Summer Rae's New Gig & Two Cases Of 'Hammer Time' - Ten Things You May Have Missed In Wrestling This Week

I really need a haircut.

Thanks to the pandemic and the restrictions in place in my part of the world, it has been six months since I've had a trim and I'm currently sporting a barnet that is just a little bit too similar to mid-90's Ric Flair for comfort.

If this continues for another few months, I'm worried I'll end up looking like, I dunno, 1980's Ric Flair.

It's not a major problem, granted, but it's been a quiet week in the wrestling world and I'm writing this not too far from a mirror and finding it hard to focus on anything else.

Despite the lack of major headlines or breaking news, there were still plenty of other entertaining bits and pieces floating about, including an unexpected career change, a burgeoning political campaign and a bunch of other stuff you'd have to look hard to find.

Wooooooooooooooo! 

Uh oh. It's happening...

10. The Summer Of Crypto

WWE.com

Does anyone reading this properly understand cryptocurrency?

No?

Good. Me neither.

Apparently Danielle Moinet, FKA WWE Diva Summer Rae, does, because she has been named the Director of Marketing and Social Engagement for cryptocurrency company Cornerstone Global Management.

According to the press release announcing her appointment, Moinet 'becomes the first known current or former professional female athlete to take an active executive position with a cryptocurrency related company'.

It goes on to further state she 'brings with her a wealth of marketing and ecommerce experience, including a combined 2.7 million followers on Instagram and Twitter. She also has a Business Degree with an emphasis in Marketing from East Carolina University'.

Like I said, I don't really understand all of this Bitcoin business but, if my limited understanding is correct, Summer Rae will more than likely be a billionaire by Christmas.

9. Al Snow Talks JOB Squad

WWE.com

Being the leader of the JOB Squad probably isn't the highlight of Al Snow's long career.

Or maybe it is? It's not like I've actually asked him or anything...

Well, I'm sure he doesn't look at it as his greatest achievement or anything, but the story of its formation is actually quite interesting, as the former Hardcore and European Champion outlined to The Wrestling Inc. Daily:

"The JOB Squad started out as me just being a smart aleck. In catering one day, I was with Jim Cornette and a bunch of the guys. It was during the time when they were all having gangs. Undertaker had a gang. Everybody had a gang. It got to the point where real life basically copied art, in that in the locker room guys started dividing themselves into groups. You had the Kliq at that time, and everybody was very resentful and jealous of the Kliq because they pretty much ran WWF at that time.

There were some people that kind of lost touch with the business, in that when they won they felt like they really won. You kind of forgot the etiquette and respect that’s in the wrestling business. The real reason behind why we shake each other’s hands. They thought that when they won, they really won, and I just found that absurd. I was so frustrated with it. 

Sitting there with Cornette, you know, I proclaimed I was going to form my own gang. Aldo Montoya (Justin Credible), Chris Candido, Barry Horowitz, myself. It was like five or six guys. He was like, ‘That’s ridiculous’. And I said, ‘Yeah, I know, and we’re going to call ourselves the JOB Squad’”.

It may have started out as a joke borne out of frustration but, despite being on the losing side more often than not, the JOB Squad was a hit when it came to merchandise:

"It started out like that, but then the guys in ECW, when I had quit WWE and went to ECW as a loaner, meaning loaned to ECW not a loner by myself, the guys there thought it was great. They kept insisting, ‘Oh, you got to make t-shirts. You got to make t-shirts'.

I wanted to be the antithesis of the most popular thing at the time, what was getting pushed the most, which was the nWo. I made the very opposite of what you think would sell: a white t-shirt and made the JOB Squad logo similar to the nWo, and then put 1-2-3 4-Life on the back, ‘pin me, pay me’ with a chalk outline. It went crazy. All the boys wanted one. 

At the ECW events, this was in the infancy of the internet, thanks to Jeff Jones who was an amazing guy. Jeff set me up with an internet website and stickers and all this stuff so people could order. It just went crazy. I sold probably more than three thousand shirts from May to October of that year, for 25 bucks a shirt back then.

Road Dogg really helped when he wore a ‘Property of JOB Squad’ t-shirt out on RAW. He somehow wore it out there. People saw it and it went even crazier. It was a fun and great time. I was very blessed it went the way that it did”.

8. Lex Luger Is Back On His Feet

WWE.com

Some nice news now to report about Lex Luger, who has been wheelchair-bound or unable to stand without the help of a cane for years after suffering a spinal stroke.

Missy Hyatt - who worked with Luger in WCW - tweeted a picture of her standing next to the Total Package at a fan convention, writing "I'm glad @GenuineLexLuger is now able to stand up. Super gentleman with me in recent years".

Given everything Lex has been through in recent times, it's great to see his physical condition is improving.

Speaking of Luger, he was also in the news this week, discussing his WrestleMania IX match with Mr. Perfect and his failure to win the WWE Title (as many expected he would) at SummerSlam 1993.

The guest of Sean 'X-Pac' Waltman on the Pro Wrestling 4-Life podcast, Luger explained that his match with Perfect was a letdown because Curt Hennig completely blanked at the start of the match:

"Once in a while, too much caffeine or whatever, and he would get in there and be like, ‘What are we doing?  What are we doing?’. Man, I was sitting around that day, my WrestleMania debut, Caesar’s Palace. I was back there with my legs crossed. I got Curt Hennig to lead me through this match. He’s going to make me look like a million bucks.  

I got in the ring. I didn’t really think about anything we talked about in the back because Curt is going to talk me through this. He’s going to lead me right through. He got in there and locked up. I knew he was a guy that did a lot of ribs. I thought when we locked up initially that he was ribbing me. He did that, ‘What are we going to do? What are we doing?’. I thought, oh, come on. I had to try to call the match.

I didn’t put the time and energy that I normally would have if I was playing more of a role in either leading the match or knowing a lot of the spots, because I thought Curt was going to call everything, because in the back, he said, ‘I got this. Don’t worry. I’ll lead you right through it’. He completely blanked out. He was totally apologetic afterwards. He said, ‘Man, I’m so sorry.’ We probably didn’t have as good a match as you would have if Curt was where we normally would be at as far as knowing all the spots. 

I was calling it on the fly. I wasn’t the greatest. I learned how to call a match from Ricky Steamboat before I came to WWF. I was always led by Flair and told everything to do in the ring. Lex, just do this and flex a lot and bounce those pecs. That was nerve wracking in my debut at WrestleMania with Mr. Perfect and I had to call the match. But, Curt was such a great guy. He was such a talent and such a fun guy to be around. He was totally apologetic. I said, ‘Don’t apologise. We got through it just fine Curt'". 

On his famous countout win (that felt like a loss) over Yokozuna at SummerSlam '93, Luger explained that Vince McMahon wanted him to be crowned WWE Champion at WrestleMania X instead, something that also didn't end up happening:

"With that big a buildup, as a babyface, you almost have to come through or it let’s all the air out of your tires, literally, on The Lex Express. I enjoyed the opportunity, obviously, and it was a great promotion, but a lot of people thought it might have been more beneficial that if you still go with Yoko, you have the babyface win and have Yoko win it right back or something might have been good.  

In defense of Vince and the decision makers at the time, you know how much the Garden meant to Vince?  Madison Square Garden. He used to stand at the curtain the whole time. Vince told me, and he never promised me the title, and Vince and I had a great relationship, but Vince said, ‘If I want to put the title on you, rather than do it at SummerSlam, I would rather wait and do it at WrestleMania X at Madison Square Garden'. He had that in his head, that if you’re going to be my guy and I’m going to put the belt on you as a babyface and give you a run with it, I would rather do it in the Garden.  

Then things happened after that and they put it on Bret, who was a great champion at the time, so it didn’t work out. But, why did they not give me the belt? That really was Vince’s thinking that he will get everything revved back up for WrestleMania and what a way to coronate Lex as my champion if that’s the way we decide to go in WrestleMania X".

7. The Duality Of Man (And Their Powerbombs)

WWE.com

Loveable WWE referee Charles Robinson tweeted out an interesting video this week.

In it, he showed two clips of separated powerbombs he took in WCW. One was from Sid and the other was from Kevin Nash.

As you can see in the video, The Master and Ruler of the World was a little careless with Lil' Naitch, while Big Sexy ensured the official had a safe landing.

Robinson accompanied the video with the message:

"Power Bomb City! You never know where or how you will land! Thanks @RealKevinNash for my soft landing. The other guy not so much! Hard to believe I made it to @WWE after this in #wcw!"

Between that and Randy Savage collapsing his lung with a flying elbow, Robinson really was put through the wringer by that company.

6. McAfee Meets McMahon

WWE.com

Pat McAfee is the new man at the SmackDown announce table, having recently signed on to be a colour commentator for the blue brand.

Though he made his debut a few weeks ago, he only recently got to meet his boss.

Speaking on his radio show, McAfee recounted the brief but memorable encounter:

“I’ve always heard Vince [give] a firm handshake. I was told by a couple of people, ‘hey, when he’s talking, don’t feel obligated to nod because there’s a chance he’ll think you’re not even paying attention. He is 100% invested in you’ when he’s having this conversation…Michael Cole and I go to meet him before we go on the air.

After waiting 15 minutes, I go in and he looks awesome. Swagged out. Great fit, standing up at the time. He goes, ‘Pat’. I’m coming in, ‘Vince’. Good shake,  good pass, great web to web, great eye contact. I go, ‘I know you don’t like to be complimented but I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank you…'. Definitely a kiss a** moment, but also something I wanted him to know. 

He told me a couple of things, made fun of Cole, kinda buried Cole. I go with a fist bump back, I didn’t know if he’s a fist bump guy. Good pop, laugh, walkout, the whole thing was 45 seconds to a minute". 

Of course he buried Michael Cole. Of course he did.

5. The Hammer Stops Here

WWE.com

Wrestlers refusing to lose to other wrestlers is not a new thing and there are many well-documented examples of high-profile stars refusing to put over others for one reason or another.

Greg Valentine quitting WCW in protest of being asked to do the job for Sting (of all people) at a WCW television taping in 1992, however, is odd.

Granted, The Hammer was a veteran and had been a major player in years gone by, but his career was definitely on a downswing in this era and Sting was one of the faces of the company and a genuine main event star.

As Valentine told Title Match Wrestling:

"I started out really well there, but then Cowboy Bill Watts came in as the booker.

"He wanted me to do a job for Sting on television, and I go, ‘I don’t do jobs unless there’s something in there for me. If I can beat him up next week or drop him afterwards if there’s something for me… I’m just gonna go out there like a jabroni and put this guy over?'". 

Despite being a big star and well respected by his peers for his work in the ring and attitude backstage, surly Greg didn't see what all the fuss was about when it came to the man in the bright face paint.

"I didn’t think he was that hot, big [of] a deal anyway, and I still don’t. I’m not a Sting fan. Nice guy but, you know, I refused to do the job and I walked out". 

Greg Valentine spent the next several years bouncing around various organisations, mostly on the independent level, and was never given a prolonged, featured role in a national promotion again.

Boy, he sure showed them, didn't he?

4. Vote Wippleman

WWE.com

Another wrestling personality is getting into politics and, hopefully, it won't be in the gun-toting manner of Dan Rodimer.

Former WWE manager Harvey Wippleman's name will be on the ballot (it'll actually be his real name Bruno Lauer) when he runs for office in his hometown of Walls, Mississippi.

Bruno will be going for the Board of Alderman position. His campaign flyer features a picture of him standing next to pal Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. The Hollywood movie star bought Lauer a new car in December as a 'thank you' for helping him early in his career.

The election takes place on June 8.

Do you reckon if things go well that his buddy Dwayne will chose him as Vice-President after he is inevitably elected to the White House in a few years?

3. Edge Apologises

WWE.com

Edge's 2002 feud and series of matches with Kurt Angle did much for the career of the wrestler who was trying to break out on his own after breaking up with tag partner Christian.

Their in-ring meetings were customarily excellent, but both men shone in promos and backstage segments, too.

It also gave birth to the 'You Suck' chants aimed at the Olympic Hero and which followed him his entire career.

In a post on Instagram, Angle 'thanked' the Rated-R Superstar by sharing a clip of a segment from SmackDown where Edge had replaced Kurt's new t-shirt with one baring those infamous two words.

Angle captioned the clip 'How the “You Suck” chants started. Thanks a lot Edge #itstrue'.

Edge, to his credit, apologised in the comments while taking a shot at his own early millennium fashion faux pas, writing 'Sorry Kurt. Love you. Makes you feel any better I’m wearing pleather pants and a wet spandex button up".

2. Don't Poke The Mayor!

WWE.com

Gerald Brisoc recently underwent successful knee replacement surgery and is on the mend.

His appetite returned after the op, and so too did his sense of humour, as he first tweeted about wanting to keep his old knee, but the doctor refused, leading him to ask his followers to keep an eye for it showing up on eBay.

The Stooge got in a good line after when he wrote: 'My knee just gonna [be] replaced by a fake one. Now I know how Razor and Diesel felt. Sorry guys'.

Glenn Jacobs, the man who portrayed the awful fake version of Big Daddy Cool before finding success as Kane, replied with a simple yet ominous 'Not cool, Gerry. Not cool at all'.

The Mayor of Knox County can become The Big Red Machine at any moment, Brisco. You have been warned.

1. This Is The Way Naomi Rolls

WWE.com

It may have happened thirty-something years too late, but the world finally has its MC Hammer/WWE crossover.

The rapper took to Twitter to rather randomly sing the praises of Naomi, posting a clip of highlights of her match against Alexa Bliss at Elimination Chamber 2017 with the caption 'Don't hurt'em!!!', following it up by telling the former SmackDown Women's Champion that she had 'elite skills'.

I think we all know who was behind the #givenaomiachance movement now, don't we?

Naomi herself was appreciative of the love from the man behind U Can't Touch This, replying:

'Hamma’! Sir! I’m such a fan!!!! I watched “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” on repeat ‘til my vhs popped, met you at a dance competition when I was younger (hoping my mom can find that pic) and wanted to be a 357 girl lol thank you for the love and inspiration'.

I know just how she feels. When I was little, I used to dance around my grandmother's living room to a VHS compilation of Michael Jackson music videos. 

It's not great, is it?

Anyway, MC Hammer might be Too Legit to Quit but I'm not.

Goodbye!