Heroes of Wrestling
Encyclopedia
Heroes of Wrestling was a professional wrestling
pay-per-view
event that took place on October 10, 1999 from the Casino Magic
hotel and casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
.
. The show was heavily criticized and ridiculed by the wrestling press, some going as far as calling it the worst wrestling PPV event ever produced. Heroes of Wrestling was declared a failure by the wrestling mainstream and was recognized as the worst major wrestling pay per view of 1999 by Wrestling Observer and throughout the years has called the tag team match between the Bushwackers and Sheik/Volkoff one of the worst wrestling matches ever if not THE worst. Meltzer gave the match the number of Absolute Zero
. Bryan Alvarez, of Figure Four Weekly, gave it "minus more stars than there are stars in the universe, and the universe is infinite".
Heroes of Wrestling was supposed to feature a double main-event, with Jake Roberts scheduled to face Jim Neidhart
in the first match while King Kong Bundy
was to take on Yokozuna in the other match. Before his match, Roberts was to cut a promo in which he was supposed to taunt his opponent that night, Jim Neidhart. Roberts showed up for the interview segment to set up the promo in a highly intoxicated state, due either to alcohol or drugs. As the interview progressed Roberts became hostile toward his interviewer and struggled to finish his promo because he was so intoxicated his words were slurred. The interview became infamous not only for its unscripted nature but for Roberts' only fully intelligible sentence, an attempted analogy about playing cards as the event was being held at a casino:
After the interview, Roberts walked to the ring with the snake he was going to use for that night's match. However, once he got to the ring, he put the snake down and walked back up the ramp. Roberts then walked back down, staggered around the ring to greet the fans, and then grabbed a female fan and had her rub her hands across his chest. He then pulled the snake out of the bag, stuck it in between his legs in a suggestive manner. began stroking it, then collapsed in the middle of the ring with the snake draped over his body and tried to kiss it with his tongue.
In an effort to salvage the match with Roberts in no condition to wrestle, the promoters announced that the match had been changed from a singles bout to a tag-team match, and sent out Bundy and Yokozuna to team with Neidhart and Roberts, respectively. Bundy pinned Roberts by hitting him with a splash after Roberts had staggered and fallen around the ring several times. The pay-per-view immediately cut out following the match as Roberts attempted to disrobe in the middle of the ring.
The show also suffered from changes to the advertised card. The billed Main Event, Bundy vs. Yokozuna, did not occur, and Gordon Solie
was advertised as the show's commentator but did not appear due to declining health. Critics panned the performance of Solie's replacement, Randy Rosenbloom. During one match, Rosenbloom called a dropkick
a "flying leg kick", and later as a "leg drop".
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
event that took place on October 10, 1999 from the Casino Magic
Hollywood Casino Bay St. Louis
Hollywood Casino is a hotel-casino complex located in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi owned by Penn National Gaming.The property was once occupied by Casino Magic, which was largely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Its gaming barge floated over away and ended up in a forest...
hotel and casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay St. Louis, Mississippi
Bay Saint Louis is a city located in Hancock County, Mississippi. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 8,209. It is the county seat of Hancock County...
.
Overview
Playing off the recent rise in popularity of pro wrestling at the time, Bill Stone, president of Fosstone Productions organized what was intended to be a series of pay-per-view (PPV) events consisting of wrestling stars from the 1980s and early 1990s. Stone had three subsequent PPV shows (to be broadcast on a quarterly schedule) already in the planning stages if the first one achieved the break-even point of 40,000 PPV buys. Heroes of Wrestling only did 29,000 PPV buys, so Stone scrapped all future shows. In addition, Stone was furious with the lackluster show itself, and especially the antics of Jake "The Snake" RobertsJake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
. The show was heavily criticized and ridiculed by the wrestling press, some going as far as calling it the worst wrestling PPV event ever produced. Heroes of Wrestling was declared a failure by the wrestling mainstream and was recognized as the worst major wrestling pay per view of 1999 by Wrestling Observer and throughout the years has called the tag team match between the Bushwackers and Sheik/Volkoff one of the worst wrestling matches ever if not THE worst. Meltzer gave the match the number of Absolute Zero
Absolute zero
Absolute zero is the theoretical temperature at which entropy reaches its minimum value. The laws of thermodynamics state that absolute zero cannot be reached using only thermodynamic means....
. Bryan Alvarez, of Figure Four Weekly, gave it "minus more stars than there are stars in the universe, and the universe is infinite".
Controversy
The most memorable and controversial moment of the show involved the last match of the evening.Heroes of Wrestling was supposed to feature a double main-event, with Jake Roberts scheduled to face Jim Neidhart
Jim Neidhart
James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya...
in the first match while King Kong Bundy
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
was to take on Yokozuna in the other match. Before his match, Roberts was to cut a promo in which he was supposed to taunt his opponent that night, Jim Neidhart. Roberts showed up for the interview segment to set up the promo in a highly intoxicated state, due either to alcohol or drugs. As the interview progressed Roberts became hostile toward his interviewer and struggled to finish his promo because he was so intoxicated his words were slurred. The interview became infamous not only for its unscripted nature but for Roberts' only fully intelligible sentence, an attempted analogy about playing cards as the event was being held at a casino:
"You don't want to play cards with me because I cheat. Okay? I cheat. You wanna play 21? I've got 22. You want to play blackjackBlackjackBlackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
? I've got two of those too!"
After the interview, Roberts walked to the ring with the snake he was going to use for that night's match. However, once he got to the ring, he put the snake down and walked back up the ramp. Roberts then walked back down, staggered around the ring to greet the fans, and then grabbed a female fan and had her rub her hands across his chest. He then pulled the snake out of the bag, stuck it in between his legs in a suggestive manner. began stroking it, then collapsed in the middle of the ring with the snake draped over his body and tried to kiss it with his tongue.
In an effort to salvage the match with Roberts in no condition to wrestle, the promoters announced that the match had been changed from a singles bout to a tag-team match, and sent out Bundy and Yokozuna to team with Neidhart and Roberts, respectively. Bundy pinned Roberts by hitting him with a splash after Roberts had staggered and fallen around the ring several times. The pay-per-view immediately cut out following the match as Roberts attempted to disrobe in the middle of the ring.
The show also suffered from changes to the advertised card. The billed Main Event, Bundy vs. Yokozuna, did not occur, and Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie
Jonard Frank Labiak , better known as Gordon Solie, was a Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for World Championship Wrestling...
was advertised as the show's commentator but did not appear due to declining health. Critics panned the performance of Solie's replacement, Randy Rosenbloom. During one match, Rosenbloom called a dropkick
Dropkick
A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
a "flying leg kick", and later as a "leg drop".
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Samoan Swat Team The Headshrinkers The Headshrinkers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Fatu and Samu. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance , and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling , World Class... (Samu Samula Anoa'i Samula Anoa'i is a professional wrestler best known as one half of The Headshrinkers/Samoan Swat Team under the name Samu. His father is Afa Anoa'i who trained Samula for his professional wrestling debut.... and The Samoan Savage Sam Fatu Samuel Larry Anoa'i Fatu is a professional wrestler best known under the name of The Tonga Kid, or Tama.-Professional wrestling career:... ) defeated Marty Jannetty Marty Jannetty Frederick Marty Jannetty is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation as part of tag team The Rockers with partner Shawn Michaels, and later as a singles competitor. While in the WWF, he became a one time Intercontinental Champion and a one time... and Tommy Rogers Thomas Couch Thomas R. Couch is a professional wrestler better known as Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics.-Career:Couch started wrestling in 1980 as Tommy Rogers in North Carolina... |
Tag Team match | 10:00 |
| 2 | Greg Valentine Greg Valentine John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:... (with Sensational Sherri Sherri Martel Sherri Schrull was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by her ring names, Sherri Martel and Sensational Sherri.... ) defeated George Steele George Steele William James Myers , better known by his ring name George "The Animal" Steele is a former American professional wrestler and actor... |
Singles match | 6:37 |
| 3 | Too Cold Scorpio 2 Cold Scorpio Charles Scaggs is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name 2 Cold Scorpio . Scaggs has competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment and Pro Wrestling Noah... defeated Julio Fantastico Brian Wohl Brian Wohl is an American professional wrestler better known under his ring name Julio Dinero.-Career:Wohl debuted in 1994 after training at the Baltimore Wrestling Factory under Axl Rotten and Hack Myers... |
Singles match | 9:37 |
| 4 | The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit... (Butch Miller Butch Miller (wrestler) Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where... and Luke Williams Brian Wickens Brian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964... ) defeated The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff Nikolai Volkoff Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation... |
Tag Team match | 8:42 |
| 5 | Tully Blanchard Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen.... defeated Stan Lane Stan Lane Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy... |
Singles match | 7:04 |
| 6 | Abdullah the Butcher Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time... fought One Man Gang George Gray (wrestler) George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:... to a double count-out. |
Singles match | 7:34 |
| 7 | Jimmy Snuka Jimmy Snuka James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a... defeated Bob Orton, Jr. Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment... |
Singles match | 11:46 |
| 8 | Jim Neidhart Jim Neidhart James Henry "Jim" Neidhart is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s in the World Wrestling Federation as Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Jim is the father of WWE Diva Natalya... and King Kong Bundy King Kong Bundy Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:... defeated Jake Roberts Jake Roberts Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith... and Yokozuna |
Tag Team match | 16:34 |
Other on-air talent
- Randy Rosenbloom (commentator)
- Dutch MantelDutch MantelWayne Keown is an American professional wrestler, and author better known by his ring name, Dutch Mantel or Dutch Mantell. He currently is semi-retired but still makes occasional wrestling appearances. He was previously with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a writer behind the scenes...
(commentator) - Crisper Stanford (in-ring announcer)