On Monday, February 18, 2008 at 4:36 PM EST Welcome to the Armpit wrestling quiz for the week of February 18, 2008. Sorry we missed the last two weeks. Mrs. Wrestling Professor had some minor surgery so I was home taking care of her. It gave me a much greater appreciation for wrestlers and fighters who go through far more major surgery. When you're an athlete, it's incredibly frustrating when you want to get up and be active, but can't because your doctor ordered you to 12 weeks of bed rest. It also makes it perplexing how injured wrestlers almost always come back bigger and more cut (ala John Cena), but I suppose it's only perplexing to people who actually believe wrestlers when they say don't use performance enhancing drugs.
Brock Lesnar had the entire attention of the pro wrestling and MMA world two weeks ago when he faced former UFC champ Frank Mir in a highly publicized debut. The coolest part of that fight wasn't Brock's power, hammer fists, or quickness, but the fact that he chose the coolest entrance song ever ("Shout at the Devil" by Motley Crue). When that riff and drums started blaring through the speakers and lights started flickering, I got chills and started pumping my fists. The next time Brock pumps his fists, though, it better not be to the back of someone's head. That's illegal, you know.
Being matched with Frank Mir in your 2nd ever fight is like being asked to be CFO of Microsoft straight out of college with no experience. Despite that challenge, Brock was wiping the mat with him for 85 seconds before he lost. In other words, he did awesome, and in my opinion, that finish couldn't have been booked more perfectly.
In honor of the Next Big Thing, this week's quiz is on "Brock Lesnar."
Answers from last time:
-The Chris Benoit Tribute last year showed the ending of the '04 Rumble, which was won by Benoit.
-The finish of Rumble '05 was a play on a finish of a cage match on Saturday Night's Main Event between Hulk Hogan and Paul Orndorff.
-At Rumble '06, the cruiserweight champion was Kid Kash. That guy has so much talent (good look, great workrate, good promo skills, natural heel personality), but ruined his career with his honesty in media interviews. His work in TNA with Abyss in 2004 was top notch, in my opinion. Note to everyone who holds a job: keep your mouth shut and never be honest when speaking about co-workers or potential employers. Phony yes-men may lack integrity, but they have jobs and have more money.
-Cena vs. Umaga at Rumble '07 was a Last Man Standing match.
Here are this week's questions. Remember, the new rules are that you no longer need to submit your questions, and no winners will be declared. We're just doing this for fun and to honor the forgotten world of wrestling history.
1. One of Brock's college roommates was someone who actually became a more talented pro wrestler than Lesnar, but never made it quite as big. Part of that is politics, and part of that is this man's natural shyness in front of the camera. But he can work like a demon. Name him.
2. The Brock vs. Rock feud of 2002 was very well done; one of the few highlights in an otherwise uninspiring year of HHH-dominated booking and post 9/11 depression. My favorite was when Brock walked down the ramp on Raw, with his nose in the air, as Rock was walking back to the dressing room. Brock totally blew him off, ignoring him as if he wasn't even there. Rock's facial expression after that snub was tremendous. Subtle booking trick that worked. The two eventually wrestled in a match that, thanks to Paul Heyman, was hyped like a modern day UFC fight complete with training clips that presented the match-up as an authentic sport. The result? A very high buyrate. But since the idea came from Heyman and not Stephanie, the idea was never tried again and Heyman was demoted. Get used to pro wrestling as it will be after Vince retires. What PPV did Rock vs. Brock headline?
3. After being on an incredible roll and really getting over big, Brock's momentum was stopped dead in the water when he lost the belt just months later to the slow, prodding, Big Show. I wonder if Hulk Hogan came along 20 years later than he did, if his momentum would've also been stopped by such stupid booking? But that isn't the quiz question, so don't answer that. Many months later, Lesnar and Show had a match on SmackDown that ended with a memorable special effect that made quite a visual impact. What happened?
4. Brock had a long, inevitable feud with fellow amateur wrestling legend Kurt Angle. Their WrestleMania XIX match was excellent, even though the finish was botched to a nearly tragic degree. Their most watched match, however, was a very lengthy battle on SmackDown, literally hours after Angle had a death in his immediate family. What kind of match was this?
5. One of the most magical moments of this decade was Eddy Gurerrero's emotional title win over Brock Lesnar at No Way Out '04. What arena did this match take place in?
Answers will be posted next week.
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