I was saddened to learn of the passing of S.D Jones. I watched S.D from the beginning of my watching the WWF. It seemed like whenever Capt. Lou Albano, Classie Freddie Blassie or The Grand Wizard brought a new man into the territory to earn their shot against Bob Backlund for the title, they had to beat Domenic Denucci or SD Jones first. In the case of Denucci, he was a former main event guy and worked on top in places. In the case of Jones, he worked NY a lot but did get a push in the Carolinas as the cousin of Rufus R. Jones. I have two funny stories that I always think about when thinking about S.D Jones. We were in Hamburg, PA. one night for TV and The Iron Sheik was wrestling S.D. Jones. In those days this would not have been a squash match but sometimes The Iron Sheik missed the point. He was tossing S.D around like a rubber ball, suplexing him all over the place. The guys found it interesting. So at one point Don Muraco looks at Afa "The Wild Samoan" Anoai and says “He would be doing the same thing if it was Backlund out there”. Of course, The Iron Sheik probably could have and would have been throwing Backlund around as well. It was another time that we were sitting around getting ready to go to the arena and Sika said to me “S.D. will get one chance to sell tonight on his own and then he is going to sell my way”. We had a good laugh about it. S.D was a good guy and maybe he didn’t always sell as much as he should have but he always did everything with a smile and was a pleasure to be around at all time. I met him early on in my career when he was port of the main event in the first show I ever promoted. We did turn away business that night. It was “Mr. USA” Tony Atlas, Rocky Johnson and S.D Jones vs. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “Dr.D” David Shultz. We had ten tickets left when the doors open we turned a lot of people away., Rest in my peace my brother S.D Jones.
I along with everyone else was shocked at the release of Gabe Sapolsky from Ring of Honor. As I thought about it more, I realized that Cary Silkin made the right move in making the change. The company wasn’t progressing as it did before. It was losing velocity and when that happens a change is needed. I only met Gabe one time when I booked Bruno Sammartino to make an appearance for them. We were appearing just a few blocks away at Big Apple Con the same day so it was easy for us to squeeze it in. I can’t say that Sapolsky was my kind of guy, but you have to be impressed with what he has done with Ring of Honor up until now. He didn’t have millions of dollars to work with. He had modest resources and was able to make something out of it. In business many businesses outgrow their employees. I believe at this point, with the resources available, that Ring of Honor has outgrown Gabe Saplolsky.
We will all of have to wait and see if Cary Silkin’s next move was as good as the very tough and not popular move of replacing Saplosky. I have to admit that I was underwhelmed with the choice that he made. I made the assessment of the new Ring of Honor booker with no knowledge of the man chosen. That is the way that most opinions are formed in this country with very little information. I am open to watching how the whole scenario plays out. It is not the move I would have made at this point. I would have been looking for someone with some power influence and an established credibility in the business if possible. All of that said, Cary Silkin is a man who appears to know where the ball is going to be tomorrow. So we sit back and wait and see how the drama unfolds.
It is going to be tough for Adam Pearce. He is the wrestling business version of Aaron Rodgers this year. That is not an enviable position to be in. But it’s also not an impossible one.
I was sitting in Atlanta, waiting for my next plane, eating a Dunkin Donuts Flat Bread Sandwich, and I see this guy standing in front of me. I realize that its Devon Dudley. So I say "Hey Devon". He was very cordial and walked away. I finally realized he had no idea who I was. I am still suffering the effects of my haircut in Memphis courtesy of my friends Brutus Beefcake and Hulk Hogan along with Bubba “The Love Sponge”. I kept my hair short like that because the reviews of how it looked ,once I got is fixed, were very good. However, there are many people who don’t recognize me right away, since I also had a large head of hair. Once I told him who I was we had a nice chat about WrestleReunion and how The Dudley Boys became Team 3D on my event in Valley Forge, PA. I hired the Dudley’s for the event with the understanding that they had rights to use the name. It turned out that the WWE challenged that the night before my event. I had received an email with all kinds of threats in it from Stacey Papachristos WWE In House Counsel. So I scrambled together with The Dudley’s and Team 3D was born. The contract they had with WWE expired on one day and they worked for us the next. It was a great match they as they faced off against Matt Hardy and Rhino who were managed by Talia Madison(Velvet Sky). I used them again in Davie, Fl to work against Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey on the final WrestleReunion event. I can say Bubba and Devon are stand up guys and no problem at all to work with. They didn’t know me, and I didn’t know them at the time, but I am glad that I know them now.
I asked Devon where he was going. He said he was on his way to Las Vegas for the TNA live event that was held a few weeks ago. It appears that those guys are going to be in TNA for quite awhile. It’s funny when you talk to wrestlers who have no gripes or complaints that they share with you. I can say honestly that Devon Dudley appears to be a very happy man in his life and his career.
The picture from this article shows me getting my haircut as mentioned above. It is of course taken at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis Tn. On the night that Hulk Hogan wrestled The Big Show. It features Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake and Bubba The Love Sponge celebrating the hair cut they just gave me.
This has been a piece of my mind
