Pro Wrestling

Of course, people are gonna think first and foremost about the Montreal screwjob, but I was watching the entire Big Van Vader debut in New Japan thingy, and man, what a complete booking debacle. I have litteraly no idea what was planned and what wasn't, as everything seems so fucked up. People starting throwing shit in the ring as soon as they announce Vader won't be part of the tag match, then Choshu getting them back by challenging Inoki, then the Hase run-in and the shit finish, then of course the quicky Inoki job to Vader, getting a very negative reaction from the crowd (although you don't really get the feeling of a riot at this point, unlike earlier during the tag m…

By "Sleeziest", I of course mean the best matches to occur in WCW between 1995-2001 as selected by me, Superstar Sleeze. I put all this work into making a list in the spring of this year. I wanted to write a big thing prelude about my findings on WCW. What surprised me? How did the working style progress or regress? Who were the standout workers? Notable observations? I waited so long and I just forgot them all. I figured no point in letting all that hard work go to waste, might as well present the list anyway. All the matches I have selected have reviews attached to them with a link. Two things I want to point out. Diamond Dallas Page is the man. Every match drippe…

What are the current TV shows for AAA and CMLL? Are they available online to watch weekly? How many PPV's does each promotion have these days? They are available on iPPV? Thanks ahead of time as I am looking for some details....

Hey guys, I haven't told a lot of people this but I'm a production assistant and all around utility guy for The World Famous Monster Factory. The Monster Factory was owned by Larry Sharpe and he trained lots of guys that made it from Chris Candido to Sheamus when he moved to the US. The ownership was transfered in 2011 to Danny Cage and he brought in over the years The Blue Meanie, Bill Wiles, QT Marshall and Punisher Martinez as the training staff. Under this current iteration of the Monster Factory they moved into the Paulsboro Wrestling Gym and expanded to another recruiting facility in Mt Laurel NJ. Currently they have gotten Steve Cutler from NXT trained and signed …

For this week's podcast we're doing the second part of our look at the history of the Survivor Series PPV, analysing its struggle for identity and relevance, going show by show, and as always we're looking for your thoughts on the former Thanksgiving Eve Tradition. Question - What is your favourite Survivor Series memory between 2000 and 2014? It can be a great match, moment, promo, anything - the more detail the better. As usual, the best contributions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly, so whaddya think? EDIT - The show discussing Survivor Series from 2000 to 2014 and your fondest memories is now online and available to listen to at …

First he manages to cheat death with the heart attack, then over the weekend he comes out unscathed from a head on car crash. Either he really is Superman or he's a real life Final Destination scenario and death is trying to catch up with him,

JohnnyP and I were talking about the WON HOF yesterday while in Si's GWE Viewing Marathon Room and I brought up Sputnik Monroe as a guy I thought should be in. Johnny is a voter so I was stoked when he completely agreed with me and I know I've seen Dylan mention him before because when he did I thought "ok good I'm not alone on this." A few years ago, inspired by Dylan's awesome results collecting for Patera and Blackwell, I decided to try and do the same with Sputnik using clawmaster's site and prowrestlinghistory.com. I wanted to make an outline of a HOF case (main evented these territories vs these guys in these arenas) based on his career and make a HARD push on …

Here is a list of all the matches that are currently up. Bolded Items are matches not in circulation. Dates will be added as soon as we source them. Andre vs Tank Patton 1/2/81 Barry Orton vs. Lanny Poffo 5-25-84 Bandolier Death Match: Hector & Chavo Guerrero vs. Ted Dibiase & Dr. Death Steve Williams 7/12/85 Barbarian John Nord vs. Shawn Michaels 3/22/85 Barry Orton vs. Dr. Death Steve Williams 6/8/84 Two Ring Battle Royal 12/27/84 Brad Armstrong vs. One Man Gang 3/22/85 Buddy Landell vs Butch Reed - Shoe Shine Match 12/27/84 Butch Reed vs. Dutch Mantell 7/26/85 Butch Reed vs. Kamala 7/12/85 Danny McShain vs Bull Curry 3/17/1961 Cage MatchTed DiBiase & …

Going to try to do this five days a week for the next couple of months. Today's tidbit: Here is a little known tidbit from the fall of 1998. Beginning with Nitro on September 7, Arn Anderson was in the highest rated segment six consecutive shows in a row covering: Nitro 9/7 Thunder 9/10 Nitro 9/14 Thunder 9/17 Nitro 9/21 Thunder 9/24 The 9/10 Thunder rating was particularly interesting since it was for a segment that replayed the Nitro reformation and an arm wrestling angle between Anderson and Eric Bischoff with the stipulation being if Anderson won, Flair would be reinstated and if Bischoff won, he wouldn’t be back with WCW. Bischoff “won” the arm…

I want to get other's thoughts on this, because I'm having a spirited debate with goc where he seems to argue that Hogan was in the right to bury both Sting and Goldberg in 1998. The argument seems to be that Hogan was the best, most spirited, caring, hard worker in the main event scene that year in 1998 and therefore should have kept the title. If I am going too far in overstating your view goc, I am sorry and feel free to correct me. Speaking as someone who gave up on WCW that year out of legit hate (as opposed to heat) for Hogan I cannot disagree more. But I want other's thoughts on this and in general was his political style justified in his WCW run?

First, it's unquestionable that steroid and PED usage is as rampant in wrestling today as it was in the 1980's. It's a key component of that "larger than life" look that defines a top wrestling star. But even with that factor in play, I can't help noticing that a typical star of today looks a whole lot different than a star of yesteryear. Indeed, it's not just limited to US wrestling. The Puroresu prototypical image has changed drastically as well. In fact, the top guys in many Japanese promotions are resembling their US counterparts, more and more. For a long time, the bulky strongman look was the prototype for a Japanese ace, now you've got guys a hell of a lot leaner a…

For the next two weeks on the podcast we'll be looking at the history of the Survivor Series PPV, analysing its struggle for identity and relevance from the beginning, going show by show, and as always we're looking for your thoughts on the former Thanksgiving Ever Tradition. Question is fairly simple - what is your favourite Survivor Series memory between 1987 and 1999? It can be a great match, moment, promo, anything - the more detail the better. As usual, the best contributions will be read on the show and you'll be credited accordingly. So whaddya think? EDIT - The show discussing Survivor Series from 1987 to 1999 and your fondest memories is now online an…

I am someone who probably puts versatility near the center of my criteria for the GWE, but in looking back at the most divisive thread in PWO history, I ran across Loss arguing that to him versatility means the ability to have a variety of good matches, across a bunch of different promotions, with a bunch of different people and not necessarily the ability to work several different styles. This is very similar to the sentiment expressed by Parv in the Fair to Flair podcast series. To me versatility encompasses both things, but I also include the ability to play a variety of different roles effectively when called on to do so. In many respects I think the tension between …

Jerry Lawler vs Terry Funk: The Last Stand I thought this was a well paced match from start to finish. Funk took a bump to the floor that no 71 year old man with shot knees has business taking. A nice brawl around ringside and in to the crowd followed. The finish, whilst not perfect let everyone go home happy. ***1/2

Just a bit of fun! So I recently re-watched this match from NOAH's 2009 Great Voyage, it was Kawada/Taue vs. Akiyama/KENTA. At roughly 1.55, KENTA decides to slap Kawada, the expression of Dangerous K says it all. Adding to the stupidity, KENTA then proceeds to throw some of Kawada's own signature kicks against him. The result? Kawada enraged, slaps KENTA repeatedly and then kicks his head off. A more Genre Savvy (if you like) wrestler would realise the danger in aggravating a miserable veteran like Kawada. It got me thinking about other stupid (kayfabe) things wrestlers do in matches that nine times out of ten, result in them getting levelled or losing control of…

If someone wanted to see all of the best and most important post-split All Japan Pro Wrestling (from summer 2000-present), what matches would you recommend? I've seen some stuff pimped in the immediate years after and in the last year or two, but not much in between. I realize the glory days are over so I'm not looking for the hidden Misawa-Kobashi-level classic, but I'm guessing that we could squeeze out at least 50-60 hours of stuff that is fun-good-great and worth watching during that time, right?

I have become really into Lucha wrestling over the last couple weeks, but going through lists and such, its easy to find which matches are the Wager matches (which I have loved to watch), but most lists I see dont mention if a match is a title match and I'd like to watch a bunch of those due to the difference in styles detailed in a few podcasts. The only title match I have seen so far on my dive into Lucha was Blue Panther vs. Atlantis from 91 and I really enjoyed it. I would love to have some 80's - 90's title matches recommended. So what should I track down / watch?

So I should preface this by stating that - largely thanks to this board - I've been diving into one of my massive blindspots this year: American territories. I've been watching a ton of great stuff I've seen recommended on here, just finished the Idol/Rich Lawler Memphis feud, a ton of The Fabs stuff and have been firing into as much of the pimped Mid South stuff as possible recently via detours through the Hansen vs Colon Puerto Rico stuff! So yeah, all sorts of stuff really, I can never seem to focus. Anyway, I came across this video on youtube and its the first stuff I've ever seen from Florida, I was just drawn to it because of the Malenko's.... the video seems to …

I'm sometimes surprised at how little wrestlers know about environments they didn't work in. I think about Bret not knowing much of anything about JCP-era NWA or All Japan, or Flair not realizing that Mike Tyson was the big selling point of Wrestlemania XIV. I'm curious, especially for those of you who know wrestlers, how in tune most wrestlers are with what's happening on a global scale, and how good their knowledge of history is. Wrestlers obviously understand wrestling, but it seems like most of them don't understand versions of wrestling that they were not a product of. Is that a fair statement?

So, for this weeks podcast, we'll be discussing the Most Hated World Title Reigns in History, and want your input on what is your most despised run anybody had as a World Champion in any promotion, ever, and of course why? A key point here is we are looking to discuss the title runs themselves, NOT simply a guy becoming champion who you don't feel was worthy (Vince McMahon for example). As always we'll be reading the best contributions on the show and crediting you accordingly - so what is the World Title reign you personally hated more than any other, and what about it pissed you off so much? EDIT - The show discussing your Most Hated World Title Reigns Ever is now…

I see that Michinoku Pro is still active today, although I take it it's not really a lucharesu (I hate that word but people at least know what it means) group anymore. Anyway, what Michinoku Pro from 2000-present would people recommend?

I was watching Starrcade 89 earlier and it occurred to me that these two, for all the time they spent collectively in JCP/WCW, matched up against each other quite rarely. Thinking about it, Sting came into JCP in late summer 87, but as far as I know didn't wrestle Luger prior to Luger's face turn in December. Their next opportunity was Luger's heel turn in June 89, and - again, as far as I know - they kept away from each other until a brawl at Clash 9 and then wrestled at Starrcade. Luger's face turn and Sting's injury ended any further matches in February 90. Luger's turn in summer 91 made another match inevitable - was Superbrawl 2 the only one in this times…

Germany is a rich country in case of wrestling history. I'd like to know more about its beginnings, classic territories, rules, biggest stars and drawing cards, talent exchanges with other countries etc but I can't find any information or footage. Anyone here knows where I can find some reliable info in english? Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Was discussing such things with a friend the other day. I thought it might be cool to cover some of these things here. Sources optional, but obviously welcome. Here's a couple of the top of my head that we discussed. - John Cena (during a time when he was on a break with his now ex-wife) had a relationship with Mickie James, who was dating/engaged to Kenny Dykstra at the time. It seemed to create a behind-the-scenes shit storm. Although not directly related to the affair, both Dykstra and James were eventually released from their contracts, Cena and James ended their relationship (although James may have been reluctant to do so) and "The Champ" went on to marry his…

This obscure and difficult-to-find match has attained a near-legendary status on Titans. I loved it, some other people hated it. It is notable for a number of reasons: 1. It took place at the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, which is a completely unique setting for this time frame. It's really rare to see footage from outside of the TV (Allentown / Hamberg), MSG, Philly or sometimes Boston or the Cap Centre. I have read around about this, and in the Summer of 79, the WWF ran a series of live broadcasts from Atlantic City, which aired on a local cable channel (one guy says a station called "Sportschannel") at 8pm or 9pm in 79. The reasons for the existence of this footage…