C.S.

Amazon code for $5 off $15 on any print book: BOOKGIFT17 Works perfectly with the Pillman book, which I just ordered.

Wrestling in movies: Pay It Forward Haley Joel Osment watches a WCW Monday Nitro match. I believe there are also WCW and WWF action figures and/or posters elsewhere in the movie. Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi "The Undertaker" (Brian Lee) and Crush randomly appear in this Indian Bollywood movie. Credit goes to MoS:

Maybe, but the excerpt specifically mentioned the Horsemen, not just Tully. Then again, it was a recap, not a direct quote, so I guess we'd have to hear/read what Tully actually said word-for-word.

Good riddance to Rich Swann.

Awesome, awesome post! I've spent the past 20 minutes trying to Google more information about who this host could have been, but nothing. Is it possible that it actually was Rey? Nah, he was unmasked by then, so probably not, right?

Russo has really become a professional troll - that's his occupation now. Even the most casual of wresting fans knows J.R. wouldn't come up with rubbish like that - he prefers a serious sports-like presentation over ridiculous soap opera bullshit. I could see the idea coming from Vince McMahon maybe, but not J.R. Wow, this is new, right? "The party lifestyle people think the Horsemen lived is a myth. The guys had a hard schedule and by the time they were done wrestling it was late in the evening, and most of the times all that followed was finding some food and having a few beers before bed." The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary on Flair - as well as thousands of other interviews, articles, sources, etc. - give the distinct opposite impression. The Horsemen "party lifestyle" is so woven into wrestling lore, but I guess like everything else in wrestling, it's carny bullshit - assuming "born again" Tully isn't just downplaying his wild past.

...nosedive

I just hope WWE doesn't ruin it by having the ice cold Bray win "because he's owed one." He's absolutely awful and his character is beyond repair at this point after so many start-stop pushes and losses. I'm not sure what the solution is, but a win over Matt Hardy isn't it.

I just finished The Power Slam Interviews Volume 2: https://smile.amazon.com/Power-Slam-Interviews-2-ebook/dp/B06XQQ8KJW/ It's a long, fun read. Volume 1 is good too. The author also wrote Pro Wrestling Through The Power Slam Years: 1994-2014, but as someone who never read the magazine and doesn't live in England, I'm not sure how much interest that holds for me. Interview books though? I could read those all day long. I tweeted Wade Keller to turn his Torch Talks into a book - seems like a major missed opportunity - but of course he ignored me (or doesn't know how to use Twitter, which is probably more likely considering his age). I realize there were Torch Talk "Yearbooks" once upon a time (or something like that), but those have been out of print for decades. Pushing them all on Kindle seems like easy, instant money to me - but what do I know? Maybe he feels the need to keep them exclusive to the PWTorch site as a subscriber incentive? I have no idea...

Man, now I want to see this promo!!! Can someone who has the yearbook upload the promo to YouTube?

At least mention me by name if you're going to direct a post at me... Anyway, I'm just joking around with my comments. Cody's current traveling NWA World Champion cosplay character does nothing for me, but I know so little about the Bucks (and Hot Topic) that I'm not enough of an authority to rail against them seriously.

Yep, every ICP fan I've ever met is borderline mentally ill and/or mentally challenged - no slight intended to those who are either or both. ICP's brand of wrestling exists in its own universe, and I don't think it would mesh well with the larger Cody/Bucks type of wrestling. Then again, if it's presented as a once-off on a loaded card, it could work - kinda like the Broken Hardys universe did. But then you have the issue of those degenerate ICP Faygo-popping fans polluting the rest of the crowd of Hot Topic-buying geek losers smart marks. How do those two completely different types of audiences co-exist in the same arena? Cody and Bucks might have to go back to pre-Sputnik Monroe levels of segregation to make that work, but instead of separating whites and blacks, you separate the ICP Faygos from the Hot Topics. Edit: BTW, in case "Faygo" sounds like some kind of insult or - God forbid - slur, it's not. It's a terrible soft drink brand favored by the ICP fanbase.

Well I feel I pointed out that a lot could have been edited out that changes the context. Shit I think I said it twice. Fair enough, but what I think is more worthy of psychoanalysis is that Flair's parents were very distant with him and Flair (apparently) ended up being the same kind of dad to his own kids.

A lot of bizarre psychoanalysis from a 20-second clip of David Flair. As for Hogan and Flair, didn't Hogan pay for one of Flair's surgeries or some other big expense? So, yeah, I believe Hogan. I think he and Flair are genuine friends now.

I wonder if Anderson and Gallows are on their way out? Have they made any appearances since the big round of releases? They're not in the least bit over in WWE, and have they had even one memorable match since leaving Japan? (Assuming they had any in Japan.)

He won't wrestle full-time much longer, I agree, but nothing's stopping him from doing the Undertaker/Triple H schedule for the next 10-20 years.

As tempting as it is to go through your wall of quotes and rebut one by one, the forum software here makes that too difficult. So, let's take this from the last point. I live in a wrestling bubble because I realize sports careers are finite? Cena can wrestle another 20 years. Can Joe Montana return to the NFL as a football player now? THAT is what I meant. But you're right that I don't like or care about UFC or other sports. I watch wrestling because it's NOT a sport, even if I do think a sports-like presentation is a better one.

Anything is going to bomb against Star Wars, unfortunately. Ronda, McGregor, and Molly Ringwald would fare no better.

You couldn't be anymore wrong than you are. Ronda at her peak was nowhere near Conor, so comparing them is horrible. Also Conor is an entirely different fighter than Ronda. Ronda brought into her own hype and that's why she got wrecked. Conor on the other hand is a smarter fighter and picks fights carefully. That's why he avoids taking certain fights. He knows who he matches up with better stylistically and he also knows who he can draw the most money with. He also got choked out by Nate Diaz and TKO'd by Floyd Mayweather Jr. and if anything those 2 loses made him a bigger star than he already was. That pretty much disproves you're argument. Also lol at implying that Cena's rise to popularity has anything to do with Big Match John and not because he's extremely charismatic and marketable. I'm sure whenever he's being considered for movie roles the producers and writers are thinking "Jeee, hopefully we can get Big Match John to show up." I love all of the UFC bubble posters and Meltzer acolytes who think I genuinely care about the fighting merits of Ronda Rousey and Conor McGregor - LOL! - or try to argue that it actually matters when it comes to their drawing power. You refuted your own argument by calling Ronda a fraud, secretly a terrible fighter, whatever your point was. Then what was she a drawing card for? Not her crocheting skills, that's for damn sure. It was for her fighting. "Fraud" or not, she had a shelf life in the fighting dept. Even if Conor is a million times better as a fighter, he too has a shelf life. John Cena can wrestle for another 20 years and generate excitement and publicity for WrestleMania, etc. Ronda and McGregor can't fight for another 20. THAT'S my point. (Even if Ronda and McGregor end up in the WWE, as they probably will, don't expect lightning to strike twice. They'll do well, but it will be more on the Ken Shamrock level. Neither of them will become the next Hogan, Rock, or Cena in wrestling.) No, Ron Howard and Molly Ringwald are not going to care about "Big Match John" when it comes to casting their next secret project, but Cena's wrestling base will. Wrestling may be even more of a niche than UFC, but let's not act like there aren't millions of wrestling fans out there still. Hollywood obviously dwarfs wrestling (and UFC), but that doesn't mean wrestling publicity isn't important too. Both Rock and Cena used wrestling as a springboard to become successful movie stars. Their Hollywood careers would've been a much different story if they were never wrestlers. Part of Rock's transition from Disney movies (Tooth Fairy, etc.) to badass action star included his WWE comeback. It was all calculated for one thing to feed into the next. Ronda and McGregor aren't going to be able to fight in 20 years and then use that to springboard to something else (Hollywood, etc.). By then, they'll be long gone and forgotten. Whereas, Big Match John could conceivably still be wrestling by then, generating publicity, and keeping himself in the public eye to set up projects outside of wrestling. UFC fighters and people in other sports don't have the same luxury of time.

In no galaxy is Conor McGregor a bigger star than John Cena - I don't care how much money they make. McGregor will be a footnote, a mere blip, in five years. (Don't believe me? Look how fast Ronda cooled off.) Meanwhile, Cena will continue to be Big Match John and appear in blockbuster Hollywood movies.

Not sure why Bix is feuding with Daniel Bryan or Bryan Clark or Bryan Alvarez, whichever Bryan it is, but there's a Black Friday deal today to get the first month of WO/F4 for $3.99.

IMO, Angle/Cena is a lot more appealing than Angle/H. At least you have the cool callback of Angle being Cena's very first WWE opponent.

https://www.pwpodcasts.com/ has recaps of all the major podcasts. It's a PWTorch/Keller site, which is why I'm mentioning it here.

Even AJ admitted (on the Stone Cold podcast) that it took years for him to put it all together, get the psychology aspect of the business, etc.