On July 14, 2001, according to CNN.com, 17-year-old John Gonzalez was arrested and charged with the murder of 3-year-old Dylan McGaughy. Forth Worth, Texas police report that Gonzales was babysitting young Dylan for his 23-year-old girlfriend, the boy's mother, on Friday morning around 8 a.m. when the incident occurred. According to Lt. Duane Paul of the Fort Worth police department, Gonzalez body slammed the baby to the floor when Dylan would not sit down and watch television. Dylan McGaughy died as the result of injuries incurred from Gonzalez' actions and therefore, this case is being compared to the Lionel Tate case in Florida.Lionel Tate was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison for beating Tiffany Eunick to death using wrestling moves. Tate admitted to doing moves that he had seen on professional wrestling television on Tiffany, and Tate was convicted of first-degree murder. The Tate case became more about wrestling than murder, but the Gonzalez case should be more about the murder of a 3-year-old boy by a 17-year-old "man" than about the fact that the death was caused through the use of a body slam.
Anyone who has ever seen a fight at school or in the streets has probably seen one person body slam the other. It is a basic move that can be used to take a person off of that person's feet, thus giving the slammer an offensive advantage. Many times I have witnessed people who admittedly had never watched professional wrestling use this move in a street fight. The fact that Gonzalez was a fan of professional wrestling, as evidenced by the fact that his original explanation was that he had dropped an elbow on the boy should not overshadow the fact that Gonzalez used his size and strength advantage as a means of disciplining a small child.
Lionel Tate, a 12-year-old boy who may or may not have had a full grasp of the consequences of his actions, was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole. This is not the case with John Gonzalez. Tate's defense team attempted to paint Lionel as an impressionable youth influenced by what he had seen on television, duplicating the moves that he had seen on professional wrestling shows. John Gonzalez is a 17-year-old person who while not being quite old enough to vote, not quite old enough to drink (legally), is old enough and presumably mature enough to be involved in a relationship with a 23-year-old mother of a 3-year-old son; mature enough to be left alone and assigned as a babysitter for this child while the mother was away at work, and mature enough to know that not only would extreme physical force probably not make the child sit down and watch television, which is what Gonzalez alleges that he wanted from the child, but would in fact do physical harm and possibly permanent damage to the child. In this case, the damage was so permanent that the child lost his life. This case bears no similarities to the Lionel Tate case and has nothing to do with professional wrestling.
This case is about the death of a 3-year-old child at the hands of a man who should have known better. The Forth Worth, Texas legal authorities should seek the maximum penalty for John Gonzalez. As a father, I would expect nothing less for the murderer of my child, and this woman should accept nothing less for the murderer of hers.
The movie industry has recently discovered that whenever movie writers are suffering from a lack of original ideas, the next best thing to do is to do an updated version of a theme that had worked in the past. The movie “Rat Race” is a remake of the classic film “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World”. There have also been movie renditions of such classic television shows as “Charlie’s Angels”, “The Avengers”, “The Mod Squad”, and comic strips “Spiderman” and “X-Men”. If you cannot think of something new, go with something that has worked in the past. Professional wrestling writers seem to have fallen into the same void from a lack of new ideas for story lines. The result is that professional wrestling has turned to tried and true angles from the recent and distant past in order to move the sport along.When Steve Austin threw Kurt Angle’s gold medals into the Detroit river and Kurt Angle ruined Austin’s appreciation ceremony by driving a truck into the arena and spraying everyone in the ring with milk, those were just the tip of the rehashed iceberg that has been growing rapidly within the sport of professional wrestling. When Billy Kidman was a member of the Filthy animals, a rift developed between Kidman and the other members because of the implication that Kidman was more interested in his personal relationship with Torrie Wilson than in his business with the members of his group. Though the Spike Dudley/Molly Holly story more resembled Romeo & Juliet, the premise was still the same. Spike spent more time with Molly than dealing with Dudley business, especially since that business involved Molly’s “cousins” Crash & Hardcore Holly.
At Bash at the Beach 1996, Hulk Hogan, who had been away for a few months, appeared from out of nowhere at a time when the team of Sting, Lex Luger & Randy Savage were being decimated by Scott Hall & Kevin Nash. When everyone thought that Hogan would be defending the honor of WCW, Hogan turned out to be the Mystery partner of Hall & Nash, thus beginning the era of the New World Order. Before the recent Invasion PPV, Vince McMahon begged for the “old” Stone Cold to return to the WWF. Austin, appearing to have returned to his old self, led the WWF team into the main event against a team comprised of WCW & ECW stars. At the climax of the match, Austin assumed the role of Hulk Hogan by turning his back on the WWF team and aligning with what came to be known as the Alliance.
The World Wrestling Federation has recently created its own comic book character. The Hurricane emerged on the scene and has begun a crusade to wipe out injustice in the world of professional wrestling. Even though his gimmick was not as extreme as the one currently involving Shane Helms, Super Nova essentially played the same role during the beginning of his stint in ECW. The character caught on, but only for a short time. Realizing that Super Nova had no real staying power, a tougher, more serious Nova appeared and began to make an impact on the ECW landscape. Unfortunately for Nova, ECW would cease operation before he would have an opportunity to really show what he could do.
In 2002, a film adaptation of “I Spy”, the successful television program which starred Bill Cosby & Robert Culp will be premiered in theaters. This is just another example of the movie industry pulling from something that has worked in the past. With 2001 winding to a close, professional wrestling will more than likely continue borrowing from story lines that have worked in the past well into 2002 and beyond.
The biggest story in professional wrestling is Rob Van Dam. The story is not RVD's meteoric rise through the ranks of the WWF, but is in fact his ever-increasing list of injuries. There is plenty of heat and controversy within the WWFE locker rooms due to the stiff work of Rob Van Dam. For those who do not know, to work stiff means to administer blows (punches, kicks, chops, etc.) with more than necessary force. As a result of Van Dams style, Kurt Angle has been busted open on two occasions, Chris Jericho twice, and Test, the Rock, Raven & Austin have all been cut once each by a move from RVD. This is quickly becoming a problem for Vince McMahon.Vince McMahon is a star maker, and knows talent when he sees it. Usually, if a wrestler doesn't reach the heights that maybe the fans feel that he should, it is because Vince knows that he may not have the right stuff to be able to sustain stardom for an extended period. Vince obviously feels that RVD has that stuff, because he was pushed quite far rather quickly. Within a few months of his arrival in the WWF, RVD has pinned the Rock & Kurt Angle and is scheduled to appear in the main event at No Mercy with Angle and Steve Austin for the WWF World title after having also challenged for the WCW title. The WWF creative team believes that RVD is the future of the industry, which makes this problem even more hairy. A star is only as good as his supporting cast. Without a great supporting cast, Wilt Chamberlin was just another phenomenal player, but by pairing him with Jerry West & Gail Goodrich, Wilt became a champion. If no one is willing to work with RVD for fear that they me the next person to need stitches, then it becomes impossible for RVD to become a star.
Rob Van Dam is a newcomer in the WWF locker rooms. Vince has set a high standard that has allowed the WWF to sustain its momentum while the WWF's chief rivals, WCW & ECW, were forced to join forces with the WWF or face their demise. That standard includes the lack of ongoing problems between wrestlers in the WWF locker room. Stacy Carter was perceived as a problem, and now she is gone. Chyna was perceived as a problem, and now she is gone. It would be a shame for someone as talented as RVD to be next because of the uproar from his stiff style.
On the other hand, men like Austin, the Rock, the Undertaker & Triple H posses much of the political clout among the WWF wrestlers. While they do not openly abuse their power like their counterparts did in WCW (Jarrett, Nash, Goldberg, and Hogan); it is widely known that these men command a certain amount of respect among their peers and co-workers. If THESE men were to refuse to work with Van Dam, that would effectively halt any further ascension towards the top for RVD. They could effectively reduce RVD to the status of people like Billy Gunn and Hardcore Holly, men with tremendous talent but men who have not been able to crack the top level of the WWF. If RVD were forced to wrestle Crash Holly or Taka Michinoku every Sunday on Heat or on Jakked & Metal, that would be an indication that RVD had fallen out of favor with Vince McMahon. At that point, his career would essentially be over, because he could either continue to receive his hefty WWFE paycheck with no chance of advancing, or he could leave, thus permanently preventing him from receiving the international spotlight that he is receiving right now. RVD needs to decide which is most important to him, but Vince has an even harder decision.
Rob Van Dam is a popular, talented, marketable star and the WWF can do much with him on their roster. He could prove to be as hot a commodity as Steve Austin or the Rock. But in creating this star, would Vince be sacrificing the morale of the remainder of his roster. However, if Vince gave RVD an ultimatum that Van Dam failed to uphold, would Vince release RVD, thus possibly sacrificing the future earning potential of the federation. Vince needs to decide which is most important and find a solution that serves the greater good, because if he doesn't, his entire empire could come crumbling down around him.
Before you guys think that I have lost my mind and that this piece should actually be in the Independent Wrestling section, bear in mind that this is not about an actual wrestling federation. After reading the most recent Jim Ross Report, I came to the conclusion that there are so many top WWF stars out with injuries that I could start my own wrestling organization using those stars as my featured performers.My champion would of course be Triple H, as he would probably be the champion in the WWF if he were healthy. As HWF champion, Triple H would face stiff challenges from the top two contenders Rhino & Chris Benoit. While the HWF title changes hands back & forth between these three stars, they must all keep an eye on the secondary championship of the HWF. The secondary champion is generally considered to be the first in line for a mandatory title defense with the HWF champion.
The battle for the secondary title is just as intense. Rikishi, the secondary champion, is involved in a heated feud with top challenger Kanyon. While the Samoan is involved in his series of matches with "The Innovator of Offense", he must also defend against top challengers "Hardcore" Bob Holly, Hardcore champion Steve Blackman & Light Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lynn. Holly & Blackman are also feuding over the hardcore title, a title that is also coveted by newcomer Johnny "The Bull". Johnny is looking to make a name for himself in the WWF, but has found himself in the HWF for the time being.
Light Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lynn probably has the toughest test of all of the HWF champions. Lynn must defend his title against two former multi-time Light Heavyweight champions, Taka Michinoku & X-Pac. Each man covets Light Heavyweight gold and would stop at nothing to dethrone the reigning champion, especially while the champion is occupying himself with his pursuit of other titles.
Eddie Guerrero, once a top star in the HWF and a top challenger for both the HWF secondary title and the HWF title, has defected to the WWF. Eddie felt that the HWF could no longer do anything to further his career, and he, along with Scotty Too Hotty, have defected to the World Wrestling Federation where they hope to become the stars that they once were. These men hope to eventually convince the other members of the HWF, from champion Triple H all the way down to Johnny "The Bull", to follow them to the greener pastures of the World Wrestling Federation. Only time will tell.
The WWF, while continuing to prosper, could definitely use a boost that these stars could provide, but for know, we ca only imagine what they could do if they were healthy.
In 1978, Carl Reiner directed a young Henry Winkler in a film about a struggling actor who decided to turn to professional wrestling as an outlet for his inner drive to perform. The movie made a statement about the fact that even at that point in professional wrestling's history, many professional wrestlers really wanted to be actors but because of their enormous size and weight, there were no real parts for them. Men like Terry Funk & Professor Toru Tanaka were able to find success in motion pictures, but many others have struggled to find suitable parts.Fast forward 5 years and we see Hulk Hogan appearing as "Thunder Lips" in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky 3. Hogan would only be on screen for about 10 minutes, but Hollywood saw the charisma and star power of the big blonde from Venice Beach. What Hollywood did not see was the fact that Hogan was lousy as an actor. In Rocky 3, he essentially played himself, but only for a brief period. When he was cast in the starring role of "No Holds Barred", he was asked to play himself throughout the entire movie. In the ring, he was fantastic, but when asked to show feeling or emotion, Hogan's lack of true acting skill was evident. On the other side of Hollywood, Hogan's contemporary and chief rival Roddy Piper was carving his own niche in the acting game.
Piper's skill was evident when he starred along side the Tonga Kid in the wrestling vehicle "Body Slam", and it landed him the lead role in John Carpenter's Science Fiction film "They Live" as well as many films where Piper teamed with martial arts star Billy Blanks. Piper was being hailed in the industry as a top action star, but unfortunately for Piper, many of his films were made for video only release while many of Hogan's films, despite his poor action, went into theaters, only to bomb badly. Many other wrestlers tried their hand at acting, most with less than admirable results.
Today, many professional wrestlers have been asked to appear on television and in movies and many of today's wrestlers, because of the many skits and vignettes that wrestlers are asked to appear in these days, are better than average actors. Steve Austin was so credible in his recurring role as "Jake Cage" on the CBS series "Nash Bridges" that CBS approached Austin about the possibility of creating a series around the "Jake Cage" character. Austin politely declined, instead returning to the world of professional wrestling. Dwayne Johnson, known as "The Rock" to wrestling fans, took a minor role as "The Scorpion King" in the hugely successful film "The Mummy Returns" and turned it into a self-titled starring vehicle. Rock teams with Michael Clarke Duncan (The Green Mile, Planet of the Apes) to tell the story of how the Scorpion King came to be.
Other wrestlers like Chyna & Rob Van Dam have expressed interest in pursuing acting as a sideline to their wrestling careers, and because of the nature of professional and the increased performance value in the sport, Hollywood could do a lot worse than a professional wrestler in their film or television show.
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