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Do you think Endeavor owning WWE will lead to WWE stars getting more acting opportunities?
I do. I worked in that world for many years before writing full-time and I can tell you that there are power players payinng a lot more attention to WWE and pro wrestlinng in general today than ever before. I'd be stunned if we didn't see some stars getting more acting jobs in the coming months and years. I think the success of Dave Bautista and John Cena has also shown the entertainment world there are a lot of talents out there beyond The Rock who can bring in audiences and have strong performances as well.
I was wondering what your thoughts are on Dennis Coralluzzo? In Tod Gordon’s autobiography he described him as a very shady and unscrupulous promoter. Shane Douglas and the late Bam Bam Bigelow also described him that way.
I don't think anything that has been written or stated about Dennis is incorrect. I would often joke with the late Howard Brody that Dennis was the king of the carnies and in fact Howard took that description and used it as a chapter title about Dennis in Howard's amazing book Swimming with Piranha.
Dennis was someone who loved being around the business but also at times became overly obsessed with others' success (especially ECW) and that would be his detriment. Instead of trying to build things and create matches and shows that would draw fans sometimes he would be more distracted by the fact that ECW was outdrawing him in Philadelphia because he was the preeminent independent wrestling promoter consistently in that regional area until Tod Gordon and Paul Heyman came along.
So there's a lot of dumb things that Dennis did (some of which was spurred on by others in his circe who had equally bad or worse behavior) but there was also a lot of good that Dennis also did. I do not believe the National Wrestling Alliance today would exist in any form, much less owned by Billy Corgan, had it not been for Dennis truly beating the drum and keeping the brand name alive as much as he could with his limited resources. It was Dennis who was pushing to get dates on Ric Flair who at the time was in WCW since the National Wrestling Alliance by-laws allowed all NWA members a chance to have the champion. That led to the NWA and WCW breaking off and the NWA actually having to fight for its own survival.
It was Dennis who put the belt on Dan Severn and used the hype and Buzz of the Ultimate Fighting Championship at the time to raise the profile and The credibility of the NWA World Championship. It was Dennis who championed young Crowbar when he was Devon Storm. It was Dennis who championed Reckless Youth.
Dennis did a lot for a lot of people and booked a lot of very unique matches that were a lot of fun whether it be Terry Funk versus Abdullah the Butcher, Stan Hansen versus Terry Funk in a false count anywhere match that landed in a river in New jersey, Sabu versus Chris Benoit well before ECW did it, Jerry Lawler versus Chris Benoit, and lots of other unique matches for their time - as well as giving a lot of veterans work.
Now, did Dennis do some shady stuff? I don't think anybody would ever deny that but like everything else you have to put it in proper context and it was all Shades of Grey, not that this was the worst person who was walking the face of the earth. I always found it very amusing that former ECWA promoter Jim Kettner was one of Dennis's closest friends because Jim was a squeaky clean as you could imagine - almost to the point of being the Clark Kent of professional wrestling on the independent level - yet he and Dennis got along great and truly had a great affection for each other because they just got along and I don't think Jim would have kept himself anywhere near Dennis on a consistent basis if he thought Dennis was doing something truly over the top illegal or evil.
Dennis was a blue collar guy who was doing everything he could to run shows and yeah there were some crazy stories but I think deep down he truly love professional wrestling and sometimes these sort of characters or what pro wrestling attracts and as crazy as it seems to say this sometimes these sort of characters are What pro wrestling needs. I never had a crossed word with Dennis ever and he always treated me absolutely well anytime I went to his shows as a fan and then later when I was writing about the business.
I really think that if someone like Dennis was around today he would probably be one of the most successful independent wrestling promoters, as long as he didn't get distracted by the success of others. But, in the words of Han Solo, regarding the Dennis stories - "It's True. All of It." Good or bad, Dennis was Dennis.
I was wondering if some rumors I read about the early days of WWE Studios are true:
1 -Was Kurt Angle supposed to star in The Marine but was replaced by John Cena?
Angle story is 100% accurate. Angle had left WWE so Cena was tapped for the role.
2 - Did Kane replace Undertaker in See No Evil?
I've never heard Undertaker was going to be in See No Evil, ever. Do not believe that was accurate.
3 - Wasn't there going to be a Western that would tell the origins of The Undertaker?
Yes, it was being developed but I don't know that a script was ever made. It was absolutely in the planning stages at one point.
4 - Was there not going to be a Rey Mysterio cartoon?
Yes, there was a kid's cartoon featuring school-age version of Rey Mysterio and others in development, titled Hanging in the 619. I don't know why the project was dropped.
5 - Is it possible some of these old projects could be revived by Endeavor?
Sure, if they wanted and felt they could make money off them. They would own the rights to any WWE Intellectual Property that was developed but never used. They are there is Endeavor wants them.
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