Action Photos 13

CONGRATULATIONS JOHN HANNIGAN! John won the Tough Enough 3 competition that WWE ran as a reality show on MTV. John and Mat Cappotelli were announced as the winners during a one-hour special on MTV from the now defunct WWE World Restaurant in Times Square. They were awarded development contracts with the WWE and made their first appearance on RAW a week later. John had been going to school at the University of California at Davis which is very close to my home. He is already an exceptional wrestler and I'm sure John will be very successful in the business. The WWE's newest star mugged for my camera with my friend Sean, who was only nine-years old, but Sean's already an expert about sports entertainment and what he likes.

Referee Jack Holloway watches in amazement as Paul Diamond slams Don Carson into the turnbuckle at Mach 10 speeds during a match at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium.

Don Carson and Paul Diamond battle each other in an arm-lock.

Pepper Gomez tries to break loose from Roger Kirby's hold.

The Samoans - Can anyone identify for me which is Reno and which is Afa? They are being introduced at the start of a match at the Cow Palace.

Roy "Ripper" Collins feels the pain during his match at the Cow Palace.

Rocky "Soulman" Johnson enjoys the view as Pepper Gomez sends Mr. Paul DeMarco flying across the Cow Palace ring during a tag team match.

Terrible Ted, the wrestling bear, lets his assistant Nick Adams sit in his lap as they share a kiss. Ted doesn't look big in this picture, but he weighed 750 pounds and was at least 6'4' standing up. You can see some more photos of Ted on the Terrible Ted page of this site (under Roy's Biggest Stars.) I have a photo of Ted drinking a bottle of Root Beer on that page, too.