Right from the start of the Monday Night War – which began on September 4, 1995 with the debut of Nitro – Eric Bischoff made his intentions felt. He knew he had to be aggressive in order to compete with the well established WWF and their flagship programme, Monday Night Raw. If Lex Luger’s unexpected return to the company on […]
Twenty five years ago saw the debut of a gimmick that Joey Styles said at One Night Stand 2005, ‘If any gimmick never deserved to make a dime and made a boatload of cash, this is it!’ He also added wryly and no doubt with more than a hint of relish, ‘…And the best part is that they (WCW) couldn’t […]
We sometimes hear – especially in the early days of professional wrestling – about ‘shoots’ taking place inside the ring. This was all before it became ‘sports entertainment.’ But there was a time when the wrestlers took the business very seriously, and as a result, so did the fans. There’s been tales of the public trying to get at the […]
Born: March 20, 1959 | Birthplace: Omaha, NebraskaBilled Hometown: Venice Beach, California | Billed Weight: 250 lbsOther Aliases: Flash Born in Nebraska but raised in Southern California, Steve Borden played football and basketball in high school, before embarking on a bodybuilding career. Not initially a fan of professional wrestling, he was inspired to enter the business after attending a live […]
There seems to be some confusion about exactly WHEN Earthquake (John Tenta) had his “shoot” with Koji Kitao in Japan. Some sources – even JJ Dillon in his book Wrestlers are Like Seagulls – claim that it occurred in the Toyko Dome on March 30; it didn’t. While Tenta and Kitao did have a match, it was perfectly fine, and […]
Hawk Born: January 26, 1957 (Michael Hegstrand) | Died: October 19, 2003 Billed Hometown: Chicago, IL | Billed Weight: 270 lbs Animal Born: September 12, 1960 (Joe Laurinaitis) | Died: September 22, 2020Billed Hometown: Chicago, IL | Billed Weight: 305 lbs Michael Hegstrand (Hawk) and Joe Laurinaitis (Animal) were childhood friends with a passion for weight-lifting. They became bouncers at […]
The Mall of America in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was used just once as a wrestling venue. While it would not necessarily compare to other great wrestling buildings like the Tokyo Dome, Dallas Sportatorium or the old ECW Arena, it did host a momentous night in the history of professional wrestling. On September 4, 1995, World Championship Wrestling launched their new flagship […]
Born: January 12, 1962 | Birthplace: Atlanta, GeorgiaDied: August 27, 2010Billed Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada/The Other Side of DarknessOther Aliases: Trudy Herd, Princess Luna, Angel Baby The future Luna Vachon was adopted by Paul “Butcher” Vachon as a young girl, when he married her mother Rebecca Pierce – his second wife – in 1966. Gertrude wished to carry on the […]
Born: August 14, 1958 | Birthplace: Huntsville, AlabamaDied: August 4, 2021Billed Hometown: The Dark Side/Stoke-on-Trent, England | Billed Weight: 233 lbsOther Aliases: Beautiful Bobby, Earl Robert Eaton Bobby Eaton was a big fan of professional wrestling from a young age, and watched the local promotion, Nick Gulas’ NWA Mid-America. At thirteen, he began setting up the ring in his hometown […]
Born: May 14, 1955 (Leon White) | Birthplace: Lynwood, CaliforniaDied: June 18, 2018 (Heart Failure)Billed Hometown: The Rocky Mountains | Billed Weight: 450 lbsOther Aliases: Baby Bull, Bull Power, Big Van Vader, Super Vader Leon White started his pro wrestling career in 1985 with Verne Gagne’s American Wrestling Association, after his NFL career (1978-79 with the Los Angeles Rams) ended […]
