Ricky Jackson

So basically we had the "Levesque Spring" and now Vince and the tanks have rolled in and crushed all hope

I think it has a pretty good chance of being a very interesting read. It's completely free of any Vince involvement afaik, so it should be a no holds barred look. The excerpt from the publishers site suggests it will be thorough if nothing else https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Ringmaster/Abraham-Riesman/9781982169442

Bravo

I've made that mistake before. I think many/most non-Americans think it is an independent country

Probably Bruiser Bedlam

If you never post again, you have still contributed one of the greatest things I've ever read on this board

Blassie was on with Ali hyping the Inoki match in 76, but that was with McLean Stevenson guest hosting

Also, even if there was a plan to crown Sami, it would mean a lot more in the end if it came after he tried and failed to beat the champ a few times before finally getting over the hump

I haven't watched this yet, but here is a fascinating bit of history that just popped up on my YT feed. Apparently the first ever scaffold match, from 1971! I always thought Dundee and Koko from 1982 was the first scaffold match

Should be an all-timer for a crowd reaction. Awesome to see a great historical wrestling town like Montreal get a moment like this in 2023

The Genius gimmick was inspired by his father Angelo's similar "Graduate" gimmick from the 70s, down to the gown and mortarboard

https://www.f4wonline.com/news/wwe/former-wwe-star-lanny-poffo-passes-away-at-68-years-old Too bad he didn't get to work the New Gorgeous George gimmick in mid 90s WCW. At least he was paid 6 figures for like 5 years to do nothing

I love Brown's Louis Riel graphic novel. A big reason is the circa-1930s newspaper strip art style he uses that is so right up my alley, and also the whole Canadian history aspect, but overall it's just an extremely well told story. I have a few other Brown books and remember liking most of his output. I was a big fan of the D & Q crew back in the day. I'm actually planning on reading Brown's last (I believe) work, Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus, very soon

Here's Larry Z vs Putski for all interested. Definitely one of the great surprises of my old Titans of Wrestling pod. And yes, Larry had a great 1980. Also some really good matches against Backlund from the Spectrum

Man, I completely erased Husky Harris from my brain and had to Google that. Whatever happened to Eli Cottonwood?

Thoughts on Tom King as a writer? He's one of the more acclaimed comic guys going. I've read two of his works and just started a third. Loved Vision from 2015, one of the best modern superhero comics I've read in the last few years. Followed that with Mister Miracle from 2017. I liked a lot of it but in the end felt the balance between personal metaphor and the character and his universe was too slanted towards the former for my liking, but maybe that's just me. Started Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow the other day and really like it so far. The art by Bilquis Evely is fantastic. Not sure when Supergirl started swearing so much but whatever. Anyway, just wanted to see what others think about King since he seems to be kinda divisive

Another big thing to remember about the Grunge phenomenon is that it fairly quickly expanded to become part of "Alternative", which included tons of non-Grunge acts like Smashing Pumpkins, Alanis Morissette, Nine Inch Nails, Green Day, which were HUGE in 95-97 (and beyond of course). As a high schooler in 92-95 me and my friends always used Alternative as the catch all term for the music and fashion, not Grunge

With hindsight you can say it was past its peak or the most memorable moments associated with it were in the early 90s, but from personal experience and looking back recently, Grunge was still pretty big in the culture in 95-96, with 97 being the year it really faded away. Fashion was very Grungy in those years for sure, and of course the music was still everywhere

And, of interest to all the historians out there, this is what the general public reads of course, I believe from the AP " When he purchased what was then the World Wrestling Federation from his father in 1982, wrestling matches took place at small venues and appeared on local cable channels. WWE matches are now held in professional sports stadiums and the company has a sizeable overseas following."

Let's not lose sight of the real issue here...The Thread Killer isnt European, he's Canadian

Off the top of my head, I think it was Sami's main roster debut where he accidentally hurt himself pre-match vs Cena, when Cena was doing the US title challenge gimmick

Think overdoing this gimmick permanently fucked up Stompers neck, or maybe his brain. Or both

I'm picturing HHH in a dark office getting off the phone with Vince, who just told him he was coming back, immediately making a call and simply saying "release more allegations" and then hanging up

I pretty much started collecting the mags as soon as I began watching wrestling regularly in the summer of 86. In fact I may have had an issue or two before I began watching the TV, since I was already an established newsstand hound due to my comic collecting. Collecting the mags was the only way for a kid in Calgary to follow the "NWA" (as Crockett was referred to in the mags) and other territories, besides Stampede and the AWA, which were on TV. I was also fascinated by the occasional history articles, especially ones about the greatness of Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund (who was never mentioned by WWF at that time and only a scant few of his matches made the CHV tapes). I collected mostly the Apter mags but also had plenty of other publications like Superstar Wrestling, Wrestling Eye, etc., and of course WWF Magazine. I kept collecting through the 90s but stopped around 1998 because they had become kinda outdated, and all the news and results being months behind became less acceptable with the rise of the internet. I did collect WOW for a bit, the mainstream shoot mag, but it wasn't the same

It's on Kindle for $6.55, or free with an unlimited subscription. Took a quick peek, looks like card by card reviews/impressions from 1987 until the end. I think the author is just a superfan and not a polished writer or historian, to give you an idea of the content. Might be worth it considering the low price