Yesterday, I stopped by the Icons of Wrestling convention at the ECW Arena (a.k.a. 2300 Arena) to meet several of the people I interviewed for my book about the first 20 years of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling and to secure additional interviews for my project. Read on for more details.
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Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling’s Original Sheik by Brian Solomon explores the tumultuous life and career of The Sheik — one of the most enigmatic figures in the history of pro wrestling. Does Brian’s book do The Sheik justice? Read on for my review.
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On the eve of Bound For Glory, IMPACT Wrestling’s biggest show of the year, I’m proud to say that I was the first person Tommy Dreamer agreed to do an interview with following his recent appearance on Dark Side of the Ring. It was a two-part interview, covering all of Tommy’s time with the company, both in and out of the ring. We talked about Bob Ryder, Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter, Scott D’Amore, COVID, “Action” Mike Jackson, Paul Heyman, Daffney, and a whole lot more. Of course, we also discussed Dark Side of the Ring too. Tommy has always had my respect, and it was an honor and pleasure to speak with him at length for my book about the history of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling.
Last night, I attended the first full-capacity professional wrestling event held at the 2300 Arena (i.e., ECW Arena): MLW Battle Riot III. Read on for my thoughts, as well as photos and videos from the event.
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New Jack, an iconic wrestler who is best known for his time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), died on May 14, at the age of 58, after suffering a heart attack.
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If you thought I was done with heavy hitters for my books about the history of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, think again! I spoke with Ken Anderson, a two-time TNA World Heavyweight Champion, at length about his time with the company. We covered his feuds with Sting and Kurt Angle, including Angle’s crazy moonsault off the top of the cage at Lockdown 2010, as well as his time in Immortal, working with legends like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. I got Ken’s thoughts on AJ Styles, Rob Van Dam, Jeff Jarrett, Dixie Carter, and more. We also talked about Aces & Eights and why he was let go from TNA, among many other topics. It was an absolute pleasure interviewing Ken. He’s always been one of my favorite wrestlers, and he’s criminally underrated. I look forward to his future in the business, and I’m extremely thankful for the opportunity to speak with him for my book project.
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RetroMania Wrestling, the official sequel to WrestleFest, is now available! Just this week it was released on Nintendo Switch, and I’ve been playing it on my PC via Steam. If you’re a fan of pick-up-and-play arcade wrestling video games, then this is the one for you!
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Today was quite a day for interviews for my books about the history of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling. I interviewed the greatest and most influential female wrestler of all time, Gail Kim, as well as hardcore wrestling icon Shane Douglas, and former TNA Knockouts Champion Taryn Terrell!
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Today I may have conducted the biggest interview for my books about the history of TNA/IMPACT Wrestling yet: Rob Van Dam! Mr. Monday Night talked to me about his two runs in the promotion, including stories about Hulk Hogan, Sting, Sami Callihan, Jeff Hardy, Paul Heyman, and much more. RVD is the only man to have held the ECW, WWE, and TNA World Heavyweight Championships, yet he comes off as the super cool dude we all know and love on TV. I couldn’t be more grateful to have had the chance to speak with this wrestling icon, and I look forward to sharing his stories with you in my books.
Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of the ECW is an excellent Audible Original. Writer Scott E. Williams has pored through records and conducted dozens of interviews with fans, company officials, business partners, and the wrestlers themselves to bring listeners the most thorough account possible of this bizarre company. As someone who has watched numerous documentaries about ECW, I learned a lot while listening to this audiobook. It provides an excellent, and sometimes detailed, overview of major events related to ECW and its various incarnations.