The Raw Deal Podcast: Snuka’s legal problems, TNA’s TV situation, Night of Champions predictions, and more.

On the latest edition of the Raw Deal podcast, Frank Dee and Atlee Greene give their take on the legal problems for “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka and what they think of the Hall of Famer.

They also discuss the TNA/Destination America television situation, what the future holds for the company, and what role does Jeff Jarrett’s Global Force Wrestling play into it.

Hulk Hogan’s apology is discussed and the guys give their thoughts and predictions for Sunday’s WWE Night Of Champions.

If you would like to help support Gerweck.net, check out Prowrestlingtees.com and the official Gerweck.net store.

Click here to check out the show

“Superfly” Jimmy Snuka Charged With Girlfriend’s Death, 32 Years Later

It seems that the sins of the past may have caught up James Wiley Smith, otherwise known as “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka. The 72-year-old legend was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer and now he has a prison sentence hanging over his head. On Tuesday, Snuka was charged with third-degree with murder and involuntary manslaughter for the 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. Continue reading ““Superfly” Jimmy Snuka Charged With Girlfriend’s Death, 32 Years Later” →

10 Greatest Intercontinental Title Matches Held at Summer Slam

Another SummerSlam is in the books, and overall, it was a good show. One of the matches featured Ryback defeating The Miz and Big Show to retain the Intercontinental title. However, it was a far cry from the classics of yesteryear.

Just like WrestleMania is known for its world title matches, a hallmark of SummerSlam was the stellar Intercontinental Title bouts. They weren’t just great in-ring spectacles, but they often served as a defining moment for a wrestler’s career.

Bret Hart’s impressive back-to-back performances for the coveted title played a prominent role in ascension to the main event scene.

Many long for the days when “the biggest party of the summer” produced unforgettable IC Title matches.

Let’s look at Ten Best Intercontinental Title Matches held at SummerSlam. Continue reading “10 Greatest Intercontinental Title Matches Held at Summer Slam” →

RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper 1954 – 2015

The world of professional wrestling received sad news this past Friday as Rowdy Roddy Piper passed away in his home at age 61. I didn’t get into wrestling until 1988, during Piper’s hiatus from the WWF and after his big feuds with Hulk Hogan, Mr. T, and Adrian Adonis. However, my friends always talked about Piper and would fill me in on all of his past shenanigans.

Piper returned to the WWF at WrestleMania 5 in a special edition of Piper’s Pit. His guests were Brother Love and controversial talk show host Morton Downey Jr.

It was my first time seeing this wrestler that had been built up by my friends to legendary proportions. Continue reading “RIP Rowdy Roddy Piper 1954 – 2015” →

Gerweck Report Podcast: nWo Back in Black Series – 1996

The nWo made wrestling cool in the mid to late 90’s. Their gang like mentality and infamous black and white colors resonated with fans all over the world. Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan were the founding members of this revolutionary faction, and other members followed.

On this special edition of the Gerweck Report Podcast, Frank Dee and Atlee Greene take an informative look at 1996 with introduction of the nWo storyline and its influence on the wrestling world. We give a very honest blow by blow take on the New World Order and how it all came to fruition.

Topics include the:

Hulkamania getting booed in WCW

Razor Ramon and Diesel in the WWF

The Outsiders’ debut in WCW

Who the third man originally was supposed to be

The rumored 4th man of the nWo who was in WWF at the time

and so much more in this 2 hour podcast so sit back relax and listen as we take a ride into simpler times with the nWo. Click here to listen and be nWo 4-Life.

Cesaro is Mid-Card 4-Life

I’m back after taking a long and overdue vacation where my wife and I put our phones on airplane mode and were unplugged from the real world. Now that I’ve caught up on all of the wrestling news, it seems that Cesaro is getting a lot of praise for his stellar matches with John Cena on Monday Night Raw.

Cesaro is truly one of the most talented wrestlers on the planet today.

He can have a good match with anyone and often has a great match with most. Due to Cesaro’s performance over the last three weeks, die-hard fans are waiting with bated breath and both fingers crossed, hoping this will be the time that WWE finally pushes the ‘Swiss Superman’ as the main event player he deserves to be.

Unfortunately, this shall not come to pass.

Continue reading “Cesaro is Mid-Card 4-Life” →

Shamrock vs. Kimbo: A Work of Fiction

shamrockKimbo — Photo Credit: Sherdog.com

Last Friday, in the main event of Bellator 138, Kimbo Slice knocked out Ken Shamrock. The former bare-knuckle brawler seemingly came back from the jaws of defeat as he escaped from a rear-naked choke and landed a right hand that sent Shamrock crumbling to the canvas.

The thing is, there are a lot of people who are questioning the integrity of the bout. Some scoff at the very idea that there was anything fishy with the bout, while others believe without question that the fix was in.

When examining these matters, the two big questions you have to ask yourself are why the event would unfold this way and what Bellator has to gain from Kimbo getting a big win on national television? Continue reading “Shamrock vs. Kimbo: A Work of Fiction” →

Randy Savage vs. Jushin Liger: I Never Knew This Happened!

One of the fun things that comes with being a fan of any genre are the undiscovered gems you stumble upon. That wow factor kicks into overdrive because it sounds too good to be true when you find something that you never knew existed.

‘Macho Man’ Randy Savage and Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger are two of my favorite professional wrestlers. Up until this past weekend, I would’ve called you a liar if you said they actually wrestled each other. Well, they did in fact tango in the squared circle.

Their one and only encounter took place on July 17, 1996, in Sapporo, Japan, during a New Japan Pro Wrestling tour. Savage was one of four wrestlers representing WCW and hurt his leg on a dive the night before in a losing effort to Ric Flair.

According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, a sellout crowd 6,400 fans filled the Makomanai Ice Arena as Savage hobbled to the ring for his showdown with the esteemed junior heavyweight. Liger entered next with his usual flash and energy as an admirer handed him a bouquet.

While the match was only eight minutes and really nothing special, it was a nice novelty to see two of the all-time greats dance one time. It was odd seeing Savage being the bigger of the two wrestlers since he was often the smallest guy in the ring.

Despite winning the match with his patented flying elbow drop, Savage really worked to put Liger over as a serious threat. He played defense most of the time due to his leg injury, sold like a champ for the palm strike, and took a Liger Bomb.

Wrestlers have always been expected to wear their working shoes when traveling to Japan. However, looking at the landscape of superstar American heavyweights at the time, I don’t think that many of them would have gone out of their way to make a wrestler in a weight class below look like credible.

It was fun to see Savage out of his element and with Liger. Again, the match is nothing to write home about, but this one time encounter is worth a gander if you a fan of these colorful titans of the mat. The Madness versus The Thunder, Ooh Yeah!

Tag Team Wrestling in ECW

The design of Tag Team wrestling is to increase the amount of action and drama in a particular match. Four wrestlers can pull off certain moves and tell certain stories that two wrestlers alone could never do, such as blind tags and double team maneuvers.

ECW revolutionized the wrestling business in the 90’s with hardcore action, mature storylines, and highly technical and competitive matches showcasing different styles. Their tag team division was not only a pivotal part of the show, but they exuded the essence of the art by increasing the excitement in a promotion that was already extreme.

My latest column at What Culture.com reviews the best tag teams that ever graced the land of extreme. What qualifies someone as being the best? Championships do. Click here to check out 10 Best ECW Tag Team Champions Ever

The Undertaker is One of My All-Time Favorites

The Undertaker is tied with Bret Hart as my all-time favorite wrestler. While his dark side persona has gained him fame the world over, he represented something else to me. The giants of the squared circle often apply dastardly tactics while using their size advantage to steal victories. Taker started the same but quickly became something different, something more. Continue reading “The Undertaker is One of My All-Time Favorites” →