Forgotten Wrestlers - Big John Studd

Big John Studd is one professional wrestler that was forgotten and younger wrestling fans do not know much about him. His real name was John William Minton and was trained by well known legend of wrestling Killer Kowalski. Both of them started working together and Big John's first ever major title was the WWWF Tag Team title won in tag team with Kowalski. Both were then masked and members of a team called the Masked Executioners.

Big John Studd left the WWWF and eventually wrestled under different names like The Masked Superstar II, Captain USA and Chuck O'Connor. As time passed he had interesting feuds with Barry Windham, Sweet Brown Sugar and Dusty Rhodes. Some older wrestling fans will definitely remember his heel gimmick and the stretcher he brought to the ring. In 1982 Studd started a feud with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and would eventually turn towards the WWF. That was when he started a huge feud with the WWF World Champion of the time, Hulk Hogan. In the WWF of the time we saw the wrestler managed by Bobby Heenan and we noticed one of the most memorable feuds of John Studd's career against Andre the Giant. There was a huge tag team match that showed Andre the Giant's hair being shaved after the match and the end of the feud was huge. Big John Studd offered $15,000 to anyone that could body slam him and this eventually led to a match between John Studd and Andre the Giant at the first ever Wrestlemania. The highlight was Andre body slamming Studd and claiming the money while also winning the match. The feud with Andre the Giant was probably the best feud that Big John Studd had in his wrestling career.

Big John Studd also participated in the well known Wrestlemania 2 Over the top Battle royal match. Studd set his focus on eliminating William Perry but eventually was eliminated by the professional football player, after the wrestler eliminated him. The winner of that Battle Royal was Andre the Giant. After this match and a tag team run with King Kong Bundy, Studd did not appear in the WWF for around 3 years. Big John returned to feud against members of the Heenan family and he eventually won the Royal Rumble of 1989. Unfortunately this was the most important moment of the wrestler's career. After serving as a special referee for the match between Andre the Giant and Jake "The Snake" Roberts at Wrestlemania V he started to take time off and eventually had to retire because of problems caused by taking growth hormones. Big John Studd eventually died because of Hodgkin's disease and liver cancer in 1995.

In conclusion, I would like to point out the ending of the famous Body Slam match against Andre the Giant at the first ever Wrestlemania! Enjoy!

Edge about Christian and Possible WWE Return

Brian Fritz recently held an interview with Edge. They talked about Christian Cage and the fact that he might return to the WWE. The wrestler said that he would like Cage to return to the WWE. The reasons given was that it would be very "cool...to ride together again" and that the WWE is where he should end his wrestling career. He also added that the two are always going to be friends. There are rumors that say that Cage would like to come back and end his wrestling career in the WWE and a lot of people think that he should. We all remember the times when Edge & Christian were together. These two wrestlers worked really well together and it was a pleasure to view them in action, no doubt about that. In my view the best gimmick these two had stood in The Brood, together with Gangrel. That fire entrance will forever be in my personal top 10 entrances ever. I actually remembered of a feud between The Undertaker's Ministry versus The Brood. It was quite a nice feud and this is one match from that feud, The Acolytes (with a Bradshaw that actually looked good if speaking about his body and wrestling moves) versus Gangrel & Edge, with Christian around the ring. It was quite a nice wrestling match that also saw the interference of Ken Shamrock:

Steve "Mongo" McMichaels in TNA

TNA is doing a lot of work with past WCW wrestlers. The latest news stands in Steve "Mongo" McMichael. It seems that he will be a guest referee in the upcoming Monsters Ball at the Bound for Glory Pay Per View. According to Dixie Carter he will have to maintain peace in the ring. Now the problem is that it has been a long time since Steve McMichael was a member of the IV Horsemen. He is a part of wrestling history but one has to wonder why is TNA bringing so many old wrestlers in the ring. I do not refer to age but to wrestling superstars of the past. Why isn't TNA focusing on the imense young talent they have? I do think the young wrestlers have a lot of talent and they should be promoved more. In any case, here is a match featuring Steve "Mongo" McMichaels versus Alex Wright (this was during the feud against Bill Goldberg, if you remember).

History Repeats Itself for Rey Mysterio

I can not believe it that the WWE is using Rey Mysterio's mask again. He is at the moment scheduled for a match against Kane at No Mercy and the special stipulation added is that if he loses the match he will need to remove his mask. Well, those of us that have loved wrestling for a long time already know how Rey Mysterio looks without a mask. He already lost his mask once in a tag team match besides Konnan versus Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. This was the time when WCW had the Red & Black NWO Wolfpack. The entire storyline seems so far fetched for me and I do not like one bit the fact that they are playing around with Rey's mask again. That mask means something in the world of professioanl wrestling. They would better off add a stipulation that if Rey loses he takes off his mask and if he wins Kane would need to put his mask back on. Kane does deserve a big push and the masked Kane was such a delight to see. In any case, if you want to see Rey unmasked you could do a search on YouTube. There are so many pics of him without a mask. I am also adding the video of the end of the wrestling match where he lost the mask in WCW. Enjoy Rey Mysterio without a mask without having to watch No Mercy. I sure hope he does not lose the mask and if he does it better be for a good continuation.

My View on WWE Judgement Day 2008

Well, Judgement Day 2008 was not really that impressive on the whole and I have not been impressed by most things. First off we had a JBL vs John Cena match, one that started very slow. JBL started working on Cena's shoulder, Cena missing a flying move from the turnbuckle and basically a big domination on the part of JBL. Then, when John Cena seemed to be out of it we saw the F U and everything was over. Quite a long and boring match, definitely one that should not have been the first one in the pay per view. Then we got to see a match for the tag team titles between John Morrison and The Miz and the team of the ECW Champion Kane and CM Punk. We did see some nice moves by CM Punk, a Chokeslam by Kane on The Miz on the outside and then John Morrison with a finisher on Punk for the win. Again, not a special math whatsoever.

Then we got to see the match between Chris Jericho and Shawn Michaels. Now this match did live up to the hype and it has quite an interesting storyline around it, with HBK faking injury to win against Batista. The entire match was action packed and I must say that it was totally enjoyable. Every wrestler pulled out their signature moves and Shawn Michaels won the match with a roll up as Jericho was going for the Walls of Jericho. Thumbs up for this match!

We also saw the women's title defended by Mickie James in what was quite a decent match but not as special as the matches we get to see more and more often in TNA. Now Mickie did put in great moves and Beth Phoenix did lift both of the opponents (Melina and Mickie James) on just one shoulder, showing a lot of strength although the end was a simple jumping DDT on Melina. Not a great match but one that was better than many women's wrestling matches I saw in the WWE.

Now the next match was the one I was waiting for as the Undertaker faced Edge for the vacated World Heavyweight Championship title. I must say that this storyline was great and still is great, probably the best one that I have seen in a while with the WWE. I am still disgusted by the fact that Vickie Guerrero is playing the role of Edge's girlfriend but still, this does sit well with the entire storyline. The match was great between the two wrestlers and the end saw the Undertaker win via count out. Then we got to see a twist in the story as there was no pin or submission so Vickie Guerrero stated that the title is still vacant. Then there was a tombstone on Edge just as The Undertaker was pissed. Can't wait to see how this rivalry continues.

Next we saw an unexpected match with MVP issuing a challenge and Matt Hardy accepting it on behalf of Jeff Hardy. Cute little match that was won with the Whisper in the Wind by Hardy although MVP kind of dominated most of the match.

The main event was Triple H versus Randy Orton for the WWE title. The match was pretty good but nothing really special. You had the feeling of hate between the wrestlers and that is always nice. Triple H did a figure 4 leg lock and then some chair shots. Not a great match although it is good to continue the feud, which will lead towards a Last Man Standing match at One Night Stand. That match should be more interesting. On the whole, it was not as special as I had hoped. The Undertaker's match and Jericho's were enjoyable but the rest were kind of boring in my view.

Against All Odds 2008 - Abyss vs Judas Mesias

Now this was an interesting match at Against all Odds and it was one that TNA managed to build up to in an interesting way. Judas Mesias versus Abyss was a feud that probably ended here in quite a brutal match, Barbwire Massacre 2. This meant that the ring ropes did not exist anymore and they were replaced with barbwire. It is basically impossible not to get cut in such a match. Contrary to what I thought prior to the match, it was not Abyss that got most of the impact with the barbwire. This seemed logical as Abyss is dressed while Judas Mesias is naked and completely exposed to the damage possible after impact with the barbwire. On the other hand it was Judas Mesias who took most of the brutal shots in the match. We also got to see a lovely Black Hole Slam on James Mitchell, both of these guys' father in the storyline. There was a need for two Black Hole Slams for Abyss to defeat Judas Mesias and one of them was done on barbwire and we can only imagine the extent of the pain suffered. The match was pretty good, exactly what the fans expected from such a match, only the second one with its name in history. The first one saw Sabu compete against the same Abyss that won now. To make it all even more dramatic, Abyss did leave from a match with Scott Steiner recently and took off his mask without us seeing his face. Could it be that something will be changed with "The Monster" Abyss? Who knows... maybe he will even start wrestling under the name of Chris Parks now.

Memorable Wrestling Matches Steve Austin vs Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 13

This was an incredible wrestling match that saw Bret "The Hitman" Hart fight against "Stone Cold" Steve Austin at Wrestlemania 13. It was really a special fight and it was actually a submission match. We were faced with Bret Hart, we all know his submission wrestling capabilities, the man that basically put the Sharpshooter on the map and Steve Austin, who is not really a submission wrestler. The match was great! We saw the excellence of execution at work and the street fighting style of Austin coming into play. Chairs were of course used and we did see Austin try submission moves. Hart focused on the knee of Austin and utilized a figure 4 leg lock on the turnbuckle. We also saw the Stunner of course and Steve Austin did end up a crimson, bloody mask. The special referee of the match was another individual that is known for his submission style. I am talking about Ken Shamrock. He did not get involved and did call the match correctly. We saw a superplex by Austin and then he used electric cables to try and choke out Bret Hart. But then came a ring bell shot and the sharpshooter was applied. Steve Austin did not tap out but Shamrock had to stop the match because Stone Cold was out. He passed away from the pain but he did not give up. This match was so special and one of the best ever in the WWE. Here are the highlights of this tremendous submission wrestling match at Wrestlemania 13:

Botchmania Clips

Wrestling is after all entertainment and there is one popular series on YouTube that highlights this fact by putting together a collection of wrestling mistakes that went on along the years. Here are two of them and you will find the rest of them on YouTube. Please be advised, these clips will also show you why you should not try wrestling moves at home. You can easily get hurt.

What is The Monster's Ball Match

Well, in professional wrestling, the Monster's Ball match is a special multi competitor hardcore match. It was created by TNA with a name derived by the 2001 movie, Monster's Ball. The idea of the match stands in the fact that those that enter the ring are kept alone in a locked room without food, water or light for 24 hours before the match starts. As you can imagine, this is just stipulation and it is aimed to motivate, and make the wrestling match more interesting. It also explains the use of weapons and various extreme hardcore moves in the match. Victory is achieved when one wrestler is pinned or submits, kind of like a first fall wins. Because of the nature of the Monster's Ball match, the hardcore wrestling implication, there will be many pre-planned high impact moves that are aimed to draw reaction from the plan. For instance, at the last year's Monster's Ball we saw Raven execute an elbow drop from a high place in the arena on Abyss, who was placed on a table. This was a pre-planned high spot in the match.

Up until know we saw 6 Monster's Ball Matches and one wrestler was involved in all of them. Abyss is that wrestler and the interesting fact is that he only won one of them, this year at Bound For Glory when he executed a Black Hole Slam on Raven on tacks and pieces of broken glass. The first Monster's Ball wrestling match was held on November 7, 2004 and Monty Brown winning over Raven and Abyss. The second saw Rhino defeating Sabu, Jeff Hardy and Abyss on October 23 at Bound for Glory 2005. The winner of the third wrestling match of this type was Samoa Joe, winning over Abyss and Rhino on June 10 at TNA House Show 2006. Number four had only two wrestlers compete in Rhino and Abyss at the 2006 TNA house Show on August 24. Rhino won the second Monster's Ball match of the career then. Monster's Ball number 5 saw Samoa Joe win his second wrestling match of this type after defeating Brother Runt, Abyss and Raven on October 22 at Bound For Glory. This year we saw Abyss winning his first ever Monster's Ball match after defeating Raven, Black Reign and Rhino at Bound for Glory.

The Monster's Ball match is high end profile for TNA and as you can see, it was held at Bound For Glory, the company's largest pay per view, 3 out of 6 times. Samoa Joe and Rhino both won two matches but the difference between the two wrestlers stands in the fact that Samoa Joe won each of the Monster's Balls he participated in.

Since Abyss won the last Monster's ball, I invite you to take a look at a quick promo by TNA about one DVD. Hope you like it!