While cruising the wonderful web I sometimes see fun stuff that is wrestling related. I figured I would be an irresponsible blogger if I didn't share.
MVP Sits Down With Carlito
Broken up in 2 parts this session of the MVP show with Carlito give some good insight what its like to be backstage in the WWE. This one is Session 10 and I also recommend session 9 with Shelton Benjamin. Not only do you get a chance to catch up with guys who have left the WWE you get the understanding that they are real people who live real lives outside the ring.
MVP/ Shelton Benjamin vs Complete Players - NJPW
Dragon Gate Stuff
If you are not familiar with Dragon Gate it is one of the premier independent organizations in the world. A great resource I have found is www.openthedragongate.com. The put out weekly content from the company and also upload a lot of classic material. To warn you all of the commentary is in Japanese but the action is so good you probably won't really care. Below is a link to the the most recent Infinity show the King of Chop.
The Weekly DVD suggestion has returned to Ring Time Pro Wrestling. This week's suggestion comes from the WWE library as we watch their King of The Ring DVD. This 3 disc set is an excellent collection of greatest King of The Ring matches in the history of the event. Not just matches from the tournament but exciting matches that took place at the PPV. The DVD is hosted none other than King Bookah(Booker T). There is also a little King of the Ring history lesson a good pick for any wrestling fan.
Notable Matches
King of the Ring Finals
Match
Bret ‘Hit Man’ Hart vs. Bam Bam Bigelow
King of the Ring 13th June, 1993
WWE Championship Match
Shawn Michaels vs. British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith
In watching some wrestling on Netflix last night I was reminded of how cool some of the titles. Also these current crop of title belts absolutely suck, with the exception of The Big Gold Belt. So of course I decided to share some of my favorite old school belts and ones I think they should bring back.
Winged Eagle WWF Title
Introduced in 1988 by Hulk Hogan on Saturday's Night Main Event this belt was worn in different incarnations until 2001. I like this belt because it was very classy and just a very regal feel about it. It is definitely better then the spinner mess that the WWF currently uses. Are spinners still even in style?
Notable Stars Who Wore The Belt
Hulk Hogan
Bret Hart
Shawn
Michaels
Macho
Man Randy Savage
Ric Flair
Stone Cold Steve Austin
The WWF Tag Team Titles
Once again a ten thousand times better option than the shitty WWE Titles that they use today. The current belts look like the cheap plastic belts that they sell at Wal Mart of 9.99. The tag team belts that the WWF utilized from 1985-2002 were legendary. I always liked the way shined. Worn by some of the most legendary tag teams of all time these belts are timeless.
Notable Teams That Wore The Belts
The Hart Foundation
Demolition
The British Bulldogs
The Road Warriors
The WCW/NWA TV Title
There is nothing more classic than the old school NWA TV Title. Worn by some of the best wrestlers on television. The belt that originated in Jim Crockett Promotions was defended on TV every week. Arn Anderson was the person that I most associated with title but other greats have worn it proudly.
Notable Title Holders
The Great Muta
Dusty Rhodes
Tully Blanchard
Latest Ring Time Podcast
Written By
Keith B. Holt of Ring Time Pro Wrestling
Follow on Twitter @Kholtjr
In today's wrestling I think that we are missing a truly dark character. That crazy guy that we are all scared of to a certain extent. Not in the Goldberg kind of way but more like the Cactus Jack or old school Undertaker. The master of this was Jake the Snake Roberts. When you talk about creative geniuses in the wrestling business his name has to be on the list. Jake delivered that demented and tortured soul that fans could buy into whether he was a face or heel.
Jake Roberts Promo
I feel like today's business doesn't have this kind of star. We all know wrestling is a work but Jake allowed you to forget that it was not real. Whether it was his issues with the Undertaker, Macho Man or Rick Rude he would allow you to get invested his stories.
There have been other dark characters over time in professional wrestling so I figured I would share some of mine.
Doink The Clown
There have a been a few incarnations of Doink The Clown but none was better than the original portrayed by Matt Osborne from 1992-1995 in the WWF. The technically sound and tortured clown was an icon of early 1990's wrestling.
Golddust
Also during the mid 1990's we were introduced to Golddust. The son of the American Dream Dusty Rhodes found his alter ego and was one of the darker characters. Pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable in pro wrestling.
After watching RAW tonight I realized what wrestling appears to be missing is that strong mid-card. Remembering those great times of the Monday Night Wars and the Attitude Era when the majority of the 2 hours of the program was interesting. It feels like now as fans we are living from Main Event to Main Event. Which seems so weird in this world where the the biggest company air two shows that both run for 2 hours each. When they had shows for just 1 hour once a week they were able to produce and promote so much talent.
Remember when you used to watch RAW and even Smackdown to see what good wrestling they had in store for you. Now its the opening promo by John Cena or CM Punk then see who they are going to wrestle at the end of the night. So I have to ask "What Happened to My Midcard" You know that place where Randy Orton was when he held the Intercontinental title or where Chris Jericho and Chris Beniot first faced off. The place where we groom our main event talent for the future.
Mr. Perfect vs Bret Hart in 1989
The stars of the future who the business are developed on the undercard. In my view the most successful performers are the guys who had to work their way up the card. Chris Jericho, Shawn Michaels and even The Rock had to challenge for every belt and add every achievement to their resume. It was a major achievement to be the United States Champion. Even guys who made it to the main event still would try to compete for the TV title when he was not in the world title, like a Dusty Rhodes or Sting competing for the United States belt.
The Downfall of The Tag Team Does Not Help
One of the staples of a classic wrestling show was the tag teams. After watching the effective destruction of this institution by WWF as of late it could be a major contributing factor to the lack of new stars. Didn't Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Edge all make names for themselves in the Tag Team ranks. I remember when the tag team scene had its how mid card. Each wrestling company had like 10 competitive tag teams that we all knew about. We knew The Bushwackers were not going to be serious challengers for the belts but they were relevant. In NWA/WCW there was 2 levels of tag team champions with the United States Tag Team Champions and the World Champions. Remember the excitement of seeing the Steiners face Doom or The British Bulldogs vs The Hart Foundation. Maybe one day wrestling will get back to its roots and what made it popular.
Where is my Hardyz vs The Dudley Boyz. Or my super tag team pairings looking for their shots at the belts like The Rock N Sock Connection, Big Show and Undertaker or Austin and Triple H. All those big teams were honored to carry those belts. The tag team title was a big deal just like the individual mid card belts.
Classic RAW
New Ring Time Podcast
Written By
Keith B Holt of Ring Time Pro Wrestling
Unless you been in a wrestling coma for the past week you know one of the most anticipated returns to the ring has happened. Former WWE Champion and most recently UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar. So I came up with some former wrestlers of the active roster that I would like to see come back to the WWF.
John Morrison
Let me first say that this return will be without Melina. Sorry but she seems to have a negative effect on the former Tough Enough cast member. Morrison is actually young enough to be a long time active contributor to the active roster.
Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bill Goldberg
There is a reason I put these two legends under the same banner. The bottom line is that for the Monday Night Wars era fans we never got our dream match. I think that both of them are young enough and in good enough shape to turn out a one time only dream Wrestlemania match.
Kurt Angle
Since Brock is back then why not bring back his greatest opponent. The Olympic Gold Medal Winner and The Next Big thing have had some classic matches in the past and their actual wrestling ability lends a lot of credibility to their matches.
