I wish I had not waited so long to attend a Cauliflower Alley Club (CAC) event. That’s the simplest way to sum up my experience this week in Las Vegas attending the 43rd CAC Reunion and renewing old friendships, making new ones and paying respect to the many men and women who paved the way for so many of us to earn a living in the wrestling business. Yes, I said wrestling business because, in my heart, mentally I am still in the wrestling business just as I was when it all started in 1974 and I’m damn proud of it.
Over the next few days I hope to provide you a look back at my first CAC/Vegas experience but here are just a few of the highlights:
Steve Austin had just as good a time as any one there and for Steve and I to be able to visit over the two days was a good thing. Steve is really busy working on some exciting projects and will have some significant announcements to make a little later in 2008. That notwithstanding, Steve and I both found ourselves buying autographed photos of some of the folks we both grew up admiring and spending hours, literally, looking at the memorabilia on display especially the old black and white photos that were simply magnificent. Steve’s training table regime is serious stuff but my question is how many grilled chicken breasts can one man eat without the assistance of J.R.’s Bar-B-Q Sauce which the ‘OL Texas Rattlesnake has in his home ‘fridge but not in Kady’s Coffee Shop in the Riviera where we ate the bulk of our meals. Austin looks to be in better physical shape than he was before he hung up his tights.
At 3 a.m. Thursday morning Bret Hart, Steve Austin and yours truly ended our bar-side visit that lasted approximately 2-3 hours. Sitting between Austin and Hart made me feel a little like a pair of brown shoes at a formal wedding but I enjoyed every minute of it. Lots of great stories and some really viable ideas about potential tweaks in the business that could make it better. The way I look at the philosophies of a Steve Austin or a Bret Hart is that even though they are out of the business in theory the reality of it is that neither will truly ever be out of the business and each want the business to succeed for years to come. This 2 hour plus chat would have made one hell of a DVD I guarantee. Oh, yeah Pat Patterson joined in with about a hour or so to go just to add Pat’s unique seasonings to the wrestling stew.
Bret is looking at writing a novel, not about wrestling, and is headed to Rome to do some research on his concept. He told me some of his ideas which I will keep close to the vest for the time being but needless to say I was interested as I am a fan of the genre of which Bret intends to write. The Hitman physically looked excellent and is working out post stroke and it shows. No, Bret doesn’t have one more match left in him and I don’t think that he has any real regrets about that fact. I do think that Bret’s current book, a must read for any wrestling fan, without fail, has the chops to possibly be a compelling TV series, specifically on premium cable, as the colorful characters and the journey Bret has been on since day one is pretty amazing when one looks at the total number of "miles traveled". And his journey is far from over. Bottom line is that the Hawaiian life style seems to be agreeing with the Hitman who was genuinely interested in our J.R.’s BBQ concept and how we have organized it so , unlike so many of our peers, yours truly doesn’t stumble and fall while losing my hard earned savings in the process. Bret is going to make a donation of some authentic Bret Hart "swag" for us to proudly display on our restaurant walls but he said he was going to surprise me with his selection. I can’t wait.
Stone Cold said the same thing and that was he wanted his next Austin Swag to be a surprise because it was "special". What could it be?
It was wonderful seeing Dr. Death stand before the gathered crowd and express his sincere love and appreciate for all of those who wrote him letters and emails while cancer was doing its damnedest to take Doc’s life. Doc received the Lou Thesz award which goes to the individual who is a great wrestler first and a showman second. Others who have won include Antonio Inoki, Jack Brisco, Danny Hodge, Verne Gagne, and Dick Hutton. With Doc now a member of this elite group, that means that of the 6 winners 4 of them have state of Oklahoma ties which is frankly amazing and a cool deal for an old Okie like me. This October my friend Steve Williams will be cancer free for 4 years. That’s a miracle folks any way one wants to slice it. Many people don’t know that Stone Cold called Doc virtually every week, even when Doc could not talk, to check on Doc in the MD Anderson Cancer Hospital in Houston.
Meeting many of the wrestling historians and long time fans was a wonderful experience, too. You talk about being passionate about wrestling, these folks are motivational to speak with. The WWE could do much worse than to have selected developmental talents attend this function with their coaches and listen to the 100’s of great road and ring stories that are told. Honestly there is not one person in the entire organization that would not benefit by attending this function and that is the honest truth.
Austin and I were so much into the two days we spend at the "being remodeled", "try to ignore those jack hammers", "the A/C might not work up to speed" but "our prime rib is tougher than your prime rib" Riviera Hotel that we never left the property.
I will soon write more on Pat Patterson, J.J. Dillon, Bob Roop, Ronnie Garvin, Manny Fernandez, The Guerrero Family, Les Thornton, Paul Vachon, Luna Vachon, "Ruth and Gehrig" aka Harley Race and Terry Funk and share some of our conversations about the days of yesteryear and what many of them are doing today.
I encourage you to check out the CAC website and read the recaps of the Reunion at
www.slamwrestling.com who does a wonderful job covering wrestling. If you are a true fan of the business and what it has meant to so many of us since we were kids it is incumbent on you join the CAC and attend next year’s Reunion. My heart felt promise is that you will be happy that you did.
www.highspots.com had a merchandise table there and I never would have dreamed how many books on wrestling have been written over the past few years. BTW Jim Cornette is working on a Midnight Express book as we speak which is likely to be a classic and featured documentable info and some of the most amazing photos in it one can imagine. JC kept a diary of every match he ever participated in his entire career, who was in the match, what the outcome was, how much he earned, how many miles he traveled to get there, etc. Plus Corney’s photo collection may be the best kept secret in the world of wrestling.
Two, very lovely ladies of wrestling royalty were on hand at the CAC and they were Houston promoter, the late Paul Boesch’s widow Valerie who was there with son Joey Boesh who plays the piano beautifully, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson’s mother Ata Maivia Johnson. Both ladies looked wonderful and elegant and represented their era and families with class and dignity.
The Japanese had a large contingent there including one of the legit toughest men ever in wrestling in Mr. Sakaraba aka Kendo Nagasaki.
It was an awesome time I assure you. The WWE had a film crew there and apparently interviewed several of the legends in attendance which I assume will eventually surface on
www.wwe.com and on WWE 24/7.
Speaking of WWE 24/7 and the Legends Roundtable, one of my favorite things to do on TV these days, another is scheduled for next week in Stamford, Ct to be hosted by Mean Gene Okerlund and will feature panelists Ric Flair, Mick Foley, JBL and yours truly. I heard we were going to discuss (and cuss) factions or groups in wrestling and wrestling’s most significant moments which covers lots of ground and many generations. All the panelists are somewhat combative and opinionated which should make for some interesting 24/7 content. Plus if one just happens to have a social beverage prior to the "roll tape time" things can get a little heated and unpredictable. I like it.
The King Jerry Lawler and I will be making an appearance on Long Island on Saturday July 19 the night before the Great American Bash which is slated, and already sold out, for Sunday July 20 at the Nassau Coliseum. I will have more details on this autograph, photo, meet and greet soon but it is a done deal and will be from 4-6 p.m.
Since I have returned home I have read on the Internet with interest that a Raw star is unhappy (poor him). Gosh, that’s quite a headline. Wrestlers are "rarely" unhappy. I, too, was "unhappy" with my "push" out of bed Thursday morning after sleeping about 3 hours and having to go to the Vegas Airport which is a zoo. I was even more unhappy when I couldn’t find my video poker ticket for $103.75 which apparently provided the bartender a nice tip. So that makes two members of Raw that were "unhappy" this week and I just hope that I get equal billing and a plug for this site.
I watched ROH’s Bryan Danielson wrestle in Oakland and I told any one who would listen that the young man is a keeper. Great work ethic, unique skills, lots of character, and he wrestles like he is a "star" which is not something all wrestlers can do. I wished Bryan good luck as I left the arena in Oakland Monday and he went back to speaking with Shawn Michaels which can’t be a bad thing for Bryan. Not unlike the CAC the WWE might be well served to help subsidize the ROH as they seem to be one of the most viable entities when it comes to developing talent. Pat Patterson told me that the show the young kids had on Monday Night for the CAC was "excellent" and that there were several kids that the WWE should seriously look at sooner than late.
Yours truly was especially interested to read so much of what is being made of the alleged philosophical changes in Monday Night Raw this week in Salt Lake City to make it more live audience and TV viewer friendly considering that the Mr. McMahon Million Dollar Mania is going to continue. I admire the folks that can mine this internal info out of Stanford but I wish that the announce team had the same if not more info so that we could prepare to do a better job too. If this issue gets to overwhelming those that make the big decisions and are paid the big bucks to produce Raw, one suggest could be to always go back to having a kick-ass or two wrestling match with as fresh opponents as possible on every show to give the fans who still like actual wrestling something in which to emotionally invest. That’s probably a crazy concept but give me a break….I am sleep deprived as I write this.
I said this last week and it was proved true in my view, Hulk Hogan should never have gone on the Larry King Show this week. What was proved? Nothing of any real significance. What new info was revealed that cleared up any significant matters? Your guess is as good as mine. I did not hear anything new or rehabilitative. Should Hogan have said any thing that could be used in the obvious civil suit that is headed his way in addition to an apparent divorce? Of course not. So what’s left, simply regurgitate his version of the story and to lay blame on the media? Who wins that one? Not Hulk. Hulk Hogan got bad advice and he should lay low, keep a low profile and encourage all those around him to do the same. This case, unless settled out of court in some fashion, is going to get nasty. Plus, the more negative crap that comes out the less chances that Nick will be released early from his 8 month stay in the can. Honestly, if the Tampa judge and his people who are elected by the voters of that area release Nick "Hogan" from jail early they better have their real estate licences ready or something comparable.
Just in case I get the honor of doing the "Kiss Cam" for the one and only Joe E. (OH MY GAWD!!) Styles and his beloved
www.wwe.com this week in Salt Lake City, Utah I am going to prepare by watching HBO’s "Big Love" and working on some polygamy material. That should earn me the key to the city for sure wouldn’t you think. Plus an old hipster like me should be doing more Kiss Cam-like stuff because it just so potentially, damned entertaining. I might find the inner stand-up comedian deep in side me that is begging to be released. Salt Lake City….beware this could be the week.
We will have more on the CAC in a day or two. We also hope to have our new website up and running this week and if not I may be taking applications for a new webmaster….only joking….or am I "ribbing on the square"? Time will tell my friends, time will tell. Until then get you some sauce….it’s legal….it’s wellness friendly…. it tastes really good…and it’s healthy.
Boomer Sooner!
J.R.
You bastard