This Week in Wrestling

Craig Wilson & Jamie Lithgow.

A great promo from AJ Lee on Raw but what is the end game? (Image courtesy of WWE.com)

An A.J. pipebomb or a confused promo?

Fellow internet wrestling fans have been praising A.J. Lee to the hilt for the promo she cut on Raw Monday past. But was it really deserving of all the warm words it received.

In terms of delivery and style, absolutely it is but I’m still not entire sure what the point of it was and what, if any, part it plays in a long term plan for her or the divas division more generally. Did she echo the thoughts of many of us when it comes to women’s wrestling in the WWE? Absolutely it does.

Friday Night’s Main Event 29 August 1997

Craig Wilson

Something a bit different this week with #Rawrewind as this is the first of two weeks where there is no Monday Night Raw. Instead, we have Friday Night’s Main Event which is hosted by Jim Ross & James E. Cornette.

The style is similar to the old Saturday Night’s Main Event with the big matches first and then the mid card matches later in the show. Strange for sure but it means that this week’s show kicks off WWF Champion Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart defending his title against the recently turned face Vader.

All the previous Raw Rewinds can be located here.

Champion Roll Call:

WWF Champion: Bret Hart
WWF Intercontinental Champion: Stone Cold Steve Austin
WWF Tag Team Champions: Stone Cold Steve Austin & Dude Love
WWF European Champion: The British Bulldog

Top Five Worst WWE Champions

Craig Wilson, Brian Damage & Jamie Lithgow.

(Image courtesy of http://www.images22.com)

For the majority of mainstream wrestling fans the WWE is the pinnacle of the wrestling world and by association the WWE title is the top belt. Greats from the business such as Bruno Sammartino, Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Hulk Hogan and John Cena have all carried that belt at one point or another. It has largely always been the focal point for the best known wrestling promotion in the world. That’s not to say that every man that’s worn that belt has deserved to, though.

Last week we covered the Top Five WWE Champions in our weekly list and it seems only natural that this week we focus on some of the poorer title runs and those superstars that carried the strap that shouldn’t have. This week Craig, Brian and Jamie list their Top Five Worst WWE/F Champions.

Are You A “Vince Russo Guy?” The Journey From Wrestling Fan to Wrestling Pariah

***Editors note: In Brian’s piece below he mentions the Mae Young and Mark Henry arm skit as being one of Vince Russo’s. In the interest of fairness, we should point out that Vince Russo was gone by the WWE by this point. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused. Thanks, Craig (Editor)***

Brian Damage

Vince Russo, perhaps the most divisive person in wrestling history (Image courtesy of http://www.allvoices.com)

“Do you know how many copies of the book “The Death Of WCW” I’ve autographed …and when the people come up to me with the book, they’re scared to death! And I’m like, “are you kidding me, gimme the book, I’ll sign it!”.”
— Vince Russo

“I Hate him….He ruined wrestling for everybody…he knows nothing…F@ck You Vince Russo! I Can’t stand him…” -Leilani Kai

“I hate Vince Russo. I despise Vince Russo. I want Vince Russo to die. If I could figure out a way to murder him without going to prison, I would consider it the greatest accomplishment of my life.” -Jim Cornette

“I think they should take Vince Russo and hang him by the neck somewhere in the back of the parking lot.” -Bret Hart

No Holds Barred – Movie Review

Jamie Lithgow

The other night I suddenly felt an urge to watch ‘No Holds Barred’, WWE’s first attempt to make it in the movie business. I, like most people reading this, was fully aware that it is not exactly considered a masterpiece; I just had to satisfy my curiosity and see it for myself.

I’ve known about the film pretty much since it was released, I’ve just never been able to, or gotten round to watching it. My knowledge of the film comes from having seen Summerslam 1989 literally dozens of times, and hearing other people rip the pish out of it. I mention Summerslam ’89 because, in an attempt to promote the film, Hulk Hogan was booked in a tag match opposing his nemesis from the film Zeus (Tom ‘Tiny’ Lister) in the main event.

The 10 Bell Salute: Use Only As Directed

Brian Damage

On July 25th in the Pennsylvania area, a motorcycle accident put 51 year old Howard Saunders, father of three into a coma. He remained in that coma for about three weeks before succumbing to his injuries. On August 18th at around 4 pm, Howard Saunders was officially pronounced dead.

Why do I mention this story? Howard Saunders was a member of an exclusive fraternity known as professional wrestling. Who was he? What did he do? Why didn’t many/if any wrestling websites mention his death? He was known as the Cosmic Commander of Wrestling. He was best known as a manager and he wasn’t mentioned because he wasn’t a household name from the WWE, TNA, ROH, Mexico or Japan. He was your classic “Indie Guy” who did what he did because he loved what he did.

Sunday Sermon: Predicting Wrestlemania 30

Craig Wilson & Jamie Lithgow

With the dust settled on SummerSlam 2013, what better time is there to look towards Wrestlemania 30. For the first time in several years, the main event hasn’t been locked in so everything – well certainly a lot of stuff – is still up in the air. That said, that didn’t stop Jamie trying to predict the card right after Wrestlemania 29.

Today will give consideration to what to expect in the next few months leading to next year’s Wrestlemania. Who will be the various champions and who will be going in as Royal Rumble winner. These topics, and others, will be covered in this Sunday Sermon.

This Week in Wrestling

Craig Wilson & Jamie Lithgow.

(Image courtesy of superluchas.net)

When Randy Orton cashed in MiTB after Triple H had Pedigreed Daniel Bryan I felt somewhat deflated. For weeks the WWE had built up Bryan to be the underdog and on the back of that, and being one of the most over guys on the roster, it was great to see him reach the summit. Then that was shattered within a matter of minutes. A bad thing? No, not in the slightest.

Arn Anderson Is Pro Wrestling

Brian Damage

 

 

Mark this date on your wrestling calendars…August 25th, 2013. Why that date? It marks the 16th anniversary of the retirement of “The Enforcer” “Double A” Arn Anderson. It would’ve been nicer to write this article on the 15th anniversary…but alas…I wasn’t around…Whatevs…It still doesn’t negate what Arn meant and still means to professional wrestling.

On August 25th, 1997 Monday Nitro emanated from the Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina. Aside from the historical moment involving Anderson and the 4 Horsemen, nothing spectacular happened on this show. Unless you were into matches involving Wrath and Mortis vs. The Faces of Fear or Steve McMichael successfully retaining the U.S. title against Eddie Guerrero. There was the segment where JJ Dillon (Via telephone…perhaps 1-800-Collect?) called in to announce a match between Hollywood Hogan and Sting would happen, but other than that…a ho-hum show.