Brian Damage
This is the 488th installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involve such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series, I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
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Brian Damage
This is the 480th installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involves such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series…I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
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Brian Damage
This week the pro wrestling world lost Ole Anderson and while tributes pour in on his life and career, there is no question that he was both an innovator and instigator in the business. A true “old school” wrestler, whose beliefs were taken by many as bitter and cantankerous. He had vision, but at the very same time was blind to the ever changing industry that surrounded him. He was beloved by some, hated by many and the feeling was mutual on his end as well.
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Brian Damage
This is the 475th installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involve such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series, I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
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Robert Segedy
Well regarded as a legitimately tough guy, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, was born Jonathan Wisniski on September 30, 1951, the son of the legendary wrestler Johnny Valentine. Not wanting to be seen as riding on his father’s reputation, Valentine made his debut in Canada in 1970, after being trained by Stu Hart. He also received further training by Ed Farhat, the original Sheik. Wrestling under various names such as Baby Face Nelson and Johnny Fargo, Valentine finally came into his own under his real name Greg Valentine and in 1976 he wrestled in the Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. There he was the partner of Ric Flair, who ironically had been in the same plane crash that had crippled the hammer’s father, Johnny Valentine. The duo held the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship as well as the NWA World Tag Team Championship (June 30 and August 22, 1977). They feuded with Gene and Ole Anderson but eventually defeated them on December 26, 1976, in Greensboro, NC where Gene did a stretcher job. They held the titles until May 8, 1977, when the Andersons defeated them in a steel cage match at the Charlotte Coliseum. Flair and Valentine managed to regain the belts from the Andersons on October 30, 1977; the team was forced to split up after NWA president Eddie Graham stripped them of the belts due to “unprofessional conduct.”
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Brian Damage
While heels are meant to be universally hated by all fans, there were a few that actually appealed to a certain sector of the audience. Today’s top five looks at heels that were ladies men. Heels that were hated by most male fans, but got the some women to swoon for them.
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Robert Segedy
When you think about the various groups that have been formed in pro wrestling, one that stands out far above all others is that of the Four Horsemen. The group that formed naturally against a singular enemy became the premiere heel faction of all time. To understand the greatness that was captured at the time, we need to trace the roots of the group at its start. At first, they were four individuals, each outstanding athletes in their own right, but lightning seemed to have struck and from that moment on history was made. The true reason can be traced to a common enemy: Dusty Rhodes. History was made on September 29, 1985, in the Omni in Atlanta following the main event of the night. Ric Flair had defeated Nikita Koloff inside of a steel cage thus retaining his NWA Heavyweight title. Ivan Koloff entered the cage, and both heels attacked the champion gaining the upper hand. Suddenly Rhodes entered the cage to the crowd’s approval to assist the champion and they cleared the ring to thunderous applause. However, Flair wasn’t appreciative of the assistance of The American Dream and the tag team of Ole and Arn Anderson hit the ring. The three men locked the cage door and attacked Rhodes. Leaping off the top rope, Flair broke Rhodes ankle. The faces hit the ring in mass, but the Andersons forced the attackers off the cage walls. The crowd in the Omni became outraged and started to riot. Local police were enlisted to escort the heels back to the dressing room. Thus were the seeds planted to become the major angle of The Horsemen vs. Dusty Rhodes over the next several years.
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Brian Damage
This is the 463rd installment of the ‘Wrestling with Sin‘ series. A group of stories that delves into the darker, underbelly of pro wrestling. Many of the stories involve such subjects as sex, drugs, greed and in some cases even murder! As with every single story in the Sin series, I do not condone or condemn the alleged participants. We simply retell their stories by researching interviews, newspapers, magazines and various other sources of media.
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Robert Segedy
Say Ric Flair’s name and any number of catch phrases immediately come to mind: “Slick Ric”, “Diamonds are Forever”, “Space Mountain”, “To be the Man, You need to Beat the Man”, and “Sixteen times world Champion” among others. And the fact is, whether or not you like him or not, Ric Flair most admittedly could back up any of his catch phrases. A ring veteran of over 5,600 matches Flair, travelled the globe on a regular basis, defending the title in many foreign countries as well including Japan, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and the entire United States. With a career spanning over fifty years, Flair is regarded by many as the greatest professional wrestler of all time.
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Ring the Damn Bell 