10Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 09 April 2020, 20:00
WCW, 1992 They weren’t all classics, but Wrestlemania 36 featured a record five women’s matches, with a total of fifteen competitors. Had the battle royal not been scrapped, that total would have been higher still. Those figures are mind-boggling compared with the sparse WWF’s women’s wrestling scene in the mid-90s. Back then, the women’s division typically consisted of two competitors: Continue Reading...
12Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 26 March 2020, 20:00
WWF, 1993 I remember it like it was yesterday. I hadn’t been living in Indianapolis for very long, and had very few friends. While working at a market research phone center, I met a guy named Casey. I thought he was pretty funny and liked chatting with him at lunch time. One day, just goofing off, I came at him Continue Reading...
13Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 19 March 2020, 20:24
WWE book, 2005 As you’re probably aware, Kane released an autobiography recently. Sure, the life story of a WWE wrestler who participated in many if not most of the company’s most ridiculous storylines and wound up mayor of a major county sounds like a good read… …but you might be disappointed to learn that it’s not actually an autobiography of Continue Reading...
11Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 12 March 2020, 20:00
Syndicated TV Show, 1990 While one could argue that 1990 wasn’t the most stellar year for the World Wrestling Federation, it seemed as if they had no real issue getting their talent on the talk show circuit of the era. And more often than not, their go to seemed to be The Arsenio Hall Show. For the uninitiated, the man above Continue Reading...
15Submitted by Art0Donnell on Mon, 09 March 2020, 20:19
WWE, 2018 The topic of tonight’s induction may be only a year or so old, but for me, it’s still long overdue. As a long-time critic of urine in wrestling, I see the leaky misadventures of Drake Maverick as a golden opportunity to rail against WWE’s gratuitous use of pee-pee. The story began at Survivor Series 2018, when Raw Tag Continue Reading...
30Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 27 February 2020, 20:00
TNA, 2011 Before I type another word, let me say one thing, and let me say it emphatically: I LOVE RIC FLAIR. Some of you may fail to grasp that concept, especially considering I am inducting his final ever match into WrestleCrap. That’s insane, right? The WrestleMania XXIV match against Shawn Michaels was in many ways amazing. And of course Continue Reading...
17Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 20 February 2020, 21:50
VHS, 1987 In 1987, the United States Hot Rod Association released “Blood, Sweat & Gears,” a 37-minute tour-de-force of souped-up engines and general vehicular carnage. There were tractor pulls… …monster truck races… …a car being dropped onto a bunch of other cars from a giant crane… But this VHS didn’t just feature the heavy-duty car-killing machines of the USHRA; it Continue Reading...
43Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 13 February 2020, 20:00
WWE, 2011 If there’s one thing I never, ever want to hear again, it would be “what is your pro wrestling Mount Rushmore?” What a stupid question. Trying to nail down the four best wrestlers in the history of man is a fool’s errand. And is that even the question? Are they the BEST wrestlers? My FAVORITE wrestlers? The wrestlers Continue Reading...
22Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 06 February 2020, 20:38
WWE, 2019 When you think of dream matches from the Attitude Era that never happened, Goldberg vs. The Undertaker has got to be at the top of the list. Both men were the biggest stars of their respective companies during the Attitude Era: bald, no-gimmicks badasses in plain black trunks… except for The Undertaker. Granted, such a match likely would Continue Reading...
37Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 30 January 2020, 22:18
WWE, 2019 I know it’s something of a running gag, but I really do love Kurt Angle. From the time I brought up my fandom for him on an early WrestleCrap Radio to us actually doing “Move Set Radio” to mock me for talking like the uber nerd I am, I’ve been a mark for the guy ever since his Continue Reading...
25Submitted by Art0Donnell on Mon, 27 January 2020, 20:29
WWE, 2017 As hinted earlier, this induction is about Balls. LaVar Ball and his sons Lonzo and LaMelo Ball, to be specific. You remember LaVar Ball, don’t you? The overbearing basketball dad who’d make ridiculous boasts about his son Lonzo? He was certainly a character, in much the same way that Mr. McMahon was a character during the Attitude Era Continue Reading...
69Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 16 January 2020, 20:00
WWE – 2019 Gooker Award Winner It was close. It was very close. This year, I decided to eyeball the Gooker voting from start to finish. I generally don’t do that, but there was a morbid curiosity as to what was going to take the feathery crown. Confession time: I will admit some years there are “filler” nominees – stuff that was Continue Reading...
21Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 09 January 2020, 22:29
WWE, 2016 It’s not uncommon for WWE to utterly waste a wrestling legend, nor is it unusual for WWE to try and fail at political satire, but in 2016 the company managed to do both simultaneously. One night in May, WWE’s announcers informed the viewers that Darren Young, formerly of the Prime Time Players, had for the longest time been Continue Reading...
89Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 02 January 2020, 20:00
GOOKER VOTING IS NOW CLOSED! Final results are as follows: Congrats to Bray Wyatt & Seth Rollins – you BARELY squeaked past Rusev-Lana-Lashley to take the crown! Another year gone, another year of tons of horrible wrestling. At some point that has to change, right? Right?! I know, I know – we have had a lot of great stuff Continue Reading...
18Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 19 December 2019, 20:00
“Movie”, 2002 Merry Christmas fellow Crappers! Once again it’s time for your old buddy and old pal RD Reynolds to step away from the worst in pro wrestling…and instead concentrate on the worst of Christmas movies! I’ve been doing this almost since the site first launched,…if you want to check out similar past inductions, I urge you to do so Continue Reading...
23Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 12 December 2019, 21:30
For most people, the only wrestling stormtrooper is and always will be The Shockmaster… …who famously tripped through a wall during his debut and dropped his glittery Star Wars helmet. But the Stormtrooper I’m talking about today had a gimmick that harkens back not to the famous Star Wars, but an earlier war called World War II. This Stormtrooper was Continue Reading...
15Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 05 December 2019, 20:00
Sears/WWF, 1992 When I was growing up and Christmas was drawing nigh, I was completely out of control. I absolutely loved Christmas then…and I absolutely love Christmas now. But as the years pass away in my life, so do some of the simpler pleasures. And there was perhaps no simpler yet at the same time gargantuan pleasure than the Continue Reading...
10Submitted by Art0Donnell on Mon, 25 November 2019, 20:00
2013, WWE If you live in the United States, you know that this Thursday is Thanksgiving, a holiday established by Abraham Lincoln himself to coincide with Survivor Series. This year, I’m just thankful to be eating again, having spent much of the past week in the hospital where my idea of a great meal was two different types of broth. Continue Reading...
15Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 14 November 2019, 20:00
WWF, 1992 “There’s never been a more aptly named team than The Ultimate Maniacs.” – Vince Verhei, F4WOnline.com About a week ago, I visited beautiful Bothell, Washington for the first time. It was long overdue. I sometimes kinda marvel at the fact that Bryan Alvarez and myself, who wrote the best-selling and award winning Death of WCW, have so rarely been Continue Reading...
17Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 07 November 2019, 22:12
TV show, 1952 This week’s induction dates back to the early days of television, when The Adventures of Superman featured an episode entitled, “No Holds Barred”. The year was MCMLII – 1952, IV those of you who don’t know how II read Roman numerals – and George Reeves was fighting for truth, justice, and the American way*. Not only did Continue Reading...
27Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 31 October 2019, 20:00
WWF, 1994 Induction night this year falls on Halloween? Awesome! I mean, sure, it’s had to have happened more than once with a site that’s been around for nearly twenty years, but still, that’s kinda dope. What better way to celebrate the holiday than to go in depth, face to face if you will, with the most ghoulish grappler to Continue Reading...
31Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 24 October 2019, 23:47
Universal Wrestling Federation, 1994 Blackjack Brawl was the second supercard ever put on by the Universal Wrestling Federation. Herb Abrams’s Universal Wrestling Federation, I should specify, as a trademark oversight allowed the rookie wrestling promoter to scoop up the name once used by Mid-South Wrestling. Blackjack Brawl was so named because it emanated from Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Arena, a Continue Reading...
20Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 17 October 2019, 20:00
WWE, 2014 It’s kinda embarrassing to admit this, but one of my favorite annual rituals every October is diving into pro wrestling’s past and finding ridiculous Halloween matches. While long-time Crappers will yearn for the days of Abdullah the Butcher being “electrocuted” in a chair of torture or Barry Windham dressing up as a 6’6″ Sting (both available in the Continue Reading...
25Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 10 October 2019, 21:20
WWF, 1995-1996 Talk about a step down: In the first half of 1995, the newly-arrived Japanese wrestler Hakushi was wrestling Bret Hart on pay-per-view. In the second half, he was regularly teaming with Brett Hart. Hey, you might be thinking, teaming with Bret Hart sounds pretty good. But I didn’t say he was teaming with Bret Hart. I said he Continue Reading...
24Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 03 October 2019, 20:00
WWECW, 2007-2008 As I write this, we are hours away from the kick off of the so-called Wednesday Nigh Wars, pitting upstart AEW against WWE’s super indy fed disguised as a developmental territory, NXT. I’ve become hesitant over the years to timestamp inductions in a manner such as this, as it instantly dates it for anyone reading, but this evening Continue Reading...
17Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 26 September 2019, 20:10
Dallas wrestling, 1954 For this week’s induction, we take you back to the 1950s. World War II had ended, the economy was surging, and a new sensation was sweeping the United States, brought back by American GIs stationed abroad. That, of course, was pizza. But Japanese martial arts like judo and karate were also a major fascination. For decades to Continue Reading...
21Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 19 September 2019, 20:00
WWF, 1994 The decline in viewership to Monday Night Raw over the past few years has been blamed on many things. Take your pick: the lack of a true number one draw, storylines that are started and dropped seemingly at random, and in-ring action that simply isn’t as good as what one can find elsewhere in the world. With all that Continue Reading...
15Submitted by Art0Donnell on Mon, 16 September 2019, 20:00
TNA, 2009 For years, TNA/Impact Wrestling has been considered by many (especially on this site) to be the spiritual successor to WCW. Granted, much of that reputation has more to do with TNA’s mismanagement than with any commitment to Southern-style wrestling. Still, many former WCW stars did end up plying their trade in TNA, such as co-founder Jeff Jarrett and Continue Reading...
86Submitted by RD Reynolds on Thu, 05 September 2019, 20:00
WCW, 1995 Pretty sure I’ve written this before, but over the years, the perception I have of wrestlers I used to mock has changed. Generally that’s due to the fact that I find something admirable or at least comical about folks that I ripped to shred in the past. For instance, once upon a time I had no use for Continue Reading...
18Submitted by Art0Donnell on Thu, 29 August 2019, 20:00
WWF, 2001-2002 This week’s induction is a long time in the making. And I mean long. Don’t believe me? Check out this screenshot from the old black-and-rainbow Wrestlecrap site. DDP’s self-help gimmick was indeed a story for another day, and that day is today. The story begins during the unfortunate Invasion angle. DDP had been written off TV following a Continue Reading...
