Miami Herald toy story

Women's group pulls Snow job [Miami Herald]


By JIM VARSALLONE

November 16, 1999

So here we have a man. A man who spent many years trying to find himself in pro wrestling.

He was dubbed a wrestler with tremendous skills, but he needed to develop `a personality.´ Maybe it was his own mundane personality. Maybe it was his own lack of self-confidence to give it the ole college try. Maybe it was the powers-at-be wouldn't allow him to develop his persona. Whatever the case, he has come a long way from those days of traveling from town to town on the indie circuit.

Seeing him today, it makes you think otherwise. This guy is not only a skilled grappler, but he is hysterical. Some cool music and the face of a manikin promote his cause.People begin to take notice.

While wrestling for group No. 3, which, by the way, orchestrates A No. 1 live shows and TV, he begins to develop into a superstar, seeing the hard work finally start to pay off. Time and time again, he proves 2 heads are better than 1.

He is Al Snow. No. Not Leif Cassidy. Al Snow. You know. Mick Foley's friend. Snow's references took him from the World Wrestling Federation to Extreme Championship Wrestling. Re-born, he returned to the World Wrestling Federation. He entertains crowds with his verbal barrage of humor stemming from conversations with his manikin head.

Seeking its advice, its wisdom, the manikin head becomes a fixture of Al Snow. His driving force. His reason to wrestle. Well, at least, his reason to laugh. When the manikin's head is stolen or missing, a deer's head replaces it. Hey guy. You've made it. Al Snow reeks the benefits of his success -- pay-per-views, T-shirts and figurines. Ah, but wait, just when things are going well. The uneducated intervene and rear their ugly head.

A woman, using the fury of a women's right's group to her advantage, has Al Snow's figurine/doll pulled from the shelves of her neighborhood Wal-Mart. The doll: Al Snow holding his female manikin's head by the hair. She claims this is demeaning to woman. All Wal-Mart stores of the world stand up and take notice. They agree and remove the item from their stores. Ridiculous.

C'mon. Al Snow likes his manikin head. Sure, he may dispute it, but he always seems to work things out. He is not making fun of women. He is not demeaning to them. His manikin head is his friend.His manager.

Hey, I mean it's not like he accidentally ate his pet pooch for dinner. Ladies, he is just having fun. It has little to do with the gender of the head. It just makes you think once again. Some people just don't, ``Get It.´´ Al Snow is a survivor in the wrestling/sports entertainment business, and he will survive the wrath of the activists.

All hail Al Snow and his manikin head, a winning combination