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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO |
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THE WRESTLING WORLD MOURNS A TRUE LEGEND AND HIS FAMILY
Hello wrestling fans, the main event in Heaven must be amazing, because the great Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and son Daniel enter that spectacular arena where all are winners. Godspeed Chris, say hi to my love when you see her and thank you for all the memories. I will truly miss you all. Fans can reach me at ddt95350@aol.com. Until next time, keep your eyes on your dream, and drugs out of reach of tomorrow's dreamers! See you at ringside!
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO |
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Effective immediately, the staff and management of "Pro Wrestling Inferno" disavows any and all stories recognizing Vincent Kennedy Mcmahon as a champion within the wrestling ring! Such stories only bring disdain and ridicule to a sport rich in tradition. -"Dangerous" Dan Tiffin, Publisher. 5/14/07.
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO |
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12/14/2006
Heaven Needed An Angel
Hello wrestling fans, it is never easy to lose a loved one, especially not a bonafide force of nature like the beautiful SST, better known as Suzie! Leukemia may have taken her earthly body but God has transformed my lady into the regal being she was meant to be! Be joyful, all who knew her! Mourn only for now, God will let us join her soon! Send up a shout of Amen to ddt95350@aol.com . God Bless Us All!
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO |
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"Goodbye Mr. Awesome"
Hello wrestling fans, the final bell has tolled for Mike Awesome, 42, who committed suicide by hanging himself this past Saturday! This writer has only one thing to offer other than condolences. The question I ask is why? Only God and Mr. Awesome know for sure! I know this, it takes extreme courage to live in pain, that's why I was so proud to know and love my Suzie for the short time I had her! My condolences go out to Mr. Awesome's family! I also wish to thank anyone who thought of committing suicide and chose life! Suicide has more than one victim, I know, because I lost a dear friend years ago, my soul is still scarred from Sue's death in 1979. Choose life, it's the main event! See you next time at ddt95350@aol.com .
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100% PURE DDT |
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"Bye Bye Bam Bam"
Hello wrestlling fans, a true hero of our sport was lost this past Friday, when Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow passed away at age 45. As this columnist ages, I find myself often jaded by wrestlers who fail to give 100% even when not injured! A certain man who says his name twice is not in Bam Bam's league! R.I.P. Bammer, we miss you!
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OVER THE TOP ROPE |
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from : Over The Top Rope....... The success for the "NEW" ECW can be judged by the enthusiasm of the fans in attendance. After a 7 year hiatus ECW returned to Altoona Pennsylvania...RVD's entrance was deafening, the crowd was on their feet the entire match. While some, may say ECW is less provocative and not as hardcore as the original, the 2,000 screaming fans @ Monday nites show may prove critics wrong. ECW seems to be on the right track and moving towards getting back to former glory it once had. Some things have changed, but Original Superstars..Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, & RVD bring back the glory days of ECW..Taz & Joey Styles round out the package w/ excellent commentary and ringside views. Also, a special treat to see The Million $ Man Ted Dibiase and Steve Keirn aka Skinner- 1992 )in attendance as road agents. This Old Schooler hopes that ECW will once again prove to be the standard for the rest of the professional wrestling world. ( Matches) 1.CM Punk vs Rene Dupree 2. FBI vs Nelkirk & O Reilly 3. Balls Mahoney vs Hardcore Holly 4.RVD vs Thorne w/ Ariel 5.Francine vs Kelly Kelly ( Extreme Vixen Contest) w/ Matt Striker as Guest Comm. 6.Sandman/Dreamer vs. Knoxx/Test 7. Sabu vs. Big Show.
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"The Inferno Cometh!" |
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Hello wrestling fans, welcome to the "Pro Wrestling Inferno!" I'm "Dangerous" Dan Tiffin, your friendly webmaster! Some fans may remember me from my days as an email newsletter columnist, poking fun at the ridiculous antics of a WWE Chairman, who finally began to focus on real issues after being a prize winning nut in 2003!
Today, after bidding farewell to Armin Legg Enterprises in the fall of the year 2004, I invite anyone who has been touched by the wonderful sport/entertainment mix of pro wrestling to join me on my journey at ddt95350@aol.com , see you soon.
"Pro Wrestling Inferno" is the opinion of myself and Inferno Inc. Freewebs bears no responsibility for its content.
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100% PURE DDT |
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"Here We Go Again!"
Hello wrestling fans, Vince Mcmahon has been called a man of vision by some, and a madman by this columnist! My views are not popular with some WWE fans, but the majority of fans do agree that improvement is long overdue! For one thing, the WWE World Heavyweight Championship has been worn by far better athletes than HHH! His current status is more due to lousy booking decisions than his own talent!
I watched pro wrestling for over thirty years before doing columns for online newsletters and creating websites! I saw the greats from Bruno Sammartino to Hulk Hogan strut their stuff! Sadly, so much of what passes for pro wrestling in the WWE today is, to a large extent, not worthy of fan praise, compared to the action in previous decades!
All is not lost, a new breed of wrestlers is set to knock the socks off apathetic fans! Appropriately, this group is called "Real Pro Wrestling!" I love wrestling that is fresh, new, and above all, unpredictable!
Like my Bro, the unforgettable Armin Legg, I detest unnecessary envelope pushing! For this reason, I am calling out all the lazy bookers! I pay your salary, and your boss's salary as well! I want results, not excuses! That's my commentary for today. Write me at ddt95350@aol.com, see you soon.
"100% PURE DDT" is the opinion of this writer and Inferno Inc.
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO
"Can You Handle The Heat?"
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Hello wrestling fans, are you sick and tired of "people in the know" pretending to love pro wrestling, but only focusing on the so called "fact" that it's fake? If so, fasten your seat belt, the ride has just begun!
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO
["Can You Handle The Heat?"] |
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"A Special Announcement"
Effective immediately, Ryan Robert Graham joins the permanent stafff of the Pro Wrestling Inferno, we are all very proud of this courageous young man. Welcome aboard Ryan!
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ARMIN'S HAMMER |
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Armin's Hammer
My year in review
As we get ready to hang the new calendar and celebrate the new year, I'd like to take some time to reflect on my 2004 as a wrestling fan.
I first started watching wrestling on TV in the mid 1950's. I would sit glued to the old 9-inch Crosley, comforted in the security of my parents' company. My folks have long since passed but those times will be indelibly etched in my mind forever. It was a far simpler time.There was a clear differentiation between good and evil, and the good usually prevailed. You knew that you would see three or four matches, an infomercial hawking the latest convenience item, and a promo or two hyping the next weeks matches at the local armory. Ah, the good old days! Am I starting to sound like that old uncle that you dread having to listen to at the family reunions? Fear not, the vitriole is coming!
In the past twelve months, I have, for all intents and purposes, lost my passion for pro wrestling! I've suffered temporary losses of fandom but never to this extreme. This is not a blanket condemnation of pro wrestling, but with the limited choices I have, I'm not all that sure my flame can be rekindled. What brought this about? Read on.
The fine folks in Stamford continue to baffle me. They have stockpiled an enormous amount of athletically gifted performers, some worthy of world class stature, yet they continue to produce non-compelling television. They wasted good portions of their TV time with that dreadful diva contest, the tough enough contest and skits that had absolutely nothing to do with two performers climbing between the ropes and squaring off in a quasi-athletic confrontation. What the hell happened to wrestling? It's true, Vince McMahon doesn't consider it wrestling anymore. He calls it sports entertainment and that would be fine if we had a viable alternative. Unfortunately, there is none, and I'm not so sure there ever will be old school wrestling again. Pundits always say the business is cyclical, but the dynamics are totally different from in the past. At that time, before WWE put the screws to its competitors, one group would come up with something innovative and the others would copy it and the interest in wrestling would rebound. With only one player, there isn't that dynamic anymore.
NWA-TNA gave it a shot and for a while looked to be the innovator that would help to ease wrestling back to the forefront. The X-Division matches were classic. They have a wonderful young talent base but the general fan just didn't buy into it. Even with the infusion of money from Panda, it just didn't work. With losses in the double digits (in millions) I'm sure TNA isn't long for the wrestling world. It's truly a shame but some of it was caused by TNA itself. HHH Light (Jeff Jarrett) just can't be the standard bearer for a promotion that wants to grow. The game plan should have kept the emphasis on the X-Division and tag teams. WWE has the heavyweights, so why try to copy them? With TNA venturing into the monthly Pay Per View, I would have hoped that they would feature the great workers, supplementing them with workers from Japan and Mexico, and going the wrestling route. Instead, we get Randy Savage, Scott Hall, Piper and the biggest self promoter of all, Kevin Nash. TNA is misguided in thinking that this gang of four will pop some big buy rates. Sure, the senior tour works in golf, but not in wrestling! I'd pay to see Palmer, Player, Nicklaus and Trevino perform, I can't say that about our four wrestling dinosaurs. Unless I'm mistaken (which is very possible) by the time I do my 2005 review next December, TNA will be but a distant memory.
Ring of Honor is on the right track. They emphasize wrestling and seem to have a good business model in place. In 2004, any Indy group that can draw 600-1200, must be doing something right. Those crowds aren't much smaller than some of the crowds WWE has drawn for some house shows. Without the benefit of a TV deal, ROH is slowly but surely becoming a household name amongst wrestling fans. Being able to survive the whole Rob Feinstein fiasco proves that ROH is made of the right stuff. Imagine how much farther they would have progressed had Feinstein's testosterone levels been lower. One of these days, someone will take a chance on this group and they may be the ones to wake up WWE and be that competitor that we deserve. Come on, USA or Turner, give these guys a shot!
I've been a staunch supporter of the Indy scene and generally speaking. I'm entertained whenever I go to an Indy show. I think they are what keeps my remaining interest in this whacky business. Sadly, in the market where I live, the Indy groups are not drawing well. My favorite Milwaukee group, Wisconsin Organized Wrestling, has pretty much pulled the plug. It's tough to pay talent and not use yarders when only drawing 100 per show. One local Indy is drawing decent but the others are in the same boat as WOW. It's sad since Milwaukee used to be an AWA stronghold. A bright spot here. Two local talents have made their mark at the next level. Shawn Daivari is now a manager in WWE and Austin Aries was recently crowned the new ROH champ. I've seen both work on many occasions. In fact, the best matches in this area were between these two fine workers. Both are on the small side for WWE wrestlers but both have the skills to succeed if the size requirements are looked past. Aries may be better off in ROH as his style will open the door for him to get some work in Japan. In WWE, Aries would just languish in the non-respected cruiser division. Daivari, being bi-lingual, has a great shot even if his gimmick leaves something to be desired.
The wrestling world had its share of ten bell salutes in 2004 but not nearly as many from drug related as in the past few years. Some of the oldtimers we lost in 2004 may be unknown to the fan of today but they did make their mark in their day. Hard Boiled Haggerty, Pepper Gomez, The Great Goliath, Jack Donovan, and Jim Barnett were names from out of the 50's and 60's. Ray Traylor, Hercules Hernandez and Ken Timbs were more of the 80's and 90's era. They all will be sadly missed. Rest in peace.
While I am saddened by the condition of the American wrestling scene, hope springs eternal that conditions will improve. I've devoted too many years of being a fan to let it all go. Hopefully, when I write my 2005 review, my mindset will be more positive and we'll have that breakout group breathing down the back of (and waking up the sleeping giant) the good people residing in Titan Towers. Wrestling is a long time American institution and it needs to survive. Maybe WWE will see the light but I doubt it. We can only hope!
May your 2005 be spent in good health, prosperity and love. Happy New Year.
Mike "Armin Legg" Martin
12-30-04
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PRO WRESTLING INFERNO
("Can You Handle The Heat?") |
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GOODBYE CHRIS WE'LL MISS YOU!
Hello wrestling fans, sorrow has hit the wrestling world once more, taking the life of former WWE and indy great, Chris Candido, best known as
"Skip" of the "Bodydonnas". We at the Inferno send our heartfelt condolences to his widow, Tamara Sytch, AKA Sunny and his family!
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