Ricky Jackson

Thanks for sharing that brother. Your contributions to this board over the years detailing the history of Puerto Rican wrestling have been super valuable and much appreciated

Nothing has changed for me, still overwhelmingly pre-1996 That said, I'm much more into modern stuff than I was in 2014. I'm a big fan of NWA, AEW, check out New Japan big matches from time to time, and was a weekly viewer of NXT from 2015 until around the start of the Wednesday War when I finally burned out on the epic match main event scene. My heart is still with the old stuff though

It's funny, I've been watching WCCW from Feb 84 this past week and Fritz aired a show hyping a David vs Flair match eight days after David had died. That's the bar for extreme promoter tastelessness Vince needs to clear in the next 10 days or so in case anyone was wondering

Marc, that post brightened my day and made me smile remembering some of the names that used to post here a lot and some of the crazy debates (often started by jvk) that once took place on a seemingly daily basis. While not what it once was for various reasons, this place is great and, similar to what Matt D wrote, is where my fandom hit another level. Many "real life" friendships emerged from here and PWO provided the springboard for one of my main passions in life, podcasting. Great memories. Thanks man

Yeah, I was thinking you still need to have probably more than 50 people, counting the wrestlers and all the production staff, to put on the show. So shouldn't that technically not be allowed? Plus, do we really want to see Mania this way, with no audience? It's been bad enough the last several years in packed football stadiums

I think this is Vince just buying a little more time before having to announce "Well, I tried to put smiles on people's faces, but the God damn state of Florida wont let me", and being forced to cancel/postpone

Haha are they seriously going to do 7 hours in an empty arena???

UFC finally, with gritted teeth, threw in the towel. That basically leaves Vince and Mania the last holdout

My wife and I couldn't of timed the sale of our condo in the city and move to her family farm two months ago any better. We also spent a month in Europe (during which time we were on a cruise and visited Spain, France and Italy) but got back Feb 26 and just missed the craziness. I've been self isolating since March 1, but that's because I have no job to go to nor the means to get into town on my own. I previously worked in grocery stores in Vancouver for eight years, so that's another thing I've luckily missed out on. I really feel for those having to work there, especially those in large cities who rely on public transit, as I did. It's going to be a long few months. Who knows how long, really

I dug that Mojo too. Fun character

I'm lucky to know half dozen or so equally hardcore fans in the Vancouver area, and we've gotten together for every AEW ppv so far, splitting the costs. It's great, like the 90s all over again. If I didnt have that outlet I definitely wouldnt be ordering $50 AEW shows alone

First half of Mania 2 is dreadful, but from Bulldogs vs Dream Team on it's a pretty good show

Awesome. Thanks Matt

These reviews are terrific oj. Can't wait to see some of these matches and all the heretofore unknown European workers

There is a joke about Mania causing a massive outbreak of the coronavirus but I wont be the one to make it

This was a podcast produced by once prolific posters around here that covered 90s AJPW in chronological order. If you want a list of the essentials, each ep has a list of the matches discussed https://soundcloud.com/prowrestlingonly/sets/all-japan-excite-series

Fucking great match

Did Cody get a really ill advised neck tattoo?

Woo hoo, I get to watch wrestling again for the first time since the Rumble! Really pumped to watch this with my usual AEW ppv crew. Should be a great show based on how solid the tv has been lately, of which I've only seen GIF's here and there, but you guys have been praising Dynamite highly and I of course value the opinions of those posting on this great site. Now I just need to get the wi fi situation figured out on the farm so I can finally resume Power. Also, AEW needs a streaming option for Dynamite that can be viewed in Canada asap. I hate this fucking country and its stupid TV regulations sometimes...

Jesus Christ, JR. WTF. That was rough

Yeah, I was thinking that may have had something to do with it, but usually if the star was big enough (Mascaras, Bruno of course, likely others) any political issues would be ignored anyway

Sheik had a run with Bruno in 68, it didnt draw particularly great (but nothing in the territory really did at the time), and, as I mentioned, he was also involved in a mini riot at MSG in early 69. I've read that soured Vince Sr on too much blood and craziness in matches. The Sheik was a HUGE draw in the early 70s and Vince Sr only used him for (I think) one match against Pedro in Boston, with no TV appearances. He didnt work the territory during Bruno's second run with the strap

Like I wrote, I think one of the main hold-ups was Vince Sr didn't like Abby's blood-in-every-match gimmick. When it came to blood, 70s WWWF was conservative compared to a lot of other territories

Pretty sure Abby didnt work WWWF proper. The Buffalo date would be for the old NWF that ran the city for decades. Not sure about the Baltimore date but it would've been strange to bring Abby in for just one shot, and not even at MSG. I think one of the reasons he never got a run against Bruno, Pedro or Bob was Vince Sr was a little wary of using hardcore blood gimmick wrestlers after the Sheik caused a mini riot in 1969 at MSG, although Sheik did work Boston against Pedro in 72, so who knows. Can't see Abby turning down a chance to work on top in NYC, so it would seem like the hold up was on Vince Sr's end Edit: those Baltimore dates in 75 are interesting because they appear to be WWWF cards with Bruno on top. Wonder what the story is there. Buffalo show is definitely NWF looking at the card

Yeah, that's interesting Fritz never worked for WWWF considering his standing as a top heel in the 60s. His "brother" Waldo was one of Bruno's main foes over the years. Looks like the closest Fritz ever got was working for Vince Sr's rival New York promoter Kola Kwariani around 1959. By the 70s he was promoting in Dallas and not really in position to do a run in another territory. David and Kevin had one shots at MSG