"Dr. Death" Steve Williams

the first time I saw the pictures of Steve Williams from December of this year I didnt even recognize him. I had a feeling he didnt have long.

CANOE -- SLAM: "Dr. Death" Steve Williams

Wrestling's top stories of 2009

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - SLAM! Wrestling's top stories of 2009

World Wrestling Entertainment has lucha libre on the ropes

From the USA Today. The WWE is making inroads in Mexico and pushing the traditions of Lucha Libre out of the ring.

Read it Here.

R.I.P "Dr. Death" Steve Williams 1960-2009

Today we lost a legend in the sport, Steve Williams aka "Dr. Death".

He had a long and successful career with his greatest success coming Japan in both singles and tag teams. He lost his battle against throat cancer today but left a legacy of toughness from Oklahoma University to the Tokyo Dome.
Here is an interview and story from 1986 and given the events of the day some of his comments are now very ironic.


Here is a clip of the Doc when he was part of the Kevin Sullivan led Varsity Club. He teamed with Mike Rotunda to win the NWA World tag team titles. They are facing the late Eddie Gilbert and Rick Steiner. As Steiner comes into the ring area he is given something by a girl that as we found out later was associated with Kevin Sullivan. Its his then real life wife Nancy (aka Woman) who would later gain notice as the ill fated wife of second husband Chris Benoit. At the end of the match the Road Warriors join the scene to give us at least 6 wrestlers who are Hall of Fame caliber talent.


Here is the team of Williams and Gordy in Japan vs Bam Bam Bigelow and Davey Boy Smith
Sadly all 4 men are now deceased. Such a tragedy, they are all gone too soon.


And one last bit of trivia on Dr. Death. When Stone Cold Steve Austin came on the wrestling scene he wanted to use his real name of Steve Williams but because there was already a well known wrestler of Steve Williams he went with Steve Austin after the "Six Million Dollar Man" fame.

Its on for January 4th

courtesy Wrestling-Radio.com:

Vince McMahon confirmed just now on Monday Night RAW (12/28) that Bret Hart will indeed return to WWE after a 12 year absence and host RAW on January 4, 2010 in Dayton, Ohio. McMahon showed a video package including Survivor Series '97, McMahon went on to play heel against Hart.RAW will be going head to head with a special Live 3 Hour TNA iMPACT! in which Hulk Hogan makes his return.

Dec 26th In Wrestling History

Today back in 1983 marked the end of an era in pro wrestling. It was the end of the WWF as a regional promotion and embarking on a national level. Vince had to get rid of the somewhat bland champion Bob Backlund and make way for his hand picked champ that would lead the way for the WWF. So tonight in 1983 Vince chose the Iron Shiek to dethrone an "injured" Backlund for the WWF heavyweight title in Madison Square Garden.
The Shiek would drop the belt in January 1984 to Hogan in the same MSG and thus a new era was at hand and pro wrestling would never be the same.

George Michael Sports Machine

Today we lost legendary sportscaster/reporter George Michael to cancer. George always gave pro wrestling the respect it never got on any other sports program and in 1985 he did a special peice on the Von Erichs for his Sports Machine.
As tribute to George here is that report

Funny

Breaking News! Bret Hart Signs with WWE

Source: The Wrestling Observer Newsletter

According to a WWE source who would have full knowledge of the situation, Bret Hart has indeed signed a short-term talent contract with World Wrestling Entertainment,
The WWE Hall of Famer signed the this past week and it will cover the period from 1/1 to 4/10, or through WrestleMania and about two weeks after the 3/28 show at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ.
Hart simply told a reliable source that he wasn't going to lie about anything and thus wasn't going to comment on this story.
It was said that Hart wanted his signing to be kept quiet and his return to be a surprise, but that WWE couldn't help itself but all but announced it publicly on the first RAW after the ink was dry.

CANOE -- SLAM: K & S December to Remember WrestleFest in Carteret, NJ, Saturday, December 12, 2009

CANOE -- SLAM: K & S December to Remember WrestleFest in Carteret, NJ, Saturday, December 12, 2009

After looking at these pictures I guess we should be glad that Steve "Dr. Death" Williams is still with us. He is still fighting cancer and seems to be holding his own.

The 2009 Slammy Awards

Tonight WWE RAW is 3 hours and starts at 8pm. Guest host tonight will be Dennis Miller and they will give out the Slammy Awards over those 3 hours.

Via the Wrestling Online Network:
The categories and nominees for the Slammy Awards, taking place tonight
were announced yesterday. Nine categories in total were revealed and these
are: "Superstar of the Year" with nominees John Cena, Randy Orton, CM Punk
and The Undertaker; "Breakout Star Of The Year" with nominees Yoshi Tatsu,
Drew McIntyre, Sheamus and Abraham Washington; "Tag Team Of The Year" with
nominees D-Generation X, Chris Jericho & Big Show, Hart Dynasty and Legacy;
"Guest Host Of The Year" with nominees Seth Green, Bob Barker, Shaquille
O'Neal and The Osbournes; "Extreme Moment Of The Year" with nominees Kofi
Kingston lands a Boom Drop on Randy Orton at MSG, Big Show choke slams John
Cena into arena spotlight at Backlash, Jeff Hardy jumps from ladder onto CM
Punk at SummerSlam and Triple H invades Randy Orton's home; "Shocker of the
Year" with nominees Batista turning on Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton DDT's
Stephanie McMahon, Jeff Hardy retires thanks to CM Punk and Sheamus drives
Mark Cuban through a table; "Match Of The Year" with nominees Jeff Hardy vs
Edge in a Ladder match at Extreme Rules, Undertaker vs Shawn Michaels at
WrestleMania XXIV; John Cena vs Randy Orton in an I Quit match at Breaking
Point; Team RAW vs Team Smackdown at Bragging Rights; "Oh My Moment Of The
Year" with nominees Chris Masters performs special dancing pecs routine for
Osbournes, Shawn Michaels superkicks little girl in cafeteria, Michael Cole
vomits on Chris Jericho at Smackdown's 10th Anniversary and Santino Marella
accidentally nails Vickie with a pie; "Diva Of The Year" will also be
announced with all Divas eligible to win the Slammy. WWE fans will be
deciding who will win this award on WWE.com.

WWE TLC Results

Via the OnLine Wrestling Network
SHEAMUS BECOMES THE NEW WWE CHAMPION
- A new WWE Heavyweight champion was crowned yesterday at the TLC
pay-per-view as Sheamus successfully defeated John Cena in a tables match to
become the champ just a few weeks after he was named the number one
challenger for the title; The Undertaker managed to retain the World
Heavyweight title after pinning Batista following the Tombstone piledriver.
Batista had the match won after a low blow and a chair shot but Smackdown GM
Teddy Long restarted the match because of the low blow; In the main event of
the evening, Shawn Michaels and Triple H became the Unified Tag Team
champions for the first time ever by defeating The Big Show and Chris
Jericho in the only TLC match on the show; In other matches from the show,
Christian retained the ECW title defeating Shelton Benjamin in a Ladder
match. The match was halted after Christian bled hard and later restarted;
Drew McIntyre defeated John Morrison to become the new Intercontinental
champion; Michelle McCool defeated Mickie James to retain the Women's title;
Randy Orton defeated Kofi Kingston.

The Baron

Baron Von Raschke is being inducted into the

St Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame tonight.

Alex Marvez has brief little article on the The Baron in Scripps News.

read it here.

Family matters in pro wrestling

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Family matters in pro wrestling

Great article

Brock Lesnar update

UFC President Dana White said during a press conference today that Brock
Lesnar may need major surgery stemming from his diverticulitis: "They
figured [the illness] out, so the question now is, he’s either going to
need major surgery or he’s not and we won’t know for the next couple
months... Obviously, I’m hoping that’s not the case, as I’m sure all of
you are, but we’ll see what happens."

What a bad year for the Gagne family

the troubles continue with the granddaughter of Vern Gagne being arrested.

read the story Here

Hogan interviewed....again

Thanks to the Online Wrestling Newsletter
Hulk Hogan being interview on Canada's Off The Record
Watch the short interview here.

He was making the rounds in Canada to promote his book and his signing with TNA.

Andy Kaufman

Here is the link to an interview with Bob Zmuda, a friend of Andy Kaufman. He is releasing a new book Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts.

I cannot wait to read this book and its quite an interesting interview.

Enjoy, go here to the LAist website

Memphis

here is the trailer for the upcoming documentary on Memphis Wrestling.
Its based on Ron Hall's book Sputnik, Masked Men & Midgets: The Early Days of Memphis Wrestling.



I hope someone is taking notes so they can do the same for Indianapolis wrestling someday soon.

Moondog Rex still howling at the moon

CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Moondog Rex still howling at the moon

Funny

Hulk Hogan and TNA

thanks to Wrestling Online.com:

The Monday Night wars is coming back - at least for one week only. Hulk
Hogan along with TNA President Dixie Carter and Eric Bischoff were present
during yesterday's UFC The Ultimate Fighter 10 finale in Las Vegas, NV., and
the Hulkster announced on live TV that on January 4, TNA will go head to
head with WWE's RAW as Hogan makes his official debut on TNA. Hogan was
interviewed by UFC commentator Joe Rogan during the first part of the show
and mentioned that he and TNA are going to war!

> CARTER SAYS TNA IS FIRING FIRST SHOT AT WWE
- On January 4, TNA Wrestling will present a three hour TNA iMPACT! live
starting at 8PM EST. The company issued a press release saying that this
will be the first time that TNA and WWE will broadcast live head-to-head
since the Monday Night Wars ended in the beginning of 2000 between WWE and
WCW. The show will be live from the home of TNA, Universal Studios in
Orlando, FL. "I knew when I signed with TNA, that it would be important to
make a statement with the first episode. Going head-to-head on January 4th,
makes the statement loud and clear: Game on!" Hogan said. Dixie Carter
added, "TNA is kicking off 2010 in the biggest way possible with the biggest
name in the history of our sport. Hulk Hogan is a pop culture icon, and his
arrival will change not only TNA, but the entire professional wrestling
landscape. We're firing that first shot."

TLC matches

Legends of the Past

Our legend today is the late "Pepper" Gomez.
Born Joseph Gomez Los Angeles California in 1927, he would go on to be famous in pro wrestling as "the man with the cast iron stomach".
I became familiar with him as a kid watching him on "All Star Championship Wrestling" in Indianapolis as he teamed up with Wilbur Snyder, Dick the Bruiser, Moose Cholak and others for many stints as WWA Tag Team champions.
He had legendary fueds with Bobby Heenan in the 70s and he fueded with Wilbur Snyder and Dick the Bruiser in his early days.
He would always set up a feud by challenging someone to jump off a ladder onto his stomach to prove how great his abdominal muscles were, which is how he earned his "cast iron stomach" moniker.
Of course being quite young when he was having his heyday I fully believed he had a stomach made of cast iron! He was barrell chested and was built like a house of bricks.


Pepper passed away May 6th 2004 in Oakland, California.
Read the full obituary here

R.I.P. Eddie Fatu (Umaga) Updated

Via the Wrestling Globe Newsletter:

The wrestling world is tonight mouning the death of former WWE star Umaga.

Umaga, 36, whose real name is Edward Fatu, was found by his wife last night at his home in Texas, unable to breath and bleeding from the nose, according to a family member. He had fallen asleep in his chair while watching television.

He was rushed to a Houston-area hospital after suffering what doctors believe was a massive heart attack. They did manage to restart his heart but he was taken off life support late this afternoon after being declared brain dead.

Fatu is probably best known for headlining Wrestlemania 23 against Bobby Lashley in a match where Vince McMahon put his hair on the line against the hair of Donald Trump, with Steve Austin as guest referee, which drew the biggest buy rate in the history of professional wrestling.He was a member of the famous Anoa'i Samoan-wrestling family that included the likes of Afa, Sika, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Samu, Rikishi, Rosie, The Tonga Kid, and many more.

By all accounts, he was well liked and nobody had a bad word to say about him. Friends in the wrestling business have been left devastated by the news of his untimely passing, most of all, Ken "Mr. Kennedy" Anderson, who worked Fatu's final match last weekend on the Hulk Hogan tour of Australia. In an eerie coincidence, Anderson also worked Eddie Guerrero's last match before Gerrero's well-documented untimely death in a Minneapolis hotel room in 2005. "Ecki's (Umaga's) death is an appalling tragedy," one major name WWE wrestler told me this evening. "He was an immensely talented performer, we were good friends, and (I will) miss him. My thoughts are with his entire family right now. I can't imagine the loss they are feeling."

On its website, the WWE expressed its "deepest condolences to Mr. Fatu's family, friends and fans on his tragic passing."

In arguably a PR move, the WWE statement also read:

"Mr. Fatu was under contract with WWE at various time periods and most recently performed under the name Umaga. Mr. Fatu's contract was terminated on June 11, 2009. "

This was in reference to a second Wellness Policy violation and his subsequent refusal to enter rehabilitation which led to his firing earlier this year.

Former WWE Diva Torrie Wilson, who resides a few miles away from the Fatu family home, said she had been praying all day for a miracle. Last year for her birthday, Fatu had given her an English Bulldog called Uce as a present. Uce means "brother" in the Samoan language.

Tributes from friends and fans have poured in tonight through social networking website Twitter."My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Eddie Fatu," said Eric Bischoff. "He was a great performer and a wonderful person."

TNA's Pope D'Angelo Dinero, said: "This is rough, very rough. My heart and prayers goes out to Umaga's wife, his boys, and family."

Another message, from Christopher Daniels, said: "RIP Eddie Fatu. I'm glad I got to know you in the short time you were here."

TNA Knockout Tara, Lisa Marie Varon, said: "Rest in Peace Umaga We will love you always and we will all miss you."

Long-time WWF ring announcer Howard Finkel also wrote a touching blog on the WWE website. He said: "Like Yokozuna who preceded him, Eddie’s bloodline made him a part of the legendary Anoai family. The Wild Samoans (Afa and Sika) certainly set the bar high for their family members who aspired to follow in their footsteps, with Eddie being one of them. And not withstanding his early WWE tenure as a member of the tag team known as Three Minute Warning, Eddie finally had something to run with when he became Umaga.""...And with no disrespect intended, I felt that he turned out to be the most talented member of the family. He was deliberate, fierce, and smartly methodical in his ring style, but could instantly become as quick as a cat in no time flat. For a man of his size, he definitely put the A in agility."

Edward "Umaga" Fatu (March 28, 1973 - December 4, 2009)

Read an article here

Umaga

Via the Wrestling Globe Newsletter:

FORMER WWE WRESTLER IN CRITICAL CONDITION
Former WWE wrestler Umaga (Edward Fatu), 36, was rushed to hospital last
night in Houston after suffering what was described as a massive heart
attack.
His wife told a family member that she found him not breathing and
bleeding from the nose and mouth.
He is currently on life support and family members are traveling to
Houston to be at his side.
Fatu was released from his WWE contract in June for a second Wellness
Policy violation and his subsequent refusal to enter rehabilitation.

Tag Team Spotlight

This week we put the spotlight on a rarely seen in the heel team of Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr, Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans).
Sadly both men have passed on but their legendary run in Mexico and the Southwest US lives on. Art Barr was known as the American Love Machine and like Eddie was the son and brother of well known pro wrestlers and was himself one of the best to step foot in the ring.
Art did a brief stint with WCW in 1990 as "The Juicer" a poor attempt by WCW to capitalize on the movie "Beetlejuice".
His run with Eddie Guerrero as Los Gringos Locos was headed for ECW and fued with Public Enemy, but that never materialized due to his untimely death on thanksgiving day 1994.

there is little tape on the internet but here is a good example of their work.


Here is the TV add for the PPV "When Worlds Collide" that would be the last match for Los Gringos Loco.

TNA Genesis

Here is the PPV poster for TNA Genesis