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Post by Calidore on Jul 12, 2021 20:50:36 GMT -5
Wrestling has lost a genuine legend: "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff has passed away at age 71.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 12, 2021 21:28:30 GMT -5
I was lucky that I got to see Orndorff, in his prime, before he went to the WWE. When we got cable, in 1982, it had WTBS and the Saturday World Championship Wrestling (then just the Georgia Championship Wrestling tv show), and Orndorff was on of the top babyfaces, in a program for the National Heavyweight title, with Masked Superstar (Bill "Demolition Axe" Eadie). Orndorff was great, with a captain America physique, great agility and power, able to brawl, mat wrestle, of do "high spots" (for the time). His powerslam was smooth as could be. I was disappointed when he went to the WWF, since the style was less mat oriented and slower (especially with Hogan). For a time, he and Roddy Piper were the top heels, as they expanded nationally and Hogan owed him a lot, in making him look good.
Orndorff was a top running back at the Univ of Tampa and was drafted into the NFL, but failed the physical, and ended up playing a season in the old WFL. After that, he was trained by the Florida office (Championship Wrestling from Florida), including promoter Eddie Graham, Hiro Matsuda, and Bob Backlund. He started out wrestling in Memphis, against a young Jerry Lawler, before moving on to TriState (Oklahoma), before it became Mid-South Wrestling. From there, he had stints in Georgia and a notable run in Mid-Atlantic, where he teamed with Jimmy Snuka in a formidable tag-team, winning the NWA World tag titles, from Baron Von Raschke and Greg Valentine. He then worked in Alabama/Pensacola and then split his time between there and Mid-South, before returning to Georgia for his big run there, trading the National Hwt title and challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World title, on several occasions. He was nicknamed "The Brandon Bull, a carryover from his football days and was scouted by Vince McMahon, who enticed him to come into the WWF in late 1983. He soon became the top in-ring heel (Piper was acting more as a manager, then wrestling on some shows) and faced Hogan in the first Wrestlemania as well as at a Toronto show, that set a Canadian record for the house.
He continued to wrestle in the WWF until 1988, then went into semi-retirement, after nerve damage to his right arm. He was injured lifting weights, but didn't get surgery because he was in the middle of his big money run with Hogan. He retired to manage his properties, including a bowling alley, in Fayetville, GA. The nerve damage made it hard from his to work his right arm, in the gym and it noticeably atrophied. There were even rumors that he had died.
He returned to wrestling for WCW, in 1990. He followed that with a short stint in the infamous Herb Abrams UWF (See the season 2 Dark Side of the Ring episode, from Vice, for more on it), as well as some indies, before working for Jim Cornette's Smokie Mountain promotion, for a short period. He returned to WCW, wrestling with Paul Roma, as Pretty Wonderful, before retiring again in 1995.
Orndorff continued to work as an agent and trainer, at the Power Plant and had a notorious run in with Vader. Orndorff was the agent at the show and needed Vader for either promos or something along those lines, but Vader blew him off. He confronted him and words were exchanged, then Vader tried to get physical with Orndorff and Orndorff decked him and proceed to kick him, wearing nothing but flip-flops and beat the snot out of him, according to most counts (Orndorff always downplayed the incident and Vader denied the story).
In recent years, he suffered throat cancer, but beat it, but suffered from dementia, in recent years and a video, posted by his son, appeared on Youtube, showing him in a pretty bad state.
This is how I like to remember Orndorff, from his Georgia run, against "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer, in a rare tv match. Watch the clinic in mat wrestling....
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Post by commond on Jul 13, 2021 7:54:01 GMT -5
I've always liked Paul Orndorff. He's probably a bit underrated these days. He had a great career. I liked his early stuff in Florida, but I also loved his feud with Hogan and thought his 1990s WCW work was solid veteran stuff. I love that match he had with Cactus Jack and I enjoyed his tag run as well.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 15, 2021 18:41:31 GMT -5
Is Kevin Owens on SMACKDOWN? Will give me another reason to tune it as well as the return of the live audience. Those monitors are creepy.
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Josh
Full Member
Posts: 111
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Post by Josh on Jul 15, 2021 19:12:20 GMT -5
He is, yes.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 16, 2021 21:10:24 GMT -5
OMGosh....seeing K.O. dive off that ladder, from THAT height to destroy Nakamura was worth the whole show. It's from the 2:00 mark in the video below
Glad to see the crowds again....
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2021 15:35:40 GMT -5
Heard Goldberg is coming back to main event in WWE....again....and I have zero interest.
Where. Is. Brock. ?
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Post by Batflunkie on Jul 18, 2021 16:20:56 GMT -5
Heard Goldberg is coming back to main event in WWE....again....and I have zero interest.
Where. Is. Brock. ? I think he went back to UFC or something? He left the first time (according to the WWE Network's Ruthless Aggression documentary) way back in the 00's because he was tired of constantly having to travel everywhere to defend his belt. I'm surprised that when he came back he stayed as long as he did (12-20)
While I like Goldberg, he's a very one-note character
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Post by commond on Jul 18, 2021 17:10:21 GMT -5
Heard Goldberg is coming back to main event in WWE....again....and I have zero interest.
Where. Is. Brock. ? Lesnar's contract expired without them coming to terms on a new deal. He was rumored to appear at SummerSlam, but now the talk is that he will wrestle Reigns at Wrestlemania 38.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 18, 2021 21:49:53 GMT -5
Money In The Bank was Meh......maybe I set my standards too high....
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Josh
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Posts: 111
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Post by Josh on Jul 21, 2021 20:29:29 GMT -5
Can’t believe Nick Gage is going to be wrestling on television next week. I hope he destroys Jericho, even though it’d make no sense.
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Post by codystarbuck on Jul 22, 2021 8:44:26 GMT -5
Can’t believe Nick Gage is going to be wrestling on television next week. I hope he destroys Jericho, even though it’d make no sense. AEW is supposed to make sense? There's half the problem.....
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Josh
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Posts: 111
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Post by Josh on Jul 22, 2021 9:28:04 GMT -5
Yes, we all know you think wrestling died years ago. I’m looking forward to his match with Jericho.
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Post by brutalis on Jul 22, 2021 9:56:59 GMT -5
I take current wrestling as it is and try to enjoy whatever I can from it. The past is gone, there is plenty DVD's I watch for viewing those splendid years of yore. But my ONLY viewing options are on "free" over the air watching or YouTube. So every Friday I relax with my testosterone soap opera Smackdown and try to catch a nit of ROH or MCCL if I can find them.
Loving the heel turn as Head of the Table for Reigns and will be interested seeing how it changes with the USO's now being the tag team champs. Thought it was cool they let Rey/Dominik be champs as the 1st father and son team. Enjoying Cesaro and Nakamura having their sinfles face time in the bright spotlight. Seeing evil Otis literally doing his "squash" matches is crazy fun. The Street Profits are amazing and entertaining as all get out. Big E has been spectacular as a single star and hope his Money in the Bank win pays off big time for him. Tamina/Natalya deserve their title while also deserving better matches than putting others over. Bianca Belair is proving to be a hard working champ taking the good with the bad (Carmella? Really?) in wearing the gold.
Lately much of the true fun is watching the failed moves, screw ups and so plainly fake or missed punching going on. When the Ref can be plainly seen moving a ladder to do the 3 count for Rollins win? Insane. Even Cole has been goofing up the announcing. It is funny and fun all in a 2 hour package.
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Josh
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Post by Josh on Jul 22, 2021 10:19:46 GMT -5
I hope that if Daniel Bryan really is leaving WWE and/or Punk is coming back that at least one of them goes to ROH to make it more attractive to networks so maybe I can finally watch it outside of YouTube clips. But I assume AEW is far more likely for both if they stay in the US.
I admittedly still haven’t been able to get fully into WWE. I think part of that is there is just so much of it (seven hours a week is a lot). That said, Nikki A.S.H. is maybe my favorite gimmick right now and I do like the actual wrestling of a lot of people (Riddle, Styles and Cole come to mind).
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