Tag: mick foley

Posted on by

The Golden Age for Wrestling Research

Andre the Giant - The Eighth Wonder of the World

The 2020 CAC James Melby Award Winner Greg Oliver just posted a terrific editorial on Slam! Wrestling about the quest to chronicle pro wrestling history. After reading an advance copy of the Andre the Giant biography, Oliver was struck by the incredible depth of research in the spook, especially when compared to an infamous earlier bio on the Eighth Wonder of the World. Oliver suggests we’re living in a golden era for wrestling historians and research, thanks to the resources that are not only now available but being utilized by writers and researchers everywhere.

I share this because I absolutely could not agree more. I have only been at this game for seven years, having taken my first dive into the newspaper microfilms at the Louisville Free Public Library in January of 2013. The access to such archives has improved tremendously in that short time, thanks in large part to archives such as newpapers.com. In 2013 I was hunting and rooting, scrolling through film after film and then scanning the weekly Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and occasionally Friday and Saturday sports pages. Just a few short years later I was finding results much faster from my home office, scanning the same Courier-Journal newspapers but using the advanced search features available online. In less than four months, I had a complete 22 year record of the Allen Athletic Club. Between my work schedule and family life, it would have taken me years to compile the same data at the library.

Every year it seems more wrestling fans and history buffs are jumping in the waters. As a community, we are uncovering, recording, and preserving the history of professional wrestling faster than ever thought possible. This is a golden age for the wrestling historian. It’s also a golden opportunity for fans and especially workers to learn that history for themselves.

This past weekend, when a wrestler at PPW told me about the stack of wrestling books he was reading, I added to it and gave him a copy of the Black Panther book. I always love hearing that a wrestler wants to know the history of the business because that tells me, this is someone who wants to learn from the past. This is someone who appreciates those who came before. This is someone who might just discover something that hasn’t been done in decades and use it (making what is old new again) to become a star.

Whether you’re a wrestler, a referee, a manager, a student, or just a fan, I encourage you to do the same. Read the Andre book. Read Have a Nice Day. Read Lou Thesz’s incredible autobiography Hooker. Read Queen of the Ring. Read Adnan Al-Kaissie’s hard to find/ harder to put down memoir. Your favorite past time has an incredible past. More and more, it’s there waiting for you to discover.

Posted on by

The Wrong Way to Goldberg

I don’t often comment on WWE booking. It’s not what I do, there are plenty of other Tuesday morning bookers on the Internet already, and besides that… I’m a fan. Never been in the business, so what do I know?

That said… I wish the WWE had booked Goldberg differently for this return.

Last week, the fans went nuts for his return. I’ve never been a Goldberg fan, but even I got chills seeing his entrance. This week, the “Goldberg” chants were drowned out by chants of “Suplex City.”

Fans don’t want to see Goldberg vs. Lesnar. They’ve seen it, and they already know how it’s going to end. Fans want to see the old Goldberg. They want to see “The Streak” Goldberg.

Goldberg should be coming out and squashing people. Feed him some of the guys from WWE Superstars for a few weeks and then pay it off at a Pay-Per-View with a slightly higher profile squash.

In other words, treat him the way you treated Austin, Michaels, and Foley at Wrestlemania… not the way you did Sting.

At the end of the day, I think Goldberg came back for one reason: so his son could see him wrestle. I think that’s awesome. But I wish his son could get a chance to see the real reason that arena filled with “Goldberg!” chants last week.

Posted on by

Primus Primer: The Iron Demon

14199677_1157799777631907_5163760381507081028_nI did a quick Q&A to catch up with “The Iron Demon” Shane Mercer last week for Primus. He’s had a very busy summer, wrestling for PWF, Funkafied Wrestling Federation, Rockstar Pro, Smash Mouth Pro, CZW, and Strong Style Wrestling. He had his first match with Chase Owens, going 30 minutes with the Bullet Club member and getting raves from there fans. He also participated in a War Games, teaming with Suge D and Billy Gunn. “Was loving it for the little kid in me,” he says. “Who’d thought I would come out to DX music with a DX member one day.”

I had originally intended to share these stories, and this blog, last week, but it’s fortuitous that I delayed. Last night, Shane added another memorable night to his already impressive career. He had his debut match for OVW in Louisville at the Saturday Night Special.

Let me amend that: he had his debut match at OVW at the Saturday Night Special on the night Road Warrior Animal and Mick Foley were in attendance.

OVW official describes Mercer as a guy who is just waiting for the right person to spot him and elevate him. He is, pound for pound, one of the most powerful guys in the indies. He’s charismatic and explosive, and it may not be too long before someone does see him and give him a much bigger shot.

Mercer, meanwhile, is focused on Friday night and his opponent, Adrian Armour. “I have never locked up with Adrian Armour but have seen great work from him. Most of the first round matchups are pretty big but I feel like people are not thinking much into ours. Time to change that come the tournament.”

Mercer was a part of of the first PWF Primus tournament years ago, and he considers that experience to he his advantage. He fully intends to leave fans breathless, just as he did at Davis Arena last night. “I want this to be a night people will be bringing up years down the line. The championship is decided on this night, so it’s up to us to set the bar for what this championship means.”

PWF: The Primus takes place Friday night, September 9, at the Arena in Jeffersonville. Visit the event page on Facebook for information and tickets.

Posted on by

Black Friday for Wrestling Fans Part 3 – Pro Wrestling Tees

Pro Wrestling Tees is one of the best places online to support independent wrestling, featuring exclusive merchandise from Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, the Road Warriors, Scott Hall, Vader, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, and CM Punk. You can also show your love for independent stars like Madman Pondo, Crazy Mary Dobson, Colt Cabana, Chris Hero, The Young Bucks, and many more.

If you’ve got an indy wrestling fan on your list, Pro Wrestling Tees has a huge Black Friday offer beginning tomorrow. Save 20% on everything when you use the promo code BLACKFRIDAY, and if you spend over $100 you get an exclusive Andre the Giant T-shirt.

hVkjsmbw.jpg-large