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PWINSIDER Q&A: UNDERTAKER VS. BATISTA, TEAM 3D, WENDI RICHTER AND MORE

Answered on 1/11

Has the WWE ever done two shows in one day? One in the afternoon, the other at night?

It isn't a common practice now, but back in the boom period of the 80's and even at some points in the 90's, WWE (then WWF) would have doubleshots on a Saturday or Sunday, with the same crew working an afternoon event, then driving to another town for an evening event. 

With rumors reporting on a Undertaker vs Batista World Title match at Wrestlemania, do you think Undertaker should win the title to keep his undefeated streak, or should he lose undefeated streak and have this be his final match?

First, we should stress that Batista vs. Undertaker is still just a rumor at this point.  Personally, I don't think Batista is the person that should get the "ultimate rub" of beating the Undertaker at Wrestlemania.  In fact, I think being undefeated at Wrestlemania will most likely be Undertaker's legacy.

I am currently watching "Hardcore Homecoming: November Reign." During some of the wrestler entrances, there are the caricatures of Bubba Ray and D-Von that are clearly visible yet they are not anywhere on the DVD. Did they appear at the show? And if so, why isn't it on the DVD?

Because of Team 3D's contract with TNA, they were not able to appear on the commercial release of the show. So, their match against Terry Funk & Sabu, which was excellent, is not on the DVD you get at stores (they included other matches as bonuses to make up for it).  However, the match is available from online stores, including (yeah, here comes a plug) Highspots.com.  You can get it by clicking here.  And personally, I think the commentary on the DVD is fantastic. 

How much longer will it be before TNA finally receives a two hour time slot on Spike?

If TNA continues to show improvement in their ratings, and maintains them, it wouldn't surprise me if Spike gives TNA a second hour, or a separate second show, by the end of the year.  However, that is just speculation at this point.  Personally, I think if Spike offers TNA a second hour, then they should just insert Xplosion, which they already film for international markets, into the slot. 

I recall seeing a match many years ago. It might have been a WWF/WWE  women's title match, I'm not really sure. It was between then women's champion Wendi Richter against a masked woman billed as Spider Lady. After several minutes, the Spider Lady pinned Miss Richter to the mat 1-2-3. By the look on Wendi Richter's face, she seemed very shocked. She ripped off the mask to reveal the Fabulous Moolah. It was reported that Moolah apologized to Wendi after she had pinned her. I remember reading that Miss Richter demanded an increase in pay, leading to Vince McMahon instructing Moolah to pin Wendi Richter for the title. What was the story behind it? Did Wendi Richter confront Vince McMahon after the match? Was Wendi Richter fired from the WWF/WWE or did she simply quit?

It was in November 25, 1985. WWF Women's World Champion Wendi Richter was riding a huge wave of popularity as an integral part of the "Rock N' Wrestling Connection" to the point that Richter's title defenses often headlined shows where Hulk Hogan wasn't on the card, something unheard of at the time, as women's matches never main evented WWF cards. She was managed by Cyndi Lauper, and her popularity continued even after Lauper stopped accompanying her to ringside. WWF offered Richter a contract on November 11th, but Richter, who was looking for a pay raise, refused to sign, and said she wanted to meet with her lawyers before signing a new deal. The WWF then hatched a plan to take the title off of Richter at Madison Square Garden, with the internal reasoning later being that they didn't want Richter to hold the belt hostage during negotiations. In truth, the decision had already been made by Vince McMahon to cut ties with Richter, and they wanted to get the belt off of her immediately.

Richter was booked to wrestle the Spider Lady, a masked wrestler usually played by Penny Mitchell, and managed by the Fabulous Moolah, in a successful title defense. However, when it came time for the match, Richter was surprised to find out that Moolah was actually under the mask on this night. Richter was quoted in some interviews as saying she didn't know it was Moolah when the match began, but given the number of times the two wrestled, she had to realize that it was Moolah when they started wrestling. During the match, referee Dick Kroll made several suspect counts, and at the end, counted three on a small package by the Spider, despite Richter kicking out.

Richter pulled the mask off of Moolah at that point (Moolah pretty much let Richter do it), and Moolah then paraded around the ring, as ring announcer Howard Finkel announced her as the new champion. Richter threw some kicks and slaps at Moolah, which Moolah no-sold, infuriating Richter, who then crabbed the belt and tried to hit Moolah with it, before throwing it down and storming off from the ring. Richter never wrestled another WWF match, instead working in the AWA and WWC.

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