Tag: wrestling

Family, Wrestling and What to Expect Here in 2026

Family, Wrestling and What to Expect Here in 2026

You would not be reading these words right now if it wasn’t for my dad.

When I was but a wee lad, my mom didn’t want me exposed to such scurrilous things as pro wrestling. This created quite the conundrum for dear old dad, who had been watching since his childhood himself. Apparently, I had a habit of waking up from my nap on Saturday afternoons right in the middle of the main event for World Wide Wrestling. Ric Flair or Greg Valentine or both would be in some mortal peril when my father would hear a meek, “Daddy?” as I stumbled sleepily from the bedroom.

*click*

Keep in mind this was well before streaming and back when even VCRs were not a fixture in every household.

When I was nine, around the time that my grandmother died, I stumbled upon an episode of All American Wrestling. I vaguely remember Hillbilly Jim was involved in the match I was seeing. The details are sketchy nearly 40 years later, but I was quickly hooked… I don’t remember how Dad reacted at the time but he must have been delighted. At long last he had the opportunity to share the wacky wild world of wrestling with me. Since this was 1987, there was a good bit of variety in the available footage in east Tennessee.

The weekends were full of options. WWF had Superstars, Wrestling Challenge, and All American Wrestling. The NWA (which was Jim Crockett Promotions but, to 9- and 10-year-old me, was just “the NWA”) had World Championship Wrestling on TBS at 6:05 every Saturday night. You could catch World Wide Wrestling and Pro on the weekends in syndication. ESPN aired AWA on weekday afternoons (much better than game shows or soaps) and soon added World Class, including past episodes of the latter, which introduced me to the fantastic Von Erichs-Freebirds feud.

Mom tolerated the hobby but mostly didn’t care for it, although in the latter years of her life she became a fan. I always wondered if the only reason that she only got sucked into watching wrestling because, as her mobility declined, it was more difficult to just get up and leave the room whenever Dad turned the channel to something she did not want to watch… and he watched a lot of wrestling. Bianca Belair (a fellow Vol alum like my parents) was a favorite of hers. She was a big fan of Roman Reigns and Damian Priest as well. She literally shed tears when Reigns returned to WWE in the summer of 2024. I guess it was still real to her.

Mom passed away that November, about a week before Thanksgiving. On July 30, Dad joined her. I can’t really express to you the shock that happens, the void that suddenly forms, when you lose both of your parents in a span of about eight months. I recognize that not all families are the same, and not all children are close with their parents, but we were. Normal routines are no longer normal.

In daily and weekly chores, in plans for holidays, and yes, in watching wrestling.

Even as my dad became bed bound, and it was clear that he did not have much longer left, he wanted to watch All In. And so, on a sweltering July afternoon in Tennessee, I made shrimp and scallops sauteed in lemon butter with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits and 10-year-old Bushmills to wash it down. Dad’s awareness ebbed and flowed and he fell asleep long before the show ended, but he enjoyed it.

It’s strange watching wrestling now with the both of them gone. There’s still good stuff out there to be had — past and present.

Going forward into 2026, I’d like to write more here, and said good stuff will be explored in a variety of ways.

Here’s the plan:

Mat Quest is back, baby! My plan to chronicle everything on Peacock before it eventually left the streaming service (which is happening in a matter of days now) got scuttled by my dad’s health issues. I’ve decided to resume my chronological journey through the world of wrestling, first by taking a step back to June of 1973 where I started and catch the good stuff that wasn’t part of the content drop on Peacock.

That means more stuff from Jim Crockett Promotions, the territories, and overseas. You won’t see any Portland stuff included, however, because…

Portland Wrestling gets its own special series! I find this to be one of the most overlooked territories out there in terms of reviews and general coverage, and it’s high time that changes. Might it devolve into a continuing series of articles praising the greatness of Buddy Rose? Entirely possible! Look for the first installment to drop on January 2.

But wait! There’s more!

We also will continue to Review the Kraken as I keep recapping episodes of Kraken Pro Wrestling’s YouTube show … maybe I’ll get caught up to real time by the summer!

And, an occasional What I’m Watching piece, with thoughts on whatever I end up watching that doesn’t fall into one of the above categories.

I’m hopeful for a fun and busy year in 2026. I hope you’ll join me.

Mat Quest, Chapter 6: Late 1976

Mat Quest, Chapter 6: Late 1976

Mat Quest is a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock. Jump in and follow along with us! In this installment, we clear off another year of footage… with many more years and a mind-boggling amount of footage still to go. I continue to wonder about the future access of this archive. WWE has been rather active putting content on YouTube as of late, both through its pre-existing Vault channel and new channels for NXT and WCW. There’s also a healthy helping of back episodes of NXT now available through Tubi.

What does that mean for the future of the agreement with Peacock, which currently is set to expire about a year from now?

Not the foggiest idea.

No time to speculate, friends… we’ve got a lot of footage to get to still, so let’s get to it as we wrap up 1976. Before we dive into the Peacock content from the latter half of 1976, though, a quick detour is in order.

Get ready for the first “side quest” in the viewing guide.

Bruno Sammartino defends the WWWF Heavyweight Title vs. Stan Hansen, 4/26/76 – Standout

I dipped into the private cache for this one, first because it involved an all-time favorite in Hansen; and also because it sets up the main event for the August 1976 event at Madison Square Garden. A young Hansen, looking rather unlike himself with his shaggy mop of blond hair, challenges the beloved Sammartino for the title. The historic value here is high because Sammartino legitimately breaks his neck during the match, the first step in a series of events that eventually leads to him dropping the title because he can no longer maintain the required schedule. What available footage we have joins the match in progress and the crowd is pipin’ hot for the action. Hansen is using a “loaded” elbow pad during this WWWF run and uses said pad to lariat Bruno in the face. Sammartino bleeds buckets and the referee stops the match. This is pretty action-packed by the standards of the time and definitely worth watching if you can find it.

MSG, 8/7/76

GREAT

Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino defends the WWWF Heavyweight Title vs. Stan Hansen

More than 22,000 fans packed the Garden for this event, headlined by Bruno getting his revenge against Hansen, who received storyline credit for breaking the neck of the champion. The fans are so eager for this one that a mere mention that the cage match is next sends a ripple of excitement through the crowd prior to the introductions for a real snoozer of a bout between Victor Rivera and Baron Mikel Scicluna.

This version of the cage match is where escape is the only way to win, and it was a pretty standard way for Bruno to blow off a feud during his salad days; the other was a Texas Death Match, like his battle with Spiros Arion from the prior year. Bruno is at his best when he is full of fire and throwing punches and kicks in bunches at his opponent, and this match has plenty of that. The packed crowd goes wild at his opening salvo and maintains that energy. Sammartino dominates this match, and Hansen’s strategy seems to be to try and run away and get out of the cage before Bruno can stop him. It’s the type of structure that, if it was used today, probably would provoke podcast hot takes and lengthy written diatribes about how Hansen got “buried.” Any changes to the way the match played out would have distracted from Bruno’s violent retribution, and the crowd’s shared schadenfreude in the pummeling of the burly challenger from Texas. After using Hansen’s own loaded elbow pad to beat him to a bloody pulp, Bruno tosses the gimmicked object to the mat with disdain and calmly walks out of the cage like a boss — after getting a couple extra shots in for good measure, of course. Once exited, Bruno casually heads right back up the aisle like he’s got somewhere better to be.

It’s also worth noting that Hansen emerges from his time in WWWF using the supposed loaded elbow pad by using an incredibly stiff lariat that knocked the dogshit out of hundreds of wrestlers in the ensuing quarter century or so he remained active.

Worth Watching

2/3 Falls: The Executioners defend the WWWF Tag Titles vs. Dominic DeNucci and Jose Gonzales

This card is basically built around that one match, as most of the other offerings are too short to be memorable (much less good) but this is a solid tag bout. As mentioned in our last installment, the Executioners are a towering duo of masked men and the rulebreaking champions du jour in the stable of Lou Albano, following in the footsteps of duos like the Valiant Brothers and the Blackjacks. Killer Kowalski and John Studd are underneath those hoods. The challengers include Gonzales, who gains greater fame in his native Puerto Rico as Invader #1 and then permanent notoriety for stabbing Bruiser Brody to death in a locker room in Puerto Rico in 1987.

This is pretty paint by numbers at times, but the crowd is engaged and elevates what’s happening in the ring. When DeNucci and Gonzales tie the match at one fall apiece, the fans erupt. Gonzales has a good showing of himself and I enjoyed some of the little touches; in the third fall, Kowalski sells the attrition of the rather lengthy match by being to fatigued to climb the ropes in his corner.

Kevin Sullivan vs. Bruiser Brody

The Madison Square Garden debut for Brody, who makes quick work of Sullivan in less than five minutes. This is noteworthy for the historic value, and if you just enjoy watching Sullivan continue to work his later established type as the blandest of fan favorites.

MSG, 10/25/76

Standout

Special Referee Gorilla Monsoon: Ivan Putski vs. Stan Hansen

Hansen definitely is a highlight of the available 1976 catalog from WWWF. He stands out through his appearance, his willingness to make things appear snug, and a general rugged offense that is quite different from the typical wrestler on this roster in this time. Here he takes on the beloved Putski, who usually produces pretty skippable matches. Not so here, as from the moment he steps through the ropes, Putski comes at Hansen with fists-a-flyin’ in a red hot start. These two don’t overstay their welcome and engage in a pretty high-energy brawl with a couple of holds worked into the mix. Bonus points for Gorilla Monsoon, who continues to show surprising spryness for a man of his heft and height, sliding into position to make three counts or check submissions like he’s the size of Mark Curtis and not a super heavyweight.

Good

3/5 Falls: Andre the Giant, Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf vs. Bruiser Brody & The Executioners

Sit back, fire up your streaming device of choice and feast your eyes on what is believed to be the only existing footage of a match that pits Andre the Giant against Bruiser Brody. That alone would qualify this match for the Worth Watching tier, but the ensuing bout is pretty damn solid. With six wrestlers involved, there are enough moving pieces to keep things interesting. Highlights include a very fun hot tag by Andre in the first fall and cleaning house in the fourth and decisive fall. Watching a nimble Andre in his prime wreck shop is a treat and also a testament to his sad decline as age and his condition caught up to him. Meanwhile, all of the interactions between Andre and Brody feel solid, likely in part because these are the only ones we have to review. I definitely recommend seeking out this one.

Jose Gonzales vs. Tor Kamata

Gonzales eats a pretty quick loss in a match designed to position Kamata as the new dangerous rulebreaker in town. Vince McMahon touts Kamata as “undefeated and untested”. He provokes the crowd well with an exaggerated and prolonged pre-match salt ceremony. Once the bell rings, he has some good facial expressions and, despite lumbering at times, good explosion on strikes to both take control and win. I probably liked this more than most would.

Other Stuff

If you are a Bruno Sammartino completist, he defends against Nikolai Volkoff as part of this same card but the match is such a slog I cannot recommend it.

MSG, 11/22/76

Once again stepping into the set of compilations released on Peacock to pluck something from the archive, as Bobo Brazil faces Bruiser Brody. The biggest positive to this is that it provides more rare footage of Brody in the WWF. The match itself is downright boring and when the bell rings to signal a time-limit draw, I was honestly pretty glad it was over.

LINEUP & SUMMARY 

MSG, 8/7/76

Johnny Rivera vs. Jose Cadiz
SD Jones vs. Johnny Rodz
WWWF Tag Titles-2/3 Falls: The Executioners (Ch) vs. Dominic DeNucci & Jose Gonzales – Worth Watching
Kevin Sullivan vs. Bruiser Brody (w/ The Grand Wizard) – Worth Watching
Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna & Rocky Tomayo
WWWF Hvwt Title-Cage Match: Bruno Sammartino defends vs. Stan Hansen – Great
Bobo Brazil vs. Gashouse Gilbert
Ivan Putski vs. Skandor Akbar

MSG, 10/25/76

Manuel Soto vs. Johnny Rodz
Bobo Brazil vs. Gashouse Doug Gilbert
Jose Gonzales vs. Tor Kamata – Good
Special Referee Gorilla Monsoon: Ivan Putski vs. Stan Hansen – Standout
WWWF Hvwt Title-Bruno Sammartino (w/ Arnold Skaaland) defends vs. Nikolai Volkoff (w/ Lou Albano)
Victor Rivera vs. Baron Mikel Scicluna
3/5 Falls: Andre the Giant, Chief Jay Strongbow & Billy White Wolf vs. Bruiser Brody & The Executioners – Good  

UP NEXT

We jump ahead to the summer of 1977, and a new Heavyweight Champion.

MISS AN ENTRY?

Here is the full index of entries in the Mat Quest viewer guide.

WANT SOMETHING MORE CURRENT?

Check out the “Review the Kraken” series.

Mat Quest, Chapter 5: Spring 1976

Mat Quest, Chapter 5: Spring 1976

Mat Quest is a chronological viewing guide to the WWE archive on Peacock. Jump in and follow along with us!

If you have been following along to this point and your familiarity with WWE is restricted to their current television, you probably have experienced some degree of culture shock. Today, the top stars in WWE make regular appearances on TV and nearly every episode of Raw and SmackDown features competitive, hard-hitting matches. Things were, as you can imagine, quite different in the 1970s, and not just because Vince McMahon, Sr., was still the promoter. Top stars appear rarely on TV and many of the matches are one-sided squashes. These two trends continue well into the 1980s; I can remember as a kid that it was a big deal anytime Hulk Hogan had a match on free TV.

But I digress…

Watching these episodes can be a slog at times but there are still some matches and segments that grab your attention. Here’s what stood out from the available offerings in the spring of 1976.

All Star Wrestling, 3/6/76

Stan Hansen vs. Bobby Schaeffer – Worth Watching 

Hansen is back and still on the warpath. His jobber victim this week, Schaeffer, sells everything that Hansen does to him like it was death itself. This also marks the debut of Hansen using the lariat in WWWF. Hansen is just 26 years old here but he already shows the hard hitting and rugged in-ring style that made him a top talent in two continents. Hansen has an intensity and a violence to him here that is noticeably absent from the typical WWWF wrestler at this time.

Billy White Wolf vs. Skandor Akbar – Take it or Leave it

You might know White Wolf better as General Adnan, an Arabic Sheik character that had runs in both the AWA and WWF, the latter during Sgt. Slaughter’s Iraqi turncoat phase. White Wolf is actually from Iraq originally where he went to school with Saddam Hussein. Yes, that Saddam Hussein. Akbar is better known for his runs as a manager in Mid-South and World Class. There isn’t much to this match but you may find it interesting to see two guys who earned more renown as managers facing off in the squared circle.

All Star Wrestling, 3/20/76

Kevin Sullivan vs. Crusher Blackwell – Good

Competitive matches were rare on All Star Wrestling but they did happen. Case in point: this match between Sullivan and Blackwell. Sullivan is still about as bland a babyface as you can find, and far afield from the heel character he would take on just a few years later in Florida. The finish here is strange; the time limit expires but the referee awards Sullivan the win anyway. Odd, but the crowd doesn’t care and Sullivan celebrates like he just achieved a milestone victory.

Bobo Brazil vs. Bugsy McGraw (w/ The Grand Wizard & Ernie Ladd) – Worth Watching

Ladd is in Bugsy’s corner for some reason, which suggests shenanigans are afoot. Bugsy has been one of the highlights of this 1970s WWWF run for me, but what ensues here is more angle than match as Ladd jumps in and attacks Bobo after just a couple of minutes of action. Ladd once again summons Redd Foxx with his exaggerated sells of every strike, this time from Bobo, and the babyface locker room empties to provide reinforcements.

The Executioners vs. Pat Barrett & Johnny Rivera – Take it or Leave it

In the March 6 episode, Captain Lou Albano does an interview and hypes bringing in a new team that will become his fourth to win the tag titles. Their actual debut, in the March 13 episode, is not available so this is the first look at The Executioners. Who are these masked men? Killer Kowalski and a very young, rather lean John Studd. One interesting note; Barrett was one half of the tag champs less than a year ago but he gets treated as glorified enhancement talent here.

Andre the Giant vs. Ernie Ladd, MSG, 4/26/76 – Worth Watching

This is the first match featured in the Andre the Giant episode of Best of WWE on Peacock. Emanating from Madison Square Garden on April 26, what ensues in this battle of the big men cannot be called a good match but it succeeds as a spectacle. The pace is about as ponderous as you would expect; nevertheless, this is Andre at arguably the peak of his physical prowess. Ladd spends most of the match either running from Andre or languishing from clubbering blows or whatever hold Andre chooses to apply. Ladd uses the taped thumb to gain control then, in a twist, Andre uses the thumb against The Big Cat to the delight of the Garden crowd. It’s not long after that that Ladd decides he has had enough and retreats to the dressing room.

LINEUP & SUMMARY 

All Star Wrestling, 3/6/76

Crusher Blackwell vs. Al Williams
Bobo Brazil vs. Johnny Rodz
Vince McMahon interviews Lou Albano & Freddie Blassie
Stan Hansen (w/ Freddie Blassie) vs. Bobby Schaeffer – Worth Watching
Pete Sanchez vs. Johnny Rivera
Billy White Wolf vs. Skandor Akbar (w/ Freddie Blassie) – Take it or Leave it

All Star Wrestling, 3/20/76

Pat Barrett & Johnny Rivera vs. The Executioners (w/ Lou Albano) – Take it or Leave it
Frank Williams vs. Johnny Rodz
Vince McMahon interviews Louis Cerdan & Tony Parisi
Pete Sanchez vs. Skandor Akbar (w/ Freddie Blassie)
Kevin Sullivan vs. Crusher Blackwell – Good
Bobo Brazil vs. Bugsy McGraw (w/ The Grand Wizard & Ernie Ladd) – Worth Watching

UP NEXT

A personal favorite feud of mine enters the spotlight as we wrap up 1976 with a pair of cards from Madison Square Garden.

MISS AN ENTRY?

Here is the full index of entries in the Mat Quest viewer guide.

Review the Kraken: Episodes 9-11

Review the Kraken: Episodes 9-11

Welcome back to Review The Kraken. This article will review the second TV taping for Kraken Pro Wrestling, which covers Episodes 9-11 of their show on Youtube.

Still about five months behind the current Kraken product and trying to catch up … Kraken places an emphasis on building long-term stories and these three episodes are more about building that narrative than any major developments. I think the episodes also suffered somewhat from some of my favorite Kraken talents being absent: Trever Aeon, Michael Walker, Lamar Diggs, and Trey Shaw all are nowhere to be seen.

Here are some general observations on these three episodes…

Probably the biggest development for the overall story in Kraken is the reveal of a new general manager, Robert Vien. On-screen authority figures are pretty played out but Vien plays things right down the middle (so far), which is as close as you can come to a fresh take on this trope in the 2020s.

These episodes also include the third edition of the Cash In, Cash Out Scramble. This is a fun concept where wrestlers put money into the pot and the winner takes all. One unique addition is revealed here; the match goes to the time limit, the pot rolls over to the next scramble. This scramble involves Will Huckaby, Jak Myles, and two newcomers to Kraken: Edward Draven and CJ Shine. The previous scrambles had six wrestlers, not four, and the match was much more cohesive with the lesser number. They also timed the finish perfectly with the three count right after time expired.

Kevin Kantrell stood out during the Kraken Classic set of episodes. He returns here to face Charlie Kills, who was called Charlie Anarchy during the initial set of tapings. Kantrell is a top-tier talent on the Kraken roster for me and scores an impressive win, making Charlie — who seems an unstoppable monster at times — tap out in the middle of the ring, clean as a sheet.

With some of the aforementioned names absent from this taping, several new faces make their debuts in Kraken. Two of the newcomers jumped out: the H-Town Hittas, a power tag team consisting of two twin brothers. They win an absolutely one-sided squash match and their opponents, Tyreke Robinson and Luke Stone, deserve credit for making the Hittas look so dominant.

The big highlight from these three episodes is the main event of Episode 11, with Jay 2 Strong facing Brother Azriel for the Kraken Title. Justin Kayse, Jay’s attorney and manager in the The Business stable, technically holds the title and Jay is defending it on his behalf. Azriel steps in after Aeon, the originally scheduled challenger, is mysteriously absent with The Business highly implied as the culprits behind his vanishing act.

Jay has stood out as, arguably, the best wrestler on the Kraken roster at this early stage of the promotion. His Kraken Classic final with Michael Walker remains the best match yet on Kraken TV, but this one comes close to overtaking it. Azriel has a unique look and a fine power game, also displaying much more agility than you would expect from just looking at him. Jay makes Azriel look especially strong in defeat and the home stretch is very good with a bait-and-switch finish that hearkens back to the heyday of territorial wrestling. If the goal is to inspire the fan base to want to see Kayse dethroned as champion, mission accomplished.

You can check out all three episodes here:

Mat Quest: The Master Index

Mat Quest: The Master Index

A chronological viewing guide to the archive of wrestling content currently uploaded to Peacock:

Introduction (How the project will work and why it is being done)

1973 — A prologue installment

Madison Square Garden (3/17/75 & 4/14/75)

All Star Wrestling (9/13/75, 1/10/76, & 1/17/76)

February, 1976 (MSG, 2/2 & All Star Wrestling, 2/28)

Spring, 1976 (All Star Wrestling 3/6 & 3/20; Andre the Giant vs. Ernie Ladd from MSG on 4/26)

Wrapping Up 1976 (MSG, 8/7/76 & 10/25/76; Bobo Brazil vs. Bruiser Brody from MSG on 11/22)

Review the Kraken: The Kraken Classic

Review the Kraken: The Kraken Classic

Pro wrestling is more accessible than ever. Between streaming services, in-house online broadcasts, and good old-fashioned TV deals (a few still exist), fans have more ways to watch more wrestling from around the world than at any point. 

Imagine telling the you from two decades ago – even the you from 10 years ago – “some day there will be so much wrestling available to watch that you will never be able to keep up with it all.” And yet, today, WWE puts out six hours of content per week – and that doesn’t count the feeder shows like Main Event and Level Up. AEW cranks out five hours of TV wrestling each week — and that does not include the weekly Ring of Honor episodes. If there is a pay-per-view / premium live event that week, tack on another three hours. Full shows are available from a host of international promotions, especially in Japan, but those are usually three hours or more, requiring a real investment of time if you intend to watch the whole thing. 

And so, the approach that Kraken Pro Wrestling has chosen feels fresh in its convenience. This neophyte promotion located in southern Georgia breaks down its live events into snack-sized installments of TV for its YouTube channel. Each episode lasts 30 minutes, at most. A couple of episodes clock in closer to the 10-minute mark. 

But, with so many wrestling promotions out there, is Kraken worth watching? I think it is. And hence, welcome to my efforts to Review The Kraken! We kick off this endeavor by looking at the first eight episodes of TV, where the first Kraken champion was crowned in an eight-man tournament called the Kraken Classic. 

These shows happened back over the summer and so given that fact, I won’t attempt to bore you with a match-by-match or segment-by-segment breakdown. Instead, I wanted to take a look at some of the standout wrestlers on these early Kraken shows. They all have one commonality – each left me wanting to see more of them, whether it be here or elsewhere.

Big Business – This three-man faction comprises the top heel act in Kraken. The manager, Justin Kayse, actually came out of the tournament holding the title, as Jay 2 Strong won the Kraken Classic only to see Kayse declare himself as the champion. Jay was incredibly solid in his three tournament matches and the final against Michael Walker is the best match of the tournament. Lamar Diggs is the enforcer of the group and has the physical presence and requisite menace to fill that role. You could plug him right into the middle of the Mid-South territory in its heyday and he would fit right in with those sluggers. I like the concept of a heel manager holding the title everyone is chasing but, through these first eight episodes, I found Kayse somewhat lacking both as a talker and during interference spots sometimes self-sabotaged by poor timing. We will see how Kayse rises to the occasion in future installments.

Michael Walker – Probably the purest babyface on the roster through these first eight episodes. He acquitted himself well in all three tournament matches, all against opponents of different styles, including both wrestlers in Big Business. His match with Diggs was a fine example of one of my favorite tropes, pitting a smaller, speedy wrestler against a powerhouse. Even with the loss in the finals, Walker emerged from the Classic portrayed as a fine never-say-die underdog who you wanted to root for.

Trever Aeon – I have seen Aeon in person a couple of times and followed his work online in recent years. He is one of the more underrated wrestlers on the Southeast scene to me and stands out through his look, his versatility, and the explosion he demonstrates in some of his offense. 

Trey Shaw – I knew nothing about Shaw before his first-round match in the Classic (found in episode 4 of Kraken), but immediately was impressed. Again, these are short episodes, but in the span of about 15 minutes, he stood out with his combination of look, size, promo ability, and snug offense. 

All Star Special – Will Huckaby and Hold My Beer Hanson are one of the more popular teams in Georgia and probably the merch champions of the independent scene in that state. Hanson is also the promoter of Kraken, something that is readily acknowledged on commentary. While this is hard to deny when Hanson is doing local TV spots to promote Kraken using his real name, I emerged from these eight episodes unsure if this was a little too much “behind the curtain” for me. A tip of the cap to Hanson and Huckaby (who is the booker) and not following in the footsteps of so many of their predecessors and making themselves the focal point of the shows.

Kevin Kantrell – Kantrell is not part of the Kraken Classic but he stands out with a rugged, intense style. In his one match in the first eight episodes, he carries a green opponent to a solid effort and then, after the result does not go his way, beats down the referee like the official handed him a light envelope at the end of the night. I came away wanting to see more of him, for sure.

Kody Madden – Having done wrestling commentary in the past, I know how difficult the job is. Kody is the lead broadcaster for Kraken and does a good job with the juggling act of calling the action, telling a greater story, and directing traffic in a three-man booth – although the other two members of that booth are both heels and have similar-sounding voices.

One of the most common, widespread — and often deserved — criticisms of professional wrestling as we sit almost halfway through the 2020s is the sameness of it all. Matches up and down the card, regardless of whether the promotion is located on the globe, see everyone working a similar style. Hanson and Huckaby have done a solid job assembling a roster of different characters with different styles. I will keep watching through their archive of episodes and came away from these first eight shows wanting to see what happens next, and really, isn’t that the first goal for any wrestling promotion?

365 Wrestling, Day 3: Juventud Guerrera vs. Mortis (WCWSN, 1/3/98)

365 Wrestling, Day 3: Juventud Guerrera vs. Mortis (WCWSN, 1/3/98)

365 match reviews, one for each date on the yearly calendar? Challenge accepted. Welcome to 365 Wrestling.

Back when the Monday Night Wars were in full swing, WCW became extremely aggressive signing wrestlers. This created a glut of talent — more than could be used at any one time — to the point that wrestlers were under contract for years and rarely booked or not used at all. Anyway, this also led to some bizarre and highly entertaining matchups on WCW’s three C-level shows: WCW Saturday Night, Pro, and WorldWide. We reach into that wacky grab bag for today’s match: Juventud Guerrera vs. Mortis from the Jan. 3, 1998, episode of Saturday Night.

You can find this match online with a shrewd bit of searching.

The Match

A quick plug of the WCW Hotline by Mean Gene Okerlund has us fully ensconced in WCW nostalgia mode. Tony Schiavone spends a little time on commentary building a story that Mortis is out to become the best masked wrestler in WCW. This is one of those C-show plots that basically occurred in a vacuum. Case in point: Juventud wins the Cruiserweight Title for the first time less than a week later on Thunder, while by February of 1998, Mortis has abandoned the character altogether, unmasking and allying with Raven.

More people are aware of the ability of Mortis (aka Chris Kanyon), and his influence on future wrestlers, after his Dark Side of the Ring episode. We see some of that innovation here. Following a very well-timed bit of interference by James Vandenberg (better known as the Sinister Minister these days), Mortis takes control and busts out this:

After consulting with WCW super-enthusiast and technical wrestling specialist Jeff Connelly, we’re going to call this a deadlift pumphandle fallaway slam. It’s not so much the trip as the landing — Juvi gets dropped throatfirst across the top rope then crashes back to the canvas.

Mortis has a big size advantage and it plays into a teased comeback by Juventud, who converts an apparent tilt-a-whirl headscissors into a sleeper (Dusty Rhodes delightfully calls this as a “whirlybird”). Later, Juvi uses Mortis’ larger size against him, countering an original Flatliner (from a fireman’s carry off the second rope) with a sunset flip powerbomb. However, it’s not long before Mortis finishes with a move Schiavone calls “the D.O.A.” but is now the move we wrestling aficionados know as the Flatliner.

Final Rating: 5

There’s nothing wrong with the action here, but not a lot worth seeking it out, either. However, current and aspiring managers should watch the interference by Vandenberg for the artful timing on opening the ropes quickly and at the exact ideal moment.

What’s Next

It’s January 4, so there’s only one destination… The Tokyo Dome.

Here’s the complete, ongoing list of matches in this project.

Follow In Moorehouse Wrestling on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

365 Wrestling, Day 2: New Year Death Match, Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (Big Japan, 1/2/13)

365 Wrestling, Day 2: New Year Death Match, Abdullah Kobayashi vs. Shuji Ishikawa (Big Japan, 1/2/13)

365 match reviews, one for each date on the yearly calendar? Challenge accepted. Welcome to 365 Wrestling.

Thanks to the advent of streaming services in recent years, American wrestling fans have more access to Japanese wrestling than ever. One company that still flies a bit under the radar is Big Japan Pro Wrestling, which features both a strong style division and a death match division. Big Japan holds an event almost every January 2, and in this installment, we’re firing up the main event from Big Japan’s January 2 event in 2013, with Abdullah Kobayashi defending the promotion’s Death Match Title against Shuji Ishikawa in a New Year Death Match. You can watch this match on IWTV.

The Wrestlers

I’m not familiar with either of these guys so I thought some brief context would be helpful. Abdullah the Butcher helped train Kobayashi and Kobayashi looks like the Japanese version of that icon. Ishikawa’s got a significant size advantage, but Kobayashi has held the title for more than a year and successfully defended against Ishikawa in May of 2012. At the contract signing, Ishikawa jumps Kobayashi, stuffs him into a port-a-potty, pants him and sprays window cleaner on and up his ass (Yes, really).

The Match

The stage is set with the usual plunder in a match of this type but some other elements that fit the theme of the Japanese new year:

–Kobayashi comes to the ring with an orange tied to the top of his head, which represents the continuation of family.

–There’s a glass version of Kadomatsu, a plant decoration that Japanese tradition believes to be the temporary dwelling place of gods, propped ominously in one corner. Japanese families keep it outside their home until January 7, then burn it on the 15th, but this version gets destroyed when Kobayasahi obliterates Ishikawa with it.

–Ishikawa busts out a Kagami Mochi, which is a New Year’s decoration made of two round rice cakes. The version here contains, well, something sharp that lacerates Ishikawa quickly and profusely once Kobayashi shoves it into his head.

Both men waste little time making for the plunder, building to a spectacular moment where Ishikawa lays a pane of glass against three propped chairs and scales the ropes, only to get superplexed through the glass himself. After exhausting the supply of weaponry, champion and challenger resort to trading strikes — including several shoot-style headbutts — in an exchange that makes Kobayashi look more formidable than anything else in the match to this point. Ishikawa gets the better of the champ, though, and finishes it with a splash off of the top rope.

Final Rating: 5.8

Death match wrestling is more prominent than ever in the U.S. I’ve certainly seen some great death matches through the years, and some that were just awful. This battle fell in the “good” range for me. Having an invested crowd certainly helped. Ultimately, if you like death match wrestling, you’ll like this. If you don’t like death matches, just skip it.

What’s Next

We make our first (but definitely not our last) foray into the grab bag of bizarre matchups that embodied WCW C-shows in the late 1990s.

Here’s the complete, ongoing list of matches in this project.

Got a match you’d like me to watch as part of this 365 Wrestling project? Agree or disagree with my take on this match? Let me know by using the contact form on this site, or reach me on Twitter.

365 Wrestling, Day 1: Rey Mysterio, Jr., vs. Tajiri (SmackDown, 1/1/04)

365 Wrestling, Day 1: Rey Mysterio, Jr., vs. Tajiri (SmackDown, 1/1/04)

365 match reviews, one for each date on the yearly calendar? Challenge accepted. Welcome to 365 Wrestling.

The first installment in the project and we’re kicking things off by spotlighting two of my all-time favorites.

Rey Mysterio, Jr. has slowed down some, naturally, after the pile-up of years and injuries but his appeal, his style and many of his signature moves remain, in many ways, timeless. Tajiri, meanwhile, is a fine example that a wrestler doesn’t have to take a turn as a headliner to be memorable. Tajiri spent his entire time in American wrestling in the midcard, but his look, style and charisma paved a path to success for the Japanese Buzzsaw in WWE and ECW. Like Mysterio, Tajiri is still active. Though he’s slowed down more than Rey, Tajiri became MLW Openweight Champion near the end of 2021.

You can check out this match on Peacock. You can also watch a clip from the match in the video above.

The Match

Rey gets one more crack at Tajiri, who dethroned Mysterio for the Cruiserweight Title the previous September. Tajiri’s reign included him bringing on two lackeys to watch his back and interfere on his behalf, Akio (better known as Jimmy Yang) and Sakoda.

This culminates a four-month rivalry between Rey and Tajiri, and their familiarity shines through in this one. Rather than go right at one another, and flying around the ring, at the opening bell, they opt for a more patient, mat-based battle in the opening minutes. Each man anticipates key offense of the other: Rey blocks signature Tajiri maneuvers like the springboard back elbow and the Tarantula, while, late in the bout, Tajiri avoids a springboard senton by Rey with a sweet counter to a half crab on the left leg, which is the main target of Tajiri’s offense for most of the match.

After relying on a distraction from Akio and interference by Sakoda to get control of the match, Tajiri really works over that leg. The highlight of that attack is a pinpoint standing dropkick to the knee while Rey is hanging upside down in the Tree of Woe.

The finishing stretch is strong with each man scoring a very believable false finish. Ultimately, Rey foils interference by Akio and Sakoda, hooking Tajiri with a huracanrana into the pin to become two-time Cruiserweight Champ.

Final Rating: 7.6

This is a very good match that showcases both Rey and Tajiri in their primes. Everything flowed well and looked good. At under 12 minutes (counting entrances, and minus an early segment of the match we don’t see due to the commercial break), this is a brisk, action-packed match with real stakes, a strong narrative centered around Rey’s left leg, and a satisfying, definitive conclusion. Seek out this match if you haven’t seen it.

What’s Next

We head to Japan and ring in 2013 with a death match.

Here’s the complete, ongoing list of matches in this project.

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365 Wrestling: The Master Index

Featured365 Wrestling: The Master Index

365 Wrestling is simple but ambitious: I’m going to watch a wrestling match for each day of the year, from that day of the year. Here’s a running index of the content so far:

“Rules” and Details on 365 Wrestling

January 1: Rey Mysterio, Jr. vs. Tajiri (SmackDown, 1/1/04)
January 2: New Year Death Match (Big Japan, 1/2/13)
January 3: Juventud Guerrera vs. Mortis (WCW Saturday Night, 1/3/98)
January 4: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kota Ibushi (NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 9, 1/4/15)
January 5: Roddy Piper, Rick Martel, Dutch Savage & Stan Stasiak vs. Buddy Rose’s Army (Pacific Northwest Wrestling, 1/5/80)
January 6: Awesome Kong vs. Gail Kim, No DQ (TNA Final Resolution, 1/6/08)
January 7: Ric Flair vs. Bobby Eaton (WCW Main Event, 1/7/90)
January 8: Kenta Kobashi vs. Minoru Suzuki (NOAH, 1/8/05)