*The Outsiders quickly became favored by the Internet crew, and vice-versa. Every time we showed up on the road, Scott Hall would say, “Hey, the jobronis are here!” quickly followed by, “Ha, made you look!” If we were at ringside for an Outsiders match, they would carry on audible conversations with us throughout the bout. Once, in a six-man tag, there was a “Wolfpac rules” stipulation – no, I don’t remember what it was – and Syxx (Sean Waltman) kept jumping down from the apron and screaming “Wolfpac rules, man! Wolfpac rules!” in Lee Marshall’s microphone until a flustered Marshall replied. “All right, goddamn it! Wolfpac rules! Shut the **** up!” Hall, Nash and Syxx all dissolved into mid-match laughter, and I said, “Hey, Lee, I’m supposed to be the edgy one.”
*I saved Gene Okerlund’s life during a house show in Los Angeles. There was a six-man Lucha tag match and, at one point, one team was all on the floor directly behind our broadcast location. Uh-oh. Next thing we knew, the other team – which included Juventud Guerrera – was sprinting to the far rope, then heading back toward us and, for some reason, Gene was standing up. I pulled Gene down just as Juvi’s team dove through the ropes, over us, and onto their opponents. Juvi missed Gene’s head by inches.
*During pay-per-views, the Internet broadcast location – which provided “alternate” play-by-play, whatever that meant – was usually proximate to the entrance curtain. Dr. Death Steve Williams was returning backstage after a bout and I said, “Hey, Doc, Boomer Sooner.” He looked at us, let out a thundering “BOOMER SOONER!” and slammed his palms on the table so hard, it split in two.
*Sometimes Nash would come on WCW LIVE! imitating someone else. He once spent almost an hour flawlessly impersonating Vince McMahon, never once breaking character. Nash would also come on imitating an effeminate representative of Island Records, saying he was there to sign whoever else was on mic. Nash’s punchline was, invariably, “You’ve got the look, the size, the rap…I smell money!” That was only funny if you knew DDMe had once used that line to (seriously) evaluate Van Hammer. Nash and Hall repeated that line constantly. So did Brian Pillman, always followed by a guttural F-bomb. I’ve heard Steve Austin say it. I would estimate that 30-40 percent of WCW LIVE! was used to make fun of DDMe. He never figured it out. Or maybe he just liked the attention.
*Hall and Nash showed up loaded at Spring Break Nitro once. I may have driven to the show with them. I may have made a quick stop at the beer store. Was I drunk, too? Hey, I’m a professional. (This was the Spring Break Nitro where Hall, mad because the Giant didn’t come to the ring as planned, said – on camera, on mic – “Hey, Giant, get out here, dummy. You missed your cue.”) Bischoff was PISSED, and when Hall and Nash came on WCW LIVE! after, Bischoff crouched down outside the Internet trailer and eavesdropped. Bob Ryder saw him, quietly warned everyone, and the hilarity was toned down.
*This isn’t relevant to WCW LIVE!, but at that same Spring Break Nitro, Bischoff had warned Hall to not drink. So, at the hotel bar after, Hall started pounding shots of Pepsi. Yes, Pepsi. When Bischoff came over, Hall shoved a shot under his nose and said, “SEE! It’s Pepsi! What are you, the fun police?” Then he pointed at Sting and Larry Zbyszko and said, “Those guys get to drink. Why can’t I?”
*The next day, I met Hall in the lobby at 5am. No kidding. The hotel we were at was secluded and a good distance from the airport. Cabs were hard to get, so I’d arranged a limo for us the night before. We were about to leave when we overheard Sting bitching to the concierge because he couldn’t get a taxi. I’d had a frosty relationship with Sting, which Scott knew, so he said, “C’mon, go over there and do the right thing.” So I went up to Sting and said, “Steve, if you need a lift to the airport, we’ve got a limo and there’s plenty of room. You’re more than welcome.” Sting didn’t say a word. Just STARED. So Hall said, “You’re going to miss your flight because he rips you on the Internet? I’d let him rip me in the limo if it meant getting home.” Sting NEVER SAID A WORD. So we left.
Sting and I later became friends. Steve’s a great guy. It just took him a while to get used to the idea of a wrestling promotion breaking kayfabe.
*One more Hall story. He once told two marks, both guys, that good friends kiss each other on the lips. “That’s what friends do,” Scott said. “If you guys were really good friends, you’d do it, too.” So these two marks kissed – and Hall immediately lit into them with every homophobic slur under the sun while me, Nash and Stacy Keibler (of all people) cackled like magpies.
NOTE: Be sure to catch Mark Madden live this Monday from 7:30-8:30 EST as he officially joins the Voice of Wrestling radio show. Also, you can now email your comments and questions to Mark for use in his future WZ.com columns by submitting them to wzmarkmadden@hotmail.com.
