What's in a name? Well, if you a professional wrestler then pretty much everything. In our game you want a name that is catchy, that provokes a certain mental image. A name that has to be said in its entirety. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin! Now that's a wrestling name but did you know it almost wasn't to be? Such names like Fang McFrost and Ice Dagger were some of the original names tossed about by WWE creative before the infamous SCSA was born. Who can forget Mankind; well he was almost Mason The Mutilator! Not exactly the main event quality name you were hoping for. These stories are endless in pro wrestling and one story in particular is my all time favorite.
When “Trendsetter” Jon Michael and "Girlcandy" Christian Jacobs met they quickly became fast friends. It didn't take long for them to decide to become a tag team. The hard part was picking a name. I was working in Osceola, Arkansas at the time when Trendy and CJ wanted to come in together. Big Daddy LaFonce the owner/operator/wrestler of Mid Southern Championship Wrestling asked me if they had a tag name. Of course they hadn't come up with one just yet but Big Daddy wanted something to plug on the show and print on the posters. So I brainstormed for a few minutes and come up with The Dirty Blondes!
Now let me explain my position on this subject. I'm a huge fan of The Hollywood Blondes, any version really. Buddy Roberts/Jerry Brown, Rip Rogers/Terry Oates and of course Steve Austin/Brian Pillman. I also was a fan of other Blonde gimmicks like The Blonde Bombers, Ray Stevens/Pat Patterson, Larry Latham/Wayne Ferris or Moondog Spot/Honky Tonk Man to those who didn't know. I enjoyed working with Ron Rage and Mickey Ray as The Blonde Bombers when I first broke in. So when I came up with the name for Trendsetter and CJ, it was meant to be a double entendre. The Dirty Blondes, most would think of the hair color meaning but it was actually referring to them being heels.
I was so proud of my creative aspiration but I was soon deflated when I told Jon Michael and CJ. I could see on their faces that they were less than enthused. They really were good sports and they told me as delicately as they could that they didn't like nor would they be using the name THE DIRTY BLONDES. I felt like I had let them down, but I marched on.
We arrived in Osceola together and the tone of the night was set by Big Daddy himself when he pointed to Jon Michael and CJ and asked "Are these The Dirty Blondes?" To which JM and CJ quickly and respectfully replied "No, we're "Trendsetter" Jon Michael and "Girlcandy" Christian Jacobs." I explained the situation to Big Daddy and agreed to let The Dirty Blondes off the hook. The rest of the night played out like a SNL skit with wrestler after wrestler asking "Are you The Dirty Blondes?" I got a nice giggle out of it but you could tell it was wearing thin on JM and CJ. They had a good match with two guys I forget about now but the highlight for me was when the announcer, whom we forgot to tell about our situation, said "And in this corner.... THE DIRTY BLONDES!!!" It took about 8 seconds for Trendsetter to grab the mic and tell everyone that they were not The Dirty Blondes but they were the.... uh.... The Prime Time Players(a gimmick that JM had used with several people in the past including me).
As much as I enjoyed The Dirty Blondes, Jon Michael and CJ would later decide on Picture Perfect. Probably the most recognizable tag team name in this area over the last 5 or 6 years. Chris O'Neal would join the fold and several versions of PP have been a solid asset to any roster. I'll be the first one to admit Picture Perfect is a much better fit than TDB. However The Dirty Blondes may be gone but I promise they'll never be forgotten and when "The Golden Boy" Greg Anthony makes a promise it’s as good as gold.
Photos by Brian Tramel
Left: "Girl Candy" Christian Jacobs
Right: "Trendsetter" Jon Michael
----Greg Anthony is regular on the local area circuit. He won RRO Booker of the Year 2008 and is listed in the top 4 of the RRO Top 10 2008. Greg is currently working as booker of NEW and can be seen tagging with legend Bobby Eaton and Brian Thompson as “Midnight Gold”.
