Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2020 i Pro Wrestling Illustrated

EVEN THOUGH IT ultimately didn’t take place at Raymond James Stadium—home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—the pirate theme WWE chose for WrestleMania 36 was especially fitting this year. After all, as WWE tried its best to put on the biggest show of the year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, what image could be more fitting than a ship stranded at sea? Ahoy! Enjoy this pirate-inspired edition of “Quick Count.” And, on behalf of the entire PWI family, we hope that all our readers arrr doing okay. ABANDON SHIP As the COVID-19 situation became more and more grave by the day, it became harder and harder for anyone to defend WWE’s decision to go on with WrestleMania 36 despite the potential health risks. Even as nearly every other form of professional sports…

THE SAMOAN SMASHING machine” certainly looks like a member of the Anoa‘i-Fatu wrestling family. Straight out of Northern California and wearing traditional Samoan ring attire, Jacob Fatu has flattened foes with Yokozuna’s Banzai drop, stunned them with Rikishi’s elevated sidekick, planted them with The Rock’s Samoan drop, and cut them in half with Roman Reigns’ spear. Fatu has unsurpassed agility for a 6’2”, 284-pounder, with a variety of moonsaults and dropkicks being part of his repertoire. In that respect, Fatu—who has reigned as Major League Wrestling heavyweight champion since last July—is reminiscent of the much smaller Tonga Kid, who also achieved success as part of The Islanders and The Samoan Swat Team … and who happens to be his father. “My dad really has had a big impact on how…

THERE HAVE BEEN many historic firsts at WrestleMania, but there has never been an event quite like this one. For one thing, the COVID-19 crisis forced WWE to put on its banner pay-per-view with no audience present. This was also the first WrestleMania taped in advance, as well as the first one presented over two nights. Despite less than optimal circumstances, this year’s ’Mania gave fans many unforgettable moments—including a disturbing Boneyard Match that seemed more like a horror movie than a wrestling bout, a bizarre Firefly Fun House match that stretched the very definition of what wrestling can be, and the coronation of two new World champions. Apart from the Firefly Fun House Match, it was pretty clear who won all of this year’s contests … on paper, anyway.…

NO ONE ALIVE today, particularly in North America and Europe, has experienced anything like the COVID-19 pandemic that changed our world this spring. As of this writing, we’re living in the age of social distancing and empty arenas. It seems that something wholly unexpected, something impossible to comprehend in advance, hits us with a body blow every generation or so, such as the Great Depression, World War II, the Kennedy assassination, the September 11 attacks, and now the coronavirus. Raw, NXT, Dynamite, and Smackdown airing live with no fans in attendance. WrestleMania 36 taking place at the WWE Performance Center. These were unthinkable scenarios less than five months ago. Professional wrestling has played a unique role in giving people a much-needed respite from the daily grind of horrible headlines. As…

IN THE WORDS of Dr. Ian Malcolm in Jurassic Park, “Life, uhh … finds a way.” So, too, did the independent wrestling scene find ways to adapt to an unthinkable situation, as social distancing measures in response to COVID-19 made business as usual impossible. In recent years, WrestleMania weekend has played a significant role in the growth of the American indie wrestling scene. This is due, in large part, to the efforts of The Collective—a group of promotions that share talent and resources while putting on a series of events in the days leading up to ’Mania. But, as coronavirus began to spread communally in the U.S., it became clear The Collective needed to postpone its planned events for April 2020. The official announcement came in the form of a…

SPOTLIGHT CARD OF THE MONTH ILLINOIS CHICAGO—AEW Revolution at Wintrust Arena: Britt Baker & Penelope Ford beat Riho & Yuma Sakazaki … Evil Uno & Stu Grayson defeated Scorpio Sky & Frankie Kazarian … Jake Hager defeated Dustin Rhodes … Darby Allin pinned Sammy Guevara … AEW tag team champions Kenny Omega & Adam Page beat Nick & Matt Jackson … AEW Women’s champion Nyla Rose defeated Kris Statlander … Maxwell Jacob Friedman pinned Cody Rhodes … PAC defeated Orange Cassidy … Jon Moxley beat AEW World champion Chris Jericho for the title. —Spotlight photos by Lee South/AEW CALIFORNIA ELK GROVE—Supreme Pro Wrestling at Soccer World Indoor Arena: Heavyweight champion Drake Frost defeated Marcus Lewis … Cliff Hendrix, D-Rogue, & Dino Gainz defeated Chris Blaze, Christian Skye, & Joe Gamble…

COVID-19, THE coronavirus that continues to rampage throughout the world, has infected the very bloodstream of our economy, our culture, and our sports, including professional wrestling. In the U.S., states and local municipalities have enforced social distancing guidelines that prohibit gatherings of more than 10 people, which makes it impossible to have live audiences and even limits the work of television production crews. How long will this continue? In the best-case scenarios, Major League Baseball could start in early-June, and the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association could resume in July. The U.S. Tennis Association still plans to hold the U.S. Open from late-August through mid-September, although the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, was being converted into a temporary medical facility. U.S.…

ON WHAT SHOULD have been one of the biggest weeks of his career, Keith Lee passed his days watching Japanese anime videos and building a computer. “That’s almost done, though, so I’m going to test that baby out pretty soon,” said Lee, who, like millions of Americans, found himself largely confined to his home in March, as the coronavirus pandemic swept through the nation. Lee expected to be spending this time gearing up for a high-profile defense of his NXT North American championship in front of a jam-packed Amalie Arena in Tampa as part of WrestleMania 36 weekend. Instead, the planned TakeOver event was replaced with a TV taping in a small venue … with no fans in attendance. But while the COVID-19 outbreak may have derailed his plans—and those…