On Monday, January 23, 2006 at 2:44 AM EST Welcome to this week's edition of the Armpit wrestling quiz. It seems the latest fan backlash gaining steam is against AJ Styles, which is no surprise to anyone who has studied how and why babyfaces get over. The good thing is this proves wrong the silly theory that John Cena got boo'd because he can't wrestle, which is such a minor reason it happened. The real reason is that fans will reject goody-two shoes babyfaces no matter who they are, except legends like Hogan and Michaels who have the status to get away with it. Cena could work like Rick Steamboat, and he'd still get boo'd because his character kisses up to the fans and he smiles too much. The solution is to make Cena like he was a couple years ago when he was a SmackDown heel. Do that and the boo's will stop.
This is nothing new, and this week's quiz is faced on "Cheering Gone Awry." I will never understand why WWE/WCW/TNA has never tried to duplicate the success of Steve Austin by making their lead star a 'tweener. That's the secret: make your top star a babyface who acts like a heel. The closest is Samoa Joe, and I hope TNA doesn’t screw it up. This guy obliterated Chris Daniels like a true heel... and was cheered wildly. Do NOT turn Joe "face" and make him kiss up to the fans.
Last week's winner:
Jim DiMarco, from Havertown, PA and Penn State University.
Last week's answers: (Click here) for last week's questions.
-The topless woman referred to last week was the Kat, Stacey Carter. Many of you also mentioned that Jacquelyn also had a nip slip back then, which is true, and I accepted that answer as well.
-The nip slip in last year's Diva search belonged to Leyla.
-When Angel went topless, Paul Heyman was NOT booking ECW.
-Val Venis was "castrated" in WWE.
-Both Carlito and Kurt Angle insinuated that Brooke Hogan was "hot" on Raw last year.
-The ECW lesbian storyline was between Kimona Wanaleia and Beulah McGillicutty.
-Rick Rude was stripped "naked" by Jake Roberts.
-The bikini contest at WCW Beach Blast '92 was between Missy Hyatt and Madusa.
-Stacy Keibler was formerly known as Miss Hancock in that dancing-on-the-table gimmick.
-Most of you said Elizabeth was your favorite all-time valet, which means many of you are 80s children.
Here are this week's questions. Please email your answers to Quiz@ArmpitWrestling.com. The first person to get all the correct answers to me will be declared the winner and have his/her name listed next week along with anything he/she wants to plug. Remember, once you win, you cannot win again for 3 more weeks. That's our Dr. Keith Rule.
Question #1
Hallelujah to Albany, NY. That's where Royal Rumble '92 took place, and it was probably the first real time Hulk Hogan had ever been boo'd on live television to the degree he was. It was so bad that in post-production on the Saturday Night's Main Event that followed, WWF edited the crowd reactions when they showed the clips. Instead of boo's, we heard "Hogan, Hogan" chants. After Hogan was boo'd and eliminated from the Royal Rumble, he grabbed this one wrestler, which allowed Ric Flair to throw him out and win the Rumble. Who was this wrestler that Flair dumped over the top rope?
Question #2
Shortly after WCW Nitro debuted, many longtime NWA fans came back and became interested in the product again. Many of these fans boo'd Hogan on live television, which was hilarious. It was these boo's that caused Hogan to wear black colors in late '95, even wearing a black glove, which Hogan alluded to during a promo that drew criticism for its exploitation of the OJ Simpson murder trial. Right around this time or so, Hogan got especially insecure and started doing jobs left and right. True or False: Hogan did a clean job for Arn Anderson on live TV.
Question #3
If you want to see a funny match, watch the opening 6-man tag match at Halloween Havoc '92. It was a rough Philly crowd, and they boo'd the Hell out of the babyface team (Tom Zenk, Johnny Gunn, & Erik Watts) and heavily cheered the heel team (Michael Hayes, Arn Anderson, & Bobby Eaton). No doubt the Philly crowd is one of a kind, and it drove the bookers nuts. Which team won that match?
Question #4
We all know the WCW invasion of WWE was a huge flop. It's hard to understand why, what with super-over killer babyfaces like Linda and Shane McMahon leading the charge. The first ever WCW match on WWE TV died a slow death, as the live crowd took a dump all over it. Which two guys wrestled in this match?
Question #5
Chris Jericho's last WWE PPV match saw him get half the cheers, despite being the heel. Who was his opponent?
Question #6
Most male wrestling fans eventually settle down and get married. But they must be miserable, because they all want to be like Ric Flair and sleep with every woman in sight. And that's what Flair's persona was: a playboy. So it was no surprise when fans cheered him in his 1989 feud against Rick Steamboat, the family man who brought his baby son and wife to the ring. Whoever made that call was incredibly out of touch with how wrestling fans think. Thank goodness Steamboat was so awesome that he won the fans over. What WCW PPV event featured the most recent Flair vs. Steamboat match?
Question #7
Let's test your short term memory and TNA roster knowledge. The crowd at TNA recently turned on Jeff Jarrett in the wrong way, to the point it ruined a segment in which Jarrett was spoofing Sting's old characters. For each of the following Sting characters, state which wrestler dressed up as Sting:
i) 1988 Sting surfer character
ii) 1997 Sting Crow character
iii) 2006 "fat, golfing, stroller-pushing" Sting
Question #8
ECW isn't immune to turning on the product, either. Tully Blanchard once did a 40+ minute match in ECW, and the crowd totally ruined it. This was a very bad judgment call on Paul Heyman's part. Whom did Tully wrestle in this match?
Question #9
The fans in Canada didn't react as expected in the infamous Rock vs. Hogan match at WrestleMania 18. Hogan (the heel) manipulated the crowd in his favor, as he is the master of doing. Yes or No, was the nWo still around when this match happened?
Question #10
For this last question, please tell us if it turns you off when a wrestler acts like a babyface. Did you like it better when Cena was a heel on SmackDown? Would it make you like Samoa Joe less if he started acting like a babyface and begged the audience for cheers?
Security Code
11. Please write down this week’s security code in order to verify that you saw this quiz on WrestleView.com. This week’s code is "GANGREL." Any emails we receive that do not contain this code will not be eligible to win.
12. In case you win, please tell us how you'd like to list your name and plug. Due to time constraints, you will not be notified if you win, and instead will have to wait until next week when the winning name is posted. If you're playing just for fun and don't care about winning, you don't have to answer this question.
Please email your answers to Quiz@ArmpitWrestling.com. Results will be posted next week. Thanks to everyone for playing.
The Wrestling Professor
www.ArmpitWrestling.com
This week's features: Dean Malenko is charged with fraud. Then we’re back with our specialty: a whole new batch of backstage fight stories. We also present the worst of 2006, HHH challenges his unborn child to a PPV main event, the deadly “Double J” virus, and Raw is Ravlin. Please stop by the site today.