We Love Wrestling & Horror Slam explode at ‘Motor City Massacre’
LIVONIA, Mich. -- For the first time since this past Christmas, Brad McFarlin and I returned to the Livonia Elk's Lodge on Friday, February 21, 2025, in the newly named Special Taste Hall, for We Love Wrestling & Horror Slam Present Motor City Massacre. Being a...
Dynamite: Swerve and Ricochet square off; Toni Storm puts on a performance
Greetings and salutations! Its another installment of AEW's Dynamite tonight and on this show we have Swerve Strickland taking on Ricochet, Will Ospreay facing a member of The Don Callis Family, and Timeless Toni Storm taking on Queen Aminata. Here is the full...
WWE brings holiday fun to Orlando
ORLANDO, Florida -- Santa Claus came dressed for the occasion in sparkling green and red basketball shorts. They were the baggy type that all the kids were wearing when I was but a teenaged lad. He had a suspicious looking Solo cup in his hand, I would hate to think...
Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling makes a great opening statement
WINDSOR, Ont. – Windsor’s St. Clair College hosted night one of a storied wrestling promotion’s revival Saturday. But not just any wrestling promotion, a truly Canadian one. So genuinely Canadian, that it is in the name. It was the homecoming of homecomings for ex-TNA...
AEW Collision returns to Toledo (photos by Brad McFarlin)
Contains spoilers for AEW Collision in Toledo, Ohio, taped on October 3, 2024. Since their inception in 2019, AEW has only visited Detroit, Michigan twice, the first time in June 2022, followed up by May 2023, nearly one and a half years ago. I don’t know why this...
AEW Calgary Collision all filler, no killer
CALGARY – Traditionally wrestling cards build up, with a big match at the start and a build up of matches to the main event. Whether a house show, a stadium event, a indy show, or a TV taping. After an excellent Dynamite taping in Calgary on Wednesday, July 10, AEW...
More than just briefcases at WWE MITB pop-up store
TORONTO -- Tonight, a number of WWE Superstars will try to get their hands on the Money in the Bank briefcase in front of thousands of Toronto fans. Meanwhile, WWE will be hoping to get the money in the pockets of those same fans at the pop-up WWE Store that ran as...
Everett crowd hot for Dynamite
EVERETT, Wash. -- The puzzle pieces for Double or Nothing were course corrected and seemed to fit more logically after a newsworthy edition of All Elite Wrestling Dynamite in Everett, Wash. on May 15. After a murky few weeks following Dynasty, it felt like AEW shifted...
Divine Women’s Pro Wrestling Apr. 26, 2024 photo gallery
On Friday, April 26, 2024, Divine Women's Pro Wrestling returned after a hiatus of a few years, in Livonia, Michigan, with a show titled "A League of Their Own." As a veteran photographer, I was curious about the show, so headed out to document it. The show was...
NXT house show has old-feel feel, a surprise in Carmelo Hayes
SANFORD, Florida - During the days of the territories, the different promotions had a regular circuit of towns that they would run shows. These were towns that they visit weekly. In-between these shows, they would occasionally run what they called Spot Shows. These...
A fan gets a Christmas gift and Cody survives the cage at WWE Toronto show
TORONTO -- The WWE and its superstars spread some Christmas cheer with its third-to-last house show and final Canadian show of 2023. The stop in Toronto at the Coca-Cola Coliseum featured three matches which on their own could have main-evented any house show. They...
Border City Wrestling marks 30 years with a treat
WINDSOR, ON -- Saturday night, Border City Wrestling marked its 30th Anniversary with a capacity crowd at the St. Clair College Sportsplex in Windsor, the same venue where IMPACT Wrestling recently held this year's edition of Slammiversary. Originally founded in 1993...
SummerSlam: The 44 year-old pay-per-view virgin
DETROIT, Mich. -- My name is Josh Olsen and I have a somewhat embarrassing confession to make. I’m a 44 year-old, nearly lifelong wrestling fan, and I’ve never attended a pay-per-view. Sure, I’ve attended televised wrestling events, like Raw, Smackdown, and Dynamite....
Remembering Ginger the Bear on anniversary of her death
In southern Ontario, July 4th is always a day of reflection, as it marks the anniversary of the death of "Bearman" Dave McKigney, Adrian Adonis, and Pat Kelly in an accident in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Bearman had color and charisma to spare and is rightfully...
Musings from a first-time AEW attendee (includes Rampage spoilers)
HAMILTON, ON -- For a variety of circumstances, I had never been able to attend an AEW show in person until Wednesday night, when I went to the live Dynamite event in Hamilton, Ontario. Even though I've been watching AEW since the company started, I wouldn't say I'm a...
Baker rocked, jagoff Jericho and long lines mark AEW’s Pittsburgh return
PITTSBURGH – On Wednesday night at AEW Dynamite, construction around the 12,508-seat Petersen Event Center forced each and every patron to enter through two doors on the concourse area. Half of the line consisted on young men in black t-shirts. A yellow-shirted...
Remembering Nick Steel with a unique celebration of life
When someone is taken too soon, why, is always the obvious question to ask. When Nick Castanhinha passed away, it was a front-and-center prime example. He was a loving husband and father. His two young sons, Jacob and Joshua, saw their dad as a superhero. Nick and his...
Generation Next Pro Wrestling keeps rasslin’ alive in Kentucky
CYNTHIANA, Ky. -- When Legendary Larry D hosted his retirement show in November 2023 at the City Hall Gym in Cynthiana, Kentucky, one of his special guests brought the crowd to their feet in a fiery promo. Shane Douglas, the ECW legend, delivered one of his signature...
NXT: Championship Tuesday is packed full of brawls and a role model
Greetings and salutations! We are a week away from another road trip edition of NXT TV. Next week they will be on TV so I suspect that this week will be used to hype that show up. This week on the show we have Tony D’Angelo defending the NXT North American...
Nightmare Before Horror Slam results and photographs by Brad McFarlin
It’s Friday the 13th in Livonia, Michigan, so it’s time for yet another installment of Horror Slam at the Elk’s Lodge. Tonight’s event, Nightmare Before Horror Slam, featured seven wrestling matches on the main card, including a women’s match, a tag team championship...
In person, WrestleDream all about Dragon’s last dance
TACOMA, Wash. -- The Tacoma Dome captured another chapter of notorious wrestling history at AEW’s second annual WrestleDream event on Saturday, October 11th. Remembered forever as the final resting place of WCW Monday Nitro (which aired during an episode of Monday...
AEW Collision spoilers from Toledo
AEW Collision invaded the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio, and we have all the details and spoilers for you below. The show is taped to air on Saturday night. Nigel McGuiness and Tony Schiavone are on commentary. Darby Allin versus Johnny TV Darby pins Johnny after...
MLW Blood & Thunder delivers a storm
ST. PETERSBURG, FL -- My nephew and I packed up the car and headed to St. Petersburgh for a night of wrestling. Major League Wrestling (MLW) presented its event Blood and Thunder from The Coliseum, a beautiful venue in downtown St. Petersburgh. By the time the day...
To Chicago faithful, Ospreay rules, MJF has ‘nuclear heat’
CHICAGO – As AEW made its way back to its second home of Chicago, fresh off the heels of Forbidden Door, GM and CEO Tony Khan built up anticipation in media interviews and social media in the days leading up promising a big card. The show would be revealed as the...
AEW Collision & Rampage report: Big names, solid action highlight AEW’s Vancouver debut
The wrestling-starved market of Vancouver finally received its first-ever visit from All Elite Wrestling with a Collision and Rampage combo broadcast at Rogers Arena on Saturday (May 11) and it seems likely that a non-WWE attendance record was established for British...
Brad McFarlin’s WWE Smackdown Detroit Apr. 12, 2024 photo gallery
The first Smackdown after WrestleMania XL took place at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Friday, April 12, 2024. SlamWrestling.net photographer Brad McFarlin was there to shoot the event, and Josh Olsen filed a few notes from the crowd. "It was a...
The night Greektown went A-R-R-G-O-O-S for A.J.
TORONTO -- It's not often you see a Grey Cup ring used as a weapon. Or a surefire Canadian Football Hall of Famer at ringside capturing the antics of a buddy on his cell phone. But both happened on Saturday night. The scene was the East End United Church on Toronto's...
Brad McFarlin’s WWE Detroit Dec. 27, 2023 photo gallery
The WWE Holiday Tour rolled into the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan, on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, with a decided win, unlike the resident Detroit Pistons of the NBA, who are on a record losing streak. SlamWrestling.net photographer Brad McFarlin was...
WrestleDream shined spotlight on Pacific Northwest
SEATTLE - The first-ever AEW WrestleDream event on Sunday, October 1st, was billed as a tribute show to Japanese wrestling legend Antonio Inoki, and while it did commemorate his legacy, it may ultimately be remembered as the day the Pacific Northwest finally got some...
SummerSlam Eve: A full menu of indy wrestling & wrestlers in Detroit
DETROIT -- When WWE announced that SummerSlam 2023 would be in Detroit, what I looked forward to most of all, possibly more so even than SummerSlam itself, was participating in the events and activities around SummerSlam weekend. As the subsequent announcements from...
AEW’s Edmonton debut a memorable night
EDMONTON – It was clear before the first bell that fans at Edmonton’s Rogers Place were ready to be entertained and have fun at AEW Dynamite. When a disclaimer was aired over the in-house sound system advising that those on the floor were at risk of being in the path...
AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door: Toronto crowd steals the show
TORONTO -- As someone who has been watching AEW since the beginning and a big fan of NJPW for about four years now, Forbidden Door was the show to be at. With Scotiabank Arena being the host to the second AEW x NJPW show ever, you know I made sure to be there. Toronto...
Windsor welcomes back Impact Wrestling
WINDSOR, ON -- 1,246 days. That’s how long it’s been since Impact Wrestling last came to Windsor, Ontario. It was on March 16, 2020 that Impact announced the cancellation of its Lockdown show which was to take place in Windsor, Ontario March 28 of that year due to the...
Kitchener fans go in-Zayn for Sami
For WWE fans today, Sami Zayn can seemingly do no wrong. Even when he mistakenly thanks the name of a different city, as he did during a post-match promo at the Road to WrestleMania house show in Kitchener, Ontario on Sunday night. But even after he heard the...
Atlanta Dynamite a real fan experience
COLLEGE PARK, GA – Though I’m an historian whose focus the last few years has been on the 1970s, it’s always good to take in a night of entertainment, especially when it’s the King of Sports --- professional wrestling. That was the case last night at AEW Dynamite at...
Chris Bey benefit proves wrestling is a tight-knit community
TORONTO - Smash Wrestling hosted a Chris Bey benefit at the Rec Room in downtown Toronto on Sunday, December 29, and put on an exciting, fast-paced show. Every match left its mark on the fans in attendance as the crowd was heavily invested all throughout. It was the...
Mat Matters: Intimidated by Psycho Clown and more at Demand Lucha
TORONTO -- On Thursday, October 17th, Toronto's Parkdale Hall hosted Demand Lucha's "Lucha de los Muertos." The main event saw AAA star Psycho Clown unsuccessfully challenge Lince Dorado for the Interim Lucha Premier Championship. It was my first time at an...
Horror Slam celebrates 7th anniversary with JCW and ‘Underground Monsters’
LIVONIA, Mich. -- Spooky season is officially upon us, and what better way to celebrate than with a night of Horror Slam Pro Wrestling? On October 11, the Livonia Elk's Lodge hosted Horror Slam's seventh anniversary event, Underground Monsters, and Brad McFarlin and I...
Horror Slam: Murder City Death Match Cup brings the ‘pane’
LIVONIA, Mich. -- It’s Friday night at the Livonia, Michigan Elk’s Lodge, so you know what that means. Brad McFarlin and I were back at Horror Slam, for the third annual Murder City Death Match Cup. The last time we covered Horror Slam, the night was split between...
Second Dynamite in Calgary sees a drop in attendance, not action
CALGARY – With over 100,000 people on the grounds for the world famous Calgary Stampede, it’s a sad sign that the July 10th AEW Dynamite and Collision taping drew approximately 5,000 people to the Scotiabank Saddledome, a significant drop from the company’s debut last...
Young and veteran women shine at Divine
LIVONIA, Mich. -- On Friday, May 31, 2024, Divine Pro Wrestling, Michigan’s women’s pro wrestling company, returned to the Livonia Elk’s Lodge in suburban Detroit for its second show, Every Show Has Its Thorns. Brad McFarlin was in attendance to photograph Divine’s...
Horror Slam: Crimson Mask paints the Elk’s Lodge red
On May 10, 2024, the Livonia, Michigan Elk’s Lodge hosted Horror Slam: Crimson Mask, and Brad McFarlin and I were in attendance among the bloodthirsty crowd, ready for some hot Friday night ultraviolence. While I've been in the Livonia Elk’s Lodge a number of times...
Unaired Jimmy Lloyd-RackaRacka GCW deathmatch filmed for documentary?
After GCW Role Model went off the air Saturday night, fans in attendance at Harpo’s in Detroit were treated to a bonus deathmatch between Jimmy Lloyd and RackaRacka. Social media reactions to the match unanimously praised their battle, with Joey Janela posting, “That...
Chelsea, returning AOP give Vancouver Smackdown local flavor
VANCOUVER, BC -- Vancouver fans had to wait almost three years in between WWE televised events and a sell-out crowd of over 13,000 at Rogers Arena on Friday, January 5 for Smackdown reaffirmed that wrestling fans continue to be ravenous on the west coast. Smackdown...
Last Smoky Mountain Wrestling show unearthed 28 years later
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The final Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) event has been hiding, preserved and now re-discovered on YouTube. On Sunday, November 26, 1995, SMW’s Thanksgiving Thunder tour rolled into the Cookeville Community Center. The house show would serve as...
Danielson hometown hero at Collision in Seattle
SEATTLE -- Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. finally went face-to-face and that encounter was the closing image on Saturday’s AEW Collision – the final stop before WrestleDream on Sunday. Sabre Jr. joined the commentary team for Saturday’s main event, which featured...
Collison & Battle of the Belts Stampede into Calgary history
CALGARY - More incredible moments were added to the long history of professional wrestling in Calgary as AEW made its debut July 15th to a rambunctious crowd. Whether it was the instant classic 58-minute battle between FTR and Bullet Club Gold or celebrating the Owen...
Cartwheel cartwheels over Vikingo and Speedball
TORONTO -- With so much hype over the young Mexican star El Hijo del Vikingo, the decision to head out to the Demand Lucha show in Toronto's west end was an easy one. It would be, after all, a very different vibe than his AEW debut in the large FirstOntario Centre in...
AEW returns to Detroit with high expectations
DETROIT - A commonly shared mindset of optimism suggests that All Elite Wrestling’s sole competition is the promotion in itself, and AEW encountered a challenge in returning to Detroit, Michigan on May 11; after a massively successful debut at Little Caesars Arena...
Winnipeg AEW show indeed Dynamite for those in attendance
If you've watched All Elite Wrestling over the last couple weeks, you heard "Winnipeg" come up several times during broadcasts, and with good cause. Wednesday's airing of Dynamite, along with tapings for Friday's episode of Rampage, emanated from the Canada Life...
