• Old School ECW Veteran Would Have Celebrated His Birthday
Today would have been the 53rd birthday of Old School ECW Veteran Pitbull #2 (Real name: Anthony Durante).
Pitbull #2 wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1994 till 1997, teaming with Pitbull #1 Gary Wolfe as ‘The Pitbulls’.
On September 25, 2003, Anthony Durante and his girlfriend died of a Fentanyl overdose, but the bodies were found days later, while their kids, an 8 month old girl and a 21 month old boy, were alone in the house among their dead bodies.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY & † REST IN PEACE
July 26, 1967 – September 25, 2003
• Arn Anderson Defends Michael Cole’s Work In WWE
While answering fans’ questions on the ARN podcast, AEW head coach and WWE Hall Of Famer, Arn Anderson, discussed Michael Cole’s commentary in WWE and Bobby Heenan as a possible manager for the Four Horseman.
Below are the highlights:
His opinion on Michael Cole:
“Well, you can’t follow JR and The King. They had an act that went on for a long time and it was featuring each other to the 10th power. One played off the other. They were great together. If you’re calling wrestling matches, there is nobody better. Now, Michael Cole is stuck in that hot seat and he is not allowed to call the match. He’s not saying, hip toss, superplex, none of that is what they are interested in.
They’re out here banging head, they being the talent, and he’s talking about short stories and everything else he is fed. Guys, understand Michael Cole is a good announcer and that’s a very difficult job. I know myself it is a very difficult job. When you are being fed a thought right in the middle of you having your own thought, can you imagine the pressure that is involved there.
I think he does a very good job. I think he is very professional. He can call a wrestling match very well if he was left to his own devices. But there are so many things that no one understands or sees or hears that go into that. If you’re getting screamed at and cussed out over that headset, imagine how rattling that is. It is a no-win situation when every single thing that goes on is micromanaged.”
On if Bobby Heenan would have been a better manager for the Four Horseman:
“I would not be foolish enough to say Bobby Heenan could not do anything. If JJ, things being the way they were, JJ was a very polished speaker. He looked good. He dressed up well. He covered the subject matter well. He was very knowledgeable. He was a great manager.
Bobby Heenan was a character and almost like having another partner in the corner. He was so animated. He was so quick-witted. He knew what to do and he got around out there on the ring so it appeared he was almost in the match, but he wasn’t. Those guys would have been good whichever company they landed with. They were so good but totally different.
Bobby Heenan, I said it before on record, is the most quick-witted guy with one-liners that I’ve ever seen. Say anything you want to Bobby Heenan, he’s got a joke coming back at you before you get it out of your mouth. JJ Dillon on the other side is a wonderful human being and one of my dearest friends to this day in the business. He is funny in his own right, sharp-witted in his own right but just different from Bobby. They would have been successful no matter what they did.”
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