Tonight, In This Very Ring: A Collection of Wrestling Timelines

The Streak: WrestleMania XXX
WrestleMania XXX

Venue: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana
Attendance: 73,500
Announce Team: Michael Cole/John "Bradshaw" Layfield​

Pre-Show Match: The Big Show wins the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal by eliminating Kane

Well, that's quite the auspicious start for the 30th WrestleMania. No new name getting over and instead, we get Big Show winning because "he's a Big Show"

"Big" Joey Uso d. Ryback

Just two big strong dudes being big and strong. Big Joey wins here in New Orleans with the Spear.

Jack Swagger (c) d. Curtis Axel for the WWE United States Championship

Yeah, we give these guys ten minutes and have Swagger win it with the Ankle Lock.

The Revolution (Randy Orton/Batista) d. The Usos (Jimmy/Jey) (c), The Colons and the New Age Outlaws for the WWE Tag Team Championship

We see the return of Batista, reforming the Revolution with Orton and playing proper heel heading in (no doubt as a shot at the still going Revolution X stable in ECW) and have them destroy the Outlaws, Colons, and Usos for the tag titles.

AJ Lee (c) d. Aksana, Alicia Fox, Brie Bella, Cameron, Eva Marie, Layla, Naomi, Natalya, Nikki Bella, Rosa Mendes, Summer Rae and Tamina Snuka in the Vickie Guerrero Invitational for the WWE Divas Championship

Yep... this match.

John Cena (c) d. Brock Lesnar for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship

And a year-long destructive reign comes to an end for Brock, taking the AA once again before oddly, opting to leave the WWE since he's made his money and he's looking to retire from wrestling after over ten years of doing it. So long and thanks for all the suplexes, Brock. As for the main event...

Bray Wyatt (w/the Wyatt Family) d. The Undertaker

Honestly, I'll bite. If there was anyone who could really benefit in the long run from ending the Streak, it's a character who will most likely never be a face, the spooky, insane cult leader, Bray Wyatt. Undertaker gives everything he has, but through youthful energy, mind games and help from Rowan and Harper, Bray lands Sister Abigail's Kiss and end pins the Deadman, ending the Streak before kneeling over Undertaker's prone body, laughing maniacally as the lights continue to dim, leaving only the fireflies to light the New Orleans night. WrestleMania XXX and the Streak, close on a dark note.

And that's the Streak, a bit of a weirder TL as it was not just the Streak, but the ripples caused by simple match changes. I could've honestly kept it all alone, but I think it was a lot more fun to see what I could mess with as a result of some simple changes to WrestleMania cards. And I think Bray winning is a satisfactory conclusion to it all. It sets up a new monster to haunt the WWE for the next few years (and it means Bray is pretty much immune to ever getting buried ever)

So, that's our third timeline completed. And while the Streak may be dead...

Brody's Alive!
 
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I've got an idea, @Megafighter3: Paul Orndorff ends Hogan's career with a botched piledriver after his heel turn on Hogan in 1986; the effects on 1980s WWF will be interesting, to say the least...
 
Bray Wyatt (w/the Wyatt Family) d. The Undertaker

Honestly, I'll bite. If there was anyone who could really benefit in the long run from ending the Streak, it's a character who will most likely never be a face, the spooky, insane cult leader, Bray Wyatt. Undertaker gives everything he has, but through youthful energy, mind games and help from Rowan and Harper, Bray lands Sister Abigail's Kiss and end pins the Deadman, ending the Streak before kneeling over Undertaker's prone body, laughing maniacally as the lights continue to dim, leaving only the fireflies to light the New Orleans night. WrestleMania XXX and the Streak, close on a dark note.

And that's the Streak, a bit of a weirder TL as it was not just the Streak, but the ripples caused by simple match changes. I could've honestly kept it all alone, but I think it was a lot more fun to see what I could mess with as a result of some simple changes to WrestleMania cards. And I think Bray winning is a satisfactory conclusion to it all. It sets up a new monster to haunt the WWE for the next few years (and it means Bray is pretty much immune to ever getting buried ever)

Man, Taker, all you had to do was let him in!

Really enjoying the mini-TL concepts, @Megafighter3!
 
BTW, Bray has one of the most frightening characters today IOTL with The Fiend (if you can terrify Mick Foley with how you did the Mandible Claw (which Foley developed as a way to mess with the Undertaker), that's scary), who looks like something out of a creepypasta tale...
 
I have an idea you could do, what if Bret Hart left for WCW in 1992 instead of 1997? Maybe you could book both WWF and WCW? Or if that's too much maybe what if Bret stayed in 1997?
 
I have an idea you could do, what if Bret Hart left for WCW in 1992 instead of 1997? Maybe you could book both WWF and WCW? Or if that's too much maybe what if Bret stayed in 1997?

Bret staying in 1997 would probably play out similar to the Cornette Call, though there's some wiggle room for some changes even in those butterflies. Bret leaving for WCW in 1992 could be interesting, though, but both will hit the bottom of the list.

Been loving this TL series. Love that the Eugene gimmick died here and he teams with Rob Conway (who deserved better in OTL).

Idk if you take request. But I have a fun and unique challenge for you to try: The NWA Invasion of the WWF from 1997-1998.

Yep, I want to see a rivalry between Dan "The Beast", Steve Austin, and... Steve Williams!

If you can make it work, then you are awesome!!!

I've got this one on the list, after DragonChase. The plan is to do one Blampied TL and then a requested one after, switching off.

I've got an idea, @Megafighter3: Paul Orndorff ends Hogan's career with a botched piledriver after his heel turn on Hogan in 1986; the effects on 1980s WWF will be interesting, to say the least...

Yep. This one's coming up after Shattered Shield.
 
Brody's Alive!
Brody's Alive!

Suggested by @Hulkster'01. Bruiser Brody is considered one of the greatest brawlers of his time and an amazing draw as both babyface and heel. However, he also had a reputation for being incredibly difficult to work with and it's no surprise that he made some enemies. And in 1988, one of them decided enough was enough. Jose Gonzalez met Brody in the showers in Puerto Rico, ostensibly to discuss business and ending in him stabbing Brody. Due to heavy outdoor traffic and a large crowd, it took an hour for paramedics to arrive and Brody died. Gonzalez would be acquitted in self-defense, with many wrestlers refusing to work for Peurto Rico after the fact due to the questionable nature of the court case (several witnesses were not given summons until after the trial.)

So, let's say that instead of that, let's give Brody a chance at survival and let's see what happens if Brody lives.

July 16, 1988

It's a hot summer night in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. The World Wrestling Council is running a show where Bruiser Brody is to face off against "Dangerous" Dan Spivey. However, before the match "Invader #1" Jose Gonzalez had asked to talk to him. Brody and Gonzalez had a lot of bad blood between them, stemming from Brody delivering Gonzales a brutal ass-kicking in the ring and making it known that he would fire Invader once he was made a minority owner of WWC.

Brody was therefore leery about meeting with Gonzalez alone and asked Tony Atlas to go with him to get between the two if fists started flying. Atlas ended up getting between the two... but fists weren't flying.

"Tony spotted the knife before me. He shouted 'Look out, Brody!' and he just jumped right there. Invader got him in the stomach and Tony started screaming. That's when I tackled Invader and started raining blows on that fucker. People started coming in. Dutch got there and saw Tony on the floor, holding his stomach. He got me off Invader and we helped Tony out of there." - Bruiser Brody in a 2008 YouShoot interview for Kayfabe Commentaries.

"Well, that was the whole Brody deal shot to shit. Brody was yelling at Quiones up and down, yelling at Carlos Colon, swearing up a storm that he was taking his $25,000 [1] and leaving." Dutch Mantel in an interview for the Observer.

[1] Brody went to Puerto Rico because WWC owed him $25k, along with his minority ownership in stake.
 
Mick Foley wrote a little about Bruiser Brody for his book Have a Nice Day (one of the better wrestling autobiographies, IMO); he said that he was disgusted shaking Gonzales' hand, since he'd been a fan of Brody's on Long Island, IIRC...

Wonder what happens here...
 
Mick Foley wrote a little about Bruiser Brody for his book Have a Nice Day (one of the better wrestling autobiographies, IMO); he said that he was disgusted shaking Gonzales' hand, since he'd been a fan of Brody's on Long Island, IIRC...

Wonder what happens here...

Well, what I hope happens is that both Jose and Carlos go to jail for attempted murder.
 
Brody's Alive! (1988 and SuperClash III)
SuperClash III

Venue: UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 9,500 (Capacity)
Announce Team: Lee Marshall/Chris Von Erich​

Ah yes, SuperClash III, the infamous joint PPV event held by AWA, CWA, WCWA (formerly WCCW) and POWW (Powerful Women of Wrestling, Dave McLane's first follow-up to GLOW) and here the changes are only to two matches.

The Von Erichs (Kevin/Kerry) d. The Samoan SWAT Team (c) (w/Buddy Roberts) for the WCWA World Tag Team Championship

Why's Kerry working this match and not against Lawler in the main event? Well...

Bruiser Brody (c) d. Jerry Lawler to unify the AWA and WCWA World Championships

Yep, in the time since Tony's murder, Bruiser had come back to World Class and with it invested $100,000 (which he "negotiated" out of Carlos Colon's hands after one of his major babyfaces attempted to stab another babyface) back into the promotion in the hopes of keeping it afloat. Being a close friend of the Von Erichs and still a viable draw in those days (that might be me overinflating Brody's status, but the dude was known as being unbeatable, thanks in part to his own refusal to lose,) he beats Kerry for the title on the way to the SuperClash and makes it clear he's not losing to Lawler. Lawler, having heard about the nasty business down in Puerto Rico (as I'm sure everyone's heard) is willing to put his ego aside to avoid getting pummeled backstage and asks that they just keep things civil in the ring. Brody wins here and unifies the titles.

Of course, despite selling out the arena, the show didn't do as well on PPV, thanks to being stuck between WWF's newly-created Survivor Series event and the first PPV run of NWA's Starrcade. Verne Gagne would take the money and run, making the horrible mistake of stiffing Brody on pay, resulting in the second time Verne's had a belt brought back to him in pieces [2]

Now, you may have noticed Chris Von Erich next to AWA regular commentator Lee Marshall. While Chris was always wanting to be in the business and had been struggling with his brother Mike's death, Brody (who, as mentioned, was tight with the Von Erichs) talked him out of it and told him that even though he wasn't physically cut out for the business, he could still make an impact as color commentator. Admittedly, I can't imagine Chirs was good on this show as it was his first time calling a major event, but Lee Marshall carried him enough (still won Observer's Worst Television Announcer of the Year award that year, taking it from OTL's David Crockett.)

And as for WWC? Well, they lost all their American wrestlers and both Crockett and the WWF have made it clear that no one is to work there, a sentiment many are in agreement on after Tony's murder. As previously stated, Brody walked away after the show with $100k in his pocket and went back to working with WCWA. Along with that, when word got to him that he Gonzalez had friends in Japan, he was quick to cancel plans there too, so All Japan is gonna be hurt (not as much coverage on that front, because I'm barely knowledgable about modern Japanse wrestling, much less the late 80s)

This TL's gonna be done a bit differently as instead of going from PPV-to-PPV, we'll be doing year-in-review sections for each year, focusing on the WWF, JCP/WCW and whatever Brody's up to.

[2] The first time being when Stan Hansen was asked to return the AWA World Title and he opted to return it after running it over with his truck.
 
I've got this one on the list, after DragonChase. The plan is to do one Blampied TL and then a requested one after, switching off.
Thank you, good sir! May also suggest Bill Watts UWF surviving almost going out of business as another good story.

SuperClash III

Venue: UIC Pavillion in Chicago, Illinois
Attendance: 9,500 (Capacity)
Announce Team: Lee Marshall/Chris Von Erich​

Ah yes, SuperClash III, the infamous joint PPV event held by AWA, CWA, WCWA (formerly WCCW) and POWW (Powerful Women of Wrestling, Dave McLane's first follow-up to GLOW) and here the changes are only to two matches.

Bruiser Brody (c) d. Jerry Lawler to unify the AWA and WCWA World Championships

Yep, in the time since Tony's murder, Bruiser had come back to World Class and with it invested $100,000 (which he "negotiated" out of Carlos Colon's hands after one of his major babyfaces attempted to stab another babyface) back into the promotion in the hopes of keeping it afloat. Being a close friend of the Von Erichs and still a viable draw in those days (that might be me overinflating Brody's status, but the dude was known as being unbeatable, thanks in part to his own refusal to lose,) he beats Kerry for the title on the way to the SuperClash and makes it clear he's not losing to Lawler. Lawler, having heard about the nasty business down in Puerto Rico (as I'm sure everyone's heard) is willing to put his ego aside to avoid getting pummeled backstage and asks that they just keep things civil in the ring. Brody wins here and unifies the titles.

Of course, despite selling out the arena, the show didn't do as well on PPV, thanks to being stuck between WWF's newly-created Survivor Series event and the first PPV run of NWA's Starrcade. Verne Gagne would take the money and run, making the horrible mistake of stiffing Brody on pay, resulting in the second time Verne's had a belt brought back to him in pieces [2]

Now, you may have noticed Chris Von Erich next to AWA regular commentator Lee Marshall. While Chris was always wanting to be in the business and had been struggling with his brother Mike's death, Brody (who, as mentioned, was tight with the Von Erichs) talked him out of it and told him that even though he wasn't physically cut out for the business, he could still make an impact as color commentator. Admittedly, I can't imagine Chirs was good on this show as it was his first time calling a major event, but Lee Marshall carried him enough (still won Observer's Worst Television Announcer of the Year award that year, taking it from OTL's David Crockett.)

And as for WWC? Well, they lost all their American wrestlers and both Crockett and the WWF have made it clear that no one is to work there, a sentiment many are in agreement on after Tony's murder. As previously stated, Brody walked away after the show with $100k in his pocket and went back to working with WCWA. Along with that, when word got to him that he Gonzalez had friends in Japan, he was quick to cancel plans there too, so All Japan is gonna be hurt (not as much coverage on that front, because I'm barely knowledgable about modern Japanse wrestling, much less the late 80s)

This TL's gonna be done a bit differently as instead of going from PPV-to-PPV, we'll be doing year-in-review sections for each year, focusing on the WWF, JCP/WCW and whatever Brody's up to.

[2] The first time being when Stan Hansen was asked to return the AWA World Title and he opted to return it after running it over with his truck.

Bruiser Brody and Jerry Lawler would make an awesome match for this bad show. Question? Will WWC go out of business as well for Tony death (That one hurts actually..)

Also, All Japan would be hit a bit but then the 1990s came around and things would go back to normal, despite the bad press.

Also, Verne wasn't that great as an owner for the AWA and it showed. Latter years AWA showcased this perfectly.
 
All Japan should be fine with the lack of Brody, considering OTL. The only potential butterfly might be Brody convening somebody like Stan Hansen to jump ship from All Japan.
 
Thank you, good sir! May also suggest Bill Watts UWF surviving almost going out of business as another good story.



Bruiser Brody and Jerry Lawler would make an awesome match for this bad show. Question? Will WWC go out of business as well for Tony death (That one hurts actually..)

Also, All Japan would be hit a bit but then the 1990s came around and things would go back to normal, despite the bad press.

Also, Verne wasn't that great as an owner for the AWA and it showed. Latter years AWA showcased this perfectly.

WWC is gonna be covered when I write the next part, but it's not gonna be good for them.

Yeah, All Japan isn't doomed, but it won't be doing better than OTL if they actually had Brody.

Oh no, Verne was terrible toward the end. Stiffing Brody was pretty much what he did to Lawler OTL.

All Japan should be fine with the lack of Brody, considering OTL. The only potential butterfly might be Brody convening somebody like Stan Hansen to jump ship from All Japan.

That's true. The Lariat might stay to the States out of protest to learning about Gonzalez' connections in Japan.
 
Verne was terrible since the mid-1980s: there was this young, blond-haired, muscled wrestler from Florida who was becoming one of his most popular stars, so much so that AWA fans wanted him to win their world title, but Verne didn't want to put the world title on him; at their Super Sunday event in 1983, he seemed to do so over Nick Bockwinkel, but, when it was reversed, the Super Sunday crowd almost literally rioted (it didn't help that he was moving the most merchandise in the AWA, and he wanted a share of the profits, but Verne refused to give it to him (1)). Eventually, the wrestler got an offer from Vince McMahon to become his world champion--that's right, the wrestler was Hulk Hogan, who arguably started Hulkamania in the AWA (he was supposed to be a heel, but the fans went nuts for him); yeah, Vince might have lured Hogan away eventually, but Verne should have ridden Hulkamania as long as he could...

Verne passed on one of the great wrestling stories of the 1980s, all because he didn't want to change, IMO...

(1) Say what you will about Hogan, but he was in the right here; Verne, BTW, also wanted some of Hogan's New Japan money...
 
I have another idea: Bill Watts, the Executive Vice-President of WCW, in response to Brian Pillman's highest-paid jobber comment (which, in turn, was a response to Watts's trying to renegotiate Pillman's contract; Pillman refused and Watts threatened to job him out for the rest of his contract), fires Pillman on the spot in May of 1992. Pillman subsequently heads for the WWF.

Imagine the following matches: Brian Pillman vs. Bret Hart, Brian Pillman vs. Shawn Michaels, Brian Pillman vs. Owen Hart, Brian Pillman vs. Davey Boy Smith, etc. (almost all of those matches would be good, if not great, matches, IMO)…

Yeah, we lose the Hollywood Blonds with Steve Austin (which propelled the start of Austin's rise to fame), but Austin is too good not to wind up a star somehow, IMO...
 
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I have another idea: Bill Watts, the Executive Vice-President of WCW, in response to Brian Pillman's highest-paid jobber comment (which, in turn, was a response to Watts's trying to renegotiate Pillman's contract; Pillman refused and Watts threatened to job him out for the rest of his contract), fires Pillman on the spot in May of 1992. Pillman subsequently heads for the WWF.

Imagine the following matches: Brian Pillman vs. Bret Hart, Brian Pillman vs. Shawn Michaels, Brian Pillman vs. Owen Hart, Brian Pillman vs. Davey Boy Smith, etc. (almost all of those matches would be good, if not great, matches, IMO)…

Yeah, we lose the Hollywood Blonds with Steve Austin (which propelled the start of Austin's rise to fame), but Austin is too good not to wind up a star somehow, IMO...

Alright. That'll go after the Anonymous RAW GM.
 
Brody's Alive! (1989)
1989

1989, the end of the 80s and a banner year for professional wrestling. Let's see what we've got for ourselves.

WWF: The WWF and Hulkamania are going strong, thanks to the explosive end of the Mega Powers tag team of Hulk Hogan and the Macho Man Randy Savage, the two feuding throughout the year. However, the folks up north are not without controversy as in February, in order to dodge New Jersey's regulations on sports, Vince McMahon admitted to the worked nature of the sport and was able to deregulate professional wrestling in the state of New Jersey. These actions have resulted in many veterans decrying McMahon, though he ignores them, as he is wont to do.

WCW: From the ashes of Jim Crockett Promotions rises a new force the wrestling business. Backed by media mogul Ted Turner, WCW had a stellar year thanks to a series of in-ring classics between Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat, along with great performances from Ric Flair and Terry Funk. Along with that, many younger stars were rising in the ranks such as Sid Vicious, Sting, Lex Luger, The Road Warriors, Brian Pillman, Scott Steiner, and the Great Muta. However, the company would see equal criticism through the firing of Dusty Rhodes (thanks to Turner's new restrictions not allowing blood) and the newly appointed Executive Vice President Jim Herd, who seemed to have little understanding of the wrestling business or what made for a good show.

USWA: Meanwhile, despite Brody putting $100,000 into the promotion and a stong drawing period when he won the title, the World Class Wrestling Association was not to last. Many within the industry blamed SuperClash III for the failure, but its last few months being successful and his stake in World Class gave Bruiser enough clout during the buyout to secure 20% ownership (splitting the company five ways between Jerry Jarrett, Jerry Lawler, Kerry Von Erich, Kevin Von Erich and Bruiser himself) and with him backing out Japan, meant Brody was more amicable about losses, though Lawler was more than happy to let Brody have a solid run with the USWA World Title, since he was bringing in good crowds. Brody and Lawler would trade the title back and forth throughout 1989, Brody holding from December 1988 to April, then Lawler from April to October, then back to Brody for the remainder of the year.

WWC: Along with becoming a two-time USWA World Champion, Brody was heavily involved in the trial against Jose Gonzalez. In spite of Carlos Colon's efforts, Brody and Dutch Mantell testified as witnesses and Gonzalez would not only be charged with murder but also attempted murder (thanks to Brody's testimony,) and the World Wrestling Council would see Gorilla Monsoon back out of the promotion and attendance numbers dwindle as many American wrestlers refused to work there and many were clearly disgusted with his actions. In desperation, WWC has taken to an alliance with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, a Japanese hardcore (read: garbage) promotion started by Atsushi Onita.
 
Hope Mick Foley meets Bruiser Brody at some point; Foley was a fan of his wrestling style (you can see Brody's influence in Cactus Jack, one of Foley's personas)…

BTW, Brody hated promoters but not wrestlers themselves, and this was the reason for his infamous no-selling in his match with Lex Luger (1) (who was more confused than frightened by Brody's no-selling, BTW). When Luger asked Brody why he did what he did, Brody said that he had no hatred for Luger; he just didn't like the fact that the promoter had them both being babyfaces. This tendency to try and screw promoters wound up hurting other wrestlers; Bobby Heenan has said in his autobiography that he didn't respect Brody for this reason...

(1) To be fair, Brody no-sold for a lot of wrestlers...
 
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Brody's Alive! (1990)
1990
And now we enter the 90s and we're hit with a nice little bombshell.

WWF: Things up north go a bit south as, inspired by the Jose Gonzales trial, the Nancy Argentino [1] case is reopened. Despite the efforts of the WWF to distance themselves from Snuka, the media is quick to tie them up into it. Snuka is soon charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, sentenced to twenty-five years in prison. The WWF's reputation as family-friendly entertainment suffers as a result of the verdict. The whole of WWF's 1990 was tainted by the Snuka trial, even as new main eventer The Ultimate Warrior won the WWF World Title from Hulk Hogan clean, Mr. Perfect began his year-long Intercontinental Title reign and Demolition won the Tag Titles.

WCW: After a strong showing in 1989, WCW was soon flooded by the terrible ideas of Jim Herd, such as the appearance of RocoCop at Capital Combat to rescue Sting from the Four Horsemen, the Chamber of Horrors match and the infamous Black Scorpion. Meanwhile, Ric Flair had been replaced as head booker by Herd, replaced by Ole Anderson, who began pushing his friends over the younger talent. The only bright spot found was Sting and Ric Flair's feud.

USWA: USWA has continued to run strong with Lawler and Brody trading the world title and the Von Erichs running strong as tag champions, along with the addition of Terry Funk winning the world title in November. However, the company is still marred in difficulties as Brody and Lawler homestead their major territories (Lawler in Memphis and Brody in Dallas) with a series of revenue disputes nearly forcing the Texas side of the leadership to pull out of the USWA. However, the disputes were settled, so Brody and the Von Erichs stayed in the promotion.

Michael Foley, working in USWA as Cactus Jack Manson [2] would leave the wrestling business in disgust at learning his childhood idol was a murderer. Many within the business, Brody included, feel it was a waste of potentially great talent to see him go.

AWA: AWA is still in its spiraling death, coming off the abysmal "Team Challenge Series" won by jobber Jake "The Milkman" Milliman. Many in the industry are certain that the company will not survive the next year.

WWC/FMW: The partnership between the two companies, despite their reputations, actually did fairly well, FMW drawing strong early crowds and WWC starting to regain followers. However, the partnership imploded after an angle set to build to an Onita/Goto vs. Invaders match. The angle saw Onita and Tarzan Goto break into the Invaders' locker room, wherein Goto held Invader III in a full nelson while Onita "stabbed" him in the stomach. [3] This was seen as a hugely tasteless move that had not been approved by Carlos Colon and it left both promotions worse off than when their partnership began.

[1] Nancy Argentino was Jimmy Snuka's girlfriend in 1983, who had died of wounds that looked to be caused by domestic violence.

[2] The "Manson" part was added during his time in CWA and was a reference to a woman who had been stalking Foley, sending him letters, etc. and infamous serial killer Charles Manson. Mick hated the surname being used at all.

[3] Based on an actual angle Onita ran with Jose Gonzalez, though Onita was the one who got "stabbed"
 
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