Ask the Editor
Ask the Torch: Melina, Nitro, Mercury, Umaga, Stephanie, Benoit's hiatus, ECW creative control
Jun 1, 2006 - 3:08:00 PM |
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By Wade Keller, Torch editor
Robert Condrey of Houston, Tex. asks: Isn't Umaga really Jamal from 3 Second Warning? If not, is he related to the late Yokozuna? He looks very familiar to me. Is Stephanie really pregnant?
WK: Stephanie is really pregnant. Umaga is Jamal from 3 Minute Warning, and he is related to Yokozuna.
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Dave Maddas of Altoona, Pa. asks: I just had a couple questions about the new ECW. Will Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer have total control over storylines? Will the wrestlers be allowed to wrestle their own style or will they be forced to wrestle WWE style? And finally will Sci-FI be involved in the content or will they sit back and let ECW be ECW?
WK: Heyman will have considerable creative input, but everything ultimately goes through Vince McMahon who can veto anything he doesn't understand or approve of. Tommy Dreamer's power is limited to administrative duties, not booking matters. The wrestlers will be allowed to wrestle their own style, as long as it fits Heyman's vision for the promotion. There won't be the same pressure to wrestle a "WWE style" that WWE undercard wrestlers face - which is both good and bad, depending on the circumstances and the wrestler. Sci-Fi isn't involved in content control, but there is pressure for ECW to come up with a way to tie it in with the Sci-Fi theme to get Sci-Fi fans off of their backs.
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Andrew Yenson asks: At Judgment Day, MNM broke up as a tag team. Why did WWE break this team up and what are the purported backstage issues that surround Johnny Nitro and Melina ?
WK: In general, all three were said to have maturity issues. Melina had a pretty good rep in OVW, but had issues in WWE getting along with certain people. She had a shouting match with Sharmell a couple weeks back. Mercury reportedly failed a drug test and is headed to treatment. There were rumors they'd be suspended for their backstage actions, but instead Nitro and Melina were sent to Raw and began by jobbing to John Cena. There are still high hopes for Nitro because he has the look and charisma Vince McMahon likes, and obviously Melina fits WWE's mold for divas (and breaks it a little, too, which works to her advantage).
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Jay Ingram of Richmond, Ky. asks: It seems like more than coincidence to me that the WWE has had it's first round of drug testing suspensions and has only admitted to catching two, Mercury and Chris Masters. While Benoit is my favorite performer of all time, I am of the opinion that his time off for injuries is a cover story for a drug suspension. Is it possible that the WWE would give a respected veteran like Benoit a cover story for something they stated they would make public?
WK: WWE hasn't gone public with drug testing results at all, and any info that I've heard has just come from insiders in WWE. Major league sports and the Olympics reveal drug testing results. As for Benoit, the stories I've heard about him needing time off and requesting it for mental and physical wear and tear sounds credible, especially since he wants to spend time with his wife who just had neck surgery. It's always understandable to be suspicious, but there are no indications it's anything drug test related.
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Background on Torch editor Wade Keller: Torch editor Wade Keller founded Pro Wrestling Torch in September 1987. He has been interviewed as a wrestling expert by dozens of TV and radio stations across the country; he has also been quoted in dozens of major newspapers and magazines across the world. Media entities that have featured Keller in stories covering wrestling include National Public Radio, Fox News Channel, ESPN Magazine, the New York Post, Entertainment Weekly, the All-News Channel, the Associated Press, and the Washington Post. He also hosted his own weekly two hour wrestling talk show on KFAN sport radio in the '90s. Over the past 17 years Keller has also interviewed, one-on-one, wrestling's top names for in-depth "Torch Talks" and feature articles including powerbrokers such as Vince McMahon, Eric Bischoff, Jerry Jarrett, Bill Watts, Jim Cornette, Jim Crockett, Jim Herd, Paul Heyman, Ed Ferrara, Terry Taylor, Kevin Sullivan, Jim Ross, and Vince Russo; top wrestling stars such as The Rock, Steve Austin, Kevin Nash, Mick Foley, Matt & Jeff Hardy, Rick Steamboat, Jerry Lawler, Bill Goldberg, British Bulldog, Road Warrior Hawk, Jesse Ventura, and Hulk Hogan; and legends such as Lou Thesz, Gordon Solie, Bruno Sammartino, Roy Shires, Terry Funk, and Verne Gagne. He is also host of the nationally distributed Ultimate Insiders DVD series.
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