Brian Damage
Throughout the history of pro wrestling bookers and promoters have always tried to come up with new, creative and innovative ideas to generate interest in their product. Some ideas have not only succeeded…but flourished. Others were DOA from the get go. Then there are those ideas which initially were innovative but, for various reasons, faded away. Those are the focus of this latest series of posts titled ‘Great Ideas That Didn’t Last’.
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Brian Damage
Paul E. Dangerously, Paul Dangerly, Paul Heyman is considered one of the greatest managers/advocates/special counsels in pro wrestling history. Heyman has managed some of the biggest and brightest names in the business. While leading wrestlers like CM Punk, Brock Lesnar and Roman Reigns to world titles and main events, Paul Heyman has managed a few duds. Here is my list of top five worst ‘Paul Heyman Guys.’
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Brian Damage
After a rather unmemorable stint in the WWF as a part of the ‘Make A Difference’ Fatu angle in 1995, The Samoan Gangsta Party were brought into ECW in 1996. Originally named Gangstas in Paradise consisting of Sammy the Silk and ‘Big’ Matty Smalls, the tag team was immediately thrust into the world tag team title picture and feuded with one of ECW’s top teams in the Gangstas (Mustafa Saed and New Jack).
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Brian Damage
Say what you’d like about John Cena and his career in WWE…he was a lightning rod for fans emotions. Some loved him, others hated him and for a few they absolutely detested what he represented. On June 11, 2006…John Cena was entering a building like he never had before. The Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City was filled to capacity with fans that were not just going to boo Cena politely. They were not there to buy into the WWE’s corporate machine. All were there to see Cena lose and if not…the end result might have been very ugly.
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Brian Damage
A third generation wrestler, who had a very up and down career in WWE. Today on the blog, we ask…’Whatever Happened to’ Curtis Axel?
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Brian Damage
For all of its faults during its existence, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was for many wrestlers…a last chance to redeem a fallen career. Many referred to ECW as “the land of misfit toys,” a place where wrestlers who were mostly considered used up and/or unwanted to continue to ply their trade. Such was the case for Steve Austin, who in 1995, was all but tossed aside by WCW because he was injured.
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Brian Damage
Most fans today know about how Triple H transformed WWE’s developmental promotion NXT, by bringing in and pushing top indie talent starting in 2014. Years before Triple H’s version of NXT emerged, there was Ohio Valley Wrestling. Paul Heyman would attempt the same type of philosophy in OVW starting in 2005. This is the story about how Heyman transformed a southern based WWE developmental territory into something much different.
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B Dangerous and Brian Damage
This week we are going to do top five managers that didn’t fit with wrestlers they managed. In your opinion of course…what managers do you feel were oddly paired with wrestlers? People you feel would’ve been a better fit with others.
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Brian Damage
The WWE’s Women’s Revolution that began in 2015 certainly changed how fans of the company perceived women’s wrestling. They were no longer former models and cheerleaders turned ‘Divas’ and having lingerie pillow fights. They were now competing in matches usually reserved for ‘the boys’ like the Royal Rumble, Money in the Bank and Hell in a Cell. Women’s wrestling in WWE is now accepted and expected on their programming. Before the Divas era, women’s wrestling was more of a sideshow of Vince McMahon’s overall product. The women were not glamor models, but were tough as nails and featured names like The Fabulous Moolah, Rockin’ Robin, Judy Martin and Leilani Kai.
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Ring the Damn Bell 