The Unknown Poster Posted January 15, 2020 Report Posted January 15, 2020 1 hour ago, bigg jay said: Quick Meltzer bio Rocky "Soulman" Johnson, the father of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and one of the most agile heavyweight wrestlers of the 70s, passed away today. Brian Blair, the head of the Cauliflower Alley Club, and a friend of Johnson's, said that he had been ill over the last two weeks. Johnson was 75. Johnson was born Wayde Douglas Bowles in Amherst, Nova Scotia. While a pro wrestler, he worked as a sparring partner for Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Henry Clark, and boxing combinations and the Ali shuffle were a big part of his pro wrestling comebacks. He was the king of the dropkicks in the 70s. Even though he was built like a thick bodybuilder, 6 feet and 255 pounds, he was generally considered the most agile heavyweight in the industry at the time. He had the highest dropkicks, very similar to Kazuchika Okada today or Jim Brunzell in the 80s, but even more impressive in that he usually did a series of three dropkicks, all high, leading to his usual Boston crab finish. He also would land on his feet after high backdrops. Johnson, while being based in California, began dating and married Ata Maivia, the daughter of Peter Maivia, who was a frequent tag team partner. On May 2, 1972, the couple, living in Hayward, CA, gave birth to their only child, Dwayne. Johnson had two children from a prior marriage. The couple split up and Johnson married Sheila Northern, a longtime wrestling fan. Johnson, who legally changed his name to Rocky Johnson during his career, started wrestling in Nova Scotia in 1964. By 1966 he was working the top circuits in Canada like Maple Leaf Wrestling, International Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling, and captured the Canadian Open tag team title with Don Leo Jonathan in 1967. His combination of fire and agility, along with an impressive physique made him a headliner from 1966 on. He had a run as world tag team champion in Detroit in 1969 with Ben Justice, and then came to Los Angeles in 1970 during a wrestling boom. Johnson won the first-ever major Los Angeles Battle Royal, and the Americas title from the Great Kojika, on the same night. He was the top babyface in the territory until the turn of Fred Blassie, after the two had a big money singles program. He then had a long tenure in San Francisco, where he would be remembered as one of the biggest stars in the history of Roy Shire's Big Time Wrestling. Always a babyface, was both a singles headliner at the Cow Palace, and tag team headliner with partners like Ray Stevens, Pat Patterson, Maivia and Pepper Gomez. He remained a headliner, being one of the biggest draws in the history of the Tennessee territory for his matches with Jerry Lawler, where he started out in 1976 with a storyline that he was a top-ten ranked boxer who had never wrestled, doing a boxer vs wrestler program with Lawler to take advantage of the topical Muhammad Ali vs. Antonio Inoki program. He remained one of the most in-demand wrestlers in the country, working different territories, where he almost always won the top singles title, as well as the major markets like St. Louis, Houston and sometimes Tennessee or San Francisco as a fly-in star. He was a frequent opponent of both Terry Funk and Harley Race as world champion and would be ranked as one of the bigger stars for Sam Muchnick of the 70s. On the biggest night of pro wrestling in the 70s, the night of the Ali vs. Inoki closed circuit show, Johnson was chosen on one of the regional undercards broadcast in many NWA cities and territories to face Terry Funk in a match in Houston for the NWA title. He also worked under a mask as Sweet Ebony Diamond in the Carolinas. He is a member of the St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame and the WWE Hall of Fame. He was the first wrestler of his race to hold the Georgia state title and the first to hold any title in the WWF, when he and Tony Atlas, called The Soul Patrol, beat The Wild Samoans, Afa & Sika, to win the tag team title. The team didn't get along outside the ring and was broken up quickly, losing to **** Murdoch & Adrian Adonis. When Dwayne Johnson, a childhood wrestling fan who moved from territory to territory while growing up, was cut from the Canadian Football League, he asked his father to train him for pro wrestling. Rocky Johnson was very negative on his son becoming a wrestler, but eventually he and Ron Slinker trained Johnson, and through Rocky Johnson's longtime friendship with Pat Patterson, brought Patterson in on a session. Patterson reported to Vince McMahon that Dwayne Johnson had more potential to be a pro wrestling star than anyone he had ever seen, and recommended they sign him. Johnson worked a little with his son as a rookie, and later worked as a coach for WWE developmental in Louisville but had been out of pro wrestling. JCon 1
Goalie Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Terrible news. RIP to a great Canadian The Unknown Poster and JCon 2
The Unknown Poster Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Real strong episode of aew tonight. Weak part belonging to Brandi’s segment again but show was entertaining over all. Sammy is a million bucks. Kid is everything. Kenny is as over as anyone. Mox too. Next week they’re on the cruise. Should be pretty damn unique
Goldkobra Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 8 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said: Real strong episode of aew tonight. Weak part belonging to Brandi’s segment again but show was entertaining over all. Sammy is a million bucks. Kid is everything. Kenny is as over as anyone. Mox too. Next week they’re on the cruise. Should be pretty damn unique I'll be on the boat. I'll post a few pics if i can get internet bigg jay and The Unknown Poster 2
The Unknown Poster Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 30 minutes ago, Goldkobra said: I'll be on the boat. I'll post a few pics if i can get internet That’s fantastic! I was tempted to go this year. looks like a hell of a good time. the boys love it too. I was talking to Dalton Castle about it and he said they all got together the day before the cruise last year and went out for dinner and they were all not looking forward to it. Obvious reasons. Being stuck on a boat with crazy fans. But he said they all ended up loving it and really enjoying their time with the fans. this year even better with AEW tv. I’m jealous! Will you have wifi? Give us some updates!
Goldkobra Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Ha! Dalton castle was awesome. Wife and i actually had breakfast with him one morning. Super nice dude. The Unknown Poster 1
Goldkobra Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 4 hours ago, The Unknown Poster said: That’s fantastic! I was tempted to go this year. looks like a hell of a good time. the boys love it too. I was talking to Dalton Castle about it and he said they all got together the day before the cruise last year and went out for dinner and they were all not looking forward to it. Obvious reasons. Being stuck on a boat with crazy fans. But he said they all ended up loving it and really enjoying their time with the fans. this year even better with AEW tv. I’m jealous! Will you have wifi? Give us some updates! No wifi. We might get off the boat for a bit in the Bahamas but we're not doing an excursion. Our plan is to stay on the boat and try for ringside seats for the Dynamite taping. So if i get them look for bomber gear JCon, bigg jay and The Unknown Poster 3
bigg jay Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 5 hours ago, Goldkobra said: I'll be on the boat. I'll post a few pics if i can get internet I'm jealous... I have a couple friends going again this year. My wife isn't into wrestling or boats so the chances of me getting to go are slim to none!
Brandon Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Isn't Taz a guy that the boys do not like or respect? What is his role going to be?
The Unknown Poster Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 15 minutes ago, Brandon said: Isn't Taz a guy that the boys do not like or respect? What is his role going to be? He’ll be in broadcasting. He did Dark as a guest commentator and was on Dynamite last week. Presumably he passed the try out. He’s good in that role and is suspect it’s because of the expanding tv footprint.
bigg jay Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 39 minutes ago, Brandon said: Isn't Taz a guy that the boys do not like or respect? What is his role going to be? If you're talking about his reputation from over 20 years ago, then yes he wasn't overly liked in the ECW locker room. He tried to live his gimmick and was a bit of a ****. Some guys were afraid of him, and some (RVD) called him on his bullshit. He's owned up to his poor behaviour since then though and admits he wasn't the easiest to get along with. How that translates to now (especially since his in-ring career is long gone) is anybody's guess.
The Unknown Poster Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 1 hour ago, bigg jay said: If you're talking about his reputation from over 20 years ago, then yes he wasn't overly liked in the ECW locker room. He tried to live his gimmick and was a bit of a ****. Some guys were afraid of him, and some (RVD) called him on his bullshit. He's owned up to his poor behaviour since then though and admits he wasn't the easiest to get along with. How that translates to now (especially since his in-ring career is long gone) is anybody's guess. He’s been a commentator for years for wwe and Impact and I don’t recall any issues. He’s good at it and they seem to like him. I’d like to see AEW work on developing new talent in those roles rather then rehashing but I can understand that for a national broadcast they need experienced people. bigg jay 1
The Unknown Poster Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Just about the same as last week. Good for both.
Jpan85 Posted January 16, 2020 Report Posted January 16, 2020 Excaliber seems to be taking a bigger role of the play x play or it seems that way to me. It seems like that team works little better when the other two can throw there two cents in. The Unknown Poster 1
The Unknown Poster Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 Meltzer reports the original plan was for Scurll to be leader of Dark Order and debut on that big dark order episode a few weeks ago. That makes more sense as to why they did it. But ROH came back with a crazy offer and he took it. bigg jay 1
bigg jay Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 9 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said: Meltzer reports the original plan was for Scurll to be leader of Dark Order and debut on that big dark order episode a few weeks ago. That makes more sense as to why they did it. But ROH came back with a crazy offer and he took it. Interesting. The fact they still ran the angle must mean they have a backup plan.
The Unknown Poster Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 7 minutes ago, bigg jay said: Interesting. The fact they still ran the angle must mean they have a backup plan. You might say the original plan was deleted. bigg jay 1
bigg jay Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 27 minutes ago, The Unknown Poster said: You might say the original plan was deleted. One of the few I can think of that would be a fit for the role without it being a disappointment. The Unknown Poster 1
ediger Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 (edited) I think I'd actually prefer Broken Matt Hardy in that spot over Scurll. Anywho, LOTS of good local shows coming up over the next little while. All four promotions have solid cards booked. Gonna do my best to get to them all but we'll see how things pan out. For those unaware Tomorrow (Jan 18) - PCW @ Doubles Fun Club - Tag Team title match, Cheetahbear, Adam Knight vs ATM, Uncle Dave's 4th of July Celebration Jan 24 - CWE @ Rookies Sports Bar - ft. Pat Tanaka Feb 27 - WrestleMax @ The Neon Factory - ft. Colt Cabana Mar 19 - WPW @ West End Cultural Centre - ft. Brian Pillman Jr. Random notes: Cheetahbear is always great to catch and the 4th of July Celebration should be worth the price of admission... Tanaka is coming in as a replacement for Shannon Moore, I believe... WrestleMax is a super fun time. They merged my love of pro wrestling, punk rock and abandoned buildings... Airwolf and/or Angel Dorado (the Flip Bros) from Minnesota are on at least a couple of these shows. They've been doing a lot of local shows lately and are definitely a couple of guys to try to catch... Minnesota wrestling scene is hot in general right now and we've been benefiting from it. A lot of guys making the trip up the highway for shows in Wpg... I liked the convenience of the Sherb for WPW (I live 2 mins away) but the WECC is a far superior venue both from a spectators POV and for the performers. And from a personal perspective, it's still close enough for me to walk. I loves my dive bars and it made me happy to see a shithole like the Sherb packed, but it's not a great layout for anything other than plugging the slots and watching lunch hour strippers... got some cool news about a show in the spring... well, cool for me at least... Edited January 17, 2020 by ediger
The Unknown Poster Posted January 17, 2020 Report Posted January 17, 2020 1 hour ago, ediger said: I think I'd actually prefer Broken Matt Hardy in that spot over Scurll. Anywho, LOTS of good local shows coming up over the next little while. All four promotions have solid cards booked. Gonna do my best to get to them all but we'll see how things pan out. For those unaware Tomorrow (Jan 18) - PCW @ Doubles Fun Club - Tag Team title match, Cheetahbear, Adam Knight vs ATM, Uncle Dave's 4th of July Celebration Jan 24 - CWE @ Rookies Sports Bar - ft. Pat Tanaka Feb 27 - WrestleMax @ The Neon Factory - ft. Colt Cabana Mar 19 - WPW @ West End Cultural Centre - ft. Brian Pillman Jr. Random notes: Cheetahbear is always great to catch and the 4th of July Celebration should be worth the price of admission... Tanaka is coming in as a replacement for Shannon Moore, I believe... WrestleMax is a super fun time. They merged my love of pro wrestling, punk rock and abandoned buildings... Airwolf and/or Angel Dorado (the Flip Bros) from Minnesota are on at least a couple of these shows. They've been doing a lot of local shows lately and are definitely a couple of guys to try to catch... Minnesota wrestling scene is hot in general right now and we've been benefiting from it. A lot of guys making the trip up the highway for shows in Wpg... I liked the convenience of the Sherb for WPW (I live 2 mins away) but the WECC is a far superior venue both from a spectators POV and for the performers. And from a personal perspective, it's still close enough for me to walk. I loves my dive bars and it made me happy to see a shithole like the Sherb packed, but it's not a great layout for anything other than plugging the slots and watching lunch hour strippers... got some cool news about a show in the spring... well, cool for me at least... Between PCW, CWE & Wrestlemax there’s plenty of good wrestling and unique and different events. For sure people should check them all out!
The Unknown Poster Posted January 20, 2020 Report Posted January 20, 2020 Jericho Cruise begins today. Should be some fun. Seeing that Brandi had her passport stolen and cant go (not sure if that is true). But apparently there was Jericho Bubbly in every stateroom!
The Unknown Poster Posted January 22, 2020 Report Posted January 22, 2020 Jericho Cruise 3 announced for next Feb. Cody says they will air Dynamite live (rather then taped like this year). Speaking of which, apparently they flew two master copies of tonight's show on different airplanes just to make sure at least one made it back to HQ for post-production. Meltzer reports AEW likely going to introduce Six Man Tag Team Championship, maybe at next year's cruise. Ive avoided spoilers and looking forward to the show tonight. Looks awesome. Cant wait to hear @Goldkobra review. JCon 1
bigg jay Posted January 22, 2020 Report Posted January 22, 2020 Potentially adding Archer, Cage, Kross and Harper would definitely change the AEW roster. Would make for some interesting "heavyweight" matches.
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