Brian Damage
Yep, we are back with another fun filled piece on useless pro wrestling facts, stats and whatever else comes to mind. Some of these factoids are painfully obvious to some of you, while others not so much. Regardless, they are all meant in fun and will not win you any awards by hearing about them. So let’s get cracking and learn some stuff.
In the early 2000’s, AJ Styles was considered one of the top independent stars in all of pro wrestling. During that time, AJ was working a full time job as a landscaper to help pay the bills.
‘Learning the Ropes’ was a syndicated sitcom in 1988 and starred Lyle Alzado as a teacher who moonlights as a masked professional wrestler. ‘Dr. Death’ Steve Williams did all the wrestling stunt work for Alzado when under the mask.
The late Hall of Fame broadcaster Jack Buck, used to broadcast pro wrestling matches on the radio in the 1960’s for Sam Muchnick’s St. Louis territory.
The Late Mitsuharu Misawa once dreamed of opening his own restaurant when he retired from pro wrestling. Sadly, he died after a wrestling match in 2009. His friends and fellow wrestlers Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue opened up restaurants in Japan in part to honor Misawa in 2010 and 2017 respectively.
Salina De La Renta is a manager/wrestler/producer for Major League Wrestling. She is also going to school to study Sexology.
Mick Foley last competed at the 2012 Royal Rumble and was eliminated by Cody Rhodes.
Many WWF fans remember when Uncle Elmer got married in the ring on Saturday Night’s Main Event in 1985. It wasn’t the first time a real wedding took place inside the squared circle. In 1981, Manny Fernandez wed Rosita Cordova in San Antonio, Texas before a show.
Kurt Angle was the first ever ‘Triple Crown’ winner for both WWE and TNA.
Shane Douglas was originally booked in WCW in 1988 to be managed by Magnum TA. Hence, Douglas began using Magnum’s Belly to Belly finisher.
Curt Hennig had a brother named Jesse Hennig who was briefly a pro wrestler in the 1990’s.
Impact Wrestling star Taya Valkyrie has her own clothing line called Loca.
In Lucha Libre, a luchador’s mask is considered very sacred. Losing a luchador mask is a very big deal in Mexico. They usually lose them during mask versus mask or mask versus hair matches. The first wrestler to voluntarily unmask was Huracan Ramirez. The second luchador to voluntarily unmask, was Mascara Magica who turned out to be Eddie Guerrero.
Vince McMahon Sr. was the first promoter to give his wrestlers a portion of the gate for shows.
CM Punk legitimately signed his first WWE contract on top of the Ring of Honor title.
Many fans credit the late Louie Spicolli as being the innovator of the ‘Death Valley Driver’ maneuver. In truth, the move was created by Japanese female wrestler Etsuko Mita.
The Four Horsewomen of WWE (Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Bayley and Sasha Banks) have a combined 30 title reigns between them.
On the July 20th 2020 edition of Monday Night RAW, Shelton Benjamin pinned R Truth to become the new 24/7 champion. It was Shelton’s first title in WWE since 2008, when he was United States champion as a member of Smackdown. It was also his first win on RAW since December 4th, 2006 when he defeated Super Crazy.
Greg ‘The Hammer’ Valentine got married on Valentine’s Day.
Ring the Damn Bell 