It would be hard to find someone in the United States who has never heard of Vince McMahon. Whether you're a professional wrestling fan or not, the odds are you know him as the owner of the WWE, a man who has been synonymous with the wrestling industry for decades. However, how many people know anything about his background, and how he reached the heights that he has since taking over the family business in the early 1980's? McMahon is a master of storytelling, and he's apt to tell any version of a tale that best suits his purposes at... Read more →

Jim Ross is widely regarded as one of the two best professional wrestling announcers of all time. However you rank him with Gordon Solie is right. Ross was the voice of the WWE's "Attitude Era," and he provided the memorable soundtrack for the exploits of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, and others, for 20 years. Longtime wrestling fans will remember his work with WCW in the late 1980's and Mid-South Wrestling before that. In addition to being an announcer, Ross has also been part of management. He's seen it all, the highs and the lows, both professionally... Read more →

The wrestling world lost yet another alum when former WWE star Ashley Massaro died last week at the age of 39. The circumstances behind her death were not publicly revealed at the time, but the fact that the police immediately labeled it, "non-criminal" spoke volumes. Now it's being reported that Massaro died from suicide by hanging. Our thoughts go out to her family and friends. Massaro had a rocky relationship with her former employer. She was part of a class action concussion-related lawsuit against the WWE, saying that she suffered from depression as a result of the repeated blows she... Read more →

Look out, brother: It's being reported that Chris Hemsworth will play the immortal Hulk Hogan in a biopic for Netflix. This should be something to check out. Hemsworth has already demonstrated with his portrayal of Thor that he's got the size, charisma, and sense of humor to play a larger-than-life figure. The movie will be directed by Todd Phillips, he of The Hangover fame. Phillips is also good with comedy and loud entertainment, so that also works. Our question is about the script. The movie will reportedly be written by Scott Silver and John Pollano. We don't know either of... Read more →

Professional wrestling has always seemed like like an over-the-top circus (fittingly, given the industry's roots.) Loud overgrown men vowing to defeat their opponents, putting on an entertaining physical show in front of cheering audiences, and then packing up and moving on to do it all over again in the next city. The travel is intense, and the job security is temporary, but these guys (we're only focusing on male wrestlers here) grind away at it day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year. The audience might sometimes forget that these performers are real people with real... Read more →

Hi everyone, Welcome back! Come on in, have a seat. We were just looking at the weather forecast. It calls for rain this afternoon, which is fine (although it better be done before Game 1 of the World Series starts), but we're also seeing a chance of snow this weekend. Yikes. Fortunately, it won't last long even if it does arrive, because the highs are supposed to be in the 50's during parts of next week. Still, I better put the shovel back in the car. In any case, let's see what's going on in the world today. The guys... Read more →

Longtime fans remember well the dramatic transformation that hit the pro wrestling landscape in the mid-1980's. A longstanding collection of regional wrestling territories were challenged by Vince McMahon as he sought to turn his father's Northeast-based (then) WWF into a national company. McMahon upended tradition with sweeping talent raids, aggressive use of the emerging cable television industry, maximizing the new pay-per-view universe, and providing a more cartoonish form of wrestling aimed towards children. The other promoters tried a variety of ways to block McMahon's plans. One by one they fell, and wrestling would never be the same. It's a fascinating... Read more →

Hi everyone, Welcome back, and a happy Friday to you all! BDH, Little Buddha, and I were just discussing our plans for the long weekend. It's not clear if we'll be around Saturday or Sunday, but don't worry, we will be back by Monday at the latest. Tomorrow is September 1, which means it's moving season in Boston. The trucks are already showing up in the neighborhood, and if you need to drive somewhere in the area over the next two days, you should probably leave now. Well, check out today's headlines with us first, and "then" leave. The guys... Read more →