Tag: WWE

What the World is Watching

Night Court

James Martinez

NightCourtLogo“The Battling Bailiff”
Season 2, Episode 17
2/7/1985

Night Court was a workplace sitcom set in a Manhattan court room during the night shift, which centered on Judge Harry T. Stone and his rag tag group of work buddies. During this particular episode, one of the bailiffs, Bull, a character who was pretty much based on Lenny from John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, feels unfulfilled with his life, especially after being made fun of by his coworkers for writing poetry, seeing as they think of him as a one-dimensional guy. So, he decides to take up pro wrestling after meeting a promoter inside the courtroom.
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Ringside Cinema

Body Slam (1986)

James Martinez

BodySlamVHSDon’t let the alternate VHS cover fool you, this is the same 1986 classic that stars Dirk Benedict from The A-Team and Donna’s mom from That 70’s Show.

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10 Count!

Wrestler Day Jobs

James Martinez

YMCA PIcApparently the economic climate of the early to mid 90’s, was worse off than the one we’re currently in now. So much so, certain lower-tier to mid-card wrestlers had to supplement their income by taking up day jobs, or supplement their day jobs by moonlighting as wrestlers if you prefer to see it from that perspective. You can’t blame wrestling for trying this out. Comic books have always done it. Peter Parker is a photographer by day, Superman is a journalist, and Bruce Wayne is a billionaire. Yet, the guys dress the part when it comes to playing hero. You won’t catch Superman beating the crap out of Lex Luthor in a suit and glasses. Many of the wrestlers on this list decided to not only take up wrestling as a second job, but not bother masking their identity, and instead celebrate their first career choice by refusing to wrestle in professional wrestling garb. You figured after the first time he got yanked around by his necktie IRS would’ve learned his lesson. But nope, without his tie and suspenders the fans wouldn’t know what he did for a living. So, in celebration of Labor Day, let’s take a look at the top wrestlers with day jobs.

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10 Count!

Raging Against the Machine

James Martinez

RATM This month’s 10 Count will feature the top moments in which wrestlers took matters into their own hands and unleashed their frustrations on upper level management. With this past week’s revelation of The Corporation 2.0, us wrestling fans will witness another boss vs. employee storyline that made the Attitude Era and Steve Austin famous. Despite how many times it’s been rehashed over and over again, from taking on the actual CEO of the company to the assistant to the regional general manager of Raw; anytime a popular wrestler goes up against any figure of authority it’s going to generate instant heat. Granted, I really wish this storyline had been dropped out of the pro wrestling storyline rotation, considering that it spawned the never-ending turnover rate of meaningless General Managers. But this time it’s a fresh of breath air, considering the involvement of head honcho himself, Vince McMahon, and the fact that Daniel Bryan is a superstar on the rise and not an already established one. At least not in the eyes of the WWE Universe. Hopefully we’ll get a few moments in which Daniel Bryan will make the figureheads of the WWE look foolish and get a few Busaiku Knee Kicks in for good measure. I really hope he gets in a few Busaiku Knee Kicks.

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10 Count!

Mustaches In Wrestling

James Martinez
Here at Cheap Pop Culture I’ve decided to honor this Movember by listing the Top Ten Mustaches in Wrestling. Like long glam metal hair and mullets, mustaches, and facial hair in general, are a wrestling fashion staple. Sadly, more and more wrestlers are doing away with the long hair and sporting a clean-cut Lou Thesz look. Mustaches seem to be going that route as well (beards and goatees however seem to be going strong). But just imagine what growing a mustache would do for wrestlers who desperately need a reboot like John Cena or how it would boost certain wrestlers to that next level like Cody Rhodes? The possibilities are endless.

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Art of Gimmickry

The Effeminate Wrestler

James Martinez
We’re here, we’re…somewhat queer, so book us!

It’s often a good idea to have posts with tie-ins that are current and/or relevant, and seeing as October is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) History Month, this week’s Art of Gimmickry will focus on the effeminate wrestler. What’s that? Halloween’s also this month? Shit.

Since the Golden Age of Television, pro wrestling fans have been indoctrinated to boo anything and everything that’s remotely gay…or at the very least laugh at it. Granted, it’s rare that the wrestler is actually referred to as being gay, but the insinuation is usually there. For example, when Vince McMahon would throw around the phrase “mind games,” whenever referring to a feud involving Goldust, what he really meant was “gay shenanigans.”

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10 Count!

Fan Altercations

James Martinez
Help!

For all of those still wondering, the M in CM Punk apparently stands for Metta World Peace. CM Punk has made the WWE relevant again and despite delivering one his better promos in some time, that’s not the reason why he’s making the internet rounds. It’s because of the beatdown he gave to an unsuspecting fan. Despite WWE’s best efforts to blame the whole thing on security, when you really think about it, this only furthered Punk’s recent heel turn. Which is great.

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Art of Gimmickry

The Pimp Wrestler

James Martinez

Not long ago I caught an episode of Legends of Wrestling on YouTube, titled the “Soul of Wrestling”, which was their way of saying black wrestlers. It’s funny, I get that the word “soul” has a close connection with the black community, but it kind of felt like when people use “urban” when they really want to say is black. It’s these terms that people like to use in hopes of being politically correct, but really failing miserably at it. Black president or not, race will always will be a sensitive matter… within the real world that is. However, within the confines of pro grappling little progress has been made in terms of African-American portrayal.

Enter the wrestling pimp.

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