On Newsstands Now: Wrestling Magazines and the Portal to A Whole New World

Brian Damage

Being a young wrestling fan nowadays, seems to offer them every imaginable aspect of the wrestling business like never before. From the “dirt sheets” to websites, to streaming services and everything in between…a fan can access anything and everything. Growing up in the 1980’s, it was a much different era. The internet was in its infancy and cable TV was a luxury that most couldn’t afford. To be a wrestling fan back then, meant you usually watched just one promotion and really weren’t familiar with much else. It was the wrestling magazines that invited the reader into a whole other world outside of their one territory.

Under The Mat-tress: A Look Back At Playboy Magazine and Pro Wrestling

Brian Damage

Playboy magazine…one of the most iconic of all gentlemen’s magazines has announced it is shutting down in March of 2020. The Hugh Hefner periodical started in 1953 and was the worst kept secret for many men both young and old for generations. Who didn’t have a Playboy mag hidden under a mattress or stowed away in a closet at one point or another in their lifetime? With the advent of the internet…sales of the nudie mag fell drastically throughout the years. At one point, Playboy got rid of their nude pictorials and tried to be a magazine of articles. When that failed, it returned to its wheelhouse of showing naked women…but it was all for not. And now, after 67 years in business it is all over.

The Greatest Wrestling Angle Time Forgot

Heel turns are a normal part of the business of professional wrestling. Think back to some of the greatest heel turns of all time. Which ones stand out to you? Was it Hulk Hogan joining the New World Order? Rocky Maivia joining the Nation of Domination? Barry Windham joining the Four Horsemen? All solid heel turns indeed, but what about one that took place in the WWWF back in 1980 and that’s today’s topic.

The sad demise of Powerslam magazine

Craig Wilson

The WWE magazine wasn’t the only wrestling publication to go under recently. Over on these shores, it was announced that Powerslam magazine was also finishing up after a 20 year run.

Here, Craig looks at the impact of the magazine and future of wrestling publications more generally.