Online now exclusively for PWInsider Elite subscribers is a two hour audio documentary looking at the 20th anniversary of ECW's Barely Legal with Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, Bubba Ray Dudley, Tod Gordon, Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie, Joey Styles, ECW PPV Director Ron Buffone, ECW music composer Harry "Slash" Grivas, wrestling historian & NECW promoter, Sheldon Goldberg (directly responsible for Michinoku Pro being on the show), ECW behind the scenes worker Andy Vineberg, Strictly ECW's Tony Lewis, former ECW referee Jeff Jones, and ringside fan Charlie Adorno remembering the road to the show, that weekend, the show itself, the aftermath, how it changed ECW and the legacy of the show 20 years later. You can subscribe to the Elite section by clicking here.
There is a major story brewing for independent wrestling promotions thanks to changes within Youtube regarding "restricted videos" and how they are listed. That refinement seems to have come from complaints from advertisers about where their ads were landing, since for example, an ad for a company could previously end up running before any video, including videos they might be at odds with politically. A number of promotions, most notably Rhode Island's Beyond Wrestling and Cleveland's Absolute Intense Wrestling, have cultivated a nice income source for themselves with videos from their event but with pro wrestling being added to that restricted listing, it prevents them from being found by those searching for material as well as the amount of advertising they could have on their videos. So, they and others are looking at a big loss of income. WWE, with their clout, will likely be able to avoid any issues. Independent wrestling companies, on the other hand, would be a different story. The loss of any income for a small hand to mouth company, could mean extremely detrimental. PasteMagazine.com featured quotes from AIW's John Thorne and Beyond's Drew Cordeiro, both of whom are rightfully concerned.
Former WWE and TNA Creative team member Dave Lagana has launched a new website and video blog. This week's installment is well, unique. The description: "What is a former WWE Tag Team Champion Demolition Smash’s face doing on Craigslist? This strange occurrence raised a lot of questions and required a full investigation. The original craigslist post told the tale of a young boy who attended a 1991 WWE House Show at the Rosemont Horizon to see his favorite stars. During this event, another fan verbally accosted Smash that lead to this misunderstanding. This event seemingly deeply traumatized the young man leading to this now Craigslist famous post. On episode three of David Lagana’s new vlog, he chats with the man who posted this Craigslist story, Stew, about this silly story and what it all means. You can see the whole interview at https://www.davidlagana.com/vlog/."
There is something of a pro wrestling theme to the new Adam Sandler comedy on Netflix, Sandy Wexler. In the film, which is set in the '90s, there is a sequence where the title character (Sandler) manages a wrestler named "Bedtime" Bobby Barnes (Terry Crews) and orchestrates a screwjob against the current champion Tsunami (WWE Hall of Famer Rikishi. Jennifer Hudson co-stars in the film and her husband, soon to be Raw announcer David Otunga has appears as a reporter briefly. Cryme Time's Shad Gaspard has a small role as well.
Thanks to Paul Jordan.
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