On Monday, April 17, 2006 at 2:19 PM EST Welcome to this week's edition of the Armpit quiz. Lost in the hoopla of the WreslteMania aftermath and Randy Orton’s disciplinary problems was Rey Mysterio’s WWE title win. You know, the smallest WWE champion in history?
Of course that gimmick is misleading. Rey Mysterio does not represent small guys. Spike Dudley represents small guys, and he’s winning no world title anytime soon. Rey Mysterio was a small guy who is much bigger than his natural weight, and I’ll let you decide how that happened. He also wears a mask, which hides his very young facial features and makes it easier for him to get over. He also had to do insane aerial maneuvers to even get noticed, which bigger guys don’t have to do in order to get a chance in this business. He also comes from a wrestling family, which helped get him a break in Mexico, which led to his break in the States. He is also linked to Eddy Guerrero, whom WWE loves to exploit. He is also feuding with Randy Orton, whom WWE just suspended, watering down the roster’s star power. And finally, he is Hispanic at a time when wrestling promoters have finally realized there is a growing Hispanic population in this country with purchasing power. Throw it all together, and you have a story that isn’t quite the triumph WWE is hyping it up to be, and the lukewarm crowd reaction to Rey Rey at WrestleMania is proof that astute wrestling fans are seeing right through it.
None of this takes away from Rey’s ability, as he has been a top-notch performer in wrestling since 1992. In fact, I remember reading in the Observer around that time when Dave Meltzer suggested Rey Mysterio as this country’s answer to Tiger Mask; a talented small guy who could revolutionize American cruiserweights, be marketed to kids, sell tons of merchandise, and draw the Hispanic audience. It only took WWE 14 years to realize that, and that’s throwing in all the conditions I listed above.
This week’s quiz is based on “Small Guys.” We are ectomorphs, hear us roar.
Last week's winner:
Chris, with nothing to plug.
Last week's answers: (Click here) for last week's questions.
-Savage’s heel opponent after WM4 was Ted DiBiase. Having been a Savage mark since WM3, I was quite a happy 6th grader during this time period.
-Honkytonk Man took Steamboat’s IC title, and HTM to this day will not let us forget it. Well, he did get over.
-Hogan’s post-WM5 heel opponent was Tiny “Zeus” Lister.
-Hogan’s post-WM6 heel opponent was Earthquake. Speaking of earthquakes, today is the 100-year anniversary of the 1906 San Francisco quake. I just saw a TV special that warned us we’re basically long overdue for another one that will turn the Bay Area into a disaster of Katrina capacity. 1989, they say, was just a taste of what’s to come. I can hardly wait.
-Ultimate Warrior returned at WM8, but you wouldn’t know it from his stupid-looking haircut.
-Hogan lost to Yokozuna at King of the Ring ’93. It was Hogan’s last WWF appearance until 2002.
-The WM Revenge Tour happened after WM10.
-Vince used the Bret Hard screwjob in order to turn himself heel.
-ECW went out of business before WCW.
-Heyman was Lesnar’s “agent.”
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. We're not calling this the "Dr. Keith Rule" again until Keith subscribes to Sirius satellite radio, which is an inside joke that should be kept outside, but we're putting it inside anyway.
Question #1
1. I remember standing next to the elevator, when one of the hotel employees said, “See that guy over there? He’s a bad-ass wrestler!” I look his way, and I saw some 12-year-old kid. I quickly figured out it was Rey Mysterio Jr without his mask. This was 1995, hours after the show had ended that night. What American promotion gave Mysterio a big push in late 1995?
Question #2
2. One of the first “small” guys to get over in the modern era was Sean Waltman. Sean made his name on the indie scene and in the GWF, and when Raw was starting, he became a jobber for a few weeks under a different name each week. He became the “1-2-3 Kid” when, instead of doing the usual job again, he pinned a major star and became an instant sensation. Whom did the 1-2-3 Kid pin in this memorable match?
Question #3
3. Another small guy who got a chance in the USA was Spike Dudley. I happened to be in attendance for Spike’s professional wrestling debut in San Jose, CA in 1994. Before he was Spike Dudley, he wrestled by his real name, which is what?
Question #4
4. 1990 was the year of Jushin Liger, as he rose to prominence and captured a ton of Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards. He was very short, but had a thick physique (which was covered up with the costume, go figure). The newsletter praise for Liger was so much that WCW brought him in toward the end of 1991. During Christmas of that year, Liger had a run of great matches with what WCW wrestler?
Question #5
5. Speaking of Liger, he returned to our TV sets last year when he faced what wrestler on a TNA PPV?
Question #6
6. The small guy who started it all was Satoru Sayama, who wrestled as Tiger Mask in Japan. His matches with Dynamite Kid are legendary, and inspired a whole generation of small wrestlers trying to follow in their footsteps. In fact, what current WWE star openly patterned himself after the Dynamite Kid?
Question #7
7. One “small” guy who tried to be big was Brian Pillman. Pillman was an excellent wrestler who really brought some life to WCW’s undercards from 1989 through the mid 90s. Brian had a legit close call, though, at WrestleWar ’91. What happened to him that night?
Question #8
8. After ECW showed Americans what cruiserweights could do, Kevin Sullivan stole them all and expanded his own cruiserweight division in WCW. Which of the following (only one) was NOT a cruiserweight wrestler in mid-90’s WCW?
Dean Malenko
Eddy Guerrero
Rey Mysterio Jr
Juventud Guerrera
Mistico
Jerry Lynn
Ultimo Dragon
Psicosis
Chris Jericho
Question #9
9. The top cruiserweight wrestler in this country right now is AJ Styles. He will be one of the first home-grown TNA stars to become a major star in the USA in 2006. When TNA was starting out earlier this decade, though, he was a heel. Who was his manager?
Question #10
10. Finally, let’s end with Samoa Joe. Les Thatcher recently called Joe TNA’s answer to Steve Austin. Not quite. Austin was a world-class talker, and Joe still needs to improve in that area. In the ring, though, he’s ready for prime time. Would you rather see Joe compete in the X division, heavyweight division, or both?
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 "JOHN CENA." 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: Mock My Brain with TNA superstar Alex Shelley. Then we have loads of great guest columns. #1, a rant on Jim Rome. #2, examining WrestleMania with a comedic twist. #3, Jimbo admits he was a teenage indy wrestler. #4, Brad Ravlin returns. And #5, the TRUTH about Randy Orton, and it’s not pretty. Please stop by the site today.