the best man at Mark "Undertaker" Callaway's wedding. Brian also played the "fake" Undertaker who battled the "real" Undertaker at Summerslam 1994. The "real" Undertaker won that match after reversing the "fake's" attempted Tombstone Piledriver into a Tombstone of his own and then giving "fake" one more for good luck.
Debra was once an
airline stewardess. She also had a tiny part as a Texas
sheriff
in "The Texas Chainsaw Massacare Part 3."
Booker T was once arrested for shoplifting
Andre the Giant once called "Rowdy" Roddy Piper "The World's Biggest 10 Year-Old. Once, Andre fell asleep during a match with the late "Big" John Studd. Andre reputedly downed 118 bottles of beer one night.
Marcus "Buff" Bagwell had calf implants in 1995 but they later leaked and had to be removed.
Bob "Hardcore" Holly is a huge NASCAR fan.
Before becoming a wrestler, Val Venis used to race motocross and was a porn star.
Early in his career, Hulk Hogan teamed with "Dizzy Hogan" who would later be known as Brutus Beefcake.
Dick the Bruiser actually gave Bobby Heenan the nickname, "The Weasel."
The Rock's wife, Dany, is the Associate Vice President of Merryll Lynch.
"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan got the idea of bringing a 2x4 to the ring from the movie, "Walking Tall."
Scott Hall studied pre-med.
The name "Big Sexy" was actually a name created by Canadian wrestler Luther Biggs who did several try-out matches with WCW under that name. Former WCW booker and current WWF announcer/booker Terry Taylor watched Biggs wrestle, liked the name, and gave it to Kevin Nash.
Roddy Piper won the prestigious amateur boxing award, The Golden Gloves, at age 15.
Al 'Snow' Sarven owns the Bodyslammers wrestling school in his hometown of Lima, Ohio.
Foreign legend Jushin "Thunder" Liger is deaf in one ear, and had brain cancer, but it was removed thanks to surgery.
Rey Mysterio Jr.'s personalized license plate reads, "MYSTERIO."
Tazz's personalized license plate reads, "TAP OUT."
The late Kerry Von Erich spent the last five years of his life wrestling with only one foot? He lost one in a car accident.
Hector Guerrero was behind the feathers of the inane 'Gobbledygooker' suit at the 1990 Survivor Series.
Ric Flair owns a bar in Charlotte, N.C. called "The South End Brewery."
WWF referee Tim White owns a bar called, "The Friendly Tap," which has been used for barroom brawls on RAW.
Jeff Farmer, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Hulk Hogan, Kanyon, Marcus "Buff" Bagwell and several others have played fake Stings in the past two years.
Scott Norton was once a World Champion arm wrestler.
Chyna was once going to teach literacy in Costa Rica for the Peace Corps. She also speaks fluent Spanish.
(Yoshihiro) Tajiri debuted in IWA Japan.
Kimberly Page has a Master's Degree in advertising from Northwestern University.
Jerome "New Jack" Young and Bam Bam Bigelow were both once bounty hunters before their careers in pro wrestling. Bigelow actually once got shot in the leg while chasing a person fleeing the U.S.
Abdullah The Butcher owns the "Abdullah The Butcher's House Of Ribs" restaurant in the U.S.
Vampiro worked as a bodyguard for lip-singing rock group Milli Vanilli.
Al Snow is well trained in martial arts, mat grappling, free style, hardcore, and shoot-fight wrestling.
Before getting into the world of pro wrestling, "Little" Spike Dudley (real name: Matthew Hyson) was a 3rd grade teacher.
Vince McMahon Jr.'s grandfather, Jesse McMahon, was a boxing promoter.
Bruno Sammartino once held the WWF Title from May 17, 1963 to January 18, 1971, making him the longest reigning WWF Champion of all-time. He beat Buddy Rogers for the title and lost it to Ivan Koloff. Bob Backlund has the second-longest WWF Title reign, ranging from February 20, 1978 to November 30, 1979. He beat "Superstar" Billy Graham for the title, and lost it to Antonio Inoki. However, Inoki's WWF Title win was not officially achknowledged in the U.S. That means that Backlund's title reign could have lasted even longer!!
Bob Backlund, who holds the honor of having the second-longest WWF Title reign (see above), once ran for a Senate seat in Connecticut.
Bruno Sammartino once had his neck broken by Stan Hansen.
Harvey Whippleman holds the dubious honor of being the only man to be the WWF Women's Championship. To win the title, he dressed up as a woman!!
Stone Cold Steve Austin was born on December 18, 1964 as Steve Anderson, but ended up legally changing his last name to Williams, after his stepfather. (credit: WOW Magazine)
Austin played defensive for the Nort Texas State University football team. (credit: WOW Magazine)
Austin changed his wrestling name from Steve Williams to Steve Austin because he discovered that there was already a wrestler going by the name of Steve Williams. (credit: WOW Magazine)
WCW's Rey Mysterio Jr. & Konnan actually rapped and released their own rap album, along with a rapper called "Madd One."
Former-WCW Cruiserweight star "PrimeTime" Elix Skipper owned a "McDonalds restaraunt before entering WCW.
Former WWF wrestler "Road Dogg" Jesse James (real name: Brian James) fought in the Desert Storm and sGulf War.
Andre the Giant once fainted when he saw his own blood.
Brian Lee played the role of the fake Undertaker.
Diamond Dallas Page and NBA Superstar Karl Malone are very close friends in real-life. They have actually teamed together in wrestling matches and at pay per views!
"Ravishing" Rick Rude is the only man to appear on the WWF RAW & WCW Nitro telecasts on the same night.
Former ECW & XPW Champion Sabu is the nephew of The Original Sheik
Mick Foley and Vader faced off a few times. One particular time, Vader put Foley (under his Cactus Jack persona at that time) in what his called the Hangman. Mick Foley actually lost 3/4 of his ear because the ring ropes were too tight and that put enormous pressure force on Foley's ear. (credit: Foley's autobiography)
Bill Goldberg and Steve Austin actually once met at an automobile liscense show (credit: WOW Magazine).
Legend Frank Goodish, a.k.a. Bruiser Body, was stabbed to death on July 16, 1988 by fellow wrestler Jose Gonzales. This happened in the showers of the Bayoman Stadium in San Juan, Peurto Rico. Although Gonzales, was charged with the murder, he was later acquitted an actually made a professional comback in pro wrestling! (credit: WOW Magazine)
The Von Erich family, one of the most prominent families invloved in pro wrestling, is closely associated with tragedy. Five out of the six sons of the family are dead. Jack ided in 1959 at age seven when he accidentily electrocuted himself to death. David died in Tokyo on February 10, 1984 at age 25. Mike overdosed on a drug for sleeping aid called Placidyl and died on April 2, 1987 at age 23. Chris committed suicide with a 9mm. pistol on September 12, 1991 at age 2. Kerry also commmitted suicide at age 33 when he shot himself in the chest on February 18, 1993. Only Kevin survives, out of the six sons born to Fritz and Doris Adkisson (credit: WOW Magazine).
Kid Kash wrestled in ECW as "David Tyler Morton Jericho."
Pro wrestling legends Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious may be hardcore in the ring, but this is also true in real life. During the wee hours of the morning on October 28, 1993 at the Moat House Hotel in Blackburn, England, the two got into an extremely bloody fight using scissors. They were both rushed to the hospital immediately. Anderson suffered 20 stab wounds, while Vicious suffered four puncture wounds.
Former-ECW wrestlers Tazz and Chris Chetti are actually real-life cousins.
The following facts are credited to Smackdown Inc.:
In many of his WrestleMania matches Randy Savage would foreshadow the result of his bout by the color hat he wore to the ring. Two examples: 1 when he wrestled the Ultimate Warrior at WMVII as a heel and left as a babyface, he entered the ring wearing a white hat. 2. when he defeated Ric Flair at WMVIII to take the WWF strap, he wore a gold costume.
WrestleMania VII was moved from the Rose Bowl to the Sports Arena in Los Angeles because Vince McMahon feared a sniper might try and take out lead heel Sgt. Slaughter, playing the role of a Iraqi sympathizer during the Gulf War.
Apparently feeling he had nothing to lose, Sid Justice doublecrossed Vince McMahon by kicking out of Hogan's legdrop at WMVIII. Sid had been caught cheating on a drug test a few weeks earlier and was going to be suspended. Sid's manager, Harvey Whippleman (who is said to have supplied Sid with the false urine sample that WWF official Dave Hebner found Sid carrying in a vile) reacted quickly, jumping into the ring and getting his man disqualified before all hell broke loose.
The Shawn Michaels-Bret Hart "Ironman Match" at WMXII lasted 61:52.
Sable debuted at WMXII as Hunter Hearst Helmsley's (Triple H's) valet. Helmsley was scheduled to lose to the returning Ultimate Warrior in 10 minutes. However, the Warrior insisted the match be a squash and threatened not to appear if McMahon said otherwise. McMahon, believing Helmsley had a bright future ahead of him, didn't relent until Hunter said he didn't mind doing the squash. The match lasted 1:38. Incidentally, that was also Steve Austin's first WM. Managed by Dibiase and known as "The Ringmaster", Austin pinned Savio Vega.
Prior to WMIV, USA Today got a copy of the post-WM WWF Magazine which had a picture of Randy Savage on the cover with the word "Champion" written above before the tournament (where Savage beat Dibiase in the finals) took place. McMahon publicly referred to it as a coincidence, but it turned out that the magazine was sent out early.
Nash played the voice of Super Shredder in "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II."
The Undertaker was in "Suburban Commando" alongside Hulk Hogan.
In 1994, WCW used to hire paid models and actors to sit in the audience to cheer and boo their wrestlers because their audience was usually dead during their shows.
On July 4, 1989, Davey Boy Smith, Jason the Terrible, and Chris Benoit were injured in a head-on automobile accident in Jasper, Alberta. Smith suffered a cracked vertebrae in his back and needed 100 stitches in his head after being thrown through the windshield of the car. Jason suffers 2 fractures in his left leg. Benoit suffers and injured right knee.
The WWF says that the Dynamite Kid left the WWF and retired because of an injury. Actually, the Kid still wrestles in England and the real reason he left was because of a locker room fight with him and Jacques Rougeau. The Bulldog opted to keep contact with the WWF and because of that and other reasons, the Bulldog and the Dynamite Kid haven't spoken in years.
Randy Savage and Miss Elizabeth Hewlitte were supposedly "married" in August 1991. Actually, that was an angle to get a better buy rate for the pay-per-view. Savage and Liz were married in December 1984.
On October 1, 1992, Kerry Von Erich was senteced to 6 felony counts of prescription forgery. He received a 10-year suspended sentence, 10 years of supervised probation, and a $6,000 fine. On February 18, 1993, Von Erich committed suicide by gunshot with a .44-caliber handgun, one day after being indicted on a cocaine possession charge. It was also later revealed that he had an artificial foot because of a car accident he was involved in in 1984.
When Shawn Michaels was attacked outside of a nightclub by approximately 10 "thugs" (actually it was by a marine group), Shawn was accompanied by Davey Boy Smith and Sean Waltman (123 Kid). Shawn tried to be the brave one and he ended up suffering for it.
Former 4-horsemen member Tully Blanchard is now a preacher in North Carolina.
Bradshaw played his last two college games with a broken leg.
The Million Dollar Belt is actually worth $140,000 and is locked in a safe at Titan Towers in Stamford, CT. Also at Titan Towers is the famous Slaughtermobile and Mr. McMahon's Corvette that Stone Cold dumped concrete on, both of which are on display.
Earl Hebner has a twin brother, Dave, who used to be a referee.
The theme song for IYH: Badd Blood would eventually become Steve Blackman's entrance theme.
Kevin Nash played University of Tennessee basketball, but was kicked off the team for numerous altercations with the coach. His career scoring average at U. of T was just over four points. .In 1977, Nash was actually touted by many as the second best basketball player in Michigan, with Earvin "Magic" Johnson being regarded as the best. Before entering the world of pro wrestling, Nash went to Germany and played pro basketball there for four years before injuring his knee.
Raven was an announcer and manager of The Quebecers in the WWF in 1993-'94, going by the name, Johnny Polo.
Jerry Lawler was 27-time USWA Champion.
Paul Bearer, before getting into the wrestling business, actually worked at a morgue.
Kevin "Diesel" Nash beat Bob Backlund for the WWF Title in just eight seconds.
WCW Monday Nitro Facts:
Annually (every year) WCW distributes about 40,000 passes in all. About 30,000 passes for the WCW Nitro crew and other people who set the show up, 7,000 VIP passes, about 2,000 full access passes (backstage passes), and about 1,000 photo passes. Police officers and arena security as briefed before each Nitro show and told what each pass means.
There's 24 different phone lines for each Nitro.
Production time takes about 34 hours from start to finish. 217 people work for the production for Nitro each week. An average WCW crew member spends about 10 hours working on the set.
The WCW Monday Nitro ring and other equipment are transported in 14 different trucks, and 10 of those are 18-wheelers. Each truck is also filled to the capacity (about 80,000 pounds). The total WCW Monday Nitro ring and all of the other equipment weighs a total of about 1,120,000 pounds. About 56,000,000 (56 million) pounds of WCW Nitro rings and equipment are transported annually.
Nine huge 100,000+ thousand-dollar cameras are used for each WCW Nitro show.
There are about 15 cases of water (24 bottles per case) on hand for the crew/backstage workers and wrestlers for each Nitro telecast. About 25 gallons of coffee and about 416 cases of cola are consumed backstage at Nitro each year.
About 13,000 meals are consumed annually each year by the 250 members of the Nitro crew. Dinners are buffet-like and usually offer: chicken breasts, roast beef, 2 different vegetables, pasta, fish, salad, and at least 3 desserts. For each WCW Monday Nitro telecast, about 250 pounds of prime rib and about 250- 8-ounce chicken breasts.
There is a huge silver bowl of candy in the Nitro Production Office. There are about $150 worth of candy in the bowl. Candies contain anything from chocolates, Tootsie Rolls, Mounds, 100 Grands, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way, Snickers, lollie pops, and so on.
About 5,200 black WCW Monday Nitro Crew T-shirts are distributed every year. The wrestlers on Nitro receive a new one backstage prior to each Nitro telecast. They range in size from medium to 6X.
2,392 rental cars are used annually for WCW Monday Nitro.
About 140 hotel rooms are needed per every Nitro show for the wrestlers, Nitro crews, backstage workers, and other people. Some wrestlers go to other separate hotels to stay over-night.
The WCW staff contacts locals in need of errands for each Nitro. Things such as mannequins, flowers, tables, stools, clothes, hats and everything else is purchased often and is used to fit the right storyline.
WCW purchases about 180 airline tickets for WCW wrestlers, crew, and other front-office workers and managers for each Nitro show. Their main customer is Delta Airlines. About 9,360 airline tickets are bought annually for each Nitro show.
There are about 400 backstage cabinets at Nitro to store different things.
About 300 fireworks are used for each telecast. That equals more than 10 pounds of explosives.
WCW’s favorite arenas in which to host Nitro at are 1.) MCI Center, 2.) United Center (WCW hires a local caterer to provide food for the wrestlers when they come to the United Center), 3.) Baltimore Arena, 4.) Norfolk Scope, 5.) FleetCenter. An arena is decided good or not if Nitro can move in and out quickly and painlessly.
Each ring for each Nitro show weights about 2 tons. Mat covers are replaced about 60 times a year (because they can’t be washed).
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