On the Beat with Christy Hemme

Wizard World is one of my favorite conventions.  I have attended and covered several of the events in Chicago and elsewhere and have always had a great time.  The vendors, artists and celebrity guests are all very people (and reporter) friendly.
At the last WW con in Chicago, I caught up with Christy Hemme.  I have interviewed Hemme a couple times in the past and she is always ready to talk about her music, travel or wrestling.  She is an excellent spokesperson for TNA Wrestling.

Fans can knock TNA Wrestling for a lot of reasons, but one thing nobody can deny is that they are extremely fan-oriented.  They have a lot of fan events and much of the talent is accessible.  At WW, fellow TNA star Mick Foley also talked to us and Kevin Nash posed with us, but we missed the interview times.

Thanks to Wizard World, TNA Wrestling and Christy Hemme for the time and consideration.They never tell me to write nice things, but this is what they deserve.

On the Beat With Greg Evans

Yesterday, I wrote about receiving a signed Luann comic strip and a personal note from Greg Evans, the creator of Luann.  I decided to try to contact Evans and ask him a few questions.  Evans responded very quickly and positively.  My questions and his answers are below.

Q:How have you kept Luann fresh and relevant for so long?
Evans:The evolution of Luann has been unconscious - that is, I've been led by the characters steady development over the years. As they've grown more complex and "real" so has the strip. They've never been fixed in time; they live in today's world.

Q:How did it feel the first time you saw Luann in a bookstore and were asked for an autograph?
Evans:GREAT! Until I noticed that the store had 4 copies of the Luann book and 185 of Fox Trot. Being asked for an autograph is a genuine compliment to me. I've never considered it a nuisance or invasion - unless it's "Could you sign your name and draw all your characters on this stack of 3x5 cards?"

Q:Have you given thought to aging Luann into an adult?
Evans:If I keep aging Luann, she'll turn into Cathy. I'm not sure I need to go there. Again, the characters will tell me when they're ready to age.

Q:Have your children ever expressed concern that part of their lives would end up in a Luann strip?
Evans:No. In th early years, when my kids were teens, I was careful not to put anything in the strip that might embarrass them. For instance, when I did the story about Luann getting her first period, I did it well in advance of my own daughter's experience.

Q:What is your favorite location?
Evans:Home. I like to travel (well, actually, I hate to TRAVEL - I just like BEING somewhere. Give me that Star Trek Transporter, please) but I'm always eager to get home. I like the comfy rut.

Evans has been creating Luann strips for newspapers since March 17, 1985.  He has tackled socially relevant and important issues over the years, while always keeping the humor and warmth that Luann fans enjoy.  Luann has aged a bit since her debut and her world has expanded, but we can always count on the comic strip to brighten the day.  Evans has created Luann, her family and friends with
Evans has had more than 20 Luann books published, including his latest Luann 25 Years, which can (and should) be purchased from the Luann site.  If you order from his site, Evans will sign the book and the first 200 people will get a free Luann Musical cd (yes, there also was a Luann musical.  How cool is that?).
Thanks to Greg Evans for answering my questions and for so many years of enjoyment from Luann.

.

Luann 25 by Greg Evans (Photo (c) 2010 The Cartoonist Studio)

Autograph Tales

Many years ago, I wrote letters requesting autographs from several cartoonists.  Most replied with a signed index card.  Greg Evans, the creator of Luann, surprised me with the biggest response.
Evans sent me a hand-written note on Luann letterhead.  He also included a signed copy of a Luann panel.
Evans has been producing Luann since 1985.  The strip follows the adventures of a teenager (Luann) and her family and friends.  Like some other more recent comic strips, Luann has aged since her debut.  She isn't aging day for day, but her and her friends have grown a lot since their debut.
It's always extra special when you get more than expected with a through-the-mail autograph request.  Evans certainly went above and beyond.

Celeb Rookie Cards #33 Emmy Rossum & Ralph Macchio

They aren't perfect, but hopefully they are getting better and are enjoyable.  In either case, they are Celebrity Rookie Cards, my attempt to join the world of virtual card creations.

Emmy Rossum is a young actress-singer.  She was nominated for a Golden Globe award (for Best Actress in a musical or comedy) for her work in The Phantom of the Opera.  She became the youngest person ever to be nominated for that award.  As prestigious as that was, I am sure she would be prouder of her appearance on a Celebrity Rookie Card in New Jersey Devils garb.

The next Celeb Rookie Card features Ralph Macchio, who seems like he has been around forever.  Macchio is posing in an Islanders jersey, a photo I later learned was used for a ProSet card in the early 1990's.  Although it goes against my basic mindset (like there are rules involved in this?), I had already made my card and didn't want to be wasteful.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

Today is a very special Friendly Encounters.  It features one of my classmates through 8 years at Sacred Heart school.  Back then, she was Mary Jovanovich.  Now she is Mary Brazzale, mother of two teenagers.
Mary was Class President in 8th grade and voted "Most Athletic" by our class.  She was well-liked by all and was funny, friendly, smart and everything you'd want in a classmate friend.
We went to different high schools, but I would see her around the neighborhood occasionally.  Unfortunately after high school, I lost track of most of my Sacred Heart classmates, including Mary.
A few months back, several of us reconnected on Facebook.  It was great to see Mary and her family. 
Mary and her family are big Hawks fans (her husband got to hold the Stanley Cup!).  At one of the games last season, Mary ran into Bill Wennington (who won some titles with the Chicago Bulls a few years back).  Mary was gracious enough to share the photo here.
I appreciate Mary sharing her photo here.  I can't believe so much time passed, but I am happy to see that Mary is doing well.

Mary Jovanovich Brazzale and Bill Wennington in Chicago, IL-May 2010.

Bear Down Sunday #15

The Chicago Bears are 10-4 and have clinched the NFC North.  They are now fighting for home field advantage as they face the New York Jets who are also 10-4, but are fighting for an AFC Wildcard.  In honor of the Bears being NFC North champs, I am presenting Kevin Butler, the last active member of the 1985 Bears, our last championship team. 
Butthead was a rookie on that championship team.  He was an outstanding kicker for the Bears for eleven seasons, before kicking for the Arizona Cardinals for his last two seasons.  He was also one of the most popular Bears of that era.
I met Butthead a few times and he was always very friendly.  One time I saw him was in Plattville at training camp.  By then he was a grizzled veteran.  He talked to us briefly as he headed for his vehicle.
Hopefully, Robbie Gould will join Butler as a kicker on a Super Bowl champ.  Gould kicked for the Bears in the 2006 Super Bowl season, but that ended in a loss.  Gould and the Bears need to bring home the trophy (just like Butler did).

Kevin Butler in Platteville, WI-August 1994.

Merry Christmas

Holiday Music Part 4:LeAnn Rimes

It is reported that LeAnn Rimes has been active in the music business since she was 9, but it was her 1996 release Blue which put her in the spotlight.  She was often compared to Patsy Cline.

I've always been a sucker for a good ballad and few people can belt out a ballad like Rimes.  Many people have done "All I want for Christmas is You" and this version is one of my favorites.

Everybody's Got a Record (C)HCoSG

Matt F. is the creative force behind an interesting site called Heartbreaking Cards of Staggering Genius.  The site contains all sorts of great sports stuff, including a few series like Heartbreakingly Great Names.

Another of his series is Everybody's Got a Record, in which he "strives to prove the universal truth that every baseball player holds some kind of record".  I really enjoy this series and wrote Matt that I wanted to borrow his feature for a few of my favorite players. This proved to be challenging, as my favorite players of the past often times didn't have a great body of work.

My first attempt was former Chicago White Sox first baseman Mike Squires.  Squires had a decent ten year career, mostly as a part-time player, although he did win a Gold Glove in 1981.

I scrolled down to the Leaderboard section on his BB Reference page and struck gold.  There it was...a record for Squires!  He is #1 all-time for Range Factor/9 Innings for 1B.  His 10.496 is technically tied with Ron Jackson and the data only goes back to 1974, but it is his record right now and I am touting it!

 

Thanks goes to Matt for allowing me to borrow his feature.  Thanks also goes to Matt for consistently posting interesting stuff.

The Top Ten Female Wrestlers of 2010

With 2010 winding down quickly and 2011 right around the corner, who were the most popular women on this blog this year?
The answers might surprise you...

10. Natalya
Coming in at number ten, we have the current WWE Divas Champion.
I don't think anyone out there doesn't think she deserves it either.
She and Beth just defeated Lay-Cool in the first ever Diva's Tag Team Tables match in WWE history.

9. Madison Rayne
This three time TNA Women's Knockout Champion comes in at number nine.
Is it just me, or does she kinda resemble Molly Holly at some angles?

8. Jillian Hall
Yet another former WWE Diva and one with enough wrestling cred to rival Beth Phoenix.
One of my favorite wrestling rumors at the moment is that maybe she will go to TNA and do something besides sing.

7. Mickie James
Another former WWE Diva, now on the TNA Roster, Mickie is going strong over there at the "other" wrestling promotion.

6. Beth Phoenix
The return of the woman I consider to be one of the best actual wrestlers out there today made a lot of fans happy.
But why do I keep thinking we'll see her turn on Natayla soon?

5. Christy Hemme
A huge surge in popularity for the former WWE Diva and current TNA Knockout.
Possibly because she wants to get back into the ring?

4. Michelle McCool
The two time WWE Divas Champion and WWE Women's Champion, the Pro Wrestling Illustrated number one ranked female wrestler in the world for 2010 and the two time 2010 Slammy winner Mrs. Undertaker only managed to make it to number four.

3. Torrie Wilson
WCW and WWF beauty Torrie Wilson came in at number three, making the second woman in the top ten that's not even wrestling anymore.

2. Chyna
A big surprise to me is that "The Ninth Wonder of the World" came in at number two.
Joan Laurer may be having a bad time, but the fans still love their Chyna Doll.

1. Maryse
Without a doubt, the Canadian born blond was number one here.
I'm really glad that they have finally let her get back into the ring and actually wrestle some.



The Top Ten Female Wrestlers of 2010, posted to http://beautiful-wrestling.blogspot.com/ on December 23rd, 2010

Johngy Meets the Hitman

When I was in Los Angeles to interview Rick Monday for Global Traveler magazine, I also had a chance to talk to coach Mike Easler. I asked him about his favorite city and he named Pittsburgh, citing the downtown area and the eateries. Fellow coach Larry Bowa questioned (mocked?) Easler's choice of Pittsburgh. Naturally, I had to include Bowa in the interview. It can be found here on YouTube.
A few years before that, Easler was nice enough to sign a few cards for me through the mail. I offered him more to keep and ended up sending him a good supply for his own use.
When I saw him at the Ultimate Collectibles Show in Oaks (PA) last year, he didn't remember the interview, but he did remember the extra cards I sent. He thanked me again and I said I had been a long-time fan despite his usual prowess against my beloved Cubs. We had a good laugh about that.
I really liked Easler (some might say he was too good to be on my favorites list, but I digress). Easler tallied 1078 hits over his 14 year career. Unfortunately for him, his first full season was when he was already 29. Still, for about a seven year period (beginning with that first full season), Easler was pretty darn good and pretty feared.
As a side bit of trivia, Easler is married to Brenda, who is Cliff Johnson's sister. Easler has stated that she spent a lot of time pitching to him ("although she didn't have a good breaking ball", according to Easler). He's truly one of the good guys.

Mike Easler and me in Oaks, PA-October 2009.

Happy Birthday Jim

Today, I am highlighting Jim Gekas on his birthday.  Jim is the third Gekas in 22 days to celebrate a birthday.
I met Jim through his brother Chuck.  Jim started to work at Lerner Newspapers after Chuck left, but while I was still there.  Jim has also became a regular on my softball team.
Jim is a definite Hall of Famer when it comes to musical trivia (but I do think I might have a shot at "Name That Tune" against him).  Jim is also a gifted musician as evident by his song Mr. Robinson.
On a baseball trip to Pittsburgh with a few friends, Jim ran into his childhood favorite, Manny Sanguillen.  Jim was a big fan of the Pirates from that era.  It was really cool to see Jim get excited and pose with his hero.  I have done this hundreds of times, but I always get a kick when I see my friends meet one of their favorites.
Jim is certainly one of my closest friends and I appreciate and value his friendship greatly.  I hope today is a great day.  Happy birthday, Seamus!

Jim Gekas and Manny Sanguillen in PNC Park in Pittsburgh, PA-June 2005

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting my friends who have met celebrities.

I have previously written about Jason and his site, The Writer's Journey.  Jason's site is heavy on the Cincinnati Reds, but also features other great baseball stuff and some other random interesting topics.  It's really done well and always worth a look.  He even answered my request and made a 2010 Topps card for longtime backup catcher (and personal favorite) Bill Plummer.
Jason and his son are regular attendees at RedsFest and this year was no different.  They met a lot of great former Reds, like Tom Browning, Eric Davis and Chuck Harmon (the first African-American to play for the Reds).
They also met one current member of the Reds, pitcher Bronson Arroyo.  Arroyo happens to be my favorite Red.  Arroyo signed his cd and a card for Joshua.
Jason ended his report by writing that they had a blast and look forward to next year's event.  I always look forward to the reports and posts about RedsFest.  It's great to see so many former Reds.  Maybe someday, they'll post a picture after meeting Bill Plummer!

Joshua and Bronson Arroyo in Cincinnati, OH-December 2010.

Bear Down Sunday #14

The Bears got thumped last week and now stand at 10-3.  Tomorrow, they are playing their divisional rival, the Minnesota Vikings, who are 5-8, playing in an outdoor stadium and dealing with the continuing Brett Favre saga.
Everything is harder in the frigid air, especially punting.  Chicago has been lucky with punters for most of my life.  The Bears had Bob Parsons for most of my youth and have had Brad Maynard for the last several years.  Starting in the mid-80's, the Bears had Maury Buford.
Buford was a small guy.  He's listed at 6'-1" and 191 pounds.  That is certainly a far cry from a certain large armed punter the Bears had in the 90's.
Buford was a very funny guy, too.  I had a great time when I met him at a charity bowling event.  He joked about a lot of his ex-teammates in Chicago and he talked about the challenge of punting here.  Actually, he averaged only two yards less in Chicago, then he had in San Diego.
I will be watching Brad Maynard as he battles the weather in Minnesota.  Hopefully, he will have a great game and help the Bears defense.
The picture isn't the best, but I do like how it looked in a negative form.  I think it's better that way.

Maury Buford and me in Arlington Heights, IL-Mid 1990's.

Celeb Rookie Cards #32 Jared Fogle & Mark Wahlberg

They aren't perfect, but hopefully they are getting better and are enjoyable.  In either case, they are Celebrity Rookie Cards, my attempt to join the world of virtual card creations.

Jared Fogle gained fame by losing a lot of weight on his self-organized Subway sandwich diet.  I know, normally you would think I would not give more publicity to a "non-celebrity" celebrity.  However, even I can't argue with his success.  The diet worked and the ads worked.  When Subway started to go away from using Jared, the company saw sales drop.  When they brought him back, sales increased.  Go figure.  Jared donned the Colts uni for his Celebrity Rookie Card.  With the number of injuired to the Colts, maybe Fogle could help them, too.

Mark Wahlberg has come a long way from his days as Marky Mark, leader of the Funky Bunch.  Wahlberg has established himself as one of the better young actors of this era.  It was his performance as Vince Papale in Invincible which earned him his first Celeb Rookie Card.

On the Beat with Beth Horn (A Lost Interview)

While scrounging through some disks, I came across an interview I did with actress Beth Horn in 2008 at Wizard World.  It was an impromptu interview that I ultimately used for Global Traveler, although it was originally intended for a different magazine.

I had my recorder with me and I saw Horn.  I thought she would be a great fit for a specific local women's magazine in Chicago.  I approached her and she gladly gave me several minutes of her time.
We talked about her time on tv's American Gladiators, as well as her developing movie career.  She had recently just finished filming scenes for Fancy Pants, a movie which was scheduled for release, but has yet to be.  It also starred my old friends, Roddy Piper and Terry Funk.
I also discovered that Beth went to Resurrection high school on the northwest side f Chicago.  During my time at Lerner Newspapers, I am sure I saw Beth's name and picture many times in our high school sports section.
I caught up with Beth this past summer and posted the video here.  Now, if we can turn back the clock, here is my found 2008 interview with Beth Horn.

Holiday Music Part 3:Billy Joel

I can't do any music list without naming Billy Joel.  As everyone knows, I am a longtime and avid Billy Joel fan(atic).
Unfortunately, the clip below is just audio.  Billy performs a duet of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" with none other than Rosie O'Donnell.  Yes, Rosie O'Donnell.  It was on a holiday album that O'Donnell released.  It's an odd combo, but it works.

The Ex WWE Divas of 2010

Since we are coming up on the end of the year, I thought it would be interesting to see which WWE Divas the WWE let go this year...

1. Maria Kanellis
Maria Kanellis was released on February 26th.
Maria has been working on her music career and modeling since leaving the WWE, and on December 10th, she announced on her Twitter account that she would be acting in two horror films.
One of the films is allegedly a sequel to one of the worst films ever made (really, it rivals Plan 9) Manos: The Hands of Fate.
The sequel is called Manos: The Search For Valley Lodge and it also stars another ex-WWE Superstar, Gene Snitsky.
You can keep up with Maria at her Facebook page here:
http://www.facebook.com/OfficialMariaKanellis

2. Mickie James
April 22nd, Mickie James was released by the WWE.
Mickie went on into music and released her first single, "Are You With Me?", on February 16, 2010.
That was followed by her first album Strangers & Angels, on May 18, 2010, released on iTunes.
Then on December 2nd 2010, Mickie released a new country single called, "Hardcore Country".
Of course Mickie is currently working for TNA.

3. Katarina Waters
Katarina Waters (Katie Lea Burchill) was also released the same day as Mickie.
And like Mickie, she has also gone to TNA as Winter.
Currently, Winter and Angelina Love are the TNA Knockout Tag Team Champions.
But be quiet.
No one is supposed to know about that till December 23rd.

4. Angela Fong
On June 23, 2010, Angela Fong (Savannah) was released from the WWE.
A lot of people had high hopes for Savannah, especially that she might move past interviewing and get into the ring.
After all, she was the first ever Queen of FCW, a title she defended for seven months.
After her release, she did get in the ring, although working for the Indys.
On September 26, 2010 she defeated Randi West and won the vacant Ground Breaking Pro Wrestling Ladies Championship becoming their first champion.

5. Serena Deeb
August 20th, Serena Deeb was released.
Allegedly she was released for released for not "living out" her Straight Edge Society persona in public.
After her release, Serena went back to Shimmer Women Athletes and Ring of Honor.

6. Brittany Beede
On October 12th, Brittany Beede (Jamie Keyes) was released.
She really wasn't with the WWE for very long, starting in December 20, 2009.
Brittany didn't get to do much for the WWE, and that disappointed a lot of fans that were very impressed with her physique.
In November, she was in the running for Iron Man Magazine's 2011 BodySpace Spokesmodel search.

7. Jillian Hall
On November 19, 2010, Jillian Hall was released from her WWE contract.
Of course the WWE never used Jillian to her potential.
In the Indys, she has held nine Womens Championships.
So will we see her in TNA?

8. Taryn Terrell
And on that same day, Jillian was released, Taryn Terrell (Tiffany) was also released.
This supposedly stems from an event on August 8th, 2010, when she was arrested in Los Angeles County, California for domestic assault after an alleged argument with her husband Drew McIntyre (Drew Galloway).
Tiffany was released later that day on $20,000 bail and on September 26th all charges against her had been dropped.
But on November 19th, she was released from the WWE.
Besides the trouble with the WWE, Taryn also has some health issues, namely Blebs Disease (Blebs are air filled sacs which look like blisters that develop on the lungs).



The Ex WWE Divas of 2010, posted to http://beautiful-wrestling.blogspot.com/ on December 16th, 2010

Autograph Tales:Jeff Conine

I spent a lot of time sending out cards to players hoping for their autographs. In the 90's, card companies started to make my life a little easier.
The Signature Series produced by Donruss was a beautiful collection of legitimately signed cards. I am not sure how it was decided who would get cards in these sets. There were stars, average players, hot prospects and some players who didn't do much.
I didn't get many of these cards, but I got the ones I wanted. I did not want any card more than I wanted Jeff Conine. Of the many autographed items I have, Conine was not part of my collection until I landed this beauty.  Until I meet this mancrush and get an autograph inperson, this will remain the best.

Jeff Conine's 1998 Donruss Signature Series card.

Ian Ziering in Rosemont 60018

You might be reluctant to admit it, but didn't most of us watch Beverly Hills, 90210 at some point? It ran for 10 seasons and helped launch many careers. One of the co-stars was Ian Ziering, who played Steve, friend of the Walsh family.
The show ended ten years ago, but Ziering looks the same. It isn't a bad-plastic, frozen-in-time look either. Ziering looks great.
He is also a nice guy. I ran out of time one day at the show and I asked him if we could talk the next day. He readily agreed. The next day as I walked by his booth, he recognized me and waved me over.
He has just started to do a few of these conventions and says that he really enjoys them. He likes meeting the fans, meeting other celebrities and seeing different cities. He also said how much he likes Chicago.
Okay, yes, he could have just been saying the right thing, but I don't think so. His explanations, look and inflection gave me the impression that he was being completely honest. He was just fun to meet. Plus, I kept expecting Brandon or Brenda Walsh to come arond the corner and invite us both to the Peach Pit.

Ian Ziering and me in Rosemont, IL-August 2010.

Friendly Encounters

This is a weekly feature highlighting friends who have met celebs.

I recently came across a very interesting blog from a very interesting blogger.  Louis is the creator of Louis Sports Site, a cool site all about Louis and his activities.  Louis is a "kid who likes skateboarding, baseball cards, Cedar Point and hockey".  It must run in the family, because Louis's father is the man behind Core Contrarian, another excellent site.
Louis is a big fan of the Plymouth Whalers, a junior team in the Ontario Hockey League.  He goes to a lot of their games and can often be seen giving high-fives to the players as they exit the tunnel heading to the ice before games.  Louis has made quite a few friends on the Whalers.
Last May, Louis visited with some of the Whalers one last time before they headed home for the Summer.  Below is a picture of Louis with Tyler Seguin and Nick Malsya.  Seguin was drafted by the Boston Bruins and has since made his NHL debut.  Malysa is now in his second season with the Whalers.
Louis Sports Site is a full of fun.  I think it's great that Louis is doing this so well at such a young age  I look forward to seeing what Louis continues to do.  I hope Louis shares more pictures and stories about meeting his favorite players.

Tyler Seguin, Louis and Nick Malysa in Michigan-June 1010.

Bear Down Sunday #13

Nobody really could have predicted that today's matchup would pit two of the NFL's best teams against each other.  The Chicago Bears (9-3) host the New England Patriots (10-2).   This begins a rough four game stretch, as the Bears play for the playoffs.

Last week, against Detroit, the defense was a bit off and the offense clicked.  This week, we will need both, but especially the defense.  Few players epitomized rough defense better than Steve "Mongo" Michael.  Adding a little flair to McMichael's resume for this piece is that he started out with the Patriots, before he starred for the Bears.

When I met Mongo at AU Sports, many people asked him about wrestling.  Maybe they had heard all of the football stories before.  Mongo said that Haku (King Tonga) was probably the toughest man he met in wrestling.  He also said Randy Savage was one of the craziest and Ric Flair really was the same guy on and off camera.  Mongo said without a doubt (and with no disrespect to wrestling) that he (as a football player) would have manhandled basically all of the wrestlers in a legit fight.

We also talked about his new venture as coach of the Chicago Slaughter.  The Slaughter had recently signed Jarrett Payton.  Mongo was happy to have the son of his former teammate, knowing that he would also bring fans.

Mongo is always fun to meet.  He is pretty much what you'd expect.  He was a bit bigger than I'd expected.  While he isn't in playing shape, I still wouldn't like to mess with him.

 Steve McMichael and me in Niles, IL-January 2010.

Natalya versus Melina - Monday Night Raw

On Monday Night Raw we had two of the WWE's most talented Divas in the ring, and it was also a face versus a face.
Natalya took on Melina in a non title bout, and after a back and forth match, Natalya won with the Sharpshooter.
The match was over in about two minutes, so there isnt a lot to talk about except for Melina's really cool looking submission hold that looks like a leg full nelson.



Of course after the match LayCool (who had been sitting at the announce table) attacked Natalya.
Funny thing is...Melina just walked away.
So did she see the attack or not since she was over by the stage?

I love Melina, but I love her more as a heel.
What I would really LOVE to see is Melina do a "Stone Cold" deal with her taking out faces and heels.
A loner with no friends as she goes after the title.
And no, I do not wanna see her ally with LayCool, they would be just as big a target to her as anyone else.

Since Melina seems to be so good at submission moves, maybe they could revive the old storyline they had with Gail Kim and make Melina a "submission specialist".



Natalya versus Melina - Monday Night Raw, posted to http://beautiful-wrestling.blogspot.com/ on December 9th, 2010

Midajah - Melinda O'Hearn - Melinda McCullum

Looking back at the ladies that are the most popular here on this blog, I'm surprised at times just how much interest the World Championship Wrestling (WCW) can still stir up.
Case in point, Midajah (aka Melinda O'Hearn, aka Melinda McCullum).
The favorite "freak" of Scott Steiner was born on March 23rd,1973 in Seattle,Washington.

This five foot three, 100 pound beauty was trained by the WCW Powerplant (a pro wrestling school located in Atlanta, Georgia, owned and operated by WCW) and made her pro wrestling debut in 1999.
As I mentioned, she was one of Scott Steiner's freaks and came into the WCW at the same time as Tylene Buck, April Hunter, Kim (Shakira) Kanner and Pamela Paulshock as nWo girls.

When the WWE bought WCW, Midajah went to World Wrestling All-Stars (WWA) with Scott, and later managed Perry Saturn.
Then she went to Ultimate Pro Wrestling and trained at their wrestling school before leaving wrestling altogether.
(Despite what a few websites say, she did get in the ring occasionally)




Today Melinda works as a personal fitness trainer and has her website up: http://www.midajah.com/.
You can also check out her MySpace page here: http://www.myspace.com/147030260



Midajah - Melinda O'Hearn - Melinda McCullum, posted to http://beautiful-wrestling.blogspot.com/ on December 3rd, 2010