Tag: Tommy Rich

VIDEO: Wrestling icon makes surprise 2300 Arena debut after AEW Collision taping

Posted on by Josh Nason

Former AEW and WCW star Sting made his surprise 2300 Arena debut following Thursday’s AEW Collision taping in Philadelphia.

His appearance was part of a post-event tribute to Eddie Gilbert put on by AEW head Tony Khan that also saw Jeff Jarrett, Tommy Rich, and Eddie’s brother Doug Gilbert in attendance as well.

From our Dave Meltzer: “Eddie Gilbert was the guy who saw the potential in Sting before anyone else and was the architect of Sting’s babyface turn in the UWF just as the promotion was being sold to Jim Crockett.”

Gilbert was the booker for Eastern Championship Wrestling before he was fired by Tod Gordon, replaced by Paul Heyman, and the eventual creation of the Extreme Championship Wrestling brand. Heyman was a friend and protege of Gilbert.

After Doug, Jarrett and Rich came out talking about Eddie and the former ECW arena,

Khan called out Doug Gilbert, Eddie’s younger brother, who at one time was a star heel in Memphis. Gilbert talked about being the first person to jump out of the Eagle’s Nest in the arena and how Eddie was the King of Philadelphia.

Then, out came Sting who talked about Eddie and what he meant to his career. He asked the fans to chant “Hot Stuff” which led to Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff” being played to end the night.

It’s unknown if the segment will be released on YouTube.

On X, Khan thanked the group for being there.

Participants revealed for ‘Senior Scramble’ at Joey Janela’s Spring Break

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Six competitors are set to take part in the first-ever “Senior Scramble” match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9.

After first announcing the match earlier this week, Joey Janela has revealed that the Senior Scramble will be a six-way match featuring wrestling legends Ricky Morton, Doug Gilbert, George South, The Warlord, “Action” Mike Jackson, and Tommy Rich. The rules stipulated that all participants must be at least 55 years old.

Jackson is the oldest wrestler in the match at 75 years old, while Gilbert is the youngest at 56.

Janela and Game Changer Wrestling are presenting the Spring Break event on Friday, April 18 during WrestleMania week in Las Vegas. Streaming live on TrillerTV+, the show has a start time of 10 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Pacific. It’s being held at the Pearl Concert Theater at the Palms Casino Resort.

Here is the updated card:

  • Sabu’s final match: Joey Janela vs. Sabu
  • The Wagner Family (Dr. Wagner Jr., El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno del Mal) vs. Los Desperados (Gringo Loco, Arez & Jack Cartwheel)
  • Minoru Suzuki vs. Matt Tremont
  • Megan Bayne vs. Bozilla
  • Loser Leaves GCW match: Atticus Cogar vs. Fuego Del Sol
  • Zack Sabre Jr. vs. 1 Called Manders
  • Gabe Kidd vs. Mance Warner
  • JCW World Champion Masha Slamovich defends against Suzu Suzuki
  • Senior Scramble: Ricky Morton vs. Doug Gilbert vs. George South vs. The Warlord vs. Mike Jackson vs. Tommy Rich

Wrestling Weekly: Remembering ‘Superstar,’ AEW Collision with (or without) CM Punk

Posted on by Victor Sosa

Les Thatcher and I are back with a new Wrestling Weekly to discuss the late “Superstar” Billy Graham, AEW Collision coming to TNT, and whether or not CM Punk is coming back to AEW or not.

Thanks for listening and have a great weekend~!

Click Here To Listen for free

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: The last great Memphis angle

Posted on by Karl Stern

Straight out of 1986-87, this week’s DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show takes a deep dive into the Jerry Lawler vs. Austin Idol steel cage hair vs. hair match which also included Tommy Rich and Paul Heyman.

I had so much fun putting this show together and I encourage not only fans of classic wrestling to listen to this show, but also modern fans who don’t understand why we keep harping on good promos and continuity today.

This show is a masterclass in how to do an angle right with some of the best promos you’ve ever heard in addition to peak Tommy Rich.

Click Here to Listen for free

DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: Wrestling Superstars from fall 1983

Posted on by Karl Stern

Just in time for the release of my new book, DragonKingKarl’s 1983 Pro Wrestling Omnibus, let’s review the Fall 1983 issue of the Apter magazines’ quarterly special: Wrestling Superstars.

This issue focused heavily on Georgia Championship Wrestling who was going through some things in 1983. Yes, the “Last Battle of Atlanta” was happening, but there was discontent within the NWA that was brewing.

I also delve into the features on Tommy Rich, Buzz Sawyer, Larry Zbyszko, the Iron Sheik, and much more.

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show: A Longform History of Wrestling pt. 2

Posted on by Karl Stern

Image: Karl Stern

In this continuing audio series on the history of pro wrestling, the first half of the DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling Show examines the recently found “Last Battle of Atlanta” match between Tommy Rich and Buzz Sawyer inside an enclosed steel cage from the Omni in Atlanta, GA in October 1983, followed by another steel cage match between Paul Ellering and Ole Anderson.

The second half of the show continues Karl’s look at the pioneer era of wrestling and some of the bigger names from that era including Col. James McLaughlin and H.M. Dufur.

Some additional talking points:

  • Karl’s thoughts about the time period surrounding the Last Battle of Atlanta. What was happening and why was Tommy Rich important?
  • How the match stands up today, and spoilers about the match.
  • Why did Anderson vs. Ellering follow the match?
  • Who were wrestling pioneers McLaughlin and Dufur?

Subscribers can click below to listen:

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DragonKingKarl Classic Wrestling July Marathon: “Wildfire” Tommy Rich

Posted on by Karl Stern

Tommy “Wildfire” Rich became a near instant star in the early 1980s but almost as quickly as he shot to stardom, he fell from the top going from one of the youngest NWA World Heavyweight champions to a comedy figure in just a few years time.

So, what went wrong? Actually, Rich had a better career than most give him credit for. And in this show, Karl Stern will talk about that in detail, including Rich’s involvement in one of the best angles of 1987.

Fred Ward and Harley Race believed in Rich to such a degree that he had a short run as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion while being one of the hottest ever babyfaces in Georgia. Often moving back and forth between Georgia and Memphis wrestling, it seemed like Rich was building toward becoming one of the biggest stars of the 1980s and possibly beyond.

But it burnt out as quickly as it started. Though Rich worked a variety of places including Continental, AWA, and WCW, he never came close to recapturing that magic he had early on in Georgia.

But for a short time in 1987, he did. Along with Paul Heyman (Paul E. Dangerously at the time) and Austin Idol, he was part of one of the last great angles of the territorial era where the heels finally outsmarted Jerry “The King” Lawler. In the weeks leading to a big hair vs. hair match, Rich laid down a great series of promos and matches which helped build to the big surprise – when he came out from under the ring in a steel cage match and cost Lawler his hair for the first and only time in his career.

On the latest episode of our classic wrestling July marathon, join us in taking a look at “Wildfire” Tommy Rich.

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