A particular website reported yesterday that WWE will be holding a tournament in Chile for the WWE Network involving only Latin American wrestlers from countries such as Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil.
The news however was met with an official denial by William Regal, who was part of the story as it detailed his scouting duties in Chile late last year with Canyon Ceman when WWE did a two-day tour in the country in October.
“I usually use this account for entertainment purposes only. This is official though,” Regal wrote. “The @WWE has no Latin American tournament booked at this time despite the news that is being reported today.”
WWE has taped three tournaments so far for the WWE Network – the Cruiserweight Classic, the United Kingdom Championship, and the Mae Young Classic – and all were very successful.
Two more individuals booked their place in the men’s Elimination Chamber match and the final spot will be decided next week on Raw.
During Raw last night, Roman Reigns defeated Bray Wyatt to advance, and so did The Miz who beat Apollo Crews to book his place in the match. They join John Cena, Braun Strowman, and Elias who won their respective qualifying matches last week.
Meanwhile, a second chance fatal 4-way match will take place next week on Raw with Finn Balor, Bray Wyatt, Matt Hardy, and Apollo Crews with the winner getting the final spot in the Chamber match.
Elias will be the last man to enter the Elimination Chamber after he won the triple threat match main event involving John Cena and Braun Strowman.
The winner of the Elimination Chamber match will take on Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania for the WWE Universal title.
All the participants of the first-ever women’s Elimination Chamber match were announced on Monday Night Raw last night, with an interesting mix of veterans and fairly newly-minted Superstars.
Alexa Bliss will be defending the Raw Women’s title in the Chamber against Bayley, Sasha Banks, Mickie James, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose.
The notable miss is Nia Jax, however that does not mean that she won’t be on the pay-per-view. In fact, Jax can add herself to the Raw Women’s title match at WrestleMania if she manages to defeat Asuka at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view.
Asuka has still yet to announce which title she will be challenging for at WrestleMania 34.
WWE posted a cryptic message on Facebook regarding The Rock, writing, “Just when you thought Dwayne The Rock Johnson’s calendar couldn’t get more packed…”
The tease could obviously be regarding his new show The Titan Games on NBC but wrestling fans are already picturing The Rock in the ring at WrestleMania following that post. One arena which The Rock likes to come back to is the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, and WWE has a post-Elimination Chamber Raw set in that arena on February 26 which could be a good location to get things moving!
The plan as of now is to get Triple H and Stephanie McMahon in the ring as a tag team to take on Ronda Rousey and The Rock at WrestleMania 34. WWE has been trying to secure the services of the People’s Champion but things could be tricky due to insurances. The last time The Rock wrestled a proper match at WrestleMania in 2013, he ended up getting injured, delaying the filming of Hercules which cost the production house a couple of million of dollars.
Johnson has a few movies to film this year apart from his HBO show Ballers and the new NBC show.
The Rock was completely absent from WrestleMania last year.
Speaking to British-based tabloid newspaper The Mirror, Rey Mysterio said that there’s a big possibility that he will be returning to WWE in the coming months.
Following a very successful surprise Royal Rumble appearance, Mysterio talked about coming back. “We’re figuring out what the situation is, you know from both ends. But there is definitely a positive feedback on behalf of the fans, on behalf of the WWE staff and behalf of myself,” Mysterio said.
His video clip on YouTube showing entry #27 at the Rumble has received over 8 million views so far, making it the most popular clip from the Rumble, eclipsing everything else including Ronda Rousey’s surprise at the end.
“I think we’re possibly going to sit down and negotiate something where we can both work together and have a good time and enjoy,” Mysterio added.
Mysterio recalled what happened in 2014 when he came in at #30 while fans expected red-hot favorite Daniel Bryan to be the last one in. Mysterio was booed out of the building as he was not the one everyone else wanted to see on that night.
“When they are expecting to see a face that they want to see and you give them the wrong one, then they are going to boo. Not at you, but at the way that show was written. So this time I was very fortunate to be number 27, to come out after three years and to have that emotional feeling of being loved and being wanted to be seen again. To be able to be seen again in front of the WWE Universe, was just incredible,” the former champion said.
One more qualifying match for the men’s Elimination Chamber will take place tonight on Monday Night Raw as Roman Reigns takes on Bray Wyatt.
Wyatt interfered in Matt Hardy’s match last week, costing him his place so it’s most likely that Hardy will return the favor to further the feud between the two. So far, John Cena, Elias, and Braun Strowman are in the Chamber match, with three more set to join.
Meanwhile, the women who will be part of the Elimination Chamber are also set to be announced. Alexa Bliss will defend the Raw Women’s title in the steel structure so five more opponents are needed.
Everyone wants a piece of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and NBC is the latest broadcaster to have jumped on The Rock bandwagon.
Last night, Johnson revealed that he and NBC are teaming up to launch a new television show titled The Titan Games. It will be produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio, A. Smith & Co. Productions and Johnson’s Seven Bucks Productions.
The show will offer everyday people the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to compete in epic head-to-head challenges designed to test mind, body, and heart. “If you’re motivated, athletic, and willing to push yourself beyond your limits, you could have the opportunity of a lifetime! Inspired by Johnson’s desire to motivate everyone to reach their potential for greatness, The Titan Games welcomes men and women who are strong enough to believe in themselves and confident enough to test their own abilities by taking on physical challenges of epic proportions. The Titan Games will not only test competitor’s physical strength, but also their mental and emotional endurance. In the Titan games, determination will be rewarded, and a new breed of heroes will emerge,” the show’s synopsis reads.
Applications to appear on the show are now open with a deadline of April 14, 2018 and can be accessed at nbc.com/titans.
Dwayne Johnson is ruling the box office again as his Jumanji movie returned to the #1 spot after dropping to #2 last week.
Jumanji did an $11 million weekend, edging out Maze Runner 3 with just $800,000 to get the top spot. Since its release in late December, Jumanji has done $352,642,752 in domestic box office revenue and $503,100,000 in overseas sales, sending its worldwide tally to $855,742,752.
With the over $350 million in domestic receipts, Jumanji is now just under $400,000 away from being Johnson’s most popular movie ever and will surpass Furious 7 next week. Jumanji also moved to #42 in the all-time box office domestic grosses chart, surpassing Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon and American Sniper this week.
Johnson noted that the last movie that opened in December and was still showing up in the #1 spot in the box office chart was Titanic 20 years ago.
The former WWE champion will be on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon tonight immediately after the Super Bowl where he will make a surprise announcement.
While Ricochet made his NXT television debut, another new signee, Candice LaRae, made her NXT in-ring debut during a non-televised live event in Nashville, Tennessee, yesterday.
The experienced 32-year old tagged with her husband Johnny Gargano to take on the NXT champion Andrade “Cien” Almas and Zelina Vega.
“Dear 6-yr-old me, one day you’re going to live your dream. AND to top it off… you’ll live that dream along side the greatest man in the world. Stay tough and always believe. #WeAreNXT,” LaRae tweeted after the event.
LaRae, along with Ricochet and War Machine are the only ones ring-ready from the latest class of signees.
While still riding high on the Jumanji movie, it’s time for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson to start plugging his newest movie.
Titled Skyscraper, the flick will have its trailer world premiere during the Super Bowl game tonight on NBC in one of those very, very expensive commercial slots.
The 3D movie, featuring also Neve Campbell in one of the leading roles, will be released on July 13, 2018. The plot revolves around Johnson who plays the role of a former FBI Hostage Rescue Team leader who now assesses security for skyscrapers. While assessing the tallest building in the world in China, the thing goes up in flames and he’s being framed for the crime. In a race against time, Johnson must save his family and clear his name.
We’re all willing to sacrifice it all when it comes to protecting our families. Here’s the first look at our original concept film, #SKYSCRAPER. THIS SUNDAY during the #SuperBowl you’ll see how far one man will go to protect his wife and children. #SKYSCRAPER SUMMER 2018 pic.twitter.com/IvFGptLb67
Matt Hardy now owns the Broken trademarks related to his character as Anthem got out of the game after Ed Nordholm promised to turn over everything to the former champion.
The trademarks for “Broken Matt,” “Broken Matt Hardy,” and “Broken Brilliance” with the United States Patent and Trademark Office are now all registered in Matt’s name. It’s interesting to note that WWE did not file any trademark related to his Woken gimmick.
“TMs I filed last year are officially safe. Glad that’s over. I promised I’d always fight for you & I did. Always will,” his wife Reby wrote on Twitter.
Ruby Hardy had a lot of public Twitter fights with both Nordholm and Jarrett over who owns the rights for the gimmick that Hardy himself created.
NXT Takeover: New Orleans is still two months away but the main event for the show, which will take place at the Smoothie King Center, was announced during last night’s television tapings in Atlanta.
The show with the announcement will air in several weeks’ time on the WWE Network but if you don’t want to wait till then, the main event will be NXT champion Andrade “Cien” Almas taking on number one contender Aleister Black.
Black won big at the NXT Year-End awards and his popularity has been steadily rising ever since the Dutch made his NXT debut in mid-2016. While Almas has been in NXT for around seven months longer, he catapulted to the main event picture at NXT Takeover: WarGames and won the title against Drew McIntyre. This will be Almas’ third Takeover show in the main event.
One of NXT’s newest signees, Ricochet, made his NXT television debut at last night’s NXT tapings at Center Stage in Atlanta.
The popular high-flying Superstar signed with WWE at the beginning of last month and reported to the WWE Performance Center with other individuals such as Candice LaRae, Kacy Catanzaro, the War Machine tag team, and others. He was the only one to make his debut from the latest class of arrivals.
Ricochet easily got one of the biggest pops of the night from the sold-out NXT crowd.
Triple H posted a photo from backstage at the tapings showing Ricochet and writing, “I’ll just leave this here…… Feel free to discuss.”
Impact Wrestling this week did 319,000 viewers for the episode that crowned a new Impact champion. That is up 9,000 viewers from last week’s show and the best number of 2018 so far. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
The website WWENetworkNews.com has released the titles of every Coliseum Home Video content that will be available for all WWE Network subscribers starting this coming Monday, February 5.
Fans of the old Coliseum Home Video series will surely remember these titles that date back to 1985. In total there will be 38 videos under a new section titled WWE Home Video Classics which translates to around 60 hours of new footage to the ever-growing WWE Network.
The titles are Bloopers, Bleeps, and Bodyslams, Unusual Matches, Big, Small, Strange, Strong, Grudge Match ’86, Villains of the Squared Circle, Inside the Steel Cage, Grand Slams, Most Embarrassing Moments, Brains Behind the Brawn, SuperTape, Wrestling Superheroes, WrestleFest ’90, Wrestling Tough Guys, World Tour ’90, SuperTape II, Hottest Matches, SuperTape III, Funniest Moments, Mega Matches, Greatest Hits, SuperTape IV, WrestleFest ’91, Wrestling’s Greatest Champions, World Tour ’91, Battle at The Royal Albert Hall, Rampage ’91, SuperTape ’92, Invasion ’92, Euro Rampage ’92, Crunch Classic, WrestleFest ’92, World Tour ’92, Rampage ’92, WrestleFest ’93, Smack’Em Whack’Em, UK Rampage ’93, Bashed in the USA, and Invasion of the Bodyslammers.
A WWE survey titled “HOF Survey” which went to an undetermined group of most likely WrestleMania 34 ticket holders asked if they want to see new champions at WrestleMania!
As part of the survey, there were two questions related to Royal Rumble winners Shinsuke Nakamura and Asuka.
“Shinsuke Nakamura was the winner of the 2018 Men’s Royal Rumble Match. Do you want him to win his Championship match at WrestleMania 34?” the question read. A simple Yes or No option was available as a reply.
The question for Asuka was the same, reading, “Asuka was the winner of the 2018 Women’s Royal Rumble Match. Do you want her to win her Championship match at WrestleMania 34?”
It’s interesting to see WWE taking this approach to gauge the interest in both winners and how this would eventually affect the outcome of both title matches.
There’s a new Impact Wrestling champion and his name is Austin Aries. Aries returned on last night’s episode of Impact which was taped earlier last month from Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Aries interrupted a segment between Drake and Adonis and challenged Drake for the title. Drake took off his jacket and looked like he was going to accept the challenge, before walking out. But Adonis, who was standing behind Aries, struck him in the back with the Impact title, prompting Drake to have a change of heart. Drake asked for a referee and immediately went for the cover but Aries kicked out.
After Aries recovered, he delivered the brainbuster suplex on Drake and covered him for the pin, winning the Impact title on his first night back.
“My first decree as @IMPACTWRESTLING Champion. This will now be called the IMPACT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP. No weight distinction. I’m not a heavyweight, but I am world class. And that is #TheTruth,” he wrote on Twitter yesterday.
ECW Press will be publishing a book titled Creating The Mania: An Inside Look At How WrestleMania Comes To Life, giving fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of WrestleMania 34.
Written by Jon Robinson, Creating The Mania will chronicle the year-long road to WrestleMania including how the storylines were developed by the creative team, how the host city was selected, how the rivalries played out inside the ring, and more.
Along with exclusive photos, this book gives insider access to top WWE Superstars, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, Kevin Owens, and A.J. Styles, who will face off against 2018 Royal Rumble winner Shinsuke Nakamura at WrestleMania 34. There will also be in-depth interviews with Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. The book breaks down their year leading up to WrestleMania and their lives as WWE Superstars.
Author Jon Robinson also speaks with writers, producers, stage managers, film technicians, and other crucial members of the production team responsible for the creation of the annual pop-culture extravaganza.
The book is scheduled for an August 2018 release by ECW Press, in partnership with WWE.
Jon Robinson is an award-winning author of seven books, including The Ultimate Warrior: A Life Lived Forever, NXT: The Future is Now, and WWE: The Attitude Era. His work has appeared in ESPN The Magazine, IGN, and Sports Illustrated.
The Total Divas season seven finale titled Breaking The News drew a total of 665,000 viewers, up 56,000 viewers from last week’s show. It was also the second most-watched episode of the season, behind episode eight. (Ratings credit: Showbuzzdaily.com)
It has been one hell of a road. I’ve been a wrestling fan for so long. I tell you what, nothing can make a guy in his late twenties feel old like a lifetime passion for pro wrestling. Watching wrestlers start young and inexperienced go on to have long memorable careers and then seeing them retire. Guys like Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and eventually, not just yet, I refused to admit it but eventually The Undertaker. When I think of all that it has given me I can’t help but smile with appreciation for the past and excitement for the next twenty–five years.
I was born with a severe facial deformity that required over 50 surgeries before I was fifteen and as a young kid, it would have been a lot to handle…it was a lot to handle, but with outlets, it can be a bit easier. For me, that outlet was professional wrestling. In no time that outlet became a passion.
How many kids wake up after an operation and the first words out of there mouth is “what time is it?” and “What day is it?” Surgery or no surgery I was NOT going to miss Raw, Nitro, Superstars, Livewire, Action Zone or any other professional wrestling that was on in the 90s on the east coast.
This past Monday was the twenty-fifth anniversary of Monday Night Raw, and I have seen every episode over the last 25 years it has aired. Sure, I may throw my remote on a few occasions, swear I’d never watch again. But there I am every Monday. In the 90s I flipped between WCW, and WWE and now, I sit glued to my TV and watch WWE Raw, Tuesdays, WWE Smackdown, NXT, Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling on Thursdays. It’s kinda like a rocky relationship. You break up, make up, break up again. Swear you will never go back, and then you do. It’s a love affair that I am so grateful to have.
I saw the birth of the Monday Night Wars, the birth of NWO, Owen Hart memorial show, The Radicalz debut after leaving WCW, The downfall and end of WCW. I’ve seen attitude, I’ve seen PG, the entire career of The Undertaker, and everything in between. Critics don’t want to see the side of wrestling that I’m talking about because it isn’t “newsworthy” It’s not about the alleged “dark side of pro wrestling” It’s about the light side. A passionate lifelong fan’s side.. The side that has kept me loyal for twenty-five years. I have two words for the WWE and everybody in the pro wrestling world…THANK YOU.
My love started before I can even remember. Both grandparents were big wrestling fans until the early 90s and I just naturally took to it. I loved the larger than life characters from Undertaker to the fantastic wrestlers like Bret Hart.
After watching it on TV for a year in early 1994, I got to go to my first event live. The WWF came to my high school. That night I saw Bob Backlund who was winding down his career at that point wrestle. After the match, he spotted me came over and lifted me up out of the handicap seating section and hugged me. I wasn’t sure who he was at the time but thought it was cool nonetheless. Looking back now, and knowing what a legend Bob Backlund is it’s even cooler knowing he was the sweaty wrestler that hugged me. That same night, Bret Hart came out, and I was the lucky kid who got his sunglasses. I was speechless. Mom told me “what do ya say?” I just barely got out a weak “thank you” before he winked gave me a thumbs up and went into the ring and won a match against Irwin R Schyster, also known as IRS. The flame was lit, and from that night on I was hooked on pro wrestling.
It only got more intense a few months later. Again, the WWF was at a local school, and I went with my styrofoam Undertaker Urn, Undertaker action figure and was in my Undertaker Halloween costume. We go to the event and were in about the fifth row. After a match or two, a man came up to my dad. A man by the name of Tony Garea, another wrestling legend. I wish I knew who HE was back then so I could tell him that it was nice to meet a legend. He was an agent at the time with the WWF(E) and asked my dad if I’d like to meet The Undertaker who was wrestling in a casket match that night. We went backstage to the locker room. A bathroom stall was on the other side of the room and beside it was The Undertaker’s casket. Dad dared me to go across the room and touch it. No way. Was he nuts? Touch it and make The Undertaker mad and have him pop up, no way. The next thing I knew, out of the stall came to The Undertaker and Paul Bearer. Undertaker was quiet but very nice, and Paul Bearer was one of the friendliest people I have ever met. I got a picture with them, and to this day it is such an honor to have met them both. To know that I got to meet The legend, the icon, THE UNDERTAKER, I hope someday to meet him again and thank him for that moment because it meant so much to me. A year before the WWE made a Public Service Announcement with The Undertaker. “Don’t drink and drive or sooner or later you will meet The Undertaker” It stuck with me. Don’t ask why but I truly got it. That PSA just implanted it in my head to never get into a car with someone drunk. I can’t drive because of my vision so driving drunk was never an issue. The Undertaker and Bret Hart remained my favorite wrestlers even as I got older and their personas started to change.
Toward the mid-90s my parents were separated, I didn’t know how to talk to girls, I was still going through surgeries, and I was starting painful orthodontic work. So things felt miserable The Attitude era was beginning in late 1996. It was becoming a more risque product. I’d have people see I was a fan and just gasp and shake their head at how “raunchy” it has gotten. I agreed but only to an extent and for a short time. I was eight in 1996, so I think as far as the demographic they were looking for I was behind by a year or two, and I was loyal to it at that point. I had been a loyal fan for so long I wasn’t walking away now. Though I was loyal to pro wrestling I was still holding onto the product I grew up with. I liked the characters like Doink the Clown, an evil clown. Papa Shango a voodoo practitioner, Big Boss Man a cop who (sometimes) fought for law and order. I was in so deep that one day when I was five, I was misbehaving in the car and refusing to put on my seat belt. A cop pulled up beside us. Dad told me if I didn’t behave he’d have the cop tell The Big Boss Man. My seat belt went on without a problem. Growing up in that animated but still thrilling era as a kid who was going through facial reconstructive surgery and on occasion the world could be a not so pretty place. So having things like Bret Hart who usually was fighting for not what was right and wrong but for the things that he saw as wrong like most of his feuds showed. Like the feud with Jerry Lawler. It was Bret sticking up for his family, against Lawler’s abuse. I always loved his message even more than the over the top take your vitamins say your prayers stuff Hogan was peddling. Bret’s message was to be true to yourself, stand up for what you believe in and don’t let others push you down. The messages were real.
It was tough to accept the new “ATTITUDE.” so I held onto the two guys that have led me this far already, Undertaker and Bret Hart. I watched them both change drastically. I watched Bret go from soft-spoken to sticking up for himself against the evil boss Mr. McMahon. The big transition was The Undertaker. Going from a grim reaper that slowly morphed into a full-on satanic cult leader who then morphed into a biker who then morphed back into the phenom without ever missing a beat….I kinda liked it! As I’ve said before, I loved the over the top gimmicks, so this was PERFECT.
I saw that they weren’t throwing away the over the top gimmicks but instead were combining them with truer to life situations. Like when a gang war broke out. I loved when The Nation of Domination and the DOA were going at it. I wish I saw more factions. The factions were one of the best things in wrestling since I started watching around the time of. A group of wrestlers joined for a reason or common cause. Factions could be utilized more than they are.
In 1996 I still didn’t get Stone Cold Steve Austin. The fact that he’d yell at the fans broke the rules and used profanity he was always cheered more than booed. But Bret Hart a guy who was standing up for his home country was being booed. He only rarely put down the USA, so he wasn’t an anti-American gimmick. Most of the time he ranted about the fans disrespecting him and not appreciating him in America which wasn’t wrong. I looked at the fans cheering Austin and just did not get it. As you can probably tell I have always had a special place in my heart for Bret Hart which is why The Montreal Screwjob frustrated me to no end, but that is another story for another time. So I’m going to jump ahead a few years.
For years I continued watching both WCW and WWF. I just loved wrestling. One night I woke up at two AM and my mother and grandmother were sitting at the kitchen table. I sat up to hit a few buttons on the remote, and a wrestling event was on. It wasn’t WWF or WCW. A big wrestler had a masked wrestler on his shoulders as they walked down the aisle. I found out later what I found was ECW. My grandmother turned to my mother and said: “How does he just know when wrestling is on?” I just knew, and I loved it.
Being a fan of the nostalgic 80s and 90s style, WCW was the perfect place for me. I even found myself watching more WCW than WWF on a few occasions, but I was finally starting to appreciate the Attitude era and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The Attitudinal approach was finally growing on me. Oddly enough I saw more issues with Stone Cold cursing and attacking people in 1996 then I did when he had the gun angle with Brian Pillman. When that happened, I rolled my eyes at how much people overreacted. I even loved The Undertaker’s Satanic faction in 1999. So my scale of okay and not okay might be a bit off.
My medical stuff was at a point that the surgeries were becoming more spread out but more severe. In early 2000 I had a surgery that left me unconscious for days. I was going through nose reconstruction. They were using cartilage from my hip, skin from my rib, and built a nose from nothing. It was a lot on me both mentally and physically, and this surgery left me in a coma for about three days. Years later I barely remember it, but apparently, it didn’t look good. They were shocked how well I was afterward.
When I got home, we got a call from the Make A Wish Foundation. They wanted to know what a wish would be. I was shocked so said the first thing that came to mind “I want to go to see WWE in a limo.” A few weeks before WWE ran the music video for DX’s new theme song done by Run DMC and they were riding around in limos and riding on the DX Express partying and having a good time, so wrestling and limos were on the brain.
I got to go to the city about two hours from my house and see WWE at Madison Square Garden. No limo but the rest of the night more than made up for that. It was a house show featuring one of the early table matches in the new feud with The Hardys and Dudleys, and a match with DX was the main event. Thanks to Make A Wish I got to go backstage and meet Triple H and Stephanie. To this day its one of my biggest regrets. I was mute, and the worst part is I had planned on what I’d have said. Something I loved about pro wrestling is that the drama and chaotic storylines let me have a break from my drama and trauma at that time where it would be hard for me to keep reminding myself it was a show. So the dastardly Triple H and the evil Stephanie McMahon were just that…Dastardly and evil. I didn’t plan on them being so nice. We were led into a room, and Triple H came in and said hello and I just forgot how to speak. He tried a few times all I could do was give the occasional nod but hardly said a word. Looking back, the part that gets me is when Stephanie McMahon walked in. I was gonna tell her she was mean for slapping her mom, but once she smiled at me and talked I saw that she was SO sweet and not to mention she was drop-dead gorgeous. The week before she slapped her mother Linda on Smackdown and I wanted just to say “dude that was cold,” but she was so nice, so beautiful that it threw me off and I was completely starstruck by the both of them. Meeting them again and having a conversation with the two of them is definitely on my bucket list.
I got to meet Undertaker, Triple H, and Stephanie and got Bret Hart’s sunglasses; all before I was even sixteen. A year later I saw the shocking moment of seeing Vince McMahon on WCW and WWF television. This was before I was on the internet all the time and I hadn’t seen anything about it ahead of time. I was in complete shock. I was about to see my dream situation come to life. I was going to see WWF vs. WCW…and instead we got the Invasion angle… I’ll just leave it right there. To this day I still make sure to tune in every Monday night. Some nights are great, some not so good but I have watched through better and will watch through worse.
Matt Hardy was a big favorite. I liked Jeff but never got why everyone favored him, but something about Matt Hardy just resonated with me more, and to this day I have a deep respect for him. Especially in 2005. He was big on social media, and I loved that. Being able to see the life of one of my favorite wrestlers and being able to interact with him through (at the time) myspace. Then he posted about finding out his girlfriend had cheated on him with not just another wrestler but a very close friend. At the time I was going through my own romantic entanglement where I ended up being the one hurt, so I was behind Matt one hundred percent. Then when he was released for it, I was irate. How does the victim get fired for telling everyone about it? It was ridiculous. Then his big return…I have never been so confused about what was and wasn’t “real,” but I loved every second of it.
I suffered severe depression and for over, a year was in a very dark place. I was tired all the time, I felt like I wasn’t the person I saw in the mirror and just felt very flat and unmotivated to do anything and on top of it, the orthodontic work was getting more painful and involved braces, retainers and at one point headgear. I found out years later that a hormonal imbalance caused everything but the orthodontic issues due to a medical issue that went unnoticed and those few years were a very dark lonely time for me. I barely talked to anyone and didn’t think anyone wanted to know me. If not for throwing myself into pro wrestling, even more, I don’t know if I’d be here today. Not only did I watch it on television but I was a teenager and was starting to learn about independent wrestling.
I couldn’t drive and found out before turning sixteen that my vision was too bad. Driving wouldn’t be likely. So going to see pro wrestling was rare. Trying to get someone to drive me forty-five minutes or further for wrestling events was very unlikely, and I never wanted to bother anyone, so I never liked to ask. But one company that still came out to my little town in New York was Northeast Wrestling.
They came to my area about once a year, and my cousin offered to drive me because his godson was wrestling. When we got there, he introduced me to his godson by the name of “The Dynamic Sensation” Gus Harlacher. Someone that somehow got missed by the WWE. From that night on I was a fan and followed him the rest of his career.
As I continued checking out independent shows, I met Matt Hardy for the first time at a local signing and then again a few months later at a show in New Jersey. By the third and fourth event, it got to the point he’d be like “Hey, Corey.” Before one event he had written on Twitter that fans ask the same questions and he’d like to get some different ones. So I tweeted back with I’ll have to come up with a good one.” I saw him a few days later at an event, and he asked me “So have that question for me?” I did not.
Those are the kind of wrestlers that when I meet them, it means the most to me. The ones who care and have the same or more passion than I do for pro wrestling. The ones who would talk with you and maybe tell you a few road stories. The ones that have left a mark on me, personally or the ones I know will make a mark in the future. I love to meet them, shake their hands and thank them. The thing about pro wrestling for the people inside the business and those that watch it; it’s all about PASSION. People can find so much inspiration in pro wrestling if they look. Bret Hart, The Undertaker, Steve Austin, Matt Hardy, Bob Backlund, The NWO, Diamond Dallas Page, all inspired me and helped mold me.
I think my passion and loyalty for pro wrestling tells a lot. I mean If I can watch Triple H dressed as Kane fondle what I will just call a doll. Or after watching a middle-aged Mae Young give birth to a hand and am still watching years later, it’s safe to say that the fact I’m still in this twisted relationship and love it so much shows that if I ever meet a girl I will know that I will be just as loyal and passionate to her…if she is a fellow wrestling fan. Otherwise, I will leave her on the side of the road. Nevertheless, the passion and loyalty does tell me I can go the long haul. My passion and loyalty run deep. If I were going to bolt from any situation and weren’t in for the long haul, I’d have bolted from the first sight of Vince McMahon’s ass after he dropped them at the first Vince McMahon kiss my ass club. Nope, still here and NOW I KNOW IM IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL.
To this day I continue to watch wrestling and enjoy it as much as I did back then but at the same time, I study it. I have a writer’s mind and when I watch I can’t help but study, predict and think to myself how would I have done differently? I love everything about the pro wrestling business; What happens in the ring, behind the scenes, while traveling. It’s my goal to be able to gain more insight into the going-ons. Maybe sometime down the road, I’ll be able to contribute to the universe that helped mold me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Corey Taylor is 29 years old and lives in a small town in New York and has been a life long wrestling fan. After being a full-time caregiver for his grandmother for eight years, he is now working on getting his writing career off the ground by writing everything from an unpublished novel to freelance articles. He can be reached on Twitter @Coreyt0304 or e-mail at Coreyt0304@gmail.com.
