Lanny "The Genius" Poffo

Wrestling For Bisexuals continued its streak of exclusive interviews this past weekend. Former NWA, ICW and WWF personality "Leaping" Lanny Poffo (a.k.a. "The Genius") took time out of his busy schedule to speak with us about a variety of subjects from his thirty-plus year wrestling career. Our staff would like to thank Lanny Poffo for the following interview. We extend our best wishes to Lanny in all his future endeavors.

Poffo, a member of the WWF's boom period in the 1980's, shared how pleased he was to be able to return to the company following his managerial stint of Curt "Mister Perfect" Hennig. He managed the Beverly Brothers tag team during his second run. While some may consider no longer working with the talented Hennig a step down, "The Genuis" was just happy to be there.

Poffo's career also included a stint with World Championship Wrestling from 1995 until 1999, but wrestling fans wouldn't know it from watching WCW television. Unlike many former WCW employees, Poffo didn't bitterly bury the defunct company when discussing it. "I never understood why they didn't use me. I certainly wanted to be used."

Could modern-day wrestling once again reach the levels of success it attained during the 80's and 90's? Poffo believes that it could, but said such success is dependent on the business "...continuing to give the fans what they want. Nobody ever went broke by underestimating the taste of the public." He added that he feels wrestling is "a young man's game" and therefore not meant for someone about to turn fifty-four years old in December. As a result, Poffo feels it is unlikely he'll ever be back on television for WWE or TNA. "Leaping Lanny" fans need not worry however. Poffo has already appeared at about twenty different pro wrestling conventions and can still be seen in a variety of independent promotions throughout the world. "It makes me feel young!"

Unlike his brother "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Lanny Poffo remains on good terms with World Wrestling Entertainment. Poffo wrote a poem for the "Battle of the Billionaires" on WWE.com last year, but has no idea what the continued heat between his sibling and Vince McMahon is about despite accessibility to both parties. "Since I don't have the guts to ask (Savage) to his face, I'd prefer not to talk behind his back. Suffice it to say, he's not welcome into the Hall of Fame."

Continued imitation suggests "The Genius'" success. The intellectual wrestling heel character has been assigned to ECW's Matt Striker and the WWF's Dean Douglas in recent years, but no ill will was held toward anyone who may have borrowed from the persona because of the revelation that "I based my character off Jack Benny." Likewise, Poffo only had great things to say about his fellow wrestler turned children's book author Mick Foley.

Lanny loves words. He personally wrote all of his on-screen poetry. When questioned about a favorite poem he'd composed, Poffo seemed to believe it was a tie between his poem for his brother's coronoation ceremony and his poem for Mister Perfect's ping-pong match--which he pointed out contained true alliteration. "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. It's not true alliteration because of the word 'of.' In mine, Personal Perfection, it's all starting with P."

Ever the generous guest, Lanny Poffo closed the interview by penning an original poem for our blog and its fans.

"Be humble when victorious
Be noble in defeat
Be there when your neighbor
Doesn't have enough to eat

Try to love your enemies
And always be aware
That in the SuperBowl of life
The tortoise fucks the hare!"

To further immerse yourself in Genius poetry, head over to www.lannypoffo.com. While you're there, you can also order yourself a copy of Lanny's children's books, promotional wrestling photos, and even his Halloween-appropriate Curse Of The Werewolf movie which also contains an appearance from wrestling's Blue Meanie. If nothing else though, you can continue to read more of Lanny's great poetry, such as the following:

"Behold this humble entourage, thier heads are bowed in reverance
At the very slightest whisper of one name
Exhalting in His splendor, which if all together fitting
of all the people in the land from whence he came
False marquees are common place as kingdoms rise & fall
But I The Genius full of Glory & Renoun
Say The Macho Man is everything, that everybody, everywhere
Would ever, ever want to wear a crown.
I say this King deserves a Queen beside him on the throne
And Sherri is the fairest in the land,
No body else is worthy of this monumental honor
And the Regal splendor of His Royal Hand
We witness the dethroning of one Jim The Hacksaw Duggin
Who's crown and robe are in a state of ravage
I now remove my Motor board and place it near my heart
And thus proclaim You Macho King Randy Savage."

Apparently Jim Duggan was a rabbit that night.

This interview was just the beginning of many more surprises we have in store for the reading pleasure of our loyal fans. Remember to check this blog regularly and continue to give us your feedback and suggestions. Likewise, if you work in the professional wrestling field in any capacity, we would love to speak with you. E-mail us at: donaldtbishop@yahoo.com.

CM Punk, Mr. Perfect, and Mike Austin.

The biggest post-Raw news item is unquestionably CM Punk's winning of the World title. If WWE's intent behind Punk wearing the big gold belt is to get fans interested in or talking about their product, mission accomplished! I personally didn't once change the channel off Raw after I saw Punk's segment, and this morning at my day job the few other wrestling fans in the building were discussing Raw for the first time in weeks and dropping Punk's name for probably the first time ever. The possibility of JBL capturing the belt the same night also kept me in suspense. At least until the familiar "deck stacked against the champion" cliche snuck its way into the program's writing and gave away the finish of the main event.

Punk's title win was a "too good to be true" moment for wrestling fans who have grown tired of WWE's by-the-numbers writing style. Pulling a WrestleMania IX (only in reverse considering Punk's weight and the face/heel role reversals) seemed like a move WWE would make. A slap back to reality, if you will. With WWE creative starting to think outside of the box, the big question now becomes: Where does CM Punk and WWE go from here?

That answer will likely depend heavily on the result of last night's Raw rating. Meanwhile, the top challengers for Punk's belt are logically JBL, John Cena, Batista, and former champion Edge. Edge is certain to continue his feud with The Undertaker on SmackDown at some point. Batista would have to turn heel for a match against Punk to work, according to one of the first rules of wrestling. The same goes for John Cena. However, Cena and JBL appear to once again be entering into a feud with one another. They don't need the World title to make that feud work, but it's quite possible one of them will get it by the next pay-per-view anyway. Regardless of how long his title reign lasts, hardcore CM Punk fans will surely feel the end came too soon.

A few other things have happened as a result of this move, by the way. The Raw brand once again has a Heavyweight championship, and the Money In The Bank storyline has now been concluded. At least until next year's WrestleMania when the match will more than likely take place again. Also, CM Punk is now the only man to hold the ECW, ROH and WCW/World titles.

Moving on to other wrestling news...

Here is the lineup for the upcoming two-disc Mr. Perfect DVD, courtesy of Silver Vision.

Disc 1:

Perfection
Twin City Origins
Building a Path
AWA
Mr. Perfect
Living up to His Name
Intercontinental Champion
The Prankster
Commentator
WCW
Return to the WWE
A Sudden Tragedy
Hall of Fame
The Perfect Legacy Lives On

Matches:

Curt Hennig vs. Eddie Gilbert
Madison Square Garden (21/11/82)

Curt Hennig and Scott Hall vs. Steve Regal and Jimmy Garvin
AWA Championship Wrestling (26/11/85)

Mr. Perfect Hall of Fame Induction
WWE Hall of Fame (31/03/07)

“Rap is Crap” Music Video

Vignettes:

Billiards October 1, 1988

Golf – Perfect Putt October 1, 1988

Darts October 8, 1988

Bowling October 8, 1988

Chess October 15, 1988

Basketball October 15, 1988

Ping Pong October 28, 1989

Diving November 4, 1989

Golf – Perfect Drive November 4, 1989

Horseshoes November 24, 1989

Baseball with Wade Boggs December 26, 1992

Football – Perfect Passer with Steve Jordan February 13, 1993

Basketball with Felton Spencer February 27, 1993

Hockey with Mike Modano March 13, 1993

Stories:

Curt Loved Karaoke

Disc 2:

60-Minute Time Limit AWA World Heavyweight Championship Match
Curt Hennig vs. Nick Bockwinkel
AWA Championship Wrestling (15/11/86)

Curt Hennig vs. Terry Taylor
Commentary By: Michael Cole and Mick Foley
WrestleFest (31/07/88)

Mr. Perfect vs. Bret Hart
Madison Square Garden (24/04/89)

WWE Championship Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Hulk Hogan
Madison Square Garden (15/01/90)

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match with Special Referee Roddy Piper
Mr. Perfect vs. The Texas Tornado
Madison Square Garden (24/11/90)

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect
SummerSlam (26/08/91)

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match
Mr. Perfect vs. Shawn Michaels
SummerSlam (30/08/93)

Curt Hennig vs. Bret Hart
Uncensored (15/03/98)

The lineup is rather iffy, in my opinion. The rare AWA matches were a great inclusion, and Hennig's matches against Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels are definite classics. You also can't go wrong with the "Rap Is Crap" video or the sports vignettes. On the downside, there isn't nearly enough WCW footage. Hennig was a member of the NWO and a United States champion there, for crying out loud! WWE is also forgetting about Hennig's brief return to the company in 2002 before his death. They could at least show his final WWE match against Matt Hardy. There are also no matches involving any of Hennig's Intercontinental title wins, or any of his classic matches against Ric Flair. If you're a big enough fan of Mister Perfect's character though, you'll probably still get plenty of enjoyment out of this set.

Promoters in Peru are outraged that Triple H is no longer a part of the upcoming Raw tour, since they built all their advertising around him.

WrestleMania XXV tickets are going on sale September 20th.

WWE has apparently lost a few people in talent relations as well as corporate recently, which could explain the recent lack of communication with talent concerning the brand switches.

Vince McMahon was present at the WrestleMania press conference in Houston, but never appeared before the people because he was still selling his injury angle. A few local area papers in Houston reported that he'd been seriously injured when the scaffold fell on him on Raw.

Batista got several stitches following Raw. He went head-first into Edge. Both wrestlers were otherwise reported to be okay.

The plan to tape ECW before Raw has been pushed back to September.

Indiana wrestler "Even Colder" Mike Austin is still at large after impersonating "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at a Wal-Mart autograph signing. The WCWO promotion Mike Austin performs for claims Austin was sent to Wal-Mart to promote an upcoming indy show, but once there he began charging unsuspecting "Stone Cold" fans $10.00 USD for photos and autographs before fleeing with the fans' cash. An unidentified man acting as the imposter's manager at the signing told police the Wal-Mart knew his accomplice wasn't Steve Austin, but claims they still allowed him to sign autographs. Wal-Mart officials said they suspected something was off when "Steve Austin" showed up to the event with no security or police flanking him. They notified police once they believed the man at the signing wasn't the real deal. Ironically, a few years ago the real "Stone Cold" judged a "Steve Austin look-a-like" contest, which was won by his future doppleganger. Police are continuing to investigate the matter along with help from World Wrestling Entertainment.


SOURCES FOR THIS ENTRY: F4W newsletter

WWE/ROH news and notes

This week's Raw was rated TV-PG instead of TV-14. This could signal the official beginning of WWE marketing its TV product toward children. In the early 1990's, children were also the target audience of the then-WWF. SmackDown has always been rated TV-PG, even during the adult-themed Attitude era.

Carlito is said to once again be unhappy with his role in WWE. WWE continues to employ Carlito despite his continued unhappiness, in part because the company covets wrestlers with appeal to Hispanic audiences.

The recently released book Ring of Hell: The Story of Chris Benoit and the Fall of the Pro Wrestling Industry alleges that Vince McMahon has had a "love affair" with the drug cocaine that may or may not have subsided. "(McMahon) liked to brag with apparent justification that 'I can snort as much of that stuff as anyone can put in front of me and never get hooked.' One WWE employee of recent years told me, "The boys and former office staff use euphemisms when they talk about Vince's 'energy." The inside joke about it is that sixty-something Vince most likely isn't that energetic over multi-day sleepness stretches without help. I've seen him so wired that his eyes looked like they were going to pop,"" the book says.

Production will begin immediately on Ring Of Honor's next pay-per-view "Respect Is Earned II." It will premiere on IN DEMAND, The DISH Network and TVN cable systems on August 1st and feature a triple main event. The top three matches are: Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black versus Bryan Danielson and Austin Aries, Nigel McGuinness versus Go Shiozaki and Roderick Strong versus Erick Stevens.

In other ROH news, Jerry Lynn is only scheduled for the 6/28 ROH Chicago date. Also, Lance Storm will not be wrestling at the 7/25 and/or 7/26 ROH events, but he will have a role on each show and be available for autographs. Storm has already given advice to several members of the roster after watching their pay-per-view shows. KOCH Vision will release ROH's next two DVDs "Best In The World" and "Greatest Rivalries" into retail stores everywhere on July 8th.

Former WWE writer Seth Mates wrote in his "Steel Cage" column for Newsday that WWE has been sending various news outlets a "money-themed gift basket" as a way of promoting Raw's on-going million dollar giveaway sweepstakes. The problem with this? The gift baskets contain actual money. $4.94 USD to be exact. Technically speaking, does this mean WWE has attempted to pay off members of the press? Seth Mates believes so, stating that he refunded WWE's money for ethical reasons. For the record, I haven't received one of these gift baskets, but they sure sound neat. If any other members of the media find themselves facing this ethical dilemna, I'll gladly take Vince McMahon's gift basket off your hands.

SOURCES FOR THIS ENTRY: http://weblogs.newsday.com/sports/specialevent/wrestling/

Orlando Jordan's bisexual angle

In an interview starting to make the rounds on YouTube, former WWE wrestler Orlando Jordan partially discusses the much-talked about bisexual angle he was supposed to be involved in before his release from the company. I decided to post Orlando's side of the story because it obviously fits the nature of this blog. WWE has yet to comment on matters concerning Orlando Jordan, beyond making his release known on WWE.com at the time it happened.

According to Jordan, the storyline was going to start out with Orlando being told he was one of the best-dressed guys in the company. After that, he would start coming to the ring with an entourage while wearing a robe. The valet of the group (who was supposed to be played by Trinity of TNA and OVW fame) would disrobe Orlando and the bell would ring, but Jordan's crew would remain on the ring apron. OJ would give his valet a kiss, and then would also kiss the male counterpart. Everyone would act shocked by this, except Jordan and his group. Jordan would use the shock to his advantage and score a quick victory. Jordan would then be questioned about the kiss backstage, but would ignore the question and only discuss his victory and victories to come, etc. Jordan also claims the character was originally going to be a part of the ECW brand. He said the gimmick was considered too risque for network television, but ECW was on a cable network where the envelope could be pushed further. OJ claims Tommy Dreamer came up with a lot of the character, and that Dreamer also wanted to put it on ECW to better differentiate the brand from other WWE programs. Jordan says Vince McMahon supported the character and even saw big money in it. He claims McMahon viewed the character as "the ultimate player" who could get anyone he went after.

Following his release from WWE, rumors began that Jordan was traveling to shows each week (across different state lines) with a sixteen-year-old male. This was believed to be the main reason for the firing. Jordan claims the story got exaggerated by someone who didn't feel comfortable with his sexuality. Jordan claims many people were uncomfortable with him and the bisexual storyline, and so he was released from the company before problems could occur.

The bi storyline has yet to be done with another performer. Also, the ECW brand wasn't officially brought back to regular television until June of 2006.

Raw's giveaway, PPV results & another question for my readers

Huge update today!


First of all, the Associated Press has released information concerning WWE's recently announced million dollar giveaway. I've been getting a lot of questions about it, so I thought I'd pass along the information available via this blog. As expected, there's a catch or two involved. The full AP article can be found at the following URL: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5indhctjJFAtfOVHroIOX_lG5-_GwD912264G3.

One thing that I find curious is WWE announcing they'll give out the codes at the start of each Raw episode. What would make the casual fan stick around to watch the rest of Raw after getting the code? WWE is doing this promotion to increase ratings, so logically they really shouldn't be telling you when during the broadcast the code will be given out. I suspect the only people who will enter this contest are the wrestling fans who already watch Raw now. Myself included. Hey, a man has to pay for gas, right? The giveaway begins June 9th.


Here are the short results for WWE's One Night Stand pay-per-view:


Jeff Hardy beat Umaga in a Falls Count Anywhere match.


The Big Show beat CM Punk, Tommy Dreamer, John Morrison, Bam Neely, and Chavo Guerrero in a 6 man Singapore Cane match to earn a shot at Kane's ECW championship at the Night Of Champions pay-per-view. Big Show became hurt legit during the match.


John Cena beat JBL in a First Blood match.


Beth Phoenix beat Melina in an I Quit match.


Note: At this point in the show Cena did a backstage skit with Mickie James. Cena said he enjoyed "girl on girl submissions." Cena's character has made both pro-gay and anti-gay statements in the past. I guess this one would fall on the pro side, technically. During this segment ECW's Mike Adamle suggested Cena and James were a couple, so I guess WWE is continuing on with the romance angle between them.


Batista beat Shawn Michaels in a Stretcher Match.


Triple H beat Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing match. Orton may or may not have been hurt legit during the match.


Edge beat The Undertaker in a TLC match to win the vacant World title. According to the match stipulation, The Undertaker must now retire from the entire WWE.


Finally, I'd like to once again pose a question to you, my readers. Recently I've been struggling with a question: What's the best way to present this blog's content? On one hand, I want to present the content as professionally and close to journalism as possible. On the other hand, I feel like a little editorializing and personal humor interjected into the entries would add some more flavor to my blog, while also not hurting anyone. You can certainly find a ton of other so-called wrestling journalists who aren't shy about interjecting their own opinions into articles where they may not belong, but does that make it okay for me to do as well, or would I then become just as annoying as they are by stating opinions rather than strictly facts? What do YOU look for in a pro wrestling blog? E-mail me at donaldtbishop@yahoo.com or simply post a reply. I look forward to hearing from you.

Mr. T for the Hall Of Fame

Mister T deserves to be inducted into WWE's Hall Of Fame.

No, I'm not joking!

Vince McMahon Junior's juggernaught wrestling promotion partially began its national expansion by incorporating mainstream celebrities into wrestling shows. Mister T was right at the forefront of that movement, gaining the WWF press it wouldn't have otherwise gotten thanks to his star power back in the 80's. Now, as we approach a major milestone, I believe the time has come for Mister T to get what's owed to him by the wrestling business.

2009 marks the 25th anniversary of WrestleMania I. The main event of that historic pay-per-view was Hulk Hogan and Mister T versus "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and "Mister Wonderful" Paul Orndorff. Here's a fun fact for all you wrestling trivia buffs: Everyone involved in that famous match has been inducted into the WWE's Hall Of Fame, with the exception of Mister T. When I say everyone has been inducted, I mean from Hogan and Piper all the way down to heel cornerman Bob Orton and ring announcer Howard Finkel. Think about that for a second. Mister T, an actual participant in the match that started Wrestle-freaking-Mania, was deemed less worthy for a HOF spot than "The Fink"! As Gorilla Monsoon used to say, I consider this a travesty of justice. Many would argue that Mister T didn't deserve a spot anywhere on a WrestleMania card, let alone at the top of it. They would point out that Mister T didn't work his way up in wrestling. That he only got such a placement on the WrestleMania show because of his celebrity status and not a love for wrestling or excellent in-ring skills. In all fairness, those people would be correct. For better or worse though Mister T fought and won alongside the then-WWF champion. History cannot erase that fact and T deserves to be acknowledged for it.

Let's also not forget that the mighty T made more than one WrestleMania appearance. His worked boxing match against Roddy Piper at WrestleMania II is still talked about today (mostly by Roddy Piper). That "match" was also a main event-in this case the main event of the New York portion of WMII. The show was held in three cities that year. You could certainly argue that fans went to see any of the other matches that night, but the headliners of a show are the ones that promoters believe can draw the most fans in. That, of course, is what makes them the headliners. As a result the main eventers-in this case Piper and Mister T-get the credit for the capacity crowd. Once again T was on the top of one of the biggest cards in wrestling history and receives no credit for it. Oh, and for what it's worth, Mister T won that boxing contest by disqualification, making him undefeated in WrestleMania matches. The Undertaker just better hope T doesn't dawn the gold jewlery and come out of retirement.

Mister T also had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling in 1994. While there he scored a victory over veteran wrestler Kevin Sullivan at WCW Starcade-which was WCW's equivilant to WrestleMania. T hasn't wrestled since, making him undefeated in wrestling matches period! How many people can say that? Yet another reason T is Hall Of Fame worthy today. On paper alone he's clearly done more in wrestling than other HOF inductees such as William Perry or Pete Rose.

Last but not least, let's also not forget T's role in the legendary Rocky series as Clubber Lang. T was a natural heel, and the underdog story of Rocky Balboa is something wrestling fans can all relate to. Vince McMahon will be the first one to tell you that his performers are just as much actors as they are athletes. T transcended pro wrestling, much like Hulk Hogan (who can forget Thunderlips?) and the Rock.

I pity the fool who doesn't select Mr. T for the Hall Of Fame!

Agree? Disagree? Let me know!

vince mcmahon vs ultimate warrior

According to PWInsider.com and WWE.com, the Ultimate Warrior recently appeared on The BJ Shea Morning Experience radio show in Seattle and spoke about WrestleMania XXV. He suggested to have a match between himself and Vince McMahon headline the pay-per-view. This could certainly explain why Ultimate Warrior is maknig a comeback, as previously reported on this blog.