Table of contents for August 2019 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

SOMEONE IN A senior position at WWE asked me my opinion of WrestleMania. I told him it was too long. I’m not going to say the name of the person I was texting with, but I can tell you it wasn’t Vince McMahon. He’s the one who thought giving the fans a doubleheader for one admission price was a good thing. Everyone not named Vince McMahon knew otherwise. I like pizza, but eating a whole pie would leave me feeling rather bloated. And I probably couldn’t stomach three more slices the next night and the night after that. But was it useful to state the obvious to a person who legitimately cared about my opinion? There were more important takeaways from what happened on April 7 than just the fact…

NETFLIX’S RECENTLY released biopic The Dirt chronicled the career of one of rock’s most notorious bands, Mötley Crüe, and reminded me of how awesome they were. With scenes of alcohol-fueled excess, half-naked women, thrown furniture, and performers fighting audience members, I spontaneously broke into an “E-C-Dub!” chant midway through the movie. In honor of the heroes of hair metal, I bring you this Crüe-inspired edition of “Quick Count,” which takes a closer look at WrestleMania. Now, On With The Show. GIRLS, GIRLS, GIRLS When I first heard, months ago, of WWE’s plan to put a women’s match in the main event slot at WrestleMania, I feared some fans would be upset with the decision. In retrospect, there would have been more reason to be upset if the women were kept…

BY 2018, Pierre Carl Ouellet had already wrestled on six continents, worn gold in both WWE and WCW, competed in a championship match at WrestleMania inside Madison Square Garden, feuded with all-time great Bret “The Hitman” Hart, had a hand in the Monday Night War, and even enjoyed brief runs in ECW and TNA. He had since retired from the sport, found a regular job, and was raising a young daughter. This is where most wrestlers’ stories end. But Carl Ouellet is not most wrestlers. These days, some question if he’s even human. At a stage in life when most wrestlers look at their career in the rearview mirror, Ouellet has attacked it with the kind of determination and enthusiasm expected from a rookie. Ouellet quit his job and went…

WWE COMICS WWE wouldn’t be living up to its reputation as a global entertainment monolith if it didn’t try its darndest to expand into every possible medium and platform. And it has done just that over the course of recent decades, sometimes several times over with varying degrees of success. The world of comics is no exception, as the company made forays into that genre with the campy WWF Battlemania series of the early-1990s and the over-the-top Chaos line later the same decade. With the recent resurgence of comic-themed nostalgia, it should be no surprise that the E has opted to make a go of it all again, partnering with BOOM! Comics to launch the WWE series. Distinguishing the Boom! Studios effort from previous attempts at presenting wrestling storylines in…

ALLOW ME TO PLAY DEVIL’S advocate: “Superstar” Billy Graham has a point. Graham reigned as WWWF champion from April 1977 through February 1978. His 296-day run was the longest heel reign in the history of that title. Graham was a tanned bodybuilder with an affinity for tie-dyed T-shirts, brightly colored tights, and bleached-blond hair. He created the mold that Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, Scott Steiner, and many others would follow for the next decade. Graham was one of Vince McMahon’s favorite performers. He helped ignite McMahon’s passion for bodybuilding and became the template for what McMahon wanted in his top stars—physically massive, larger-than-life personalities, captivating on the microphone. Graham is the reason the company refers to its performers as “Superstars” rather than “wrestlers.” For the past three decades, Graham has…

SEND LETTERS TO: BETWEEN FALLS Box 96 FT. Washington, PA 19034 Or you can e-mail your comments to prowrestlingillustrated@yahoo.com PRO WRESTLING ILLUSTRATED welcomes readers’ comments on any of our stories or columns. BRYAN ECO Daniel Bryan cares about the environment, his not-so-shiny belt, and the fans (to the extent that he rudely tells them how to better care for the temple that is their bodies). The “Yes” chants seem like a lifetime ago at this point. He is burning bridges that may never be repaired. With the cover story in the June 2019 issue, “Is Daniel Bryan Destroying His Legacy,” we found two other wrestlers who found themselves looking for a way back and had a rough time of it. “If Daniel won’t accept our word for it with our…

IN THE WEEKS leading up to WrestleMania 35, a random sampling of 250 PWI subscribers (including print and digital subscribers) received an e-mail inviting them to have their voices heard in the 2019 PWI Poll. Each year, the editors of Pro Wrestling Illustrated identify 50 questions examining all facets of the wrestling business. We then turn these questions over to a panel of readers and compile their responses into this special section. The annual PWI Poll offers a unique insight into the state of the wrestling industry from the true experts on the subject—the fans. This year’s panel reflects a diverse cross-section of fans, ranging in age from 15 to 63 and selected from across the United States, Canada, and Europe. These PWI readers answered questions about their viewing habits,…

Top 10 and Tag Team ratings are based on won-lost records for the past month, quality of opposition, and inherent skill of each wrestler or tag team. These ratings are compiled by a committee consisting of Stu Saks, Dan Murphy, Kris Zellner, Brian Yoder, Louie Dee, and STRIGGA (cagematch.net, purolove.com). The numbers in parentheses indicate a wrestler’s position in that category last issue. Agate-sized ratings are supplied to PWI by promoters and can be e-mailed to us at pwiresults@yahoo.com (please put the word “ratings” in the subject line). TOP 10 1 SETH ROLLINS 217, Davenport, IA (5) WWE Universal champion 2 KAZUCHIKA OKADA 236, Tokyo, Japan (–) IWGP heavyweight champion 3 KOFI KINGSTON 212, Ghana, West Africa (–) WWE heavyweight champion 4 MATT TAVEN 219, Boston, MA (–) ROH heavyweight champion 5 FINN…