MetaFilter posts tagged with wrestling

This match is scheduled for one fall.

roll truck roll — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:57:24 -0800

Spencer Baum's self-published first novel One Fall explores the world of professional wrestling through the eyes of an up-and-coming star, a taken-for-granted women's division wrestler, a head booker with no authority, and an internet fanboy, all trying to navigate the line between fiction and nonfiction. Baum is now releasing the novel one chapter at a time as a Creative Commons audiobook. The book closely parallels the Monday Night Wars, with sly references to infamous reality-blurring events like the Montreal Screwjob (the subject of an excellent National Film Board documentary you can now watch online) and Bash at the Beach 2000. (mild spoiler inside) The last couple chapters of the book are a sort of recipe for fixing wrestling, with storylines that help develop young wrestlers into champions rather than letting keeping the old champions at the top, a work culture that eliminates backstage drama rather than rewarding it, and a women's division that's about more than breasts. At their best, independent promotions like Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Chikara, and Ring of Honor are using those ideas to keep the sport alive.

Captain Lou Albano, 1933-2009

not_on_display — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 14:06:28 -0800

Captain Lou Albano, legendary wrestler and entertainer, died today at the age of 76. He and Cyndi Lauper raised $4 million for Multiple Scleriosis causes, while at the same time ushering in the age of Rock and Wrestling. He was also Mario ... C'mon, let's do the Mario! Also, he was the only one on TV with a rubber band in his beard. Long Live the Captain!

female fighters and strongwomen

nickyskye — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:36:43 -0800

Female Single Combat Club [nsfw]. An extensive site about women fighters around the world and in history. In English and Russian. Previously.

Richard Jenson

thisisdrew — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:45:35 -0800

Getting Off The Mat - After losing 15 years of his life to drug addiction and prison, Richard Jensen was reborn as a 36-year-old college wrestler.

No Limb-its.

gman — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 18:43:17 -0800

Dustin Carter persevered and became a wrestler after he contracted a rare blood disorder which took all his limbs. His training is impressive.

¡Luchadores y más luchadores!

cog_nate — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:03:36 -0800

Perhaps most famous luchador of all time is El Santo (aka Samson), who starred in, amongst many other things, the MST'd Samson Vs. The Vampire Women (Google Video). He even had his own photo comic and bag figure. However, even El Santo himself would gasp at the phenomenal athleticism of today's luchadores. Skeptical? Well check out some highlights here, here and here (YT + Warning: obnoxiously rawkin' music) and then decide.

Ring Cycle - Superheroes, Steroids and Suicides

fearfulsymmetry — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 06:28:17 -0800

"'It's been a magical evening,' Joel says as the Great Khali hits the Undertaker with a dustbin lid." Jon Ronson (and son) journey into the world of WWE to investigate the death of Chris Benoit.

First Goddess of the Squared Circle

TedW — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 07:37:46 -0800

RIP Fabulous Moolah. 84 year old Lillian Ellison died in Columbia, SC Friday. She was a wrestling champion for 28 years until losing her crown to Wendi Richter in 1983 in a match involving MTV and Cyndi Lauper. More here, here, and here, with obligatory YouTube link here.

Wooooooooo! Money!

beaucoupkevin — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 10:34:40 -0800

If you feel like you're in a 20-man Battle Royale when it comes to your financial situation, maybe Ric Flair can help you out. Listen to the Nature Boy! Wooooooo!

Sugar and Spice and OH NO! PILEDRIVER ONTO THE EXPOSED CONCRETE!

StopMakingSense — Sat, 12 May 2007 01:36:06 -0800

Meet Obasan: Adorable demon-possessed little girl and Japanese professional wrestler for the horror-themed Triple Six promotion. More highlights: (1) (2)

Mexican wrestlers

nickyskye — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 14:58:02 -0800

Striking photographs of the masked wrestlers of Mexico, Lucha Loco by Malcolm Venville. [via the amazing everlasting blort] [more inside]

The Super Swedish Angel

Astro Zombie — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 16:48:30 -0800

Had he not died in 1971, Tor Johnson would be 103 today. Who could forget his face? Or that it makes a great mask? Don't we often think back fondly on his remarkable filmography? He made a great partner for Bela Lugosi! Who could forget that he tended to break toilet seats when he sat on them, and so would often steal them?

sacreligious smackdown?

Urban Hermit — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 17:07:26 -0800

Wrestling for Jesus. Not entirely without precedent, I guess.

They Don't Know Some Of The Finer Holds, Like A Figure Four Or What Have You

StopMakingSense — Mon, 10 Jul 2006 14:38:02 -0800

Wrestling Bears
No, not this [NSFW].
Or this.
Sort of like this.
Or this, in a steel cage ("C'MON BEAR!").
And then there's the history.

First there was Santo and the Blue Demon

kingmissile — Thu, 04 Aug 2005 08:40:11 -0800

First there was Santo and the Blue Demon, now a new star is born in the the world of Mexican wrestling. His name? El Serpento!

Wrestling with your conscience.

biffa — Thu, 06 Jan 2005 03:10:17 -0800

Bringing the smackdown to church. Saving souls through simulated violence. Ultimate Christian Wrestling.

Avatars

zekinskia — Wed, 16 Jun 2004 08:44:26 -0800

These days, we remember the age of legends by reliving them, virtually. Is it a sign of the fall of civilization when modern leaders are so bland as to be indistinguishable from one another? Oh how I miss the golden years.

Stu Hart, dead at 88

Lusy P Hur — Thu, 16 Oct 2003 16:51:50 -0800

Stu Hart passes away. Anyone who's been more than mildly interested in professional wrestling understands his contribution to the sport. He was father to Bret Hart and the late Owen Hart. He's trained more men than I care to begin to count.

Slip slidin' away...

debralee — Thu, 26 Jun 2003 11:35:48 -0800

Ever had the urge to don a pair of tight pants, oil yourself up and grapple another man? Then you should head on over to the Kirkpinar Greased Wrestling Festival in Edirne, held each year at the end of June. But beware; the moves can be highly dirty and involve battering your opponent around the head, pulling their ears and even pushing your hand into your opponents shorts and squeezing their testicles. This sure isn't your father's wrasslin'!

Nuba

plep — Sun, 08 Jun 2003 11:39:34 -0800

The Nuba of Sudan : - politics, culture, photographs and wrestlers.
Related :- Survival International; the photographs of George Rodger, who travelled among the Nuba after World War II; the Nuba People; the Dinka and the Nuer, neighbours of the Nuba.

Who was that masked man?

wobh — Tue, 15 Apr 2003 05:57:42 -0800

We've been one-upped. "I won support from voters with this face, and to take it off would be breaking promises." We can't let this stand. If we don't do anything wackier next election year I'm mov ing.

Women on Brown Paper Bags

madamjujujive — Thu, 06 Mar 2003 22:08:36 -0800

The eccentric art of Lewis Smith - a man who lived alone in the woods with no amenities, at age 60, he began drawing all day, every day. His themes included muscular and wrestling women drawn on brown paper bags, and diner scenes drawn on cracker boxes. He drew or painted on every surface including the walls of his home and his barn. If he were alive today, he would probably be amazed to learn that many of pencil and crayon drawings sell for upwards of $1000.

kirkaracha — Tue, 13 Aug 2002 09:05:02 -0800

"Microsoft's TrueType core fonts for the Web are no longer available for download" [via kottke] This is going to disappoint The Official Women of Wrestling.

subgenius — Tue, 18 Jun 2002 09:39:14 -0800

MN Governor Jesse Ventura announced he will not run for re-election -- Ventura said, "You've got to have your heart and soul into these types of jobs. You've got to want to do it. * * * I feel that it's time to go back into the private sector." (He also said that his decision was "partly tied" to allegations by former employees that his 22-year-old son had thrown parties in the governor's residence.)

tranquileye — Mon, 29 Apr 2002 19:44:38 -0800

"The reality, or substance, of professional wrestling is the ability to perpetuate a fantasy... I can look back and credit my tremendous success to what some would term insanity. I never distinguished between fantasy and reality. I made my fantasy reality for over 60 years." Lou Thesz, perhaps the greatest pro wrestler of the 20th century, died yesterday. His autobiography, Hooker, is one of the best books about pro wrestling ever written.