The Chop Shop, Vol. II

Last week, The Chop Shop debuted with memories of the glory days of the WWE and other wrestling federations.

What does our columnist have to say this week? Let's just say that Cryme Tyme won't be too pleased about it ...

Ric Martel and Tony Garea, where have you gone? Gone are the days of feuding with Mr. Fuji and Mr.Saito, or the Moondogs, and the Wild Samoans.

Hell, I would settle for Harlem Heat and the Steiners (pictured) all over again. Gone are the TAG TEAMS. You know, guys who stunk as individual wrestlers, but were champions with a partner. It is true that great singles wrestlers have made good tag wrestlers, but the day of it being specialized are long gone.

Rock-n-Roll Express, Midnight Express, Freebirds. Those guys have been replaced by the Dudleys, The New Age Outlaws (BJ James Gang in TNA wrestling), and the Spirit Squad. I ask you: What would Ole and Arn do with those stiffs?

Is there a great tag team out there today?

Sure, wrestlers curretly make a ton of money and do movies. Hell, they become champions after a six-week push (e.g. Brock Lesnar) What happened to paying your dues?

I use the late, GREAT Curt Henning as a reference. He used to get his fanny kicked; even Greg the Hammer broke his leg before he made it to greatness. He paid his dues. He wrestled for years as a mid-carder. Then, he became one of the games' greats. Guys paid their dues.

That doesn't happen all that often anymore. Yes, there are indies who make it kind of big, but those guys are in the minority. If you've got a look, or a schtick, Vince McMahon will put you on TV. Hell, you can be a fifth stringer on your high school football team and you can be put on.