I am not usually in favor of a promoter being a wrestler but in the case of Corey Maclin, I believe that I would support the decision. No matter whom you speak to or read an opinion from it’s always the same. They say that the announcer can’t make someone watch a wrestling program. Do you think that an announcer can cause you to stop watching wrestling? When I was working for Memphis Wrestling our angle was with Corey Maclin. I have to say that I didn’t have any problem having Corey in the angle. Is he the best worker in the world? No he isn’t. Does it really matter> Of course it doesn’t if things are put together correctly. In the long run, instead of being out in front of the crowd, he can be in the back assisting since they don’t have any real help.
I am sure they can find someone to do the announcing one way or another. If they don’t have any competent announcer available why not hold a contest? That’s the way it’s done today. Even ESPN had a contest like that. It could easily work and maybe they would find a diamond in the rough. It should also be the time to start working towards getting Lawler out of the ring and behind the announcers table permanently. At this stage of his career he needs to be used in a way like WWE uses him. He clearly still wants to wrestle. If that’s the case so be it. If used correctly, there can still be value to him in the ring.
An excellent example of how Lawler’s situation should be handled is the legendary Shohei Baba. He continued to work long beyond the time where he could headline cards and make an impact. He was a man who understood the situation and dealt with it in the best interest of his company. He would be somewhere in the middle of the card and many times in tag team matches or six man tags. This way people who wanted to see the legend could still see him. It’s obvious that from all the stories you hear about Shohei Baba he was a great businessman. This is just one example of an astute businessman. Wouldn’t it be nice if we got a couple of more examples from the City of Memphis?
I believe that everyone knows that The Wild Samoans Afa and Sika were legitimate tough guys that no one could push around. There are stories that could be told and I probably will tell in future articles. There was one time in Georgia when the Samoans were in disagreements with the office and were asked to drop the belts to the Moondogs who were, in those days, Rex and Spot. Well nothing against the Moondogs but the Samoans told the office if those guys wanted the belts they needed to "take them". Many years later I asked Larry Latham (Moondog Spot) about the situation and he quickly confirmed that they had NO intention of shooting with the Samoans. I even remember asking Stan Hansen who had quite the reputation himself about Afa and Sika and he said "rough boys, very rough boys". I give this information just too somewhat substantiate the story I am going to tell.
I do not remember where we were going but when Rob Russen and I got out of the car with Afa, I slammed the door and started walking away. Afa had been sitting in the back seat behind me while I was driving. He placed his hand on the piece of metal between the front door and back door. I had no idea that he had done that and slammed the door, All of a sudden Afa calls my name and I see that Afa’s hand was slammed in the door. I was kind of stunned about it because I had never seen anything like that. I didn’t move too quickly and finally he said "Sal unlock the door just as calm as if nothing had happened. I did finally get the door open and Afa just shook it off and said "Man you better be glad I love you". It was a something my brain could hardly comprehend and it barely fazed him. I would have to say that qualifies a man as being super TOUGH.
One thing I still don’t understand is why Kenny Bolin has not been given
a chance at the big time. If you have never heard of him he is Jim
Cornette’s best buddy for years and years. He is also a manager/announcer
for Ohio Valley Wrestling. I am a firm believer I can go into WWE and make a
huge impact as a manger fairly quickly. I am also a firm believer that Kenny
Bolin could do the same thing. I don’t understand why he hasn’t been given a
chance his heat would be so natural. They could take him and put him with
some of these guys Vince try’s to shove down people’s throats. In these
types of cases Kenny Bolin would be the spoon full of sugar that makes the
medicine go down.
This picture is from WrestleReunion 2 when Mick Foly and Dory and Terry Funk
took on all three of "The Midnight Express". Many people have there opinion
of which version of the team is better. I believe most people reading this
know my personal relationship with Stan Lane is a very strong one. I do not
let that influence my opinions and it shouldn't. I have worked with four
versions of the Midnight Express , Randy Rose and Dennis Condrey managed by
Paul Heyman, Conrey and Eaton, Eaton and Lane and Eaton, Condrey and Lane.
All of these teams are very good the teams of Condrey and Eaton and Eaton
and Lane are exceptional. However, other than my trainers The Wild Samoans
for many reasons, the best version of The Midnight Express or any six man
tag team in my book is Condrey, Eaton and Lane along with James E.Cornette.
This has been a piece of my mind
