Author: M. Swift

Let’s take a look at ECW Hostile City Showdown, another candidate for “Best Titled Event of 1996.” Low-Tier El Puerto Riqueno drawing with Super Nova didn’t get off the ground at all. Taz murdered Devon Storm—who would find his footing in the business as Crowbar in WCW. It didn’t look like it here but Storm had potential at this time. He was like Sabu without the appeal and cult charisma but rawer around the edges. If you happen to skip this one, you’re not really missing anything—unless you really enjoy Taz running through wrestlers with the quickness. Mid-Tier Mikey Whipwreck taking on Billy Black was a solid bout that would’ve been…

We haven’t looked at Impact Wrestling and its 2005 TNA year in a while. Let’s check out TNA Unbreakable 2005. This one is main evented with Christopher Daniel’s defending the TNA X-Division title against Samoa Joe and AJ Styles! Low-Tier I’ve warmed up to the team of Billy Gunn and Monty Brown. Why didn’t TNA just start with this? Unfortunately, I just couldn’t rock with this match. I’m sure it wasn’t an intended cool-down match but it served that role well considering the matches it was sandwiched between. Mid-Tier The main reason I enjoyed the show opener—3Live Kru vs. The Diamonds in the Rough—was the pace. Also, this sounds like 90s Survivor Series match with the trios’ names. That said,…

Even though Bam Bam Bigelow entered the business in 1985, many fans became familiar with him in his second WWE run in the 1990s. Bam Bam Bigelow in the 90s The most active period for Bam Bam had to be the This nimble big man was everywhere for varying periods of time. He fought with Tatanka in WWE and was managed by Luna Vachon. The Beast From the East spent time in ECW where he feuded with Taz and was a member of The Triple Threat. In his time with ECW, Bigelow also won the ECW World and TV Championships. Also in this decade, he wrestled in Japan for New Japan and WAR. Bam Bam would close out the decade with WCW where he was never really in…

There’s still some First Month Fire left in the tank and we’re getting into UWF Fury Hour. This show delivered an hour of wrestling action every week on the old SportsChannel network. Let’s dive in and see if this was a decent program from 1990. Also, you can find the episodes on YouTube. Storylines In This Episode Since it’s the first episode, there’s really nothing that stands out. UWF is showing off their superstars in mainly squash matches and one really fun match. The one storyline that is featured on the first episode of UWF Fury Hour is between B. Brian Blair and “Dangerous” Dan Spivey. Blair…

AJ Styles was always a hot talent. A few years after his debut, he was tapped as someone with a lot of potential, a lot of upside. R-Truth was also viewed as a wrestler with potential in the time between his first and current WWE stints. It’s in that period between the two that he really showed what he had in-ring. AJ Styles vs. R-Truth The rivalry has its roots in the defunct Georgia-based indy NWA Wildside where Styles and Truth were both based. Styles was the NCW TV Champion in August 1999. R-Truth—as K-Krush—won the belt from Styles in November and a month later it became the NWA Wildside TV title. Part one of their NWA feud ended in January 2000…

We’re checking out ECW A Matter of Respect from May 11, 1996. Yeah, we’re still powering through the spring-summer of ECW to catch up to WWE and WCW. Storylines On This Show There were a couple of things to follow. D-Von Dudley is still having trouble shaping up the Dudley clan. Big Dick Dudley is alright but Buh Buh Ray and the rest? Whew. We also have the early formation of The Full Blooded Italians as a tag team with Little Guido and JT Smith. Axl is still seeking fights. He had an encounter with Little Guido at ECW Hostile City Showdown and that got a little heated. Here we are. As…

Is it ECW in 1996 time? I believe it is! Let’s look at ECW Massacre On Queens Blvd from April 13, 1996. Low-Tier The opener was actually a decent albeit short match. It wasn’t something that would have people tuning in or showing up. This wasn’t competitive either. It was just a savage beating by the Dudleys—mainly D-Von Dudley. Yes, this is debut of the D-Von Dudley gimmick and it’s a truly amazing debut. He just showed up on the premise of straightening out the Dudley Boys then proceeds to beat J.T Smith and Little Guido! Again, the match itself was nothing special but everything around it…

On the return of MLW Fusion, Major League Wrestling announced the upcoming 2020 Opera Cup. The tournament is MLW’s recent and biggest annual tournament and usually falls in December. Depending on how the episodes are produced, the tournament can end up running into the January episodes. Here are the fixtures for the 2020 Opera Cup! Major League Wrestling 2020 Opera Cup Opening Round Tom Lawlor vs. Rocky Romero Laredo Kid vs. ACH Low Ki vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr Richard Holliday vs. TJP Since you never know what will happen with the wrestlers during this time, several alternates were announced as well. These include King Mo, Dominic Garrini, El Hijo de L.A Park, Jordan Oliver, Gino…

Major League Wrestling is back! It’s #TheRestart with MLW Fusion #110. The show opens with the cold open that was released before the episode. This cold open detailed the revival of Major League Wrestling up until the MLW roster taking back the company from Contra Unit. It was very insurgency style how they just rushed the HQ and Josef Samael was caught unaware. Also, Rich Bocchini is joined with a new commentary part in Jared St. Laurent. According to TSN, St. Laurent is the great-grandson of the twelfth Canadian Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent. He’s solid at the booth, I’m looking forward to hearing…

There are some fans put there who might not remember the name “Maxx Payne” from WCW but Man Mountain Rock is one that 90s WWE fans might just remember. He wasn’t in either company that long but he had the look, the big man ability, and natural charisma. Of course, depending on who you ask, he didn’t get far because of attitude problems. It’s the Wrestling Salvage Yard where we throw out their problems, look at their tools as a wrestler, the company landscape they were in, and their peak career to see what potential was there for a better push or better use on a…