Tom Zenk in WCW, 1991
Angles - The Yellow Dog
Tom Zenk in WCW, 1991
Angles - The Yellow Dog
It was the case of the missing babyfaces. When Dusty Rhodes arrived as booker in WCW in 1991, with son Dustin in tow, there were 8 top babyfaces in WCW - Sting, Luger, Flair, Zenk, Pillman, Taylor and the Steiner Brothers. By the end of 1991, Flair had gone Luger, the Steiners, Eaton and Taylor had been turned heel and Zenk and Pillman buried in the mid card. There were only 2 top babyfaces remaining - Sting and the mushy no talent Dustin Rhodes.Joey Maggs - “Dusty wanted to push his son and had to do something with Tom and Brian (Pillman). So Tom became a referee, complete with bow tie and Brian was in a Yellowdog suit. If he couldn’t get rid of them, he could at least cover them up and hide their physiques. Another way he pushed Dustin was to make Ricky Morton, Terry Taylor and Tommy Rich turn heel to make Dustin look good. It’s a very nepotistic business!”
| The Yellow Dog was a gimmick used
by Barry Wyndham in Florida in 1984 (seen in action, right, against
Ron Bass).
In 1991 Brian Pillman troubled with health problems and with his career in limbo courtesy of Dusty Rhodes, was booked to a "loser leaves WCW" match with Barry Wyndham at Clash of Champions XV. Pillman disappeared but his match schedule was resumed by 'The Yellow Dog', a masked wrestler with a ring style similar to the popular high-flyer. The Dog also entered the ring to Pillman's ring music. Pillman denied any association, while WCW Magazine warned - "If it is conclusively proved that Dog and Pillman are one and the same, Pillman will be banned from WCW for life!" |
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| Barry Wyndham - "Its so obvious,
Ray Charles could see it! The Yellow Dog is Flyin' Brian! First he masquerades
as a chicken, then he masquerades as a rat, now he's trying to get around
the loser-leaves-WCW stipulation by wearing that stupid outfit! Well, I
promise you this: It's not gonna work! I'll unmask him and prove to the
world what a cowardly cheater Flyin' Brian really is!"
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Sometimes, The Yellow Dog risked identification
by pulling up his mask but "never in front of an official".
On occasions, Tom Zenk teamed with the Dog. And a number of times a masked wrestler, uncannily like Tom Zenk, took to the ring as The Yellow Dog, while Pillman stood by at ringside. Finally, The Yellow Dog put his mask on
the line, in a series of bounty matches. But a write-in campaign by fans
resulted in Pillman's official "re-instatement" to WCW as an active wrestler,
and the sudden demise of the still umasked Yellow Dog.
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Extracts from the1991 tape set - click on thumbnails |
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Extracts from 1991 tape set - click on thumbnails |
