News

Pro wrestler Terry Funk has died, according to WWE and pro wrestler Mick Foley. Funk was 79 years old.

Along with wrestling, the highly respected performer worked in film, including multiple Sylvester Stallone projects as far back as 1978’s “Paradise Alley.” Funk also appeared in “Over the Top,” did stunts in “Rocky III” and choreographed the climactic fight in “Rocky V.”

Funk was also featured in the cult classic film “Road House” and Johnny Knoxville’s “The Ringer.” He also had TV roles on shows such as “Quantum Leap” and “Swamp Thing.”

Funk was best known in his later years for pioneering “hardcore” wrestling, which involves using weapons and sharp objects, such as barbed wire, to both simulate and cause actual damage in order to increase the drama in a match. This often involved copious amounts of bleeding. Funk was also infamous for wrestling multiple “retirement” matches before quickly coming back afterward.

Ring of Honor professional wrestler Jay Briscoe has died in a car accident at age 38.

All Elite Wrestling (Aew) founder and Ring of Honor owner Tony Khan confirmed the tragic news on Twitter on Tuesday.

He wrote, “Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he was a star in Roh for over 20 years, from the first show until today.

“Jay and his brother Mark dominated Roh, reigning as champions to this day. We’ll do whatever we can to support his family. Rest In Peace Jamin.”

Sadly, Jamin Pugh has passed away. Known to fans as Jay Briscoe, he was a star in Roh for over 20 years, from the first show until today.

Jay and his brother Mark dominated Roh, reigning as champions to this day. We'll do whatever we can to support his family.

Rest In Peace Jamin

— Tony Khan (@TonyKhan) January 18, 2023

Wrestling journalist...

WWE sacrificed 28 wrestlers and backstage talent on Wednesday all in the name of WWE’s stock.

That sounds crude, but it’s true.

WWE announced today that 28 individuals were fired. More full-time employees would be furloughed or laid off and construction on the company’s new headquarters has halted as well. The savings for WWE is about $4 million per month, they bragged in a press release.

That $4 million per month sounds like a lot … until you realize WWE has $90 million in cash on hand and has upwards of $500 million available if they maximized everything and extended all of their credit lines.

The cuts were, of course, blamed on coronavirus.

But make no mistake about it, these cuts were made for one reason and one reason only … to protect WWE’s stock price. The moves were made to protect profit margin. It affected a lot of lower-card talents, some of whom...

WWE is the latest company to announce that it is furloughing a portion of its workforce in response to the economic downturn caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In addition to the furloughs, the sports entertainment company announced Wednesday that it would be reducing compensation for executives and board members, deferring plans to build a new headquarters for at least six months, and releasing multiple onscreen performers and backstage producers. Those released include WWE Hall of Famer Kurt Angle, Curt Hawkins, Luke Gallows, and EC3. Backstage producers Shane Helms, Lance Storm, and Fit Finlay were also among those released by the company, with Angle having been working as a producer as well since last year.

WWE estimates that the moves will lead to a monthly savings of approximately $4 million and a cash flow improvement of $140 million, with most of the latter coming from the decision to delay building the new headquarters.

Underworld Wrestling, now available to stream on Amazon Prime (Season 1) started out as a Kickstarter campaign in 2018 and follows a template I can only really compare to the cult-wrestling-hit Lucha Underground. The wrestling is there, it’s what what you’d expect from a pro-wrestling show, but everything else, from backstory to characters to storylines, are part of a dramatic and much more soap-opera driven format and a focus on fighting. Underworld Wrestling’s website says this about what the show is all about;

Popular history often tells how professional wrestling was introduced to Australia in the 1960s and 70s by international promoters looking to tame an unruly sporting market. Little did these promotors know the southern territory presented fierce competition with an underground wrestling tradition brandishing a particularly ruthless style of fighting sports. The Underworld fight club was the flagship sports gathering of Melbourne’s underworld and it had...

Mike McMahon Jun 19, 2019

The Firefly Funhouse has some odd innuendo, according to one former WWE wrestler ...

It's often said that WWE writers are writing Raw and SmackDown for an audience of one: Vince McMahon. Vince approves or disapproves of all storylines, verbiage, etc.

Well, one former WWE wrestler believes that WWE writers are making fun of Vince McMahon right under his nose, and on his own show, and maybe the old man has no idea it's happening.

Lance Storm made his regular appearance on Figure Four Daily with host Bryan Alvarez this past weekend and said that it resonated with him that many of the references in Bray Wyatt's "Firefly Funhouse" segments could be interpreted as direct shots at the WWE and its chairman.

“I’ve watched a couple and I’m like ‘Oh my God.'” Storm said, “Correct me if I’m wrong [but] aren’t the writers making...

Welcome to this week’s Monday Night Raw, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have the calm before the storm known as Stomping Ground. Let’s see if Vince understands that the Fire Fly Funhouse is just designed to make fun of him. I can’t believe it took Lance Storm to get it through to me that Bray Wyatt has been lampooning the old bastard for over a month. The rabbit was Jon Moxley…the smashed rabbit. Hey, there might be some wrestling here.

Match #1: Ricochet def. The Miz, Braun Strowman, Cesaro and Bobby Lashley to earn the right to challenge U.S. Champion Samoa Joe at WWE Stomping Grounds (Fatal 5-Way Elimination Match) The following is courtesy of wwe.com:

And just like that, Ricochet is headed to WWE Stomping Grounds, where a United States Championship opportunity against Samoa Joe awaits. To get there,...

Welcome to this week’s Impact Wrestling review, right here on Nerdly. I’m Nathan Favel and we have a surprise or two to share…I think. Fifty Shades of Grey was a bit boring, but it was nice to know that Dakota Johnson was real. I bet she has a whole bunch of stories to tell about her famous family. Maybe, they’ll be more interesting than the past few Impact episodes? Let’s find out right now, if Impact is gonna be good.

Match #1: Scarlett Bordeaux & Fallah Bahh def. Desi Hit Squad (Rohit Raju & Raj Singh) w/ Gama Singh – Mixed Tag Team Match The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Desi Hit Squad attacks Fallah from behind but Fallah fights back with a double clothesline. Scarlett is about to fly when Rohit cuts her off. Scarlett hits him with with a Hurricanrana! Scarlett holds the ropes open...

Gene Okerlund, the WWE interviewer dubbed “Mean Gene” by wrestler Jesse “The Body” Ventura, has died, according to the WWE. He was 76.

A cause of death was not immediately available.

“Mean Gene I love you my brother,” tweeted Hulk Hogan today..

A WWE Hall of Famer, Okerlund began his career in radio and local TV, and became an announcer with American Wrestling Associations in the early 1970s. He joined what would become the WWE in 1984, where, as the WWE notes, he became a national cable presence through interviews with such wrestling superstars as Hulk Hogan (who inducted Okerlund into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006), “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, among many others.

Okerlund moved over to WWE rival World Championship Wrestling in 1993, where as the lead interviewer he posed questions to an expanding roster of familiar pros, including Diamond Dallas Page and Goldberg.

Welcome to this preview of Ring of Honor’s next Pay Per View event, Death Before Dishonor. I’m Nathan Favel and we are going to talk about the card and I’ll give you my predictions for every match at the major event. So, let’s just jump right in, here on Nerdly!

Bully Ray & Silas Young vs. Colt Cabana & Flip Gordon – Tables Match

The following is courtesy of ROHWrestling.com:

For months, the cowardly actions of Bully Ray have drawn the rightful ire of international wrestling star and color commentator Colt Cabana. Week after week, month after month, Cabana has listened to Bully Ray complain about millennials, young wrestling stars and more, while cowardly attacking these stars like Cheeseburger, Flip Gordon, Eli Isom and others while robbing fans of matches by intentionally getting himself disqualified. Cabana has had enough, wants Ray in the ring and is heading to...

Stars: Chris Marquette, Amanda Crew, Michael Eklund, Niall Matter, Gwynyth Walsh, Mick Foley, Harry Smith, Laurel Van Ness, Lance Storm, Paul James Saunders, Graham Bell, Agam Darshi, Meghan Heffern | Written by Robert Cuffley, Jason Long | Directed by Robert Cuffley

Corey Swanson has problems. He’s almost 30, still lives in his mom’s basement, doesn’t date, and his career amounts to slicing meat in an archaic deli that no one ever comes to – unless they want to rob it. After a chance encounter with a popular former classmate, Corey learns that his high school crush Sheena Halliday will soon be in town for their 10-year reunion. Sheena, now a world-famous athlete, has been dubbed “the Lindsay Lohan of the wrestling world”. She twists and pounds people into oblivion for a living – the same thing she did to Corey’s heart back in high school. Corey puts his broken heart (and punched face) aside,...

I had the chance to sit down with Taya, one of the stars of the El Rey Network show Lucha Underground. We discussed her career, the state of women's wrestling, plus what fans can expect from the Mid Season premiere of Lucha Underground on May 31st.

Lrm: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. For those unfamiliar, what is Lucha Underground and why should fans watch?

Taya: Lucha Underground is a show and original series that is on the El Rey Network. We are now in the midst of the Season 3 hiatus. We come back from break on May 31st. It's a show that combines lucha libre, combined with action and gritty actions sequences. Really like a graphic novel come to life. It's not a wrestling show. It is a tv series and it is unlike anything you have seen in your entire life, I can tell you that.

This time of year the WWE makes every effort they can to step up their performance. With Wrestlemania around the corner, they want to make sure as many eyes as possible are watching the Granddaddy of Them All. It’s also a time to reflect and honor the past as this is usually the time of year they start announcing the next WWE Hall of Fame class. Thanks to Bryan Alvarez from the Wrestling Observer, we may have some clue as to who will be a part of the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2017. Let’s discuss the picks now but remember, until they’re confirmed by the WWE, these choices are strictly rumor at this point.

Diamond Dallas Page

A deserving choice if there ever was one. Starting off as a manager, he worked his way up in his late 30’s to become a wrestler and eventual WCW World Champion.

I’ve often said that I find the history WWE Blu-Ray releases the best, so when one was released celebrating the Us Championship I was obviously looking forward to it. Although we often see people like John Cena dominating the belt these days it has one of the more interesting histories of any of the belts. WWE – The Us Championship: A Legacy of Greatness reveals just how varied this history is.

The fact that WWE now has a huge library of footage from all kinds of wrestling federations from the past allows them to pull out some real gems. These include matches that aren’t even complete, and don’t feature commentary. This is the case of Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat with Andre the Giant as guest referee. Filmed in 1978 in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling it is a nice addition for the history loving wrestling fan, especially those who love Andre.

WWE.com

Last night’s Raw was WWE’s chance to start afresh after a lacklustre Survivor Series. With a new World Champion and a boatload of potential new storylines, creative had the opportunity to kickstart us into WrestleMania season early with a compelling new feud – perhaps involving a meaner, more vengeful Roman Reigns, or an unpredictable search for the next number one contender.

Instead, sadly, we were faced with the usual unimaginative fare. Luckily, a bad Raw means a bigger internet backlash – and that was certainly the case this week. It’s easy to tune in on a Monday night and feel baffled by WWE’s inability to change their maddeningly repetitive formula, but comfort can be found on various social media platforms. Don’t panic; everyone else is confused and frustrated too.

Of course, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Alongside the weekly outpouring of scorn and ridicule,...

WWE/Showtime

Can you believe it’s been nearly fifteen years since the Invasion angle? Fifteen years since Lance Storm showed up on Raw and blasted Perry Saturn with a superkick. Fifteen years since Ecw and WCW joined forces to try and take down Vince McMahon and the WWE. Fifteen years since WWE screwed up the biggest money angle in wrestling history…

How time flies, huh? A lot has happened in WWE in that time, obviously, and the wrestling landscape looks a lot different today. A lot had also happened to those that made up the WCW and Ecw Alliance. Made up of guys and gals from the recently closed companies (although a lot of them had been under WWE contract for some time), the invaders had very different fortunes when it came time for the angle to end – some didn’t even make it that far.

So what exactly...

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To paraphrase the great Lance Storm: allow me to be serious for a moment. After a very, very solid few months of Raw that saw some brilliant moments of TV courtesy of the John Cena Open Challenge, Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker doing their thing, the untouchable New Day’s antics and the likes of Cesaro, Owens, Rusev and Ziggler getting the chance to put on great, lengthy TV matches, WWE’s flagship show finds itself in something of a creative rut again.

Now, any modern day WWE fan will hardly be stunned at such a turn of events; the product often finds itself on cruise control once the fallout from SummerSlam has died down and before the build to WrestleMania properly gets under way, but given that the company currently has one of the most talented rosters on record on its books, there really seems to be...

WWE.com

There was plenty for the internet to get its teeth stuck into on this week’s Raw, a show which featured numerous Cm Punk chants, more inexplicable Big Show dominance, and two wedding engagements.

The antics of several superstars provided great material for tweets, gifs and images too. The New Day were predictably hilarious, while Kevin Owens took his aloof antics to a whole new level – while Seth Rollins got a little too close to a certain Hall of Famer’s daughter.

Then there’s the small matter of Lance Storm watching the show alongside his mother-in-law, which isn’t a Russo-era WCW gimmick, but an actual occurrence on Monday night. All in all, it was a Raw absolutely bursting with opportunities for sarcasm, hilarity, and general mockery. Perfect.

10. Mrs Foley’s Baby Boy’s Baby Girl

.@WWE – maybe I should be a lumberjack after seeing this photo...

I will admit I was much more of a WWE fan than WCW, but even with that being the case I remember some classic matches from Nitro that caught my interest. With The Best Of WCW Monday Night Nitro – Volume 3 being released I was wondering if we’d get some, but the cracks are starting to show, and a lack of focus is at play.

My problem with this release may come from the fact that over the last month or so I’ve reviewed WWE: The Kliq Rules, and WWE: Monday Night Wars Vol. 1 which had a focus on the Nwo. This wasn’t a bad thing, it showed them at their best and when they were entertaining. The problem is The Best Of WCW Monday Night Nitro – Volume 3 decides to once again give their years a focus, which weren’t some of Nitro’s best.

With the fact...

WWE/Youtube

World Wrestling Entertainment officials are apparently interested in two top indy stars that have previously tried out for the company: Rich Swann and Biff Busick. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, both men are “strongly on the radar” and could be signed soon.

Swann attended a WWE tryout camp last September while Busick attended a camp earlier this year.

Swann is about 5’6″ and 165 pounds, so he’s on the small side, but what he lacks in size he makes up for in athleticism. He’s only 24 years old with six years of experience already, so he has a very bright future. He’s worked for companies like Czw, Pwg, Dragon Gate and Evolve as well as indies all over the world.

Busick is 6’1″ and 215 pounds and he’s 29 years old. He was trained by Lance Storm and is considered a very good technical wrestler. Just like Swann, he’s worked Czw,...

WWE.com

Jerry Lynn, a performer mostly known for his classic matches in the original Ecw against the likes of Lance Storm and Rob Van Dam, called it a career on March 23rd, 2013 – exactly twenty five years after he had his first match.

The ‘New F’N Show’ had a good, long career, which included spells in WCW, Japan, Ring of Honor, Tna and WWE. However, a quarter century of bumping has taken its toll on him and he now requires major surgeries to his neck and back.

On Thursday August 6, Lynn will hve three degenerative discs in his neck replaced, his vertebrae fused and bone spurs removed, as well. The pain is something he can no longer deal with and, although he has medical insurance, he needs help covering the $5,000 deductible as well as the three months that he will need to take off from work in order to rehab properly.

WWE continue with their volume releases of Ecw history with the third Ecw Unreleased release, hosted by Joey Styles, Stevie Richards and The Blue Meanie. I recall Ecw fondly in many ways, and it is fun to go back and look at some of the matches, wrestlers and storylines that made the grungy extreme promotion an underground (and eventually more than that) hit. With comments and introductions from the three hosts, this is a collection of matches and angles that will appeal, like the previous sets, to Ecw fans, and people looking to discover the history of hardcore.

There are some blinders in here, I have to say. But, with wrestlers like Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero, Cactus “Mick Foley” Jack, Lance Storm, Chris Jericho, Terry Funk and others, it’s easy to see why there is a high level of quality in some of the matches on offer. Ecw provided...

wwe

The WWE Performance Center has added eleven new recruits. The exciting new class includes former college athletes and indie wrestlers, with the men and women coming from across seven different countries.

They’ll be joining the fifty-five people who already train at the Performance Center. It is the feeder for Nxt, which in turns feed into WWE’s flagship Raw and Smackdown shows. There’s a very good chance that you’ll be seeing the above performers in a WWE ring very soon, particularly with the WWE Network adding extra exposure to Nxt’s show.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the recruits to improve their potential in the business. The Performance Center boasts seven training rings, a world-class strength and conditioning program and cutting-edge edit and production facilities

“The global reach of WWE is reflected in the diversity of this class of Nxt recruits,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque,...

Pcw/Gordon Harris

The British wrestling industry is currently the healthiest it has been in years. There are several thriving promotions putting on sell-out shows around the United Kingdom. This is Progress, Preston City Wrestling and that old family favourite All Star are all packing them in on a regular basis.

Not too long ago it was seen as a success on most shows if you were able to draw 200 people but, for promotions such as the ones mentioned above, that would be seen as a disaster. These groups routinely attract in excess of 500 people to shows and have carved out a brand identity and a dedicated following in the process.

The most talked-about company in the UK at the moment is Insane Championship Wrestling, from Scotland. Icw have amassed a rabid, cult-like following due in no small part to the Ecw-esque experience that they offer, the two acclaimed BBC...

WWE.com

Bill DeMott has decided that the scrutiny that he has received by former WWE employees in recent weeks is making life difficult for him and the company, so he has decided to step down as WWE’s head coach/trainer at their Performance Center in Orlando.

He made the announcement on Twitter;

I deny the recent allegations made about me, however, to avoid any embarrassment or damage to the (cont) http://t.co/1UpTIE1aXi

— Bill DeMott (@BillDeMott) March 6, 2015

He used the Twitlonger service because he couldn’t fit it all in one tweet: “I deny the recent allegations made about me, however, to avoid any embarrassment or damage to the WWE, I’ve decided to step down from my role effective immediately.”

This is a story that our WWE editor Grahame Herbert has covered throughout the week first with the allegations from former wrestlers, then WWE and...

WWE.com

It was a new era for WWE as they headed to the 2003 Royal Rumble event. The Rock wasn’t around on a full time basis anymore although he did return for WrestleMania and Steve Austin controversially walked away for much of 2002 after being upset with the creative direction of the company. Others had to fill the void.

Some people like to refer to this period as the “Ruthless Aggression Era” since “attitude” was gone and they were all about making new stars. It was time for the likes of Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Randy Orton and Batista to step up to the plate as the next group of stars that WWE could build around.

In addition to the Rumble match, Scott Steiner debuting (or returning since he was there about a decade earlier) was considered a big deal just because he was a big name from WCW that they just brought in.

WWE.com

The goal of every man who laces up a pair of boots in the professional wrestling business is to be referred to as ‘The Man’. No, not in the same way as the great Bobby Heenan did to Goldberg and certainly not in the same vein as Sid Vicious.

This is the man who is considered the top draw on the card, the man responsible for selling out countless arenas all over the world. More often than not, this man is the champion. Unfortunately, such is the nature of the business, the amount of spots at the top of the card are few and far between.

Hypothetically, this should mean the absolute best of the best will occupy those spots while the rest of the roster, who will be restricted to early matches on the card, strive to reach their very high levels.

Sadly for a plethora of fantastic workers in this business,...

WWE.com

“E-c-Dub! E-c-Dub! E-c-Dub!”

Even though the promotion has been dead for 13 years, those chants still are heard in arenas around the country. Ecw was more than just a wrestling promotion for some people, it was a way of life and an attitude. Forget, the WWF’s “Attitude Era”, Ecw blew that completely out of the water.

The man at the helm of the hardcore revolution was Paul Heyman. One of the most innovative and creative bookers of all-time, Heyman created an environment where wrestlers weren’t judged by their physiques or scripted promos, they were measured by their ability to wrestle and take a beating.

However, for as many fond memories that we have of Ecw, there has to be a downside to the promotion. If the promotion was perfect, then it wouldn’t have went out of business.

As Lance Storm said on Jim Cornette’s podcast,...

WWE.com

The 2001 edition of WWE (WWF at the time) No Mercy took place on October 21, 2001 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the second WWE PPV that followed the horrific September 11, 2001 incident that surprised America and the rest of the world. They did their best to provide wrestling fans with entertaining storylines while also continuing the WCW/Ecw invasion angle.

It was a show that was historic because of one of the two major title matches. Chris Jericho challenged The Rock for the WCW World Title in a matchup that was the biggest match of Jericho’s career at the time and had people watching intently to see if he could win a major title for the first time.

The main event featured Steve Austin back in the heel role as the WWE Champion that had won the title back from Kurt Angle, who beat Austin for it at the Unforgiven PPV one month earlier.

WWE.com

The Als Ice Bucket Challenge has taken the world by storm through it’s ever-growing spread on social media platforms. The internet phenomenon has helped to raise awareness for Als — Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease — as well generate over 100 million dollars in donations to the Alsa.

The challenge varies depending on who’s participating, but generally, the objective is to either donate $100 to the Als Association or donate $10 and dump a bucket of ice water on one’s head. Despite the challenge being heavily featured on both social and mainstream media, there are a small smattering of detractors out there. These folks seem to take umbrage with the Ice Bucket Challenge for being just another task that people complete for their own attention, as opposed to actually contributing to the cause at hand — many folks on social media have dumped a bucket of...

WWE.com

While not necessarily popularized until the 1980s, use of anabolic androgenic steroids goes back to the 1950s in professional wrestling. Some wrestlers, like Lance Storm, have speculated that the most muscular wrestlers of the early 1900s may have even been practicing primitive forms of steroid use like eating chicken testicles, but we have no way of knowing if that’s the case.

It’s understandable that the wrestling business is at least somewhat cosmetic. Even if there weren’t fans and promoters that favor a certain look, you’re going out in front of the world in your underwear. Throw in the fact that your job has odd hours that make healthy eating and proper training difficult, and plenty of wrestlers would be drawn to steroids without any other kind of pressure. If someone was around during an era without drug testing, then it was quite easy to...

wwe.com

The woman who portrayed Daniel Bryan’s mistress on Raw is in fact an indie wrestler called Chelsea Green. She trained under Lance Storm in Calgary and has worked for Eccw and the Pwa as Jaida. Apparently she worked this weekend’s WWE live events too, according to a report at LordsOfPain.net.

The Raw storyline introduced her as the timid Megan Miller. Stephanie McMahon brought her out to reveal a secret about Daniel Bryan. The story goes that Miller was Bryan’s physical therapist, which was the precursor to a full blown affair. On receiving this news, Brie Bella was very upset. Believing her husband had indeed cheated, Brie decked Miller. That later resulted in her arrest for assault on a civilian.

This booking was all very questionable. The announcers, Brie, Stephanie and Miller all sold it a little too well. It was pretty much accepted that...

The 2001 WWE Invasion PPV was held on July 22, 2001 in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the only time that WWE used the Invasion title for a PPV because it was the only occasion where it would have fit. That’s because the main story at the time was about the WCW brand led by Shane McMahon and the Ecw brand led by Stephanie McMahon & Paul Heyman were trying to take over Vince McMahon’s WWE. It was a dream storyline that fans had wanted to see for years.

While it wasn’t perfect for a lot of reasons, they did a fantastic job of building up the event, which did great business for WWE with a reported 775,000 PPV buys. From a financial standpoint it was one of the most successful WWE PPVs ever.

This show was unique because there wasn’t a WWE Title match in the main event slot. That’s...

wwe.com

Update: In an astonishing turn of events, it’s now been reported that Emma has been reinstated.

F4WOnline.com reports that a fan backlash at the release of Emma may, incredibly, have saved her job. WWE received huge criticism in the hours after announcing Emma had been released for a seemingly minor crime, particularly compared to the likes of Jack Swagger and Cameron who had far worse legal troubles but kept their jobs, and WWE decided to do a complete U-Turn.

At the time of writing, Emma is back with the WWE and everything goes on as normal.

Original report follows…

When news broke on Tuesday about WWE Diva Emma getting arrested for shoplifting it took a lot of people by surprise. Why would a WWE Diva steal something? They make good money. She’s not making big money like the main event guys, but everybody that’s in WWE does well.

WWE.com

Any WWE fan exposed to the propaganda-laced documentaries about the fall of WCW, the Nwo and the Monday Night Wars has a fairly warped sense of history, thanks to the very pro-WWE slant those productions tend to take. They talk up the failures to create new stars, the rampant abuse of power, the tremendous egos of those on top and the poor business decisions that ultimately doomed the company and brought about its demise. Less time is spent talking about the rise of the New World Order, the development of Diamond Dallas Page from undercard nobody to legitimate main event star and the unprecedented success of rookie Bill Goldberg.

Never discussed is the fact that WCW utilized some wildly talented individuals far better than WWE when they got their hands on those same competitors. Men such as the aforementioned Goldberg and Page, Lance Storm, Scott Steiner and...

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A few days ago we reported on a news story that David Benoit, the eldest son of Chris Benoit, had plans on wrestling a match with Chavo Guerrero Jr. in Calgary at a Hart Legacy event. The match is no longer because Chris Benoit’s close Chris Jericho got involved, reports Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

The news of David’s intention to wrestle was announced on Twitter by Bret Hart’s older brother Smith. Even though David has never wrestled, Smith felt like it would get people interested about the show so he did what he could to convince him. There have been photos of David working out with wrestler Harry Smith (former WWE star Dh Smith that’s the son of Davey Boy Smith), but David has not completed wrestling training.

Following reports of David’s plans to wrestle, Chris Jericho got in touch with...

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David Benoit, son of the late Chris Benoit, is set to make his professional wrestling debut on July 18th for Hart Legacy Wrestling in Calgary, Canada. As of right now, the young Benoit will be tag teaming with his father’s close personal friend, Chavo Guerrero Jr.

Chris Benoit died in 2007 as the result of a murder-suicide in Fayetteville, Georgia. Chris murdered his wife Nancy and young son Daniel in their family home, before hanging himself from a weightlifting machine. The murder and suicide sparked much interest into the long term risks associated with multiple concussions sustained by professional wrestlers.

David is the oldest son from Chris Benoit’s first marriage to Martina Benoit. The couple also had a daughter, Megan. At the time of the 2007 tragedy, David (14) and Megan (10) were living with their mother Martina. David has long had an interest in following his father’s foot steps.

WWE.com

Extreme Rules has offered up several shocking results over the years, outcomes we never would have predicted. The event returns this weekend, with The Shield taking on Evolution in the main event. If history is anything to go off, anything could happen. If there has been one event over the years which has genuinely surprised us fans, it has been Extreme Rules.

That’s what has made the event so interesting since it first started in 2009, the knowledge that WWE likes to book some crazy results on the show. Surprise as much as ‘extreme’ has became a staple of the event.

The origins of Extreme Rules actually started out at the Ecw One Night Stand show. When that brand became defunct, WWE directly stated that the ‘Extreme Rules’ pay per view was a continuation of the hardcore event. As such, we get all the extreme gimmicks of an Ecw show,...

WWE.com

A lot of people have been talking about Benjamin Morris’ 538 piece, “Are Pro Wrestlers Dying at an Unusual Rate?”

Like Morris, I am neither an actuarial scientist nor a demographer. So, our interpretations of the data should be taken with a grain of salt. My results were somewhat different from Morris’ due to a difference data set and changes in how we calculated actuarial predictions.

Differences in methodology from Morris

I also used Social Security Actuarial Life Tables, but my “expected mortality rates” for the age groups were not the same as Morris’. For each wrestler, I calculated what their age would have been as of today. Then, based on gender, I looked up the number of lives (out of 100,000) that were expected to still be alive and converted that to a percentage. His analysis looked at wrestlers who were on 20+ WWF PPVs through 2002. I went with a...

WWE.com

When the Attitude Era wound down in 2002, WWE began a process of “retraining” fans to watch and appreciate longer, more technical matches. The Russo era of 3-minute match after 3-minute match filled with outside weapons and screwjob finishes were phased out (even the Hardcore title was retired) as WWE began to focus on actual wrestling.

As part of that move, submission-style wrestling became more prevalent. Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and others led the charge, but if you look at the WWE 2002 roster, many upper-card superstars either already had or incorporated a submission hold into their repertoire: Edge, Eddie Guerrero, Jericho, Regal, Lance Storm, Tazz and Ultimo Dragon.

Fast-forward to today’s WWE product and submission finishers continue to be fashionable, albeit a different crop of holds. The crossface and Boston and half-crabs are now used more as mid-match submissions. In their place are a variety of holds – some familiar,...

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Professional wrestling is a lot like the music industry, in that it can be a cruel, cruel mistress. When every young gun with fire in his eyes makes his way into the business, he has dreams that maybe he’ll be a legend, that his legacy will long outlive him and be remembered for decades to come. Sadly, that’s not always the case. Darren Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler” showed just how depressing this story can end for some people. The limelight dims, the audience stops paying attention to you, and eventually you fade away into obscurity.

Doesn’t really seem fair, does it?

For every wrestler like Eddie Guerrero or Chris Benoit, whose legacies will forever be remembered for better or worse, there are countless former stars who died unnoticed and who today may very well be forgotten. Here we look back at some of those talents...

After about a month of taking in what the WWE Network has to offer I thought we could take a look at some of the things that are worth your time on there, and even just to pick up on DVD. Every PPV event from WWE(F), WCW and Ecw is included on the on-demand section of the network, which means there is hundreds of shows and thousands of hours worth of wrestling to dig through, so I wanted to whittle it down to ten shows that I feel are worth watching, and the reasons will be highlighted too.

Let’s begin with an obvious one shall we?

WWE: WrestleMania 1

Held in Madison Square Garden in New York City, the very first WWF pay-per-view ever presented and a show that lit the fuse on the rocket that became sports entertainment and the concept of pay-per-view. The show isn’t...

Pro Wrestling and the internet have gone hand in hand for nearly two decades now, ever since Dave Meltzer first popularised the web as a place to get the dirt on what was really going down in the WWF.

From the moment that Meltzer unleashed the True story of the Montreal Screwjob online in 1997 we’ve been hooked. It’s almost as interesting to follow WWE these days for the backstage drama that leaks out online, often vastly more enthralling than the scripted drama taking place on television.

In 2014 however a new wrestling internet sensation is taking place, interacting with our WWE heroes on Twitter! There are several WWE superstars who will tweet you back and retweet your support. Others in the locker room come out with hilarious jokes, while some post insider comments and pull the kayfabe curtain back somewhat. Following WWE superstars has became an absolute must for fans.

Storm Wrestling Academy

Lance Storm gained a reputation throughout the course of his career as one of the finest technical wrestlers in the world. A former WWE Intercontinental Champion, WCW United States Champion, and Ecw World Tag Team Champion, he was trained at the famous Hart Brothers Pro Wrestling Camp in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. After his retirement from WWE in 2005, Storm continued the tradition of wrestling education in the city by opening his own school – the Storm Wrestling Academy. Immediately, students flocked to the closest existing link to Stu Hart’s legendary “Dungeon.”

In 2007, I was lucky enough to join the Academy’s summer class (go to StormWrestling.com and check the class photos – I’m the anemic-looking fellow in the Captain America shirt). It was a great experience, one of the most exciting of my life, and while I haven’t pursued a career in the sport (despite telling...

World Championship Wrestling became the number one wrestling company in North America in the late 1990s. The rise of WCW was brought on by the cruiserweights, realistic storylines and, of course, the New World Order. WCW rose faster than anyone could have ever predicted but it also fell quicker and harder than anyone could have imagined.

Once the World Wrestling Federation purchased WCW in 2001, fans were almost begging for the WWF to put on dream matches that they had envisioned for years. Imagine: Hulk Hogan vs. Steve Austin, The Rock vs. Ric Flair, The Outsiders vs. The New Age Outlaws, the nWo vs. Degeneration X…the possibilities were endless.

Instead, we got an Invasion angle that lacked any drama and showcased none of wrestlers that WCW was most known for. Instead of Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, and Sting we got Lance Storm, Booker T, and Mike Awesome. Eventually, there were...

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Having recently returned on Smackdown, veteran performer Christian competes in the Elimination Chamber match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship on this Sunday’s (Feb 23) pay-per-view. This might well be the last time ‘Captain Charisma’ challenges for the WWE title, as it’s rumoured that this could be the last stretch in the company which he first signed for 16 years ago.

Having first debuted in the WWE in 1998, Christian has gone on to win nine Tag Team championships and six different singles titles. The following list focuses on his WWE career, but also had a 3 1/2 year stint in Tna from 2005-2009 in which he captured the Nwa World Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.

The first period of his career saw him form the Gothic group ‘The Brood’ with Gangrel and his on-screen brother Edge, before breaking away from Gangrel and achieving vast success in the team Edge & Christian. The...

Welcome to the first wrestling show review I’ll have written here on Nerdly.

Nxt is the development system for WWE and is often spoken of as the best wrestling show out there right now, with the deep and excellent development roster that WWE has right now.

The show opens up with Corey Graves talking to Rick Victor from The Ascension. The conversation becomes heated and Graves is attacked by Victor and his tag-team partner Conor O’Brian.

First match of the night is “The Moonchild” Cj Parker in his new hippy gimmick taking on the Zoolander inspired Tyler Breeze. “The Model” Rick Martel has cause for a lawsuit if Breeze debuts his own perfume. Breeze needs to add some new facial expressions to his repertoire. He is solid in the ring, being trained by fellow Canadian Lance Storm but he needs to really “find” this character, it feels very one dimensional right now.

Many talents in the WWE go completely over the fan’s heads, (which isn’t me having a dig, it’s just how the wrestling business works), however there are many superstars in the company at this very minute who should have more of a chance to showcase their abilities and be given either a mid card or main event push.

Here, I have listed my top five who desperately need more spotlight. So here we go…

5. Tyson Kidd

Now Tyson Kidd may not be the best talker in the world, but my word can the lad go in the ring. I would rank him third in the company only behind Daniel Bryan and Dolph Ziggler. He was trained in the infamous Hart Dungeon (graduates including: Chris Jericho, Lance Storm and Chris Benoit) so no wonder he is as technically sound as he is.

As a part of the Hart Dynasty,...

As reported a few weeks ago, Nxt has recently undergone a full overhaul and here we have its first episode review…

The cameras pan around the small gym hall, just a few hundred fans if that, occupy the hall. The previous Nxt’s yellow is still prominent throughout although there are obvious changes to its logo, stage layout and ring covers.

Jim Ross comes out and thanks the fans for attending, welcoming us all to the new beginning of Nxt. Whilst onstage he introduces the new Interim General Manager: None other than the American Dream, Dusty Rhodes.

Rhodes first port of call is to schedule the main event in which he declares that Tyson Kidd will take on the Michael Mcgullicutty. He also states that if we think the last few years of Nxt has been wild, we’ve not seen nothing yet.

A video package for Bo Dallas airs...

On Friday evening, WWE.com announced that Chris Jericho had been suspended for 30 days.

As we reported yesterday, WWE had suspended Jericho “indefinitely” for “desecrating” the Brazil national flag during the company’s first ever live event in the country. Jericho kicked the flag that had been thrown into the ring by a fan during an attempt to draw heat from the crowd but as desecrating the national flag is an offence in Brazil, he was spoken to by police and was nearly arrested before he apologised to the live crowd.

WWE.com updated their report on Jericho with the following statement;

“WWE Superstar Chris Jericho has been suspended for 30 days due to an irresponsible act of denigrating the Brazilian flag at a WWE live event in São Paulo on May 24.”

Jericho has been pulled from all live event appearances and replaced by Daniel Bryan for the main event WWE Title matches against Cm Punk.