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UKFF exclusive: Hulk Who Beyond The Extreme's 15th anniversary


JNLister

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Highlights included leaving Kamala a voicemail message offering him work with WCW, then leaving Eric Bischoff's office a message "from Kamala's agent"

Knowing what we know now, I'm surpised we didn't see Kamala's return to World Championship Wrestling the following week.

 

It wasn't you lot who got Haystacks hired was it?!

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Tuesday 11 February

 

 

 

After bumping into a confused lecturer at Preston railway station the previous evening ("Where are you off to then?" "Chicago."), and a mere three hours sleep (Matt's cunning but flawed plan to combat jet-lag), we went through the traditional early start process before catching a 10 am flight. Obscure wrestling sighting number one came already, with the audio tapes on sale at the airport including the classic Hancock's Half Hour - The Grappling Game ("All I gotta do is tell Crusher that Strangler called his mum a bit of old brass - and it's followed by fifteen rounds of sheer murder.")

 

The plane was exactly what you deserve when you get a student discount fare, with the main amusement coming when Matt, unaware of airline complimentary drink policies, realised he'd missed out on a free beer. The in-flight entertainment brought us Terry Funk's ECW music as the airline's theme, and a man watching an Undertaker squash on television during the movie. Unfortunately it is my duty to warn all cinema-goers about this theatrical travesty. Fly Away Home is Free Willy with geese, and ranks below Suburban Commando. Avoid at all costs.

 

Thanks to a short delay and ridiculously brief connection time, we made it through Newark Airport's immigration and customs (as intimidating as last year), and literally walked on to the connecting flight with a minute to spare. Sitting there in our shirt-sleeves, we remarked on how white Chicago looked from the air...

 

All our cunning plans of running a Dutch auction among local hotels fell apart when we realised we didn't have any quarters for the phone so, with our bodyclocks set to 10pm, we got on the 40 minute train into Chicago itself. Bizarrely we passed such stations as Harlem and California, while the LOD-skit style scenery included a slightly out of place branch of student favourite Netto. Meanwhile a quick ruffle through the local rag revealed that our plans to catch Beavis & Butthead Do America were out of the window, though we could always go and see Fly Away Home at most cinemas.

 

Trying to get our bearings in a darkened Chicago centre was highlighted by our pitiful attempts to do anything other than stand on a street corner looking at a guidebook. We eventually made it over to the nation's busiest railway station, Union Station which resembled a luxury hotel; a far cry from the Euston Station experience. After validating our rail passes and booking seats for the following evening's train to New Orleans, we trotted off to the less impressive Greyhound station.

 

Greyhound had a special deal where if you booked three days in advance, a second person could accompany you for free. We thus presented a simple list of routes, times and prices to the man at the desk to get all the relevant tickets for our Tennessee experience. Simple enough for you?

 

Apparently not. We were being served by a Mexican gentleman who lived up to every stereotype Bobby Heenan has put forward. Call me racist, but I'd argue that the ability to speak English was a requirement for the service industry. Eventually our money went back and forth a half-dozen times, with my name checked on every occasion, and we wandered off muttering the words "God, that was hard work."

 

We thought we'd pretty much got the hang of the road layout by now, so wandered off, reflecting on the merits of walking about in downtown Chicago on a darkened evening. Two things stood out on our trek: the irony of homeless people sleeping less than a hundred yards from the most amazing skyscraper architecture you can imagine; and the fact that it was abso-fucking-lutely freezing. It was with blue noses that we arrived at the guidebook's recommended Avenue Motel.

 

And it was with blue language that we reacted to the fact that the Avenue Motel was closed for refurbishment. Giving up on the wandering about plan, we returned to the Hilton Hotel and amused ourselves by mingling with Chicago's wealthy classes in the queue for taxis. Naturally a smarmy bellboy opened the door and then held out his hand, and naturally we replied "Don't bet on the horses." Thank you, Mr Dangerously.

 

So, off to get stiffed

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Brian Adams vs Steve McMichael isn't it?

 

It's not hyperbole to say that was probably my favourite issue of PS ever. It really did used to be a top mag. I regret chucking them all away a few years back. I still remember that picture of Vader looking like nookie bear with a plastic half glass of lager in his hand. What was the title history in that one? I'm going to blindly guess it's the UWF title.

 

Christ that was the first ever issue of PS I ever owned, after I was ill and my dad couldn't find Raw magazine.

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Lister should be made to do threads like this all the time, or get kicked off the forum and lose his wife and job. Maybe a stint in prison as well. Only six months, though. Dont want to be to harsh.

 

Cracking stuff in here. Which is surprising, considering I own the book and have read this story loads of times, but its still cool.

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Lister should be made to do threads like this all the time, or get kicked off the forum and lose his wife and job. Maybe a stint in prison as well. Only six months, though. Dont want to be to harsh.

 

Cracking stuff in here. Which is surprising, considering I own the book and have read this story loads of times, but its still cool.

 

 

To make matters worse he would be forced to learn how to read and write a book to send home to his kids. Serving hard times and all that.

 

It is cool to read it again and its also a great sneaky work read without blatently reading a book based on wrestling. I'm also clearly going to give turning the tables another read, its been yonks.

 

Cheers for this Lister.

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It was indeed Martin E Cox. I have the magazine in my hand right now. One of the best Power Slam issues ever, looking at whats in it. Cox has a 10 page diary of his trips to Living Dangerously 99, Uncensored, Nitro, Thunder and a few indy shows over an 11 day period. There is also a review of WrestleMania XV, a look at Vader's little Indian Summer he had in Japan, reviews of the Attitude Adjustment tour of the UK (which I went to, to see the Boss Man ALMOST win the WWF title against Steve Austin), news on the UWA Wrestling Rampage shows, the debut of Big Bri's Blunders, a look at who earns what in wrestling (did you know nWo Sting was on $150,000 per annum?) and a lovely poster of Kane in the middle.

 

What a cracking mag it was.

 

It was indeed Martin E. Cox.

 

I went on the trip with him leaving him before he went to the ECW PPV.

 

I actually ended up attending six (6!) WCW shows in six days!

 

Uncensored - Louisville

Nitro - Cincinatti

Saturday Night - Toledo

House Show - Dayton

Thunder - Lexington

Friday - Chicago

 

And the only wrestler on every show was Jerry Flynn.

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