Vintage Independent Wrestling Thread: Discuss the Stars of Today Yesterday When They Were Stars of Tomorrow

[tekcop]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1546186980161196032

I remember being kinda excited for this when it was booked. It sucked. Kamala had no interest in selling for some short indie kid.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Paging @Laz

 

[BruiserBrody]

I remember being kinda excited for this when it was booked. It sucked. Kamala had no interest in selling for some short indie kid.

That may have been by design, IIRC the build was Kamala was going back to his monster heel side and away from the comedy Kamala gimmick who would sing jazz (r and b?) and whatnot.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Hot take: I'd rather see dickhead grapplefuck heel Danielson Vs comedy babyface Kamala

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1549881703929348097

@BruiserBrody : When independent wrestling was great!

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1552730028370190337

 

[Valeyard]

I don't think anyone has done as much and drawn as little money as Jeff.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Thank you, Mike Graham.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Thank you, Mike Graham.

I'll admit that this triggered me. I was going to comment that Mike was never even champion of his Daddy's promotion, but a quick look shows he was champ for a month in Jan 83 (and didn't job it, instead they did an injury angle. The promotion was already beginning to slide as the champion list by 1982 and beyond is well below the level of Dusty, Brisco and prime Dory.

** Graham was champ of the Shindy version of the promotion that formed after JCP closed up Florida.

*** Graham was Southern champ in 81 for a whole week while feuding with Dicky Slater.

**** Graham was 17 time Florida tag champ, and 5 time Florida US tag champ.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I will say in The Jarretts' mild defense, Florida in the '70s and early '80s was a much, much more loaded roster than Memphis in the late '80s, early '90s. If they swapped places through some sort of time machine, there's probably a chance Jeff and Mike swap championship pedigrees.

On one of the first episodes of his podcast, Jeff told Connie that Mike Graham's anger and bitterness towards good ol' Double J was rooted in Mike Graham hanging out backstage frequently at the Impact Zone looking for road agent work and never getting hired. It's truly Jeff's world and we're all livin' in it.

 

[BruiserBrody]

I will say in The Jarretts' mild defense, Florida in the '70s and early '80s was a much, much more loaded roster than Memphis in the late '80s, early '90s. If they swapped places through some sort of time machine, there's probably a chance Jeff and Mike swap championship pedigrees.

On one of the first episodes of his podcast, Jeff told Connie that Mike Graham's anger and bitterness towards good ol' Double J was rooted in Mike Graham hanging out backstage frequently at the Impact Zone looking for road agent work and never getting hired. It's truly Jeff's world and we're all livin' in it.

I misunderstood where you were coming from then. I thought you were just mocking Mike Graham for getting a nepotism push as an undersized worker ala Groovy Greg and Double J.

Mike was just like Jake the Snake, SS Graham, and modern day Road Dog where you praise a place when you cash the checks there and shit on them as soon as they show you the door.

Did Graham work as an agent for a hot minute for WWE when they bought the Florida tapes?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I think he helped out and made audience cameos occasionally with Florida Championship Wrestling in the late '00s, around the time of his frequent Legends of Wrestling appearances.

I forgot that he also lost a son to suicide. What a tragic life. I've watched very little if any Florida stuff but I do know that Mike was actually p. good.

He just shouldn't have badmouthed Jeff!

 

[alkeiper]

Yeah. Mike was undersized but a good wrestler to the point where he'd probably fit in well with today's workers.

 

[BruiserBrody]

Yeah. Mike was undersized but a good wrestler to the point where he'd probably fit in well with today's workers.

And he was a shooter. His best stuff is likely lost in the Florida archives that remain. It looks like he cut way back on dates by 1983. He was in his early 30s at that point, so by his WCW run he was 40+

He did a cameo in 1985 Mid South I enjoyed. He came in for a TV taping, got a squash win and was put over by the announcers as a special guest of sorts. Then he came out for his 2nd squash for a later week, but ended up getting burned by Akbar. It gave Watts a way to put over his heel without having to lose out on bookings by having one of his guys sell a burn injury.

Looking it up, it wasn't even pure squashes: He worked Dr. Tom and Dutch Mantel. I was going off my memory of a VHS Best of tape to give you an idea how long ago I watched this.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

First reaction was shocked that TNA superfan Chickenhat got interview time and second was is that JINGUS interviewing him!?

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Paging @Laz

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Operators are standing by...

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

spanish languarge from San Fran, match listing with time tags:
00:00 - Roddy Piper vs Terry Sawyer 12:00 - Tom & SD Jones vs The Masked Canadian & Victor Rivera 25:00 - The Masked Canadian & ? vs Black Gordman & Great Goliath 38:00 - Masked Canadian vs Mando Guerrero (Cage Match) 50:00 - Mando Guerrero & Texas Red vs The Masked Canadian & Alex Perez 1:03:00 - SD Jones & Texas Red vs Victor Rivera & The Masked Canadian 1:20:00 - Roddy Piper vs Chavo Guerrero 1:33:00 - Black Gordman, Alex Perez & Terry Saywer vs Moondog Mayne, Ron Bass and Roddy Piper (Elimination) 2:03:00 - Roddy Piper vs Tony Milan 2:16:00 - Roddy Piper vs Harley Race (NWA World Title Match): 2:32:00 - Great Goliath vs Hector Guerrero (Piper Special Ref) 2:47:00 - Buddy Rose vs Jerry Monti ? 2:59:00 - Roddy Piper vs ? 3:12:00 - Roddy Piper & Ron Bass vs Terry Sawyer & Black Gordman 3:30:00 - Roddy Piper vs Rick Thompson 3:39:00 - Roddy Piper vs Pepper Gomez clip in Cow Palace 3:49:00 - Buddy Rose & Texas Red vs Pepper Gomez & Takashi Ishikawa (Onome) 4:01:00 - (Brown Haired) Kevin Sullivan vs Bob Roop clips in Cow Palace 4:09:00 - Kevin Sullivan & Barry Orton vs The Von Steigers (Karl von Steiger & Kurt von Steiger) 4:19:00 - Alexei Smirnoff vs Juan Mercado (NWA San Francisco United States Title) 4:34:00 - Ray Stevens vs Johnny Karisma 4:49:00 - Von Steigers vs ??? 4:52:00 - Cow Palace Clips - Ray Stevens vs One of the Von Steigers 4:58:00 - Bob Roop vs Dean Ho 5:09:00 - Bob Roop & Barry Orton vs Dean Ho & Kevin Sullivan 5:22:00 - Kevin Sullivan vs Johnny Karisma 5:28:00 - A bunch on minute long matches ft Black Gordman, Mando Guerrero, Victor Rivera 5:32:00 - A brawl between El Negro (um, yeah) and one of the Guerreros ? 5:35:00 - Rick Thompson vs Don Muraco

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Hector cosplaying as his baby brother Eddie is fun!

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

12/03/1994 Tewksbury, MA - Tewksbury High School (2,000)
According to the WON, this was one of the highest-attended events on the U.S independent circuit for 1994.
Johnny Gunn defeated Bert Centeno
Doink the Clown (Mike Kaluha) defeated SWAT
New Hampshire Nightmare defeated Ric Lloyd
Misty Blue defeated Nasty Girl Sherri via disqualification
Vic Steamboat defeated Cyborg
Knuckles Nelson defeated Candyman
Jimmy Snuka defeated Metal Maniac
Hillbilly Jim defeated CWA Heavyweight Champion Tony Atlas via disqualification

Can you imagine how bad a 1994 Hillbilly Jim Vs Tony Atlas match is? ("What era would a Hillbilly Jim Vs Tony Atlas match been good in?"- @BruiserBrody )

Somehow though that's better attended than a lot of WWF and WCW house shows during this era. People in the North Shore LOVE hillbillies, @Laz !

 

[Valeyard]

Snuka worked Maniac exclusively for like three years it feels like.

Misty Blue is one of those women who was talked up by announcers and whatnot as being very beautiful but was more of a pretty Tonya Harding so I don't get it.

Someday I wanna see Vic Steamboat in a real match.

Hillbilly/Atlas in like 1985 could be alright but I honestly can't boo either. Hillbilly is one of the most likeable workers for me and Atlas is hilarious (gonna get his cellar phone one day). But a non-finish is so silly.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Snuka worked Maniac exclusively for like three years it feels like.

Misty Blue is one of those women who was talked up by announcers and whatnot as being very beautiful but was more of a pretty Tonya Harding so I don't get it.

Longer than that. Indie Wrestling Archive just posted a match of theirs from 2004! It was probably close to 15 considering I imagine their matches started shortly after Snuka's WWF run ended in the early '90s.

I just listened to The Rialto Report episode on Misty Blue's pre wrestling "career". So I assume the comments on how beautiful she was maybe were based on her film work? But like no one considered adult film stars attractive until the late '90s if not the early '00s so Idk. I know John McAdam occasionally likes to rag on how disgusting her films were but my brother, you didn't have to watch it!

 

[Valeyard]

I was unaware of such a career.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Well. It's out there. She didn't use the name "Misty Blue".

Wrestling name is actually after her kids which is kind of sweet.

Killer Kowalski got her to leave the world of pornography behind so she could focus on becoming a pro wrestler. Which is weird cause '80s porn is probably the one industry that's even sleazier than the '80s wrestling industry.

Also the KM thread of '90s/'00s New England indie wrestling is like manna from Heaven for me.

05/29/1999 (NWA-NE Mass Madness) Somerville, MA - Good Times Emporium (324)
NWA World Champion Naoya Ogawa vs. three wrestlers did not take place as advertised; due to a flight delay, Ogawa did not appear until the very end of the show but took part in a meet-and-greet and surprise photo op with boxer Peter McNeely for the large contingent of Japanese wrestling fans in attendance. The Ogawa-McNeely "face off" photos taken by Shun Yamaguchi were featured in almost every major newspaper in Japan.

Chapter 10: HAIL TO THE CHIEF
By Howard T. Brody
(Swimming with Piranhas: Surviving the Politics of Professional Wrestling, 2009)
While Ogawa made the rest of his bookings [during his first U.S. tour], including matches against the likes of Biggie Biggs, Doug Gilbert, Gary Steele and even Swedish kickboxer and then WAKO (World Association of Kickboxing Organizations) world champion Fredrik Hjelm, he also missed his booking in Boston thanks to another delayed flight. But instead of Rumble complaining, he was able to turn Ogawa's late arrival into a great photo opportunity that generated a lot of publicity. Always one to take advantage of his connections, Rumble was able to stage a pull-apart confrontation between Ogawa and local high-profile boxer “Hurricane” Peter McNeeley, who was perhaps best known for his 1995 fight with “Iron” Mike Tyson, in which he was knocked out by the champion just one minute and 29 seconds into the first round.

Rumble, who had been so against Ogawa initially, started warming up to the idea of a Japanese champion, especially since about 40 Japanese fans had shown up to his event just to see Ogawa and had been exposed to his brand of wrestling. Sheldon had created a poster specifically geared toward the local Japanese community and had it translated into Japanese. It paid off, as Tony realized he could tap into a whole subculture of potential new fans. Suddenly he believed that having a champion who had a certain mystique was a good thing. And even though Ogawa missed his match, he was gracious to the fans that showed up to see him and posed for photos with every one of them. By having a world-class athlete like Ogawa as champion, it made the NWA seem a little more legitimate than perhaps if an independent wrestler carried the title. Too bad Rumble's realization came a few months too late — I really could have used his support early on, but better late than never.

KM : Reading Topic : Century Wrestling Alliance/NWA-NE

www.infinitecore.ca

Thread in question. @Laz will probably like reading (or like hate reading) of these names.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

I just looked up Misty Blue. She's perfectly fine for wrestling standards.

 

[Big Papa Paegan]

Also, Tony Rumble may be second only to Sheldon Goldberg in importance to NE indies, but that's only because Sheldon discovered a young Eddie Edwards.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

It's amazing looking at that list how fast the indie scene fell off a cliff when he died suddenly in '99. Although there was a lot of great New England based talent in the '00s, Idk if the scene really fully recovered until the 2010s.

Also I had forgotten how long Warbeard Hanson has been in the business. Idk he was a 20 year vet. He definitely went through his fair share of forgotten crappy gimmicks before he found his calling card.

I just looked up Misty Blue. She's perfectly fine for wrestling standards.

In the podcast, they mentioned that Vince wanted to bring her in towards the end of her career (based on timeline, I'm guessing in '93-'94 when they were trying to rebuild the womens division) but she didn't want to spend so much time on the road and was afraid that she would have to sleep with Vince to get a push. So she turned him down by saying she had gained weight. Ah, the '90s.

 

[Valeyard]

This movie she's in is tedious and hard to follow. I refuse to watch the whole thing. I'm not cock Ebert.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

we used to have porn critics on this board.

 

[Valeyard]

** no Porky Piggin' it.