Welcome back to another trip in the Stampede time machine, were we will yet again look back at some classic old school wrestling from some of the legends of the past. This time around , young Bret Hart who is very early in his career gets involved in yet another great inter promotional wrestling match that Stampede was famous for having from time to time. This time its not against any World Champion from one of the big American federations such as the AWA, but a match against an opponent from Japan named Animal Hamaguchi. Animal also went by the name Higo Hamaguchi and was a wrestler in many of the great Japanese wrestling promotions of the time such as Japan Pro, All-Japan and New Japan Wrestling. While most people know that Stampede Wrestling was broadcasting across Canada and also into the northern United States, the show was also syndicated in many other countries across the globe, including Japan. Heck, some middle eastern nations at this time did not have any WWF or NWA wrestling at all on their T.V., yet they were watching Stampede for years. This could help explain Bret’s ultra popularity over there. Worth noting this week is that this is actually a Japanese syndicated version of Stampede Wrestling, so its a pretty unique video to watch. Also worth noting are all the photographers at ringside. Check out www.wonderpodonline.com for more PatMan picks and for episode 90 of our Video Game Podcast! See you all next time!
There is a topic that I need to talk about, but I will start by talking about something not so incredible. Raw last night was pretty bad. It was centered around somebody who wasn’t a major character-The Rock. All it does is show the wrestling world how little they have in John Cena. There were some good moments. Kharma (“Awesome Kong”) is money for the WWE if they do it right. The feud is ready-made with her and Kelly Kelly. And while I still think of Kelly Kelly as the girl who couldn’t unhook her bra on the first ECW on Sci-Fi show, it should be a really strong feud. Mason Ryan (“Matista”) looked like a million bucks last night. I see him being money; just don’t ask him to take a piss test. Great Khali in the tooth fairy outfit was awesome. This is entertainment. If you want to see pure wrestling, go find Ring of Honor, Dragon Gate USA or some other promotion.
I hated the show centering around The Rock’s birthday. While I did like the VKM, appearance, the rest of the celebrities were just WWE getting to brag they were on their show. (And I hate to say it, but with the exception of Ellen, none of them were funny.) I hated the finish of the Miz/Cena match. The Pied Piper needs to come along and take all the Cena fans somewhere so we can get him off our tv. And I hated the WWE doing their 9/13 retrospective. At least they didn’t show Stephanie comparing 9/11 to when her dad got indicted for steroids.
The more and more I think about it, the Raw wasn’t horrible, it just wasn’t “incredible.”
Now onto the meat of my rant: Dallas/Fort Worth has a lot of good wrestling promotions. I enjoy going to MPX. I know there’s LWA, NAWA, TWE, CWF, (Sorry if I forgot anybody) and the victim of today’s rant, Pro Wrestling Onslaught. I really wish I could go to all of them, but I have a wife and 2-year-old daughter. I can get my wife to do an MPX show once in a while (and the Christian Wrestling Federation once when AJ Styles worked), but I seriously thought about going to PWO. I casually know some of the guys who work there. My mother who is a teacher has worked really hard this year, and we love going to wrestling together, and I thought about taking her to celebrate all the work she’s put in this year. My mom and I used to go to indy wrestling together back in the day, so it was kind of a no-brainer.
You see, PWO was advertising the former Portuguese Man-o-War, Justin Credible. I’m a total ECW mark. So here was one of the main eventers in ECW’s dying days. Hello, why not? I found my Justin Credible action figure (yes, I still have all my olf ECW action figures). People I respect in the industry said it was a really well-run show. I was ready to go.
Then life happened. Work was brutal, and I just needed to rest after the week that had been. My grandfather was injured and my mom needed to take care of him. My daughter suffered a concussion, and we spent most of Saturday in the hospital. (Thanks to Joe for his well-wishes for my daughter.) I felt really bad about not going.
Well, it turns out I’m not the only one who didn’t show up. The namesake of the show, Justin Credible, didn’t show up. I don’t know why he didn’t. I was not privy to the conversations or the details of his life. What I know is that according to the wrestlers that worked that night, he no-showed. It’s one thing for a wrestler to cancel at the last minute. While not optimal, it’s still good business to notify them through some method somehow. There’s emails, phone calls, text messages, the list goes on. It’s 2011. You have no excuse for no-showing.
So fans, understand, if you see Justin Credible advertised, understand that there is a distinct possibility you won’t see him that night. Fans, promoters, wrestlers, take this into consideration before you book Justin Credible.
Kudos should still be given to PWO. I heard that they had a strong main event nonetheless and brought home a very solid show.
With the “Road To Wrestlemania” now upon us and the wheels to that event fully in motion, there’s an awful lot to talk about this time of year in the world of professional wrestling. It’s no secret that our friends at WWE put a lot of faith in the annual extravaganza known as Wrestlemania and thus expect surrounding events such as the Royal Rumble and the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View’s to do great business themselves. With all the furore following the start of each calendar year, other wrestling promotions try their best to effectively cash-in on what’s happening in the largest company this brand of entertainment has to offer and this year shall surely be no different. With that said, on with the topics!
Online Hype Surrounding Michelle McCool
There’s been a lot of talk over the past few years regarding one Michelle McCool and her position within World Wrestling Entertainment. Her off-screen and very much real-life relationship with one of the biggest stars in the company, The Undertaker, has led many to suggest she is only still hired due to the backstage clout of her hubby.
Regardless of the strings he can pull, this writer feels anyone who bluntly ignores the woman’s talents and puts all her success down to her husbands ability to pull some strings with the office, is extremely short-sighted. Indeed, an ex-writer for the Smackdown brand, John Piermarini, has recently surfaced on a large number of wrestling-related new-sites decrying these suggestions.
Piermarini states that McCool can talk (which is true) and can wrestle (which, depending on your opinions about what makes a good wrestler, could also be seen as true). In my humble opinion, the lady in question is easily one of the most accomplished females in wrestling today. She easily rivals much-heralded women as Lita, Chyna and Sable inside the ring and actually shows more personality than all of the above combined. Like it or not, her duo with Layla, “Laycool”, is over with the fans. This is evidenced by the mass amount of boos which accompany their entrance and matches.
Sure, Mrs. Undertaker isn’t the best female performer ever to burst onto the scene in North American wrestling, but she isn’t that far away from being one of the best, certainly in the modern-era. There’s a joke in here somewhere about being “Flawless”..
Sid Vicious Arrested
Various online news sources are reporting the arrest of former WWF/WWE, WCW and ECW talent Sid Eudy this past weekend on drug charges. Mr. Eudy was apparently pulled over for driving without a seatbelt before the law officer found a bag containing large quantities of marijuana in his car. The man has since been released on a $1000 bond. Rumours that he threatened the policeman/woman with a Powerbomb whilst muttering something about being “the master and the ruler of the world” are unsubstantiated.
Having seen the mugshot of Sid, which is readily available online right now looking to search mugshots of him, it’s very clear that he’s getting on in years. I know, I know, that’s kinda obvious. What I’m really getting at here is that we’ve all heard rumours regarding his possible return to the spotlight with WWE over the past number of years. Sid himself has even been quoted to be interested and feels he’s ready to make a comeback to the promotion which gave him so much in the early and mid-1990’s.
Being a big fan of the man formerly known as “Sycho Sid”, “Sid Vicious”, “Sid Justice” and plainly, “Sid” – I’ve always loved the idea that he may make his way back into a wrestling ring at some point in the near future. The big guy was always one of my most favoured characters in a pre-Attitude era WWE and many countless hours were spent imitating his fiendishly creepy laugh which permeated his promos.
One of the better big-men wrestlers, Sid was surprisingly nimble for such a huge figure. Never the most technical of workers, he nonetheless had a presence which stuck with the fans and still keeps him fresh in so many people’s minds, even so many years after his last appearances on the grand stage for WCW.
Will we ever see him back in WWE? With the group’s new decree that they won’t be hiring anyone over the age of 30, this surely rules the monster out?
Triple H Beginning To “Wind Down” In-Ring Career?
This is another huge topic which is sparking debate amongst fans all over the internet and one which will definitely polarise opinion. The master of the Pedigree manoeuvre has long had a love/hate relationship with those of us who happen to use a keyboard and watch pro wrestling. He doesn’t really think much of the IWC (“Internet Wrestling Community”) and clearly feels there’s too much negativity doing the rounds on wrestling message boards across the land.
I’ve written about it in great length many, many times and will not bore you with the details but, I actually agree with HHH on this one. There is far too much whining that goes on about the overall product, with people nit-picking until they can nit-pick no more. Indeed, it often times feels as though these folks don’t actually enjoy what they watch on a weekly basis, which begs the question as to why they bother to tune in.
In any event, there will still be a large number of fans who will be a tad disappointed that the man is supposedly contemplating taking a backseat as it pertains to being a main-event regular. “The Game” has been one of the linchpins holding together the top-line scene in WWE for over a decade now and has participated in so many fantastic matches down throughout the years, even before he was competing for the top belts.
It’ll be extremely intriguing to watch and see if the rumours are true that Triple H is being groomed as the eventual true successor to Vince McMahon and is effectively then given full control over World Wrestling Entertainment, from an in-ring point of view. Perhaps his wife, and Vince’s daughter, Stephanie will oversee the business and marketing aspects of the company leaving Mr. Helmsley to fully focus on boosting the ratings and crowds for live events, TV and PPV.
One thing is for sure, there are few other people employed by the promotion who have the drive, commitment and shrewdness to take over the steering wheel.
If you’d like to email me any of your thoughts, please feel very very free. I enjoy hearing from all of you, even if your opinions and thoughts don’t exactly match my own! jamiekennedy@live.com! TAKE IT HOME!
In a recent interview, TNA President Dixie Carter stated that the biggest challenge facing the business was “making new superstars.” The interview in its entirety can be read here:
http://www.tnawrestling.com/content/view/1575/84/
