I have no interest in rumor or "hot takes". All I can say is it was great to see
@CMPunk
for the 1st time in 18 years at
@CACReunion
& he was great to everyone. I hope whatever he does next allows him to have many more days as the CAC version of Punk as opposed to what's written.
This may seem ordinary today, but some fans in 1998 would've thought this was impossible, perhaps even sacrilege.
WWF's
@steveaustinBSR
, WCW's
@IAmJericho
, WWF's Sunny & ECW's Chris Candido all pose for pics together at "Pillman 98"
Brian Pillman Memorial Anthology coming soon!
In memory of Bobby Eaton, I've uploaded his match from the 2001 Brian Pillman Memorial Show.
"Beautiful" Bobby Eaton w/
@TheJimCornette
vs. Terry Taylor with guest referee Ricky Steamboat!
Commentary: Myself &
@LesThatcher
@IanRiccaboni
@Myers_Wrestling
Yes! Thank you
@IanRiccaboni
!
@Myers_Wrestling
, we brought Brodie in in 2011 as Nash's foil. They stayed up drinking til 7am talking wrestling philosophy then main evented my first live iPPV hours later. Brodie was a blessing to work w. in every way.
When I say Tracy Smothers piledrove
@drtomprichard
through a table, I really mean THROUGH a table. And Dr. Tom is a bloody mess.
From Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV - August 1995.
Featuring
@TheJimCornette
ringside and
@LesThatcher
on commentary.
This is the last wrestling promo Terry Funk ever cut, as introduced by
@bullyray5150
prior to his match with
@TheMattCardona
. Fittingly, it was played at the ECW Arena during an ECW tribute show this past December. I had no idea this was coming until it happened.
The Dark Side of the Ring episode about Brian Pillman was the 3rd most watched show in the history of
@VICETV
.
The Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology had my highest opening week sales ever & is already a top 5 all time seller for me.
Pillman Week was a massive success!
I'm proud to announce that over the weekend, AAA and I have made official an agreement that will make me the primary English-language play-by-play voice of
@luchalibreaaa
for the foreseeable future! (1/2)
If anybody isn't aware, this post by Steven Gauntley a few wks back on the 1PW acct was & is blatantly false. I speak for myself & several others. I hate putting my business out there but feel I have no choice.
Here's a thread of what I learned this week about Steven Gauntley...
Just watched a few recent indy matches. The time the commentators spent on bad/inside jokes, some at the expense of the talent, most devaluing the match, was disappointing.
Promoters: if you spend 1000s on a dream card, have a support staff that won't accidentally ruin it.
To my British & import friends-
If you're booked on the Oct 28 1PW event: I'd find another show to work.
To any fan/sponsor: if you put money into this, get it back however you can ASAP.
The rats are fleeing the ship. The band's playing on deck. The Titanic is sinking.
A very young (around six years old or so)
@FlyinBrianJr
hangs with a maskless
@reymysterio
at Pillman '99 during Rey's WCW Filthy Animal days.
Brian Jr. manages Rey &
@Konnan5150
vs. Malenko & Benoit as part of the Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology coming later this month!
If you guys missed the news this morning...
I'm elated to announce I've officially signed with
@MLW
& I'll debut on MLW Fusion Alpha TV TOMORROW on YouTube & this weekend on beINSPORTS!
I'm overwhelmed with all the love & messages you guys have thrown my way today! Thank you!
@WWEBigE
@emiliosparks
I booked that event, and Brodie could not have been easier to work with. He was coming off of a minor knee surgery but was still willing to do anything needed, including hoping Nash would jackknife him. He over-delivered every time out. If you wanna watch:
Last night, several of the
@IWCwrestling
fans came dressed up as some of their all-time favorites.
Owen Hart, Yokozuna & Mr. Fuji asked me to stand in as their impromptu
@TheJimCornette
.
I only wish I'd have known in advance so I could've worn a louder suit!
#CampCornette
In honor of The Von Erichs appearing on Dynamite last night...
@OfficialTAZ
, do you have any memories of wrestling Kevin Von Erich around thirty years ago?
I'm not sure this match has been seen anywhere in decades, if ever, but I'm hoping to change that very soon!
If you were lucky enough to know Tracy Smothers, you no doubt miss him.
Here's a really cool profile on him put together for
@TheJimCornette
's Smokey Mountain Wrestling in late 1992 with a lot of rare pictures I'd never seen before.
Brodie Lee vs.
@JohnnyGargano
.
The ending gets very busy with lots of other people (aired a week before a PPV), but none of that matters right now. Just enjoy what a great talent Brodie Lee is.
#RIPBrodieLee
Does anyone want to watch
@TheMattCardona
vs.
@WillOspreay
FREE with absolutely NONE of the money going to anyone crooked??
All the ad revenue will go to help pay
@markashleyfilms
& myself (who filmed & voiced the match respectively) what we're owed.
Link in comment below ⬇️
Two weeks before ECW's first ever PPV,
@OfficialTAZ
deals with an injury that may leave his participation in doubt.
From the Beyond the Mat deleted scenes.
Brodie Lee headlines my first live PPV in a tag match against
@RealKevinNash
.
Brodie knocks it out of the park in spite of being less than 100% physically & he keeps entertaining until even after the cameras cut.
#RIPBrodieLee
This is the official cover of the Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology DVD set, artwork by Franklin O'Neal.
I wanted to stay true to the original event logos (which had a different drawing of Brian each year) & also spotlight the roster as well!
Buy at
Everyone remembers the classic "This Is The Dance" speech by Paul Heyman to the ECW locker room moments before their first PPV as seen in "Beyond The Mat".
Here's an extra rarely seen part of that speech from the movie's deleted scenes.
@HeymanHustle
@BlueMeanieBWO
@OfficialTAZ
Thank you to everyone who read, shared & interacted with my Steven Gauntley thread yesterday to help spread the word.
Since a 13-tweet thread with multiple edits isn't the most time-friendly, convenient means, I'd like to do a shorter recap called "Steven Gauntley: TL;DR"
1/4
A few people have told me Steven Gauntley had to go through the trouble of changing his phone number yesterday.
It's almost like someone sent his contact info to several fans owed money and they all went after him.
Now WHO would EVER have a reason to do such a thing????
What a visual. What a moment.
The most high-stakes stipulation in lucha libre, mask vs. mask to end the year-long Ruleta de la Muerte tournament.
A bloody
@PENTAELZEROM
holds the mask of Villano IV at the conclusion of
@luchalibreaaa
TripleMania 30.
Underrated moment of the night goes to Matt Jackson of
@youngbucks
, who set new industry standards in watching a backstage monitor from a comically awkward angle.
I wish more people, especially announcers & promoters, used the word "event" instead of "show".
Anything can be a show. The 2nd grade school play is a show. Some guy with homemade sock puppets can do a show.
But an event? That feels like you're part of something special.
Stunned and saddened.
In-ring, someone who worked his ass off every night & has a tag team legacy that can't be topped by anyone else in this generation.
Outside the ring, a family man, and someone who had the respect and love of everyone who encountered him.
RIP Jay Briscoe
I applaud everyone involved with
@AEW
Blood & Guts tonight. It was physical, it was intense, it was violent, it was a spectacle, at times gritty and ugly, and above all it was something you could feel. So many of the tenets that I love most about our business. Good stuff!
Another small win!
The Doncaster Free Press has picked up the story of 1PW's fraud, complete with quotes from posts of myself,
@TheMattCardona
and
@stephdelander
.
Hoping this helps raise awareness to a lot of fans who don't search wrestling online.
Had a chance to reunite with an old friend & fellow Pittsburgher when the A-squad of Dallas commentators came in on the same flight.
Wishing the best to
@WWEGraves
as he prepares to encounter a 143 hour work week!
Two of the greatest of all time who would go on to have a storied rivalry had their very first 1-on-1 match against each other as rookies at "Pillman 2001".
Their names?
@JohnCena
vs.
@RandyOrton
!
This & TONS more: Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology coming later this month!
A sincere thanks to
@MATTHARDYBRAND
and
@IAmJericho
for lending their time, words & memories to the upcoming Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology set courtesy of
@LesThatcher
,
@FlyinBrianJr
& myself.
Not only will this set now be ICONIC, but we'll hit all the key demos as well!
Special thanks to
@Christian4Peeps
for sitting down to share his memories of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows!
@FlyinBrianJr
,
@LesThatcher
& I are elated to have his perspective included!
We aim to start taking orders for this set as early as this week! Stay tuned!
If there are any British/UK/European companies interested in my commentary services that WON'T commit embezzlement, I'd love to contribute to a quality product out there. GREAT talent there!
Best part: I can work from home! NO flights required.
JoeDombrowskiPR
@gmail
.com or DM!
On the way to North Carolina!
I fully intend to take my shirt off & spin it around my head like a helicopter. My apologies to whomever is sitting next to me on this flight.
@deadlockpro
is tonight! My first time at the Cabbarus Arena in Concord since ROH around 4 years ago!
The Pillman Memorial DVD's extra doc has over a dozen top stars sharing their memories of being around Brian & doing the Memorials.
Hear the story
@MATTHARDYBRAND
tells about working with Brian backstage in the WWF that includes Matt making this face...
In an effort to make peace with the Memphis audience, Andy Kaufman offers to give weekly tips on how to improve their lives. This week's tip is personal hygeine.
This lesson still applies today for many.
@JerryLawler
The perils of live TV...
@RealJimmyHart
sends Rick Rude to open the Memphis TV studio door and vandalize
@JerryLawler
's car but the camera crew has problems getting the shot and also the ring is invaded by an army of small children.
Steven Gauntley had a secret bank account he used to embezzle 1PW income without his business partners knowing.
From the time it was meant to be closed (April) onward, over 5,000 GBP were transferred from there directly to his personal bank account. 1PW never saw it come in.
It's 2018.
*TNA Impact footage is airing on WWE programming
*ROH is reportedly eyeing running an event at Madison Square Garden
*Arguably the fastest-rising and most buzz-worthy independent star currently is Pierre from The Quebecers
Which way is up? What a time to be alive.
.
@steveaustinBSR
& Brian Pillman's careers intersected in a variety of ways for years. Their earliest matches were in 1991 WCW & the chemistry was evident early.
Brian is "The Yellow Dog", a Midnight Rider-esque disguise.
@JRsBBQ
&
@HeymanHustle
on the call.
Cc:
@FlyinBrianJr
First open
#LGBTQ
pro wrestling personality to perform in the Middle East? Or at least the most recent.
For everyone who has ever been shunned, judged, ostracized, fired, shamed, bullied, or abused just because of who they love or how they look... this trip was for you.
1.
@steveaustinBSR
at Pillman '98!
2.
@RicFlairNatrBoy
& Ricky Steamboat reunite at Pillman '99!
3.
@vampiro_vampiro
walking into battle against
@BillDeMott
at Pillman '00!
4. A pre-Umaga Ekmo at Pillman '01!
Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology coming later this month!
I highly recommend you keep your eyes on
@LuchaGhoul
and
@ThisIsJAIDEN
.
If it wasn't for location, you'd already be seeing them every weekend. But as the NW wrestling scene grows, these will be 2 names at the forefront.
Promoters - invest in them now, you'll get a return!
An article and pictorial by the not-yet-manager-extraordinaire
@TheJimCornette
on a pre-Midnight Express Bobby Eaton during his time in Memphis. Featuring a young
@RealJimmyHart
as his manager. As shown in Wrestling News Magazine
#69
.
Last night,
@theleemoriarty
's home promotion
@rysewrestling
honored him, as his trainers & locker room came out to congratulate him on his AEW signing.
Lee still felt the need to help tear down after the show.
Forget best wrestler, Lee is probably the best human I know period.
.
@RealKevinNash
backstage at the 2000 Brian Pillman Memorial Show.
Extremely rare footage like this will be part of the Brian Pillman Memorial Show Anthology available later this month!
@LesThatcher
@FlyinBrianJr
Today is my 20 year anniversary of being involved in pro wrestling.
Thank you to every fan, wrestler, Booker and promoter that has given me a platform and every partner I've ever shared an announce table with.
More sentimental rambling below:
We are living in a world where
@theleemoriarty
is being used to counter-program against
@BrockLesnar
, and there's nothing I can add that can possibly make that sentence any cooler.
AEW reached a deal with a Turner station & have a ref named Turner.
ROH is owned by Sinclair Broadcasting & have a ref named Sinclair.
This is one step away from being one of those eerie "Lincoln had a secretary named Kennedy & Kennedy had a secretary named Lincoln" things...
It was an honor to speak with Sports Illustrated about
@FinnBalor
's message of inclusion & LGBTQ people in & around our business. Thank you Finn for everything you're doing! Thank you SI & Dan Greene for the platform. So proud of how far things have come!
Rare photos of
@JerryLawler
circa early 1972, including drawing a comic strip for Wrestling Monthly magazine and feeding who I believe to be baby Brian Christopher Lawler.
I want to extend my thanks & appreciation to
@RealDDP
&
@BraxtonSutter
for lending their time recently to share their memories of the Brian Pillman Memorial Shows for our upcoming project, joining an already all-star cast!!
@FlyinBrianJr
,
@LesThatcher
& I have been working hard!
This Facebook comment by Steven Gauntley back in July did not age well at all.
Mr. Baker, however, could not have possibly had better timing in his prediction.
Today is the anniversary of 1PW's first show (2005), and also 1PW's most recent first show (2022).
The similar paths each run of that company took are stunning in hindsight. How someone can come back older, wiser, and more experienced, and still do everything far worse is wild.
.
@RicFlairNatrBoy
was my first favorite pro wrestler.
If there's one match that's the reason I do what I do today, it's the Royal Rumble match that Ric won in 1992.
Last Sunday was special for so many reasons.
#ThankYouRic
#RicFlairsLastMatch
📸 Meighan MN