Today I Learned (Wrestling Edition)

[Lion_of_the_Midlands]

1 hour ago, Browser Brady said:

That Al Costello ( of the fabulous kangaroos) has a famous granddaughter…….Brody Dalle of the Distillers…

Did you also know that Brody Dalle of the Distillers is the half sister of Morgana Robinson?

[Tim Healys Chutney Spoon]

On 2/18/2026 at 3:11 PM, Tim Healys Chutney Spoon said:

TIL Dustin Rhodes is coming to Crufts this year with his Mastiff. 

 

Not quite where I'd have expected to see him, but there we go. 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HdjYTwJju/

 

Gorgeous mastiff Beast at Crufts

[CavemanLynn]

Crufts themselves have posted a sweet little video to their YouTube about the big loveable dope (and his dog) 😊 https://youtu.be/slTaHDoWTmw?si=hdY7PcN-w7eIMt8I

[SuperBacon]

2 hours ago, CavemanLynn said:

Crufts themselves have posted a sweet little video to their YouTube about the big loveable dope (and his dog) 😊 https://youtu.be/slTaHDoWTmw?si=hdY7PcN-w7eIMt8I

Lasted 1.5 seconds until he said he doesn't like cats. I hope he gets the biggest "cancellation" ever. BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Rossman]

Didn't realise Jim Cornette went back to WCW in February 1993 for a month with the Heavenly Bodies and Bobby Eaton who was released in 1992. Doing a Smokey Mountain Wrestling cross promotional storyline to feud with the Rock N Rock Express. This would pre-date them going to the WWF to do the same thing later in the year.

Also didn't realise the Heavenly Bodies was first Tom Pritchard & Stan Lane before Lane retired and Jimmy Del Ray came in for the WWF run.

[Chico Torres]

2 minutes ago, Rossman said:

Didn't realise Jim Cornette went back to WCW in February 1993 for a month with the Heavenly Bodies and Bobby Eaton who was released in 1992. Doing a Smokey Mountain Wrestling cross promotional storyline to feud with the Rock N Rock Express. This would pre-date them going to the WWF to do the same thing later in the year.

Also didn't realise the Heavenly Bodies was first Tom Pritchard & Stan Lane before Lane retired and Jimmy Del Ray came in for the WWF run.

We got this all-star 8 man tag as a result

 

[gmoney]

Very short time in that case being about one meeting though wasn't it? Then they heard his ideas and sacked him off immediately? Nothing of his got to air. I remember Power Slam covering it. 

[Cousin Jim Bob]

17 minutes ago, Ralphy said:

I only found out from Brian Gerwitz's audiobook, can't remember the exact words but I think Russo was made head writer with the others reporting to him, and Russo wanting RVD as WWE champion because a few 13 year olds kept talking about him.

 

From what I remember from that book, it was not putting the belt on RVD that wound up the other writers and Vince. It was his suggestion, to strip the belt off Taker and have a tournament for it, which RVD would win. Which they were thinking "OK maybe" but then Russo's idea for a huge fresh matchup was Triple H vs Jericho in the first round. Which had just happened recently as the main event of Wrestlemania 18, so everyone realised that Russo had done fuck all research on the present product, as he couldn't even be arsed watching Mania. 

Russo says they just set him up to fail. Gerwitz says they were all willing to give him a chance but Vince hated all his suggestions. 

Who knows the truth, probably a bit of both.

Edited March 7 by Cousin Jim Bob

[davertfnewman]

It's funny to read that after a few days of the old JJ Dillon RF Video shoot being serialised and him talking about being the intermediary for bringing Russo in because someone in the WWF let him know Vince wasn't happy writing two shows (Raw and the new Smackdown) for no extra pay. He welcomed him in and then saw Russo's WCW and created a spreadsheet recording ref bumps, outside interference, non-finishes and short match time and reported that to Bill Busch, whose initial response was "Yeah, but there's an energy there that there wasn't before!", so he said nothing and then watched through the debacle of Jarrett getting injured at the conclusion of his trilogy with Tito, George Steele and Jimmy Snuka, writing him off from the upcoming PPV.

Then that led to the suggestion from Russo of Terry Funk tripping and falling with his flaming branding iron, setting the ring on fire, with Russo asking Jim Crockett how much it would take to bribe the fire marshall to be outside the building so that they could get away with it...

[Chili]

Always thought when Russo came back he was like 'We should make The Rock gay, bro!' and they just thought nah, and sent him away.

[Pinc]

Weren’t there reports Russo wanted to do the WCW invasion again but properly this time. With big plans for Scott Steiner?

Tbf to him RVD should absolutely have become Champ in ‘02.

[BarryOVega]

Never heard about Russo doing a John Landis impression and wanting them to go behind the fire marshal’s back

i remember reading in Power Slam at the time about the Rock being gay thing

Its been mentioned by various people he went back to get out of his Turner contract which I never understood, unless McMahon paid him the difference what did he gain from it?

[Browser Brady]

TIL that in the 80’s  Bobby Heenan suffered a broken neck at the hands of ……………. Atsushi Onita …

[davertfnewman]

Yeah, flying legdrop off the top apparently turned his head awkwardly and did it. Bobby briefly mentioned it in his RF Video shoot interview.

Didn't stop those Pro Wrestling Stories-type websites laying it on thick and fantasy-writing bits about Bobby being pissed off because Onita never called him to check up on him... long distance call, I guess.

[mim731]

2 hours ago, davertfnewman said:

Didn't stop those Pro Wrestling Stories-type websites laying it on thick and fantasy-writing bits about Bobby being pissed off because Onita never called him to check up on him... long distance call, I guess.

If that's not what happened, you can blame Bruce Prichard for that as he told that story on his podcast which has presumably popularised the story as factual.