Tired of getting the same mainstream, high quality, detailed little plastic wrestling men Mattel keeps putting out? Do you prefer five points of articulation as opposed to twenty-something? If you answered yes, no, or the more realistic, don’t care, you should still check out these infamous lines of bootleg wrestling action figures only most hardcore collectors are familiar with. They might even make the perfect gift this holiday season.
Tag: WWF
Box of Moonlight (1996)
After having heard Buddy Landel on Colt Cabana’s Art of Wrestling podcast recently, and getting to know more about him other than my limited knowledge of his cup of coffee that was his WWF run, I realized he was an entertaining story teller and another tragic “what could’ve been” wrestling tale, and not just some poor man’s Ric Flair. So in honor of Buddy Landel, I figured I’d post this brief cameo of his in the movie Box of Moonlight. RIP “Nature Boy”.
Paid for by the Following: Dusty Rhodes
Despite Dusty having more charisma in his belly-welly’s birthmark than most wrestlers, he never really hit the mainstream like his fellow 80’s cohorts, Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, and Jesse Ventura. Although that’s not to say attempts weren’t made to have “The American Dream” use his gift to gab to sell a few goods and services via commercials.
World Wide Wrestling Web: Iron Sheik – Very Animated People
Fictional Wrestlers in Movies
With wrestling and cinema going head-to-head this Sunday, when WWE’s Fastlane goes up against the 87th annual Academy Awards, I figured it’d be best to provide you with the definitive ranking of the best fictional wrestlers in movie history. I tried to hold back on this list until Luis Guzman’s Aztec Warrior was finally released, as I’m sure he would’ve provided with a memorable interpretation of a luchador, but it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen any time soon. First, a few honorable mentions.
Tag Team
Tag Team
Pilot
1/26/1991
In the late 80’s/early 90’s, Hulk Hogan wasn’t the only household wrestling name when it came to outside film and TV projects. In fact, Roddy Piper and Jesse Ventura were in A LOT better movies than Hogan was. I’ll always choose Jesse Ventura in The Running Man over any Hogan vehicle, except for maybe No Holds Barred. That movie is an undeniable classic to seven-year-old me. And Roddy Piper is basically pro wrestling’s Samuel L. Jackson, he’ll take any role so long as the check clears. As of this writing he has five projects in post-production.Yet, Ventura and Piper’s combined star power wasn’t enough to get their one-hour pilot, Tag Team, picked up for a full season. Which is a shame when you consider Thunder in Paradise ran for 22 episodes.
Stereotypically Black Wrestling Characters
Even after a year rife with bad press regarding their racial politics and lack of a black world champion, the WWE has decided to make good through their WWE Network by honoring Black History Month. Only problem is, it’s a pretty half-assed job. As someone that’s not familiar with the PYT Express I was hoping for something more than some random promo of them at an airport where you can barely make out what’s being said, or what the damn point is. And I appreciate the callback to Booker T.’s Ebony Experience days, but I could’ve come up with at least 50 other videos showcasing Booker T.’s accomplishments. And then there’s the backstage bit involving Cryme Tyme, probably the least offensive one that exists of them. Which bring me to this list. While WWE likes to pat themselves on the back for how far along they think they’ve come in portraying African-American wrestling characters, I’d like to provide 10 reminders of how far they set them back as well.
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NFL-Wrestling Connection
Having never had much of an interest in actual sports, most of my exposure to “real” sports usually came from being forced to watch with a group of friends, or by way of pro wrestling. Yes, as much as Vince McMahon hates the NFL for continually losing to them in a certain Monday Night War that occurs every football season, the WWE and other promotions have never shied away from the publicity that comes with piggybacking on the NFL’s popularity. So, I figured I’d share just how much the NFL has influenced professional wrestling over the years. Which would’ve made more sense if I had posted this the day of Super Bowl XLIX, but oh well.
The Cold War Russian Wrestler
While the Cold War had been a thing since the late 1940’s, it was still a pretty intense situation in the 1980’s and, most importantly, a major part of the fabric that made up a lot of 1980’s popular culture. You had Sylvester Stallone defending America’s honor against the Soviets in the best Rocky movie since the first one, Rocky IV. Even “teenage” movie heartthrobs answered the call to arms in the war against Soviet Russia in the original Red Dawn. And wrestling was no different. Always trying to remain relevant with the times, every territory had its own Red Menace, sometimes even two.
Best #1 & #2 Royal Rumble Entrants
With the 2015 Royal Rumble upon us, I’d be a fool not to make this month’s 10 Count! Royal Rumble related. With so many lists out there I figured I’d take a look at the top 10 first two Rumble entrants. These guys usually help set the tone for the Rumble. It’s even better when the two guys have some sort of backstory. This is a marquee WWE event, second only to WrestleMania, so you need to start it off with the right pair of wrestlers because, no disrespect to D’Lo Brown, are you seriously going to give a shit when the first two entrants are D’Lo and Grand Master Sexay?
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