The Dynamite Kid
Dear Greg!
As we all know, the wrestling world goes out of control many times. There are
bitter rivalries, rich dudes, poor dudes, good and poor matches, dudes with
attitudes and dudes who cause headaches everywhere they go.
I am dropping you this e-mail, because I wanna put THE HONKY TONK MAN in the
last category. Well, every wrestling fan of the 80's knows Wayne Ferris, a.k.a.
The Honky Tonk Man and what instantly comes to mind is that he was one of the
guys who held the WWF IC-Belt for a long period of time.
It's unquestionable that Ferris was a good entertainer but it is also unquestionable
that the man completely sucked as a wrestler. The man was so plump in the ring
and his moves... Well, at least he had a nice finisher named the shake rattle
and roll neckbreaker. Yeah, Honky no fool he, wanted to believe the world that
he is the real Elvis Presley. Once again I give him credit, the man is an Elvis
look alike.
Two matches come to my mind when I think about Honky:
1. The upset victory over Rick Steamboat in Buffalo, NY which brought him the
IC-Belt.
2. The some seconds loss to the Ultimate Warrior at Summerslam '88.
Not a bad achievement for a true undercard wrestler when it comes to ring skills.
Even Jesse Ventura pointed out in some of Ferris' matches, that what the guy
was lacking in unexperience he made up with sheer luck. OK, that's some "kayfabe"
from the 1980's, of course the bookers and mostly Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan
paved the way for Honky.
Let's be honest: Steamboat defeated Randy Savage at Wrestlemania III in a memorable
encounter; in fact a match, fans are still talking about. How many two-counts
have we seen? We have double digits there. It was also a technical clean match
with exciting moves. As a matter of fact this match was in my opinion the clear
Main Event at Wrestlemania III.
Only months later, Steamboat had to drop the belt to Mr. Ferris, what I would
call an insult to the wrestling world.
But let's calm down a little bit and analyze more. Like I said, the man had
a good run with the WWF. He had fame, even it has many times been questioned.
Honky had his time. But there is something going on with the former Superstars
who have to leave the spotlight.
Some can't get hold of their drug problems and others are still moaning and
groaning. And once again Wayne Ferris is no exception to the rule. Knowing that
his days are over, he needs something he can make a living.
And that has to be insulting other people mostly the DYNAMITE KID, Tom Billington.
Now everybody who has read the book from Billington can see a little bit inside
or behind the curtain.
Personally I like the book, but I don't want to be biased. Billington is a bitter
man, heck who wouldn't be, if the only thing that is carrying you through your
life is a wheelchair...
Certainly the man has paid his dues. Steroids have taken their tolls on that
man. He would do it all over again. It is also a fact that Billington was not
always the nicest guy around. The tricks he delivered to other people sometimes
hit new dimensions. Some people felt betrayed and used others thought it was
a nice change to their heavy road and ring schedule.
Well, like Billington or dislike him, as an unbiased wrestling fan you had to
see the man's skills. I only mention one move: THE SNAP SUPLEX!!! To this day
I don't know a man who can deliver this move in Dynamite Kid's fashion.
The WWF was right at that time, that the Bulldogs should be their tag champs.
Take notice to the other great teams the WWF had in the 1980's: THE CAN-AM CONNECTION,
THE KILLER BEES, THE ISLANDERS, THE HART FOUNDATION only to name a few. So the
competition was fierce.
So Billington and Honky had their time in the WWF, no doubt about it.
But like I said, Wayne Ferris is insulting other people. And to ridicule and
hassle Billington, because of his handicap, gets absolutely no excuse from me.
In the net Ferris stated, that he would come out of retirement and sit himself
in a wheelchair to go one on one with Billington. Yeah, that shows what integrity
this dude has.
Ferris knows that he was never able to outwrestle the Kid, so he had to wait
for all the damage Billington has suffered to get revenge of him. I personally
would like to see, if there is some tough guy out there to teach Ferris a lesson
and beat the shit out of him.
Compared one on one, Ferris would clearly lose on points against Billington.
Tom has been a no nonsense guy when it came to get the job done in the ring.
He didn't need to smack his opponents with a guitar. Just imagine the bout Honky
vs. Savage where Ferris hit the man with his guitar with a little help from
the Hart Foundation. Man, it nearly took hours to blast Savage.
Of course the WWF booking committee was responsible for those matches, but there
is no excuse in my mind to haunt other people.
Ferris should shut his mouth and reconsider what he is doing right now. As a
matter of fact he did not get off well in Billington's book, and yeah Tom is,
like I said a very bitter man.
The best thing I would consider is that both should meet, sit down and discuss
their problems. A profound talk can settle some scores. But blindsiding each
other won't help neither man.
What do you think?
Harry
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