Reviews of Wrestler Movies

The Ringtime Pro Wrestling blog officially add a new segment to the line up. Since professional wrestlers and former professonial wrestlers are active in movie making I decided that maybe this blog should do a review of these movies. Because I am such a heavy wrestling fan I watch these movies that include wrestlers.

The review is strictly my opinion of the movie. I will rate it on a 5 star system.
5- Great Movie
4- I would watch this again
3- Its okay but dont rush to see it
2- Not good but not the worst I have seen
1- You have reached the toilet bowl


The Charperone
Starring - Triple H
The basic premise of this movie is that Ray Bradstone(Triple H) is a recently released convict who just served 7 years for being a driver in a bank robbery. Now that he is released he is trying to pick up the missing pieces of his life. The main thing is rebuilding his relationship with his daughter Sally played by Ariel Winter who delivered a awesome performance.
The movie shows how Ray tries to rebuild his relationship with an unwilling Sally. To better do that he agrees to be a chaperone on her school field trip to New Orleans. While on the trip the past Ray is trying to shake won't leave him alone. Triple delivers a great performance that will draw you in even if you are not a WWE fan. He can really makes you care Ray and his future...

Rating 4.5 out 5

Raw 03/07/11 Review

Dallas, TX - With the anticipation of Wrestlemania building up and the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin returning to RAW tonight was set to be a good show. Dallas did not disappoint as a great crowd.

The Undertaker made an announcement about Wrestlemania
The Undertaker delivered another strong promo and informed Triple H that he will beat him the same way he beat his best friend Shawn Michaels last year at Wrestlemania. After showing a clips of last years Mania match the Undertaker announced that he and Triple H will have a No Holds Barred Match at Wrestlemania. This allows for them be very creative and still want to see if Shawn Michaels inserts himself in this match.

Randy Orton Def David Ortunga
On the road to Wrestlemania, Randy Orton competed in his 2nd match against the Nexus. Already insuring that Mike McGillicutty will not be able to support CM Punk at Mania it was now time to take on David Ortunga. After an attack by the Nexus before the match Orton started out at a disadvantage. He was able to overcome that and defeat Ortunga. Then like the previous Nexus member Ortunga received his punt to the head. Hopefully this will result in Ortunga being gone from wrestling forever.

Christian Def Brodus Clay
The Christian/ Alberto Del Rio story added another chapter tonight as Del Rio who was escorted by NXT runner Brodus Clay to the ring informed Christian that if he wanted a shot at him he had to defeat Clay. They put on a pretty good match and Clay has a lot of potential. Christian defeated Clay in a well contested match. After the match Christian was attacked by Del Rio. They should have pretty interesting match. Christian's dynamic in the Edge/Del Rio fued leading to Mania is also interesting.

Promo for Sin Cara
I really like the push they are putting behind Sin Cara coming to the WWE. If you are not familiar with his work google the name Mistico as he was known a a Luchador. He is a 2nd generation performer who should bring a lot of excitment to the WWE.

Sunny Announced for Hall of Fame

As the original WWE Diva I do think that Sunny is deserving to be in the WWE Hall of Fame but not in this year's class. I feel like the WWE missed the boat with this Hall of Fame class. They are coming to Atlanta, the home of WCW and Georgia Championship Wrestling. No Road Warriors, Freebirds or Arn Anderson in this class is criminal. That being said I am sure Sunny will add some excitment and pop to the Hall of Fame.

Eve def Nicki Bella
The match was a bore and Cole helped kill the match by saying that no one cares about this.

Michael Cole Announces his choice for Special Guest Referee
For the match with Jerry the King Lawler, Michael Cole gets to name his special guest referee. A lot of people thought it maybe Alex Riley or Jim Ross but Cole surprised us with JBL. It was nice to see JBL back in the wrestling world and it was a nice touch bringing out in Texas. But another famous Texan showed up to ruin the party. The man everyone was there to see made his presence felt. Stone Cold Steve Austin hit the ring. After some words with Cole and JBL, hit JBL with a Stunner and as he was drinking some beer the only way Stone Cold can he came across the referee contract for Wrestlemania. Must to Cole's protest Austin signed the contract. This was a great move by the WWE. Not only does it put Stone Cold in Wrestlemania but it adds balance to the match. Since Cole already has Swagger in his corner Lawler couldnt too much stacked against him.



Daniel Bryan Def Sheamus
Daniel Bryan met Sheamus in the guys who have been getting squashed lately match. Sheamus lost this pretty quick match via countout. After the match Sheamus who had an obvious leg injury challenged Bryan to a US title match next week. Vowing that if he loses that he will leave the WWE. This match did nothing for either wrestler and Bryan needs to stop having non title matches. It makes the title not look important.

CM Punk Def R- Truth
This was pretty much a squash match. Which you had to know that was the way it going. R-Truth is a glorified job guy. After the match he was further squashed Mason Ryan, the lone member left in the Nexus.

Dolph Ziggler def John Morrison
After being fired from Smackdown by GM Teddy Long, Dolph Ziggler made his way to the Raw roster. He was accompanied by Vickie Guerrero who introduced him. It was a okay match between the Ziggler and Morrison but could have been better. Ziggler defeated Morrison and further leads to the misuse of John Morrison.
Announced for next week will be Vickie Guerrero vs Trish Status.

John Cena response to the Rock
John Cena decided to respond to the promo from The Rock from last week. It started off with Cena's bad comedy but picked up when he started to rap. His response should stay in rap. The Dallas crowd was not the most friendly to Cena. The highlight was when The Miz attacked Cena and cut an awesome promo.

Smackdown 03/04/11 Review

On the road to Wrestlemania the Smackdown brand was able to put on a pretty decent show. Definitely a good amount of wrestling and some very solid promo work. The evening started out with Edge celebrating the firing of Vickie Guerrero last week. Where Drew McIntyre attempted a unsuccessful attack on Edge because his animosity about Kelly Kelly. Then GM Teddy Long who congratulated Drew on helping Vickie get fired last year as a stipulation of their match. Teddy then informs Drew that if he does not get into the ring and fight Edge one on one he would then be fired also.

Edge def Drew McIntyre
Drew and Edge a had a pretty good match to start the show. McIntyre worked on Edge's injured arm that he suffered at the hands of Alberto Del Rio. They worked good together in this match. Glad they are using Drew but don't know where they are going to go with him. Hopefully he has a strong showing in Money in The Bank if he is an entrant. Edge wins the match with his new finisher which appears to be a modified sharpshooter that is called the Edgecator. (Awesome move).


Cody Rhodes Promo on Rey Mysterio

This was a great promo by Cody to set up a Wrestlemania match for him and Mysterio. Not sure about how I feel about this as a match at Mania but I think they will work well together. Hopefully Cody will go over and move on to big things. He has really taken this character and ran with it. Him being insecure with his mask on is priceless.

Tag Team Champions Heath Slater & Justin Gabriel def. Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov (WWE Tag Team Title Match)
The former WWE Tag Team Champions Santino Marella & Vladimir Kozlov used their rematch clause against the current champions Justin Gabriel & Heath Slater of The Corre. Thanks to a Corre distraction,Slater and Gabriel retained their titles. This was a pretty quick match. Hopefully they make the tag team division meaningful again. Slater and Gabriel actually are a good team.

The Undertaker returns to Smackdown

Undertaker is back with a new theme song "Their is no grave" by Johnny Cash. Incredible theme that is a perfect fit for Taker. He delivered a good promo and really set the stage for his Mania match with Triple H. The best thing the WWE can do for this match is keep them away from each other to build anticipation.


Michelle McCool & Layla def. Beth Phoenix & Rosa Mendes
This Divas match was not bad. Beth Phoenix worked really good in this match. Laycool wins the match when Michelle McCool kicked Beth with he loaded boot.

Big Show def. Kane (Disqualification)
This match actually built some interest as the Corre tried to enlist Kane's help in taking out the Big Show. The match started off normal until The Corre showed up and slid a chair into the ring. The Kane then hit Big Show with the chair giving the Big Show the win by disqualification. Then as The Corre began to attack Show, Kane in a surprising move whacked Justin Gabriel with the steel chair. Maybe this may lead to Kane joining Show in the Corre fued.

Jack Swagger def. JTG
This was pretty much a squash match for Swagger as he further drew some heat for him being Michael Cole's trainer at Wrestlemania. Nice to see Swagger winning again. Hopefully this will lead to him moving back to a more prominent role on the roster.


Edge and Alberto Del Rio had a WrestleMania World Heavyweight Championship Contract Signing

Like most contract signings for championship matches this one ended in chaos. The exchange between the 2 competitors began with Edge having the upper hand until Del Rio's personal ring announcer Ricardo Rodgridez got involved and allowed Del Rio to get the upper hand and hit Edge with the Cross Arm Breaker again. Further pushing the injured arm angle. As Del Rio was about really do some damage Christian came out and made the save.
It will be interesting how Christian's role will play out leading to Wrestlemania and his issues with Del Rio.

Info on Show
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watch the replay on
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WWE Raw 02/28 Review

Live from BUFFALO, N.Y. - Raw from this past Monday was okay at best. Not exactly one the best shows heading up to Wrestlemania but we have month of shows left. One big problem I had with the show was that there was not much wrestling on a wrestling show. There was about total minutes of actual wrestling on a 2 hour show. It did push some story lines for better or for worse.

Triple H helps bury Sheamus
The night begins with Triple H hitting the ring to do what challenge the Undertaker to a Wrestlemania match. (I will get back to that later) By which he was confronted by Sheamus who injured him about 10 months ago. Whom I think he could rekindle his fued with but that may have been too predictable so I can see why the WWE did not take it there. They exchange words and the confrontation ends with Sheamus going through the announce table.

Pros - Triple H looked really strong and delivered a pretty sharp promo.

Cons- He helped do what the WWE has been doing for the past month and bury a former 2 time champion that they spent a year building up. Don't know who Sheamus pissed off backstage. Although I liked Triple H's promo he did just kill the rest of the Wrestlemania card. He and Undertaker's presence already dwarf's anybody who is in the current locker room.

Sheamus vs Evan Bourne
Following his squashing by Triple H, Sheamus was placed in a match immediately by the GM with a returning Evan Bourne. Nice to see Bourne back but this match did nothing for either wrestler. Bourne goes over Sheamus in a quick squash which further weakens Sheamus and didnt boost Bourne. He had to beat a guy who just got put through a table. It would have been better to see him against somebody who could have worked a match even if it was 5 or 6 minutes.

Jerry Lawler/Michael Cole Segement
I like the segment much better than last week. Cole accepts Lawler's Wrestlemania challenge and adds some actual intrigue to the match. We know Lawler will more than likely go over but it at least explains how Cole will survive the match. Jack Swagger is introduced as Cole's trainer for the match and attacks The King. Nice way to add heat and gives Swagger some life also.

Randy Orton vs Mike McGillicutty
Orton vs Punk is now offically confirmed for Wrestlemania 27. To add some intrigue to the match the GM decided to add a stipulation to reduce the Nexus interference.
Orton over the next few weeks will face different members of the Nexus and if he wins they member is gone. If he loses that member gets to be ringside during Wrestlemania. First up was Mike McGillicutty who was able to have a good match with Orton. Randy goes over his fellow 3rd generation superstar. After the match McGillicutty was a victim of the deadly Orton punt.


I like the concept of Punk and Orton one on one at Mania but I would have like for McGillicutty to stick around. I think he can actually work. Hopefully we do see the end of David Ortunga next week.
Possibly maybe Harris and McGillicutty come back as a tag team after Mania but that is wishful thinking.

Divas Match
Bathroom break- lol

Shawn Micheals Responds to Mania Match
Shawn Micheals gave his reaction to the Triple H and Undertaker match at Mania. His bestfriend trying do what he couldn't do and end the Undertaker's streak. Micheals says he has mixed emotions but is rooting for Hunter. Hopefully in the coming weeks this will stir up some interesting things.


The Rock responds to John Cena's Rap


Daniel Bryan Squashed By the Miz
William Regal and Daniel Bryan were booked for a match that ended in no contest due to the Miz beating Bryan down before the match. There was nothing to like about this scenario. It does nothing for the US title and just makes the champion look weak.


John Cena vs Alex Riley
Cena took on Alex Riley with the stipulation that if Riley lost that he could no longer work for the Miz. In response to a challenge made by Cena to the Miz to win their WWE title match on his own. The GM decided that the match would be fair if it was a steel cage match.
The 2 actually had a pretty good match. The highlight was the Miz tweeting from the annouce table and taking a twitpic of Cena's face being grinded against the cage. I think that it was very innovative to do this during a live a event.
The match featured a Cena trying to get out of the cage continually being stopped by the Miz. Cena eventually gets out of the cage but going SuperCena and pushing the door open despite the Miz standing there trying to stop him. As Cena escaped the cage to only receive a skull krushing finale from the Miz. With Riley no longer employed by the Miz we willl see how he moves forward going towards Wrestlemania.


Information
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Watch RAW
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New Things Happening At the Blog

Todays blog is a little bit of a mission statement of whats coming next on the blog. I will be rolling out some newer ideas and make this blog more creative and more exciting.



What to Expect

1. More up to date blogs. For the most part this blog has been about historical reference or just informational. It will now feature about what currently going on in wrestling. Whether its WWE, TNA or the indies you will get a lot more news for me.

2. Profiles of current superstars who I think are interesting and why you should get familiar with these guys.

3. The biggest new feature will be The Imagination Wrestling Federation which will feature wrestlers that you have heard and ones that I have created in a fictional wrestling world. Kind of like a story section.




Enjoy the Ride People

Finally The Rock has Returned

All wrestling fans should mark 02/15/11 down in their history books because you just saw something special on RAW this evening. The Rock who a lot of you may know as Dwayne Johnson returned to the place that made him an international superstar. Before Walking Tall, The Fast and the Furious or The Gridiron Gang he was a WWE superstar. Actually one of the greatest that have ever done it. If you did not get excited about what you saw last night either you are too young or not a real wrestling fan.

Here is what you saw, the greatest promo guy ever doing his business. Not only that he is one of the wrestlers to ever do it period. One of the quotes I saw on a few websites was "Wrestling is back" and yes I agree wrestling is back in a big way. Want to see the impact look at these numbers:

This week's edition of WWE RAW drew a 3.14 (3.1) cable rating, with 4.8 million viewers. The show did hours of 3.03 (3.0) and 3.25 (3.3).
The Rock's ratings. 11pm-11:20pm when he was on RAW hit 5.7M total viewers/ 3.1M P18-49 / 2.9M P25-54 / 1.4M P18-34!"

Classic Rock Promo


Promo from Monday Night

My Top 10 Wrestlers of My Time

Recently the WWE released a DVD chronicling what they believe to be their to 50 superstars of all time. They say that the list was created by the current roster of WWE superstars. I am pretty sure when they released this DVD they did so to stir up some controversy. There is no possible way that Hulk Hogan can be the 24th or Ric Flair be tied for 17th. Now I know because them being TNA you don't want to put them too over but real is real these are the top 2 superstars of all time. So I decided to compile a top ten list just because I don't have enough time to do a top 50. These are the best wrestlers that I saw in the ring and on the microphone. The reason you may not see greats like Gorgeous George, Lou Thez or Bruno Sanmartino is because I never really watched these guys because I am too young. Being born in 1979 my wrestling mind starts in the 1980's. I respect the history but this is my list of my time.



10. Chris Jericho - 6 time World Heavyweight Champion, 9-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 5 time World Tag Team Champion, 9th Triple Crown Champion, 4th Grand Slam Champion


I didn't say my list would not be controversial either. In my opinion Chris Jericho is one of the best wrestlers that I have ever seen. The first ever Undisputed World Champion in the WWE checks in at number 10 on my list. Jericho is one of the last guys around who has traveled the entire world honing his craft.

He was made if work in Mexico, Japan, his native Canada and here in the United States. He was wrestled in ECW (the original), WCW and in the WWE. Winning championships everywhere he has been. He was worked with and fueded with some of the best of all time. Names like Eddie Guerrero, Rey Meysterio and Triple H are on the list for Jericho. Chris also maybe one of the top 5 in mic skills all time. His promos are cutting edge and can trade lines with any superstar in history. He also the lead singer of the band Fozzy who travels all over the world rocking and rolling.

9. Harley Race - 8 time NWA Heavyweight Champion, 1st United States Heavyweight Champion, King of the Ring (1986), WWE Hall of Famer, Professional Wrestling Hall of Famer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Famer

One greatest NWA Champions of all-time comes in at my number 9. One thing about the current state of wrestling with everything out in the open it has allowed me to rediscover legends like Harley Race. A man who is known as being legitimately a tough guy. People feared and most definitely respected the great Harley Race.

A lot of people didn't know that Harley started his career as a teenager holding his own fighting against grown men. First hitting it big as Handsome Harley Race with his tag team partner "Pretty Boy" Larry Henning (father of Curt Henning). After that he went on to the NWA where he became 8 time World Heavyweight Champion. This is when the champion traveled all over the world defending the belt in various territories. Most champions only got one reign but they put the strap on Harley 8 times. He was a great ambassador of the World Title. A lot of people think about King Harley Race in the WWE as a part of the Heenan Family. That was only a short part of this distinguished career. He has had classic fueds with names like Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair and Terry Funk.

8. Triple H - 14 time World Heavyweight Champion, 4 time Intercontinental Champion, King of the Ring(1997), Royal Rumble Winner (2002)

Leader of 2 of the most powerful recent factions D-Generation X and Evolution. Whether you call him The Cerebral Assassin, The Game or King of Kings, you are talking about one of the best ever. During the WWE's Attitude Era one of the most popular stars during that time was Triple H. As the catalyst to D-Generation X he was and still is one of the best in ring performers of all time.




His feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock are legendary. I especially like his feud with the Rock because it went through so many different phases. They fought for the Intercontinental title, to be #1 contender and finally to be World Champ. They both lead competing factions. The also worked as both face and heel against each other at different points in time. As an ever evolving as anybody has ever been in wrestling Triple H stands in good position to break or tie the record for most World titles currently held by Ric Flair at 16 times.




7. Dusty Rhodes - 3 Time World Heavyweight Champion, WCW Television Champion, WWE Hall of Famer


No list is complete without the American Dream Dusty Rhodes. The son of a plumber from Austin, Texas first made it big as one part of the famous Texas Outlaws with Dick Murdoch. One of the biggest stars of wrestling during the territory days, very few could touch Dusty Rhodes.

If Chris Jericho is one of the top 5 talkers of all time then Dusty has to be at the least in the top 2. His promos are as classic as his matches. Dusty is one of wrestling's pre-Hulk Hogan big box office attractions. Selling out arena's all over the country nobody did it like the American Dream. Connecting with the common everyday man but he also partied with your favorite celebrities and Hollywood stars. He has sold Madison Square Garden with great Superstar Billy Graham on a few occassions. He has fueded with great Harley Race whom he won his 1st NWA title from. But Dusty's most famous feud is with Ric Flair and the 4 Horsemen. This may have been the premier fued of the 1980's. Besides his in ring ability, Rhodes maybe one of the greatest minds behind the scenes that the wrestling world has known. Some of his creations such as Starrcade and War Games have left permanent marks on the business.

6. Shawn Michaels - 4 Time World Heavyweight Champion, 3 time Intercontinental Champion, First Ever Grand Slam Champion, 4th Triple Crown Champion, Royal Rumble Winner (1995, 1996), WWE Hall of Famer (2011)

There is only one man who can carry the name Mr. Wrestlemania. Having some of the most memorable matches in Wrestlemania history are only apart of The Heart Break Kid's resume. He is one of the catalyst of the WWE Attitude Era and one of the founding members of D Generation X. You may also remember him as being on half of one of the most innovative tag teams of all time the Rockers with Marty Jannetty.

During HBK's 25 year career he has worn many different hats and worn them all well. Regarded by his peers as one of if not the greatest in ring performer of all time. Whether it is the 60 minute Iron Man match with Bret Hart, The Ladder Match with Razor Ramon or the last 2 matches with The Undertaker at Wrestlemania no one does it like HBK. One thing that he may not get enough credit for is holding the WWE together while they were struggle against WCW in the late 90's. Micheals was the guy at the time and instead of jumping ship he help keep the WWE strong and was one of the pioneers of the Attitude Era. In 1998 Shawn Michaels was force to cut his career short due to a serious back injury or so we thought. In 2002 HBK returned to the WWE stronger than ever. Having an incredible fued with long time friend Triple H. He became an inspiration to people who were looking to make the most of a 2nd chance.


5. Randy "Macho Man" Savage - 10 time World Champion, King of the Ring(1987), 1995 WCW World War 3 Winner


There have few men in the history of professional wrestling that have had the charisma, athleticism and presence of the Macho Man Randy Savage. That style and presence has made him a champion everywhere he has been. He is on of the biggest icons of the 1980's and 90's.

Savage is a 2nd generation wrestler. He is the son of Angelo Poffo a very popular wrestler in the 1950's and 60's who was featured in "Rilpley's Believe or Not" for his ability to do an amazing amount of push-ups and sit ups. The younger Poffo was an very accomplished athlete who spent time as a minor league baseball player. Starting out in the territories working with his brother Lanny Poffo he made a name for himself in the south and middle states. In 1985 he made his way up to the big time in the WWE. During this time he made brought in his manager who became his real life wife Miss Elizabeth. In 1986 Savage became Intercontinental Champion by defeating Tito Santana. He held the title for nearly 14 months. During that time Savage wrestled in to be one of the greatest matches in pro wrestling history when he faced Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at WrestleMania 3 in the Sliverdome in Pontiac, MI. The WWE has named him the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time and credited him for bringing "a higher level of credibility to the title through his amazing in-ring performances.
After that he set his sights on winning the World Heavyweight Championship. In 1988 he captured that title winning a one night tournment at WrestleMania 4 by defeating Ted Dibiase "The Million Dollar Man". Fueding with top notch names such as Hogan, Flair and Ulitmate Warrior, the Macho Man entertained massive crowds throughout the 90's.

4. The Undertaker- 4 time World Heavyweight Champion, 7 time World Tag Team Champion, Royal Rumble Winner(2007), 18-0 Streak at Wrestlmania

Whether you are talking about the American Badass, The Phenom or the Deadman you are talking about one of the greatest of all time. The Undertaker has been a dominate force in wrestling for over 20 years now. The Deadman has left a lot men resting in peace during that time. Shawn Michaels maybe Mr. Wrestlemania but only one man has the streak. Currently at 18-0 the dead man has never lost on the biggest stage.

He has taken out names like Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, Triple H and a host of others. My favorite Wrestlemania matches of Takers would have to be him against the Animal Batista and him taking on his brother Kane. Taker has been taking care of business in the WWE since 1990. He maybe the only wrestler still active to be around during the various eras of the WWE. He is only WWE superstar who appeared on the very first RAW and is still on the roster.


3. Stone Cold Steve Austin - 6 time World Heavyweight Champion, 1997,1998 and 2001 Royal Rumble Winner, King of The Ring(1996), WWE Hall of Famer

When you think about the Attitude Era in the WWE the first person that comes to mind is Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin brought to the wrestling world a completely different type of hero.

Getting his big break in WCW as Stunning Steve Austin he was one of the most popular heels in the company. Winning TV title, United States Title and tag team champion with Brian Pillman as the Hollywood Blondes. After a bicep injuy Austin was released by WCW. From there he went on to ECW where he was really allowed to work his promo skills. Seen by the WWE they picked him up and brought him in as the Ringmaster. He was the pretige of Ted Dibiase. Stone Cold achieved his highest popularity in the late 90's when he began a fued with WWE owner Vince McMahon. Not being the cookie cutter hero but a swearing, beer drinking rebel who was not afraid to stand up to his boss. This connected to people like no other wrestler has ever done before. He was the biggest box office success of his era. Hulk Hogan gets alot of credit for building the WWE but Austin definately kept the doors open.

2. Ric Flair - 16 time World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer

The hardest thing about this list was deciding who was going be number 1 and 2. Well Ric Flair is 2 on this list but I am sure he is number 1 on a lot of others. The "Jet flying, limousine riding, kiss stealing, wheeling and dealing son of a gun" is one of the greatest champions of all time.

"To be the man, you gotta beat the man." Nobody did it or said it better than the Nature Boy Ric Flair. The last of the true NWA Champions who traveled the belt around from territory to territory around the world. Flair could have a great match with anybody at anytime. Leader of the most influential faction in professional wrestling history the Four Horsemen. Flair was the their standard bearer. Whether in the NWA, WCW or even the WWE nobody styled and profiled like the Nature Boy. One of the best talkers the business has ever seen Flair easily pack a house with one of his great promos. If you want to measure Flair's impact all you have to do is look at his list. He has played a major part in the careers on almost all of the wrestlers on this or any other all time great list that you will find.


1. Hulk Hogan - World Heavyweight Champion, WWE Hall of Famer

The most iconic wrestler in the history of the business. If you have never watched wrestling you know the name Hulk Hogan. Hulk Hogan has been strong presence in the wrestling business for the last 30 years and is still going strong.

Even I must admit when I was a kid I was a "Hulkamanic" myself. When that music hit and you saw that red and yellow you could not help but get excited. Hogan maybe the biggest box office attraction wrestling has seen. His match with Andre the Giant in 1987 at the Pontiac Silverdome is still the biggest match in the history of professional wrestling. Whether facing the Iron Sheik, The Giant or King Kong Bundy the Hulkster could sell tickets. Also with the begining of Pay Per View, Hogan maybe the first big attraction of that medium.
A testament to the star power of Hulk Hogan is that not only is he the greatest babyface of all time but he performed the greatest heel turn of all time in 1996 when he became Hollywood Hogan in WCW. Which also helped really put a pop in the Monday Night Wars and allow WCW to dominate WWE in the television ratings for 84 consecutive weeks. There will never be another Hulk Hogan....




Honorable Mention
Sting

Eddie Guerrero

The Art of the Faction

Faction - (noun) a group or clique within a larger group, party, government, organization, or the like: a faction in favor of big business


One of the greatest parts of wrestling is the faction. A group of men who decide to come together to take over the industry. Well that's at least one way to phrase it. Another would be simply 3 or more guys who have each others back and live the life. In my view the faction is started by a main eventer or World Title contender and his crew who protect his title by posing obstacles in rivals way. Also those underlings eventually becomes stars themselves and go after the lower level belts. Yes call me old school but wrestling should always be about the belts. In this blog I will only focus on a few but you can send a list of any number groups that I left off. May have to do a follow up blog about this subject.


3 Favorite Factions of All Time



1. The 4 Horsemen - They are the standard for what a faction in wrestling is supposed to be. At the top the greatest of all time the Nature Boy Ric Flair, the 16 time world champion.
The line up may have changed many times over the years but 2 things always remained the same the Nature Boy and The Enforcer Arn Anderson. As a kid growing up in the 80's I think of the Horsemen as Flair, Anderson, Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham. Managed by the great J.J Dillion will always reign as the standard of how a faction was supposed be.


You had the world champ who provide very capable obstacles to run fight through to get to him. They had all the belts, money and women. They had the best feuds that would carry the company at the time. They had the best matches on the card and elevated an entire roster coming after them. The Horsemen are definitely what led to the success of the early War Games matches.
It does matter if you have Sting or DustyRhodes coming after Flair's World Title or The Road Warriors coming after Arn and Tully Blanchard's Tag Titles or even Lex Luger and Nikita Koloff coming after Barry Windham and US Title you were in for good matches. Not to mention the names would mix and match still keep you interested. The Rock N' Roll Express were gunning for the Horsemen so where everyone else in WCW/NWA at the time.




2Evolution - Any faction that includes Triple H and Ric Flair will have you in good shape. Evolution is my second favorite of all time which will shock a lot people. Just like those Horsemen, everybody on that Raw Brand wanted a piece of Evolution. They had their problems with Chris Beniot, Chris Jericho, Edge, Goldberg and the list goes on and on. Everybody wanted a piece of World Champion Triple H and for that you had to go through 3rd generation superstar Randy Orton, The Animal Dave Batista and manger/hit man The Nature Boy Ric Flair.
With Flair and Batista taking the tag team titles, Orton with the IC belt and Triple H with the World title dominated the show.



The only thing that did Evolution in was that it was too good and lived up to its name. Eventually Orton then Batista both realized they could rule the World too. It did what a faction is supposed to do in my opinion it created stars. The build to Batista's chase of the World title was classic.




3. D-Generation X - Originally started as HBK-Shawn Micheals, Chyna, and Hunter Hearst Helmsley now known as Triple H. When people talk the Attitude Era, they love to talk about Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock but you can not leave out D-Generation X. The bad boys who took to WCW's doorstep literally during the Monday Night Wars.

My favorite incarnation of DX is when Triple H takes over the group as the undisputed leader of the group. You have to love a faction that can function as face faction taking on the Nation of Domination and the Corporation or as heels running the company with the McMahon-Helmsley Era. My favorite incarnation was with Triple H running the show, The Outlaws as tag champs and X-Pac taking on all comers. To run interference and keep a guy like Kane off Triple H takes a lot guts.




Honorable Mention



The Fabulous Freebirds - Live from Bad Street USA is a group that does not always gets credit as a faction but one of the most influential are the Freebirds. Terry Bam Bam Gordy, Buddy Roberts and leader Micheal PS Hayes. In the later years in WCW Jimmy Jam Garvin became part of the crew. This group should actually be inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame this year in my view since Wrestlemania is being held in the home of Bad Street USA. They actually created what is know in wrestling as the Freebird rule. Allowing any 2 members of the group to defend the tag team titles at any time and recognized the entire group as the tag team champions. Later used by Demolition and the Spirit Squad. They got it done in every territory they were in. These guys spent time in AWA, WCW and WWE but they are probably most know for their time in WCCW ( World Class Championship Wrestling). Their feud with the Von Erichs will go down in history as one of the greatest in the history of wrestling.



The Future of the Faction



I dont know that the future of the faction holds. Right now each major organization has factions on their show and being used in different ways. There are negatives and positives to each one but hopefully


The Nexus - In the WWE, the Nexus had one of the strongest debuts that I have ever seen from any group. They took out the face of the company John Cena and stomped everyone who got in their way. But thanks to bad booking there were made to look weak and sorry. Too much Super Cena beating them all and Wade Barrett made to look incapable of winning a match without the help of the group.
Now that the Nexus has a new breathe of life with CM Punk as the leader they definatley changes the dynamics. Punk is a former World Champion and proven Main Event level star that gives the group instant credibility.
My suggestion now is to get the other guys involved in feuds and going after belts. Tag Titles and US title would really up the profile of the group. Even using that Freebird rule with the tag titles. The other members need to prove that they can work in the ring. You can't build stars by having them just jumping on people every chance they get then letting the superstar beat them up. Also get rid of David Ortunga. He doesn't belong in pro wrestling at all. He sucks on the mic and in the ring and brings nothing to group.