The Legend of YMJ

A couple months ago, I featured JayHawk Evans with Steven (William) Regal in Friendly Encounters.  Today, I am revealing one of my favorite JayHawk stories, which occurred later in that same night.
JayHawk and I trekked out to Cincinnat (OH) for the Brian Pillman Memorial Show.  Before the night of wrestling, we met several of the wrestlers during the meet-and-greet session.  Then we settled in for a great night of up close action in the small gym.
Near the end of the night, Diamond Dallas Page entered the ring and started to thank everyone and talk about the late Brian Pillman.  In his opening statement, he pointed to JayHawk and proclaimed him to be wearing the best shirt there.  He motioned for JayHawk to stand up, which he did, soaking up a bit of applause.
As evident in the Friendly Encounter post, JayHawk was wearing a Cactus Jack shirt.  (For those unfamiliar with pro wrestling, Cactus Jack was an earlier days in-ring persona of Mick Foley).
I never saw the dvd of that Pillman event.  I don't even know if one exists.  I do know that if there is one, JayHawk is certainly on it!

Diamond Dallas Page in Cincinnati, OH-May 2000.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

Years ago, the Brian Pillman Memorial Show was an annual event to honor the late Brian Pillman and to raise money for the widow Pillman and their children. There was a 'meet and greet' with the wrestlers, followed by a full evening of great matches. JayHawk Evans and I made the trek to Cincinnati to attend the show.
William Regal had finished with his photo-op session, but several fans remained. Regal didn't walk away. Instead, he walked over to us and posed for pictures with anyone who wanted one. That was going above and beyond.
Regal has had an interesting career. He has battled his demons (on and off) and seemingly has overcome them. He has won a bunch of titles, but unfortunately never a world championship in a major organization. Still, he has had a long and successful career and he still is capable of producing excellent matches, great mic work and entertaining skits.

JayHawk Evans and William Regal in Cincinnati, OH-May 2001.

The Never Mets:Nancy Benoit

Nancy Toffoloni was known by several names in wrestling (Fallen Angel, Robin Greene, Woman, Nancy Sullivan and Nancy Benoit). While the name changed, her character was fairly consistent throughout her career.
Nancy's character of 'Woman' was unique for women in the world of pro wrestling. Woman was in charge. Woman did not acquiesce to authority or to men either. Woman was excellent on the mic, but she didn't speak volumes.
Nancy was not a plastic bimbo. She didn't appear to have undergone any surgical age-defying procedures (or at least not much if any). Nancy relied more on a look (or a movement or a few words), instead of her looks to cement her place in wrestling.
I was a fan of hers when I first started watching wrestling. Back in my autograph-collecting days, I tried for years to get a signature from her. At one point, Georgie Makropoulos (from WrestlingFigs.com) sent me a signed Woman photo, when I enlisted her help in my quest.
Years later, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to meet Nancy. JayHawk Evans and I went to two of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows. At one of the shows, Nancy was sick and at the other, her son Daniel was sick. Therefore she missed both shows.
Nancy met her death in the tragic and well-publicized murder-suicide at the hands of husband wrestler Chris Benoit. Nancy had pretty much left the wrestling scene and was seemingly enjoying family life. It was a shocking and sickening story.

Hellena Heavenly is a Real Wrestler

I met Hellena Heavenly at the Pillman Memorial Show in 2001. Actually, we kind of ran into each other in the backstage hallway. After the near-collision, we talked for a couple minutes.
I have lamented in previous posts about the lack of skilled women wrestlers. More specifically, I have rallied against plastic models getting pushed ahead of real women wrestlers. It is a shame. Hellena Heavenly is a real wrestler. She is technically sound.
I am surprised that HH never made it into one of the big wrestling organizations. Usually they bring in skilled women to make their plastic women look better (wrestling-wise) in the ring. In other words, the good ones carry the eye-candy to better matches.
I told her that I appreciated her wrestling skills and hoped that she would get a shot at the big time some day. It's nine years later and HH is probably nearing 40 now. Therefore, unless she makes it as a trainer, I really don't see her getting signed by one of the big boys at this point. Too bad.

Hellena Heavenly and me in Cincinnati, OH-May 2001.

The Franchise:Shane Douglas

Shane Douglas wrestled for several organizations during his 20+ years in the ring. He won many titles, but was never really a main-eventer in the big companies.
Douglas has stated that Ric Flair is partially responsible for holding him back. The two had feuds on and off-screen. Wrestling, like everything else, can be an ugly business and it is hard to tell what really happened.
I met Douglas at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show in Cincinnati (OH). I was a bit surprised with how fan-friendly Douglas was. Douglas took extra time, beyond his assigned time, to meet as many fans as had lined up for him. Not only that, but he was eager and talkative the whole time. That is really going above the norm.
It makes me wonder even more. He had good wrestling skills, was good on the mic and was a hit with the fans. Who knows why some guys really make it and others don't. Douglas has had a fine career, but I am left curious as to why he did not ascend to greater heights.

Shane Douglas and me in Cincinnati, OH-May 2000.

Two Radicalz

Eddie Guerrero came from a wrestling family. Perry Saturn started wrestling after a 4 year stint in the U.S. Army. Their careers intertwined for a while in the later years of WCW and their early time in the WWE.
Wrestlers like Guerrero and Saturn were too often overlooked in the modern era. They lacked the huge (often unnatural) size that many promoters desired. Together with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, they were teamed as the Radicalz upon their entry into the WWE.
After that angle, Guerrero's career seemingly was initially more successful. Guerrero became a champ multiple times, while Saturn stayed at the midcard.
Unfortunately, Guerrero died of heart failure at the young age of 38. As always, there were rumors of steroid abuse, but in Guerrero's case, there was also a history of other drug and alcohol abuse. Guerrero was said to have conquered his demons and was living clean and happily at the time of his death.
Saturn drifted in and out of wrestling and has apparently drifted out of view entirely. Nobody is really sure where he is or what he is doing.
I met the pair at the Pillman Memorial Show many years ago. I rode in an elevator with them and there wasn't much room left for me. Saturn was quiet, but Guerrero was his usual outgoing self. He joked with everyone.

Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and me in Cincinnati, OH-May 2000.

Big Kevin Nash

Before wrestling, Kevin Nash was a good basketball player for the University of Tennessee, helping them reach the Sweet 16 once. Nash briefly played pro ball in Europe, but a torn ACL ended his career.
He eventually found his way into pro wrestling. He has bounced from WCW to WWF to WCW to WWE to TNA, always finding himself at the top of the card. He has enjoyed great success (winning 18 titles).
He was a founding member of the NWO, a groundbreaking group (and angle). Unfortunately, this soured as it was overplayed and became repetitive. Currently, he is a member of the Main Event Mafia, a stable of wrestlers in TNA.
When I met Nash for the first time at the Pillman Memorial Show, he appeared to be a bit 'woozy'. Maybe the wrestlers had a big night out the previous evening.
I have met Nash several times since then and he has always been very friendly. He is open and honest about his career and wrestling in general.

Kevin Nash and me in Cincinnati, OH-May 2000.

A Hardy Boy and a Luchagor

Amy 'Lita' Dumas is a former 4 time WWE Women's champion. Matt Hardy has won many titles in the WWE and is currently in a feud with his brother Jeff. Hardy and Lita were connected in and out of the ring for several years. Dumas is currently retired and involved in her band, the Luchagors.
Their offscreen romance soured when Hardy revealed that Dumas was cheating on him with fellow WWE wrestler Edge. This revelation resulted in Hardy's dismissal, followed by his return, followed by a storyline incorporating the sordid tale. Art imitated life.
I met the pair during happy times. They were appearing at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show. They were happy to chat and clown around a bit with all of their fans. It was less than 8 years ago, but Dumas and Hardy have experienced a lot together and apart in those eight years.

Amy Dumas, Matt Hardy and me in Cincinnati, OH-October 2001.

Torrie Wilson (oh and Billy Kidman, Too)

Torrie Wilson made her wrestling debut in 1999 in the WCW. In 2001, when the WWF (now WWE) bought the WCW, Wilson joined them.
Wilson's tenure in the WWF was marked by silly storylines, usually having her as the arm-candy of a male wrestler (presumably to increase his crowd appeal). Wilson never was allowed to develop any real depth to her character or in-ring ability.
During most of this time, she was dating or married to wrestler Billy Kidman. Kidman was usually a midcard wrestler at best (occasionally winning the Cruiserweight Championship or a Tag-team championship).
I first met the pair in the hotel bar while at the Brian Pillman Memorial Show. Wilson was quiet but very friendly, like most of the wrestlers there. Kidman, on the other hand, was a jerk. He ignored most people, rudely refusing to take pictures or sign autographs.
I understand that everyone is allowed a bad day, especially since this was his own time. However, the next day at the actual event, he wasn't much better. The thought was that he wasn't happy that Wilson was outshining him and his actions did little to convince me otherwise.
In 2007, the couple divorced and Wilson refused to say much about their split. She did maintain that the decision was final and there would be no reconciliation.
After leaving the WWE (with little fanfare), Kidman has mostly wrestled overseas. Last I heard, he was wrestling in an Australian organization.
Wilson is now retired from wrestling. It's just another example of a talented woman not given a real chance and then leaving wrestling (pushed out?) at the magical age of 30+. I could be wrong, but it all seems too coincidental.

Torrie Wilson, Billy Kidman and me in Cincinnati, OH-May 2000.

Copeland and Reso...Edge and Christian

Adam Copeland and Jay Reso have been friends for a long time. They made their professional wrestling debut in the early 90's and won some independent tag titles before signing with the WWF (now WWE) in 1998.
Once in the WWF, the duo became known as Edge and Christian. Originally part of a gothic stable known as the Brood, the duo eventually ventured on their own and started to rise to the top of the tag team ranks. Edge and Christian went on to win the WWF Tag Team Championship 7 times.
Like most tag teams, they eventually split and feuded for a while.
Edge went on to major success in the WWE, winning the tag titles 5 more times (with different partners) and the WWE Championship 4 times and the World Heavyweight Championship 4 times. He is currently one of the major stars on the WWE Smackdown roster.
Christian left the WWE for TNA, where he became a singles champion, winning the Heavyweight Championship twice. Christian recently returned to the WWE and made his redebut on the ECW show.
I met the duo at the Pillman Memorial Event in 2001. This was just before the team split. In retrospect, they seemed so young, but had done so much as a team.
Edge and Christian have succeeded where many have failed. They have switched from a great tag team to excellent singles wrestlers on the rise to greatness.
When I met them, they were extremely funny and outgoing. They were having fun with their fans (or their peeps, as they liked to say).

Edge and Christian and me in Cincinnati, OH-August 2001.

Two Steamboats in Cincinnati

Brian Pillman was a pro wrestler who died at the age of 35. For a few years, the Pillman Memorial event was held in Cincinnati (Pillman's hometown) to raise funds for the widow Pillman and their children. Many wrestlers appeared at the event over the years.
I met Ricky Steamboat at the event in 2000 and 2001. Steamboat is a wrestling legend and a real class act. Even in his career, I don't remember him ever being a 'bad' guy.

Ricky Steamboat and me in Cincinnati, OH-2000 & 2001.