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What are some of the best empty arena matches that you can think of? Funk/Lawler, Rock/Mankind, and Sting/Angle are 3 off the top of my head.
The ones you mentioned are memorable. My favorite is Funk vs. Lawler but a few you didn't mention is Tim Storm vs. Jocephus for the NWA and The Motor City Machineguns vs. Generation Me (Young Bucks) in TNA.
When did Ribera Steakhouse become a popular destination for wrestlers. Any idea who was the first wrestler to wear a Ribera Steakhouse jacket on television? Tommy Rich wore one in 1997 ECW.
Stan Hansen first discovered the place and began bringing people there, so I would think he was the first person to do so. Its been a regular stop for pro wrestlers for since at least the late 80s/early 90s.
Amazing Red was supposed to be in the 2016 cruiserweight classic, but had to pull out due to injury. He has since retired and flirted with a comeback. If he wanted to return on a full-time basis, do you think there would be any interest from WWE to finally bring him in?
I don't believe so. Had Red not been injured, my belief is he'd have been signed and been with WWE all this time. However, it's not like WWE has hired any other talents specifically for that brand. It was just an unofrtunate series of circumstances. I think had they wanted to bring him in, they would have, but you never know what the future might bring. He's been working for New Japan a bit, so hopefully that turns into a nice profitable run for him.
Do you think Frankie Kazarian could have become a TNA World Champion had he not become Suicide back in the day? He was riding high with a lot of momentum, having star-making performances against Christian and Kurt Angle, and the fans were solidly behind him. And then they took him off TV and gave him the masked character, which really made no sense.
A lot of things TNA did made no sense. I don't know that I would agree they should have made him TNA Champion but I felt like he had way more momentum than they ever acknowledged.
Who was “The Giant” Paul Lauria, who had a brief ECW feud against Mikey Whipreck?
Paul Lauria was a wrestler from Long Island who was legitimately friends with and broke in with Mikey. He, like Mikey, had been working ECW's ring crew when they were discovered doing spots in the ring by Joey Styles, who brought them to Paul Heyman's attention. Lauria worked under a mask as one of the Young Dragons and then was introduced, turning heel on Mikey. They had a short feud and he was quickly gone from ECW after that. He made some indy appearances in the NYC area over the years but moved on from the business. He still lives in Long Island.
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