Heyman Hustle, Episode 2: The Naked Hustle

Episode 2 of ECW-founder Paul Heyman's Heyman Hustle, is now live on The Sun. The episode is called, 'the naked hustle'. (don't get your hopes up)

It features a cameo by Chris Pontius and Wee Man from Jackass (wanted to see more of them), a cameo of former WWE Diva Dawn Marie (didn't need to see her again. By the way, get your nose fixed), and way too much time spent on a semi-naked street performer on the street of NYC.

I wasn't as entertained by this episode as much as the first one, but you might be.

To watch the new episode: Heyman Hustle Episode 2

Heyman Hustle: Paul Heyman on the Chris Benoit Tragedy

There was a new article by Paul Heyman posted the The Sun's website today. Heyman is taking on the subject that we all, at one time or another, has taken on.

The Chris Benoit tragedy.

This is a different kind of dialogue from Paul Heyman. From a man that is so good at forming thoughts and relaying them eloquently, he rattles on (like I do).

Obviously, the event still disturbs him, like it still disturbs all of us. For most of us, Chris was a hero, a role model, a respected representation of 'the business', a stand-up guy, an idol. While he may have been some of those things to Paul Heyman, Chris Benoit was, of course, something more. A friend and co-worker. Paul, and the rest of the 'guys-in-the-back' actually knew Chris Benoit.

As difficult as it has been for me, as I'm sure many other wrestling fans, to theorize, understand and forgive Benoit for what he did, it has to be tenfold for friends and acquaintances of the man.

Chris was obviously sick, and obviously insane. Sane people, don't kill other people. I can't believe that no one in Chris Benoit's circle didn't see this coming. I'm not blaming them, or suggesting 'guilt by association'... but were there really no warning signs? Was there no change in temperament, or personality? Chris Benoit never struck me as the type of person that would let a person through the emotional wall, but I would think when you work with a guy for years, you'd still be able to tell if something was 'off'.

Or perhaps the only time Chris Benoit was level-headed, was when he was knee-deep in 'the business'. Who knows?

Paul Heyman really says it best:

'The only people who can accurately tell us what happened, what caused the chain of events that lead to three people's lives being extinguished, are all gone.'

Paul has stopped trying to understand it and let go... maybe it's time for the rest of us to follow suit.

Please have a read of Paul E's article: I've no Answers and I Never Will

First Episode of Heyman Hustle is Live

The Sun has released the first episode/webisode of the Heyman Hustle.

For the Article: Heyman Hustle Premiere
For the Webisode: Heyman Hustle - Episode 1

Paul Heyman's Latest Sun Interview: This is going to p*** people off

UK tabloid, The Sun, released another frank interview with Paul Heyman today. Paul Heyman delves even further into the behind-the-scenes world of professional wrestling and sports entertainment.

In the first portion of the interview, he elaborates a bit further on his working relationship with Stephanie McMahon. I was surprised in the initial interview about Heyman's comments about Steph, and even more surprised by this one... extremely respectful and complimentary. I don't know Stephanie McMahon, but I personally don't like some of the things she's doing with creative (yeah, before you flame me, internet readers, I know she doesn't write everything... but she is the head of the team. Oh by the way, thanks for adding the term, 'The Vinc-ess' to my vocabulary, Paul. Heh).

Paul Heyman goes on to talk about his conspiracy theory about the 'heir' of WWE. Heyman believes that Vince will control WWE well into his 90's, and pass control onto one of Shane McMahon's sons so that 'a McMahon' is controlling the company. I had never considered this before, but it makes total sense. I must admit though, secretly, I'd love to see what would happen if Triple H gained some control of the company via Steph. I know, according to the rumor mill, Trips is supposedly on his high horse behind the scenes, and looks down on a lot of the talent. If it's true, while I can't say I condone looking down your (large) nose at the other talent, I honestly don't see how he couldn't be on a high horse. Trips is 'that damn good', and never fails to entertain. Maybe I've bought into the hype... maybe I'm brainwashed, but Hulk Hogan was right (I can't believe I'm standing behind Hogan).

What am I talking about, you ask? Yesterday, Hulk Hogan was on The View to promote American Gladiators No, I don't watch The View. Seriously, I watched it on the internet. What do you mean you don't believe me? Fine, here (wrestling talk is about 2:53 in):

Hogan is right. There are no more 'larger-than-life characters like The Rock or Stone Cold Steve Austin. Triple H is about as close as we come. I hate to live in the past, but how I miss WWE's 'Attitude Era'. Just a side note... I had to laugh about Hogan's mention of 'the old days' (about 5:00 in) and 'the guys' that would 'punch you in the face if someone said wrestling was fake'. Hulk, do you mean like on March 27th, 1985 when you choked out Richard Belzer and dropped him on the floor during a TV interview with you and Mr. T, when he asked you if it was fake? When you say 'guys', you mean 'guys' like you, right? You're not so innocent, Hulkster... Some of us remember... Brother.

Anyway, I'm rambling...

Paul Heyman goes on to talk about what's 'wrong' with TNA. I never realized it, but he's totally right. It should be obvious to anyone. The problem, is branding. The following quotes pretty much sum it up:

'You look at Kurt Angle and you think WWE. You look at Booker T and think WCW, five-time, five-time, five-time or King Booker in WWE. You look at The Dudleys and think ECW or WWE or even tables.'

He goes on to say:

'I don't think the problem is in the talent, it's in the BRANDING of that talent. If you walked Angle through the airport, nobody would say: "There's that guy from TNA."

Nobody equates Angle, or anybody in that company, to TNA. As a company, they desperately need to address that.'

Absolutely true.

Paul also talks about the ideas of join forces with TNA, Ring of Honor, and even MMA promotions IFL & Yamma.

It's a good read. Given the sports entertainment interviews that The Sun keeps putting up, it appears that Paul Heyman will be addressing both celebrity gossip and sports entertainment. At least, one can hope.

Find the full Paul Heyman interview here: This is going to p*** people off

There were also two more Heyman Hustle commercials put up since I've posted last.
Find the third commercial here: Heyman Hustle Third Commercial
Find the final commercial here: Heyman Hustle Final Commercial

'Heyman Hustle' Website Now Live

I'm sure you've heard the news. It's the buzz of the internet. ECW's founder, Paul Heyman, has started a new project with the UK tabloid, The Sun.

The Heyman Hustle appears to be a celebrity gossip product, based upon the latest video released of Paul Heyman with former Survivor cast members, Ami Cusack and Flicka Smith.

In my internet wanderings, I came upon the following link. Ol' Paul E now has his own Heyman Hustle website.

My hope is that Paul Heyman will be delving into the world of professional wrestling, as well as TMZ meets Howard Stern-style gossip (at this point I can only guess this is the format). I'll have to keep my fingers crossed.

Click to take a peek: Heyman Hustle

Preview of Heyman Hustle

So, here's the preview of the Heyman Hustle. It looks like Paul is borrowing a bit from TMZ, and stealing a bit from Eric Bischoff with some 'H... L... A... Hot Lesbian Action...'

Honestly, Paul... I had hoped for something a little better from you. This is stooping a little low.

Apparently Paul Heyman was doing red carpet-type interview at the Survivor: Micronesia premiere, when the following happened:

Heyman Hustle director & producer Mitchell Staurt told The Sun: "Paul started doing an interview in with Ami Cusack — who is the hottest member of this season's Favourites on Survivor and caused a sensation with her risque Playboy photo spread —when, impromptu, we were interrupted by wild child Flicka Smith from the show. Before Paul could finish his first question, the two were all over each other on the streets of New York!"

Here's the video:



To read the full article: Survivor Stars Snog at Premiere

Heyman Hustle Revisited

Once again, Fenn is late on the draw. I'm not making excuses, but what can I say? Between running and writing this blog solo, along with having to keep track of hundreds of news sites, along with having a life outside of my little corner of the internet, it's a tough job.

Anyway, The Sun posted a new Heyman Hustle commercial on Feb 7th. I am still trying to figure out what this webcast will be, but I suppose I'll just have to wait until Feb 18th and watch along with everyone else.

Here's is the second Heyman Hustle commercial... ...and if you missed the first one:



In a related story from Feb 5th, ol' Paul E also commented on the Frank Mir vs. Brock Lesnar UFC fight. He, like me was '...surprised there's not been more controversy over Mazzagatti’s call to stop the fight because of the inadvertent punch to the back of the head'. If you want to read Heyman's thoughts on Brock's match, you can find the article here: Lesnar is the Real Deal

TNA iMPACT! 2/7/08

Yeah, I know what I said last week. 'TNA, I'm done with you'. What can I say? Last night after watching Survivor: Micronesia and Lost, I was browsing the guide, saw TNA and pressed the record button on the remote. I recorded/watched the second hour of TNA.

I have tried to get behind this show. Really hard. They don't make it easy.

Between the blatant gimmick infringement, announce team (yes, announce team. I'll comment more later), ultra-cheap production values and uninteresting writing, I just can't do it. Oh, and then there's Christy Hemme.

The first match I saw was 'okay'. Rock and Rave Infection vs. Curry Man & Shark Boy. I'm not sure why Christopher Daniels is doing the Curry Man bit. His other persona is much more entertaining. I mean, seriously... Curry Man is more like a character from Kaiju Big Battel. Shark Boy, no comment, except that I wish he'd stayed silent. Bah, forget it... I've given this match more thought than it deserved.

Next match, Tiger Mask vs. AJ Styles. Not much to say here either, except I love to watch AJ Styles... (but I wish he'd stay off of the mic, too). Moving on...

Christian Cage vs. Judas Mesias: I don't know why, but this match seemed really slow to me. There were some Lucha-esque 2nd rope moves (weren't very good). Christian makes a great headliner. I wish WWE would've given him more spotlight. One good thing about TNA, they give the non-bodybuilder types spotlight. I wish Vince would lose his bodybuilder fetish. Judas Mesias. This isn't TNA-specific, I never have been a big fan of the monster heel/face wrestlers. I don't know why. Maybe it was because we were told (forever) that Kane was nearly burned alive, as as the years went by, and lost more and more clothing, there wasn't one scar. Let's look at Undertaker for example... Taker's American Badass persona was much more frightening than rehashing the original Undertaker. Look at Viscera. Big Daddy V, to me anyway, is way more terrifying than the guy in the pantsuit. I know the monster personas will never go away... it's part of the tradition, but one can hope. To get back on topic and sum this up, Christian won, Abyss ran in, AJ Styles ran in, Kurt Angle ran in, Tomko ran in. Are we really to believe that Kurt hangs out in the back in dress pants, dress shoes with no shirt on? Heh.

Let's look at my gripes with TNA:

Gimmick Infringement
I've addressed gimmick rip-offs before, and I'm not gonna beat a dead horse. The bottom line, don't do it. It really gives an amateur feel to the show. Why revive and impersonate popular characters from your direct competitor's past? That won't win us over... it pisses us off.

Announce Team
I'm not sure why, but the announce team is important to me. I think it plays an important part in televised wrestling. Maybe it's because I am getting older. If you asked me why, I couldn't tell you, but I don't like listening to Mike Tenay and Don West. I don't 'believe' that they are experts. Their commentary reminds me of those bars where they show football footage and patrons can give the play-by-play. The timing and delivery isn't very good either. In the Christian vs Judas match, James Mitchel distracted Christian on the turnbuckle. Mike Tenay started talking about Judas' counter before Christian left the top rope. I have had, and still have, the same problem with Joey Styles. As great as 'old' ECW was, I hated the commentary, especially 'Oh my God!' and 'Cat Fight'. I hate it now. I thinks that's one of the major factors that I'm not that into the 'new' ECW (not to mention Vince changing Paul E's formula).

Ultra Cheap Production Values
Yes, I know TNA doesn't have the capital that WWE has, but come on. You're not that broke. Give the Rock and Roll Infection some real guitars. Hell, you can buy a Squier Fender Strat for $100. If you insist on AJ wearing a crown (still not clear why he does), don't buy one from the 'let's play dress-up' section of the dollar store.

Uninteresting Writing
I have found it hard to care about TNA's storylines. While I realize the important part is the wrestling, I also follow the storylines. As I've said previously in this blog, maybe it's due to my age. To me, wrestling is a soap opera for men. TNA just doesn't give me a reason to tune in week after week. To be blunt, if I miss a week, I don't care what happened.

Don't get me wrong, WWE isn't all roses and sunshine. They have their fair share of bad storylines too... Palumbo/Noble/McCool, Deuce & Domino, Edge/Vickie, remember Triple H/Kane/Katie Vick? Awful... WWE is the other extreme, too much writing...

To paraphrase Lance Storm (I don't remember the exact quote), "I like a little more sports in my entertainment". I want a happy medium between the two.

Christy Hemme
While not a main reason for my gripes, Christy has gotten increasingly annoying since moving to TNA. She was annoying on WWE, but not like now. I'm not sure if the current version is the real, or kayfabe Christy. It makes you wonder if in WWE they tried to tone down the spastic, annoying Christy, or on TNA if that is supposed to be a part of the character, or if that who she really is because there's more freedom on TNA. All I know, is I thought Melina squeals and screams were bad. They pale in comparison to Miss Hemme. Someone, please, get her some Ritalin and a gag.

Needless to say, I won't be buying 'Against All Odds'. You need to give me more reason to give you my money, TNA.

My final thought... Kurt, please get rid of those little white wrestling shoes. Those are way worse than Trip's old white cheerleader booties.

The Heyman Hustle

If you were wondering what happened to Paul Heyman after he left WWE (I know I did), we now have the answer.


It looks like Paul Heyman has set up shop in England. Heyman popped up today in an interview with The Sun (UK Tabloid). The interview gives an insider's view on dealing with Vince & Stephanie McMahon, Heyman & McMahon's creative ECW differences, and even the idea of Paul Heyman getting involved in the MMA business.

In addition to the interview, there is an intriguing video ad for 'Heyman Hustle'. Looks like ol' Paul E is doing a show with the Sun. According to Wikipedia, it will be a 'mobile experienced show'. The Sun reports that 'Heyman Hustle' will debut on the Sun's website Monday, February 18th.

To read the interview, please click here: Paul Heyman: Why I left WWE
To read about Heyman Hustle and watch the commercial, please click here: Heyman Hustle - The First Advert

ECW 1/30/08

Posted by Fenn Jan 30 2008 at 12:29:01 PM

ECW... hmm. ECW, what has happened to you?

Things looked promising way back at One Night Stand (2005). I expected a toned down version of ECW when WWE revived it, but things have gotten way too soft. I have to be honest, I am not happy with what ECW has become (who is?). ECW has devolved into Smackdown 2. Actually, I kinda feel that 'Smackdown 2', is too much of a compliment (not that smackdown is much better these days). ECW has devolved into a mixture of Sunday Night Heat and Velocity. The majority of the current roster, in my opinion, is full of 'just-above-jobbers'. At this point, I find myself only watching ECW on commercial breaks for the show that I'm really watching. At this point, I can't even be bothered to record it on my DVR. I mean seriously, the few remaining ECW originals are barely used. Poor Tommy Dreamer... Balls Mahoney... poor Little Guido/Nunzio. I feel bad for you guys... Vince, give them screentime! In my opinion, the current ECW has become the show of, 'we don't know what to do with you, so well put you on this piece of crap show'.

There was a great, open and honest, interview with Rob Van Dam on the Baltimore Sun's Ring Posts blog (I'll put a link at the bottom of this post). It really gives behind the scenes insight into WWE's ECW debacle. My respect for RVD has grown since reading it (I've always respected RVD and the things that he's done, but ever since my Step-son dubbed him 'Sweaty buttcrack-man', it's been tough. Breaking kayfabe at One Night Stand is still one of my favorite RVD moments). In the interview, Rob says that Vince claims that he 'trained' the fans to chant ECW whenever they 'saw something extreme'. Vince, this is complete and utter crap. We, your customers and viewing audience, DO remember the way ECW was... If anyone trained us to chant, it was Paul Heyman and the ECW originals. Further more, Vince, you can bet your ass that there are more than 2500 of we 'old ECW' fans. I understand why you've toned it down Vince, I don't want to see anyone get hurt either, but you've really gone too far.


I don't have much to comment about last night's show except:
* We don't care if Kofi Kingston was born in Jamaica... and please get him some new gear. Those boots are reminiscent of 1980's legwarmers. Half the time I expect him to break into the theme from 'Fame'.
* CM Punk makes for a great mariachi... please don't make this his new gimmick. (I wouldn't put it past you, Vince. Heh)
* Give us more Tommy Dreamer (thank you, internet voters)

Ring Posts Interview with RVD, Part I
Ring Posts Interview with RVD, Part II

What's RVD been up to? Check out RVD-TV:
RVD-TV

Side note: Rob, please open a wrestling school here in SoCal. That way, my 35 year-old ass can cruise down PCH and train to be the next, high-flying DDP. Hey, I'm allowed to dream.