As Jeff Jarrett once said, you can make a lot of acquaintances in professional wrestling, but very few friends. The foundations of the business is built on egos and alpha personalities, and there are many shady incidents that occur behind-the-scenes. However, there have been times when wrestling companies have mutually agreed to work together, and on occasion, it can be […]
There’s no doubting the legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance in the hearts and minds of long-time grapple fans. It was the vast organisation that dominated professional wrestling for decades in North America, with affiliated promotions in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Japan. Opponents of the Alliance were usually cut down to size, so much so, that in 1956, […]
The start of the year saw an old institution make way for the new. Prime Time Wrestling, which debuted back in 1985, aired for the last time, to be replaced the following week by Monday Night RAW. Airing live from the Manhattan Centre on January 11, the show was hosted by Vince McMahon, Randy Savage and comedian/actor, Rob Bartlett. Bobby […]
1992 was a year of major transition in the WWF. Unlike the previous couple of years, when Vince McMahon struggled to take the ball completely from Hulk Hogan, he was given no choice when ‘The Hulkster’ left after Wrestlemania, apparently never to return. A past hero came back, but by the time the year was up, he and a number […]
When one thinks about the great families that have dominated professional wrestling, few can compare with The Von Erichs. Starting with the patriarch Fritz, his sons dutifully followed in his footsteps, with varying degrees of success. The arrival of Kevin, followed by David and Kerry set Fritz’s World Class Championship Wrestling on fire, especially when they began their legendary feud […]
The start of a new decade saw the WWF attempt to move on from Hulkamania, the driving force that had largely made the WWF the undisputed leader in “sports entertainment.” As explained in part one of our on-going series, the first whisperings that ‘The Hulkster’ may be moving on to pursue other endeavours caused Vince McMahon to move up another […]
Vince McMahon knew exactly what he wanted to accomplish when he took over the family business in the middle of 1982. To many, it was a grandiose and over-ambitious plan that would see the young upstart go down in ruin. The plan was to take the already strong North-Eastern promotion national, which meant stepping on plenty of toes. However, with […]
By the end of the 1980s, the WWF were the undisputed kings of professional wrestling in the United States. At the time of the new decade, WCW was barely two years into their existence, and far from serious competition; the AWA was on their last legs. Since the national expansion had been so successful, why not go further afield? In […]
Here on the Roadshow we like to look at wrestling through the rear view mirror. Well lets go all the way back to April 2023 and take a look at WrestleMania 39 and it’s theme song. Long-time emperor of the WWE Vince McMahon was embroiled in some paralegal issues in 2022 CE and as a result of the scandal he […]
On June 19, 2016 at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Dominion 6.19 event in Osaka-jo Hall Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to capture his fourth IWGP Heavyweight Championship. What followed was a reign that cemented Okada’s position at the top of the company, one of the greatest title reigns of the modern era, both for longevity and match quality. Star ratings […]
