In Memphis, Jerry Lawler was the king. Later, when he went to the WWF and was cast as a loud-mouth jerk heel, the people of Memphis still looked at Lawler as their hero. While he was a heel everywhere else, when The King ventured back to Memphis for the USWA, he was the “king of wrestling” in their book. It […]
There are a number of factors to consider when evaluating the reasons why Vince McMahon achieved his goal of taking the World Wrestling Federation national in the 1980s. While the Rock N Wrestling Connection represented a relatively short period of time, it provides one of the major reasons for the success of the WWF in their early expansion years, and […]
The fans cheered in unison in the Palace, as red, white and blue balloons cascaded from the sky like a summer rain. The American hero Lex Luger smiled triumphantly atop the burly shoulders of Rick and Scott Steiner, as his opponent, the WWF champion Yokozuna, lay flat on his back on the outside of the ring. It was a joyous […]
WCW had many wrestlers on their roster at one time or another. Apart from Nitro, Thunder and pay-per-views, some wrestlers may have only appeared on programmes like Pro or Prime, that were not as widely seen. Or, it was a case of “before they were stars,” wrestlers who worked as enhancement talent, before finding more opportunities down the track. It […]
After failing to win the WWF title at the previous year’s Summerslam, Lex Luger was looking to get another title shot by winning the Royal Rumble. The wily Jim Cornette had inserted a clause in the Summerslam contract that Luger had only one opportunity to beat Yokozuna for the gold. As a result, Luger needed to win the Rumble to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
