Carl Reiner, an American actor, stand-up comedian, director, screenwriter, and author whose career spanned seven decades, said of the late Andy Kaufman, “nobody can see past the edges, where the character begins and he ends.” Kaufman was a very eccentric entertainer, who enjoyed coming up with elaborate hoaxes for publicity. His range of characters included “Foreign Man” – later to be […]
“I’m sorry, I love you”. The metaphorical gun was cocked, the trigger pulled. An old dog, finally able to find peace. The gun – a super kick. The shooter – Shawn Michaels. And the old dog – one of the greatest careers in the history of professional wrestling, that of Ric Flair. It cannot be overstated how important Ric Flair […]
“間も無く水道橋駅 到着します”, the announcement comes over the speakers. You think you understood, but you’re uncertain. You heard some other stuff but that stood out. “The next station is Suidobashi”, the voice repeats in a more familiar language. You prepare yourself and eye a waypoint to the door through the packed train. You’re concerned about being able to make it to […]
As Hulk Hogan was to the WWF, Ric Flair was to Jim Crockett Promotions (later World Championship Wrestling) The penultimate NWA/WCW World Heavyweight champion, “The Nature Boy” was the glue that held the promotion together. But that wasn’t the opinion of a certain Jim Herd, who took over as Executive Vice President in January, 1989. In his infinite wisdom, Herd […]
The year 1992 kicked off in sensational fashion in the World Wrestling Federation when tag team specialists The Rockers – Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty – split up on The Barber Shop. In the lead up to the Barber Shop segment – taped December 2, 1991 and aired January 12, 1992 – there had been clear dissension after a series […]
Right from the start of the Monday Night War – which began on September 4, 1995 with the debut of Nitro – Eric Bischoff made his intentions felt. He knew he had to be aggressive in order to compete with the well established WWF and their flagship programme, Monday Night Raw. If Lex Luger’s unexpected return to the company on […]
We sometimes hear – especially in the early days of professional wrestling – about ‘shoots’ taking place inside the ring. This was all before it became ‘sports entertainment.’ But there was a time when the wrestlers took the business very seriously, and as a result, so did the fans. There’s been tales of the public trying to get at the […]
There seems to be some confusion about exactly WHEN Earthquake (John Tenta) had his “shoot” with Koji Kitao in Japan. Some sources – even JJ Dillon in his book Wrestlers are Like Seagulls – claim that it occurred in the Toyko Dome on March 30; it didn’t. While Tenta and Kitao did have a match, it was perfectly fine, and […]
The Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was used just once – as far as we can tell – as a wrestling venue. While it still would not equate to comparisons to other buildings like the Tokyo Dome, Dallas Sportatorium or the old ECW Arena, it did host a momentous night in the history of professional wrestling. On September 4, […]
Note: This article was written in 2017 2007: Minoru Suzuki © vs Yuji Nagata – Triple Crown titleWrestle Kingdom (attendance: 28,000 / 18,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00168_1_7 It’s the first appearance of the Wrestle Kingdom name. New Japan celebrate their 35th anniversary by inviting All Japan to compete in a joint celebration (AJPW was founded in the same year) with the intention to recapture […]
