It was better than I had hoped!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQBGbngtv38

Some of the worst ’selling’ I have ever seen, courtesy of up-and-comer ‘Judo’ Joe Black.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEZgvid1ckk

I found this extended video for the stalled Wrestlicious project, featuring extended promos on the lady wrestlers.  More Draculetta!  Like I said before, this is already my favorite tv show, and it hasn’t even aired!  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_t-tBkXsKQ

As much as I love Draculetta, an honorable mention must go to White Magic too, as those that know me know that I am irresistibly drawn to pretty, young, well built, crazy women.

So what happens when 19-year-old Jonathan Vargas wins $35 million in the Powerball Lottery?  Well, first he evidently hired a talented psychic to peek into my rich fantasy world, and drew inspiration for his vision for 21st century womens pro wrestling, Wrestlicious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffcNrkNehFw

Well, to be more fair, clearly he also drew inspiration from the 1980s syndicated tv show, GLOW, The Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling. This is evident from the set design, the comedy skits, the individual lady wrestler raps, and the campy characterizations.

Word is Vargas is financing this all himself -- a very foolish thing for him to do.  It would probably be better to front some initial cash, create a slick presentation and get some  business loans and line up some investors (particularly a cable tv channel, if he could swing it).

Instead, he appears to be what is commonly called in wrestling circles as a ‘Money Mark.’  That is, a fan with a bankroll who falls prey to some fast-talking wrestlers, and finances a dead-end promotion that lines the wrestler’s pockets and it just goes nowhere.  The fact that he has evidently been talked into an on-screen role is evidence that he may be quite gullible, indeed.

A bad signis that one of his main wrestlers, Lacey Von Erich, has already signed with TNA, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, so she won’t be a regular on Wrestlicious if it ever does see the light on day.

Word is that Wrestlicious has been in development for quite a while, with a few false starts and quite a few delays.  Though they have threatened several release dates, none of them have panned out. I wish them luck -- I’d certainly watch the show.  But in the end, I think nothing will ever wind up on tv, and Vargas will be short $35 million when this is all said and done.

As a final thought, I admit like all the Wrestlicious talent, but I invite readers to take a wild stab at which one of them featured in the musical part of this promotional video is my kinda’ girl!  Besides Leyla Milani, or course (I can’t make it too easy, can I).

Our friends at the North Carolina Education Lottery have created a great new $5 Lottery Card…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OnB_jalI4U

On the November 5, 2009 edition of TNA Impact, TNA owner and bigshot Dixie Carter decided to open the show with a video of a speech she gave in front of much of the TNA roster of wrestlers.  It was a strange presentation, as the clearly nervous Carter basically ordered them all to support her 100% and not dare question her leadership (even though her track record as head of TNA invites questioning).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wn13PwaRQ6s

Well that was weird.  Who wants everybody in TV Land to see your boss threatening to fire you unless you fall in line behind her questionable business moves, like signing TNA into some kind of ‘partnership’ with Hulk Hogan?

So I had some thoughts about this strange segment and emailed them to Bryan Alvarez, host of Wrestling Observer Radio, and he decided to read my email on the air and address my comments.  I’m glad to report that we are overwhelmingly on the same page.  Enjoy this brief segment from his show.

Subject: Dixie Carter to TNA Roster:  Demands 100% Loyalty
Date: November 8, 2009, 3:18 PM PST

Bryan,

Well, at least most of the roster. I didn’t see Nash, Steiner, Sting, Foley, Angle, Tenay or Taz.

Did you guys get a weird vibe from that segment where she demands unwavering and unquestioning loyalty from the TNA wrestlers?

I laughed when she said if you are not prepared to give 100%, then you will be working somewhere else. I had heard that some wrestlers on her roster specifically WANT to leave TNA but can’t get releases from their contracts.

I’m thinking Dixie enjoys being on tv, which isn’t good. I also figure this is laying the groundwork for Dixie to play the heel owner/authority figure to confound Hulk Hogan when he finally shows up on tv more regularly. Unless it was real, in which case it just didn’t belong on tv.

In any event, it made TNA seem small time to me.

Vinnie Vegas
Las Vegas, NV

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxC3oAD1iUg

Captain Lou Albano

RIP 1933-2009

LordsofPain.com just reported that WWE Hall of Famer Captain Lou Albano (Louis Vincent Albano) has passed away. He was 76 years old.

Captain Lou enjoyed a 40+ year career in the pro wrestling business as a wrestler and manager. He was a one-on-a-kind personality and a longtime favorite of wrestling fans.

The “manager of champions” guided 15 different tag teams and 4 singles competitors to championship gold. Fans may remember that his association with Cyndi Lauper helped usher in The Rock & Wrestling Connection, which helped mainstream pro wrestling and helped lead to the first Wrestlemania.

I’d like to extend my deepest sympathy to the family and friends of Captain Lou Albano. He shall be missed.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fk3XfZq0Ok

www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8LE69g9lI0

The August 10, 2009 issue of Dave Metlzer’s The Wrestling Observer reports that none other than Rev Al Sharpton is scheduled to host a future episode of WWE RAW.  That’s crackerjack booking from the House of McMahon for you.

TNA pro wrestler and former Olympian Kurt Angle starts in this upcoming low budget thriller.  File this one in the ‘it’s so bad, it’s good’ category!  Enjoy the trailer for End Game.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwb3i738Zh8

Read the whole story at The Commercial Appeal…

Wrestler Jerry Lawler running for Memphis mayor
By Zack McMillin

The ‘King’ is getting back into the political ring.

Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler of local and national wrestling fame said this morning in a scheduled appearance on WGKS-FM KIX 106 that he is going to run in the City of Memphis’ special mayoral election.

Long the dominant personality in the Memphis wrestling scene, Lawler’s fame has expanded nationally because of his presence on WWE broadcasts. That role also means he spends ample time away from Memphis, something that did not help him when he ran for mayor in 1999 and gained less than 12 percent of the vote.

In interviews this week, Lawler has contended that Memphis politicians have made the city “a laughingstock” outside of town, and stresses his experience as a marketer and businessman as proof that he would bring a valuable skillset.

He also believes his celebrity in this community guarantees a base of voters. Whether he can convince more voters that electing a celebrity wrestler will help solve Memphis’s image problems will be one of his main challenges.

Lawler said he will not actively raise funds for the race, stressed his “common sense” and pointed to his popularity across racial lines.

Who is Paul Christy?

“A Wrestler.  Magician.  Hypnotist.  Alright?”

It’s amazing that this incoherent, rambling interview ever made it on to WWF television, but it did.   Enjoy Mr Christy’s first, and last, WWF interview, on May 21, 1986.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoCqgwQyUfQ

Another one of my all-time favorite pro wrestling gimmicks is Exotic Adrian Street, and his valet, Miss Linda.  The gimmick is bizarre -- Adrian Street played an outwardly effeminate and perfumed character, drawing some inspiration from the legendary Gorgeous George.  This allowed his opponents to taunt him by questioning his masculinity, though it was clear he was paired with his devoted valet, Miss Linda, a female bodybuilder who was bigger than he was.

Once the bell rang, Street’s persona altered.  The prissy wrestler became a frantic, violent, and brutal grappler.  He gave as good as he got, that’s for sure.  A shame the duo never brought their act to New York and the WWF, as they would have been natural opponents for several babyfaces on their mid-80’s roster, especially challenging the babyface duo of Randy Savage and Elizabeth.

Enjoy one of my favorite Adrian Street songs, “A Mighty Big Girl.”

www.youtube.com/watch?v=iW6ZyLR3EXk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAXAsypKWHA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7hKQ8XBYyc

It’s no secret that I am a lifelong fan of pro wrestling, but it’s not common knowledge that my alltime favorite pro wrestling gimmick is the WWF’s version of The Honkytonk Man.

Wrestler Roy Wayne Farris had used the gimmick of the wrestling Elvis impersonator for years with moderate success in territories like Memphis and Calgary, but he hit the big time with his first run in the WWF in the mid 1980s.  He was originally introduced as Hulk Hogan’s pal but the fans were sour on him, prompting a heel turn after losing a fan balloting vote of confidence.

The Honky Tonk Man would go on to score a stunning upset against WWF Intercontinental Champion Ricky Steamboat, winning the coveted title at a WWF television taping in Buffalo, NY.  Under the guidance of his manager, Jimmy Hart, he would soon christen himself “The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time,” and he did his best to live up to that standard by holding the championship for 64 consecutive weeks.

To this day, that accomplishment remains a record Intercontinental championship title run.

It was only natural that the WWF’s second album, Piledriver, would feature a song by the Honky Tonk Man, and it certainly did not disappoint.   He would go on to steal the show at the 1987 Slammy Awards with the live rendition of his theme song.  A true showstopper!  Enjoy!

The Day.com reports…

Rell Names WWE Executive To State School Board

Many of the state’s public school students are familiar with the grapplers of Stamford-based World Wrestling Entertainment.

Now the woman behind the storylines and promotion of stars such as John Cena, Triple H and the Undertaker, will be helping determine the state policies that oversee their education.

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced Saturday that she has appointed Linda McMahon of Greenwich, the WWE’s chief executive officer, to the 11-member Board of Education.

McMahon and her more well-known husband Vince, began the company in 1982 and have since transformed it into an enterprise with annual revenues of almost $500 million.

”Linda clearly understands the skills and education needed to succeed in business and the type of highly educated and skilled workforce that must be available to ensure that success,” Rell said in statement.

Viva Hot Rod!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zW8-zP5WibU

The Iron Sheik defeats Bob Backlund for the WWF World Championship at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, ending Backlund’s nearly six-year run at the top and in many ways, ending an era in the WWF.

The next month, Hulk Hogan would win the WWF Championship and usher in the new era of Rock ‘n Wrestling.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=snM6BC0zykk

George “The Animal” Steele vs. Rick Bolton

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4hkoJXrZmPA

A neat article in The September, 2008 issue of National Geographic.

Visit the site to read the whole story, check out the pictures, and the video!

Bolivia’s Wrestlers
In the wrestling rings of Bolivia, skirts fly as cholitas fight back!
By Alma Guillermoprieto, National Geographic, September 2008

At the largest public gymnasium in El Alto, Bolivia, daylight is fading from the windows, and hundreds of people along the bleachers are growing impatient. They have been sitting for more than two hours now, jeering and whistling and yelling encouragement at the succession of artistas who have faced off in the center of the gym to match wits and perform dazzling feats of strength and skill. But it is growing late, and over the blaring disco music, foot-stomping and impatient whistles can be heard in crescendo: “Bring them on!” The music grows louder, the whistling too; there is a sense that rebellion may be about to erupt, but at last the houselights flash and dim, and the music shifts to the chunka-chunka beat of a modern Bolivian huayno. An announcer emotes into the microphone, the curtains leading to the locker rooms part, and “Amorous Yolanda” and “Evil Claudina,” this evening’s stars, make their longed-for appearance to ecstatic applause.

Like many of the women of Aymara descent in the audience, Yolanda and Claudina are dressed to the nines in the traditional fashion of the Andean highlands: shiny skirts over layers of petticoats, embroidered shawls pinned with filigreed jewelry, bowler hats. Their costumes glisten in the spotlights while they make a regal progress around the bleachers, greeting their public with the genteel smiles of princesses, twirling and waving gracefully until the music stops. That’s the sign for the two women to swing themselves deftly onto the wrestling ring that has been the focus of this afternoon’s activity. Swiftly they remove their hats, unpin their shawls, and … whap, whap, whap! Claudina belts Yolanda one, Yolanda slaps Claudina, Claudina tries to escape, but Yolanda grabs Claudina by her pigtails and spins her around, and WHAM! Claudina whirls through the air, petticoats and braids flying, and lands flat on her back on the mat, gasping like a fish. The audience goes nuts.

Welcome to the delirious world of Bolivian wrestling. In the cold, treeless, comfortless city of El Alto (”high point”), 13,000 feet above sea level, there are one million people, most of whom fled here over the past three decades to escape the countryside’s pervasive misery. The lucky ones find steady jobs down in the capital city of La Paz, which El Alto overlooks. Many sell clothes, onions, pirated DVDs, Barbie dolls, car parts, small desiccated mammals for magic rituals. The poorest alteños employ themselves as beasts of burden. All of them battle hopeless traffic, a constant scarcity of fuel and water, the dull fatigue of numbing labor, the odds that are stacked against them. When they’re done working, they need to play, and when they want to play, one never knows what they will come up with. Lately, they’ve come up with the extraordinary spectacle of the cholitas luchadoras—fighting cholitas—which has given new life to Bolivians’ own version of Mexican lucha libre, a free-form spectacle somewhere between a passion play, a wrestling match, and bedlam.

“Watch out!” the entire audience shrieks. Yolanda has been celebrating her victory, but Claudina, as proof of her evil nature, is about to lunge at her from behind. Yolanda spins too late; Claudina knocks her flat and clambers like a crazy person onto the ropes. “I’m the prettiest!” she yells at the audience. “You’re all ugly! I’m your daddy! I’m the one the gringos have come to see!” Indeed three rows of ringside seats are filled with foreigners, all pop-eyed, but they’re actually irrelevant. It’s their fellow Bolivians the cholitas are performing for.

Claudina, who is officially a ruda, or baddie, has taken a swig of soda pop and is spraying the public with it at the precise moment that Yolanda, a técnica, or goodie, pounces on her and drags her up to the bleachers, sending the spectators there scattering in blissful, screaming alarm. Yolanda wins! No, Claudina wins! No, Yolanda! But wait! The audience screams in warning again because a new menace has silently made his entrance: “Black Abyss”—or maybe it’s “Satanic Death” or the “White Skeleton”; it’s hard to keep track—has leaped into the fray and has Yolanda in a ferocious leg lock. The situation looks hopeless, but no, here comes the “Last Dragon,” out of nowhere, and he’s carrying a chair! And he’s whomping Black Abyss, or maybe the Skeleton, or maybe Yolanda, on the head with it! Even Claudina seems to have lost track of who’s who: She’s taking a flying leap at her own ally, the loathsome “Picudo.” “He is destroyed forever!” the announcer yells frenetically.

Or almost forever: In lucha libre, no defeat is ever final.

“What I want to make absolutely clear,” says Juan Mamani, who fights as a rudo under the lucha name of “El Gitano” and who runs the show, “is that it was me who came up with the idea of the cholitas.” Mamani is a tall, angular man whom it would be kind to call unfriendly. He cuts phone conversations short by hanging up, does not show up for appointments he has been cornered into making, and tries to charge for interviews. His cholitas are terrified of him. “Don’t tell him you called me; don’t tell him you have my phone number!” one of them begged.

I hunted him down near the El Alto gym, and after an unpromising start—he kept trying to duck past me—I said the magic words “Mexico” and “Blue Demon.” The face of Juan Mamani, the ogre, was suddenly wreathed in smiles. “My greatest passion is lucha libre,” he said. “And for us, Mexico is the example. Blue Demon is for me lo mas grandioso”.

Mamani’s wrestlers all hold daytime jobs, and he makes a living from a small electrical-repair shop. But he has invested a good part of his life’s earnings in a huge wrestling ring at home, where his group trains. He pays his wrestlers between $20 and $30 a match and probably doesn’t clear vastly greater amounts himself. “Here in Bolivia it’s impossible to make a living from this great passion of mine,” Mamani said. His dream was to create a Bolivian school of wrestling heroes to equal the feats of the great Mexican lucha legends; their daring leaps and backflips, their unique costumes and regal bearing. Had I seen Blue Demon fight? Really? He shook my hand as I left.

About seven years ago, when he was fretting about the diminishing audience for the weekly lucha libre spectacle at the El Alto gym, Mamani had the inspired idea to teach women to wrestle and put them in the ring in cholita clothes. “Martha la Alteña,” an outgoing luchadora, not remarkably muscular but very strong, was among the 60 or so young women who answered Mamani’s open audition call. Like several of the eight or so who ended up staying, she comes from a wrestling background. “My father was one of the original Mummies,” she said proudly, referring to one of the best loved, or most dreaded, of Bolivian lucha’s creatures.

Amorous Yolanda was also inspired by her luchador father, and even though her parents separated on unfriendly terms when she was an infant, she used to sneak into El Coliseo in downtown La Paz—long since gone—to watch him perform. “But a lot of times men don’t believe in women,” she told me. “Once I heard my father say that he wished he’d had a son instead of me, so he could follow in his footsteps as a luchador.” When she heard about Mamani’s casting call, Yolanda, then still called Veraluz Cortés, raced to audition, leading to a temporary rift with her father. Whether her lucha stardom also contributed to the breakup of her marriage is not clear.

Outside the ring, Martha la Alteña generally wears what is called the senorita style of dress—blue jeans and sweaters—and part of the glamour of her cholita costume is provided by turquoise-blue contact lenses. Yolanda, on the other hand, who is thin and very intense, wears a bowler hat and petticoats and skirts, even when she is knitting sweaters at her day job, and considers herself an authentic cholita.

“Sometimes my daughters ask why I insist on doing this,” she said. “It’s dangerous; we have many injuries, and my daughters complain that wrestling does not bring any money into the household. But I need to improve every day. Not for myself, for Veraluz, but for the triumph of Yolanda, an artist who owes herself to her public.”

Esperanza Cancina, 48, who sells used clothing for a living, has installed her large family and her ample self, in all her petticoats and skirts, in the choice ringside spot behind the announcer’s chair, at a safe angle from the popcorn and chicken bones and empty plastic bottles the audience likes to pelt the fs with. Ringside seats cost about $1.50 each, which is hardly cheap, but Señora Cancina comes faithfully to the show every other Sunday. “It’s a distraction,” she explains. “The cholitas fight here, and we laugh and forget our troubles for three or four hours. At home, we’re sad.”

Around us, the youngest members of the audience, including her fchildren, are skittering around the edges of the ring in an adrenaline frenzy, trying out lucha leaps and swarming after a wrestler who has just been defeated, trying to hug him, touch his costume. The music is booming, and it’s hard to conduct a conversation, but Señora Cancina is amiable and cooperative. She had 12 children, she says, but after a pause adds that six died. How? Her face takes on a distressing blankness. “Scarlet fever, diarrhea, those things … ” she murmurs, and has to repeat the answer over the noise. Would she have wanted to be a luchadora too? Definitely, she says. “Our husbands make fools of us, but if we were wrestlers we could express our fury.”

Over on the long side of the bleachers, in the prime chicken-bone-throwing area, Rubén Copa, a shoemaker from La Paz with an easy, friendly smile, is waiting impatiently for the afternoon’s final match—one in which the “Mummy Ramses II” will take on cholitas yet to be announced. “Bolivian wrestlers aren’t half bad, you know,” he says with a touch of pride. Not even the women? He huffs and waves his hands in protest. “There’s none of that anymore! Every kind of work is for everyone now.” I want to know if it’s true that men come to the lucha libre just to see the cholitas’ (very modest) underpants. For a moment he looks offended, but then he smiles again. “Not at all!” he says. “I come to see them wrestle! You’ll see for yourself how good they are.”

And indeed a few minutes later the Mummy Ramses II is staggering around invincibly in a red-stained jumpsuit and a fright wig, dragging one cholita behind him while another one looks for something to set him on fire with, and the kids are screaming in delicious terror, and Señora Cancina is yelling things at the Mummy that cannot be printed in this magazine, grinning broadly as she does so. The Mummy is slamming his victim against the wall, and it looks tough for the cholitas, as the announcer warns us, in this definitivo y final combate—it looks very, very tough. But something tells me that you can’t keep a cholita down.

Here comes Martha, flying through the air!

Well a short while back I posted the music video to the American Wrestling Association’s WrestleRock Rumble.  To be sure, that song is an acquired taste!  But The WWF’s entry into the world of music was much better -- much better than most of the ‘music’ selling CDs and winning awards today in 2008!

Here’s the lead track from The Wrestling Album, Land of 1,000 Dances!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtCtZ5x9EJI

Would you believe I can name every wrestler in the video?

Would you believe I can name some of the non-wrestlers, like Vince McMahon’s longtime secretary and former Playboy model, Emily Feinberg?

I have sure invested many 1,000s of hours in pro wrestling, huh?

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdnB7OLHNwM

AWA WrestleRock ‘86
The Metrodome, Minneapolis, MN
ATT: 23,000

It doesn’t get much better than this, folks.

A tribute to one of the greatest pro wrestling minds of all time, Captain Lou Albano!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJNrsNe54AE

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfd8jgQbf1Y

NATIONAL WRESTLING ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES RULES GOVERNING WRESTLING

PURPOSE
These rules have not been drafted to interfere in any way with the various state wrestling laws but rather to clarify the situation and give the various Commissions a clear, concise and workable set of rules, emphasizing honest wrestling, sportsmanship and ability.

However, these rules as officially adopted by the National Wrestling Association are to be adhered to in their entirety when not in conflict with state law. When conflict does exist, these rules shall be construed to be applicable to all wrestling except the specific provisions contravened by the state regulations in question.

WEIGHTS AND CLASSES
Flyweight                112 lbs.
Bantamweight        118 lbs.
Featherweight        126 lbs.
Lightweight        135 lbs.
Welterweight        147 lbs.
Middleweight        160 lbs.
Light heavyweight        175 lbs.
Heavyweight        All Over.

The following limitations of weights are put on all wrestling bouts:

Between Flyweights        (112 lbs.) 6 lbs.
Between Bantamweights        (118 lbs.) 8 lbs.
Between Featherweights        (126 lbs.) 9 lbs.
Between Lightweights        (135 lbs.)        12 lbs.
Between Welterweights        (147 lbs.)        13 lbs.
Between Middleweights        (160 lbs.)        15 lbs.
Heavyweights -- All over 175 lbs. -- No limitation.

For example, a flyweight weighing 110 lbs. could not wrestle an opponent weighing over 116 lbs. If he weighs 112 lbs. his opponent could not exceed 118 lbs., etc.

WEIGHING TIME
The contestants in all contests and exhibitions shall weigh-in stripped no later than 2 o’clock of the day of the match in the presence of a representative of the Commission, club representative and the Commission physician, who will make physical examination of the contestants at that tine. In case the contest is held in the afternoon, the contestants shall weigh-in no later than 9 A.M. and the weights shall be announced from the ringside. This rule must be observed regardless of private agreement concerning the match.

MATS AND ROPES
The ring must be not less then 16 by 16 and not more than 20 by 20 feet square; to be built on a smooth platform.

The mats shall be not less than 1″ thick end must he stuffed with hair, felt or cotton and shall extend beyond the ropes not less than 1″.

The ropes shall be three in number and not less than 1″ in diameter, tightly stretched and not more than 2′, 3′ and 4′ above mat. The ropes shall be extended out from the supporting posts not less than 1′ and shall be wrapped in soft material.

It shall also be permissible to use 2 vertical ropes on each side of the ring, said ropes to be spliced to the horizontal ropes equal distances apart for the purpose of preventing the contestants from going through the ropes during the contest.

Over the mat proper, a cover of double faced canvas or flannel, soft side up, well tacked or laced with the rope to the edge of the ring floor. Such covers must be laundered after each using and must be free and clean of any sort of grit, dirt or resin.

CONTRACTS AND FOFEITURES
In order to prevent delays and annoyance to spectators resulting from disputes arising between contestants and between contestants and clubs after bouts have begun, it is required that all contracts between an organization and persons agreeing to be contestants shall be in writing and signed by the parties thereto or their authorized agents, and filed with the Commission at least five days before the bout, before any sanction for such a bout will be issued by the Commission. In case any such contract shall provide for the payment by the organization to any contestant of any stipulated sum or guaranteed amount, a certified check, or deposit, or draft of said amount payable to bearer, shall be deposited with the Commission at the time of signing contract.

In case any such contract shall provide for any such guarantee by any contestant, or some person authorized on his behalf, shall deposit with the Commission at the time of making the contract, a certified check, certificate of deposit or accepted draft, payable to bearer, for the amount of any forfeit agreed in said contract to be posted by such contestant to secure his appearance, his making the agreed weight, if any, and the good faith performances by him of said contract on his part, the amount of said forfeit to be in no case less than twenty-five percent of the amount of the guarantee. In case any contract shall provide for compensation to the contestant on a percentage basis of the receipts only, such forfeit shall nevertheless be so deposited by the contestant in each instance, and the amount thereof shall be fixed by the Commission and named in the sanction issued by the Commission for such bout. If the contestant, by or on whose behalf such check, certificate of deposit or draft will be deposited with the Commission, shall duly appear and in good faith perform all the terms and conditions of said contract, except as he may be prevented from doing by default of the organization or of his agreed opponent, then said cluck, certificate of deposit or draft will be delivered by the Commission personally, or by registered mail, to the person by whom the same was deposited with the Commission promptly after the close of the bout. If the organization, by written notice first serviced on the Commission, shall claim said deposit as forfeited by such contestant, such deposit will be held by the Commission until the parties can be heard and their rights in the matter be determined by the Commission, unless the parties, or either of them, shall appeal to a court of law, in which case the Commission will deliver such check, certificate of deposit, or draft in court, or such action to be awarded by the court to party entitled thereto.

Every such check, certificate of deposit, or draft, so deposited with the Commission by any organization as a guarantee, or by or on the behalf of any contestant us a forfeit, the delivery of which shall be contested before the Commission, will, be held by the Commission a reasonable time, not less than ten days after service, on the parties interest, of notice of the Commission’s ruling or order for delivery of such deposit to enable any party dissatisfied with such ruling or order to institute such legal proceedings us he or it may be advised for the possession of such deposit. Unless notice of such legal proceedings is served on the Commission within the time named in the order, such deposit will be delivered by the Commission as provided in its said ruling or order.

The promoter shall cause to be filed with the Commission an affidavit of agreement properly sworn to and signed by the managers and contestants, together with the promoter, club or association, releasing the Commission from all liability for payment of any such contest where the payment of the contestants shall he on a percentage basis. This requirement shall apply only to cases where in the total guarantee posted with the Commission shall not be sufficient to cover the payment of the purses and ring expense to all contestants and officials.

Any contestant making a contract with an organization and failing to deposit his forfeit money at the time of making contract will, be liable to suspension for such time as the Commission may determine.

If for any reason a bout is stopped or declared no contest for an infraction of the rules of the Commission, or for violation of the provisions, the Commission shall hold all forfeit money and purses of such bout, pending a hearing of the facts, and a decision of the Commission thereon.

All organizations and contestants must enter into written contracts, which contracts shall be executed in triplicate, one of which shall be filed with the Commission. Contract blanks, which must be used for all bouts, will be furnished by the Commission.

Any organization which shall, without sufficient reason, violate or break any contract entered into with the contestant, or contestants, may have its license cancelled or suspended.

Contestants must not willingly violate or break contracts properly consummated between the contestants and organization, and by so doing are liable to temporary or permanent suspension.

Any contestant, or manager for contestant, who has entered into a contract with any organization to participate in a bout, who shall find that for any reason or cause he will not be able to fully carry out his contract, and does not notify the organization and Commission of his incapability to do so, and the reason or cause therefor, may be penalized by the Commission by suspension for a period of not less than sixty days nor more than six months.

“NO SMOKING” SIGNS
There shall be prominently displayed in at least four places in every hail or auditorium of any person, club, corporation or association acting under these rules, the following notice: “NO BETTING ALLOWED” All those holding licenses and permits issued by the Commission will strictly enforce compliance with such notice.

“NO SMOKING ALLOWED” Failure to enforce this regulation will result in the revocation of the license and permit.

Minors under eighteen years of age will not be admitted to any bout or exhibition unless accompanied by parents and guardians.

All individuals, clubs or organizations promoting exhibitions shall furnish a reasonable number of fireman for the enforcement of the “No Smoking” sign, together with adequate policy for protection of the public and shall be responsible therefor.

ELIGIBILITY
Every applicant for permission to wrestle must furnish positive proof that he is the person represented and give a true record of all matches engaged in by him, including wins, draws and losses, for at least two years past in which he participates actively in the sport.

If for any reason the Commission be in doubt as to the contestant’s physical condition and fitness to cope with a proposed opponent, said Commission may at its option order a private try-out with a proposed opponent such as it may appoint for the task, and also to determine the length of the try-out.

Contestants in all matches must be properly trained and in fit physical condition to wrestle at their best. The Commission and attending physician are to be the sole judges of such condition. If not physically fit and not trained properly the Commission shall refuse to sanction such a bout as he proposes to participate in.

Every wrestler holding a championship will be required to defend his title at least once every twelve months in the heavyweight division and once every eight months in all other divisions, providing a suitable purse can be found and a logical contender for the title appears. Failure to comply with this rule will result in immediate suspension of the offender unless for some valid reason satisfactory to the Commission a championship match cannot be consummated. If under these conditions the Commission deems it advisable an extension of time may be granted.

No license will be granted to any wrestler who is over forty-five years of age.

Should a contestant during the course of a match, quit or intimate his desire to concede defeat, or his authorized second throw the sponge or towel into the ring as a signal to the referee denoting the fact that his charge is unable to continue and is willing to concede the match to his opponent, it then shall be solely in the judgement of the said referee whether or not the act is justified or authorized, and it may be at his option whether or not to order the contest continued.

The referee has the right to stop a bout at any time because of injury or the weak physical condition of one of the contestants.

If for any reason whatsoever it becomes necessary to temporarily stop a contest during the course of its progress, such time as may be consumed during the delay shall be added to the wrestling period and thereby complete the full time allowed for the contest.

All contestants skin must be clean and free of grease or any other sort of lotion or foreign substance. The fingernails must be trimmed well below the tips.

COSTUMES
Wrestlers appearing in matches must be properly clothed in neat and clean athletic apparel. Trunks and tights must be well fitting and whole, with a high waist band. If short trunks only are used and limbs bare, the length of the leg of the trunk shall not be less than 3 inches below the crotch and 2 pair, one over the other must he worn. Shoes must be of soft top with soft soles and laced with eyelets only. Contestants must wear shoes in all matches.

HOLDS
Any hold, grip, or trip, is allowed, except as herein described:

Strangle hold, scratching, gouging, hitting, striking, pulling hair, using knuckles, kicking, butting, shutting off air by covering nose and mouth at the same time, and use of profanity shall be declared foul methods and if indulged in, after a warning from the referee, the offender shall he at once disqualified, and the match given to his opponent. The offender shall further be punished by a suspension for not less than three months and not mare than one year. The National. Wrestling Association discourages all intentional and unnecessary roughness and the referee is empowered to disqualify any wrestler for using unnecessarily rough tactics.

When wrestlers are off the mat and under, through, or over the ropes they shall be ordered to the middle of the mat end the wrestler having any obvious advantage at the time of going off the mat, or under, through or over the ropes shall be given the top position with his opponents hands and knees resting on the mat.

If no advantage exists at the time of going off the mat and under, through, or over the ropes, the wrestlers shall be brought back to the center of the mat in an erect position. At no time when parted by the referee or given an order by the referee shall wrestlers resume wrestling until so commanded by the referee, and when advantage or a fall is obtained by disobedience of this rule, such advantage or the fall shall be forfeited by the referee and the wrestlers ordered to resume wrestling in the center of the mat standing up.

FALLS AND DECISIONS
Both shoulder blades momentarily pinned to the mat shall constitute a fall; flying and rolling falls shall not count. By momentarily is meant pinned to the mat for the referee’s silent count of three seconds. Conceding a fall or quitting because of receiving punishment by means of legitimate holds constitutes a fall.

The referee shall slap on the back, or the shoulders, a wrestler securing a fall so that the under man will not be strained by being held too long in a possibly painful position.

Should a wrestler claim injury and refuse to continue a contest at a referee’s command and if, after a physical examination, be is found to be physically unable to continue the bout, then the referee must decide in favor of his opponent. The purse of the loser will be turned over to the Commission until such time as the Commission has secured another physical examination by its medical examiner. Such report will be the basis upon which the Commission will render its decision.

A fall with any part of the body off the mat shall be left to the discretion of the referee. The contestants or their managers mist have an understanding with the official prior to the match as to what is to be considered off the mat.

The officials are instructed not to put their hands under the shoulders of a contestant unless it is absolutely necessary in order to determine a fall.

No contestant shall be permitted to grasp or hang on to clothing, mats or ropes for support. If after being warned by the referee, the contestant repeats this practice, the contestants shall be brought to the center of the mat, the offending contestant shall then be placed underneath on the defensive.

STALLING
If a wrestler persists in stalling while on his feet, after being warned by the referee, the referee is empowered to prevent the continuance of such tactics by placing the offender on his hands and knees in the center of the mat beneath his opponent.

ACCIDENTAL INJURY
If a wrestler is accidentally injured so that he cannot continue, he shall lose the fall and match. In the event of accidental injury the Commission shall grant a reasonable time for the injured wrestler to return to the mat and this power may be delegated to the referee. Under such circumstances the Commission may punish the loser by fine or suspension, but shall not forfeit the purse of the loser if a physical examination reveals inability of the injured wrestler to continue with the match.

No wrestler having trachoma (eye disease) shall be permitted, under any circumstances, to engage in any wrestling contest. The National Wrestling Association recommends that all wrestlers be given a rigid examination for evidence of trachoma before being allowed to enter the ring, and particular attention shall be given to the provisions of this rule.

TIME KEEPER AND REFEREE
The timekeeper shall call out the time at the end of each five minutes period. The referee shall be approved by the Commission and shall submit his qualifications to the Commission in charge. He shall be attired in a neat and clean uniform.

CONTESTANTS, MANAGERS, PROMOTERS
All contestants must be ready to enter the ring immediately upon the finish of the preceding bout. The referee may disqualify a wrestler breaking this rule. All contestants must be in the building or arena where contest takes place at least one hour previous to their bouts.

No contestant in any bout shall be paid for services until the same are rendered, and should it he determined by the referee of the Commission and the Commission that a contestant did not give an honest exhibition of his skill, his services shall not be remunerated except as decided by the Commission after a hearing has been given the offender. Any contestant who shall participate in any sham or fake wrestling bout shall be disqualified and shall be punished or penalized by the Commission as they may, after due consideration of the case, deem just; and any contestant who shall participate in any sham or fake wrestling bout shall be guilty of a violation of these rules.

It shall be within the province of the Commission to suspend, impose a fine, or both, on any contestant, his manager, or seconds, contesting or acting in any capacity in connection with any bout, who is guilty of unfair dealings, ungentlemanly conduct or of violating any of these rules and regulations. Such suspension or fine to be for a period or of any amount within the discretion of the Commission as justified by the facts and evidence of the case.

In case of a substitution, the substitute shall be subject to the same rules for examination by physician as the original contestant. Any contestant who participates in any unlicensed or unsanctioned bout will be barred for a period to be determined by the Commission.

Whenever a licensed wrestler, because of injury or illness, is unable to take part in a contest for which he is under contract, he or his manager must immediately report the fact to the Commission, and submit to an examination by a physician designated by the Athletic Commission to be made prior to the day set for the contest.

No wrestler shall be permitted to use as an assumed name the name of any former wrestler or a name which transpires to be given name of any boxer or wrestler who might subsequently desire to obtain a license in his given name.

At the official weighing-in of all contestants, duly accredited newspaper representatives must upon request be admitted.

No manager will be allowed to have more than two wrestlers engaged on a card of any wrestling show, unless by special permission of the Commission.

Managers of wrestlers or anyone having a financial interest in any matches to be decided by the best two out of three falls to win except as hereinafter provided. Contests and matches under the Graeco-Roman or other rules may be made subject to the approval of the Commission.

All matches shall be limited to two hours of continuous wrestling, except in cases as herein provided. Should neither contestant have a marked advantage after two hours of continuous wrestling, the referee in his discretion, following a five minute rest period, may order the contest continued for an extra thirty minutes. If at the end of the extra thirty minutes the referee is unable to decide a winner, the contest shall be declared a draw.

However, if one of the contestants wins a fall during the extra thirty minutes, that shall be the deciding fall and he shall be declared the winner.

Should there only be one fall in the two hours, the winner of that fall will be declared the winner of the contest. If each one of the contestants has gained a fall in the two hours of wrestling, then the referee may allow the match to continue, after a five minute rest period, for an added thirty minutes and if at the expiration of the thirty minutes neither of the contestants shall have gained another fall and the referee is unable to declare a winner, he shall then declare the contest a draw.

If the contest is declared a draw, these contestants shall not be permitted to wrestle each other anywhere within a period of three months. This applies to matches wherein tie contestants wrestle for a period of two hours and thirty minutes without a winner. Should a contest last less than two hours time and neither of the contestants gain a fall, or should a contest last less than two hours time and each one of the contestants gain a fall, then in such event the referee must award a decision. Strict adherence to this rule must be observed.

Any state may reserve the right to appoint and use at least two judges in any wrestling contest under its jurisdiction. The National Wrestling Association recommends and encourages the use of judges.

The Athletic Commissions shall approve appointment of all officials.

In the short contests of thirty minutes duration or more, where the referee is unable to give a decision in a close match, he shall have the power to declare the contest a draw, if in his opinion this would be a just decision, but where judges are used the majority opinion shall govern.

The referee is given power to conduct the contest end carry out the rules and regulations of the Commission. His verdict shall be final. However, if some circumstances arise not covered by the rules, final decision shall be made by the referee, judges and Commission.

DEFENSE OF TITLES
Each wrestler holding a title recognized by the National Wrestling Association shall defend the same against a logical contender in the list named by the National Wrestling Association at least once every twelve months in the heavyweight division and once every eight months in all other divisions. The right is reserved to prohibit continued meets with the same logical contender and to name the opponent for any champion when deemed necessary or advisable by the National Wrestling Association. or by any Commission, subject to the approval of the National Wrestling Association. Failure of any champion to defend the title possessed by him under the terms hereof shall automatically cause his deposit of money to insure title defense to be forfeited, the title vacated and the individual offending shall be suspended for any period deemed necessary by any Commission of the National Wrestling Association. However, any champion falling to defend his title as provided hereby may present his case to any Commission or the National Wrestling Association and, if the circumstances warrant, the punishment provided hereby may be altered to suit the situation if extenuating circumstances exist.

S.D Jones
RIP 1945-2008

SLAM Wrestling reports…

S.D. Jones dies in Antigua
By GREG OLIVER

Special Delivery Jones, one of the regular faces in the World Wrestling Federation heyday of the 1980s, died Sunday in Antigua, following a stroke two days ago. He was 63.

Remembered fondly by fans as a solid competitor who could believably get in the ring with the superstar giants, even if he didn’t win very often, Jones was last seen on a national broadcast at the WrestleMania 22 WWE Hall of Fame ceremony in Chicago, where he inducted “Mr. U.S.A.” Tony Atlas.

Born Conrad Efraim on March 30, 1945, in Antigua, in the West Indies, he befriended Johnny Rodz in New York City while he was still working for the phone company. His wrestling career began in the mid-’70s, working for the WWWF, and heading on the road to the Mid-Atlantic territory, and Los Angeles, where he would win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship with Porkchop Cash; Jones would later team with Tom Jones (no relation) to win the titles again. For some of the time, he was known as Roosevelt Jones, before the more familiar S.D., or Special Delivery, Jones came into prominence.

Irregardless of his success elsewhere, the 6-foot-1, 260-pound Jones will always be remembered as a quality carpenter for the WWWF and WWF, capable of winning matches or losing believably. Often, Jones would team with bigger name stars, like Andre the Giant or Rocky Johnson to battle some despicable tag teams.

At the first WrestleMania, in 1985 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Jones lost to King Kong Bundy is nine seconds. In March 2004, Jones told SLAM! Wrestling’s Steven Johnson that he was concerned that such a beating in front of a national audience would damage his career.

“I didn’t want to do it,” Jones said. But McMahon persuaded him that a humiliating loss to Bundy would achieve the company’s goal of developing a monstrous rival to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. After some contemplation, Jones took his medicine. “Bundy was the man then,” he said. On the plus side, Jones was not in the ring long enough to risk injury and, for good measure, “made a big, big, big, big payday.”

In a 2005 interview with SLAM! Wrestling’s Dave Hillhouse, Jones matter-of-factly addressed his career, and his role as enhancement talent. “Everybody knows it’s a show — promoters call the shots. Everybody knows that. Sometimes you don’t care, sometimes you care. Honestly, I knew there was no way I was going to get to that main championship, that’s for sure. I never even thought about it. A lot of us guys, we knew there was no way we were going to get up there,” he explained. “I was comfortable because I knew what they wanted. They want you to be there for Hulk Hogan and Pedro Morales; they want you to be an S.D. Jones, to be a Johnny Rodz. After a while you just get comfortable where you are, and that’s it. You’re doing a job, you’re making a living, and you just keep on going.”

At the WWE Hall of Fame ceremony for Atlas, Jones told stories about being on the road with his “best friend,” including impromptu weightlifting challenges in Egypt, Norway and Spain. No shrinking violet himself, Jones talked about lifting over 500 pounds himself; of course, Atlas could lift over 600 pounds.

Jones and Atlas met in 1980 in Allentown, Penn., and soon were a tag team, aiming for the WWWF tag titles. “We tried and we tried and we tried. I could not do it. I was the one that killed the tag, so I had to step aside,” Jones told the WWE Hall of Fame audience. Rocky Johnson replaced him in the tag and he and Atlas were soon champs — but they couldn’t get along, losing after three weeks.

After 22 years in the ring, Jones called it quits, lost a significant amount of weight, and began working for the New York Daily News, driving newspapers.

About eight months ago, he retired and moved back to his native Antigua. His remains are at Straffie’s Funeral Home in St John’s, Antigua.

The place, The Philadelphia Spectrum. The day, June 4, 1983.

Big John Studd was facing his arch enemy, the legendary Andre the Giant. After some preliminaries, the action took to the mat for a mind boggling 8 minute, 35 second front facelock.

For years, I was convinced that the notoriously alcoholic Andre had just passed out in the ring and Studd was just stalling, hoping Andre would come to his senses long enough to do an actual finish in the match.  Truth is, we may never know the ’story behind the story’ in this case.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB4QOH5vsR4

Great to see an elected official honor one of the all time greatest pro wrestlers, Nature Boy Ric Flair!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrAe21fi_4c

Thank you Mr. Speaker

I would like to honor the career of a man whom I am proud to call both a constituent and a friend.

Ric Flair’s professional wrestling career of 36 years, in which he entertained millions of people around the world, recently came to a close.

He will forever be known as an innovator, a pioneer, and perhaps the greatest that his industry has ever seen. By any standard, Ric Flair is a living legend.

His name is recognized all over the world, but he calls Charlotte, NC home.

On his way to being named a record 16-time world champion, Flair became famous for his bleached blond hair, designer suits, and charismatic on-stage persona, while dishing out his trademark chops-and of course, the dreaded Figure Four Leglock.

On March 29, 2008, Ric Flair became the first active wrestler to ever be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

Often imitated, but never duplicated, Ric Flair’s legacy will forever be synonymous with the world of professional wrestling.

A fixture at Carolina Hurricanes and Panthers games in my home state, the joy and emotion Ric Flair’s very presence evokes will certainly continue on for a very, very long time.

Today I honor the outstanding career of the “Nature Boy”-and congratulate Charlotte’s favorite son-Ric Flair.

WHOOOO!

Way back in the mid-1980s, Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation was making its big national expansion, riding high on the popularity of Hulk Hogan and to a lesser extent, ‘Rowdy’ Roddy Piper. But the WWF universe was filled with many stars: Greg Valentine, The British Bulldogs, The Wild Samoans, and especially Don Muraco and his manager, Mr. Fuji.

At one point, the Muraco & Fuji duo took off for Hollywood, to take over the film & television industries. They prepared three pilots, offered here in their entirety!

Fuji General – A soap opera featuring the passions at a major metropolitan hospital.

Fuji Bandito – A wild western with action and mayhem!

Fuji Vice – When murder and drugs are involved, leave it to these stylish vice cops!