• Old School WWF Legend Celebrates His Birthday
Old School WWF Legend “I.R.S.” Irwin R. Schyster (Real name: Lawrence Michael Rotunda) celebrates his 61st birthday today.
As Mike Rotundo he won the WWF World Tag Team Championship in 1984 with Barry Windham as “The U.S. Express”, before losing it to The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff at WrestleMania I.
After some time in Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling, where he was known as Captain Mike Rotunda and Michael Wallstreet, he returned to the World Wrestling Federation in 1991 as the evil tax collector from Washington D.C., Irwin R. Schyster.
With his new Tag Team Partner The Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase he former “Money Inc.” and they won the WWF Tag Team titles multiple times, before Dibiase retired due to an injury and former his own Heel Stable “The Million Dollar Corporation”, which I.R.S. was a member of, till he left the WWF for WCW in 1995.
He has yet to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, but it’s safe to say, that it’s only a question of “when” and not “if”.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY IRWIN R. SCHYSTER!
• WWE Wrestler Reveals He Was A Part Of The Undertaker’s WrestleMania 29 Entrance, Comments On Being Ignored Since His Injury
Former SmackDown Tag Team Champion Luke Harper, who hasn’t appeared on WWE TV since last year due to injury, will be making his return next Thursday at WrestleMania 35 Axxess in the “When Worlds Collide” tournament.
Harper issued the following statement on Twitter regarding his return:
“I’m 39 years old.
I’ve been cleared since February 6th. I haven’t been brought to one television taping since I left to have double ligament reconstruction surgery on October 2nd, 2018.
6 years ago, I wrestled multiple matches at Axxess as part of FCW and was involved in The Undertaker’s entrance. 5 years ago, I had a front row seat to watch Bray Wyatt wrestle John Cena. 4 years ago, I competed for the Intercontinental Championship in my first WrestleMania singles match. 3 years ago, I wrestled Brock Lesnar in Toronto on a network special. 2 years ago, I came within inches of competing for the WWE Championship in the very match AJ Styles won his first and within inches of being part of the WWE Championship match at WrestleMania with Bray and Randy. 1 year ago, I won the WWE Smackdown Tag Team Championships with Rowan while my wife and 2 sons watched from the front row.
Next Thursday I will be wrestling Donovan Dijak at Axxess.
Full circle.
I read all the texts I got that said, “you’re back on axxess???” I was kind to all the people at the gym asking if I’m retired. I swallowed my pride when agents and writers asked me if I was still hurt when completely healthy. And now here we are. April 4th, 2019 “When Worlds Collide” at Axxess. Luke Harper vs. Donovan Dijak. How will I respond? How will I change things? Well to all of you this may just be a throwaway Axxess match, but I can assure you to me it is much, much more. This is test. No one has to be happy with the results except me. That’s the true test.
Do I still have it? Can I compete with a young, up and coming, incredibly talented, nxt prospect? Am I too old? Has the game passed me by? Am I as good as I really think I am? It brings me near tears to write this because I truly believe I have so f–king much to offer this industry. I believe I will be a World Heavyweight Champion someday. I believe that, but these are the doubts I live with daily. These are the doubts that creep in your head during rehab. These are the thoughts you think when you watch your left side atrophy. Being ignored and left home for months exasperated these thoughts and it sucked.
I have so much to prove to myself, to WWE, to the industry of professional wrestling, to my wife and it is my responsibility to show my kids how to handle adversity. Next Thursday is the answer. Are the doubts real or is this the first step of the climb?
I promise you I will come prepared and you will get my very best that night Mr. Dijak. Just know, be careful thinking of this as just an axxess match because to me, this is WrestleMania. I’m not throwing away my shot.
Good luck.”
