Shawn Stasiak Blackballed?

[Deleted]

I was watching the Invasion 6 man tag that included him and JR referenced him as being blackballed for a better term.

So what exactly happened? Kayfabe or legit?

[Cam]

He might mean in the WWF, as there was some controversy over why he was released in 1999. Apparently he was recording secret conversations.

[Paco]

Legit. Fired for tape recording in the locker room.

[Rican]

I want Planet Stasiak back.

[Tim]

Oct 8, 2011 22:05:42 GMT -5 Paco said:

Legit. Fired for tape recording in the locker room.

Didn't Man Mountain Rock (Maxx Payne in WCW) get fired for the same reason?

[Jimmy]

www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/stasiak_00may17.html

[Baixo Astral]

He was blueballed for a while.

[Lila]

Does anyone know why Shawn was recording people?

[Red Impact]

He was fired for that, but then he came back a few years later after going to WCW. So if he's still blackballed, I don't see how it could be for the same thing if the company that blackballed him brought him back.

[celticjobber]

Oct 8, 2011 22:25:07 GMT -5 Tim said:

Oct 8, 2011 22:05:42 GMT -5 Paco said:

Legit. Fired for tape recording in the locker room.

Didn't Man Mountain Rock (Maxx Payne in WCW) get fired for the same reason?

No, he was released for injuries and possibly drug abuse. He recorded the guys on the road with a video camera, but that wasn't very uncommon.

The problem was that several years later, he wanted to sell the video footage he had of wrestlers from his WWF tenure doing drugs and getting into other mischief. So I think they threatened him with a lawsuit to stop it's release.

[celticjobber]

Oct 8, 2011 22:30:40 GMT -5 Lila said:

Does anyone know why Shawn was recording people?

Here's an article where Shawn explains what happened:

www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/stasiak_00may17.html

As a graduate of Boise State University in Communications, specializing in audio and video productions, Stasiak had always fooled around with tape recorders and video cameras. He has one in his apartment to work on promos and gimmicks. On a couple of occasions, he did bring a recorder to the WWF locker room to show the other wrestlers.

"I remember I was playing it in the lockerroom one day, just goofing around playing it for The Big Show I think, and Bulldog," Stasiak explained. "I said 'Listen to this.' I was just doing some voices. They just looked at me like 'You're nuts kid.'"

Before one trip, he just threw the tape recorder in his gym bag to take with him, not giving much thought to it.

A short while later, Stasiak was in a car with Steve Blackman and The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith in Montreal, trying to find their destination.

Stasiak takes over the telling of the story:

"We're in the car and those guys, Blackman and Bulldog are arguing. It's in French. They're getting pissed off. Steve Blackman is an irritable person to be around, just period in general. I guess he was like hungry, and tired. Sometimes this business is just a pain in the ass. The travelling and you don't get to eat right, and you don't know where you're going and you're lost. It just kind of ads fuel to the fire."

"We're pulling around asking people for directions and everyone's speaking French, no one speaks English. I thought it was kind of humorous. I'm going to catch this on tape for a joke and play it back for them to say 'This is what you guys sounded like -- like a bunch of girls arguing today."

Later, he taped some more at the Montreal airport.

"Where I went wrong was that I had it out in the Montreal airport, recording Blackman. I said 'Hey Steve, what do you think of the Montreal airport?' He said, 'You weren't recording that, were you?! You weren't recording in the car with that were you?' Just the way he looked at me, the way he approached me, honest to God, it scared me. At that point I realized that he didn't know who I was, and I don't know who they are. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have had that thing out there because they're going to take it the wrong way. Even though my attempt was just to have fun, that's all it was for."

Over and over, Stasiak insisted that things got "blown completely out of proportion."

[The Heenan Family]

I think he appeared at some sort of event or ceremony WWE held a few years back. He was in the audience. It was some sort of event (I can't remember for the life of me) where WWE gave an open invitation to past wrestlers to attend. He was one of the few that took WWE up on the offer. It might have been a RAW special or something. Wish I could remember what it was about.

But yeah, I don't think he's blackballed now. I assume the next time we'll see him will be accepting his fathers induction into the WWE Hall of Fame?

[greeby]

Didn't think the WWE could blackball someone anymore. As there are probably promotions out there that are willing to give a wrestler work precisely because they are persona non grata with WWE

[kneesurgery]

I believe the story of ss, and I can see his intentions here to be honest. It's not like Mike Lano secretly taking pictures at wrestlers funerals for Petes sake.

[sybaku]

Oct 9, 2011 8:04:11 GMT -5 greeby said:

Didn't think the WWE could blackball someone anymore. As there are probably promotions out there that are willing to give a wrestler work precisely because they are persona non grata with WWE

Whats Blackballed Sam Sastiak doing in the Impact Zone!!!!!

[Deleted]

I don't even know what mecca means!

[Confused Mark Wahlberg]

Put a wig on him and have him do a Linda Tripp gimmick.

[celticjobber]

Oct 9, 2011 13:12:13 GMT -5 Confused Mark Wahlberg said:

Put a wig on him and have him do a Linda Tripp gimmick.

I'm surprised Russo didn't think of that when he was in WCW.

[zeez]

Oct 8, 2011 22:23:08 GMT -5 Rican said:

I want Planet Stasiak back.

It was a lot more fun than that trip I took to Planet Jarrett.