WrestleDream 2023
Date: October 1, 2023
Location: Climate Pledge Arena, Seattle, Washington
Commentators: Excalibur, Nigel McGuinness, Jim Ross
We’re back with the third pay per view in six weeks and this has a bit of a theme to it. The idea of this show is paying tribute to Japanese legend Antonio Inoki, who passed away a year ago to the day. As a result, there are some New Japan stars involved in the show, which does have a strong card. Let’s get to it.
Rampage
Date: September 22, 2023
Location: Arthur Ashe Stadium, New York City, New York
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Ian Riccaboni
It’s a special two hour edition of the show and hopefully that means it gets a bit more attention this week. Rampage has a tendency to have one match of note and then a bunch of other things but maybe the big stage will change that. The ROH Six Man Tag Team Titles are on the line as the Elite get a shot, so we could be in for some fireworks. Let’s get to it.
I have never half-assed a day at work as bad as this. Ever.
Welcome back to another Dream Matches! Oh man, do I have some STUFF for you today! It’s time for another FAT MAN STAND-OFF!! This time a hilariously podunk indie gynmnasium match featuring Bastian Booger vs. Typhoon in maybe the laziest 10-minute match I’ve ever seen- come see a “plz shake my hand, mr. babyface” spot SEVEN MINUTES IN and be in awe.
Then we finally start my slow tribute to Terry Funk, as he teams up with fellow Texas Bradshaw and Dustin Runnels (yes, Runnels) on Shotgun Saturday Night to take on Jerry Lawler and Too Much (Brian Christopher & Scott Taylor) in a meaningless D-show bout that the two veterans try to have fun with! Then it’s my first-ever Austin Aries match (yes, shut up) as he takes on Mad Mikey (Crash Holly) in 2003 TNA! And finally, it’s a WCW 6-Man Tag, as it’s Sting, Lex Luger & El Gigante vs. Barry Windham, Dan Spivey & Larry Zybszko!
TYPHOON vs. BASTIAN BOOGER:
(Some Indie- NWA affiliate, April 22nd 1995)
* Oh yeah it’s FAT MAN STAND-OFF time! With both guys doing their WWF gimmicks in some indie gymnasium for some reason. Why was this allowed? And Typhoon comes down to “Hell’s Bells” by AC/DC, lol. Best part is the song’s intro is so long they don’t even get to the lyrics before the music stops.
All In 2023
Date: August 27, 2023
Location: Wembley Stadium, London, England
Commentators: Excalibur, Jim Ross, Nigel McGuinness
It’s the biggest show in the history of AEW and there will be 80,000 fans there to see it happen. That is the kind of thing that AEW can and should brag about for a long time to come and now it is actually a reality. The main event will see MJF defend the World Title against Adam Cole in a match that has had a heck of a path to get here. Let’s get to it.
Collision
Date: August 26, 2023
Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, Georgia
Commentators: Kevin Kelly, Caprice Coleman
It’s the final go home show for All In and that means it could go either way. We are going to get a final push to the show but the question is how much new stuff might be added. At the same time, All Out is in eight days and there isn’t much set for the show. While All In will have a lot to do with the card, we could get something or it here as well. Let’s get to it.
Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This time it’s a late request, as I finally touch on Sgt. Slaughter vs. Iron Sheik in their famous BOOT CAMP MATCH! Then it’s a bunch of weird disparate stuff, like another Ted Arcidi match, as he teams up with Hillbilly Jim to face King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd!
Plus a weirdo mish-mash short-lived tag team of Bobby Eaton of the Midnight Express & Steve Keirn of the Fabulous Ones, as “Bad Attitude” takes on the main event duo of Sting & Ricky Steamboat in WCW! Then it’s more ICEBERG, as I dig into the career of the NWA Wildside luminary as he takes on his longtime rival & partner Tank in a bloody Cage Match involving tons of weapons! And it DOESN’T SUCK! Finally, it’s a classic “before they were stars” match as the future Balls Mahoney, John Rechner, takes on Virgil in 1992 WWF!
BOOT CAMP MATCH:
SGT. SLAUGHTER vs. THE IRON SHEIK:
(WWF, June 1984)
* The famous Slaughter/Sheik match. This was requested right when the Sheik died but I totally just shoved it on the docket of stuff to look at, lol. TIMELY! This was the end of a blood feud between the former World Champion and the peak “Military Patriotic Guy” gimmick Sgt. Slaughter. No holds barred, Falls Count Anywhere with the referee outside the ring.
Tony Khan Thinks Sting Is On “Greatest Run Of His Career” In AEW
Tony Khan believes Sting has never been better.
Miro Set For Huge Singles Match At AEW All Out
Miro is heading to Wembley.
Mickie James Brands NXT Faction Name A “Massive Turnoff”
According to Mickie James, one of NXT’s top factions is being held back by its name.
I mean I’ve seen stronger tans, but come on.
ANATOMY OF A DISASTER: HULK HOGAN vs. STING AT STARRCADE:
-I’ve reviewed a lot of shitty matches for this column, but not a lot where you could make a strong case that they doomed the very company they were supposed to raise to the stratosphere. But here I’m gonna finally take a look at the much-requested main event of Starrcade 1997, and watch WCW step on its own dick in spectacular fashion.
THE STAGE: WCW Starrcade (Dec. 28th 1997)
THE PERFORMERS:
Hulk Hogan: The biggest star in history at the time, having undergone a revolutionary heel turn as the leader of the nWo- a bad-ass “Cool Heel” stable who sold tons of merchandise and drew fan acclaim despite being dirty cheaters. Hogan, at least, depicted himself as a cowardly, whiny heel, but still cut self-indulgent 20 minute promos about how he was a “Wrestling GOD!” with the whole nWo surrounding him. But he at least cowered and sniveled against deadly opponents, always treating Sting like he was an epic adversary he was afraid to fight. Hogan at this point had a complete stranglehold on the WCW Heavyweight Title, holding it for more than 500 days (with a 5-day Lex Luger reign in the middle).
Sting: WCW’s attempt at their own “Hulk Hogan” in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Sting was still a huge star, even after being a “Hogan Buddy” when the Hulkster himself came to WCW. But after Hogan’s heel turn, WCW’s guys began to doubt if Sting was on their side- hurt by the mistrust, Sting retreated into the rafters, dressing like Eric Draven in The Crow (then only a 3-year old movie, though the comic was older) and became a mute bad-ass. This made him as over as he’d ever been, as he’d silently stalk to the ring (or descend from the rafters on a harness) and murder a dude, then walk away.
Dynamite
Date: August 16, 2023
Location: Bridgestone Arena, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
It’s another special show with Fight For The Fallen, with proceeds going towards a Hawaii food bank helping with the fallout from the wildfires. There’s not a thing wrong with that and it’s great that AEW is doing something. Other than that, we are eleven days away from All In and we might get some more announcements for the show tonight. Let’s get to it.
Cody Rhodes Was Set To Wrestle Sting In AEW Before WWE Return
Cody Rhodes has revealed he was due to wrestle Sting before leaving AEW.
CM Punk Defending “The Real World Championship” On August 5th Collision
CM Punk to defend the “Real World Championship” against an up-and-coming rival.
Rey Mysterio Injury Update After SmackDown Match Stoppage
Some positive news on WWE legend Rey Mysterio.
Kurt Angle Says Ex-WWE Star Was Released For Wanting More Money
Kurt Angle has lifted the lid on why one former Superstar was released by WWE.
There’s so much “Because WCW” stuff out there that I feel that things like “Had Scott Hall active in the early ’90s and failed to make anything out of him” gets under-reported.
Welcome back to more Dream Matches! This week, I have some pretty disparate stuff for you all, as it’s a weirdo 1991 WCW six-man, a WWF try-out match for the PITBULLS of all teams, and the other NAWA TV show I can find on YouTube! With rookie PAPA SHANGO, Ken Shamrock with ’80s sitcom dad hair, a “Bo Knows Wrestling” rookie, and more!
So first off, it’s Sting, El Gigante & Z-Man up against the One Man Gang, Nikita Koloff and The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall just as he had figured it all out)! Then it’s a WWF try-out match for ECW’s Pitbulls, as Pitbull #1 & 2 take on The Headbangers on WWF Sunday Night Heat!
Finally, it’s a second full NAWA show, full of squashes, but some very interesting ones. It’s the future PAPA SHANGO, workshopping his voodoo character as “Baron Samedi”, teaming up with Bob Orton Jr. of all people. Ken Shamrock as “Vince Torrelli”! A pair of classic “early ’90s dweeby nice guy” tag dudes in Mark Young & Bo Ragin (“Bo Knows Wrestling!”- they actually said it!)! Big John Studd slumming it with the laziest indie match ever! And finally, one of those matches that proves that The Nasty Boys are maybe the all-time best heel team for squashes, as they do the perfect amount of “heel shithead stuff” and “bouncing around like a boob for a rookie”. Read on!
STING, EL GIGANTE & Z-MAN vs. THE ONE MAN GANG, “THE RUSSIAN NIGHTMARE” NIKITA KOLOFF & THE DIAMOND STUDD (w/ Kevin Sullivan & Diamond Dallas Page):
(WCW Pro, Aug. 10th 1991)
* This is a totally wild one, as it’s Sting & El Gigante partnered up again (they were friends and top babyfaces at the time), but with the JTTS Z-Man (Tom Zenk) against recent WWF runaway One Man Gang (who quit seeing that he was getting jobbed out as Akeem), Nikita Koloff (who was pretty done as a name) and a semi-experienced (um, seven-year vet) “ready to break out but Because WCW, nope” Scott Hall. Sullivan is managing Gang, who still has his Akeem hair at this point, and is in all black- Nikita’s in a black singlet (and is so tiny here that I marvel that people thought he was ideal as a Hulk Hogan opponent- Hulk would have dwarfed even the roidiest incarnation of Koloff) & Studd’s in a blue one with a yellow diamond on the crotch, and DDP as his manager before he trained to wrestle. Sting’s in yellow tights, Gigante’s in black shorts (and has a buzz cut), and Z-Man’s in pink trunks.
lol Sid wasn’t in this.
WCW BATTLEBOWL 1993:
(Nov. 20th 1993)
* It’s time for a very special review! This was recommended to me months ago, but with AEW pulling off a BattleBowl tournament of their own, it’s time! So the deal with BattleBowl is all the faces are in their locker room, and all the heels in theirs, and people “randomly” draw them into tag matches- the winners getting into a battle royal at the end of the show. It leads to some of the wildest possible team combination, as you see tag partners randomly paired up, sometimes fighting each other, and sometimes heels & faces on the same team (extra points if they’re actively feuding at the time).
I absolutely love the hell out of this concept- it’s one of my all-time favorites- but unfortunately it’s a very “Because WCW” thing, as the work is often poor, nobody knows how to work matches with each other, and everyone’s working twice so the laziness and half-assery is well in hand. Except some of this stuff is AMAZING for all the hilarious character interplay you’d never otherwise see- stuff like Brian Knobs trying to convince his goody-two-shoes partner to cheat, Jerry Sags begging Sting to help him, and the babyfaces getting aggravated when the HEELS start showing good sportsmanship and appreciation for each other!
I mean, this show has had some snark directed at it, but how the frick can you hate a PPV that gives you a Steven Regal vs. Fred Ottman sequence, Hawk beating up his own partner for being a loser, and wrestling’s greatest joy- a FAT MAN STAND-OFF?
YOUR PARTICIPANTS:
BABYFACES: Sting (the company’s top babyface), Ric Flair (now a face again), Road Warrior Hawk (running without Animal), “The British Bulldog” Davey-Boy Smith (fresh from the WWF dumping him due to steroids and packaged as the #2 babyface and Sting’s good buddy), Ricky Steamboat (newly re-returned to WCW shortly before the end of his career), Johnny B. Badd (a midcarder on the rise), Cactus Jack (now a babyface), Ron Simmons (no longer WCW Champion and just an upper-mid guy with no push), Erik Watts (Bill Watts’s useless son getting an undeserved “rising rookie star” push), The Shockmaster (now repackaged as a jovial construction worker after infamously tripping in his debut), Dustin Rhodes (a midcarder), Maxx Payne (a big fat guy with an acid rocker brawler gimmick), Charlie Norris (a really tall Native American lower-midcard guy I’ve never seen before), Paul Roma (!!! as a BABYFACE?! oh right, he was a Horseman and they were good guys for a while), 2 Cold Scorpio (a high-flying wonder at this point), Marcus Alexander Bagwell (another rising star), and The Cole Brothers (Keith & Kent… never heard of ’em, but they’re jobbers who lasted a couple years)
Top WWE Star Set To Make Huge Return On Raw [SPOILER]
An absent WWE star is set to return on Raw and will begin the build to SummerSlam!
WWE Planning Six Huge Matches For SummerSlam
With Money in the Bank in the rearview mirror, WWE is looking ahead to some blockbuster bouts at SummerSlam.
New Names Announced For AEW All In
AEW have announced multiple names for their upcoming PPV inside Wembley Stadium.
Sting And Multiple WWE Hall Of Famers Set For Special Event In Israel
Multiple huge names have been announced for an upcoming event in Israel.
Exclusive: LA Knight Reflects On Working With Bray Wyatt And Controversial Pitch Black Match
LA Knight has opened up about his experience working with Bray Wyatt.
WWE Hall Of Famer Slams Latest Sting Dive – “What The Hell Was He Thinking?”
A WWE Hall of Famer has questioned the wisdom of Sting’s latest scary dive.
Popular Former WWE Superstar Re-Signs With The Company
A popular former WWE star has re-signed with the company.
Dwayne Johnson, WWE, & More Pay Tribute To Darren Drozdov
Dwayne Johnson led the tributes to Darren Drozdov after the former WWE Superstar sadly passed away aged 54.
Dynamite
Date: June 28, 2023
Location: Firstontario Center, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Tony Schiavone, Taz
We’re done with Forbidden Door and that means it is time to get back to mostly just AEW stars after spending the last few weeks on the New Japan guest stars. That could open up a variety of options as we are about two months away from All In. We’re also just over two weeks away from All Out, which takes place the following week. Let’s get to it.
WWE Hall Of Famer Claims Chris Jericho Would Be The Perfect Man To Retire Sting
One veteran believes Chris Jericho should be the ideal person to retire Sting.
Eric Bischoff Claims AEW Star “Shouldn’t Have Been On” Forbidden Door
Eric Bischoff wasn’t a fan of one particular match at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
Bryan Danielson Injury “Worse Than We Thought”
Bryan Danielson could be a doubt for AEW All In.
Forbidden Door 2023
Date: June 25, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Excalibur, Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, Taz
It’s time for the annual crossover show as we have a bunch of AEW vs. New Japan matches. The entire build to the show as well as the show itself are a total side trip away from what AEW normally does but it is one heck of a side trip, with an absolutely stacked card that has some serious potential. Let’s get to it.
Collision
Date: June 24, 2023
Location: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Nigel McGuinness, Kevin Kelly
It’s the go home show for Forbidden Door and the big attraction this week is again CM Punk and again he is in a multi-man tag. Other than that though, we have Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Swerve Strickland in a match that should be great. Other than that, Sting and Darby Allin need a mystery partner for tomorrow night and get to announce him tonight. Let’s get to it.
CM Punk Makes Surprise Appearance On AEW Dynamite
CM Punk appeared on AEW Dynamite for the first time in over nine months.
AEW Reveal The Owen Hart Tournament Brackets Featuring CM Punk
The brackets for the men’s and women’s Owen Hart Tournaments have been revealed.
Top NJPW Star To Appear On AEW Collision
One of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s biggest stars is heading to AEW Collision just 24 hours before Forbidden Door II.
Chris Jericho And Sting Agree To Tag Team Match At Forbidden Door PPV
Chris Jericho and Sting will wrestle for the first time ever at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door II.
Dynamite
Date: June 21, 2023
Location: Wintrust Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Excalibur, Taz, Tony Schiavone
It’s the go home Dynamite for Forbidden Door and you can likely expect some matches to be added to the card as there are only four at the moment. Other than that, we should probably bet on some New Japan stars showing up to build the matches that are already there. Let’s get to it.
