NMB Wrestling Archive

Looks like they have some really strong characters in Punk and Hardy, which makes it a shame that they aren't around for the long haul. Attendance was said to be in the 1000 range, and Hardy supposedly got scattered boos when they announced him earlier in the evening and got a really good reaction when he actually appeared in front of the crowd.

Here are your "elite 8" finalists. British Bulldogs Fantastics Midnight Express (Eaton & Lane) Rock & Roll Express Rick & Scott Steiner Midnight Express (Eaton & Condrey) Fabulous Freebirds (Hayes, Roberts & Gordy) Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard These teams will square off in round robin matches from here on, and in an important note, the specified time frame does not exist for this part of the tournament. Therefore, if you're comparing both versions of the Midnight Express, for example, you can truly compare both versions and not just look at a partial run for one team.

--Our good friend Ealr Hebner was a referee in the NWA (unless it was his twin brother) --Jim Crockett Sr.'s widow had no idea what Nikita Koloff's name was. --The over-the-top rule was really annoying. At one time, they showed clips of about 3-4 tag teams in a row progressing through the tournament because of screwy means. --Nikita Koloff wearing a brace to the ring is the dumbest idea ever. it is like a big old bullseye for the opponent. --The Lex Luger-Ric Flair matchup was much better than the Ric Flair-Sting matchup.

Vote for the team that you feel had the best run as a tag team from 1985 to 2005. Voting will last approximately 24 hours and the winner of each match will advance to the second round. Because the goal of the tournament is to promote discussion, please feel free to explain how you came to your decision as much as possible.

Just an FYI. Watch it. All of yous.

Vote for the team that you feel had the best run as a tag team from 1985 to 2005. Voting will last approximately 24 hours and the winner of each match will advance to the second round. Because the goal of the tournament is to promote discussion, please feel free to explain how you came to your decision as much as possible.

It's been tried in other areas; let's give it a whirl here. Sometimes, the threads that veer off topic and go all over the place are the fun ones, so let's just see where this goes.

Meltzer's preview of the show: Matt Hardy is expected to appear on the show as well, as WWE has cleared him to do a run-in to put over his current angle. Meltzer seems to think this card looks good on paper, but nothing really stands out as great looking to me. Then again, I've never seen a Michael Shane match and don't know what kind of effect he'd have on the tag match, nor have I seen a Sabin match, so I'm not sure how he and Joe will click.

The format is a little different for this one because I wrote it for my college paper. WWE Smackdown! World Heavyweight Title Brock Lesnar (Challenger) vs. Kurt Angle (Champion) Roanoke, VA; Civic Center September 13, 2003 Every sport has its franchise player, the one that stands apart and possesses the intangible ?it? factor. The one that can seemingly do it all. Football has its Joe Montana. Baseball has its Babe Ruth. Hockey has its Wayne Gretzkey. Basketball has its Michael Jordan. Golf has its Tiger Woods. And while these men are often referred to as icons and legends of the game, the accomplishments they achieved will all, one day, fall by the wayside as…

November 22, 1982 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden WWF World Champion Bob Backlund vs. Superstar Billy Graham Backlund defended against all comers during his multi-year reign - from Ivan Koloff to Don Muraco, Greg Valentine to George Steele. In 1982 alone he survived a bloody feud with Jimmy ?Superfly? Snuka before moving on to another winning rivalry against Bob Orton Jr. And just when it seemed like there was no one else to wrestle, Backlund was once again face to face with the man he took the title from on February 22, 1978. Superstar Billy Graham had returned to the territory after an absence of several years. Though still possessing an im…

Ricky Steamboat vs. Jake Roberts Boston Garden August 9, 1986 Gorilla Monsoon & Lord Alfred Hayes on commentary From the Jake "The Snake" Roberts Coliseum Video Following WrestleMania 2, several of the younger and newer faces in the company were left without programs behind them. Two such names were Ricky ?the Dragon? Steamboat and the newly arrived Jake ?the Snake? Roberts. Steamboat had been in the company only a year but had already battled against the best the WWF had to offer, from Don Muraco to Greg Valentine. Roberts, on the other hand, arrived just weeks before WrestleMania 2. Though his time in the ring had been brief, a line of preliminary wres…

In the fall of 1993, Yokozuna was the immovable object when it came to the WWF and the world championship title. Not even the best efforts of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart, Lex Luger, and the Undertaker could put the 550lb title holder to the mat for a 3-count. While Yoko dominated the main event scene, the hottest name in the midcard was that of Razor Ramon. In a matter of only a few weeks, Ramon soundly defeated Ted Dibiase at Summer Slam, in the Million $ Man?s last WWF match, and then went on to win the vacant Intercontinental Championship by surviving a 20-man battle royal and pinning ?The Model? Rick Martel. Though both men were tied up in their own programs (Yoko …

WWF Interncontinental Championship Jeff Hardy (Challenger) vs. Triple H (Champion) Philadelphia, PA April 10, 2001 The Build Up The parting shot of WrestleMania X-7 was Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin celebrating Austin?s world title victory over the Rock. It came as a shock to many but it would be just one of the many surprises that lay in store that year. If any year represented change, it was 2001. The purchase of WCW by the WWF. ECW closing its doors for the last time. The rise of Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho as top contenders. The debut of Paul Heyman, Rob Van Dam, Booker T, Rhyno, Shane Helms, Diamond Dallas Page, and Lance Storm. The i…

Bob Backlund vs. Iron Sheik (WWF Title Match/MSG/12.26.83): A match that many non-fans of the era are familiar with. Backlund had held the title for several years at this point, but the stage was being set for the Hulk Hogan era and Backlund's dated clean-cut act didn't fit. Of course, fans weren't aware of this, so this is just another title defense for the champ. Except it isn't. Although promoted as the main event of the card, the match took place mid-way through the show, which wasn't a good sign for those hoping to see Backlund retain. Fans hate Sheik and Blassie, who just eats it up, milking the gimmick for all its worth. Going into this match, Backlund…

My personal favorite string of shows every year. Guys always seem to bring their A games for it. Here's the competitors: Osamu Nishimura Minoru Suzuki Tatsumi Fujinami Kendo Kashin Hiroyoshi Tenzan Josh Barnett Masahiro Chono Yuji Nagata Yutaka Yoshie Togi Makabe Hiroshi Tanahashi Toru Yano Blue Wolf Shinsuke Nakamura Manabu Nakanishi This looks really bad on paper with so much deadweight involved. Though I thought the last 2 years were going to be awful and they managed to pull off good shows. How old is Fujinami these days? He's got to be pushing 60. I'm guessing the final will be Tanahashi vs. Nakamura but it's hard to tel…

The Buildup My family is Catholic but from the age of 10 my religion has been wrestling. Week after week, month after month, and year after year I studied the matches and history of the greatest sport on earth. Stars came and went during that time. Personal favorites of mine Davey Boy Smith, Curt Hennig, and Owen Hart passed away. My passion remained. A new wave of talent like Shelton Benjamin, Batista, and John Cena appeared on the scene. My passion remained. In 2004, it was my passion that finally brought me to the Vatican of the WWE ? Madison Square Garden. It was one of those rare occasions where things just happened to fall into place. While watching Wrestle…

June 28, 1982 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden WWF World Champion Bob Backlund vs. Jimmy Snuka (Steel Cage Match) Bob Backlund had proudly worn the WWF Heavyweight Championship for 4 years by the time 1982 came around. And despite the best attempts of all his challengers, no one had been successful in dethroning him of the title - save for that infamous 3-day run by Antonio Inoki in 1979. During the first several months of 82, Backlund fought off tough challenges from Greg Valentine, Blackjack Mulligan, Jesse Ventura, and Adrian Adonis. But within weeks, a new face entered the World Wrestling Federation and immediately targeted Backlund and his tit…

No offense but this is the same crap the dummies on the Oratory board were saying to prove the Blondes were a lesser team than Hall and Nash. I don't love The Hollywood Blondes because Austin became Stone Cold and Pillman became the Loose Cannon, I love them because Stunning Steve and Flyin' Brian made a great tag team. I don't love them for just one skit, I love them for all their matches with Steamboat and Douglas and even teams like Bagwell and Scorpio. I'm voting for The Fantastics for longevity.

October 28, 1991 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden Roddy Piper vs. Ric Flair (w/ Bobby Heenan) It had been nearly 16 years since Ric Flair last wrestled in Madison Square Garden. The future icon of the sport worked 2 bouts at MSG in 1976 and it would not be until this very night that the NWA mainstay would make his return to the world?s most famous arena. Upon entering the WWF less than 2 months prior, Flair immediately targeted Roddy Piper after Piper interrupted Bobby Heenan?s appearance on the Funeral Parlor and spat on the NWA title belt, which Flair had brought with him to the World Wrestling Federation. Several weeks thereafter, Flair appeared…

Bret Hart vs. Bob Backlund (6/12/93) Flashback June 1993: What was once old is now new again. Bob Backlund, who was in possession of the WWF World Title from 1978 to 1983, returned to the WWF during the tail end of 1992 and began his quest to regain the title he proudly once held. Classic battles against Superstar Billy Graham, Sgt. Slaughter, Ken Patera, Don Muraco, and Jimmy Snuka solidified Backlund as a legendary figure. But to the fans of the modern day WWF, he was a forgotten relic. For many, wrestling is a religion. And much like the ?Before Christ? aspect of the Christian calendar, Backlund was ?BH? ? ?Before Hogan?. For all the kids that grew up on…

October 25, 1991 Oakland, CA Coliseum WWF World Champion Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair (w/ Bobby Heenan) The Hulkster against the Nature Boy. The WWF against the NWA, at least symbolically. The two biggest stars of the 1980s one-on-one to determine where the power lies in professional wrestling. Some say it would never happen. But in 1991, it did. It happened almost every other night from October 91 to January 92. We just never saw it on TV unless we were lucky enough to have the MSG Network. Hogan and Flair battled twice at the world?s most famous arena but that wasn?t the only venue in which they faced off. On October 22 in Dayton, OH, Flair and Hogan h…

Bret Hart vs. Mr. Perfect (w/ the Genius) October 2, 1989 Wheeling, WV Without a doubt, Bret Hart and Curt Hennig are two of the most accomplished and respected talents over the past 25 years. There?s not much I can say about them that hasn?t already been said a million times over. While their two most well known bouts are from Summer Slam 91 and King of the Ring 93, they had quite the rivalry in 1989 when Perfect was slowly climbing up the ladder of world title contention. Along the way he had faced off challenges from a long line of solid midcard talent, among them Brutus Beefcake, the Blue Blazer, Hercules, the Red Rooster, and the returning Jimmy Snuka. Ha…

Via Meltzer: I'm speechless right now. I don't know what to say.

I'm really curious. I don't really know how much love people like Austin Aries or Alex Shelley would get. I'm not sure where Samoa Joe or CM Punk or Low Ki would rank, if at all. How about American Dragon, Christopher Daniels or Homicide? It'll be interesting to see. Without Puro or Lucha or WWE, who's names sprout to the top?

So.......who saw it? Personally I think it was one of the most legit offensive things WWE has done. Having masked men obviously supposed to remind people of terrorists simulate a garrotting/beheading on a popular icon is just beyond the fucking pale for me. The fact that there was a terrorist attack the day it aired is just icing on the cake. Seeing five men in masks on their knees the same as in videos where people got their fucking heads sawed off made me seriously not want to watch WWE programming anymore. The fact that no one had the balls to speak up and say maybe terrorists are one line wrestling shouldn't cross is an embarrassment to the business.