Tag: Russia

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The pre-Hackenschmidt era of Russian wrestling

Posted on by Karl Stern

On this episode of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show, I continue my 1000 Hours research on the pioneer era of wrestling.

A sponsor of the show requested some research on wrestling in Russia before George Hackenschmidt. Interestingly, wrestling in Russia came relatively late in the pioneer era and Hackenschmidt (seen above) became its biggest star. But, there were others.

Today, we look at the early stars of Russian wrestling and how it originally developed as an import from Poland and France.

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WWE terminates partnership with Russian broadcaster, shuts down WWE Network in Russia

Posted on by Joseph Currier

With the ongoing war in Ukraine, WWE is ending its business relationships within the country of Russia.

WWE issued a statement on Thursday announcing that it has terminated its partnership with Russian broadcaster Match. WWE is also shutting down the WWE Network in Russia immediately.

The termination of the broadcast deal with Match and shutting down the WWE Network in the country means that there’s no longer any access to WWE programming in Russia.

“WWE has terminated its partnership with Russian broadcaster Match and shut down WWE Network in Russia effective immediately,” WWE’s statement said.

“The move eliminates access in Russia to any WWE programming, including the company’s weekly Raw, SmackDown and NXT shows, its on-demand library, and all of its premium live events, including WrestleMania 38.”

Russia officially launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Significant sanctions have since been imposed against Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin by the United States and other countries around the world.