Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestler, better known by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_name "the Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWWF_Championship. Since first watching https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling on TV at the age of eight, he wanted to become a wrestler, and would often wrestle with his brothers growing up. At age 18, he left high school and joined Jack Wentworth's wrestling school in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton,_Ontario, where he would lift weights and learn wrestling holds. He stood 5 feet 10 inches (1.78 m) tall, and weighed approximately 270 pounds (120 kg). Towards the end of his career, he dropped a considerable amount of weight and was tipping the scale at 205 pounds (93 kg). In 1967, Perras became "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff, a bearded villainous character billed from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine, and debuted with the International Wrestling Association in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal. He defeated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Rougeau for the IWA International Heavyweight Championship the following year. Koloff debuted in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE in late 1969, managed by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Albano. He soon started a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feud_(professional_wrestling) with then-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_World_Championship https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruno_Sammartino. On January 18, 1971, Koloff defeated Sammartino in Madison Square Garden for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling#Pinfall after a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_aerial_techniques#Diving_knee_drop, ending Sammartino's seven and two-thirds years reign. Koloff lost the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_championship 21 days later to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Morales, essentially being used as a "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Transitional_champion" to move the title from Sammartino to Morales without the two fan favorites working against each other, much like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Stasiak and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Iron_Sheik would be in later years. After the loss, Koloff remained a contender for the title but never reclaimed it, leaving the WWWF in 1971. During his time in the WWWF, Koloff weighing in at 310 pounds (140 kg) wrestled WWWF World Heavyweight Championship title matches against Sammartino, Morales, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar_Billy_Graham and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Backlund, holding the distinction, with fellow villain Stan Stasiak, as one of only two men to challenge all four of these champions. Koloff would also be the first opponent to ever challenge for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship in a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_match_types#Steel_Cages in a rematch loss against Sammartino. He fought in the WWWF from 1975 to 1976, 1978–1979 and 1983. During the 1970s and 1980s, Koloff found success in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Wrestling_Alliance, winning many regional https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tag_team_championship and singles titles in the Georgia, Florida, and Mid-Atlantic territories. In February 1981, he https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tag_team with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Stevens_(wrestler) to defeat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jones_(wrestler) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Eadie to capture the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_World_Tag_Team_Championship. This would be the first of his four reigns as NWA World Tag Team Champion, later winning the belts with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Kernodle and twice with his "nephew" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabe), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikita_Koloff as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russian_Team. The Russians (which also included https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Darsow) were a top villainous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Stable from 1984 to 1986, and Nikita, under Perras' training and mentoring, and by association, became a hated villain in his own right, and would go on to have a successful singles career of his own. After Nikita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Turn on Ivan to join their enemy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_Rhodes in 1986, the latter teamed with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Petrov_(wrestler) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Murdoch to get revenge. Koloff's biggest NWA feuds were against Rhodes, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Road_Warriors, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rock_%27n%27_Roll_Express (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Morton and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Gibson_(wrestler)) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnum_T._A. In 1988, Koloff spent time in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jones_(wrestler)' faction, The Paul Jones Army, where he was a "coach" of sorts for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Powers_of_Pain, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Barbarian_(wrestler) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Warlord_(wrestler). He later split with Jones, reunited with Nikita, and feuded with Jones' team, The Russian Assassins, before leaving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions in January 1989. In 1992, Koloff also wrestled in the first television main event of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Cornette's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoky_Mountain_Wrestling, beating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Fulton. He lost to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Garvin at Tim Horner's National Championship Wrestling on July 22, 1994. He retired afterwards. Perras wrote a book titled Is That Wrestling Fake? The Bear Facts that was released on January 1, 2007. He became a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_again_(Christianity) in 1995https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Koloff#cite_note-17 and traveled to churches to share his testimony as an ordained minister. Koloff spoke openly and candidly of his conversion to Christianity and struggles with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_(drug) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recreational_drug_use and the crazy days of wrestling in his 2014 book, Life in the Trenches. Perras died at his home in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winterville,_North_Carolina, on February 18, 2017, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_cancer.

Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. Trained by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_Jones, Matthews started his career at the age of 15 in 1983. His first matches took place at one of the rare final wrestling carnival booths at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Pleasure_Beach. He went on to wrestle for national promotions on the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_in_the_United_Kingdom and wrestled on television for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_(TV_network). He then progressed to touring around the world until 1993 when he was signed to WCW, where he took the ring name Steven Regal and became a four-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship. In 1998, Matthews joined the WWF (later WWE), where he became a two-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship, a five-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hardcore_Championship, a four-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_European_Championship, a four-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tag_Team_Championship_(WWE), and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Ring_(2008) winner of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Ring_tournament. He also had stints as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_authority_figures such as commissioner, General Manager of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_(WWE_brand), and match co-ordinator for the 2011 season of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_NXT_(seasons_1%E2%80%935). As NXT became WWE's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NXT_(WWE_brand) in 2012, he appeared as the on-screen General Manager; behind the scenes, he began serving as WWE's Director of Talent Development and Head of Global Recruiting from 2018 until he was released in 2022. He then signed with AEW and debuted as the founder and manager of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Combat_Club, leaving the company nine months later to return to WWE as the Vice President of Global Talent Development. Matthews made his debut wrestling for promoter Bobby Barron at his wrestling challenge booth at the Horseshoe Showbar at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackpool_Pleasure_Beach at the age of 15. In time, he graduated to be a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catch_wrestling at the booth, using brutal submission holds to defend prize money against challenges from members of the public. By this time, he wrestled professionally all over Britain for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Star_Wrestling where he regularly teamed with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Brookside as The Golden Boys tag team. Both Regal and Brookside appeared in several televised matches during the final years (1987–1988) of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITV_Network's coverage of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_in_the_United_Kingdom. World Championship Wrestling (1992–1998) In the fall of 1992, Matthews reached out to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Watts on a position in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). Watts responded favourably to Regal's letter and offered him a contract. Appearing still as Steve Regal, beginning as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(professional_wrestling) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Gimmick. Regal made his televised debut on 30 January 1993 episode of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Saturday_Night and defeated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(professional_wrestling) Bob Cook in his in-ring debut on the following week's Saturday Night. Shortly after his debut, Regal entered a tournament for the vacant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship in which he defeated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Barbarian_(wrestler) in the first round before losing to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc_Mero in the quarterfinals. He became the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(professional_wrestling) "Lord Steven Regal" on 12 June episode of Saturday Night, claiming descent from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_the_Conqueror and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Dundee began serving as his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manager_(professional_wrestling).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Regal#cite_note-wcw93-16 At times arrogantly charming in this persona, one of his memorable statements to a post-match interviewer was: "Do you know what my New Year's resolution is going to be? To wake up a half an hour earlier so I can hate you more". Regal was scheduled to face Bagwell's partner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Cold_Scorpio on 18 August https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_the_Champions_XXIV, but he was replaced by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Eaton. Regal himself substituted for the injured https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Pillman to team with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Cold_Steve_Austin in a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Tag_Team_Championship defence against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arn_Anderson and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roma; Regal and Austin lost that match. Regal won the World Television Championship by defeating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Steamboat at the inaugural https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_Brawl_(1993) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NWA/WCW_closed-circuit_events_and_pay-per-view_events on 18 September with the help of Sir William. Regal unknowingly broke his neck during this match. Regal enjoyed a lengthy title reign as he retained the title against a flurry of challengers, beginning with his first televised title defence against Arn Anderson on 9 October episode of Saturday Night which ended in a fifteen-minute time limit draw. He then defended the title against fellow Brit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davey_Boy_Smith, whom he faced to a fifteen-minute time limit draw at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_Havoc_(1993). Beginning with 26 November episode of Saturday Night, Regal began scouting fellow aristocrat https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triple_H during his matches, Shortly after, Levesque left WCW and he was replaced by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama-born https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Eatonhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Regal#cite_note-RingsideMag-7 when Regal and Eaton faced each other in a match on 18 March episode of Saturday Night. Regal stopped the match and proposed that he and Eaton form a team, which Eaton accepted. Regal formed the team https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blue_Bloods with Eaton and was involved in humorous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Vignette where he tried to teach Eaton the finer points of dining and the proper usage of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Received_Pronunciation. On the 9 February 1998 episode of Nitro, Regal was pinned by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Goldberg in a match which was Regal's final match with WCW, in that run. The bout garnered controversy as it was said that Regal worked more aggressively and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Stiff than expected. Regal was confronted by Eric Bischoff after the match and stated to Bischoff "I can't hit myself" Regal maintains he worked the bout as booked, but he was fired after the bout. World Wrestling Federation (1998−1999) Regal's first appearance in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE (WWF) was on the 29 June 1998 episode of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Raw in which he defeated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Droz_(wrestler) via https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Submission_(professional_wrestling) with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_holds#Cross-legged_STF. After featuring in one more match against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_Ali_Singh in Pennsylvania, Regal was sent to a training camp run by dory funk jr.

This is one of the first shoot interviews ever. Gilbert married wrestling valet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missy_Hyatt in October 1987 and they divorced in 1989. Gilbert was also briefly married to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debrah_Miceli in 1990, but the marriage only lasted four months. In early 1994, Gilbert sat down with Bob Barnett and conducted a filmed shoot interview titled "Looking For Mr. Gilbert." Gilbert spoke openly about his life and career at a time when professional wrestlers rarely appeared on film out of character and almost never spoke publicly about the behind-the-scenes machinations of the wrestling business. The footage from the interview was later marketed on home video and sold through wrestling newsletters, as well as at independent wrestling shows, the first of its kind. "Looking For Mr. Gilbert" is now considered the first professional wrestling "shoot video", and in the decades since, countless professional wrestlers have conducted sit-down shoot interviews, most notably in RF Video's Shoot Interview series and Kayfabe Commentaries' YouShoot interview series. Gilbert started his wrestling career for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continental_Wrestling_Association in 1977, using the ring name Tommy Gilbert Jr. and winning the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWA_Southern_Tag_Team_Championship with his father in 1980. He later moved to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wrestling_Federation in 1982, working a storyline as the protégé of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Backlund until leaving the company in 1984. He found his greatest success in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memphis,_Tennessee, teaming with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Rich to form “Fargo’s Fabulous Ones” and winning the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWA_Southern_Tag_Team_Championship. Gilbert eventually turned https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heel_(professional_wrestling) and feuded with Rich as well as https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lawler. He moved to Mid-South Wrestling (later the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Wrestling_Federation_(Bill_Watts)) in 1985, where he wrestled and worked as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manager_(professional_wrestling), forming the villainous https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stable_(professional_wrestling) “Hot Stuff International, Inc.” In addition, Gilbert also worked as a booker in promotions like the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Wrestling_Federation and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Championship_Wrestling (later known as Extreme Championship Wrestling), while continuing to wrestle in various promotions including https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Wrestling_Association. On February 18, 1995, Gilbert died of a massive https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myocardial_infarction in his sleep at his apartment in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isla_Verde,_Puerto_Rico. Gilbert's father, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_Gilbert, stated that injuries to Eddie's chest and heart muscle had occurred in a serious car crash in 1983 and could have been a factor; Eddie's alleged use of painkillers since the accident could also have contributed to his heart condition.

William Albert Haynes III (born July 10, 1953) is an American retired https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestler, better known by the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_name Billy Jack Haynes. Haynes started wrestling in 1982 at the age of 28. He trained in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stu_Hart's Dungeon pro wrestling school and briefly wrestled in Hart's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stampede_Wrestling under his given name, forming a tag team with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Hart_(wrestler). He started wrestling as "Billy Jack" in the Pacific Northwest territory but had to change his name when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Laughlin (who starred in the movie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Jack) threatened to sue him. He added his real last name to the gimmick and continued to work as a babyface. It is rumored that Haynes served time for manslaughter before becoming a pro wrestler. Florida and Pacific Northwest (1984–1986) He feuded heavily with Rip Oliver until 1984, when he had a run in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship_Wrestling_from_Florida where he feuded with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendo_Nagasaki for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_Florida_Heavyweight_Championship winning the title from him. They then had a brief run in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Class_Championship_Wrestling in 1985, managed by Sunshine. Due to internal conflict between Fritz Von Erich and Billy, he was written out of the organization, jobbing to Rip Oliver in a storyline where Rip bloodies and injured Billy. He rarely stayed put in any federation that he went to. During that time he faced off against the debuting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shawn_Michaels. He started splitting his time between https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_Wrestling and CWF and wrestled with partner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahoo_McDaniel and won the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_Florida_United_States_Tag_Team_Championship and in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions where they feuded with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ole_Anderson and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arn_Anderson. He had just begun a feud with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sione_Vailahi over who was the strongest man in the territory when he abruptly left the company after a confrontation with Jim Crockett in his office which became physical. World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988) In June 1986, Haynes went to the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wrestling_Federation and feuded with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage over the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hercules_(wrestler)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_IIIhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manager_(professional_wrestling)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Heenanhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kayfabehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championshiphttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blading_(professional_wrestling)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship Haynes' departure from the WWF in January 1988 has been a subject of controversy considering dramatic changes in the story as Haynes repeated it. In one version, he says he quit the WWF after refusing to do a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Job_(professional_wrestling) in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. On March 16, 2013, Haynes was hospitalized because he was suffering from an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aortic_aneurysm, and liver and kidney issues. In October 2014, the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portland_Tribune reported that Haynes filed a lawsuit in federal court against WWE, alleging "egregious mistreatment of its wrestlers for its own benefit, as well as its concealment and denial of medical research and evidence concerning traumatic brain injuries suffered by WWE wrestlers." This litigation was taken after research into https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronic_traumatic_encephalopathy (CTE), which was attributed to causing the deaths of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Benoit_double-murder_and_suicide and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_(wrestler) in 2009. Haynes also sought for the court to grant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_action status for hundreds of former wrestlers and to force WWE to establish a medical trust fund to pay for wrestlers who suffer from injuries that took place in a WWE ring. Former WWE wrestlers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vito_Lograsso and Adam Mercer filed a class action lawsuit against WWE in January 2015 while being represented by the same lawyer as Haynes, Konstantine Kyros. In March 2016, the suit was dismissed by Judge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanessa_Lynne_Bryant. At the time of dismissal, dozens of former WWE wrestlers had joined a class action lawsuit under Kyros's counsel. Billy Jack is all over the place talking crazy rumors about Vince McMahon , Dusty Rhodes, Nightmare Danny Davis, how he is going to be murdered and how he is Vinces brother, and Vince killed the all the other promotions and wanted Billy Jack as the next Hulk Hogan. Takes credit for the name Wrestlemania just like Dr. Death and Jesse Ventura. Talks crazy inside stuff about Eddie Graham committing suicide, then he talks about how Nancy Doss (Sullivan-Benoit) was supposed to be his valet and then He drops his BOMBSHELL SUPERSHOOT that Vince Killer McMahon Jr. killed Nancy and Chris along with there child and it just gets crazier from there. Take this shoot with a grain a salt, but is some of it true?

Edward Michael Gossett (September 22, 1951 – October 19, 2012), better known as Mike Graham, was an American https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestler who was the son of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Graham. Michael Gossett started wrestling in 1972 in his father's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship_Wrestling_from_Florida, which was a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Wrestling_Alliance territory. He was trained by his father, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Malenko and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuhiro_Kojima. He would often tag team with his father upon his arrival, but also formed a successful tag team with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Sullivan_(wrestler). Sullivan eventually turned on him to form his "Satanic cult", The Army of Darkness. After getting turned on, Graham teamed with the likes of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Keirn and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barry_Windham to feud with Sullivan's team and to capture several tag team titles over the years. Goes into his friendship with Kevin Sullivan and how they grew up together and how the Army of Darkness started with King Curtis, (Purple Haze) Mark Lewin, Bob Roop, Nancy Sullivan and Luna Vachon. He goes in depth on the genius and the brain child of Kevin Sullivan. Also talks about going to school with Dick Slater and then wrestling with him. Dick Slater was one tough S.O.B. ( Listen to the Dick Slater shoot we uploaded monthes ago if you want hear about when Slater flushed Stings head in the toliet for hooking up with his girl Dark Journey while working for Bill Watts in Midsouth Wrestling UWF) and how he knocked out Cowboyboy Bob Orton. Bill watts learned under the tree of Michaels father in father and his shoot interview is also uploaded as much. Remember the past teaches you alot and the stories are much better. He explains the story how his father and him found the late great Gordon Solie. He was a mainstay on the Florida circuit during the ’70s and early 80’s and was a favorite of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gordon_Solie and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dory_Funk_Jr. In 1981, Graham wrestled in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wrestling_Association and feuded with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Zumhofe over the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWA_Light_Heavyweight_Championship over the next two years. Great sstories about the origin of Billy Graham. He also speaks about Dusty Rhodes being mega over in Florida ( his shoot interview is uploaded as well) He explains the terrible heartache that Dusty brought upon his father eddie after Eddie gave him pieces of the Florida wrestling company but left Florida to get the book in Jim Crocket Promotions for Jim Crocket Jr. leaving Eddie and Mike Graham behind but took all the great talent that Eddie had already established in Florida with him because the TBS cable nationwide exposure was something they could'nt ignore. That destroyed his father. He lost Dusty , Barry Windham, Kevin Sullivan, Lex Luger, J.J. Dillion and other greats that ultimately killed the Florida terriotory and lead to Eddie committin sucide. His father Eddie died after committing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_gunshot_suicide on January 21, 1985, leading to Mike taking over his Championship Wrestling from Florida territory.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Graham_(wrestler)#cite_note-:1-3 In the late 1980s, he would again team with Keirn and wrestled in the NWA's https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions (who he sold his father's territory to), with Keirn briefly around this time. In the following years, Graham & Keirn wrestled in Memphis as a tag team. Talks about his involvement in all booking aspects of booking Florida Champioinship Wrestling. Stories of Bill Watts and Dusty Rhodes. Hear how he found Magnum T.A. Terry Allen. Graham went back to Florida to the newly renamed Florida Championship Wrestling, where he briefly teamed with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dustin_Rhodes. Mike helped train Dustin Rhodes who has gone on to become Golddust and a trainer at AEW. Talk Graham retired as an in-ring competitor in 1992. He became a road agent for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Championship_Wrestling. Along with the likes of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Orndorff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pez_Whatley and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeWayne_Bruce, Graham also worked as a trainer in WCW as part of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Power_Plant. He goes deep into the Chris Benoit , Nancy and Kevin Sullivan issues in WCW. The infamous NEVER DREW A DIME and ERIC BISCHOFF SHOULD BE IN PRISON STORIES. The crazy fight with sid Vicious as a WCW road agegent. He was reportedly responsible for causing Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, and Perry Saturn to leave the company for the WWF, granting their releases. His father and son had committed suicide in similar manners on January 21, 1985, and December 14, 2010, (some sources state the 15th) respectively. Explains the days leading up to his fathers suicide and how he was at the NFL Super Bowl and they called him over the loud speaker to tell him the bad news. Graham suffered business misfortunes years prior to his death, and a restaurant he owned in Florida closed in 2011 after about two years of operation. He and his wife were also involved in real estate, which took a beating in Florida during the recession. His friends also claimed that he had struggled with the death of his son Steven. He was also rejected by his daughter, blaming him for the deaths in some part for his father and his son. In the final months in his life, he had felt responsible for the deaths of his father and son. On October 19, 2012, Graham was found dead by his wife of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at their residence in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daytona_Beach,_Florida during https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biketoberfest. At the time of Mike’s death, he was wearing his son’s old work boots, and also frequently threatened committing suicide to his wife. He was also intoxicated, and according to his toxicology report, Graham's blood-alcohol concentration was at 0.259. Not as famous as his father but was in wrestling his whole life and is a wealth of information. Don't think this shoot interview is one to pass on because it's shockinly informative.

James Mark Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Author and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast who has previously worked in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling industry as an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Agent, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booker_(professional_wrestling), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Color_commentator, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manager_(professional_wrestling), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Promoter_(entertainment), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#school, and occasional https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestler. Buries the World !! look Out its the louiville lip. Buckle up

In 1991, Bagwell was hired by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Championship_Wrestling, where he wrestled under his full name. Bagwell made his WCW debut on November 5 in a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Dark_match, losing to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Graham_(wrestler).https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_Bagwell#cite_note-WCWbio-2https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_Bagwell#cite_note-Guttman-8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_Bagwell#cite_note-Accl3359-9 He would then wrestle a tryout match on November 11 and made his televised debut as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(professional_wrestling) at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clash_of_the_Champions_XVII, where he was interviewed by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missy_Hyatt. He made his televised in-ring debut by defeating https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rip_Rogers on the December 14 episode of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Saturday_Night. Bagwell made his pay-per-view debut at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starrcade_(1991), where he was paired with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Garvin against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hayes_(wrestler) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracy_Smothers in a Lethal Lottery match, which he and Garvin won after Bagwell hit Smothers with the fisherman suplex to qualify for the Battlebowl battle royal later in the night, which https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sting_(wrestler) won. Bagwell received his first title shot on the January 11, 1992 episode of World Championship Wrestling against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Cold_Steve_Austin for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship, but failed to win the title as the match ended in a ten-minute time limit draw. Bagwell would then begin feuding with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terry_Taylor, which led to a match between the two at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperBrawl_II, which Bagwell won. Bagwell participated in a tournament for the vacant World Television Championship on the February 20, 1993 episode of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Worldwide, where he lost to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxx_Payne in the first round. On the February 20 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell teamed with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_Cold_Scorpio and Steve Regal to defeat Scotty Flamingo, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tex_Slazenger_and_Shanghai_Pierce in a six-man tag team match. This would lead to the formation of a tag team of Bagwell and Scorpio. During this time, Bagwell began a feud with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hollywood_Blonds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Pillman and Steve Austin), which led to Bagwell teaming with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_Watts to take on The Hollywood Blonds in a tag team match at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SuperBrawl_III, which Bagwell's team lost. Bagwell resumed teaming with Scorpio and the team gained success unlike Bagwell's previous teams as they defeated various teams including https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Eaton and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Benoit at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slamboree_(1993), Tex Slazenger and Shanghai Pierce at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Blast_(1993) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Sullivan_(wrestler) and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Orndorff at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_Brawl_(1993). As a result of their success in the tag team division, they quickly became contenders for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Tag_Team_Championship. On the October 23 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell and Scorpio defeated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nasty_Boys to win the World Tag Team Championship, thus marking Bagwell's first title win in WCW. They lost the titles back to The Nasty Boys at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halloween_Havoc_(1993). On the September 16 episode of Saturday Night, Bagwell formed a tag team with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotty_Riggs called the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Males as they defeated State Patrol in their debut match. The newly formed team defeated Harlem Heat to win the World Tag Team Championship on the September 18 episode of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Monday_Nitro. They lost the titles back to Harlem Heat on the October 28 episode of Saturday Night. Bagwell participated in the first-ever https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_royal_(professional_wrestling) at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_3_(1995) for the vacant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Heavyweight_Championship, which was won by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage. The American Males received a rematch for the tag team titles against Harlem Heat on the December 4 episode of Nitro, which they failed to win. The team would find no success afterwards and would lose most of their matches throughout 1996. During this time, Bagwell made only two pay-per-view appearances; the first at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_American_Bash_(1996), where he lost to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_Dallas_Page and the second at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_3_(1996), where he participated in the namesake match with the winner earning a title shot for the World Heavyweight Championship, but failed to win the match. On the April 22, 1998 edition of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Thunder, Bagwell wrestled a tag team match with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Norton (representing the nWo) against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rick_Steiner and Lex Luger which they won when https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Steiner interfered on his behalf. Just before that, Rick attempted his https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_aerial_techniques#Diving_bulldog finishing move, which was not executed correctly and resulted in Bagwell's head striking Steiner's back, jamming his neck and severely injuring him. Bagwell was diagnosed with several damaged vertebrae and developed https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spinal_shock, leading him to use a wheelchair and neck brace for months. He returned for an interview only to be ridiculed by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulk_Hogan and shoved to the entryway floor. On July 6, after recently having neck surgery, the wheelchair-ridden Bagwell returned to WCW in his home state of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state). Bagwell seemed to have a new attitude and even called out Rick Steiner to offer him his forgiveness. Bagwell restrained Rick while fellow nWo member Scott Steiner assaulted him with a steel chair, reaffirming his loyalty to Hogan and the nWo. Bagwell then rose from his wheelchair and helped Scott beat down Rick. In January 1999, the nWo factions reunited, leading Bagwell and Steiner to side with the nWo Wolfpac. Their alliance ended at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncensored_(1999) when Bagwell accidentally hit Steiner with a chair, costing him the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship.

The Iron Sheik, New Jack and Honky Tonk Man are drunk and out of their minds in this insane shoot interview. At first, it's funny to see these guys blasted, but the more it goes on, I can say that I've never seen a sadder interview caught on tape. Sheik goes balastic on Chris Benoit for killing Nancy Sullivan and their 7- year old boy Daniel. New Jack worked with both Benoit and Nancy in ECW so he goes crazy as well. Honky took a pay day on this . This is the craziest , wildest shoot ever. THIS SHOOT INTERVIEW IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. YOU HAVE BEE$N WARNED.

In 2004 Wrestling greatest manager of all time gave his classic Hall of Fame speech when he was inducted. Bobby is natural in comedy and has a schick that few are born with. He was so funny that Vince Mcmahon was gave him his own late night comedy style show after his failed attemt at Tuesday night Titans. Bobby could have been in Hollywood but luckily for wrestling fans he fell in love with wrestling and the rest is history. Take step back in time and laugh a little with the late great Bobby "the brain" Heenan.

Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling best known for his work with the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wrestling_Association (AWA), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions (JCP), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Championship_Wrestling (WCW), and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE (WWF, now WWE). Steamboat is often regarded as one of the best professional wrestlers of all time. In JCP and WCW, he was a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NWA_World_Heavyweight_Champions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_World_Heavyweight_Championship,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Steamboat#cite_note-nwatitle-6 a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_United_States_Champions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_United_States_Championship, a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WCW_World_Television_Champions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship, a 12-time https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tag_Team_Championship (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WCW_World_Tag_Team_Champions under the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Tag_Team_Championship, In the WWF/E, Steamboat was a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WWE_Intercontinental_Champions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship, and was inducted into the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Hall_of_Fame in 2009. Blood debuted in 1976 as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(professional_wrestling) in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Wrestling_Association (AWA) under his real name "Rick Blood". He went from the AWA to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Championship_Wrestling_from_Florida (CWF). Before his debut at CWF, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Graham gave him the ring name "Ricky Steamboat" based on his resemblance to Hawaiian wrestler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Steamboat. According to Steamboat, Graham thought "Rick Blood" was a good name for a heel, but not a face. In 1977, Steamboat entered the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Wrestling_Alliance-sanctioned https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crockett_Promotions (JCP) (which ran under the concurrent brand names "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Pro" and "Wide World Wrestling"—later "World Wide Wrestling"—as well as airing syndicated TV programs under those respective names), where he would remain for the next eight years of his career. Steamboat, who had been brought in by JCP https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Book George Scott on the recommendation of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wahoo_McDaniel, was initially billed as a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Face_(professional_wrestling) protege of Wahoo and barely spoke above whispers in interviews. Matching him with his brash young counterpart, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ric_Flair, was a natural fit. Steamboat was doing an interview on the syndicated https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_Pro when Flair, then Mid-Atlantic television champion, began goading him. Steamboat knocked Flair out with a backhand chop to set up a match between the two. Steamboat's star-making performance came when he https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pin_(professional_wrestling) Flair after a double thrust off the top rope to win the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WCW_World_Television_Championship at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WRAL-TV studios in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raleigh,_North_Carolina. Notable moments involving Steamboat's time in the Mid-Atlantic territory include: the day Flair dragged his face around the television studio, causing facial scarring, and Steamboat retaliating the following week by ripping Flair's expensive suit to shreds (an angle that would be reworked several times involving other wrestlers in the years that followed); when longtime tag team partner Jones https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Turn heel on Steamboat at the end of a two-ring battle royal; Steamboat and Youngblood painting yellow streaks down the backs of Paul Jones and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baron_von_Raschke to embarrass them into defending the World Tag Team titles against the two; Steamboat and Youngblood's top drawing feud with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sgt._Slaughter and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Kernodle; Steamboat and Youngblood being turned on by their friends https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Brisco and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Brisco; Steamboat in a shocking (and emotional) feud against former mentor McDaniel; and his last great series in the territory, feuding with https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tully_Blanchard over the NWA TV title. After creative differences with JCP booker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_Rhodes, Steamboat left the NWA. Birth of "the Dragon" (1985–1986) In 1985, Steamboat was offered a contract by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vince_McMahon and joined the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE (WWF). Shortly after his debut (where he defeated Steve Lombardi on Championship Wrestling), Steamboat was given the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Gimmick of a babyface nicknamed "the Dragon"; Steamboat's jacket-and-trunks attire was replaced by a https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keikogi and long tights. Steamboat's mother is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_American, hence his Asian features crucial for his "Dragon" gimmick. Steamboat kept the nickname and gimmick for the remainder of his career. On the November 22, 1986 edition of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWF_Superstars_of_Wrestling, Steamboat got a shot at the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWE_Intercontinental_Championship against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage. Steamboat lost the match by countout but after the match, Savage continued to assault him and injured Steamboat's larynx (kayfabe) with the ring bell, beginning an https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Angle between the two. On the January 3, 1987 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturday_Night%27s_Main_Event_IX, Steamboat returned from his injury and prevented Savage from attacking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Steele like he had done to Steamboat six weeks prior. At https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WrestleMania_III, Steamboat defeated Savage for the Intercontinental Championship. The highly influential match was considered an instant classic by both fans and critics and was named 1987's Match of the Year by both https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Wrestling_Illustrated and the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrestling_Observer_Newsletter_awards#Worked_Match_of_the_Year. Several weeks after winning the Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship, Steamboat asked WWF owner Vince McMahon for some time off to be with his wife Bonnie, who was expecting the birth of their first son, Richard, Jr. This did not sit well with WWF management as he had been groomed to become a long-term champion. The decision was made by WWF management to punish Steamboat by having him initially https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_professional_wrestling_terms#Drop the title to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butch_Reed, but Reed did not show up that night, so he dropped to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Honky_Tonk_Man on the June 15 edition of Superstars; his son was born a month later. Steamboat came back in time for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor_Series_(1987) in November 1987. He returned to the Crockett-WCW and won the NWA title at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi-Town_Rumble where Steamboat defeated Flair in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_event for the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NWA_World_Heavyweight_Championship.