# Any wrestling fans?



## DaddyShred (Aug 11, 2019)

Ok so maybe this is out of left field...

Does anyone here watch wrestling? WWE, AEW, NJPW, any of the Indies...just curious. 

I guess it's the fact that as soon as someone in the "real world" they watch wrestling, it's dismissed as childish. However, I grew up on the stuff and think it's great lol. Call it, the show I can always turn my brain off and watch.

Maybe, if there's enough people here that do, we can make a seperate thread about it. Who knows. 

Anyway, wrestling fans, raise your hand 

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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Late 60's. My dad and I used to go to our local arena on Saturdays when the show came around.
Haystacks Calhoun, Angelo Mosca, Andre the Giant, the Sheik, Killer Kowalski, Mr. Fuji etc.
Had a lot fun back then. Even as a kid I knew it was fake.


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## DaddyShred (Aug 11, 2019)

laristotle said:


> Late 60's. My dad and I used to go to our local arena on Saturdays when the show came around.
> Haystacks Calhoun, Angelo Mosca, Andre the Giant, the Sheik, Killer Kowalski, Mr. Fuji etc.
> Had a lot fun back then. Even as a kid I knew it was fake.


Great story!

My uncle really got myself into wrestling when I was a kid (he would let me watch raw during the attitude era, mostly cuz my mom was adamant that I shouldn't be watching it)

Those days back then for wrestling were superb. Can't compare wrestling decade to decade, but damn, some of those matches were absolute battles

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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Used to watch wrestling when it followed the Bugs Bunny Show and would go to see the various matches, mostly in Vancouver, when it was All Star Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling. This was in the 60's and 70's. Never got into the WWF/WWE or later wrestling. 


laristotle said:


> Late 60's. My dad and I used to go to our local arena on Saturdays when the show came around.
> Haystacks Calhoun, Angelo Mosca, Andre the Giant, the Sheik, Killer Kowalski, Mr. Fuji etc.
> Had a lot fun back then. Even as a kid I knew it was fake.


On a Ten Man Over when someone like Don Leo Jonathan and Haystack Calhoun toss Gene Kiniski over the top of the ropes and he lands on his back on the concrete you know it's gonna hurt and when Andre the Giant lands on some one, sometimes they don't move for a bit. On occasion the wrestlers would forget that they were supposed to pull punches and "make it look good". In Vancouver the wrestlers used to have to watch out for the old ladies with their umbrellas. Cloverdale, New West and Langley were about the same. Anyway I think Don Leo says it right.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/langley-pro-wrestling-legend-recalls-fights-with-andré-the-giant-and-a-russian-bear-1.3165186 Never saw him wrestle a bear but saw him wrestle Kiniski a lot.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Not too sure what name he wrestled under but one of my aunts husbands wrestled for Klondike and Big Time Wrestling. I think he was called Woody Woodpecker.....his first name was Woody. Never saw him wrestle.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

I went to see "Le match du siecle" (match of the century) at the Montreal Forum between Andre the Giant (who I think was Giant Jean Ferré at that point in his career) versus Don Leo Jonathan. Opening match was "midget" wrestlers, followed by a tag team between Billy Two Rivers and Chief War Eagle versus the Hollywood Blondes. As a kid I used to watch wrestling on TV on Saturdays with my grandfather, who would laugh so hard he'd need a cold cloth for his forehead. Somewhere in the basement is a WWF Wrestling board game, in which the players take on the role of "manager" of 2 or 3 of the wrestlers you have to choose from; all of them being from the '70s and early '80s. Iron Sheik, Big John Stud Hulk, Macho Man, Andre, the usual crowd. IIRC, you got to use each wrestler's "special hold" if you rolled double 6sa or something like that.

There are a surprising number of old-time matches on Youtube from the days before steroids. During the days when my dad sold insurance, I think he sold life insurance to Billy Two Rivers, who was from Kahnewake.


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## evenon (Nov 13, 2006)

I went to two WWE shows in the last couple years with my younger son ( he's 10 now). I had no idea about the characters, last I watched was the Stone Cold and The Rock era. 

They put on an amazing show both times I went. I got the sense they actually appreciate the fans.

At the end of the fist show we went to, The Miz came out of character and thanked everyone for coming, spending their money, and acknowledged there was lots of entertainment options, and it matters to them to entertain the audience. 

Been a while since I have heard a NHL guy say that, long while.

A bunch of them also spent about 10 minutes taking pictures with the fans ( good ole' days before COVID)


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

pre-covid, our town had a festival every summer “carrot fest “...they would have a couple of shows during the weekend. My kid gets a kick out of it and it’s good for some chuckles. 
i have nostalgia for the old days when I watched it with dad...the new characters don’t have the same charm as the old ones did....once you looked past the racist stereotypes.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Not a fan, but went to see it with a friend once when it came through town. 

I briefly met Mick Foley once.


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

Like most kids I enjoyed wrestling when I was young.

My dad took me to a wrestling event featuring Sweet Daddy Siki, The Beast, Killer Kowalski and a few others in the Lord Beaverbrook Arena in Newcastle, NB.

What I remember most fondly about that show was the opening act.

Stompin Tom Connors did a set right in the ring before the first match. They lowered a mic down from the rafters, brought out the plywood and away he went.

I guess I lost interest in wrestling long before the big stuff started.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Does anyone remember when some CFL games (chiefly in Ontario) would have wrestling as the half-time show? The teams would trot off to their dressing rooms and an elevated "squared circle" would be wheeled out quickly, where someone the crowd likely knew of would have a best-of-3-falls match, a winner declared, and the ring wheeled out again to provide time enough for beverage-and-snack purchase.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

Milkman said:


> Stompin Tom Connors


He used to live a ten minute drive away from me.
I found that out when I jammed with his neighbour.


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## ol' 58 (Jul 12, 2019)

laristotle said:


> Late 60's. My dad and I used to go to our local arena on Saturdays when the show came around.
> Haystacks Calhoun, Angelo Mosca, Andre the Giant, the Sheik, Killer Kowalski, Mr. Fuji etc.
> Had a lot fun back then. Even as a kid I knew it was fake.


I was a fan of that type of wrestling in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Then I got into the WWF & NWA in the 80’s. Not since then though.
I grew up in a small town and the wrestlers we would see on CTV on Saturday afternoons, from All-Star Wrestling or Maple Leaf Wrestling would come to town once or twice a year. I’m about twelve years old. Me, my buddy and my older brother are walking down one of the longer residential streets in town on a summer Saturday early evening on the way to the arena to watch the show. Buddy and brother get into some rough horseplay and one winds up running from the other because it’s verging on a fist fight. So I’m kind of dawdling along waiting for them to come back from running through back yards, when a big dark green Impala pulls up. Window rolls down and I look in and there sits Angelo Mosca. It was his first season as a wrestler after retiring from the Tiger-Cats the previous November. Cool. “Hey kid, how do I get to the arena from here?”. So I give him directions and said I would see him there. He actually offered me a ride! This was over forty-five years ago, so no one’s head would explode over that like today. Anyway, I said thanks but that I was waiting on my brother and my friend. So off he drives. The guys show up a minute later and I tell them what happened and they think I’m shittin’ them. Ok whatever.
Later that evening after Mosca “thumped” the bad guy, I’m going to the snack counter to get a pop and he’s standing there looking through the plexi-glass that separated the heated spectator area from the rink area, watching a match. So I walk up to him to say hi, and he has a big smile and takes me over to the counter and buys me a pop and a snack (I forget if it was a chocolate bar or chips or a hot dog or what) to thank me. The guys and a ton of other kids saw that. I felt ten feet tall.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Forty five or so years back, I was hitch-hiking to school in downtown Montreal, and I got a ride from a guy who had done his doctoral work in sociology researching the world of wrestling and travelling around with the Rougeau brothers. The topic of "the blood" came up as we were driving and talking. He would not divulge any insider info about _how_ the blood came, but told me it was real blood. The received wisdom was that, for some matches, the wrestlers would nick themselves with a razor blade in the dressing room, and seal it up temporarily with a styptic pencil (remember those?). The small cut would stay closed until the point where the wrestler had gotten good and sweaty, at which point it would open if stressed. Naturally, the copious sweat would tend to make a little bit of blood look like a lot more.

I got into wrestling back when Lord Athol Layton ( Lord Athol Layton - Wikipedia ) was the ringside commentator, and the big names - as I recall them - were Whipper Billy Watson, Bulldog Brower, and Killer Kowalski. Later, when we moved from Ottawa to Montreal, the fun guys were Edouard Carpentier and of course the Vachon family: Mad Dog, Paul, and Vivian. There were few things in wrestling as elegant and triumphant as Carpentier doing a backwards flip off the turnbuckle and disabling the members of the tag team who had been illegally pummeling his partner...maybe even producing and using the dreaded "hidden metallic object" . But you gotta love the Mad Dog.


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## leftysg (Mar 29, 2008)

Watched Big Time Wrestling out of Windsor/Detroit as a kid, late60's,and early 70's. I remember Dick the Bruiser, Bobo Brazil, Pampero Firpo (tagged to be the wildman from the jungles I believe, with long shaggy hair, a guttural growl, and a claw hold called the El Garfeo), the Sheik, the Black Jacks tag team managed by Bobby the Brain Heenan, George "the Animal" Steel among others.


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## ol' 58 (Jul 12, 2019)

I forgot this story. Retired from wrestling, Sweet Daddy Siki was singing with his lounge act about forty years ago, and would hit town now and then. We got to chatting in the bar one night and he commented on my size and physique. I was nothing special, 6’ 1” 185 lbs. (I’m a bit shorter and fatter now) but I was in good shape from growing up on the farm and playing with weights, but what I believe he was doing was flattering young fellows like myself and encouraging us to try our hand at pro wrestling, and of course he recommended a specific school, which he just happened to have business cards for in his pocket. He was bird-dogging for kickbacks I’m sure. I took a card but that’s as far as it went. I think the school was run by Fred somebody in Port Colborne.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

I forget who it was but one of the tag team masked fighters used to slice his forehead with a razor and put clear glue on it and the cover it with his mask. Sometime during the fight his forehead would be hit and he would bleed. While the referee went to look his partner would jump the opponents. On occasion back then when the fight was over the wrestlers would carry it on in the isles but I don't recall them mouthing off for 10 to 15 minutes like they do now. The fans wouldn't stand for that. A couple of weeks ago when I was out with my son we stopped at a sports bar for lunch.....there was what they call wrestling on one of the tvs. Three of the goofs were tossing pancakes all over the place. This is them.




I went back to watching the All Blacks beat Canada in a World Cup match.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

A guy from Puebla, Mexico, who I had exchanged e-mails with on another forum, was travelling across Canada with his then-girlfriend about a decade back. We arranged for him to come and stay with us while he was in the region. He asked me if there was anything he could bring me from Mexico as a gift. I said I'd love a "luchador" mask. He said they were kind of pricey, but he'd see what he could do. What he brought me was a poster advertising a big lucha libre match in his city, on Christmas Day, starting around 1:00PM or so. The poster is folded up and stored somewhere, so I don't remember all the details, but it was clearly oriented towards working folk. Printed on newsprint, with 2-3 colours, it cost a pittance to get in, less for children under 12 or whatever, and the poster indicated there would be tattooing available prior to the matches. I recall one of the wrestlers in the main bout had some archetypal name like The Phantom, or similar, except he had "Jr." at the end of his name. I gather he was from a lucha libre wrestling family and part of his motivational narrative in the ring was to avenge his father. But I thought that was really something for folks to head out to see wrestling on Christmas Day.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)




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## Khorah (Apr 11, 2013)

I still watch wrestling. Been watching since the 80's. I prefer AEW to WWE's product right now. Once WWE went into pandemic production it was really lacking. AEW were able to keep their momentum going and I love the high action of their presentation. Plus it totally looks like WCW from the 90's. I also enjoy MMA. I follow UFC and Bellator. Once the live crowds come back I'll start watching RAW and Smackdown again. I never got into Impact, ROH, NJPW or the indies. I've been to a few indie matches around Ontario and THAT is a good time. Nothing like a good wrestling match at the Legion. 

Classic Carney entertainment!


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## DaddyShred (Aug 11, 2019)

All these stories are great!

Reading about going to see shows in the 60/70/80s, or run ins with people in the business is super cool. 

I've been a fan since I was a kid but fell out of touch (specifically WWE) around the 2009 mark. I've been to house shows and live tapings in my area and have been wanting to get out to see our local Indy talent (some of which has moved on to tv programming). Hopefully post covid, I'll be able to make it out to see some shows. 

The past 18 months however, I've fallen back into watching and following, AEW specifically. They're fresh, they're new, I thought I'd give it a try. Turns out, A1 product most of the time. It's kind of refreshed my interest in it. 

I hated turning on the TV and seeing someone talking for 10 mins about how they were the best, or throwing pancakes into the crowd . This new AEW stuff almost gives you the feel of "yes we know this is all fake but it's a show/entertainment so let's not treat the viewer as stupid" kind of refreshing. 

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## brucew (Dec 30, 2017)

My daughter did/still enjoys it. The small shows would come to nearby towns. They Always put on a good show.

Say what you want, it's a show, but make no mistake those putting on the show are Very good athelete's.


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## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

I watched the old school stuff growing up as a kid, Atlantic, Stampede and All Star.
I watched early WWF, Ultimate Warrior, Superfly Snooka era.
It was still WWF when I lost interest.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

The greatest wrestling story ever told:


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## pickslide (May 9, 2006)

My 10 yr old son loves it so we all got into it
I used to watch wrestling when I was a kid but then stopped. We even go to local wrestling events (pre covid) and even got to know some of the local wrestlers. Its all good fun.


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## silvertonebetty (Jan 4, 2015)

Not really. My friend is and he gets so mad  when I tell him” I’m not paying money to watch two sweaty oily half naked men or women hugging each other” on that note I am very aware on the amount of training they have to go through. And any mistake can be fatal. 


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Buncha pencil-neck geeks!!


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## Paul M (Mar 27, 2015)

mhammer said:


> Buncha pencil-neck geeks!!


Classy Freddie Blassie....I first heard him on Dr. Demento.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)




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## StratCat (Dec 30, 2013)

mhammer said:


> Forty five or so years back, I was hitch-hiking to school in downtown Montreal, and I got a ride from a guy who had done his doctoral work in sociology researching the world of wrestling and travelling around with the Rougeau brothers. The topic of "the blood" came up as we were driving and talking. He would not divulge any insider info about _how_ the blood came, but told me it was real blood. The received wisdom was that, for some matches, the wrestlers would nick themselves with a razor blade in the dressing room, and seal it up temporarily with a styptic pencil (remember those?). The small cut would stay closed until the point where the wrestler had gotten good and sweaty, at which point it would open if stressed. Naturally, the copious sweat would tend to make a little bit of blood look like a lot more.
> 
> I got into wrestling back when Lord Athol Layton ( Lord Athol Layton - Wikipedia ) was the ringside commentator, and the big names - as I recall them - were Whipper Billy Watson, Bulldog Brower, and Killer Kowalski. Later, when we moved from Ottawa to Montreal, the fun guys were Edouard Carpentier and of course the Vachon family: Mad Dog, Paul, and Vivian. There were few things in wrestling as elegant and triumphant as Carpentier doing a backwards flip off the turnbuckle and disabling the members of the tag team who had been illegally pummeling his partner...maybe even producing and using the dreaded "hidden metallic object" . But you gotta love the Mad Dog.


“He may be an apprentice carpenter...”

that’s awesome.

i too enjoyed the late 70’s early 80’s wrestling, to add to @laristotle list, The High Flyers, Jimmi Brunzell, Bobby The Brain Hennen, Tito Santana, Hulk Hogan, and the ultimate Canadian of the bunch, Mad Dog Vachon!

the cage matches were the best!


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## Sneaky (Feb 14, 2006)

Was a big fan as a kid. Saw all those guys back in the 60’s. Tex McKenzie was always one of my favourites. Tiger Jeet Singh lived just down the road from us.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

There is an almost natural affinity of wrestling and rock. As an illustration, here's NRBQ's paean to the late great Captain Lou Albano, who you may remember would show up in Cyndi Lauper's videos. Our older son used to bop around the house to this when he was 5. It's catchy.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Los Straitjackets did a series of gigs a few years ago with Marshall Crenshaw, himself no slouch on the guitar. Gotta luv those Di Pinto guitars.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

mhammer said:


> There is an almost natural affinity of wrestling and rock. As an illustration, here's NRBQ's paean to the late great Captain Lou Albano, who you may remember would show up in Cyndi Lauper's videos. Our older son used to bop around the house to this when he was 5. It's catchy.


Lou in a little different light. Rowdy Roddy too.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)




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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Electraglide said:


> Lou in a little different light. Rowdy Roddy too.


Geez, I remember that. Saturday mornings.
Roddy Piper's big film debut was perhaps a little more classic.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)




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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)




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## jbealsmusic (Feb 12, 2014)

I grew up watching wrestling from the late 80's to late 90's. Fell away from it after that, but check it out briefly every once in a while. Would check out Last Ride, as that looks pretty cool. Undertaker was always my favorite character as a kid. Cool to see him doing so many interviews these days.


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

laristotle said:


>


Jesus, he was strong, and so agile at that age. About 2:00, when he stands up easy peasy with that other guy across his shoulders, wow. I probably saw him on tv first in the 2 years we lived in Montreal, mid ‘72-’74, lots of the wrestlers from that era mentioned here are familiar to me. Then we were watching I think it was All Star Wrestling in Winnipeg, I’ll go check my memory but sure we saw him on that circuit at least a few times.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

jbealsmusic said:


> I grew up watching wrestling from the late 80's to late 90's. Fell away from it after that, but check it out briefly every once in a while. Would check out Last Ride, as that looks pretty cool. Undertaker was always my favorite character as a kid. Cool to see him doing so many interviews these days.


Watched this earlier as well! Great interviews on Hot Ones. Stone Cold Steve Austin was a guest too. Grew up on Stampede Wrestling here in Edmonton as my Dad knew Stu Hart. Talking old school now with Hercules Ayallah (my favorite as a kid), Dynamite Kid, Kiwi's, and good old JR Foley! Stood behind JR in a line for pop when I was like 10 and he never broke character. Was a total prick to the kids in line lol...


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

mhammer said:


> Geez, I remember that. Saturday mornings.
> Roddy Piper's big film debut was perhaps a little more classic.


never saw either of those shows.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

keto said:


> Jesus, he was strong, and so agile at that age. About 2:00, when he stands up easy peasy with that other guy across his shoulders, wow. I probably saw him on tv first in the 2 years we lived in Montreal, mid ‘72-’74, lots of the wrestlers from that era mentioned here are familiar to me. Then we were watching I think it was All Star Wrestling in Winnipeg, I’ll go check my memory but sure we saw him on that circuit at least a few times.


He was on All Star Wrestling from Van. and I'm pretty on Stampede wrestling too at times. Might have been at the Garden, maybe New West or Cloverdale. They fought all across Canada. Here's a few names you probably will recognize. Not the best film but it's from the 50's.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

Electraglide said:


> He was on All Star Wrestling from Van. and I'm pretty on Stampede wrestling too at times. Might have been at the Garden, maybe New West or Cloverdale. They fought all across Canada. Here's a few names you probably will recognize. Not the best film but it's from the 50's.


He wasn't on very often as I remember, but when he was they put on a good show. I saw him against a bunch of midgets in one of the Stampede shows nearing the end of the Stampede era before WWF bought them out. I think I have to give a shoutout to Ed Whalen, the Stampede color commentator. He was pretty special with catch phrases of "In the mean time and in between time" and "Wham bam, thank you ma'am"






I also have to mention that my "old school" is much different from a lot of some of the other posters real old school wrestlers. After going through the thread there are a lot of names that I remember my late Dad talking about. Pretty sure he was a big Kowalski fanboy.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Electraglide said:


> never saw either of those shows.


"They Live" is a terrific sci-fi thriller from John Carpenter, starring Roddy Piper. It contains one of the longest fight sequences ever filmed, and if I'm not mistaken, it is cheezyridr's favorite-ever fight sequence.

The film is also, according to philosopher Slavoy Zizek, a perfect illustration of how "ideology" works.


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Ok, three pages in and no mention of 'Canada's greatest athlete', Gene Kiniski. 
Always sure to say "hello to all the shut-ins" and thank the viewers for "allowing me into your homes, via TV".


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

jb welder said:


> Ok, three pages in and no mention of 'Canada's greatest athlete', Gene Kiniski.
> Always sure to say "hello to all the shut-ins" and thank the viewers for "allowing me into your homes, via TV".


Well, according to wiki he was a partner in the enterprise. Why not pump your own tires and thank the audience? ;P


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## fretzel (Aug 8, 2014)

I had never heard of Maple Leaf Wrestling before this thread. Then I had this pic show up on Facebook.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

jb welder said:


> Ok, three pages in and no mention of 'Canada's greatest athlete', Gene Kiniski.
> Always sure to say "hello to all the shut-ins" and thank the viewers for "allowing me into your homes, via TV".


Check things over again. There's a vid of Gene and his son and he's in the Whipper Billy Watson vid and I believe in the Don Leo vid and he's been mentioned once or twice.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

keto said:


> Well, according to wiki he was a partner in the enterprise. Why not pump your own tires and thank the audience? ;P


He was. Before that he played football with Al Oeming and Stu Hart.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Al Oeming. Jeez, haven't heard that name in ages. My cousin worked for him years back at the game farm he operated.


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## Dorian2 (Jun 9, 2015)

mhammer said:


> "They Live" is a terrific sci-fi thriller from John Carpenter, starring Roddy Piper. It contains one of the longest fight sequences ever filmed, and if I'm not mistaken, it is cheezyridr's favorite-ever fight sequence.
> 
> The film is also, according to philosopher Slavoy Zizek, a perfect illustration of how "ideology" works.


That was pretty interesting. Haven't seen the movie in a while, but if I remember that was the general vibe we got from it at the time. Piper's my all time favorite. I just dug out my old Born to Controversy DVD set that's been stored for a while. Probably difficult to find at any reasonable price now. I think I paid maybe $30 for it when it came out.

WWE: Born to Controversy - The Roddy Piper Story 4-Disc: Amazon.ca: DVD


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## jb welder (Sep 14, 2010)

Electraglide said:


> Check things over again. There's a vid of Gene and his son and he's in the Whipper Billy Watson vid and I believe in the Don Leo vid and he's been mentioned once or twice.


Sure enough you did, and on the first page yet. I stand corrected. 


How about CFL > wrestling crossovers? 
I'll throw out the aforementioned Gene Kiniski (Esks), and more recently Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (Stamps, barely). 
@ol' 58 mentioned Angelo 'King Kong' Mosca (Ti-Cats).
Any others?


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

By all accounts, this was real and Andre was trying to hurt the Sheik.


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## laristotle (Aug 29, 2019)

jb welder said:


> How about CFL > wrestling crossovers?


Lex Luger - Montreal.
George Wells - Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan.
Roman Reigns - Edmonton.
Tito Santana - B.C. 
Brian Pillman - Calgary.
Ron Simmons - Ottawa.
Glenn Kulka - Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto, Saskatchewan and Ottawa. 
Billy Graham - Calgary, Montreal.
Jim Duggan - Toronto.





CFL players have a history of giving pro wrestling a shot


Next month, Toronto Argonauts tailback James Wilder Jr. will have a tryout with World Wrestling Entertainment. Here’s a look at some of the former CFL players…




nationalpost.com


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Kamala died from Covid a few months ago.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

Double damn it.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

butterknucket said:


> Kamala died from Covid a few months ago.


I believe Hacksaw played for the Argos for a bit.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

jb welder said:


> Sure enough you did, and on the first page yet. I stand corrected.
> 
> 
> How about CFL > wrestling crossovers?
> ...


Al Oeming and Stu Hart. Joe Anoai tho he didn't play against his cousin and didn't fight his uncle, Rocky. Rocky was a not too bad boxer too. You had to be to spar with Ali and Foreman. Saw him wrestle a time or two in the Van. area.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

butterknucket said:


> By all accounts, this was real and Andre was trying to hurt the Sheik.


Sometime in the late '70s, a friend and I ran into Andre the Giant at Fran's Restaurant on College Street, just the other side of Yonge from Maple Leaf Gardens. Did not approach the man, but when he got up to leave, I think all the salt shakers and sugar dispensers on the tables must have slid over in his direction as he stood up. My word, what a *large* man!

When I was standing in line to buy tickets for the Andre/Jean vs Don Leo Jonathan match at the Forum, there was a little granny in line ahead of me, and she was insisting on getting ringside tickets. I asked her if she wasn't afraid of people and things flying out of the ring and landing on her. She told me that Andre's head had landed in her lap once, and he was adorable and harmless. At least I seem to recall it was him, though it could have been one of the other wrestlers. Realistically, it is hard to imagine anyone, or even group of people, tossing Andre out of the ring.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

laristotle said:


> Lex Luger - Montreal.
> George Wells - Toronto, Hamilton, Saskatchewan.
> Roman Reigns - Edmonton.
> Tito Santana - B.C.
> ...


I looked for any possible Youtube videos of those old CFL games where the halftime show was a wrestling match. Couldn't find any. But it WAS a real thing.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

mhammer said:


> Sometime in the late '70s, a friend and I ran into Andre the Giant at Fran's Restaurant on College Street, just the other side of Yonge from Maple Leaf Gardens. Did not approach the man, but when he got up to leave, I think all the salt shakers and sugar dispensers on the tables must have slid over in his direction as he stood up. My word, what a *large* man!
> 
> When I was standing in line to buy tickets for the Andre/Jean vs Don Leo Jonathan match at the Forum, there was a little granny in line ahead of me, and she was insisting on getting ringside tickets. I asked her if she wasn't afraid of people and things flying out of the ring and landing on her. She told me that Andre's head had landed in her lap once, and he was adorable and harmless. At least I seem to recall it was him, though it could have been one of the other wrestlers. Realistically, it is hard to imagine anyone, or even group of people, tossing Andre out of the ring.


It's happened, not often but it's happened.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

butterknucket said:


> By all accounts, this was real and Andre was trying to hurt the Sheik.


In the Andre the Giant documentary that came out a couple years ago (MUST SEE TV, BTW) they showed a time when Big John Studd showboated in a match with Andre and he seriously got pissed off at him....Studd was running around the ring looking scared for his life.

The other wrestling doc that everyone should see is the one about Brett Hart. where the Andre one is a look into his epic, bizarre life, the hitman one was good insight into the business.

odd question, to connect wrestling to music....Did Freddie Blassie ever own the Toronto metal bar "Larrys Hideaway" in the '80's? I'd swear I used to see a guy at the door who looked identical and had the same voice. He didnt give a fuck that we were underage as long as we paid the cover charge lol.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)

Diablo said:


> In the Andre the Giant documentary that came out a couple years ago (MUST SEE TV, BTW) they showed a time when Big John Studd showboated in a match with Andre and he seriously got pissed off at him....Studd was running around the ring looking scared for his life.
> 
> The other wrestling doc that everyone should see is the one about Brett Hart. where the Andre one is a look into his epic, bizarre life, the hitman one was good insight into the business.
> 
> odd question, to connect wrestling to music....Did Freddie Blassie ever own the Toronto metal bar "Larrys Hideaway" in the '80's? I'd swear I used to see a guy at the door who looked identical and had the same voice. He didnt give a fuck that we were underage as long as we paid the cover charge lol.


I'll have to check out both docs. I've heard about the fued between Andre and Stud. Apparently Andre was considered the boss and his rule was he was the only wrestler who could step over the top rope. Stud started doing it and Andre didn't approve, and if Andre didn't like you, you had a big problem.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

butterknucket said:


> I'll have to check out both docs. I've heard about the fued between Andre and Stud. Apparently Andre was considered the boss and his rule was he was the only wrestler who could step over the top rope. Stud started doing it and Andre didn't approve, and if Andre didn't like you, you had a big problem.


exactly. it was his signature move, so if you "adopted it" it made things personal to him.


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## Electraglide (Jan 24, 2010)

butterknucket said:


> By all accounts, this was real and Andre was trying to hurt the Sheik.


I remember going to a fight in Van and you could tell that both the fighters said to hell with it and beat the crap out of each other.


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## butterknucket (Feb 5, 2006)




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