Bad News always made an appearance upside Bret's head while being interviewed). Bad News played the race card and he played it well knowing Bret would have to answer the call. Bad News whenever getting close to a microphone never let a chance slip of speaking of the "Hart mafia's conspiracy to keep him down". This infuriated fans and the Hart family alike. Week after week Bad News discovered the power of the microphone while other villains kept to run ins and cheap shots.

My most vivid memories are of the Bret/Bad News war over the title. Not a feud but a war. Both relatively the same size and age. Bret's wrestling skills versus Bad New's martial arts. Bret's courage versus Bad News ability to crush that courage where all sorts of lethal combinations for street fights,cage matches and dog collar matches. In match after match Bad News paced himself though losses, count outs, and DQ's learning all he could about Bret. Their war spread across Western Canada and in 1982 Bad News finally broke through and realized his brash statements when he first entered Stampede. He won his first North American championship by beating Bret.

His first reign was short lived but explosive. He only held the belt for a month but boasted and burst with pride at his win. He sported expensive suits each and every week in his interviews with Ed Whelen. He looked down on the fans with disdain referring to them as "beer belly sharecroppers". In reference to the extensive cattle ranching and wheat farming of the prairies (see you get a geography lesson too.... who said wrestling wasn't educational?). This did nothing but infuriate fans and bring them to arenas and their feet. His interviews were exquisite and above other villains. Despite his raw anger in ring for the Hart family, he was able to eloquently milk his interview time for all he could. A pure vicious fighting machine with a equally powerful intelligence set Bad News in his place in Stampede's history books well above other villains.

He took direct aim at Stu Hart and his wife in interviews. Insults after insults heaped on them about their age, marriage, and of course the conspiracy theories. Each insult or threat would result in a run in by Bret, Keith, Bruce or Leo Burke. Burke wasn't left out of the Allen violence spree as Bad News proclaimed war on him after he stood side by side with  Bret. "Any friend of Bret's is just another snotty nosed Hart." Burke and Bret teamed up to take on Bad News and Duke Myers in a feud that lasted for months. No titles changed hands, just fists and feet. Alliances rose and fell and as Burke turned on Bret, Allen took on J.R.Foley as manager and an unknown in K.Y. Wakimatsu. Brandishing a lethal kendo stick, K.Y. made it clear he was not there to simply stand at ringside. He was there to cheat Bad News into championship gold. Together along with Foley sitting gleefully at ringside, Bad News and K.Y. turned up the heat and violence in the 80's. Unafraid of DQ's, fines, or suspensions, Bad News and K.Y. blatantly used the kendo stick to tear up Stampede's old guard of Mr. Hito and Jerry Morrow, accusing both of selling out their races to Stu Hart. Bad News infuriated them and their fans as well once again in interviews. The old guard also included the legendary Archie "the Stomper" Gouldie. A ring villain for decades, Archie found himself now being cheered by fans. To Bad News, Archie was not a legend. He was from small town Cardon, Alberta and that meant he was but yet another beer bellied sharecropper. Bad News wasted no time introducing Harlem street fighting to Archie's forehead, back, knees, etc. But Archie wasn't a Hart wearing the white hat being a good guy. He didn't hold with Stu's ideas and returned Bad News' violence with Archie's violence Alberta style. Brass knuckles and a suspect boot met K.Y.'s kendo stick and Bad New's tools of destruction head on. No wrestling here kiddies. Just plain violence. Surprised?Don't be. Be scared. This feud only escalated Bad News to more violence, but in the end it was his downfall title wise as The Stomper up ended Bad New's second title reign.

The loss infuriated Bad News even more! How could he lose to a sharecropper like Gouldie? K.Y.'s kendo stick became used even more and more. Foreign objects became every match occurances in sanctioned street fights in 84. Allen signed himself with Myers and Kerry Brown in wars with Bret, Davey Boy Smith, and The Dynamite Kid. The Dynamite Kid had recently turned away from Foley and joined "the mafia" leaving a huge hole for Stampede's top villain. Bad News filled it well in a feud with Dynamite. While his early foes had been big solid wrestlers, Dynamite however was fast and furious, flying at him from all corners at the same time it seemed. Bad News had replaced Dynamite as Foley's chosen one and in some way (I feel), this infuriated Dynamite. The Kid and Foley had a special father/son bond and seeing Bad News in his place seemed to be a distraction when Bad News wrestled away the championship for the third time.

This led to the most infamous time in Stampede's history. Frustrated at being a fan favourite, Archie Gouldie joined Foley's army against Stu's boys, alongside Bad News and the Masters of Disasters. Gouldie wrecked havoc on the Hart brothers throughout the west in street fight after street fight. The white canvas of Stampede's old rings were bright red even in the mid-card matches.  In a shocking  match with Gouldie, his son Jeff and Kerry Brown, Bad News and K.Y. turned on Archie big time. They blindsided Archie and Jeff. I still remember Archie shocked then slowly going on with the show. To this day I still wonder how much was real or for show. Bad News, Brown and K.Y. pummeled on Jeff. At the height of it all Bad News had broken the collar bone of Jeff and produced a fork. I still remember amidst the chaos announcer Ed Whalen laying his microphone down and walking away from the telecast in disgust. He left his announcing duties and immediately Stampede lost its license to promote wrestling in Calgary. The extreme had been broken. Very soon after Bad News dropped the title in controversy to Davey Boy Smith in my hometown and promptly disapeared from the area.

1986 rung in the silver age of Stampede. If the golden age focused on the villains, the silver age focused on the heroes. Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Johnny Smith (initially), and Brian Pillman took up the torches laid down and carried them into battle.

Bad News also returned and found a new generation of young heroes awaiting him. He quickly found a young Owen Hart waiting too, "another snotty nosed Hart". Bad News boasted about plans to "teach Owen a lesson like I did his brother Bret years ago". In a heated feud Bad News found the same courage and determination in Owen as he did Bret. Owen learned much needed respect early in his career. His high flying style met Bad News harlem street fighting head on. Allen analyzed Owen and was ready for his acrobatic moves. He knew that when Owen entered a ring he always did a back flip off the top rope leaving himself wide open. Bad News took advantage of this. Ironically years later in the WWF when Owen met Bad News, he still did the same back flip, with Bad News waiting for him.

But something had changed in Bad News. He still had his Judo/wrestling combination but gone was the maniacal anger. In a memorable interview with Ed Whalen, Bad News explained it this way, "for 40 days and 40 nights I was chained to the tree of woe on the island of pain awaiting my master." He explained that he tried to find himself for so long, that he now had become less angry and more focused. This new attitude scared his new allies in Karachi Vice: Makhan Singh and Steve Disalvo and in one fateful match Singh, Disalvo and the leader of Karachi Vice The Great Gamma blindsided Bad News and pummeled him like Bad News himself had been used to dishing out years before. Amazingly only a run in by Owen Hart pulled the wolves off their prey.

Instantly Bad News found himself cheered by fans wrestling alongside Owen and Jason the Terrible in tag matches against Karachi Vice. No longer booed or yelled at by fans, Bad News found new life in a new Stampede. Gone now were K.Y. and the kendo stick, Foley and all the foreign objects. What remained was Bad News' abilities. He didn't need anything else. Despite it being the silver age Bad News still wanted gold one more time and quickly found himself facing gargantuan villain Steve Disalvo for the North American title he held years ago. Age had not slowed Bad News down one single bit. Disalvo too felt what others had felt facing Bad News. A foot in the mouth and fists upside his head. Bad News wrestled away the title one last time.

However trouble was just around the corner in unconventional Honky Tonk Wayne (Wayne Ferris), and Rotten Ron Starr. Together they had run run roughshod over the tag scene as "The Memphis Mafia". Carrying their tag belts in violin cases they dominated the new Stampede for months till the departure of Starr. With the break up Honky Tonk took aim at Bad News. The two biggest mouths in Stampede history! Honky Tonk took aim at Bad News' age and heritage. He held no respect for the respected  veteran. Bad News had absolutely no love for Honky Tonk and for what may be the first time for Bad News was being called out. He answered the call but with Disalvo, Singh and Gamma... helping out Ferris it was too much and Bad News dropped the title to Honky Tonk in a upset.

Bad news again departed Stampede for presumably another voyage to the island of pain, but returned many years later when Stampede relaunched in 1998. As analyst and colour commentator he returned to his villainous ways. He also took an indirect involvement in the ring as owner of Harlem Inc. telling the fans if he interfered it was merely, "advisor services". Old school Bad News Allen had returned.

I don't defend Bad News Allen's attitudes or wrestling style. Writing about forks and brass knuckles doesn't make me smile. I am still sickened at his attack on Archie's son. What does make me smile is the wrestler behind the chaos. Bad News cut a wave of destruction a mile wide through Stampede in the 80's on both sides of the villain/hero coin. He brought Bret Hart's skills up to the notch were needed to be at for international competition. His interviews were/are priceless (man I wish I had a VCR back then). In the ring he made fans yell and scream (as well as opponents). In interviews he made fans appreciate and respect him and the sport of wrestling. He wasn't just a thug. He was one heck of a wrestler and for one fan (me) that's good enough.

A huge thanks to my brother Lloyd back home for help in this months column with Bad News quotes. There is only one brother better then a Hart brother and that's you my friend.

NEXT MONTH:

A BIG slice of Karachi Vice with Makhan Singh running at ya!