By Scott Bowden
February 9, 2006
The Four Horsemen Ride Again: Scott Bowden joins Chris Ryall, Scott Tipton and Josh Jabcuga for the journey into Parts Unknown—and salutes his readers and Kevin Smith
It’s only fitting that my first column reviewed the inaugural PPV effort by Jerry and Jeff Jarrett’s upstart TNA promotion. Describing the production as having the feel of “Memphis wrestling with a bigger budget,” I recalled how Jerry Lawler and the elder Double J had once approached the Nashville Network to discuss a TV show that would be a hybrid of HEE HAW and Memphis rasslin’: The country-rasslin' concept, which should have died the moment that Jarrett and Lawler were quickly shown the door, was finally realized more than 15 years later with Wednesday night’s pay-per-view debut of NWA: TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION (TNA). Because of the Southern flavor of the show, I titled the article KENTUCKY FRIED RASSLIN’—which somehow stuck, becoming the permanent name for the column itself, in part because of Ming’s clever logo design.
Yes, the KFR name fit like Ted DiBiase’s loaded black glove, as I often referred to my experiences working as a heel manager in the Memphis area when discussing today’s wrestling product. (Where else could you read what it was like to take a road trip with Downtown Bruno and Koko B. Ware. That’s right—nowhere.) And when I wasn’t referring to my own time in the business, I was often writing about my childhood as a wrestling fan growing up in Memphis. From the time I was about 7 years old, I sat transfixed in front of my parents’ TV set every Saturday morning from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. as Jarrett’s CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING show aired live from the WMC-TV 5 studio on Union Avenue. I was truly honored years later to be standing on that very same studio floor, as announcers Lance Russell and Dave Brown interviewed me and chastised my every heel move.
Likewise, I have been thrilled to be associated with Kevin Smith and Movie Poop Shoot since its inception. I recall the first time I saw CLERKS, laughing my ass off at all the pop-culture references—I was positive that I was the only one who really “got” them all. (I’m sure COMICS 101 Prof. Scott Tipton scoffs at that notion.) I was even more amazed with Stan Lee having such a nice small role in MALLRATS—I never would have thought I would hear such a discussion about Gwen Stacy’s death in a big-budget motion picture. (Unless, of course, it was a Spidey flick.)
After seeing those films, I realized that Smith was writing for geeks everywhere like me. When CHASING AMY debuted, I risked my life to venture to the only theater in Memphis at the time that showed smaller, independent films. I loved the way Smith this time weaved the same pop-culture stuff with a touching love story. (And Ben Affleck and Jason Lee were the bomb, yo.) Later, when I became an actor in Hollywood, I did a few scenes from CHASING AMY in my acting class at The Beverly Hills Playhouse, with me in the Affleck role. (I should have stuck with my rasslin’ career.) I even turned Smith’s Silent Bob speech about chasing a girl named Amy into a monologue that I used when auditioning for agents. I also remember seeing DOGMA at the Westside Pavilion in LA—I was lone audience member who burst out laughing when Matt Damon erupted into singing “Who’s house? Run’s house!” (Run-DMC’s TOUGHER THAN LEATHER is a truly underrated work.) So when the opportunity fell in my lap to join the Poop Shoot, the real-life incarnation of the site Affleck discussed in JAY AND SILENT BOB STRIKE BACK, I couldn’t resist.
Since that time and more than 100 columns later, KFR has become, I think, well-respected in the wrestling community. (Just ask Dave Meltzer—he steals all my best lines.) And the memories? Ah, the memories. I fondly recall how Kentucky Fried Chicken issued a cease-and-desist order to Poop Editor Chris Ryall ordering me to stop using a bastardized version of their bucket logo. I couldn’t understand KFC’s logic—rasslin’ fans eat a lot of fried chicken. Hell, KFC should have been paying me for product placement…those butchers. Luckily, reader John Sheriff came through with a new bucket logo that lived up to our finger-breakin’ good reputation.
I also recall being giddy as a schoolgirl (and I was never giddy…even when I was a schoolgirl) when a guy from Miramax e-mailed asking to read my script, THE BROTHERS SWEET VS. THE WORLD (a SPINAL-TAP-like take on the rasslin’ business), which I had discussed in a KFR column. I also recall the sting of rejection when they passed. Ah, the sweet and the sour.
Along the way, I’ve received countless e-mails from loyal readers, nearly all of whom always said, “thank you.” I hope all of you realize how much that meant to me. To be thanked for your work is the best gift possible—though cash is a close second.
As for that seemingly doomed-from-the-start TNA venture I wrote about in that very first column, the promotion has ever-so slowly grown into a viable promotion. The group long abandoned the $10 weekly PPV format in favor of big monthly PPV shows, and eventually negotiated to pay for a weak TV time slot on Fox Sports Net. Limited exposure on FSN did little to boost TNA, who then shopped around the IMPACT! show when the deal expired, paving the way for Spike TV to pick up the program. Higher-than-expected ratings for the 10 p.m. Saturday night IMPACT! show on Spike convinced network execs to move the show to 9 p.m.Thursday as a lead-in to UFC, beginning April 13. (Looks like the signing of Sting has already paid off.) Business for TNA, as Jim Ross would say, is indeed picking up. The show itself is a far cry from the first effort, with stars AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe working to help the group establish a true identity with the X Division. (I’ll have a nice tip of the hat to TNA’s success when the latest KFR logo hits on the new site. That is, if the NWA doesn’t send me a cease-and-desist order for including the famed 10 pounds of gold into the design.) Needless to say, with TNA’s new time slot and WWE gearing up for WRESTLEMANIA, there’s going to be a lot to write about in the coming weeks and months. I hope you’ll be along for the ride.
For now, you’ll find KENTUCKY FRIED RASSLIN’ only through Prof. Tipton’s COMICS 101 site. Eventually, you’ll be able to find my column at MYSPACE—along with loads of other personal information about me that you always wanted to know…but simply were never drunk enough to ask. If you’d like to be added to my e-mail list (notifying you of when the latest column goes live), then drop me a line at kentuckyfriedrasslin@yahoo.com.
Thanks to Chris and Scott for tolerating my last-minute, night-before-the-term-paper’s-due writing style and helping to make the column look Fabulous (Freebird). Thanks to Ming for the behind-the-scenes stuff you did that I never knew about. And thanks to all my readers who have stuck with me during my sabbaticals.
So long, dear marks. See you soon.
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