Controversy

Is The Ultimate Warrior on his way to TNA?

Ever since Hulk Hogan arrived in TNA, there have been references to The Ultimate Warrior. Several fans were allowed to speak on camera saying “My two favorite wrestlers when I was a kid were Hulk Hogan and The Ultimate Warrior.” This happened several times on a show that is not broadcast live, which is why I know it was intentional. I really believed there was a plan to bring The Ultimate Warrior into TNA at some point in time.

But several injuries to Hulk Hogan’s back may have prevented the Ultimate Warrior from appearing on TNA Wrestling. We know Hulk Hogan was originally scheduled to appear in pay-per-view events, but it was not possible. But that doesn’t mean people such as The Ultimate Warrior and Bill Goldberg aren’t eventually going to make an appearance when the time is right.

Over the last two weeks on Impact Wrestling, Eric Young has made references to The Ultimate Warrior. These were very subtle references that many people may not have noticed. Two weeks ago, Eric Young was the tag team partner of Sting, just as The Ultimate Warrior used to be in the early days of their career. But did you take a look at the boots of Eric Young? They were exactly like the boots of The Ultimate Warrior!

Last week we saw Eric Young continue to wear those boots. There was even a point when Eric Young was referring to people as a “Warrior.” The word “warrior” is not particularly common, but it could have been a coincidence in a wrestling locker room. However, when I see a person wearing boots like The Ultimate Warrior and I hear that person using the word “warrior,” it makes me think it isn’t a coincidence.

Hulk Hogan has repeatedly said his back feels better now than it has in ten years. And over the last two weeks we’ve seen Sting make progress in turning the fans into supporters of Hulk Hogan. I believe Hulk Hogan will turn into a good-guy soon. And when he does, it wouldn’t surprise me if characters such as The Ultimate Warrior and Bill Goldberg make an appearance in TNA. Those two men are two of the greatest wrestlers of all time and they represent untapped human resources in the world.

Do Wrestlers and Celebrities Lie About Their Height?

Based on what I’ve seen in the wrestling industry, it appears many of the wrestlers have lied about their height. This seems particularly true regarding wrestlers that have ever been associated with the WWE. It seems as though this is also true in Hollywood, where actors such as Arnold Schwarzenegger are criticized for lying about height and packing their shoes to raise height in a false way.

My dad enjoyed lifting weights his whole life and was even a Mr. Michigan bodybuilder. As you can imagine, my dad lifted weights in a lot of different gyms. Every once in a while my dad said professional wrestlers would come into the gyms. My dad always told me Hulk Hogan was about 6’3” tall. I didn’t want to believe my dad, because I was a big fan of Hulk Hogan.

As a kid, I had a wrestling card that said Hulk Hogan stood 6’8” tall. And in the movie Rocky III, Hulk Hogan played the role of a character named Thunder Lips. The announcer introduced Thunder Lips by telling the audience he stood “Nearly seven feet.” 6’8” tall was close enough to 7’ to keep me happy. Plus, Hulk Hogan really was far taller than Sylvester Stallone. But, as a kid, I didn’t know Stallone stood only 5’8” tall in real life.

A later wrestling card of Hollywood Hulk Hogan listed his height as 6’7” tall. I mentioned this to my dad and he said he didn’t care what that card said, he had seen Hulk Hogan in the gym before and he knew the guy was about 6’3” tall. My dad stood 6’2” tall and he said Hulk Hogan was only a little taller than him.

Here is where things get interesting. Troy Aikman is a former NFL Quarterback; we know he stands 6’4” tall. When you see Troy Aikman next to Hulk Hogan in commercials for Rent-a-Center, you can clearly see Troy Aikman is about one inch taller than Hulk Hogan. After all those years, I finally saw proof my dad was right! This also shows the Internet Movie Database is not a reliable source, because it currently lists Hulk Hogan’s height as 6’4.5” tall while Troy Aikman is listed as only 6’4” tall.

I later saw Hulk Hogan as a guest on Larry King, and I was surprised to see this issued discussed. Hulk Hogan told Larry King that at one point he did stand 6’7” tall, but currently stands 6’4” tall. Hogan said the reason why he lost height is because of several surgeries to his body, including two discs removed from his spine.

In theory, Hogan’s excuse for losing height seems valid to me. I have a cousin and a friend who both lost two inches from their height because of motorcycle accidents where two spinal discs were removed. But my dad told me Hulk Hogan was 6’3” in the 90’s, before these surgeries occurred and before these wrestling cards were printed. Also, the Rent-a-Center commercials show Hulk Hogan appears to be shorter than the 6’4” Troy Aikman.

Hulk Hogan is not alone when it comes to lying about heights. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a wrestler whose height was listed as 6’5.” This seemed reasonable, since Dwayne Johnson played football for the University of Miami in college, where his height was listed as 6’5.” But when Hulk Hogan wrestled The Rock, we clearly saw Hogan was noticeably taller. Of all the universities participating in football, one of the worst known for violating rules and being penalized for it is the University of Miami. In other words, it wouldn’t be surprising if Dwayne Johnson lied about his height in college. If you look at the Internet Movie Database, Dwayne Johnson’s height is listed at 6’4” right now (looks like someone may have lied to try and cheat someone else out of a college scholarship).

Recently, I received several emails from TNA wrestling. I was invited backstage to meet some of the wrestlers. Hulk Hogan wasn’t there, so I can’t verify his height relative to mine. However, I can tell you there definitely are some problems with the way several professional wrestlers claim to be certain heights.

Based on my observations, it appears the height of a wrestler is dependant on which large organization the wrestler first billed his height. For example, Rob Van Dam is currently listed as 6’ 0” tall, which I believe is accurate. This is probably because RVD was originally billed as 6’ 0” tall. But Jeff Jarrett is currently billed as 6’1” tall by TNA, which is definitely wrong! At best, Jeff Jarrett is 5’10” tall, as the Internet Movie Database currently lists him at.

I believe this may have to do with the fact that the WWF originally said Jeff Jarrett was 6’1” tall. From that point on, Jeff Jarrett was obligated to bill himself as 6’1” tall. This form of exaggeration was something the WWF could get away with because they did it with all athletes. The Ultimate Warrior was billed as 6’4” tall, but really was only 6’1” tall (even though the Internet Movie Database says he is 6’3” tall). Hulk Hogan was billed as 6’8” tall, but was obviously shorter. Andre the Giant was bill as 7’4” tall, but really stood only 6’10” tall.

Once these wrestlers switch from one organization to another, those lies come back to haunt them. I want to show you a couple pictures which prove my point. I stand just under 6’3” tall with my shoes on, so keep that in mind.

In this picture with Rob Van Dam in the middle, I’m on the left – a TNA Elite guest! My mother is on the right, since she was one of the people I brought with me. As you can tell, RVD really is 6’0” tall, just as he claims to be. My mom is 5’4” tall and RVD towers above her. By the way, Rob Van Dam is an EXCELLENT human being and a nice guy. I truly hope he didn’t lose his tooth, as it appeared he did in this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling.

 
In this picture with Jeff Jarrett in the middle, the picture is a little blurry but you can clearly tell Jeff Jarrett is a little shorter than RVD. This is ironic, because Jeff Jarrett’s height on TNA is billed as 6’1” tall – one inch taller than Rob Van Dam! Jeff Jarrett was very nice to my family; he is a great guy. I think the lesson to be learned is that Jeff Jarrett is a phenomenal person as long as you don’t get on his bad side the way Kurt Angle has. This is why I’m convinced Jeff Jarrett and his lovely wife, Karen, must be telling the truth about all the bad things Kurt Angle has done. 
Abyss is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. He is billed as 6’8” tall. I believe he may in fact be this tall. In fact, Abyss is so tall I was not able to get a picture with him because nobody I brought with me had the intelligence to take a picture vertically instead of horizontally. Here is a picture I took of my 5’4” mom next to Abyss. Notice how Abyss is leaning down over my mom (reducing his height by about three inches), yet he is still well over a foot taller than her. 
For the record, I’m very sorry RVD kicked out all four of Abyss’ teeth. When this picture was taken, Abyss had all of his teeth! Also, Abyss is a great guy and is very polite. My family and friends enjoyed spending time with him.

There were several other wrestlers I got to spend time with, but I was not able to get a picture with them. I can tell you AJ Styles bills his height as 5’10” tall, but is probably not that tall. Eric Young bills his height as 5’11” tall, but he wasn’t close to that tall. Generation Me – a tag team made up of Jeremy Buck and Max Buck – bill their heights as 5’10” tall. Those guys were the shortest ones in the room; they were only slightly taller than my mom! I believe both members of Generation Me are probably 5’7” tall.

With this in mind, there’s no doubt some of the wrestlers in the wrestling industry do not honestly reveal their height to the public. Some wrestlers, such as RVD and Jay Lethal, tell the truth about their height. Other wrestlers, such as Jeff Jarrett exaggerate slightly. Other wrestlers such as Andre the Giant and Eric Young exaggerate quite a bit.

Most of the time, exaggerations in the wrestling industry don’t matter. But there’s always a group of hardcore people who want to know the truth. When the numbers don’t line up, controversy is born. Thankfully, I – Michael Zoran, and my good looking friend – Kim Naroz, have solved this particular matter!

Next month, Kim Naroz will be interviewing several people from the videogame industry in an exclusive report. Just click “Add me to your TypePad people list” on the right-hand side of the screen below my picture in order to make sure you receive these high-profile controversial interviews answering dozens of questions asked by thousands of people over the last five years!

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These are some excellent electronics I strongly suggest you look at on Amazon!

Dream Match: Kurt Angle vs RVD!

I'm watching Impact Wrestling on Spike TV right now. The announcers just said there would be a Dream Match pitting Kurt Angle vs Rob Van Dam! This match is going to be AWESOME! So far we have already seen the episode is excellent, which Mr. Anderson dressed as Sting -- wearing his outfit, hair style and makeup from the 80's. Mr. Anderson called out a surprise guest, Disco Inferno!

I also love the way Velvet Sky and ODB now have a battle going. Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan will be doing some interesting things tonight, too. It appears they are bringing in some new elements to what is going on. Also, Gunner and Eric Young will apparently be having a "Finger Poke of Doom" match. Eric Young came up with this idea while Gunner was in the bathroom.

UPDATE: The winner of the Dream Match was Kurt Angle. This was an amazing match with absolutely no outside interference. This match also had some blood in it because it was very physical. As you probably know, The Monster Abyss lost all four of his lower teeth when RVD kicked him in the face. This week, it appeared RVD lost a tooth. This was fairly gross because referee Earl Hebner saw the tooth and brushed it out of the ring while RVD was bleeding all over. I feel bad for RVD and Abyss because I met both of them in Port Huron, MI. Both of these men are nice guys in real life.

We also have a new TV champion! Eric Young was able to beat Gunner in this Finger Poke of Doom match. But this Finger Poke of Doom match was very different than the famous match between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. This time Eric Young volunteered to be the loser of the match, but he then put Gunner into a small package and got a quick three-count for the win! AWESOME!

Randy Savage is DEAD! - He was Killed in a Car Wreck!

BREAKING NEWS

Legendary wrestler Randy "Macho Man" Savage is dead at the age of 58! Sadly, he was killed in a car accident in Seminole, Florida. I learned Randy was with his wife when this wreck happened. Thankfuly, Randy's wife was not killed; she suffered only minor injuries from the accident.

According to Lanny Poffo, Randy's brother, Savage suffered from a heart attack while driving. This caused Randy to lose control of the 2009 Jeep Wrangler he was driving. The Florida Highway Patrol has reported the vehicle veered across a concrete median through oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a tree. Afterwards, Randy Savage was taken to Largo Medical Center where he died from crash-related injuries.

This brings up the controversial subject of whether or not steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs may have been what caused the heart attack. Obviously, Randy Savage was in excellent physical health, with a physique far more impressive than most people in their 20's or 30's. This may have been too much of a burden for his 58-year-old body to handle.

Randy Savage is yet another wrestler to die at a relatively young age. Miss Elizabeth and Sensational Queen Sherri  worked with Randy Savage as his manager. Both of these women passed away as a result of drug overdose.

Miss Elizabeth was the real-life wife of Randy Savage at one point in time. After her death, forensics revealed that Miss Elizabeth had been mixing pills of hydrocodone, Alprazolam (Xanax), and anabolic steroids (testosterone and saizen) with vodka. It remains to be seen if any information will be revealed regarding the cause of the heart attack experienced by Randy Savage.

Of the 51 participants in Wrestlemania VII, 14 of them are now dead! If you compare this to the sport of football, all of the starters in the 1991 Superbowl are still alive. And only two of the 44 boxers who held a championship belt that year have passed away. Obviously, it is very controversial that 27% of the participants in Wrestlemania VII have now passed away. Take a look at this data that strongly suggests steroids and other drugs have been involved in the cause of death:
 
I was very disappointed when I heard about the death of Randy Savage. The Macho Man Randy Savage is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers. My thoughts and prayers are with the family members and friends of Randy Savage. I pray for mercy and grace from God to to help you through this difficult time. If you would like to share thoughts, prayers, or memories, please do so. 

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Here are videos showing some of the best matches Randy Savage was a part of:

Randy Savage vs Ric Flair – Part 1 by sterling1983. For the record, Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig is also involved in this match. Curt Hennig also died of a drug overdose. Curt’s father specifically says that steroids were involved with his death at such a young age. Randy Savage vs Ric Flair – Part 2 by sterling1983. Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Mr. Perfect interview after Wrestlemania VIII by alexshirli.

Randy Savage vs Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat – Part 1 by akim93. This is considered one of the greatest matches in wrestling history. Wrestlemania III was promoted strictly for its World Title match between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. But when Wrestlemania III was over, we saw that Randy Savage had proven Intercontinental matches between high-speed smaller men were just as exciting as matches between large men.
Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WM3, Part 1. by akim93 Randy Savage vs Ricky “the Dragon” Steamboat – part 2 by akim93.
Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat, WM3, Part 2. by akim93

Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior – Part 1 by M-Gonjol. At Wrestlemania VII we saw Randy Savage and The Sensational Queen Sherri wrestle The Ultimate Warrior. This career-ending match had a lot of twists and turns. The gods of The Ultimate Warrior appeared to let him down at one point. The lovely Miss Elizabeth bought a ticket to watch her man.
WWE-WrestleMania VII - Macho Man vs Ultimate... by M-Gronjol Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior - Part 2 by M-Gonjol.
WWE-WrestleMania VII - Macho Man vs Ultimate... by M-Gronjol

Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan - Part 1 by TheRkojames. At Wrestlemania IV Macho Man Randy Savage was the winner of the tournament that gave him the World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champions. But Savage never beat Hulk Hogan in order to get that title. Wrestlemani V gave us an opportunity to see these two Megapowers collide after their implosion based on the love of Mizz Elizabeth. Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan – Part 2 by TheRkojames. Randy Savage vs Hulk Hogan Part 3 – The Ending by Charbyno57.

Bill Goldberg is Part of TNA Wrestling!

Bill Goldberg is going to be a part of TNA Wrestling!

Tonight on TNA Impact we learned that Goldberg is almost certainly the one giving Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff a hard time each week as an "Executive." (Update: On May 12, 2011 we learned Mick Foley is this "executive." However, Hulk Hogan's twitter page and other reliable sources indicate Bill Goldberg will be coming to TNA Impact.)

Next week's episode of TNA Impact is going to be very exciting because we will learn more about Bill Goldberg, Ric Flair, and Kurt Angle. In a threat to Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett, Kurt Angle made it clear that next he would reveal who the woman is that would "put her hands" on Karen.

Hulk Hogan also seems to think that Ric Flair is a "potential candidate" as the one giving him so much trouble each week. However, Hogan and Bischoff seem to agree that they've been around Ric Flair long enough to know it isn't him -- although he is still a candidate as the person causing trouble. At the end of the TNA Impact show we were left with the cliffhanger that Goldberg is probably coming to TNA soon!

I'm very excited to learn that Goldberg will be a part of TNA!

However, I'm very disappointed to learn that Jay Lethal has been "fired" by Hulk Hogan! Jay Lethal is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time. Seeing Jay Lethal play the role of Black Machismo (imitating Macho Man Randy Savage) or seeing him imitate Ric Flair is incredibly entertaining! Let's hope either Bill Goldberg or Dixie Carter can rehire Jay Lethal.

Bill Goldberg is one of the best untapped resources in the wrestling industry right now. Hiring him will be great for ratings and great for business overall. However, I just don't see the logic in firing Jay Lethal.

Now, if TNA can just get The Ultimate Warrior and Jay Lethal, I think TNA would have no problem becoming the highest rated wrestling program on TV. Jay Lethal is currently working with Ring of Honor and is scheduled to make his debut soon.

UPDATE: On May 12 we learned Mick Foley is the "Executive" that has been giving Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff a difficult time. However, reliable sources continue to say Bill Goldberg will be brought to TNA Impact. On Twitter, Hulk Hogan was asked if he would like to bring Bill Goldberg to TNA Wrestling. Hulk Hogan replied by saying, "Bill Goldberg would blow the roof off the place." This seems to confirm many reports indicating Bill Goldberg is currently in negotiation with TNA.

Let's hope this is true! ... And let's hope Spike TV upgrades from outdated 2.0 stereo sound to 5.1 surround sound!

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Hulk Hogan is a Big Wrestler in a Little World

Today I learned that Hulk Hogan is currently involved in the filming of a TruTV reality show involving the world of wrestling. This may sound like a normal thing for Hulk Hogan, but it is actually very unusual because it involves a niche market – a market focused on “little people.” When contacted, Hulk Hogan’s spokesman said that this reality show would be just like any other reality TV show, except it would be on a “smaller scale.” Did you catch the sarcastic joke there?

What really has me excited is that the spokesman of Hulk Hogan also pointed out that the Hulkster feels better than he has in 15 years. This is believable because Hulk Hogan has experienced awful health problems with his back over the last 15 years. Only recently did Hulk Hogan recover from major back surgery that fixed the injuries and pain in his back, neck, and knee. Over the last two weeks of TNA Impact, Hulk Hogan has played more of a physical role issuing pain to other wrestlers. During those last two weeks, the number of Followers Hulk Hogan has on Twitter has grown by 30,000!

This clearly shows there are plenty of wrestling fans out there who want to see Hulk Hogan wrestling in the ring again. It’s nice that Hulk Hogan is involved in the “plot” of TNA as a promoter, but there is no doubt that what fans really want to see is Hulk Hogan in the wrestling ring. When Hulk Hogan joined TNA and appeared in early 2010, TNA saw its highest ratings ever because everyone thought they would see Hulk Hogan wrestle. Instead, we learned Hogan wasn’t going to be a wrestler; he would simply be a manager (partly because of injuries to his back). This was a big disappointment to many people, including me.

But two weeks ago on TNA Impact we saw Hulk Hogan come out wearing a brace for his neck and back. Hulk Hogan made it seem like he was injured when he was talking with Mr. Anderson. Hulk Hogan didn’t like it that Mr. Anderson was not willing to enter the wrestling ring. Hulk Hogan then poked Mr. Anderson in the eyes and threw him in the ring, closing the doors of the steel cage behind him! This one little action by Hulk Hogan caused everyone watching to get excited, just like the good ole’ days when Hulkamania was runnin’ wild!

Let’s hope Hulk Hogan enters the wrestling ring again!

Sacred Heart of McMahon Nepotism

Vince McMahon and his entire family are 100% liars, cheaters, thieves, and hypocrites. The same can be said about the board members of Sacred Heart University. I’m not just referring to “entertainment” forms of wrestling; I’m also talking about real life. I’m going to talk about several subjects that really anger me, since I play fairly by the rules but often seem to come up short in the game of life.

Recently I was watching some old wrestling matches on YouTube and I saw something that absolutely amazed me. I saw that Vince McMahon was being given an honorary doctorate degree. This really upset me because student loans placed me over $30,000 in debt while investing in my bachelor’s degree. I have no idea how much it would cost me to invest in a doctorate degree. I also spent a countless amount of time studying in order to graduate at the top of my class. But Mr. Vince McMahon gets a doctorate degree given to him for free, without investing any time other than showing up at the graduation ceremony!

I decided to do some research to see what college was offering this doctorate degree to Vince McMahon and what their motive might be for doing so. The name of the college giving this doctorate degree to Mr. McMahon is Sacred Heart University. I wanted to see why Sacred Heart University was willing to give Mr. McMahon a doctorate degree, even though no other college in the world was willing to do such a thing.

It didn’t take me long to find out why Mr. McMahon was being given a degree that he didn’t earn. I found out that Mrs. Linda McMahon, the wife if Vince, is a board member of Sacred Heart University. This type of environment is the perfect type of place for nepotism to rear its ugly head. For those of you that don’t know, nepotism is a form of bias and favoritism shown to a family member.

This means the reason why Vincent McMahon was not being offered a free doctorate degree by any other college on the entire planet is because Mrs. Linda McMahon is not a board member of those other schools. However, I think it’s pretty safe to say that if Linda McMahon were a board member of any other college, she would make sure that her hubby—Vince—got some form of degree that he didn’t earn, and therefore did not deserve to receive.

This type of immoral behavior is no surprise coming from the McMahon family. We saw a perfect example of this when Linda McMahon was running for governor of Connecticut. Linda repeatedly dodged questions about whether or not people employed as wrestlers for the WWE organization she owns are being given steroids. Linda McMahon looked like an acrobat the way she tried to dodge answering that question.

For example, when Linda McMahon was asked if her WWE wrestlers were being given steroids and using them, she repeatedly said “The health of our athletes is carefully monitored.”

Well, in the world of business and realism that statement is interpreted as “Yeah, we pay our doctors to ‘prescribe’ steroids to our employees; that way, we can get away with doing it legally. And if the blood-level measurements of our athletes start to exceed what we believe are safe, we stop giving them steroids for a while.”

The problem for Mrs. McMahon is that everyone else in the sports world and the world of moral ethics believes that what she and her husband are doing is unethical and puts the lives of the wrestlers at risks (something the selfish McMahon family is known for doing, as proven by the deaths of various wrestlers).

This problem upsets me even more when you think about the fact that Vince McMahon was recently on the cover of Muscle & Fitness Magazine because he looks so good, even though he is in his 60’s. If Vince McMahon had accomplished this achievement in a fair way, it might have been an inspiration to readers of the magazine. Sadly, Vince McMahon is definitely not someone readers of any fitness magazine would want to pattern their life after. Vince McMahon ended up with a muscular physique thanks to taking illegal steroids – something he has admitted to doing in a court of law.

What’s even worse is that Shane McMahon, the son of Vince and Linda, is also a user of steroids. What father in the world would actually be proud of his son being a steroid user? One minute Vince McMahon and his wife Linda are telling kids in Connecticut and across the world “Not to take steroids,” while the next minute Vince and Shane are injecting each other with illegal steroids. The only good thing is that Linda McMahon was not elected as governor of Connecticut.

Sadly, Vince McMahon’s whole reason for telling people not to take steroids is because he also markets nutritional supplements. Forms of protein, vitamins, and other supplements are the real reason why McMahon tells people to do things honestly. In reality, Vince McMahon wants you to buy his products in order to help him gain money. McMahon and his son will still take those illegal steroids in order to be better than you.

The difference is that McMahon employs doctors and can constantly monitor his health levels in safer ways that normal people can’t. But McMahon isn’t “normal,” he is “special,” since he takes steroids – cheating at the game of life, yet being rewarded for breaking the rules.

During his commencement speech at Sacred Heart University, Vince McMahon told the hard-working high-paying graduates “It’s important in life that you’re not afraid to fail. If you are not afraid to fail then you will be successful in life.”

The actions of Vince McMahon and Shane McMahon prove that they certainly weren’t afraid of taking illegal steroids. And the actions of Linda McMahon certainly proved she wasn’t afraid to lie about whether or not her family and her employees are given steroids. The message Dr. Vince McMahon is sending to graduates is that if you play by immoral rules like that, you will succeed in life.

The really sad thing is that Vince McMahon is correct. Hard-working people in today’s society put themselves hundreds-of-thousands of dollars in debt with student loans, only to find out that they can’t find a decent-paying job. This is something I personally experienced in life. What’s worse is that so many people play by the rules and do things fairly, yet end up as losers in the game of life.

The real losers of this situation are the students of Sacred Heart University. Due to the fact that they allowed Vince McMahon to receive a doctorate degree he didn’t earn and didn’t deserve, it means Sacred Heart University has lost accreditation. Sacred Heart University students have board members that illegally provide employees and family members with steroids and give undeserving family members degrees they didn’t earn.

Any student considering Sacred Heart University should definitely not attend that school. If you have not yet wasted money on Sacred Heart University, you should be thankful you still have the ability to avoid that bias-filled college. It’s the former graduates who paid money and worked hard for degrees that truly suffer thanks to Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon. It is these hard-working graduates that now possess degrees with less value thanks to the McMahon family.

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Hulk Hogan is Still Holding The Torch

Ever since 1987 there has been something in the professional wrestling industry known as “The Torch.” This mythical Torch officially came into existence at Wrestlemania 3 shortly before Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant. But I personally believe Hulk Hogan unofficially held this Torch before Wrestlemania 3. Hulk Hogan possessed what The Torch represents several years before the concept of the Torch was officially labeled.

The way Hulk Hogan tells the story, he and Andre the Giant were in the locker room getting ready for Wrestlemania 3. At this point, Andre specifically told him “I am passing the torch to you tonight.” In other words, Andre the Giant was telling Hulk Hogan the responsibility of being the leader of the wrestling industry would be his from that point on. This is when the concept of The Torch officially was labeled and considered a valuable asset as a concept, particularly by Vince McMahon. Mr. McMahon apparently appreciated and placed great value on that concept, since he has tried to replicate the process (albeit unsuccessfully) several times since then.

We all know that at Wrestlemania 3 Hulk Hogan defeated Andre the Giant and took the wrestling industry to new heights that it had never seen before, setting worldwide attendance records in the process. Hulk Hogan essentially took that Torch and raised it to new heights it had never reached when being held by Andre the Giant or anyone else. The entire wrestling industry gained popularity with Hulk Hogan as the main attraction. Hulkamania was running wild, carrying that Torch throughout the 80’s and early 90’s!

But in case people didn’t notice, Hulk Hogan was actually leading the wrestling industry all over the world prior to joining the WWF. And it was in 1984 (three years before Wrestlemania 3) when Hulkamania was born after Hulk Hogan defeated The Iron Sheik. It was actually rather arrogant of Andre the Giant to say he was passing The Torch to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3, especially when you consider it was Hulk Hogan that was invited to be in Rocky 3 as Thunderlips in 1982. Hulk Hogan was travelling from America to Japan and all over the world as the biggest star ever seen in the wrestling industry. I believe that although the concept of “The Torch” was not officially labeled yet, Hulk Hogan was in fact the industry leader prior to Wrestlemania 3.

At Wrestlemania 6 we saw that Vince McMahon wanted Hulk Hogan to “pass the torch” to The Ultimate Warrior. This ended up being a failure that would repeat itself several times. Vince McMahon told Hulk Hogan to lose the match, and Hulk Hogan did his job by doing so. At Wrestlemania 6 Hulk Hogan showed sportsmanship by handing his Heavyweight Championship belt to The Ultimate Warrior. Hulk Hogan was then branded as “Immortal” (something that would later haunt Vince McMahon and help TNA Wrestling).

As Hulk Hogan returned to the locker room we saw the disappointed fans cared more about Hulk Hogan leaving the arena than they did cheering for The Ultimate Warrior in the ring. It was no surprise that The Ultimate Warrior only held the WWF Championship for a short time before he lost popularity with the fans. At that point you could say The Ultimate Warrior dropped The Torch.

McMahon thought that it was simple to “pass the torch,” as Andre the Giant said. But in reality, Andre the Giant didn’t pass The Torch to anyone. In reality, Hulk Hogan had taken The Torch in order to take the wrestling industry with him to new heights never seen before.

Unfortunately for the wrestling industry, nobody else was available to pick up The Torch after it was dropped by The Ultimate Warrior. The business side of the wrestling industry significantly damaged the relationship between Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon in real life. Hulk Hogan had made it clear that he was not ready to pass The Torch to anyone yet. Yet Vince McMahon selfishly wanted to make sure he had someone else in place leading the industry.

Hulk Hogan was not willing to work in the wrestling industry if his talents and skills were not being fully taken advantage of. This is when Hogan started working on TV shows and movies as a full-time job. Consequently, the ratings of the entire wrestling industry dropped to its lowest point in a very long time.

But in the early 90’s Hulk Hogan realized it was time for him to return to the world of professional wrestling. The TV show Thunder in Paradise had a nice run and Hulk Hogan made several movies. But he realized it was time to return to the wrestling ring. Hulk Hogan then got a nice offer from Eric Bischoff working for billionaire Ted Turner and the new World Championship Wrestling organization known as WCW. The offer was too good for Hulk Hogan to refuse.

When Hulk Hogan made his return to the wrestling world as a member of WCW the fans went crazy with excitement! We finally got to see legendary matches that we had always wanted to see. Thanks to Eric Bischoff and Ted Turner it was now possible to see “The Hulkster” Hulk Hogan versus “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. And it was now possible to see Hollywood Hogan versus “The Icon” Sting! The ratings of World Championship Wrestling shot through the roof and it was clear that Hulk Hogan was once again carrying The Torch as the industry leader of professional wrestling.

It was in WCW where Hulk Hogan did something unprecedented to take the entire industry to new heights never before seen. This is considered the second Golden-Era of professional wrestling in the eyes of many people, since the overwhelming majority of industry talent was in the WCW. While in the WCW Hulk Hogan said he started to realize that people showed a lack of interest in his character, perhaps because they knew what to expect after seeing the same thing for such a long time. He and Eric Bischoff decided it was time to do something never before thought possible – turn Hulk Hogan into a villain! This is when the real American hero known as Hulk Hogan became the selfish Hollywood Hogan.

When Hollywood Hulk Hogan came into existence it nearly put the WWF out of business. At one point Vince McMahon told the Hart family there was a danger of bankruptcy. New technology such as satellite broadcasting made it possible for people to watch WCW on TNT in markets that previously were not possible with cable TV. All of this was a benefit to WCW thanks to Hulk Hogan.

DirecTV said they constantly had people subscribing saying the reason they wanted to subscribe was so they could watch Hollywood Hulk Hogan. Nobody could believe Hulk Hogan was a bad-guy, and everyone wanted to see it for themselves! But Hollywood Hogan was the guy everyone loved to hate, which is why they watched every week. Obviously Hollywood Hogan had taken The Torch, raising it and the entire industry to new levels of success never before seen.

At the end of the 90’s Hulk Hogan decided he wanted to leave the industry for a while. Hulk Hogan is a believer in Andre the Giant’s concept of “passing the torch,” so he agreed to lose to Bill Goldberg in order to make him the industry leader. Goldberg was a wrester whose energy was very similar to The Ultimate Warrior. Goldberg was even able to use a brainbuster finishing move on the 500 pound villain known as The Giant! This meant he put a 500 pound man over his head in a suplex style move and held him there before dropping him to the ground!

Of all the people that ever held a chance of successfully taking The Torch from Hulk Hogan, Bill Goldberg really was the most qualified. Unfortunately, we never got to see how things played out. Bill Goldberg was rebranded as “Goldberg,” which caused him to lose popularity. Goldberg was now seen as a gold iceberg rather than a tough person with a temper in the eyes of many people. Without Hulk Hogan WCW lost its popularity and was eventually purchased by the WWE. Vince McMahon’s poor management completely destroyed the character known as Goldberg, motivating Bill Goldberg to leave the wrestling industry.

When it became clear to Vince McMahon that none of the characters in the WWE had the ability to take the industry to new levels on their own, he decided that it would be best to bring Hulk Hogan back for Wrestlemania 18. McMahon wanted Hulk Hogan to pass The Torch to The Rock in the main event. Hulk Hogan agreed to do so, but it was at this point in time when we saw that Hulkamania would truly NEVER DIE!

Vince McMahon brought Hulk Hogan to the WWE as a villain shortly before Wrestlemania 18. Hulk Hogan was playing the role of Hollywood Hogan. Nevertheless the fans were glad to see the Hulkster again! Fans continuously rooted for the Hulk, even though he was being portrayed as the bad guy! This is something I had never seen before!

At Wrestlemania 18 we saw The Rock beat Hulk Hogan, essentially passing The Torch from Hulk Hogan to The Rock in the eyes of Vince McMahon. But at this point we saw that The Rock held The Torch for less than one second before dropping The Torch and being completely burned by it!

The moment the referee reached the count of three, the fans (including me) were in disbelief. Even though Hogan was the bad guy, we still wanted our Hulkster to win! All of the fans in the arena started “BOO-ing” The Rock! Dwayne Johnson was in disbelief when this happened!

Hulk Hogan realized that Vince McMahon had once again selected the wrong person to try and be the leader of the wrestling industry. On the Larry King show, Hulk Hogan referred to that incident as a “disaster.” I personally believe this event put an end to the wrestling career of Dwayne Johnson, because after this incident he left the wrestling industry.

This confirms once again that McMahon did not select the right individual to receive The Torch from Hulk Hogan. Dwayne Johnson did not show the loyalty McMahon expected. Vince McMahon has said many times over the years that he wants his employees to concentrate on wrestling as their primary career. Dwayne Johnson left the WWE for years in order to concentrate on his acting career rather than wrestling. It kind of makes you wonder what would have happened if the fans would have cheered for The Rock instead of booing him. Maybe we wouldn’t have seen all those bad movies Dwayne Johnson was in.

The next person Vince McMahon wanted Hulk Hogan to try passing The Torch to was Brock Lesnar. Once again Hulk Hogan was asked to lose the match in order to try passing The Torch, this time to a young athlete qualified in amateur wrestling and mixed martial arts. Brock Lesnar was never capable of having The Torch successfully passed to him. Lesnar simply didn’t care enough about his career in the professional wrestling industry to remain a part of it.

Brock Lesnar’s overall charisma was not right; he didn’t have the fascinating resources needed to portray himself as the leader of the professional wrestling industry. Brock Lesnar didn’t look like an Ultimate Warrior, sound like a Macho Man, or charm ladies like a Nature Boy. Lesnar looked like a baby-faced 17-year-old trapped in a body filled with steroids. Consequently, Lesnar left the WWE in order to concentrate on mixed martial arts.

2011 is the year we currently live in. Hulk Hogan has now officially become an Immortal in TNA Wrestling. The instant Hulk Hogan joined TNA the weekly ratings saw their highest levels ever! This continues to happen each time stories continue to unfold and plots reveal themselves.

It was The Nature Boy, Ric Flair, who said “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” Up to this point, we haven’t seen anyone take The Torch away from Hulk Hogan. With that in mind, Hulk Hogan is still the one carrying The Torch that lights up the wrestling industry. The question I want answered is whether or not anyone will ever take The Torch from Hulk Hogan? If so, who will it be?

Sting is currently the most exciting active wrestler in the industry. The WWE recently did everything possible to try and get Sting to sign a contract with them in order to be in the main event at Wrestlemania. Thankfully, Sting listened to the fans and decided to remain with TNA. I was very pleased when I saw “The Icon,” Sting, had made his return to TNA two weeks ago! The fans ERUPTED with CHEERS!

I believe there is an excellent chance Sting will lead the industry as its biggest attraction for quite a while. I don’t know if it’s possible to just “pass the torch” to a young wrestler and expect him to lead the industry to new levels. In today’s environment it may be necessary to allow experienced wrestlers to lead the industry as long as they can remain active wrestlers. TNA saw its highest ratings of 2011 when Sting returned two weeks ago. With that in mind, I think Sting will remain Heavyweight Champion for quite a while!

But we saw at Wrestlemania 18 that Hulkamania will never die and will always remain the top force in the history of the wrestling industry!

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