Wrestling

TV Principal Mr. Belding thanks WWE’s Zack Ryder

 

From TV’s Saved by the Bell to PWS’s Saved by the Ring Bell

Miami Herald Writer

“Then at the end of the main event, there wasn’t a winner. However, the heels (bad guys) started picking on the faces (good guys). I had to get reinforcements in the back, which included Big O and Tony and a couple of the guys. At the end, they wouldn’t stop. They were finishing him off. I said, ‘You know what? Let’s finish this thing.’ Then I gave him the stunner.”

Haskins was impressed by the operations of his first independent wrestling show and the passion to entertain.

“I thought they did a great job all around. I got to say this wasn’t WWE, but there were several former WWE wrestlers involved like Matt Hardy. All these men and women involved love wrestling. We had like 1,000 people there, which was a big plus for them. I found out that their website hits went from 3,500 to 10,000 as a result of my being there. Everyone there was there because they love pro wrestling, and they wanted to see good matches. That is what they got, and they got me as a bonus. I was telling someone the other day that I went just to have a good time, and the whole world found out.”

The stunner generated a ton of buzz, but Haskins hasn’t heard from the originator of the movie, ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin.

“Let’s hope he doesn’t get mad at me for using his move because I have a lot of respect for ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin,” Haskins said. “He led the way and set the tone. It was paying homage to him.”

Since the appearance, Haskins has received interest about appearing at more wrestling shows.

“I told them to give it a little time, and we will see what works,” Haskins said. “I didn’t start all this. I went on Zack Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story and the fans were starting to push for me to be the new general manager of Raw because they didn’t like John Laurinaitis.

“He became a fantastic heel. Those guys are on the road five or so days a week, and my passion is to act. This is like a bonus for me to do this every once in a while. If I get to do this every once in a while again, that would be fun, knowing that my main thing is to act. I was on ‘Mad Men’ this year. I was on ‘Victorious.’ I was on ‘Young and the Restless’. I did a movie with Jon Lovitz. It was really fun to do.

“The fans know I’m a true wrestling fan, that I’m not a mark who is trying to make something off of them. The best compliment I got the whole night was from Matt Hardy, who put out a tweet that in my heart I’m one of the boyz. He spelled it b-o-y-z. As fans may or may not know, the wrestlers are called ‘the boys.’ I got chills from that. What a really nice thing to say. I’m out of shape and 61, but it’s pretty cool to be able to do things like this.”

• Follow me on Twitter @smFISHMAN, http://twitter.com/#!/smFISHMAN, where I post links and information. Opinions expressed reflect no other entity. I can also be found tweeting incessantly during wrestling shows weekly.

• Follow Dennis Haskins on Twitter @mrbelding.

• For information on Pro Wrestling Syndicate, visit www.ProWrestlingSyndicate.com.

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