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2024 Wrestling RIP thread


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  • 3 weeks later...

if the "Ice Train winning his final indy match before going to WCW" isn't on YouTube, i'd guess it's because WWE actually posted 1993 WCW Saturday Night episodes and that was a WCWSN segment

anyways, it was a unique way to debut somebody who WCW quickly lost interest in pushing and then kept around mostly in enhancement for years after 1993

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From the new WON

Quote

Frank Ciatso, who wrestled on Florida indies for years as Francisco Ciatso and Frankie Capone, passed away on 1/20 at the age of 48. He died due to congenital heart failure suddenly. Ciatso was originally from New York and trained at both the WCW Power Plant as well as was trained originally by Adrian Street. During his career he did enhancement work for WWE, TNA and ROH. He was still wrestling regularly. His career was featured in the documentary “Journeyman” which was released in 2019. He held countless championships with Florida and Georgia independent promotions. He started in the mid-90s as Capone and then went at Ciatso in 2006, but used both names as well as Frankie Coverdale before going exclusively as Ciatso around 2014. He was with WWE for two years in developmental under Bill DeMott and later was used as a guest coach at the Performance Center. He also worked as a match producer for several Florida groups including FIP and Shine, and was head instructor at the WWN Training Center. Gabe Sapolsky on Instagram about Ciatso: “That smile says it all. wasn’t personally that close with Francisco Ciatso, but Frankie was an important behind-the-scenes part of WWN/EVOLVE. This post isn’t about people giving me condolences. I wasn’t in his inner circle. It’s about recognizing Frankie and paying tribute to him, his close friends and family. Frankie did everything with that smile on his face. He loved pro wrestling. He wanted to be a part of it in anyway he could. No matter how big or small the role, he embraced it with enthusiasm and that smile on his face. Wrestle on a show in the opening match or main event of a small local indie - The smile was on his face. Be a manager for younger talent - The smile was on his face. Get in the van and drive all the production elements 20 hours to a show - The smile was on his face. Get to a show and help at the merch table or setting up - The smile was on his face. Book a WWN Proving Ground show in front of 10 fans - The smile was on his face. Train the next generation - An unselfish, hopeful, proud smile was on his face. Every time I saw Frankie in recent years he would say to me that he realized his in ring days were winding down. I’m sure Frankie had dreams and aspirations of being a superstar wrestler in a major promotion. When that didn’t happen, he understood what it meant to make the most of any opportunity to contribute. He didn’t blame others or be resentful, he embraced any chance he could to help. I always felt good when I saw Frankie. I knew whatever job he had to do would get done. He was an adult in the room. He was dependable. Always with that smile. I trusted him enough to recommend him to guest coach at the PC. We snapped this photo there to send to Sal Hamaoui because Sal suggested that Frankie earned this shot due to all the quality hard work he put in. Frankie never looked for praise or recognition. He just loved being a part of the show, a part of the process, a part of the team. If you ever stepped foot in a WWN or EVOLVE ring, you were walking over some of Frankie’s sweat, heart and soul. There is a GoFundMe to assist his loved ones. When I think of Frankie, I’ll always remember that smile.

 

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I remember the Mongolian Mauler for having a cup of coffee in WCW in 1990, including being in the finals of the "African tournament" to be in the Pat 'O Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade '90. He also wrestled in Britain for quite a few years, notably appearing in the Robbie Brookside Video Diaries documentary in 1993.

 

RIP.

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3 hours ago, Happ Hazzard said:

I remember the Mongolian Mauler for having a cup of coffee in WCW in 1990, including being in the finals of the "African tournament" to be in the Pat 'O Connor Memorial Tag Team Tournament at Starrcade '90.

Kahula and the Beast at that Clash were different people. Mauler did have a WCW cameo in 94 wrestling Brian Pillman.

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6 minutes ago, Cobra Commander said:

Kahula and the Beast at that Clash were different people. Mauler did have a WCW cameo in 94 wrestling Brian Pillman.

Yeah, it was one of those blink and you'll miss it deals. He got a squash win IIRC first and the next week goes against Pillman in a losing effort never to be seen again. The whole thing was different to say the least. 

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I remember first reading about Mongolian Mauler in an independent wrestling magazine I bought from a trip to Germany back in 1992. He seemed to travel around the world wrestling in all sorts of places, but it was probably mostly Europe and Japan in addition to US.

Then, I remember the results in PWI seeing he faced Brian Pillman in WCW in '94 and was like "Oh, it's that guy with the black eyes!" Too bad nothing came out of that brief run. I would have probably watched his stuff given a chance.

It's also very weird how the time between summer of '92 and spring of '94 seemed like a really, really long time. From summer of 2022 to a few months from now is just "a few days at work and gym , plus a trip or two." Time is weird.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Ian Muir, a 310 pound wrestler from Scotland who was a frequent opponent of Big Daddy, passed away this past week at the age of 81. He wrestled from around 1974 to 1988, as either Ian Muir, Bruiser Muir or Big Bully Muir, as well as under a mask as The Assassin. He worked on the losing end of numerous singles and tag matches with Daddy, getting slots because Daddy would frequently work with 300 pound opponents. He was said to be very popular among his peers, and did some acting roles as well, being in the movie “Time Bandits” as well as having small parts on television shows and being in many television commercials. One star from that era called him “A lovely and funny man. Great monster.” He was actually best known for being in the comedy television show “The Young Ones” which was big in the 80s, which was considered groundbreaking in its day. He wrestled most of his career in the U.K. but did travel out of the country when he was younger. He was very well liked and respected within the wrestling community

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  • 3 weeks later...

Ole Anderson is probably in wrestling heaven right now  telling everyone to go fuck themselves.  As incredibly cranky as he was, he was a great tag team wrestler and one of the best promo guys in this business 

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Just for the hell of it; as many of Ole's turns that I could find (or promos thereafter, anyway):

Sort of already a face, and vowing revenge in Mid-Atlantic, 1977:


Face turn, Georgia, 1979:


Aforementioned heel turn, Georgia, 1980:


Face turn, Georgia, 1983:


Heel turn, Georgia, 1985:

 

Face turn, Georgia (Crockett) 1987:


Heel turn, WCW, 1990:

 

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