Pro Wrestling in the Final Days of the Soviet Union

[Phil Lions]

I figured I'd plug this here, because some people might be interested. I did some new research recently and I put together four articles covering pro wrestling (catch) in the Soviet Union in 1989-1991 (and beyond when the USSR was no more). It's a little known fact, but there was pro wrestling in the Soviet Union back then. Not a ton, but some.

Article 1: The Soviet Perspective: Soviet Wrestlers in NJPW and NJPW in Russia - Tracing the Soviet press' coverage of the Soviet wrestlers in NJPW and providing some additional details on the NJPW show in Moscow in 1989. At the end there are also translated interviews with the likes of Antonio Inoki, Victor Zangiev, Salman Hasimikov, and more.

Article 2: An Ambitious Pro Wrestling Tour of the Soviet Union in 1990 - A unique tour, run by Olympic silver medalist and World champion wrestler Andrzej Supron, that went all over the Soviet Union visiting more than 20 cities with probably over 50 shows in total in venues with a capacity ranging from 5,000 to 50,000.

Article 3: Stallone Rockets - Russia's Early 1990s Version of GLOW - A Soviet entrepreneur with a let's just say interesting career trajectory teams up with Jacqueline Stallone to launch a Russian version of GLOW. A few American GLOW stars actually went to Moscow too. The article includes footage from the show.

Article 4: The Soviet/Russian Pro Wrestling Promotions of the Early 1990s - The USSR Pro Wrestling Association and RAMB'S. A look at their events featuring the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Victor Zangiev, Andrei Kopylov, South African wrestlers, etc.

If you have any comments or questions, feel free to post them below.

[Phil Lions]

All four articles are out now.