Welcome to another edition of the Professional 3 HERE on 411mania.com. I'm Jon Harder and I hope this edition of the P3 invokes conversation as my other columns have as well. It's great to see this column bring positive looks at wrestling's past instead of utitlizing a negative perspective at what I write. 

There is one item I definitely wanted to discuss. In a lot of the comments, I've seen a repeated question asked about whether or not the 3 topics I list in my columns are in any particular order. The answer is surprisingly NO. When I write my columns, I normally get a vision in my mind of what to write about and whenever I decide to go into the next number, I just throw it in. My goal isn't to necessarily list things in order, but to mention them in my own collected manner. Hopefully, this clears up the confusion. If nothing else, I've probably confused you more. Either way, good grief. 

Before I go any further into the P3, I wanted to invite you all to check out this week's Hardway Podcast on TheJonHarder.com, as I bring THIS IS YOUR LIFE, GOOD NEWS HUGHES! to the table. Trust me, this is an episode that should be listened to. This is STANDARD Hardway material.  

Also, the Hardway Podcast will have a table at WrestleCon April 6 and 7 in Secacus, NJ at the convention. We have so much going on and if you read this column or listen to the Hardway, stop on by and say Hello. Your support is endless and it would be awesome to see some of your guys say Hello. We have a lot of activites that will be happening around our table, including a LIVE Hardway with 1/2 of the NYWC Tag Team Champions Bill Carr, so come on down to WrestleCon and check out the Hardway Podcast! 

Now then, when it comes to pro wrestling for me, I feel as if it has inspired me in a totally different way than other people. Growing up, pro wrestling has practically molded my life. Having a tough childhood and not a lot of real happiness inside it, watching wrestling was my escape. The characters, the stories, and the matches especially were a work of art to me. Utitlizing my passion, I watched everything I could get my hands on. Wrestling truly was a venture out to where the most incredible athletes could dominate and tell an amazing story in the ring. 

Thank God for me, I had the opportunity to enjoy the plethora of mainstream wrestling in the 1990s with WWF, WCW, and ECW. Seriously, there was so much wrestling that I had to scour through. It truly was an amazing time to be a wrestling fan. And surprisingly, it was these years of wrestling that molded me into what I prefer today in this great sport. But out of all the matches that developed into my love of unique wrestling, it was these three in particular that did the trick.

Part of me wanted to add this little nugget to the list...

But I felt I needed to be a little serious with my choices this week. On a side note, I was a Max Moon fan for the times I read about him in PWI back in 1992 and 1993. The Repo Man, well, at seven years old, renting WrestleMania 8 from Video Vault, was comedy fodder, especially when Big Boss Man popped him in the junk and was called a thing with no genitalia by Ray Combs from Family Feud. Regardless, it was a fun little match.

1) Michninoku Pro 6-Man Tag: ECW Barely Legal, April 13, 1997 

In 1997, my father had a VHS of the first-ever ECW pay-per-view. Until 1997, my only real ECW exposure was watching stuttering Buh Buh Ray Dudley dance with the Public Enemy off ECW TV back in 1995. However, once my eyes were laid on this pay-per-view and I was HOOKED. Barely Legal had EVERYTHING thrown together in one. Brawling, technicalism, a grudge-match of the century, and drama were the order of the day, but the final piece was state-of-the-art wrestling. The six-man tag with the guys from Michinoku Pro really caught my eye. High-flying, cool costumes, and the Blue World Order. Just seeing the Great Sasuke was incredible. Ultimately, this match got me extremely interested in ECW and Japanese wrestling as a whole. More importantly, this high caliber match might possibly have been the kickstarter of the fast-speed wrestling you see today on the independent circuit.

2) Intercontinental Championship: "Macho Man" Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WrestleMania 3, March 29, 1987 

Now, although this match was before my time, I first viewed this match in 1993 on my dad's beta-max player. Yes, my old man had WrestleMania 3 on Beta. The Macho Man and the Dragon put on one Hell of a show that day. So much passion and drama built into the match. I didn't realize then, but now I know that this match truly inspired my love for the story of a match. It had everything. It was fast-paced, it had drama, and it had George "the Animal" Steele. Most of all though, it had me hooked. So many incredible pinfall attempts and counters. In front of 93000 people, Randy Savage and Ricky Steamboat had the PERFECT match. The Intercontinental championship became a true WRESTLING championship to me from that point. This match still holds up and most importantly, STILL rules.

3) Broad Street Bully Match for the WCW Tag Team championships: Cactus Jack and Kevin Sullivan vs the Nasty Boys - WCW Slamboree, May 22, 1994 

I remember this as my first ever LIVE pay-per-view experience. My parents ordered this event for me back in 1994 and I loved everything about Slamboree. Johnny B. Badd vs Stunning Steve, Lord Steven Regal vs Larry Zbyszko (NOTE: That three match series for the WCW Television championship is an epic series and is a MUST WATCH), and Sting vs Vader was on the show, but it was this match that woke me up to hardcore wrestling. At the time, I thought Cactus Jack was insane. This match didn't change my opinion. With former Philadelphia Flyer Dave Schultz as the referee, I just remember watching in awe on how nuts this match was. After ten minutes of barbaric action, Cactus and Kevin Sullivan won the WCW Tag Team belts. Three seconds later, Cactus let out the loudest, most awkward scream of all time and instantly had me rolling on the floor. To this day, I burst out laughing on how out of place that was. Regardless, this match showed me that Mick Foley was tough as nails and someone very different. 

Though I definitely watched a thousand different matches over my lifetime, none were as important as these three. They took my breath away then and still do to this day. What are your three all-time favorite matches that molded you into a wrestling fan? These were mine and hopefully, you get a kick out of them too.

Thanks for reading the Professional 3. If you come to WrestleCon, stop by the Hardway Podcast table and tell me your thoughts of the column. Have a good one.

Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
@TheJonHarder

Welcome to the fifth installment of the Professional 3 here on 411mania.com! I'm Jon Harder and I've really appreciated all the positive and negative feedback I've received towards the P3. On a side note, after last week's Jack Tunney column, "irrehensible" will never be used in one of my columns. Too much controversy revolved around that word, especially with a discussion with my girlfriend and I. Bottom line, you guys were right and I was wrong.

Before we go any further, please check out this week's Hardway Podcast on TheJonHarder.com, as Good News Hughes and myself host the State of the Hardway Address, which is a lead in for WrestleCon and a live interview there with former WWE developmental contracted competitor Bill Carr. Also, we want everyone to be ready for next week's episode, THIS IS YOUR LIFE, GOOD NEWS HUGHES! For more information on how you guys can be involved with this particular episode, check out http://bit.ly/TimLife to get involved. We want ALL the "praise" in the world for the Last Survivor of Old School.


Now, we are DEFINITELY in WrestleMania season. People are talking about the greatest and worst WrestleMania moments of all time. Certain people have discussed WrestleMania's top 3 opening matches. (AHEM). Regardless, people are going back and into the archives to check out WrestleManias of old. However, there was one match from WrestleMania's past that truly caught my eye. A match that was literally a blip on the radar at the second of two back-to-back WrestleManias in Atlantic City, WrestleMania V. Right before the Mega Powers Exploded, Bobby "the Brain" Heenan, wrestling's greatest manager, faced off with the one...the only...RED ROOSTER.

After that short of a match and what ultimately came down to fruition with the legendary bird based character, I have to say it: I HATED THE RED ROOSTER. Terry Taylor literally showed no passion for that character during the Rock-N-Wrestling Era. Even if it wasn't the greatest of characters, there could have been more passion behind the Red Rooster. The Rooster should have been snuffed out immediately. Surprisingly, after that 30 second contest, I started to laugh and think about the Professional Taxidermy Company.

Leon St. Giovanni and I, in Inter Species Wrestling, are taxidermists. While LSG is the hunter and gatherer of the crew, I am the Nigel Thornberry, the one who looks for rare game and in search of a victory. We implore the Snuff 'Em -N- Stuff 'Em strategy. It has worked in the past, and most definitely in the future, it will work for us in bigger and badder ways.

Yes, that is what my life has come down to.

Despite my rant, I immediately started to think about what would happen if the Taxidermists were able to exterminate the Red Rooster from the WWF in 1989. We probably would have saved Terry Taylor's career for starters. In fact, dare I say, LSG and I would be heroes to the WWF audience back then. Better yet, there could have been a plethora of animal based characters all over wrestling that we could have exterminated once and for all...

Which leads to this week's Professional 3. This week, I have taken the time to go back into the annuls of the crazy and daring gimmicks of yesteryear and find out what animal based characters existed. I then decided on my least favorite ones and use them in this week's P3. So without further adieu...

1) BATTLE KAT

Brady Boone was a journeyman in the world of professional wrestling, working primarily as an underneath wrestling in the WWF in the late 1980s, until he received his big break in 1990. Trying to match the great success of Tiger Mask in Japan, Brady Boone became Battle Kat, a high flying athlete underneath a unique costume. The topper: a furry cat mask. I'll be completely honest: I dug Battle Kat as a kid. He was much different than all of the other WWF Superstars in 1990. He could fly, do cool moves, and wear a mask. However, despite being undefeated, Battle Kat lost the last of his nine lives and was released in 1991. Sad, but sometimes, that's the way it works sometimes. Brady Boone was a talented competitor, but Battle Kat just didn't pan out the way it should have.

2) YELLOW DOG

After SuperBrawl 1 in 1991, Brian Pillman lost a Loser Leaves WCW match against Barry Windham and was forced to never be seen again. Approximately a few weeks later, a man who a similar body type and style to Flyin' Brian made his WCW debut...the Yellow Dog. Fighting out of the Kennel Club, the Dog was accompanied to ringside by...a yellow dog named Man's Best Friend. Crazy as it sounds, it was. The Yellow Dog was one of Jim Herd's failed attempts to create a gimmick in his reign at WCW. The Dog was ultimately euthanized and what seemed like literally the next day, Flyin' Brian returned to WCW. There are just some ideas you can't make up. At least he wasn't this one.

3) GOBBLEDY GOOKER

What more can you say? The biggest bust in wrestling history. After hyping up for months that a giant egg was going to hatch at the 1990 WWF Survivor Series, fans bared witness to the hatching...of a turkey. The Gobbledy Gooker was born at Survivor Series and unleashed a reign of terror onto the WWF...for about 10 minutes. The Gooker disappeared but always lived on in infamy. WrestleCrap named its yearly awards after the Gooker. Mean Gene made fun of the incident at his 2006 Hall of Fame induction speech. So much mockery as taken place because of this character; however, there are two notes that have never been discussed about the Gooker.

1) The original idea was for the Gobbledy Gooker to be the official mascot of the Survivor Series from that point on.

2) IT MADE SENSE. A bird hatched from an egg. Come on, at least it wasn't a swerve.

Now, those are my personal WORST animal based characters. But before I close it out, what was my favorite of all time?

TERRIBLE TED THE GRIZZLY BEAR

Yes, I know it was an actual animal, but it was established as an actual wrestler. IT WORKED THE TERRITORIES! Georgia, New York, San Francisco, and most notably, Stampede Wrestling. Bret Hart has told stories about the bear licking the feet of the Hart children when Ted lived in the basement of Hart House. Most importantly, Terrible Ted was exciting for the fans who wanted to see something different and entertaining. Things like this are missing nowadays in the sport i.e. the carny feel. This was something that was a special attraction and would really strike a local fan as a MUST SEE event. Terrible Ted was one of a kind and he really made the most of his career.

Columns like this make me love wrestling, both the good AND the bad. See you next week.

Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
@TheJonHarder

Welcome to the third edition of the Professional 3 here on 411mania.com! I'm Jon Harder and trust me when I say; I've truly enjoyed putting together the first few columns thus far. After viewing the comments, I've seen that I've invoked more positive than outright negative feedback and that, as a columnist, means a lot to me. Keep on bringing the positive vibes to the P3, as I hope my unique views inspire you to think outside the box.

Sadly this week, the wrestling business lost one of its greatest ambassadors in William Moody, better known as Paul Bearer. As a wrestling manager to Leon St. Giovanni on the independent circuit, Paul Bearer's work has been an influence, especially to guys like me. The greatest footnote to Paul Bearer's career, besides thriving in World Class as Percy Pringle the 3rd in the 1980s, was the amazing ability that poured out of him. Most importantly, Paul Bearer proved that he was the greatest fan favorite manager in the history of the wrestling business, even more so than Arnold Skaaland in the 1970s and early 1980s. His influence will be greatly missed.

On a positive note, this week on the Hardway Podcast, I interviewed DJ Hyde, owner of CZW. If you want to hear someone go on a great rant on how much passion one man has for his product, then this is the listen for you. Also, I announced that at WrestleCon, former WWE developmental talent and 1/2 of the NYWC Tag Team champions Bill Carr will be at the Hardway Podcast table on April 6 to do a live interview with myself and Good News Hughes. It definitely will be a fun time, especially with WrestleMania weekend looming overhead the tri-state area.

WrestleMania is definitely the inspiration behind this week's Professional 3. Over the past 29 years, this one particular event has overtaken the majority of the combatants' aspirations in the game. Almost every single person in this sport wants their "WrestleMania moment" on that grandest stage. Everyone dreams of slamming Andre the Giant in front of 93000 fans or dropping their finishing maneuver to win the World championship or even ending the Undertaker's streak. WrestleMania is a life long’s ambition.

To make it to WrestleMania is a wrestler's dream. But, when it comes to the card itself, you have to place the pieces in the right places to make the perfect show. Whether it's a booking committee or a booker in general, the Showcase of the Immortals needs to be PITCH PERFECT in its delivery. If not, then, in a lot of fans' minds, it will be a flop. It's all about match placement. And that is where's the Professional 3 comes into play.

My column this week is based around the best opening matches in WrestleMania history. The opener truly jumpstarts the show. Some people might not understand the concept of how important an opener is. If the first match kills the crowd, it will be take a Hell of a lot to build them back up again, If you have a hot crowd and a hell of an opener, then the audience will have become emotionally invested into the show instead of zoning out and calming down off the emotional frenzy of the awesome National Anthem and video package. The opening match means everything to a major event. With that said, here is this week's column...

WrestleMania 7 is primarily known for 3 things: The start of the Undertaker's streak by defeating "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, the Ultimate Warrior ending the career of Macho King Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan winning the WWF championship for a third time, defeating Sgt. Slaughter. However, this opening tag team contest told a fantastic story to fire up the insanely hot crowd in Los Angeles. Shawn Michaels and Marty Janetty showed why they were tag team specialists with excellent double team maneuvers, yet the two representatives of the Heenan Family held their own with power moves and vast experience. The combined love of the pretty boy Rockers and the immense hatred of Bobby "the Brain" Heenan made this an easy opening contest for the Stars and Stripes WrestleMania and quite possibly, the best tag team opener in WrestleMania history.

With WrestleMania making its return to Detroit, 20 years after Hogan/Andre in the Pontiac Silverdome, Ford Field knew they were going to get an amazing show with the WWE "All Grown Up". They got it in the 3rd Annual Money in the Bank ladder match. Established in 2005 at WrestleMania 21, the Money in the Bank stole the show at both WrestleManias prior. However, with the 2007 installment, you can arguably say that this one match was LOADED with star-power. Combined with the interweaving stories going into WrestleMania 23, this match had show-stealer written all over it. And indeed, show-stealing it was.

Edge, who was the annoying pest going into the match, by browbeating EVERYBODY, ultimately got his comeuppance by Jeff Hardy, who was doing interviews prior to the show stating that he wanted to make an impact. Finlay, who was afraid to heights, utilized his leprechaun (later son) Hornswoggle to climb for him. King Booker sacrificed his possible championship dreams for his Queen, who was used for bait to possibly be nailed with a Twist of Fate by Matt Hardy. Randy Orton was still a few months off from finding his niche as a sadistic head-punting maniac. Finally, CM Punk, a scrappy underdog from ECW, and Mr. Kennedy, who was far and away "the Fastest Rising Star on Smackdown" fought it out in the end to determine who would be a guaranteed World championship match. Bottom line, this match had a little bit of everything and most importantly, was one of the most phenomenal openers in WrestleMania history.

Should I say more? It was the 10th WrestleMania. It was held in Madison Square Garden, the place where WrestleMania began. Bret Hart, who later in the night would go on to win the WWF championship from Yokozuna, wrestled his baby brother, Owen in the opening contest, due to losing the coin-flip on Raw, which was caused by the duel-victory from the 1994 Royal Rumble with Lex Luger. Owen, who turned his back on Bret after months of pent-up jealousy, needed a spark to make his name as synonymous with his older brother. WrestleMania 10 was a special moment of time and place for both brothers as they put on a wrestling clinic in the first match on the card. A dazzling display of holds and counter holds were on the marquee between these two products of Stu Hart's Dungeon. Folks, a boatload of wrestling fans state that this particular contest is the greatest opener in WrestleMania history. This is one match that can be a considered a MUST-SEE viewing for any fan that loves this industry.

I had to add this. Any match that adds Sam Houston, Dangerous Danny Davis, the Bolsheviks, and Hillbilly Jim gets an automatic view on my part. The WrestleMania 4 Battle Royal, in which the winner would receive a HUGE trophy, opened up the show in Atlantic City. A fun viewing for all different types of wrestling fans alike. NOTE: This was the match that actually turned Bret Hart into a popular athlete on the mainstream scene. Bottom line, an enjoyable contest to kick off the LONG WrestleMania 4 WWF Championship tournament.

The opening match sets the pace for a big event. WrestleMania is the most viewed wrestling pay-per-view of the year. If you can make an impact on the first match of a wrestling extravaganza, then you can make it anywhere in wrestling. I can't wait for WrestleMania in MetLife Stadium this year. More importantly, I'm stoked to see what match kicks things off. It could really set the pace for the most important show in wrestling history.

Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
@TheJonHarder

Fandango has had vignettes on television for the past few months, with the gist of him being a ballroom dancer with a smug attitude. Basically, just by looking at him, you want to punch him in the face. Almost immediately, the majority of the internet responded with how awful Fandango will be as a character. They see Fandango not clicking with the audience and just not working in general within the WWE Universe.

Fandango already has you hooked. With the hate surrounding him BEFORE his television debut, the gimmick will work. Johnny Curtis is a made-man for years to come. This is picture-perfect for a wrestler trying to make his name.

However, for some wrestlers, they can’t just seem to gain a break with certain characters they are given. One in particular never got the respect he deserved as an in-ring competitor, despite the multiple gimmicks he was given and how hard he tried to make them work. This week in the Professional 3, I am here to give exposure to a man who more than deserved his fair. Ladies and gentlemen…

First things first, I absolutely have to say I was a huge fan, believe it or not, of Brad Armstrong growing up. I have followed Brad since 1992, when inside my father's WCW Magazine; there was a picture of Brad with Rick Steiner, celebrating backstage when Brad became WCW Light Heavyweight champion on July 5, 1992. Granted, I was intrigued more over the cool championship Brad had, but regardless, I instantly became a fan of Brad Armstrong just from one picture.

Despite the crispness Brad had in the squared circle for a 20-plus year career, Brad wasn't given the props he truly deserved. Although he was a WCW Light Heavyweight champion and had the respect of all the wrestlers in the locker room for being a solid technician, Brad always gets the vastly underrated label from a lot of fans. After putting a lot of thought into possibly why, it hit me suddenly like a flash in the night: he always got saddled with an awful gimmick in his exposure for television.

Even before his Light Heavyweight championship run in the summer of '92, Brad had received some absolutely ludicrous characters by the WCW booking committee. Even worse, his final two years before WCW closed were not any better in the character department. An impossible list of characters were given to Brad, and yet, he did his damnedest to make it work.

Here's the deal with wrestling when it comes to making it in this crazy sport: Sometimes you have to work with what you're given. Wrestlers are not always a fan of what characters they are forced to play, but to pay the bills and to get mainstream recognition, you make the most of what you are given. Trust me when I say, Brad definitely attempted to do his best with what he was given.

This week in the Professional 3, I am here to list, in my opinion, the Top 3 Brad Armstrong Gimmicks. I had a lot of fun researching the majority of these characters, and it's an honor and a privilege to give my take on these three.

At SuperBrawl 1 in 1991, the opening match saw the Fabulous Freebirds face off with the Young Pistols for the vacant WCW United States Tag Team Championships. Earlier in the match, Brad made the save for the Young Pistols due to the early interference from Diamond Dallas Page and Big Daddy Dink. However, later on, when the Freebirds were about to lose to Steve and Tracy, a masked bird with feathers galore ran into the ring and delivered two separate flying DDTs to the Pistols, costing them the match and giving Michael "PS" Hayes and Jimmy "Jam" Garvin the WCW US Tag Team championships! There was a lot of speculation on who Fantasia was back in the day, but years later, it came out that Brad Armstrong was the masked Freebird! Although the name was changed to Badstreet, due to possible legal action from Disney via the movie they released under the same name, the gimmick never really lasted in WCW. The biggest moment for Badstreet during the 6 months he was around was winning the largely forgotten WCW Six-Man Tag Team Championships in the summer of 1991, in what was the last gasp of the Fabulous Freebirds in the world of wrestling. It just didn't work.

Oh you didn't know? It's he, it's he, it's the B-U-DOUBLE Z! In 1999, just as the Powers-That-Be started taking over WCW, Brad was called into the mysterious Dr. Claw type figure's office, and was told to find a gimmick. Confused and conflicted for weeks, Brad came up with BUZZ KILL, a burned-out hippie rocking tie-dye, blue jeans and dreadlocks. Realistically, it was a take-off and a carbon copy of the Road Dogg. Unbeknownst to the majority of wrestling fans, the Road Dogg and Brad Armstrong were brothers. And perhaps to the internet fan base, Buzz Kill was an inside joke to the brothers. However, the WCW audience did not take lightly to the Buzz Kill character, as copied Road Dogg down to a T, even including theme music and catch-phrases. Sadly, this was the last gimmick Brad had in WCW, as he was hit by a vehicle driven by Juventeud Guerrera and Psychosis, causing him serious knee surgery and staying out of the company until it was sold to WWE in 2001. On the bright side, at least Brad wasn't hit with a Mexicool lawnmower. Too soon?

My personal favorite! Arachniman debuted in the winter of 1991 as a web-slinging crusader to save the world from the injustice of rule breaking wrestlers. Shooting webs from his hands, the blue-and-gold in-ring dynamo stood tall for the common man, defending the honor of the WCW promotion. To a 6-year-old ME growing up, this was AWESOME. To me looking back now...it was a big time, blatant rip-off. Down to the spider on his full-body costume, Arachniman was just a second-rate Spider Man. Although he did some nifty moves in the ring, Marvel Comics' legal team shut down Brad as Arachniman quicker than Peter Parker switching into his superhero alter-ego outfit. I look back now and am disgusted that Arachniman never got his due. He was the prototype for what the Hurricane and Super Eric became in this crazy business. Sad, but it was awesome while it lasted.

I went looking for some Candyman footage from 1990, in which Brad played the Candyman, a fan-favorite who handed out candy to the crowd. Trust me, if I ever received candy from the Candyman, he would have been my all-time favorite wrestler. Sadly, there is no real footage on YouTube of the Candyman in action. HOWEVER, after some die-hard nerd searching online, I have uncovered the Candyman's theme song for you all here today. After listening to it, just like many of WCW theme songs, it is a cover of a popular song from the 1980s. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes cover for the Candyman? HOW DID THIS NOT LAST?

Now, I bet a few might be asking, "Why aren't you covering Brad Armstrong's gimmick in the No Limit Soldiers from WCW in 1999?" Bottom line, that wasn't entertaining enough to put in this column. Not because of Brad, but because Master P is the worst rapper of all time, and the fact that "Hooty Hoo" was a hit to the youth of this country and worth a WCW contract worth $1 million is a disgrace. Sorry, had to rant on that for a quick second.

Bottom line, some wrestlers can't catch a break if they aren't given a good enough character for the fans to connect to. Brad Armstrong, despite the in-ring wrestling greatness he was blessed to have, never got the right gimmick to make it to the next level of superstardom. But Brad made the most of every opportunity he had with some of the goofball gimmicks. And for nothing else, this is what Brad Armstrong left to the wrestling world: the ability to try different things to make a name for himself.

Rest in Peace, Brad. 1961-2012

Jon Harder
jon@thejonharder.com
@TheJonHarder