R.I.P. SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM AND THANK YOU

 

Superstar Billy Graham passed away on Wednesday. He was 79 years old. In the 1970's, Graham was a revolutionary figure in professional wrestling because of his physique. Superstar Billy Graham began his career as a bodybuilder and he became friends with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the late 60's in California. After starting his wrestling career in California, by 1972 Graham moved to the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and he had great feuds with legends like Verne Gagne, Wahoo McDaniel, The Crusher, Ken Patera, and Billy Robinson. With his mythic physique and his colorful attire, Graham was a franchise star and soon he would move into the big leagues. In 1975, Graham moved onto the World Wide Wrestling Federation which is now the WWE. 

Superstar Billy Graham was at the pinnacle of his career in WWE. While in WWE, Graham feuded with Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Putski, Pedro Morales, Dusty Rhodes, and Mil Mascaras. Graham reached the top of the mountain in WWE on April 30, 1977, when he defeated Bruno Sammartino for the World Title in Baltimore. Superstar held the title for nine and a half months and became one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling. 

Superstar Billy Graham influenced so many stars including Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Scott Steiner. Graham's promos and his physique changed the way pro wrestling was presented and marketed. Thank you Superstar Billy Graham. Your contributions to the wrestling business will never be forgotten. 

THE PROFESSOR

THANK YOU JOHN CENA; THOUGHTS ON BROCK LESNAR VS. ROMAN REIGNS AT SUMMERSLAM 2022

 

For two decades, John Cena has been the top star in pro wrestling. From 2005 to 2017 he was a main event star in WWE. No other champion in WWE history has had that type of longevity. He has held the WWE World title 16 times. Like Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan before him,WWE marketed Cena to kids and families as a superhero. Cena has had major feuds with Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Batista, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, The Rock, and A.J. Styles. Cena has taken his success in wrestling and parlayed that into a successful Hollywood career. Thank you John Cena for all of your contributions to the wrestling business. 

Brock Lesnar versus Roman Reigns will be the main event at Summerslam on July 30th. The two men will compete in a last man standing match. Brock lost to Roman at Wrestlemania 2022, but he should win this match. To add a new wrinkle to this feud, WWE could use this match to split the Undisputed title or create a new World Championship. 

John Cena will appear on WWE Raw on Monday night. I'll definitely be tuning in to see what happens. 

THE PROFESSOR

R.I.P. SCOTT HALL AND THANK YOU

On Monday, the wrestling world lost one of its greatest stars. Scott Hall passed away at the age of 63, after complications from hip surgery. Hall made his name in wrestling in WWE as Razor Ramon and in WCW (World Championship Wrestling) as part of the NWO (New World Order) with Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan. 

When Scott Hall entered the WWE in 1993, it was the beginning of a new era. Superstars like Hulk Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior were on the way out and Vince McMahon was looking to build new stars. Scott Hall and Vince McMahon created the character of Razor Ramon, a Cuban tough guy from Miami based off of Tony Montana from the movie Scarface. 

Razor Ramon was the epitome of a cool heel that turned into a great babyface. His feud with Shawn Michaels over the Intercontinental title and their epic ladder match at Wrestlemania 10 solidifiied Razor Ramon as a superstar. Razor Ramon held the Intercontinental title a record 4 times with feuds with stars like Jeff Jarrett, Diesel, and Goldust. Scott Hall would leave the WWE in 1996 and begin the Monday Night Wars when he appeared on WCW Nitro in September of 1996.

The NWO changed the game in pro wrestling. Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan were cool heels that were trying to destroy WCW. The years from 1995 to 2000 were some great years as WCW/NWO battled the WWE for ratings supremacy in the Monday Night Wars. Wrestling became big business for cable and generated millions of dollars for both companies.  

Thank you Mr. Hall. You made the wrestling business better and gave millions of fans great memories that will last a lifetime. Rest In Peace. 

THE PROFESSOR

CODY RHODES IS THE "RIC FLAIR" OF ALL ELITE WRESTLING

Cody Rhodes won the TNT Championship on AEW Rampage, Saturday night. This makes Cody the first three-time champion in All Elite Wrestling. Many fans are calling for Cody Rhodes to become a heel (villain) in AEW, but I think he's already a heel.

Cody reminds me of Ric Flair more than his father, Dusty Rhodes. Dusty was a wild cowboy while Ric Flair was a businessman. Cody isn't a cowboy he prefers to wear suits and fancy shoes like Ric Flair. Lately, Cody has received a lot of boos from the fans in different cities. It seems that in places like Greensboro, North Carolina where Jim Crockett Promotions had a great stronghold, Cody received a strong babyface (hero) reaction. Greensboro was the place where Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes were major superstars with the Starrcade wrestling event in the 1980's. 

All Elite Wrestling has their own version of Ric Flair and his name is Cody Rhodes. He can be heel or babyface just like Flair because the fans may not like him all the time, but they respect him. Cody has been apart of the wrestling business for more than a decade. He made his name in WWE from 2006 to 2016 and then moved onto the independent scene from 2016 to 2018 before becoming apart of All Elite Wrestling. 

Currently Cody is the first three-time champion in All Elite and I'm sure he'll have more championships in his future. Personally, I loved Cody winning last night. I thought he and Sammy had a great match and they told a great story. Cody is the Ric Flair of All Elite, from the business suits to the blonde hair and I love it.

THE PROFESSOR

THOUGHTS ON WRESTLING.....

On WWE Friday Night Smackdown Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman ended their professional relationship as Brock Lesnar made the save. Reigns vs. Lesnar is now the new Austin vs. Rock.

Bron Breakker has an intensity and an athleticism that reminds me a lot of Kurt Angle.

Maxwell Jacob Friedman is the best villain in the wrestling business in my opinion.

These are just a few of my thoughts on wrestling. I hope you enjoy. 

THE PROFESSOR

 

HAPPY 20TH ANNIVERSARY SMALLVILLE

Twenty years ago Smallville debuted on the WB (now the CW network) in the fall of 2001. The producers of the show turned the town of Smallville into a character unto itself. Clark Kent's arrival in a rocket ship caused a meteor shower and changed everyone's lives. Today there is an explosion of superhero movies and TV shows on every channel but in 2001 that was not the case. In syndication you had Hercules and Xena but they were starting to wind down their runs.  Most networks were focusing on teen dramas once the WB network found success with Dawson's Creek. 

The genius of Smallville was that it was a superhero show mixed with teen drama featuring a young Clark Kent who is 16, in high school, and finds out that he is an alien. In Smallville Clark Kent (Tom Welling) was a nerd, an outsider who never fit in. He was in love with his best friend Lana Lang (Kristin Kreuk) but he couldn't say anything because she was in a relationship with the football captain. Like any regular teenager that deals with puberty, Clark's powers would manifest themselves at awkward times. All these things made Superman who has been portrayed as so perfect since the end of World War Two, more relatable to the audience. 

One of the biggest reasons that Smallville succeeded was because of the relationship between Lex Luthor (Michael Rosenbaum) and Clark Kent. As fans we not only got to see the evolution of Clark Kent into Superman but we also see how Lex Luthor becomes the man he is. Through the machinations of his father Lionel Luthor (John Glover), Lex becomes the tyrant we know him to be. Clark and Lex start as friends but over 7 seasons Clark and Lex become enemies as they both embrace their destinies. 

 

As Smallville moved on they introduced new characters and other heroes into the show. Characters like Lois Lane (Erica Durance) and Green Arrow (Justin Hartley) entered Smallville. When Kristin Kreuk and Michael Rosenbaum left the show in season 8, the relationship between Clark and Lois became the centerpiece of the show until its end in season 10. 

 

In Season 8 Clark moved to Metropolis and embraced his superhero identity known as "The Blur". As a fan I always wanted to see Tom Welling in the classic Superman suit and I always thought it was wrong that he never wore it on the show. In hindsight, Clark never needed the classic suit and his "blur" costumes were very modern and would fit well in today's superhero culture.  

Since it ended in 2010, superheroes have become big business in movies and television with Marvel and DC battling for supremacy. The CW network has garnered big ratings with shows like Arrow, Flash, Supergirl, and Legends of Tomorrow on its programming slate. Today, Warner Brothers has struggled to make Superman relevant with movies like Man of Steel and Batman vs. Superman being critically panned. Its possible that if they stayed with the formula that Smallville started they might be more successful. 

Smallville was one of the most successful TV shows ever, airing for 10 seasons. It introduced Clark Kent and Superman to a new generation of fans and delighted longtime fans. 20 years after its debut, it is still fondly remembered as a precursor to what we see now.

Thank you Smallville. 

THE PROFESSOR

 

THOUGHTS ON WWE MONDAY NIGHT RAW AFTER MONEY IN THE BANK

 

KARRION KROSS

On Monday night, WWE Raw had a few big moments on its show. One of the big moments was the debut of Karrion Kross, the current NXT Champion. Kross faced Jeff Hardy and was dominant during the match. Kross lost the match after he backed Hardy in a corner, climbed the ropes to rain down hammer fists and Hardy stacked him up with his feet on the ropes to get the pin on Kross. While most wrestling pundits may look at this moment as negative, I think this was a smart move by WWE. Kross is the NXT champion at the moment so he won't be back on RAW for a while and he needed a way out. With a loss to Jeff Hardy, Kross can go back to NXT, lose his title because he's distracted by the loss to Hardy, and when he comes back to the main roster, he can wreak havoc until he gets a rematch with Jeff Hardy. 

Other Thoughts: 

JOHN CENA

John Cena started the show and told the audience he was back because of the WWE Universe and because "Roman Reigns is an a$$hole." The match between Cena and Reigns will be EPIC. Reigns is the ultimate dominant villain and Cena is a superhero that's a legend. The match will happen at Summerslam but I don't expect Cena to be pinned or submit. Since Cena said at Money In The Bank he will make multiple appearances, the match at Summerslam will probably end with outside interference. Cena is now the WWE's new Undertaker. He'll show up and help get talent over but he's still their biggest star.

GOLDBERG

Goldberg returned on RAW and he challenged Bobby Lashley for the WWE World title. Lashley defeated Keith Lee after Lee accepted Lashley's open challenge. Many fans want to see Brock Lesnar vs. Lashley but I don't believe Brock Lesnar wants to come back yet. Lesnar may be happy at home with his family. Both Lashley and Reigns are copying Brock's gimmick so he may see no need to return. Goldberg will be a great opponent for Lashley to have on his resume since he's an icon in wrestling. 

WWE Monday Night Raw pulled out all the stops. WWE is pushing towards Summerslam and with John Cena and Goldberg, they really want to give fans their money's worth. 

THE PROFESSOR