ENTER THE SHOCKMASTER!!!

Welcome back folks! It's time for some bloggin'.



Like most kids who spent their teen years between 1996 and 2002 (ages 12-18 for me), I was a huge fan of pro wrestling, with the WWF and ECW being my favorite promotions. To put it simply, I lived for wrestling. These days, not as much, although I still watch RAW every week and usually buy the "best of" sets (the "STARRCADE" boxed set is a particular favorite). I guess with only one major promotion now, it's just not as much fun (Nobody takes TNA seriously and note to Eric Bischoff: redoing Nitro 1997 all over again ain't the way to go!). Still, wrestling will always hold a special place in my heart. Especially BAD wrestling.

The year was 1993 and WCW's ultimate face, Sting, was tangled up in a bitter fued with Big Van Vader, Sid Vicious and the Harlem Heat, Booker T and Stevie Ray (known as Kane and Kole in those days). With the big "War Games" match coming up, Sting was in dire need of some partners. His first recruits were Davey Boy Smith and U.S. Champ Dustin Rhodes, great picks to say the least. Sadly, that's pretty much were the good news ended, for you see, Ole Anderson was the head booker in those days, and he found a final partner for Sting that he was sure would "shock" everyone. Enter the SHOCKMASTER!

Fred Ottman was a veteran grappler who, as Typhoon, had been a world tag team champion in the WWF with his partner, Earthquake (the late John Tenta). With a shot at a main event run with Sting dangled before him, Ottman threw on masked, called himself the Shockmaster, and jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately, he didn't look were he was going.

On the night of his big debut, the Shockmaster jumped threw a banner amid fireworks, and promptly fell down. His mask, a Star Wars storm trooper helmet painted silver, flew off. Ottman grabbed his mask and tried to continue, but the damage was already done. Fans and wrestlers alike were cracking up. Commentator Jesse Ventura could harldy contain himself, blurting out "What an entrance by the Shockmaster!" The pre-recorded, Ole Anderson-provided voice box interview didn't exactly help either. It was probably the most unintentionally funny moment in wrestling history.

Within a few months, the Shockmaster gimmick was eventually dropped and Ottman became Uncle Fred, a bumbling dumbass who always screwed up. He was released shortly thereafter, and briefly returned to the WWF before retiring. He came out of retirement in 2001 to participate in the Gimmick Battle Royal at Wrestlemania 17.

For more info on this and other bad wrestling, visit www.wrestlecrap.com (Note to parents: wrestlecrap.com isn't always kid friendly, so be wary).