10 Wrestling Facts We Didn't Know Last Week (Aug 12)
Find out which WWE Hall Of Famer originally owned 'King' Barrett's attire...
Recently, longtime ring announcer Lilian Garcia revealed that she was stepping away from WWE to look after her ailing father. Garcia has been out of the limelight before, but in total she has been with the company for around 15 years.
It hasn't always been plain sailing for Lilian, as she has unintentionally rubbed some co-workers up the wrong way in occasion. This week's article includes an eye-opening story involving one of the ring announcer's clashes with a top WWe star.
Elsewhere, there are facts related to the likes of Wade Barrett, Road Dogg, and even Tully Blanchard. There's also an incredible tale regarding the use of the word 'puppies' in WWF/WWE, where it came from, and who used the term most frequently. Unbelievably, it wasn't Jerry Lawler!
Cocaine addiction, impending retirements, and fan invasions are all here. Let's look at some huge wrestling facts that we didn't know about last week...
10. Tully Blanchard Believed Flunked Drug Test Ruined His Wrestling Career
At the tail end of 1989, both Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson were ready to make a grand WCW return. Working as The Brainbusters in the WWF, the tag-team orchestrated deals for around $750,000 per year with WCW, and were keen to go back to a system they knew as well as anyone.
Suddenly, Blanchard found himself in the pro wrestling outhouse after testing positive for cocaine use. Telling The Hannibal TV all about the situation, Tully remarked that he must be the only man to fail a drug test and then be outcast by pretty much every major promotion.
The WCW deal was taken off the table, although Anderson did make a return to the organisation. Due to his failure on the WWF test, that company didn't want him either. In fact, Blanchard went on to miss a scheduled match at the 1989 Survivor Series pay-per-view.
His career was never quite the same, and Blanchard himself attributes his downfall to the failed test. He'd never make as big an impact as he had before.