The Wrestlemania Thread - 'It's Real Damn It!'

[Susan Foreman]

Ole Anderson from The Minnesota Wrecking Crew and The Four Horsemen has died, aged 81

[MrBarlow]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Ole Anderson from The Minnesota Wrecking Crew and The Four Horsemen has died, aged 81

Aww that's sad news, he was a great Wrestler and a great heel R.I.P.

[Susan Foreman]

'Star Wars' inspired Japanese wrestlers from 1979 - 'C3' (reportedly Barba Negra / Raul Rodriguez) and 'R2' (El Rebelde / Jesus Reza Garcia)

[MrBarlow]

Former WWE superstar Virgil has died at the age of 61, weeks after it was widely reported that he suffered 'several strokes,' a company spokesman confirmed to DailyMail.com.

Virgil, whose real name was Michael Jones, is best remembered for his time wrestling in World Wrestling Entertainment during the 1980s and 1990s.

According to referee Mark Charles III, who first broke then news of his sad death, Virgil died passed away Wednesday, peacefully in a hospital. In 2022, the star was diagnosed with dementia and suffered two strokes.

He began with the company as the bad guy bodyguard of one of the company's supreme villains, The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase.

However, in 1991 he sensationally turned on his on-screen boss and become a good guy, defeated DiBiase at that year's Wrestlemania and Summerslam pay per views with icon Rowdy Roddy Piper by his side.

He failed to capitalize on that success and spent the rest of his time with WWE as a jobber or enhancement talent before jumping ship like many of his colleagues to World Championship Wrestling in the mid 1990s.

While at WCW, Virgil switched his name to Vincent, a nod to WWE owner Vince McMahon. His name in WWE was a joke against WCW executive and star Dusty Rhodes, whose real name was Virgil Runnells.

He joined the heel New World Order stable led by fellow former WWE star Hulk Hogan. Virgil credited Hogan with getting him hired with the Ted Turner-owned company.

Virgil remained with the company until mid-2000 when injuries forced his retirement from the ring.

In a 2016 interview, DiBiase pulled back the curtain on his his relationship with Virgil, saying that the pair were never too close but always got along together.

However, unlike many of his hard-partying colleague, Virgil never drank, smoke or took drugs during his career.

'We would do our thing on the road and then I would see him in three days or a week, whatever it was at the time. I didn't really socialize a lot with him so to speak, but we had a great working relationship and we were friends,' DiBiase said.

However, the relationship soured in later years when DiBiase discovered that Virgil had been using his former partner's name when booking himself in for personal appearances at wrestling conventions without DiBiase's knowledge.

'You sometimes reap what you sow. You do things the wrong way and it comes back to bite you. I really think that is what happened to him,' DiBiase added.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by MrBarlow

However, in 1991 he sensationally turned on his on-screen boss and become a good guye

"Everyone has their price"

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

The next PPV event in the WWE chronology is NXT: Stand And Deliver, which is due to be held on April 6. However, that is also the first night of WrestleMania XL, which takes place on April 6 and April 7 at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Because it's in Philly, it's likely that Paul Heyman and various ECW wrestlers will show up... it's also being suggested that Heyman will be inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame this year

She holds the Phenom by the throat...slams him down...1 - 2 - 3 SHE SCORES A PINFALL!

[Susan Foreman]

Pop quiz Hotshot!

Question: Who is the only person who has wrestled Muhammad Ali and boxed Andre The Giant?

Answer: Gorilla Monsoon

On June 1, 1976, when Kayfabe was still being upheld, and the term 'Sports Entertainment' hadn't entered Vince McMahon's mind, Ali attended a WWWF match in Philadelphia featuring Gorilla Monsoon. After the match was over, Ali removed his shirt and jacket and confronted Monsoon in the ring. After dodging a few punches, Monsoon put Ali in an airplane spin and dumped him to the mat. Ali stumbled to the corner, where his associate Butch Lewis convinced him to walk away. Obviously there were no hard feeling, because Ali appeared as the 'Special Guest Outside Referee' for the Hulk Hogan and Mr. T vs. Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper main event at 'WrestleMania I' in 1985

The following year, Monsoon faced Andre The Giant is a boxing match in Puerto Rico

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Susan Foreman

Apparently Paul E. is going to be inducted by HHH

Joining him

[MrBarlow]

Dark Side Of The Ring: The Ballad of 'Earthquake' John Tenta.

Looking back on John Tenta who started off his wrestling career in Japan then making his WWF debut in 1991 during a press up challenge between Dino Bravo and Ultimate Warrior. He then became Earthquake and teaming with Tugboat who became Typhoon and going on a tag team as The Natural Disasters from 1991-1993 and then having a stint in WCW then back to WWF then leaving wrestling behind.

It's amazing how quickly he rose in the wrestling to being a main star then becoming a jobber and a parody gimmick that never really done much for his career. Sadly he died in 2006at the age of 42 from bladder cancer while trying to provide for his family being a truck driver.

Contributions from John's family Josephine his wife, Joanna his daughter, sons Jeff and John F, Earl Hebner, Jake Roberts, Fred Ottman, Haku, and Japanese wrestling historian Fumi Saito.


Next Episode may be about Buff Bagwell

[Susan Foreman]

Joining Paul E. and Bull Nakano in the 2024 WWE Hall Of Fame are The US Express (Mike [IRS] Rotunda and Barry Windham)