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ARE THE NXT HHH CALLS DONE?, CACTUS JACK LOST IN CLEVELAND, WWE DVDS AND MORE

By Mike Johnson on 2021-12-04 10:00:00

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I noticed there was no Paul Levesque call with the media this week.  There wasn't one over the summer.  Should we consider them done?

I don't think there would have been a call either way with him still working on his health.  I know Summerslam weekend, we were told at the time that part of the issue was scheduling and HHH did do a meeting with media in Las Vegas (I wasn't there as I chose not to attend that weekend).  It's possible they could have had Shawn Michaels do one, but my gut is the company would have to put someone in the position of being questioned about the pivot to 2.0 and I doubt they want that to be part of the conversation leading into a big event.

I read your piece on the Hall of Fame.  Is there anything we can do?

Right now, I don't know what can be done.  I wrote the piece to raise awareness of the situation, because my concern is that the items will be lost - whether that means sold, thrown away, damaged, etc.  Someone who is going to care for the collection needs to legally step in and rescue the materials and I sincerely, deeply hope that indeed happens.

Can you explain the Cactus Jack Lost in Cleveland episodes that aired on WCW TV?

Do I have to?  OK, let's try.  In 1993, WCW ran an angle where Cactus Jack was injured after being powerbombed on the floor by Vader. He disappeared from TV and over the course of updates filed by a female WCW reporter, CatherinE White, who was never seen before or since, we learned that Cactus had been sent to a mental institution, then learned he had escaped, had somehow made his way to Cleveland, was living among the homeless, had a friend named Swampy and believed he was a sea captain. I'm not making any of this up.   Dustin Rhodes tried to make Foley, who despite being homeless, was clean shaven, remember who he truly was.  Oh, and they had a woman play his wife when his wife easily could have done it herself.  Of course, this being WCW, all of this dropped and then was ignored.  Foley just randomly returned to attack Vader. This was all terrible but it lead to a hell of a match at Halloween Havoc 1993, which is well worth watching.

Does the end of WWE DVDs mean there will be no physical release for Wrestlemania 38?  Is it possible this is a BS story?

It's possible WWE will have a physical release through a specific retailer or as a special DVD they sell themselves.  The story, which I believe to be true, is that they will be discontinuing regular releases, which makes total sense as the sales of physical media across the board has dropped considerably over the last decade.  WWEDVDNetwork.com, which has been consistently reliable, wouldn't have gotten something this big wrong but even if they had, we independently confirmed there are no current plans to move forward with regular released.  That doesn't mean there won't be a new DVD deal struck down the line where a third-party gets the rights and decides to create and distribute WWE content, but WWE Home Video as it existed is fading away.

I had an idea.  How about WWE brings back Tough Enough but has it all be talents from one specific country trying to make it into the WWE?

You mean like the old TNA British Bootcamp?  I don't think it's a terrible idea.  I could see WWE wanting to do it for Saudi Arabia.

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