From the Podium XXVII: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

[Leonard]

Some say that the wrestling industry is a young man’s game. To an extent, I would agree with that sentiment, especially considering how grueling the schedule is, and how much of a toll the daily grind of the business takes on one’s body. We are seeing this now more than recent history shows, with guys such as Sheamus, Kofi Kingston, John Morrison, The Miz, and Drew McIntyre, among others, begin to take on more prominent roles in the WWE, as well as Matt Morgan and Desmond Wolfe in TNA Wrestling.

But with that there has been an equally as prominent rise in the involvement of older gentlemen finding their ways into the wrestling business once again, most notably the “Immortal” (or so he would like to think) Hulk Hogan. He and Ric Flair put on an interesting tour in Australia, and how he has signed with TNA Wrestling to “help” that company gain more ground (with more rumored—by Hogan—on the way). Also coming out of the woodwork lately have been several guest hosts for Monday Night RAW, including Ted Dibiase, Dusty Rhodes, and Jesse Ventura to name a few. So this time ‘round I thought I’d look at the oldest champions to hold some of today’s (and yesteryear’s) most prominent title belts, the events surrounding their reigns, and the impact that they had on the titles they held.

Here we go…

Chapter XXVII: Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks

Ric Flair, WCW World Champion (51 years old, less than one day reign), WWE World Tag Team Champion (55 years old, 8 day reign with Roddy Piper) and Intercontinental Champion (56 years old, 155 day reign)

Fun Facts: 6’1”, 243 pounds, 60 years old. Trained by Verne Gagne and Hiro Matsuda. Debuted in 1972. Career highlights—16-time world champion; Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996; WWE and NWA Halls of Fame Class of 2008.


It’s no secret that the “Nature Boy” is one of my all-time favorite professional wrestlers in the history of the sport, but even I was surprised to find that Flair topped three of the titles in the “age when held” category. In two of the three instances, he beat significantly younger athletes to hold that championship (he and Piper defeated the Spirit Squad, and he defeated Carlito for the I.C. strap). His tag team reign would only last 8 days when the tandem was defeated by Edge and Randy Orton—this was likely due to the disc problem that Roddy had found on his person during that short time (I believe this later turned out to be cancerous). I think it would have been neat to see two middle-agers proving they still can by defending the titles, but that’s likely the Flair mark in me talking.

His Intercontinental Championship reign was much more interesting, as it lasted almost six months (a real rarity these days, it seems). This title win took place after his involvement in, and subsequent leaving of, Evolution, and Flair seemed to be floundering a bit. He was placed in a feud with Carlito, which ended with Flair becoming a first-time I.C. Champion. The 16-time world champion then became embroiled in a bitter feud with his former Evolution-mate Triple H, including a very well done Steel Cage Match at that year’s Taboo Tuesday (which was for the title) and a Last Man Standing Match at the following Survivor Series (which H won, but was a non-title affair). Ric ended his reign by putting over the immaculate Shelton Benjamin, but his almost-six month reign added some much need prestige to the title. Plus, it provided a pretty wicked after-party, even for “Nature Boy” standards.

Unforgiven 2005 – Carlito (c) v. Ric Flair, plus after-match celebration


Terry Funk, United States Champion (56 years old, 1 day reign) and WCW Hardcore Champion (56 years old, 13 day reign)

Fun Facts: 6’1”, 240 pounds, 65 years old. Debuted in 1965. Career highlights—3-time world champion; Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996; WWE and NWA Halls of Fame Class of 2009.


Terry Funk was a previous NWA United States Champion, and while that reign lasted a measly 18 days (which was short for 1975), this reign nearly 25 years later was even worse. This title change actually happened during a set of house shows with Lance T. Storm (the T. stands for Thunder!) in September of 2000, and was not even considered a part of the United States Championship “canon” until after WWF purchased WCW in 2001. It’s impossible for this title change to have had any effect on the immediate U.S. title scene in WCW, but nowadays it does change the perceived prestige of the title because Storm’s two title reigns could have potentially been one longer (and more meaningful, even for a 2000’s WCW…) run. This title reign had such little impact that there’s no footage anywhere of it. I didn’t want to leave you without a link, so I thought I’d link to a match from that year, with an almost-retired Bret Hart. It kind of shows you what a messed-up cluster WCW was by that point. Enjoy!

Thunder – Bret Hart v. Terry Funk in a Hardcore Match


Chavo “Classic” Guerrero, Sr., Cruiserweight Champion (55 years old, 28 day reign)

Fun Facts: 5’11”, 229 pounds, 60 years old. Trained by Gory Guerrero. Debuted in 1972, retired in 2007. Career highlights—2-time NWA Light Heavyweight Championship; Multi-time tag team champion; 1-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion; Providing the seed that created Chavo Guerrero, Jr.

What an interesting story we have here. Chavo Guerrero’s daddy (who was christened as Chavo “Classic” to alleviate confusion, I suppose) began accompanying him to the ring. Initially he did this in a feud that his son was having with his brother, good ol’ Eddie Guerrero. Eventually Chavo found himself in the Cruiserweight Championship spot, with his dad supporting him. This culminated to a triple-threat match involving these two and “little” Spike Dudley. Turns out that Classic accidentally won the match, and subsequently became the new champion (and also the oldest). Sure, it was an interesting turn of events, but I don’t think it was all that necessary, especially since the father would lose the title in less than a month’s time to Rey Mysterio. It didn’t do a whole lot for Rey’s credibility (considering that he wasn’t in the company for all that long at the time) that he beat a 55-year-old man for the championship. The bookers should have let the younger Chavo and Rey go at it right off the bat, as they both are capable of fine performances. Below you’ll find the championship match in which Classic won the title, which actually isn’t all that bad of a bout.

SmackDown! – Chavo Guerrero (c) v. Spike Dudley v. Chavo Classic (“Ladies and gentlemen, the sky has fallen!!”)


Jerry Lynn, TNA X Division Champion (39 years old, 35 day reign) and ROH World Champion (45 years old, 71 day reign)

Fun Facts: 5’11”, 212 pounds, 46 years old. Trained by Francisco Abarca, Brad Rheingans, and Eddie Sharkey. Debuted in 1988. Career highlights—1-time ECW World Champion; 1-time ROH World Champion; Being the real-life “Randy ‘The Ram’”…sort of…


I’ll admit, I’m not very familiar with Ring of Honor (I have Netflix-ed a few Digital Video Discs of the promotion, though), much less Jerry Lynn’s work in general. He won the X Division Championship very early in the history of TNA Wrestling, so I suppose his presence added a tiny bit of “big league” credibility to the upstart promotion. The Ring of Honor Championship situation was a very interesting setup indeed. The reigning champion, Nigel McGuinness, had been stricken with an injury in the midst of his five-hundred-plus day reign, and Lynn was the guy to knock him off the top of the totem pole. With the release of the critically acclaimed movie “The Wrestler,” Jerry was played as the old-timer that was looking for another shot at glory. It sort of worked, though in the matches I’ve seen the response to him from the fans isn’t exactly always positive. I thought he could go well enough in the ring that it was believable, and he put on some pretty good matches with the young guns of ROH, including this four-way match that was shown on the still-young HDNet show.

ROH on HDNet – Jerry Lynn (c) v. Brian Danielson v. Tyler Black v. Austin Aries


Vince McMahon, WWE Champion (54 years old, 6 day reign) and ECW Champion (61 years old, 35 day reign)

Fun Facts: 6’2”, 248 pounds, 64 years old. Debuted (in the ring) in 1998. Career highlights—2-time world champion; Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame Class of 1996; Purchasing his father’s regional wrestling promotion and, through a complicated series of calculated risks, created the largest wrestling promotion in the world.


Vince McMahon, bless his heart, has won two major championships in his “career” as a professional wrestler. In 1999, after Triple H won his first WWF Championship the day after SummerSlam, he ceremonially lost it to Vince McMahon the following month, with the help of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Vince gave up the title six days later (and it would be determined in the first-ever “Six Pack Challenge” that Triple H would win), but there’s no denying that he was a world champion of his own company. Vince Russo would do something similar about a year later, but it was too much for the fledging World Championship Wrestling to handle. That’s another story.

Extreme Championship Wrestling would be “resurrected” by McMahon in 2006, with the ECW World Championship reestablished by the company to be the top prize in the new brand. Less than a year later, the chairman found himself embroiled in a heated rivalry with ECW Champion Bobby Lashley. While it began as a billionaire “Hair vs. Hair” match at WrestleMania with Donald Trump, it quickly evolved to Vince capturing the ECW Championship from Lashley, with the help of You-mang-ah and Shane O’Mac. I’m sure Vince’s title reign was the final slap in the face to the ECW fans of old, but I thought it was well placed and provided more fuel to Bobby’s fire. It also set up Lashley’s brand move to RAW, and the subsequent stripping of the championship by the owner of the company. Below you’ll find the match in which he regains the title in a 3-on-1 handicap match (though later on McMahon would render the championship unchanged because Bobby didn’t pin the champion).

Judgment Day 2007 – Vince (c) and Shane McMahon and Umaga v. Bobby Lashley


The Fabulous Moolah, WWE Women’s Champion (76 years old, 8 day reign)

Fun Facts: 5’6”, 138 pounds, 84 years old at time of death. Trained by Mildred Burke, Mae Young, and Johnny Long. Debuted in 1949, retired in 2007. Career highlights—4-time WWE Women’s Champion; 5-time NWA Women’s Champion; WWE Hall of Fame Class of 1995; Being the first “octogenarian” to compete inside a WWE ring (in 2003).


Moolah was the pillar of women’s wrestling for more than sixty years. In kayfabe-WWE-land she was WWF Women’s Champion for thirty years, and held the title two more times after that. Her fourth time would come upon the turn of the new millennium, after defeating Ivory at No Mercy 1999. She won the title from Ivory (who, might I add, is one of the most underrated women’s wrestlers ever) with a roll-up at the end of a three-minute match. This made Moolah the oldest WWF Women’s Champion, by a long shot (in her seventies). Eight days later, she went on RAW to forfeit the title (which actually turned out to be a bloody awful promo to which the crowd responded quite negatively), but Ivory came out and started a rematch before she could officially do so. A pretty terrible thirty seconds later, Ivory defeated Moolah (with a roll-up!) for the championship, and thus ended the oldest championship reign in WWE history.

RAW – The Fabulous Moolah (c) v. Ivory


Diamond Dallas Page, European Champion (46 years old, 49 day reign)

Fun Facts: 6’5”, 253 pounds, 53 years old. Trained by Jake Roberts and the WCW Power Plant. Debuted (in the ring) in 1991, retired in 2005. Career highlights—3-time WCW World Champion; 2-time United States Champion; 4-time WCW Tag Team Champion; Creating a mildly-popular male Yoga regiment (say WHAT?!), and having a mildly-impressive filmography!


Let’s not sugarcoat things here—I am definitely not a fan of Diamond Dallas Page’s in-ring work, either in WCW or WWE. On the same token, I won’t deny that he had an enormous amount of charisma, and certainly knew how to get the crowds to rally up (Ricky Ortiz, we hardly knew thee) behind him. The question should be asked, then, how he could become the top of the mountain three times in WCW, yet flounder in WWE, where ring work isn’t exactly the top priority. After making a big impact in a program with the Undertaker, he transitioned into a motivational speaker-like character that always said “that’s not a bad thing…it’s a good thing.” At the end of January 2002, he defeated Christian on an episode of SmackDown! to become the WWE European Champion. Forty-six years of age isn’t all that old for a professional wrestler these days, but considering that this title was meant for guys working their way up through the ranks, it says a lot about what McMahon thought was DDP’s place in the WWE (it’s no secret that McMahon hated using stars that he didn’t create, such as Page and Goldberg—perhaps this is the reason why he didn’t make it big in the ‘E?). After holding the title for close to two months—which included a successful WrestleMania defense—he dropped the title to one of the best European Champions of all time, "Sir" William Steven "A Real Man’s Man" Regal.

SmackDown! – Christian (c) v. Diamond Dallas Page


Pat Patterson, WWE Hardcore Champion (59 years old, 6 day reign)

Fun Facts: 6’1”, 245 pounds, 68 years old. Trained by Pat Girard. Debuted in 1958, retired in 1984. Career highlights—1-time, and inaugural, WWE Intercontinental Champion; 1-time WWF North American Heavyweight Champion; WWE and Wrestling Observer Newsletter Halls of Fame Class of 1996.

By the time the Hardcore Championship became a regular staple in the WWE Universe, Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco were in full swing as the official “stooges” of fellow oldest champion Vince McMahon (many often forget that Sgt. Slaughter was the third “stooge” for the beginning stages of this “stable”). Through a strange string of events, Gerry won the Hardcore Championship from Crash Holly on two occasions. After the second victory, Patterson (along with a nonchalantly placed referee) helped him celebrate by pouring cham-pag-nuh (yeah, Christopher Walken!) in his eyes, cracking another bottle over his head, and pinning him to win the Hardcore title. What would follow would be a string of cross-dressing antics which led to Vince sanctioning the first ever Hardcore Evening Gown match at the 2000 King of the Ring, which was a complete cluster. It’s fun to watch Crash Holly come in and steal the title, though. Luckily, the whole idea of the Hardcore Division was to provide relief from all the heavy stuff happening in the WWE, so it’s all good.

King of the Ring 2000 – Pat Patterson (c) v. Jerry Brisco


Other Old-Timer Champions:

TNA Knockouts Championship – Tara (38 years old)
WWE Light Heavyweight Championship (as part of the J Crown) – Perro Aguayo (43 years old)
World Heavyweight Championship – The Undertaker (44 years old)
ECW World Tag Team Championship – Kevin Sullivan (44 years old)
WWE Tag Team Championship – Road Warrior Animal (45 years old)
WCW World Television Championship – Jim Duggan (46 years old)
TNA Tag Team Championship – Sting (48 years old)
ECW World Television Championship – Jimmy Snuka (49 years old)
TNA World Championship – Sting (49 years old)
TNA Legends/Global Championship – Kevin Nash (50 years old)


I thought it was neat to look at some of these older folks who remained relevant in the title scene in some way. Most of these reigns weren’t exactly beneficial to the championships themselves in most cases (though the Intercontinental Championship definitely benefited from Flair’s reign—the same case could possibly be made for Lynn’s ROH reign). It proved to be a fun time researching these, and picking and choosing which guys (and lady) I wanted to discuss within our little corner of the interwebs. I know that this isn’t the most hard-hitting stuff you’ve ever read, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless. Let me know what you liked and despised, and what you thought in general. You can feedback here at the forums, or at lenjr04@gmail.com. Join me next time for Part Three of the Wrestling with Music series, when we explore the 1993 “WrestleMania: The Album.”

Until the next downbeat…

[McFly937]

Very good read. I have already read your Wrestling with Music and The Euro Title Columns and I must say i have become a fan of yours and cant wait to read part three!

[Swanton]

This was a fantastic column! All the components were in the right proportions, and I was engaged the whole way through. The youtube links were a great addition, but the only thing I'd moan about is the style of font. I know the different colours represented different promotions, but I thought that a sub-heading would have been better for the individual wrestlers you mentioned. The styling just didn't suit the tone of the column.

Read you next time!

[Super Chrisss]

Tara is 38 years old? Really? My, oh my, I thought she was in her early 30's. I have to start using Wikipedia more often!

Nice change of pace from your music series and very entertaining. I would have preferred you talking in-depth about Undertaker, Kevin Nash, and/or Sting because they are still quite relevant to today's wrestling scene, but I forgive you.

Fun column Sir.

[Box Car Rocco]

What I like here is that you expanded on your normal list of 5 and brought us j8 old timers (by my count..). The facts and everything we have come to expect from you were also there. Like Chrisss, I'm also shocked at Tara's age.

That picture of Pat Patterson was disturbing, not enough to disturb from this column though Leonard. Good to see you're starting to get some columns out consitently.

[Cult Icon]

excellent read good sir. loved the links to youtube, especially the chavo classic win and ddps win. classic moments of my youth there lol. i did think ddp was alright in the ring in his career, and he is one of the few examples that superstars in wcw could break through the glass ceiling and become successful. great work as always leonard, read you next time.

[Leonard]

McFly - 88.8 MPH, right?--Is that the correct movie? I'm afraid I'm growing senile in my old age...

Anyhow, I'm glad you've enjoyed my work. If you dug the title analysis, there's plenty more where that came from (I've done almost all the major WWE titles at this point--it may call for a revisiting--or glorified "clip show"--at some point). Look 'em up, hopefully you'll enjoy them!

Wildcard - Oh, poop. The colors were something I thought I'd try. I can see how they'd be a bit...distracting. I'm glad you enjoyed the column, and the links!

Chrisss - But everybody talks about those guys all the time. How often do you think about Pat Patterson in a dress (don't answer that) or Diamond Dallas Page? Not nearly as often as one would think, 'tis why I brought those guys in rather than the usual suspects.

BCR - I almost NEVER do fives. Fives are evil. I don't believe I have to justify that. Anyhow, I knew that Patterson photo was disturbing, thus why it was put at the end, just so it wouldn't turn off people too early.

Chrisss/BCR - I know, right? I didn't realize she was that old either. Thanks to the lot of you.

Cult - I'd rather chop off my right arm than watch a DDP match, while we're all being honest.

Classic moments of your youth? I'm old.

Thanks to all who read.

--Leonard

[Dr. CMV1]

I like the style of your columns. It's a nice change of pace and you use interesting topics.

While I liked your look at theme music a bit more - the nostalgia factor - this was a good read, as well

[Uncle Joe]

I love milfs, but Tara is a man unfortunately.


I really really wish Flair wasn't your all time favorite wrestler, but we can't win em' all. I would much rather have you like X Pac, and I hate X Pac.


Also, the only one to give a shit about is PAt Patterson, for all of the stories of him begging to suck Andre's cock backstage.

[XanMan]

Excellent column, Leonard. The only thing I'd really dispute here is Lynn helping the ROH World Championship. He got the belt because Pearce stubbornly believed in running that whole "The Wrestler" angle. The organization would have been better served for Tyler Black to have ended McGuinness' reign, though, really, Nigel's injury hurt far worse than Lynn's winning the strap.

[MyLeeCyrus]

I haven't fed back to one of your columns in quite some time, so allow me to provide you with a sweeping generalisation.

If you've posted a column, its the first one I click to read when I log on.
If I've read your column, I've enjoyed it thoroughly and been massively impressed by the detail you go into, and the way you write.

This one was no different.

[Stinger]

I know I haven't been around the CF much since early May, but I've kept up with your columns since then Leonard. I read this one this morning, and I figured I'd come back to it and finally drop you a message on it.

You write a solid, straight wrestling column and I dig it. It's simple, yet strong, and probably why you're at the top of favorites list in the CF. I know what to expect from you, and that's a well-written wrestling column, and too me that's a good thing. You get bonus points for using three humorous pictures this time.

Chavo Classic is the best Cruiserweight Champion of all time. End of story.

Great column.

[Leonard]

Round two, then?

Dr - I try to go for the things that not everyone else is writing about, while staying within kind of a straightforward kind of feel. I'm like the "Teller" to Uncle Joe's "Penn" (I'm the "straight man," if the analogy wasn't clear). The music stuff's coming back...I have been slipping a different column in between each of the music series works to avoid stagnation and monotony. Thanks for reading!

Penn/Uncle Joe - Go watch Flair/Steamboat from Clash of the Champions VI, and tell me that Flair shouldn't be my favorite all-time wrestler. Jerk.

I bet Patterson would have been willing to wear that same get-up while begging...

XanMan - I'm not a huge Ring of Honor guy, so I went as extensive as the internet allows with researching Jerry Lynn. While I'm not disputing that Nigel's injury was unfortunate for the company, and that maybe a different "young gun" should have held the title, Lynn got the opportunity to prove that he could still go in the ring, and serve in somewhat of a "mentor" capacity during the few months he was champion. At least in the matches I watched, he certainly seemed to hold his own, and should be commended for that. As for the title itself, I would agree that his reign did more for him than it did for ROH. I appreciate whenever you "big wig" main page writers comment, so it is much appreciated!

Billy Ray's daughter - Does he ever sing "Achy Breaky Heart" for you? I bet he does.

I'm glad you have been enjoying! Thanks for the kind words.

Ghost L. Stinger - Nice to see you back around these parts...when are you planning to take us all by storm again? I seem to recall a stable-type column series that never quite got finished. Anyhow, I don't think I would consider myself a "top columnist" here in the forums...I'm just here having fun writing this stuff, sharing my opinions, etc. I could get on my soapbox and talk about how I don't care about "winning" things, but that's been well documented.

Chavo Classic? Best Cruiserweight Champion ever???? Go watch Guerrero/Mysterio from Halloween Havoc. Come back when you're done and say the same thing...

Thanks again to all of you.

--Leonard

[FreekyDeeky]

Hey Leonard great column here mate.

I have always been a massive fan of your history of championships and I think this was a great addition to that the only thing that I was unsure about is the colour usage since there were the same colours for different belts. Other than that great stuff

LOL @ Chavo Classic's face as well when he won the Cruiserweight Championship.

[The Maz]

Leonard, this was great. Carrying on a Legacy of Championships-esque theme that has been so successful but branching out was a great idea. You never hit a bum note with your columns and are right there with the best in the CF. In fact, in the EOY awards, FTP is getting my vote for column series of the year.

[Daves_Not_Here]

Great column, Leonard! This is a much better read than most of what I see on the front page. Thanks to SkittleZ for the link to your column. I'll check out your other stuff for sure.

We have much different opinions about Ric Flair, but I won't argue with you because to each his own. All that I will say is that I share Bret and Stu Hart's opinion of him. And the #1 guy in the fed that I grew up watching (NWA San Francisco teritory, waaay before the WWE even existed) was Pat Paterson. He did a lot before coming to the WWE if you think that he didn't accomplished much in his wrestling career. Check out http://homepage.mac.com/viktor2/btw/ if you want to read about his early career.

later.