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PWINSIDER Q&A: TOO MANY CHAMPIONSHIPS, WWE VIDEO LIBRARY, GREAT CAREERS ENDED TOO SOON AND MORE

Answered on 5/2

There are some wrestlers that were either injured or died before their time. I wanted to ask how good some of these could have or would have been. David Von Erich, Gino Hernandez, Magnum T.A., Bruiser Brody, Droz, and Buzz Sawyer. If there are any others you can think of that didn't reach their potential for tragic reasons, I'd love to hear about those as well. Personally, Ric Flair vs. Gino Hernandez and Hulk Hogan vs. Bruiser Brody could have been two of the greatest money making feuds ever. 

I definitely think David Von Erich had a very bright future ahead of him before passing away at the age of 25.  He was being pegged by many as a future NWA World Champion, and I could see him becoming a Harley Race-Ric Flair type touring champion for the company, not just a short term title holder like Kerry was.  There was a lot of potential with David.  He may not have had the body of Kerry, but he was a much better wrestler and could adapt to playing a heel, something the other brothers weren't as good at. 

Hernandez, who passed away at 28, was a fantastic heel, and I think was just hitting his prime with the Chris Adams feud in World Class at the time of his death.  Had his lifestyle not done him in, I think he eventually would have ended up with Jim Crockett Promotions, since he didn't strike me as a WWF-type wrestler.  Actually, he probably would have been better off in the UWF/Mid-South, since I think he would have always been overshadowed by Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard in the NWA.  Then again, he may have even become a Horseman himself. 

Magnum T.A., who had his career tragically cut short at age 27 in a car wreck, definitely had a bright future.  He was going to be the babyface leader of Jim Crockett Promotions, and because of his broad appeal (good looking enough for women, tough enough for men) he probably would have become a huge star and played a big part in the WCW-WWF wars.  

Bruiser Brody was in his 40's at the time of his murder, and was arguably past his prime.  However, that isn't to say his time was over as a top draw.  He was still a major force in Japan, Puerto Rico and on the Independent scene.  My feeling is that eventually Ted Turner or Vince McMahon was going to throw a lot of money at him for a big run as a main eventer.  After that, Brody probably would have continued on as a headliner in Japan, just like Stan Hansen did for years.  

Droz, while young and a good athlete, never struck me as having serious "star potential".  I think he could have been a solid mid-carder, but it is impossible to know if he ever would have developed to the point that he would have been a main event star. 

Buzz Sayer, who was 32 at the time of his death, probably was never going to be a main event star.  Every promotion he worked in, he always held the secondary championship or was a tag team wrestler.  I think he would have most likely continued in those roles for the remainder of his career. 

Now that JR has said what most of us think (3 world champions is too many), how about this for an idea: the WWE and world heavyweight titles are unified to form the WWE champion, who is the champion of the whole company. The IC title is then promoted as the champion of RAW, where as the US belt can be changed to the ´US SmackDown! champ´ or something along those lines. The ECW belt can remain, but the status of world champion is dropped. In doing this, the brand belts can groom upper mid cards for future main event status (hence being a stepping stone) and the prestige of being the ´ultimate world champion´ is brought back to the WWE championship. Also, the brand champions can have a tournament at a specific ppv (Summerslam perhaps) for the new number 1 contender to the WWE belt. Your thoughts?

Now that WWE is going to have all three brands involved in every PPV, it certainly seems to make sense that WWE make one belt the top title, and not have two (or three, depending on your view of ECW) top championships.  However, WWE still hasn't established, with the exception of Matt Hardy, whether wrestlers from other brands will be fighting for championships on the other shows outside of the occasional "special" event.  If WWE decided to start mixing the wrestlers more, then it is something that should probably be explored.  

Concerning WWE's video library, how are the tapes stored and maintained? Can any WWE employee have access to any piece of footage they want? Do you think it would ever be feasible for WWE do have the entire library available online? 

I believe most of the tapes are now stored in WWE's facilities in Connecticut.  I believe all the WCW tapes that were in Atlanta are now there as well.  I honestly don't know if any employee can see the footage, but I do know that higher level officials in the company can see the footage, and I believe wrestlers can as well, but they can't remove the tapes from the facility.  As for the entire library being available online, forget it.  We're talking thousands of hours of footage that would have to be converted to a digital format, cataloged, uploaded, etc.  They will never get it all online, since by "all" we'd be including a lot of matches and segments that I doubt very many people would even care about viewing. 

What do you consider to be the difference in styles of puroresu and lucha libre?

Obviously, there are exceptions, since not every promotion in Japan has the same style (and a group like Dragon's Gate is a lot like Lucha).  However, if I had to make a general rule, it would be that Japanese promotions tend to have a more physical "stiff" style, more grounded in realism, while Lucha Libre is more fast paced, high flying and sometimes requires a greater "suspension of disbelief" when it comes to certain aspects, like the "guy gets slapped in the back and runs top speed into the ropes" spots.  

I read where one of the matches featured on the TNA pay per view Lockdown was a ladies cage match between Gail Kim and Jackie Moore. I never read any reviews on it. How was the match? How did Gail Kim & Jackie Moore do? What was the reaction behind the scenes of the match? What are the prospects of more cage matches involving the women of TNA?

It was a very good match, built around a long segment of them brawling in the aisle and around ringside before entering the cage for a few spots, including a flying bodypress off the cage by Kim which almost overshot Jackie for the finish.  From what I understand, TNA was very happy with the match and the effort put in by the performers.  I don't see TNA having regular cage matches involving women on their shows, but if there is a women's feud going on when Lockdown comes around, I could see it happening then. 

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