WWE Byte This! Recap – 04/11/2003
Report By Michael Hoffman
Hosts: Howard Finkel, Josh Matthews
Guests: Jimmy Hart, William Regal, Sable The show opens with the Sylvan Grenier/Rene Dupree vignette followed by the Sable/Torrie Wilson shower scene from SmackDown.
Finkel and Matthews discuss the Rock/Goldberg confrontation and its possible ramifications on Backlash.
Droz joins the show for the Droz’s Two Cents segment.
The trio discusses the following storylines:
The Rock vs. Goldberg feud
The involvement of Christian into the feud
The return of Kevin Nash
The confrontation between Jim Ross and Eric Bischoff
The Number One Contender Tournament for the WWE Championship
Droz discusses topics for his next column, and then leaves the show.
While waiting for the first guest, Finkel and Matthews briefly discuss the return of Sable, Piper’s Pit, and the ongoing McMahon/Hogan storyline.
Jimmy Hart joins the program.
Finkel talks about watching tapes of Hart from Memphis in the early 80’s and convincing management to bring him in to the then-WWF. Hart talks about how he believed the first call from Vince McMahon, a phone message, was a rib by Austin Idol. A second call from then-booker George Scott also went unanswered. Finally, Hillbilly Jim convinced Hart that the call really was McMahon. Hillbilly contacted Finkel, and minutes later McMahon called Hart.
Hart talks about working with Hulk Hogan in Memphis during Hart’s feud with Jerry Lawler. Hart quickly tells the story of a conversation he and Lawler had about Hogan, then Terry Boulder. Hart was very impressed with the youngster, while Lawler told Jimmy, “He’ll never make a dime in this business.” Hart says that to this day Lawler denies that conversation ever took place. Hart continues to talk about his personal and professional relationship with Hogan.
Hart discusses his departure from the then-WWF to work with Hogan on Thunder In Paradise and other ventures outside of the squared circle. He says McMahon was very supportive of Hart, saying that he would always have a place in the WWF.
Matthews asks how Hogan feels about sitting at home. Hart talked to Hulk earlier and said Hogan is trying to figure out a way to get even with Vince McMahon and return to WWE. He said that he is taking McMahon’s actions very hard because he loves performing for the fans.
Finkel asks if he believes Hogan’s son Nicholas will follow the path of his father into wrestling. Hart thinks so; he compared it to watching Shane McMahon grow up and becoming involved in nearly every aspect of the business. He also shared a story of he, The Nasty Boys, and Ultimate Warrior spending a night in the McMahon home.
Howard says that he is happy to see Hart back in WWE with Hogan and asks Jimmy to compare the wrestlers from his first run in the mid-80’s to those of today. Hart first clarifies that he is not sure he is technically back. Hart says that the 80’s were great because every wrestler had a gimmick, but he says he is very excited about some of the younger wrestlers because he worked with them on WCW Saturday Night a few years ago.
Finkel admits he may have spoken in error about Hart’s status with WWE. He and Josh thank Hart for calling in.
Jimmy Hart leaves the show.
Outthink The Fink: From what city and state was Frankie Williams, the first Piper’s Pit guest, hail? (Answer: Columbus, OH)
William Regal joins the show.
Finkel asks Regal to explain why he has been out of the ring for the past couple months. Regal got violently ill for a few days during the WWE tour of India. He says that when they got back from the tour he still didn’t feel well. His sickness did not carry over to his ring work, but he says that he began to feel more rundown after wrestling and training. Two weeks before No Way Out, he again became ill and just could not get well. On the day of No Way Out, his lower body started to swell. The following day, he found that he was retaining about 15 to 20 pounds of water. He was admitted to an Atlanta hospital and it was found that he had an irregular heartbeat, which was causing the fluid retention. He is not able to wrestle at this time; the medication that he is taking causes his blood to thin, so he now bruises easily. The doctors want to be sure that no clots have formed before Regal can return to wrestling.
Matthews asks for Regal’s assessment of WrestleMania. Regal says that it may have been the best WrestleMania that he has seen. Regal says that he enjoyed just watching the show and could not offer any critique of a specific performance. He added that if he were to offer his opinion, he would do so directly to that worker to give them an opportunity for a rebuttal.
Regal states that he does not regret missing WrestleMania. When he was first admitted to the hospital, he admits to being annoyed, but that since discovering exactly why he was becoming ill, he has felt very peaceful. He looks forward to getting better, saying that he is now doing about 45 minutes of cardiovascular activity. He has not resumed weight training to this point.
Regal says he has no problems with Chief Morley stripping him of his tag team title, stating that business needed to move on. He believes that Morley is a good partner for Lance Storm, and looks forward to teaming with Storm again when he returns.
Regal feels he has not really hit his stride in WWE because of the style that he works. He says that to be able to wrestle his style well, he needs to work with another wrestler who also works that style. He talks about enjoying working the house shows because he can better work to the people instead of to the television.
Regal talks about the chemistry with Storm; he compares it to working with Fit Finlay and Chris Benoit.
Matthews brings up the Brian Pillman Memorial match with Benoit. Regal says that he and Chris have actually had better matches than that one, but that the crowd was so into the work that it made the match seem spectacular. He envies Benoit and Eddy Guerrero for having the talent to work many different ring styles and being able to have a great match with anyone. Regal states he is more of a backbone wrestler, explaining that his matches are not spectacular, but that they are technically sound.
Finkel sends his best wishes to Regal. William Regal leaves the show.
Sable joins the show.
Finkel asks Sable if she thought she would ever return to WWE and how her return came about. Sable says that one never says “never” in this business. She says that she hoped to return one day, and that she and Vince McMahon decided to settle their differences, put the past behind them, and do what was good for the company. She is very excited to be back in WWE.
Finkel talks about Torrie Wilson and her Playboy layout. Sable feels that there is plenty of room for more than one Playboy diva and that this seemed like the perfect time to return and to give Torrie her support.
Sable states that she feels very welcome in the locker room today, and says that a lot of people were shocked to see her back.
Finkel asks about Sable’s husband, Mark Mero. His is now managing her career and is very supportive of her.
IM question asks if Sable would jump to Raw to challenge for the WWE Woman’s Championship. Not at this time, she says, as she is very happy with being on SmackDown. She feels that the opportunity to pursue the championship will be there for her down the line.
Caller Kyle from MA cites the Sable kiss of Torrie and asks if there are other divas she would like to get a taste of. Sable replies that she is “Sable-icious” and that it may be the other divas wanting a taste of her.
Sable talks about her activities after she left the WWF. She continued to watch WWE from time to time, and shot four movies, in addition to an appearance in WCW.
Chat room question asks how Sable feels about not being the only diva in WWE. She feels the abundance of women is good for the division as a whole. Matthews points out that the division has become more physical since her first run and asks if she would like to return to wrestling. Sable is unsure what path her current role will take.
Caller Tom from MD asks how she plans to deal with talent still with the company who may have been indirectly cited in her lawsuit years ago. She says that she does not believe in avoiding a confrontation, but that she did not mention specific names or events in her lawsuit. She states that certain events occurred which made her feel that it would be best to leave and pursue other interests. She says that everyone has been open with her since her return to the locker room.
Sable was overwhelmed just preparing to appear on SmackDown two weeks ago. She says that an aspect of wrestling that she missed was performing in front of an audience and that the fans’ reaction to her was overwhelming.
Finkel plugs Confidential, which features a story on Sable, and wishes Sable luck in her return. Sable leaves the show.
Tazz joins the show.
Howard asks about the return of Piper’s Pit. Tazz recalls watching the first Pits in the 80’s and never dreamed he would see Piper return so many years later. He enjoyed the interaction between Vince and Piper during this week’s segment. He also looks forward to seeing how the relationship between Sean O’Haire and Piper pans out.
Regarding the Number One Contender’s Tournament, Tazz predicts the Benoit will win his match with John Cena. He does feel that Cena has a bright future in WWE.
Finkel asks if Tazz plans to ever return to wrestling full-time. Tazz says no; he is very happy in his current role and does not want to change that. He enjoys learning more to improve his announcing skills. He states that injuries he sustained accumulated to the point that if he would return, he may risk paralysis in later years.
Tazz talks about how he didn’t really want to be an announcer for the first six months of his stint. Then he realized that it was something that he enjoyed doing and that he could do well. He talks about the support and knowledge he has received from Jim Ross, Michael Cole, Kevin Kelly, and others.
Howard asks for Tazz’s opinion on the Full-Blooded Italians. He loves the gimmick, but he feels they are making a mistake messing with Undertaker.
Discussion turns to the “Ride From Hell” with Matthews, Cole, and Tazz during the Northeast blizzard in February. Humorous stories of the road trip, documented in the current WWE Magazine, were told.
Tazz leaves the show.
The recapped Confidential segment featuring Frankie Williams was shown, and the winner of the Outthink The Fink contest was announced.
Finkel runs down some upcoming WWE events as the show concludes.
Tentative guests for next week: Torrie Wilson, Goldberg
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