Wrasslin' Back in the Day

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-wrestlefest-91/

"WrestleFest '91" sees the Legion of Doom clashing with the Hart Foundation in the only meeting of two of the eras dominant duos, plus the Ultimate Warrior takes the measure of the massive Earthquake, the Big Bossman battles the Mountie, Kerry Von Erich tries to avenge his IC title loss by tussling with Ted Dibiase, The Hammer and the Model grapple. Plus, the Rockers rumble with Power and Glory and Pat Tanaka puts on a show with Marty Jannetty. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-world-tour-1991/

"World Tour '91" has a really fun line up. Hulk Hogan partners with the Ultimate Warrior to face Sgt. Slaughter, Gen. Adnan and the Undertaker in a unique headliner. Mr. Perfect grapples with a young Shawn Michaels, Roddy Piper brawls with the Million Dollar Man while fending off Scary Sherri, the Earthquake attempts to squash Jake the Snake, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan has a disaster of a match with Kendo Nagasaki, the "Macho Man" tries to mangle the "Model", the Anvil knocks heads with the Warlord and the Rockers rattle the Orient Express!!! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-may-1985-part-1/

May of 1985 saw the debut of "Saturday Night's Main Event", which caused problems backstage between NBC execs and the WWF's booker, Roddy Piper goes outlaw from the WWF to work on a competitor's show, Inoki and McMahon butt heads over Hogan and Andre working in Japan, another old timer puts on the tights to work for the WWF, fans in Boston riot, Jim Crockett runs a stadium show in a WWF town, St. Louis books brawlers from different generations for a unique tag team match, plus more news and notes! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-may-1985-part-2/

Part 2 of May 1985 saw the AWA lose another headline star, the WWF bounced the AWA from one of their established cities, Rick Martel finds a rowdy new batch of challengers to his AWA gold, the WWF gets a future billionaire to give them some free press on TV, Montreal teases their biggest money feud of 1985, Jim Crockett played hard ball with Verne Gagne over "Pro Wrestling USA", a local legend returned to Memphis after a 5 year gap, David Schultz added to his reputation as a rebel via a live promo, Ron Fuller prepared to make a national push, plus more news, notes and results! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-may-1985-part-3/

Part 3 of my look back at May of 1985 includes the story of how three WWF stars bucked the system and went to work for the territories without Vince McMahon's approval. 

 The WWF snags two Florida stars as their quest for national dominance continues.

. Kamala continues his vagabond lifestyle as he appears and disappears from another headline spot. 

 A legend begins his long road to the world title. World Class puts on a huge tag team spectacular in Texas Stadium.

Mike Von Erich is arrested. 

The WWF draws a smaller crowd than many indy shows do today as the Fed continues to invade Dallas. 

WTBS and Bill Watts split. 

ESPN's wrestling time slot is the new desire for every promotion dreaming of competing with the WWF and JCP. 

Watts finds a new black Superman. 

Jim Crockett begans demolitioning the NWA infrastructure. 

Rumors have Tully Blanchard leaving JCP to work for an old friend. 

Plus other news, notes and results! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-wwf-msg-6-21-1985/

The WWF fans came to MSG in June 1985 to see a bloody steel cage main event with Hulk Hogan defending his title against the Magnificent Muraco. 

- The Dragon and the Hammer have a stiff battle
- Adrian Adonis busts out a DDT that leaves Gorilla Monsoon and Mean Gene baffled. 
- Bobby Heenan brings the comedy as he tangles with Animal Steele 
- Randy Savage debuts and becomes a top heel within 15 minutes 
- Jim Brunzell debuts and cements himself in midcard hell within 15 minutes. 
- Brian Blair talks about the AWA on a WWF show. 
- A ref ruins the finish of the match for the new monster heel in town 
- The women wrestlers deliver table bumps. She's hardcore! 
- Mean Gene calls the wrestlers out for blown spots
-Lanny Poffo debuts with a heel haircut and works so loose it exposes the business. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-wwf-msg-4-6-1981/
MSG from April '81

- Capt. Lou at his crazy best
- Moondog Rex: Grappling Wizard 
- A ref takes more bumps than the former World champion. 
- Sgt. Slaughter impresses by selling his butt off for Pat Patterson
- Patterson gets upset over one of the more justified DQ's on record. 
- Stan Hansen refuses to lay down for Bob Backlund 
- Chatter about how Tony Garea is not in the Hall of Fame
- Garea and Rick Martel tangle with two prominent wrestling trainers
 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-june-1985-part-one/

In the first portion of my look back at June of 1985 the stories covered are:
- Ken Patera and Masa Saito's trial, including the variety of wrestling personalities who testified on their behalf, as well as how the men adapted to their prison environments
- Verne Gagne loses another top star to the WWF, who goes from headliner to comedic gimmick overnight. 
- Roddy Piper attempts to work for JCP and the WWF simultaneously 
- Inoki beats the WWF's biggest stars 
- The WWF parts ways with a headline act due to his rampant drug issues.
- A WWF performer wins an NWA title. 
- A Canadian Hall of Famer returns to the mat wars. 
- A former NWA World champ joins the WWF circus, 
- One of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s debuts for TItan, and immediately gets heat for messing up a show. 
- The AWA loses one of their key arenas to the WWF. 
- One wrestler works on JCP and the WWF shows within days of each other. 
- Plus more news, notes and results! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-wwf-madison-square-garden-dec-17th-1979/

A look at the December 1979 MSG house show: 
- On the verge of the push of a lifetime, Larry Zbyszko gets eaten up by a chunky old vet. 
- Bad News Brown shows his pimp daddy side. 
- New Japan sends its biggest stars in to New York to be showcased. 
- Hulk Hogan meets one of his greatest rivals under much different circumstances than the future would hold. 
- Backlund wins a match that was a much bigger deal in Japan than the MSG fans watching live realized. 
- NWA champ Harley Race faces off with the Dream!
- Tatsumi Fujinami steals the show with a grappling clinic with one of the WWF's low end geeks. 
- Vince McMahon questions the booking plans as a thrown together team is handed a title match.

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-june-1985-part-2/

Part 2 of my look back at June 1985 in the wrestling world includes:
- St. Louis debuts a rookie giant
- Verne Gagne turns to legal methods to stop the WWF's talent raids. 
- The AWA promotes a show headlined by a man in prison. 
- A legend proves to be a mole for the WWF as he ends his career in the AWA and jumps into a WWF office spot. 
- One territory star moonlights as a WWF bum. 
- Pro Wrestling USA endures many no shows (AGAIN) 
- The Road Warriors dictate their own bookings to their boss, Verne Gagne. 
- The Warriors hard ball another promoter, who vows to never book them again due to their business practices. 
- Montreal sees perhaps the biggest angle of the summer for the wrestling world as their local wrestling royalty is left laying by devious heels. 
- Verne Gagne tries to buy out another struggling promoter. 
- Plus more news, notes and results!

 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-the-last-battle-of-atlanta/

With the WWE Network recently uploading "The Last Battle of Atlanta", I had to backtrack my timeline for a bit and take a look at the event for my history series. 
- Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer show their love of the blade. 
- The Road Warriors fight the Boogie Woogie Man and Pez Whatley in a shocking little match
- Ron Garvin and Kabuki provide Ambien in wrestling form. 
- Les Thornton steals the show in a grappling clinic. 
- A champion is absolutely destroyed, yet he keeps his title due to ridiculous bylaws. 
- Mr. Wrestling II attempts to fight his doppelganger 

[BruiserBrody]

 

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-the-hart-foundation/

A look at the Hart Foundation's glorious heel run as they use Danny Davis to steal the titles, plus matches with the Rougeaus, the Killer Bees, the Bulldogs, JYD, Tito Santana and the famous Steamboat/Hart match from Boston!  In addition we get a goofy vignette where Mean Gene sexual harasses women and the heels play with toys. As an added bonus we learn Stu Hart likes escort women.

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-jake-the-snake-roberts/

The WWF put together a Jake the Snake highlight tape, but then filled it with him fighting sluggish big men such as JYD, King Kong Bundy and Kamala. The Honky Tonk Man is also given a heck of a lot of shine on a tape he isn't the designated star of. The tape is redeemed by an excellent bout against Ricky Steamboat, and a good early example of Jake's heel work as he tortures Scott McGhee. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-george-the-animal-steele/

 

George "the Animal" Steele is highlighted in some of the worst matches compiled from the 70's and 80's. Witness Steele tangle with such grappling wizards as Sika, the Honky Tonk Man, and Danny Davis. Marvel at hall of famers Bruno Sammartino, Randy Savage and Harley Race as they try to work around the Animal's unique style. Plus gander at the horror that is Steele partnering with the JYD to grapple with the Demolition. All that - plus many of Steele's goofy skits from TNT and SNME! The horror....the horror...

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-the-ken-patera-story/

Ken Patera's return after serving several years locked away in prison is the focus of "The Ken Patera Story". 
- We open with a quick look at why Patera was brought in as a babyface instead of his more natural heel persona being utilized. 
- Patera comes across as a whiner as he and Bobby Heenan debate one another over their broken relationship. 
- Heenan takes a nasty bump that should be made into a gif file ASAP. 
- Patera tries to move up the ranks of the WWF but finds himself bogged down in subpar matches with the Honky Tonk Man and Hercules.
- The Heenan Family takes great joy in berating and beating Patera down. 
- We get a taste of Hulkamania as he joins Patera in tag team action against the Brain's henchmen. 

[BruiserBrody]

 http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-brutus-the-barber-beefcake/

WOOF!! Brutus Beefcake is highlighted in a stinker of a tape as we see Beefcake in epic matches with Dino Bravo, Jimmy Jack Funk, Johnny Valiant, Danny Davis and the Honky Tonk Man.  Ted Dibiase and Greg Valentine try to drag something watchable out of Brother Bruti. The surprise gem on the tape turns out to be Beefcake battling Hulk Hogan, not due to their catch as catch can classic grappling, but because of an insanely electric crowd!   

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-the-lost-awa-team-challenge-series-pilot/

I attempted to watch the hot mess that was the AWA Team Challenge Series pilot and add some humorous commentary to the whole debacle! 

- Who knew DX could claim to be partially to blame for this!?! 
- I debate if Paul Diamond or his doppelganger in the music world have fallen further since this taping. 
- Sgt. Slaughter's physical fitness may not stop his ambitions to sell out a stadium 
- Botched promos, bad production values, Verne's dog, Bischoff's coif...so much to digest! 
- Casual racism from the music department
- Diamond foreshadows his space man gimmick years before he used it
- 3 future world champs were involved in this mess! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-june-1985-part-3/

The last round of news and notes from June 1985 includes:
- Ann Gunkel's return as a behind the scenes manipulator
- Jerry Lawler teams with one of his all-time greatest rivals
- Mid-South ran another loaded Superdome show with Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter and Muhammad Ali 
- A nasty injury spawns a famous moment in wrestling lore
- Two muscle men get into a locker room shoot
- A legend breaks his leg, leaving his career in doubt
- Jim Crockett takes control of the NWA World title
- JCP shuffles around headliners for a pair of big shows
- A future World champion is born 
- Plus more news, results and historical highlights! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wrasslin-back-in-the-day-great-american-bash-1985/

The Great American Bash 1985 is an underrated gem of a show that should be uploaded to the WWE Network pronto:
- Ric Flair battles Commies in a fierce main event that sees the fans nearly riot! 
- Dusty Rhodes clashes with Tully Blanchard inside a cage with money, titles, women, and fame all on the line
- The Boogie Woogie Man is remarkably over as he and Paul Jones continue their endless series of battles. 
- AWA tag team champions Hawk and Animal come to the NWA to challenge the communist champions from Russia. 
- Magnum TA faces a foe from outside of JCP's realm as Kamala brings his special brand of chaos to the ring 
- plus other action with the Andersons, Manny Fernandez, Abdullah the Butcher, Billy Graham, Buzz Sawyer and others! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-macho-madness/

Released at the height of Macho Man's reign on top of the WWF, this VHS highlights his many battles with Ted Dibiase, Andre the Giant, and the Honky Tonk Man. We also see the formation of the Mega Powers and highlights of Savage's long night of battle at Wrestlemania 4!! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-hulk-hogan-real-american/

Coliseum Home Video takes a look at the Hulkster in this 1989 release. 
- Hogan battles Andre the Giant inside of a steel cage in front of a packed stadium in what was just about Andre's last stand as a top monster. Will the Frenchman destroy an American hero? 
- Hulk defends America's pride against Nikolai Volkoff in the waning days of the cold war. 
- A Monarchy is threatened as King Haku's aristocratic values are defaced by Hulkamania. 
- We close with the Hulk's takedown of an oligarchy as The Million Dollar Man and a Giant confront Hogan in the wild west backdrop of Houston. 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/from-the-wwe-network-hacksaw-jim-duggan/

HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
-Ol 'Hacksaw battles Communism as Vince McMahon promotes a MAGA agenda on national TV in 1988. 
-The origins of Duggan's feud with Harley Race is shown, followed by their epic brawl at the Slammys and a darn good match between the two men from MSG!
- Andre the Giant and Hacksaw have a bloody confrontation on TV, leading to a house show match being shown between the big lugs. 
- We close up show with Dino Bravo stinking up the place while facing Jim in a battle of rest holds. 
- TOUGH GUY!!

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/mid-south-wrestlefest-1985/

Mid South Wrestling holds an outdoor show at the Tulsa Fairgrounds headlined by a mega tag match with Bill Watts, Dick Murdoch and Hacksaw Duggan partnering up to face Gen. Akbar, Kareem Muhammed and Kamala. Dusty Rhodes attempts to wrest the NWA title from Ric Flair in the co-feature. Plus Jake the Snake battles Ted Dibiase.  Butch Reed, Eddie Gilbert, John Nord, the One Man Gang and others take part in action on the undercard. A fine afternoon of rednecks, country music and wrasslin! 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/wwf-the-boston-garden-8-3-1985/

- A former world champ has perhaps the worst match on the card. 
- We learn that the Honky Tonk Man is probably broke, if the commission rules are accurate
- Roddy Piper and Mr. Wonderful get a little hardcore
- Terry Funk gives Rick McGraw a chance to shine
- Ricky Steamboat and the JYD dispense some retribution to the dastardly villains, Mr. Fuji and Don Muraco.  
- We test the theory that smaller wrestlers mean better workrate. 
- A former football player teases his potential as a wrestler. 
 

[BruiserBrody]

http://culturecrossfire.com/wrestling/hulk-and-linda-hogan-gossip-and-scandal/

I recently stumbled upon some trash TV tabloid show covering Hulk Hogan's career and the scandals of his later years. The show was full of talking heads from the gossip world trying to talk about the history of our beloved wrestling. Within 5 minutes I was annoyed, but instead of shutting it off I decided to write a pithy review of the whole thing.  What followed was an hour of misused and mismatched photos helping tell a story that was at best at least partially fictional. I hope my pain lead to an amusing recap.