Archives
January 2024
Categories |
Back to Blog
New Japan makes a New Title5/28/2017 Recently it was announced that in July the top company in Japan will be crowing the first ever NJPW United States Champion. This is the first time since the debut of the Never Openweight title that NJPW will be debuting a new singles title. The last new title that NJPW debuted was the Never Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Titles back in October of 2015.
The debut of the United States title actually is lining up with New Japan's shows in Long Beach this summer. Currently, the plan is that a Round Robin Tournament will be held at the G1 Climax special in the USA. In my opinion, this seems like a step in the direction of expansion for the company. I think that if the shows this summer are successful then this could open the door for New Japan possibly running more shows in the states and become more of a international company rather than national company. With a successful run this summer this could be the start of something very interesting for the wrestling scene in the United States.
0 Comments
Read More
Back to Blog
Shoot of the Week: Shawn Michaels5/26/2017 I find it to be a rarity for some talent to actually get behind the camera to do a shoot and one of those names is Shawn Michaels. It is very rare that Shawn does interviews and it's no surprise that he chose to do one with one of his former co-workers in Vince Russo. With the other post today also having to do with Michaels think of this as Shawn Michaels Day. The reason I chose this video is because I don't remember the last time I actually saw a shoot from the Heartbreak Kid and I thought it would be a good one to share with all of you. It could also give insight into some of the happenings in the WWE during the middle 1990's as who else could tell a better story then the top guy and head writer of the era.
Back to Blog
Billy Corgan Buys the NWA Part 15/24/2017 Even though at this point most of you are well aware of the shocking news that the National Wrestling Alliance has been sold. The former front man of the Smashing Pumpkins Billy Corgan has finally found his way into the wrestling business as the new owner of the NWA. For almost 20 years rumors have been around about Corgan joining the wrestling business as he has always been a very big fan of the profession. Though this isn't his first jump into the business it is a lot bigger then his first venture.
Billy began his tenure in wrestling when he along with two partners founded the wrestling company known as Resistance Pro-Wrestling. Though at this point RPW seems like a thing of the past and that the company didn't really branch out of it's home state of Chicago it really only was small glimpse of what Corgan can do in the wrestling business. Last year, the never ending circus act that was TNA Wrestling became extremely complicated specifically last fall. I believe it was back in late 2015 when Corgan would join TNA Wrestling as a management member of the team and complications were there from the start as we would find out when Corgan filed a suit against Dixie following his departure from TNA. According to, former Impact Wrestling stars if Corgan had been able to buy the company then the company would be a lot better position now then it is in. Just a little small taste what Billy brought to the table in TNA was connection in the music industry and being instrumental in the development of the most successful gimmick in TNA at the time. Now if your one to ask what we can expect from Corgan as the new owner of the NWA, well I can't answer that question because I'm not sure. But what I can say is that this is a good thing, because we never really got to see what Billy could bring to the table on his own and it's pretty clear that either way this will only make the National Wrestling Alliance stronger.
Back to Blog
This Day in Wrestling History: 5/22/175/22/2017 Wrestling gives us both great memories and memories we try and forget, but with the amount of moments worth remembering that have happened we are bound to forget some. The same could be said about some talent that were very much underrated during their career or never at the top of a company during a run this unfortunately makes it easier for fans to forget certain talent. I would like to wish a very big Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating their special day today and especially to the one featured below.
Back to Blog
Now Trending: Indie Wrestling "Diving"5/19/2017 Recently, the internet wrestling world has been talking a lot about the idea of "diving" and it has hit all walks of the wrestling community from retired wrestlers to active wrestlers to. Everyone has had thoughts on this topic including top stars like Bubba Ray and Randy Orton and Indy stars like Ricochet. Now I don't think there is a right side or a wrong side in this argument but what do know is that wrestling fans and talent alike are very opinioned and don't usually like it when people have a difference in opinion. In all honesty I do have to agree with the idea that all Indy wrestling matches are the same or are too similar to each other which prevents anyone from really standing out. My way of thinking is that not every match needs to receive a "This is Awesome" chant from the crowd and have a lot of false finishes, because then that becomes the expectation. A match between two lower card guys shouldn't be able to be looked at in the same light as a main event match because Main eventers should be more capable to put together a better match. Seeing a logical and well put together match is better than hearing "This is Awesome" for every match on the show. I mean I maybe old school in the idea that wrestling should have logic and psychology in every match over just looking for high spots all the time to make the people's jaws drop as every match shouldn't have that. Formatting the show should also include telling the talent especially the newer guys/gals that the point of being in the ring is for someone to get over and not for both of them to. However, the WWE is guilty of this too as they have become very formulaic in their big matches which have damaged the idea of a finisher and almost eliminated the aspect of believability. Yes! The WWE does make a crap load of money on shows, but that doesn't mean they aren't just as guilty as those on the indies. It doesn't matter if it's knowing that you'll see the same big spots or expecting at least two false finishes to be off finishers the WWE has become formulaic which also has made a lot of their matches the same. In the end, wrestling as a whole has become very cookie cutter and formulaic which is the opposite of how it used to be even back in the "Era of Attitude" it wasn't this general. Not allowing talent to be different and unique in character and in the ring makes it even harder for talent to stick out and get noticed. It's like the great Arn Anderson said "If everyone is yelling then you talk" basically being different in wrestling is what gets you noticed and attention from the fans and promoters.
Back to Blog
Wrestling Changes5/17/2017 Over the course of wrestling history many philosophies have changed and many of these change were attributed to the idea that everything evolves. The idea that everything evolves or changes has worked to perfectly describe the happenings within the wrestling business for the last 100 years. However thus far in the century the same philosophy or idea that has worked for so many decades previously seems to have hit a wall. The ratings are down, buy rates plummeting, and overall popularity just keeps finding way to moving back to the underground.
Many people thought that wrestling would never become so unpopular or so culturally irrelevant again after the tremendous success the sport endured in the late 1990’s along with a popularity spike. However, everything changes or evolves and sometimes not for the better as wrestling is one of the only sports in which more people used to watch it then do now. Various wrestling personalities have stated that fans normally phrase things either in the past tense when referring to their favorite moments normally because they don’t watch anymore. Now I don’t feel as though the PG switch is too blame for the downswing in popularity as much as ignorance by promoters who somehow managed to believe that anyone can either run a wrestling company or book a wrestling company is to blame. I’m not going to be like everyone else and just say that the writers are too blame or one name in particular is to blame, because in doing that not only would I be hypocritical, but also I would be displaying extreme ignorance. This series will take you on a ride down memory lane and hopefully teach you some new details of the past and what has made the present so different.
Back to Blog
This Day in Wrestling History: 5/14/175/14/2017 Wrestling gives us both great memories and memories we try and forget, but with the amount of moments worth remembering that have happened we are bound to forget some. The same could be said about some talent that were very much underrated during their career or never at the top of a company during a run this unfortunately makes it easier for fans to forget certain talent. I would like to wish a very big Happy Birthday to all who are celebrating their special day today and especially to the one featured below.
Back to Blog
Question Time with TSC Magazine5/10/2017 Trying something new with this test run for a possible new series. Recently I got in contact with a magazine and we became promotional partners. I am always trying to find new ways to interact with you guys and gals because interacting with you all is only half the fun. So enjoy this Question and Answer with Faizan from The Squared Circle Magazine. Due to the depth of the answers this will be a two part Q n A with this being part 1.
For the readers who may not know who you are why not give a little background of who you are & how you got into being a fan of wrestling? FS: Hello! I'm MD. Faizan Shaikh, The Editor of The Squared Circle Magazine. TSC is based in India & we have created a Global Product which is distributed to more than 800 Heads Worldwide Including majority in States & Canada. Being a Pro Wrestling Fan was just an excitement for me to know more & more about it. The Bitter Fact Is that it was not a passion at first when I started watching at 16. Now many People & specially teens in US are crazy about this sport but That's not the same situation in India. I was a Simple child Born & brought up in Slums and was not so into western sports but due to education purpose I met These 'Riche Richs' & I had nothing to converse with them because of different lifestyles. But then I saw that they always talked about WWE, so I started Watching & On the First day after watching it when I came to college I described The wrestlers like... Hahaha.... the Guy with a Beard( Daniel Bryan ).....this still makes me laugh badly....then Mistakenly I described Ambrose as a red head. Thats How Bad was My start watching it! When you were growing up were you a wrestling fan or no and if not where you aware of it? If you were do you have a moment that made you become a fan or was it just not one aspect in particular? FS: When I was 5. I was Residing In Sweree, My Neighbors were Foreigners from Gulf Countries. They Were Guys who left Their Country & Family To Earn Some Bucks Here. They Missed Their Children & That's Why Often took me & other Childrens to their house. They First Introduce Me To Pro Wrestling In the Year 2000 or 2001. I don't Recall if they Ever Saw WCW But I can Surely Say they Saw WWF. I was a Big fan Of The Rock at that Time but he was Like a Superhero & Not a Wrestlers To me. Then after I shifted from Sewree to Goregoan When I was 8 years I Stopped Watching it. And Never Heard Of it till meeting My college Friends. when I Started Pro Wrestling Again It was During Hell In a Cell 2013 And I searched Some Matches of the Rock which Included Rock vs Cena. After Years of Hiatus, I was a Rock bandwagon Again! Did you ever look into breaking into the in-ring side of the business or do you think your skills are better off behind the camera? FS: Every Wrestling Fan Dreams To Be a Wrestler. That's a known Fact! I also wanted to be an in ring performer. I think I got the skills & I'm not just talking I'm Damn Sure About it. The Fact Is I never had enough funds to finance that. I tried to go to CWE the Only Indian Wrestling Academy /school but......quited The Idea because of my family's financial condition. though we never had enough Finance with Us My Parents Never Gave up on My & My Sister's Studies . I'm a Bachelor of Management Study Student & A Seminar In my college gave Me motivation to start pursuing My dreams Early for Early gains. The Hip Hop Preacher , Eric Thomas's Words " Turn Your Passion Into Your Profits" is something I dedicated My life to & Here I am now, Living my dreams with my own magazine!
Back to Blog
Update on Injured NJPW Star5/6/2017 Back in early March, NJPW star Tomoaki Honma had to be stretchered from the ring during a show in Okinawa after a spot during a 6 man tag match left him unable to move. Though at first reports were very vague and really didn't give much detail most of us knew that it was going to be bad. The was to the C-3 and C-4 vertebrae in his neck, and after some tension where it wasn't clear what his future exactly was, at this point Honma has began to talk again and is moving his extremities once again.
One would think this is awesome news and really enough to be happy with, but that's not all as Honma has reached another milestone. For the first time since the incident he's already standing on his own. This following surgery and physical therapy of course but still this is an extremely positive sign for the veteran. At this point I would like to wish Tomoaki Honma continued success as he moves to becoming 100% once again and continues on his long road back to the ring.
Back to Blog
Announcer's Can Make the Show5/2/2017 Think back to the best wrestling announcer you have ever heard calling a match can you remember his name? I can probably guess that the name of the announcer is either Jim Ross, Gordon Solie, Lance Russell, Heenan, Styles, Ventura, etc. These people were good at their jobs not because they screamed and cheered when something big happened, but because they knew exactly how to put the talent over and make them seem like they are worth a million bucks or worth nothing depending on if the wrestler was a face or heel. Think about it of these announcers how many times did you hear the background of the talent and the fact that it included in most cases some sort of college sport mostly football. Now think about if you felt any emotions when you found out that you went/are attending: Kent State University like Dolph Ziggler or Florida State University like Ron Simmons or University of Oklahoma like Jack Briscoe the list goes on and on with names of known talent that attended a variety of colleges all over the country. Does having this knowledge help you develop extra attachment or emotional investment in the talent? Now my question is how many of you knew this?
Over the years the wrestling announcer has either been a strength or weakness for the wrestling show. Most people go back to how much of a success and a great addition that Jim Ross was for WCW/Jim Crockett Promotions, and how then a lot of people go to how Michael Cole isn’t the best wrestling announcer. Most modern fans don’t know of the past, because a lot of current fans are either causal fans or just too young to know about history. But if you went back to the year 2000 the “original Michael Cole” was the announcer every Monday Night on Nitro. That is correct Tony Schivone in many ways is the original Michael Cole because much like Cole, Tony has his good night but also had his really bad nights and also seemed to be more fit to be a sports entertainment/WWE over an announcer for company that valued wrestling. The importance announcer has to a wrestling show is very hard to explain especially to someone who is unwilling to believe the announcer is just as important as the wrestlers. Every so often business just comes to almost a standstill or halt sort of and changes are needed to give the product new life. This happened with WWE as they have been making changes to the announce team on and off since January of 2015. The most recent changes came when they added “newbie” Mauro Ranallo to the Smackdown announce team when Smackdown debuted on USA Network in early January. Also since Jerry Lawler turned heel they also changed the PPV announce team having Byron Saxton replace Jerry thus not having two heels on one team. Speaking of changing things TNA also changed their announce team last year adding D’ Angelo Dinero to the team with Josh Mathews replacing long time announcer Mike Tenay. Changing the broadcast team could give the programming a fresh look and sound and make the fans think they are watching a different show. WWE did it for Smackdown when it moved from SY-FY to USA and TNA did it after a few months of being on Destination America, but WCW didn’t; that alone should tell you one of many problems that the company had in its later years as that couldn’t recognize that this needed to be fixed. Copyright Charleston Newspapers Apr 9, 2000 |