• Old School Wrestling Legend Celebrates His Birthday
Old School WWF/NWA/AWA/WCW Veteran “The Living Legend” Larry Zbyszko (Real name: Lawrence Whistler) turns 68 today.
Who could forget the famous ‘Teacher vs. Student’ rivalry of Bruno Sammartino against Larry Zbyszko, that culminated in a cage match at Shea Stadium in 1980?
Those of you who are a bit younger, will certainly remember him as a WCW official during the Monday Night Wars, when he still occassionally wrestled against the likes of Scott Hall and Eric Bischoff.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LIVING LEGEND!
• Jim Ross Explains Why Vince McMahon Fired “The Kat” Stacy Carter
During a recent edition of Grilling JR podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross talked about Jerry Lawler’s relationship with “The Kat” Stacy Carter, why Vince McMahon fired The Kat & more.
Below are the highlights:
On his friendship with Jerry Lawler and Stacy Carter:
“Well you know, here’s the thing about it. And maybe somebody’s gonna say, ‘Well JR, sometimes had relationships with the guys on the talent roster that were unhealthy, because he was too close to some of them.’ I’ll take my chances on that, quite frankly.
And those that think that may have a point to some degree. But I’ll take my chances on that deal…But you know, Jerry and Stacy, I just thought that they were a great couple.
You know, Jan and I went to their wedding in Las Vegas that, I think Charles Barkley actually paid for their wedding. So Charles is a big friend of JR and the King back in those days, and we had dinner with Charles after a Phoenix RAW.
Their wedding came up in conversation, and Charles volunteered to pay for the wedding, and of course Jerry, ‘All right! I’m gonna save a couple of bucks here!’ So we were friends with them on a personal level outside of wrestling.”
On why Vince McMahon fired Stacy:
“So the issue was that, as I remember it because I had never had one person come to me and say, ‘Man, JR, you gotta talk to Stacy. She’s just busting our balls, you can’t work with her and she knows a better way to do anything. And she’s got a little taste of the spotlight now, she’s being carried away with it’-type thing, whatever. Nothing.
It was just that Vince came out of the blue, said, ‘You know, I’m getting too many complaints about Stacy and I’m not gonna tolerate it.
And I want you to let her go today.’ Boom, it was that quick. So, I didn’t have any — I tried to discuss it. But basically some of the producers, the writers, whatever. I think they were the culprit in this matter.
Because for whatever reason, she was challenging their authority or their decision-making, or their creativity or whatever. Anyway, that was the reason I was given.”
On how he told the news:
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