On Monday, March 6, 2006 at 4:27 PM EST Welcome to this week's edition of the Armpit wrestling quiz. It's that time of year again, and history shows that WWE business usually is on the upswing in the months prior to WrestleMania. This year is no exception, and this week we'll examine those precious 3 months that have led up to WrestleMania in the past. We'll call it, "The Road to WrestleMania."
We are just a couple weeks away from WrestleMania XXII, which means we are a couple weeks away from the grand 5-year mark from the moment the U.S. wrestling business collapsed. WWE peaked at WM 17, and like any good climax, a refractory period followed that still exists to this day. While there is nothing to indicate we'll see those late '90s business highs anytime soon, the growth of TNA on Spike should at least make for some interesting headlines this year. We're just a couple major TNA signings and time slot change to Monday nights away from a genuine wrestling war in this country, and though that's far from a probability, it's certainly a possibility. 1998 this is not, but it's a lot better than, say, 2003 when WWE was free-falling and TNA was spinning its wheels under the direction of bad bookers. And with MMA about to have a banner year, TNA has the perfect opportunity to piggyback off their success and get some serious momentum going. On to the quiz.
Last week's winner:
Steve Knight, with nothing to plug.
Last week's answers: (Click here) for last week's questions.
-We got many emails telling us Hogan did win the AWA title on two occasions. I never intended on counting those two brief "title runs," because they really weren't title runs. Nevertheless, the way I worded the question made my answer incorrect. Not that it matters, because even if I accepted both answers, the declared quiz winners were still the declared winners by a sizeable margin.
-Ric Flair campaigned for George Bush Sr. I remember the news clips at the time, and Flair was so easy to spot with his bright blond hair in a sea of suits and ties.
-Wahoo McDaniel's little league coach was George Bush Sr. Wahoo within a 5-mile radius of a baseball bat is one scary thought.
-Jesse Ventura was on the Independence Party. If you said the Reform Party, I accepted that as well.
-Jesse was the Mayor of Brooklyn Park, MN.
-The Bill Clinton impersonator appeared for the WWF, not WCW.
-Jesse Ventura appeared at SummerSlam '99 as a guest referee. This caused quite the controversy at the time.
-Arnold Schwazenegger did an angle with WWE, and he went on to become my Governor.
-Mr. Wrestling II was always linked with Jimmy Carter.
-True, George Bush Jr. once had lunch with Ric Flair.
-Flair has hinted at possibly running for Governor of North Carolina.
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
1. In the months prior to WrestleMania III, Andre the Giant challenged Hulk Hogan to a WWF world title match in a memorable TV segment. Andre grabbed Hogan's shirt and ripped it with his bare hands. This segment happened on an interview show hosted by a wrestler, similar to the "Carlito's Cabana" that used to be on Raw. What interview show did Andre challenge Hogan on?
Question #2
2. I don't know the numbers, but the Hogan vs. Andre match in 1988 on NBC is perhaps the most watched American wrestling match of all-time. It has been 18 years and one month since that match, so if you didn't already feel old, now you should. Hogan lost the title that night to Andre, but Andre was later stripped (egads, bad choice of words) of the title and a tournament was held at WrestleMania 4 to crown a new champ. What WWF "executive" made the announcement on WWF TV that Andre was being stripped of the title? There is no need to have seen it live to know the answer. Just name the guy who made all those major announcements on WWF TV in those days. (Hint: This man has since passed away.)
Question #3
3. In a very successful angle, Randy Savage turned on Hulk Hogan at the 1989 NBC Main Event show. WWF angles and feuds were set up so simply and well done in those days. Hogan was back in the locker room, tending to an injured Elizabeth, and Randy got jealous. In WWF storyline, how was Elizabeth injured in that match?
Question #4
4. Prior to WrestleMania VII, Sgt. Slaughter won the WWF title from the Ultimate Warrior. Slaughter won the title after outside interference from whom?
Question #5
5. The months leading into WrestleMania 8 were one of the last successful house show runs the WWF ever had before their resurgence in the late 90s. The drawing program was Hogan & Piper vs. Flair and Sid Justice, which if nothing /* proves Sid did draw money at some point in his career, which he has always been accused of never being able to do (having Piper, Hogan, and Flair in the match helps). The Sid turn on Hogan happened weeks earlier on Saturday Night's Main Event. Very briefly, how did Sid turn on Hogan in that match?
Question #6
6. Hogan won the title at WrestleMania 9, pinning Yokozuna in an impromptu challenge after Yoko beat Bret Hart. Why Mr. Fuji would issue a challenge for Yoko against Hogan after just winning a grueling match is one of those nonsensical storylines we're just supposed to make-believe. Anyway, Hogan's appearance at WM9 was never supposed to be about the world title. All the hype surrounding Hogan leading up to WM9 centered around his match against whom? (Name his tag team partner and their opponents.)
Question #7
7. WrestleMania 11 received incredible media hype, thanks to Lawrence Taylor. Very briefly explain the altercation between Taylor and Bam Bam Bigelow that started their whole feud.
Question #8
8. The angle that helped change pro wrestling forever was Steve Austin's classic confrontation on Raw with Mike Tyson. Anyone who saw it will remember it forever. One of the classic lines said by Austin to Tyson was, "I'll beat you any day of the week, and twice on _________." Fill in the blank with the correct day of the week said by Austin.
Question #9
9. Everyone remembers the Rock/Hogan promo on Raw, which was great. But what we forget is just how silly the buildup was for Scott Hall vs. Steve Austin. Instead of being the nWo people wanted, it was Scott Hall getting bound and gagged by Austin, pushed around in a wheelchair. At WrestleMania 18, what was the role of the other nWo member, Kevin Nash?
Question #10
10. Finally, we'll end with last year's WrestleMania. It did monster business, spurred by the slow-building Batista turn on HHH that was teased for several months. Just imagine if the feud had been hyped properly. Of the following, which NEVER happened as part of the HHH/Batista WrestleMania hype?
A. Batista called HHH one of the greatest wrestlers ever.
B. Batista's comeback to a scathing HHH promo was that he said "Thank you" to HHH.
C. Batista's comeback to a scathing HHH promo was that he called Ric Flair a legend.
D. Batista did tons of media interviews saying how great HHH was and how much he helped him improve when they travelled together.
E. Batista smiled a lot, despite having been mistreated for several months as part of Evolution.
F. Batista cut a roaring, intense, heated promo about how he was going to get revenge on HHH after being mistreated for several months in Evolution.
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 "ROCKY JOHNSON." 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: John Cena gets boo’ed out of his parents’ house. Brian Hebner drops in with a guest column decrying the lack of respect referees receive. Finally, we take a look at the past, present, and future of Lance Storm. Please stop by the site today.