Remember Those Who Left Us In 2010...

As Christmas wraps up and the new year fast approaches, many begin to reflect on the year about to depart. For wrestling fans, years full of sadness due to the deaths of wrestling stars and heroes are all too common.

While the reasons for this will be debated time and time again, I'd like to briefly take the time to honor the grapplers and personalities in a completely controversy-free environment.

Several former NWA Champions left us this year, taking with them a great part of what made the "classic" years of the business so great. Jack Brisco, Gene Kiniski, and Edouard Carpentier were all honorable champions both in and out of the ring. Each were all integral parts of the rich history and lore of the business.


Classic characters such as Grizzly Smith, Baron Mikel Scicluna, and General Skandor Akbar were also among those who departed in 2010. While Smith (father of Jake Roberts, Rockin' Robin, and Sam Houston) and Akbar made great contributions to the industry both in the ring and behind the scenes, Scicluna spent the majority of his career making others look good. Although he was a title holder, Scicluna will be best remembered for making such stars as Bruno Sammartino and Gorilla Monsoon look all the better.

Tragically, there is always a number of stars each year that pass well before their time. Bastion Booger, Ludvig Borga, Lance Cade, Jorge Gonzalez, and the unforgettable Luna Vachon top that unfortunate list this year. We can continue to ask why, but in reality any death can be looked at in that manner. Rather, we should remember their success and the impact they individually made on us.

2010 also saw the passing of Angelo Poffo, Jerry Valiant, Ted Allen, Hans Mortier, Sandy Scott, King Curtis Iaukea, Tony Borne, Paul Morton, Skip Young, Chris Kanyon, and Ida Mae Martinez.

One other mention goes to the first lady of wrestling journalism herself, Georgiann Makropolous. Georgie, as she was known to friends and fans the world over, was part of the business for decades. Starting off writing in the wrestling magazines and founding the Bruno Sammartino Fan Club, Georgie carved a niche in the industry like no one else. Her passing is still a great shock to me nearly one year later.

If I left anyone out, I apologize. I'm going by memory as far as all who passed and no disrespect is intended.

May all of our fallen stars rest in peace.

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Among a blitz of DVD product released by the WWE this holiday season, one set has garnered a ton of attention. The 3-disc set entitled WWE Top 50 Superstars of All Time is a very controversial and political product for sure. Beyond the rankings and omissions lies a great collection of matches, many of which have never before been released on DVD. Putting any feelings or arguments on the rankings aside, I have created a special gallery on our Facebook fan page featuring the DVD set itself. Gradually, all 50 stars will be represented by an individual piece of memorabilia shown in the gallery in order. #50 is up now and will be joined by more in the near future. Check it out, become a fan of the blog, and enjoy!

Halloween--The Wrestling Spooktacular

There is no holiday better fit for the world of professional wrestling than the one that falls on the 31st of October. Since so many heroes and villains of the ring wars "dress up" to "scare" their opponents and even the fans, it's no wonder that countless Halloween costumes over the years have been inspired by the likes of Hawk, Animal, and even...Hulk Hogan.

Keeping with the theme of memorabilia, it's often the more colorful or bizarre grapplers that make for a better action figure or trading card. While many purists would prefer a wrestler in black tights with arms outstretched in a grappling position, others just live for the face paint, leather, and other outlandish qualities that so many Halloween-esque stars have had. The following will be a look at some of those stars and other "scary" situations from the squared-circle.

Before getting to the grapplers themselves, there's no greater connection to "All Hallows Eve" and professional wrestling than the WCW pay-per-view event called Halloween Havoc. From 1989 to 2000, Havoc was always one of the most anticipated yearly WCW events, usually due to brutally bizarre gimmick matches. The first event featured an electrified steel cage main event pitting Sting and Ric Flair against Terry Funk and The Great Muta. Four legends in their own right, the teams were joined by the late, great Gary Hart and special guest referee Bruno Sammartino.

While early stars such as Pampero Firpo, Maurice "The French Angel" Tillet, and even The Sheik certainly qualify as spooky stars, it wasn't until the '80s that the grotesque were brought out front and center. The Road Warriors and Kamala highlighted many magazine covers during the "Decade of Decadence," with the March 1984 Pro Wrestling Illustrated cover perhaps being the most famous in the magazine's history. The cover, featuring Hawk and Animal illuminated in "horror lighting," was even chosen by the magazine as one of its ten best.

While WCW had Halloween Havoc and The Road Warriors and Kamala were products of the territories, no one can deny that the WWF/WWE has had the craziest cast of characters come through its rings.

The power of Paul Bearer's urn, the worm-eating maw of The Boogeyman, and the vomit-inducing powers of Papa Shango are just a few samples of the "supernatural" happenings to come from Stamford, Connecticut over the years. Even women's wrestling legend The Fabulous Moolah broke out a smoking cauldron and that pesky "horror lighting" along with her charge Leilani Kai.

The Road Warriors did indeed cross through the WWF in several stints before Hawk's death in 2003, but one WWF-born tag team continues to smear their face paint in rings throughout the world to this day.

"Here Comes The Ax...Here Comes The Smasher..." In 1987, Demolition were looked at as Road Warrior knockoffs. As the weeks and months progressed, Bill "Ax" Eadie and Barry "Smash" Darsow proved that they were far more. Taking nothing away from Hawk and Animal, Demolition carved out a style all their own, combining great brawling with excellent wrestling skills. While the debate over which team was better will forever go on, the teams both hold their place in the history of wrestling...and intimidation!

But what about the superhero powers of The Hurricane, hideousness of Bastion Booger, and hilarity of ECW original The Blue Meanie? All worthy contenders showing different sides of the "Wrestling Spooktacular" spectrum.

Events. Tag teams. Comic book heroes. Meanies. They all fit this category nicely. But one wrestler truly deserves to be kept for last.

The Lord of Darkness. The Phenom. The Reaper. A character that probably wasn't intended to last longer than a year or so, much less twenty.


The Undertaker. What more can be said that hasn't already been written? Few superstars have captured generations of fans as Taker has. A comparison to Andre the Giant would not be out of the question in terms of being on top of the game for such a length of time. Rolling into his 21st year in the WWE, Taker continues to cement his legacy as one of the best "big men" in the game, and without a doubt the king of "The Wrestling Spooktacular."

I hope you've enjoyed this look at some the most bizarre competitors, events, and concepts in ring history. I could not include everything or everybody, so let me know if you feel your favorite was omitted. Happy Halloween!