Interesting Facts about Masahiro Chono

Interesting Facts about Masahiro Chono

September 27, 2023

By Ryan Porzl

Japanese Wrestling or Puroresu has had it's share of larger than life legends who were part of and a big part of a golden age in the business. One such wrestler in Japan was Masahiro Chono. A member of a legendary class of New Japan Dojo graduates that came out in 1984, Chono eventually skyrocketed to fame in the 1990s as one of wrestling's best talents and heels while also being a part of New Japan's "Three Musketeers" group alongside fellow 90s top stars Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji "The Great Muta" Mutoh. This September 17th marks Chono's 60th birthday and what better way to celebrate a legend, especially one not as well known in the west, then to present some interesting facts about the man referred to as "Black Charisma", "Mr. August", and "Mr. G1".

Note: I don't own any pictures, I found them on Google. Credit to New Japan Pro Wrestling, Purolove, and/or whoever owns them. I apologize for not knowing the owner's names.

Fall

Fall
September 5, 2013
By Ryan Porzl

Top Ten Wrestlers Who Blew A Great Retirement

Top Ten Wrestlers Who Blew A Great Retirement
September 13. 2023
By Ryan Porzl

Professional Wrestling has it's share of tropes and things to mock and one of the big ones are retirements. While there have been a fair share of wrestlers and legends who have honored a retirement, the majority of wrestlers don't know the word "retirement" and many have broken them to return to the ring. However, out of all the wrestlers who have broke retirements, there are those who were given hero's sendoffs including a big match at a big event and usually with a big crowd or hometown crowd. Many legends have been given a perfect sendoff only to break it and return to the ring with some of those returns being big mistakes. In this article, we'll look at the wrestlers who had perfect retirements and ride off to the sunset only to blow it and come back with the return usually being a mistake.

Note: I don't own any pictures as I found them on Google.

The Positives of the Hulk Hogan era in TNA

The Positives of the Hulk Hogan era in TNA
August 31, 2023
By Ryan Porzl

In 2003, Hulk Hogan would leave WWE and within months, rumors began to circulate of him appearing and competing for the upstart Total Nonstop Action Wrestling promotion (now Impact Wrestling). Ultimately, it didn't happen and both sides did their own things. Fast forward six years later on October 2009, TNA and Hogan would hold a press conference announcing his arrival to TNA which he eventually did in January 2010. At the time, the hope was obviously this would be a game changer for TNA and bring them to the next level like Hogan's arrival did for WCW in the 1990s. Unfortunately, and as it well known, this didn't happen and the Hogan era would last nearly four years which many wrestling fans and TNA/Impact fans would say was a failure at best, disastrous at worst as the promotions fortunes and reputation took tremendous damage that led to a massive decline during the early to late 2010s which left them on death's door by 2016 only to be saved by current owners Anthem. Obviously, there's plenty not to like about this time in TNA: the embarrassing attempt to compete against Monday Night RAW on Mondays to the arrival of washed up names to Hogan bringing in his daughter Brooke who contributed nothing to the product and was only there to try and raise her profile. However, was it all bad? Was there ANYTHING good from the Hogan era to look back on? Well, the answer is no, it wasn't all bad and yes, there were some good here and there. This is the second of a two parter article where we look back at Hogan in celebration of his recent 70th birthday. Keep in mind, I'm not trying to whitewash this era. I acknowledge it was a massive failure that did more harm than good. That said, I do think there were things Hogan (along with Eric Bischoff and TNA) got right during this time. There are things to look back on fondly from their attempts to take chances to coming up with concepts that are still around to this day while others are things people want back. Before I begin, I want to say when I bring up "The Hogan Era", I'm referring to when Hogan debuted in January 2010 to his departure in October 2013. I should also point out, with these examples, I'm not going to credit everything to Hogan and Bischoff as they didn't think of everything. If nothing else, I'm looking at positives from this period that they may or may not have had a hand in.

Note: I don't own any pictures, I found them on Google. Credit to TNA and Universal Studios

Top Ten Times Hulk Hogan Put Someone Over

Top Ten Times Hulk Hogan Put Someone Over

August 21, 2023
By Ryan Porzl

Love him or hate him, no one can deny Hulk Hogan's success and contributions to professional wrestling. One of wrestling's true larger than life talents, Hogan played a role in both of the last two golden ages of American professional wrestling. He's participated in some of the biggest matches and moments of all time while also headlining the biggest shows of all time from Wrestlemania III to Starrcade 1997. However, despite Hogan's achievements, he does have plenty of critics as he's been known for many things in the industry and one has been as a backstage politician. During his career, Hogan has been accused of selfishness and either not losing matches cleanly or properly when he should've (vs. Sting at Starrcade 1997) or maybe using his influence to stay in the main event during times when he shouldn't have been there. While it is true Hogan won way more than he lost and while he's not known for losing to just anybody, he has shown in his career that he too can do the right thing and lose when necessary. This August 11th marks Hogan's 70th birthday and instead of doing an interesting facts list on him since I think most people know everything there is to know, I decided to do a two parter that look at Hogan and stuff involving him. In this article, we'll look back at the times when Hogan would do the right thing and go out of his way to put over a talent.

Note: I don't own the pictures. I got them off Google.

NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986 Review

NWA Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986 Review
August 5, 2023
By Ryan Porzl

Crockett Cup 1986 VHS

Event: Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament 1986

Tagline: None
Date: April 19, 1986
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Live or Tape: Live
Arena(s): The Superdome
Attendance: 3,500 (afternoon) and 13,000 (evening)
Announcers: None
Interviewers: None
Other: None
Broadcast: Home Video

WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Bad 1998

WWF Wrestlers Who Had a Bad 1998
July 13, 2023
By Ryan Porzl

I think it's universally known that 1998 was an amazing year for the WWF (now WWE). After struggling during The New Generation era of the early 90s and then getting their clock cleaned by WCW during the late 90s, they would finally turn things around and enjoy a resurgence with The Attitude Era in 1998. Things couldn't be better for the WWF and many of their wrestlers had good to phenomenal years. Both Steve Austin and The Rock, the two biggest names of the era, made it to the top in 1998. Meanwhile, Mick Foley had a rollercoaster year that saw him fulfill a dream, Kane had his first full year and won gold, Triple H continued to climb the ladder. and The Undertaker was still a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, not every wrestler had a great year. In many ways, 1998 was not just a bad year for some wrestlers but arguably one of the worst years of their careers. With 1998 being a quarter century old and since I feel this could be a fun article, I figure why not take a look at the wrestlers who, quite frankly, had a miserable 1998.

Note: I don't own the pictures. I got them on Google.