On a new DragonKingKarl Show, it’s time for Karl Stern’s monthly question and answer podcast.
He explores an interesting quirk that happened the night Hulk Hogan lost the WWF Championship to Andre the Giant on The Main Event in 1988.
Also, where does the old Global Wrestling Federation (GWF) rank historically?
He also looks at three different eras of pro wrestling — 1980s, 1990s and today — to see what second and third tier wrestling promotions did and how they are viewed in a historical context including the AWA and ECW.
Growing up as a way-too-hardcore-for-my-age wrestling fan, I looked forward to watching whatever flavor of wrestling from the Dallas Sportatorium was on ESPN and in syndication at the time. The ESPN show was perfect for kids who loved pro wrestling: It aired at 4 p.m. eastern time, so it was perfect for after-school viewing.
Global Force Wrestling has posted its first trailer for the company’s Amped television show. The company was founded by Jeff and Karen Jarrett two years ago, and has gained traction over the past year. In January, they brokered a deal to broadcast New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestling Kingdom 9 event live. They also brought Jim Ross back to the commentary table, with Matt Striker as the color analyst and thanks to extensive social media work and promoting Jim Ross’s return hard, the event drew surprisingly well on PPV.
Earlier this year, the company announced its roster full of free agents and New Japan talent working their house shows, and they embarked on a series of house shows at minor league ballparks. In July, they held their first TV tapings with Chael Sonnen acting as a color commentator and Cyrus Fees as the play by play man. GFW promised to do something new that hadn’t been done before, and this trailer indicates that they’re going for a behind the scenes documentary-style format for things that happen outside the ring.
In an interview with Marc Madison of thenewshub.com Jarrett explains why GFW’s vision is unique:
“The vision is fundamentally, very different. It’s also because of the timing of things. I named the company April 7th, 2014 and went directly and worked to form alliances with major promotions in Japan, Mexico and independent promotions in South Africa, Europe and Australia and really dialed in and the NEX GEN title was about giving guys opportunity which quite frankly are too many to name.”
