Author: M. Swift

Brock Lesnar is one of the first names that comes to mind when you think of “dominance” in the ring. If you were a fan in the 80s there’s Nikita Koloff and Hulk Hogan. The 90s had Goldberg and Vader. In puroresu, Kensuke Sasaki’s period as a freelancer, Yoshihiro Takayama as a big early 2000s draw, Minoru Suzuki as a late 2000s draw, and Keiji Mutoh in All Japan all smacked of dominance. All of those names? Forget them. The most dominant wrestler of all time is six letters and one name: Vacant.  A Lack of Wrestling Gold Means A Lack of Green for Vacant …

In 2017, both the National Wrestling Alliance and Major League Wrestling had revivals. Prior to 2017, both companies were around in different forms. The NWA was a loose but somewhat stronger alliance than it had been in the 1990s and 2000s. MLW returned in 2011 as a podcast network which had built up a strong fanbase. Fast forward to 2020 and both companies are dealing with uncertainty but to different degrees.  The Landscape of 2020  As we all know, 2020 has been a mixed time for wrestling. COVID-19 impacted most of the industry with a handful of indy promotions deciding to leave…

It’s time to go back in time and rescue some careers! On this Wrestling Salvage Yard, we look at Damien Demento! Could this short-term talent have been salvaged?  What Was He Supposed To Be?  Demento’s gimmick was hard to explain. He was supposed to be some sort of psychotic or demented persona who dressed like a nightmare demon. I don’t know what the hell he was supposed to be. His promos weren’t horrible and he was actually seasoned enough in that area that he would’ve improved had he remained in WWE and been put in front of the camera or on the mic.  In-ring, Damien Demento was nothing…

Roman Reigns is one of those examples of listening to the internet gone wrong. Since social media became the best way to voice our praise, criticism, disdain, and offense of entertainment, WWE hasn’t really listened to the fans. It has to be some grave criticism from a user with a following but praise is always welcome.  Before that, it was message boards and later on Facebook—both of which are like screaming your opinions into the void if you wanted WWE or TNA to listen to you. Could you imagine Kevin Dunn or Triple H signing up to join a wrestling…

In part three, we looked at Mark Henry during the Attitude Era as well as his adventures in WWE developmental. Now we look at the period when things all fell in place as Mark Henry reaches his potential.  Take the Path of Destruction For Five Blocks, the Hall of Pain Is On The Right  WWE would finally get things right in the second half of the 2000s when Mark Henry returned after his last OVW run. At the end of 2005, he returned as a heel and was in better shape than before. He also showed improvement in-ring seeming to have finally got the grasp…

We’re back in the Wrestling Salvage Yard and this time we’re looking at the Demolition gimmick. If you don’t remember, Demolition was a tag team in WWE between 1987 and 1991 with three tag titles to their name.  Basically, Demolition was the WWE’s answer to the popular Road Warriors gimmick in NWA. The original members were The Masked Superstar and Moondog Rex as Ax and Smash respectively while the classic line-up featured The Masked Superstar teaming with Barry Darsow as Smash. Towards the end of the gimmick’s run, Brian Adams was added as Crush.  The Demolition Gimmick In WWE While…

We’ve all had matches that we were anticipating because of the storyline, the wrestlers, and the hype involved. The first one I was truly excited about was the Undertaker vs. Kane inferno match from In Your House 21: Unforgiven. This was before Unforgiven became a regular WWE PPV. This match was part of their feud during 1997-1998.   Looking at the feud overall, it was one of feuds that added to both superstars’ backstories. It’s something WWE just wasn’t doing at the moment—wrestlers who go way back and have bad blood. The fact is that Undertaker and Kane had no legit backstory in contrast…

Another week, another episode of MLW Anthology! This weekend’s episode focused on the sibling tandem of Pentagon Jr and Rey Fenix—the Lucha Bros. At this time, the duo was making waves separately in AAA. The two brothers would build their names in the U.S through Lucha Underground and PWG appearances. A regular stop for them was Major League Wrestling starting in 2018 with the company’s reboot.  Pentagon Jr vs. Rey Fenix  On the first show of 2018, MLW Zero Hour, the Lucha Bros squared off. At this time, they weren’t paired as a tag team as Pentagon Jr was in the employ of Salina de la Renta, one of the…

One thing I often think about is the timing of Chris Jericho leaving WCW. He departed the company in the summer of 1999 and had one of the hottest debuts. Growing up, WCW Nitro was my Monday show and WWF Shotgun Saturday Night was my weekend show. By 1999, I was mainly watching RAW and SmackDown. When Chris Jericho made his WWE debut it was wild since following wrestling U.S wrestling news wasn’t a priority if it wasn’t in a magazine.  Chris Jericho Left WCW At The Right Time  Jericho would go on to have a good first run in WWE but don’t let that be overshadowed by him…

In part one, we went into the signing of Mark Henry and his background before entering the business. What made him so alluring to Vince McMahon? He was big man—monster-sized—and he had legit credentials as an Olympian and world champion powerlifter.   WWE signed him to a 10-year contract after the 1996 Olympic Games and it was time to invest in him. A 10-year contract signifies that either WWE saw him as a big star in the future or they didn’t want WCW scooping him up.  Personally, I believe WWE saw him as a big star down the road because WCW couldn’t do…