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PWINSIDER Q&A: COMPARING THE VON ERICHS, BIG SHOW'S WWE RETURN, SHARK BOY AND WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? & MORE

When did the WWF first institute the "two feet must touch the floor" rule for the Royal Rumble? I don't remember the announcers ever mentioning such a rule until 1995, when Shawn Michaels was thrown over by the British Bulldog and skinned the cat to stay alive, but touched the floor with one foot. Did the WWF affirmatively announce the rule on a previous Rumble that I don't remember, or was the rule conveniently introduced in 1995 when Michaels was booked to win but touched the ground accidentally?

The rule was never acknowledged until Shawn Michaels' victory in 1995.  One would assume that Michaels accidentally touched the floor, but the reality is that he was such an awesome worker at that point, he could have "pretended" to do so to mess with the fans with the finish being booked that way to make them think Davey Boy Smith had actually won the Rumble.

Coming from the UK we only got to see the WWE (or WWF as it was then) and WCW when I got into the sport in the late 80's and early 90's. We mainly got the WWF shows.  So my question is, in your opinion, who is the best all round talent to have never wrestled in the WWE (from that time period to now)?  In other words, who has Vince missed the boat on (so far, if it's a current star)?

I don't know if you can say he missed the boat on someone who never worked for him, but there's a laundry list of names he didn't use to the fullest ranging back from day one to today.  The three names that comes immediately to mind as the best all around who never worked for WWE are Sting, Jushin Liger and Kenta Kobashi.  Sting was the biggest name of the modern era who has never, to date, signed on with WWE while the two were among the greatest workers of the last 15 years and rarely appeared Stateside.  You could add a slew of Japanese names to this list, including Kawada, Misawa, Hashimoto, Chono and Bruiser Brody, although Brody was murdered before he ever had a chance and one would think he would have been tailor made for a big money run with Hulk Hogan.

So, when Big Show re-debuts for WWE, do you think they'll put him on RAW,
where he's always languished, or ECW/Smackdown, where he's been successful?

I believe he was slated for the Raw brand, but until that happens, anything is subject to change.

The skit with "Stone Cold" Sharkboy on this past TNA Impact (which I thought was hilarious by the way) got me thinking- when and how did the whole "What" routine with the original Stone Cold develop?  Was it one of those things that developed slowly over time with the crowd (like WCW's Goldberg chant) or was it started by some start of skit the WWE created?   

Steve Austin credited the "What" deal to a message he once left on Christian Cage's voicemail, where he kept asking questions and repeating what.  He tried it out in a promo in 2001 and it took off from there.  The crowd, who loved Austin, took to it passionately, and to this day often chant it at talents cutting promos, whether Austin is involved or not.

I've recently watched the "Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling"-DVD and was enthralled by it. Now my question revolves around the stars of this territory, the Von Erich-boys. Of the four brothers (David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike): Who do you think could have stayed on top of one of the big companies (WWE & NWA)?

Had Kerry not been lost to so many of his personal problems, he was perfect for what WWF wanted in their top babyfaces - a huge body and a ton of charisma.  David, who was the closest thing to a complete package in the old school wrestling terms, was built to be a major player for the NWA, although whether he would have been likely would have been dictated by whether he journeyed out of Texas long enough for it to happen.  He was believed to have been slated to win the NWA title shortly before he passed away.  Kevin was a solid worker but I can't envision him doing as well anywhere beyond World Class.  Mike never should have been in the ring as he didn't have a strong aptitude for it, so I wouldn't even consider him.

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