1 - Guitar Notes - Mary Amato
2 - Call Me By My Name - John Ed Bradley
3 - Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes - Chris Crutcher
4 - Does my Head Look Big In This - Randa Abdel-Fattah
5 - Sasquatch in the Paint - Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Raymond Obstfeld
6 - Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
7 - Wired for Story - Lisa Cron
8 - The Game - Mike Lupica
9 - Cowboy Up - Kim D. Parrish
10 - Every Exquisite Thing - Matthew Quick
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
In Response to: 7 Things You Do That Annoy Your Uber Driver by Alexandra Ma
I recently read, "7 Things You Do That Annoy Your Uber Driver" by Alexandra Ma. It was a well written article that addressed some issues concerning being an Uber driver, that I would like to respond to myself.
1. You don't give a five-star rating, even though your ride was perfectly fine
I want to say that this is more of a reflection on UBER itself than it is on the customer. When rating your ride, you are asked to put into consideration your driver, his/her car, the cleanliness of the outside of the car, the cleanliness of the inside of the car and the timeliness of the ride. As a driver, you may have had a wonderful experience with me and thought I was extraordinarily helpful helping you to carry your bags to the door of your apartment, but you also want to note that my car was dirty. So you end up giving me a 4/5 instead of a 5/5.
UBER needs to take these types of things into consideration. I don't have time to go and wash my car every time we have a snow storm. It's also not a reflection on me if I'm in Waukee when I'm sent a notification to go and pick up in Ankeny and the rider has to wait 20 minutes. It's 20 minutes from Waukee to Ankeny no matter how you slice it.
I also think UBER needs to take some other things into consideration as well. Drunk people can be belligerent. A customer might be upset that you didn't get them there faster, but the speed limit was 35 and is it fair to put yourself in jeopardy of a speeding ticket or possibly even losing your license by doing 50 mph or faster in that zone?
Don't get me wrong, I think UBER should hold drivers to a high standard and that we should adhere to living up to that standard, but those standards need to reflect realistic and fair expectations.
2. You don't tip.
Again this isn't a reflection of the customer as much as it a reflection of UBER. In my opinion, each ride ought to give the customer an option to tip. For example, their phone would read something along the lines of, "Your trip was $10.00 Would you like to tip?" Then it would have the option of "15% 20% 25% other or no." You click 20%, then it would show you that your total was $12.
As for right now, customers usually ask me how they can tip me and I have to tell them that it is a system they have to set up before hand on their phone. They don't like the current system and neither do I. Tipping in a lot of ways is a reflection of service. If I'm rude, blare my music real loud and don't help the customer with their luggage as I pick them up from the airport, I don't deserve a tip. Yet, if I'm polite, friendly and make sure that their experience is as enjoyable as it can be, then I earned the 25% tip they give me.
I've gotten a lot of cash tips. I've gotten lots of $5 bills, a few $10 bills and even a couple $20's.
If UBER made it easier to tip, I think more people would do it. People understand the service industry and if you give them good service, they'll recognize it.
3. You keep them waiting after they arrive to pick you up
This can get a bit annoying, especially when you're on a role and you're getting ride after ride. If it's 1:00 a.m. and you've averaging $25 an hour, you don't want to sit outside a bar for 15 minutes waiting for them to have one last drink. When it's real busy, what I do is message my customer my eta. I'll say "be there in 5 minutes..." When I arrive, I'll give them 5 minutes to come out or explain to me why it might take longer. For example the other night at the airport I arrived at 7:15 p.m. and my customer messaged me back that it was taking forever for him to get his luggage. Since his circumstance was legitimate, I waited the 20 minutes it took.
Yet, if my customer is not responding to me and I've waited for more than 5 minutes after arrival, I'm canceling the trip, charging them the $4 no show and heading out to get another fare. Some may see this as impatient or even unfair, but this is a business. This is a way of making a living. If you asked for a ride and you know your driver will be there at 7:35 p.m. then you better be out there waiting for him/her by no later than 7:40 p.m. Thinking you can have one more drink or finish up your video game and come strolling out at 8 O'clock is unacceptable and rude.
4. You cancel at the last minute
Now this is something that does piss me off. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to make it an issue. What's annoying is when you have driven a long way and then as soon as you get there, the trip is canceled. For example, I was up in Ames the other night, after having took a girl from the Airport back to Iowa State, and I stayed up in Ames for a few hours as it was busy. When it slowed down, I started on my way back home. As I was back on I-35 headed towards Des Moines, I got a notification to go and pick someone up in north Ames. It took me 15 minutes to get there and when I pulled up into the person's drive way the trip was canceled. That is very annoying.
5. You put your music on way too loud.
5 and 6 go very well together. See 6.
6. You play around with their gadgets without asking.
I have had customers do this before. I've had them get into my car and turn the heat up or turn it down. I've had them turn the radio on and switch it to a station they like and then blare the music. I've even had then reach into my middle compartment, pull out my CD's and start looking through them. My response is usually polite, yet firm.
"Please, allow me to do that." I'll say to them, "If you are too hot or too cold I'll adjust the temperature. What would you like to listen to? What station?"
As for people looking through my CD's I wish they would ask first, but I usually get a kick out of people's reactions to the type of music I listen to.
7. You spill sloppy food or beverages in their car
Never had this problem. I keep waiting for the person who wants to smoke in my car and then is pissed off as Hell when I won't let them, but it hasn't happened yet. I've had a few people ask, but when I said no, they were perfectly fine with it.
Which is reason 10,027 why I like UBER driving more than I did cab driving. Don't get me wrong in cab driving, I did deal with a lot of really cool, interesting individuals, but you deal with a lot of pricks too. You just don't deal with the pricks in UBER. UBER customers are more coherent and they're certainly more educated.
The lady who screams at you for minutes upon end for not letting her stink up your cab with cigarette smoke....you don't deal with that in UBER.
1. You don't give a five-star rating, even though your ride was perfectly fine
I want to say that this is more of a reflection on UBER itself than it is on the customer. When rating your ride, you are asked to put into consideration your driver, his/her car, the cleanliness of the outside of the car, the cleanliness of the inside of the car and the timeliness of the ride. As a driver, you may have had a wonderful experience with me and thought I was extraordinarily helpful helping you to carry your bags to the door of your apartment, but you also want to note that my car was dirty. So you end up giving me a 4/5 instead of a 5/5.
UBER needs to take these types of things into consideration. I don't have time to go and wash my car every time we have a snow storm. It's also not a reflection on me if I'm in Waukee when I'm sent a notification to go and pick up in Ankeny and the rider has to wait 20 minutes. It's 20 minutes from Waukee to Ankeny no matter how you slice it.
I also think UBER needs to take some other things into consideration as well. Drunk people can be belligerent. A customer might be upset that you didn't get them there faster, but the speed limit was 35 and is it fair to put yourself in jeopardy of a speeding ticket or possibly even losing your license by doing 50 mph or faster in that zone?
Don't get me wrong, I think UBER should hold drivers to a high standard and that we should adhere to living up to that standard, but those standards need to reflect realistic and fair expectations.
2. You don't tip.
Again this isn't a reflection of the customer as much as it a reflection of UBER. In my opinion, each ride ought to give the customer an option to tip. For example, their phone would read something along the lines of, "Your trip was $10.00 Would you like to tip?" Then it would have the option of "15% 20% 25% other or no." You click 20%, then it would show you that your total was $12.
As for right now, customers usually ask me how they can tip me and I have to tell them that it is a system they have to set up before hand on their phone. They don't like the current system and neither do I. Tipping in a lot of ways is a reflection of service. If I'm rude, blare my music real loud and don't help the customer with their luggage as I pick them up from the airport, I don't deserve a tip. Yet, if I'm polite, friendly and make sure that their experience is as enjoyable as it can be, then I earned the 25% tip they give me.
I've gotten a lot of cash tips. I've gotten lots of $5 bills, a few $10 bills and even a couple $20's.
If UBER made it easier to tip, I think more people would do it. People understand the service industry and if you give them good service, they'll recognize it.
3. You keep them waiting after they arrive to pick you up
This can get a bit annoying, especially when you're on a role and you're getting ride after ride. If it's 1:00 a.m. and you've averaging $25 an hour, you don't want to sit outside a bar for 15 minutes waiting for them to have one last drink. When it's real busy, what I do is message my customer my eta. I'll say "be there in 5 minutes..." When I arrive, I'll give them 5 minutes to come out or explain to me why it might take longer. For example the other night at the airport I arrived at 7:15 p.m. and my customer messaged me back that it was taking forever for him to get his luggage. Since his circumstance was legitimate, I waited the 20 minutes it took.
Yet, if my customer is not responding to me and I've waited for more than 5 minutes after arrival, I'm canceling the trip, charging them the $4 no show and heading out to get another fare. Some may see this as impatient or even unfair, but this is a business. This is a way of making a living. If you asked for a ride and you know your driver will be there at 7:35 p.m. then you better be out there waiting for him/her by no later than 7:40 p.m. Thinking you can have one more drink or finish up your video game and come strolling out at 8 O'clock is unacceptable and rude.
4. You cancel at the last minute
Now this is something that does piss me off. It doesn't happen a lot, but it happens enough to make it an issue. What's annoying is when you have driven a long way and then as soon as you get there, the trip is canceled. For example, I was up in Ames the other night, after having took a girl from the Airport back to Iowa State, and I stayed up in Ames for a few hours as it was busy. When it slowed down, I started on my way back home. As I was back on I-35 headed towards Des Moines, I got a notification to go and pick someone up in north Ames. It took me 15 minutes to get there and when I pulled up into the person's drive way the trip was canceled. That is very annoying.
5. You put your music on way too loud.
5 and 6 go very well together. See 6.
6. You play around with their gadgets without asking.
I have had customers do this before. I've had them get into my car and turn the heat up or turn it down. I've had them turn the radio on and switch it to a station they like and then blare the music. I've even had then reach into my middle compartment, pull out my CD's and start looking through them. My response is usually polite, yet firm.
"Please, allow me to do that." I'll say to them, "If you are too hot or too cold I'll adjust the temperature. What would you like to listen to? What station?"
As for people looking through my CD's I wish they would ask first, but I usually get a kick out of people's reactions to the type of music I listen to.
7. You spill sloppy food or beverages in their car
Never had this problem. I keep waiting for the person who wants to smoke in my car and then is pissed off as Hell when I won't let them, but it hasn't happened yet. I've had a few people ask, but when I said no, they were perfectly fine with it.
Which is reason 10,027 why I like UBER driving more than I did cab driving. Don't get me wrong in cab driving, I did deal with a lot of really cool, interesting individuals, but you deal with a lot of pricks too. You just don't deal with the pricks in UBER. UBER customers are more coherent and they're certainly more educated.
The lady who screams at you for minutes upon end for not letting her stink up your cab with cigarette smoke....you don't deal with that in UBER.
Tuesday, January 19, 2016
10 Pro Wrestlers Who Were Not Superstars (in the United States) Who Could Have Been
Originally this blog was titled, "10 Pro Wrestlers Who Were Not Superstars Who Could Have Been" but when I added Hakushi to the list, I realized that I had to put in the stipulation of "in the United States" in order to be fair. Hakushi was and matter of fact still is a legend over in Japan. The Japanese fans are lucky to be graced with someone as talented and gifted as Hakushi is in the ring and American fans ought to be jealous. We only got to see him for a few short years in America, as he performed in the WWE from 1994-1996 and had an extremely short stint in ECW thereafter. While in WWE, Hakushi had some of the most exciting and entertaining matches with the 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart. I've never seen a Hakushi match where I wasn't vastly glued to my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen.
I would imagine that Hakushi left the WWE, because he was probably never going to get the push to intercontinental champion that he deserved for two reasons. A, professional wrestling at that time in the United States was still a big man's game. A mediocre big man had a far greater chance of getting success, than did a superbly talented small man like Hakushi. It's also noted the WWE has never given much to their Asian superstars with exception of course to Yokozuna, who was actually Samoan.
Sometimes if you want to be successful at something, you have to be 100% into it and make it your whole life. Duke Droese enjoyed professional wrestling, but not enough to make it his whole life and that's why his career never flourished the way it could have. From 1994-1996, Droese worked for the WWE but became homesick and tired of being on the road as much as he was and he decided to call it quits. He went into McMahon's office, had a conversation with him and explained to McMahon that he wasn't cut out for this life style. McMahon released him from his contract and he gave up the life of glamor for a much simpler life teaching special education in Tennessee.
There's one reason and one reason only Ludvig Borga didn't make it bigger in the WWE, and that was because he was an all and all out prick. He was a very angry, pessimistic, negative man that was rather difficult to get along with. Few people liked him. No one ever said you have to be a nice person to be successful though and regardless of his poor attitude, his size and talent helped him to get fairly far in the WWE. If it had not been for an ankle injury he sustained in a match against Rick Steiner, he would have eventually been given the intercontinental title and a main event status push. Had he have had a better attitude and been better liked, I believe WWE would have simply waited for his injury to heal and went ahead with their plans. Yet, I think they realized as he was laid up, that they could instead go in a different direction with individuals who were easier to deal with.
Upon getting out of pro wrestling, Borga found out that he's not nearly as tough as he thought he was, when he stepped into the Octagon and has his butt handed to him by Randy Courture. After his short stint in MMA, he decided to get into politics where he could bully people around verbally with his racist, sexist and homophobic remarks.
When he passed away in 2010, the general consensus was good riddance.
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Alex "The Pug" Pourteau
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Sometimes in life, in order to be successful, you have to be patient. You can't sit around forever waiting for something to happen, but things don't happen over night either. Being impatient, is one of the things that hampered the career of Alex Pourteau. Antsy feet, and the grass always being greener on the other side, Pourteau jumped from federation to federation throughout the late 80's into mid 90's. He was with WCCW in 1988, USWA in 1989 and WCW in 1990. By the time he began to settle down a little bit, he was having a fairly successful career in GWF that lasted from 1991-1994, but unfortunately for him and the other GWF workers, the company lost their television contract with ESPN, and the company soon folded.
Pourteau ended up in the WWE from 1996-1997, and was doomed from the very beginning. For one, he was trying to portray an All American, honest, good sportsmanship displaying "Bob Backlund" type character, during a time when the fans were craving a foul mouthed, screw authority, break the rules bad ass of Stone Cold Steve Austin. It didn't help being named after a small, relatively harmless dog known best for breathing problems either. To top it off, Pourteau, who was an average, never qualified for state high school wrestler, was trying to pull off as if he were a former amateur champion of Olympic caliber. It might have worked 10-15 years prior before the internet, but in 1997 fans could look up his history, find out that he had a 500 career record in high school and call b.s. on his credibility.
It's really a shame too, because Pourteau was an excellent professional wrestler. His technical expertise reminded me a lot of a young Bret Hart. He was a true technician in the ring. He also has the ability to hit high flying maneuvers and he had a tremendous build and physique. He wasn't particularly exceptional on the mic, but he was good enough to pass. I really think if he had been a tad more patient before coming to WWE, allowed himself to develop more of a character, and then been given something better to try than the failed "The Pug" gimmick he was given, that he could have been an upper mid-carder.
Pourteau ended up in the WWE from 1996-1997, and was doomed from the very beginning. For one, he was trying to portray an All American, honest, good sportsmanship displaying "Bob Backlund" type character, during a time when the fans were craving a foul mouthed, screw authority, break the rules bad ass of Stone Cold Steve Austin. It didn't help being named after a small, relatively harmless dog known best for breathing problems either. To top it off, Pourteau, who was an average, never qualified for state high school wrestler, was trying to pull off as if he were a former amateur champion of Olympic caliber. It might have worked 10-15 years prior before the internet, but in 1997 fans could look up his history, find out that he had a 500 career record in high school and call b.s. on his credibility.
It's really a shame too, because Pourteau was an excellent professional wrestler. His technical expertise reminded me a lot of a young Bret Hart. He was a true technician in the ring. He also has the ability to hit high flying maneuvers and he had a tremendous build and physique. He wasn't particularly exceptional on the mic, but he was good enough to pass. I really think if he had been a tad more patient before coming to WWE, allowed himself to develop more of a character, and then been given something better to try than the failed "The Pug" gimmick he was given, that he could have been an upper mid-carder.
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| Tom Brandi |
Sometimes people make decisions in life, that at least on the surface, make little to no sense. If I had to sum up why Tom Brandi isn't a more well known name in the world of professional wrestling, I would say it was because of a bizarre choice he made in 1998. In the mid 90's Brandi entered the WWE under the gimmick of Salvatore Sincere an Italian con-artist of sorts who pretended to be everyone's friend, only to stab them in the back at the end. The character was not over and he was nothing more than enhancement talent for the other superstars. Fellow worker, Marc Mero saw something in Brandi and under his suggestion, began a feud with Brandi which would turn him face and have him drop the Sincere gimmick to work under his real name instead. Feuding with Mero, the fans began to get behind Brandi as he changed his look to an appealing ring attire of black trunks, black elbow pads, black knee pads and black boots with the Italian flag printed on them. As he began to gain momentum and show that he had the ability to be much more than a jobber, he made the sudden, unexpected decision to leave the WWE. Without context as to why he made this decision, it seems very nonsensical and even downright dumb. He spent two years in the WWE without even the slightest hint that he might move up the ladder and then as soon as he gets his first break, he vanishes. I've never been able to make sense of it.
As of today, Brandi works the independents under his real name and as Sincere. He also began using Del Wilkes's The Patriot gimmick, without Wilkes's permission, even though he claimed for a while that he did have Wilkes's blessing. I think the two have since communicated about it and Brandi is no longer using the gimmick.
As of today, Brandi works the independents under his real name and as Sincere. He also began using Del Wilkes's The Patriot gimmick, without Wilkes's permission, even though he claimed for a while that he did have Wilkes's blessing. I think the two have since communicated about it and Brandi is no longer using the gimmick.
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| Scott Putski |
When you love being a part of something so much and you have a true passion for it, it's sometimes hard to related to those who don't. And that may be why some had or still have a hard time trying to relate to Scott Putski. The son of WWE legend, Ivan Putski, Putski was a standout football player for Texas Christian University, who found himself in the world of professional wrestling shortly after graduation. He spent two years in the GWF and then was immediately shoved into the spotlight upon entering the WWE in 1993. Part of the reason Putski did not succeed in the WWE, was because he was not given the proper amount of time to develop his in and out of the ring skills and talents. He was too green and to inexperienced for the opportunities that he was given.
Putski no doubt had an appreciation for professional wrestling, but he also wanted to know what life was like outside of professional wrestling. Having grown up in and around it his whole life, he wanted to see what else besides professional wrestling had to offer. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it does help to explain why Putski never became the superstar he could have been. After leaving the WWE in 1997, Putski had a very short WCW career and then dabbled around in the independents for a while before calling it quits in 2003. In 2013, Putski got an itch to get back into the ring and has been performing in independent shows ever since.
Putski no doubt had an appreciation for professional wrestling, but he also wanted to know what life was like outside of professional wrestling. Having grown up in and around it his whole life, he wanted to see what else besides professional wrestling had to offer. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it does help to explain why Putski never became the superstar he could have been. After leaving the WWE in 1997, Putski had a very short WCW career and then dabbled around in the independents for a while before calling it quits in 2003. In 2013, Putski got an itch to get back into the ring and has been performing in independent shows ever since.
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| Shawn Stasiak |
Similar circumstances to Putski, Stasiak entered the world of professional wrestling immediately after a successful career as a amateur wrestler at Boise State University where he was a two time PAC-10 conference finalist. One of the major problems with Stasiak's career not being as successful as what it should have been, was that his last name (his father Stan Stasiak was a former WWE champion) got him into positions far sooner than it should have. Much like Putski, he was too inexperienced for the opportunities he was given. His first stint in the WWE from 1999-2000, didn't fair the best so he left for WCW. As he was beginning to come into his own and start having success little by little, WCW was bought out by the WWE and rather than be one of the former WCW guys that got shoved under the rug, he decided to call it quits on his professional wrestling career.
As of today, Stasiak is a successful chiropractor and motivational speaker.
Similar circumstances to Putski, Stasiak entered the world of professional wrestling immediately after a successful career as a amateur wrestler at Boise State University where he was a two time PAC-10 conference finalist. One of the major problems with Stasiak's career not being as successful as what it should have been, was that his last name (his father Stan Stasiak was a former WWE champion) got him into positions far sooner than it should have. Much like Putski, he was too inexperienced for the opportunities he was given. His first stint in the WWE from 1999-2000, didn't fair the best so he left for WCW. As he was beginning to come into his own and start having success little by little, WCW was bought out by the WWE and rather than be one of the former WCW guys that got shoved under the rug, he decided to call it quits on his professional wrestling career.
As of today, Stasiak is a successful chiropractor and motivational speaker.
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| Hakushi |
Originally this blog was titled, "10 Pro Wrestlers Who Were Not Superstars Who Could Have Been" but when I added Hakushi to the list, I realized that I had to put in the stipulation of "in the United States" in order to be fair. Hakushi was and matter of fact still is a legend over in Japan. The Japanese fans are lucky to be graced with someone as talented and gifted as Hakushi is in the ring and American fans ought to be jealous. We only got to see him for a few short years in America, as he performed in the WWE from 1994-1996 and had an extremely short stint in ECW thereafter. While in WWE, Hakushi had some of the most exciting and entertaining matches with the 1-2-3 Kid and Bret Hart. I've never seen a Hakushi match where I wasn't vastly glued to my seat, with my eyes glued to the screen.
I would imagine that Hakushi left the WWE, because he was probably never going to get the push to intercontinental champion that he deserved for two reasons. A, professional wrestling at that time in the United States was still a big man's game. A mediocre big man had a far greater chance of getting success, than did a superbly talented small man like Hakushi. It's also noted the WWE has never given much to their Asian superstars with exception of course to Yokozuna, who was actually Samoan.
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| Duke "The Dumpster" Droese |
Sometimes if you want to be successful at something, you have to be 100% into it and make it your whole life. Duke Droese enjoyed professional wrestling, but not enough to make it his whole life and that's why his career never flourished the way it could have. From 1994-1996, Droese worked for the WWE but became homesick and tired of being on the road as much as he was and he decided to call it quits. He went into McMahon's office, had a conversation with him and explained to McMahon that he wasn't cut out for this life style. McMahon released him from his contract and he gave up the life of glamor for a much simpler life teaching special education in Tennessee.
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| Ludvig Borga |
There's one reason and one reason only Ludvig Borga didn't make it bigger in the WWE, and that was because he was an all and all out prick. He was a very angry, pessimistic, negative man that was rather difficult to get along with. Few people liked him. No one ever said you have to be a nice person to be successful though and regardless of his poor attitude, his size and talent helped him to get fairly far in the WWE. If it had not been for an ankle injury he sustained in a match against Rick Steiner, he would have eventually been given the intercontinental title and a main event status push. Had he have had a better attitude and been better liked, I believe WWE would have simply waited for his injury to heal and went ahead with their plans. Yet, I think they realized as he was laid up, that they could instead go in a different direction with individuals who were easier to deal with.
Upon getting out of pro wrestling, Borga found out that he's not nearly as tough as he thought he was, when he stepped into the Octagon and has his butt handed to him by Randy Courture. After his short stint in MMA, he decided to get into politics where he could bully people around verbally with his racist, sexist and homophobic remarks.
When he passed away in 2010, the general consensus was good riddance.
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| Mr. Hughes |
The real life cousin of Dudley Boys' D'von, Mr. Hughes in many ways was his own worst enemy. Sometimes in life we have to wait our turn. He didn't want to wait his turn, he wanted to be on top and he wanted to be on top right now. As a result both his WCW and WWE runs were relatively short. Rumor has it, that he didn't want to do jobs for anyone and when he would lose it was almost always by count-out or disqualification as he blatantly refused to lose by fall or submission. One of the main reasons he didn't get opportunities to be in more marquee matches was because he thought he should be winning all of the matches and be the top heel in the company. It's a shame that he had the attitude he did, because he had one Hell of a character and he was a good in ring worker. It's even more of a shame that he burned the bridges he did, because he's lost weight, and he's gotten a lot better in the ring. He's quicker and he's in better shape, than he was 20 years ago. Not many can say that.
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| Erik Watts |
Sometimes in life you can almost have too much going for you. Watts, a stand out wrestler and football player in high school, who was a star quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals in college, was also the son of professional wrestling promoter Bill Watts. Encouraged by his father and treated like he was a huge deal, Watts felt he was a huge deal, and acted like he was a huge deal way, way before he was. In the long run, it was unfair to Watts in many ways because he was an extremely talented kid, who simply needed someone to sit him down and give him a little guidance. He needed to be set straight about the business, but instead was given breaks throughout his WCW career from 1992-1994 because of his Dad's position of power.
When Watts left for the WWE, I was hoping that he'd have an opportunity to showcase that he could make it on his own without the aid of his father. Thrown into what could have been a successful tag team with Chad Fortune, Techno Team 2000, Watts was unable to adjust to an environment where he was not treated like a big deal. The team only lasted for less than two years.
His career from that point on was lackluster. Short stints in WCW, ECW and most recently TNA from 2002-2005 revealed a person who seemed bitter and frustrated that he was near the end of his run and that he had not made it bigger and further than what he did. We all look back at our lives and have moments where we realize we could have made better decisions. Had Watts made better decisions, and had he have had some guidance I think he could have been one of WCW's top guys. He simply needed time to adjust and develop and he was never given that time. It's no wonder things turned out the way they did.
When Watts left for the WWE, I was hoping that he'd have an opportunity to showcase that he could make it on his own without the aid of his father. Thrown into what could have been a successful tag team with Chad Fortune, Techno Team 2000, Watts was unable to adjust to an environment where he was not treated like a big deal. The team only lasted for less than two years.
His career from that point on was lackluster. Short stints in WCW, ECW and most recently TNA from 2002-2005 revealed a person who seemed bitter and frustrated that he was near the end of his run and that he had not made it bigger and further than what he did. We all look back at our lives and have moments where we realize we could have made better decisions. Had Watts made better decisions, and had he have had some guidance I think he could have been one of WCW's top guys. He simply needed time to adjust and develop and he was never given that time. It's no wonder things turned out the way they did.
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| Evan Karagias |
Not everything in life is up to you. There are times when other people make decisions that effect your life. Not everything is in your control. WWE really missed the boat, when they didn't utilize Evan Karagias the way they could have. The way they should have.
I was a huge Evan Karagias fan. Towards the end of WCW, he was my favorite superstar. A former state champion high school wrestler, who wrestled for North Carolina State while getting a degree in theatre, I had a lot in common with Karagias. I felt that he was much better than the three count gimmick that he was being stuck with.
When he went into the WWE, upon the closing of WCW,I was hoping that WWE would realize that they had the next Shawn Michaels on their hands, and I was hoping that they would capitalize on it. Instead, they barely used Karagias and he ended up having a severe concussion that more or less ended his career.
This was a guy, that with the right backing and the right people believing in him, could have been a major star.
As of today, Karagias makes a living as a tax consultant.
Not everything in life is up to you. There are times when other people make decisions that effect your life. Not everything is in your control. WWE really missed the boat, when they didn't utilize Evan Karagias the way they could have. The way they should have.
I was a huge Evan Karagias fan. Towards the end of WCW, he was my favorite superstar. A former state champion high school wrestler, who wrestled for North Carolina State while getting a degree in theatre, I had a lot in common with Karagias. I felt that he was much better than the three count gimmick that he was being stuck with.
When he went into the WWE, upon the closing of WCW,I was hoping that WWE would realize that they had the next Shawn Michaels on their hands, and I was hoping that they would capitalize on it. Instead, they barely used Karagias and he ended up having a severe concussion that more or less ended his career.
This was a guy, that with the right backing and the right people believing in him, could have been a major star.
As of today, Karagias makes a living as a tax consultant.
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