HEYDORN’S TAKE: It’s okay to let stars be stars
I interrupt your day with the obvious. Pro wrestling needs stars. In the recent past, we’ve seen WWE and other top wrestling promotions work to alter that fact. They’ve said for the world to come […]
Staff Takes
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Big Show and Randy Orton show off the simplicity of successful wrestling
Professional wrestling doesn’t have to be complicated to be successful. The recent barrage of swamp matches, bone yard matches, climbing the corporate ladder matches, eye for an eye bouts, bar fights, back lot brawls, and […]
MITCHELL’S TAKE: Mid-Card Matters in WWE’s Fight With Systemic Racism
At first the big news in professional wrestling this week was how AEW’s Tony Khan was tired of being outflanked by NXT’s Triple H’s masterful, detail-rich manipulation of his young, fresh talent roster in order […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: “Money Plane” starring Adam Copeland (Edge) and Kelsey Grammar is awesomely bad
Money Plane is a direct to on demand and digital purchase release from writer and director Andrew Lawrence. The movie stars Adam Copeland aka WWE wrestler Edge and Kelsey Grammar with Denise Richards getting top […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Don’t hold me to this – WWE Extreme Rules 2020
WWE Extreme Rules airs this Sunday on the WWE Network. The television build for the event on Raw and Smackdown has clicked and featured impactful work from many of WWE’s mainstay acts, but the show […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Awful stipulation a horror for WWE heading into Extreme Rules
I won’t be breaking any news in the next 800 words. The eye-for-an-eye stipulation added to the Rey Mysterio vs. Seth Rollins match at Extreme Rules is a horror of epic proportions. Not “horror” as […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: WWE must show patience with cinematic matches
In the pandemic, empty-arena era of professional wrestling, the only constant for the WWE has been the notion of adjustment. With guidelines, quarantines, positive COVID-19 tests, and change around every corner, the ability to adjust […]
KELLER’S TAKE: An increasingly cavalier attitude in society to this pandemic increases need for wrestlers and promoters to be more cautionary than ever if shows are going to continue
I wrote an editorial earlier this week in the new Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (#1674, cover-dated June 23) that in recent weeks I’ve grown more uncomfortable watching the increasingly cavalier attitude toward the risk of […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: The #SpeakOut movement matters to my daughter
For close to a week now, we’ve been learning about a countless number of disgusting acts of sexual harassment, abuse, and assault of women in the pro wrestling business. These types of accounts and predatory […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: WWE takes a foolish risk with Drew McIntyre on this week’s Raw
We know the narrative that WWE likes to spin for its fans and business partners. Vince McMahon is a maverick. He’s a leader and a visionary who risked it all to achieve greatness in the […]
MITCHELL: How to Fix WWE once and for all, pt. 1 – Restructuring the marketing, format, and presentation of TV shows and PPV events
So, how do you fix, really fix WWE? How can you ensure the company grows now, in 2020, in measurable, financially healthy ways? How does the company navigate the most uncertain times that not only […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: A look at the NJPW Cup brackets, who will rise and fall during the tournament
NJPW announced yesterday they are resuming running events in empty arenas starting on June 15. PWTorch sources indicated last week that NJPW would be announcing that the company would be announcing they would resume running […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: Charlotte shines when WWE needs her most
Sometimes stars need to be stars. In game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals, it was Michael Jordan that stepped up and hit the game-winning basket to complete 3-Peat number two for the Chicago Bulls. […]
RADICAN’S Guide to the Highspots Wrestling Network Companion – PWG BOLA 2018: Final Stage tournament concludes with second, semi-final, and final round matches
RADICAN’S GUIDE TO THE HIGHSPOTS WRESTLING NETWORK COMPANION PWG BATTLE OF LOS ANGELES 2018: FINAL STAGE SEPT. 15, 2018 LOS ANGELES, CALIF. AVAILABLE ON THE HIGHSPOTS WRESTLING NETWORK Commentator: Excalibur Note: This is the third […]
MCMAHON’S TAKE: Five takeaways from AEW Double or Nothing
(1) Brian Cage should probably win the AEW World Championship Cage made his long-awaited debut on Saturday night, winning the Casino Battle Royal which will earn him an AEW Championship match at Fyter Fest, according […]
KELLER’S TAKE: While the empty-venue setting is primary reason viewers are abandoning Smackdown, the talent depth chart is too – a look at Smackdown’s current roster
As much as the empty-arena venue is a significant contributor to Smackdown’s alarming viewership slide since the week after WrestleMania, another factor is just the thin star power. Roman Reigns is gone from the brand […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: The Big Show thrives in leading man role in The Big Show Show on Netflix
The Big Show Show isn’t a vehicle from WWE Studios that I expected to succeed on Neflix. Placing semi-retired 7 foot tall wrestler Big Show in a family sitcom didn’t seem to hold a lot […]
MITCHELL: Great Pro Wrestling Stuff To Watch Featuring Bullet Bob Armstrong (with Video Embeds)
WWE Agent B.G. James revealed on Twitter last week that his father and fellow WWE Hall of Famer “ Bullet” Bob Armstrong had brain cancer and had made the decision not to receive treatment for […]
RADICAN’S THE PULL LIST: Resident Evil 3 demo thoughts, 3/25 AEW Dynamite Blog looking at Hardy vs. Jericho in-ring confrontation
Radican’s The Pull List is a series of columns looking at the hottest topics in wrestling, comics, movies, videogames, books, and more. RESIDENT EVIL 3 DEMO The Resident Evil 3 remake is coming out April […]
MITCHELL: Essential watchlist of soulful, effective, character-driven, ticket-selling promos of the mid-’70s to mid-’80s including Flair, Graham, Mulligan (videos embedded)
I have put together a collection of some of the most soulful, effective, character-driven, ticket-selling promos of the mid-’70s through the mid-’80s. I paid particular attention to the Pro Wrestling Preacher Promo pioneered by 2019 […]
RADICAN’S TAKE: Several independent companies take a financial hit due to COVID-9 forcing government cancellation of events
With all of the major sports leagues in the world shutting down last week for the foreseeable future due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the question became whether or not WWE and several independents would be […]
COUNIHAN: A list of 23 highly recommended OTT matches you can catch up on during this time of reduced live wrestling access due to coronavirus cancellations – ZSJ, Dunne, Riddle, Ospreay, Keith Lee, Hero, Strickland, Ricochet, Scurll
The wrestling world, and the world in general, is going through some tough times right now. This will be the case for a while unfortunately. We’re all going to need to look after ourselves and […]
MITCHELL: My Racist Royal Rumble Rewatch
Introductory Note: This column appeared in the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter and on the PWTorch VIP website two months ago after the Royal Rumble. Since it re-aired last night for free on Raw, I am […]
HEYDORN’S TAKE: AEW heats up a frigid Chicago with Revolution PPV event
On the streets of Chicago Saturday afternoon and into the early evening, folks were bundled up to the brim with winter hats, coats, gloves, and boots in order to fight the blistering cold air of […]