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December 25, 2009
This Day in Wrestling History
Ric Flair wins his first World title. Flair teams with Greg Valentine to beat Gene and Ole Anderson for the NWA World Tag Team Championship
December 25, 1976
Kevin Von Erich defeated Bruiser Brody to win the NWA American Title and Ernie Ladd defeated Ray Candy by forfeit to win his 4th Mid-South North American title
December 25, 1978
Magnum T.A. & Mr. Wrestling II defeated Butch Reed & Jim Neidhart to win the Mid-South Tag Team Title
December 25, 1983
The Rock 'N' Roll Express defeated Ted DiBiase & Hercules Hernandez to win their 3rd Mid-South Tag Team Title
December 25, 1984
December 24, 2009
WWE Superstars Results: Holiday Hostility
One wouldn’t think The Big Red Monster would be celebrating on Christmas Eve, but after defeating the very vicious Mike Knox, it seems that Kane has a reason to embrace the holiday spirit. It wasn’t easy, but that didn’t seem to bother SmackDown’s resident Red Monster, and in the end, after connecting with a devastating chokeslam, Kane got the 1-2-3. It seems only appropriate that the sadistic one’s trademark red be met with green envy after his win this holiday season. Full results.
source: wwe.com
The Gangsta Rapper Tully Blanchard
An article relating hip hop to wrestling:
I watched Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen with the boy the other night, and it really struck me how Bad Boy/Death Row these dudes were. The whole aesthetic--"private jets...finest women...most expensive cars...biggest house"--is basically what popular hip-hop became as it matured. And then of course emphasis on mike skills (someone in the doc literally called it that, I think it was Triple H) the ability to be able to talk, almost off the dome, and expound on the character your playing.
Likewise, there were all these moments where wall of reality came down. If you listen to Arn Anderson talk, it's really not clear when he's talking himself or when he's talking about the character he's playing. Less interesting, but still with on the same theme, is the Flair v. Bischoff beef. You have a guy basically cursing out his boss in front of millions of viewers, except he means it. Of course a lot of the similarities boil down to the respective target audience for wrestling and hip-hop--young boys. Hip-hop pulls from the post-pubescent angst, and wrestling pulls from post-pubescent fantasies. Of course the "rapping" in wrestling is ultimately centered around an actual fight, and is a little less meta. But while I loved watching, say, the Road Warriors do work, I think I liked listening to Ric Flair rap at least as much as I liked watching him wrestle.
A shout out to Triple-H, Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes. They all had some really sharp points about wrestling and what the Four Horsemen meant. Triple H had a great breakdown on how the Horsemen fit into the whole psychology of the 80s. He talked about how Dusty Rhodes, the son of the plumber, represented the common man going to war against Horsemen, on the representation of villainous, capitalist excess. And capitalist excess almost always won...More?
source: the atlantic.com
George Michael, Famed D.C. Sportscaster, Dies
George Michael, a high-rated and hyperanimated Washington sportscaster whose use of game highlights on his syndicated sports program became the model for successful broadcasters like ESPN, died Thursday morning at Sibley Hospital, according to a statement issued by his former employer, WRC-TV (Channel 4).
Mr. Michael, who became the dean of Washington sportscasters during a 28-year career at the station, had cancer...More?
source: washingtonpost.com
Wrestling's 10 Best Hidden Gems of the Decade
2000: The Rock vs. Triple H (Iron Man Match)
Make no mistake: 2000 was Triple H's year. While his more famous battles with Mick Foley stand out in most people's minds as the cream of the crop that year, his often forgotten classic with The Rock at Judgment Day was about as much fun as a wrestling fan could have in Y2K.
Going into the match, fans were wondering whether two guys with limited ring skill and no experience wrestling past the 40 minute mark could bring the goods the way HBK and Bret Hart has done so four years prior.
They did, delivering a match chocked with enough old school wrestling psychology to make Gordon Solie blush. After 58 minutes, with the pinfalls tied at 5 apiece, the "sports entertainment" beast reared its ugly head in the form of run-ins galore.
Triple H scored the fluke victory over The Rock, 6-5, after a returning Undertaker earned HHH the DQ decision at the bell. Minor blemishes aside, this is the match that both solidified HHH as a main event player, and gave The Rock the instant credibility he'd been lacking from the dwindling "wrestling purist" base. Nine years later, this match is still lacking the love from a DVD release.
Click here for the rest of the list.
source: bleacherreport.com
The final 10 minutes of the iron man match between The Rock and Triple H.
December 23, 2009
UFC & WWE Target Online Piracy
Lorenzo Fertitta, the co-owner of UFC, recently went to Capitol Hill to discuss the problems facing UFC with respect to online piracy. He told the House Judiciary Committee that some 140,000 people watched UFC 106, the company’s November pay-per-view event headline by Tito Ortiz vs. Forrest Grifin, online using various streaming sites. UFC had identified 271 unauthorized streams, which is where the 140,000-person estimate comes from.
The WWE started going after illegal online streams earlier this year. The WWE claimed, like Fertitta, that online streams were damaging its bottom line...More?
source: crunchgear.com
Guest of Iron
The self-proclaimed “Baddest Man on the Planet” has never been one to hide his feelings or shy away from the spotlight. One of the most newsworthy and notorious sports celebrities in American history, Tyson will surely be prepared for all challenges on Raw...More?
source: wwe.com
Oderint Dum Metuant: Let Them Hate As Long As They Fear
