Reported by Adam Martin of WrestleView.com
On Monday, June 2, 2008 at 12:26 PM EST

The Wrestling Professor sent this in:

Welcome to the Armpit wrestling quiz for the week of June 2, 2008. We missed last week because of the Memorial Day holiday. Okay, we missed it because we didn’t make time to write it. And we almost missed this week because of an incredible weekend of MMA fights.

Some of you wrote in saying that the past few weeks have indeed been newsworthy, pointing to the suspension of Michael Hayes. The real truth is this: in pro wrestling, the odds are greatly stacked against you unless you are tall, muscular, or part of the social circle/gene pool of those in charge. If you’re not any of those things, prepare to face discrimination regardless of your race. Welcome to wrestling.

In (dis)honor of Michael Hayes, this week’s quiz is called, “Discrimination in Wrestling.”

Answers from last time:

-Santino Marella was involved in WWE’s firing of Jim Cornette.

-Ric Flair got in trouble for a road rage incident in 2005.

-Iron Sheik was caught traveling with Jim Duggan, and drugs, in 1987.

-Dr D. David Shults slapped John Stossel twice.

-Vader got in trouble for roughing up a talk show host in Kuwait.

-That unfavorable-to-Lex segment on Elizabeth’s death was shown on a program called WWE Confidential. I remember taping those shows and my wife found these tapes that were labeled “Confidential” and asked me what the Hell was going on here.

-Hulk Hogan married Linda just before his first WWF title win.

-Hurricane Helms was not allowed to be called Shane Helms for the obvious reason: Shane McMahon already had dibs on the name Shane. Somehow UFC thrives with tons of guys named Thiago and Silva, but WWE has weird rules that make no sense.

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. In my next life, I want to come back as a member of a minority group that has big stars who are suing a rich company for millions so that I can piggyback on the lawsuit and make out like a bandit. That’s what some wrestlers did when they sued Turner for racial discrimination, despite most of them not making it in WCW for reasons other than their race. They reportedly made a ton of money in the suit, while many in the company who really were discriminated against ended up with nothing. What was the irony of Sony Onoo being part of the lawsuit?

2. Name the former wrestler from that same lawsuit who was recently arrested in Georgia. Talk about winning the jackpot and then blowing it by doing something so incredibly stupid.

3. Very early into Lex Luger’s 1991 WCW title win, he feuded with an African American wrestler and race was blatantly used in the angles leading up to their Clash of the Champions main event match. Whom was Lex feuding with?

4. Booker T and Stevie Ray, famous as Harlem Heat, had an uneasy start in WCW when they almost debuted in a gimmick that would essentially have them portrayed as slaves in chains, managed by a Southern white man. Luckily Eric Bischoff got wind of the idea, which was very close to getting approved, and put the kibosh on it. As part of this act, who was the Southern white man going to be?

5. Konnan, as part of LAX, gave a racist promo in TNA in which he said something along the lines that he’d “Never take orders from no white boy.” Imagine the uproar if HHH had said the same thing but substituted “black man” for “white boy.” Whether those were Konnan’s own comments or lines that TNA scripted for him remains to be seen, and will probably come out in a lawsuit fairly soon. In that promo, who was the “white boy” Konnan was talking about?

6. Bill Watts was fired from WCW for remarks he made over a year prior in a Pro Wrestling Torch interview. In the interview, Watts said someone who owns his own business should be allowed to run it the way he wants. His analogy was that a restaurant owner who didn’t want to serve to blacks should be allowed to not serve blacks. It should be noted that Watts no longer feels this way, but the good news was he got fired because WCW was the pits with him in charge. Name the man who brought these remarks to the attention of Turner executives, which led to the firing.

7. Vince Russo made remarks several years ago that were, in my opinion, a lot worse than what Watts said. Yet somehow Watts was fired and Russo remains as powerful as ever in TNA. Quick, someone fax Russo’s racist comments to Panda Energy so that Russo can get fired. Russo said, “…I don't want to sound like a big bigot or a racist or anything like that, but I'm an American ... if I'm watching wrestling here in America, I don't give a sh*t about a Japanese guy. I don't give a sh*t about a Mexican guy.” That interview was conducted by whom? By the way, it should be noted that the interviewer, who writes often for WrestlingObserver.com, agreed with Russo’s comments right after Russo said them.

8. “Whatever you think about the Japanese, whether you like ‘em or hate ‘em, you have to respect them.” That’s a quote (paraphrased) from someone at WCW WrestleWar ’92, showing that the mindset of people who grew up in the 1950s is quite different than the mindset of younger fans. Luckily no one watched WCW back then, so that quote (which was in reference to Takayuki Iizuka regarding his match with the Steiners) didn’t land the Turner organization in hot water. Who said that quote?

9. “I don’t like gays. Write that down in your little notebook. I don’t like gays.” Who said that offensive quote in 2004?

10. “Lucha libre” is pro wrestling in Mexico. But in WCW, some higher-ups referred to Mexican wrestlers as “lucha libras,” making sure to pronounce “libra” as if it rhymed with “zebra.” The correct term is “luchadores,” but whatever. On the Monday Night Wars DVD, who gave Eric Bischoff credit for utilizing “lucha libras?”

11. For every short, talented, wrestler with an unimpressive physique who doesn’t stand a chance of making it in WWE, there is a natural, unattractive, self respecting woman who doesn’t stand a chance of making it in WWE as a Diva. That was evidenced by the Diva Search, which set new lows in WWE programming standards. In what year did the Diva Search debut, and who was the first ever winner?

12. This wrestler claims he was fired from WWE for being gay. Personally, I feel he was fired because WWE’s creative team is full of nimrods who don’t know how to judge good talent and take advantage of it. This wrestler went public with his claims, including a memorable appearance on the Howard Stern Show in which he debated the topic (and won handily) against Ric Flair. Name this wrestler.

Answers will be posted next week.

The Armpit
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