05/22/2013 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

Halloween, Traci Brooks, Daniel Bryan, and Miguel Perez, Jr. celebrate birthdays today.

George Zaharias was 76 when he died on this day in 1984.

05/21/2013 – TODAY’S MEMORIAMS

The Great Gama died at the age of 78 on this day in 1960, and Jimmy ‘Bad Boy’ Hines was 56 when he passed in 1983.

05/20/2013 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

B.G. James (a/k/a Road Dogg) celebrates a birthday today.

Randy Savage died at the age of 58 on this day in 2011.

05/19/2013 – ‘RAGING BULL’ MANNY FERNANDEZ LIVED HIS GIMMICK

From Mike Mooneyham:

He was hot-tempered, overly aggressive and tough as a three-dollar steak.

So is there any wonder why Manny Fernandez was nicknamed “The Raging Bull?”

Fernandez earned his mat moniker the old-fashioned way — by learning the ropes from the likes of Terry Funk and Dick Murdoch, being the last one standing in bar fights, and shedding buckets of blood in rings from the Carolinas to Japan.

On the last count, Fernandez, now 58 years old, relates a story of a particularly brutal bout with Wahoo McDaniel at the UIC Pavilion in Chicago in 1988. It was an Indian strap match and so bloody that ESPN wouldn’t air it.

“The ring was covered in blood from corner to corner. The people went crazy,” Fernandez recalls.

There was no way that the main event between Jerry Lawler and Kerry Von Erich could follow it. That bout, ironically, was stopped due to blood.

“They had one little trickle of blood,” says Fernandez, who adds that neither Lawler nor Von Erich wanted to put the other over. “Wahoo and I lost it. Wayne Bloom, Mike Enos and Ray Stevens had to hold me to the ground to keep from getting at them. I wanted to kick their butts so bad.”

The fans booed, he says, and the promotion never came back. It would be the first and only AWA show to be broadcast on pay-per-view.

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05/19/2013 – BACK AND FORTH REPARTEE KEEPS PRO WRESTLING HALL OF FAME INDUCTION HOPPING

From Greg Oliver:

Part of the magic of attending the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame induction ceremony is the interaction between the wrestlers, especially once they get on the microphone.

In essence, everyone seems to have a story on everyone else, and that was evident Saturday night at the PWHF's 12th ceremony.

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05/19/2013 – LINEUP FOR WWE’S EXTREME RULES PPV TONIGHT

WWE will broadcast the Extreme Rules PPV from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO. Advertised: Brock Lesnar versus Triple H in a cage match; John Cena versus Ryback in a last man standing match; Mark Henry versus Sheamus in a strap match; Randy Orton versus the Big Show in a no holds barred match; Jack Swagger versus Alberto Del Rio in an “I Quit” match; Daniel Bryan & Kane versus Seth Rollins & Roman Reigns in a tornado match; Dean Ambrose versus Kofi Kingston for the US Title; Chris Jericho versus Fandango; and Cody Rhodes versus the Miz in a pre-show match. The live broadcast begins at 8:00 PM ET.

05/19/1973 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

Dick Slater, Psicosis, and Gene Lewis celebrate birthdays today.

Kurt Von Stroheim was 76 when he died on this day in 2008.

05/18/2013 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

Gino Brito, the Blue Meanie, and Jimmy Snuka celebrate birthdays today.

Boyd Pierce was 70 when he died on this day in 1999.

05/17/2013 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

Earl Hebner and Alex Wright celebrate birthdays today.

Davey Boy Smith was 39 when he died on this day in 2002.

05/16/2013 – TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS AND MEMORIAMS

Johnny Rodz, Charles Wright (a/k/a Papa Shango), and Mike Bennett celebrate birthdays today.

Emile ‘King Kong’ Czaja died at the age of 61 on this day in 1970, and Andy Kaufman was 35 when he passed in 1984. Little Coco passed away when he was 40 on this day in 1993. Shoichi Arai died at 36 on this day in 2002, and Alex ‘Big Dick Dudley’ Rizzo was 34 when he passed that same day. Ricky Cortez died at the age of 83 on this day in 2008.