Category: Wrestling History

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Take Your Spot, Ladies

11882266_1060478073985571_1326424868613623308_oThere’s a lot of talk about why Nikki Bella hasn’t dropped her Divas title, and whether or not she will break A.J. Lee’s record for most days as champion. I’m not going to speculate on WWE politics, but where some people see frustration, I see an opportunity.

Simply put: every time Nikki Bella walks back up the ramp with that title, the WWE opens the door another inch for someone else to take the ball and run with the women’s wrestling revolution.

The indies are already years ahead of the WWE in women’s wrestling. Is it really so far fetched to think that independent women’s wrestling can’t carve out a significant niche and fill the void WWE is too blind to see?

They have a saying in WWE and elsewhere: “You are not here to fill a spot; you are here to take a spot.”

Who’s going to take the WWE’s spot when they drop the ball on women’s wrestling? The ball is in mid-air. The time is now!

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Special offer for Kenny Bolin fans!

BluegrassBrawlers-coverDid you get screwed by Kenny Bolin? Did you pay a king’s ransom to get his new biography signed by Ma Bolin? If so, I have a deal for you.

Now through August 16, just for Kenny’s fans, I have a special deal on my own wrestling books. You can get a signed copy of Bluegrass Brawlers and Eat Sleep Wrestle for only $24, including shipping. That’s more than $20 savings when you figure in shipping from Amazon.com.

Here’s all you have to do:

1. Post a photo of your copy of Kenny’s book on Facebook and tag both me and the King.

2. Send me a message on Facebook. I’ll message you back with my Paypal address to send payment.

3. Send in your Paypal payment and wait for your books to arrive. I’ll email you to let you know when they go out.

Bluegrass Brawlers covers more than 130 years of professional wrestling in Louisville, including Kenny’s reign as the Starmaker. And Eat Sleep Wrestle is the perfect introduction to today’s indy wrestling scene. If you enjoyed Kenny’s book, here’s a chance to get two more by Kenny’s co-author to add to your wrestling library.

UPDATE: If you’d rather have the e-book version of the books, you can get both Bluegrass Brawlers and Eat Sleep Wrestle for only $12, half the price of the paperbacks. Follow the same steps as above but let me know you prefer the electronic versions instead.

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It all happened in Louisville

BluegrassBrawlers-coverWhat era of Louisville wrestling do you remember best? Are you one who remembers the good ol’ days with Jerry Lawler, Bill Dundee, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, and the rest of the Memphis crew? Were you one of the few but proud who supported the Poffos back in the early 80s? Or are you one of those already missing the good ol’ days of OVW with Cena, Lesnar, Orton, and Batista?

Louisville’s wrestling goes much deeper and further back than OVW and Memphis. Louisville is the place where:

A female circus wrestler issued an open challenge and took on a local man to prove wrestling was not fake – in 1880!

A Zulu prince wrestled a bull on New Year’s Day in 1909.

Ed “Strangler” Lewis was given his famous moniker when he showed up two weeks late for a booking in 1913.

Orville Brown lost his world title to a surprise masked man in 1941, the only major title change to ever take place in Louisville.

A man wrestled an alligator and got married in the same ring, all in one night back in 1947.

Teenage Bobby Heenan made his in-ring debut and was burned by a fan’s cigar, all for a $5 pay off.

Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell battled in a ring set up inside Whitney Hall at Kentucky Center for the Arts in front of a classical music crowd.

And lest we forget, just a few miles north of Louisville, CM Punk battled for 93 minutes against Chris Hero. This after having a 41 minute tables and ladders match that brought the house down.

Bluegrass Brawlers: The Story of Professional Wrestling in Louisville, tells these stories and so many more. It’s a must for fans of wrestling history and proud Louisville natives who enjoy hearing some great tales of their city’s history.

Order now on Amazon.com.

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Cora and Buddy

We seem to lose wrestling stars in waves. What began two weeks ago with Dusty Rhodes has sadly taken two more from us.

Cora Combs is not as well known to today’s wrestling fans, but the ladies who work the squared circle today owe her as much a debt as Mildred Burke and the Fabulous Moolah. Combs entered the business in 1949 after Nick Gulas introduced her to Burke’s husband, manager, and trainer, Billy Wolfe. When Wolfe and Burke split, Combs went with Burke and saw her career take off. She had notable feuds with Burke, Moolah, Mae Young, June Byers, Nell Stewart, Ida May Martinez, and Gladys Gillman among others and was inducted into the Wrestling Hall of Fame. Combs died at age 92.

“Nature Boy” Buddy Landel was only 53 years old. The Knoxville, Tennessee native had runs with WCW and Mid-Atlantic but is best known for his time with Jim Cornette’s Smokey Mountain Wrestling. Landel was an outspoken figure in there locker room, never one to hide his feelings or mince words. Colt Cabana did a wonderful interview with him a few months back on the Art of Wrestling Podcast.

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RIP American Dream

There’s a story in Eat Sleep Wrestle about Dusty Rhodes from Ian Rotten. Ian was in his early twenties when he booked one of his great heroes for IWA Mid-South, Dusty Rhodes. Rhodes proved to be a gracious guest, who called Ian a week later to thank him for the booking and the beer in his hotel fridge. But it was when they were planning their tag match that Rhodes made the deepest impression on the young promoter. “He said, ‘How about when it’s time for the finish, I throw you the elbow pad, and you do the Atomic Elbow?’ When he said that, it was like I could hear angels singing from Heaven!”

Dusty was always doing things to encourage the future stars in the business. Kenny Bolin share with me how open and accessible Dusty was for the students at OVW. “The sad thing was, these kids had all access to Dusty any time they wanted him, and none of them knew who he was.”

Dusty left a huge mark on the WWE stars of today. Very few of the new stars coming out of the Performance Center have not been touched or coached by the American Dream. His spirit, his passion, and his wisdom will be sorely missed.

There was no one like Dusty Rhodes before him, and there never will be again. He is irreplaceable. He will never be forgotten.

My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends and all who are grieving today.

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Terry Garvin Wants to Rule the World!

One of the guys I enjoyed meeting while writing was Bluegrass Brawlers was Terry “Garvin” Simms. I first learned of Terry through my wife, an avid Reddit reader, who found an AMA (that’s ask me anything, for those of you like me who never go to Reddit) that he did one night. I got in touch with Terry through Facebook and then via phone. Simply put, he’s the most outstanding wrestling storyteller you’ve never heard of. He has a fascinating story of his own, and he has plenty to go around about the men he worked with. Still waiting for the right time and place to share one he shared with me about the Freebirds.

Thankfully for those like me who love good stories, Terry has joined the ranks of podcasters with his show World Domination with Terry “Garvin” Simms. It turns out Terry’s not only good sharing his stories but getting stories from some of wrestling’s biggest legends including Lance Russell, Handsome Jimmy Valiant, Doug Gilbert, Axl Rotten, Jeanie Clarke, Bull Pain, and Robert Fuller.

If you’re a fan of old time rasslin’, this is a fun, positive look back at the people and stories that made wrestling great without the usual lamentations about how the business “ain’t what it used to be.”

I’d like to send an extra special thank you to Terry’s recent guest Jimmy Valiant, who put Bluegrass Brawlers over not once, but twice on the show. I had the opportunity to meet Jimmy a few months back in Evansville and give him a copy of the book. I’m so glad he liked it and honored he’d give it such a great endorsement.

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Must Read for Andre Fans

As You WishThis is going to seem like an odd recommendation for a wrestling blog, but it makes sense when you know why. I just read Cary Elwes’ memoir As You Wish: Inconceivable Takes From the Making of The Princess Bride. It’s a must read for any fan of the movie, but also for any fan of Andre the Giant.

The Princess Bride has been described as a film with everything you could want in a fantasy: pirates, giants, fencing, chases, escapes, true love. Not only does As You Wish deliver everything a fan of the movie wants, it delivers everything you want in an Andre the Giant tale.

Andre the Giant is best remembered outside the ring for his drinking, his smile, his humor, and his zest for life. Elwes gives you all that… and he gives you one heck of an Andre fart story to boot.

As You Wish will make you want to watch the movie again and again, and if you’re a fan of Andre, it’ll have you combing the WWE Network for memories of the Eighth Wonder of the World as well.

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Hoosier Hero Stu Gibson

stugibson-sheik When I my family moved to Indiana in 1988, we immersed ourselves in Indiana’s proudest tradition, becoming fans of New Albany High School basketball. One of the players we saw every week during the 88-89 season was a young man who would go on to be a three time WWE tag team champion and two time NWA world champion, Rob Conway.

Rob Conway’s not the only NAHS alum to become a big time professional wrestler. Crybaby Chris Alexander (who was in marching band with me at NAHS) learned to run the ropes at the same as Conway. But long before either man set foot in Ohio Valley Wrestling, there was Stu Gibson.

Stu Gibson was an All-Indiana football player at New Albany High School, graduating in 1943. He played college ball at the University of Louisville. He was even made a Kentucky Colonel after leading the team in scoring in 1947.

Gibson was also a Golden Glove boxer, but after graduating from U of L, he chose to pursue professional wrestling, working first for Francis McDonough and the Allen Athletic Club. Gibson would work mostly as a babyface during his years in Louisville, but he was equally successful as a babyface and a heel, especially down in Texas.

Wrestling historian J. Michael Kenyon recorded one of Gibson’s most memorable stunts from the early 60s. “It was a small card at Victoria TX, where Gibson and Danny McShain hooked up in double count-out. It ended back in the corner of the building, on top of the concession stand, with Gibson spooning mustard into the semi-conscious form of McShain, amid veritable pandemonium.

“Okay, so what — but the kicker was cute: They came back a week later, in a rematch, with McShain refusing to wrestle until ‘all mustard was barred from the building.’ And that turned out to be the actual stip, with the fans forced to eat ‘dry’ hot dogs for a night.”

Gibson passed away in 1988. His story is told in my latest book, Louisville’s Greatest Show: The Story of the Allen Athletic Club.

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Kamala Speaks!

One of the most dominant, charismatic heels in wrestling history has finally spoken!

James Harris, aka Kamala the Ugandan Giant, tells his story in this brand new autobiography, Kamala Speaks. Harris has an amazing story, from his childhood on a share-cropping farm, to the birth of Kamala in Memphis, to his main event run with Hulk Hogan in the WWF. It’s an inspiring tale filled with humor, tragedy, and honesty.

Kamala Speaks was funded on Kickstarter, but for those who didn’t get in on the Kickstarter campaign, copies are now available. Go to www.kamalaspeaks.com to order yours.