Through The Ropes
By Josh Stewart

Have any of you, during a time in which we should be feeling pretty thankful, been spending the week wondering why a dog bites the hand that feeds him?

While getting my hands on some old wrestling footage, I have. And the ungrateful pooch goes by the name of Steve Corino.

The former Extreme Champion-ship Wrestling and National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion announced in 2001 on his Web site that he lost his passion for the business and would retire from wrestling in North America sometime before the end of that year (as with most wrestlers, his unretirement came just as quickly).

It’s fine to hang ’em up. What was not fine was Corino’s reasoning, a thought process so warped that I still find him hard to root for more than two years after his comments.

He complained about fans at independent shows who asked him if he was going to blade or if he was going to win. He was tired of such disrespect.

But, as Corino said, like Ryne Sand-berg and Michael Jordan, he wouldn’t rule out a comeback.

He erred by flattering himself so much. Sandberg and Jordan reached the pinnacles of their respective sports.

Corino didn’t even come close. He’s a mid-card attraction - the cruiserweight Dusty Rhodes - except not that good.

He became a "star" simply because ECW head honcho Paul Heyman ran out of money, his name talent bolted and he needed a $20 champion. Co-rino fit the bill perfectly. Heyman knew that he wouldn’t get a significant offer from World Wrestling Entertainment or World Champion-ship Wrestling - therefore, Corino could give the struggling promotion some stability.

He grabbed the ball and ran with it as well as he could. He made the most of it and deserved to be proud.

Instead, he chose to be bitter. And his attack on independent wrestling fans was misguided. If he wanted to be upset because Heyman didn’t have anything to offer him when he jumped to the big time, Corino had every right. He worked for Heyman for bunk and beans, trying to keep his promotion alive, and when the business was turned upside-down, Corino was left out in the cold.

Except for the indies, where they loved him. And indie fans are the truest of wrestling fans. They know that the first Nature Boy was named Buddy Rogers and that the WCW Title has lineage prior to 1910.

Fans who pay 10 or 12 bucks to go to 400-capacity shows are the "old school" fans who appreciated you the most, Steve. Yes, they may ask "inside" questions.

But that’s not a fault. The wrestling business has been exposed, and people are going to ask questions that they wouldn’t have 15 years ago. They ask because they can actually get to you in a high-school gym. It’s hard to ask from Row 873 of Joe Louis Arena or the Compaq Center.

Now, although he still wrestles in America a good bit, he makes the majority of his coin in Japan (they actually respect wrestlers enough not to ask stupid questions there, according to Corino).

Steve, enjoy Japan.

And don’t worry about being miss-ed. Flashes in the pan usually aren’t.

You can contact Josh Stewart at throughtheropes1@cs.com.

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