Ricky Jackson

Nice! I think I have that one on my viewing pile and thought it had a chance to be the one.

Haha

Johnny Rodz vs The "Incredible" Hulk Hogan - 12/17/84, Mid-Hudson Civic Center, Poughkeepsie, NY (aired 1/19/85) Alright, it's April Fools Day, so you would think I would look at a match where the Unpredictable One actually emerged victorious, right? Well, I can't find one. Anyone out there know of one available online, let me know, it needs to be celebrated like the rare jewel it is. Instead, we will look at Rodz in one of the more high profile matches of his WWWF/WWF tenure, vs the champ himself, Hulk Hogan. Now, fans of the era know that this Hulk Hogan, say prior to 1986, is slightly different than the Hulk Hogan most know, the "classic" version of yellow and red, "Real American" and a formulaic, but still fun, match structure. The Hulk Hogan that Rodz faces in this match is what I call "Earth 2" Hulk Hogan. Fans of comics know that Earth 2 is where Superman began fighting crime in the late-30s, worked for the Daily Star instead of the Daily Planet, the "S" on his costume was slightly different looking, and his Kryptonian name was "Kal-L" not "Kal-El". Earth 2 Hogan wears blue tights (sometimes white, sometimes red, and black in Japan), comes to the ring to the always awesome "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor, wears a WWF belt that resembles the old NWA TV title, and wrestles in a much less predictable manner than his Earth 1 counterpart. Earth 2 Hogan is awesome. Oh, and he also bleeds a lot too. Prior to the match, Rodz is sporting a sweater with what almost looks like the New Japan logo on the back, but it is hard to tell for sure. Looking at his records online, I can only find All-Japan results for Rodz, but who knows, he may have wrestled for them and it isn't documented, or maybe he was given the sweater as a gift by another wrestler. Anyway, Hogan storms to the ring to "Eye of the Tiger" and an orgasmic explosion from the Poughkeepsie faithful. Rodz bumps around like a champ for the Hulkster early. Brutus Beefcake and Johnny V come down to ringside to apparently taunt Hogan, but nothing actually comes of it. Weird. At one point, Hogan works an arm-bar spot, something Earth 1 Hogan would never do. Rodz actually gets in a bit of offense and takes Hogan down. This is short-lived though, as Hogan hits a clothesline-elbow-drop-legdrop combo for the pin. This was quick and fun. Hogan at the time is an unstoppable force of nature, full of youthful enthusiasm and vigor. Rodz was in the twilight of his career here, but still able to make his opponent look like a million bucks. Next time: The Thrilling Conclusion of the Java Ruuk Saga!

I was skeptical at first, but the pro-arguments make sense. Change and evolution are good

Yes, on paper...

I thought this was a great show. Definitely one of the best of the last decade or more that I've seen

I'm having an old buddy over to watch the show. We watched Raw together almost every week back in 98-00, and he only recently moved to Vancouver, so this is the first live show we've watched together since the old days. Pretty excited, should be a fun show

Would you believe James is back?

Yeah, the finish to the Mania X main event was the total shits. Watching the show live my first thought was that it would turn out the Undertaker's ghost was behind it or something dumb

Recording and editing a pod is actually pretty straightforward. You record Skype calls with this program http://voipcallrecording.com/ Use this program to edit http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ and this to convert the edited recording to mp3 http://audacity.sourceforge.net/help/faq_i18n?s=install&i=lame-mp3 The Audacity site can walk you through the editing process. It's really not that complicated

We have gone round and round on Bob on Titans for months and months now. His style is definitely not for everyone, especially if you compare him to Brisco, Flair, Steamboat, etc. His worst matches, against Swede Hanson, Sika, Mosca, are truly dreadful. His best matches, against Patera, Hogan, Patterson, are amazing. He was booked very, very strong. From a business standpoint, that was the right move, because it got him over on a main event level in NYC, and he was a strong draw at his peak despite opinions to the contrary. From a match quality perspective, this strong booking can be a turn off to some, like Parv. I love Bob, but I understand the criticisms. On Titans, we are approaching a time when Bob has arguably his best matches, against Valentine, Adonis, Rose, etc., so I am interested to see if Parv will enjoy those bouts.

That was a 5 star engagement announcement no doubt. Well, maybe just 4 and a half, you couldn't really see her face

No. Traditionally, WWF were affiliated with New Japan. Hence Inoki and now Fujinami.

They were confiscating NWO signs at the Canadian Stampede ppv in 1997 so that boast was bs back then

Awesome article Loss. If that's what gets cut from the book I can't wait to see what actually makes it

I think the most damming thing was the "We want Bob" and " Fire Parv" chants throughout the show

Mania I was basically a typical MSG card with celebrities added. That's how long MSG cards went. It's no more complex than that

Yeah, I've been holding off on reviewing that one for the right time. I guess now that it has been mentioned I should look at it next

He wrestled on the show I went to in Abbotsford, BC last night. Teamed with Tyler Breeze against the Lucha Dragons and was super over with the crowd.

Don't worry, my planned dual thread on Dominic DeNucci and Baron Scicluna will herald an old school Renaissance. In the meantime, join me on my journey through the wondrous career of Johnny Rodz. http://prowrestlingonly.com/index.php?/topic/29965-the-unpredictable-johnny-rodz-aka-the-jobber-thread/