This week on the DragonKingKarl classic wrestling podcast, Karl Stern takes a look back at the June 16, 1986, issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter by Dave Meltzer, one of the sources used in his DragonKingKarl’s 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus.
This is an issue with a huge news story discussing the severe motorcycle accident suffered by Kerry Von Erich which ultimately led to the partial amputation of his foot. There’s also Billy Jack Haynes, Roddy Piper, and a major AWA show heading to Denver.
Plus, there’s news on the NWA Great American Bash 1986 tour series.
He takes a deep dive into the June 10, 1986, issue of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter where he looks at major stories involving Billy Jack Haynes leaving the Pacific Northwest territory for the WWF, major problems in Fritz Von Erich’s World Class Championship Wrestling, and the upcoming NWA Great American Bash Tour.
The most detailed update on the Janel Grant case, with her new filing and claims, a look at those claims in detail, what is net for the case, the key thing regarding the future of the case and why it really comes down to the judges ruling, and timeline for all of this. We cover new cais and the arguments for and against binding arbitration or continuing the civil case.
Update on WrestleMania, the card as of this point, reasons for some of the new matches, when matches changed and why, as well as the business for the show, how far behind are ticket sales and interest in the show as compared to the same period last year.
Chris Jericho returns to AEW and as much detail as we have on the decision
AEW Dynasty update and updated major event ticket sales
The death of J Robinson, a college coaching legend and his connections with a number of key figures in pro wrestling, including the recruiting of Brock Lesnar by WWE and the politics behind why WWE waited an extra year to offer him a deal.
The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including competition, comparisons with one year back, Raw vs. Dynamite and how close it has become, and more.
It’s CMLL tournament of champions month starting this week
Anniversary shows at Arena Mexico and Arena Coliseo this week including a look back at the first show in each building
A look at the four title match show at ArenaMexico on Tuesday
A super hot match to watch on AAA
A look at Stardom’s biggest stipulation of the year and Yokohama Arena show
Current Tiger Mask retires
Best of the Super Junior tournament update
Largest crowd of the year for women’s wrestling in Japan
Hodge trophy winner looked at
Maple Leaf Wrestling announces new TV deal and a look at the weekend shows
Stabbing at a pro wrestling show
Very interesting political match will take place with TNA champion vs. AEW star
American gold medalist challenges UFC undefeated champion
Rebellion notes
Lots of injury updates and business notes
Wrestler complaining about AEW not booking them enough
Kenny Omega talks his and Kota Ibushi’s health
Brody King talks the chants
Tony Khan and his enemies
Kayla Harrison on why her next bantamweight fight will be her last and why she should never have fought at bantamweight to begin with
Crazy Dana White story
Will Mayweather-Pacquiao II take place and what are the issues
Fedor Emelianenko wants to return to combat next year
Nick Khan acquires TKO stock
Bret & Ross Hart talk Badnews Allen in WWE Hall of Fame
— We’ll be back with Wrestling Observer Radio tonight talking Smackdown, Sakura Genesis, Stand & Deliver and the rest of the weekend news.
— We’ll talk about the SmackDown angles tonight on the show. As noted all weekend, this was an Ari Emanuel call to Pat McAfee to do the angle and not something from the Paul Levesque side. Of those we heard from internally, they were not fans of it to say the least.
— Willam Haynes, Jr., the former Billy Jack Hayes, was ordered to stand trial for the murder of his wife in 2024. He was previously ruled mentally unfit to stand trial in May. He underwent more testing and KATU-TV reported the decision was made for him to stand trial in 2027 for the death of wife Janette Becraft.
— MJF said on the Late Night Grin podcast that he told Tony Khan they should do a documentary on the Wednesday night War with NXT, noting that they could have interviews with Adam Cole, Roderick Strong, Kyle O’Relly and Swerve Strickland who were in NXT at the time.
— Billy Corgan’s NWA at the Crockett Cup this weekend announced a TV deal with the Sci-fi channel COMET. No other details were announced. Comet in 2025 averaged 92,000 viewers and an 0.03 in 18-49in prime time.
— The Joshua Van vs. Tatsuro Taira UFC flyweight title match that was scheduled for the major show on 4/11 has been moved back to the May show. The new semifinal underneath Jiri Prochazka vs. Carlos Uhlbertg for the vacant light heavyweight title will be Azamat Murzakanov vs. Paulo Costa.
— Regarding Dynamite, it was third in the first hour behind FOX News (which had a giant night with the Donald Trump speech) and the NBA and fourth in the second hour, also behind CNN. It was actually up in 18-49 and 25-54 from last week, down in 18-34 but still the second highest Dynamite in 18-34 so far this year.
— Will Ospreay on X said that he hadn’t returned to Japan because he wanted a break and didn’t know how his body was going to feel doing long flights like that since he lives in the U.K., and works full-time with AEW.
— Jon Jones was involved in an incident last night. Bryan Betran, who drove in a car said he was nearly hit three times by a truck even after revving his engine the first time. He flipped the person off and he proceeded to stop in the middle of the road, backed up and came into the parking lot. He said he thought Jones was carrying a weapon but said he just wanted the whole thing to blow over. Jones’ side is that the kid chased his car down for two blocks and tried to intimidate him and said he was proud of himself for standing up for himself and not allowing any bullying or intimidation.
— We haven’t heard much yet from the weekend CMLL shows, but from reports the top weekend matches were Callum Newman’s IWGP title win over Yota Tsuji and Yuto-Ice & Oskar vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa from Sakura Genesis. Stand & Deliver was also a lot better than most of the recent NXT big shows.
— I didn’t monitor it closely but Stand & Deliver about 30 minutes into the show had 133,000 viewers and was doing 147,000 to 158,000 about an hour in on YouTube. Those were only U.S. numbers but still far smaller than I would have expected.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on NXT Stand & Deliver and NJPW Sakura Genesis, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
— Really not much on the Google search stuff for this weekend. Everything was low. The UFC show did 50,000. Stand & Deliver did 7,000. Deontay Wilder had 10,000 searches. Pat McAfee, Lil Yachty and nothing from Smackdown thing from Smackdown even hit the top 350 for the weekend.
— WrestleCon announced that Ted DiBiase Jr. would be coming this year.
— The Global Wars show from 3/27 from Maple Leaf Wrestling which as a joint show with ROH is now up on Honor Club.
— Scott Teal has released the first volume of his history of Stl Louis book, which covers August 27, 1873 to 1927. Volume 1 looks at the origins of pro wrestling in St Louis, matches in bars, theaters, athletic clubs and eventually moving to the Coliseum and Municipal Auditorium. Volume 2, covering 1928-1936 will be out later this year and he will continue to release books covering St. Louis Wrestling until the end of the Sam Muchnick era on January 1, 1982. For more inf go to www.crowbarpress.com
— United Wrestling Coalition on 4/11 in New Egypt, NJ at the American Legion. It is not a wrestling show by itself, but also an 80s wrestling party which is family friendly..
— Diamond Dallas Page turned 70 today. Villano IV (Tomaz Mendoza Diaz) turned 61. Charlotte Flair turned 40 and Dominik Mysterio turned 29. Among other birthdays include John Tolos, born in 1931 and Sika Anoia’i, born in 1945. Among those who passed away on this day were former NCAA champion and 50s pro star Ralph “Ruffy” Silvestein, who was 66 when he died 46 years ago today. Sara Lee was 76 when she died 18 years ago today. New Zealand promoter Steve Richard was 85 when he died 11 years ago today (thanks to Tony Richrards)
— Announced for Maple Leaf Wrestling on 4/17 at the Palms in Las Vegas is Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Amazing Red vs. Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz & Myron Reed, plus Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Shotzi Blackheart and Michael Oku are on the show.
— Seth Rollins will be in the opening segment on Raw tomorrow.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm is back with tons to talk about including an update on Jim Ross, the death of Rick Derringer, Billy Jack Haynes update, RAW from Monday night, AEW PPV lengths, and tons more. A fun show as alway so check it out~!
Former pro wrestler Billy Jack Haynes (William Albert Haynes III) is unfit to stand trial in his wife’s murder, a judge in Oregon has ruled.
Haynes, 71, was arrested in February 2024 and is accused of shooting his wife Janette Becraft to death. He is facing charges of second degree murder and the unlawful use of a weapon, but a status check took place this week where the judge declared that Haynes is mentally unfit to stand trial. He has been sent to Oregon State Hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Haynes will remain there until able to stand trial.
“A Multnomah County Judge Wednesday ordered William Albert Haynes be sent to the Oregon State Hospital, ruling he is unfit to assist in his own defense,” KATU News in Portland wrote.
“A copy of the order signed by Judge Angela Lucero cites a report by a certified evaluator that looked at Haynes’ behavior at the hearing, statements from his attorneys, and stipulations from both the defense and prosecutors stating that he is unfit.”
The next step in the case is a fitness to proceed hearing scheduled for May 20. Haynes’ trial was supposed to begin in December 2025, but that will only happen if he’s deemed fit to contribute to his defense.
Becraft was 85 years old at the time of her death and was believed to be suffering from dementia.
Haynes was a wrestling star in Portland during his career and also had a run in the WWF that included competing at WrestleMania III. After his time wrestling, Haynes gave interviews where he spouted conspiracy theories that caused fans to speculate about his mental stability. A Dark Side of the Ring episode on Haynes premiered on Vice TV earlier this month.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the latest on Janel Grant and Vince McMahon, the Billy Jack Haynes DSOTR, Arena Mexico, Smashing Machine praise, New Japan and Best of the Super Juniors, full AEW and NXT TV reports, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Update on Janel Grant/Vince McMahon case, Trump administration looking to cut concussion research 9:35: NJPW notes on Resurgence and BOSJ 15:18: WWE Backlash & UFC lineups, CMLL announces AEW talent for upcoming Arena Mexico shows & other notes 24:40: ‘Smashing Machine’ Oscar buzz, Billy Jack Haynes Dark Side of the Ring 34:11: Ratings 38:57: AEW Dynamite recap 1:03:17: WWE NXT recap
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including legal issues for Duke Droese, the latest on McMahon and Janel Grant, New Japan Dontaku, AAA/WWE signings, the Righteous gone from AEW, Billy Jack Haynes DSOTR, ratings, RAW, AEW and the ECW Arena, and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: Duke Droese indicted, doctor in Vince McMahon vs. Janel Grant case files defamation suit against lawyer 8:00: AAA signings, WWE stars at Triplemania Regia 14:20: The Righteous gone from AEW 16:08: NJPW Wrestling Dontaku thoughts 28:10: Dark Side of the Ring on Billy Jack Haynes, ratings 36:06: WWE Raw recap, lineups for the coming week
The anticipation for the sixth season of Dark Side of the Ring on Vice TV continues to build with all of the episodes titles and descriptions being revealed Thursday.
In late-January, the topics were first announced with the following giving even more insight into what’s in store for viewers:
Mick Foley: Hell in a Cell: “From the first terrifying fall off the cage to the impact he still feels today, Mick Foley relives a wrestling match, “Hell in a Cell ’98,” moment by moment.”
Blood, Fire and the Original Sheik: “The Sheik, whose violent career spanned fifty years, is revealed by his family and the few who survived his hardcore bloodbaths.”
Tony Atlas: Too Much, Too Soon: “With the physique of an Adonis and endless charisma, Tony Atlas makes his mark as one of wrestling’s first Black stars but racism, addiction and ego keeps Mr. USA from the top.”
Becoming Muhammad Hassan: “Just three years post-9/11, Marc Copani sees the highs and lows of wrestling when he’s given the chance to portray Muhammad Hassan, a villainous Arab-American character for the WWE.”
‘Hot Stuff’ Eddie Gilbert: “Skilled as a performer in the ring and as a booker, who created storylines behind the scenes; ‘Hot Stuff’ Eddie Gilbert was a ticking timebomb of talent and self-destruction.”
Big Van Vader: “With an iconic look and skills few of his size could match, Big Van Vader stood out as a wrestling monster but controlling his anger became a bigger battle in and out of the ring.”
The Scream Queen: Daffney: “With her piercing scream, Shannon Spruill becomes a cult star as Daffney in the squared circle; outside the ring, Daffney fights a much more punishing battle with bipolar disorder.”
The Original ‘Superstar’: Billy Graham: “Often imitated, never duplicated, Billy Graham breaks the mold for what a wrestler could be but steroid abuse and battles with the McMahons keeps Graham from the spotlight.”
Ludvig Borga: Hellraiser From Helsinki: “A Finnish wrestling bad guy turned real-life racist politician, Tony Halme’s time in the WWF as Ludvig Borga is only the start of his chaotic and destructive life.”
Truth, Lies and Billy Jack Haynes: “An 80s wrestling star, Billy Jack Haynes’ life of violence and mystery leads to his current situation; behind bars and charged with the second degree murder of his wife.”
The new season kicks off Tuesday, March 25th on Vice TV at 10 PM Eastern.
The full list of episode topics has been revealed for Dark Side of the Ring’s new season.
Dark Side of the Ring returns with season six premiering on Vice TV at 10 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday, March 25. A trailer for the new season was released today, announcing that there will be episodes focused on the following 10 subjects:
Hell in a Cell
Big Van Vader
Tony Atlas
Ludvig Borga
Billy Jack Haynes
Eddie Gilbert
“Superstar” Billy Graham
Daffney
The Original Sheik
Muhammad Hassan
Interviews with Mick Foley, Jim Cornette, Jim Ross, Rob Van Dam, Tony Atlas, Marc Copani (Muhammad Hassan), Mark Henry, and Billy Jack Haynes are included in the trailer. Haynes was arrested and charged with the murder of his 85-year-old wife Janette Becraft in February 2024.
We’re back! Season 6 premieres March 25 on @VICETV.
The Hell in a Cell episode looks to be heavily focused on Foley and his match against The Undertaker from King of the Ring 1998. Last August, Ross said he was interviewed for an upcoming Dark Side of the Ring episode where Foley would be the topic.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE OBSERVER, Billy Jack Haynes, NXT ratings being down likely based on declined show quality, AEW Dynamite notes leading to the PPV, should Sting win?, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including the death of Virgil, more on the passing of Ole Anderson, plus news on CMLL visa issues, Billy Jack Haynes, Tama Tonga, ratings, AEW and NXT TV reviews, Collision spoilers and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Virgil passes away
4:20: More on Ole Anderson
20:53: Billy Jack Haynes officially charged with wife’s murder
22:57: CMLL visa issues, all women’s show on Friday
28:19: New talent announced for NJPW Windy City Riot, Tama Tonga heading to WWE
Billy Jack Haynes has been transported to jail after being officially charged with the murder of his wife.
KOIN 6 reported that after being released from the hospital on Wednesday, Haynes was booked into the Multnomah County Detention Center in Portland, Oregon on charges of murder of in the second degree and unlawful use of a weapon. Haynes had been in police custody while hospitalized, but was not officially charged until his release.
On February 8, police were called to Portland’s Lents neighborhood and spent hours communicating with Haynes inside a home. Police believed he was armed, and told those in the area to shelter in place. Two hours later, Haynes came out and was detained. Inside, police found Jannette Becraft, Haynes’ wife, deceased. Her death was ruled as a homicide by shotgun wound.
Haynes was a mainstay in the Portland wrestling territory for most of his career. He had a brief run in WWE from 1986 through 1988, most notably feuding with Hercules Hernandez that led to a match at WrestleMania 3. He also wrestled for a brief period in WCW under the name Black Blood.
The new issue of the Observer up on the site is filled with tons of detailed news stories, between more on the Vince McMahon situation, WrestleMania 40 and the press conference, the new streaming services and changes in the sports media ecosystem, Rossy Ogawa and Scott D’Amore being fired as heads of Stardom and TNA, Steve McMichael makes the NFL Hall of Fame, and a study of AEW PPV buys.
How Vince McMahon was let go
The federal investigation of McMahon
What they were looking for and confiscated and how it ties in with other news
Who else has been talked with
Lots more on the Ashley Massaro situation
Why Ari Emanuel needs to answer a lot of questions
WrestleMania 40 blurring the lines
A look at the press conference and reaction to Rock
Update on Elimination Chamber
A look at the new sports streaming service that many networks are partnering in
The firing of Rossy Ogawa with a look into the background of what happened
Comments from both Taro Okada and Ogawa with both sides
Different booking decisions overruled
How AEW & WWE fit into the story
Firing of Scott D’Amore, the background of it, the talent meeting, how successful the last PPV show really was
Full coverage of NXT Stand & Deliver
A study of AEW PPV buyers and what it reveals
Steve McMichael makes NFL Hall of Fame as one of his last wishes and a look back at his run, plus other wrestlers in the NFL Hall of Fame
The most detailed look at the ratings of all the wrestling TV shows, demo breakdowns, comparisons with last year, segment numbers and what can be learned from it
Huge feud appears to be brewing with AEW internationally
Gran Alternativa final draws back at Arena Mexico
AAA Rey de Reyes notes
Stardom anniversary show notes
Lots of injury updates
Toby Keith and his connection with wrestling that you probably do know and may not know
40th anniversary of the death of El Santo and David Von Erich
Bret Hart talks problems with today’s wrestling
One of the best promos of the year by Amira
Lots more on Revolution
Largest crowds ever in Greensboro
Wembley Stadium update
Attendance updates for upcoming WWE, AEW and UFC shows
Lots of injury updates
Gina Carano sues Disney
More WrestleMania updates
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
TV reviews and show notes
Two personalities in Super Bowl commercials Sunday
Bryan and I will be up tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering Raw and the rest of the recent news.
A note on the horrible story of Billy Haynes (Billy Jack Haynes) allegedly shooting and killing his wife Janettte Becraft Haynes. Janette’s only son, powerlifter and former indie wrestler Todd Becraft,. had been best friends with Billy since 1971 when Todd was nine and Billy was 18. Police were alerted to gunfire at the home that Haynes, 70, and wife Janette, 85, were living in. There was a two-hour standoff before they could get Haynes out of the house and into custody. Janette’s death was ruled by the medical examiner’s office as due to a gunshot wound.
Raw tonight is from Lexington, KY with LA Knight vs. Ivar and Bobby Lashley vs. Bronson Reed in men’s elimination chamber qualifying matches and Zoey Stark vs. Liv Morgan in a women’s qualifying match. Also announced is JD McDonagh vs. R-Truth. M Z. They had more than 9,800 tickets out for the show earlier today so they will have another big crowd, although that’s far from capacity at Rupp Arena.
We’re looking for reports from Lexington tonight with Main Event matches and anything else not on the live show to [email protected]
We’re also looking for your thoughts on yesterday’s New Beginning in Osaka with a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]
Smackdown on Friday did 2.58 million viewers and an 0.75 in 18-49, which are gigantic numbers for the show, and next week with Roman Reigns and Dwayne Johnson on and advertised ahead of time should beat that. Next week’s show has a chance of being No. 1 for the week on network television since football is now over. The Super Bowl rating wasn’t out but it was expected to be the largest audience ever to watch a television show in the U.S.
Rampage was also up from usual with 456,000 viewers and an 0.14 in 18-49.
The Iron Claw movie will be out on VOD tomorrow.
E! did a feature on Dwayne Johnson’s kids and their interest in wrestling. Notable is the feature was put together before the change in plans at Mania as it talked about Johnson vs Roman Reigns at WrestleMania.
PWInsider reported Eric Young will be hosting the second season of Vinyl Obsession, a show where old time rock stars search for vinyl albums and talk about their past. Also Frankie Kazarian, Josh Alexander and Young will be on shows like Top 10 Revealed and The Very Best of the 80s. It’s part of a program where Anthem Entertainment wants to get the TNA talent on its other programming on AXS TV.
WWE through its deal with the NFL has released a Super Bowl legacy title belt for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Star Jr. & Magnus from CMLL will be on the 2/29 MLW show at the Melrose Ballroom in New York. They will wrestle each other with Star Jr. managed by Salina de la Renta and Magnus by Cesar Duran.
PFL has announced a partnership with Torneos in Latin America and as part of the deal DirecTV will continue as the group’s exclusive media partner in Latin America.
WWE stock may take an uptick in the next few days as Jeffries targeted $120 per share price because of the expectation of huge profit increases due to WWE & UFC working together.
Hechicero issued a challenge to Zack Sabre Jr. after seeing his match yesterday with Bryan Danielson. The Sabre-Danielson match from Osaka is a strong candidate for the best match so far this year. If you are into technical wrestling, it’s among the best bouts of all-time.
Bret Hart and Greg Gagne did meet and greets on Saturday night on the Midwest All-Star Wrestling show in Turtle Lake, WI. Hart arrival was delayed and he didn’t make it until the end of the show but spent more than three hours after the show was over making sure everyone was accommodated (thanks to Cody Endres)
Moose vs. Kushida for the TNA title headlines Thursday’s Ima[pct show along with Chis Bey & Ace Austin vs. Grizzled Young Veterans in the second best of a best-of-three series.
The final episode of the season of Big Little Brawlers airs at 10 p.m. tomorrow night on Discovery. The show has been doing usually in the range of 330,000 viewers and 0.08.
Mercedes Mone, Bayley, Britt Baker and Naomi were together at the Super Bowl game yesterday.
Matt Hardy will be recording his podcast The Extreme Life of Matt Hardy over Mania weekend on 4/5 at 4 p.m. Eastern at the Sheraton Philadelphia Downtown Hotel.
Bronson Reed posted on Istagram about the death of his cousin Kayla.
Kurt Angle makes an appearance for Outlaw Pro Wrestling on 3/2 in West Babylon, NY at West Babylon High School.
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer is back with tons to talk about including Billy Jack Haynes arrested for murder, the New Japan PPV with an incredible Danielson vs. Sabre match and a wild main event, update on Okada, line-ups for the next few days, Smackdown and Collision line-ups, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps:
Start: Anniversary of David Von Erich’s death
05:29: Billy Jack Haynes confirmed as a suspect in wife’s murder
11:10: Kazuchika Okada update
14:50: NJPW New Beginning in Osaka, upcoming NJPW lineups
34:26: Tony Khan talks to media, Jim Valley’s thoughts on Vince McMahon
After a multi-hour standoff Thursday morning, former WWE wrestler and Portland, Oregon, standout Billy Jack Haynes was confirmed Saturday as the suspect that was arrested in the fatal shooting of his wife, Janette Becraft.
Early reports had the 70-year-old Haynes simply identified as “a former wrestler.”
Those same reports had Haynes as uncooperative, prompting a shelter in place order for the surrounding neighborhoods at 6000 SE 100th Avenue in Portland. Police were called to the residence at approximately 10 AM local time following reports of gunfire.
Eventually, local authorities got Haynes (Willam Albert Haynes) to come out and into police custody in a local hospital where he remains as of this writing, being treated for an unrelated medical condition.
“Once he is released from the hospital, which may be days from now, he is expected to be booked into jail. Haynes’ charges will be released once he is booked,” Portland police released as part of a statement.
Afterward, authorities entered the home to find the body of 85-year-old Becraft with the local medical examiner later confirming the cause of death was homicide by gunshot wound.
Becraft was Haynes’ second wife.
He came to regional prominence in the Pacific Northwest during the early-1980s, eventually making his way to the then-WWF from 1986-1988 where he spent his time in the mid-card. He had a short run in WCW as Black Blood and worked various indies before his retirement.
Haynes hasn’t wrestled since 1995. He was part of the eventually dismissed concussion lawsuit that began nearly a decade ago.
