So, here you have "Watch Wresslin' Wednesdays." Please feel free to suggest a better title, because we are woefully uncreative when it comes to naming stuff.
Better at naming stuff than us. The idea of W.W.W. is we each send the other a video that is related to wrestling (a match, promo, interview, guest starring spot, etc.). The only restriction is that it cannot be user-created, so our tribute to Randy Orton's hog ain't gonna fly here, pals. Neither of us know what kind of video we're going to get that day.
After viewing, we each write a response. This could be anything we choose: a straight commentary, a philosophical enlightenment, or classless ridicule. Just as we don't know what kind of video the other will select, neither do we know what the other will write or how they will write it. What you end up with is a mash-up of styles, which in our book equates to two-blogs-in-one, and we can take the rest of the day off.
Adam's video to Matt - Greg Valentine cuts a racial promo on JYD
Matt's response...
How many more times am I going to have to listen to that horrible rock n' roll song every time that nasty, black man comes to the ring?...I'm going to rub your nasty, black face right in, right into the ring, you understand, and all that's going to be left is a big black spot. -Greg "the Hammer" Valentine
Some might say this is racial. I know whomever posted this video would. And it sure seem Gene Okerlund would as well.
Incidentally, his reactions are so gold in this. I've always loved Tony Schiavone's reactions to any of Flair's promos, but this one is right up there with any of them. The first "nasty black" seems to take Mean Gene off guard.
"Did he...huh?" The second time around, Gene is sure that he caught a whif of something bad.
"Ok, now hold on...surely he wouldn't say it again." And the third time, well, the social warrior in him has to step up and regulate.
"I'm going to put my hand up to you now. That's quite enough sir." And all this time, Jimmy Hart is all smiles.
But getting back to my original point, there are many people who would say that this isn't the type of thing we should have to stand for, especially not now in post-racial America. I submit, however, that perhaps "the Hammer" didn't do anything wrong at all.
I present Exhibit A:
Now look at him. Tell me how anything Greg Valentine said was incorrect. First of all, yes, he's black. That's obvious to everyone, certainly to someone who has to lock up with Junkyard Dog from time to time.
Second, he has a face. It's that thing towards the top of the picture. Pretty much everyone has one, and he's no different than anyone else. Even if he really were a junkyard dog, he would still have a face.
And third, it could be considered "nasty." Realize that I'm not offering my opinion on JYD's face; I'm just saying that to some people, his face could be nasty. It's not particularly pleasant. He's got quite a scowl going on there. It's hairy, and a little oily. I see no reason to begrudge Valentine for thinking that Junkyard Dog's face is "nasty."
He doesn't say that his face is nasty because it's black, does he? We're just assuming that's what he means. And suppose for a second that he were fighting someone like Jake Roberts, who's face is also possibly nasty and is not particularly tan. Would we be upset if he said Jake had a "nasty, white face."
I don't think we would.
Maybe it's time to start looking past race, and maybe we should stop assuming that anytime someone mentions the color of a man's skin, it's not a degrading remark as much as it's simply a characteristic of the man.
Now, as far as leaving a black spot on the ring? Well, I don't know what he meant by that. Maybe he thought JYD was really Piper who'd gone full-coverage on the body paint.
Or maybe he could have just dropped "nasty, black N" on him and saved us a little trouble.
Matt's video to Adam - Piper's Pit: Where's that Junkyard Dog?
Adam's response...
First thing you notice: panther tee shirt. Awesome.
Anyway, this is a rather in depth Piper's Pit segment that was taped in 1984 from the glamorous Brendan Byrne arena, located at the state of the art Meadowlands sports complex in beautiful, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Anyway, Roddy Piper is getting standard heel heat by insulting a local sports team. The fans are throwing garbage and he says that "if only our baseball team could throw like that!" Well I'm going to assume he means the Yankees, but they're a New York team. If he wanted to really insult us he should have picked the Devils, who were terrible at the time. But, it's hockey, so no one but me would care.
Hot Rod then brings a fan into the ring. A Mr. Jack Baker, who hails from Morristown, NJ. For some unknown reason the crowd cheers this. In all honesty though, he was pretty good. He held his own with Piper, got in a few good lines, let Piper get in more good lines, and seems like a nice enough dude. I sure hope he wasn't a plant. He probably wasn't though, because like a woman, he exited the ring underneath the middle rope.
Piper then calls upon a "lady" from NJ. Yikes. She is not a looker, despite Piper's insistance to the contrary. Thankfully, she's not actually from New Jersey; she's from Westchester! And her favorite wrestler is Hulk Hogan! Rather then attack her for entering the Pit unprepared, Piper let's her go. And you thought he wasn't a nice guy?
One of my pet peeves in life is on display in this video. Maybe it was to get heel heat, but I find it to be very common. Namely, everyone entertainment group that performs in the state always referees to that city as "New Jersey." This doesn't happen anywhere else. Well guess what, LOL audience? Time for your civics lesson.
New Jersey is a diverse state, complete with industry, agriculture, education, and the arts. Although often thought of as having only highways and oil tankers, the Garden State is actually rather agrarian. The state is the world's leading producer of both cranberries and squash! The average income is the second highest in the nation. Rather fitting for the first state to ratify our Bill of Rights, no? Another large industry is tourism. The famed Jersey Shore offers fun in the sun, while rocking out to the acclaimed "Jersey Shore" sound created by Bruce Springsteen and Southside Johnny.
Some more fun facts: Napoleon's brother, Joseph, lived in New Jersey for 17 years. The first baseball and football games ever took place in the state. The Lindbergh kidnapping occurred here as well. Also, the following inventions were all created in the state:
- FM Radio
- motion picture camera
- battery
- light bulb
- electric train
- saltwater taffy
- ice cream cone
- and submarine warefare
- Jack Nicholson
- Danny Devito
- Bruce Springsteen
- Jon Bon Jovi
- Frank Sinatra
- Thomas Edison
- Kevin Smith
- Queen Latifah
- Redman
- Count Basie
- Muhammed Ali
Anyway, this being black history month, both Matt and myself sent each other videos involving The Junk Yard Dog. So clearly the JYD is going to....no? Some Italian dude came out insted? His name is Salvatore Bellomo, and no, that's not a worked name. I'm sure he was a big star in NJ, being Italian and all, so the descision to send him out would garner a huge pop. I bet Little Guido/Nunzio was at this show, and that's what inspired him to be a professional wrestler.
A little background on Bellomo:
Then
NowJust kidding. That's actually the Nintendo mascot, Mario. This is what he looks like now:
Eh..wasn't that far off.Heh, Piper called him a "dumb WOP" on live television. What a time to be alive.
Of course, Sal has got to be a man and not let that slide, as he answers Hot Rod back with the greatest comeback ever. "Don't call me a dumb WOP or I will beat you." Sick burn.
And now "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorf comes out of the lockerroom to hug both Piper and Piper's bodyguard, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. What's going on here? This is insane.
Sal is about to be beat up when he's saved by a mummy! What a pop! He has a chain! Where did a mummy get a chain!? Oh, it's the Junk Yard Dog. His head was covered like a mummy. Well, New Jersey was the last northern state to abolish slavery, so maybe he had to go incognito. Regardless, you know what I always say. "Don't bark at a junk yard dog!"
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