XPW return violent and emotional
LOS ANGELES - Xtreme Pro Wrestling's big reunion show was called Cold Day in Hell, promising that anything -- and everything -- would be on tap. In true XPW fashion, they certainly delivered the goods on Saturday night. The matches were, well, intense, and while not...
Experiencing Impact in Orlando
ORLANDO, FL- I never knew I was headed into battle when I showed up at Universal Studios for TNA Impact! Apparently "shots" were to be fired on this night. "Nashville sucks" and "We're not Rednecks" chants echo through the studio, proving TNA is no longer just a...
Border City Wrestling makes triumphant return
WINDSOR, ON -- It’s Saturday, May 3rd, just a few hours before bell-time for Border City Wrestling’s Awakening, the company’s return event after a four year absence, and the anticipation in the building is palpable. There’s a flurry of activity going on everywhere in...
Orlando fans as emotional as Flair
ORLANDO, Fla. -- After a night of high emotion at Wrestlemania, one might have expected the Orlando fans to bask in the afterglow and mellow a bit for Monday Night RAW. Instead, the night took things to new levels, culminating in the fans and the company pay loving...
Wrestlers were stars of the live show
ORLANDO, Fla. - Maybe WrestleMania doesn't need help from other entertainment personalities to set itself apart as the king of wrestling pay-per-views. That's no knock against the celebrities who did take part in the 24th edition. Floyd Mayweather's match with Big...
ROH tops Dragon Gate on Florida supercard
ORLANDO, Fla. - Wrestling fans may be descending on the Sunshine State for a show in a big stadium this Sunday, but Ring of Honor used a more intimate venue to put on one heck of a show Friday night. ROH had never done a show in Florida before (having previously...
PWA’s seventh anniversary a success
EDMONTON - In the world of professional wrestling, promotions come and go. It truly is an accomplishment for any wrestling company to survive for any length of time, and achieving seven years is an impressive achievement. Edmonton’s Prairie Wrestling Alliance...
Stranglehold show in memory of Dewey Robertson fun and bizarre
HAMILTON, ON -- On Saturday night, a legendary Ontario wildman was paid tribute, as Stranglehold Wrestling held the first annual Dewey "Missing Link" Robertson Memorial Tournament to crown the company's inaugural champion. With that, and a few other moments that...
Toronto Stranglehold show violent … and then some
TORONTO - The cult of hardcore recruited some more members last night, as Stranglehold Wrestling brought its unique brand of violent action back to Toronto. Scores of first-time fans could be seen among the company's long-time faithful, all of them expecting a night...
Erick Stevens elevates himself at ROH
DETROIT - Honor was earned Friday night at Ring of Honor's Motor City Madness 2007 at Detroit's State Fairground Fieldhouse. Erick Stevens, who entered the night seen as a preliminary wrestler by most of the fans, walked out with new earned respect after wrestling two...
Rain delay: Time to talk at Ballpark Brawl
BUFFALO, NY -- It's Thursday, and there's a big outdoor wrestling show about to go on at Buffalo's Dunn Tire Park. But it's raining. For a writer, that's not a bad thing, as the promoter, local wrestlers, and a legend had some time to kill, chatting with Slam...
Ottawa SuperEx show full of nostalgia
OTTAWA - Attending the recent When Legends Collide wrestling event in Ottawa was similar to seeing your favorite classic rock band, the members may have grown older and grey but can still deliver the hits. The card was largely filled with 1980s-era WWF stars like Koko...
Alberta supercards leave fans happy
More then 1,500 combined fans in two cities flocked to what many consider the biggest independent wrestling cards in Alberta in five years. The Bad News Allen Coage Tribute show, held May 25th in Cochrane, and PWA Mayhem on May 26th in Edmonton, featured an...
Live, Toronto shows no love for Cena
TORONTO -- Monday Night Raw is live in Toronto and a boisterous crowd could mean some strange fan reaction for WWE Superstars. Will Toronto live up to their reputation of going against the typically expected fan response for wrestlers? Technical wrestling fanatics are...
Hamilton hot for WWE house show
HAMILTON, ON -- It has been nearly ten years since the Copps Coliseum in Hamilton hosted a WWE pay-per-view. But listening to the audience in attendance on Friday night for a RAW-brand house show, one might easily have thought WrestleMania was in town. From the...
ROH’s All Star Extravaganza extravagent
DETROIT - Ring of Honor kicked off a two-night stand last night at the jam-packed Detroit Fairgrounds with a stellar card that saw four hours of non-stop action, some surprise returns, and a terrifying injury. In the match for the ROH tag team championships,...
Ringside at Ring of Honor
I have been a Ring of Honor fan for four of their five-year history. Having been the primary Ring of Honor correspondent for SLAM! Wrestling I've interviewed talent, previewed shows and reviewed DVDs. Unfortunately, living in Calgary makes it hard to attend live. The...
ROH tops expectations at Supercard of Honor
DETROIT -- The Ring of Honor show at the Detroit Fairgrounds had a lot to live up to. Not only did they have to follow in the footsteps of Friday's All Star Extravaganza III, but the show was being headlined by a 6-man match featuring stars from the Dragon Gate...
Bishop prevails in UWA Deathmatch chaos
BOLTON, Ont. -- What dangers would you expect to encounter in a Death Match? At the UWA Hardcore Wrestling King of the Death Match (KoDM) tournament, competitors had to face weapons ranging from the dangerous -- razor-sharp barbed wire, shards of glass, piercing...
Tamer UWA heads into Deathmatch weekend
Mississauga, Ontario-based UWA Hardcore Wrestling had a banner year in 2006, capping off the year with a November weekend featuring a number of international stars, including the legendary Ultimo Dragon. In 2007, the company's goal is to raise the bar even further....
Bittersweet Stampede farewell for Neidhart & Wilson
CALGARY -- It can be said that true legitimate emotion is missing these days from pro wrestling. But then there are nights however when that emotion comes to the surface and makes a person remember what it is that captures their imagination about the sport. Such was...
Bloodstock ruled by a woman
TORONTO -- There's a saying that the opera isn't over until the fat lady sings. At Sunday night's Stranglehold Wrestling: Bloodstock, a lady got herself over at the Opera House, not by singing, but rather by swinging light tubes, chairs, and every other weapon she...
Toronto reacts predictably for Trish & Edge
TORONTO -- From an emotional fiance of Trish Stratus (sitting well off camera in the stands) to John Cena's hug of his father after his victory, Unforgiven was proof that family still means a lot in the WWE. Scores of kids and their parents were in attendance Sunday...
ROH NYC show stunningly amazing
NEW YORK, NY -- Over the past few years, Ring of Honor has developed a large cult following among wrestling fans. On Saturday night, I experienced ROH live for the first time at the company's debut in the Manhattan Center in New York. All I can say is: pass the...
Boston crowd basks in SummerSlam
BOSTON -- Let it never be said that the people of Boston don't enjoy a good fight, and they weren't hurting for a reason to start one at last night's Summer Slam pay-per-view. As if last night's Red Sox loss to the Yankees didn't provide enough fodder for argument at...
Combat Zone Wrestling: A Photographer’s Eye
PHILADELPHIA, PA. -- After 15 years of shooting wrestling from ringside, I've seen up close the risk and bumps wrestlers take -- and even felt them first-hand on occasion. With such experiences, it's safe to say I even reached a comfort zone when standing so close to...
CZW has something for everyone
PHILADELPHIA -- Combat Zone Wrestling isn't as well known in Canada as some other promotions, and those who have heard of it are probably only aware of its reputation for death matches and ultra-violence. While the company's "Strictly CZW" event on Saturday night...
TNA show brings back ECW memories
PHILADELPHIA -- Though the New Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia is often referred to as the ECW Arena, on Friday June 9th, the building belonged to TNA Wrestling. The event, titled "Hardcore War", marked TNA Wrestling's first show at the former bingo hall at Swanson and...
Elmo, Power Rangers, Sailor Moon: An animated show
The Toronto Congress Center was invaded on two fronts this past Saturday with an afternoon of unconventional mayhem. The worlds of Japanese anime and professional wrestling collided in what can only be described as a coming together of two unique brands of...
Rougeau shows off latest crop
Jacques Rougeau Jr., the former tag team and intercontinental champion of the old World Wrestling Federation recently had his third of a series of four wrestling cards planned for this year in St Hyacinthe, Quebec with his Lutte Internationalle 2000 federation. This...
Stampede Wrestling – Past, present and future collide
COCHRANE, AB -- In the world of professional wrestling things often don't go as planned. Devon Nicholson, promoting Friday night's Stampede Wrestling card at the Spray Lakes Sawmill Sportsplex in Cochrane had reason to be worried. Rhino had no-showed the event with...
Cage and Cabana victorious at Ring of Honor
Some saw at is as a "Dream Tag Team Match." Others saw it as a battle of the top two Heavyweight champions in professional wrestling. When all was said and done between Bryan Danielson and Christian Cage, fans realized that it was much more than some fantasy melee, it...
Cage victorious in Toronto homecoming
TORONTO - Though NWA Heavyweight Champion Christian Cage is from the Toronto area, it's rare he gets the chance to perform here. This weekend, though, the champ came home, appearing at a Blood, Sweat, and Ears show in Mississauga. BSE has traditionally featured TNA...
Finlay the hero in Smackdown Belfast show
BELFAST - After what was a very entertaining RAW brand show on Tuesday, expectations were high that the WWE's Smackdown crew –- led by arguably much better ring technicians in Rey Mysterio, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, and hometown boy Finlay -– would at least replicate...
Raw stars make last European stop in Belfast
BELFAST - At around 12.30 p.m. on Tuesday, the WWE's Raw superstars landed in Belfast, Northern Ireland for the final date of their Wrestlemania Revenge tour. Six hours later, and one hour before bell-time, SLAM! had the delightful opportunity to chat to the lovely...
Ring of Honor: A Photographer’s Eye
CHICAGO RIDGE, Ill. -- I've shot from ringside hundreds of times, but the sounds I heard from ringside at the Ring of Honor show on WrestleMania weekend were a first for me -- a deep thud as a pair of boots land from the top rope into a chest, the sound of a wrestler...
Mat Matters: Faith restored in wrestling
CHICAGO - Friday was the kind of day that restored my faith in wrestling-that it has a past and it has a future. A little research and a little Ring of Honor did the trick. I'll be honest. Coming to Wrestlemania in Chicago probably seems like a dream to diehard fans...
Reflections on SNME’s return from Cobo
DETROIT -- Just like old times, some may say when talking about the return of WWE's Saturday Night's Main Event. In person, though, this one did not feel the same. The original aired at 11:30 p.m. on Saturday in place of Saturday Night Live, a comedy sketch show on...
TNA’s first-ever house show a rousing success
PLYMOUTH, Mich. - Total Nonstop Action Wrestling took a monumental step last night by putting on their inaugural house show at the Compuware Sports Arena in suburban Detroit. While it wasn't a sellout, the approximately 3,700 in attendance saw history made with the...
CM Punk makes surprise ROH return
LAKE GROVE, NY - Braving a blizzard and hazardous road conditions, the ROH faithful turned out for what was supposed to be a special event at Sports Plus in Lake Grove, NY. Upon arrival, many fans sat on their seats and pondered exactly what ROH could possibly do to...
Turned off by naked women wrestling
TORONTO - Say what you will about Carmen Electra's Naked Women's Wrestling League, but they have absolutely nothing to hide. Unlike some other wrestling companies that merely tease their fans by having their women appear in scanty outfits but never deliver the goods,...
Harry Smith Bret’s mystery man in England
When Bret Hart was announced for a weekend of independent shows in England, he said he wasn't coming alone. For the past few weeks, 1 Pro Wrestling (1PW) out of Doncaster, England had been promoting the "mystery wrestler" that Bret was bringing over to face Jeff...
Milwaukee show pays tribute to The Crusher
MILWAUKEE -- Everyone, whether they're a wrestling fan or not, knows that The Crusher, who passed away in October, was "The Wrestler Who Made Milwaukee Famous." On Friday, wrestlers such as Al Snow, Traci Brooks, Buff Bagwell, and King Kong Bundy were on hand at a...
Rhyno topples Abyss in loud indy show
A week before TNA's Turning Point Pay-Per-View, several of the company's stars appeared at the latest Blood, Sweat, and Ears show in Mississauga held this past Sunday. Though the card would have been a solid indy show without the TNA presence, the big names definitely...
Detroit crowd rides highs and lows of Slammiversary
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - Heading into the start of the King of the Mountain match for the TNA World Title, Samoa Joe had the fans completely on his side, as he donned a Detroit Red Wings jersey and attacked Pittsburgh native Kurt Angle, who wore a Pittsburgh Penguins...
Big crowd takes in NY church show
With a wrestling ring on the altar, WWE stars on the show, and pastors in the front row, Power Wrestling Alliance (PWA) made its Long Island debut on Veterans Day in front of a packed house of over 2,000 fans. Headlined by Shawn Michaels and Kane, fans eagerly flocked...
Storm interrupts November Reign
PHILADELPHIA -- Lance Storm made an extreme impact by running in during the main event match at the Hardcore Homecoming November Reign show in Philadelphia's ECW Arena on Saturday night. Indeed, it was a full Impact Players reunion as Storm, along with Jason and Dawn...
Fight Network starts swinging
TORONTO - Mix boxers, wrestlers and mixed-martial artists with some savvy television minds, a little media, and a whack of VIPs and an after-work party crowd, and it's a combustible atmosphere. But in what other kind of setting would you launch a station called The...
Ultimo Dragon invades NYWC
It is a rare occasion to see Ultimo Dragon wrestle an independent wrestling card as he simply doesn't do them. Aside from one appearance in December 2004, Dragon has been absent from the indy scene. On the October 8th edition of NYWC (New York Wrestling Connection)...
Supergirls strong in B.C. debut
VANCOUVER, BC - After much anticipation, the Supergirls finally had their night to shine. Two nights, actually. The new West Coast promotion held its first shows in Surrey and Vancouver and both nights the shows were well-attended and the action was fast and frantic....
