The Montreal Screwjob was 25 years ago last month. Looking back on the event, after reading and hearing about it for over two decades, I can say the biggest victim was pro wrestling fans.

That’s a rough roll considering all that happened to Bret Hart following Survivor Series 1997. But the Screwjob cemented the idea that pro wrestling fans had to take sides on every piece of news, roster move, show review, ratings news, locker room or wrestler depending on how they lean as a fan.

Wrestling has always been about two opposing sides in the ring, but the concept has been carried far beyond that outside of it. While social media, Reddit and the major companies are always trying to manipulate fans into thinking one thing or another, the truth is it’s fine to not have an opinion on something. This may be a new concept to those who suffer through the asylum that is Twitter, but it’s an actual legit position to have.

The Screwjob was such a shock to the business, it took well over a decade for the creative side of the wrestling to recover. Both the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) and World Championship Wrestling couldn’t escape the moment. The Screwjob finish was a favorite for every booker from Vince Russo to Vince McMahon, to Joe and his local backyard fed. Ten years after the Screwjob, when Hart made his on-screen return to WWE TV in 2010, the only fan or industry employee who was over it was Hart himself.

Fans also began to judge the Screwjob based on their fandom, not on their opinion of the event. Some of the criticisms aimed at Hart were legit. Yes, he had a creative control clause in his contract, but if he just lost, then the entire event doesn’t happen. At the same time, Vince McMahon and Shawn Michaels had pushed Hart to a breaking point as far as pride, and Hart did have contingencies to handover the belt that made sense. The biggest criticism should be laid at the feet of McMahon, who had a history of leaving titles on wrestlers who weren’t under contract or whose contracts were about to expire.

Fans viewed Hart through two lenses – his diehard fans along with WCW fans saw him as the victim of McMahon’s failure to manage his roster properly. If he didn’t want Hart with the company, why give him a 20-year contract a year earlier. Why keep he belt on him after you tell him you plan to release him. These are great questions, but their validity – in 1997 and even now – depended much on who you were cheering for as a fan.

WWF fans believed Hart forced McMahon to take the belt off him by any means possible. Hart was constantly harangued online in the late 90s and early 2000s by the the WWF-loyal online wrestling fanbase. Even after his brother, Owen, died in a WWF ring in 1999, fans still hammered Hart as a bad guy in the event, even claiming he was bitter over the Screwjob after dealing with the biggest tragedy of his life, one of many he dealt with in the immediate years following the end of his WWF career.

Why a figure like Hart became such a divisive figure was by design. Despite the supposed death of kayfabe, wrestling is always about two sides and its the default for wrestlers, fans and even owners. Witness how smoothly WWE has managed to slip away from Vince McMahon’s history with certain members of wrestling media and fans, with little to no questions asked about his serial sexual harassment and allegations of assault, payoffs and an investigation that would still scandalize any other company.

All Out Fallout

The most obvious and bizarre example of the bi-polar affectations of wrestling fans – the press conference from hell following All Out. Fans began lining up behind Punk and the Elite almost immediately, depending on who they preferred as a fan. Egging this on are veteran wrestlers and personalities and their podcasts, who are throwing heat like Aroldis Chapman in an effort to stay relevant and to stay in the black with clicks and advertisers.

After a two-and-a-half month suspension, Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson returned two weeks ago. After failing to trademark “Wayward Sons,” the group still used the Kansas hit as their entrance music along with an intro that combined clock graphics.

“Carry On My Wayward Son” was a song the Young Bucks had used as entrance music back to their days in their backyard. Their dad, a longtime musician and rock keyboardist with a taste for 70s rock, was obviously an influence on his kids.

The idea that the song is a shot at CM Punk, who is out with an injury and has been threatening legal action while requesting a buyout of his contract, has been floating since The Elite returned to AEW TV two weeks ago. But is there really anything there? More obvious was Omega using Punk’s finisher during its Trios match in front of a hostile Chicago crowd last week, even biting PAC (referencing the bite Omega suffered from former AEW producer Ace Steel).

Not everything is about Punk, whether he or his fans believe that or not, and not everything is more than just getting heat from the crowd. But it’s another case of fans taking sides based on their fandom and not on the evidence or what’s out there. There’s a case to make that Punk had a right to be upset and unhappy with AEW creative, or that he felt threatened when AEW legal, the Elite and others came into his locker room.

There’s also a case to be made The Elite and Adam Page are the victims of Punk going into business for himself in a way that should have had him fired on the spot. Many people in AEW believed Punk should have been fired or his promo burying Page when he returned to AEW TV after his heel injury.

In other words, these issues are complicated. And pro wrestling isn’t the only subject where people fall into rows – anyone who made the mistake of bringing up politics at Thanksgiving this past weekend, or sports, or religion … need I go on?

But wrestling and the cult-like sensibilities it creates are leave its fans more susceptible than other areas. Given how internet heavy wrestling media and how important it is as far as news and fan discourse, the chances of getting dragged into one camp or the other is even worse, despite whatever nuanced information is available.

What’s brutal about this attitude is how poisonous it is for fans. It wears fans out and makes following the sport a job, not fun. Pro wrestling should be more enjoyable – online and off. Doing that is in the power of fans. Watch who you are following. Look for people who are smart on Twitter, not echoing what you’re saying. Or worse, the fans/stans who populate social media and bring nothing to the discussion but noise.

Controversy was the story after Smash Wrestling star Psycho Mike was the victim of a shoot and got big-timed by an Australian Shepherd named “Very Good Boy” in a recent pro wrestling match.

Footage of the match went viral on Twitter over the last 24 hours:

https://twitter.com/KaelanRamos/status/1579587473696763904

In an interview with SEScoops.com, Psycho Mike – despite suffering the emotional after effects of the loss – told his story, the controversial changes that happened once the match began and his bad experiences working with canines in the past, who he complained haven’t paid their dues and are difficult to work with.

Psycho Mike: Not much to say, really. Dog wasn’t trained to lay down on her back, so she couldn’t do the job. No big deal; I’m a professional, I’ll put her over.

We called a few spots to make it look competitive, but right out the gate she botches the shine. Whatever, these things happen – I’m ready to call it on the fly.

But then the dog goes into business for herself and starts shooting on me. I’m just trying to get my shit in, ya know?

Anyways, we’re supposed to be going broadway, but I call an audible and take it home early. Ruff night.

B.J. Bethel: The dog looked like it was working snug. And then there was that low blow early. Did you two have heat?

Psycho Mike: Liquid magma heat. Tired of these canines walking into our business without paying dues.

The match began to go awry at the bell. The manager entered the ring and Very Good Boy landed a stiff low blow on Mike.

Then came a series of dangerous four-paw stomps – much more dangerous than a Curb Stomp or Coup De Grace (the Coup De Paw?) because they involve anywhere from two-to-four times as many paws/feet. Keep in mind the one-foot/paw Curb Stomp was banned from top promotion World Wresting Entertainment for a few years due to the inherent danger of the move.

Very Good Boy showed no such scruples, landing almost half a dozen Coup De Paws on the veteran Psycho Mike, who has wrestled stars such as Dalton Castle and The Blade/Pepper Parks.

Mike took the pinfall, but there was more controversy as Mike protested the three-count.

Continue to follow SEScoops.com and SEScoops on social media for the latest on this developing story.

Renee Paquette – a popular and critically acclaimed interviewer and commentator with World Wrestling Entertainment for nearly a decade – is expected to sign with All-Elite Wrestling, according to several sources.

Paquette, who worked as Renee Young for WWE from 2012 to 2020 and was the first woman to announce an entire episode of WWE Raw, “could possibly debut … this week,” according to one source. Dynamite is in Toronto, Paquette’s home town.

AEW has been working to find women to fill some of its TV announcing roles since the company started in 2019. Paquette – who worked with The Score in Canada prior to joining WWE – is a veteran broadcaster with experience conducting interviews, commentating, and hosting pre and post-shows. She would be the company’s biggest announcing signing since Jim Ross and Tony Schiavone. AEW recently signed Saraya Jade Bevis, who is expected to bolster AEW’s women’s division and fill in on announcing duties.

Paquette left WWE in 2020. She began hosting her own podcast, The Sessions, in 2021 and video interviews on her own YouTube channel.

She interviewed several players for the Cincinnati Bengals YouTube channel and website prior to the start of the NFL season. The Bengals announced on Oct. 6 she would begin hosting her own show, Renee All-Dey for the team.

She released a cookbook in May 2021. She co-hosts Throwing Down with Renee and Miesha on Sirius XM with former UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion Miehsa Tate.

Fightful reported WWE had reached out to Paquette about returning to the company recently, but believed she would begin working with AEW.

Paquette is married to Jon Moxley, AEW World Champion and company mainstay. AEW announced over the weekend it had signed Moxley to a 5-year contract which would include a role as a mentor/coach with the company. Moxley and AEW president Tony Khan were working on a handshake deal prior to the signing. Moxley and Paquette had their first child in June 2021. They live in the Cincinnati area.

The Daily Mail was one of the first online publications to post a story about the Sept.30 death of Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Desperately seeking a sports figure to compare Inoki, the Mail called him “Japan’s Dennis Rodman.” Other than using their respective sports for ill-advised diplomacy to North Korea, the two had nothing in common. Rodman had taken a group of basketball players to North Korea in a diplomatic move, which was against advisement of the US government. Inoki ran a joint show in the country with WCW and New Japan in the 90s in front of 300,000 people.

There’s no one in Western life comparable to Inoki, someone who became as influential as any major politician and celebrity. His own life story and resume would make for a great museum exhibit.

His childhood was fraught with family tragedy and athletic accomplishment. His own ambition got him fired twice from Japan’s biggest promotion. His starpower led to a fight with Muhammad Ali when the heavyweight champion was the most famous person in the world. He saved pro wrestling in Japan and grew it to massive heights – then nearly killed it years later.

Inoki was born on Feb. 20, 1943, just weeks after the last Japanese soldiers retreated from Guadalcanal, the tipping point of the war. His father died when he was 5. In the 1950s, with Japan’s economy still reeling from the war, he moved with his mother, grandfather and family to Brazil. His grandfather didn’t survive the trip. In South America, he continued to excel in sports, mainly track and field. He met Rikidozan – the father of Japanese wrestling – when he was 17 years old and returned to Japan to train with the master himself and Karl Gotch. Among his fellow students was Giant Baba. The two were the clear standouts, and the trajectory of wrestling in Japan was set for the next half century.

When Rikidozan died in 1963, Inoki found himself on the outs with his mentor’s promotion, Japanese Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA). In 1966, he went to the U.S for nearly two years, wrestling in high profile matches throughout many of the of the top NWA territories at the time. Houston, Central States in St. Louis, Southwest Sports in Texas, Dallas, WWA in California among numerous others. He won the NWA Texas title wrestling for Fritz Von Erich in Dallas and two versions of the NWA World Tag Team titles, once in Dallas with Duke Keomuka (an innovative judo practitioner and father of 80s and 90s AWA, NWA and WWF star Pat Tanaka) and in Tennessee with Hiro Matsuda, who trained Hulk Hogan.

By late 1967, he returned to Japan and was wrestling tag matches with Baba. Their list of opponents included American names that would fill a Hall of Fame – including Dick Murdoch, Harley Race, Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr. Baba and Inoki lost the NWA International Tag titles to the Funk Brothers in July 1971, according to cagematch.net. He opened New Japan a year later, defeating his former trainer Karl Gotch, on the Opening Series card.

The fight against Ali began with a flippant remark at a banquet, when he was introduced to a Japanese amateur wrestling official and said he would pay any “Oriental” fighter $1 million if they could beat him. .

The statement sparked headlines in Japan. Inoki accepted, with financial backers in Japan offering Ali millions for the fight. The two sides came to a deal in the spring, with Inoki famously giving Ali a crutch and it billed as The War of the Worlds. Gene LeBell was picked as the referee. Ali supposedly trained with The Sheik leading up to the fight, and took on pro wrestlers in two televised exhibition fights. Reaction to the fight was split between fans, reporters and fighters, with some deriding it as a fix and others seeing it as a true martial arts test. The fight later became known as a precursor to mixed-martial arts.

One factor was Inoki’s technique of laying on his back and swinging kicks at Ali’s legs, which he did constantly during the fight. This sparked outrage from people who watched the fight, but the same strategy was employed for years in the UFC whenever grapplers faced opponents with strong standup and boxing backgrounds. An estimated 1.4 billion people watched the fight on television, according to The Japan Times, in article published after Ali’s death in 2016.

The fight was a draw, which sparked a riot at Budokan and at several arenas worldwide where the event was being broadcasted. Ali suffered blood clots in his legs, which hampered his famous agility the rest of his career. The fight was considered a blemish on both men, with the draw and the negotiated rules of the fight giving both outs. Many blasted Inoki for laying on his back, accusing him of being fearful of approaching Ali, but he blamed the rules that were negotiated that didn’t allow him to exercise chops, tackles and other offensive moves.

Inoki held the WWF title after a 1979 win over Bob Backlund in Japan, but the win was never acknowledged by the company. He also remained active as a trainer. His students include The Great Muta, Shinsuke Nakamura, Akira Maeda, Satoru Sayama (the original Tiger Mask) among dozens of others.

New Japan became the birthplace for the light heavyweight and cruiserweight style that became popular in the United States in the late 1990s in WCW. The style is now the default for wrestlers of all sizes in the U.S. A series of matches between Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid from 1981 to 1984 brought the style to prominence in Japan and to the WWF, when the two wrestled for the company in the U.S. Jushin Liger became one of the most traveled and influential wrestlers in the world as the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion.

By the mid 1990s, New Japan was a powerhouse, running the Tokyo Dome four times a year. By this time, Inoki was also in politics and was elected to office in 1989. He met with Saddam Hussein to negotiate for the release of Japanese hostages prior to the beginning of the Gulf War. Ironically, Ali was also in Iraq during this period asking for the release of U.S. hostages who were working in the country.

The promotion was working regularly with WCW during the period, including the Collision in Korea card. The show was broadcast on PPV in the U.S., but hasn’t been made available since. The show had many near-misses for talent who came into the country. North Korean officials wanted Ric Flair to read off a propaganda card claiming that North Korea was superior to the U.S. and could easily defeat them. He instead said the country was beautiful. Many of the WCW talent felt the show was an attempt by Inoki to push his political career, and weren’t ready for the circumstances they were going to deal with inside the country. They were monitored almost constantly and several incidents between security and wrestlers resulted. The show was the subject of an episode of Dark Side of the Ring.

Inoki’s last blast in pro wrestling led to him selling his company. With the emergence of MMA in the mid 1990s and the success of Pride Fighting Championships, Inoki began pairing pro wrestlers against shoot fighters in New Japan and in his own UFO fighting promotion. What resulted was a disaster for New Japan, with many of its top stars getting injured or having their images wrecked in shoot fights they weren’t trained. By 2002, many of New Japan’s top stars began leaving the company over “Inokism,” which was the name given to Inoki’s obsession with mixing pro wrestling and MMA and Inoki sold the company to Yuke’s – a video game maker – in 2005. Inoki would remain on commentary for many of New Japan’s shows, but he was no longer booking them. His brother remained involved until Yuke’s moved tag wrestled Gedo to the role in the late 2000s.

Gedo’s booking brought the company back to pro wrestling and into the present. Relying on Hiroshi Tanahashi, who brought the company back to profit and sellouts, starting with his first IWGP World title run in 2006. Emphasizing traditional Japanese wrestling, along with Gedo’s love of American NWA territory style storytelling, the company began to boom. One of Inokism’s biggest victims – Shinsuke Nakamura – would become one of New Japan’s new faces, as he dropped his MMA sports style and adopted a new style based on his love of rock stars Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson and became the company’s leading heel.

Inoki returned to politics in 2013, winning election to the Diet again. He stayed in office before retiring in 2019 from politics, around the time his second wife died. He would appear at an event for the ZERO-1 promotion that year.

Despite the achievements as a promoter and politician, Inoki’s most memorable moments were in the ring.

While his fight with Ali is still his most memorable bout – whether booked or shoot – it was two matches that have kept in the conscious of the modern wrestling fan. A match against The Great Antonio – turned into an actual fight. He began stiffing Inoki with shots and no-selling his offense. Inoki returned the favor by stomping his head repeatedly before the fight was called by the refs.

The other was the debut of Big Van Vader in 1987. Inoki was looking to create a hot gaijin, and Vader fit the role with his massive size and athletic ability. When the rookie Vader debuted against Inoki in 1987 at Sumo Hall, Inoki lost in mere minutes – his first defeat in years. Fans were so shocked by the loss they began rioting and tore the ring apart – similar to what happened after his fight with Ali.

Matt Jackson, All-Elite Wrestling Executive Vice President and member of the Young Bucks, posted a video story on Instagram on Tuesday promoting the release of the team’s new basketball shoes. It was the first public comment from either member of the Young Bucks since they were suspended following the All Out pay-per-view on Sept. 4.

Jackson was suspended along with several others following a fight in CM Punk’s locker room following Punk’s comments about the EVPs during a press conference. In Tuesday’s Instagram post, Jackson was emotional and reflective about the release of the sneakers and the tag team’s fans over the years.

“Thank you for everything the last 18 years,” Jackson said. “You’ve supported us and been so great for us and I really can’t wait to see you guys soon.”

Matt and Nick Jackson, Kenny Omega, Ace Steel and CM Punk remain suspended while a third-party firm continues to investigate a brawl that occurred after the show.

Thank you for everything the last 18 years. You’ve supported us and been so great for us and I really can’t wait to see you guys soon.

Matt Jackson

Jackson made his comment to fans during a video promoting the release of the Diadora Young Bucks basketball shoe by Champs Sports scheduled for Wednsesday, Sept. 28. The Young Bucks have become synonymous with their shoe collection during their last two years, wearing expensive and designer Air Jordans to the ring, even attracting mainstream press attention. Their Dior designed Air Jordans were a small part of a storyline in a feud with Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston in 2021.

Jackson said he and his brother consulted with Denise Cutler, wrestling outfit designer and wife of AEW wrestler Brandon Cutler. The shoes were made by Diadora and are being released through a promotion with Champs Sports.

“I got Denise Cutler on the job,” Jackson said. “I said please Denise, you need to come up with a Young Bucks sneaker. I wore them at the mall for two hours and they got so many looks.”

The Young Bucks wore the sneakers in their trios tag team tournament final match at All Out with Omega.

“Our dream was to make it to the NBA and to have our own basketball sneaker,” Jackson said. “We were too short to make it to the NBA, but our dream of our own sneaker did pan out. I’m super proud of this. You (our fans) have always supported us with all of our crazy projects. This is the one I might be the most excited about. It’s definitely in the top three.”

Jackson said the shoes tend to run ‘big.’ He said he normally wears an 11 or 11.5 size shoe, but wore 10.5 size shoes at the PPV. He recommended fans buy a half-size or full-size smaller than their size in other brands.

A limited number of shoes are available. Jackson said fans who want the shoes should buy them early on Wednesday because of limited quantities.

Two weeks after the attacks on Sept. 11, a then 12-year-old Jacob Grondy was on his way to the airport – and he was scared.

Not only was this his first flight, but he was dealing with what many in the country were feeling – fear of flying due to the recent attacks. But a surreptitious introduction with a few pro wrestling passengers – thanks to the just-released Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 issue – assuaged his fears.

Grondy’s flight out of the Raleigh, N.C. airport was shared by the Hardy Boys, Amy Dumas – who wrestled for the WWF at the time as Lita – and Shane Helms on board. They were four of the hottest acts in the WWF at the time and were heroes to a 12-year-old Grondy, especially after they turned what could have been a traumatic experience into one of his favorite childhood memories.

“I was honestly trying to act tough,” Grondy said. “But as we were getting closer to the airport, I was visibly scared. I wasn’t talking at all, which was extremely rare (for me) as a kid.”

On the way to the airport, his dad gave him a copy of the PWI 500 issue to read and keep his mind off the recent attacks. Growing up in North Carolina, Grondy said he was immersed in pro wrestling. As a kid he watched WCW and the WWF religiously and was excited when ECW made its TNN television debut. He’s continued to be a fan well into adulthood. He hosts a podcast called Curtain Jerkin’ on Spotify.

The issue provided a bit of a distraction, but it was who he saw in the airport that relieved his fears.

“I don’t remember anything other than getting to the terminal, sitting down and looking up – and there was Jeff Hardy,” Grondy said. “He was dressed exactly how you would see him on TV. I leapt up in excitement. My dad had a pen on him and gave it to me so I could ask to get my PWI signed.”

Jeff walked Grondy over to his brother Matt Hardy to get his autograph. Matt then said they should get him Lita’s as well. As he walked back to his dad, his dad was smiling with relief, that he wasn’t as scared as he had been when he got to the airport. As he sat back down, he was approached by Shane Helms – who had just joined the WWF after the WCW sale and was beginning his Hurricane Helms gimmick. He said Helms asked to sign the issue, then asked if he could read it on the plane.

“As I let him read it, that’s when I realized that no terrorist was going to take down this plane, Team Extreme wasn’t going to let that happen,” Grondy said.

Grondy shared this story with Jeff at a meet-and-greet a year ago.

“He thought it was pretty cool.”

Grondy and his dad were flying to the United States Grand Prix in Indianapolis. It was the final race of the Formula 1 season, and was the first international sporting event to take place after the Sept. 11 attacks.

“(I) couldn’t tell you who won the race we went to, but every year the PWI 500 comes out I look back at that moment fondly. It was definitely a childhood highlight.”

The “Press Conference from Hell,” as one witty Twitter fan called it, following All-Elite Wrestling’s All-Out pay-per-view on Sept. 4 – and the backstage fight that followed – was the end result of growing tensions in the AEW locker room and a star who felt he had been wronged, scapegoated and wasn’t appreciated by younger talent.

Reports from Dave Meltzer at the Wrestling Observer, wrestlers who have spoken on the subject and others who have talked about the company in interviews and social media, painted a picture of a company and a locker room that was coming to a boiling point over the departure of Colt Cabana, a lack of TV time for a growing roster and a locker room that was split in different ways.

CM Punk

Wrestlers who had worked with Punk previously weren’t surprised at his “receipt” promo aimed at Adam “Hangman” Page three weeks ago. Punk was still upset over a cryptic promo Page gave in May when the two were building to the main event of the Double or Nothing PPV, where Punk won the AEW World title from Page.

Page spoke about Punk as being a fraud when it came to “worker’s rights” and backstage talent. Fans at home thought Page was trying to build some intrigue into the match beyond a babyface vs. babyface match, but the locker room and reporters who knew of the situation involving Cabana understood what the promo was about -rumors that Punk had Cabana fired over a lawsuit. Cabana and Punk were friends until WWE and a doctor with the company sued both after Punk had accused WWE and its medical personnel of negligent medical care on Cabana’s podcast. The messy list of events resulted in Cabana suing Punk.

The Cabana rumors became a thorn in Punk’s side that festered too long. But despite the Page promo, and Punk blasting a fan on live TV for heckling him by chanting Cabana, a fallout between AEW and Punk seemed ridiculous.

Punk achieved folk hero status since his return to AEW at the First Dance Rampage show in Sept 2021, selling out the United Center in Chicago without any official announcement. He headlined multiple PPVs, shook off a decade of ring rust for some of his best promos and matches in his career and seemed to be enjoying himself on a nightly basis. In a post on Instagram two weeks ago, he said the past 12 months were the best year he ever had in his career.

Punk was no longer a gritty anti-hero, or a rebel heel against the establishment. He was Dusty Rhodes or Magnum TA. The business had molded itself in his image while he was away, even if he didn’t build AEW and hadn’t appeared in a ring outside WWE since the mid 2000s. He was beloved by the owner of the company and the fans who chanted his name during every appearance.

Punk’s top-guy status, white hat babyface role, new world title and the calming storm following the Cabana controversy should have put things to rest. It didn’t. That made his press conference rant – and the brawl that followed – all the more confusing. But the warning signs were there. Punk had become closer to FTR backstage, who had their own issues with AEW management. His snapping at a fan during a live Dynamite, his receipt on Page, only served to keep the Cabana story alive and keep Punk tied to it.

Khan attempted to put the issue to rest, whether it convinced the majority of the locker room or not. Khan told Forbes he made the decision to part with Cabana and Punk played no part in the decision. According to Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Cabana had told Khan last fall he would not want to work in the same company as Punk.

Despite Khan’s statement, Punk was still agitated by the subject. While doing an in-ring angle and promo with his friend and AEW producer Ace Steel, Punk lashed out at a fan who was heckling him with a “Colt Cabana” chant in a spontaneous and angry way before continuing his promo and then offering a quick apology.

This wasn’t the end. Punk immediately brought Cabana to the forefront of the All Out press conference, questioning reporter Nick Hausman about his relationship with Cabana before going into details about Cabana’s lawsuit against him. He also said court discovery during the lawsuit revealed Cabana shared a bank account with his mom.

Punk then went on to accuse “the EVPs’ – Kenny Omega, Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson – of planting stories about him in wrestling media. Fightful Select wrote a few hours after the show had ended that it was the first site to break the news that the locker room was upset over Cabana being let go. The story said none of the company EVP’s – the Young Bucks or Kenny Omega – had been a source for the story.

Punk’s rant took more shots at the Elite and Cabana, Hangman Adam Page and the lack of appreciation younger wrestlers had in the feedback he was willing to give. He took aim at MJF in kayfabe, saying “the grass isn’t greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.” Ironic, since he had metaphorically dumped a gallon of gasoline on Khan’s yard before dropping a lit cigarette. Punk said if anyone had a problem with what he said, they could come talk – and they did.

Reports vary, but Nick and Matt Jackson went to Punk’s locker room. Either together or arriving later, Kenny Omega was there as well as several producers. Punk, Steel, the Jacksons, Omega, Christopher Daniels and Pat Buck were suspended for the fight that started and the pull-apart that occurred afterward. A member of AEW’s legal team witnessed the fight as well as several other wrestlers who weren’t considered friends of either Punk or the Young Bucks.

Khan held meetings with Punk and the Elite on the Monday following the fight. Rumors began to come out that Punk and Steel had been fired, but that didn’t occur. The company has hired a third party to investigate the incident. This could be due to the threat of lawsuits being made during and after the fight by a participant.

The details of the brawl have yet to be confirmed, but different versions have come out on the internet from the perspectives of those siding with Punk and those with the Elite. The details that are not in dispute are the following: Nick Jackson took a chair to his eye. Ace Steel bit Kenny Omega and pulled him by the hair. The Jacksons approached Punk after the press conference almost immediately and came to his locker room unannounced. There was a pull apart that involved several producers who were also suspended. There were multiple witnesses to the event.

The overwhelming response from the locker room was Punk should be fired. His press conference rant buried the company, possibly slandered or libeled Cabana, blasted one of the company’s stars in Hangman Page, and did it while embarrassing the company’s owner who shook his head in disbelief while Punk ranted. Not to mention his shots at The Elite, who worked to get many of the company’s young stars over and whose work over the last decade made the company’s existence a reality. The Elite are responsible for making a second major wrestling promotion possible in the U.S., something that was unthinkable in 2015.

Meltzer said during Wrestling Observer Live last week that the investigation and the lack of details available was frustrating and disconcerting. That if this happened with a pro sports team, the details would already be out and this appeared to be an older school wrestling mentality of keeping it in house. But the situation is being handled in a manner closer to Vince McMahon’s investigation by the WWE Board of Directors and not a regular HR investigation handled by a company or even a team issue which would be handled by a coaching staff. All of those involved have been suspended and told not to discuss the fight with anyone. Like the McMahon investigation, a third-party has been brought in. That AEW is being this cautious and thorough shows how serious the incident is.

AEW is exercising extreme caution with how it proceeds and has given no indication when its investigation will be complete. Meltzer said the company would most likely not diverge any details on the brawl, but would leak out eventually once the investigation is complete.

AEW locker room issues

Over the past year the locker room has been divided into different camps, with “AEW originals,” wrestlers who came to the company from the indies or who started with the company at the beginning (The Elite, Chris Jericho, Jon Moxley, etc.), who were wistful for the early days of the promotion when talent was more cooperative and worked as a team.

Some wrestlers have been frustrated by their lack of TV time, given the large roster and the three hours of TV AEW has to try to fit in everyone (AEW produces shows on YouTube as well). Many in the locker room became disillusioned with their lack of TV time. Multiple talents told me within the last month that many of the WWE wrestlers who came to AEW assumed the worst when certain booking decisions were made and that they were getting the short-end of the stick in a game of politics anytime something didn’t go the way they wanted or expected.

“Some people came here after years of having promises fall through or things not working out,” one wrestler said. Multiple talent said some WWE talent felt those same machinations in WWE – years worth of revolving door politics – were occurring in AEW, and it put them on the defensive or made them question booking decisions as being political. AEW’s longterm booking focus is also different for those who worked under the McMahons, who often changed TV shows up to the time of airing.

Wrestlers were with the company from the beginning were wistful for its early days, when the company started Dynamite in October of 2019, and the locker room was loaded with younger wrestlers and a team-first work ethic.

This was the subject of a meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 7, before Dynamite when veterans Chris Jericho, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley spoke. Jericho and Moxley have been with the company since its first PPV, and Danielson joined last year after over a decade in WWE. The reason for the meeting was to get the locker room on the same page and focus itself as a team again, like it was in the earlier days of the promotion. All three are well respected, two have been with the company since its first PPV, and all three know the frustrations of the wrestling business and can relate to the rest of the roster.

Most notable at the meeting was Moxley, who didn’t speak at the meeting two weeks ago that was arranged by Tony Khan. Moxley would later cut a promo in the first quarter hour of Dynamite that some called the best of his career and considered a rallying cry for himself and the promotion. Moxley is known to keep to himself. His quiet and stoic style fit his Midwest working class Cincinnati street upbringing. That Mox talked at the meeting surprised many, but his passion for the company and its future came through, especially during his promo on the show.

FTR and the Young Bucks

Most emblematic of the backstage issues has been the ongoing problems between the Young Bucks and FTR. Rumored issues between the two tag teams – especially from FTR member Dax Harwood – were spinning the rumor mill for months and became more public after Harwood blasted Meltzer on Twitter on Aug. 5.

Dave, with all due respect, fuck off. Like, in the most respectful and loving way, I mean that. When you decide to get two sides of a story, then speak on it. Thanks dude. https://t.co/Q7sZQPkRGF

— Dax FTR (@DaxFTR) August 5, 2022

Meltzer, through a quote tweet, said fans who felt FTR were being buried by the Bucks were “Alex Jones types.” Dax responded with an expletive and said he should try getting both sides of the story. Ironically, Harwood refused to share his side when he was prompted by several fans in his replies.

FTR and Punk had taken to each other backstage. The three were photographed wearing tribute gear to Bret Hart and were on a six-man tag together when Punk broke his foot. Harwood’s issues with the Bucks pre-date those Punk had with Page and the EVPs, but they came to a more volatile boil. Harwood’s seeming inference that him and his partner Cash Wheeler are being buried by the EVPs is nonsensical given the TV time and the massive babyface push they’ve received.

As a tag team, FTR has six losses in its two years since joining AEW – the last coming in February against Jon Moxley and CM Punk. They hold three world titles (ROH, New Japan’s IWGP and Mexico’s AAA) while Dax has been featured in numerous singles matches, including an ROH title match on AEW Rampage on Sept. 9. They have split two matches with the Young Bucks, and FTR’s other losses are to top teams in the company, including Santana and Ortiz and the Lucha Brothers.

The Young Bucks have lost four times since March – they lost the AEW tag titles to Swerve Strickland and Keith Lee, lost to Jurassic Express, the Hardys and FTR.

Where AEW goes from here

The problems AEW has currently would have been called “Monday” during WCW’s most profitable days, not to mention the snake-pit WWE could be after it became the only major company in the business. One veteran I talked to recently said the company is still the best he’s worked for in terms of environment.

AEW was bound to hiccup at some point. Communication issues have been a problem for over a year, but the company is now working to sort those out. Many of the issues were natural problems that occur when opening s new promotion – especially one that has to produce 52 weeks of TV a year. Wrestlers are taking on leadership roles and Khan has promoted people the roster looks up to in key positions.

What happens with the Young Bucks and Kenny Omega remains another question. Firing the three could result in a revolt. The locker room is far more aligned with The Elite than they are with Punk. Wrestlers are certainly aware how important the Jacksons and Omega are to the business.

Given the seriousness of the investigation, what Punk said at the press conference and what happened following it, it’s hard to imagine Punk continuing to wrestle in AEW. Alvarez on WOL described their situation as “volatile” and that he couldn’t see either side working together again in the same company. It’s a strange situation given how The Elite worked to court Punk to AEW before the company officially started. Punk would publicly rip Cody Rhodes for trying to negotiate with him over phone text and not meet face to face.

The biggest concerns for AEW aren’t Punk, but Warner Bros. Discovery and its massive dollar loss following its pulling films from its HBO Max streaming service, as well as other cost saving measures that sent warning bells to Wall Street and cost the company a quarter of its value. AEW is still in a great position to negotiate – it has a hot product, is one of the leading shows on Wednesdays, and WBD had made sports non-scripted programming its top signing priority. It wants to work a new deal with the NBA before its contract expires in 2024. This looking ahead could be good news for AEW, whose current TV deal expires the same year.

“This is Bull****” – A non-WWE fan watches Raw for the first time in five years. He survived to write this

By B.J. Bethel

I was assured by other wrestling fans that the episode of Raw that aired on Monday, March 21, was a better than average episode. 

I will give them the benefit of the doubt for the simple reason that I haven’t watched Raw in years. But if this was above average, I wonder how low an episode must go to be below average. Are they three-hour documentaries on regrettable history like Katie Vick? Do they toss fans off cages Foley style? I’m not sure I have the imagination to contemplate such a thing.

This brings us back to this week, the above average episode, which – to quote William F. Buckley – I had to flog myself to watch this show. It was a three-hour assault on my senses, including the most important sense of all – common sense. 

I gave this show a fair shot, one that it didn’t deserve. Comparing WWE to AEW isn’t fair. One show is on the cutting edge of the industry, the other is a shadow of itself thanks to a monopoly position that allowed it to get lazy. I’m fortunate I didn’t decide to watch Raw while something regularly epic like the G1 was occurring, it would have been fair to WWE. The company is not capable of producing a product like the G1. I’m not sure it could put together a PPV that would satisfy its target audience as well as GCW. 

WWE has always been the pro wrestling show for people who hate pro wrestling. Now it’s the show for people who hate themselves. A show with Seth Rollins and A.J. Styles in the main event should be easy enough to build to, but WWE finds way to make it tedious, idiotic and nonsensical. 

The show revolved around one story; Seth Rollins doesn’t have a match at WrestleMania. From research, this has been a habit of recent years. Certain wrestlers don’t have set title or feuds going on, so they are left on the outside looking in. This is supposed to build some suspense if Main Eventer In Question could possibly not make the biggest PPV or the year. It’s telling how little WWE thinks of its full-time main event roster that it would tease leaving them off the show – something you can’t imagine with a Brock Lesnar or the company’s chosen one, Roman Reigns. 

Rollins lost by DQ, because bad guy Edge hit Styles with a chair. Rollins goes ballistic. He’s screaming, “This is bullshit,” (I agree. But Rollins should have been chanting this throughout the show) repeatedly and said the Raw after WrestleMania won’t happen if he can’t get on the card for the big show. If Rollins could pull this off, he would be the top babyface in history in my mind, but unfortunately we know this won’t be the case. 

The show has too much production, too many camera movements, too many backstage segments, too many cheesy, cringey lines from the announce crew and too little wrestling. Pro wrestling was popular in the very early days of television because it was simple to film. There are over 70 years of history of pro wrestling on TV, it shouldn’t be difficult to film it without the nonsensical camera cuts. 

The show started with Steve Austin’s theme music, but it’s bait for the fans. Kevin Owens emerged dressed as Austin with a bald cap. Fans cheer, then boo. It’s cheap heat, something WWE goes to the well with too often, but Owens is good enough to make this work and build heat. It’s easy to see why Austin would love to work with Owens, he’s one of the best in the business, he’s given him permission to use his finisher and a match between the two would be something special if it were to occur. Right now we’re promised only some kind of confrontation. 

Rey Misterio and his son Dominik take on Bobby Roode and Dolph ZIggler. The Miz makes an appearance and steals Rey Misterio’s mask. His son quickly grabs him a towel. This would be more effective if Misterio hadn’t wrestled without a mask for years, but it’s The Miz, we can’t ask anything too complicated of him. 

The Miz grew up in suburban Cleveland and went to a sizable school district. He later went to Miami University before he was on MTV’s Real World, which helped launch his wrestling career and began his character as a dry, lifeless frat character who said he had never met an Africa American before the show. I was told by numerous classmates of his this was a lie, so obviously a pro wrestling career was a natural progression for him. 

Becky Lynch was once the hottest wrestler in the business, now she’s colder than ice. An ill-timed heel turn and a feud with the talented Bianca Belair hasn’t done well for her. Watching Lynch, the women’s tag match and the 24/7 title match, WWE is quickly dropping back in the race for best women’s division. They always have the big four, and a talented group around them, but when they dig lower into the mid-card the roster has some weaknesses after all the cuts. 

Why is Pat McAfee on my television? He was a punter for the Colts, and the one not referred to as “idiot kicker” by Peyton Manning. He’s jawing with Austin Theory, apparently this is a feud. McAfee is in good shape and his talk radio experience has made him a good talker. That this is sticking out is an indictment of the show. 

Matt Riddle is now known as Riddle. I’m not sure if this is a setup for a Batman villain character, but it wouldn’t pair right with the stoner vibe. I remember how hated Rob Van Dam hated being portrayed as a stoner idiot. Randy Orton and Riddle defend their tag titles with a win, but Riddle gets squashed afterward. The Street Profits attack and perform one of the dumbest spots I’ve seen in a while, a double team DDT out of a Hart Attack setup that could have ended badly for Riddle. Big E broke his neck on WWE programming recently, and another wrestler was taken off in a stretcher. This isn’t ballet and there’s always a danger factor. The most protective wrestlers can hurt someone bad, but WWE has a lot of talent that looks very green and is doing things it shouldn’t be doing. 

This angle surrounding the 24/7 title was the bottom of the show. Tamina Snuka has assumed Akira Tozawa as a valet, and it’s such a stereotypical disaster. Tozawa is wearing a martial arts gi and belt, he’s treated as an afterthought by Snuka. It’s almost impossible to imagine this is the same industry where Minoru Suzuki debuts in AEW and is treated as a legend and automatic main eventer. 

That brings us to the problem with WWE and the problem with Raw. This is a TV show built on its own bullshit. It’s fat, happy, satisfied, lazy, bloated, slow and impossible to enjoy as a wrestling product. Rollins and Styles had a good match, but it wasn’t exactly Hangman Page vs. Adam Cole or Moxley vs. Danielson in the other company. There’s no energy, there’s no life. It’s stagnant, it’s an anachronism. 

If you wanted to kill off Vince McMahon as a businessman and burn his reputation as a wrestling genius, he’s doing a better job of it himself than any of his supposed rivals like Ted Turner, which was a rivalry made up in the imagination of McMahon. 

My dad worked at General Motors and I’ve been in the newspaper business at the end, when people didn’t believe the great unraveling was happening. Monopolies become monopolies because they make money despite themselves. Picking the right people and making the right decisions? Monopolies are insulated from those – until they aren’t. The company is no longer a monopoly thanks to AEW, and it’s falling behind the upstarts in gates. 

Which makes me ask what the purpose of Raw is. AEW’s purpose is evident. Raw’s purpose seems to be lost, which means McMahon’s is lost, and he’s doing this all out of habit. 

Hand it off, give it to Triple H if he’s healthy or when he gets healthy. Find a buyer and take the best deal you can get. Give it to Shane or Stephanie – give it to someone with some fire, and see where it can go. Right now, it’s not going anywhere, and that isn’t bullshit. 

Scott Hall, whose 20-year career transformed pro wrestling in the 1990s, died on Monday following complications from surgery.

According to Hall’s longtime friend and tag team partner Kevin Nash, Hall had suffered three cardiac arrests while having hip surgery, due to complications from blood clots. Hall, who was 63 years old, was on life support and survived for several hours after it was removed. He died later in the day. 

Hall’s career experienced meteoric highs and crushing lows due to issues with addiction, alcohol, and pain killers. Despite addiction issues that hampered his career during the Monday Night Wars, he was noted as a brilliant mind, someone who could spot young talent and wrestle a versatile and athletic style as a large wrestler.

Hall’s life spiraled after he retired from wrestling, but he was able to get back into physical shape and recover from many of his issues thanks to help from Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Diamond Dallas Page. Hall’s recovery and efforts to turn his life around were shown side-by-side with Roberts in the Resurrection of Jake the Snake documentary. 

Hall had worked several years as Razor Ramon in the World Wrestling Federation through the early and mid 1990s. The character was based off the Diamond Studd character Hall began using in WCW while in the mid-card. He debuted with the WWF after a series of vignette’s promoting his character as a Tony Montana Cuban tough guy. 

Hall’s WWF peak was his win in the first prominent WWF ladder match against Shawn Michaels. The match was considered on par with the great matches in company history. The win propelled Hall to a successful WWF Intercontinental Title run. 

Hall’s most important work was during his return to WCW. Hall debuted in the spring of 1996 on WCW Monday Nitro speaking with his Cuban accent and talking down Gene Okerlund and Randy Savage using language from a series of WWF skits. 

“You people. You know who I am, but you don’t know why I am here,” Hall said. “You want a war? You’re going to get one.” 

Hall’s WCW debut was transformative for multiple reasons. He entered from the crowd, as an invader, which was meant to lead fans to believe he was there on behalf of the WWF in an invasion. Adding to the reality of the situation was Hall interrupting a match on Nitro, only for the competitors to stop and walk of like it was a security situation. 

Hall’s WCW debut was one of the three major events that started the late 1990s wrestling boom, along with Hulk Hogan’s heel turn and the formation of the NWO and the debut of WCW Nitro on TNT. The moment is still copied and paid tribute to. When Jon Moxley debuted for All-Elite Wrestling at its first Double or Nothing PPV, Moxley entered the ring wearing a denim vest like Hall wore during his WCW debut 25 years earlier and came down to the ring opposite of the hard cam through the fans. 

Hogan’s heel turn at Bash of the Beach 1996 happened during a match between Hall and Nash against Sting, Randy Savage and Lex Luger. Luger was injured and taken out of the match early. Hulk Hogan appeared to save the day, but attacked Savage, leading fans to throw garbage and drinks into the ring. Hogan’s heel turn was a massive money driver, but much of Hogan’s credibility as a heel came from the cool factor of Nash, Hall and Sean Waltman, who were younger and dropped pop culture references across their promos and re-invented the cool heel. 

Hall was noted by many for his creative mind and his ability to spot talent. He was also noted for his sense of timing. Lex Luger’s memorable win over Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Title was an idea broached by Hall to Nash and then later to Eric Bischoff. Hogan was in the middle of a long title reign en route to a Starrcade match with Sting, but Luger was a hot babyface with rousing fan support. His upset win over Hogan was one of the most memorable moments in the history of the show. 

When Sting began his character transformation, it was Hall who suggested he go with the look of The Crow, the comic book anti-hero who had been played memorably by the late Brandon Lee in a popular movie. The character was a massive hit and became a favorite of kids everywhere. Sting’s look remained a popular Halloween costume for years. Through 1996 and 1997 Sting was the most popular babyface in wrestling based on the look.

Hall’s penchant for noticing young wrestlers led him to putting over Sean Waltman in the WWF in the early 1990s when Waltman upset Hall as Razor Ramon. The loss led to Ramon’s face turn. Hall, on a whim, jobbed to Chris Jericho on WCW live TV when Jericho was on his epic heel run in WCW. He also put over Hiroshi Tanahashi in 2001 in the New Japan G1, commenting that Tanahashi was “money” nearly a decade before Tanahashi became the biggest star in Japan and rescued Japanese wrestling. 

Addiction issues kept Hall from becoming a bigger part of the creative teams in wrestling companies. Nash was eventually made booker for WCW, a job that would have likely gone to Hall if his health had been better. 

A military kid, Hall once said the pro wrestling life wasn’t much different than his youth, when he moved regularly. He started his wrestling career in Florida with Dusty Rhodes. His first breakout was with the American Wrestling Association when he held the AWA tag team titles with Curt Hennig. Hall was extremely green at the time, but was already showing effusive charisma while Hennig was beginning to come into his own as a talent. Hall once said his time with Hennig in the AWA was why he made it in the business. 

Hall had several start-stop programs in WCW and elsewhere. He debuted as the Diamond Studd as part of a stable with Diamond Dallas Page. The character was a dramatic turn for Hall, who was often given a Cowboy or Magnum TA style gimmick because of his look. He wrestled in the WCW mid-card for a period before being signed by the WWF. 

Hall returned to the WWF in 2001 after the failure of the WCW Invasion angle. Nash, Hall and Hogan immediately became lightning rods in the WWF. The WWF’s version of the NWO was watered down and lacked little of the creativity spontaneity that made the angle so memorable and impactful in WCW. Hall’s peak during that brief run was working Steve Austin at Wrestlemania in a very solid match that was one of the best he had in the later stages of his career.

Rest in Peace.

All-Elite Wrestling Dynamite at Fifth-Third Arena in Cincinnati has sold around 8,000 tickets three weeks prior to the Wednesday Sept. 8, 2021 event, according to a staff member at UC’s ticket office this morning. The arena’s capacity for the show will be near 10,000

It will be AEW’s first TV after the All Out PPV on Sept. 5 and its first show in Cincinnati. The show will be a homecoming for Jon Moxley and Karl “Machine Gun” Anderson. Moxley is from Cincinnati while Anderson grew up in Northern Kentucky.

AEW has 3,756 ticket for Dynamite in Houston on Wednesday, according to WrestleTix. Friday’s “The First Dance” Rampage show at the United Center in Chicago is sold out as is the Sept. 5 All Out PPV at NOW Arena. According to Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 5,000 tickets (around 50 percent capacity) remain for both Rampage and Dynamite shows prior to the PPV at the same venue.

AEW Presents DYNAMITE
Wednesday, August 18, 2021
FERTITTA CENTER, Houston TX

Available Tickets => 1,018 (-416)
New Capacity => 4,774
Tickets Distributed => 3,756 (79%)

Solid movement since they announced the card.

Gate estimate at: https://t.co/yRCOtL75Yu pic.twitter.com/zSixPTG9dZ

— WrestleTix (@WrestleTix) August 15, 2021

Moxley and Anderson grew up in the area and trained in Cincinnati. Moxley trained under Cody Hawk and Les Thatcher at former WCW and WWE developmental territory Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati. Anderson trained with Thatcher at the HWA and later with Roger Ruffen at Cincinnati’s Northern Wrestling Federation’s BoneKrushers wrestling school before moving to the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in Los Angeles in the mid-2000s.

AEW tried to book the Heritage Center (Cincinnati’s former US Bank Arena) early in its touring days, but the venue has an exclusivity agreement with World Wrestling Entertainment.

Hey @HeritageBankCtr, get your shit together. #AEWDyamite https://t.co/QvgPLA0DYz

— Jon Moxley (@JonMoxley) November 27, 2019

The arena, which is located on the UC campus, will have capacity of around 10,000 according to the university. The UC ticket office told SEScoops.com it expects the event to be sold out. This will be the first major wrestling show at the arena since it underwent renovations in 2018. AEW will tape the Friday, Sept. 10 episode of Rampage the same night.

Bobby Eaton’s most endearing trait was his giving nature. 

Friends of the former NWA and WCW Tag Team Champion, and NWA/WCW TV Champion, Eaton was known for carrying bags of extras on the road in case he or any of his fellow wrestlers needed them. He would donate gas money and groceries while on the road to people that needed them, even as a member of one of the most hated tag teams in pro wrestling history.

“As a human being, Bobby was just like his namesake,” Les Thatcher said. “He was beautiful.” 

Eaton died on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021 at the age of 62. The Huntsville, Ala., native was married to Donna Dundee, the daughter of wrestling legend Bill Dundee, who died in June. 

Thatcher knew Eaton for 40 years, since the Huntsville, Ala., native began appearing in the southern NWA territories in his mid-teens. 

“As a worker he was as good as anyone of that era. He was so smooth, so dead-on with how he worked. Everything just flowed with him he was so good, but he was also an innovator.” – Bruce Mitchell, wrestling writer and historian.

Eaton was one of the most influential wrestlers of his time, both as a tag team and singles wrestler. His work with Dennis Condrey, Stan Lane and Jim Cornette as part of the Midnight Express is considered by many to be the greatest tag team work ever and stands out 40 years later. He was a headliner with the Midnight Express with two different partners, and its feuds with the Rock and Roll Express, Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA and the Road Warriors were a key in the high-drawing era of Jim Crockett Promotions in the mid to late 1980s. 

“He was consistently as great of wrestler as I’ve ever saw,” Bruce Mitchell, pro wrestling writer, columnist and podcaster told SEScoops on Thursday. “He was always very friendly, just a nice human being. He was always giving things and money to people who needed it. As a worker he was as good as anyone of that era. He was so smooth, so dead-on with how he worked. Everything just flowed with him he was so good, but he was also an innovator.”
 
Starting in NWA Mid-America in his mid-teens, Eaton was a member of the Jet Set tag team with George Gulas, the son of promoter Nick Gulas. Mitchell said Eaton was by far the more talented of the two wrestlers and carried the team early, even while a teenager. 

Eaton briefly held the National TV Title in Georgia Championship wrestling after he left Mid-America around 1980. He later teamed with Koko B. Ware when he moved to Memphis in 1980 as part of Jerry Jarrett’s Continental Wrestling Association. He was with the promotion for three years before moving to Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory, where he first encountered Condrey and Cornette, and reforming a pre-existing stable into a new tag team, one that would change wrestling.

The threesome immediately became three of the hottest heels in the country, feuding with Magnum TA and Mr. Wrestling II for the Mid-South Tag Team titles. Mid-South is where they began their feud with the Rock and Roll Express – which would run for decades across several territories. The Midnight Express headlined numerous shows at the Superdome and Crockett’s Starrcade event. 

Eaton was part of several top PPV main events and national TV main events on TBS. He was in the War Games cage match several times as both a heel and face, and in a “champions vs. champions” match on TBS, headlined Clash of the Champions as the US and World Tag Team champs against US champ Barry Windham and World champ Ric Flair in a two-out-of-three falls match. Eaton headlined the Clash again when he was a singles wrestler and TV champion, losing a two-out-of-three falls match to Ric Flair in the main event. 

Eaton worked a short period for Jim Cornette and producer Ric Rubin in Smokey Mountain Wrestling. He spent the most of the 1990s in WCW as tag team partners with Arn Anderson and Lord Steven (William) Regal. 

Eaton’s good nature and excellent work continued to earn him admirers later in his career. Bill Goldberg, who was WCW’s biggest star in 1998 and in the middle of his 173-match win streak, wanted to lose to Eaton in the middle of the streak when WCW made a tour stop near Eaton’s hometown in Alabama. Goldberg told Steve Austin during an interview on Austin’s “Broken Skull Sessions” podcast in 2019, he went to WCW agent Arn Anderson to ask he if could drop the match to Eaton, but the idea was nixed.

Eaton worked on the indie circuit after 2000 and was often a trainer at camps, teaching up and coming wrestlers. He had three daughters.

From Scaffolds to Masterpieces, Beautiful Bobby’s Must-See Matches

1. Superstars on the Superstation: Midnight Express vs. Rock and Roll Express, Feb. 1986

Superstars on the Superstation was a special primetime show Crockett ran on TBS in February 1986. The first match on the show, Jim Cornette’s tennis racket came into play and helped the Midnights win their first NWA World Tag Team title. One highlight was Eaton, who recorded the pinfall, being held up on a chair afterward half unconscious on a chair as Cornette cut a promo afterward celebrating their win. 

2. The Fantastics vs. Midnight Express – NWA World Wide, April 1988

The Rock and Roll Express and the Midnight Express had one of the best-drawing feuds in tag team history, but The Fantastics matched up just as well against the Midnight Express as anyone. The Midnight Express were the longest-reigning US Tag Team champs in NWA history, but lost in this classic that was taped for NWA Worldwide in April 1988.The Wrestling Observer rated the match 5 stars. 

3. Clash of Champions IV: Midnight Express vs. Barry Windham/Ric Flair, best 2-out-of-3 falls, Dec. 1988

The Midnight Express were babyfaces for a short period, and also held the NWA World and US tag team titles at the same time. They had won the titles from Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson in a rushed feud and match in Philadelphia earlier that year. Blanchard and Anderson had signed with the WWF and were on their way out of town. Fans have long lamented never getting what would have been an amazing long-term feud. One small consolation was a 2-out-of-3 falls match to see who the best champions were in the NWA. Barry Windham (US Champion) and Ric Flair (World Champion) were all that remained of the Horsemen (Windham and manager JJ Dillon would leave for the WWF soon after this match). The Horsemen won with some nefarious tactics, which earned the ire of Jim Cornette as the show was going off the air. The match was a feature of six masters of their craft, and Eaton was front and center.

4. Clash of Champions XV: Ric Flair (World Champion) vs. Bobby Eaton (TV Champion), June 1991

After Stan Lane and Jim Cornette left WCW in 1990, Bobby Eaton remained as a tag specialist and singles wrestler. He had a very solid run as WCW TV Champion as a babyface, and main evented the 15th Clash of Champions in June 1991 against Ric Flair. WWE had made the match available on YouTube. 

5. Starrcade 1986: Midnight Express vs. Road Warriors Scaffold Match, Nov. 1986

Night of the Skywalkers was the theme for Starrcade 1986, and the scaffold match between the Road Warriors and Midnight Express was the single match most associated with Bobby Eaton. The Midnights had a similar scaffold match against the Rock and Roll Express in Mid-South. The match is famous for Animal and Hawk throwing watermelons off the top of the scaffold to show how dangerous the height was, the “training” video of Cornette screaming at Eaton and Condrey for not standing on the scaffold due to their fear of heights, and Cornette blowing out both of his knees when he landed bad after falling from the bottom of the scaffold with his knees straight.