Author: Evan Ginzburg

Imanii Labels is the Co-Owner and Executive Producer at Imperial World Wrestling and a retired rapper, indie wrestler, and fashionista for Shannon Maze and Episode 1. He is making waves in the indie wrestling world with his innovative use of music and videos to market the New York-based IWW, which recently had a wildly successful sold-out first show in Queens. Think of the IWW as the “Hip Hop and wrestling connection.” He sat down with Shannon Maze for an in-depth interview on the new Internet interview show Shannon. Shannon is a quality interviewer who can walk that line between tough…

Harley Race liked to refer to himself as “the greatest wrestler on God’s green Earth” And as a 70’s and 80’s fan, when he walked down the aisle you believed just that. These are my live Harley Race memories. The first time I saw Harley Race live was at Madison Square Garden on April 30, 1979, when he defeated “Rookie of the Year” Steve Travis in a mere 5:14. Although not a particularly memorable match, it was quite the big deal that the NWA belt was being defended on a WWWF card and treated as a major event. Race had…

Yesterday was the first anniversary of the death of my beloved friend, Nikolai Volkoff. Marc Madison asked me to do a piece on him and rather than once again chronicling his amazing career, I thought I’d share some personal memories of the man Bret Hart described as “The nicest wrestler I ever met.” This was about my friend Nikolai. The first time I met Nikolai was at wrestling historian Scott Wilson’s house on Long Island on April 13, 2002. Scott has the most extensive collection of Nikolai Volkoff memorabilia and ring worn garb in the world and hired Nikolai for…

It’s not every day that an indie promotion does the right thing by not only presenting the stars of the future but also by honoring the past. New Evolution Wrestling did just that at the Queens Elks Lodge on June 22nd as they paid tribute to both “The Professor of Old School,” the late JL Chico, and former WWWF Champion Pedro Morales. New Evolution Wrestling Pays Tribute to Pedro Morales & JL Chico. For those who may not know Jose “JL” Chico, he was a beloved NY based wrestler who worked with so many in our area. Promoter Robert Saint…

On Saturday, June 29th, I was at yet another NYC indie- as I’ve spent so many of my weekends the past several decades. Summoned backstage for a brief chat with Co-Owner/Executive Producer at Imperial World Wrestling, Imanii Labels debuts, I cited my concerns. With wrestling exploding in 2019, there were a ton of live shows in the very same area that night plus AEW and Evolve were streaming major shows for free. Throw a torrential downpour into the mix and I was sincerely worried for my friends Imanii and Tom “Special T” Frazier here who had put their heart, soul…

Evan discusses his rather active WrestleMania week promoting 350 Days other encounters along the way.

On July 12th of 2018, the “350 Days” documentary update played in nearly 400 theaters nationwide in a one-nighter. Critically acclaimed, it’s now gotten a distribution deal. And it is available April 2nd on a variety of platforms. All the details in the press release below. Also, note that if you’d care to support our truly independent film, our store just opened tonight and “350 Days” T-Shirts, caps, and posters are now available at www.350daysthemovie.com. Hollywood, Calif. — Feb. 27, 2019 — In “350 Days,” pro wrestling legends Bret Hart, Superstar Billy Graham and dozens more peel back the curtain.…

In “real life”- as wrestling people are oft to say- the massive King Kong Bundy was an eclectic mix of highly intelligent, blunt, gruff, lovable, supportive, businesslike, and at times grumpy. And he sure wasn’t scared to speak his mind. “Ginzburg!” he’d bellow upon seeing me at a wrestling convention or indy show, instantly continuing some political debate we’d had online. You see, he’d “give me crap,” a sly grin etched on his face. For Bundy didn’t always agree with my liberal leanings. And in an odd way, it was empowering for me to stand my ground and debate somehow…

Teddy Hart Steals the Show on ICW New York Card Featuring Scott Steiner, Nick Gage. Promoter Jac Sabboth’s ICW (Impact Championship Wrestling) started in 2001 in NYC. While leaning towards wild brawling and ECW inspired hardcore antics (tables are an endangered species on his shows), he also has always had an eye for great wrestling talent and has utilized such great technicians as Eddie Guerrero, Samoa Joe, Amazing Red, Low Ki and many more. On 11/30/01 his main-event of Eddie Guerrero vs. Low Ki garnered worldwide attention and while the promotion has had a history of starting and stopping, it’s…

(originally written by the late Dale Pierce and edited by Evan Ginzburg) Dale Pierce was a noted wrestling manager (The Time Traveler), wrestler (Marcial Bovee), licensed teacher, and prolific author of eclectic books on bullfighting, wrestling history, Western outlaws and various other subjects that struck his fancy. He tragically passed away last week after a long battle with Cancer. I published him in my Wrestling-Then & Now newsletter for some twenty years. I would love to see his work live on for those interested in the more obscure territories and wrestlers who are rarely brought up decades later in Ohio…