Two thoughts here: (1) as long as I've followed pro wrestling I've never heard Dutch Mantell ever get upset over anything and he was on the verge of getting angry over Raja Jackson's actions over the weekend (and no, I won't show the video because having already seen it, its' just too graphic to show) and (2) if this had happened back in the 90's - never mind the 70's or 80's - Raja ain't walking out of this venue because the other wrestlers would've likely beaten the bloody fuck out of the boy (I refuse to call Raja Jackson a man because of what he did to Stuart Smith, a/k/a Skyo Stu because a man would've stopped after noticing the other guy was unconscious) and left him on the street corner in a pile somewhere, if that.
The worse part here? If this goes to a criminal court, the odds are there that, in this jaded and cynical society we live in, particularly with regards to pro wrestling, the jury might just decide it was a work and acquit Raja Jackson over it.
There are tons of things one could say about the late Hulk Hogan and people will say everything; my own view is this: as a wrestler, Hulk Hogan was one of the greats of all-time, period and end of story. As a person, the late Terry Bollea was a Grade-A prima donna asshole.
That said, thoughs and condolences go out to the Hogan family on the loss of a wrestling legend. Rest in peace, Hollywood Hulk.
Two things you can say about wrestling legend Ric Flair that are equally true - (1) that he is one of the most legendary wrestlers in the world and (2) that h'es the kind of asshole attention whore who makes regular-grade attention whores look like upstanding people.
He's also one of the reasons the National Wrestling Alliance lost a lot of its' authority back in the 1980's as the old territory era of pro wrestling waned and disappeared; quoting TV Tropes..."The treatment of the NWA World Heavyweight title, particularly in the late 80s throughout Ric Flair's various reigns. The NWA presidency was becoming declawed while various member promotions were stretching just how much they could get away with. Specifically, NWA bookers wanted their own top stars to go over the champion. In the past, the champ was the champ, and while the champion's job was to make local stars look good, he would still almost always come out on top. But more and more, regional members wanted special exemptions made: Dusty Rhodes did not want to lose in Florida, the von Erichs did not want to lose in Texas, and so on. More and more, the front office gave in, leading to more and more time limit draws meant to keep their members happy. The overall perception, then, to the casual wrestling fan, was that perennial WWF champion Hulk Hogan was an unstoppable juggernaut who had a solid hold on his belt, while Ric Flair was more lucky than good by taking a beating in every match from almost everyone and just barely escaping. A lack of solid high-profile victories over anyone of status by the NWA champion eventually began to erode the importance of the NWA title."
In other words, while Vince McMcMahon, for all of his numerous faults, kept his top dog Hulk Hogan as an unstoppable force w/in the then-WWF while the 80's NWA, in an effort to appease their declining territorial power, played wag-the-director w/local promoters, thus making Flair look like he LCS'ed (LIed-Cheated-Stole) his way through championship title matches, thus weakening the overall brand.
James Romero's not wrong here; while Dave Meltzer and his Wrestling Observer Newsletter was relevant back in the 80's and 90's, he's long become a sad joke (and with all due respect for Frank Deford, what standard for journalistic excellence are you using?). Worse, his current "journalistic stylings" are akin to copious amounts of tongue-watching pretty much everything AEW and its crackhead booking style owner, Tony Khan either says or does.
And Lord, don't get me started on the joke that is Meltzer's ratings system....
If it wasn't apparent to anyone who isn't an AEW sicko, Tony Khan can't book worth a damn. Hell, Vince fucking Russo can book better than Khan...and I say this as a Jim Cornette fan. (Apologies for the f-bomb there, folks. ;) )
