The Wrestlemania Thread - 'It's Real Damn It!'

[Susan Foreman]

Sumo And Professional Wrestling Legend Akebono Dead At 54 / Wrestling Inc

He had a short stint with the WWE in 2005, including a high-profile match against The Big Show at WrestleMania 21

[MrBarlow]

Dark Side Of The Ring: Chris Colt: Welcome To My Nightmare.

Charles Fay Harris grew up in Seattle with a unstable family life decided to head to the world of wrestling as a wild man, who wanted to do more drugs than anyone, have sex with multiple partners and entertain his audience. Behind the curtain Chris had his own personnel problems when the wrestling world doesn't work out and his drug habits take their toll and eventually his death 1995.

I have never seen Chris Colt wrestle and from what was said in this episode he certainly is regarded as a legend in the wrestling business and his nephew finding a scrap book that was to be Colt's memoirs to his personnel life that certainly would be a interesting read.

Contributions from Ty Haggard (Nephew), Rhonda Rondeau (Niece), James Cornette, Tom Burke, Bill Anderson, Princess Victoria, Jack Frischter.


Dark Side Of The Ring: Chris Adams: The Gentleman ANd The Demon.

Former British Judo champion Chris Adams leaves the sport he loved to pursue a career in wrestling starting with WCCW in Texas and his popularity arises, becoming a father, being on the road and having to persona's that can be described as Jekyll and Hyde. With his ex girlfriend being brought in and starting a feud with Steve Austin that helped his career and then a incident that resulted in his limelight disappearing. He was given a chance to be with WCW which he became a jobber and his life cut short in 2001.

I had no idea that Chris Adams was on Saturday afternoon wrestling with Big Daddy or was that before my time, I remember his short stint in WCW and how he always got beat and his teaming up with Gino Hernandez from a previous episode, but the lifestyle he had and how he acted i'm surprised nobody killed him before hand.

Contributions from Jade Adams (Daughter). Chris Adams Jr (Son), Neil Adams (Brother), Kevin Von Erich, Iceman King Parsons, Jeanne Clarke (ex girlfriend). James Beard, Tom Lance, David Manning, Brent Parnell.


Next episode is about Sensational Sherri.

[MrBarlow]

Dark Side Of The Ring: Sensational Sherri.

Sherri Martel became one the most iconic female wrestlers who was trained by The Fabulous Moolah and Grizzly Smith, and became a champion. In the late 80s Vince decided the female wrestlers weren't going anywhere and dropped them and kept Sherri to be a manager for Macho King, Ted Dibiase, Shawn Michaels until her drug addiction became a problem and then left. She went to WCW as a manager to Harlem Heat and was fired from the company. In 2006 she became the second female to be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame, in 2007 Sherri passed away aged 49 due to a accidental overdose.

There was a few things in this I didn't know about, I knew about the addiction but never knew how bad and her relationship with a wrestler when she was 17 years old and the two people that trained her. Her promos as a manager were always memorable with the way she spoke and her outfits that almost left nothing to the imagination.

Contributions from Leroy Gonzales (ex husband), Jarred Gonzales (son), Pat Gonzales, Kathy Fitzpatrick (friend), Robin Smith (Rockin Robin), Jake Roberts, James Cornette, Eric Bischoff, Deborah Miceli (Madusa/Alundra Blaze).

Next Episode Enter The Sandman: Legacy Of A Hardcore Icon.

[Susan Foreman]

The Backlash: France Pay Per View has just been held. Because it was a European one, it started at a reasonable time (5:30pm) instead of some god-awful hour after midnight. The results were:

SPOILER:

• First up was a Tag Team match which pitted Kevin Owens and Randy Orton against The Bloodline (Solo Sikoa and Tama Tonga). However, the match started before all four men got into the ring, which resulted in SmackDown General manager Nick Aldis declaring it to be a Tag Team Street Fight. It ended when Solo Sikoa [aided by a debuting Tomga Loa] hit Kevin Owens with a Samoan Spike to gain the win for The Bloodline
• This was followed by a Triple threat match for the WWE Women's Championship which ended when Bayley defeated Naomi (via pinfall) and Tiffany Stratton to retain the title
• The third fight was a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship where Damian Priest retained the title by defeating Jey Uso by pinfall
• The penultimate match was a Tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship where Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill defeated The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane) to gain the title
• The main event of the evening was a Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship which saw Cody Rhodes defeat AJ Styles to retain the belt

The next scheduled PPV will be the 11th time the WWE has appeared in Saudi Arabia. It is due to be the 'King And Queen Of The Ring' on May 25th - the first 'King' event since 2015 and the first time the 'queen' has been contested

[Susan Foreman]

Rey Mysterio as Freddie Kruger in 'Freddie Vs. Jason' (2003)

It's true. (As Kurt would say...It's damn true!)

Rey-Rey worked as a stunt double in the film, appearing as Freddie during the boiler room dream sequences where the character gains athletic skills and jumps off some metal pipes

He's easy to spot - it's where Freddie suddenly shrinks about 18 inches in height !!

[MrBarlow]

Dark Side Of The ring: Enter Sandman: Legacy Of A Hardcore Icon.

James Fullington best known as Sandman came to ECW when Tod Gordon founded the company Eastern Championship Wrestling as a surfer gimmick. When Paul Heyman took over the company and called it Extreme Championship Wrestling all bets were off with the company and Sandman changed his gimmick, with his family joining the company and a feud with Raven created controversy, to the battle of pills and near death and his short stint in WWE.

If you have never seen Sandman in the ring then you don't know what you are missing, he was tall but never a big built guy who did and didn't wrestle in the ring but certainly knew how to make you bleed, he was never really taking seriously by WCW or WWE and basically used him as a jobber.

Contributions by Lori Strzelecki (Ex Wife), Kelly Fullington (daughter), Tyler Fullington (son), Raven, Tod Gordon, Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Bill "Fonzi" Alfonso, Nick Patrick.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

Dark Side Of The ring: Enter Sandman: Legacy Of A Hardcore Icon.

If you have never seen Sandman in the ring then you don't know what you are missing, he was tall but never a big built guy who did and didn't wrestle in the ring but certainly knew how to make you bleed, he was never really taking seriously by WCW or WWE and basically used him as a jobber.

He would be bleeding before he actually got into the ring and the bell had rung to start the match !

[MrBarlow]

Dark Side Of The Ring: Black Saturday: The Rise Of Vince.

After purchasing WWF, Vince Jr wanted more air time and went after Georgia Championship Wrestling Time slot that sparked a wrestling feud between Vince and Ole Anderson that lasted a year and Vince lost the battle and then created his yearly event Wrestlemania that may or may not have worked.

Vince Sr had a great relationship with other wrestling promoters and territories and admired their work and broadcasting till Junior took control and wanted a monopoly fanfare of the wrestling business, buying up, taking on talent and releasing them while raking in the money but certainly created a lot of enemies in the process over the years.

Contributions from Dave Meltzer, Jim Cornette, Gerry Brisco, Nick Patrick, Bryant Rogowski (Ole Anderson son). Louise Cochran, Bob Roop, Bobby Simmons, Tommy "Wildfire" Rich.

[Susan Foreman]

The WWE has just been back to Saudi Arabia, where the 12th 'King Of The Ring' tournament was held. However, this years event also included the first ever ''Queen Of The King' tournament. The results were...

SPOILER:

• After a pre-show dark tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, where Bianca Belair & Jade Cargill defeated Candice LeRae & Indi Hartwell to retain the titles, the evening started proper with the Women's World Championship which ended when Liv Morgan scored a pinfall over Becky Lynch to win the title
• The next bout was a triple threat match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship where Sami Zayn defeated Bronson Reed with a pinfall to retain the title. Chad Gable was also involved in the match
• This was followed by the first ever Queen of the Ring tournament final which saw Nia Jax defeat Lyra Valkyria via pinfall to earn a shot at the SmackDown WWE Women's Championship at the SummerSlam PPV
• The penultimate fight of the evening was the King of the Ring tournament final which featured a controversial ending when Gunther was awarded a pinfall victory over Randy Orton to become King of the Ring. However, Orton's shoulder was clearly off the mat during the count to such an extent that commentator Corey Graves mentioned it. Either way, Gunther will now receive a shot at the RAW World Heavyweight Championship at the SummerSlam PPV
• The final match of the evening was a Singles match for the Undisputed WWE Championship which saw Cody defeat Logan Paul via pinfall to retain the title

The WWE is back in the UK with their first ever PPV to be held in Scotchland on June 15 - although 'Clash At The Castle' should have it's name changed because there is no castle at the Glasgow OVO Hydro!

I've just look at the ticket prices for this. Apparently you cannot get a ticky that is only for the PPV - you have to get one for the preceding evenings episode of SmackDown as well. Anyway, currently available prices start at UK$333.35 (for a single ticket) and go all the way to an eye-watering UK$2,106.80 (for a single ticket)!

[Susan Foreman]

The WWE has just returned to the UK for the 'Clash At The Castle' PPV - this time held in Scotland at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow

The results were...

SPOILER:

• The event began with the longest bout of the evening - over 27 minutes in length - which consisted of an 'I Quit Match' which ended when Cody Rhodes defeated a bloody AJ Styles. As Cody left the ring, he was attacked by The Bloodline, only to be saved by Randy Orton and Kevin Owens. Seems like a six-man tag is on the horizon, and it also seems like Solo Sikoa might be next up as an opponent for Cody.
• This was followed by a Triple threat tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship which saw The Unholy Union (Alba Fyre and Isla Dawn) defeating both Bianca Belair and Jade Cargill and also Shayna Baszler and Zoey Stark to gain the championship when Dawn gained the pinfall over Baszler
• The mid-way match was a Singles match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship which ended when Sammy Zayn defeated Chad Gable by pinfall
• The penultimate bout featured Bayley against Piper Niven in a Singles match for the WWE Women's Championship which saw Bayley retain the title
• The final fight was a Singles match for the World Heavyweight Championship. The rest of the Judgment Day were barred from ringside, but this didn't prevent Damian Priest beating Drew McIntyre by pinfall. CM Punk was involved in the bout, and cost McIntyre the win which has potentially set up a forthcoming feud

The next scheduled WWE PPV is due to be 'Money In The Bank', which will be held at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on July 6