Looking at how wrestling heating up in modern times with the sellout drawn by the All In event set for Labor Day weekend. In many ways wrestling not only goes through periods of prosperity it also has periods of extreme weakness much like it had during the mid 1990's. However, things begin to change September 1995 when the WCW debuted a brand new Primetime show called Nitro which would go head to head with Monday Night Raw. Things wouldn't pick up right away though as it was business as usual until May 1996 when things would really begin to change and all it took was one challenge. Now don't get me wrong most fans don't know that match between The Mauler & Steve Doll was actually a historic moment in wrestling because it was during that match when Scott Hall made his return to WCW. 

The story is known that the NWO angle was something Eric Bischoff came up with after seeing a similar story come together in Japan. The only thing that most people don't under is that even though Eric came up with the idea is that he needed the right people to make it work and things just came together incredibly. Though his first run with the company didn't go very well and that is really understatement to be fair, but this time around it was very different. Following his departure the first time he headed to the WWF and would tap into the gimmick he would be famous for as Razor Ramon and this would actually be one of the reason his return would be so important. 

One promo, One challenge, One moment changed everything and gave the wrestling world a spring board moment. The spring board moment in question started with four little words "You Want a War?" and that changed everything. Over the course of the next few weeks we will be looking back at the beginning of the Monday Night Wars. 

As a way to continue the conversation about women's wrestling from where we left off yesterday with Judy Grable we land here. Now for those fans who weren't watching or just don't remember women's wrestling sort of tailed off a tad during the Attitude Era in the WWE and it never really got going in WCW. Though to the WCW's credit they did try and do the same thing WWE had done with their women's division and that is building it around Madusa much like WWE had done for years prior. 

If I told you that the women of today have not only changed their perception among of how good a women's wrestling much could be but also much like their male counter parts they have more talent then those from the past. Now to narrow it down and to avoid making anyone angry with me I will point out that I mean those stars of today have been given more opportunities then those who came before them which speaks to perception changing. However, I also think that the main thing that has changed is the current crop of women's wrestlers have had many more opportunities to get over and succeed at a higher level then those before them. 

This is not to say that those who were active in the past didn't deserve more opportunities or have the skills to put together some of the borderline five star matches we've seen in recent years. In reality this just shows how much wrestling has evolved in recent years from where were back in the 1990's.  

It is hard to put into words the impact that certain talent had on the wrestling business and the legacy they have left behind. One of the most difficult names to explain the impact they had on the wrestling business is Eddie Graham. The main cog in the Florida wrestling machine who lead the way for many of wrestling greats getting into the business and or learning about the backstage work. Starting with the talent who got started in Florida with Eddie having a major part in their careers the names include Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan, Jack Briscoe, Barry Windham, Lex Luger, and a variety of others.

As I mentioned Eddie also played a part in teaching some of wrestling's top bookers like Kevin Sullivan, JJ Dillon, and Dusty Rhodes; and it doesn't stop their as the line keeps going with Sullivan teaching Paul Heyman then Heyman teaching Gabe Sapolsky. Keeping it going Dusty had his protégés as well with one of them being Triple H and look no further then NXT to see Dusty's influence on Hunter.

​For this reason it is very difficult to explain the impact that Eddie had in wrestling but it is also the reason the NWA went onto honor him following his passing. Though I could point out the lackluster card and the odd fact that Dory Funk Jr competed in two matches on this show back to back mind you that isn't the point. The point of this show was to remember one of the smartest minds in history of wrestling. Just to share a useless fact one thing that Eddie would always make sure is that he would make sure to mention why his top star wasn't on the show normally this would be done for the World Champion to explain his absence. Imagine if the WWE did this every week that Brock Lesnar wasn't on the show they would need a lot of excuses.   

NWA Eddie Graham Memorial Show 

Bob Armstrong & Brad Armstrong def. (pin) Basher & Spike
Steve Armstrong & Tracy Smothers def. (pin) Krusher Kruschev & Ron Bass
Jimmy Garvin def. (pin) Teijho Khan
Mike Graham def. (DQ) Dory Funk, Jr.
Barry Windham & Ed Gantner def. (pin) Dory Funk, Jr. & The Tahitian Prince
Mike Rotunda (c) def. (DQ) Kevin Sullivan NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
Animal (c) & Hawk (c) def. (DQ) Manny Fernandez & Rick Rude NWA Tag Team Titles
Dusty Rhodes def. (DQ) Ric Flair (c) NWA World Heavyweight Title

As always 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. ​

In the Spring of 2001 when the WWE purchased WCW from Turner Broadcasting it took a long time for all former stars to show up in WWE due to the long and hefty contracts being in place for top stars. Though names like Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Scott Steiner, and Kevin Nash would show up in WWE by the fall of 2002 there were still some wholes needed to be filled. Following WrestleMania 19 and the departure of Steve Austin one of the WCW's biggest stars would finally debut for the company. During the Monday Night Wars the WCW missed the boat with a number of stars, but did hit it huge with former NFL player Bill Goldberg. 

​Many fans were both surprised and excited to see "Da Man" arrive in the WWE after such a gap of seeing him on television. The only unfortunate side effect of his arrival was that Steve Austin had just retired and missed the opportunity to work with Goldberg in a feud. Though I will point out that his second run with the company was a lot better than his first it is hard to ignore the fact that this is his first match with the WWE. At this point The Rock was leaving for Hollywood and did the honors for Bill upon his arrival in the company, being honest though this match wasn't that good it was the start of a new era. 

​Looking at the card overall though it was a sign of the "Ruthless Aggression" era with some lackluster matches within the card but other average match there as well. This show also sticks out due to the fact that this was the second to last PPV ahead of the company making events brand exclusive starting with Bad Blood in June. It is also funny to see Brock Lesnar facing John Cena who was still very early on in his main roster run at this point especially if you look ahead to the futures both men will have. 

WWE Backlash 2003

​Charlie Haas (c) & Shelton Benjamin (c) def. (pin) Chavo Guerrero & Eddie Guerrero WWE Tag Team Championship
Scott Steiner def. (pin) Rico 
Sean O'Haire def. (pin) Rikishi
Kane (c) & Rob Van Dam (c) def. (pin) Bubba Ray Dudley & D-Von Dudley World Tag Team Titles (WWE)
Jazz def. (pin) Trish Stratus (c) WWE Women's Championship (original) (title change)
The Big Show def. (pin) Rey Mysterio
Brock Lesnar (c) def. (pin) John Cena WWE Championship
Chris Jericho & Ric Flair & Triple H def. (pin) Booker T. & Kevin Nash & Shawn Michaels 6-person tag
Goldberg def. (pin) The Rock

Though this might be known by everyone who is interest in the build to this event maybe I can fill someone in who hasn't heard anything about it. Apparently after months of speculation and wondering Cody, and the Young Bucks have found an arena for the All in event to be held on September 1st. Before this the last news worthy thing I heard was that they were narrowing things down between Chicago and California well they made their selection. On September 1st, 2018 the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois will play host to the event promoted by the Bullet Club. 

​For those who may not be aware the idea for this show came about last November when Dave Meltzer stated that he didn't believe ROH could draw 10,000 fans to an event. This drew the ire of then World Champion Cody Rhodes who defended the company and made it his mission to prove Meltzer wrong. Though it seems to have taken sometime to get the ball rolling things seem to be headed the right direction now with talent also starting to be announced for the show. Below is a list of talent set for the event so far according to 411mania.com: 

IWGP World Champion Kazuchika Okada                                    Stephen Amell     
Kenny Omega                                                                               Fenix & Pentagon Jr 
Cody                                                                                                 Joey Janela 
Adam Page & Marty Scrull                                                           Chelsea Green 
Young Bucks                                                                                  Penelope Ford 
​Tessa Blanchard ​                                                                          Deonna Purrazzo 

I don't do this a lot, but we move back to the same section two days in a row. I thought that addressing a pre-Hogan WCW event due to it's historical significance in wrestling. In April 1994 things were wearing thin between Mick Foley and WCW Management after constant disagrees over character development; and various other things that finally pushed Mick out the door. In hindsight this was a major loss for WCW as Mick would go onto become a legend of the wrestling business, but at the time wasn't really a hot commodity. The funny thing about the pre-Hogan WCW PPV's is that some were actually very underrated events like Spring Stampede 1994 for example. 

​One of the main reasons that Spring Stampede is underrated is due to the fact that this was one of if not Mick Foley's last appearance as a member of WCW. It is surprising to think that some fans don't know about Mick Foley's background in wrestling dating back to his time in various territories like World Class Championship Wrestling. Also Foley wouldn't be signed right away by WCW as at the time of his first appearance the company was on a talent freeze. According to Jim Cornette in various interviews it was an idea from the brains of both Jim Cornette & Jim Ross to have Mick appear as a job guy week to week and attack his partner. 

​Overall the man with many faces would've had a very different career had his creative disagreements with WCW management been settled. But bearing that in mind it is one of the most interesting parts of wrestling as it always lends to the idea "What if" being a very popular term in wrestling. After moving from WCW he would then become a regular with ECW and spend sometime with both SMW & in Japan. Following his infamous death match with Terry Funk over in Japan he would find his way up north back in the states becoming a member of WWE and the rest as they say is history.