Tuesday, December 27, 2011

2011 Year of CM Punk

This past year one performer clearly dominated the landscape of professional wrestling. CM Punk has always been a great performer and in 2011 it seems that the rest of the world caught on.

Despite taking over the Nexus and having a good series of matches with Randy Orton in the early part of the year, Punk's 2011 really kicked into high gear in June. It was revealed to the world that Punk's contract was coming to an end and he had not resigned with the WWF. This reported to not just be a story line but that the straight edged superstar was actually in contract negotiations for a long term deal.


During this stretch Punk kicked off some major wins against Alberto Del Rio and John Cena. After beating Rey Mysterio in a match that made him the number 1 contender for Cena's WWF title at Money In The Bank PPV. While he was on this stretch Punk kicked off some very well received promos. He was speaking on the state of the company and was echoing a lot sentiments that fans had expressing online. There was one promo at the end of Raw that had a lot fans wondering if WWF actually allowed him to do it. The speculation was that it was a shoot(real).

The Promo That Started It All
After the promo began the speculation that CM Punk may beat John Cena and leave the WWF with the title. Punk was successful in his quest and left his hometown of Chicago as the WWF Champion that was not signed.
While on his hiatus from actively competing in the WWF, Punk showed up at various events with the WWF title. Capped off by his epic appearance at the WWF Comic Con presentation.

CM Punk shows up at Comic Con
CM Punk returned to the WWF after they crowned a new champion. There was a tournament held that was won by Rey Mysterio whom then lost the belt the same night to John Cena. With Punk back on the scene there had to be a match to determine who was the real WWF Champion.


Summer Slam Contract Signing
After the Summer Slam match with Cena a feud was kicked off with CM Punk and COO Triple H. It involved Triple H and his best friend Kevin Nash. This feud shortly too Punk out of the title picture but kept him very relevant in the landscape of the WWF.

After going through the motions with Triple H that ended in a brutal last man standing match at Night of Champions, Punk set his sights back on the WWF title. Which he was able to regain from Alberto Del Rio.

The Straight Edged Superstar was able to maintain the belt for the remainder of 2011. His cutting edge promos throughout the year stayed on the pulse of the WWF Universe. He is able to do it by the simple that he is a wrestling fan himself. If you listen to his references he can quickly recap any moment of wrestling history. As we roll into 2012 we hope to see CM Punk to keep doing what he is doing.

The Latest Episode of Ring Time Podcast

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Hero Needs The Villian

While watching the a match between The Undertaker vs Hulk Hogan for the WWF title at Survivor Series 1991 it came to me that the most important element to creating a hero is a strong villain to oppose him. This concept not only applies to wrestling. In movies, comic books and video games there is no great hero without great opposition. Today's pro wrestling heros don't get over as much because there is not enough build up on the villains.

After watching Hogan in this match against Taker I realized how important they were too each other. The Undertaker needed a major hero to face off against and Hogan needed a larger than life villain that could possibly beat the unbeatable hero. This match was a big building block for the mystique of The Undertaker that helped kick his Hall of Fame career into high gear.


Hulk Hogan's career is largely based on the hero vs villain concept. For the early part of his career playing the conquering hero who did everything right against the forces of evil. From the inception of his push he was the strong American vs an Iranian bad guy in the Iron Sheik. From there he went on to face the largest athletes the WWF could provide such as Big John Stud and King Kong Bundy to put even a man big as Hogan in peril.

There were no enemies bigger than Andre The Giant the 8th Wonder of the world. He was facing a much larger athlete who was backed by the most cerebral manager in the world. This dynamic helped because it gave Hogan the usual impossible odds to face. Now for the most part of his career Andre was a face but to get over as a heel he brought in Bobby The Brain Heenan the most notorious heel manager of our time. Heenan was a constant thorn in Hogan's side through out his career and led many men in the ring to face him. The feuds where not as much about the wrestlers as it was the contempt Hogan and Heenan had for each other.


The Disgruntled Employee vs The Tyrant Boss

When it came to big time feuds in the history of professional wrestling is Stone Cold Steve Austin vs Vince McMahon. The hard working employee who is getting the screws stuck to him by his overbearing corporate boss. This is once again the easy concept to buy into. Most people in America are workers and have bosses at some level. We have all at one point have wanted to stick it to our boss is some way shape or form.

Fans tend to relate better to concepts that they easily understand. Since we were children the good fighting the bad has always worked. Since most of us identify ourselves as good we relate to cause of the hero. Even those of us who relate to the villain need to be able to find ourselves in that character.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Cool Stuff on The Internet 2




The Current WWF Champions
Circulating around the great web on Monday was a photo of the current WWF Champions. Through the magic of twitter by notably Kofi Kingston and CM Punk. Its a nice photo hopefully symbolic of the company's commitment to the future.

Classic Match - Doom vs Horsemen

A wild match between some wrestling legends. The team of Doom (Butch Reed and Ron Simmons) vs The Horsemen ( Ric Flair and Arn Anderson). Check it out...

The Latest Episode of The Cold Slither Podcas
t


Creative Has Nothing For You

The weekly series features Colt Cabana and Marty DeRosa as Colt attempts to talk to Creative (Marty) about new ways to help get his character over... Funny stuff

Ring Time Pro Wrestling - Recap of WWF TLC PPV

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Weekly DVD Suggestion - Wrestling With Shadows

This weeks suggestion an oldie but goodie. Hitman Hart Wrestling With Shadows chronicles the last year of Bret Hart with the WWF. The video walks you through a behind the scenes in the wrestling business. See as Bret Hart talks about his relationship with Vince McMahon and his emotions as he prepares to go to WCW. This video can be found on streaming Netflix and sometimes is air on A&E if you can catch it. Searching youtube or ordering a hard copy from Amazon.com

Montreal Screwjob
One thing that this DVD chronicles is the lead up to one of wrestlings biggest controversies. We actually get to see the behind the scenes events where Bret and Vince discuss how the match is supposed to end.

Clip from The Movie




Ring Time Pro Wrestling Podcast

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Old School Profile - Ole Anderson

When we talk about the 4 Horsemen and where it all started we have to give credit to Ole Anderson. The elder statesman of wrestling's premier faction.

Anderson actually was big part of adding credibility to the group before it was officially a faction. After watching a young Marty Lunde wrestle Ole thought the young man resembled him a little and would make a good Anderson. So the young Lunde was transformed into the man we all now know as The Enforcer Arn Anderson. When they wanted to help get a young man over in the Carolinas named Ric Flair he was billed a cousin of the Andersons.

The Minnesota native began his wrestling career in 1967 in Verne Gagne's AWA as Rock Rogowski. His birth name is Alan Robert Rogowski. He was trained by the legendary Gagne. During his time in the AWA he held AWA Midwest Heavyweight and the AWA Midwest Tag Team Titles.


Ole and Gene Anderson
After going to NWA territories like Jim Crockett and Georgia Championship Wrestling, Rogowski became an Anderson. He replaced Lars Anderson in the legendary Minnesota Wrecking Crew.

The team of Ole and Gene dominated tag team wrestling in the south in the late 60's and the 1970's. They had feuds with stars like Mr. Wrestling and Mr. Wrestling II, Wahoo McDaniel and The Briscoes.

Also during this time Ole started working behind the scenes as a booker. He booked for both Jim Crockett and Georgia Championship Wrestling. There was a time where he booked both promotions at the same time. During this time he would put together supercards with stars from both promotions. He then went on to take the job full time with GCW until The Briscoes sold their stake in the promotion to Vince McMahon.


Enter Arn Anderson
During April of 1985 Mid Atlantic Wrestling (Jim Crockett Promotions) and Championship Wrestling from Georgia essentially merged and Anderson was tagging with Thunderbolt Patterson. The enter a young man from Rome, GA named Marty Lunde. The story is that Ole took a liking to young wrestler and the rest is history and Marty became Arn Anderson.

As the newest incarnation of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew they had big shoes to fill. By most accounts Arn was just a capable replacement for Gene but helped take the legacy of the team to new heights. In 1986 The Andersons joined up with Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard to form the 4 Horsemen.

The most dominant and famous faction in the history of the sport. Ole's first run with the group lasted into 1987 when he was kicked out in favor of Lex Luger. Around that time he was retiring and taking time to watch is son Brian wrestle.

Ole came back to the business with World Championship Wrestling(WCW) in 1989 to reform the Four Horsemen with Flair, Arn and Sting. Sting was kicked out of the group after he would not relinquish a title shot again Flair that he earned. He then retired again to manage the Horsemen, that now included Barry Windham and Sid Vicious..

By 1990 Anderson had became head booker for WCW as they were transitioning away from the NWA. He came up with a few creative ideas during that time, the most notable being The Black Scorpion. Voiced by Anderson and performed by Flair he was a nemesis of then Heavyweight Champion Sting. Around 1991 when Bill Watts took control over WCW Anderson became a referee. In 1993 the company was taken over by Eric Bischoff whom released Anderson's son and then later fired Ole after there was some animosity between the two.

Ole has has stayed away from the business, but wrote a book on it called Inside Out. He is very critical of the abilities of his former follow Horseman Ric Flair by criticizing that Flair has wrestled the same match for years.

Ole Anderson Shoot Interview



Title History
AWA Midwest Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
AWA Midwest Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Ox Baker (1), and The Claw (1)
NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Garvin
NWA Florida Television Championship (1 time)
NWA Columbus Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (17 times) – with Gene Anderson (7), Ivan Koloff (5), Lars Anderson (2), Rene Goulet (1), Ernie Ladd (1), and Jerry Brisco (1)
NWA Georgia Television Championship (2 times)
NWA Macon Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gene Anderson
NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Thunderbolt Patterson (1)
NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (1 time) – with Gene Anderson
Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling / Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling
NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Gene Anderson
NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Gene Anderson
NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Arn Anderson
NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (8 times) – with Gene Anderson (7), and Stan Hansen (1)
WCW Hall of Fame (Class of 1994)

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Special Edition TLC Preview 12/15 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio


Special Edition TLC Preview 12/15 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio

As we continue our tradition PPV previews we breakdown the upcoming WWF TLC event. We will go match by match with predictions.

There will also be a breakdown on the history of the Tables, Ladders and Chairs concept.

Call In @ (323) 443-7451

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Daniel Bryan Is Back

In a previous post I speculated that the WWF could possibly not acknowledge the Money In The Bank win of Daniel Bryan. For a series of weeks the story line pounded Bryan into the ground again and again. Then almost taking him off the main television programs all together.

In recent weeks the WWF creative team has rediscovered the talents of one Daniel Bryan. The Money In The Bank briefcase has revived and we now can feel that he will actually successfully cash it in. Not sure where this is going but glad to see him being used in a good way. Bryan is one of the best wrestlers in the world and is definitely over with the fans of the WWF Universe. Let's just hope they keep this going.



Daniel Bryan vs Mark Henry for WWF Title

Friday, December 2, 2011

Things That Ring Time Likes


This week the Ring Time Crew has been busy on the internet. While out there we found some things that we wanted to share all of you.

Hey We got A Facebook Page
Link to Facebook Fan Page


Episode 1 of The Mid Card Mafia

In the spirit Z True Long Island Stories some more wrestlers have taken charge over their gimmicks and are increasing their cyber presence. WWF Superstars Tyler Reks, Curt Hawkins, Drew McIntyre and Tyson Kidd have created a youtube and twitter following that is starting to grow.


The Cold Slither Podcast Episode 9 - Piledriver


A special 3-HOUR edition of the Cold Slither Podcast!! We go back to the 1980s WWF, the Rock N Wrestling era, and discuss favorite pro wrestlers, favorite tag teams, favorite entrance themes, overrated and underrated pro wrestlers and the worst characters/gimmicks ever in pro wrestling.

Vince McMahon - Stand Back

Weekly DVD Suggestion - The Rise and Fall of ECW

During the late 1990s the world of professional wrestling was experiencing a revolution. We were in the middle of the Monday Night Wars and there was a 3rd company on the horizon making waves. Extreme Championship Wrestling better known as ECW put themselves on the national wrestling radar when 2 companies had dominated for so long.

The biggest impact that still can be felt by ECW is that they brought edge to the wrestling business. Before ECW the business strictly catered to the under 18 year old audience. The Philadelphia based promotion introduced the wrestling world to the young adult male audience who liked a little violence and sex appeal. We get to learn about the vision of long time wrestling veteran Paul Heyman. This DVD gives a great account of the story from beginning to the end of this promotion. You learn why Paul is considered to be a creative genius in the business.

The video also gives you some background on the performers and find out what they did behind the scenes to make this promotion spark. ECW was the first place that guys like to Chris Jericho and Lance Storm got to showcase their skills on a national level in the United State. We also get to see where guys like Mick Foley and Steve Austin sharpened their mic skills before jumping to the WWF.
The DVD gives you a look at ECW stars that you may not be too familiar with like Sabu, Stevie Richards and New Jack. Take some time and check it out.


A Sample from The Rise and Fall of ECW



The Latest Episode of Ring Time Pro Wrestling

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Old School Profile - Iron Sheik

The subject of today's old school profile is none other than The Iron Sheik. The Sheik is one of the most popular heels of all time. His birth name is Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri and prior to becoming a superstar professional wrestler he was a world class amateur competitor and was a bodyguard for Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi for his homeland of Iran.

Khosrow was member of the 1968 Olympic wrestling team that competed in the Mexico City games. After that he moved to the United States and was the assistant coach of two US Olympic teams in the 1970s. Most notably being an assistant on the 1972 Munich Olympic team.

Later in 1972 Khosrow received an invite from AWA owner and promoter Verne Gagne to train as a professional wrestler. Gagne loved to work guys who had strong amateur backgrounds. This was Gagne's first camp that was lead by legendary Billy Robinson and included Gagne's son Greg, Ken Patera, Jim Brunzell and a young unknown Ric Flair. During that time Sheik also helped train the other wrestlers most notably a young Ricky Steamboat.

Khosrow made is is professional debut later in 1972 and went of to perform as a babyface early on in his career. After a little coaching he quickly adopted the persona as a heel which he stayed with for the rest of his career. During this time he brought the Persian clubs, a sport in his native Iran, and challenged wrestlers to do as many swings as him. Being an Iranian bad guy caught on quick because of the of the Iranian revolution. He took on the name of The Great Hossein Arab and by 1979 caught the attention of the WWF where he moved to in 1979.
His first stint in the WWF only lasted for about a year, which was common in the territory days. During the 1980's he adopted the actual Iron Sheik name in the NWA territories. Which drew him a lot of real life heat because of the Iranian Hostage crisis that was going on. Despite the danger Sheik thrived with the character. He had memorable matches with the likes of Dusty Rhodes, Dick Murdoch, and Tommy Rich, and traded the National TV title with Ronny Garvin. Taking down his opponents with his signature "Camel Clutch" during this time.

In December of 1983 The Sheik returned to the WWF to challenge then Champion Bob Backlund who was in the middle of a 5 year title run. It was a return match that was won by Backlund in 1980. The Sheik won the title this time which set off major point in wrestling history. Four weeks later The Iron Sheik lost the title to the man now known as Hulk Hogan. This the start of Hulk's first title reign that lasted 4 years and kicked off the Wrestlemania era. The All American superstar taking out the Iranian villain was instant money in the beginning of the cable era of professional wrestling.
The legend has it that Sheik was offered 100,000 thousand dollars by Gagne to break Hogan's leg and bring the belt to the AWA. Which due to his background a lot people believe that he could have done it but The Sheik stated in many interviews that he is a Muslim and he would not bite the hand that fed him.

After facing Hogan he then had a feud with another American Icon Sgt Slaughter. Continuing the America vs Iran theme they fought in a series of matches that ultimately ended with Slaughter defeating him a Boot Camp Rules match. He then went on to have a successful international theme tag team run with Nikolai Volkoff from Russia. They were known as the Foreign Legion and faced teams like the US Express (Mike Rotunda and Barry Windham) whom they faced at the 1st Wrestlemania.

After this The Sheik had run a singles heel in the WWF until he was released due to an incident with him and Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He and Duggan were pulled over during a New Jersey traffic stop and it was discovered that Hacksaw was high on weed and Khosrow had been doing cocaine. This was troubling for the WWF because these two were on screen rivals when kayfabe was alive and should have not been seen hanging out together. At this time wrestling was still perceived to be real life and not revolve around storylines. Not to mention two prominent superstars to be known to be using illegal drugs was not helpful for the companies image.

He returned to the WWF shortly in 1988 but then left again. He then bounced around to various organizations based on his previous popularity. In 1989, there was a run in the NWA, where he feuded with Sting over the NWA World Television Championship. Due to some of his substance abuse troubles he did not stay in places a long time.

In the early 90s he returned to the WWF as Colonel Mustafa and Iraqi who helped back Sgt Slaughter who was doing a angle as an American traitor. Once again providing some real life heat on the performers. For most of the 1990's Sheik toured various indy promotions but was mostly unseen from the national spotlight.

In the 2000's The Sheik was seen in a lot of WWF special appearances such as gimmick battle royals and various legends segments. He has had some recent popularity appearing on national radio shows shooting on other legends like Hulk Hogan and Jim Brunzell.

Story about The Sheik




The Iron Sheik Title History
WWF World Heavyweight Champion
WWF World Tag Team Champion (with Nikolai Volkoff)
NWA Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion
NWA Canadian Tag Team Champion (with Texas Outlaw)
NWA PNW Tag Team Champion (with Bull Ramos)
NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
NWA Canadian Heavyweight Champion
CWA Heavyweight Champion
NWA National Television Champion
NWA Southern Heavyweight Champion\
Twin Wrestling Entertainment Champion

Friday, November 25, 2011

Just In Case You Missed Smackdown 11/25

The Smackdown show for the WWF lately has been the better of the 2 main stay programs of the company. Especially when we are talking from a wrestling standpoint. For those of you who can not catch it live there are a lot of online resources to catch the program. Of course youtube has everything and the actual company website post the shows in their entirety.

I decided to post this weeks episode with some notes and if you guys like I will do it every week.

Entire Smackdown Show from 11/25


-Check the crowd reaction to Daniel Bryan
-Did Teddy Long almost Turn himself heel
-Sheamus/ Ryder vs Team Vickie
-Dibiase backstory / set up for Jinder Mahal beef
-Cody vs Booker T has some promise
- Fatal 4 Way #1 Contenders match

Survivor Series Recap Episode


Keshia's Blog
http://justrightfullyspeakingout.blogspot.com/

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Matt Hardy Kicked Out of Rehab

So if you haven't heard the latest news on former WWE/TNA Superstar Matt Hardy. He has been kicked out of the WWE sponsored rehab program after failing a sobriety test. According to sources Hardy was given a breathalyzer after staff at the facility became suspicious. Due to this was court ordered after previous legal issues that he was having, Hardy was taken back to jail according to Moore County officials.

Hopefully Matt gets the help that he needs. Well beyond wrestling and entertainment this is about a person's life. I think all wrestling fans want to see him get better and not be part of the list of recent tragedies that we have seen in the business.


Check Out Keith on The latest Cold Slither Wrasslecast
http://coldslitherpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/11/22/csp-wrasslecast-1121-monday-night-raw-supershow-post-survivor-series-fall-out/

http://coldslitherpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/11/21/csp-wrasslecast-wwf-survivor-series-ppv-from-msg-1120-never-b4-never-again/

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Does anybody Still Read Wrestling Magazines

Still to this day whenever I pass by a grocery store magazine section I have to look for the wrestling magazines. So I wondered the other day, does anyone else still read the wrestling mags?

Due to all of the wrestling web pages and podcast like this one and others produced by professional outlets I would think that the demand has dropped a little. I on the other hand still am excited to see who is in the PWI Top 500.

A Little History
In today's day and age it maybe hard to image but those magazines were like the internet for fans in the territory days of the business.
Back in those days there were a lot of regional promotions that were very popular in their respective markets. The promoters respected each others boundaries and their television shows rarely crossed markets. So for a performer to build up a buzz in other areas, he or she had to get his or her name in the magazines. Also for the fans to know what was going outside of their area they read the magazines. If you lived in the New York area then you may not have seen too much Ric Flair in 1982 but if you saw him in 3 different publications then you knew he was a player. Unlike today's day and age the books also kept the kayfabe alive where today's publications may talk the sport in real terms.

In today's wrestling landscape it is s a little different but the magazines are still a good resource to find out whats going on in the independent organizations. You are able to familiarize yourself with names like Adam Pearce, Yamoto and Kenta Kobayashi through the magazines.

If you have stopped reading you might want to stop by and pick up a wrestling magazine sometimes to see whats inside...

TNA Turning Point Recap



Survivor Series Preview

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Remebering Eddie Guerrero


Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was born into one of the wrestling's most legendary families. Eddie was just not a Guerrero but became the Guerrero that would excite crowds all over the world. It has been 6 years from yesterday that we lost this wrestling legend. Like a lot of his peers his life ended tragically too short.

I am not going to go to deep into a Eddie bio but just share some of my thoughts and feelings. I have been a fan of his since his WCW days. In recent years and thanks to the internet I was able to see a lot of his ECW and Japan work. I admired that was part of a group of wrestlers who honed their craft around the world. Like his peers Jericho, Benoit and Mysterio he has wrestled in every possible place you can only enhancing his legacy along the way.

My most memorable time of watching Eddie was during the his time on Smackdown from 2003-2005. This is in my estimation the best period of Smackdown from a pure wrestling standpoint. From beginning to end of the 2 hours you would get top notch matches from a roster that had names like Brock Lensar, Kurt Angle, Edge, Rey Mysterio, Shelton Benjamin ect... Always at the top tier of that list was Eddie. He had all elements inside the ring and outside the ring down pact. He could not only give you a good match but could cut a good promo. He could be serious and or comical and you believed him every time regardless.

Away from the lights Guerrero encountered various substance abuse problems, including alcoholism and an addiction to painkillers. What gets lost in talking about his death was that was not a result of his passing. Eddie was beginning to make a turn for the better in his battle with substance abuse. An autopsy revealed that Guerrero died as a result of acute heart failure due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.


Los Guerreros vs Worlds Greatest Tag Team



Eddie DVD's
Cheating Death, Stealing Life — The Eddie Guerrero Story (DVD, 2004)
Viva La Raza: The Legacy of Eddie Guerrero (DVD 2008)


Friday, November 11, 2011

Legends of Wrestling Roundtable

One of my favorite series that the WWF produces is The Legends of Wrestling Roundtable. Most of these shows can be found on their 24/7 On Demand service that is offered through most cable providers. I have watched a lot of these on Youtube by simply searching "Legends of Wrestling Roundtable".

The series is special because the WWF very rarely lets people behind the scenes and have honest conversation. People like Jim Ross, Mick Foley, Ric Flair and Gene Okerland tell about where they were and how they felt about different moments in wrestling history.

Legends of Wrestling Giants



3 Favorite Legends of Wrestling
The Territories
Soul of Wrestling
Bad Asses

Turning Point Can Actually Be That for TNA

This Sunday TNA is presenting their Turning Point PPV. With the changes made on the creative staff and coming off their big Bound For Glory show we are now moving into the story lines that will drive the company for the rest of the year.


The Card As it Stands Now
TNA World Heavyweight Title Match
- Bobby Roode (c) vs. AJ Styles

TNA Tag Team Title Match
- Mexican America (c) vs. Ink Inc.

TNA Knockouts Title Match
- Velvet Sky (c) vs. Gail Kim

TNA X Division Title Match:
- Austin Aries (c) vs. Kid Kash vs. Jesse Sorensen

TNA Television Title Match:
- Eric Young vs. Robbie E

- Jeff Jarrett vs. Jeff Hardy

- Crimson vs. Matt Morgan

- Rob Van Dam vs. Christopher Daniels

- Bully Ray and Scott Steiner vs. Ken Anderson and Abyss


Latest Ring Time Podcast Previewing the PPV

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Shane Douglas still Hates Flair and Everybody Else

So "The Franchise" Shane Douglas and Ric Flair still can't stand each other. Well at least we know that's true for Shane. Not sure how much is work or shoot and trust with every wrestler there is always some work in there. We also find out that Mr. Douglas hates everything else and is a little delusional. If we see Shane in TNA anytime soon then we know what it is....

Shane Douglas appeared on Busted Open on Sirius Radio this week, discussing a number of topics, including the following highlights:
TNA Hardcore Justice: "They invited me, and offered such a ridiculously low sum of money, that I said “shove it up your backside." When I had wrestled Chris Daniels at the PPV up in Auburn Hills, between the 2 televisions and the PPV itself, I made close to $12,000 dollars for those 3 appearances. They offered me for the, a meet & greet. They wanted me to open the PPV with a “Cut the F’n Music” promo in the vein of ECW, and then they wanted me to work a match. So, basically two days of work, and they offered me an embarrassing amount of money. My comeback to Terry Taylor at the time was, “Look, if you pay Hulk Hogan $35 grand a night, and you pay Ric Flair $17,500 a night, and you have no problem paying that, clearly they must not have a problem with it because they had a chance 2 or 3 weeks ago to let their contracts expire, and they re-signed both, all 3 of them, Bischoff included, and I said in the world of ECW, in that world, I’m bigger than Hogan, and I’m bigger than Flair. So, we’ll talk in those ball parks,” and the number they offered me; I wouldn’t work for somebody in the independent scene for."

TNA's Dixie Carter: "For somebody who’s grown up in a billionaire’s household obviously with a silver and golden spoon up her backside, and in her mouth. To offer these guys the poultry amount of money, and she offered most of these guys an absurdly low sum of money. Shame on her! A, for the fact that it was the highest grossing PPV they had last year; She offered them nothing additional, and offered them such a low sum of money, it seemed funny to me for the woman who told me, “Why would I want to copy ECW after all they’ve failed,” and suddenly she’s begging the ECW alumni to come back and try to dig them out of their hole. I was gonna’ have no part of it. I wanted no part of..I’m very selective in where I allow the ECW legacy to be used, taken advantage of, and I’m not going to let somebody like Dixie Carter who has no respect for our business, and no, more to the point, no respect for the guys that built that company, and that’s evident in the pay that she gave. I have no interest in giving her any props or ups, or any under-handed pitches to allow her to prostitute the ECW legacy for her gain, as the guys don’t make a thing. My intent, clearly I wanted to send Dixie the message that I have no interest in allowing her to capitalize on what we had built, and she has no respect for. And I spoke to most of the guys afterwards, either immediately or afterwards at shows down the road. My intent was not to in anyway, undermine their ability for that show to succeed. And I have no interest in trying to make TNA destabilize. To the contrary, I see incredible possibility for TNA. Last year when they did, if it’s a misnomer, The Monday Night Wars; My 5-year-old was watching it, and so to keep myself entertained, I just sorta scribbled some notes to myself, and after 5 or 6 weeks, I had 27 pages of hand-written notes. I then wrote up in format form, Television format form that Dixie or anybody in TNA would be familiar with; I had 41 pages of single-spaced segments, and it was 41 pages, and I was gonna’ fax it to her free of, I wasn’t gonna’ ask for a dime. I didn’t want a job; I just wanted her to see what vision somebody else could have for her talent, her company, and the future of that company. I couldn’t even get the woman to call me back (And that’s amazing to me for a person in wrestling that has spent the 10’s and dozens of millions of dollars of her gas money, and her dad’s company’s money; For the poultry return that they’ve gotten on that, they she wouldn’t want to at least take a look..She could read it, and call me up afterwards, and laugh in my face, and say, “I think that’s the biggest pile of garbage I ever read,” but to not even return the call seems to me that their there to show you that Dixie Carter clearly is not the person to be running TNA."

Ric Flair: "Ric was the reason I got into the business. I idolized him, and when I met him, he fell so far short of my expectations. Not as a wrestler, but as a man. Embarrassing the things that I’ve watched him do, pulling out his privates in front of children, in a bar full of children. Running up and down hallways naked. Things that to me, and just as a man, I don’t equivocate with being a man or a champion of a company, and the politics between us, and that I’ve watched him to do hold down all the young talent that came up. Look, no one was going to take Ric Flair’s spot. He’s The Nature Boy, Ric Flair! He’s an icon, but he was so worried looking over his shoulder at young guys coming up the ladder, you know, that I think if I tried from his career in later years, and I for one called him on it. For better or for worse, and then..and there’s been a lot of worse to it. I speak my mind, but nobody can come back and say, “You’re a liar, or you twisted the truth,” or whatever. These are the things that I witnessed and I watched, and to me, it’s all part and partial. ..You know wrestling didn’t come to this bad bottom point by accident or by one or 2 accidents. It’s been a quilt of bad decisions, and bad moves, and tough breaks, and whatever else. And when I met Ric Flair as a young guy coming up that ladder with stars in my eyes. I mean, I was a young, green..greener than goose crap kid coming up, and when I met him, I was so enthralled. Nature Boy Ric Flair, the greatest wrestler in the history of our business, and then sat back night after night, week after week, month after month , watching him act like a total jerk, and treat people like a total jerk. It didn’t work for me. It was like meeting your hero, and suddenly finding out he’s an idiot or a jerk, and then..for all those things. And I called him on it. I called him on it, and I guess he didn’t like it. Oh well! You know you got 2 choices, shut up or put your fists up, and he chose not to do the latter."


Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Big TNA and OVW News


Just in case you haven't followed the Facebook or Twitter of TNA or Ohio Valley Wrestling then you may have missed the big news. OVW has been named the official training territory for TNA. If you have read a past "Indy Report" then you know that they were once the training territory for the WWE.

OVW has been a spot where names like Beth Phoenix, Shelton Benjamin and CM Punk have honed their craft.
Their alumni roster is a who's who of major wrestling talent. This is exciting news for an organization like TNA who already has some very talented in ring performers. This kind of move shows that they are serious about competing in the professional wrestling business.

The Latest Episode of Ring Time Pro Wrestling

Weekly DVD Suggestion - Beyond The Mat

This weeks selection is a little old but still a great watch for any wrestling fan. Especially if you are interested of the inner workings of the business and how what goes on in the ring really effects the wrestlers.

The 1999 documentary was directed by by Barry W. Blaustein and mostly follows the lives of Mick Foley(ManKind), Jake Roberts and Terry Funk. The 3 at very different stages of their career. There is Mick who is at the height of his career and competing for WWF titles, then there is Funk who is pondering retirement and then you have Roberts who is living the Mickey Rouke(The Wreslter)life. Also Blaustein has a sitdown with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon in a non WWF produced interview. Something that you probably won't see much of anymore.

You also get a look at the ECW organization as they get prepared for their
Its probably not a show that you should watch with the kids. There are some images that are strictly for adult viewing. Especially during the Jake Roberts segment which will have some moments. What the movie does at the end of the day is show the human element of these larger then life superstars. Whether it's the love of your family as we see with Foley and Funk or the human flaws of substance abuse that we see with Roberts.

This video can be easily found on streaming Netflix or you can order it on Amazon. Youtube also has the movie broken up in a few parts of you want to view that way. Either way its a must see for any wrestling fan.

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Halloween Rebooted / Make Up Show 11/02 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio


Halloween Rebooted / Make Up Show 11/02 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio
Due to some technical issues we were not able to fully archive our Halloween Episode of Ring Time Pro Wrestling. So just for you we are rerecording the show. If you listened live Monday you will receive a bonus. We will talk about the last 2 Raws and get you up to date on TNA.
BTR Version
Listen to internet radio with Ringtimeprowrestling on Blog Talk Radio


Podomatic Version of the Show




Thursday, November 3, 2011

Old School Profile - Barry Windham

The word legend is thrown around a lot when it comes to old school wrestlers. That term is very fitting for this subject of "The Old School" profile one Barry Windham. Definitely a future Hall of Famer, Windham has had a great career that has spanned more than 20 years and him holding titles on every organization he has ever been involved with.

Windham was a 2nd generation wrestler before it was fashionable to be one. He is the son of the legendary Black Jack Mulligan. His brother Kendall also became a professional wrestler and his brother in law is Mike Rotunda. Barry has held tag team titles with both men.

Barry started his career in 1979 and was trained by his father and the legendary Harley Race. He made his debut at 19 years old against his future manager J.J Dillion in Odessa, TX. The early part of his career was spent in the Championship Wrestling from Florida. He had some success with his brother in law Mike Rotunda as the tag team winning the NWA Florida United State titles a few times.
In 1984 both Rotunda and Barry made the jump to the World Wrestling Federation(WWF). There they became known as the US Express during the beginning of when the Federation was really begin to take off. They became tag team champions in the WWF 2 times while they were there. Even defending the belts at the 1st Wrestlemania against The Iron Sheik and Nikolia Volkoff.

After leaving the WWF, Barry went back to Florida as a singles wrestler for short stint. Where he feuded with Ron Bass for the NWA Florida Heavyweight title. He also wrestled in the main event of Battle of the Belts II for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair during that stint.

His career really took off when he made the jump to Jim Crockett Promotions. There Windham started off as a prominent babyface and feuding with The Nature Boy for the World Title. With a lot of the matches ending in 60 minute time limit draws. After some tag team runs with Ron Garvin and Lex Luger, Barry made the move that would define his career. He became a member of the exclusive 4 Horsemen. The most legendary faction in the history of pro wrestling. The incarnation of Windham, Flair, Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson is considered by many wrestling fans as the best combination of Horsemen ever.

After a brief stint in the WWF as the Widowmaker and a short time in Japan, Barry returned to Jim Crockett which now called WCW. He rejoined the Four Horsemen which at that point consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Sid Vicious, and Ole Anderson, who was only semi-active at the time and permanently became their manager once Windham joined. During this time Windham mostly teamed with either Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious in tag matches against Horsemen adversaries.

In 1992 Windham then had another face turn as the Horsemen disbanded for a short time again. Windham reached the height of his singles career in January 1993 and pursued the NWA World Championship held by The Great Muta. He defeated Muta for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl III for the only World Title of his career. He would eventually drop the belt to Ric Flair at Beach Blast in 1993.

Barry Windham vs Ric Flair


From 1996 to 2001 Barry would go back and forth between WWF and WCW. He was apart of different stables and wrestled mostly as a tag team wrestler. Forming the New BlackJacks with Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw(JBL). An ode to the legendary tag team that his father was once apart of. After 2001 Barry enjoyed a semi retirement as an in ring performer.

Windham worked as a producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on the Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also apart of the Ric Flair Hall of Fame induction and was apart of the following good bye ceremony the next night on Raw.

Recently this legend had health scare after heart attack and some liver issues. He is still in the hospital. All reports say that Big Barry is getting better.

Titles Held By Windham
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Garvin
NWA Western States Heritage Championship (1 time)
NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
NWA (Mid-Atlantic)/WCW World Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Lex Luger (1) Dustin Rhodes (1), Curt Hennig (1), and Kendall Windham (1)
WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
WWF World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mike Rotunda

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

No PPV just Straight Up Wrestling 10/31 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio

No PPV just Straight Up Wrestling 10/31 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio
Listen to internet radio with Ringtimeprowrestling on Blog Talk Radio


Keith and Keshia experience a some major tech difficulty in this episode.... We will post up a new show today to make up for this. Thanks for listening.
Listen to internet radio with Ringtimeprowrestling on Blog Talk Radio

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Indy Report for 10/27

Chikara is a independent promotion based out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Their major events each year include the King of Trios tournament between February and March, Aniversario in May, Young Lions Cup tournament held between June and August, and the Torneo Cibernetico held between September and November.

Chikara currently runs a wrestling school by the name of the Chikara Wrestle Factory. It was founded in 2002 by Mike Quackenbush and Reckless Youth. The wrestle factory offers training to prospective professional wrestlers, managers, valet, and referees, and is based in The Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[1] Former guest instructors include Jorge "Skayde" Rivera, El Pantera, Terry Funk, CM Punk, Marty Jannetty, and many others.[1] It offers training in all styles like Pro Wrestling, Lucha Libre, Puroresu, Lancashire, Catch, and among others. It claims to be the only such training center in the United States.

http://www.chikarapro.com/


Latest Episodes of Ring Time Pro Wrestling Podcast


Monday, October 24, 2011

Scott Hall ESPN Piece

After watching the Scott Hall ESPN E:60 piece I gave it a week to digest. I thought it was actually well put together and was not too slanted in one way or the other. The segment did not do any favors for the wrestling business. We got to see the ultimate scum promoter who put Hall out there to crash and burn in front of the world. We heard how drugs and alcohol are the norm in the business. To be fair we did get to see that Scott still does have genuine friends like Kevin Nash and Sean Waltman that still care about him. The did also highlight that the WWE has paid a lot of money to try to help Hall out with his issues.

As a wrestling fan it hurt to see this and as a human it hurt a little more. At the end of the day I hope he gets it together for his children. I don't look at this as a tragic case in pro wrestling but just as a life tragedy. The good thing is that he has a chance to turn it around.

The Entire Scott Hall Segment

Friday, October 21, 2011

Wrestling Nigeria

Professional wrestling reaches people all over the world. What I recently discovered is that they love their pro wrestling in the wonderful country of Nigeria.

I was listening to Colt Cabana's Art of Wrestling podcast and it featured Cliff Compton (Domino)former WWE superstar from the Smackdown Brand. He had just finished a tour of Nigeria and he faced the legendary Great Power Uti. The story intrigued me enough to check out the Nigerian wrestling scene.

A big draw is for promotions to bring over wrestlers from the United States. The Universal Pro Wrestling Federation brings over names like Bobby Lashley, Val Venis and Shelton Benjamin to wrestle top stars in Nigeria. In Nigeria kayfabe is very much alive the people love to cheer for their hometown favorites.


The Great Power Uti
Wrestlers aspire to reach the heights of Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin or even a John Cena. Nigeria has all of that rolled up into one with the Great Power Uti. For more than 20 years Uti dominated Nigerian wrestling scene. He now devotes most of his time to his missionary work. Before Uti there was the Great Power Mike and he passed the torch down to Uti.




The Latest Episode of Ring Time Pro Wrestling

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Preview for WWF Vengeance PPV 10/20 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio


Preview for WWF Vengeance PPV 10/20 by Ringtimeprowrestling | Blog Talk Radio
The Ring Time Pro Wrestling Crew does a special mid week episode to talk about the upcoming WWF Vengeance PPV and breakdown the last RAW. We will also talk some indy wrestling...
Listen to internet radio with Ringtimeprowrestling on Blog Talk Radio




Check Out 1/2 of the Ring Time Crew on the WrassleCast with the Cold Slither Podcast
http://coldslitherpodcast.wordpress.com/2011/10/19/csp-wrasslecast-october-17th-wwf-raw-from-mexico/

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Weekly DVD Suggestion- Card Subject to Change

This weeks selection I actually discovered on Netflix. "Card Subject To Change" takes a look at the world of independent wrestling. This is one of the more balanced looks at the indy circuit. It follows several wrestlers and show how they get prepared for shows and what goes into putting on a promotion.

We get to see legendary veterans like Kamala and Kevin Sullivan teach young wrestlers the ropes. The movie profiles a young up and coming Rhett Titus (ROH). There are also interviews with legends like Terry Funk, Jim Cornette and former WWF and current TNA Talent Developer Tom Prichard.

Also we get to see the life of an independent promoter as we see Johnny Falco of National Wrestling Superstars out of New Jersey. We see how Johnny got started out and all he goes through to put on 40-60 events a year. Falco puts out flyers clips tickets and deals with the talent.

Card Subject to Change also follows the late Trent Acid and shows a match between him and Billy Kidman. They talk about his 11 year career on the indy circuit which started when he was 14 years old. You also get a glimpse into the drug problem that unfortunately took his life. Another late wrestler featured in the film is Hall of Famer Sherry Martel. The ups and downs of wrestling before the possible fame and riches.


Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Wrestling needs 2 Bobby Heenan's Right Now

The original title of this post was "The WWF needs 2 Bobby Heenan's". Then I realized that the entire business would benefit from the Brain being a part of the mix. Why 2 do you ask? In addition to being one of the greatest manager (if not the greatest) Heenan was followed it up with a top notch career as a broadcaster. His insights during the match and chemistry with the late Gorilla Monsoon will never be reduplicated.

Right now wrestling is in a transition phase and the business is looking for new stars. Bobby Heenan was a star maker. He can make any heel 10 times more hated and if a babyface feuded with any of his charges he became that much more loved.


Classic Heenan Promo's



Ric Flair and The 4 Horsemen

Ric Flair and The 4 Horsemen