Pro Wrestling Discussion

[Lonewolf]

Dark Side of the Ring, Season 5, begins in March.

Vice TV's fifth season of Dark Side of the Ring will feature episodes on:

Chris Adams
Buff Bagwell
Black Saturday
Brutus Beefcake
Chris Colt
Earthquake
Terry Gordy
Sherri Martel
Harley Race
The Sandman

[HoHoinc]

Loving the Season to come so far. Really happy Chris Adams is getting one of the most underrated Wrestlers I've ever watched.

[zero33]

Just stumbled upon this.
Not Bad.
Sort of Wrestling/MMA/GLO format.

You Tube

You Tube

[ghost2509]

Ex-WWE star arrested on suspicion of shooting and killing wife before police stand-off

Daily Express US
msn.com
Story by Andrew Gamble
2/11/2024

Former WWE superstar Billy Jack Haynes has been accused by police of shooting and killing his wife before engaging in a two-hour stand-off with authorities. The 70-year-old appeared at WrestleMania III back in 1987 and wrestled the likes of Ric Flair and Randy Savage during a successful in-ring career.

Haynes, whose real name is William Albert Haynes, competed in Florida and the Pacific Northwest before signing with WWE - then known as the World Wrestling Federation - in 1986. He left the company in 1988 amid controversy over his alleged unwillingness to put another wrestler over in his hometown.

Haynes settled down in Lents of Portland, Oregon after his retirement in 1995 following stints in New Japan Pro Wrestling and then WCW and USWA. However, Haynes is now suspected of killing his wife Janette Becraft on Thursday, Feb. 9. at his home.

Tactical teams descended on the home after reports of a shooting but Haynes reportedly refused to leave the building, which led to a two-hour stand-off with authorities.

He finally emerged and was immediately taken into custody, with police discovering the body of the 85-year-old Becraft shot dead inside the house. No formal charges have yet been confirmed against him.

No motive has been released for the alleged killing, either. According to Portland Police, Haynes remains in police custody and is expected to be taken to jail following treatment for a medical condition unrelated to the homicide.

Portland Police said in a statement: "He is in police custody at a local hospital while he is being treated for a medical condition unrelated to the homicide or his contact with law enforcement. Once he is released from the hospital, which may be days from now, he is expected to be booked into jail.

"Haynes' charges will be released once he is booked."

Becraft was the mother of another pro-wrestler, Tod Becraft - who fought under the name Tod Ruhl. He and Haynes were close friends after meeting at nine years old.

Becraft's daughter, Kim Becraft Finlay, posted about her death on Facebook, writing: "You are now flying with the Angels. They are lucky to have such a beautiful soul. Love you Mom."

[Lonewolf]

PWInsider.com is reporting that Ricky Morton posted on his Instagram page that Ole Anderson passed away today at 81.

from PWInsider:

Anderson, real name Alan Robert Rogowski, was 81 at the time of his passing today.

While best remembered nationally as one of the founding members of the Four Horsemen, Anderson was one of the definitive heels of the Carolinas, especially when teaming with his "brother" the late Gene Anderson. Behind the scenes, Anderson was a booker for both Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He was the last holdout when Vince McMahon purchased GCW from all other partners in the promotion, setting the stage for Black Saturday, where WWF programming replaced Georgia on WTBS before Jim Crockett Promotions later paid WWF $1 million to gain the timeslot for themselves.

A gruff, no nonsense individual who held nothing back verbally when it came to his opinions, Anderson would later end up in a position of power behind the scenes in WCW, and would co-author an incredible book with Scott Teal in 2003, Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling.

Originally trained by Verne Gagne and Dick the Bruiser, Anderson debuted in the late 1960s under the ring name Rock Rogwoski for the AWA. He soon moved to Jim Crockett Promotions, where he and Gene Anderson teamed as the Minnesota Wrestling Crew. Their heel run was legendary as the villains breaking down the extremities of their opponents, a methodical roughhouse team that radiated legitimate evil for that era. They were so great at their job that in 1976, while returning from an match, a fan named Oscar Ramsey in his 70s stabbed Anderson in the chest with a knife in Greenville, South Carolina. Anderson was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery to repair tendons in his arm. He suffered multiple wounds to his arm and chest in the attack.

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew were the team to feud with and beat in the area, holding the NWA Tag Team Championships in that territory seven times, as well as the Georgia Tag Team Championship. If you were a babyface in that area, you feuded with the Andersons. It was as much a vote of confidence as much as a rite of passage - from Ric Flair to The Briscoes to Dusty Rhodes to Johnny Weaver to Mr. Wrestling I an II, you were programmed with the Andersons if you were making money in that territory.

When Anderson was booking Georgia Championship Wrestling, it was airing on WTBS, which gave national exposure to tons of talents and the opportunity torun a lot of markets tha GCW never would have touched, including Ohio and lots of other places. After the death of GCW and with Jim Crockett gaining the slot, Ole ended up back with JCP, where he and his "younger cousin" Arn Anderson were put together, including a feud with The Rock N' Roll Express.

If The Minnesota Wrestling Crew were GCW in that era, then The Four Horsemen - The Andersons, Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard with manager JJ Dillon - were truly Jim Cockett Promotions. The muscle to protect then-NWA World Champion Ric Flair, the Horsemen battled Dusty Rhodes, The Road Warriors, Magnum TA and more as JCP battled the WWF. While Anderson was turned babyface and kicked out of the group in favor of Lex Luger, he was done with wrestling full-time as a performer by 1987 but did later return to the ring, including a 1990 run in WCW.

Anderson would return with Arn and Flair to reform a babyface version of The Four Horsemen with Sting, with the idea that when The Horsemen would turn on Sting, Sting would become the new titleholder, but a torn ACL that same night pushed the title change back from February 1990 to July of that year at The Great American Bash. Ole worked as manager for the Horsemen and was handcuffed to the late El Gigante that night.

Behind the scenes as head of a WCW Booking Committee, Anderson later mockingly suggested The Black Scorpion character to Jim Herd, who was running the promotion and to Anderson's bemusement, Herd liked the idea. Anderson provided the voice for the masked character's promos. The story had no real planned ending when it began and it ended up being revealed it was all a Flair ruse.

When Eric Bischoff was placed in control of WCW, Anderson was assigned to the WCW Power Plant to oversee training. On one fateful day, he was giving his opinion, as he always did, but was knocking Bischoff. Blackjack Mulligan, who Bischoff had hired and placed at the facility in part because he was hurting financially and needed help, proceeded to punch out Anderson. Anderson was soon gone from the company.

After that WCW run ended, Anderson operated a saw mill that he owned and occasionally made convention signings in the Carolinas. He was one of the shining stars of the first-ever Mid-Atlantic Legends Fanfest, where he tore apart corporate wrestling, got emotional about how much he missed Gene Anderson and knocked Ric Flair for doing the same match with everyone.

Anderson had been battling multiple sclerosis in recent years. PWInsider.com is told Anderson had been under hospice care for several weeks.

PWInsider.com sends our deepest condolences to Anderson's family, friends and fans.

If you've never read it, his book, "Inside Out: How Corporate America Destroyed Professional Wrestling" is a must-read...

[Vile]

Hey guys, haven't stopped in here in a while, just wanted to say that there are a lot of wrestlers who are called legends but Sting really is one! What an amazing career that guy has had. Glad he got to end it on his own terms in AEW! What a cool run he had there! Happy retirement Sting! Wonder what's next for him.

[Wedge7]

If he wants to stay in the business, a backstage role somewhere. He'll still make stacks of cash doing autograph signings and public appearances.

[Lonewolf]

AEW, for the first time ever I believe, actually cut talent today:

- The Tate Twins (aka Dalton Castle's Boys)
- Anthony Henry
- Stu Grayson
- Dasha Fuentes

They are planning to cut more... a good thing, since they have too many wrestlers signed, and for too much money.

[Love Buzz]

He's only releasing talent because he got called out for being a weak boss. Must have had a decent drug rage flowing at the time. Dasha is better than Justin lol. Stu, JR would always put over lol. The others sure and there has to be a lot more riff raff chaff.

[Lonewolf]

Today in (sad) wrestling history:

2000 - In my hometown of Syracuse, New York, at the War Memorial Arena, in front of 1,269 fans (capacity - 9,000), David fucking Arquette wins the WCW World Heavyweight Title.

During 2000, WCW lost $65 million.

Less than a year later, WCW is toast. Wonder why...