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RAGIN’ competition without a full medical Kurt Angles. Gerald Brisco has been
clearance, a clean bill of health. especially effective working with
However, it’s obvious to me that Austin several college coaches and scouting
will be a marked man, and everyone several prospects. Brisco is a former
he faces will certainly focus on his amateur great at Oklahoma State
surgically repaired neck. In some sort University.
of perverse mindset, the guy who
silences the toughest S.O.B. in the Usually when you say, “it’s growing”
Federation once and for all makes and “Rikishi Phatu” in the same
himself more marketable. Sick, but sentence, you are referring to his rather
tme. hefty backside. Not this time. It’s his
popularity, and it’s growing big time.
Crash “Elroy” Holly’s voice is tailor- Hope we can say the same thing in six
made for animation. Crash needs his months. I’m pulling for this guy.
own cartoon.

Prince Albert should be included in

Random thoughts & Having been aiound longer than I like any list of top young World Wrestling
opinions tram the to admit, and observing lots of talented Federation talents. Born Matt Bloom,
this 6'7", 340-pounder is a college
performers, I am still amazed by the
Okie in the btack hat popularity of The Rock. At 27, graduate from Pittsburgh, where he
who’s got the best he overshadows, with this level of was a three-year starter on the 0-line.

seat in the house! stardom at such a young

age, anyone that I person
By Jim Ross ally have ever witnessed.
Only outside distractions
Just think about it. Have you ever can derail the “People’s
seen so much controversy surround Champion”!
ing the World Wrestling Federation
Championship? I’m waiting on the next
non-Chyna lady to “break
I’m not sure what the future holds out.” There are certainly
for Mick Foley...but I know it’s going significant talents among
to be good. Mick is a valuable and the females, but who’s
treasured asset on this talent roster, going to become the next
and being the ultra-talented performer one to cross into the

he is, any new role he takes on will “promised land”?

only be made better through his efforts.
Even though his in-ring wrestling Kurt Angle’s success in
appearances are going to be drastically the World Wrestling
reduced, Mrs. Foley’s baby boy will Federation will motivate

continue to be a huge part of World Federation officials to

Wrestling Federation television and scout several outstanding

more. That’s a very good thing. amateur wrestlers in the

immediate future. Angle

The fire to return to the Federation is an extraordinary talent
burns mighty deep in the heart of the with maturity and a
Texas Rattlesnake, but at what price? world-class work ethic.

Obviously, Stone Cold Steve Austin We should be so lucky to

will not—and cannot return to recruit and sign more

4 RAW MAGAZINE
Matt has taught school, specializing in
kids with learning disabilities. For my
●‘It'- s
money, this guy’s going to be around
for a long time. But that name...

If I didn’t know better, I would say

that Lita is the long-lost sister the
Hardy brothers never knew they had.
What a flyer! m:
V|

I’m looking forward to the XFL in

2001.

It’s a tribute to the young Superstars on

the Federation roster for taking
up the slack with so many top hands
on the injured list. Opportunity presents
itself in a variety of forms at some very
strange times. Because of that, young
competitors awaiting their “big break”
must never fail to be ready.

Triple H has become “The Game” in

more ways than just in the ring. He’s a
big-time player who’s his own man.

Over 30 young men and women i

are currently under developmental
contracts with the Federation and are in

Louisville (OVW), Memphis and

Puerto Rico perfecting their skills. to come. This youngster is tougher than respected martial artists in North
Somi -a very few—might make it to you could ever imagine. America. A truly bad man. Why, one
Raw Is War or SmackDown! But most, time at baggage claim...
unfortunately, will not. The competition Chris Benoit is going to get very
to not only make, but to stay on, this familiar with Federation gold before Tazz seems to be searching for some-
roster has never been better or harder. his career concludes. I’m not sure why thing and has yet to get rolling in the
This makes the product better...which certain things happen in our business; World Wrestling Federation. Not to
should always be our goal. however, I am sure that the Federation worry. This isn’t unusual and actually
is very fortunate to have signed Benoit, shouldn’t be perceived as a negative.
Even though their non-wrestling perfor Malenko, Saturn and Guerrero so It’s just the way it is, and takes time
mances have been very entertaining, quickly. These guys can go. and effort to work through. Tazz has
let’s not lose sight of how physically been an overachiever all his life, and I
talented the Acolytes are. You gotta We always look forward to performing have no doubt that he has the ability to
love two former football linemen who live in England, and our May 6th event, be a player here. His style and look are
really enjoy contact. Tag champs? InsurreXtion, in Earls Court in unique; he’s hungry and has legitimate
London is no exception. World toughness. One’s own confidence can
Other guys seem to get more fanfare at Wrestling Federation fans who attend be quite an adversary at times,
times, but how can you not put Kane in our live events throughout the UK are
the top five of all World Wrestling loved and fun-loving! The atmosphere Take care and thanks for all your
Eederation Superstars these days? at those events is really motivating! support. See you next month!
Barring injuries, the Big Red Machine
will be on top of the mountain for years Steve Blackman is one of the most

MAY 2000 5
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 Letters to the editor

Send us your comments and critique to: World Wrestling Federation, RAW Magazine, 1241 E. Main Street, Stamford, CT 06902

Fine Chyna will be Chyna’s year. Keep up the good job. I hope you
publish more articles like this one.
Dear Editor, Alicia Gutierrez

I just finished reading the article on Chyna. It was Chicago, IL

awesome! I really enjoyed it. It made me respect and
admire her even more. She is a role model to many, and Dear Editor,
the way that she has overcome the obstacles in her life is I want to start off by saying thank you for the remarkable
an inspiration to all. Chyna has proven to me that women article on Chyna in the March issue of RA.W It was one of
can be successful if they are determined. I believe that this the best articles I have read in a long time. I really admire
Joanie, and it’s nice to know that her life was less than
perfect—just like mine. She has inspired me to just go for
what I want and never give up. Keep up the good work
and thanks once again for the great issue of RAW\
Amanda Land
Porterville, CA

;r J
Dear Editor,
I have to comment on the amazing interview with
Chyna in the March issue of RAW Magazine. First of all,
I have been a huge Chyna fan since she arrived in the
Federation, so it’s great to finally hear what she has to say.
I appreciate her honesty and the fact that she is willing to
talk openly about her childhood. I know that I personally
can relate to her hardships, as can a lot of other people.
Chyna stated in her interview that she felt like a hypocrite
telling people that they don’t have to be a beauty queen to
be successful, yet she changed her own looks. Personally,
I believe that if changing your looks will give you
more confidence and self-esteem, then by all means, go
ahead and do it. Chyna’s decision was a personal one, and
if it gives her more confidence, then 1 am happy for her.
I respect the fact that she is willing to share her feelings
and experiences with her fans. I know she does not claim
to be a role model, yet, to me, she is one. I see her as a
very influential person who has become a tremendous
success. Chyna has fought her way to the top, and she
deserves every bit of success she attains. She is a positive
role model, not only for women, but for all people who
want to be successful in life. Chyna, enjoy your success,
because you deserve it.
Brenda Canzonerri

Brooklyn, NY

8 RAW MAGAZINE
Dear Editor,
I just finished reading the March issue
of RAW Magazine and would like to con
gratulate you on the fine Job you did,
especially on the Chyna article. People
want more articles like that. Keep up the
good work! Also, thanks for the great
pictures of The Kat!
Robert Skinner
Via E-mail

Dear Editor,
Thanks for the great article on the Ninth
Wonder of the World, Chyna! She has
come a long way from being a tomboy
to becoming a Federation Superstar, a
pioneer for women wrestlers, and a role
model for girls everywhere. She accom
plished a lot of firsts in 1999, topping it all
off with winning the IC title at No Mercy,
and she is only just beginning to scratch the surface. Magazine. 1 enjoyed the article “Keeping It Real’’ about
Joanie Laurer is one incredible woman who had the Mean Street Posse and Shane McMahon. They were
the brawn, beauty and brains to make it in the World old buddies from childhood, playing football and going to
Wrestling Federation. The pictures were red hot too, with the prom together. Now, they’re together again in the
Chyna showing her muscles while wearing those sexy Federation. Pete, Rodney and Shane are not just stuck-up,
outfits—especially that black one. Maybe some day rich punks from the “mean streets of Greenwich.” They’ve
she’ll be the first woman to win the Federation title. watched each other’s back when there were problems.
Chyna, you go girl! It’s good that these three close friends are in the
Eric Isaac Federation. Also, I liked those pictures of Chyna. Keep it
Washington, D.C. going.
Dennis Deleon
Dear Editor, Jamaica Plain, MA
Your article, “Survival of the Fittest” on Joanie Laurer,
a.k.a. Chyna, was the best article that I have read in RAW Rave Review
Magazine in a long time. She is a role model for women
who have had to struggle with unpopularity and have had Dear Editor,
to stare down sexism in our society. She’s the best asset to I just got done reading the February 2000 issue of RAW
the World Wrestling Federation. Keep doing what you’re Magazine. I was so hooked on it that I read it three times.
doing, Chyna. Thanks, RAW Magazine, for that kick-ass Honest. It was the greatest issue that’s ever come out from
article. the World Wrestling Federation. From the awesome inter
Gina L. Starritt view with Mick Foley about his book, to Jerry Lawler’s
Fall River, WI thoughts on Andy Kaufman, to the most honest story that
you guys have ever done with the real couples of the
Praise For The Posse Federation, all the way down to the dramatic story with
D’Lo Brown talking about the accident with Droz. Great
Dear Editor, stuff! It’s the most interesting issue I’ve ever read.
I am the biggest World Wrestling Federation fan ever, and Eric Kerhin

I just got done with the March 2000 issue of RAW Brewster, OH

MAY 2000 9
 Hello, Ladies!
U n

niiyt All Fun and Dames

When It Comes to Breathtaking Photos, There's More Than Meets the Eye
You'd probably think a winter trip to the warm, sunny photo shoot featured in this month's issue would boggle
Caribbean with five gorgeous, bikini-clad women would the mind. Special thanks go out to the ladies and the
be nothing but pure pleasure. Well...yes. But the amount crew for all their extra effort. To enjoy the fruits of their
of behind-the-scenes, hard work that went into the RAW labor, turn to page 30, or check out the divas on ^ .com.

Mr. Ass on the Boob Tube?

Just for
Laughs
Chyna, Billy Gunn Hit the Sitcoms
Fresh off a successful appearance on Pacific Blue, Chyna is
set to return to the small screen with a recurring role on the
NBC comedy 3rd Rock From the Sun. Not to be outdone by
his former DX-mate, Billy Gunn appeared on an episode of
ABC's hit Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. Mr. Ass ends up in
the ring with Sabrina herself—Fame-asser, anyone?
10 RAW MAGAZINE
 Wrestling or Horseplay?^ - - - ■
i

Hot to Trot With Federation-Inspired Nannes

a

His human namesake was probably never disqualified in the ring, but _ - ● 1

sprinter Chief J Strongbow (right, by a nose) was DQ'd for bumping ^ t.

in March at Laurel Park, MD. Another Federation-named horse, trotter

Andrethegiant (above), brought home his first victory of 2000 on
February 21 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

m
-r
1

f
outside the ring...

An increasingly familiar site; Chyna in front of a camera. was supposed to wear a tuxedo!”

MAY 2000 11
 The Mood Is About to Change

Wear the Shirt...If He Lets You!

With His Own Design on the Front,
Tazz's T-Shirt Sells Like Wildfire
Just as Tazz has taken Federation fans by storm, so
has his top-selling T-shirt. The unique logo on the
front was conceived by Tazz himself. "I can't take
credit for the whole thing," he says, "but the con
cept was my idea." The logo, refined by Tazz's tattoo
artist, came from a rough sketch by Tazz. It was fur
ther stylized and given "flavor" by the Federation.
The number 13 in the center also came from the
mind of the Red Flook, NY native. "It's the unlucky
number," Tazz says. "My whole character is based
on not being about luck. Idon't want to say people
fear 13, but there's no 13 on elevators and no 13th
floor and all that. Ifelt like it's a good gimmick. It fits
my whole character, the whole 'F the World' atti
tude." Even with the ominous number, the T-shirt
has been anything but unlucky for TazzI

Heating Up the Great White Riorth

Val Venis, Irish Stratus Right at Home for Canadian Music Week Awards Ceremony in Toronto

Canadian-born Superstars Val Venis and Trish Stratus

did a little home cooking recently. Val and Trish were
presenters at the CMW Industry Awards, honoring the
year's biggest and best performers of the Canadian music
world. Val was escorted to the stage by some beauties
who might make even the Godfather's hos jealous I

. \

mmi

12 RAW MAGAZINE
 What’s better than buying The Rock Says? Getting it
autographed by the “Great Author” himself.

Piledriving Publications!
The Rock and Foley Soar—Now It's the Ladies' Turn
The Federation's unprecedented
assault on the bestseller lists has
only begun! Mick Foley's Have A
Nice Day!, the first Federation
book to reach the top of the New
York Times bestseller list, is now in
its 18th printing and spent 20
weeks in the top 10 on the Times
list. The Rock Says, in its seventh
printing (and still going strong),
spent four weeks at the top of the
charts and now has 625,000
copies in print. Coming up next
from ReganBooks: Chyna's auto
biography is due to hit the shelves HA9B
raif
in August and is sure to rival
The Rock and Foley on the sales
lists. And in what could end up
being the most intriguing story of
all, the Fabulous Moolah will put
her seven-decade career onto
paper in an autobiography sched
uled for release in January 2001.

MAY 2000 13
 by keith elliot
greenberg tllGrocklsp
Ata Johnson nervously shifts positions on the eouch, te-eyes ■
riveted to the large-screen television in her Tampa living room. ■
it’s Monday night, and Ata’s son, Dwayne—better known as
The Rock—is positioned in center ring on Raw Is Wai; tm head '
pitched back and a microphone affixed to his, tips. “Look this
Brahma bull in the eyes,” The Rock is saying, “so this Brahma bull
can take these horns, shine
them up real nice...” Ata widow of onetime World Wrestling
winces, bracing for what’s Federation contender Higli Chief
Peter Maivia, and pronioter for the
coming.“...and stick them up now-defunct Polynesian Pro Wrestling
your candy assi” league in Hawaii—cries when she sees
The Rock on TV. “In my heart,she ;

Ata looks over

explains, “I feel that Dwayne has made .
at her my husband alive again.” '
amused husband, former World The Rock has reached a height in the
Wrestling Federation tag-team titlist wrestling business that would have been
Rocky Johnson, then tells a visitor, unattainable to either his father or grand-
“That’s not really like Dwayne. I never father. Part .of his success is the result
heard him curse until he said..she of timing; Dwayne Johnson happened
pauses, uncomfortable with what she?s to come of age just as the World
about to utter. “‘A-S-S’ on TV. I said, 'Wresthng Federation got “Attitude:” But
‘Dwayne, please don’t say A-5-5 on TV’ The Rock’s instincts^—^hi s ability to pull
He said, ‘Okay, Mom.’ The next week, a great match out of an inferior or less
he came on and said, ‘I’ll stick this up experienced opponent, fire up a crowd
your rectum.’ I said, ‘Oh, Dwayne, that’s by simply raising an eyebrow, and
. even worse:”’ create catch phrases that kids utter in
Her squeamishness over her son’s schoolyards and adults shout out in bar-
language notwithstanding, Ata is rooms:—^is attributable to his pedigree,
enormously proud of The Rock. And And to traly understand The Rock, one
everyone in the family shares her must first understand the people who
enthusiasm. Rocky—^whose 1983 shaped him.
championship conquest with Tony
Atlas was a first for an African-
American tag team—^watches the audi came into

ence on Raw almost as much as his the world as Wayde Douglas Bowles 55
son. Spotting a sign declaring, years ago in Nova Scotia, the descendant
“The House The Rock Built,” Johnson of slaves who fled the plantations, of the
smiles, “You think The Rock’s getting American South and formed a historic
over?” Across the street, in her own community in the remote safety of
house, Ata’s mother, Lia Maivia- eastern Canada. Wayde’s father cut logs.

,14 RAW MA,GAII:NE

worked in the coal mines, and poured
brass and hot metal in a foundry.
But when he died when Wayde was 13,
the entire brood—there were ten

children, including Rocky and a brother

who’d later wrestle as Ricky Johnson—
relocated to Toronto.

Pro wrestling was already part of the

children’s life. In Nova Scotia, they’d
pay 50 cents when the matches rolled
through, perhaps twice a year, cheering
on the tag team of Babe Wingo and
Lorraine Johnson. Now, they piled
into Maple Leaf Gardens to watch
“Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers (the first
World Wrestling Federation Champion),
technical wizard Lou Thesz, and Sweet
Daddy Siki, a flamboyant man who
sported a blond Afro in the conservative
’50s. “To see these big, muscular guys
do backflips and dropkicks,” Rocky
remembers, “I thought, ‘They have to be
the greatest athletes in the world.’”
But he had a long way to go before
he joined their ranks. After winning
trophies in swimming, diving and
gymnastics, Wayde left high school to
support his family, driving a fish truck
for $1.05 an hour. Six nights a week,
he lifted weights and boxed at the local
YMCA. One night during a snowstorm,
he entered the recreation center and

found only one other person there, a

pro wrestler named Rocky Bolie, hitting
the ropes and doing flips. “Boy, that
looks interesting,” Wayde said.
“Come on in, I’ll show you some
moves,” Bolie olfered.
These were the days when wrestlers
were extremely defensive about their
profession, and Bolie trapped the
young man in a front facelock and
chicken wing, just in case he had any
doubts about the industry’s authenticity.
“He really cinched up to make a
believer out of me,” Johnson reminisces.
“But, I wouldn’t scream. I wouldn’t quit.
And from that night on, I never thought
about anything else.”
Wayde began learning the trade at
Jack Wentworth’s training school, taking
the bus 45 minutes to Hamilton, Ontario.
After three months, Wentworth called

MAY 2000 15
 the student into his office. Whipper Billy
Watson, a two-time National Wrestling
Alliance (NWA) world champion and a
Canadian sports hero, was running for
office, and needed a black protege to
help win the hearts of voters of African
descent. “I was speechless,” Rocky says.
“They put me on TV, and told me not
to say anything. Watson would do all
the talking.”
The newcomer came to the ring.
looking sharp in a six-dollar terry-cloth

To truly understand The Rock,

it legally changed.
His first match lasted a minute: he

defeated Firpo Zbyszko after an Irish

whip, backdrop, thi'ee dropkicks and a
one must first understand the
sunset flip. Every subsequent bout had a
similar outcome, and the old-timers were
people who shaped him.
resentful—particularly Fred Atkins, a Meanwhile, Watson’s efforts to that the title was a con created to make
man with a busted nose and cauliflower launch a political career from the the Samoan athlete appear more exotic.
ears who fancied himself a “shooter wrestling ring proved fruitless. He lost But the reality was that Maivia had been
(a wrestler who knows how to twist an the election, and Rocky left Toronto, bestowed this prestigious rank in his
opponent into submission when the seeking fame in other tenitories. clan of extended relatives. And both his

action turns legit). “He’d stretch me daughter, Ata, and grandson, Dwayne,

Throughout his
every night,” says Rocky, “take me down recognized that there was something
with a front facelock, jam a foot in my tenure in the imperial about the long-haired grappler
mouth when he had me in a stepover squared circle, Peter Maivia billed who covered his middle body in the
toehold. Before he put me over [lost the himself as a paramount high chief More tattoos of his homeland.
match], he showed me who was boss.” cynical mat-watchers generally assumed “My grandfather had a majestic aura

16 RAW MAGAZINE
 (

■<) 00<:
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TV
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com„ ©SOOO World Wrest:ling Federation Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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 1

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©2000 World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. Inc. All Rights Reserved.
to him,” says The Rock. “It was almost
mystical. He was a proud man, proud of
his heritage, proud of the business that
was his life.”
Ata Johnson was Peter and Lia

Maivia’s only child. The Rock’s mother

was bom in western Samoa, but the
family moved to New Zealand when she
was young. There, Peter worked In a
lumber mill, and sang at Polynesian
weddings for extra money. An ordained
Congregationalist minister, the future
wrestling star also preached on Sundays.
Like The Rock, Maivia “had a very
emotional way of speaking, where you
had to listen,” the 51-year-old Ata says.
“Many years later, I remember an
incident where he was wrestling
Ray Stevens at the Cow Palace in and promoter Steve Rickard—and was After experiencing moderate success,
San Francisco. My father was losing, hastened by a will to appeal to a specific Maivia moved his family to England,
and the Samoans in the audience began ethnic bloc: New Zealand’s Samoans. where he appeared on cards for Dale
throwing chairs. My father took the Ata and Lia attended the matches, Martin Promotions with Jackie “Mr. TV”
microphone, said a few words in convinced that everything they saw in Paolo, Mick McManus, and Shirley
Samoan and very quickly calmed the the ring was real. “Big Daddy” Crabtree, among others.
situation down. “My father was very hush-hush,” Ata “In those days, there was a lot of shoot
Maivia’s entrance into the sport of recounts. “If he and Rickard were talk- ing between the wrestlers,” Lia recalls,
kings bears two striking parallels to ing about the business and I walked into “They were very proud people, and they
Rocky Johnson’s story. The debut was the room, there’d be silence. If they were thought of themselves as real wrestlers,
triggered by a chance meeting at a practicing a move, the door would be When a new guy would come in, they’d
YMCA—in Maivia’s case, with wrestler sealed shut.” test him. You were expected to shoot

The Rock's Family Album

(Top) High Chief Peter Maivia and Dwayne wearing one of his dad’s
his daughter Ata, who accompanied championship beits. Rocky and baby
her father to the ring. Ata and Dwayne cuddle up on the couch. Rocky
Rocky Johnson’s son Dwayne was sur- Johnson early in his career. Johnson and
rounded by the business from birth. Tony Atlas would later become the first
(Clockwise from left) Young Dwayne African-American tag team to win the
and his father have a posedown. Federation tag belts.

MAY 2000 19
 back, and earn your respect. And my Universe” Maynard, a black man from
husband did.” England whose accent seemed to
Through the years, Maivia had many perplex American fans. Aware that they
shoots, both in the ring as well as in bars were both being marketed as ethnic
and hotels. But his most notorious heroes, Maivia and Johnson felt drawn
encounter pitted him against English to one another. One night, they became
great Billy Robinson. At some point, the so engrossed in conversation that
two men allegedly stopped exchanging Johnson missed his flight after the
holds, and tried maiming one another. matches, and the Samoan invited him
The fight is said to have ended when the home.

British legend’s eye was disconnected “That was the first time I met Ata,”
from its socket. Rocky says. “I couldn’t stand her. She
Lia could be just as feisty. One night was so prissy. She thought she was Miss
in Birmingham, Maivia was working as America.”

a “heel” (villain) and the crowd began The feelings were mutual. “My father
heckling him. England had not yet expe told my mother, ‘Give him something to
rienced a large-scale surge of Asian and spit in,’ and he sat there, spitting tobacco
Caribbean immigrants from its former juice,” Ata recollects. “I thought it was
colonies, and the largely white audience disgusting.”
focused on the wrestler’s ancestry. When But the next time Johnson visited, the
Lia heard one spectator shout, “Go back impressions softened. Lia was serving a
to your coconut tree, you savage,” she traditional Samoan meal—raw snapper,
snapped, leaping into the ring and a potato root called taro, green bananas,
attacking her husband’s opponent with a and sapasui (a Polynesian version of
high-heeled shoe. “Dad had to take her chop suey). Rocky mentioned that he
into the back and smarten her up,” Ata was going to be touring Japan, and Ata
says. “But not me.” In fact, it wasn’t promised to write him. seemed like a great guy, my father knew
until Ata married Rocky that she was “I was maybe 20,” Ata says. “I wasn’t there were other great guys who had dif
told about the predetermined nature of allowed to date yet. And my father was ferent women in every city.”
the matches. very protective. In Europe, I met Andre But after a year of dating, the couple
Eventually, Maivia became a “baby- the Giant when he was just a teenager was not about to part. When Johnson
face” (good guy) and entered the ring starting out, and my father kept him far received an offer to work for Eddie

playing the ukulele, while 15-year-old away from me because he seemed too Graham’s Florida territory, Ata came
Ata accompanied him, dressed as a hula interested. But he felt comfortable about with him, and they eloped. It was a while
dancer. The teenager loved the excite my friendship with Rocky because he before Rocky spoke to his friend again.
ment so much that she asked her father was considered a family friend. When he did, Maivia told him, “You
to train her for the squared circle. “He Ata herself didn’t read any more into took the apple of my eye, and I want you
just said, ‘No, emphatically no. That’s it. the relationship until Rocky returned to treat her with the love and respect she
Case closed,”’ Ata relates. “To think from his tour, and Maivia took everyone deserves.”

about his daughter being thrown around out to a Samoan club. When Johnson In time. Rocky passed the Maivia
on the mat or living life on the road, that danced with a young woman there, Ata family’s test—so much so that Peter
was unacceptable.” felt pangs of jealousy. “Why don’t you arranged for his son-in-law to become
Peter Maivia first crossed paths with dance with me?” she asked accusingly, an honorary chief in Samoa.
Rocky Johnson in San Francisco. Along realizing that this was more than

In 1972,
with wrestling for promoter Roy Shires, a friendship.
Maivia was a Samoan community Not long afterwards. Rocky became when he was three

leader, presiding over meetings with the first man Ata was allowed to date weeks old. The Rock entered his fust
other high chiefs, and staging at least unchaperoned. But as the romance pro arena, sitting on his mother’s lap at the
one angry confrontation with police gressed, the Maivias became worried. Cow Palace, as his father and grand
when fellow islanders accused them of Johnson’s ancestry didn’t concern them. father wrestled the Japanese tandem of
discrimination. Johnson was now called Rocky’s profession was another story. Masa Saito and Kinji Shibuya. “Mothers
Rocky “Soul Man” Johnson, and was “My father knew what wrestlers did on always want their sons to be great,”
teaming with muscular Earl Mr. the road,” Ata says. “Even though Rocky Ata reflects. “I felt there was greatness

20 RAW MAGAZINE
 do to make the people outside the irng
happy. So when your Dad looks like he’s
losing, he’s not really losing. That’s the
secret of our business. And we have to
keep it a secret.’”
The philosophy led to countless
fights. When kids asked Dwayne if
wrestling was fake, he’d reply, “I can
show you better than I can tell you.”
But, deep inside, the boy knew the
real deal. And Ata wonders whether this

awareness made him question virtually

everything. “I’m not ashamed to say that
I couldn’t win an argument with him,”
Ata says. “He’d argue with us, and he’d
argue with his teachers. If he was taking
too long to make a point and the teacher
would stop him, he’d say, T’m not fin
ished yet.’ It reminds me of when
The Rock asks someone their name, and
when they answer, he cuts them off, ‘It
doesn’t matter what your name is.’”
Strangely, even though Dwayne
could act like a heel in the classroom,
many of his instructors treated him like a
babyface. “Whenever we had a birthday
it

Mothers always want their sons party,” claims Ata, “the teacher would be
there.”

to be great,” Ata says. “I felt there And he always had a sense of style.
Says Ata, “While other kids were
was greatness ahead of him.
55
worried about their Star Wars sets, he
was worried about his watch matching
ahead of him.” Today, The Rock reveals a secret he his ring. He’d come out of his room
The Maivias gave their only grand never told his family: “When I was in the looking spiffy, the way The Rock comes
son a Samoan name, Tuifeai, or arena, I really loved the heels— through the curtain.”
“Untamed King,” and became so Superstar Graham, Killer Karl Kox, Don As much as possible, Johnson took
attached to him that Ata grew concerned. Muraco. Even at a young age, 1 could his wife and child on the road with him.

“In our custom, it is perfectly fine to give appreciate their edge, their freedom to “Other than Shane McMahon, Dwayne
a baby to a relative to raise,” she say what they wanted to say. When I cut was the only kid in the dressing room,”
explains. “While Rocky and I were on promos [did wrestling interviews] in the Ata says. “The wrestlers spoke to him
the road, they asked to watch Dwayne mirror, those were heel promos. I was like he was a man. He would see a guy
for a week. Then, one week turned into Captain Lou Albano irpping into Cyndi in the dressing room turn into another
six. Then, they wanted to keep him. Lauper, Roddy Piper holding court on person in the irng. And he learned that
Rocky and I had to fly to California to Piper’s Pit.” life is not always the way it seems.”
get him. We didn’t believe in that.” Perhaps Dwayne was able to cheer So, while the Johnsons looked like
Still, Dwayne remained close to his the men clotheslining and stomping his the inspiring picture of domestic bliss,
grandparents, and was soon sitting at loved ones because, very early on, his their collective presence was not always
ringside when Peter wrestled, shouting, mother informed him that the men in appreciated by wrestlers who didn’t like
“Go, Grandpa, go.” Remembers Lia, the irng weren’t actual enemies, but witnesses to their extramarital affairs.

“He was a very young-looking grandpa, members of a fraternity that lived by its “They’d say, ‘You brought your wife
and he didn’t like all the good-looking own shrouded codes. “I told him, ‘This again?”’ Johnson says. “But I didn’t
girls hearing that. He’d say, ‘Lia, tell him is our living,”’ Ata says. ‘“It’s a good care. Without my family. I’d be nothing.
to stop. It’s bad for business.’” living. Everything we do in the irng, we If your family’s in one territory, and

MAY 2000 21
 «r.
●V/ to continue the endeavor. “He told
.'*1' la - < me his dream had not come tme,” Lia
m A
says. “We did not have a successful
:wr > <

■ ^ * promotion yet.”
I / This was not an easy task for a
woman. “The boys wanted to do busi
vf f m.
ness with the boys,” Lia recalls. “When I
1 *

'■f \
asked them to do something, they’d say,
w 7~

\ ‘Well, I’ll do it out of respect for Peter.’

But it was my promotion now. They
should be doing it for me.”
Lia brought in Lars Anderson, a
k wrestler of some renown, as a partner
and booker—allowing him to plan
feuds, victories and losses. Like many
bookers, Anderson arranged for himself
to win a title, the Polynesian champi
S. onship. In The Rock’s book, The Rock
Says, he remembers being backstage
when Anderson refused Lia’s request to
lose the belt at a memorial show for

A Peter Maivia. Infuriated, the 13-year-old

I boy screamed at the burly wrestler and

s,.

threatened to pummel him. What

Dwayne didn’t realize was that he was
inflaming the tension that already existed
■A.'- between the Caucasian Anderson and
the group’s largely Polynesian repertoire
of wrestlers.
55

Wrestling was in his biood,

“The islander guys, they talked about
ganging up on Lars and getting him

Rocky Johnson says. outside the arena,” Lia says. “But I’d
tell them, ‘This is my paitner. We have
you’re on the other side of the world, it various stages of the High Chief’s career differences, but that’s business. If he
hurts. We saw a lot of good people and a surrounding the man’s bed. One, makes mistakes, let him make mistakes.
lot of good marriages fail because the Salvatore Bellomo, had traveled to That doesn’t mean he’s going to get
family wasn’t together.” Hawaii from the World Wrestling beaten up.’”
No one was earning a million-dollar Federation’s base in the northeastern Interestingly, the team of Lia and
salary in those days, and wrestlers cut United States, and tended to Maivia’s Anderson fared better with the promo
costs by shaiing rental cars and hotel every need. “He did everything for him,” tion than Peter had alone. She arranged
rooms. Today, Rocky drives a truck, the Ata says. “And Dwayne understood that for a weekly television program to pub
result not of paydays squandered on bad for all the problems in this business, the licize upcoming events, and organized
investments and partying, but the reality people in wrestling can be your family. tours of Samoa, Tonga, and New
that traveling with the family means I think it comes from the old-school Zealand. Working with promoters
extra expenses. “If I lived differently. I’d thinking of ‘protecting the business.’ in both the United States and Japan,
have a lot more money,” he concedes, You’re all in on something together.” Lia was appointed vice president
and I’d also be a lot less happy.” Several years before his death, of the NWA, then a conglomeration
n

Maivia had purchased the wrestling pro of regional wrestling leagues, and

In 1982,
motion in Hawaii. He had no experience had access to stars from different

Maivia was diagnosed in this end of the business, but wanted to territories for big cards.
with liver cancer. As his grandfather provide pi’iga (the Samoan word for “The difference between my grand
spent his final days in a Hawaiian wrestling) for other Polynesians. Now, father and my grandmother was that my
hospital, Dwayne saw wrestlers from as he neared death, he asked his wife grandfather relied heavily on local talent

22 RAW MAGAZINE
 ,E3ISmSi ARTC

ART1 AfHhide Racing

!
f

RRY1 The Rock”

I
9XUT1 Undertaker* LEATHER COVERS

......aa&a^
A
leowsoaoaQ' S17 A

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z
9XSM1 ShawnMichaels HAW P /● A'M^- &EB1 Debra*

Mr.t 19
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©2000 PRS Tours, |nc.,, under license to AnthilL ™ ©2000 Alan Jaeksom ©2000 Lorrie Morgan To order Gift Certificates, call: 1-3SS-540-3267'
 to draw a house,” says The Rock, who, at Jacket,” he grins. “He won’t give me any when he first entered the World

age 12, worked as a ring announcer dur of his old clothes.” Wrestling Federation, calling himself
ing a Samoan tour. “My grandmother Even when Dwayne was making Rocky Maivia—after his father and
had the vision to bring in the hottest headlines as a defensive lineman at the grandfather. But even Lia conceded that
superstars at that time, and let them build University of Miami, Rocky believed the routine didn’t work. He needed to

up the local talent. Through matches that his son would find his way back to get edgy, more like the way Dwayne
with stars like the Von Erich brothers the family business. “Wrestling was in Johnson was in real life. His member

and Ric Flair, the local guys gained his blood,” Johnson says. “His mother ship in a group of inner-city bad boys
credibility with the fans.” thought he’d end up in the NFL. But called the Nation of Domination was a

The promotion’s finest moment came I looked at football as giving him the step in the irght direction. But, according
in 1985, when Lia staged a spectacular conditioning he’d need when he became to his grandmother, Dwayne’s feud with
at Aloha Stadium. The NWA and the a wrestler.” Stone Cold Steve Austin propelled
World Wrestling Federation were at And Rocky was delighted to coach The Rock to a level few have ever
war at the time, but Vince McMahon his son on the intricacies of the mat expeiienced in the business. “It was
allowed his wrestlers to appear on the wars. “The hardest thing for me to teach special,” she says. “It brought out some
card, alongside the rival organization’s him was the difference between selling thing in liim.”
stars. The good faith was the result of the [dramatically reacting to his opponent’s At 72, Lia admits that her memory
relationship Lia had enjoyed with blows] and dying,” Johnson says. “He’d sometimes evades her. But when she
McMahon’s father. “Just before he died, just lay there. I’d say, ‘Grab your head. dreams of the past, or looks at the
Vince McMahon, Sr. came to visit me Grab your stomach. Sell.’” present, she feels happy. The past is
with his wife,” Lia says. “He knew he Not surprisingly, the headstrong filled with thoughts of her husband’s
was sick, and he told me it was the last Rocky and his father clashed during storied victory over Harley Race in New
vacation they were going to have in training. “He thought he was ready [to Zealand, nights at the Cow Palace with
Hawaii. We spoke about how I wanted to make his debut] as soon as he could do a Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson and Pepper
make Peter’s dream come true, and he backflip from the top rope and land on Gomez, and the 1985 Aloha Stadium
told me, ‘God bless you. Don’t give up.’ his feet,” Rocky recalls. “I said, ‘A lot of show. And the present is personified by
His son understood the way his father guys can do that. But you have to keep at the life-size cutout of The Rock that

felt, and respected it.” it, learn how to respond to the fans, stands apart from the rest of tlie family
The result was one of the d]:eam cards develop crowd psychology, have a heirlooms in Ata Johnson’s kitchen.

of the 1980s, featuring a collection reason for everything you do.’ He’d tell But on those rare occasions when

of talent from the World Wrestling my wife, ‘Dad’s holding me back.’ But The Rock drops a match, his grand
Federation, NWA, and the fabled you have to develop something special, mother’s equilibrium is thrown off
Antonio Inoki’s New Japan promotion. so you don’t get lost in the shuffle. course. Remembering that in Polynesian
Among the names featured on the show: That’s what makes The Rock stand out Pro Wrestling Peter Maivia never ended
Andre the Giant, Jimmy “Superfly” from so many other guys.” a card with his shoulders on the canvas

Snuka, Flair, Nikita Koloff, Dick On the day she received a copy of and eyes looking up at the arena lights,
Murdoch, Adrian Adonis, Inoki, Bruiser The Rock Says, Lia Maivia touched the Lia phones her daughter and sharply
Brody, Dusty Rhodes, Magnum T.A., book to her heart, and said, “Grandpa.” asks, “Why did he have to lose?”
and Tatsumi Fujinami—along with Staring into the smug face of her grand Ata finds the questioning comical.
Farmer Boy Ipo, Superfly Tui, Mighty son on the jacket cover, Lia saw the “She’s old school,” says The Rock’s
Milo, Siva Afi and other Polynesian Pro countenance of her late husband, mother, with her own mother listening
Wrestling regulars. looking regal in his Samoan headdress, close by. “Good thing she’s not booking
Rocky Johnson also appeared at the flashing the smile that fans were for the World Wrestling Federation.
event, teaming with his brother Ricky. told could light up an island. In the Dwayne wouldn’t be selling for any
Dwayne also worked at Aloha Stadium, High Chief’s wildest thoughts, body.”
selling t-shirts and programs. “He got he never could have envisioned the “I’m retired,” Lia responds. But her
paid that night,” Ata says. business as it exists today, with voice is less than resolute. And a visitor

pay-per-view, licensing, wrestlers is left to wonder if, once—just once—

openly talking about their “characters” she’d like to return to the industiy that’s
f The Rock is strutting and “storylines”—and his grandson’s defined her family, strut through the
down the runway in a leopard-print memoirs becoming a New York Times World Wrestling Federation’s dressing
jacket, prompting his father to stiffen his bestseller. room, nudge Vince McMahon out of the
shoulders on the couch. “Look at that Dwayne tried honoring his family way, and book her grandson’s finish. ■

24 RAW MAGAZINE
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© 2000 World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved. IRESTUNC FEOERi
 Not since the
Rockers in the late

’ 80s have two sports-

entertainers induced

such frenzy amongst

adolescent female
fans. From tons of fan by
mail to near-stalkin tsa
at the hotels the

Hardy Boyz stay “And the clothes

in, the brothers are we wear are

The Beatles of sports- considered

entertainment. Did pretty cool—
Matt and Jeff Hardy it’s what all

ever imagine that the young

along with success in people wear
the World Wrestling out there.”

Federation, they But it’s more than

would be the objects their clothes- ■or fine

of such affection? bodies and good
“I didn’t really looks, for that mat-
expect this kind of ter- ■that evoke such

response from the an impassioned

female fans with the response from the jock in 3rd-period
way our image was,” young female fans. history class.
Matt told RAW It’s their attitude. The question is:
Magazine. “When we Matt and Jeff Hardy Just how far will

first got with Michael certainly don’t these girls go to get

[HayesJ, we were real personify the “All- the Hardy Boyz’
dark and were the American Boy” attention?

Move over Backstreet Boys—the Hardy Boyz are here and

earn
scores of feverish female fans won’t let anyone forget it.

furthest thing from image. No, there’s an “One thing that

bein &
O
pretty and prim. element of danger to sucks for Jeff and me
I figured some of the them. With their long is that Matt and Jejf
girls would probably locks and darin t>
o
Hardy are our real
dig us becau.se we’re athleticism, they defy names. Matt said.

young and we have the image of main- “We’ve had girls call «

bodies that are in stream America—and our hotel rooms at all

good shape. But we that’s what makes hours of the night, and 1

didn’t expect girls to them so attractive to we’ve even been on

react to us like we’re g iris. The the road and have had
youn
f
i ;
in
The Backstreet Boys!” Hardy Boyz sure beat o
& iris waiting to follow r

“Our image is the pimple-faced boy us when we leave //

/
somewhat young and next door, not to men- the arena—that’s hap
hip now,” Jeff said. tion the super-perfect pened a couple times. 1

26 RAW MAGAZINE
As a matter of fact, when we were in But perhaps the area where one can getting a ton of girls writing us, asking
Texas at the last TV [taping] there were gauge just how much of an impact the us if we’ll go to the prom with them!”
some, girls who followed us for about Hardy Boyz have had on young girls’ At their website, Jeff's personal
nine miles.” hearts is their fan mail. At RAW and page includes poetry he’s written him
“Yeah, it’s pretty insane when stuff World Wrestling Federation Maga- self. After reading it, it’s no wonder
like that happens,” Jeff said. “Especially zines, one out of every four letters the girls love these guys. Contrary
when, you check into yoiu" hotel room is either addressed to Matt and Jeff to their “bad boy” image, the Hardys
and there’s three mesisages from people . Hardy—or discusses them. Girls write have a sensitive side—a fact that

you don’t know—young ladies saying in pouring their hearts out, sharing makes these brothers seem all the

‘Hey, if you want to get together and their almost frantic feelings of love more approachable.
have some fun!’ for one—or both—brothers, or they’re While it must be flattering, one has
 whenever we do appearances. “You Just want to grab them and hug agreed. “I mean, I’ll sit here and watch
●‘You feel bad for them because them to make them feel comfortable. TV and look up to certain rock-’n’-roll
there’s a lot of times that girls come But you know whenever that happens stars—and I know that if I were to see
through and they actually get to meet it’s just amazing that somebody can be them in real life I’d be freaking out and
us and speak to us and shake our hands, that dedicated to you without ever stuff, too. But then to think that people
. and they’ll start crying and shaking and actually meeting you.” look at me in that light, it’s just so
go through that whole deal, which you “It’s still so hard to swallow when strange and it all happened so fast.
know is just so hard." Matt added. you take part in a scene like that,” Jeff But hey, it’s wonderful.” ■
Even from his earliest days in Campobasso—60 miles

from Naples DeNucci had a sense

that wrestling would define his life.

met Mickey in Long Island,”

Dominic DeNucci begins, remem¬
bering the time in 1985 when
he first crossed paths with the
ambitious college student who’d
later galvanize crowds as Cactus
Jack, Dude Love and Mankind.
Mick Foley was willing to do anything to get into the business. And so, on this
night, he was putting up the ring for New York independent promoter Tommy Dee.
DeNucci was a former World Wrestling Federation Tag Team Champion who, in the mm
twilight of his career, was locking up in small gymnasiums, and training wrestlers
on the side. V>Tien Foley mentioned that he hoped to make his living in the squared
circle, DeNucci invited him to step through the ropes while the building was empty.
SiMiaii
He didn’t know nothing,” DeNucci recounts in his thick Italian accent. “He
a

■^>VVTTtr;
didn’t even kjiow how to tie his shoes. I slammed him, and he got up. I slammed
him again. He got up again. I shoved his face in the mat.. .1 don’t know how many
times...and every time, he got up. He was bleeding from his nose and everything.
but nothing bothered him.’
DeNucci had seen fonner football players, bodybuilders and amateur wrestlers
quit as soon as he’d tightened up a headlock. But Foley wasn’t going anywhere.
Some would have written off the aspirant as a foolhardy masochist. But DeNucci
drew another conclusion: “I could tell he belonged in this business.’
Today, Foley’s accomphshments in the ring have far outshone those of his trainer.
But, the former World Wrestling Federation Heavyweight Champion emphasizes,
it was DeNucci who initially molded him. “I’m not saying I wouldn’t have become
a wrestler without Dominic,” Foley says. “But I wouldn’t have been a success
without Dominic. The key to my success was personal attention.
by He really did care.”
Keith Elliot For DeNucci, who trains his disciples in Freedom, Pennsylvania,
Greenberg poiey s achievements are as good as his own. While others of his genera¬
tion watch Raw Is War from their living rooms and moan about the high
salaries of today’s Superstars, DeNucci still feels like part of the game. “Wrestling
is so beautiful to teach,” he says, “when you have a student like this.”
Even from his earliest days in Campobasso—60 miles from Naples—^DeNucci
had a sense that wrestling would define his life. At school, he thrilled to catch-as-

50 RAW MAGAZINE
 catch-can and Greco-Roman matches. “I went to Vince McMahon on relocated to the Pittsburgh area, battled
But he can’t articulate exactly what November 26, 1968,” DeNucci says. legends like Kowalski and Ivan Koloff,
drew him to the sport of kings. “You ask “I remember all the dates—30 years and—three years before his reign with
me why I like wrestling,” he answers, ago, I remember.” the second Dino Bravo—won the

sounding a bit agitated. “I don’t know DeNucci fit nicely in the WWWF. WWWF Tag Team titles with Puerto
why. I like it.” There was another Italian superstar Rican star Victor Rivera. When Rivera

At age 20, he relocated to Montreal, headlining the cards, Bruno bailed out to work for a rival promoter,
took up hockey, and, several nights a Sammartino, the powerhouse who’d the organization chose to appeal to
week, wrestled at a recreation center made his name with the New York fans another ethnic bloc by bestowing the
in the city’s French-speaking eastern by hoisting up and slamming 600-plus Latino’s share of the championship to
sector. His goal was the 1956 Olympics. pound Haystacks Calhoun in Madison Irish Pat Barrett. After DeNucci stirred
But, while he won a number of tourna Square Garden, and, a short time later, up the Italians, Barrett’s crowd was
ments, DeNucci lacked the resources vanquishing “Nature Boy” Buddy delighted when he chased the heels
to travel and train properly. Eventually, Rogers to become the WWWF kingpin. around the ring with a shillelagh [the
he became acquainted with Tony Lanza, But the elder McMahon was not as thick-handled walking stick Irish rebels
a professional wrestling photographer strict about “protecting the business” as used to yank British soldiers off their
who also ran a training school in his other promoters Dominic had known: horses during the 1916 uprising].
basement. “In San Francisco, God knows, a baby- The fun couldn’t last forever. In
Within six months, DeNucci was face (fan favorite) could not stay in the 1983, just as the Hulk Hogan era was
ready for his debut, wrestling under a same hotel if a heel (villain) was staying about to begin, DeNucci parted ways
mask as the Red Demon, and teaming there. In New York, nobody cared. And with the company. “They wanted young
with the legendary Killer Kowalski. By now, forget now—now, the babyface guys, he claims. “There was not a

the early ’60s, he’d discarded the hood, and the heels, they sleep together.” place for me there.”
and promoter Eddie Quinn was market Still, DeNucci loved the territory. He He continued wrestling until 1987—
ing him to Montreal’s sizable Italian
population as an ethnic hero.
North America contained dozens of
regional promotions, and DeNucci
began working the various circuits,
spending time in Calgary, San Francisco
and Los Angeles, and even traveling to
Australia and Japan for matches. In
Detroit, he teamed with the original
Dino Bravo—as opposed to Adolfo
Brescino, the strongman who’d later
assume the same identity and join
Dominic in toppling Professor Torn
Tanaka and Mr. Fuji for the Federation’s
Tag Team belts in 1978.
“This guy, his name was really Dino
Bravo,” DeNucci recalls. “He was the
real one. He was 67", came from north
ern Italy, and looked like a movie actor.
But then he got married, and he didn’t
want to move all over the place, the way
the wrestlers do. So you never hear
about this Dino Bravo.”
In 1968, Vincent J. McMahon—
father of current World Wrestling 66
I wouldn’t have been a success without Dominic. The key to
Federation head Vincent K. McMahon—
invited DeNucci to what was then called
my success was personai attention. He really did care.”
the World Wide Wrestling Federation
(WWWF).

52 RAW MAGAZINE
 making sporadic comebacks after sleeping in his car outside of the train ring, and having Foley splash onto it
wards—but, along the way, founded his ing school. “On Sunday, as soon as we from the tumbuckles.
training school. Even before he encoun were done working out, he was back on Soon, Foley and other trainees were
tered Foley, DeNucci cultivated the the road to go to school,” DeNucci appearing on independent shows at
talents of a local boy named Troy says. “That was a five-hour drive. But small high school gyms near DeNucci’s
Martin, who would later be known as when you love something, you work school. The purpose was developing
Shane Douglas in Extreme Champion for it.” students’ confidence in front of an audi
ship Wrestling (ECW) and World DeNucci admits that he often made ence before they graduated to larger
Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the young man’s apprenticeship diffi leagues. Almost always, Mick was
Dean Douglas in the World Wrestling cult: “For three months, I put him matched against Troy Martin in singles
Federation. through torture. I put a hold on him or tag-team matches. “They were the
“Troy would come to my house in a and said, ‘Find a way to get out.’ two best students I ever had,” DeNucci
car with three or four kids, bothering Sometimes, he did. Sometimes, he explains. “They brought out the best in
each other.”

As time passed, DeNucci realized

that Foley was destined for bigger
things, and stood back, as Cactus Jack
burst out of the pack in Japan, ECW,
WCW and the World Wrestling
Federation. While DeNucci felt proud
of his student’s exploits—particularly
his three World Wrestling Federation
Heavyweight title reigns—he wasn’t
always happy about the way the
wrestler imperiled his body, wrapping
himself in barbed wire, getting tossed
onto concrete from high elevations,
wrestling on rings spread with thumb
tacks, and weathering immeasurable
“chair shots” to the head.

“It’s a complicated thing,” DeNucci

says. “People want to see this today.
66
But Mickey’s 34-years-old, and his
They still remember me. So, of course, 20 years from body looks like an old car from 1901.
now, they’re gonna remember Mickey.
jj

I remember seeing the Undertaker pick

him up on top of a cage and throw him
through a table. And you know what? If
me, because he wanted me to train didn’t. But he always tried.” it was me, I wouldn’t do it. Fine you
him,” DeNucci says. “And you want to After awhile, Foley was enduring make your money. But all the money
know how young he was? His mama high back bodydrops, and propelling you make, you give it to the doctor.”
was driving.” himself over the ropes—without mak Still, he concedes that Foley’s
Foley was a student at the State ing contact with the top cable ■onto matches are memorable. “Look, the
University of New York/Cortland when the arena floor. “Many times, he fell real wrestling fans, they never forget,”
he met DeNucci, and the veteran had on his head,” Dominic says. “But he says the man who shaped Foley.
one condition for training him: “I told never complained.
?>

“They still remember me. So, of

him, ‘Mickey, if you stop going to At one stage, Foley became fixated course, 20 years from now, they’re
college, you stop going to my school. with leaping from the top rope like his gonna remember Mickey.”
If something happens to you, if you idol. Superfly Jimmy Snuka. But few Then again, who wouldn’t? “I’m not
get hurt, what are you gonna do then?’ other students were willing to sustain just saying this because he’s my
You know, I didn’t want to be respon the impact. “He did it to one guy,” student,” DeNucci argues. “But if any
sible for ruining some kid’s life.” DeNucci recollects. “He got squashed.” body else tried the things I see Mickey
Agreeing to the stipulation, Foley A solution was eventually reached by doing. I’ll tell you this, that man is
commuted from college every weekend. rolling up a mat in the center of the gonna be dead.” ■

MAY 2000 53
Health and Diet

by Aaron Williams

training
r L C □

For Chris Benoit, taking care of himseif It’s 1:00 a.m. and Chris Benoit is still 75 miles from Rochester,
and staying in shape are two things he New York, where the World Wrestling Federation will be taping
is fanatical about. It’s taken a lot of SmackDown! later this evening. Normally, he would be driving with
hard work to get this far, and he’s not his buddies Eddy Guerrero, Dean Maienko and Perry Saturn, but
about to iet up anytime soon. a variety of scheduling conflicts has forced Benoit to make this trip
alone. It was only a few hours ago that he was performing in front
of 20,000 screaming fans, but now he is on the road, alone, in the
middle of nowhere.
The radio in the rental car has proven itself better at picking
up static than music, so Benoit turns it off and turns his thoughts
toward the day at hand. In about an hour or so, he should be
arriving at his hotel. He’ll check in and head up to his room.
If he’s not too tired, he’ll comb through the phone book and look
for a gym where he can work out later in the day. If he’s too
tired, he’ll just go to sleep and worry about finding a gym in the
morning.
Finding gyms has not been a problem for Benoit when he tours
North America. It was a different story when he was wrestling in
Japan or Mexico, where well-equipped fitness centers were few
and far between. In those days, a weight bench and a few plates
were a luxury. Most of the time, Benoit found himself doing push
ups, squats and other exercises in his hotel room in order to stay
in shape. But now he’s traveling to New York’s third-largest city,
and even though he has never been there before, he doesn’t
anticipate that finding a good gym will be a problem.
As he continues down the road, he notices a billboard advertis
ing a fast-food joint and suddenly remembers he hasn’t eaten in a

54 RAW MAGAZINE
'f.

●;jSJ

MAY 2000 55
 while. Since he prefers wrestling on ensuring that he remains in peak taking these supplements is as
an empty stomach (he won’t physical condition. important as eating healthy and
eat three to four hours before per Benoit watches what he eats, but working out in the gym. When he
forming), this means that he hasn’t he doesn’t monitor his diet with a misses a day, he can feel it—he’s not
eaten in about eight hours. But fine-toothed comb. He makes sure as strong or as energetic. He admits
Benoit won’t be stopping at any that he gets plenty of protein and
fast-food piace. Fast, fried and fatty carbohydrates, but tracks his intake
foods are not part of his “bland is of these nutrients by feel rather than
beautiful” diet. by count. Since he’s been on the road
Benoit believes that 75 percent of for a few days now and is feeling a
staying fit is diet-related, so he bit run down, he’ll load up on carbs
avoids sugars, desserts and fried today. He’ll also make sure that he
foods, and sticks mainly to boiled, gets in at least three square meals.
broiled and steamed delicacies. Life on the road puts a lot of strain
He realizes that avoiding desserts on the body, and Benoit wants to
and fried foods may not make for make sure he maintains his weight
the most tasteful of diets, but he and strength. Often, this means he’ll
is willing to sacrifice his gourmet eat more than three meals a day on
standing for the nutritional benefits extended road trips.
of eating plenty of broiled lean meat Besides getting his fill of steamed
and steamed vegetables. This means vegetables, Benoit will also make
he’ll be ordering off the menu 95 sure he takes 10 grams of vitamin C
percent of the time, but any incon (in mineral form), five grams of calcium
venience is a small price to pay for and a multi-vitamin. For Benoit,

56 RAW MAGAZINE
that this might be a psychological part, people are respectful and final few miles to his hotel, he
reaction, but whether it’s that or leave him alone. It’s not that he’s reminds himself that he’ll feel better
physiological, the effect is real, and indifferent to his fans, it’s just that tomorrow after he’s worked out. For
not taking his supplements affects he’s so intense when he’s working Chris Benoit, taking care of himself
his performance in the ring. out that most people have the and staying in shape are two things
The vitamin C has proven espe courtesy to stay away. he is fanatical about. It’s taken a lot
cially beneficial. He started taking It’s now almost 2:00 a.m., and of hard work to get this far, and he’s
large doses of it several years ago, Benoit is wondering why he’s even not about to let up anytime soon,
and ever since, the aches and pains thinking about working out at a time It’s all about persistence
don’t seem to last as long, colds like this. He’s tired, sore, and could he reminds himself. “It’s all about
and the flu have become things of use some rest. But, as he drives the persistence.’’ ■
the past, and the recovery time from
serious injury has been cut down
dramatically.
With the fast-food signs now in
his rear-view mirror and the hunger
pangs slowly ebbing, Benoit stops
thinking about eating and starts
thinking about working out. He tries
to work out at least five days a week.
He tells himself he could use a few
more days off than he gives himself,
but like his supplement routine, he
feels down when he doesn’t work
out. He prefers to work out in the
morning, and he would rather work
out with a partner than by himself.
Usually, he works out with Perry
Saturn, but Saturn’s not going to be
around today, so he’ll be working
out solo.
He begins his routine with a
20-minute stretching and flexibility
warm-up. Once he has loosened up,
he’ll begin a circuit-training routine
that normally lasts around 45 minutes.
Benoit learned long ago that a cardio-
shaping workout was much more
beneficial to his body than a strength
workout, which puts a lot of wear
and tear on the joints and tendons,
so he’ll work his circuits taking about
20-30 seconds between sets. After
completing circuit training, Benoit
will begin his cardio workout, which
consists of 20 to 40 minutes on
the Stairmaster. Once he’s finished
that, he’ll cool down for another
20 minutes.
Because Benoit is so well known,
he is often recognized when he goes
to a gym. He’ll say a few hellos and
shake a few hands, but for the most
 Years of Weak Gimmicks
Weren’t Enough to Break the
Determination and Spirit of
Boh “Hardcore” Hoiiy

Phil Spee

58 RAW MAGAZINE
I

THURMAN “SPARKY” PLUGG ran to the ring

at the 1994 Royal Rumble when his number
was called. Announcer Vince McMahon
declared that it was an excellent opportunity
for Thurman, as he had a chance to win
the Royal Rumble in his World Wrestling
Federation debut and qualify for a cham¬
pionship match at WrestleManla.
It didn’t exactly work out that way. Plugg
was the first in a series of terrible characters
for Bob Holly. But he never gave up, and
because of his tenacity, today he has been
competing continuously in the Federation
longer than anyone, except Billy Gunn and
the Undertaker.

Why has Bob Holly been able to persevere

so long when others have fallen by the
wayside? And why, after all these years, has
he never been a main eventer? You don’t have
to talk with Holly or his peers very long to
figure out the answer to both questions.
I won’t kiss nobody’s ass,” Holly
explained. “Some of these guys, they see the
agents and they run up to them. If I see them, I say ‘Hi’ and keep walking. I’m not going to
try to carry on a conversation with them just to get myself over. If they like me, they like
me. If they don’t, I couldn’t care less. That’s the way I am.
While his no-nonsense personality has kept him out of main events, it has also kept him on
the Federation roster for the last six years. That straightforward attitude augments an unbeat
able work ethic. What’s the secret to sticking around so long? Holly will tell you himself.
“Just do what they ask and you’ll be here forever,” he says. “And don’t cause no problems.
I ain’t never caused a problem since I’ve been here. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I mind

I
 my own business. I do what I’m sup “It sucked,” Holly says. “I went to
posed to do. A lot of these so-called Vince and I said, ‘No offense, and
athletes—it’s stated in their contract Fm glad you hired me and everything,
to work out, and as you can see by but that name, everybody laughs at it.
the looks of probably about 95 percent It’s a joke.’”
of these guys, they’re out of shape. So he became Bob “Spark Plugg”
If they get their fat asses in the gym Holly. Slightly less gimmicky perhaps,
they’d probably have a lot longer but he was still a racecar driver who

longevity here.” came to the ring to cheesy engine-

Bob Howard always wanted to be a revving entrance music.
wrestler. In 1986 while working as a Bombastic Bob of the New Midnight
mechanic, he learned of a Pensacola, Express came along in early 1998.
Florida, wrestling school through a Despite promises that the character
friend of a friend of a friend. The school would be “pushed to the moon,” it
started its own promotion, the faltered within weeks. He made occa

World Organization of Wrestling, and sional appearances on Shotgun Saturday

each Saturday for two years it aired Night—mostly to make other guys look
a television show. He competed as good—and then disappeared completely.
Bob Holly until the Sparky Plugg Bob Howard is a welder by trade, and he
Road Dogg gets a taste of Holly’s most successful debacle, including brief stints in the returned to that profession when he was
gimmick to date: the ass-kicking “Hardcore Holly.’ Jarrett family’s Memphis territory and left off television for extended periods of
Jim Cornette’s now-defunct Smoky time.

Mountain Wrestling. Federation officials never had a good

“That’s where you learn to starve,” reason to release him, as he is undeni
Holly says. “You sleep in your car. ably a natural athlete—he has arguably
[In Smoky Mountain] I was driving the best dropkick in the business—and
all the way from Mobile up to he never let his chiseled 235-pound
North Carolina and Tennessee. And it frame deteriorate.

just wasn’t worth it.” “He trains in the gym the way
Fed up. Holly quit and tried his luck you’re supposed to train,” says Steve
in NASCAR-sanctioned stock car races. Blackman, clearly no stranger to work
In 1993, Paul Bearer got his hands on a out facilities himself. “He doesn’t just
tape of Holly through a mutual friend. go in and go through the motions.
Federation officials offered him a He’s in there relentlessly. He watches
contract, and Holly figured he made it. his diet well. So he does what he

Unfortunately, his call-up to the has to do to stay in shape—cardio- and

The birth of the Federation’s Hardcore Division went muscular-wise—and go out there and do
Federation came during the cartoon
a tong way toward getting Holty over with the fans.
character era—the time of guys named his job better.”
Doink and Duke the Dumpster. It was Near- the end of 1998, after nearly
; il, i.
( also a time when wrestling wasn’t in the five years. Holly’s hard work started to
public spotlight. pay dividends. A1 Snow created the
When officials learned he raced cars, J.O.B. Squad, and his real-life friend
Thurman “Sparky” Plugg was bom. Holly was a charter member. After a fast
Soon Sparky was introduced to the start, the Squad was ultimately another
world via televised vignettes. Looking failed gimmick. But it was absolutely
straight into the camera while sitting essential to Holly’s career, providing
behind the wheel of a racecar, he would him with much-needed face-time on the

declare, “My friends call me Sparky. Federation’s most-watched shows and

You can call me Sparky, too.” even pay-per-views.
Holly’s gimmick was true-to-life, The death of the J.O.B. Squad
The blunt talk Holly delivers on camera isn’t much of unlike many of the other chai'acters of coincided with the birth of the Hardcore
a stretch from his backstage personality.
the time, but nobody believed it. Division. Holly had a series of hardcore

60 RAW MAGAZINE
 Sparky Plugg was a cartoon character, and I
tt

didn’t know how to portray a cartoon

character. As for the New Midnight Express,
i wasn’t comfortahie with that at aii.”
matches with Snow, and after one of of the Mississippi River. His first reign As the saying goes, it’s like him with the
those matches Hardcore Holly was as Hardcore Champion was brief, but he volume turned up.
created. regained the title one month later at “Sparky Plugg was a cartoon charac
“A lot of times it’s just a waiting WrestleMania X,V an accomplishment ter, and I didn’t know how to portray a
game in this business,” says Federation that Holly calls the highlight of his cartoon character,” Holly says. “As for
official Tony Garea, who has worked career.
the New Midnight Express, I wasn’t
with Holly for his entire Federation “One of my biggest goals was just to comfortable with that at all. To me
tenure. “For the last six months or a year, make it into a WrestleMania in a you’ve gotta be comfortable with your
he has found his place.” singles match,” Holly says. “But not character, and Hardcore Holly is a
Holly won the Hardcore Title by only that, but to win a title—that’s a character Fm very comfortable with.”
defeating Snow at 1999’s St. Valentine’s dream come true.” The reason, he says, is that Bob and
Day Massacre in Memphis, Tennessee, Like so many other successful per Hardcore Holly have a lot in common.
a match that saw the two Superstars’ sonas, Holly says the Hardcore charac “If you sit here and say ‘Well, I don’t
battle ending up in the icy-cold waters ter is an extension of his own personality. like Bob Holly,’ that’s fine; that’s
your business. I ain’t gonna lose
no sleep over it. That’s a reflection
of my personality, and that’s what
Hardcore Holly is.”
Confirms Snow, “[The character] is
not much of a stretch.”

If you’re not yet convinced that

Holly is straightforward, consider his
response when asked about teaming
with “cousin” Crash Holly.
“For probably the first couple
months, I just hated it, hated it,” Holly
says, repeating himself for emphasis. “I
liked being by myself; I liked doing
what I was doing. But then after a while,
he started growing on me, and things
started working out. And I thought,
‘Hey this might work.’And it does.”
Still, Holly longs to return to singles
competition. He was grateful for
the opportunity to wrestle for the
Intercontinental Championship at this
year’s Royal Rumble, and hopes to con
tinue in that division before eventually
moving on to bigger and better things.
A quick glimpse at history reveals
that there are no guarantees. But
It took time for Holly to buy into the addition of his “cousin” Crash Holly to his storylines. whatever happens, you can never accuse
But after a couple of months of hating it, Holly now enjoys the gimmick.
Bob Holly of not waiting his turn. ■

MAY 2000 61
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World Wrestling Federation © 2000 World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 Critically
Incorrect
The opinions expressed are those of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of RAW Magazine
or the World Wrestling Federation.

by Aa ron Williams

fresh WE'VE ALL HEARD THE CRITICS:

Wrestling is for idiots. Wrestling

intellectually insecure. By putting
down others and convincing
fans are stupid. As the anger themselves that they are our
answers builds inside us, we've probably intellectual superiors, they can
cover up their own shortcomings
responded to their comments

to tired by saying something like: you and manage to feel better about
just don't get it or who are themselves.
you to tell me what I should What's amusing about the

insults or shouldn't watch ?

To be sure, these responses
whole situation is that the critics
just don't get it. They wouldn't
are more than valid. After all, no know the difference between
one is forcing anyone to watch Crash Holly and Viscera, and
sports-entertainment. And in probably think that a foreign
a land that values freedom of object is something stamped with
expression, we are all free to "Made in Japan." But because
choose what we want to watch they believe themselves to have
as long as our actions do not superior IQs, they think they do
infringe upon the rights of others. get it. Unless fans respond with
The problem with our answers, some concrete evidence proving
however, is that they avoid— the baselessness of their critics'
rather than refute—the critics' arguments, those critics are going
statements. The main reason that to keep on uttering their accusa
sports-entertainment fans are tions. So even though we'd
demeaned in this manner is not probably like to piledrive them
that the critics have a legitimate Dudley-style through a table or
reason to utter these absurdities, plant some "sweet chin music"
but instead that these critics are on their jaws, we'd be better off

64 RAW MAGAZINE
 hitting them where it really hurts:
in their fragile egos.
Explaining a subject as intricate
as sports-entertainment to critics
is not easy. As World Wrestling
Federation Chairman Vince
McMahon likes to point out, there
is nothing like it in American
culture, and different people
watch for different reasons. Some
enjoy the athleticism, some enjoy
the humor, and some simply
enjoy being an active participant
in a fun and exciting community.
Explaining the variety of enter
tainment choices that the
Federation offers is a start, but it
probably won't shut up the critics. For years, the Federation’s critics have droned on about violence, sexism
The athleticism is plain to see; and any number of other topics they see themselves fit to preach about.
But the only critics who matter—the fans—are the ones who truly “get it.”
jokes aren't too funny when they
have to be explained; and it
would be impossible for the critics
to imagine what it's like being a
part of a crowd of 20,000 "pop
ping" big-time for The Rock.
A better place to start might be
with the concept of the "angle."
Keep it simple, remember you're
dealing with people who may still
believe that Gilligan's trapped on
that desert island. Explain that an
"angle" is nothing more than a
plot, a story written in the grand
tradition of larger-than-life heroes
and anti-heroes like Odysseus,
Sherlock Holmes and Hamlet.
And who spins a better tale
today than the World Wrestling
Federation? them about The Rock: how one States. Huge crowds packed both
Tell them about Chyna: how can be a huge Superstar and still indoor and outdoor arenas to see
her travails both inside and out be a good human being. Or bet the finest grapplers of the day
side the ring serve as an inspira ter yet, tell them about the past. square off in what could only be
tion for women trying to make For sports-entertainment, in one described by today's standards as
it in a man's world or for anyone form or another, has been around long, drawn-out scientific affairs.
trying to overcome a less-than- for over 100 years. In those years, Like boxing, wrestling was viewed
perfect childhood. Tell them countless stories have been told primarily as a sporting event, and
about Steve Austin: his epic con which together make up the story the athletic competition was the
frontation with Vince McMahon of America—its hopes, dreams, big draw. This would soon change,
and how his eventual triumph successes, and its failures. however. As America entered
demonstrated that with hard At the turn of the 20*^ century, the 1920s, a more familiar form
work and relentless determina wrestling, along with boxing and of wrestling would evolve, and
tion any mountain can be climbed horse racing, was one of the most stories about the country and its
and any obstacle overcome. Tell popular sports in the United people would begin to unfold

66 RAW MAGAZINE
inside the squared circle. their frustrations. Irish neighbor tactics, long bleached-blond hair,
The 1920s saw big changes in hoods had Irish champions, Italian and overt (for the time) displays
not just wrestling, but American neighborhoods had Italian cham of sexuality, Freddie Blassie, Buddy
society as well. After the horrific pions, and Russian neighborhoods Rogers and other Nature Boys
experiences of World War I, the had Russian champions. These threatened the wholesome
United States turned inward. A champions instilled a sense of whitebread, 1950s image of the
conservative and isolationist pub pride and hope for people who all-American lifestyle.
lic was hungry for all-American- were suffering through hard As the 1960s began, wrestling
type heroes like Babe Ruth and times. once again adapted to the times
Jack Dempsey. During this time, With the onset of World War II, and told stories that were rele
college football was very popular, wrestling took a back seat to vant to what was going on in the
and it produced the kind of clean- more important matters. But world. The United States and the
cut image the public was craving. shortly after the end of the war, Soviet Union were in the middle
Wayne "Big" Munn was one of wrestling's popularity would of the Cold War, and wrestling
the first big-time college foot reach unprecedented heights. promoters responded by provid
ball heroes to get over in the Television—which was just coming ing stories instilling a sense of
wrestling world. It didn't matter of age—changed the nature of pride in being an American.
that he couldn't wrestle, fans the game, making it as much While the politicians were making
liked his persona, and he entertainment as athletic compe- points in the political arena, the
masses were making
their points in and
around the ring. And
for the next 30 or so
years, wrestling fans
would cheer a host of
patriotic Americans as
they battled against
ruthless and conniving
"Soviets" and their
lackeys.
Today, of course, the
Soviet Union is gone,
and as we enter this
new millennium,
a new chapter in
American history
is being written.
Accordingly, the World
remained popular for a while. tition. And America, still basking Wrestling Federation has sought
During the Great Depression of in the victories of World War II, to reflect these changes and is
the 1930s, the all-American hero was once again ready to embrace producing stories relevant to the
disappeared, as did much of the all-American-type heroes. The lives of its fans. What these stories
country's prosperity. An angrier new villains were inspired by actually mean is left for each of
and more sober public was in no countries that had fought against us to determine for ourselves.
mood to celebrate past glories the Allies, with "German" and But think about it. Look at the
when the day-to-day struggle of "Japanese" wrestlers being the stories. Is it any wonder that the
survival made looking forward to most hated. critics are so nervous?
happier times seem an unrealistic Besides those villains, another So next time someone insults
prospect. So wrestling promoters type of wrestler starting to draw your intelligence for being a
produced ethnic heroes who considerable "heel" heat during World Wrestling Federation fan,
could serve as rallying points for this time was the Nature Boy. tell them a story, and let's see
ethnic pride, as well as targets With their arrogant attitudes, who the real idiot is. ■
upon whom audiences could vent underhanded and often cowardly

MAY 2000 67
 Robert J . Bledsoe

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ights, camera,

68 RAW MAGAZINE
 game isn’t the only he says. “Going out there, putting Sahadi’s become accustomed to. Before
contest during the together a film shoot, directing a film his tenure in the Federation, which
Super Bowl—the battle shoot, that’s my biggest love right now. began nearly eight years ago, Sahadi
for supremacy is also waged on I just love being on a set, on location, spent time performing various duties at
Madison Avenue. For the second and directing talent, and making my NBC Sports in New York. He worked
straight year, the World Wrestling vision and my dream come to life. his way up from a tape-logging week
Federation scored a touchdown among “It’s unique in the sense that in the end intern to a major producer at the
football fans and advertising execs with real world you have a director, you have network, responsible for such visible
its “Attitude” commercial. And in the a producer, you have a guy who edits projects as the NBA on NBC.
high-stakes battle royal of marketing the spots, and you have creative people What looked to be a promising
genius, it comes as a big surprise that who write the spots,” he continues. future with the network quickly
the Federation’s representative never “When I’m working on something like derailed, however. Sahadi became
took a single advertising course. a Super Bowl campaign or an image frustrated by what he saw as creative
Dave Sahadi, who received a spot, or a big-time pay-per-view spot, stifling by some of his superiors who,
Bachelor of Sciences degree in I wear all those hats.” he alleges, were too mired in “old-
mathematics, is the man behind the Wearing many hats is something school” and “whitebread” mentalities to

Federation’s Super Bowl commercials.

As Promotions Director for the World
Wrestling Federation, Sahadi’s job
includes managing a team of idea and
image creators responsible for bringing
to life the company’s commercials
and other visual output. With art
and math being on opposite ends
of the imaginative spectrum, even
Sahadi himself couldn’t envision
one day being the driving force behind
one of the Federation’s most important
creative wings.
“I was purely a math major—never
took a communications course in my
life,” admits Sahadi. “I graduated
college and didn’t know what the hell I
wanted to do. Being a math major,
I knew I was bored. I’m not really a
numbers kind of guy.”
Despite his strictly mathematical
background, Sahadi has produced
results time and again. The Super Bowl
commercial featuring two contestants in
a beauty pageant was named one of the
best commercials of January 2000
according to AdWeek Magazine. That’s
a major accomplishment in the advertis
ing world. In addition, many casual
viewers obviously enjoyed seeing
the brawling beauties, as the spot was
a favorite among many online voters
in polls ranking the best Super Bowl
commercials.

For Sahadi, it’s all in a day’s work.

“I like coming up with the concept
from beginning to end and executing it,”

70 RAW MAGAZINE
 awards for.

“I produced the WrestleMania 2000

video game commercial with The Rock,
the one with him in the limousine,” says
Sahadi. “I conceived of that spot in the
gym in like 30 seconds and went down
to Florida to shoot it.”
Not only is WrestleMania 2000 a
best-selling video game, but Sahadi’s
half-minute concept was voted the
number-one video game commercial
of January 2000 by Inside Magazine,
beating out such heavyweights as Sony
PlayStation and Sega.
It’s hard to imagine that a person
who’s had no formal background in
advertising is in charge of video
productions for an entity like the World
Wrestling Federation. Furthermore, to
know this same Individual continues
to chalk up national acclaim is even
be open to change. He cites an example Wrestling Federation that same year, more impressive. But in the World
of one NBC executive who reversed an And nearly a decade later, under World Wrestling Federation, anything can
idea he’d had for an NBA campaign. Wrestling Federation Chairman Vince happen. And for Sahadi, it’s not about
Sahadi, excited about the prospects McMahon, Sahadi says the difference in the technicalities, it’s about feeling the
II

I produced the WrestleMania 2000 video game commercial with The Rock,
the one with him in the limousine," says Sahadi. "I conceived of that
spot in the gym in like 30 seconds and went down to Florida to shoot it.
of capitalizing
on pop culture, T'
4
wanted to use
music from the

early ’90s hit

song I’ve Got
the Power—a
song that can
still be heard

today during halftime at many NBA management styles is still hard to miss. pulse of an audience and then delivering
venues. Sahadi saw his zeal detoured “Because I work for Vince, there’s the corresponding emotions.
and his chosen song replaced by the almost nothing that’s taboo,” says “I’m not trying to preach a message,”
theme song from Annie, “The Sun Sahadi. “It’s exciting, because I can says Sahadi. “Fm not trying to get
Will Come Out Tomorrow.” always try a new idea or try to do people to love us or hate us. You can’t in
“Here 1 am trying to do something something differently, and Vince is 30 seconds, not in that kind of environ
that was very irreverent, innovative going to basically support me on it. ment. People aren’t watching the com
and groundbreaking at the time,” says If he doesn’t like something, he’ll let mercials like the critics are to analyze
Sahadi, “and they just totally pulled me me know. But he’s not micro-managing every shot or every frame. They’re just
back. I knew then that this was a me. He’s not putting the reigns or collars lying back with their friends and want to
sign—this wasn’t the place for me to on me. That’s a luxury 1 didn’t have be entertained, to have a good time.
stay for a very long time.” at NBC.” At the World Wrestling Federation, we
The rest, as they say, is history. But Super Bowl commercials aren’t know how to have fun. We know how to
Sahadi began work for the World the only thing that Sahadi’s winning have a good time.” ■

MAY 2000 71
 ■r-

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the Heart ef Times Square

Call 212-398-2563 for details,

Times Square’s largestentertainmeilt complex and dining f^ility.

Also available for groups and private parties.
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©2000 Priority Records. Ali rights reserved. All World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. characters, intellectual properties, and elements contained within the music CD
and on the CD video sleeve remain the copyrighted and trademarked materials of World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.
"7 All rights related thereto ©2000 World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.
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