Latest Wrestling Blogs

Kenny Omega’s Forbidden Door Opponent Confirmed

At NJPW Dominion, Lance Archer and Will Ospreay clashed to determine the next challenger for Kenny Omega’s IWGP United States Championship.

Eric Bischoff Sings Praises Of One Of WCW’s Most Valuable Stars

Eric Bischoff praised a specific wrestler for being the ultimate utility player that did whatever was needed in the ring.

Ronda Rousey Pushing For “Heated” Programme With Fellow WWE Raw Star

Ronda Rousey has only one person in mind for her next big feud.

Darby Allin Wants To Plant AEW Flag On Mount Everest

Darby Allin really wants to represent All Elite Wrestling when he climbs Mount Everest.

Super World Sports The Battle Of Kings 04/18/92

Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
Tokyo, Japan
Broadcast date: 28/04/92
Attendance: 9,019

Previously In SWS…

After losing their TV deal with WOWOW, SWS are now airing on TV Tokyo for a monthly one-hour show.

This would end up being the last bit of positive news the company would receive.

Rampage
Date: June 2, 2023
Location: Viejas Arena, San Diego, California
Commentators: Jim Ross, Tony Schiavone, Excalibur

This is an interesting one as it’s more or less Battle Of The Belts but none of the titles are AEW championships. Instead we’re seeing Ring Of Honor, AAA, New Japan and New Japan Strong, which should certainly make for a big mixture of stuff. Other than that, we could use something being announced for Forbidden Door, which is about three weeks away. Let’s get to it.

Major Update On Creative Plans For CM Punk’s Return

Who’s in the frame to feud with CM Punk when he makes his return to AEW?

Seth Rollins To Defend WWE World Heavyweight Championship On Raw 

Seth Rollins will be putting his newly-won World Title on the line on June 5th.

Backstage Update On WWE’s Plans For Gunther 

WWE has massive plans for the Intercontinental Champion.

Ronda Rousey Pushing For “Heated” Feud With WWE Star 

Ronda Rousey pushing hard for a feud with a current WWE star.

ANATOMY OF A DISASTER: SID VICIOUS vs. THE NIGHTSTALKER:
-One of the early infamous “worst matches of all time” was a business-exposing nightmare featuring rookie Sid Vicious & Bryan Clark on a Clash of the Champions show in 1990. I reviewed this ages ago for “Dream Matches” but I needed an easier one after the HHH/Steiner mess (thanks for the great response it got, though!).

Two “Body Guys”, neither Sid nor Clark went through the all-important “Jobber Phase” of a young rookie’s life, and were immediately put against each other when Clark was still a brand new guy, ten days into his WCW run. The result… stuff like “Sid slowly runs into a big hug from the Nightstalker”. It’s a 3-year vet having to lead a 1-year giant through a match. But hey- it’s only scheduled to go under three and a half minutes. How bad could it be REALLY?

THE STAGE: WCW Clash of the Champions (Nov. 20th 1990)

THE PERFORMERS:
Sid Vicious: Sid Eudy was a monster of a man who had debuted in 1987, but could still work only a little as of 1990. He was a member of the Skyscrapers, but showed so much innate charisma that crowds would chat “We Want Sid!” and get excited for the two moves he knew how to do really well- the chokeslam and the powerbomb. By this point, he was one of the Four Horsemen, and WCW started booking him in a lot of of Big vs. Big matches. And he’s all of three years into the business, having spent most of it as a tag team wrestler, and is expected to carry a match against an immobile green giant rookie.

The Nightstalker: Bryan Clark was green as absolute grass at this point, having debuted only the year prior, feuding with The Trooper (The Patriot) in AWA in its dying days. With his 6’6″ height and HUGE muscles (he was even bigger here than he was as Adam Bomb, with babyfat on his face and not as much definition as he’d get later on), he was obviously seen as money from day one, and was too big to just be used as some regular job guy, so he skipped a lot of important training in jobber matches and was simply pushed in his first couple years. With AWA dying, he joined WCW, and for some reason, ten days after his debut, he was thrown into this match against a guy just as big as he was.

Happy Saturday Everyone!

We’ve got some matches from Jakked/Metal this week, which was WWF’s Saturday syndicated show for a while. We’ve mainly got this one today because it features Perry Saturn Vs Mike Bell in quite an infamous bout. Some of the other matches looked fun though so we’ll review them all as it shouldn’t take long.

I’ll list which episode the matches are from if you want to hunt them down.

Ring Of Honor
Date: June 1, 2023
Location: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ian Riccaboni, Caprice Coleman

We’re back to what is considered a normal length show this week at just under two hours after last week’s almost three hour Super Sized show. Following last week, Athena is defending the Women’s Title against Kiera Hogan and the New Japan TV Title will be on the line as well. Just like it will be tomorrow night on Rampage. Let’s get to it.

Roman Reigns Awarded New Undisputed WWE Universal Title, The Bloodline Shattered

Roman Reigns has been awarded a new Undisputed WWE Universal Title belt.

Shayna Baszler On Tag Team Run With Ronda Rousey – “She Demanded It” 

Shayna Baszler confirms just how hard Ronda Rousey pushed to win the Women’s Tag Team Titles.

Sami Zayn Hits Back At Speculation About Why He Missed WWE’s Shows In Saudi Arabia 

Sami Zayn has claimed that most of the speculation about his absence from Saudi Arabia was 99.9% false.

The SmarK Rant for AEW Rampage – 06.02.23

I really like this idea for the show, since they can’t make it work as a continuation of Dynamite, instead change it into a batshit crazy series of title defenses from their deep cuts.  I hope it does well.

Smackdown
Date: June 2, 2023
Location: Mohegan Sun Arena, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Michael Cole, Wade Barrett

We’re done with Night Of Champions and while there wasn’t a big Smackdown title change, the major story came at the end, as Jimmy Uso superkicked Roman Reigns to seemingly remove himself from the Bloodline. Tonight just so happens to be the 1000 day celebration for Reigns’ Universal Title reign so we should be in for some fireworks. Let’s get to it.

Matt Jackson Needed Special Licence For Exploding Superkick Spot
The Young Bucks’ Matt Jackson needed to file special paperwork to execute the daring spot during Anarchy in the Arena.

WWE Announces Latest Signings
The next crop of talent is on their way to the WWE Performance Center!

Samoa Joe Teases Match Against NJPW Champion
Samoa Joe teased opening the forbidden door for a blockbuster match.

Braun Strowman Provides Update Following Neck Surgery
Fans won’t be seeing Braun Strowman back in the ring any time soon.

Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan are calling the action, kicking off a new taping cycle in Lubbock, Texas, which is where the recent Saturday Night’s Main Event was filmed.  Heenan is wearing a red jacket that says “Indiana’s Favorite Bobby” on the back.

Footage of Sid Justice’s recent heel turn airs.

Lord Alfred Hayes’ Special Report recaps the changes that WWF President Jack Tunney had made to the WrestleMania VIII main event.

The SmarK Rant for Stampede Wrestling – 02.06.87

Taped from Calgary, AB

Your hosts are Ed Whalen & Jungle Jim Davies, promising at LEAST one dandy, perhaps more.

Welcome to Flashback Friday, which will be going on hiatus after today while I deal with some other projects. Let’s look back at April 2, 1989 when the NWA and the WWF went head to head, courtesy of recaps, Melter’s ratings, and a panel of insiders and experts.

WrestleMania V

Live from Atlantic City, NJ from Boardwalk Hall, before 18,946, your hosts are Gorilla & Jesse.

King Haku v. Hercules

Haku attacks from behind to start and slugs Herc into the corner before eventually getting a bearhug. Herc powers out so Haku chokes him on the ropes. Herc comes back with a crossbody for two, but Haku cuts off the comeback with an elbow, but then whiffs on a bodypress attempt of his own. Hercules slugs back and gets a powerslam for two, but goes up and lands on a superkick. Haku goes up and misses his own move, and Hercules finishes with a backdrop suplex. (6:55, Dave gives it 1/2*)

Scott Keith: Not a bad opener, but this crowd is not wrestling fans, it’s gamblers and businessmen.
Brian Bayless: Ring announcer Howard Finkel made a rare screw-up (later fixed in post) when he announced Haku as “King Tonga.”
Bobby Heenan: Herc was a strange guy. He and I were at the airport waiting for a rental car. We were under a partition with five or six businessmen, and the partition had a button that said “Push for Heat.” Herc looked at the businessmen and said, “What happens if you push the button? Does a guy come out and pull your tights?” They had no idea what he was talking about.

Surprising WWE Hall of Famer Teases In-Ring Return

A veteran is looking to get back into the ring despite being in their 80s.

“It’s The Worst” – Kevin Nash Blasts Recent WWE Angle For “Exposing” Talent 

Kevin Nash had some harsh words for a current WWE storyline.

The Undertaker Praises Roman Reigns – “One Of The Greatest Runs Ever” 

The Undertaker has become the latest legend to heap praise on Roman Reigns.

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 1, 2023
Location: Western Fair District Agriplex, London, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the first show after Under Siege and a lot of things took place at the show. First and foremost, Steve Maclin retained the World Title by defending PCO but Bully Ray attacked Scott D’Amore to end the show, even putting him through a flaming table. Other than that, we have a new #1 contender in the form of Alex Shelley, who will get a World Title shot at Against All Odds. Let’s get to it.