naptu2:


I still enjoy wrestling, even though it's scripted. Think about it this way, Hollywood movies are scripted and billions of people pay a lot of money to watch them anyway, so why not wrestling. All you need to enjoy wrestling is suspension of disbelief, same as with movies.

Actually am not a movie person, except the story line is extremely good.
After watching Lord of the rings, I found it difficult to watch another movie, as nothing carried that power of suspense. And that is what did it for me in wrestling, the power of suspense had been removed.

This days I only watch movies on recommendations preferably sci-fi / adventure /premedivial and not so popular.

Proudlyngwa:

I nearly cried when I discovered that Wrestling was scripted, I remember staying all night to watch Shawn Michaels versus Triple H versus Chris Benoit in wrestlemania 20 or so,

That was the last wrestlemania or mainstream wrestling I took interest in, it was so realistic, so intriguing, only to discover it was Acting.

I had a friend (may his soul rest in peace) who used to get really very angry in the 1980s because the WWF had a wrestler called "Kamala The Ugandan Giant". In reality this wrestler had never been to Uganda before (in fact he had never been to anywhere in Africa at that time). He is an American called James Harris and my friend was angry at the way Africans were being portrayed with the Kamala gimmick.

naptu2:


I had a friend (may his soul rest in peace) who used to get really very angry in the 1980s because the WWF had a wrestler called "Kamala The Ugandan Giant". In reality this wrestler had never been to Uganda before (in fact he had never been to anywhere in Africa at that time). He is an American called James Harris and my friend was angry at the way Africans were being portrayed with the Kamala gimmick.

Just like when we discovered via either you or Ishilove that yokozuna was neither yoko nor Japanese.

naptu2:


Good, so we are in agreement.

But i dont agree with that part of equally WWE to Hollywood movies.Its like making caricature of the efforts and manoveurs of the wrestlers.I agree that some fights are to entertain us but not all of them.WWE has endeavoured to give us interesting matches over the years that is why they still have numerous fans all over the world

Then there was the 'Honky Tonky Man' ( Wayne Farris )who carried a guitar to the ring. Remember him?

He fought up to the late 90's in WWF. He wore a cowboy hat sometimes .

goodvision12:
But i dont agree with that part of equally WWE to Hollywood movies.Its like making caricature of the efforts and manoveurs of the wrestlers.I agree that some fights are to entertain us but not all of them.WWE has endeavoured to give us interesting matches over the years that is why they still have numerous fans all over the world

All WWE fights are meant to entertain us

The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was created by Vince McMahon Senior. Its name was later shortened to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Vince McMahon Junior inherited the WWF from his father and turned it into a national promotion (in contravention of the gentleman's agreement at the time). The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) complained about the name and it was changed to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Nobody knows as much about the WWE as Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon has stated that the WWF/WWE is not an athletic competition like football, baseball or hockey. It is scripted. Read the article below.

Historic Moments in Wrestling part 6: Vince McMahon admits wrestling is predetermined
Friday 30 May 2014 14:15 BST|

In this week’s instalment of his series, Richard Hoy-Browne looks at the moment which shattered the illusion of millions.

Context

Let’s get this out of the way quickly – Professional Wrestling is predetermined. The winner is decided before the match, and the wrestlers involved by and large try their hardest to be safe and not injure their opponent. (Note that the word ‘fake’ has not been used; while the matches are scripted and the action choreographed, the physical impact is very much real).

While this is hardly news to those who tune in each week, there was a time where to doubt the validity of wrestling was akin to questioning whether the Pope was Catholic. The most famous investigation into the legitimacy of Professional Wrestling and the then World Wrestling Federation (WWF) came in 1984 when John Stossel, investigative reporter for the hit US show 20/20, confronted ‘Dr D’ David Schultz and flat out stated “I think this is fake”. With the 20/20 crew filming, Schultz, drunk on pride and aggression, proceeded to slap Stossel, asking, “You think this is fake, huh?”.

He would go on to slap Stossel again, and pursued him while Stossel tried to flee. 20/20 had a huge story, Stossel would go on to sue the WWF for $425,000 and Schultz would later be fired for trying to attack Mr T. For his actions toward Stossel however, Schultz was immediately suspended not by Vince McMahon, but by the New York State Athletic Commissioner, who watched the sorry incident unfold.

The Athletic State Commission of each US state would be at every wrestling event, would grant licences to the wrestlers, referees and timekeepers. It would also levy a tax on all wrestling events, with the percentage of the gate depending on which state the event was held. Ever the smart businessman, Vince McMahon decided that enough was enough. Having already torn up the wrestling landscape, he was going to do the unthinkable: he was going to come clean and reveal wrestling’s biggest secret.

‘Sports Entertainment’ is born

February 10 1989 was the day the facade died, as in front of the State of New Jersey Senate on a bill to remove Wrestling from the regulations that had been applied by the Athletic Commissions, Vince McMahon, representing the World Wrestling Federation, stated that professional wrestling should be defined as "an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators rather than conducting a bona fide athletic contest."

With those words, everybody’s suspicions had been confirmed – wrestling was not in fact a legitimate sporting contest. As a result, the bill deregulating professional wrestling passed by a vote of 37 to 1.

What Happened Next?

Perhaps unsurprisingly, McMahon’s admission drew widespread derision from those within the wrestling community. With the curtain now fully drawn back, many felt that the mystique of the business was gone forever. McMahon himself showed little remorse for this, and was enamoured with his new favourite catchphrase for which to describe his company – ‘Sports Entertainment’.

It was a success not only for Vince but also Linda McMahon, who had lobbied tirelessly to get wrestling deregulated, to the tune of $400,000. It would be the first battle won by the McMahons against the State Commissions, with more lengthy, expensive and ultimately damaging battles to come.

With the regulations now lifted, wrestling events were no longer under the watchful eye of State Commissions, and as such were no longer required to have wrestlers cleared to participate or have an ambulance stationed at the event in case of injury.

In one of the more positive outcomes of the decision, the death of kayfabe actually led to the rise of the independent promotions, as many promoters could now afford to put on show without having to pay for licenses and the other red tape that had held them back. Out of this new world of independent promotions would come Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) out of Philadelphia, whose wild shows would revolutionise the ‘sport’ of professional wrestling.

But for some, it’s still real to them, dammit.

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/wwe-mma-wrestling/historic-moments-in-wrestling-part-6-vince-mcmahon-admits-wrestling-is-predetermined-9461429.html


(By the way, have you heard of Jackie Chan? Do you know that he does all his stunts himself and that he has suffered several very serious injuries during his acting career?)

Ishilove:

Hian. 1975. Naptu my parents were not even married in 1975

I am 52 years now. But watching the wrestling video you brought back the memory of my childhood days watching the same big names in wrestling at that time every Sunday at "Baba Uche's house". Thanks.

quirus:

I am 52 years now. But watching the wrestling video you brought back the memory of my childhood days watching the same big names in wrestling at that time every Sunday at "Baba Uche's house". Thanks.

Elder!!

naptu2:


All WWE fights are meant to entertain us

The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was created by Vince McMahon Senior. Its name was later shortened to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Vince McMahon Junior inherited the WWF from his father and turned it into a national promotion (in contravention of the gentleman's agreement at the time). The World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) complained about the name and it was changed to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Nobody knows as much about the WWE as Vince McMahon. Vince McMahon has stated that the WWF/WWE is not an athletic competition like football, baseball or hockey. It is scripted. Read the article below.




https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/wwe-mma-wrestling/historic-moments-in-wrestling-part-6-vince-mcmahon-admits-wrestling-is-predetermined-9461429.html


(By the way, have you heard of Jackie Chan? Do you know that he does all his stunts himself and that he has suffered several very serious injuries during his acting career?)

My heart broke the day I discovered wrestling is scripted for the most parts.

But dammit, the show must go on!!

Ishilove:

My heart broke the day I discovered wrestling is scripted for the most parts.

But dammit, the show must go on!!

sucker

oyb:


sucker

You can suck ma fuzzy black balls

This thread is mainly about the IWA, but that was not the only American wrestling promotion that the NTA showed.

The IWA and the NWA were the main wrestling shows on the NTA in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The IWA was more entertaining while the NWA was very bloody and extremely violent. Wrestling organisations at that time were based in specific territories (states, cities, etc), but the IWA was the first organisation to try to go national.

The NWA was like a federation of organisations in different territories. They had a gentleman’s agreement that each organisation would not encroach on another organisation’s territory.

The NWA had stars like
Dusty Rhodes (who was the champion and who broke his arm in a very bloody match)
Harley Race (who fought Dusty Rhodes in two very bloody matches and who he also confronted outside the ring)

The tag team of Andre The Giant and Ted Dibiase (this was a very long time before Dibiase became the Million Dollar Man).

Killer Khan

Rick Flair

Jimmy Garvin

Jack and Jerry Briscoe

Johnny and Greg The Hammer Valentine (billed as brothers, but they were actually father and son)

The Polish Power, Ivan Putsky

Etc.

This was the intro for the NWA show that was shown on the NTA.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTDmHN-_ytc


The WWF was also shown on the NTA later in the early 1980s. This was the WWF before Hulk Hogan. The champion was Bob Backlund, but he didn’t impress me as much as the champions of the other organisations (Mighty Igor was strong, Mil Mascaras was very technical and his high rope manoeuvres were quite beautiful, and the NWA was very bloody and violent). So the main thing that attracted me to the WWF was the feud between Andre The Giant and Big John Studd.

The WWF was the first organisation to successfully go national. Vince McMahon Senior respected the gentleman’s agreement and did not encroach on other territories, but Vince McMahon Junior did not care and he quickly made the WWF a national organisation when he inherited it (this was made easy and possible through the use of cable and satellite television). This annoyed owners of other wrestling promotions. He also took a lot of talent from the IWA and NWA.

Bob Backlund: He was the champion and his signature move was the "chicken wing".

Andre The Giant: We remember him from 1970s NWA (where he was tag team partners with Ted Di Biase). In the WWF he had a feud with another giant and that was the most interesting part of early '80s WWF for me.

Big John Studd: Had a feud with Andre The Giant. John Studd claimed that he was the real giant. My relative (the doctor) agreed with John Studd. She claimed that Andre had acromegally (I swear I had never heard that word before that day and it's still stuck in my mind almost 35 years later).

Chief Jay Strongbow: The Amerindian. John Studd offered a reward for anybody that could bodyslam him. However he tweaked the rules in order to disqualify Andre. Then an annonymous challenger appeared. It was Strongbow. But he stood in the aisle while the crowd roared, shook his head and lifted up the curtain. Andre appeared. Andre The Giant ended up slamming Big John Studd, despite the fact that Freddie Blassy was holding on to Studd.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLlkeQV4lP8

Chief Jules Strongbow: Jay's brother.


Black Jack Mulligan: His signature hold was the iron claw. He wore a black glove on his hand and people speculated that there was something in the glove that made his "iron claw" more painful and deadly. The WWF "censored" the video footage when Mulligan was applying the claw by using a large red x that covered a large part of the screen. Of course this created an impression in the minds of viewers that the claw was much worse than it actually was.


Superfly Jimmy Snuka: Needs no introduction.

Superstar Billy Graham: He was the champion at some point and I strongly believe that Hulk Hogan got his gimmick from Billy Graham.

Jesse The Body Ventura: This was before he became a commentator. His wrestling style was pretty drab, but he loved to cheat and he was one of the wrestlers that I hated at that time.

Ishilove you should watch this.

This happened in 1983, but I'm not sure if I watched it in '83 or '84. You won't believe the screams in my house when Chief Jay Strongbow pulled back the curtain to reveal Andre. Big John Studd had done everything humanly possible to avoid Andre.

Big John Studd and Andre had a feud in the early 1980s. Studd claimed that he was the only real giant in wrestling. He had also offered a reward to anybody that could bodyslam him. The amount increased everytime someone failed and it was up to ten thousand dollars when this incident occurred. John Studd had made sure that Andre could not take part in the challenge, but there was a shock waiting for him

Andre The Giant slams Big John Studd.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLlkeQV4lP8

Ishilove:

Heck, even I thought wrestling was real until recently

Back then I knew about the stories that Ox Baker had killed people with his heart punch, but I didn't exactly know the origin of those stories. I've just discovered that two people died after fighting against Ox Baker in the early 1970s and their deaths were worked into his gimmick.

A guy fought against Ox Baker in 1971 and died 3 days later. He actually died because of a ruptured appendix, but they created a hype that he died because of Ox Baker's heart punch.

Ox Baker fought another guy in 1972 and the guy collapsed and died in the dressing room after the fight. He died because of a blood clot, but they again created a story that he died due to Ox Baker's heart punch.

So you can understand why the crowd at that event in 1975 rioted when they saw Ox Baker repeatedly punching the other wrestler.

naptu2:


These are the most famous wrestlers on Nigerian TV in their respective generations. The wrestler at number 1 is in the picture above.

1) ?

2) Hulk Hogan

3) Stone Cold Steve Austin

4) The Rock

5) John Cena


(some will include the Von Erichs between number 1 and number 2)

you forgot the undertaker

naptu2:


These are the most famous wrestlers on Nigerian TV in their respective generations. The wrestler at number 1 is in the picture above.

1) ?

2) Hulk Hogan

3) Stone Cold Steve Austin

4) The Rock

5) John Cena


(some will include the Von Erichs between number 1 and number 2)

Ultimate warrior nko?
What about under taker?

naptu2:


These are the most famous wrestlers on Nigerian TV in their respective generations. The wrestler at number 1 is in the picture above.

1) ?

2) Hulk Hogan

3) Stone Cold Steve Austin

4) The Rock

5) John Cena


(some will include the Von Erichs between number 1 and number 2)

indomi age .

armadeo:
Mighty Igor.

Mill mascara.

Ox baker

Don't know the last dude

Cowboy Bob Ellis

naptu2:


I had a friend (may his soul rest in peace) who used to get really very angry in the 1980s because the WWF had a wrestler called "Kamala The Ugandan Giant". In reality this wrestler had never been to Uganda before (in fact he had never been to anywhere in Africa at that time). He is an American called James Harris and my friend was angry at the way Africans were being portrayed with the Kamala gimmick.

Kamala was not Ugandan? Oh my childhood! I used to think that's how East Africans were.

Redman44

Between the Mighty Igor era and the Hulk Hogan era, there was the Von Erichs era.

The Von Erich family was a family of wrestlers that was very popular in Texas, Georgia and across the southern part of the US. Unfortunately many members of the family died suddenly (including three suicides) and this led to speculation about a "Von Erich curse".

Fritz Von Erich fought in the 1960s and he trained a lot of the famous wrestlers that we know today. His sons became famous in the 1980s and 1990s when they fought in the World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). Kerry Von Erich later fought in the WWF in the 1990s.

David Von Erich (the leader) was hot headed, Kevin was mature and Kerry was a bit mature. In the WCCW it was said that David was the eldest, Kevin was the second born and Kerry was the third (kayfabe), but in real life Kevin was actually the eldest.

The main opponents of the Von Erichs were the Fabulous Freebirds. I saw an interview that Michael Hayes (the leader of the Freebirds) gave in the early 2000s in which he said that life was a little difficult for the Freebirds in Texas. Fans worshipped the Von Erichs and the Freebirds had to endure hostility from members of the public everyday.


1) From left to right: The Modern Day Warrior Kerry Von Erich (shot himself in 1993), their father Fritz Von Erich (died of cancer in 1997), Kevin Von Erich (only surviving member of the family), Chris Von Erich(in front. Chris shot himself in 1991), Mike (commited suicide via drug overdose in 1987) and David (died in 1984).

2) The Fabulous Freebirds. From left to right - Terry Gordy, Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts.


3) The Von Erichs

naptu2:


I had a friend (may his soul rest in peace) who used to get really very angry in the 1980s because the WWF had a wrestler called "Kamala The Ugandan Giant". In reality this wrestler had never been to Uganda before (in fact he had never been to anywhere in Africa at that time). He is an American called James Harris and my friend was angry at the way Africans were being portrayed with the Kamala gimmick.

Wow..Never knew this till I read your post.

Further reading, I discovered he is now a double amputee, his story is so touching.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2267803-from-wrestling-legend-to-double-amputee-kamala-keeps-fighting

cashful:


Wow..Never knew this till I read your post.

Further reading, I discovered he is now a double amputee, his story is so touching.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2267803-from-wrestling-legend-to-double-amputee-kamala-keeps-fighting

Wow! That's so sad.

The dangers of wrestling. Superstar Billy Graham vs Abdullah The Butcher

You might notice that at no point in this thread did I state that wrestling is fake. This is because, although wrestling is scripted, wrestlers take very real risks while in the ring and the risk of getting injured is very real. There are also other very real and life threatening dangers and one of them is the subject of this post.

Superstar Billy Graham wrestled in the WWF and NWA in the late 1970s and very early 1980s. I strongly believe that Hulk Hogan got 80% of his persona from Superstar Billy Graham. The only differences between Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan were that Billy Graham was more flamboyant than Hulk Hogan and Billy Graham was a heel (bad guy) while Hulk Hogan was a face (good guy). Superstar Billy Graham disappeared from my TV screen sometime around 1985.

I had never heard of Abdullah The Butcher until 1986. OGTV showed Canadian wrestling at 7:30am on Saturdays. If you remember that other stations started transmitting at 9am at that time, then you would remember that OGTV’s Saturday morning wrestling was very popular.

Abdullah The Butcher was a fat giant that was billed as being from the Sudan (I don’t know if that’s where he is really from). His matches were extremely violent and bloody and he was a really fearsome wrestler.

Here’s a video that I remember watching on OGTV in 1986. It’s Canadian wrestling and this started out as a match between Ricky Martel and Austin Idol against Kamala The Ugandan Giant and Abdullah The Butcher, but it ended up as Abdullah The Butcher vs Kamala.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1NuuHUUlzY

Like I said, Adbullah The Butcher was often involved in very violent and bloody matches. Now we all know that wrestling is scripted, so where did the blood come from? Well, Abdullah the Butcher often went into the ring with a small razor blade and he used these blades to cut himself so that he would bleed and it would seem as if his opponent had injured him. He sometimes cut opponents too. This is why Abdullah has those marks on his head (they weren’t there the first time I saw him).

Several wrestlers, most notably Superstar Billy Graham, have accused Abdullah The Butcher of infecting them with hepatitis C. Billy Graham has demanded that Abdullah The Butcher should be removed from the WWE hall of fame because he disgracefully infected many wrestlers with hepatitis C and also because he never wrestled in the WWE.

This is not a kayfabe (fake) quarrel. Superstar Billy Graham has had to undergo several liver transplants and at one point the doctors said that he had just one more year to live. Another less well known wrestler sued Abdullah The Butcher in Canada and won. He was awarded damages because Abdullah The Butcher infected him with hepatitis C.


Pictures below.

1) Abdullah The Butcher

2) Superstar Billy Graham and Hulk Hogan

3) Abdullah The Butcher (you can clearly see the cuts on his head)

4) Superstar Billy Graham

naptu2:


Like I said, Adbullah The Butcher was often involved in very violent and bloody matches. Now we all know that wrestling is scripted, so where did the blood come from? Well, Abdullah the Butcher often went into the ring with a small razor blade and he used these blades to cut himself so that he would bleed and it would seem as if his opponent had injured him. He sometimes cut opponents too.

Why did they allow him come in with a razor? The company should have sanctioned him to stop that kind of behaviour.

blank:


Why did they allow him come in with a razor? The company should have sanctioned him to stop that kind of behaviour.

The practice was quite common in the past. It was known as "blading". Remember that there wasn't much awareness back then about how HIV and Hepatitis could be transmitted during sporting contests. The WWE only banned blading in 2008 and TNA only banned it in 2014.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blading_(professional_wrestling) (copy the link and paste it in your browser. Nairaland has truncated the link).

However, athletes that had HIV and hepatitis usually made it public, so that their opponents could be aware of the risks. Remember that Magic Johnson admitted that he had HIV back in the 1990s while he was still playing. Abdullah The Butcher did not publicly admit that he had hepatitis.

cashful:
Chai, person don old o...lol

I saw most of the wrestlers when they came to Nigeria, some of them were lodged at Kilo hotels in Surulere and freely walked the streets..

Remembered seeing also Eric the red, Luis Martinez (Ariba).. they were two cowboys back then, Ted McKenzie and d other guy (can't remember is name now)..

@naptu you remember that song that starts the show, there's a local way we use to sing it back then..

Mill mascara,
Mighty Igor,
Argentina Apollo

There were also those 2 dwarfs ... Wow, wrestling was close to real back then..

Kilo hotels....
Memories. ..most of the wrestlers were brought to Nigeria by Power Mike promotions and were lodged at Kilo near the National Stadium.
It was when I saw Mighty Igor and Ray Appollon sitting together at Kilo hotel that I realised wrestling was stage managed choreography. (The night before they had been knocking each others head off and Igor was a bloody mess from Appollons head butts)
@ naptu2, Nice thread as usual

naptu2:



Cowboy Bob Ellis.

That girl in purple is so skinny

Ishilove:

That girl in purple is so skinny

Linda Carriere.

I don't wanna be a freak, but I can't help myself.
I don't wanna be a freak, but I can't help myself

It's almost like I can taste the firewood jollof rice.


Dynasty - I Don't Wanna Be A Freak (1979)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MNFJBbiRNE

naptu2:


Linda Carriere.






It's almost like I can taste the firewood jollof rice.


Dynasty - I Don't Wanna Be A Freak (1979)



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MNFJBbiRNE

See her dancing like a rope