Browsing: Barry

Sid Vicious (photo credit Wade Keller © PWTorch)

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

The following report originally published 30 years ago this week in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter paper copy…

KELLERâ€S WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW REPORT
OCTOBER 23, 1995
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN THE PRO WRESTLING TORCH NEWSLETTER (ISSUE #358)

-The program opened with footage of the Bret and Diesel exchanged blows at In Your House, a preview of the two TV main events on Raw, and footage of Shawn Michaels handing over the IC Title to Dean Douglas…

-The new Raw opening was replaced with a newer Raw opening using the same footage but with different, faster paced music and a shorter duration. Kind of overwhelming, but catches the eye without going too long like the last version…

(1) Battle Royal. As the battle royal was about to begin, soundbites aired with Psycho Sid and Marty Jannetty talking about their chances in the match. Several wrestlers ganged up to eliminate King Kong Bundy a few seconds into the match. The usual battle royal with guys standing around doing very little hoping no one is actually watching them. Approximate order of elimination was as follows: King Kong Bundy, Aldo Montoya, Bob Holly, Duke Droese, Hakushi, Skip, Barry Horowitz, Hunter Hearst Helmsley, Fatu, Henry Godwinn, 1-2-3 Kid, Rad Radford, Kama, Isaac Yankem, Sid, Bam Bam Bigelow, Savio Vega, Jean Pierre LaFitte, and Marty Jannetty leaving Owen Hart the winner at 20:05. Not much in the way of fan heat throughout most of the match. Even Lawler’s commentary was unable to save most of this from being drab. They showed footage of Razor Ramon in the back watching the match to see who he’d end up having to wrestle next week. In the closing moments it appeared Owen was eliminated several times, although he never touched the ground. Jannetty head scissored Vega over the top rope and then backdropped LaFitte over the top rope. That left Jannetty vs. Owen at 17:00, which at least provided some decent action. Owen pretended he won after throwing Jannetty through the ropes to the floor. Jannetty then chased Cornette with Cornette’s tennis racquet. British Bulldog attacked Jannetty from behind. That allowed Owen to easily dispose of Jannetty once Jannetty returned to the ring…

-Lawler interviewed Owen Hart at ringside…

-They recapped the Diesel-Bret Hart storyline from Sunday night’s event…

-Dok Hendrix said that fan-friendly WWF President Gorilla Monsoon came up with a “Wildcard Match” featuring Shawn Michaels & Sid & Bulldog & Ahmed Johnson vs. Dean Douglas & Yokozuna & Owen Hart & Razor Ramon. No explanation was given of how the “wildcard” teams were determined. They interrupted Hendrix’s segment to show Bob Backlund campaigning for president in the crowd of Canadians…

-Footage aired from Shawn Michaels’s appearance on the Danny Bonaduce show with the theme being “Guys who are Chick Magnets”…

ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…

Check out the latest episode of “PWTorch ’90s Pastcast” with Patrick Moynahan and Alex McDonald, part of the PWTorch Dailycast line-up: CLICK HERE to stream (or search “wade keller†on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or any other iOS or Android app to subscribe free)

(2) Avitar (Al Snow) defeated Brian Walsh. Snow’s outfit is a cross between Tito Santana’s “El Matador,” Aldo Montoya, and Japan’s El Samurai. He actually appears to be based on the Milton Bradley Karate Fighters action figures which sponsors Raw. He came to the ring without a mask and put on a mask before he wrestled and took it off after his win. Walsh seemed to really screw up the timing and continuity of the bout which ended rather anti-climactically. Snow did get off some impressive moves. No fan heat. Lesson: Don’t debut new characters on live TV. A disappointing character in that it doesn’t take advantage of Snow’s wry sense of wit that he showed in SMW…

-Barry Didinsky returned to plug the life-sized cutouts of Michaels and Bret…

(3) Alundra Blayze pinned Bertha Faye to capture the Women’s Title at 9:03. Both worked really hard, but merely what you’d expect to see from these two. Bertha blamed Harvey Wippleman for her loss and chased him to the back…

-Ross interviewed Michaels to close the show…

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From Krusher Kruschev to Smash in Demolition to the Repo Man and everything in between, Barry Darsow entertained professional wrestling fans for the better part of 30 years. The legendary performer looks back at his storied career through “Sickles, Studs & Stolen Cars: The Many Faces of Barry Darsow.â€Given the title of the memoir, published through Titan Insider Press, you donâ€t have to be a historian to know the 66-year-old has lived quite the life.Â

“I kind of got away from the business for a long time and then I got back with Bill Eadie, Ax. We started traveling around the country again. It was almost like I was back on the road working again,†Darsow said. “I always told Bill, ‘You know I donâ€t want to do a whole lot of these things, going out of town and doing autographs and all that.â€I loved meeting all the people and seeing them all again.

He continued: “Then after doing a few of them I said, ‘Letâ€s really start doing this.†All of a sudden now we get calls from everywhere and so many people say, ‘you ought to write a book.†‘Who is going to buy that,†I thought. Then I thought, ‘what the heck? I have a lot of great stories.†Itâ€s not like you can tell all the stories in one book. But I put a couple of them out there. I talked to my wife and asked her what she thought about it and she said, ‘yeah, you ought to write a book.†Thatâ€s how it started.â€

Meeting fans and being back on the road again reminded him why he got into the business in the first place. It fueled his motivation to sign a legends contract with WWE last year. In the past Darsow found himself in previous lawsuit filings.

“Everyone thinks I had a falling out with them, but I never had a falling out with them,†Darsow said, hoping to set the record straight. “When youâ€re done with them, and they donâ€t need you anymore, they donâ€t call you. I was never someone who called the office and talked to people. I just did my job whatever was asked of me, and thatâ€s what I did. When Bill and I go out two or three weekends a month all the time. Weâ€re booked up to a year in advance, so I never really even wanted to get a legends contract with WWE because weâ€re making great money without them. When they finally contacted us and said, ‘we would like to put you under a contract,†we really had to think about whether we really want to do this. But when I was talking to Bill, we had to get back in the thick of things and see everybody and money is not everything.

He further explained, “when they asked us to do it, we signed the contract. Right away, we were asked to go to the Hall of Fame ceremony and WrestleMania. The year before that they asked us to, but we already had our schedules set. When we got to the Hall of Fame, we got off the elevator Bruce Prichard was right there, and I love Bruce. He sat down and talked to us. CM Punk ,who was unbelievable.I had never met CM Punk before. It was like he knew us. I really have some respect for him. He was just a good guy. We saw The Undertaker and ‘Stone Cold†[Steve Austin] and it was almost like we never left there. We were friends with all these guys and they took us right in. It was worth signing the contract just to go back and see the guys and say hi to everyone again.â€

The book, written alongside Graham Johnson, features a forward written by Darsowâ€s longtime partner Eadie. For Darsow, it was a fun trip down memory lane from growing up with his mom doing all she can to support him. He was among Robbinsdale, Minnesota natives who went on to become top names in the industry including Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, and The Road Warriors Hawk and Animal.

“What was so unbelievable is when youâ€re in the locker room and there are 30,000 people out there,†Darsow said. “Here you are with all your buddies back in the dressing room, laughing and talking, and playing cards and doing everything. Youâ€re kids again on the playground and right now in the dressing room laughing and ribs on everybody like I said Iâ€m the luckiest guy in the world.â€

Darsow takes pride in all he accomplished inside and outside the ring. Unfortunately, his career came to an unexpected turn after being let go from WCW after his controversial “King of the Road†match against Dustin Roades. The two rivals battled on a caged trailer on a  moving truck. Their firing was reportedly done due to breaking a no-bleeding policy in place during the 1995 event ironically called Uncensored.

“Everything I put in the book was just thoughts I had. It wasnâ€t to really get even with anybody and that stuff. It was just the story. When that match happened in the truck with Dustin, when we were all done with that match, we both hugged and were on the field and there was blood, horse manure, we were covered with everything and were laughing,†Darsow, then working as the Blacktop Bully.

“That match went on for an hour it seemed like. We thought we had the greatest match of all-time. Then that next morning I got a call from Eric Bischoff. He said, ‘Barry, I have good news and bad news.†I said, “what’s the good news?” He said, “well, you had a hell of a match. The bad news is youâ€re fired.†I donâ€t think a lot of people knew what happened. We got fired because we were bleeding in the match. We were told to bleed. A lot of the blood wasnâ€t blood we did. It was hitting barbed wire and fencing and all that stuff. What was incredible was Mike Graham, Dustin, and myself, we were the only three who got fired. It was like why didnâ€t the camera crew get fired. Why didn’t anyone else get fired? I never did find that out, but what do you do? They are the bosses and youâ€re just workers. Thatâ€s one thing I learned in my life. Youâ€re a worker bee and they’re the bosses and you do what they say otherwise youâ€re gone.â€

Darsow said he never really sat down with Eric and talked about what happened all those decades ago. He hoped to down the line, feeling there was more to the story on the other side of things. Looking back, it begs the question what would have happened to Darsow had he continued in WCW as it entered the boom period. Would he have been part of the nWo? Darsow popped up again in the promotion adding the “Mr. Hole-in-One†to his list of personas.Â

“I thought the Blacktop Bully was a great gimmick. I thought it was going to take off and really do something,†he said. “I think I could have been one of those semi-main event, main event guys. I really thought in that part of my career that would be the last gimmick I had and I was going to get a big push and be there for a while. That was going to be me. Then when that shut down, that was the end of it. That was kind of when I wanted to be done with the business.

“ When I came back, Eric promised me a job, and I got a job. I got paid real well for hardly doing anything. I felt so guilty about doing the trade that was my whole life, and I thought I was good at it. It was weird making money and not working. Thatâ€s now how I grew up. I knew that was the end of my career at that time. I thought for sure Blacktop Bully was going to be something. It was changing of the guard, and I wasnâ€t part of that clique. I wasn’t in the nWo clique. It was a tough situation.â€

Darsow is excited to have the book out for readers to enjoy. With this bringing all his accomplishments back to the forefront combined with the reacclimation into the WWE Universe, is a WWE Hall of Fame induction finally going to come for the iconic Demolition?

“There hasnâ€t been any discussions at all. I would love to be in there,†Darsow answered. “It is a huge honor, especially when you look at how big WWE is now. Itâ€s unbelievable. If you could have that under your belt, the Hall of Fame, it would be huge. There are so many people. I always thought they should have more than one tag team. Maybe two or three tag teams because there were so many people. How are they going to induct everybody in there that should be in there?…It would be nice to be inducted in there when you can enjoy it with your family and friends. Hopefully, it will be soon, but you never know.â€

Darsow remains one of the most underrated talents during an era filled with comic book-like characters. In many ways, what he did with every one of those personas he tackled, itâ€s a lost art.

“When I grew up watching wrestling, I watched Harley Race, The Crusher, The Bruiser, Baron Von Raschke, they were larger-than-life to me when I was a kid,†he said. “…To me, the gimmicks I thought were a great time of the wrestling business. I think that is what brought a lot of people into watching wrestling. All the kids are watching it now. I think they need to get into a few more of the gimmicks, less talking, more wrestling, and I think thatâ€s probably going to be the next thing. It all goes back into wrestling…â€

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SAN FRANCISCO — The Giants made a late lineup switch prior to their regular-season finale against the Rockies, moving Willy Adames into the leadoff spot to maximize his chances of ending the clubâ€s long-lived 30-homer drought.

Adames responded by crushing the very first pitch he saw from right-hander McCade Brown over the center-field wall, becoming the first Giant to hit 30 homers in a single season since Barry Bonds in 2004.

“I think that was the conversation between me and [manager Bob Melvin] today,†Adames said. “He asked me if Iâ€d rather hit first or second. I said, ‘I donâ€t care. Just put [me] in the leadoff spot. Iâ€ll swing at the first pitch.†I donâ€t remember a time Iâ€d hit in the leadoff spot. But it was kind of like, ‘Boom.â€â€

Adames†first career leadoff home run set the tone for a 4-0 win that capped a three-game sweep of the Rockies and clinched an 81-81 record for the Giants on Sunday afternoon at Oracle Park. It was the second time in the last four seasons that San Francisco has finished exactly at .500.

While the Giants fell short of the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year, they got pretty much what they expected out of Adames, who joined the club on a seven-year, $182 million contract last December.

Adames slumped badly over his first two months in San Francisco, but he turned it around in the second half and ended up batting .225 with a .739 OPS and a team-high 30 homers over 160 games.

The Giants†21-year spell without a 30-homer hitter had been the longest active streak in the Majors. Every other team had at least six such seasons from 2005-24 and at least one from 2019-24.

Adames hit his 28th home run of the season on Sept. 9, but his chances of reaching 30 appeared to take a hit after he went 14 games without going deep. Still, the 30-year-old managed to reach the elusive benchmark by homering twice in the Giants†final three games of the year.

“It just kind of seemed like something he would do,†third baseman Matt Chapman said. “I feel like heâ€s got a knack for the big moment sometimes. … That was awesome. He deserves it. Heâ€s worked his butt off this whole year. After everything heâ€s been through, the way he carries himself every single day and the teammate heâ€s been, to be able to get 30 homers and kind of break that curse, he deserves it. He really does.â€

With his Statcast-projected 417-foot blast in the bottom of the first, Adames became only the second shortstop in Giants history to record a 30-homer season, joining Rich Aurilia in 2001 (37).

Adames wasnâ€t the only Giant to reach a notable milestone on Sunday. Right-hander Logan Webb struck out eight over 5 1/3 scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.22 over an MLB-high 34 starts and finish as the National League leader in both innings (207) and strikeouts (224) this year. Heâ€s the first Giant to pace the league in both categories since Bill Voiselle in 1944.

“I always say if Iâ€m able to lead the league in innings itâ€s a huge credit to the defensive guys who are making plays,†said Webb, who also secured his second MLB innings crown in the last three seasons. “Iâ€m probably not the easiest guy to play behind. I get a lot of hard-hit balls, especially groundballs. With [catcher Patrick Bailey] calling pitches and [Melvin] being able to trust me in situations where I can go out for another inning or another two innings and trust me to throw 110 pitches — if I didnâ€t have that, then I donâ€t think itâ€d be possible for me to lead the league innings. Itâ€s something I always strive to do.â€

Between Adames, Webb, Devers and Chapman, the Giants have four cornerstone players to build around heading into 2026. They donâ€t believe theyâ€re far off from turning back into contenders, especially after finishing only two games behind the 83-win Reds for the third and final NL Wild Card spot.

Even so, the team is bound to undergo some significant changes this winter and potentially bid goodbye to familiar faces like Wilmer Flores, an impending free agent who might have played his final game as Giant on Sunday. Flores started at first base and lined out in his lone at-bat before he was replaced by top prospect Bryce Eldridge in the top of the third.

“There are guys on a team that youâ€re always going to gravitate to, and Wilmer is one of those guys, no matter where he goes,†Melvin said.

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This will be little consolation to the New York Mets and their fans if a late-season collapse results in the…