Table of contents for February 2018 in Pro Wrestling Illustrated

AT SOME POINT in the future, when The Young Bucks are flippin’ and flyin’ in WWE rings, Vince McMahon, Nick Jackson, and Matt Jackson will probably have a good laugh over what happened in the fall of 2017. To think, one person hired another person to send a threatening letter to two more people alleging that they were violating intellectual property rights by rubbing their index and middle fingers together. Good heavens! Didn’t the world have enough problems already? WWE has a staff of attorneys assigned to protect the interests of the McMahons and their investors. One of them was charged with producing a cease and desist letter that implied that it would cost the Bucks a boatload of bucks to continue to sell merchandise with the words “Too Sweet,”…

THIS YEAR’S SummerSlam reminded me a lot of Leo Tolstoy’s legendary novel War And Peace. It captivated its audience with tales of conflict between good and evil. But I wouldn’t have minded if it was about a third shorter. This unabridged edition of “Quick Count” pays tribute to other great books about war. Don’t even think about reading the CliffsNotes version. A FAREWELL TO ARMS Former one-legged Impact Wrestling star Chris Melendez continues to ply his trade on the independent scene, wearing the heavyweight title for the Orlando, Florida-based Conquer Pro Wrestling. While some cynical fans may roll their eyes at the notion of an amputee being able to dominate a combat sport, they’d be well advised not to say it in front of Nick Newell. Newell, who was born…

TAP HERE FOR VIDEO JINDER MAHAL’S win over Randy Orton on May 21, 2017, at Backlash will be remembered as one of the most stunning victories in the annals of wrestling. And we’re not counting the WCW title victories of Vince Russo or David Arquette. Those were desperate ratings stunts. Mahal’s achievement was no joke. It was simply unfathomable that Mahal, who had turned losing into a full-time gimmick as a member of The Three-Man Band with Heath Slater and Drew McIntyre, had suddenly become a world championship caliber wrestler. The word is that management was impressed by Mahal’s commitment to physical conditioning and his professional attitude. And Mahal’s return happened to coincide with WWE’s push to further its brand in India. To the McMahons and Triple-H, it was a…

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 man 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 NEVADA LAS VEGAS—ROH Death Before Dishonor at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall: Bully Ray, Jay Briscoe, & Mark Briscoe beat Matt Taven, T.K. O’Ryan, & Vinny Marseglia … Marty Scurll beat Chuck Taylor by submission … Punishment Martinez pinned Jay White … Six-man tag team champions…

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, Louie Dee, Harry Burkett 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. BROCK LESNAR 286, Minneapolis, MN (2) WWE Universal champion 2. ROMAN REIGNS 265, Pensacola, FL (6) No. 1 contender WWE Universal title 3. KAZUCHIKA OKADA 240, Tokyo, Japan (1) IWGP heavyweight champion 4. JINDER MAHAL 238, Punjab, India (2) WWE heavyweight champion…

SLOBBERKNOCKER: MY LIFE IN WRESTLING Most wrestling fans would gladly hand over an eyetooth or two in exchange for a few precious hours learning intimate secrets of the sport directly from one of pro wrestling’s greatest minds and orators, Jim Ross. Since the WWE Hall of Famer doesn’t have a surplus of time to spin yarns at the kitchen tables of every interested aficionado, Good Ol’ J.R. has compiled a healthy offering of candid recollections into a new autobiographical endeavor appropriately entitled, Slobberknocker: My Life In Wrestling. From his childhood in Oklahoma to the heady days of the Attitude Era, Ross traces his journey through the ranks of pro wrestling, introducing readers to a roster of the most colorful characters in the history of the business, including “Cowboy” Bill Watts,…

NOT WITH A bang, but with a whimper. Thus ends the delusional excitement surrounding WWE’s latest flavor of the month, Braun Strowman. Hope you enjoyed your nine minutes on the PPV main-event stage, Braun. Now it’s time for you to go back to the mid-card alongside Dolph Ziggler, Dean Ambrose, and Samoa Joe. Thanks for playing. In the weeks leading up to No Mercy, there was a genuine fan excitement building around Strowman, the lumbering former Wyatt Family stooge. It made sense, to a degree. The WWE Universe finally had a fresh face on the main-event scene, someone who looked like they might be able to match strength with Brock Lesnar. Forget the fact that Lesnar is a former NCAA champion, UFC champion, and five-time WWE champion (WWE and Universal…

TEN YEARS AGO, the editors of Pro Wrestling Illustrated attempted a novel undertaking. Building on the success of the annual “PWI 500,” we attempted to assemble a similar list of women wrestlers. We published that inaugural “Female 50” in 2008 with Awesome Kong as number one, and we wondered if the wrestling world was ready to accept women wrestlers as viable draws. Would the magazine sell? Would there be a second “Female 50”? Well, the issue did sell, though certainly not at the level of the “500.” Yet there seemed to be an interest there, and the PWI “Female 50” became something of an institution, growing alongside women’s independent promotions like SHIMMER, SHINE, and Women’s Superstars Uncensored; WWE’s rebranding of the Divas division to the women’s division; Sasha Banks and…

A HOUSEFUL OF jaws hit the floor when “Golden Boy” Greg Anthony made a surprise comeback at Pro Wrestling Mid South’s September 30 show in Dyersburg, Tennessee. Anthony’s unannounced appearance was a milestone in his recovery from the serious heart problem that he first discovered back in June. In fact, it was on the very eve of his shot at NWA’s top heavyweight strap that Anthony was diagnosed with a 90 percent blockage in his left anterior descending artery and two additional other blockages. Facing a potentially life-threatening situation, Greg put his wrestling career on hold and underwent surgery. It came as a complete shock, then, when Anthony showed up in Dyersburg, storming the ring to take on the faction that calls itself The Office as head honcho Christopher White…

TAP HERE FOR VIDEO ALL OF US were saddened to learn of Bobby Heenan’s passing on September 17, 2017, at age 72. Making the occasion even sadder was that the final 15 years of his life had been a struggle, with throat cancer prompting several surgeries— including procedures to remove parts of his tongue and jaw—and eventually robbing the quick-witted Heenan of his ability to speak. Related injuries and infections plagued him until his death. Yet Heenan refused to let cancer steal his spirit. He made public appearances as long as he was physically able. Contemporaries, younger talent, and thousands of fans had opportunities to thank “The Brain” in person. Heenan entertained so many during his 40-year career as first a manager and then a “broadcast journalist.” He and AWA…