Author: Harvey Pullings II

With a new chapter starting after an abrupt ending to McMahon’s historic leadership, where are we exactly as fans of Vince’s legacy? I’ve never looked at wrestlers as characters. I’ve always seen them as gimmicks and personas but characters is too broad a term of fictitious assignment for the world of pro wrestling. As a simulated sport, there was a point when a wrestler was discussed or recalled upon different years of their career. For example, Bret Hart ‘97 is more aggressive and a greater promo, than Bret Hart ’99, who lost considerable momentum and impact than previous years. Terry…

Cena’s first part of his main event run, was one of the most divisive in the history of the sport. An emotional response from WWE’s fans that showed a great deal of investment in his presence in the business. When compared to the current star power of WWE today, Cena’s run feels like a completely different world. There was a point in time when the marquee value of the World Champion was measured by box office, ratings, merchandise and magazine covers/coverage.  Since the Hogan era, WWF/E valued its top star as the walking representation of their brand’s merit and character…

There have been Black American World Champions over the past two decades within WWE, as well in Impact (formerly TNA, NWA-TNA) and its long and varied history. Other promotions from decades before, during the days of National entities and territorial organizations, saw a variety of ethnic competitors, handled in a variety of ways, to varying degrees of success. This conservatism culture of Pro Wrestling, has complicated the involvement of Black talent for decades. Recently on an episode of Talk is Jericho, current ROH World Champion Johnathan Gresham discussed his size and skin color being an issue regarding his opportunities in…

There was a really fun behind the scenes photo of both Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan, during the 2002 nWo invasion storyline, post on one of the many Instagram fan accounts that feature wrestling content. The picture was a moment captured during preparation for a RAW segment, where the nWo and Hogan jumped the shark drive a semi truck through an ambulance, containing a helpless Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Beneath the picture, a comment stated: The two men responsible for turning wrasslin into Wrestling. Respect.  Sigh. Vince McMahon and Hulk Hogan chat during the 2002 nWo invasion, BTS of Raw…

In 2001 here in Chicago, WCIU Channel 26 was known as the Wrestling channel. At one point a few years before, the then WWF’s Shotgun Saturday Night, then re-tooled as Jakked, would air as part of a marathon with WCW World Wide, and ECW’s Hardcore TV. We didn’t have cable growing up, so these shows were pivotal towards my staying up to date with what was going on in the “Big 3” federations. This was ritual viewings during the weekends, when late night television was an assortment of edgier programing, filled with content that clearly was aimed towards the testosterone…