Latest news with #MarcRaimondi
USA Today
03-07-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN names LB Divine Deablo biggest surprise from Falcons OTAs
Falcons LB Divine Divine Deablo named biggest surprise from OTAs The Atlanta Falcons were fairly quiet during NFL free agency, signing just a handful of players at positions of need. Edge rusher Leonard Floyd and safety Jordan Fuller were arguably the most notable signings, but don't sleep on linebacker Divine Deablo. The 26-year-old started 14 games for the Las Vegas Raiders last season, recording 63 tackles (35 solo) and one sack. Since the Falcons did not re-sign Nate Landman or Lorenzo Carter in free agency, Deablo should at the very least provide depth. However, the team seems to think the veteran linebacker will play more than just a depth role this season. Deablo impressed during Atlanta's offseason program and could be in line for a starting role if he has a good camp. In a new feature from ESPN, Marc Raimondi named Deablo as the Falcons' biggest surprise of OTAs: The Falcons didn't have the salary-cap room to make any huge splashes in free agency this offseason. But the team thinks they really found something in Deablo, whose base salary is only $1.66 million this season. Head coach Raheem Morris has been impressed with Deablo's size (6-foot-3), length and speed. Even more than that, Morris believes Deablo is capable of wearing the green dot as kind of the quarterback of the defense. It sounds like the former Raider has a solid chance at a starting job at inside linebacker alongside Kaden Elliss. -- Marc Raimondi, ESPN The Falcons also have former second-round pick Troy Andersen, who played well before his season was cut short due to injury. Andersen is entering the final year of his rookie contract and has a lot to prove after an up-and-down first couple of years in Atlanta. Another option could be to use first-round pick Jalon Walker in a hybrid off-ball linebacker/edge role this season. The rookie played a similar role at Georgia, and since the team has both Floyd and James Pearce Jr. on the roster, there's no reason to rush Walker along this season. It all comes down to what defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich thinks is best for the team. For now, though, it would be wise not to overlook Deablo.
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The night WWE legend Scott Hall killed a man
"Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America," the upcoming book written by Marc Raimondi which documents the rise of the legendary nWo faction and the impact it had on the broader world, publishes on Tuesday, June 24. The following is an excerpt detailing the rise of Scott Hall, aka two-time WWE Hall of Fame inductee Razor Ramon, who emerged as a central figure in wrestling's New World Order. Hall was at work the night of January 15, 1983, tending bar at the strip club Thee Dollhouse in Orlando, Florida. He was bracing himself. Hall knew an altercation — 'of course it was over a girl' — was imminent. Advertisement It was early in his shift when Hall got word that the husband of the woman he had been seeing was outside in the parking lot. The man had busted all the windows out of Hall's car, and was fixing to get a piece of Hall next. Hall, a well-built, 6-foot-5 bodybuilder, went outside to confront the man and knocked him down immediately with one punch. The man, named Rodney Perry Turner, reached for a firearm and a struggle ensued. Hall took hold of the gun first — and shot Perry Turner in the head. He died instantly. Hall, then just 24 years old, was charged with second-degree murder. The case against him was later dismissed when sworn testimony was not enough to prosecute. 'I drilled him, and he went down, and his shirt went up and he was reaching for the gun, so I reached for it, too,' Hall recalled. Advertisement A bar employee told the Orlando Sentinel at the time Perry Turner had threatened to kill both Hall and Perry Turner's wife, Carol, when he found out Hall and Carol were dating. Two months earlier, Perry Turner had fatally shot another man. Perry Turner claimed he was attacked after the man made a pass at Carol. Perry Turner was never charged, as the killing was ruled justifiable. 'I should have sought counseling right then, but I didn't know anything,' Hall said. 'I was a kid.' Hall was raised in a military family. He has referred to his father as a 'big shot' in the U.S. Army. Hall's parents and grandparents had issues with alcohol, an addiction that definitely did not skip a generation. Advertisement 'We come from a long line of hard-drinking rednecks,' Hall said. Hall went to high school in Germany where his dad was stationed and moved just about every year before his family settled in Florida when he was a teen. Hall's father was a pro-wrestling fan, and Hall himself wanted to be a wrestler ever since he was eight years old when his dad took him to a hair-versus-hair match. Hall took a piece of the losing wrestler's hair home with him. 'And I just was hooked since then,' Hall said. Hall had spent time working the regional circuit as a wrestler in the 1980s, including a stint in the AWA like Hulk Hogan. Hall had a run with Curt 'Mr. Perfect' Hennig as the AWA tag-team champions, and Verne Gagne then wanted to position Hall as his No. 1 babyface. Hall absolutely looked the part. He was tall and handsome with light brown hair and a bushy mustache. With a wide chest, big arms, and bulging trapezius muscles, Hall looked kind of like a jacked-up Tom Selleck. Razor Ramon makes his entrance at WWF Wrestlemania X8. (George Pimentel via Getty Images) 'When Verne started pushing him to be his top guy, I know other people were going like, 'Oh man, same size as Hogan, better body, better-looking,'' Wrestling Observer Newsletter's Dave Meltzer said. 'But when it didn't work, it was kind of like, 'Oh, he doesn't have charisma.'' Advertisement Things just didn't click for Hall as a generic good guy. The fans didn't get behind him. After taking a hiatus from wrestling, Hall found his way to WCW in 1991. He knew he had to change things up, because regular old Scott Hall, as impressive as he looked with his shirt off, wasn't working. And Hall really committed to changing things up. His new character was called The Diamond Studd. He was a cocky ladies' man with slicked-back black hair, a toothpick between his teeth, and dark sunglasses. The bushy hair and mustache were long gone. The Diamond Studd wore a five o'clock shadow and didn't skip trips to the tanning bed. The leaner Studd looked nothing like 'Big' Scott Hall from the AWA. The Diamond Studd was managed on screen by Diamond Dallas Page, who previously had accompanied the very popular Fabulous Freebirds to the ring. Like Hall, Page had a background in the nightlife industry, managing several Florida clubs. Hall and Page got along well, in the ring and outside of it. And Hall started to have some success in WCW with Page by his side. Hall had size, good looks, and could work an entertaining match in the ring. There might not be a blueprint for wrestling stardom, but he checked a lot of boxes. Still, Hall wasn't being positioned past the early matches on WCW cards. The main event wasn't even in sight. Advertisement That didn't matter to Hall so much. He was grateful just to have the job of his dreams. But Hall and his wife, Dana, had just had their first child, Cody. Making more money to support his growing family would have been nice. So Hall started having conversations with Pat Patterson, McMahon's right-hand man. nWo members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan face off with Lex Luger, The Giant and Booker T during WCW Monday Nitro in February 1997. (WWE via Getty Images) 'Some guys were higher up [in WWF], but everybody was a star,' Hall said. 'So I said, 'I don't have to be a main eventer, I still want to wrestle.' Because even the lower-paid wrestlers are getting paid, and I had no education. So I thought, this is what I still want to do for a living. If I have to be a bottom guy, I'd rather do it for the best company.' 'Bottom guys' in wrestling — or low carders and midcarders — are kind of like the fighters you see on the preliminaries of boxing or UFC events. They're talented enough and have a big enough following to earn a spot on the event, but don't have the skill level or star quality to make the main event. Their main role is to lose to wrestlers tabbed as stars as those would-be stars make their way to a headlining role. Advertisement Hall would never be a 'bottom guy' again. He was pushed near the top of the card immediately in the WWF with a new character: Razor Ramon. Hall, as Ramon, became an arrogant, well-dressed, and villainous Cuban American from Miami. It was basically a rip-off of Al Pacino's suave but brutally violent Tony Montana character in "Scarface," which had gained a renewed cult following a decade after its release. McMahon had never seen the movie and when Hall came to him with the idea, he thought Hall was a genius. For weeks on WWF television there were taped vignettes trumping up his arrival. Hall wore gold chains with an open, button-down shirt revealing his chest hair. He spoke with a fake Cuban accent, called people 'chico,' and borrowed phrases from "Scarface," adding his own spin, like 'say hello to the Bad Guy.' Hall was neither Cuban nor even Hispanic, just like Hogan wasn't actually Irish. In wrestling, everything is about the performance. And Hall was more than believable enough as Razor Ramon.
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cory Sandhagen, Paul Walter Hauser and Marc Raimondi in studio, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., On The Nose and more
Catch today's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time as Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back set the table for the combat sports weekend with another eclectic lineup of guests. Wednesday's rundown can be seen below. 1 p.m. ET: Ariel kicks off the show by answering all your questions on the latest edition of On The Nose. Advertisement 2 p.m. ET: Cory Sandhagen previews his potential UFC title fight against Merab Dvalishvili. 2:30 p.m. ET: Old friend Marc Raimondi joins us in-studio to discuss his upcoming book, "Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America." 3:30 p.m. ET: Paul Walter Hauser — Golden Globe Award winner, Primetime Emmy Award winner, and up-and-coming professional wrestler — join us in-studio. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
New York Post
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Upcoming nWo book brings fresh look at legendary faction through pop culture lens
The nWo, one of the most discussed and well-documented subjects in pro wrestling history, is getting a fresh perspective. Marc Raimondi, the former New York Post writer and current Falcons beat reporter for ESPN, is taking at look at WCW's famed faction through a pop culture lens in his upcoming book 'Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America,' which is available for pre-order and in stores June 24. Raimondi, who has been a close friend for more than 20 years, delivers one of the most in-depth, easy-to-follow and well-reported accounts of how nWo worked by reflecting on the cultural shifts during that time in our country's history — feeding off and then feeding into pop culture — and ultimately failed. The book is written almost like it's made for TV, with little cliffhangers here and there. The cover of 'Say Hello to the Bad Guys: How Professional Wrestling's New World Order Changed America.' In the book, he compares Crow Sting's popularity in the context of someone a castout youngster of the '90s could relate to, like Kurt Cobain and Marilyn Manson, as he rebels against the high school bullies of the nWo within the story.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Valentina Shevchenko, Oban Elliott, Marc Raimondi and more
We're baaaaack! Join Ariel Helwani and the Boys In The Back live on Uncrowned and YouTube at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT/6 p.m. UK time for the latest edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show." Tuesday's lineup can be seen below. 1 p.m. ET: Old friend Marc Raimondi of ESPN stops by to debate the biggest news in the combat world. 1:30 p.m. ET: UFC welterweight Oban Elliott returns to catch us up on his latest. 2 p.m. ET: Valentina Shevchenko previews her UFC flyweight title defense against Manon Fiorot. Catch all new episodes of "The Ariel Helwani Show" live every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET on Uncrowned and The Ariel Helwani Show's YouTube page. To listen to every episode, subscribe on Spotify or iTunes.
