Triple H has never been in-love w/ women’s wrestling. While WWE has been adding new women to developmental, most of the new recruits are men and not women. Since John Laurinaitis has been out of power, the days of recruiting models from agencies seem to be over.

Here’s the last time that Scooby Doo used a wrestling tie-in:

It was in Johnny Barend’s attic.

After Barend died in September 2011, it fell to his widow, Annie, to start going through their accumulated assets in their home in Avon, New York. She has plans to eventually move back to her native Hawaii.

She was as surprised as anyone to come across two title belts in the couple’s attic, unglamorously wrapped in a bath towel. Johnny had never mentioned them to her, though she was more than familiar with his career.

Intrigued, Annie contacted me and got me a photo of the “World’s Champion” title belt, that had a small, circular photo of Johnny Barend in the centre.

After consulting a few historians and beltmakers, it was quickly established that it had to be the United States title that “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers brought from Ohio to New York, the belt that was used when Vince McMahon Sr. decided to created a new world title.

“I’m not always that great with the older belts, but I recognized that one immediately,” said beltmaker extraordinaire Dave Millican, who makes the belts for the WWE, among other contracts.

“It makes you wonder what else is stashed away in people’s attics. It really does,” Millican mused. “It makes you wonder what other historical belts, and not just belts, but pieces of wrestling history, are stashed away in attics that people don’t even realize they have. Annie didn’t even realize what she had — and why would she?”

Millican decided that he wanted to own the piece of history, with the added bonus of the second belt, a United States tag team title belt, with “1962″ burned into the leather.

Bruno Sammartino with the title.

A deal was struck, and he flew up from Memphis on Friday to get the titles. “It’s been an anxious couple of weeks to get to see this thing, both of them, especially the U.S. one, in person,” said Millican.

As the matchmaker, I was invited along, and got to (briefly) wear the same title belt as Buddy Rogers and Bruno Sammartino.

In a phone interview, Sammartino admitted that he never knew what happened to the belt itself.

“That belt that Buddy had, they thought, I don’t know what they thought, they felt it wasn’t a good belt. I don’t know who had it, who gave it to them, whatever, but they didn’t think anything of it. They went and made the one that I wore all those years,” said Sammartino, who does have the original title belt that was created for his first title reign that lasted just short of eight years. It turns out that title, which was retired after a new belt was made for Pedro Morales, was languishing in an office. “Phil Zacko and [Gorilla] Monsoon gave it to me. That one I have. I had it polished up, because it was kind of worn.”

Worn would describe both of the belts found at the Barend home. But nowhere near worn out. Someone along the way had the foresight to use plastic ratchet straps to hold the leather in tight with the belt. The plates all need a good polishing, but are not significantly dented or worn in other ways.

The World title.
It was fascinating listening to Millican explain things to Annie and I, just having gotten to see the belt in person. He made note of the 1962 plate on the tag belt, and how it had to have been used for more years than that, since there was evidence that another plate had been on the leather. Though we were all reluctant to do so, Millican swore that if the plate at the bottom of the “World’s champion” belt was screwed off, it would say “United States champion” underneath.
Given that Rogers and Barend were very good friends, Millican said that it made sense that the title belt ended up where it did.

“I think that really the fact that it was obviously transferred back to Buddy, even though Bruno never lost the title back to Buddy, shows that it was really Buddy’s belt,” said Millican. “At some point, Johnny, because of the connection with Buddy, got the belt. I don’t have those answers, but that’s clearly how it happened — it has to be part of the connection.”

Beyond that, there are still many unanswered questions, some of which will never be answered.

- Why is Johnny Barend’s photo on the belt? When and why was it put there? He was never a recognized world champion, but he did defend the title as a U.S. belt apparently.

- Did Barend get the title belt before or after Rogers died in 1992?

- What jeweler made the belt? When and where? It probably came out of Columbus, Ohio, where Rogers was established for so long and was the U.S. champion.

- Where is the other tag team title?

The U.S. tag team title.
For the immediate future, Millican is going to put the belts in his safe, and plans to “dig up what I can find in way of old film or old photos.”
“This was from an era when even Buddy probably didn’t think the belt was worth very much,” said Millican.

Fortunately, it is now in the hands of someone who thinks otherwise.

Q: What are the odds of you cashing in your “Money in the Bank” briefcase at SummerSlam?
Ziggler: SummerSlam is a grand stage, and I will find a way to steal the show that night one way or another, but I am still brainstorming on the perfect time to cash in. This is the biggest step thus far in my career, so it will be done right and be memorable!

Q: If you could go back in time and give yourself some advice while you were a member of the Spirit Squad, what advice would you give?

Ziggler: Some advice i would give myself from the Spirit Squad years, try and get taller…. Oh, and don’t invest in Facebook, ha ha! I pride myself on all the hard work I have put forward from Day One, but I would convince myself that the cream eventually rises to the top. Don’t get too frustrated! I’m too good at this to be overlooked!

Q: You are a showoff but are beginning to get some cheers from the audience. What do you think about that?

Ziggler: I get cheered more and more for one simple reason: When I step in the ring I steal the show! I will not accept anything less from myself. I have won three times in about 10 months, but it doesn’t matter because I put 110% into everything I do and it shows. Thanks for noticing … three years later.

Q: A lot of people compare you to Mr. Perfect. What do you think about that comparison?

Ziggler: Any comparison to a WWE legend or someone I’ve looked up to is really cool, but make no mistake about it, my ego is too big to want to be a really good replica of someone else! It’s unfortunate that if you’re really good at your job, you are constantly compared to legends of the past. I am not trying to be the next ANYONE, I am going to be the FIRST Dolph Ziggler! Follow that!

Q: If you could take one wrestler from history in their prime and wrestle them in the main event at SummerSlam, who would you pick and why?

Ziggler: Without a doubt myself vs. Shawn Michaels in his prime would be one of the greatest matches anyone in this era or any other era have ever seen! We would both try and outwork each other for the match and the pure emotion and reactions would be mind-blowing. Two of the best ever going head to head would simply be a masterpiece!

On July 23, 2012 WWE celebrated the 1,oooth episode of Monday Night Raw. I watched the show from my home in Los Angeles. After watching the show, I got on my Twitter account, @steveaustinBSR, to read responses to the show. There were many people blaming Vince McMahon and the WWE for not having SCSA on the show. And there were some folks who had some very negative things to say about me, personally.

The reason I did not attend RAW 1,000 was because I underwent a major knee surgery on my left knee on July 2, 2012. Dr. Neal ElAttrache of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, CA performed the surgery.

The surgery was a complete success. I am currently three weeks post op. I began physical therapy a few days ago. I had a world class surgeon and a great medical team working on me. I am now working with a top notch PT team. I am still on crutches and will probably lose the crutches in another week. Then I will be in a custom knee brace much like the braces I wore in the ring for 9-12 weeks.

STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN IS A 100% ASS KICKING MACHINE. There was no way I was going to limp down the ramp on crutches for RAW 1,000. It was time to get my knee fixed. The decision to no-show RAW 1,000 was made by me and no one else. I have always taken pride in making my shots and have never faked an injury or illness. Pro Wrestling is a tough game and it was time to pay the piper for some of the damage I incurred in the ring. No gripes. No complaints.

To the fans that were hoping to see SCSA, I’m sorry I missed the show. I would have loved to be there under different circumstances. I normally keep my personal business to myself, but due to feedback and incorrect speculation, I have posted this blog and given the 411 on why I was not at RAW 1,000.

I will post more blogs about my PT and recovery soon.

Steve Austin

WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW – still the most-watched, regularly scheduled, year-round program on cable, airing live every Monday night, 52 weeks a year – debuted a third weekly hour (now airing from 8-11pm) during their 1000th episode celebration last evening with over 6 million total viewers tuning in and the highest P25-54 delivery ever.

USA was the #1 television network in Primetime – broadcast or cable – in P18-34 and topped all but Fox in P18-49, P25-54, total viewers. USA also bested #2 cable network VH1 by +50% in P18-49, +73% in P25-54 and #2 TNT for total viewers by +39%.

3-hour Average (8-11pm):
Most watched 3-hour WWE Raw ever with over 6 million viewers (6.04M) – the first to crack the 6 million mark.

Top 3 hour WWE Raw ever in P25-54 with 2.7 million viewers (2.73M)

2- Hour (9-11pm) “Regular Episode:”
Most Watched WWE Raw since the show returned to USA in 2005 and the best in 10 years with 6.3 million total viewers (6.31M)

Top 18-49 episode on USA in 4.5 years (since 12/07) at 3.1 million viewers (3.06M)

Top 25-54 episode on our air in more than a year (since 3/28/11) at 2.9 million viewers (2.86M)

Reflective of the on-air numbers, social activity also exploded over the digital channels:

According to Trendrr, WWE Raw was the No. 1 program on Cable and Broadcast.

Social activity buzz for WWE Raw bested all broadcast programs combined for the day.

WWE accumulated 52 worldwide trends during yesterday’s three-hour telecast of WWE Raw including #Raw1000, #wwe, #raw, #dx and #undertaker.

At its peak, WWE Raw received over 9,000 tweets-per-minute, the top tweeted segment in the show’s history, with the appearance of The Undertaker claiming the title of the biggest single social media moment of the show when activity spiked to more than 11,000 comments per minute.

The following is scheduled for tonight’s 1,000th episode of WWE Monday Night Raw:

DX (Triple H and Shawn Michaels) will open the show.

Brock Lesnar will respond to Triple H and his challenge for Summerslam.

The wedding of Daniel Bryan and AJ.

A new permanent Raw General Manager will be announced.

The return of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to WWE.

John Cena cashes in his “Money in the Bank” briefcase for a shot at CM Punk’s WWE Championship.

RAW rumors for tonight:

The Undertaker will return tonight.

Will we see X Pac? Will we see a full DX reunion?  Pac says he can’t see a DX reunion without X Pac.  This coming after he has bee saying for weeks that he has not been contacted.

Will Steve Austin be able to get away from his movie commitments and attend?

Vince and Stephanie McMahon may appear on the show. Shane McMahon is said to be a long shot, but could happen. Linda McMahon probably won’t happen because of her ongoing Senate campaign trying to distance her from the WWE product.

Tatanka, DDP, Steve Blackman, “Mean” Gene Okerlund, Vader, Doink the Clown, Bob Backlund and Sid Vicious have all also teased appearances, appeared recently, or been contacted by WWE about appearing. Expect a ton of former WWE talents to appear in addition to these names.

Diamond Dallas Page is being promoted as a guest on the St. Louis’ FOX affiliate morning show today. That means he’s in St. Louis for RAW so expect him to appear live.

Here’s tape of him doing some MMA training w/ former WWE Superstar and son of Davey Boy Smith, Harry Smith:

Listen to Your Employees—and Yourself

“You can’t say, ‘Go do so-and-so,’ unless you’re willing to do it. You can’t ask someone to put in a zillion hours unless you’re willing to go do it. You can’t ask anyone to have a passion for a product unless you have it. Listening is a lost art. I have a unique ability to listen to myself as I’m talking. That’s somewhat unique, but I think that to listen is to learn. I think some of things begin from a natural standpoint, and you’ve got to work at them. You’ve got to let it evolve.”

Treat Every Day Like Day One

“Once you make a decision, you go with it, and everyone gets behind it. There’s no second-guessing. One of my expressions is, ‘First day on the job.’ That’s the way I like our executives to look at our business every day and what they do. When you do that, then it either confirms that what you did yesterday is the right way—or it’s, like, ‘Ooh, now that I have this new information. … There’s this new form of media, there’s a new way of thinking of things, you know, or I read a book last night, I read something in the newspaper ….’ Bringing that degree of intelligence and flexibility into the organization is very, very important.”

Don’t Cultivate Fear

“Certainly the best way to fail in management [is to be distant and imperious]. You shut people down. If you have all the answers, why is anyone around you? If your ego is so big, then there’s no room for anyone else’s. The fear stuff—that is so rotten. You have to earn everyone’s respect. I have to do it every day. Sometimes I leave the office and I feel great. In military terms, I’ve got ‘scrambled eggs on my cap.’ I’ve got medals dripping off my chest. When I wake up in the morning, they’re all gone. You have to earn everyone’s respect in business every day.”

Clear Your Head and Find Your Zone

“I average about four hours of sleep. I don’t like to sleep. I’m missing something when I’m sleeping. From a personal standpoint, I’m aggressive by nature and I’m truculent by nature. So I need to have a socially acceptable outlet for that. That would be bodybuilding. I enjoy that. It’s a challenge to be stronger. I get a lot of enjoyment by training. Nutrition goes with it. I train for my head—not my body. The ancillary benefits are that I’m healthy as a horse. It really does clear my head. It’s an opportunity to wash anything from my head, business-wise or personal. That’s my moment when I can get into a zone.”

Don’t Settle for BS Answers When Interviewing Job Candidates

“My first question is: Why do you want to work with WWE? They don’t have to know WWE, by the way. They don’t have to be fans. Sometimes that gets in the way. If they give me a boilerplate answer, I look at them and I say, ‘That’s a boilerplate answer. It’s not what I’m looking for.’ I’m very straightforward and very honest with people. That’s what I want back. Don’t tell how to make the watch—tell me what time it is. Be honest. It cuts through a lot of crap. People know where they stand. They know where you stand. Life becomes a lot easier.”

Complacency Is Your Worst Enemy

“Indecision ticks me off, but complacency would be the biggest thing. I don’t take anything for granted. There’s no entitlement. I’m not entitled to take my next breath. I will never be complacent. If I climb a mountain, I want to see the next highest peak. Encourage employees by giving them other opportunities. I think if you see complacency, you say from an HR standpoint, ‘We find that you’re becoming complacent.’ So as a quality I don’t like, that’s strike one. Strike two is if they can’t change—if they can’t look at it as the first day on the job. Sometimes people need a kick in the butt for themselves—personally or professionally. Strike three is when it doesn’t work.”