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1001 MATCHES – Rest in Peace

(by PHIL RIPPA) After Vader passed and I did that piece, I thought about how many guys have died recently (which, sadly for wrestling, isn’t a new phenomenon) and that morphed into thinking about folks who died in 2018. So that is what this turned into – a tiny little tribute to those who passed […]

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1001 MATCHES: ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

(by PHIL RIPPA) Settle in for another round of crazy Rippa methodology. All the matches feature someone who was named Rookie of the Year by either the Wrestling Observer Newsletter or Pro Wrestling Illustrated. I used both just to provide some variety in the names. The WON provided more international names. PWI brought the wackadoo. […]

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DEATH VALLEY DRIVER VIDEO REVIEW – Issue #16

DICK TOGO! TAKA MICHINOKU! Extreme Mayumi! GREAT SASUKE! Dos Caras! KAORU! and other stuff I saw and heard this week! Howdy! Welcome to DEATH VALLEY DRIVER VIDEO REVIEW # 16! I’m knee deep in tapes as we await the big day! This will be sort of a supplemental issue, because the big dog issue of […]

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1001 MATCHES: This Was A Thing Once

(by PHIL RIPPA) Sometimes in wrestling – there will be things were you will be like “Oh yeah – I remember when that was a thing once”. And then you forget again because you are old. 527) BUNKHOUSE BATTLE ROYAL – WWF (01/03/87) https://youtu.be/j2VN4cwsEcc For some reason, one of my vivid memories of the WWF […]

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1001 MATCHES: Big One (80s and Before)

(by PHIL RIPPA) First part of THE BIG ONE~! All matches took place before 1990 401) GILBERT CESCA/BEN CHEMOIL vs. ANTON TEJERO/INCA PERUANO – FRENCH CATCH (03/12/65) French Catch wrestling is probably the newest sensation in wrestling footage becoming available. Which is ironic since it some of the earliest wrestling available to watch. ~!~ 402) […]