Quote:They were showing the kids that this shit does happen in the ring from time to time.

Quote:BOB HOLLY SHOWS HE IS A REAL LIFE CLUELESS PUTZ

by Dave Scherer Updated: 1/11/2003 12:04:59 PM


Back in the days of ECW, Stevie Richards played a character that was called a "clueless putz" by announcer Joey Styles. As the name suggested, Richards was pretty much of a nimrod who was annoying and didn't have any real grasp of reality. As it turns out, WWE also has one of those characters on their roster. The sad part is, Bob Holly isn't playing any kind of role. In reality, he is just an angry, nasty, egotistical, arrogant man who has obviously aged, but never grown up. Always one to walk the WWE locker rooms expounding on what a real life tough guy he is, Holly went on WWE's Tough Enough III this past week on MTV and showed that the maturation process that envelops most adults as they leave their teenage days behind has been completely lost on him. You see, Bob Holly is the classical high school bully, the one who picks on the smaller, weaker, less worldly kids because he knows that they will never fight back. It feeds his ego and makes him believe he is the tough guy he likes to present himself as. This past Thursday, Bob Holly showed his true character to the nation and what they saw wasn't at all pretty, and it certainly didn't reflect well on WWE.

WWE.com has an interview online with Bob Holly that was done yesterday morning. In it, he talks about the beating he laid on Tough Enough contestant Matt on this week's episode. If you were expecting a remorseful response, you will be disappointed. In verbiage that is typical of why people on sports teams haze their younger, greener counterparts, Holly said this. "As far as Tough Enough III goes, I've never seen a bigger bunch of crybabies in all my life. I'm serious. Matt gets on there and says I disrespected him? I don't have to respect somebody I don't know (and have never been in the ring with). He was crying over a black eye and bruises on his chest from when I chopped him. This isn't ballet. People are going to get black eyes and busted lips. I don't know how many times I've had those in my career."

Of course, what Holly fails to mentions is that the shots he has taken in his career were errant blows (and in some cases retaliation for him working too stiff and/or not selling another guy's work). What he did to Matt was the product of an agenda he had. He obviously decided that he would go into the ring and pound the snot out of the kid. That became pretty clear when WWE.com quoted him as saying, "They made a mockery about what I did on Tough Enough III. They should be embarrassed. I'm not sorry for what I did. I don't regret what I did. (When) Bob Holly is coming; I'm coming to be Bob Holly. I'm not going to change for anybody."

That's so impressive Bob. So when a kid expects you to come into the ring and work a match with him, and protect him (just as he has been taught), you know you have an unsuspecting rube and you pound the crap out of him. Wonderful.

Perhaps the funniest thing, in a sad, "this guy is so deluded" kind of way, was when he said, " The only thing I do is hurt people's pride. I don't hurt people physically. I just hurt their pride." Some people are really just too stupid to live, and Bob Holly has shown that he can be their leader.

So, in the end, I can't see how anyone can make a case for what Holly did. He was completely and totally wrong, and no one can convince me otherwise. I fully understand that some people in the business may want to defend what Holly did as being "old school". You see, coming up in many wrestling dojos around the country, the trainer often beat the snot out of the student. Some legitimately believed, misguidedly in my opinion, that it was a necessary part of a wrestler's training to have the tar beaten out of him, for no perceptible reason. Other trainers were simply sadists who liked to beat up the young guys who were paying them. Whatever their reason, the fact of the matter is that the wrestling business is a tough one, and it will teach its young all of the hard lessons, and then some, at points along the way. The practice of mauling young students is antiquated and has no place in the business today. It doesn't "teach" anything other than there are nasty, bitter people in the business and you know what? The aspiring students will learn that, without getting mugged, soon enough.

About the only positive that came out of this for Matt was that he "gained the respect" of the others by taking the beating and then shaking Holly's hand afterward. If that was me, I would have probably been in the hospital because I would have spit in his face instead. Yes, I would have known that it would have ended my dream of becoming a wrestler but by that point I would have realized that if being in wrestling meant dealing with people like Bob Holly, it's something I would want no part of anyway. That's the way to teach Bob.

Quote:Remember the few times went Saturn went mental on some poor rookie live in the ring?

Quote:So, in the end, I can't see how anyone can make a case for what Holly did. He was completely and totally wrong, and no one can convince me otherwise. I fully understand that some people in the business may want to defend what Holly did as being "old school". You see, coming up in many wrestling dojos around the country, the trainer often beat the snot out of the student. Some legitimately believed, misguidedly in my opinion, that it was a necessary part of a wrestler's training to have the tar beaten out of him, for no perceptible reason. Other trainers were simply sadists who liked to beat up the young guys who were paying them. Whatever their reason, the fact of the matter is that the wrestling business is a tough one, and it will teach its young all of the hard lessons, and then some, at points along the way. The practice of mauling young students is antiquated and has no place in the business today. It doesn't "teach" anything other than there are nasty, bitter people in the business and you know what? The aspiring students will learn that, without getting mugged, soon enough.

Quote:BOB HOLLY SHOWS HE IS A REAL LIFE CLUELESS PUTZ

by Dave Scherer

Quote:Im sure this happens in every wrestling school around the country.

Quote:Wrestling's school of hard knocks
Berkeley man's kin sue over his death

Chip Johnson Monday, September 23, 2002



Brian Ong was a youthful guy with an unrealistic fantasy to become a professional wrestler.

It seems absurd that a 5-foot-8, 175-pound man would seek his fortunes in an industry dominated by giants, but that's what Ong signed up for at a "boot camp" at All Pro Wrestling in Hayward last year.

Ong's fantasy ended in May 2001, not with a "bump" -- an industry term for a staged fall -- but with an all-too-real thud when he fell from the shoulders of a man about 7 feet tall and more than twice his weight.

The 24-year-old Berkeley man died in an ambulance while being transported to St. Rose Hospital.

His case came to light last week when attorneys for Ong issued news releases about his family's lawsuit against the training school, alleging negligence and fraud.

The damages suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, challenges the liability waiver Ong signed and alleges numerous causes of actions, including failure to provide adequate safety precautions for the workouts.

Ong wore no headgear or other protective equipment, and there were no mats to cushion a fall, Nancy Hersh, the attorney representing the Ong family, said.

News stories about Ong's death and the suit are an attempt to try his case in the media, said Robert Forni, an attorney representing school owner Roland Alexander, who would not comment.

But put the lawsuit aside, and you still have a dead man who chased a distant fantasy and paid for it every step of the way.

Even if his family loses in court, perhaps Ong's death will help turn inquiring eyes on the recruiting tactics, tuition costs and safety at Alexander's school.

Aspiring wrestlers at the school are asked to pay $6,000 for an intensive, 4- to 5-monthlong training course.

The school provides discounts for students who pay all or half the tuition up front and for those who join with a friend. For those without the cash, the school offers a financing plan, with interest rates as high as 82 percent, court documents allege.

The tuition at All Pro Wrestling, despite the school's claim to the contrary, is more than twice as much as students pay at some of dozens of similar schools around the country, including camps run by former professional wrestlers.

All Pro Wrestling's Web site also claims that "amateur wrestling makes for great cardio and toughens you up in the ring."

Real wrestling is a great workout, and I did it in high school, but my coach never told me that getting tossed on my head strengthened my heart.

In one of the drills at All Pro's Boot Camp, students spring from the ropes,

somersault and hit their backs -- bam! -- in the middle of the ring.

The Hayward warehouse where it takes place is filled with loud groans, as bodies slam onto the mat, then bounce back up, only to drop again.

But if it's cardiopulmonary conditioning you want, rather than chiropractic,

how about a good aerobics class that costs a lot less than $6,000?

The world of professional wrestling came clean about its shtick before a federal panel in 1989, admitting that it was a rehearsed, staged performance where none of the players was actually trying to hurt their opponents.

The admission freed the entertainment companies from the costs of meeting regulations imposed by state athletic agencies. Like most other states, California deregulated wrestling the same year.

All Pro Wrestling opened a year later, and has produced a few wrestlers who've received tryouts with the WWE, or World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., the major league of the professional wrestling circuit.

But most of the wannabe pros have simply gotten the crap beat out of them for the sheer enjoyment of it.

"The people I look for are the ones who love pro wrestling," Alexander said in 1999. "Because either you love it or you're crazy."

His students must also be devoted, he said.

"There are no shortcuts to anything in life," Alexander said. "If you want to be a doctor, it takes time and study and years in school. If you want to be a baseball player, you've got to be dedicated and work your way up through the minor leagues. It's the same thing here."

Not really. Minor-league baseball players get paid.

Still, Alexander added: "Pro wrestling is a complex sport, a complex art form."

Ong's demise was anything but artful, according to the lawsuit. He suffered a concussion two months before his death but was never advised to seek medical treatment, the suit claims. In fact, he was still wobbly from a tough fall he took just minutes before he died, Hersh said.

When he hit the floor the last time, he began vomiting, lost consciousness and never recovered.

All this for a so-called sport involving a bunch of large actors in spandex?

The resurgence of popular wrestling has captured the minds of nostalgic parents and impressionable youths to the tune of 200 events and 2 million fans annually.

World Wrestling Entertainment, formerly known as WWF or the World Wrestling Federation, claims 13 percent of the Internet traffic among users between the ages of 12 and 34.

The notion of self-regulation in the world of professional wrestling seems about as distant as Ong's chances of carving out a professional wrestling career.

Perhaps shedding some light on his death will persuade elected officials to put a reverse suplex on the industry and require some sort of public accountability.

Quote:WWE is the pinnacle of wrestling and they are heroes and role models to millions of people.

Quote:Sir O understands me.

Quote:Then I've succeeded where everyone else has failed.