Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2021 i Pro Wrestling Illustrated

OVER THE YEARS, a lot of Pro Wrestling Illustrated legends have taken the credit—or the blame—for coming up with the idea for the PWI “500” nearly 30 years ago. To ensure my place in PWI folklore is never lost, let me go on the record and proclaim that the “Tag Team 50” list, making its debut in this issue, was my brainchild. So, overworked PWI writers: Feel free to direct your hate mail my way. Unfortunately, many duos of yesteryear never got the recognition they deserve. And so, I’m happy to give them a quick shout-out in this classic tag team-themed edition of “Quick Count.” You can read it together with a partner, but only until the count of five. DEMOLITION It may not exactly be Madison Square Garden, but…

AUTUMN IS NOW the season for the most prestigious round-robin tournaments in Japan with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling NOAH hosting the annual G1 Climax, Champion Carnival, and N-1 Victory, respectively, during the period. Over the past decade, G1 Climax has transformed into inarguably the most prestigious professional wrestling tournament, having hosted a slew of classic matches that have grabbed praise from fans, pundits, and wrestling journalists across the world. This year’s edition, G1 Climax 30, was the first held in the autumn months, originally moving due to the 2020 Summer Olympics scheduled to take place in Japan. After COVID-19 led to the postponement of the Olympics, the G1 Climax 30 continued as scheduled, in what may become its permanent yearly slot. The…

REVIEWS LIO RUSH: THE FINAL MATCH A particularly creative lot by nature, many professional wrestlers aren’t content to confine their artistry to the squared circle, frequently seeking daring new outlets of self-expression. Lio Rush is one such grappler, determined to show that he’s as dangerous on the mic as he is in the ring. Earlier this year, Rush released a new rap album entitled The Final Match. Rush’s second full-length studio album kicks off with the track “Gorilla,” in which he introduces CZW ring announcer Larry Legend into the fray. While that particular cut and the subsequent tune “Entrance” (featuring Nick Brodeur) provide Rush the opportunity to hype his in-ring prowess, his bravado is tempered through the smoldering key track “Ring the Bell,” in which he references the struggles he…

IN MANY WAYS, July’s Slammiversary marked a new era for Impact Wrestling, and, with it, another chapter for the Motor City Machine Guns. Social media was abuzz when Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin reunited for the first time in more than two years to answer the challenge of The Rascalz. The Guns were blazing, not missing a beat with an impressive victory over Zachary Wentz and Dezmond Xavier—emerging talent one could argue were inspired by Shelley and Sabin’s seamless synchronicity, which helped set the tone for today’s fast-paced and athletic style. There may not have been physical fans in attendance in the Nashville studio. However, the energy was palpable from afar with fans expressing their excitement while watching at home. Sabin and Shelley’s respective Twitter timelines were jam-packed with support.…

BORN AUGUST 22, 1985 in San Francisco, CA, twin brothers Jonathan and Joshua Fatu are better known today as Jimmy and Jey Uso, respectively … Sons of former WWE fan favorite Rikishi adopted the surname “Uso,” which is the Samoan word for “brother” … True tag team lifers, they debuted together in 2009, briefly appearing on the indies as “The Samoan Soldiers” before signing with WWE, where they first competed under their real last name … The Fatu Brothers proved dominant in Florida Championship Wrestling through early-2010, ultimately defeating Joe Hennig (Curtis Axel) and Brett DiBiase for the FCW tag belts … Lost the title that June, a month after making their main roster debut on Raw … Teaming up with Tamina Snuka, the rechristened Usos feuded extensively with The…

IN THE FACE of the pandemic, the independent wrestling scene continued to run shows throughout the late-summer and into autumn. Here are some highlights from shows that have taken place in the past few months. THE COLLECTIVE 2020 The pandemic not only forced WWE to hold a fan-less WrestleMania in April, it also caused the cancellation of the dozens of indie shows scheduled during that week. Some of the more anticipated offerings came once again by way of The Collective, a group of indie promotions and wrestlers working together under the GCW banner to run multiple shows. However, GCW pressed on and managed to bring revamped versions of 12 of those shows to the Marion County (IN) Fairgrounds on October 9-11. The three days, with four shows per day, did…

MY TAKEAWAY FROM FTR’s number-one ranking in our inaugural “Tag Team 50” is this: Truly great tag teams are dedicated to being one unit, with shared aspirations and in-ring repertoires that complement each other. Dax Harwood and Cash Wheeler also take pride in being a technical tag team, inspired by The Brain Busters and The Midnight Express, specializing in quick in-and-out tags, double-team moves, and teeing up opponents for their partners’ individual maneuvers. If you’ve seen FTR’s Goodnight Express codebreaker-style finisher, Anderson DDTing a foe before Blanchard drops a flying elbow smash, or the Midnights’ Veg-O-Matic, flapjack, or double goozle, you’ve seen the synergy necessary to be a great technical tag team. While I think the cohesive-unit technical model is ideal, there are plenty of other tag team templates. Let’s…

AEW’S TAG TEAM DIVISION IS THE BEST IN DECADES By Brian Solomon FANS OF TAG team wrestling cling to their so-called “Golden Ages.” Often, it’s a generational thing. If you’re a baby boomer, you might wax nostalgic about the glory days of the late 1950s, when teams like Antonino Rocca & Miguel Perez, The Fargo Brothers, The Fabulous Kangaroos, and The Golden Grahams ruled the roost. For Gen-Xers like me, there was the unforgettable mid-to-late-1980s, when we thrilled to The Midnight Express, The Hart Foundation, The Road Warriors, The Rock ’n’ Roll Express, and many others. For my millennial friends, it’s all about the early-2000s heyday of Edge & Christian, the Hardy Boyz, the Dudleys, and the APA. All those eras could be pointed to as shining moments in tag…

DR. ROBERT DIMETRI smiled as a harried intern knocked on his office door and placed a manila folder on his desk. The bespectacled head of the research department of the renowned David M. Everett Computer Institute became a leader in his profession by performing studies and programming for large corporations. The results of this latest research, however, brought him more personal enjoyment than most. “My job gets kind of dry at times,” said Dimetri as he placed his pipe in an ashtray and quickly opened the folder. “Sometimes all the number crunching gets a little monotonous. But this time, I took a lot of pleasure in coming up with this program. It was fun, and I’m glad you folks contacted me for this assignment.” Dimetri pored over the printouts for…

CHARISMATIC. DYNAMIC. INDISPENSABLE. Though not a household name on the level of, say, Kazuchika Okada, NJPW staple Rocky Romero ranks among the most recognizable faces of the company during its rise as an international force in professional wrestling. He’s won the IWGP junior heavyweight tag team championship on eight occasions: four times with Beretta (AEW’s Trent) as the popular Roppongi Vice team, twice with Alex Koslov as Forever Hooligans, and twice with Davey Richards as No Remorse Corps. He’s also the mentor to four-time IWGP junior tag champions Sho and Yoh, Roppongi 3K. His unique path within NJPW dates back to an invitation he received nearly 20 years ago. “In 2001-ish or early 2002, I was invited to go train and help set up the original L.A. Dojo,” Romero said.…

We encourage promoters and readers to e-mail results to: PWIResults@yahoo.com Please try to utilize the exact format you see in the “Arena Reports.” Also, please distinguish between handicap matches and three- or fourway matches. And, when reporting the result of a handicap match, indicate the number of competitors and who was the last man eliminated. Finally, please note pinfall finishes. Following these guidelines will help us greatly and make it more likely that your report will be used. SPOTLIGHT CARD OF THE MONTH INDIANA CROWN POINT—Glory Pro Wrestling at Rds Gym: Mike Outlaw defeated Lee Moriarty … Ethan Page & Josh Alexander beat Alex Zayne & Blake Christian … Midwest Territory champion Hakim Zane defeated Kylie Rae … IWTV Independent Wrestling champion WARHORSE beat Zachary Wentz … Jake Something defeated…