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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon

The ECW (3/10) Extreme Examination

Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, takes a look at one of the strongest ECW shows in many years. He’s really happy with what he saw and thinks you will be to.

The show opened with a preview of the tri-branded Battle Royal that would determine the 7th person to compete in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match at Wrestlemania 25.

The grinding guitar riff that announces The Miz echoed off the arena walls. Miz had John Morrison with him. Matt Striker sent it to last week’s Dirt Sheet. Miz and Morrison worked Butt masks and made fun of Primo and Carlito Colon. John Morrison joined the announce team. Miz’s opponent was Primo (Colon). Carlito and the Bella Twins joined the younger Colon for the battle.
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The Katz Files – Arnie Katz

Nobody Asked Me about TNA, But…

The Kingfish Arnie Katz continues a “Katz Files” tradition with answers to some ticklish questions about TNA and iMPACT that no one asked him and some observations about things that stuck in his mind after viewing the 3/5 episode of iMPACT..

I was watching iMPACT this week and Nobody Asked Me, But…

… Doesn’t the “dissension” among Main Event Mafia members seem like it’s about nothing? Now that Angle has spit in Sting’s face, there’s some heat, but the start of the feud was very weak. Sting is not giving much, either. If he’s go9ing to walk around without the make-up, he ought to drop the silent act, which was never his strength.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon

OWW Wrestler of the Week: Kane

Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, profiles the Big Red Machine. Kane not only qualified for the Money in the Bank match on Raw, but also defeated The Boogeyman in decisive fashion on ECW.

The man currently known as Kane has worked the ring wars since 1992. He underwent several really bad gimmicks before settling in to being The Undertaker’s Little Brother. Kane has calmed down over the past few years, but he’s still a force in the WWE. Kane scored a place in the annual Money in the Bank match on Monday and then defeated Boogeyman in Boogey’s last WWE match. For his years of dedication and for two solid wins, Kane is this week’s OWW Wrestler of the Week.

From the Hoops to the Ring

Glen Jacobs grew up outside of Chicago, Illinois. Due to his height, he was scouted for high school and college basketball. He was an All-State player in college and still holds several records at his Alma mater, Missouri State University. Playing near St. Louis, Glen came to the attention of the local wrestling promoter. Kane began under the ring name of Angus King, a heel. He received the lion’s share of his training from Jeff Bradley, Dean Malenko and Ray Candy. Jacobs went through numerous identity changes in his early career. He was the Unibomb/Unabomb, Bruiser Mastino, The Christmas Creature and Doomsday. Glen came to the attention of WWF scouts, who offered the over-sized grappler a contract with the company.

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The Katz Files – Arnie Katz

My Personal Hall of Fame: The Hogan Era

The Kingfish Arnie Katz talks about great, or at least memorable, wrestlers of the wrestling he has seen for the last half-century.

For Those Who Missed Part One

I’m not trying to set up yet another Hall of Fame. I’ve seen the attacks by the people who criticize Hall of Fame selections and I’d rather not stand in their crosshairs.

What I thought I’d do is offer my own personal Hall of Fame, based on my own recollections of pro wrestling. I’ve seen a lot of wrestling since I watched Verne Gagne fight Lou Thesz on filmed wrestling from Chicago in the early 1950’s, so that particular Memory Lane is a crowded thoroughfare.

By the same token, you won’t find all the wrestlers you loved in this column or its sequels. If I didn’t see them, I can’t remember them. (The 1970’s is also a blur, but that’s another subject.) Among wrestlers I didn’t see enough to include is Dick the Bruiser, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski and Berne Gagne.

To put my choices in perspective, let me give a bit of my background”

I was born in Brooklyn, NY and grew up in New Hyde Park, Long Island. I saw a lot of WWWF/WWF/WWE wrestling. TV also gave me access to Wrestling from the Olympic (Los Angles) and Wrestling from Florida with Gordon Solie.

This installment of my Hall of Fame focuses on the era before the reign of Bruno Sammartino. It doesn’t go back much before 1952, because that’s when I started watching pro wrestling. These Hall of Famers are all from the era when WWE had a lot more “W”s.

This isn’t a complete list by any means. It’s more a rundown of the “charter members” of my personal Hall of Fame. Maybe it’ll jog a few of your memories, too.

This time the wrestlers are drawn from the period that began with the arrival of Huck Hogan in WWFand the rise of the NWO in WCW.

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HeadLocker — Jay Shannon

Who’ll Fight in the Diva Battle Royal?

Our resident philosopher, Jay Shannon, looks at the 25 women who will likely be involved in the specialty Diva Battle Royal match. He’ll also look at a few who, sadly, won’t or can’t be there.

The WWE has announced a 25-Diva Battle Royal that was to “span the history of Wrestlemania“. In this special HeadLocker column, I wanted to take a look at the ladies that I figure are going to go into the match. At the end, I want to talk about a few lovely ladies that won’t be there.

1. Melina:

She’s the current Women’s champion. Unless Melina’s set in a one-on-one with Maryse, she’s a lock to be in the match. She might be an odds-on favorite to take the win. She won’t.

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