Mega Powers Running Wild!

The legendary 'Macho man' Randy Savage teams up with 'The Immortal' Hulk Hogan to take on Ted Dibiase and Andre The Giant in the first ever WWF Summerslam!

Shawn Micahels vs. Mankind

The Heartbreak Kid defends the WWF Championship against Mankind in a thrilling main event at WWF In Your House: Mind Games.

The Birth of the nWo

From Hulk Hogan's shocking turn at WCW Bash at the Beach 1996 to the addition of Ted Dibiase, THe Giant Syxx and more, relive the very beginning of the New World Order.

Austin 3:16 Says I Just Kicked Your Ass

It's one of the most famous promos of all time; Stone Cold Steve Austin wins the 1996 King of The Ring and serves notice on all the WWF superstars. Check it out in our complete review

Wrestlemania 12 Review

The boyhood dream comes true as Shawn Michaels battles champion Bret 'The Hitman' Hart in a classic 1-hour iron man match. Plus, Diesel vs. Undertaker and more.

WCW Fall Brawl 1996 Review

Was Sting in cahoots with the New World Order? Would Lex Luger be able to get along with the Four Horsemen as they faced the nWo in War Games? Find out in this review

Tuesday, 15 April 2014

ARCHIVED WRITING: WWE 2009 Draft: Things look good for Smackdown

Back in 2008-2009, I took good advantage of my day job as a journalist to pen a regular pro-wrestling feature on my 'zine's website. Said website is no longer active, but I do still have a bunch of the stuff I wrote.

So, in an attempt to add more content to Retro Pro Wrestling, whilst at the same time making this blog a sort of complete archive of my 20+ years as a wrestling fan, I thought I'd share some of those features (and later Raw, Smackdown and PPV reviews) with you guys.

Here goes.



On the face of it, the annual draft which took place on Monday’s three-hour edition of WWE Raw seems to prove the E's own lackadaisical attitudes to their other brands.

Once again Raw dominated the draft proceedings and, at least on paper, depleted Smackdown’s stock when it comes to the amount of talent left on the blue show.

With WWE Champion Triple H taking his title with him to Raw, Smackdown finds itself without a main event champion (at least until Backlash).MVP, Matt Hardy and The Big Show have also been moved over to Monday nights, diminishing Smackdown’s star power even further.

It’s almost as though WWE wants you to believe that Raw is the only show that really matters, enforcing the point by bringing over the majority of Smackdown stars who are even remotely over and who come armed with a decent amount of talent.

Though this time, perhaps Raw’s gain isn’t necessarily Smackdown’s loss.

Assuming that Edge doesn’t somehow get switched in the supplemental draft on Wednesday, let’s look at who Teddy Long has on his books right now:

CM Punk, Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, Shelton Benjamin, Rey Mysterio, Edge; six men who, between them, could deliver some outstanding matches over the course of the next twelve months.

Add some on-form performances from The Undertaker, get Christian over in the supplemental draft and you’ve got the makings of a solid top-tier on what I’ve often thought of as WWE’s ‘wrestling show’.

Of course, this could all go skew-whiff.

Judging by the spoilers for this Friday’s show, it seems the company don’t quite have enough faith in their new Smackdown line-up to let them get on with it, and have given us a Raw main event to finish things off.

Not only that, but feuds which should have ended thanks to the split seem to be continuing on, draft or no draft.

Still, I remain optimistic.

Creatively, World Wrestling Entertainment seems to be in limbo at the minute, with the aftermath of Wrestlemania 25 still lingering in the air.

Let them get all the loose ends tied up with Backlash (which, by the way, is free on Sky Sports for fans in the UK), and hopefully Smackdown can get on with being an awesome show.


At least until the next draft.

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

ARCHIVED WRITING: Wrestlemania 25 + post WWE Raw thoughts

So, Wrestlemania 25 has been and gone and your blogger scored a pitiful 4/9 on the prediction front.

[NOTE: This is an archived post I wrote elsewhere after WM25.]

Regardless of my psychic abilities and despite the general feeling among the internet wrestling community that it was a pretty poor show, I found it pretty entertaining.

Money in the Bank 2009 wasn’t the greatest incarnation of the annual spotfest, but it certainly had it’s moments; not least of which was that Shelton Benjamin spot.

The Shawn Michaels/Undertaker clash left me, and probably everybody else, speechless and far surpassed anything that took place in the two title bouts.

If there’s any heavy criticism to be flung in WM25’s direction, it’s down to the omission of the tag team title unification bout in favour of a performance from Kid Rock which went on far too long and a very badly done Divas Battle Royal.

That said, I did find the whole Saninto/Santina thing far funnier than it should have been. If you ask me, Anthony Carelli could well have a career in Hollywood comedies should The Big ‘E ever wish him well on future endeavors.

Following Wrestlemania, WWE hosted Raw the following evening.

Is it just me, or was this actually a pretty naff show? The in-ring action wasn’t bad for the most part, but even when you consider the announcement of two title matches for Backlash, it really seemed as though the group were simply killing time until next week’s draft.

I’d love to write a blog about the draft later this week but, being realistic, I know I probably won’t have time.

If I don’t get round to it, here’s what I would have said:

“The WWE draft is completely pointless given the company’s own disregard for roster splits. However, it would be pretty awesome if CM Punk and Christian were drafted to Smackdown and had some good matches.”



Tuesday, 1 April 2014

ARCHIVED WRITING: Wrestlemania 25 predictions

The Showcase of the Immortals, the Grandest Stage of them All, The Big One, Wrestlemania 25 takes place this Sunday, April 5th 2009 and here’s who I think will be leaving Houston, Texas with a tick in the win column.

[NOTE: This archived post contains my original predictions for Wrestlemania 25, originally posted on the morning of April 5th, 2009.]

Tag Team Unification Bout

Next to Michaels/Undertaker, this is probably the one this blogger has been looking forward to the most.

Forget Triple H/Orton. Who cares about Show/Cena/Edge? Those who regular tune in to the blue brand will hopefully agree that Carlito, Primo, Miz and Morrison have the potential to provide a surprising highlight of the night.

Who’s going to win? Miz & Morrison of course. Or at least, they should.

The Dirt Sheet Duo have been on a role these past twelve months and a win here should further cement their status as the premier tandem in the company.

And if Carlito & Primo do somehow snatch a win, expect M & M to grab the straps somewhere down the line.

Regardless as to who wins this one, it should be a pretty entertaining affair.

Money in the Bank

This one is hard to pick, especially as I’m not all that interested in it.

What makes predicting a winner even harder is that the wrestler I think will win is at odds with the wrestler I want to win.

I really want MVP to walk away with the briefcase, simply because he’s fun to watch and I reckon he’d be great in the upper echelons of WWE.

That said, my gut instinct tells me CM Punk is going to win, transfer to Smackdown in the draft and get into something long term, hopefully with Edge.

The IWC seems to have their collective coffers on Christian, but I’m bucking the trend and going with the Straight Edge Superstar.

25 Divas Battle Royal

Let’s face it, nothing long term could be achieved by having a diva on a one-shot deal win this.

No, this one needs to go to someone active on the roster who could benefit. I don’t really care who wins, but the way things are going at the minute, I’m guessing it’s even going to be Michelle McCool or Maryse.

With a quick flip of the coin, I’m siding with Marsye.

Intercontinental Championship: JBL vs. Rey Mysterio

Does anyone even care about the IC title any more? It seems to change hands with every title defence.

Which is why I reckon JBL will buck the trend and walk away from his home state of Texas with the title still in tact.

Matt Hardy vs. Jeff Hardy

The build up to this one has been pretty solid, though even still it isn’t a match I’m aching to see.

It should still be entertaining nonetheless, and I’m backing the younger Hardy snatching a victory after spending the bulk of the bout getting beaten up by his brother.

That way, Matt still gets a push simply be looking so dominant, but the crowds are left feeling happy with a win for the ever-popular Jeff.

Chris Jericho vs. The Legends.

Easy, all logic in the world would say Chris Jericho has to win this one.

It makes no sense to build him up as one of the most effective heels in the biz, only for him to loose to a bunch of old men.

And since this isn’t TNA, where whatever doesn’t make sense is usually want ends up happening, I’m picking Jericho to win.

Just think of the bragging rights a win would afford him here. Sure, he’ll only end up beating three old dudes, but these are three old dudes held in high reverence by the wrestling world.

So, Jericho to win, but to then please the crowds by getting attacked by Flair, Piper, Snuka and Steamboat.

Shawn Michaels vs. The Undertaker

Above all others, this is the match everyone wants to see at ‘Mania, and if I were Michaels or ‘Taker, I’d be praying to God that the match could live up to everyone’s expectations.

As for the result, surely that’s already a forgone conclusion?

HBK has looked awesome in the hype for this one, and he should benefit from that alone without needing to win.

Meanwhile, The Dead Man must surely want vengeance. More's the point, for as long as Undertaker is still active, his Wrestlemania streak should be kept in tact.

That way, WWE creative already have a ready-made storyline for many Wrestlemanias to come.

World Heavyweight Championship: Edge vs. John Cena vs. Big Show

After Cena was pinned clean by Big Show on this Monday’s WWE Raw, many have predicted that this is a sure sign of him walking away with the Big Gold Belt come Sunday.

I beg to differ, and I’d bet the bank on Edge retaining.

I don’t know why, but whenever Edge wins a big match, it always seems to come as a complete surprise, and what better place to deliver the unexpected than at Wrestlemania 25?

Sure, Cena bagging the gold would make for one of those ‘Wrestlemania Moments’ The Big ‘E are so fond of, but so too would a shock win for the Rated R Superstar, especially if includes a cameo from Christian.

WWE Championship: Triple H vs. Randy Orton

Plain and simple, I’m going with Triple H. The McMahon clan have had their backsides handed to them by Randy Orton and his pair of whipping boys lately, it’s time they got their revenge.

And besides, there could be much more mileage in this one.

To surmise then, here’s my picks:


Tag Team Unification: Miz & Morrison
Money in the Bank: CM Punk
Divas Battle Royal: Maryse
IC Title: JBL
Hardy vs. Hardy: Jeff
Jericho vs. Legends: Jericho
Michaels vs. Taker: Undertaker
World Heavyweight Championship: Edge
WWE Championship: Triple H

Retro Pro Wrestling

New reviews of classic WWF/WWE events recalling every moment from Wrestlemania 1 - 30. You'll also find reviews of WCW, ECW, TNA and the occasional indie event, along with a look at old school magazines, merchandise and more.