Author: Pete Moon (Assistant Editor)

Much like the previous entry, the Menagerie of Monsters, Jerry Lawler’s creatures of the night has a number of outlandish characters to compell its fans with. In the days of The Territories, when one promotion would dominate a local region, each promotion carefully crafted its own identity and ethos. It continues with a nightmare…. The Menagerie of Monsters Nightmare Freddie Dreamwalking slasher Freddy Kreuger made his big screen debut in 1984’s A Nightmare on Elm Street, wherein he would plague the nightmares of teenagers before murdering them in inventive ways. Played to perfection by the legendary Robert Englund, the wise-cracking…

Jerry Lawlers Menagerie of Monsters. In the days of The Territories, when one promotion would dominate a local region, each promotion carefully crafted its own identity and ethos. For example, Western Canada (Stampede Wrestling) and the American Midwest (AWA) tended to push wrestlers with impressive technical acumen, while Dallas (WCCW) and Detroit (Big Time Wrestling) focused on the brawling style and what would come to be known as Hardcore or Deathmatch wrestling. In Memphis, they adopted a different approach, crafting some of the most outlandish gimmicks to ever grace the squared circle. Today we’ll look at why the legacy of…

The most effective villains in fiction are the relatable ones, the ones who have a point, unlike Muhammad Hassan. Consider the likes of Roy Batty from Blade Runner, or Killmonger from Black Panther, or arguably the king of relatable villains, Magneto from X-Men. Their actions may be brutal and unconscionable, but the fact that we can understand and relate to their motivations makes them that much more memorable. The same is true in pro wrestling, where wrestlers often turn heel for understandable reasons. When Bret Hart turned heel towards the end of his WWF run, he did so because he…

At Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling’s Northern Rising event, we witnessed the finals of the MLP Women’s Canadian Championship tournament as “Smiley” Kylie Rae faced Gisele Shaw. The tournament began on March 14th at the MLP Mayhem PPV at St.Clair College in Windsor. The WWE ID and TNA standouts defeated indie darling Taylor Rising and AEW’s Serena Deeb respectively to earn a chance to become the inaugural champion. However, Shaw captured the Women’s Canadian Championship under controversial circumstances. Join us as we break down the events that led to Gisele Shaw lifting the MLP Women’s Canadian Championship. Before the match, TNA’s…

Saturday night, Toronto, Ontario’s own Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling crowned the inaugural MLP Canadian Heavyweight Champion! AEW’s Josh Alexander eliminated 19 other men in a gauntlet match for the brand new championship belt at the “MLP Northern Rising” PPV. However, The Walking Weapon’s shiny new championship isn’t the only takeaway from this Saturday’s main event in Toronto. Join us now as we break down who did what in this incredibly chaotic match, that will shape storylines for months to come. Rich Swann and El Phantasmo entered at #1 and #2, with Swann using the old “test of strength” to bait…

On May 27th, 2021, All Elite Wrestling posted a Twitter video featuring a Tully Blanchard promo to Shawn Spears. In the blistering promo, Tully rips into Spears for his recent shift in attitude. These are the tales and lineage of The Black Glove. The following week on AEW Dynamite (June 3rd, 2021), the former Horseman gave his protege a gift that would help him find his inner darkness: A black fingerless glove. But why just the one? Well, the lone black glove has been a symbol of inner evil for quite some time. These are tales and lineage of the…

From the days of grapplers plying their trade in the carnival circuit up to modern times, professional wrestling has been seen as the realm of the ‘tough guy.’ Stories abound of wrestlers who knocked out larger men or gritted their teeth and wrestled through gruesome injuries. We bring up names like Haku, who can beat up entire crowds, or Kurt Angle, who captured a gold medal at the Olympics with a broken (freakin’) neck. In the wake of his passing in 2019, many such stories about one Harley Race were retold. Over a 31-year career in the industry, Harley Race…

The territory days of professional wrestling hold many a story of world champions who faded into obscurity. Many become bitter that their time in the spotlight couldn’t last longer. But there are others who see the end of the road and decide not to turn back but to pave the way ahead. Dominic DeNucci is one such hero. Deciding to step back from the spotlight in 1980, DeNucci decided his legacy would not be one of his groundbreaking title reigns but of fostering the next generation of talent. Here we will look at the career of the master of the…

In our previous installment on the life and career of Harley Race, “The Baddest Man on God’s Green Earth,” we looked into his long, slow, painful rise to the NWA World’s Heavyweight Championship. Escaping a difficult family life at 16, Race went to work on a farm owned by the Zbysko brothers. From there, he began wrestling in the carnivals, earning $6 a match for 6 matches a night. Later he would begin working for Missouri promoter Gust Karras, until a car wreck threatened to end Harley’s career just as it was getting started. After a grueling recovery, Race teamed…

For a little under two years, The Dynamic Duo of Gino Hernandez and Chris Adams were the most dominant heels in World Class Championship Wrestling. Along with Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Gino and Chris would feud with The Von Erichs, The Fabulous Freebirds, and The Fantastics. Between Gino’s top-notch mic skills, Chris’s intensity, and the impressive athleticism displayed by both, The Dynamic Duo could have dominated any territory they set foot in. However, their fun-loving, hard-partying lives outside of the ring would cut their run short before they had the chance to go national. This is a look at the…