The Undertaker

This was one of the Undertaker’s early roles…. that of “Mean Mark’. (And eventually, Mean Mark Callous). He would, in time, become half of tag team gold in this role as part of the ‘New Skyscrapers’. And the manager accompanying him to the ring? No other than current Smackdown General Manager Theodore Long.

His other major role was that of the masked “Punisher’. You may recognize the guy he’s wrestling here…

Kane

This was one of the worst gimmicks ever, but seeing Kane with that mullet thingy is worth a look.

Trple H

You’d probably be surprised at how many younger viewers know what the three H’s in triple H stood for; fewer still would remember that he used to strut around like this and speak in a bogus british accent. That’s where the name of the ‘pedigree’ came from… he was a ‘blue blood’. And yes, he is really married to Stephanie McMahon.

Hardcore Holly

Before he was Hardcore, he was Thurman ‘Sparky’ Plugg, a race car driver. Good Grief.

Kurt Angle

Kurt’s WWE debut. Notice the hair… for another great flashback, look up when he lost it.

Edge

Back here he was the tortured soul, not just ‘Edge’ but ‘The Edge’.

The Rock

Before Dwayne Johnson, before the People’s anything… there was just ‘Rocky Maivia’, Kid N Play fro and all.

Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold didn’t say anything to begin with; the Million Dollar Man said it for him.

John Cena

Not ‘The Champ’; just a kid making a name for himself.

Santino Marella

The way this went down was actually pretty cool to see.

The hallmark of the rivalry between the two organizations were the “Monday Night Wars” that raged from 1995 until 2001 and largely featured unrelentless tenacity from the WCW as it attempted to take on the giant of professional wrestling, the WWE.

Arguably the most successful idea in the history of professional wrestling was initiated when WCXW came up with the idea of the nWO, agroup of WCW wrestlers who rebelled against their own company and promised a com plete takeover.  It was a radical idea, and one that worked really well.  The WCW had declared war on the WWE, and was now sometimes winning the weekly ratings war by featuring a radical group of wrestlers intent on taking over there own company, the WCW.

On the WWE side, they were waging war as well by parodying the WCW every chance they had, through segments such as “The Nacho Man,” “Billionaire Ted,” “Scheme Gene,” and the “Huckster,” taking shots WCW stalwarts Randy Savage, Ted Turner, Gene Okerland, and Hulk Hogan (pictured), respectively.

The result was a heyday for fans of professional wrestling amid a steady stream of unforgettable characters such as Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Lex Lugar, Ric Flair, Ricky Dragon and so many others.

The very things that allowed the WCW to mount and somnetimes win its battle agaainst the WWE were the same things that led to its demise, most prominently big-money contracts and ceding of creative comtro, to wrestlers over their characters.  Not to mention overuse of the nWO angle and spreading it too then, eventually with five or six versions of nWO groups simultaneously.

The WWE retained the characters of many of the WCW wrestlers after buying the company in 2001 but has been largely lacking in its creative control.  A good number of wrestlers have since left and gone to Total Nonstop Aaction (TNA), which is trying to mount a challenge to the WWE but lately appears largely to be an alumni association of the WWE.

Wrestling saw its heyday in the late 1990s and early 2000s, and it was no coincidence.  It was a time when competition really did drive the marketplace to new heights, which thus far have yet to be seen again.

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“ Squared Circle Blog”

Hard justice just ended a hour ago and I can’t wrap my head around a few things . Jeff Jarrett gets sent home for shacking up with Kurt Angle’s Ex wife , emphasis on ex. He gets sent home while the company he help found gets slowly ripped from his hands. Kurt Angle gets arrested for stalking, violating a protection order , possession of HGH and used syringes , and he walks out of the Pay Per view with the belt still in his hand. You couldn’t right this crap if you tried.

Angle is getting very close to Benoit land if his stalking this girl. I personally think Angle for the past couple of years has been slowly losing it . He is under some delusion that he can book the TNA show better then it’s being booked right now. To my knowledge he has no experience in booking a show , while Jarrett has grown up around the business his entire life. He has a pill history which has pretty much shut the door on him returning to the WWE. He is to old and to beat up to get into MMA . Losing his wife and kids may have set him off towards the cliff if you know what I mean.

While TNA has had some problems on the creative side , they’re still pulling down good ratings . There main problem right now has been that their PPV Buys have dreadful, but the WWE’s haven’t been anything to write home about either. If they are going to make some changes , they don’t need to be all that drastic. You don’t need to find writers that have a “Hollywood” back ground. You need people with experience in the ring and backstage . You need people that arent afraid to take a few risks . You need Paul e.

Paul Heyman has a lot of baggage with him. He came up with the concept of ECW but didn’t keep it afloat and took most of the blame for its failure. But Heyman has the experience and the vision to help TNA to the next level. What you don’t need is your talent trying to book themselves. Just ask some of the WCW people how well that worked . While you have a few people that could pull it off , like Nash and Taz and Foley, one of your biggest assets is Terry Taylor . Taylor has been working in the business since he broke in in the Mid Atlantic territory in the early eighties . He has worked with the best and the worst of the business and knows all the angles .

One more thing before I go. Nash and Mick Foley had one of Foley’s typical blood Baths during the PPV. Nash ended up winning but was going after Foley with a barbed wire Bat . Abyss came to has rescue and the only reason I bring it up is I have been hoping that Foley and Abyss would work together on a program since Foley got there . Since Abyss has been doing Mankind 2.0, he should learn from the master of the tortured soul. I hope they work this one for a while.

Results from hard justice.

Daniels got out of the Asylum first to be the number one contender for the X division.

Abyss beat Jethro Holliday

Hernandez squashed Big Rob

British Invasion beat Beer Money to retain IWGP tag belts

ODB and Cody Deaner Beat the beautiful people for the Knockouts belt .

Samoa Joe beat Homicide for the X Division.

Booker T and Steiner Beat 3D to retain the Tag belts

Nash Beat Foley for the legends belt .

Kurt angle Beat Sting and Matt Morgan to retain the TNA World Championship Belt .

Lets start things off with the god awful episode of Raw last night. From the use of a Hall of Famer like Sgt Slaughter to do nothing more then alienate the Canadian crowd last night was a pointless time filling move that made Slaughter and the company look stupid. Booking Jericho and Big Show in two Singles matches instead of having them come out and squash a tag team does nothing to further the Cryme Tyme Match in two weeks . And the yet again rehashing of putting the two main event foes in a tag match against the champions.

The best match of the evening was the four way woman’s match to pick the number one contender for Mickie James title . Kelly Kelly , Gail Kim , Alicia Fox , and Beth Phoenix all squared off in the ring in a lively match with Gail Kim coming out on top. Now with the rumored Heel turn coming for Gail Kim, which is another thing they are doing a crappy job at selling, I have to ask one thing , as good as this Fox girl has been in the ring I think that she rates a big push and she’s already positioned as a Heel anyway .

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Next in this mass grave , Jack Swagger took on Evan Bourne in the rubber match of their little mini feud. This one makes little sense because they really shouldn’t have moved Bourne off of ECW in the first place. Bourne is being wasted as a high end jobber to help others get over when he could be a top guy on ECW and they could move Christian to some where he could be more useful. Bourne’s main drawback is his lack of size but for a guy who is every bit as talented as Tyson Kid or Rey Mysterio , the creative team and Vince are just going to have to get past that .

The impending DX reunion was cemented when HHH found HBK in a Cafeteria flipping burgers . Various DX high jinks ensued culminating in a super Kick to a mouthy little girl while the grill went up in flames. These segments were good but the end game is unclear about bringing back . Is this going to last for a while, is this how HBK is going to retire , or is HHH in for a Heel turn. Any way its good to have the boys back together .

Hornswoggle  and Marc Henry took on Legacy for some reason. Hardly a tune up for DX but it gets the little guy some sympathy when he gets his ass kicked. I guess they couldn’t think up something stupid for Chavo to do.

I could go on and on but after two straight Raw shows that were pretty good they come up with this turd . And Vince wonders why he can’t develop new stars. Watch your own show Vince , it isn’t hard to figure out.

In the land of the six sided ring, the back stage people are starting to drop like fly’s . Dutch Mantel and Savio Vega have already been given their walking papers , and its being reported now that Scott D’amore has been rehired and there are still rumors that B.G. James and Jim Cornette are on their way out as well. With all Of Jarrett’s people being shown, it’s a matter of time before Jarrett is gone as well. How it will happen is what is going to be interesting. She cant fire A guy that owns part of the company so it will cost her to buy him out. Now what if Old Double J gets it in his head to shop his interest around. What’s to stop him from calling up titan towers and saying to Vince “ You wanna Buy a small interest in a wrestling company” . or what’s to stop Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan to buy their way to a seat at the TNA table. This mess is far from over and its going to be a real train wreck to watch.

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Been away for a while dealing with some personal things . Trying to get my life back on the right track and I have let a few things go. Things are really popping on the TNA side of the coin and I think my two cents worth is a little over do.

A day after the most recent Pay per view show , it was reported that someone called “Bubba The Love Sponge” radio show and asked to have his voice “ Protected” . he then began weaving a tail of how Karen Angle , ex wife to TNA star Curt Angle , had moved in with TNA Founder Jeff Jarrett . The caller said that he worked on the lot were the weekly show was taped but wouldn’t ID himself.

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It later comes out that Dixie Carter had sent Jeff home and he is either suspended or on some kind of leave of absence . All of this has set of all kind of wild speculation that Jarrett was on his way out. Either Dixie was going to fire him or buy him out of his stake in the company. Some of Jarrett’s cronies on the creative staff have already been let go. Dutch Mantel was given his walking papers last week and Road agent and ex WWE star Savio Vega was also sown the door.

The creative team now consists of Vince Russo and Matt Conway. The last two Impact tapings were all Russo, which based on recent history may or may not be a good thing. The numbers are good but Russo Unfiltered by Jarrett is is train wreck TV waiting to happen.

There has also been a great deal of net talk about approaching ECW guru Paul Heyman. Pluses to this idea would be it would drive Vince nuts, he is more then capable of taking TNA to the next level under the right set of circumstances, and finally seeing what he could do on a more level playing field with the WWE would peek a lot of interest on both sides. The minuses are, there is still a lot of bad blood between Heyman and some of the ex ECW original stars like team 3D over the mishandling of ECW, Jarrett still has a few people that are loyal to him so they would undoubtedly lose some people , and lets face despite his ability in certain areas of the business, he did fail to get ECW through the Monday night wars. I say split the difference and hire him as a consultant . That way he can offer his two cents and you don’t have to take it if you don’t want to. It would be a real mistake not to at least seek out Heyman for his opinions on things.

In my opinion , the one guy waiting in the wings that could end up with the most power is Talent relations director Terry Taylor . A veteran of both the ring and back stage , Taylor has been working for TNA for a while and has been the one handling contract negotiations for the past year. Taylor is in perfect position to take the reins with little or no grief from anyone who matters.

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The Intercontinental Championship has been held many times and Chris Jericho has held it a record of 8 separate occasions. This title has been around in Wwf. The title’s creation came as a result of Patterson defeating Ted DiBiase to win the WWF North American Heavyweight Championship and defending the title in a tournament to be unified with a South American Heavyweight Championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The title later became known as the WWF Intercontinental Championship.

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The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was in the original ECW. Sabu won this title in a barbed wire match where he ripped his bicep open. This title has some violent history. This was the original ECW title and it was active until April 11, 2001 when ECW shut down and Wwe bought its Assets. It was revived in June 2006 when ECW became a third brand for Wwe.

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The World Heavyweight championship has been held by people such as Batista Triple H and the legendary Ric Flair. The title was introduced in 2002 by Eric Bischoff because Raw had no World Title he handed it to Triple H because he was the last superstar to have the Wwe Undisputed championship which was currently held by Brock Lesnar

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The Us Title has been held by many people such as MVP and Shelton Benjamin and this title has been around since Wwf. The title was originally called the WCW United states title but during SummerSlam 2001 Edge won the intercontinental title while he had the U.S Title causing it to be inactive. It was reactivated as the Wwe United States Championship by Stephanie McMahon on Smackdown.

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The Wwe championship is the richest prize in this business and this title design was made by John Cena. The title was the first Title in the Wwf and it became the Wwe title after the name change. The title was unified after the Wcw Invasion

To be honest, I’ve never seen him as a horrible wrestler or anything like that. The first time I remember seeing him would be in the old WCW under the name Steven Regal or Lord Steven Regal as he would be most known. The only championship he would ever hold in WCW would be the TV Title, which he held 4 times and perhaps one of his most famous bouts would be against up and comer at the time Bill Goldberg. In what was supposed to be a complete squash, it actually turned into a competitive bout, which saw him get released and punished for doing so.

What many don’t realize is that William Regal had a history of drug problems and was released in the WWE and had a very short run. He returned to WCW but that didn’t last long. When he returned, it looked to be a sign of possible change.

His greatest success would have to be in the WWE in terms of championship success winning the Intercontinental, European, Hardcore, and Tag Team Titles. I believe William Regal was probably going to win the WWE Title and have a very short run with it making history. If memory serves me right, he would be the first British WWE Champion to date and it has never happened.

The first suspension came at the hands of a Signature Pharmacy bust along with other notable names like Randy Orton, whom never got suspended for it, John Morrison, and Chavo Guerrero to name a few. He was gone for 30 days and then returned once again and had been ok since or so we thought. When he became General Manager of Raw storyline wise, I assumed it meant it had something to do with possible retirement from the ring or dealing with small injuries that were nagging over the years of wrestling.

As he would go on to become King of the Ring, you had to wonder what was it going to lead to. Personally, it was going to lead to a major feud with Triple H and maybe Regal would have had a very short reign to complete the abuse of power storyline going on but alas it won’t happen. He is on his second strike and one more will see him out of the WWE. Will he ever become WWE Champion? Probably not because he’s not going to be trusted and believed that he is clean no matter how long he shows it. Will his life be able to recover from this ordeal? I would like to believe so because we don’t need to add another death to the wrestling world.

For William Regal’s sake, he’d best be careful on what he does from this point forward. If he values his job, he will stay out of trouble.

Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan, born in 1953 as Terry Gene Bollea , has been in the wrestling spotlight since the beginning of the 80’s. He is a twelve-time world champion and in 2005 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

In the 1980’s, Hogan transformed the wrestling industry into a primetime sports entertainment spectacle for people of all ages and backgrounds. His grand entrances and theme songs such as “Eye of the Tiger”, grabbed the attention of people all around the world. He was portrayed as a real-life superhero in the eyes of his younger fans. Hogan was featured on the covers of Sports Illustrated, TV Guide, and People magazines, while also appearing on The Tonight Show and co-hosting Saturday Night Live.

Although his roots are still with wrestling, Hogan is focusing more on television roles. He now has his own reality show, called “Hogan Knows Best”, which focuses on his own family life. In addition, he now hosts the comeback series “American Gladiators”.

Other past acting gigs include roles on Rocky III, No Holds Barred, The A-Team, Walker, Texas Ranger, and others.

Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant, born André René Roussimoff in 1946 in France,began wrestling professionally in his late teens. He made his WWF debut in 1973 and remained with the federation until 1991. He was the first to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He was one of the most famous professional wrestlers of the 70’s and 80’s and was loved by audiences and fans all over the world.

Andre was of course best known for his great size. He stood over 7 feet tall, and weighed over 300 pounds at the beginning of his career. By the end of his career he had reached a whopping 540 pounds. Andre also had an abnormally large wrist, at 13″, which is indicative of overall bone structure.

Supposedly he went 15 years without a loss by pinfall or submission before being pinned by Hulk Hogan in 1987 at WrestleMania III In 1986, André won a twenty-man battle royal that featured top NFL stars and wrestlers.

By the late 1980’s the disease that granted him his immense size started to take its toll on his body. André was in constant, near-crippling pain, and his heart struggled to pump blood throughout his massive body. When he was not in front of a camera, he was usually in a wheelchair. .André died in his sleep on January 27, 1993, in his Paris hotel room. He was in France to attend the funeral of his father. André’s body was cremated in accordance with his wishes and his ashes scattered at his ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina.

‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage

The’ Macho Man’ Randy Savage, born Randall Mario Poffo in 1952 in Columbus, Ohio, made his WWF debut n 1985. Savage became instantly known by wrestling fans for his distinctively deep, husky voice, colorful attire (often comprised of sunglasses and a bandanna, gaudy robes and/or a cowboy hat), and his catch phrase “Oooh, yeah!”For much of his tenure in the WWF, he was managed by his real life wife, “Miss Elizabeth” Hulette.

Macho Man was a two-time WWF champion and a four-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion.

Savage later became known for his rivalry with Hulk Hogan, after accusing Hogan of sleeping in Elizabeth’s bed during a road trip. Savage and Elizabeth were divorced on September 18, 1992. Savage and Hogan reportedly have a strained relationship to this day.

In 2005, Savage reported he was unable to wrestle any longer due to health concerns.

He also reported that he will star in the next season of of VH1’s The Surreal Life along with Playboy Playmate Tina Marie Jordan and rock musician Peter Steele. VH1 has not released the official cast list yet.

In 2003, Savage released a hip hop album titled: Be a Man. The album features a tribute to wrestler and friend Curt Hennig and the title track which mocks former friend Hulk Hogan.

His former wife Elizabeth Hulette was found dead in the home of professional wrestler Lex Luger on May 1, 2003 from a drug overdose.

Jake’ the Snake’ Roberts

Jake “the Snake” Roberts was born Aurelian Smith, Jr. in 1955. His nickname comes from being thin and snake-like. He often would slide into and out of the ring on his belly under the bottom rope. By the time he reached the WWF in 1986, Roberts was bringing a huge, live Burmese Python, named Damien, to ringside in a canvas bag. After executing a DDT, Roberts would coil the constrictor around the opponent’s neck, and the snake would slither around on top of the fallen wrestler, sometimes appearing to strangle him.

Roberts made his initial WWF debut in 1986. He later left in 1992, but then returned again in 1996. He was always known for his dark charisma, his extensive use of psychology in his matches, and has been credited for inventing the DDT, though that has been challenged. He is also credited with training wrestlers and teaching wrestling psychology to famous wrestlers Steve Austin and the Undertaker.

Jake “the snake” is still involved with professional wrestling today. However, his long bout with alcoholism and drug abuse has caused him some troubles over the years. In December, 2007, the WWE placed him in a nine-week rehab program.

The Ultimate Warrior

The Ultimate Warrior (born Brian James Hellwig in 1959) was a WWF superstar from the mid-1980’s to early 1990’s and was known for entering the ring at full speed and violently shaking the ropes up and down with extreme energy. He was also known for the distinctive patters of face paint.

His tenure at the WWF was characterized by several feuds with the federation owner, Vince McMahon.

The Ultimate Warrior had three runs with the WWF. His WWF debut was in 1987 and continued until 1991. He left in 1991 over a pay dispute with owner, Vince McMahon. He then returned to the WWF, as Dingo Warrior, in 1992. Rumors began that Dingo Warrior was not the original Ultimate Warrior and that the original Ultimate Warrior had died. These rumors were shown on several occasions not to be true. The Ultimate Warrior left WWF, again, in late 1992 after yet another feud with the federation, this time over the legal rights to the name “Ultimate Warrior”. The WWF cited steroid use as the reason for firing the Ultimate Warrior from the WWF.

In 1996, he returned again. This time the WWF fired him for taking time off to grieve his father’s death. McMahon stated that the Ultimate Warrior didn’t have a close relationship with his father and hasn’t seen him in over ten years. Warrior claimed that the real reason why he was a no-show to the WWF events was a breach of contract by McMahon.

In 1993, Jim Hellwig legally changed his name to Warrior in order to retain the legal rights to use the name outside of the WWF. His children carry the Warrior name as their legal surname

In 1996, Warrior a comic book entitled ‎WARRIOR, featuring himself as the main character. The comics sold well in the first two months. The sales slowed and the book was taken out of circulation in early 1997.

After officially retiring from professional wrestling in 1999, Warrior began a new career as a conservative speaker and commentator, denouncing left-wing politics. Specifically, he has made comments against homosexuality, stating that “the human race would die out if everyone were a homosexual.”

Brett “Hitman” Hart

Bret Sergeant Hart, aka Brett “Hitman’ Heart, was born in Alberta, Canada, in 1957. Known for his fluid technical skills and agility and for his ability to create tense and entertaining matches, he is thought to be one of the most popular and gifted technical professional wrestlers of his generation.

>Hart was a seven-time world champion through his career in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. In 2006, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He was also placed in the top five best technical wrestlers of all time.

He made his first televised WWF debut in August 1984. In 1985, he partnered up with Jim Neidhart to build the tag team known as The Hart Foundation. The partnership lasted a few years but eventually split up.

Hart wrestled with most of WWF’s infamous wrestlers. Notable opponents include his brother, Owen Hart, and wrestling legend Stone Cold Steve Austin. Hart also had an on-air rival, “announcer” Vince McMahon, who at the time was being exposed as the owner of WWF.

Hart retired from professional wrestling in 2000.

On June 23, 2002, Hart suffered a major stroke after hitting his head in a bicycle accident. He suffered total paralysis on his left side, which required months of physical therapy. He has since recovered much of his mobility and is in good health.

In late 2007, Hart released an autobiography, titled Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. The book is an honest look into the world of wrestling as he describes in detail the chronic abuse of drugs and alcohol he witnessed during his tenure. He also discusses his own infidelities and personal struggles. The book reached number one on the Globe & Mail bestseller list.

Ravishing Rick Rude

Ravishing Rick Rude, born Richard Erwin Rood in 1958, was known for his over-confidence and arrogance in the WWF. Before a match he would make a show of removing his robe while running down the males in the crowd. After a successful match he would kiss a girl from the audience. On one occasion, he tried to get Jake “The Snake” Roberts’ real-life wife, Cheryl, to comply, which upset Roberts. On another memorable occasion Rude came to the ring with a picture of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights. A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude naked (he appeared as naked to TV viewers but was in fact wearing a thong).

Rude departed from WWF in October 1990 to later enter the WCW (World Championship Wrestling). After injuring his back during a fight in 1994, Rude did not return to wrestling until 1997. He came back to the WWF as an “insurance policy” and assisted with several sneak attacks on The Undertaker. Rude was not signed to a full-time contract with WWF, he was performing on a “pay-per-appearance”. Later that year he departed to return to the WCW.

In 1999, Rude died at the age of 40 after suffering heart failure. An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of “mixed medications.” At the time of his death, he was planning on opening a wrestling school in Rome, Georgia, where he and his family resided.

Hacksaw Jim Duggan

“Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, born James Stuart Duggan in 1954, is best known for his gimmick as an American patriot with his favorite weapon, the 2×4.

Duggan was signed to the World Wrestling Federation, in 1987. He was the winner of the first Royal Rumble in 1988.

Although he did not win any major titles in the seven years, he was a consistent fan favorite with his patriotic gimmick. His character was mainly comical, as he rarely was in major contention for titles.

Duggan left the WWF and signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994. During his employment with WCW, Duggan was diagnosed with kidney cancer. His real-life struggle with the disease was very public and his comeback to wrestling after fighting off the ailment was a triumphant.

Duggan is still wresting. He returned to the WWE in 2005.

The British Bulldogs

The British Bulldogs were the team of cousins Davey Boy Smith & Dynamite Kid who joined the WWF in 1984. They are considered one of the top tag-teams of all time.

Their first and probably most well known feud was with the Hart Foundation. . In 1987, the British Bulldogs lost the titles to the Hart Foundation in a match that saw Dynamite Kid so debilitated that he was carried to the ring by Davey Boy Smith. They left the federation for a while. When they returned to the WWF, they had a real live bulldog, Matilda. They quit the federation in 1988 as a result of backstage altercations between Dynamite Kid and Jacques Rougeau.

After leaving the WWF, the Bulldogs returned to their old “home” in Stampede and also resumed touring with the AJPW (All Japan Pro Wrestling), but years of steroid abuse made them too large and Dynamite Kid’s back injury limited his movement. In 1990, Davey Boy Smith abruptly withdrew the Bulldogs from AJWP by returning to the WWF, fabricating a lie that Dynamite was in a serious car accident and couldn’t compete. Dynamite went on to form the British Bruisers with the AJWP but the years of steroid abuse, working a high-impact style and cocaine usage caught up with the Dynamite Kid.

In 2002, Davey Boy Smith died of a heart attack while vacationing in Invermere, B.C. Dynamite Kid is now confined to a wheelchair.

Total Nonstop Action

TNA is the best known competitor to the WWE. Airing on SpikeTV on Thursday nights (with replays on Saturday), TNA is the only alternative to the WWE that has a spot on nationwide television. For the uninitiated, TNA boasts many former-WWE stars, including Kurt Angle, Christian Cage and Booker T as well as former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Sting. The roster also includes wrestlers who have come to prominence in TNA, the most successful being Samoa Joe and the 6′7″, 350lb monster Abyss.

The crown jewel of TNA, however, is inarguably the X-Division. While there is no weight limit in the X-Division, most of the wrestlers that compete for the title are smaller guys who compete with a level of athletic intensity that outshines anything the heavyweights can display. Standouts in the X-Division include AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and “Black Machismo” Jay Lethal, whose Randy Savage inspired character absolutely must be seen by anyone who was a fan of wrestling in the 80s.

TNA recently added a women’s division, complete with TNA Knockout Champion. Boasting former WWE women’s champions Gayle Kim and Christie Hemme, as well as the must-see 6′1″ 275lb Awesome Kong,, the TNA Knockouts Division is filled with beautiful women that can actually wrestle. Unlike the WWE, which will throw a single women’s match onto Raw as an excuse to parade around beautiful women who may or may not be able to wrestle, TNA’s women’s division is taken just as seriously as the men’s, with full story lines and regular PPV title defenses.

Critics of TNA will tell you that while most of TNA’s wrestlers are superior to their WWE counterparts, the story lines and general logic of the company are even more flawed than the WWE. This may very well be true, but if you can overlook the stupidity of the back stories and focus on the matches themselves, you’re going to be entertained.

You can learn more about TNA at their official website.

Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor is the third largest wrestling organization in the U.S. but, due to a lack of television programming, few people have heard of it. Ring of Honor shows are available on DVD and PPV. RoH focuses on high quality, athletic wrestling matches with a minimum of story lines, so if you enjoy watching pure wrestling, this could be your dream federation. Many current TNA stars made names for themselves in Ring of Honor, including Samoa Joe, AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Senshi, as well as current ECW superstar CM Punk.

If you are a fan of truly athletic matches, you owe it to yourself a visit to Ring of Honor’s video site.

Shimmer

If you enjoy women’s wrestling, then you owe it to yourself to pick up a ShimmerDVD. Unlike all-women companies of the past, Shimmer places an emphasis on quality wrestling. Most of the women in Shimmer are pleasing to the eye, but beauty alone isn’t enough to earn your spot in the ring. Standouts include Daizee Haze, Ms. Chief and Cheerleader Melissa. Shimmer alumni include WWE Women’s Champion Beth Phoenix and TNA Women’s Champion Awesome Kong. Shimmer is closely aligned with Ring of Honor and the Shimmer Championship is often defended at Ring of Honor events.

For beautiful women with real athletic ability, be sure to check out Shimmer’s website.

Lucha Libre

If you have satellite television, then you probably have the GalaVision network. Unless you speak Spanish, however, you may not be aware that six hours of professional wrestling air on the network every weekend. On Saturday, usually from 2pm to 5pm Eastern, you’ll find Lucha de Vuelta, CMLL’s wrestling program, and on Sunday, Lucha Libre, AAA’s show, airs from 3pm to 6pm Eastern. The programs are entirely in Spanish, so if you don’t speak the language, the interviews and commentary will make no sense, but you can still enjoy the high flying action, and as you continue to watch the show, you’ll begin to learn who is who amongst the luchadores. Alongside such Mexican superstars as Shocker, Latin Lover and Cibernetico, you’ll recognize some former WCW/WWE wrestlers, such as La Parka, Esse Rios and Silver King. The lucha libre style of wrestling is quite different from it’s American counterpart, focusing more on acrobatic moves and usually featuring three or more competitors per team, as opposed to the singles matches that are more common in the U.S.

Unlike CMLL, AAA does offer an English language website.

Puroresu

Puroresu is the common name for Japanese professional wrestling. Compared to American professional wrestling, Puroresu features a more combat-oriented style, similar to the UFC. In fact, some stars participate in both Puroresu and MMA, Bob Sapp being a particular standout in this regard. If you are a fan of both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts, you will likely love puroresu. There are literally dozens of wrestling organizations in Japan, but by far the two largest are All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling. Puroresu is not aired on American television, but there are a multitude of DVDs available for purchase. For more information about Puroresu, check out their site.

In Conclusion

As you can see, while the WWE is by far the dominant professional wrestling organization in the United States, it is not the only alternative. With TNA and Lucha Libre both offering regular television programming and Ring of Honor and Shimmer producing outstanding DVDs, you can watch wrestling every day of the week, if that’s what it takes to fulfill your hunger for sports entertainment.