Table of contents for June 2023 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

WE TRY OUR best at the end of each year to single out the names of wrestlers, managers, promoters, announcers, and referees who have passed away during the preceding 12 months. Though surely never a complete list, the departed members of our wrestling community are remembered annually in the year-end edition of PWI. In this year’s edition, there was a notable omission … and, if you’ll permit me, it’s one I would like to correct in this column. Crusher Bones—or Scott Turner, as he was known in his preliminary work for the WWF and WCW—died of liver failure in February 2022. Bones (age 54) was a towering figure on the 1990s Southern independent scene. Standing at 6’8” and weighing in at nearly 250 pounds, the native Kentuckian competed well into…

NICK ALDIS HAS proven himself to be a master of self-invention and self-reinvention. The man once known as Magnus throughout most of a six-year run in TNA Wrestling in the early-2010s re-established himself in recent years as the most dominant NWA World heavyweight champion of the 21st century. Now, he finds himself in a new chapter of his career, and, as of this writing, he is one of the hottest free agents in the sport. Aldis’ parting of ways with the National Wrestling Alliance—and, particularly, with NWA President Billy Corgan—was not a pretty one. The public split was covered at length by wrestling media last year. Despite how it ended, there’s no denying that run was a major turning point in Aldis’ career. Years from now, it’s entirely possible that it…

FOCUS ON… IMPACT WRESTLING IMPACT Wrestling VIEWER NUMBERS [AXS TV] January 12: 81,000 January 19: 115,000 January 26: 93,000 February 2: 95,000 February 9: 81,000 February 16: 92,000 Analysis: The January 19 edition, following IMPACT’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view, drew 115,000 viewers—an incredible 30-percent increase. “Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Kenny King in a pit fight to headline the show, and Busted Open host Dave LaGreca spoke with Tommy Dreamer about his simmering feud with Bully Ray in a sit-down interview. The fact that Dreamer, Bully, and Mickie James somehow work together—often, quite amicably—on Busted Open despite an alleged stew of bad feelings hurts this angle’s credibility. And, if Santino Marella as the authority figure wasn’t enough of a light touch, how about Barry Horowitz’ win over Johnny Swinger with a…

THE STARRS HAVE aligned, and the future is bright! Ashton Starr is here on the pages of Pro Wrestling Illustrated to present my latest creation: “STARRLIGHT.” I’m sitting down with your favorites! I’m asking them the hard, yet shady questions! It’s like if Wendy Williams and your favorite teen magazine had a baby! Wow! Now, normally, I wouldn’t be allowed to introduce my first guest, as he’d definitely do it himself. With a historic Independent Wrestling World championship reign spanning 281 days, he has to be considered one of the best today. From going coast to coast, main event to main event, I think he’s earned the right to be a little LOUD. Put your titles away … this is “STARRLIGHT” on AC Mack. Starr: So, let’s get right…

FOR PERIOD ENDED FEBRUARY 24, 2023 HEAVYWEIGHT 1 ROMAN REIGNS 265, Pensacola, FL (2) WWE Undisputed champion 2 KAZUCHIKA OKADA 236, Aichi, Japan (1) IWGP World champion 3 MJF  205, Plainview, NY (-) AEW World champion 4 CODY RHODES 220, Atlanta, GA (-) Royal Rumble winner 5 BRYAN DANIELSON  210, Aberdeen, WA  (-) AEW #1 contender 6 KAITO KIYOMIYA 216, Saitama, Japan  (4) GHC heavyweight champion 7 JOSH ALEXANDER 240, Bolton, ON (5) IMPACT World champion 8 HIJO DEL VIKINGO 207, Nuevo Leon, Mexico (6) AAA Mega champion 9 YUJI NAGATA 238, Chiba, Japan (-) Triple Crown champion 10 ALEX HAMMERSTONE 251, Phoenix, AZ (-) MLW World champion WOMEN 1 CHARLOTTE FLAIR UNK, The Queen City  (1) Smackdown Women’s champion 2 BIANCA BELAIR  165, Knoxville, TN (2) Raw Women’s champion…

NO MATTER HOW dependent pro wrestling has become on television and on pay-per-view events over the years, house shows will always be near and dear to my heart. Call them “live events” or whatever other jargon the industry comes up with; the thrill remains the same. Once upon a time, these live “no-TV” shows were the lifeblood of the industry. Fans flocked to them to see the biggest stars battling each other and all the big title changes. That’s not the case anymore. But house shows are still so much fun, especially if the action in the ring is what you most enjoy about the business. It’s very old school—no extended promos, no elaborate angles, just great wrestling … and a chance for the wrestlers to get more time in…

1 BRIEFLY, WHAT IS YOUR ISSUE WITH BELOVED AAA STAR PSYCHO CLOWN? SA: Lucha libre has a very distinct, refined style, and it’s very athletic, very noble. You have to work your butt off to get on top. Psycho Clown is kind of the antithesis of that. He comes from a famous wrestling family, with Los Brazos, and he has all the tools. He’s a big star. But I think he kind of goes against everything that lucha stands for. He’s always bringing the chairs, he wants to fight with weapons, he wants to bleed in a cage. As somebody that wants to represent Lucha Libre AAA, I think AAA can do a lot better than Psycho. 2 YOU WON THIS YEAR’S REY DE REYES, WHICH IS A GREAT HONOR AND PUTS…

SOME WOULD ARGUE that much of the best wrestling on the East Coast has happened in the state of NewYork—even going so far as to say that it was all in New York City. Since ECW and Ring of Honor, we’ve seen the growth of promotions such as House of Glory, Invictus, Remarkable Wrestling, Battle Club Pro, and We Are Wrestling. Those groups are creating the spaces and opportunities for the indie scene to have a modern-day breakout. The Bronx, historically NYC’s most misunderstood borough, is often overlooked, but the current scene here is undeniable. Wrestling in the BX had been stagnant since the start of the pandemic, until 2022, in the backyard of a brewery, where an uptown crowd got to experience the phenomenon of an indie show for…

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 four-way matches. And, when reporting the result of a handicap match, indicate the number of competitors and who was the last one 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 QUEBEC MONTREAL—WWE Elimination Chamber at the Bell Centre: Asuka defeated Carmella, Raquel Rodriguez, Natalya, Liv Morgan, and Nikki Cross in an Elimination Chamber match … Bobby Lashley beat Brock Lesnar by DQ … Beth Phoenix & Edge defeated Rhea Ripley & Finn Balor … Austin Theory defeated…

THREE LEGENDS OF Tennessee and Kentucky wrestling were in the thoughts and prayers of wrestling fans everywhere. Two passed away, and one is very lucky to be recovering. Jerry Lawler, age 73, collapsed outside his vacation home in Fort Myers, Florida, on February 6. There was immediate concern for “The King,” who had a minor stroke in 2018 and suffered a heart attack at the announce table on a live Monday Night Raw just over a decade ago. The stroke affected his speech somewhat and the left side of his body. “Jerry’s prognosis is positive, but he needs all our thoughts and prayers,” tweeted longtime broadcast partner Jim Ross, who had a limited phone conversation with Lawler. Perhaps most encouraging were the photos posted by longtime friend and Memphis nemesis Jimmy…

EIGHTEEN MONTHS SINCE NXT’s 2.0 revamp, a clearer and fuller picture of the brand’s roster is taking shape. I was surprised by NXT’s reboot in September 2021: If it’s not broken, why fix it? But, in deference to Vince McMahon’s unparalleled track record, I began to think his idea to purge the brand of indie veterans and crowd favorites, in favor of mostly unknowns from the WWE Performance Center, was correct. I’ll admit, however, to having doubts along the way. Solid in-ring ability has been a prerequisite for making it to TV, but other aspects made NXT unwatchable some weeks. During backstage segments, a few of these up-and-comers came across as kids at a fifth-grade play, hoping their parents and classmates weren’t really paying attention. I thought, at least initially,…

IN HER SENIOR YEAR OF HIGH SCHOOL, ONE OF THE INDIE CIRCUIT’S BRIGHTEST YOUNG GRAPPLERS REAPS THE REWARDS OF FOUR YEARS’ HARD WORK MOST HIGH SCHOOL seniors are never forced to choose between attending prom and wrestling in front of a packed crowd, but most high school seniors aren’t Billie Starkz. Yet, in many ways, Starkz is your average American teenager: She’s a former cheerleader and cross country runner, who earns straight-As despite not being crazy about school, and attending prom is a calendar-clearing event. She also happens to be a pro wrestling prodigy, a four-year veteran at 18 years old—which is why it’s hardly shocking to learn that she saw school sports as a way to gain skills for her wrestling career. “Honestly, I feel like I never was…

THROUGH THE MAGIC of modern technology, we’ve manipulated this photo of Alan Angels vs. Mike Jackson—taken by PWI Contributing Photog Allie McPhetridge—in 10 different ways. Set a timer for 10 minutes and see how many of the changes you can spot! (Answers can be found at the bottom of this page.) 1. Bellybutton missing; 2. IMPACT logo missing on referee’s shirt; 3. Mike Jackson’s blue boots are lighter; 4. Added tattoo on arm; 5. Yellow AA on knee pad changed to red; 6. Alan Angels’ pinky finger is missing; 7. Angels has black nail polish; 8. Jackson has more hair; 9. Yellow spots missing from black patch on Angels’ right hip; 10. String from Angels’ left knee pad missing…

THE PATH TO becoming a pro wrestler is not an easy one, yet it is a dream shared by many around the world. A top physical form, high resistance to pain, and unbreakable will power are not enough. You also need access to training, to meet the right people, and to possibly attend tryouts—in hopes of entering one of the many professional wrestling promotions in the U.S. But what if you live in a place where wrestling is virtually unknown? And where there are simply no pro wrestling promotions? Most of our teenage selves would jump on beds, wrestle with our buddies in the sand, show off our gimmicks in front of a bathroom mirror … before moving on to becoming an accountant or a doctor. Because we’ve all got…

"I CAN’T MAKE you believe wrestling is real. But I can make you believe I’m real.” So went the famous and oft-repeated quote from the great Johnny Valentine, a man who carved out his legacy with brute force and strength of will from the moment he first stepped in the ring in Buenos Aires in 1947 until the infamous 1975 Cessna crash that did what no opponent ever could. Though Johnny Valentine never again walked unassisted after that disaster—one that almost did the same thing to a rookie Ric Flair—the 28 years in which he built his unparalleled legend in the ring ensured that he would be regarded with respect and awe for the 26 years of life that remained to him. A man who’s got to be at (or…