Richie Faulkner is feeling better after heart surgery

Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner had to undergo emergency heart surgery after an aorta in his heart blew out during the Louder Than Life festival in Louisville, KY.

In an Instagram message posted on the band's site, Faulkner said "I was able to return home from hospital 10 days after my surgery to continue recovery at home. It has now been seven weeks since the night it all happened and I'm feeling very strong and positive. My incisions have healed very well and I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel."

It all happened during Judas Priest's "Painkiller" at the Louder Than Life festival. On Sept. 26, the band were playing away, playing "Painkiller" when an aorta in Faulkner's heart ruptured and blood started filling his chest cavity. He was rushed to a nearby hospital after the show for emergency surgery, where doctors spent more than ten hours repairing the damage

Faulkner said he has "been playing guitar everyday" during his recovery and admitted he's lucky to be alive and to have survived the ordeal. "It's Thanksgiving this month, and whether you celebrate it or not, I have a lot to give thanks for this year." He's said that he's grateful that the Louder Than Life set was only an hour long and that the Heart and Lung Center was only four miles from the concert site. Prior to this nearly life-ending incident, the 41-year-old guitarist has had "no history of a bad heart, no clogged arteries, etc."

Bill Goldberg (wrestler)

This massively tall wrestler is known simply for wearing black trunks and black boots. Nothing outstanding about his wrestling costume. He is, however, known for his devastating roundhouse kicks, which are said to be powerful enough to take chunks of brick out of a wall

Birth name: William Scott Golberg

DOB: 12/27/1966

Where: Tulsa, Oklahoma

Trivia

-Some of his trademark wrestling moves include:

• Jackhammer (suplex powerslam)
• Spear
• Pumphandle drop
• Single arm chokehold then gorilla press powerslam
• Superkick (those devastating roundhouse kicks)

-Prior to wrestling, he played football for the University of Georgia Bulldogs. He also played pro football with the NFL. The teams he played for were the Atlanta Falcons and Los Angeles Rams. His career in football ended when all of his abdominal muscles were torn from his pelvis and required surgical reattachment

-His wrestling debut was on Sept. 22, 1997

-Became a WCW World Champion on April 21, 1998 after defeating Raven. This reign lasted until July 26, 1998, when he gave the title to Hulk Hogan

-He worked as a bouncer for a short time

-In addition to playing football for the University of Georgia, he also has a degree in psychology from the University of Georgia

-His first WCW loss was against Chad Fortune on July 24, 1997 in a WCW dark match

-During filming for Looney Tunes: Back in Action, actor Brendan Fraser was so intimidated by Goldberg that Fraser was afraid to hit him. Goldberg said "Go ahead, do it. It's what I do for a living."

-He ended Bret Hart's career in wrestling when he botched a roundhouse kick to Bret's head, giving Bret a severe concussion, which later resulted in a massive stroke

-His former WCW tag team partner was Bret Hart

-Since he is good friends with Japanese wrestlers Nobuhiko Takada and Naoya Ogawa, he appeared at several Japanese wrestling events

-His entrance to the ring involved loud pyro effects showering him with hot sparks

-Because he is proud of his Jewish heritage, he refuses to work on the High Holidays, such as Yom Kippur and Passover

-Left WWE after WrestleMania XX because of the way the creative team was handling his character

-He made a return to WWE in late 2016 through early 2017 so his young son could see him wrestle

-He returned to wrestling for one year because he was sick of fans asking "Why don't you wrestle anymore?"

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin (wrestler)

This wrestler is usually known by "Austin 3:16". He has the tough look of a biker but is every bit down to earth. He's known for having a steely glare he gives towards his opponents in the ring

-Birth name: Steven James Anderson

-DOB: 12/18/1964

-Where: Edna, Texas

Trivia

-His entrance theme/sound was the sound of shattering glass. If you heard this, you knew he was coming

-He was trained by "Gentleman" Chris Adams and made a break into wrestling with USWA. He joined WCW, where he wrestled under the name "Stunning" Steve Austin. But after an elbow injury, he was fired from WCW. He then went on to ECW, where Paul Heyman was working and would eventually work his way to WWE

-He joined WWE in January 1996 as "The Million Dollar Champion". His debut, however, was that of "The Ringmaster". His first match was against Savio Vega and he won.

-June 1996 seen Austin defeat Jake "The Snake" Roberts. His promo included deriding Roberts for his religious beliefs, leading to the birth of Austin 3:16. Unfortunately for some, this ushered in the new Attitude Era

-The first wrestler to actually butt heads with Steve Austin was Calgary-born wrestler Bret "Hitman" Hart. Their rivalry came to a head at WrestleMania XIII, ending with Austin in Bret's famed move, the sharpshooter. But he managed to hold on. While he was not the highly talented and technical wrestler Bret was, he could still hold on. The end of the match is what really defined Austin as a wrestler. He was trapped in Bret's sharpshooter move and did not submit. Ref Ken Shamrock finally called for the end as Austin passed out with more than 18,000 people cheering him on

-His career nearly ended in 1997, at the hands of another Hart, this time Owen Hart. A freak injury at 1997's SummerSlam involved Austin getting slammed on his head during a piledriver, fracturing his neck

-He recovered quickly and quickly rose to the top of the WWE world. He took on fellow WWE'ers Bret "Hitman" Hart, Shawn Michaels aka "The Heartbreak Kid", The Undertaker. But his two best known matches were against The Rock and WWE Chairman Vince McMahon Jr.

-1997 saw the rivalry begin between McMahon and Austin. It happened as a result of McMahon stripping the Intercontinental Title and Austin delivered a "Stone Cold Stunner" (a kick to the gut followed by a jawbreaker) to his boss at Madison Square Garden. It's said this rivalry defined the Attitude Era

-Austin and The Rock faced each other in the ring just as often as Austin and McMahon did. They both headlined three WrestleMania pay-per-view events from 1999-2003.

-He retired from wrestling after WrestleMania XIX. But he still made appearances, unfortunately at the expense of the McMahons. The crowds didn't seem to be as loud as they usually were when they heard the glass shattering, which signalled the appearance of Austin 3:16

-His career ended perfectly: six WWE Championships, two Intercontinental Championships, three wins in the Royal Rumble and Triple Crown Champions and even his 2009 induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. Not bad at all for a boy from a small town in Texas

-He was incredibly shy when he was young, but he took up football and began to gain confidence

-He has a series of trademark moves. They are:

• Stun Gun (dropping opponent throat first on top rope)
• Lou Thesz press
• That's a Wrap (figure four leg lock)
• Arn Anderson Spinebuster
• Million Dollar Dream (also known as Cobra Clutch)
• Axe Handle Elbow Drop
• Piledriver
• Mudhole Stomping (corner stomps)
• Stone Cold Stunner (kick to the gut with a jawbreaker)

-He was the first wrestler to ever escape The Rock's finishing move "The Rock Bottom" at WrestleMania XV

-On March 29, 1998, he won his first WWF title match against Shawn "The Heartbreak Kid" Michaels

-He played defensive end for the University of North Texas football team

-Austin met his former wife Debra while she worked as a valet for wrestler Jeff Jarret

-He lost to Bret Hart in all four encounters they had, but did not lose all the matches

1. He lost to Bret Hart at Survivor Series 1996
2. He passed out at WrestleMania 13, during the "I Quit" match, even though he didn't actually say "I quit"
3. He won by DQ (disqualification) against Bret at a 1997 PPV event when The Hart Foundation interfered while Austin had Bret in his own signature move, the sharpshooter
4. The following night on WWE Raw, officials had to separate Bret and Austin where Bret was trapped in his own move, the sharpshooter, for several minutes. Austin injured Bret's leg severely and supposedly attacked him in the ambulance after the match concluded

-His nickname, "Stone Cold" came by way of his ex-wife, Jeanie Clark. She was British and serving him some tea while he contemplated new nicknames because "Stunning" wasn't cool anymore. Management were trying to come up with nicknames for him relating to icy, glacial, etc because of his cold stare. When his wife noticed he wasn't drinking the hot tea she made, to help him relax, she said "You'd better drink your tea before it gets stone cold"

-He was trying to get over as a heel (bad guy) after winning the 1996 King of the Ring

-Since there was another wrestler going under the name Steve Williams (Steve Austin's birth name), a promoter from the Texas Wrestling Foundation asked him where he was born and Steve Austin replied "Austin". It was then that the promoter told him "Your name will be Steve Austin"

-He has the official claim to fame that he was the first wrestler to be fired by FedEx. His termination papers came via FedEx to him. Ricky "Steamboat" Dragon was soon to follow.

-The gold chain that Austin wears was given to him by "Flyin'" Brian Pillman, who was his tag team partner, before their WCW debut as "The Hollywood Blondes"

-Two of his hobbies include collecting antiques and game hunting on his ranch in Texas

-When he worked for WCW, he, Mick Foley and "Diamond" Dallas Page once traveled together. Because Page was easy to anger, he and Foley would pull endless tricks to see how long it took Page to snap

-Outside of wrestling, he is good friends with The Rock, Bill Golberg and Mick Foley

-He says that his best match was with Bret Hart at WrestleMania XIII in 1997

-Austin learned his signature move, the "Stone Cold Stunner" from Michael PS Hayes, once a member of the Fabulous Freebirds

-When he appeared on an episode of the 1996 TV program Nash Bridges, his in-ring theme music is playing in the background

-He inducted Bret Hart into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006

January Birthdays

Since it's January, it's time to say Happy Birthday

Janick Gers

-Birth name: Janick Robert Gers

-DOB: 1/27/1957

-Where: Hartlepool, England

-When Adrian Smith came back into the band, Janick feared losing his job. Steve reassured him that he wasn't going anywhere. That Steve always wanted three guitarists anyway, putting Janick's fears to rest

Peter Steele

-Birth name: Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk

-DOB: 1/4/1962

-Where: Red Hook, New York

-DOD: 4/4/2010

-Where: New York, New York (sepsis as a result of diverticulitis. Initially stated as heart failure)

-Prior to his death, he was proud to admit he was clean and sober, after battling drug/alcohol addiction for years. He was even talking about moving to Staten Island to begin working on Type O Negative's seventh album, 2007's Dead Again

Ian Hill

-Birth name: Ian Frank Hill

-DOB: 1/20/1951

-Where: West Bromwich, England

-Along with guitarist KK Downing, he helped create Judas Priest

Paul Stanley

-Birth name: Stanley Bert Eisen

-DOB: 1/20/1952

-Where: Inwood, New York

-He was born with a somewhat rare condition called microtia, which results from poor development of the ear. As a result, he was completely deaf on his right side

Richie Faulkner

-Birth name: Richard Ian Faulkner

-DOB: 1/1/1980

-Where: London, England

-He joined Judas Priest in 2011, replacing former guitarist/founding member KK Downing

Rod Stewart

-Birth name: Sir Roderick David Stewart

-DOB: 1/10/1945

-Where: Highgate, London, England

-He is known for his distinctly raspy singing voice

Jimmy Page

-Birth name: James Patrick Page

-DOB: 1/9/1944

-Where: Heston, England

-Prior to forming Led Zeppelin, he was a member of The Yardbirds. When he quit, he was planning on naming his new band The New Yardbirds until Who drummer Keith Moon told him "that would go down like a lead balloon", inspiring his legendary band's name

David Bowie

-Birth name: David Robert Jones

-DOB: 1/8/1947

-Where: London, England

-DOD: 1/10/2016

-Where: New York, New York

-The last album he released was Blackstar

James May

-Birth name: James Daniel May

-DOB: 1/16/1963

-Where: Bristol, England

-He has a degree in music and has a strong knowledge of music. He can even play the piano exceptionally well

Malcolm Young

-Birth name: Malcolm Mitchell Young

-DOB: 1/6/1953

-Where: Glasgow, Scotland

-DOD: 11/18/2017

-Where: Elizabeth Bay, Australia

-He died from natural causes after battling with dementia

Kate Middleton

-DOB: 1/9/1982

-Where: Reading, England

-She supports a variety of charities ranging from mental health to the arts

Phil Collins

-Birth name: Philip David Charles Collins

-DOB: 1/30/1951

-Where: Chiswick, London, England

-His daughter Lily is a highly successful actress

John Paul Jones

-Birth name: John Richard Baldwin

-DOB: 1/3/1946

-Where: Sidcup, England

-Worked as a session musician prior to joining Led Zeppelin on bass

10 Films Inspired by Rocky

Since 11/21/2021 was the anniversary of the release of the famed 1976 film Rocky, the people at Ultimate Classic Rock took a look at some of the films of the 1980s, where the main character is an underdog-type person, overcoming extreme odds to accomplish a dream or something else. Here are 10 films inspired by Rocky.

Flashdance (1983)

-The "Rocky" of the dance floor

-This film centers around a blue-collar steel worker named Alexandra "Alex" Owens (Jennifer Beals) who works as a steel welder during the day and a dancer by night, with dreams of acing the audition to get into a prestigious dance school, specifically the Pittsburgh Conservatory of Dance and Repertory. Along the way, she also finds love in the form of Nick Hurley (Michael Nouri), the owner of the steel plant. There's also an inspirational song and a series of scenes showing her getting into shape, inspired by Rocky

Footloose (1984)

-The "Rocky" of high school

-Kevin Bacon plays city kid Ren McCormack, who moves to a small Midwestern town that outlaws dancing and rock music due to the influence of the local reverend Shaw Moore (John Lithgow). Ren falls in love with Reverend Moore's daughter Ariel (Lori Singer). It's then he decides to not only win her hand and heart, but get the town's ban on dancing removed. Like Rocky, there are scenes showing Ren doing what he does best - gymnastics - and showing his friend Willard (Chris Penn) to dance. Of course, there's also an inspirational song, a song of the same name as the movie by Kenny Loggins

The Natural (1984)

-The "Rocky" of baseball

-This film stars screen legend Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, a young but already talented pitcher who learns the game of baseball from his dad and even carves his own bat out of wood from a tree struck by lightning. Before his tryout for the Chicago Cubs, a deranged fan shoots him in the stomach, nixing his tryout. Sixteen years later, he's aged and struggling to find a chance in baseball. He gets a chance with a last-chance, no-hope team and his story intermingles with theirs. He manages to lead the team to a one-game playoff and manages to fall in love with the girl he left behind years ago. He goes up to bat and hits a home run into the stadium lights and he and his team are going to the World Series

The Karate Kid (1984)

-The "Rocky" of karate and the West Coast

-Ralph Maccio plays Daniel LaRusso, a middle class kid from New Jersey who moves to the suburbs of Los Angeles with his mother. At his school, he gets bullied by members of the local martial arts school Cobra Kai. Legendary actor Noriyuki "Pat" Morita plays the role of Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese immigrant and the handyman in Daniel's apartment building. He's also a master of karate. He teaches Daniel karate without Daniel even realizing it. He does this by having Daniel do menial tasks around Mr. Miyagi's house and when Daniel finally confronts Mr. Miyagi about karate lessons, Mr. Miyagi then shows him that he has been learning all along, through the tasks he's been assigned. At the same time, Daniel falls for his classmate Ali Mills (Elisabeth Shue). The movie comes down to a final fight at the All-Valley Karate Championship. The final fight is between Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). Daniel wins by using the "Flying Crane" move he seen Mr. Miyagi doing once

Rocky IV (1985)

-"Rocky" on Steroids

-It might be surprising to see one of the Rocky movies here, but this one is here because it's Rocky himself who is once again the underdog

-Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is now a highly successful boxing champion. Because of the wealthy lifestyle he's suddenly gained, he's gone a little soft. When his good friend Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) takes on a Red Army officer/boxer named Ivan Drago, this fight turns fatal. Drago kills Creed in the ring. Now Rocky decides to take on the Russian himself. Drago uses state of the art technology and a strict training schedule and even the use of the steroids to get himself in shape. Rocky travels to Russia and trains without technology to get himself in shape. When the final fight comes, he is in the best shape he's ever been in. At first, people aren't impressed with his fighting style. But as the fight closes in on the end, even Drago is impressed. Rocky wins the fight and the approval of everyone, including the top Russian government officials in attendance

Top Gun (1986)

-"Rocky" takes to the skies

-Tom Cruise gets his first action role here as Navy pilot Pete Mitchell, nicknamed "Maverick". He gets a chance to train at an elite flight school for pilots. He's considered an underdog due to his father, who was also a pilot, had a misunderstanding in an air battle which resulted in his death. He also falls in love with a scientist (Kelly McGillis)

Hoosiers (1986)

-"Rocky" takes to the court

-Gene Hackman plays Norman Dale, a basketball coach no longer allowed to work the college basketball circuit because he punched one of his own players. With no options left, he agrees to become the coach, in addition to history teacher, at a small, rural school in Indiana. There are obstacles everywhere he turns. The team only has seven players. The best one on the team doesn't want to play. The school is dwarfed by larger rivals in the area. His assistant coach (Dennis Hopper) is an alcoholic. But, through his own wisdom and hard work, in addition to intense training, Dale turns the team around and takes the team to a final game for the Indiana State championship. The team wins and Dale wins the heart of a woman he's interested in (Barbara Hershey)

Dirty Dancing (1987)

-"Rocky" on the 1960s dance floor in New York

-This is one of those classic girl films or "chick flicks". Patrick Swayze plays Johnny Castle, a dance instructor at a wealthy Catskills resort. Jennifer Grey plays Frances "Baby" Houseman, the daughter of a doctor who is on vacation with her family. When Castle's dance partner is unable to fill in for a short time, Baby offers to step in her place and fill in. Castle teaches Baby everything related to dance, all sorts of different dance styles. At the same time, they fall in love. This movie shows scenes where Baby is learning to dance and the movie ends with everyone out on the dance floor for the end of season talent show and Baby's father accepting Johnny for who he is

Over the Top (1987)

-"Rocky" enters the world of arm wrestling

-Some might think there is some favoritism towards Sylvester Stallone because of at least two of his movies being on here. It's not that; it's just this movie is considered one of those "underdog overcomes odds" type situations. Sylvester Stallone plays Lincoln Hawk, a truck driver who moonlights as a professional arm wrestler. He is separated from his wife and his son Michael (David Mendenhall) is living with his grandfather (Robert Loggia), who enrolled him in a military school. When Lincoln finally gets his son back, he shows Michael the world of arm wrestling, which is as foreign a concept to Michael as you can imagine. The only way for Lincoln to get ahead in life is to win the World Arm Wrestling Championship, being held in Las Vegas. The prize is a brand new truck and a cash prize. Not surprisingly, there is that series of scenes showing working out - in this case, Hawk working out to make sure he's in top shape. The final scenes show Hawk at the World Arm Wrestling Championship and his son, now a loyal supporter of his dad, on the sidelines, cheering him on. Hawk wins the championship with his famed move "Over the Top", by putting the thumb over the opponent's hand

Bloodsport (1988) Kickboxer (1989)

-"Rocky" enters the world of kickboxking and martial arts

-As a side note, I'm unsure why some people think of Jean Claude Van Damme as a poor man's Sylvester Stallone. I don't think that. For one thing, Jean Claude Van Damme is an expert martial artist; Sylvester Stallone is not. Both have different acting styles. I have never seen of Jean Claude Van Damme's movies, but I still give him the benefit of the doubt of being a good actor.

-These two films feature a Belgian actor named Jean Claude Van Damme. In Bloodsport, he plays Frank Dux, a US Army Captain/martial artist who is asked to compete in an illegal martial arts tournament in Hong Kong. To win the tournament and avenge one of his comrades, who was killed, he gets himself in shape to fight the top fighter Chong Li (Bolo Yeung). In Kickboxer, he plays Kurt Sloane, younger brother to a kickboxer who is paralyzed from waist down as a result from a fight with a Thai kickboxing champion named Tong "The Tiger" Po (Michel Qissi). To help his brother get some payback, Sloan engages Po in a fight. He makes sure his skills are up to par by training hard and intense.

Creed II (2018)

This is a sequel to the 2015 film of the same name

Summary

-With former boxing champion Rocky Balboa acting as his coach, Adonis Johnson, the son of late boxing legend Apollo Creed, takes on Viktor Drago, the son of former Russian boxing champion Ivan Drago

Cast

-Michael B. Jordan: Adonis Johnson

-Sylvester Stallone: Rocky Balboa

-Tessa Thompson: Bianca

-Phylicia Rashad: Mary Anne Creed

-Dolph Lundgren: Ivan Drago

-Florian Munteanu: Viktor Drago

-Russell Hornsby: Buddy Marcelle

-Wood Harris: Tony "Little Duke" Burton

-Mile Ventimiglia: Robert Balboa

-Robbie Johns: Logan Balboa

-Andre Ward: Danny "The Stuntman" Wheeler

-Brigitte Nielsen: Ludmilla Drago

Did You Know?

-This is the fifth film to feature two turtles named Cuff and Link. In real life, they are Sylvester Stallone's pets and have been for nearly 50 years

-Rocky is two years old than Mickey, the man who coached Rocky in the original 1976 film

-Just like the 1985 film Rocky IV, none of the Russian characters are played by actual Russian-born people. Dolph Lundgren, who plays Ivan Drago, is Swedish. Brigitte Nielsen, who plays Ludmilla, is Danish and Florian Munteanu, who plays Viktor Drago is German-Romanian

-Dolph Lundgren worked with director Steven Caple Jr to change his appearance and visibly age the character Ivan Drago. He did this to show the poverty and suffering the character had experienced

-Brigitte Nielsen is actually an ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone. They were engaged during the filming of Rocky IV, married after the premier and divorced two years later

-The search for the perfect person to play Viktor Drago took several months and trips around the world. The production crew met with several comedians and athletes who were also disciples of martial arts, kickboxing, boxing and American football. After searching through hundreds of photos, the right man had been found. German-Romanian boxer Florian Munteanu, known as "Big Nasty" was chosen

-When shooting her scenes, Brigitte Nielsen was 7 months pregnant. Filming was made to shoot around her ever increasing stomach. She gave birth to her fifth child, but first daughter, who she named Frida, exactly two weeks after filming concluded

-The film crew, Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan and Steven Caple Jr spent ten weeks filming in and around Philadelphia and then filmed the desert scenes in Deming, New Mexico

-This was filmed during the Anthony Joshua v. Joseph Parker fight in Wales on 03/31/2018

-Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren trained just as hard as the people they were coaching in the film, just to make sure they were in shape just like Adonis Creed and Viktor Drago

-One of the people fighting hard to get the role of Viktor Drago was UFC fighter Sage Northcutt

-The fight between Adonis Creed and Danny "The Stuntman" Wheeler took place at the newer version of MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Ironically, in the fight between Apollo Creed and Ivan Drago, that fight took place at the old MGM Grand, now Bally's, in Vegas

-In both this film and Rocky IV, Adonis gets his ribs broken by Viktor Drago just as Rocky got his ribs broken from Ivan Drago

-This film does not begin with recap of the final fight scene, like in Rocky Balboa and Creed

-In order to be seen as a credible fighter on screen, Michael B. Jordan underwent a strict diet and trained 2-3 times a day

-Michael B. Jordan wanted coach Patrice "Boogie" Harris to train him like a real boxer so he can develop these skills and develop his speed and coordination

-In this film, Bianca is suffering from progressive hearing loss while her daughter Amara is totally deaf. It's very rare for someone with progressive hearing loss to create a totally deaf child with a partner who has no hearing problems themselves. In this case, Adonis Creed

-During the 1st weigh-in, Ivan Drago tells Adonis "You're not as big as your father". Carl Weathers is 6'1'' while Michael B. Jordan is only 6'