1993: The Great Muta © vs Masahiro Chono © – IWGP Heavyweight & NWA World Heavyweight title Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome (attendance: 63,500 / 53,500) http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00114_1_7 From looking to the past, to looking to the future (as of the time of the match anyway, it’s all looking to the past for us). Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono (alongside Shinya […]
1992: Tatsumi Fujinami © vs Riki Choshu © – IWGP Heavyweight & Greatest 18 title unification Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome (attendance 50,000) http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00104_1_12 The feud that netted New Japan two of its biggest stars (not named Inoki) in the 1980s, Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami put on a number of classics over the years. Fitting that as we start […]
Born: May 30, 1955 (Aurelian Jake Smith Jnr.) | Birthplace: Gainesville, TexasBilled Hometown: Stone Mountain, Georgia | Billed Weight: 249 lbs Jake Roberts was a second generation wrestler, his father being Aurelian “Grizzly” Smith Sr, who mostly worked in the southern United States, and later became a booker and promoter for Bill Watts’ Mid-South Wrestling, and then as a road […]
Born: August 11, 1953 (Terry Gene Bollea) | Birthplace: Augusta, GeorgiaBilled Hometown: Venice Beach, CA | Billed Weight: 302 lbsOther Aliases: Super Destroyer, Sterling Golden, Terry Boulder, Hollywood Hogan Related Article: New World Order Profile Terry Gene Bollea was born on August 11, 1953 in Augusta, Georgia. The family moved when he was an infant to Florida, where at sixteen […]
Born: July 25, 1881 (Alfred Albert Joe de Re la Gardiur) | Birthplace: Diekirch, LuxembourgDied: January 31, 1941 (Cancer) Before naming himself professional wrestler Dutch Mantell, he was born Alfred Albert Joe de Re la Gardiur to a French father and a Belgian mother in Diekirch, Luxembourg. From an early age, Alfred wished to go to the United States after being regaled […]
Born: October 6, 1935 (Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino) | Birthplace: Pizzoferrato, Abruzzi, ItalyDied: April 18, 2018 (Multiple Organ Failure)Billed Hometown: Abruzzi, Italy / Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Billed Weight: 265 lbs Bruno Sammartino was born in 1935, in the small village of Pizzoferrato, Abruzzi, Italy. The youngest of seven children, only he, a brother and a sister were still alive when World […]
January 18, 2021 marked the fiftieth anniversary of an historic title change in Madison Square Garden back in 1971. “The Russian Bear” Ivan Koloff shocked the wrestling world by pinning Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Title, ending his incredible reign of seven years, eight months and one day. The photo – taken by veteran wrestling reporter Bill Apter – captures […]
Kevin Walcholz (Nailz) first arrived in the World Wrestling Federation in May 1992, and immediately went after the Big Bossman. The backstory of his character was that he was an ex-convict, who served time in Cobb County, Georgia, where Bossman was a prison guard. He claimed he was wrongly convicted and that Bossman beat him regularly. In his debut on […]
On August 27, 1994, one of the most controversial and talked about moments in professional wrestling took place, when ECW Heavyweight champion Shane Douglas threw down the NWA World Heavyweight Title, moments after winning it in a tournament final. Philadelphia jewelry store owner and lifelong wrestling fan Tod Gordon started NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1992. Previously, Gordon had been a silent partner […]
The King of the Ring was one of the most prestigious pay-per-views on the WWF calendar. The purpose of the tournament was to crown a new star for the company, and there is arguably been no more memorable winner of King of the Ring than “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. His meteoric rise, which had been simmering for some time after casting […]
