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PWINSIDER Q&A: ABDULLAH THE BUTCHER, ENTRANCE MUSIC, WCW STARS IN WWE AND MORE

Answered: 4/20

At the 1995 Survivor Series there was a 4 on 4 women match where most of the participants were from Japan. Back then I was only familiar with Alundra Blayze and Bertha Faye but had heard of Aja Kong in wrestling magazines. I was wondering if all these competitors had appeared on TV in the weeks/months leading to the event (to introduce them to the viewing audience) and if they appeared again after Survivor Series. I'm sure Aja Kong did as she was the sole survivor for her team but what about the others? Also, do you think WWE would benefit from bringing women from Japan at this point like they did with Aja Kong and Bull Nakano in the past? 

Actually, they didn't have them on TV before the PPV.  Bull Nakano had been over in the U.S. for a while, but the slew of All Japan Women's workers that came over for the Survivor Series basically wrestled on that show, and I believe one set of TV tapings after Survivor Series, and that was it.  There were plans to do a Kong-Blayze feud, but then Alundra (Madusa) left the company.  I definitely think WWE could benefit from bringing in some female talent from Japan, but it would only work if WWE decided to make the female decision "more serious" and every time WWE has done that, it hasn't lasted.

Greetings and salutations, I love the website and the knowledge and information you convey to the pro wrestling fans. My question is why hasn't Abdullah the Butcher ever been in the WWWF/WWF/WWE? Back in the day of Vince Sr. would it not have been the perfect fit of the typical bad guy come in for a 4-6 month run at tearing up the competition only to have the baby face champ run him off? Was there heat between Abby and Vince Sr.? Then when WWF went to the cartoon characters as wrestlers he could have been another awesome fit with the likes of George the Animal Steele. Now, why not bring Abby in as a legend for a future Hall of Fame induction. Just curious as to why Abby never gets the recognition he deserves from the powers that be up north.

Abdullah The Butcher has always walked to the beat of his own drum, and it has served him well, given that he continues to make nice paydays working in Japan and on indy shows to this very day.  I don't believe there was ever any heat between Abby and Vince Sr. it was just a case of Abby working territories he liked, including Puerto Rico and Japan, and the Northeast wasn't amongst them.  I have to totally disagree with you about Abdullah fitting in with the cartoonish WWF of the 80's.  Abdullah sticking someone in the head with a fork would not have played well with the kiddies (or their parents).  As for the Hall Of Fame, I am with you 100%.  Actually, more than that, I would like WWE to let Abdullah wrestle, even if it is a two minute squash match that never airs anywhere, on their next Madison Square Garden card.  Abdullah has said several times that wrestling in MSG is the only thing in his career that he has never accomplished that he would have liked to have done.

Over the past few years I've become increasingly disappointed with new WWE entrance themes. Very few new ones get the crowd pumped right away anymore, like Stone Cold's does, or the Undertaker. There's no immediate "hook", like there should be for a wrestling theme. I mean, Khali, has some sort of tinkling thing at the start, and a number of other don't have the "BHAM!" that they used to. Almost all the themes that get you pumped these days belong to older stars (Taker, HHH, etc...) Hell even Val Venis gets a slight pop during his entrance, (I think) in large part due to the music he uses. Maybe I'm just being picky, but I think the music goes a long way to helping a character...

I agree wholeheartedly.  I think music for wrestlers needs to fit into one of two categories.  It either needs an immediate impact that hits you in the face as the wrestler comes out, or a recognizable build that leads to the impact (and the wrestler coming out).  Either way, the key is a lyric or a riff that the instant you hear it, you know what's about to happen, and you can react accordingly. 

As far as I know Sting is the only big name that has never worked for McMahon except for maybe the final show of Nitro, are there any other big names from the Monday Night Wars that have never worked for WWE?

Well, there was Ralphus and David Arquette.  Seriously, it depends on what you consider a "big name".  If you consider Steve McMichael a "big name" I guess he could be counted.  Seriously, almost everyone who was a main eventer for WCW during that period was either in WWF/E before or after their WCW run (or both). 

I have some questions concerning TNA's creative team. I noticed that as far as pusher younger and newer talent, they aren't willing to really pull the trigger and push them to the top (i.e. Samoa Joe, Chris Harris, Motor City Machine Guns, etc). Why is this, and what is the reason for pushing ex-WWE, former WCW, and non-wrestlers (Pacman Jones)? While the ratings are going up (even though it's at a snail's pace), doesn't TNA creative realize that they need to do more than push non-homegrown talent (Angle, Christian, Sting, Pacman), and have storylines that are simple and make sense to get even higher ratings (they should be able to do better ratings than ECW with the talent TNA has, right)? Also, don't they realize that with the declining ratings for WWE programs, now is a better time than any to notice their flaws and improve their product, or is the creative team just so out-of-touch with today's wrestling audience similar to WWE creative? 

The question you ask is one that has dogged TNA for several years.  They have constantly pushed ex-WWE and WCW stars over homegrown talent, with the only reasoning being that "They're stars, they're recognizable" even though their ratings have been hovering at the same 1.0 and 1.1 range the whole time.  With them finally putting the World Title on Samoa Joe, maybe TNA is starting to get the message that fans watching their product want an alternative to WWE, not a second-rate imitation or the equivalent of an "Seniors Tour".  I'm not saying some of the former WWE talent still can't go and contribute to the product, but in all honesty, TNA's future is in young talent, not guys who have already had their best days go by. 

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