R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Mr. Wrestling II

Welcome back to Rotten Ink. As you can see, we are here again at the Rotten Ink Arena and the house is packed! I mean they could not shoe-horn another fan in here as the topic of this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is who brought them all in here. Mr. Wrestling II is a true icon of wrestling and is one of America’s most popular masked grapplers of all time! Yeah, he really is considered one of the best wrestlers in general from the Golden Age of wrestling and this is one update that should be a fun one as I can remember seeing some of his matches as a youngster and I cannot wait to revisit his matches. So if you are ready, grab yourself a soda pop as the matches are about to start.

Mr. Wrestling II was trained by Pat O’Connor and Tony Morelli and started his in-ring career in 1955. He was going under the named Johnny Walker and would travel around the territories and was building a good name for himself as he was a solid worker and promoters took notice of his work,. And because he was so flexible he was even given the nickname “Rubberman” by Texas promoter Paul Boesch who ran Houston Wrestling. In 1964 Johhny Walker would walk away from wrestling and would “retire”. In 1967 Walker would return wearing a mask and going by The Grappler and would work the Indies in Florida until 1972 and was a wrestler that fans took notice of as he was skilled and could work with stars as well as jobbers and get great matches out of both. During his time as Johnny Walker, he had a mixed bag win loss record, same as The Grappler but as both ring names he was booked in some high profile matches. Being semi retired, Johnny Walker would once more be talked into coming back. This time he would go by the name Mr. Wrestling II and would be the tag team partner to Mr. Wrestling, and the two would work both Championship Wrestling From Florida as well as NWA Georgia. The team would fade away and Mr. Wrestling II would continue on and would be a major draw and was one of the most loved wrestlers going at the time and would make promoters so much money when booked on a card as people paid to see him wrestle. During this time he would also take young wrestler Magnum T.A. under his wing, and the pair would work as a tag team and would even have an angle that had Mr. Wrestling II turning on him, due to resentment. The angle was massive and would make both look great in the end. While Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age, he still had a few years left in his career as well as a few more federations to wrestle in.

In 1984 Mr. Wrestling II would be hired by Vince McMahon to be part of the WWF as the company was making a big play to expand and take over the world of wrestling and they needed a legend like Mr. Wrestling II for the roster. While working for the WWF he was mostly used on house shows and as enhancement talent putting over younger stars as Mr. Wrestling II was getting up there in age and Vince just wanted him for his name value and to keep him locked up and not working for a competitor. He would end up putting over names like Iron Sheik, Bob Orton Jr., Brutus Beefcake, Chief Jay Strongbow, Jim Neidhart and Randy Savage. Barely seen on TV and too old to be a big star for WWF, his run would come to an end in 1986. Once free from the WWF and with a few more years left in him, he would go into wrestle for Continental Championship Wrestling, Southern Championship Wrestling as well as picking up a few dates working some Indies. And in 1990 he once more stepped away from in-ring action, but would work on final match in 2007 at the age of 73 for Hawai’i Championship Wrestling before fully retiring from the sport. Over his long on and off again career in wrestling, Mr. Wrestling II would capture many titles, build up a massive fan base and would make money for the promoters who booked him. Sadly Mr. Wrestling II passed away on June 10, 2020 at the age of 85 from unknown causes.

Mr. Wrestling II is hands down one of the most popular masked wrestlers of the classic days of wrestling and is a name that almost every wrestling fan knows as he was truly a journeyman wrestler who worked his ass off in the ring to entertain fans. The one thing about Mr. Wrestling II is that while he was a great wrestler, I do feel he stuck around a little too long and ended up getting wins over some younger talent that he should have been putting over. But when you look back at it all, promoters kept booking him and allowing him to win matches because he was still a draw even when older and his name meant something in the sport and more importantly to the fans. I can even remember seeing him on a old WCW event where Mr. Wrestling II was wearing his mask as well as a suit, funny stuff and reminded me of the old days of El Santo when he rocked the mask and suit combination in films and public appearances. The thing that I also remember the most about Mr. Wrestling II is just how basic he looked as his mask was a simple black and white and nothing special and flashy so nothing like most of the Luchadors have in Lucha Libre, but yet his simple look really worked for him. I also find his career very interesting, as he was a wrestler who retired many times and was talked into coming back by promoters…I mean Mr. Wrestling II seems to be the must reluctant legend in wrestling history! I also love that former President Jimmy Carter has said that Mr. Wrestling II was his favorite wrestler and the two became kind of friends and I also love that he would not remove the mask as he tried to keep his identity a secret. When watching his matches as a kid I always found Mr. Wrestling II to be skilled but a little dated and lacked the flash of the then modern wrestlers of that time. A true masked wrestling legend in the sport and one that has left a huge legacy.

We are now at the point of this review were we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Mr. Wrestling II for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready let’s step into the ring with Mr. Wrestling II.

Best Of Mr. Wrestling II

Match 1: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Buzz Sawyer

Buzz tries to get the jump on Mr. Wrestling II before the bell but instead eats a punch to the gut and then Wrestling II delivers a big backdrop to Buzz. But then the Masked Superstar who is in Buzz’s corner grabs Wrestling II’s robe and rips it apart at ringside, and Buzz does his best to make sure that Wrestling II cannot get out of the ring to stop it. Buzz keeps tackling Mr. Wrestling II who is able to get off a few hits and after the robe is destroyed Buzz leaves the ring, and the bell is rings and Mr. Wrestling II wins by DQ. A short and lackluster match when it comes to wrestling as a few punches, takedowns and a backdrop is all you get, but the story telling from Mr. Wrestling II, Masked Superstar and Buzz Sawyer is really good as you can feel the hatred and emotion come from Wrestling II as he cuts a promo on them after the match. Sadly it’s a super low rating for the match but for storytelling I will give it at least one star.

Grade: *

Match 2: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Paul Garner

Mr. Wrestling II starts off the match by locking on a headlock on Paul in the center of the ring and ever after Paul breaks loose for a moment he is quickly placed right back into the hold. Once out of the hold Wrestling II then beats Paul in a test of strength and then starts working on his arm with an arm lock. Paul escapes and lands a few hits onto the chest of Wrestling II and then throws him into the ropes only for Wrestling II to take the lead on the match again dropping Paul with only one clubbing hit to his back. Wrestling II then body slams Paul and as he is getting up Wrestling II hits him with his knee lift finisher and is able to get the three count after splashing on top of him with a weird awkward dive. This match is pretty much a squash match as Paul Garner tries his best and fails to do anything of real value to Mr. Wrestling II who shrugs off every attack and just rest holds his way to victory as the fans cheer for him to win. Not much to say really about this match besides Paul looks like a jobber, Wrestling II looks like a vet who still wants a top spot in the company and what you get is a very lackluster middle of the road match with no storytelling and no real heart.

Grade: **

Match 3: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Larry Higgins

As soon as the bell rings Larry Higgins tries to go on the attack but Mr. Wrestling II is to smart for him and dodges all of his attacks with ease. And then Wrestling II gets Higgins down and starts working on his leg with stomps and after getting him in a leg lock Higgins can only save himself by getting to the ropes. But just as quick Wrestling II takes Higgins down again for a leg lock and is really putting pressure on it, and like before getting to the ropes is the way the hold is broke. And again Wrestling II gets him down and works on that leg, Higgins tries punching Wrestling II in the face in order to break the hold and it works for a second before he is back working the leg until another rope break. Higgins has had enough and after a cheap shot on Wrestling II he starts pounding on the masked man, but the comeback only lasts a few seconds before Wrestling II is once more working over his leg and then hits Higgins with his Knee Lift and gets the pinfall victory. This boring technical rest hold match will at the start make you wonder if you are stuck in that movie Groundhog Day as the loop of Wrestling II’s leg hold and Higgins rope break plays out way to many times and makes for a very bland start of the match. And sadly it never really picks up as Mr. Wrestling II just keeps up with the leg locks and after a brief “explosion” of stomps and punches hits his Knee Lift finisher and gets the win. And by this point while Mr. Wrestling II is a good old school wrestler its clear he is passed his prime and has slowed down in his moves and is working slow paced matches. Larry Higgins looks like a total jobber in the match as he barely gets any moves off and when he does Mr. Wrestling II barely sells for him and just keeps making Higgins look foolish. Not much more to say besides a pretty boring bout that was pretty much a squash match. But again have to say the fans love Mr. Wrestling II and the chat of two rings out after he wins the match.

Grade: **

Match 4: Mr. Wrestling II vs. Mike Bond

Mr. Wrestling II stops all the takedown attempts from Bond from the start, but Bond is able to get an arm bar that is quickly escaped by Wrestling II. Bond then gets a headlock and like the arm bar Wrestling II escapes and he then puts Bond in that hold. And while in the headlock Bond tries his best to break free but Wrestling II keeps the hold on tight, and even after a suplex Mr. Wrestling II will not break the hold. Mr. Wrestling II then suplexes Bond and hits him with the Knee Lift and gets the win via pin. Once more this is a pretty boring match of Mr. Wrestling II holding a headlock on his opponent for most of the match and this time around he even makes himself look like Superman as nothing Bond does can really hurt him or break his holds, and the crowd for this match are pretty much dead and some of their faces show the boredom they have for this mostly one hold show. Mike Bond tries to put up a fight and tries to not look like a total Jobber but Mr. Wrestling II is not having any of that as he does his best to make Bond look like a weak fool. Mr. Wrestling II does a few moves and lots of them are headlocks and the commentators try their best to put him over as one of the best of all time, while I get that he is old school he just comes off so boring and also slightly ego driven in his matches that are just about how skilled and great he is. Over all another boring pretty much squash match that is clearly to put over Mr. Wrestling II, who I wish would allow these guys to do some offense in order to make these matches a little more of a contest and less one sided.

Grade: **

Mr. Wrestling II is a classic wrestler who was super skilled and was a draw from the start and put on some great matches with many now legends of the sport, but I also feel he was very much a product of his time as most of his matches was rest holds and mat work that I feel like modern fans would not be so into today. While I clearly respect Mr. Wrestling II, the four matches I watched at random for this review do not due him justice as most of them are super boring and do not tell a story at all besides that of a legend who wanted to keep is spot in wrestling and would make the younger wrestlers he faced look like jobbers. But as you can see, the matches are over and the Rotten Ink Arena is closing up for the night so I think it’s time he we head out, but before we do I would like to let you friends and readers know that the next update will take us out of the squared circle and into the world of Horror Movies as we take a look at the direct to video release Survive This! So until next time read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. Oh and Survive This! is all about ghost pirates.

R.I.W Wrestling Legend: George “The Animal” Steele

The doors are open at the Rotten Ink Arena, and the fans are pouring in as this “R.I.W Wrestling Legend” update is one that will please the young and old. Our main event is the missing link wild man known as George “The Animal” Steele who in the 80’s was a major star for the WWF, and as you can see at the merchandise table, his shirts and Mine Dolls are selling like crazy. And it looks like in George Steele’s honor they are serving green drinks and food at the snack bar, so let’s grab some green hotdogs and a Mountain Dew and find our seats as this update event is going to be a crazy one. The lights are dimming and the matches are about to start, so let’s get ready to cheer on the one and only George “The Animal” Steele. Oh and we should keep an eye out as who knows if we will see Mine or even if George himself will go wild and run crazy in the crowd!

George “The Animal” Steele started his pro wrestling career in 1960 and was trained by Bert Rubi and started working the indies around Detroit, Michigan under the name The Student that was a masked wrestler as he wanted to hide who he really was as he was also a high school teacher at the time. During his run as The Student, he would be managed by Gary Hart who also acted as his mouthpiece and would hype of his brute strength. Around 1967 The Student would be no more and he would be called up to wrestle for the WWWF (that later would be WWF/WWE) and would also work a few other NWA territories and would be called George Steele and would be booked as a solid heel who would even challenge Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight title. He would feud with Bruno and many other of the federations’ top baby faces and would headline matches in Madison Squared Garden and would have a small run against Chief Jay Strongbow before taking a small time away to work more on his crazy wild man persona. And once back George “The Animal” Steele was fully wild and would rip up and eat the turnbuckles, had a green tongue and would have a strange wrestling style that had his arms wiggling around, which confused and worried his opponents. And his heel persona continued and allowed him to feud with the likes of Hulk Hogan, Bob Backlund, Ivan Putski and Jimmy Snuka to name a few. And while he would never win a title, he did get many chances at them as a heel. During this time his interviews would be him loudly speaking a string of words, or yelling much like a young child would who is learning to speak. And I should also note during this time as a heel, he would also capture a few title from smaller NWA companies before he went to the WWF.

On May 11, 1985 on NBC was the first every Saturday Night’s Main Event, and in the opening match George Steele teamed with Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in a losing effort against The U.S. Express and Ricky Steamboat. But after the match, George is blamed for the loss and is attacked and this makes baby face manager Lou Albano save him and in this moment Steele went from heel to face. And very quickly George became one of the company’s top faces as fans loved this wild man who would put on silly cartoonish matches. In 1986 George Steele would start to get a crush on Miss Elizabeth, the manager of “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the two would have a feud and this would last well into 1987 with Steele even managing Ricky Steamboat as he went for Savage’s intercontinental title at WrestleMania III, but in the end Steele would be on the losing end of the feud and would never get the affection of Elizabeth. And keep in mind, Elizabeth was so nice to George and it was Savage, who was one of the company’s top heels, who hated the attention George was trying to get. During this time as well Steele would be getting big wins against such names as Hercules Hernandez, Iron Mike Sharpe, Iron Sheik and Bob Orton Jr. to name a few. In 1988 George Steele would introduce the fans to his stuff doll friend named Mine and he would bring him to the ring to watch his matches as well as would have the doll in his promos. He would be involved at WrestleMania IV and would be in the Battle Royal, but due to a real life knee injury he would just stay outside the ring and annoy the heels in the match. It was also starting to be clear that George was falling down the card and also his health was starting to be an issue and by late 1988 he would retire from the ring for the first time and would become a road agent for the WWF working backstage. He would be let go in 1990 and a short time later hired back, and he would hold that job until around 1997 when he left the company.

After leaving WWF in the late 90’s as a road agent George Steele would start working the indies taking bookings and appearances. He even returned to WWF for an episode of Monday Night Raw in order to team with Taka Michinoku against Jerry Lawler and Brian Christopher. And again in 1998 he would work for WWF as apart of The Oddities and would leave again in 1999. He would make a big mistake and be a part of the disaster wrestling PPV called “Heroes Of Wrestling” and was managed by Sensational Sherri and would face Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and this was in late 1999. At the start of 2000, he would have a match against Jeff Jarrett on an episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro. His last match took place in late 2000 at an ACW event against Sgt. Medallion. And even late in his career, he was very loved by fans and he helped many indies draw when his name was on the card. But while George Steele’s in ring work came to an end in 2000, he still made appearances for federations in including Impact in 2008 and WWF in 2010. And even all through his time working the indies, he was also working wrestling themed conventions. Sadly George “The Animal” Steele would pass away from kidney failure on February 16, 2017 at the age of 74. As some of you might know, George battled Crohn’s Disease starting around the late 80’s and battled it for much of the rest of his life. He also was an actor in such films as Ruthless People (1986), Ed Wood (1994) and Small Town Conspiracy (2003) to name a few. And he also was inducted into the WWF Hall Of Fame in 1995 and has appeared in a small amount of wrestling video games.

Growing up through the 80’s and 90’s was a great time to be a wrestling fan as Hulk Hogan was the biggest star in the sport and business was great and so many icons stepped foot into the ring as we also still had stars from the 60’s and 70’s competing. And one older star that I was a fan of was George “The Animal” Steele, the crazy man who would yell, chase around his opponent and would eat the turnbuckles all the while showing his green tongue. And yeah I know what you are thinking and you would be right, George Steele might not have been the world’s greatest wrestler and by all accounts he was just a gimmick wrestler who put on comedy matches, but man when I was a kid it worked. I had the George Steele LJN figure as well as his Bendy toy, and I always wanted a Mine doll and still do want one to this day. The best part of George Steele is that he was a heel that people believed could rip a person apart with his brute strength, and when he turned baby face, he was loved as people thought he was simple and misunderstood and fun loving. And let’s be honest, everyone in the stands and watching at home would mark out when George would eat and rip apart the turnbuckle having the stuffing go all over the ring. Also his cartoonish nature when wrestling, as a face would cause fans to laugh at his odd style of waving his hands around and silly faces that he would make at his opponents. When booked as a heel I have to say that George Steele really did come off as a threat as he would be totally wild and his hairy missing link look seemed to scare the fans as well as would through his baby face opponent off their game as he would wiggle his arms around and come off as a total crazy man. George “Steele” is also a wrestler I would pop for even way after he was winding down his in ring career but when he would show up on WWF or WCW I would cheer as seeing him in the ring brought back memories of my youth. Plus on a side note, Tim Burton and his team did a fantastic job of hiring George Steele to play Tor Johnson in the 1994 cult classic film Ed Wood based on the filmmaker’s life. Also the first ever WWF Ice Cream bar I ever got had George Steele on it and inside had a trading card of George as well! With that said George might not have been the most skilled in ring worker but he sure as hell was a very entertaining one.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank George Steele for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly selected matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from single matches, as I want to break down the matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready, let’s step into the ring with George Steele.

Best Of George Steele

Match 1: George Steele vs. Hulk Hogan

As the match starts, George starts by wiggling your hands around and Hogan stops his antics by flexing and stopping George in his tracks and as George gets out of the ring Hogan goes out after him and beats him up as the fans go crazy. Once back in the ring Hogan and George size each other up and neither wants to make a mistake and its George who makes the first move and with a wrack to Hogan’s eyes he takes the lead of the match by working over his eyes and even biting him. George takes the padding off of a turnbuckle and tries to ram Hogan’s head into it before he reverses it and rams Georges into it and then Hogan takes the match momentum and even bites the head of George! The two exchange hits and punches and with the help of brass knuckles George hurts Hogan and keeps using it to keep the Hulkster down. But after a while Hogan has had enough and after Hulking Up and some punches and a big boot to the face of George and when going for the legdrop, Mr. Fuji cheats and trips Hogan and as George distracts the referee he throws powder into the eyes of Hogan blinding him and causing him to fall out of the ring and is counted out and the fans are very mad by this. This is a match that on paper should not work well as both Hogan and Steele are wrestlers who work their own styles with Steele’s really being more of a gimmick and yet the two made it work as they blended both together and really got the crowd into it. No big moves are thrown and nothing really fancy is delivered, but the way Steele cheats and gets the heat from the crowd and the way the fans pop for Hogan at every move really does make the match feel big. I was also really surprised when Steele is the one who gets the win via pinfall. Over all a good match that had a big fight feel and showed that George Steele could have been a big heel even in the 80’s if booked right.

Rating: ***

Match 2: George Steele vs. Pete Mitchell

George Steele is managed by Freddie Blassie in this match and as soon as the bell rings, the weird movements of George throws of Pete and George moves in and attacks the face and head of Pete even biting him. George then destroys the turnbuckle and keeps his attack on Pete going who is helpless at this point and is just being destroyed. George even tosses Pete out of the ring and Blassie even delivers a kick to him, and George will not let him back in the ring. Once back in the ring George starts working on both arms of Pete stomping on them, and at this point Pete has not even landed one punch or move in the match. George continues beating up and tossing Pete around and in the end with a lifting hammerlock George gets the win when Pete is forced to give up. And after the bell George still beats up on Pete and Blassie loves it. This match is a total squash match and has George Steele destroying Pete Mitchell by just biting, knocking him out of the ring and stomping on him. George looks great as a heel in this match as he is vicious and does not allow his opponent to even fight back and his lifting hammerlock is fantastic looking. Poor Pete Mitchell looks like a total jobber and does nothing in the match besides sell like crazy for Steele. Not much more to say besides this is a very one sided match that while entertaining of seeing George be mean heel, is not much of a match.

Grade: **

Match 3: George Steele vs. Adrian Adonis

George starts the match by chasing Adonis around the ring and causes him to escape by getting out of the ring. Once back in the ring George charges at Adonis who is able to land a punch first and even chokes him with his scarf, and even uses the ropes to try and take the breath away from George. But with a quick punch to the face George makes his comeback that allows him to unleash a series of stomps and punches. George even slams Adonis on the entry ramp as the fans cheer with joy. But while hurt Adonis is able to land a few punches to the gut of George and then gives a few stomps, but George as well brawls his way back to being the one on top of the match momentum for a moment until Adonis takes back over for a brief moment with some punches. Adonis climbs the top rope and George crotches him and Adonis then elbows the referee knocking him out for a moment, George gets Adonis into the hammerlock and causes him to tap out but there is no referee to see it. George goes to check on the referee and when doing so Adonis rolls him up and gets the pin and the win. This is a brawling match that is kind of bland as Adrian Adonis is very lazy in the match and spends most of its short time resting on the mat or ramp and throwing very sloppy moves. This clearly was during a time when Adonis just stopped caring about the quality of his matches and he and George’s style just did not mix well at all. I do feel that he did sell really well for George throughout the match. George as well does his basic punches and stomps with his lifting hammerlock to Adonis being the most impressive move in the whole match. Over all it’s a very sloppy match that George Steele did his best to try and make it look good and entertaining and while he tried it just was not a good match.

Grade: *1/2

Match 4: George Steele vs. Greg Valentine

As the match starts, Greg tries to attack George from behind and it backfires, as George is able to see the attack coming and lands a punch to his gut and then starts beating up Greg more and more even ramming his head into the turnbuckle. But Greg makes a comeback after George botches an attempt at a bulldog headlock and Greg drops chops and elbows onto the down Animal and then unloads many elbows onto him as George tries to get up. After trying to land a top rope axe handle that misses Greg finds himself getting beat up by George who is now worked up with some anger and the fans are clearly behind him. And George then goes after Jimmy Hart the manger of Greg Valentine and starts to chase him to the back as Greg ends up going out after George to try and save his manager. And with that George Steele is counted out by chasing Hart around the ring and Greg wins the match via count out. This is another sloppy brawl that showcases two powerhouse wrestlers from the WWF from the 80’s slugging it out and showing once more that when pitted against the right opponent Georges limited move set can work and Greg was a good opponent for him to be working. Greg also does a great job of selling for George and does a good face flop when hitting the turnbuckles. George pretty much does his normal stomping, punching and acting weird while limited the fans love every second of him in the ring. The end being a count out was a little of a letdown but it did at least make both wrestlers look strong with Greg Valentine getting the win and George Steele still looking like a top baby face in his loss as he was not pinned and even was able to scare Jimmy Hart who was a hated heel manager. Over all super sloppy but entertaining for such a quick throwaway match that was clearly just a way to give Greg a win.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: George Steele vs. Gorilla Monsoon

We start the match already in progress and Gorilla is down on the mat and is injured as George starts to work over his arm by stomping on it and keeps the pressure on Gorilla and even almost gets a three count on him. George starts working on the shoulders of Gorilla, who then ends up getting out of George’s hold and locks in a big bear hug as the crowd starts cheering for Gorillas comeback, George lands a big punch to his forehead and both men crash to the mat. Once back up George starts using an object to punch Gorilla who is very injured and weak by now, and George almost tosses Gorilla over the top rope and once Gorilla gets back in the beating continues as George uses an object to punch him in the head over and over. And after a sloppy comeback Gorilla locks on a bear hug again and like before George uses an object and the hold is broke and the pair fall to the mat. In the end Gorilla gets ahold of the object and George leaves the ring and gets himself counted out and Gorilla wins the match via count out. This is a very slow paced match and Gorilla Monsoon spends most of the match on the mat sweating like crazy and kind of so-so selling for George who is doing all the work and trying to make this match at least somewhat good. The match has the most basic moves thrown with most of them coming from George who is doing his normal brawling style that is mostly throwing punches. This match is really bad and many spots in the match happen several times making them very uninteresting. Not much more to say then George Steele looks good in the match and does his best to work with a clearly out of shape Gorilla Monsoon and while George has a limited style it was clear Gorilla was even more limited at this time. And really silly that they gave the count out win to Gorilla when they should have given George the win as he was becoming a great heel.

Grade: *

Match 6: George Steele vs. Mike Powers

As the bell rings, George Steele rushes Mike Powers and lands some clubbing blows and tosses him over the rope and goes after him and rams his head into the rails, and George will not even let Mike back into the ring. Once back in the ring Mike is placed in an arm bar and his arm is even bitten by George. And then George gets Mike into his lifting hammerlock and Mike quits and this give George the very quick win. Wow, this was 100% a squash match as George Steele busts out his brawling moves and his finishing move the hammerlock to make Mike Powers look like a jobber as he is unable to even land one move. The only move that stands out in the whole match is once more George Steele’s lifting hammerlock. And I have to say Mike Powers does a good job of selling for Steele throughout this quick match. Nothing special here but did its job of building George Steele.

Grade: **

So as you can see while George “The Animal” Steele was a wrestler who had a brawling gimmick style that could get fans to cheer when a face and boo him like crazy when heel and while not a technical wrestler he was one hell of an entertaining one that was one of my favorites growing up cause he made Pro Wrestling fun. And that brings me to this, in 2023 I feel like doing something very fun and will be a major treat for fans of wrestling like myself as I think every month this year I will have a “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update! Remember back in 2021 we did this same thing for “Horror Host Icons”, but in April, what our household calls WWE WrestleMania Month, I will deliver two updates showcasing wrestlers! Again I know you fans of the squared circle are looking forward to seeing who we cover, now with that said our next update will take us out of the Rotten Ink Arena and back to the world of Star Comics as we go on adventures with Royal Roy one of the companies most popular original characters. So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. And yes the land that Royal Roy rules over is called Cashelot…just think about that.

R.I.W: Top 60 Best Luchadores

I have been a fan of Pro Wrestling for as long as I can remember, and alongside Horror Movies, Video Games, Rock Music and Comic Books, it’s still something that I enjoy to this very day…sure WWE’s product has been lacking on the creative front for decades with only hints of great booking in stories like The Fiend and the heel turn of Roman Reigns. Over the years I have seen many wrestling events live from companies like WWE, WCW, ECW, Rockstar Pro and many indie federations. I grew up not only watching the above mentioned on TV but also GWF, AWA, NWA, GCW, Impact, ROH, WCCW, AAA, CMLL, FMW, New Japan, All Japan, XPW and so many more thanks to broadcast as well as home media formats. Who remembers the VHS Wrestling Tape Trades that allowed fans to see matches and wrestlers from all over the world? One style of wrestling that has been my favorite from the first time I saw it is Lucha Libre as the fast paced moves and amazing grapplers with superhero style looks and characters has always been my go to for wrestling. For this update I am going to countdown my personal picks for the top 60 Luchadors aka my personal favorites!

While working on Rotten Ink, I started to think about ways to bring in other subjects that I love as well as fun themed updates that I can bust out from time to time stuff to join the likes of Horror Host Icon, SOV Flashback Classics, Sports Mascots Countdown, Talk Back and a few more. So I decided to create R.I.W. that stands for Rotten Ink Illustrated and is a play off of Pro Wrestling Illustrated (P.W.I) that was my favorite wrestling magazine growing up. And with these R.I.W updates, I am thinking that I will not only be doing Top 60 Countdowns but might also talk about PPV events and break them down and who knows maybe even will cover some live events…as I am not sure really just yet what I want to do for these themed updates.

Keep in mind this list is just my opinion and these rankings are just how I am feeling now. Ask me in a year or two and I am sure it could and would change! The rankings for this are based on me seeing matches of these Luchadors and their character and look.  I am ruling out two icons El Santo and Blue Demon as they are the kings of the ring and while I have seen very little of their matches, I grew up watching their films on Commander USA’s Groovie Movies. Oh and by saying “seen matches” I mean watching on TV, Seen Live, Online Matches and old Tape Trade VHS. So if you are ready, let’s head to Rotten Ink Arena and let’s talk Luchadors…and yeah I added one extra for the fun of it!

# 61

Mr. Iguana
Started: 2009      Companies: AAA      Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

The super popular Mr. Iguana has made a big name for himself in AAA and is hands down one of the most popular wrestlers with kids in the promotion! Mr. Iguana started in the indies, and after an injury set him back, he quickly made a name for himself upon his return to the ring and got the attention of AAA and was signed to compete in the company. While he is not a main eventer and is a Mid-Card lucha, he is very entertaining to watch in the ring. Mr. Iguana is one that I have seen thanks to AAA’s social media that has allowed me and other US fans to see these guys wrestle. While he is not one of my favorite current Luchadors, I will say he is one that I am going to keep my eye on as I think he could become a very interesting wrestler if given the right feuds and matches.

# 60

El Mosco
Started: 1995      Companies: AAA & WWE     Active: Yes      Seen Live: No

El Mosco, who is now known as X-Fly, was a Luchador I first saw on WWE TV as he was part of their short-lived team up with AAA to help kick off their Lightweight division. He was a big deal in Mexico and ran a faction called “Los Rudos De La Galaxia” up until he left the promotion and his then-name Mosco De La Merced was given to another wrestler. During this time is when the El Mosco character was born, and he went on to work not only for Indie Federations but also at WWE, WCW and ECW many of times wrestling under different names and this started in 1997 and he still takes bookings to this day! And in 2010 he returned to AAA until 2012 and was a part of a major storyline that had him teaming with Halloween and Damian 666. He’s a very skilled Luchador, who I mostly knew from his short WWE run and was one I found myself cheering for. And man, he has had a ton of other in ring names that include Winners II, Pierroth Jr., Johnny and Juan El Mosco to name a few.

# 59

Super Calo
Started: 1990      Companies: AAA & WCW      Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Super Calo was a Luchador that I first saw on WCW as part of the Mexican superstars that were showing up to help push the cruiserweight division, and while a super skilled wrestler, he failed to capture my attention like many of the others brought in, but keep in mind that I still enjoyed watching him in matches. Super Calo started his in ring career in 1990 working some indie federations before landing at AAA in 1992 where he became a very popular wrestler and a draw with his rapper gimmick.  His run lasted until around 1995 as by 1996 he had been signed to WCW and helped showcase Lucha Libre to American fans. Super Calo would be used as enhancement talent and would stick around WCW for a few years before heading back to Mexico to work for the Indies. In 2007, he returned to AAA for another brief run and would then go back to the Indies as well as opening his own promotion called FSW.  While Super Calo might not have been a main eventer here in America, he is a well respected Lucha in Mexico.

# 58

Sin Cara
Started: 2011     Companies: WWE & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Ok, I know what you readers are saying: why is Sin Cara this high on your list as everyone knows that he was considered a failure in WWE and even had two wrestlers under the mask during his run.  But let me explain.  While he had some very botch filled matches while in WWE and even never really captured a Main Event Spot and was barely a Mid-Carder by the end, he helped paved the way for other masked Luchadors to be signed to WWE and be able to keep their masks on! And I am not going to talk about the history of Mistico or Hunico the two who played the gimmick and will more just talk about Sin Cara in general. In 2011 the WWE held a press conference to talk about the signing of Sin Cara as he was built up to be the next Rey Mysterio Jr. for the company and so much hype and push was placed on him as he was slated to be a main eventer even having him team with the company’s top star John Cena…but sadly his star quickly started to fade as injuries, bad attitude and botches made him fall down the card and with his title wins coming along side fellow Luchador Kalisto when, as the Lucha Dragons, they won the NXT Tag Team belts once. He was let go from the WWE in 2019 and has since made an appearance in AAA and now is going under a new name. While he might not be the best of the WWE Luchadors, he is one I enjoyed seeing on TV and at Live Events.

# 57

Tigre Uno
Started: 1998     Companies: AAA & Impact     Active: Yes  Seen Live: No

This Luchador started his career like so many working the Indies and making a name for himself.  He did so at California’s WWA (World Wrestling Association) promotion and during this time as well he became more of a Hardcore Wrestler using chairs, tables and ladders in his matches. In 2006, he got the call and joined AAA and climbed his way up the card winning not only some championships but also tournaments. And during this time Impact Wrestling ended up signing Tigre Uno in 2013 where he would become an attraction in the X-Division a belt that he would end up winning in 2015! Tigre Uno would stay with Impact until 2016 and after this he once more went to the Indies and has been there since entertaining fans worldwide. Tigre Uno is one of those wrestlers I have seen a little of his Impact matches and would like to see more of his work as well as see him live in person. Over the years Tigre Uno has also wrestled under the names Tyger Mask, Extreme Tiger, Ultimate Tiger and Xtreme Tiger.

# 56

Kalisto
Started: 2006      Companies: AAA & WWE      Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Kalisto is a wrestler who I was happy to see in NXT and WWE as he was a masked Luchador that they allowed for the most part to wrestling in that style…well that was up until his call up to the main roster. Kalisto started his wrestling career working the Indies by the name of Samuray and making a name for himself that ended up leading him to a job with AAA and going from Samuray to Octagon Jr. as he became the student of one of his biggest inspiration Octagon himself! He was in AAA from 2011 and left in 2013 as he became a very in demand wrestler in the Indie scene all over the world and during this time he returned to the Samuray name and worked for companies like CZW, Dragon Gate and AAW! But later in 2013, WWE came calling and hired him to be part of their NXT brand. This would lead to a move up to the main roster in 2015, and during this time he became the United States Champion as well as the Cruiserweight Champion and has been part of the Tag Team “The Lucha Dragons” with Sin Cara and “The Lucha House Party” with Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado and remained a fun draw for American fans who enjoy the Lucha Libre style of wrestling. He also went under the names Bello Greco Jr., The Son Of Superzan, Jordy Stone and Love Warrior. He was let go from the WWE in 2021.

# 55

Chavo Guerrero Jr.
Started: 1994     Companies: WCW & WWE     Active: Yes   Seen Live: Yes

Chavo was born into one of Mexico’s royal families of wrestling, the Guerrero’s! He started wrestling in the indies and even landed himself matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling mastering his craft and building a name for himself. He would be brought into WCW in 1996 as part of the wave of Luchadors being brought in to build the cruiserweight division and he would be a contender off and on throughout the years for the belt even winning it twice and even capturing WCW Tag Team Gold once with partner Lash LeRoux! He would also have a gimmick in WCW that would see him go crazy and carry a stick horse around he called Pepe.  He would leave WCW in 2001 after the company was closed down and would start working for WWE and was part of The Alliance story angle.  During his WWE run, he was mostly used as a Mid-Carder with his biggest run coming when teaming with his uncle Eddie to win the WWE Tag Team Titles twice! He would also win the ECW Championship once as well as the WWE Cruiserweight Championship four times…he would also have one of the worst gimmicks ever while in the WWE when he changed his name to Kerwin White and denounced his Mexican heritage. Chavo would leave WWE in 2011 and would start working for the Indies like WWC before landing at Impact Wrestling in 2012 and would slink around there until 2013 and would make another appearance for them in 2019. After Impact and still taking Indie bookings, he also worked for Lucha Underground as well as the very short lived Nacion Lucha Libre, a federation he co-created with Alberto Del Rio in 2019 (they closed in 2020). While Chavo is still wrestling, he also has gone on to do other media releases like Acting, Comic Books and Podcasting. While Chavo is a still worker, he just never fully captured my attention and never truly lived up to the Guerrero name. He is currently working for AEW.

# 54

Texano Jr.
Started: 1999     Companies: AAA & CMLL     Active: Yes    Seen Live: No

The bull rope carrying Texano Jr. started his in ring career in the indies under the name Kempo Kid, and it was during his time in the indies during a “bet matches” that Kempo Kid had to unmask and became Texano Jr. as he was the son of Luchador legend El Taxano! Very quickly after unmasking Texano Jr. would go to CMLL.  He started in 2003 and was placed in many big stories as well as feuds and would even have factions like “Perros Del Mal”! But things came to an end for his CMLL run in 2011 when he decided to leave and join Perros del Mal Producciones, an indie promotion created by the iconic Perro Aguayo Jr. and he would leave them the same year and join AAA, where he still is to this day. Texano Jr. has a great look as he reminds me of the cowboy wrestlers of the 80’s and 90’s like Stan Hansen and Outlaw Ron Bass, not to mention he is very skilled in the ring and one I enjoy watching on AAA events.

# 53

Bestia 666
Started: 2009     Companies: AAA & WWA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Bestia 666 is the son of Damien 666 and started his career not only in the indies but also in Perros del Mal Producciones.  This would lead to a small run in AAA that allowed him to team with his father as well as his long tome friend Halloween as a stable, all the while he was still working for Perros del Mal Producciones.  In 2012 he quit them and decided to start his journey of working the indies in Mexico as well as America that would lead him to work such federations as MLW, Lucha Underground, GFW, UWF and EWF and would allow him to get a tryout match in the WWE (he would get two) but sadly he was not signed. Bestia 666 has a great look and is super skilled in the ring, and I for one enjoy watching his matches on YouTube and would like to see more matches as well as would like to see him get signed to one of America’s top four federations WWE, AEW, Impact or ROH. Over his career he has also went under the ring names Leo and Bestia.

# 52

Bengala
Started: 1995     Companies: AAA & CMLL     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Not to be confused with the CMLL Luchador named Bengala, I am talking about the one who is working for AAA and has the white tiger look that I discovered thanks to YouTube and AAA’s social media as well as Lucha Underground that has allowed me to see his matches and become a fan! Bengala started like every other wrestler making his mark on the indies and building a name for himself and once his dues were paid, he was signed to CMLL in 1998 and would become a lower card Luchador who would rise to being a popular mid-carder up until he left them in 2003. Because of CMLL he got to work many matches in Japan for Toryumon Japan promotion and even held the NWA World Welterweight Title.  He would wrestle in Japan off and on for many years even when he became signed to Pro Wrestling Noah in 2003 and stayed until 2015 as a featured star for the promotion. He would then come back to Mexico off and on working for AAA from 2007-2008 and again from 2013-2017, and during this time with AAA the Bengala character was born! Starting in 2016 Bengala was played by another Luchador until 2019 when he as well left the company and as of now ended Bengela’s run. While not a household name when coming to Lucha Libre stars, he was an entertaining one that I enjoyed seeing in the matches I watched.

# 51

Abismo Negro
Started: 1987     Companies: AAA & CMLL     Active: No     Seen Live: No

First thing I want to say is R.I.P Abismo Negro, who sadly passed away in 2009 as the world of Lucha Libre lost an amazing talent. Like all wrestlers Abismo Negro began his career in the indie scene and in 1991 he was signed to CMLL and only stayed there until 1992 as he left to join the new promotion AAA and this would be his federation that he would stick with for his career, and during this time he would have name changes landing on Abismo Negro in 1997.  He was part of many factions, held many titles and even represented AAA in a tournament that was being held by Impact Wrestling. Abismo Negro was an amazing Luchador and was an amazing Rudo who would use fire in his entrance and captured the attention of every fan who seen him. Sadly I have only been able to watch his matches online and have not got to see many, as I am sure if I was able to have seen him live or even more matches Abismo Negro would have easily made his way into my Top 10 on this list! Over his career he had also went by the names The Winner, Pequeno Samurai, Furor and Alex Dinamo.

# 50

Espiritu Maya
Started: 2017     Companies: Indies     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

In my opinion one of the best Luchadors going in the indies here in America is Espiritu Maya, who has been building a name for himself at many promotions and has been growing his fan base and reputation as a Lucha star. Espiritu Maya has captured titles at many of the promotions he has worked for and has even had some matches with wrestlers from Impact as well as legends at these events. Espiritu Maya is an up and coming Luchador that is one that you should all keep an eye on as he could get the call up to NXT or AEW in the future. Espiritu Maya is also a main stay at Rockstar Pro Wrestling the local Dayton, Ohio federation that I work for, and I have had the privilege of watching him wrestle many times.

# 49

Heavy Metal
Started: 1988     Companies: CMLL & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

I first saw Heavy Metal in WWE as he was one that took part of the AAA team up that lasted a short time in the 1990’s as he even had a match at the 1995 Royal Rumble! With a brief run in some Mexican indie federations, he truly started in CMLL and would stay there until 1992 when he jumped ship and started to work for the newly formed AAA.  He would became a mainstay and big draw for them even being apart of a talent exchange between AAA and WWE and later Impact. During this time with AAA, he would win many titles like The Mexican National Welterweight Championship two times and AAA Campeon de Campeones Championship once not to even talk about all the Bet Matches he was apart of. Heavy Metal would leave AAA in 2004 and by 2005 he was breifly working for IWRG (International Wrestling Revolution Group) and then went back to CMLL from 2005 to 2010 and was once more a big name for the promotion. But AAA came calling again, and by 2010 he was back with them and would stay around for many more years, until going and working indie shows. While Heavy Metal is not the major star he once was, he is still an icon and legend in Lucha Libre, and still to this day I have his AAA figure from 1994! Over his career he also went by the name Canelo Casas.

# 48

Humberto Carrillo
Started: 2012     Companies: WWE & Indies     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Humberto Carrillo started his in ring career in the Indies and he is apart of the Garza Family Tree and proved that he was just as skilled as the rest of his family as he became a main attraction at events and even won many belts and tournaments and would compete for federations like Chilanga Mask, The Crash Lucha Libre, Casanova Pro and Lucha Libre Azteca. Humberto would float around the indies from 2012 through 2018, and in 2018 he got his big break by being signed by WWE and wrestling for NXT until being brought up to the main roaster as apart of the 205 Live brand in 2019 and by the end of 2019 he was brought up to be featured on Raw during a draft and this started his push to become a main star on the roster.  Well that was until the out of touch Vince McMahon lost interest in the superstar and moved onto the next wrestler he could push and crush in a short time. Humberto is a great Mid-Carder who puts on top notch matches in WWE and if given the chance, he could easily becomes a mega star just like Rey Mysterio Jr.! Other names Humberto has used in his career is Ultimo Ninja and Humberto Pidorasio, and I should note that when WWE House Shows and Live Events returns to the Dayton area I hope to see Humberto in action.

# 47

Pagano
Started: 2008     Companies: AAA & Impact     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Mexico has many wrestling clown Luchadors and one of the biggest and most popular is Pagano, who started his career in 2008 and was a hardcore wrestler who would wrestle in Mexico and America in the indies that included feds like WWA4, FULL and IWRG before getting signed to AAA in 2016 and being flung into a main event spot and being in the group “La Familiar Fonteriza” alongside Damian 666, Halloween and Psychosis that would last for awhile and as well allowed him to get into feuds with Psycho Clown and Pentagon Jr. and o this date Pagano is one of AAA’s big stars featured in many high profile matches. While working for AAA, he has also been featured on Impact Wrestling as well has fought and won a MMA match…and has won many belts and tournaments for AAA that including the AAA World Tag Team Championship with partner El Mesias. Super entertaining to watch and a Lucha that puts on great matches both in skill and in brawls Pagano is surly going to be a legend in Lucha Libre when he retires. Pagano has also wrestled under a mask before settling on his classic face paint look. I have mostly seen his work in AAA thanks to their social media and YouTube.

# 46

Andrade
Started: 2003     Companies: WWE & CMLL     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

One of the biggest recent wasted talents in WWE is Andrade, who is a super skilled Luchador who went from being a Main Event prospect all the way to being a Mid-Carder that was then barely thought about thanks to Vince.  It was a shame as he has all the makings of being a great world champion who could play the rudo role. Andrade started his career in 2003 working for many of the indie promotions in Mexico and started when he was just a teenager and built up his skills as well as impressed those who watched him in action. By 2007 he was signed to the big leagues in Mexico as he got a contract with CMLL and quickly rose up the ranks and became a main eventer and would be placed in many main featured matches and would capture many belts, win bet matches as well as tournament wins! During his run with CMLL he would also have a small run in New Japan Pro Wrestling and during this time is when he caught the eye of WWE. Andrade would leave both CMLL and New Japan in 2015 as he signed with WWE and would make his debut on NXT and would make it to the main roster on 2018.  In his WWE career, he captured the NXT Championship once and the WWE United States Championship only once until he left the company in 2021.  He now wrestles for AEW.  During his career this far he has also wrestled under such names as Brillante Jr., La Sombra, Rey Azteca and Guerrero Azteca to name a few.

# 45

El Dandy
Started: 1981     Companies: WCW & CMLL     Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

El Dandy is known in America for his run in WCW as part of their Cruiserweight division as well as a member of the stable L.W.O., but for many he is also known for that classic Bret Hart promo that had Bret saying “Who are you to doubt El Dandy?” when he selected him for a match.  I saw El Dandy take on Scott Norton on a WCW Saturday Night taping live here in Dayton, Ohio and a fan behind us was all about cheering El Dandy on during the match. El Dandy, like all pro wrestlers, started his wrestling career in the indie scene starting in 1981 and was quickly respected by fans and fellow workers for his hard work in and out of the ring, and by 1981 he got his big break being signed to CMLL where he was a big star and a numerous champion holding several titles including the CMLL World Middleweight Championship a total of three times! He would be involved with many bet matches as well as was able to take indie bookings as well as work for WWA out of California. But when WCW needed wrestlers for their cruiserweight division El Dandy was called up in 1997 and would be used as an enhancement talent his whole time their losing almost all of his matches with many being squash matches. By 2000 El Dandy was released from WCW along with many of the other Luchadors, and this allowed him to wrestler for not only indies but also a short run in AAA as well as IWRG and he would retire from wrestling in 2014. While he was one of Mexico’s top wrestlers during his run, he sadly never caught on in America and was used as a jobber. El Dandy is awesome and I for one am glad I was able to see him wrestle live a few times before he retired.

# 44

Angel Garza
Started: 2008     Companies: WWE & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Another member of the Garza family and another that shows that Lucha Libre is alive and well in America when allowed to shine in one of the main companies! Starting out in the Indies, Angel Garza got the attention of many federations including Impact and AAA with the latter signing him to a contract in 2015. He would make his mark on the company by putting on great matches as well as being involved in some high profile ones, but by 2017 Angel had left AAA and started working for the Indies again as well as worked with Impact Wrestling and during this time is stock was rising even more as he was able to get the attention of WWE who signed him to a contract in 2019 and placed him on NXT and then 205 Live before making his main roster debut in 2020 when they placed him into a short tag team with Andrade, managed by Zelina Vega. After the team broke up, he has been used on the mid-card with teases of breaking into the main event soon. So far in WWE, he is a one time NXT Cruiserweight Champion. With tons of skill and a legacy family name Angel Garza could become a big star if given the chance. Over his career he has gone by the names El Hijo del Ninja, Garza Jr. and Humberto Garza.

# 43

Laredo Kid
Started: 2003      Companies: AAA & Impact     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Laredo Kid is a super popular Luchador who is one of AAA’s top main eventers that puts butts in the seats. Laredo Kid started his career in 2003 and worked the indies until 2005 where he signed with AAA and rose his way to the top of the card with fast paced and impressive matches! During his time in AAA, he was also allowed to make appearances in Impact and AEW as well as even had a tryout match in the WWE! He is the winner of many AAA titles as well as tournaments and bet matches and will surely become one of the company’s futures Hall Of Famers if he stays the path to greatness as he is now. I have mostly seen his matches in AAA as well as a few of his Impact matches thanks to YouTube and I look forward to seeing more of his work in the coming years as he is one to truly watch.

# 42

Taurus
Started: 2005     Companies: AAA & Impact       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Taurus is a Luchador that I first discovered on Facebook and quickly watched many of his matches on YouTube and then have seen him on AAA and Impact events via TV and social media. Taurus started out working indies in Mexico before being signed to AAA in 2012 and would work as Machine Rocker as part of the group Los Inferno Rockers and would work as this character until 2015 when he was repackaged as Taurus, but by 2016 he left AAA and worked for Lucha Libre Elite as well as other indie federations, that was until he once more signed with AAA in 2018 and this has also allowed him to work matches in Impact, MLW and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as has made appearances in many American indies. While he is not considered a main eventer in AAA and has not captured any belts yet, with his cool look, skills in the ring and great rudo attitude, it’s only a matter of time before he climbs the card. I also think that if Taurus was around in 1996 he would have been brought into WCW and would have been a great addition to the Cruiserweight division. Over the years Taurus has also went by the names Machine Rocker, Semental, Black Taurus and Black Tauro.

# 41

Lizmark Jr.
Started: 1991     Companies: WCW & CMLL     Active: Yes      Seen Live: Yes

WCW strikes again as his stint in the company is how I became a fan of Lizmark Jr. as well as was able to see him live during a taping of WCW Saturday Night! Lizmark Jr. started his career in 1991 and worked for a few indie promotions in Mexico as well as had a short AAA run before going to WCW in 1997 as apart of their big boom of Luchador talent being signed in order to build their Cruiserweight division. He would stick around in WCW for a while and sadly was mostly used on the lower card and enhancement talent and never won a WCW title. In 2000, he was let go from WCW and Lizmark would return to Mexico and start working for CMLL and would end up turning Rudo and would lose his mask in a bet match in 2007 after being pinned by Blue Panther. Lizmark Jr. would go onto to capture his first belt in a major federation when he won the CMLL World G1 Heavyweight Championship. Lizmark also started working for Lucha Libre USA on MTV2 in 2010 and would capture the LLUSA Heavyweight Championship from them as well! In 2011 he would go back to AAA and have a small run and is now working on the indies all over Mexico and from time to time the USA. I think Lizmark Jr. is a talent that sometimes gets over looked here in America as his run in WCW was less then stellar, but do yourself a favor and watch some of his matches and you will see why I am a fan.

# 40

Chessman
Started: 1996      Companies: AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

One of the greatest rudo’s in modern Lucha Libre hands down is Chessman and only a few other names come to mind in AAA that can match him in his ruthless behavior! Chessman started his time in the ring in the indies in 1996 and became a Luchador to watch as he was making a major splash with his style and appearance he adopted in 2000 known as Chessman. And with the name and appearance change AAA came calling and signed him in 2001 and his long and awesome career as one of Lucha Libre’s top Luchadors started and would have him see many title wins, many bet matches and have him mix it up with wrestlers from Impact. He would be in many stables and groups like Los Hell Brothers, La Secta and The Black Family to name a few. He has been loyal to AAA over all these years just like The Undertaker has been to WWE and Sting was to WCW showing that Chessman is surely a AAA Hall Of Famer when he retires from in ring action. Like many of the AAA Luchadors, I have seen so many of his matches thanks to the company’s social media accounts. He’s a true amazing Luchador to watch in action and one that deserves his position in the company. Before being Chessman he also wrestled in the indies under the names M-357, Magnum and Quinto Elemento.

# 39

Octagon
Started: 1981      Companies: AAA & CMLL     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Octagon is a true legend in the world of Lucha Libre and is a Luchador that I can remember buying grey market Best of VHS tapes of as well as seeing him in the pages of wrestling magazines all through my youth. Octagon started his wrestling career in 1981 and was able to blend his martial arts background into his Lucha Libre style and took the indies by storm.  By 1982 he was working for CMLL, and by 1989 he was a super popular and top star for the promotion being in several high profile matches as well as captured the fans’ attention. When AAA started in 1992, one of the Luchadors to leave CMLL for the new promotion was Octagon who was a major star for the company for many years and was one of the companies main attractions, but by 2014 his place on the card was falling slightly and this caused Octagon to leave AAA and sadly caused a major rift between them over the rights to the name, look and back pay! He would then go onto wrestle for CMLL as well as other Indie feds over the years. While his in ring career has slowed down, he still is active from time to time. He truly is a legend in Lucha Libre, and I wish he and AAA could bury the hatchet and patch things up so that he can have a proper retirement match when he is ready to hang the boots up. Over the years he has also gone under the names Dragon Dorado and La Amenaza Elegante.

# 38

Aero Boy
Started: 2003      Companies: Indies & CZW     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Aero Boy is one of the best unsigned Luchadors in the indies going as he can wrestling the classic Lucha Libre style as well as work hardcore matches! He is a true journeyman wrestler as he has wrestled all over the world and has made a name for himself in every nation he has performed in, and he as well as captured many of the belts including the Intergalactic World Championship from Rockstar Pro Wrestling. Aero Boy is a Luchador I have had the pleasure of seeing live many times and if he comes to your town, make sure to see him in action as you will not be sorry! Over his career thus far as well he has faced many names in the business and it’s crazy that he has not been signed to Impact, CMLL or AAA as they don’t know what they are missing with his guy!

# 37

Drago
Started: 1998     Companies: AAA & Impact     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Drago is a Luchador who has one of the coolest looks in the business as his mask is fantastic! Drago is one I discovered while watching AAA videos on YouTube and reading their Facebook page, and he quickly became one of my favorites! Like all before him, he started his career on the Indies and would quickly be signed by AAA the same year in 1998 and would be saddled with other masks and names like Jimmy Boy, Alan and Gato Eveready and while they had a following and fans it was in 2011 when he became Drago that his career in AAA really took off and he got the main event push he had been fighting for his whole time with them! And because of this new look, name and push it lead to him representing AAA in federations like Lucha Underground, Impact, Global Force Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and getting more eyes on him across the world. At one point a rumor was going around that even WWE was interesting in signing him to NXT! Drago in AAA has won many belts, bet matches and tournaments and still is a very popular Luchador for them.

# 36

Perro Aguayo
Started: 1968     Companies: AAA & UWA     Active: No    Seen Live: No

One of the biggest draws in Lucha Libre history in Mexico is the rudo everyone loved Perro Aguayo! This Luchador was like none other as he had such a presence in the ring and was such a brawler that set him apart from everyone working in Mexico at the time! Perro is one that I discovered thanks to the grey market VHS tapes that I would see him on as well as later YouTube and DVDs from HighSpots Video. Perro reminds me of a very early version of a Hardcore wrestler who would bleed and brawl all over the ring and would have the fans on the edge of their seats doing so. Perro Aguayo started his career in 1968 working for the indies before being one of the top Rudos in UWA the place he would make the name for himself and would even feud with the likes of El Santo! The crazy thing being while he was a rudo, he was a draw as fans would often cheer him over the tecnico he was facing. He was such a draw that UWA would spotlight him and have him in all types of high profile matches against the companies top stars. During this time as well he would work matches for CMLL and was a major headliner. In 1992 he would leave UWA and help build AAA and would be a big star for them as well and during his time in AAA he would also work for WWE in 1997 as part of the talent trade the companies made. In 2000 he would leave AAA and sign with CMLL and would stay around for awhile and was a draw for them as well, he would loose a retirement match and would remain gone for a while until returning to team with his son for a time before heading back into retirement in 2001. During his time in the ring he would be a main-eventer, a respected rudo, win many belts in AAA, CMLL, UWA and even was the first ever WWE Light Heavyweight Champion (even if WWE does not have it on the records now). Not to even mention he is in the AAA Hall Of Fame and took part in so many Bet Matches. Sadly Perro Aguayo passed away in 2019 at the age of 73 from an infection. While gone his legacy is still very much alive in Mexico and his popularity and drawing power is still stuff of legend.

# 35

El Pantera
Started: 1985      Companies: WWE & CMLL      Active: Yes      Seen Live: No

One of the best things for me during the WWE Attitude Era was the Lightweight division that was sadly overshadowed by Jerry Lawler screaming Puppies and the never ending feud between Stone Cold and Vince McMahon that ate up so much airtime. And what made it so cool was not only seeing the cruiserweights get some time to shine, but was also cool to see some Luchadors on TV again in WWE! One of my favorites was El Pantera who was played as a rudo and always put on great matches. El Pantera started working the indies in Mexico in 1985 and by 1992 he was working fulltime for CMLL and would win a few belts and become a solid Mid-Carder who had his fair share of fans and even had a few high profile matches that helped build his name in Lucha Libre, but by 1996 he left CMLL and after leaving he started to work some dates in Japan as well as for IWRG and this is also when he had a short run for WWE that lasted from 1997 and ended in 1999. While still working for IWRG he would also be sent back to CMLL as the companies had a talent exchange and he would stick around for a short time and even win a title, before setting his sites on only working for IWRG, while not as active as he once was El Pantera is still working the indies from time to time as well as for IWRG. Over the years El Pantera has also gone by other names like El Manaya, Pantera II, America, Triyon and Tanaka.

# 34

Guerrero Maya Jr.
Started: 2005     Companies: CMLL & Indies     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Guerrero Maya Jr. is a Luchador that I have had the pleasure of not only seeing live at a Rockstar Pro Wrestling event, but is also one that I was lucky enough to chat with before and after the event. His match against Zachary Wentz was the best on the card as it was highflying and high impact! Guerrero Maya Jr. started working the indies for a short time in 2005 and by 2007 he was working for CMLL and was wresting under the names Samba and Multifacetico and it was in 2009 that he got the name Guerrero Maya Jr. and that is also when his popularity and position on the card was on the rise. He even was part of the Crocket Cup in 2019 as he represented CMLL alongside Stuka Jr. and sadly they lost. Guerrero Maya Jr. would go on to win titles in CMLL like the Mexican Trios Championship a total of three times with Delta and Atlantis. To me it’s crazy that AEW, Impact nor WWE have not signed Guerrero Maya Jr. yet as he is a great talent and one of my favorite Luchadors I have seen live over the years!

# 33

Hector Garza
Started: 1992     Companies: WCW & AAA     Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

Hector Garza is another member of the Garza Family and is one that I first saw in action thanks to WCW when they brought in many Luchadors for their Cruiserweight division as well as mid-carders. I was lucky to have seen Hector Garza in action at a WCW Saturday Night taping in Dayton, Ohio and he showcased why the Luchadors was why I was a big fan of WCW during that time! Sadly Hector passed away in 2013 and it’s a shame as the world of wrestling lost a super talented Luchador. Hector started working the indies in 1992 and would spend sometime in FILL and his in ring rudo style got the attention of CMLL who signed him in 1994 and this would only last until 1996 when he left and signed with AAA that lead to him also being able to work a few WWE events as part of their talent exchange and even was showcased at the 1995 Royal Rumble and even got a win on T.L Hopper on an episode of Superstars, but in 1997 his time with AAA and WWE came to an end when WCW came calling and he joined them from 1997 to 1999 and while in WCW he became a member of the L.W.O as well as got a clean pin fall victory over Scott Hall in a short lived storyline. Once let go from WCW in 1999 he returned to AAA and worked their as well as a few dates for Impact and had a big feud with Heavy Metal, Latin Lover and Perro Aguayo Jr. for many years. But he once more left AAA to this time return to CMLL in 2005 that allowed him to have his star keep rising in Mexico and also let him wrestle in New Japan! And always a Luchador on the move in 2011 he left CMLL and started working for Perros del Mal Producciones the federation he would stay with until 2012 when he was forced into retirement due to being diagnosed with lung cancer. After his death Hector Garza was inducted into the AAA Hall Of Fame and has left a massive legacy in the world of wrestling. In his time in wrestling he had won multiple titles in many companies like AAA, CMLL, Luca Libre Azteca, Perros del Mal Producciones and many more.

# 32

Villano V
Started: 1976      Companies: WCW & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

WCW strikes again as they are how I first saw Villano V as well as his brother and partner Villano IV, and while they both were skilled workers it was Villano V that was my favorite of the team! Before he was named Villano V he was Rokambole and worked the indies as well as being trained by his father and brothers who where known as The Villano’s and he had to earn his number in the family. And by 1983 he had earned the name Villano V and along with his brothers worked for many promotions like CMLL, AAA, UWA and IWRG before he and his brother Villano IV landed jobs with WCW in 1996 were they were used not only in the growing cruiserweight division but as well as the tag team division as they were perfect rudos, but sadly they were used as enhancement talent their whole run.  When Villano IV was injured and out for a time Villano V was used as a jobber but would become a member of the L.W.O! Villano V would leave WCW in 2000 after being let go and would return to Mexico and would work for the likes of CMLL and would even have a retirement event in “2013” that was not truly a retirement match as shortly after the event he was taking bookings and still does to this day. Over his long career he has won many bet matches, belts and tournaments and is one of the best rudos as he is so unlikable and wrestles dirty. While he lacks the flash of so many other Luchadors on this list his pure rudo ways is what made him one of my favorites to watch.

# 31

Ciclope/Halloween
Started: 1990     Companies: WWE & AAA       Active: Yes      Seen Live: Yes

Ok let’s get this out of the way now, Ciclope was the renamed Halloween for when he came to WCW during the Cruiserweight boom of the late 90’s, and his in ring skill and his spooky Horror themed character is what made me a fan…plus seeing him live also helped make me a fan. Halloween started his career in 1990 and worked for the Indies up until 1996 when he was hired by WCW to grow their Cruiserweight division and was called Ciclope and was used on the undercard and booked against the bigger names in the division to help get them over and his lackluster run came to an end in 1999. Working the indies after his WCW run, he would lose his Ciclope mask in a bet match and would quickly go back to his Halloween character and would then lose Halloween mask in a bet match causing him to paint his face like a Jack-O-Lantern. While working the indies for many years and having matches for companies like FCW, XPW and USA Pro Wrestling before landing at CMLL in 2002 teaming with Damian 666, Rey Misterio Sr., Nicho el Millonario and valet Lady Victoria as “La Familia de Tijuana” to become one of the biggest rudo stables at the time and would be off and on with CMLL until around 2009. And by 2010 he was working with AAA and would be apart of a few big matches and by 2012 he left and would end up in IWRG, but Halloween would still do matches for AAA and would stick around for awhile before just going back to the indies. Halloween while not as well known around the world like so many Luchadors before and after him, he is a true icon of the ring and a good worker who should get more respect. Halloween also cannot only work the Lucha Libre style but can also work the Hardcore style. Over the years of wrestling besides the name Ciclope he has went by Rocky Boy, Cyclope and Elvis Gonzalez.

# 30

Dr. Wagner Jr.
Started: 1985     Companies: CMLL & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Dr. Wagner Jr. is a true legend in Lucha Libre and has had so many great feuds and matches over the years with one of my favorites being the one he had with Blue Demon Jr. in 2019 that even lead to Dr. Wagner Jr. losing his mask! I first saw Dr. Wagner Jr. matches on grey market VHS Tapes I would buy off Ebay and at conventions and also over the years have watched his matches in AAA and man I must say he is super entertaining and I would even say at one time he was Lucha Libres best rudo going! Like everyone, after training to become a Luchador he worked the indies in 1985 going under the name El Invasor for a short amount of time before taking the name Dr. Wagner Jr. in 1986 as his father was of course Dr. Wagner! After a terrible accident that left his father in a wheelchair, Dr. Wagner Jr. signed with UWA (Universal Wrestling Association) in 1987 and would be one of their top stars until they had to partner with CMLL in 1993 and this allowed Wagner Jr. to work their and captured belts and even more attention from the fans. Dr. Wagner Jr. was so popular that when facing tecnico’s the fans would cheer him as he was a rudo! This would also lead him to have matches in Japan with New Japan Pro Wrestling and helped build his legacy is wrestling. But in 2009 CMLL and Wagner Jr. split ways and he would end up at their rival AAA and he would become a major player for them until 2013 when he left to travel the Indies for a short time and then would go on to have matches in CMLL and they back on and off with AAA up until 2020 were he retuned to the indies. And who knows when Dr. Wagner Jr. will show back up in CMLL or AAA, but one thing is for sure wherever he goes he will be one of the biggest Luchadors in the federation.

# 29

Atlantis
Started: 1983      Companies: CMLL & New Japan     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

One of CMLL’s biggest and most iconic Luchadors in modern time is Atlantis who has spent almost his whole career with them as one of their top draws and most respected stars. In 1983, he started working for many indie feds in Mexico, but by 1994 he was signed to CMLL and quickly rose through the roster to became one of the company’s main draws who was placed in many big matches, won so many belts including the CMLL World Light Heavyweight Championship twice as well as a number of tournaments and bet matches. He would also travel for CMLL and have matches in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Michinoku Pro Wrestling! While spending almost his whole career as a Tecnico, he has turned Rudo before adding more layers to his legacy, and giving fans more passion to see what Atlantis was up to. Like all classic Tecnico Luchadors, Atlantis has also been the main characters in films as well as had action figures made of him, in fact one of his figures is in my living room right now! While his in ring career will be winding down soon, you cannot deny that Atlantis is truly one of Mexico’s most legendary Luchadors of the ring.

# 28

El Solar
Started: 1975     Companies: UWA & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

One of the greatest Luchadors who was a great mat wrestler as well as a submission artist is the legendary El Solar who is still wowing fans in his 60’s. El Solar is an amazing Luchador who I have had the honor of watching live in the ring as well as chatting with at a Rockstar Pro Wrestling event, and it was such a great moment for me as well as my friend Jason Young. El Solar started in 1975 and worked the indies as well as for UWA where he would stay up until the promotion closed even winning many titles as well as being apart of groups and high profile matches. In the dying days of UWA, El Solar would also go and work for AAA and oddly they would change his character to El Mariachi and this was a very silly move.  When he left AAA, he would join CMLL and as well become El Solar again and would be a star for them up until around 2000 when he would once more head back to the Indies of Mexico as well as America from time to time and even wrestled for the very short lived MTV2 and Hulu wrestling federation called “Lucha Libre USA” and would be joined by the likes of Lizmark Jr. and Super Crazy. While El Solar is working the indies still to this day he still makes some appearances for AAA and IWRG and locking his place in Lucha Libre history. El Solar is a master of his art and his art in classic Lucha Libre mat wrestling with skillful submission moves. A True legend and one that I feel you should go and see if he is in your city before he retires.

# 27

Silver King
Started: 1985     Companies: WCW & CMLL     Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

Silver King was another of the Luchadors that I was introduced to thanks to WCW and was also able to see live in action because of them and he was pretty damn great in the ring! And when in 2019 I heard of his passing, it was a sad day as he was such a great wrestler and one I also enjoyed watching. Silver King started his career in 1985 working the indies as El Invasor for a short time before becoming Silver King who originally wore a mask and landed working for UWA and during this time he mostly worked the undercard but did have a bet match against El Hijo del Santo where Silver King lost his mask! Once unmasked, the fans got to see that he was in fact one of Dr. Wagner’s sons and that means Dr. Wagner Jr. is in fact his brother! But becoming unmasked helped him rise up the card and with a stable he called Los Cowboys and along with tag partner El Texano they won the UWA Tag Team Champions and well as Tag Champs for WWA and these wins let them be part of the NWA World Tag Team Championship Tag Team tournament that was held at WCW’s Clash Of The Champions XIX, they lost in the first round to the Free Birds. In 1994 he left UWA and ended up working for CMLL as well as had matches in IWA in Japan, but when WCW came calling in 1997 Silver King signed on to help try and build the growing Cruiserweight division, but sadly like many of his fellow Luchadors, he was used at enhancement talent and would stay on the mid-card level with his big claim to fame being a member of the L.W.O. He was let go by WCW in late 2000. Once leaving WCW he would go back to CMLL and would also work New Japan Pro Wrestling under the Black Tiger character he would stay with them until 2006 as by 2007 he quickly had a run in All Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2008 he would go to AAA and have a very big run and would win the AAA World Tag Team Championship once and would find himself in many high profile matches. In 2018 Silver King would leave AAA and start working the indies up until his death in 2019. I also want to alert you readers that Silver King also played Ramses in the 2005 film Nacho Libre that stared Jack Black. During his time as a wrestler Silver King also went by the names Silver King 1, El Bronco, Silver Cain, Dr. Wagner Jr. and a few more.

# 26

Puma King
Started: 2006     Companies: CMLL & AAA     Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Puma King is a Luchador I have gotten to see live in action at Rockstar Pro Wrestling as well as got to film is promo for the event, and this guy is a great talent! Puma King started his in ring career working the indies as well as for IWRG and got the call from CMLL in 2008 and would team with his older brother Tiger Kid and would mostly be used on the undercard, he would however be involved in many tournaments as well as bet matches. Puma King would leave CMLL in 2018 and would quickly sign with AAA and by doing this he is also able to work for the Indies as well as take matches in such federations as Impact, IWRG, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and MLW to name a few. Thus far in his career he has won some tournament and bet matches and captured gold once in CMLL when he won the Occidente Light Heavyweight Championship! Plus in 2019 he won the Impact World Cup Of Wrestling for Impact Wrestling with his partners Psycho Clown, Aero Star and El Hijo del Vikingo as they defeated the team of Sami Callihan, Fallah Bahh, Eli Drake and Eddie Edwards! Puma King is also the son of Luchador legend El Felino and being only in his early 30’s still has lots of time to climb the ranks of Lucha Libre and capture more gold.

# 25

Lince Dorado
Started: 2007      Companies: WWE & Chikara     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Nowadays the WWE show 205 Live is a shell of what it was, but when it started for me it was must see TV as they had so many great and talented workers on the roster and one of my favorites was Lince Dorado! Like all wrestlers and Luchadors starting out, Lince started his in ring career working the indies and would sign with Chikara in mid 2007 and would work for them as well as many other indie promotions over the years like Dragon Gate USA, IGNITE and even had a tryout for Impact. Lince would work for the indies up until 2016 as that year he would be signed to WWE as part of their Cruiserweight Division and help get their new show 205 Live off the ground to showcase the wrestlers who weighted 205 pounds or under. Lince would get title shots for the Cruiserweight title during this time but was mostly booked on undercard matches and was sadly hardly on TV at times. His big break came in 2018 when he joined Kalisto and Gran Metalik and they became the stable known as The Lucha House Party and they would go from 205 Live to being featured more and more on Raw and later Smackdown putting Lince on the main roaster. While he and Gran Metalik are still teaming and they are used as undercard talent, I for one am always a mark to watch them in action. Thus far in WWE he has only won the 24/7 Championship once, but during his career in the indies he has captured may titles as well as tournament wins. A solid working and a skilled Luchador it’s a shame WWE does not know how to book Lince Dorado right.

# 24

Alberto Del Rio
Started: 2000     Companies: WWE & CMLL      Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

Alberto Del Rio was a Luchador that could have been the guy who in the 2010’s that could have brought American mainstream a big star from Mexico and could have been the next Rey Mysterio or Eddie Guerrero if only his backstage attitude did not stink so bad! I was a fan of Alberto’s when he started working in NXT and was brought up to the main roster of WWE as he had a great Million Dollar Man meets JBL gimmick with a Latin flare! Alberto started his Lucha Libre career in 2000 fast track working for AAA and while there he was also making appearances in Japanese promotions all the while gaining in ring skills he worked for the likes of All Japan and Pro Wrestling Zero1 and for all promotions at this time he was going by Dos Caras Jr, but in 2002 he left AAA and in 2004 he left the Japanese promotions. He also in 2003 would try his hand in big time MMA and would have a few fights in Pride, both he would lose. In 2005 he would sign with CMLL and would become a major star for the company and would win the companies World Heavyweight Championship as well would win the 2006 La Copa Junior tournament. But he would leave CMLL in 2009 when he got a contact with WWE who would send him to FCW for matches before also having him wrestle on the main roster shows Raw and Smackdown in Dark Matches and House Shows. And at first they allowed him to wear his mask but quickly they unmasked him and Alberto Del Rio was born who was a rich Mexican aristocrat who would drive expensive cars to the ring and had his own ring announcer for a time named Ricardo Rodriguez and quickly climbed the ladder and became a main eventer and even would win the WWE Champion, the World Heavyweight Championship as well as big matches like the Royal Rumble and the Money In The Bank ladder match. But a bad attitude and a physical altercation with an employee after a bad racist joke lead to his firing. He would then head back to Mexico and sign with AAA in 2014 and would become a main eventer off the bat and even would win the AAA Mega Champion! But AAA was not the only promotion he started working for in 2014/2015 as he also worked for World Wrestling Council, Wrestle-1, Ring Of Honor, World Wrestling League, Lucha Underground and all these federations pushed him as a main star…but all those companies would be left behind in 2015 when he resigned to work for WWE again and on his first night back he would win the United States Championship from John Cena at the Hell In A Cell PPV, and this would also lead to him to be apart of a group called The League Of Nations along with Sheamus, Rusev and Wade Barrett…but this run would end almost as soon as it started as he would quit in 2016. He would end up working for Impact Wrestling in 2017-2018 and was booked as a main event and even won the GFW Global Championship while there, he was fired from Impact when he no showed a big event. And after this Alberto worked the indies up until 2020 when a legal issue halted his in ring career. While Alberto seems like a very terrible person, his in ring work was always something I enjoyed when watching WWE, and that’s all I have to say as his out of wrestling life would give him a negative rating on here. During his time in the ring he also went by some of these names El Patron, El Dorado and El Hijo de Dos Caras to name a few. Again need to stress it sucks that his out of control life is overshadowing his work in the ring.

# 23

Psycho Clown
Started: 2000     Companies: AAA & CMLL     Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

For me the best Luchador having the clown look is Psycho Clown, and I feel also that he is one of the biggest draws for AAA right now as he is super popular with the youngsters as well as the adult Lucha Libre fans. Psycho Clown started his Lucha Libre career working for the Indies up until 2003 when he signed with CMLL and this only lasted a short time as he was used on the lower card and was still very green and needed more training. By 2006 he had left CMLL and by this time as well he had already had two in rings names Brazo de Plata Jr. and Kronos and joined AAA who by 2007 rebranded him Psycho Clown and had him join a new stable they were creating called “Los Psycho Circus” that would over the years have such members as Monster Clown and Murder Clown and this was a big break for Psycho Clown as this stable became a draw and placed him in many big matches! And in 2015 this also allowed Psycho Clown to become a main draw wrestling single and would lead to many bet, tournament and title wins in AAA as well as their partner companies like Impact Wrestling. Hands down Psycho Clown is one of AAA’s most popular Luchadors and it would be great to see him wrestle in AEW or even WWE (as long as they leave his character and mask alone) and he surly will be in AAA’s Hall Of Fame once he retires. Check out his matches as many can be found on YouTube.

# 22

Super Crazy
Started: 1988      Companies: ECW & WWE       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Any one who grew up watching ECW knows the name Super Crazy and also WWE fans should know him as he was on the roster for years! I am a Super Crazy fan as he can wrestle the Lucha style as well as can do hardcore matches and his matches with Tajiri in ECW were legendary! Super Crazy started his wrestling career at the age of 14 in 1988 and worked for many indie federations like UWA and would sign with AAA in 1996 and was a mid-carder that would also get a few WWE matches per the talent trade the company had, Super Crazy would leave AAA in 1997 and would start working for Promo Azteca and would also still make some appearances on WWE TV as apart of their Light Heavyweight Championship tournament. In 1998 Super Crazy signed with ECW and quickly became a fan favorite and was placed in many great matches with names like Tajiri and Little Guido and became a mainstay and star for them up until 2001 when ECW went out of business. So starting in 2001 Super Crazy floated around the Indies as he would wrestle for companies like CZW, XPW, IWA, ROH, New Japan, Impact and even did a few matches in AAA! Finally in 2005 WWE signed him to a contract and had him appear on their ECW One Night Stand PPV and then placed him in a stable with Psicosis and Juventud Guerrero called The Mexicools and once the team was broken up in 2006 Super Crazy started a singles run on the mid-card. Super Crazy would leave WWE in 2008 and would make his return to the Indies and would became a draw and even would go and have matches again for AAA, Pro Wrestling Noah, All Japan Pro Wrestling and NXL. Super Crazy over the years also performed under the names Histeria, El Locco, Super Virus and Super Loco.

# 21

Espectro Jr.
Started: 1974      Companies: Indies      Active: No     Seen Live: No

Ok this is a hard one as several Luchadors have played the gimmick of Espectro Jr. over the decades as hell there are several working the Indies in Mexico and America going right now! But I could not leave him off my list as over the years I have found myself watching matches of this Luchador from all generations on YouTube. And while AAA owner Antonio Pena played Espectro Jr. it’s Jose Elias Pinceno version that has always got my attention. And this one is super hard to track down his history as its seems at times they all get mixed together so its almost impossible for me to due his write up justice, so what I am going to do here is talk a little about why Espectro Jr. has captured my attention all these years. First off he has a Horror gimmick as he is like a spirit and at times would even come from coffins at the start of his matches, he had a classic Lucha Libre style and when wrestling Rudo he was great as fans hated him. His green and black mask for some reason reminds me of the Halloween season and the masks grinning smile is perfect for this type of character. Espectro Jr. also has a legacy as I have said before so many other wrestlers have taken the name or some sort of variation of it. One part of history I would like to share is that in 2007 Espectro Jr. lost his mask in a bet match to Blue Demon Jr. and that Jose Elias Pinceno is now unmasked, and that he is also the Nephew of the original Espectro. Also look up Espectro Jr. matches on YouTube as they have many of his matches on there from all the Luchadors using the name.

# 20

Pierroth
Started: 1984     Companies: CMLL & AAA       Active: No     Seen Live: No

I first learned about Pierroth via WWE when he was an entrant in the 1997 Royal Rumble and for some reason my brother for years always talked about pin fall victories he had over random wrestlers (ones he never did) and would do so in the voice of Gorilla Monsoon. But because of this over the years I have seen many of his matches on grey market VHS tapes as well as now on sites like YouTube. And I have to say Pierroth is a legend in Lucha Libre and one that helped a younger me really become a fan of Luchadors. Like all who start out in the biz Pierroth would work the indies for a short time starting in 1984, but by 1985 and while at the start he was on the lower card and only working from time to time he rose to the top of the card pretty fast and also started his path of capturing titles for the company. By 1995 Pierroth left CMLL and signed with AAA and was a star from the start and of course would capture titles and be put into high card feuds. While working for AAA they had a talent exchange with WWE and this allowed him to wrestle for them on Monday Night Raw as well as make an appearance at the Royal Rumble, but by mid 1997 he would leave AAA and would do a short stint on the Indies before going to IWRG and would be their first Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship and would also start wrestling for WWC in Puerto Rico that was run by Carlos Colon and he would stay working these two federations until 1999. Pierroth would then sign back with CMLL and would stay with them until 2008 and was of course was a main eventer and was in big feuds. Sadly Pierroth suffered a stroke in 2008 and forced him to retire from the ring. It’s shocking that AAA has not placed Pierroth in their Hall Of Fame yet as he deserves it for all the years of hard work he has done in the world of Lucha Libre not to even all the titles he has held. A true legend Pierroth is and one that I owe lots to when it comes to making me a fan of Lucha Libre. During his time in the ring Pierroth also went by the names Pierroth Jr. and Comandante Pierroth.

# 19

Gran Metalik
Started: 2005     Companies: WWE & CMLL       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Gran Metalik is in my opinion one of the best Luchadors under contract to WWE and is a superstar I am looking forward to seeing live at an event when they come around. I first became aware of Gran Metalik when he was part of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic Tournament and quickly became a fan. Gran Metalik started his Lucha career in 2005 and worked very shortly for the indies before becoming apart of CMLL’s roster and quickly made his way up the card and became a main-eventer and was given big profile matches as well as many title belts! Gran Metalik was a mainstay at CMLL and was one of the companies big stars for many years that was until he left them in 2016 to join the WWE as apart of their new rebirth of the Cruiserweight division. But before he was a WWE Superstar while working for CMLL he was also working for New Japan Pro Wrestling off and on for many years and was making a name in Japan for himself as well, he would work for them from 2010-2016. When first in WWE he was pushed as one of the best Cruiserweights and Luchadors in the world and was called “The King of The Ropes” by the announcers, but as time went on he was shown less and less on TV as well as was losing matches to less skilled workers on the roster. Just like Lince Dorado when he became a member of the group Lucha House Party in 2018 he received a short-term push before becoming an undercard member of the roaster once more. WWE bookers have zero clue how to use Luchadors and it’s a shame as they have so many talented workers on their roster that are being misused and not used at all. Gran Metalik thus far has used the following names as well Plata II, Metalik and Mascara Dorada.

# 18

Konnan
Started: 1987      Companies: AAA & WCW       Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

Konnan is another of the Luchadors that I knew about thanks to WCW who showcased him for many years in the company even making him member of such groups as The Dungeon Of Doom and nWo Wolfpack! And one thing you have to give Konnan lots of credit for is the fact he is the one over the years that has gotten his fellow Luchadors work in companies like WCW and ECW. Konnan started his career in 1987 and got his first major indie gig with UWA and quickly he would be in many high profile main event matches that would lead him to working for CMLL as well as a few matches for WCW in 1990 and while also working dates in Japan he got a call from the WWE who wanted to sign him on to play a costumed character called Max Moon, and after a few tryout matches and was apart of the WWE. In 1991 while also still working for CMLL Konnan would loose his mask in a bet match against Perro Aguayo, he would also be the first ever CMLL World Heavyweight Champion as the company was originally called EMLL. In 1992 Konnan left CMLL to join AAA and would also leave WWE as many in the company did not like his bad attitude and when he started no showing events that was the final straw, but his time in AAA was during a big boom in Lucha Libre and he became super popular and was a major draw in Mexico. In 1995 he started working for ECW for a short time and even helped co-promote an event that had both AAA and ECW wrestlers together. But in 1996 WCW came calling and he would be booked strong at first winning the United States Championship before loosing it and being forced in the silly Dungeon Of Doom stable for a short time, but when in 1997 they put him the nWo and his popularity and WCW run would kick into full gear and during his WCW run he would win some titles as well as join the group “Filthy Animals” and team with rapper Master P! But in 2001 WCW went out of business and Konnan would head to work for the indies and even wrestled for XPW, World Wrestling All-Stars and this would lead to him working for Impact Wrestling in 2003. While working for Impact he would also sign back with AAA in 2004 and was a featured wrestler in both being involved in the main event spotlight and in Impact even fourmed the LAX group. And these two federations were he would stay working now as a manager and taking a back stage role. During his time in the ring he has also went by the names Conan The Barbarian, K-Dogg, El Centurion, Latin Fury, Max Moon and Konnan The Great to name a few. While I am not a super mega fan of Konnan I do respect his hard work in and out of the ring, I mean at one time he was called the Hulk Hogan of Mexico!

# 17

El Canek
Started: 1972      Companies: AAA & CMLL       Active: No     Seen Live: No

When you think of legendary names in the history of Lucha Libre, one of the names has to be El Canek as he is on my list at least and should be on yours! I first heard of El Canek thanks to WWE when he was apart of the AAA talent exchange and he wrestled a few matches for them including a three-man tag at the 1997 WWE Royal Rumble as he teamed with Hector Garza and Perro Aguayo, and later I went on to buy a Grey Market VHS tape off Ebay that had many of his matches on it as I was a fan of his from seeing him in action. Also its awesome to see a bodybuilder from that time be a Luchador! El Canek started his career in 1972 and worked for the indies for a year before wrestling for CMLL and started his build to be a main-eventer in Lucha Libre as he would be featured in many high profile matches. By 1975 El Canek would leave CMLL and would join Universal Wrestling Association and this is were he would become the legend as he was in many big feuds, won many titles, got the attention of the NWA was sent to New Japan Pro Wrestling and would even win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship a total of 15 times and would even defend the title after the company went out of business in 1995! While working for UWA he was also sent to CMLL for another run in a talent exchange and would become a staple at their events as well placed in major matches with big time feuds, this would last until 1994. But in 1995 he would start working for AAA and during this time as well he would make appearances at WWE events due to a talent exchange, and during his time in AAA he as well was a main event star and was in many high profile matches and would even win the “Rey de Reyes” tournament. El Canek would leave AAA in 2003 and would then find himself at IWRG and even CMLL again off and one for years and would even have a small return to AAA in 2013 and worked for some indie federations over the years! During his career he has also gone under the names El Universitario, Kanek and Principe Azul. Make sure to go to YouTube and watch some El Canek matches.

# 16

Cibernetico
Started: 1992     Companies: AAA & WWE       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

WWE strikes again as thanks to them and the 1997 Royal Rumble is how I first discovered the Luchador known as Cibernetico who had a crazy neon and black mask and almost a 80’s Metal vibe to him, and over the years I have always kept up on his career. Cibernetico started his Lucha Libre career in 1992 working for UWA as he was a student in their training gym, and his bodybuilder background helped him stand out at the events he was featured at. While in UWA he started out as a tecnico but by the companies closing he was a rudo and was being built to be one the companies top! When UWA closed down for good in 1995 he found himself going to AAA and would have a very long a successful run with them finding himself the winner of many titles and was featured as a main event star! He would also work a few matches for WWE during this time starting in 1996 through 1997 as apart of AAA’s talent exchange adding more to his growing fan base. In 2004 Cibernetico would lose his mask in a bet match against La Parka! Cibernetico would stay in AAA until 2008 when he would leave for a year and start working for the indies in Mexico before landing back in AAA and having another long run and big matches and feuds before leaving again in 2015. That same year he would start a short run working for Lucha Libre Elite and would become the companies inaugural Heavyweight Champion, he would leave them in 2017. His last major run was in 2018 when he returned to CMLL for a quick time. Cibernetico is awesome and not only is a popular Luchador but has also appeared in his own comic book as well as was featured in a Mexico Burger King ad! I should also note that it stinks they took the mask off him in 2004 as his mask was very cool.

# 15

Fenix
Started: 2007     Companies: AAA & AEW       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Fenix is a Luchador that I had not only the pleasure of seeing wrestle live at Rockstar Pro Wrestling but also was able to film with for a un-finished episode of the Horror Host show I do called Baron Von Porkchop’s Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre. He is a super talented Luchador and a super nice person and if you ever have the chance to see him wrestle, go and do it! Fenix started working the indies in 2007 and was quickly signed to AAA in 2011 and was quickly put into big matches as well as feuds as the fans seemed to really be behind Fenix, and while working for AAA he was also working dates in Japan in federations like Pro Wrestling Noah. AAA would also lead him to work for Lucha Underground starting in 2014. But things would end for his AAA run in 2016 and this would allow Fenix to work the indies in Mexico and America as well as a few in Japan. Fenix was building a huge name for himself around the world and was being said that he is one of the best Luchadors going today! In 2018 Fenix would find himself signed to many major wrestling federations and working them all around the same time as he would work for Impact Wrestling, MLW, CMLL and would return to AAA and once more was a main eventer and a big attraction for each showing just how popular he is. In 2019 he was signed to AEW and is currently working for both AAA and AEW and is a major star in both. Fenix this far has captured gold in many of the places he has worked as he has held belts for AAA, Impact, Lucha Underground, MLW, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and Pro Wrestling Revolver to name a few. He also has used the names Rey Fenix, The King, King Phoenix, Fenix el Rey and Mascara Oriental.

# 14

Essa Rios
Started: 1994     Companies: WWE & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Essa Rios is a Luchador that I became a fan of in 1997 when he was brought into the WWE as apart of there Light Heavyweight division going under the name Aguila and later in 1999 he would go under the name Essa Rios.  He was a high flyer in the world of giants, plus he was the man to introduce the WWE Universe to Lita as she was his manager! Essa Rios started wrestling in 1994 and worked the indies in Mexico before getting a contract with WWE in 1996, wrestling under a mask and called Aguila he was a featured highflyer in the growing Light Heavyweight division. By 1999 the repackaged Aguila and unmasked him and started calling him Essa Rios and partnered him with a female valet named Lita. Essa would capture Light Heavyweight title, and sadly after losing the title he would find himself falling down the card and being used as enhancement talent and by 2001 he was no longer working for WWE. But while gone form WWE he quickly found work in AAA working for them from 2001 to 2008 and was a semi main-eventer who also got to work a few matches for Impact due to a talent exchange starting in 2004 and this would only be for a year. Essa would leave AAA in 2008 and would take a little time off as well as working a few Indie dates, but in 2010 he would sign with CMLL and would an upper card roster member used in some great storylines and put in some bigger matches. He would stay with CMLL until 2017 as he would return to AAA that same year and stay for a bit, before heading back to the indies. During his run in wrestling Essa Rios has also went under the names Aguila, Mr. Agulla and Papi Chulo. While he might not be a household name, he still is a great worker who has captured many belts and has entertained for many years in the ring.

# 13

Damien 666
Started: 1985     Companies: WCW & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Once more I have to pay respects to WCW for introducing me to Damien 666 as he was you guessed it apart of the Cruiserweight division boom of 1996! And because of WCW, I was also able to see him live at a Saturday Night tapping and have followed him in the indies. Damien started in 1985 and was working the indies as well as places like WWA and in 1991 he was signed to FMW in Japan and learned the Hardcore wrestling ways and would be a mid-carder and a favorite for fans to watch, during this time he as well would work a few matches for AAA. His run in FMW would end in 1996 and Damien 666 would find himself in America and doing a very short run for ECW, and in 1996 is also when WCW came calling and Damien 666 was added to the Cruiserweight division and was used on the undercard as well as an enhancement talent, he would never hold any belts in WCW but did become a member of the LWO. Damien’s WCW run would come to an end in 1999 and along with Halloween they become the tag team “Mexico’s Most Wanted” and work the indies as the team and would even be featured on XPW and would win the federations Tag Team titles. In 2002 Damien would sign with CMLL alongside Halloween and they would be in major programs and would became draws, Damien 666 would leave CMLL in 2008 and would then find himself in AAA and once more was pushed up the card and became a rudo star for them, he would also work a few matches for IWRG at this time. Damien 666 would capture the AAA World Trios Championship before leaving AAA in 2012 and would wrestle for IWRG for awhile and then would return to the indies were he is at currently. Damien 666 in his career has also went under the names Caballero 2000, Ultraman 2000, Ultraman II, Amigo Ultra, Damien and Galaxy. When Damien retires from the ring he should be remembered not just for his Hardcore Wrestling but also his Lucha Libre style.

# 12

El Felino
Started: 1987     Companies: CMLL & AAA      Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

El Felino is a Luchador that I knew about thanks to wrestling magazines as well as grey market VHS tapes, in fact the first Arena figure I ever bought was El Felino that I got for the Horror convention Cinema Wasteland. El Felino is awesome in the ring and when masked his look was fantastic and very eye catching. El Felino started in 1987 and worked the indies as well as UWA and in 1989 he got the call to go to CMLL and became one of the companies biggest stars and was placed in many major matches and feuds and would capture many belts during his run, and he was truly one of the most loved tecnico’s for CMLL! Shockingly El Felino left CMLL in 1999 and signed with AAA for a very short run in the main event scene teaming with his brother Heavy Metal. Less than a year away El Felino signed back with CMLL and once more was pushed as a big star and would go from tecnico to rudo and back again and would even loose his mask in 2004 in a bet match he lost to La Sombra and who is known now as Andrade in WWE. El Felino continues to work for CMLL and still to this day is a main draw! I also would like to say for a short while he also used the name Babe Casas. If you are a fan of Lucha Libre, I am sure you know who El Felino is and I am sure you know just how iconic and great he is, and if you don’t look up some of his matches and give them a watch.

# 11

Mil Mascaras
Started: 1963      Companies: WWE & WCW       Active: Semi     Seen Live: No

One of the biggest names in Lucha Libre history is Mil Mascaras, the Luchador that is know by the nickname Man Of 1000 Masks who is a true journeyman in the sport. At a very young age I knew who Mil Mascaras was due to his film career as well as his classic matches in WWE as well as his work in WCW. I would always cheer for Mil in his matches as he was a true superstar of the ring and is an icon and WWE Hall Of Fame member. Mil started his career in 1963 and worked all over the world as he would have stints in All Japan Pro Wrestling, WWE, International Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Council, WCW, WWA, Legacy Wrestling Enterprises among so many others and he was a trail blazer and brought the Lucha Libre highflying style to American fans and lead the way for all those that followed in his foot steps. The thing about Mil is that he never stayed in a federation long enough for him to become stale, and this made him stand out and really feel like a big attraction when he is on a card in the main event. Over the years Mil has also has his fair share of critics has he has been legendary hard to deal with for promoters and fellow wrestlers alike, but while this may be true you can never take away just how great Mil is in the ring and all the barriers he broke in American wrestling.

# 10

El Hijo del Santo
Started: 1982      Companies: CMLL & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

El Santo is hands down the biggest name in Lucha Libre history, and his son El Hijo del Santo is on the path to be just as iconic and respected as his father. El Hijo del Santo is a Luchador I learned about via wrestling magazines, grey market VHS tapes as well as his comic books and movies. El Hijo del Santo started his in ring career in 1982 working for the indies of Mexico and would spend much of his very early career working for WWA and UWA and by 1983 he started working some matches for CMLL and during this time he was quickly a draw and main eventer, and not just cause who his dad was but because he had great in ring skills. Through the 80’s he had many big feuds against the likes of Espanto Jr. and Negro Casas. In 1997 El Hijo del Santo made his first tour of Japan working for Universal Lucha Libre making a name for himself outside of Mexico and in 1992 he started working for AAA and had some amazing matches with the likes of Octagon, Eddie Guerrero and Art Barr. In 1995 after having some creative issues with AAA, he would go to CMLL and during his run for the first time El Hijo del Santo would turn rudo and would even have bloody matches against El Dandy.  The rudo turn helped CMLL draw big money and over time El Hijo del Santo would turn tecnico and become one of the company’s top stars up until he left in 2004. In 1998 El Hijo del Santo also had a small run working for WWE as apart of their very short-lived Super Astros program that features Lucha Libre and WWE Cruiserweight stars. El Hijo del Santo then started working for the indies and would even start booking his own shows in Mexico as well as even England and his fame was at an all time high! And still to this day he wrestles all over and is a true icon of Lucha Libra. Lucha Libre has so many amazing talents and El Hijo del Santo is one of them, and to be honest I would love to see his own son who is wrestling under the name Santo Jr. to work for the WWE and have some great matches with their current NXT talent. I should also note that El Hijo del Santo has also wrestled under the name El Korak when he first started.

# 9

Vampiro
Started: 1984      Companies: CMLL & AAA       Active: Semi      Seen Live: Yes

I first learned about Vampiro via a CMLL action figure that was at a dollar store in Sugercreek, Ohio back in the early 90’s and then read more about him in the pages of wrestling magazines and then became a huge fan of his when I got to see him wrestle in WCW both on TV and once live! Vampiro is one of those Luchadors who has been all over and everywhere and started working in 1984 for International Wrestling out of Canada as an enhancement talent and would stick around the indies for a while. In 1991 he would head to Mexico and started working for CMLL who originally hired him to be a silly character, but his looks and limited move set for some reason got over with the fans and he found himself climbing up the card very fast. He would find himself in many bet matches as well as would be in tournaments as well as getting title shots! While working for CMLL he has would be working some dates for UWA as well as working matches in Japan. In 1996 he would leave CMLL and work dates for AAA, IWRG and Promo Azteca but would return in 1998 to CMLL before getting his big break in America. You see Vampiro got the call to come to WCW in 1998 and was used as a mid-carder who would have feuds with some of the companies big stars like Sting, Steve “Dr. Death” Williams and would even be in teams with the likes of Raven, The Great Muta and musicians The Misfits and ICP. When WCW went out of business in 2001 and was purchased by WWE his contract was not picked up and he found himself heading back to Mexico and working for CMLL as well as taking matches in other federations like World Wrestling Council, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, Xtreme Pro Wrestling and would continue to work some of theme even after leaving CMLL in 2005. From there Vampiro would sign with AAA and work on and off for them until 2020 and while from their he would also work for Lucha Underground, Wrestling Society X, CMLL and Juggalo Championship Wrestling and every place he has gone Vampiro is a star! It’s crazy that WWE never signed him as I would have loved to have seen him feud with the likes of The Undertaker, Kane and even Mankind. While not what you would think of as a Luchador to me Vampiro is a great one who has been one of my favorites sense I was a teen. Vampiro has also went by the in ring names Vampiro Canadiense, Casanova, Gene Anderson, Ian Richards, Vampiro Casanova and a few more.

# 8

Eddie Guerrero
Started: 1986      Companies: WWE & WCW       Active: No     Seen Live: Yes

For many when you ask the question “Who Is The Best Luchador Ever” they will quickly say Eddie Guerrero and to be fair they are not wrong as he really was one of the best. I first knew of Eddie thanks to WCW and even ECW and followed him all the way up until his death as he was hands down one of the best minds and workers to step foot into the ring. I mean who else could make lying, cheating and stealing look so cool? Eddie started in 1986 working for the indies but was quickly picked up by CMLL in 1987 and was a popular Luchador to watch and would even work a few WCW matches as part of a talent exchange, but in 1992 when AAA was created he left CMLL to join them. While working for AAA he was a big star and would also work a few dates for New Japan Pro Wrestling and would be placed in many big matches for AAA. But in 1995 he would head to America and wrestle for ECW and would have some of the companies best technical and fast paced matches against the likes of Dean Malenko and 2 Cold Scorpio. But that same year WCW came calling and signed Eddie to a contract that would see him become a mid-card attraction and would win some titles as well as be apart of groups like LWO and the Filthy Animals. But after years of being misused and held back by aging wrestlers worried about their spots on the card Eddie would leave WCW and sign with WWE in 2000 and would appear with other wrestlers who left WCW for the same reason and those wrestlers were Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn and they became known as The Radicalz! Eddie would become injured at the start of his WWE run but would came back fast and become a future wrestler feuding with the likes of The New Age Outlaws, Chris Jericho and X-Pac and would have an angle that he was in love with Chyna. But in 2001 he was fired from WWE when he was battling addiction and was arrested for drinking and driving. Eddie would start working Indie dates in 2001 and worked for ROH, WWA and New Japan Pro Wrestling and was proving that he was still as talented as ever and was getting himself clean. Eddie would get a second chance in WWE as they resigned him to a contract in 2002 and he would be put into a team and later a feud with his nephew Chavo Guerrero as they were called Los Guerreros. After this Eddie became a contender for the belts and would end up winning the WWE Champion in 2004 by beating Brock Lesnar! And even after losing the belt he stayed a contender and a main event draw up until his death in 2005. While Eddie is gone he will never be forgotten, as he truly is one of the best Luchadors and Wrestlers to ever walk the Earth. Eddie in his career also used the names Black Tiger, Mascara Magica, El Caliente, Gory Guerrero Jr. and Eddy Guerrero.

# 7

Pentagone Jr.
Started: 2007      Companies: AAA & AEW       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No 

Pentagone Jr. for me is the best modern day Luchador working in Mexico and America today as he can wrestle the rough Lucha Libre style as well as a very bloody hardcore style his hardcore matches with Sami Callihan and OVE in Impact Wrestling was some of the best things in wrestling at the time. Plus whenever Pentagone Jr. is in a match, it’s must watch TV for me as you know you’re in for one hell of a good match. Pentagone Jr. started in 2007 working the indies in Mexico and would get his first big break in 2010 when he signed with AAA and started out as a mid-card attraction and with hard work and sky rocketed up the card winning big matches and would win some belts as well as worked for Lucha Underground, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla and worked the Indies building his name and showing the world how good he really is. Pentagone Jr. would leave AAA in 2017 as they two sides clashed over creative ideas and freedoms. After leaving AAA he would still work a year for Lucha Underground and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as well as would work for other federations like MLW and Impact Wrestling with the later him really making a name for himself in America with. In 2018 he would return to AAA and once more was booked as a main draw and would also still work the indies as well as would sign with AEW and he is still working to this day in AAA and AEW and continues to wow fans with his style. In his career he has also wrestled under the names Zaius, Dark Dragon, Pentagon Dark, El Hijo del Cuchillo and Penta El Zero M to name a few. If he keeps it up Pentagone Jr. will surely be in many Hall Of Fames when he retires from the ring as his hard work is building a massive fan base.

# 6

La Parka
Started: 1982      Companies: AAA & WCW      Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

La Parka is a Luchador that I discovered thanks to WCW and their big boom of hiring Cruiserweights for their budding division. And La Parka was one that became a favorite of mine due to his awesome mask and fun loving yet hard hitting style and even got to see him wrestle live a few times in WCW. La Parka started his in ring career in 1982 wrestling and would wrestle under his real name as well as the names El Gringo, El Asesino de Tepito, Principe Island and Invasor del Norte and would travel the indies up until 1992. AAA started in 1992 and it’s here that La Parka was born and quickly became one of the company’s biggest draws even though he was a Rudo! He would also have many big matches during this time and was even apart of the WCW and AAA event called “When Worlds Collide” in 1994. He would also capture gold winning the Mexican National Light Heavyweight title and holding it for over 200 days! La Parka would also appear on ECW while still working for AAA as apart of a talent exchange. La Parka would leave AAA in 1996 and would sign with WCW and would become a mid-card attraction for the booming cruiserweight division, and would later be called the Chairman of WCW as he would bring a chair to the ring and play it like a guitar and even dance around it! He also became a member of the LWO and was treated as a comedy character in the late 90’s. La Parka would leave WCW in 2000 and was let go by the company alongside many of the other Luchador talent. La Parka would start working the indies after being let go and still does to this day working for the likes of X-LAW, MLW and many more. In 2003 LA Parka now under the name L.A. ParK signed with CMLL as he had to change his name as AAA would claim the trademark in Mexico for the character’s look and name and would be a draw from them as well as he was involved in high profile matches as well as held many titles. La Parka would leave CMLL in 2008, ending a good run that helped build his legacy. In 2010 he would have another run in AAA and would feud with the company’s La Parka on who was the real deal that lead to a match to see who would be known as La Parka…they both ended up able to use the name in the end but him still using the L.A. Park name for AAA. He would leave AAA in 2013 and by 2014 would be back in CMLL for a very short appearance run and was let go by CMLL in 2015 for violating their rules of crowd treatment. L.A. Park would stick working for the indies until 2018 when he once more started working for AAA and he is still with them as of this update as well as still working the indies. L.A. Park or the original La Parka if you will is an icon of Lucha Libre and will surely be placed in a Wrestling Hall Of Fame in Mexico as well as America when retired from the ring.

# 5

Blue Panther
Started: 1978      Companies: CMLL & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Blue Panther is a legendary Luchador who is a true journeyman who has wrestled all over Mexico and America and is one that I discovered thanks to the grey market tapes that I got off Ebay when I was a teenager and he became one of my favorites of classic Luchadors. Blue Panther started his in ring career in 1978 working the indies and made a name for himself very quickly and by 1981 UWA came calling and worked his way up the card as a Rudo and by 1984 won his first title with the company, and he would become a major draw for them up until left in 1990. In 1991 he would have a very short run for CMLL and was one of the company’s top rudos and would capture some gold as well was the one who unmasked The Love Machine in a bet match, and the world seen Art Barr was the man under the mask. By 1992 Blue Panther left CMLL for AAA and this would have him turn tecnico and he as well was a draw for AAA as fans and his fellow Luchadors respected his skill in the ring, and he of course would win titles, be involved in big matches and even feuded with Art Barr once again when he jumped companies. He would be with AAA up until 1997 and then would go back to CMLL and work for them still do this day along with his son Blue Panther Jr. and would become a true legend with them as he would win titles and compete in bet matches and sadly lost his mask in 2008 when he lost a match to Villano V! Even during this time Blue Panther was taking some indie bookings and even would go on to open his own wrestling school in the 1990’s and has been responsible for many great Luchadors like Texano Jr., Ephesto and Cynthia Moreno to name a few. Blue Panther is awesome and if you get a chance make sure to watch a few of his matches and see his classic style, hands done one of my favorites.

# 4

Juventud Guerrera
Started: 1992      Companies: WCW & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Juventud is a Luchador that I first saw in ECW but became a fan of when seeing him in WCW as he was one the of top Cruiserweight stars and had a super fast and highflying Lucha Libre style! In fact while at a WCW Saturday Night taping at Hara Arena is Dayton, Ohio while waiting in line for a drink Juventud came out of a door and cut in front of me in line to grab a drink! Even cutting me off in line Juventud thanked me and for the cut and went back through the door, it was funny and awesome. He is the son of Lucha Libre legend Fuerza Guerrera and sadly he had a falling out with his father many years back. Juventud started his wrestling career in 1992 working very briefly the indies but was really a star for AAA right off the bat and he was pushed to the stars and was in a very epic feud with Rey Mysterio Jr. for the AAA Welterweight Title as they would pass it back and fourth. While wrestling for AAA he would also appear in early 1996 at ECW events and by mid 1996 he left AAA and signed with WCW as apart of their blooming Cruiserweight division. Juventud was pushed as one of the breakout stars by WCW and even would win the Cruiserweight title for the first time in 1998 beating Ultimo Dragon and he would hold it off and on a few times as well as always be a contender. In 1998 he would also loose a bet match in WCW to Chris Jericho causing him to lose his mask! Juventud would go on to join groups like LWO and The Filthy Animals and would even be in the film “Ready To Rumble” showing that he was one of the Luchadors they were pushing. In 2000 Juventud was let go from WCW due to an incident at an overseas tour that involved drugs. Once gone from WCW Juventud decided to do a small world tour and took matches in companies like XPW, AAA, Impact, FWA, CMLL and Pro Wrestling Noah building he name value even more and allowing fans from many federations to see him in action. But in 2005 the tour ended as he would sign with WWE and was teamed with Super Crazy and Psicosis to become the team known as The Mexicools and they would go for the Tag Titles as well as The Cruiserweight Championship. But in 2006 Juventud was let go from WWE for not listening and doing banned moves in a match. After his WWE run he would return to work the indies were he is still working to this day as well as had a number of short burst runs in AAA and remains one of Lucha Libres most popular Luchadors and a draw for indie promotions. It’s crazy that Juventud is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame and who knows once he retires from the ring maybe they will put him in as he deserves to be. Juventud over his career also wrestled under the names El Hijo de Fuerza Guerrera, Fighting Youth and Fuerza Grimm.

# 3

Blue Demon Jr.
Started: 1985      Companies: NWA & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: No

Blue Demon Jr. is one of the most iconic Luchadors who is still active today and is a draw for any company that brings him in as he is a true journeyman as well who has wrestled all over the world. Blue Demon Jr. is one that I first discovered on grey marker VHS tapes that I got off Ebay when I was a youngster and became a major fan of, and give that fact I was a fan of his father Blue Demon it was a no brainer that Jr. would become one of my favorites. I even got to meet Blue Demon Jr. once at a Monster Bash Convention and while we had a language barrier, he was a super nice Luchador. Blue Demon Jr. started his Lucha career in 1985 working for the indies and building his own legacy that would go alongside his father’s, be was a draw almost right off the bat and would even have a few matches off and on for major Mexican promotions just bringing fans into the matches. In 1996 he would sign with AAA and would be a major draw and would have some big high profile matches. He would stick around AAA until 2001 and then he returned to the indies and being a journeyman and not until 2008 did he sign with NWA and became the companies first Mexican and Masked wrestler to hold the NWA Heavyweaight Championship as well as was running his own company called NWA Mexico. He would stay around in the NWA until 2010 and then would go to Pro Wrestling Revolution and would win their Heavyweight Title and would even team with his biggest rival El Hijo del Santo to win the Tag Titles! He would stick around until 2013 with Pro Wrestling Revolution and by that same year he signed back with AAA and has become a major draw for them in many high profile matches including an amazing feud with Dr. Wagner Jr. that set the world of wrestling on fire. In 2014 while still working for AAA he also started working for Lucha Underground and was there for a year and was one of the main focuses of that season. Blue Demon Jr. is still active as of this posts upload and his working for AAA as well as takes Indie bookings. A true legend of the ring and really is one of my favorite Luchadors ever to step into the ring.

# 2

Psicosis
Started: 1989     Companies: WCW & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Psicosis is a Lucha that I first discovered in the pages of wrestling magazines and finally seen him in action thanks to WCW who brought him in during the massive Cruiserweight boom. Once I seen him in matches I became a mega fan and would watch his old matches in Mexico and in ECW thanks to the tape trade market. I have also been very lucky to have seen Psicosis wrestle live both in WCW as well as in WWE and he is one of the best Luchadors I have ever seen live! Plus his mask is so awesome and he was one of the wrestlers I always played as in WCW/NOW Revenge on the N64. Psicosis started his career in 1988 under the name El Salvaje and worked the indies and by 1989 he would go under the name Psicosis and he was a rudo draw as he would have matches with some of the top upcoming stars like Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera as well as legends like El Hijo del Santo and by this time as well he was signed and working matches in AAA even showcasing his style at the 1994 pay-per-view “When Worlds Collide” given American fans their first look at him, and this lead to him making appearances in 1995 for ECW. In 1996 Psicosis would start working for WCW and would become one of the featured Cruiserweights and would be come the champion as well as would be a member of the L.W.O. and would even lost his mask in a bet match against Billy Kidman, though Psicosis had lost his mask in Mexico to Rey Mysterio Jr. before this but his face was not seen in WCW it was and he would wrestle unmasked for the remainder of his time there. In 2000 Psicosis was let go from WCW and would return very briefly to ECW and from their would wrestle for many federations like XPW, All Japan, World Wrestling All-Stars, Impact, CMLL as well as NWA. Psicosis who had to start wrestling under the name Nicho El Millonario due to AAA and him having rights issues over the name as they had given the name to another known as Psicosis II and in 2005 he returned briefly to AAA in order to battle for the name and even Super Crazy got involved in the feud for the name. But he would leave AAA that same year and would sign to WWE and would be teamed with Super Crazy and Juventud Guerrera and became a group called The Mexicools, but his run would be short lived as he was fired in 2006 due to legal issues. But he would not be out of work for long as he would have a year run in CMLL before signing back with AAA in 2007 and would once more be a featured rudo in many big matches. During this run he would also put the mask back on and wrestle as Psicosis again in Mexico, but by 2014 he was once more released from AAA. He would return to the indies and is still working for them to this day, but did have a very small run once again in AAA starting in 2016 and by 2017 he was gone again. Really if you are a younger fan of Pro Wrestling and Lucha Libre, make sure to watch some of Psicosis matches and make sure it’s the original as you will see why he is one of my all time favorite Luchadors.

# 1

Rey Mysterio Jr.
Started: 1989     Companies: WCW & AAA       Active: Yes     Seen Live: Yes

Ok I had to pick Rey Mysterio Jr. as my # 1 spot cause well he is Rey and a true legend of Lucha Libre as well as brought the Mexican style to a mainstream pro wrestling fan her in America. Rey Mysterio I saw first thanks to WCW and I have seen him live several times not only during his WCW run but also in his WWE one. He is one wrestler that I have always cheered for and even the short time unmasked I was still a fan, but I will say thank goodness for WWE being smart and putting the mask back on him…and shame on WCW for unmasking him. Rey Musterio Jr. started in 1989 working the indies of Mexico and by 1992 was signed to AAA and was becoming one of the biggest rising stars in Lucha Libre, he would even have matches in ECW while with AAA and Americans would get their first look at Rey in action. In 1996 Rey would sign with WCW as part of their growing Cruiserweight division that was bring together some of the worlds best in that weight class. Rey would be one of the biggest breakout stars in that division and would hold many titles from the Cruiserweight Title to the Tag Titles, would be in such groups as the L.W.O., Filthy Animals and the No Limit Soldiers, he would also be unmasked by Kevin Nash and would be one of the company’s biggest mid-card attractions. Rey would stay with WCW until it closed in 2001 and then would work for CMLL as well as the indies until 2002 when WWE came calling and Rey signed with America’s biggest wrestling promotion. Rey Mysterio Jr. from the start was a big deal in WWE as he had a major fan base and he would be in main event matches as well as win titles like WWE Championship, World Heavyweight Championship, Cruiserweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, United States Championship as well as Tag Team Champion with such partners as Eddie Guerrero and Rob Van Dam. He would also win the Royal Rumble and would have big matches with the likes of Kurt Angle, Matt Hardy, Eddie Guerrero, Shawn Michaels, JBL and so many more. Rey would leave WWE in 2015 and would take indie bookings as well as would return to AAA for sometime as well as took matches in Lucha Underground, New Japan Pro Wrestling. In 2018 Rey Mysterio Jr. would return to WWE and is still there as of this update and is working alongside his son Dominik and is a true WWE Legend and for sure will be in the Hall Of Fame when he retires. Rey Mysterio Jr. is an amazing Luchador and even after years of injuries as well as age he still can out wrestle almost all the youngsters in WWE today. Get the WWE Network and watch many of Rey’s older matches and see why he is my # 1. Rey Mysterio Jr. has also wrestled under the names El Nino, Colibri, Super Nino and Rey Misterio II.

This list was way harder to compile then I ever would have thought as many times while writing it and even getting it ready to post I changed the order of many of them. And it was tough to choose was going to be my number one as it went to Rey Mysterio but it also was so close going to go to Psicosis and even Blue Demon Jr. was considered for that spot! And to be honest I could have done a Top 100 as there is many other Luchadors that I am a fan of that didn’t make the list with the likes of El Zorro, Electroshock, Charly Manson and Dark Ozz to name a few and they could and should off if I had more slots on this countdown. Well for our next update we will be leaving Lucha Libre behind and will be once more taking a look at the world of Horror Hosting and will be talking about The Moon and Narrator who first hosted TNT Monstervision! So until next time, watch a Lucha Libre match or three, read a comic or two and as always support your local Horror Host! See you next time for some MonsterVision!

Kevin Nash The Master Of The Jackknife Powerbomb

Here on Rotten Ink we have covered some big men of the squared circle of Pro Wrestling like Andre The Giant and King Kong Bundy, and now I think it’s time we take a look at another as we step into the ring with Kevin Nash who hands down was one of the most popular wrestlers of the late 1990’s and through out the 2000’s in both WWF and WCW and even made his mark in TNA as being a main-eventer and a wrestler who put asses in the seats. Nash has been a very topical wrestler as some fans, critics and fellow wrestlers don’t like him and claim that when he was WWE World Heavyweight Champion, he was not a draw and that he was lazy and only knew a limited move set.  Others put him at the top of their favorite wrestlers and find his matches entertaining. Here on this update I will try and cover it all from his biggest match as Wrestlemania XI, to the Finger Poke Of Doom and even ending Goldbreg’s winning streak, it will all be covered! So once more lace up your boots and step over the top rope as we take a look at another big man of Pro Wrestling and the Image Comic based on him.

Kevin Scott Nash was born on July 9^th, 1959 in Detroit Michigan and had a pretty normal life besides sadly losing his father in 1968 from a heart attacks.  Kevin was only 8 years old. Nash was a great student and went to the University Of Tennessee where played center for the basketball team from 1977-1980 even making it to the NCAA Sweet 16, but his prankster attitude and clashes with authority took him out from playing for a fourth year. After moving to Europe and playing pro basketball for many years, he tore his anterior ligament, and this caused him to have to retire.  He took many other odd jobs overseas like 202^nd Military Police Company where he guarded a NATO facility, and back in the US he managed a strip club and worked for a Ford factory. Nash eventually decided to try and become a Pro Wrestler and was trained by Jody Hamilton aka Assassin # 2, and in 1990 Nash was able to get a job with WCW.

With grease paint on his face and an orange Mohawk, he became Steel and teamed with his partner Iron to become The Master Blasters that would spend a few months feuding with Mike Rotundo and Tim Horner. But Iron was not working out and was replaced by Blade, and the team was undefeated for a time making them a tag team to watch as they had the power and look.  Their first loss came by the hands of Tom Zenk and Brian Pillman. Even after the loss, they ended up getting a tag team title shot against The Steiner Brothers and would not be able to take the straps from the champs. By 1991, their push as a tag team came to a end and so did the tag team as Steel would now just be called Master Blaster and would have single matches against the likes of Brian Pillman and Junkyard Dog only to lose.

Master Blaster was gone by February 1991, and Nash would get the second gimmick of his career as he became Oz! As Oz he had a weird old man Halloween mask, silver hair, dressed in green, was managed for a short time by The Great Wizard and was based on the book/movie The Wizard Of Oz.  He was a powerhouse of power and made his debut at the 1991 Clash Of The Champions where he started his short undefeated streak…that was until The Great American Bash 1991 when he faced Ron Simmons, and after this loss he became a jobber for the wrestling stars like Dustin Rhodes, Rick Steiner, Bobby Eaton and Bill Kazmaier. And 1991 went that way for Oz, as what was supposed to be a big grand gimmick turned into a cheesy one that was used as enhancement talent. Rumor has it that Oz’s push came to an end over money, and it was also said that the whole gimmick was a rib (prank) on Nash to try to get him to quite WCW. I can remember watching that Clash Of The Champions when Oz premiered and thinking just how amazing his entrance theme was…while the gimmick was lame, it still is one I remember.

At the start of 1992, after Oz was sent packing back to the Emerald City, Nash got yet another change this time becoming a wise ass gambling mobster type named Vinnie Vegas who was quickly placed in the A Half-Ton Of Holy Hell stable along side Vader and Mr. Hughes and was managed by Harley Race. But as fast as this stable was created it was also disbanded a month later.  Vegas ended up going to the stable The Diamond Mine along with The Diamond Studd (Scott Hall) and Scotty Flamingo (Raven), and their leader was Diamond Dallas Page! This stable lasted for a short while, and after they broke up, DDP and Vegas formed a tag team named The Vegas Connection.  This lasted until Page was fired. Vinnie Vegas floated around for a while longer losing matches and being forced into teams with such wrestlers as Big Sky. But his luck was about to change as he had some powerful friends in the WWF, namely Jim Ross and Shawn “HBK” Michaels, and they pulled some strings so Nash was able to get out of his contract and his wrestling career was about to blow up! Kevin Nash’s first run for WCW saw him as an orange Mohawked goon named Steel, then the silver haired Oz and ended it being a parody of a mobster named Vinnie Vegas…say what you will about his first run characters, but they are what makes wrestling fun with their cheesy outlandish appearances. Check out below for pictures to see the evolution of Kevin Nash in WCW wave one.

Kevin Nash entered the WWF in 1993.  He grew out his hair and dawned black leather and became “Big Daddy Cool” Diesel, the bodyguard for Shawn Michaels.  The pair became Two Dudes With Attitudes, and he helped Michaels deal with good guy wrestlers who were looking to beat up on the Heart Break Kid. In the 1994 Royal Rumble, Diesel entered the Rumble at # 7 and lasted for 18 minutes and tossed out seven men that included Owen Hart, Rick Steiner, Bob Backlund and Billy Gunn. Over the months Diesel would win the Intercontinental Championship from Razor Ramon and with Shawn Michaels captured the Tag Team Titles from The Headshrinkers, making Diesel a double champion!! This was a short feat as he would lose the IC belt back to Razor, and after a tag match his partner, HBK landed a super kick to his chin, breaking them up.  They forfeited the belts and Disel was no longer his bodyguard.  This marked his turn from heel to face as the crowd began cheering Big Daddy Cool. Things were going great for Diesel as he would go on to win the WWF World Heavyweight Champion from Bob Backlund in 8 seconds at Madison Square Garden only three days after breaking away from Shawn Michaels. He would defend his belt and retain it via a draw against Bret “Hitman” Hart at the 1995 Royal Rumble that would see Shawn Michaels winning the Rumble and getting a title match at Wrestlemania XI that we will go more in detail about a little later in this update. Diesel would hold the belt for a little while and would defend it against the likes of Sycho Sid and Mabel.  He would also reform his friendship with Shawn Michaels, and they would go on to capture the tag team titles again and with HBK also being the intercontinental champ, the pair held all of the major titles! But this time at the top was coming to an end as he and HBK lost the tag titles to Owen Hart and Yokozuna on a technicality and Diesel would lose the WWF World Heavyweight Champion on November 19 1995 to Bret “The Hitman” Hart as Survivor Series.  With this loss, Diesel turned heel again and had matches against the likes of The Undertaker and Bret Hart and would leave the WWF after WrestleMania XII losing to The Undertaker and jobbing at house shows before his contract expired. Kevin Nash’s first WWF run lasts from 1993-1996, and while many would say he was a low drawing champion, he certainly made his mark in the promotion’s history with multiple title wins and some classic matches as both a face and a heel.

With WWF owning the rights to the in ring name Diesel and not wanting to return as Vinnie Vegas or Oz, Nash made his return to WCW on the June 10, 1996 episode of WCW Monday Night Nitro when he joined his pal Scott Hall (formally Razor Ramon) to form the invading tag team known as The Outsiders and simply went by his real name Kevin Nash! You see WCW was now going head to head with WWF on Monday Nights, and the storyline at first acted as if WWF had sent the pair over to cause chaos and to bully their talent. But after the WWF threatened to sue them, the storyline changed that they were just there to take over WCW and they had a mystery partner waiting to come out and help with the takeover. At the PPV Bash At The Beach, Kevin Nash along with Scott Hall teamed with a mystery partner to take on Sting, Macho Man Randy Savage and Lex Luger, and it was soon revealed that Hulk Hogan was the mystery partner.  The world of pro wrestling’s biggest face turned heel, and so began The New World Order (n.W.o).  Kevin Nash would become one of the biggest draws for the company winning the Tag Team Title as well as the World Heavy Weight Title and would have feuds with the likes of The Giant, Lex Luger, Rey Mysterio Jr., Goldberg.  Nash became one of the company’s biggest draws and flipped many times from being heel to face and back again. Not only was he a part of The Outsiders and n.W.o but also was the leader of the n.W.o Wolfpac, which had such members as Sting, Lex Luger, Macho Man Randy Savage and Konnan. Nash was a staple of WCW Nitro and Pay Per Views and was always a main event attraction. And unlike his first run with the company, he held the cards and was able to control the creative control of his character and was making the most money of his whole pro wrestling career. But also during this time WCW was beating WWE in the ratings and almost put them out of business.  Kevin Nash was one of the pro wrestlers leading the charge of bringing in the ratings, but when the tide turned and the end started to come crashing down on WCW, they ended up the ones being closed and bought out by their rivals, and Nash sat out his contract instead of jumping onboard and joining the WWE for the Invasion storyline. Kevin Nash’s second run for WCW was a major success and lasted from 1996-2001. And while this tiny history lesson on his second run for World Championship Wrestling might not be 100% in detail, I suggest you do yourself a favor and get the WWE Network and watch old WCW events and live or in most cases relive the history of his run.

After WCW closed in 2001 and was bought out by WWE, many wrestlers who had long-term contracts with Time Warner had decided to stay home and not sign new contracts to wrestle for WWE during the WCW Invasion angle. Nash decided to stay home and collect his guaranteed money for the remainder of his contract and made his return to WWE in 2002 as part of the n.W.o alongside Hulk Hogan and Scott Hall who were also making their return to the company as part of Vince McMahon’s plan to poison his own company because he had to share the power of running it with Ric Flair…or so the storyline went. The n.W.o stayed around for a short time feuding with the likes of The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin and even Hulk Hogan as Nash and Hall turned on him after he lost his match at Wrestlemania X8 to The Rock. But a string of injuries left Nash out of action, and by this time Hall was let go from WWE.  The n.W.o was no more when he returned, and instead he was put into an angle that had two of his best friends Triple H and Shawn Michaels at odds with each other.  This lead to a feud with Triple H that gave him title shots that he was unsuccessful at capturing. His next major feud was with Chris Jericho, and his final match was in an Elimination Chamber match for the World Heavyweight Championship against Goldberg, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Randy Orton and Chris Jericho. Nash was the first to be eliminated, and after neck surgery, the WWE did not renew is contract making his second run with the company lasting from 2002- 2004.

After being let go and healing from his surgery, he went to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and made his debut along side Scott Hall to help Champion Jeff Jarrett retain his title at the 2004 PPV called Victory Road. Nash, Hall and Jarrett called themselves “Kings Of Wrestling” which lasted a short time until Hall left in 2005, and Nash wanted his shot at the title and turned on Jarrett to feud for the title. And just like before, Kevin Nash became a major draw for TNA and had matches against some of the company’s top talents like AJ Styles, Jeff Hardy, Monty Brown and Randy Savage. Nash also not only wrestled for them but also acted as an on-air character delivering comedy bits and showing his joker side. Nash had some solid matches, and his fans stood beside him during his time with the company that seen him as a member of such groups as The Band and Main Event Mafia and would have him in the spotlight in main events as well as helping push younger talent. Kevin Nash’s run for TNA was not as iconic as his time with WWE or WCW but it was entertaining and him being with them helped make them seem like a major player in the world of Pro Wrestling. Nash worked for TNA from 2004-2011 and from what Nash has said in interviews, his time there was just not a highlight of his career.

Kevin Nash as Diesel made his return to WWE on January 30, 2011 at the Royal Rumble as a surprise entrant and did not win. Nash was given a WWE Legends Contract and made appearances for the company off and on and had a few matches during his return most notably against Triple H who was feuding with CM Punk at the time.  Nash interfered in a match causing Triple H to turn on his friend who was trying to help him win. He would induct Shawn Michaels into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011, helped in NXT as a guest match commissioner from late 2012 to early 2013, entered the 2014 Royal Rumble and lost again as well as inducted his long time friend Scott Hall as Razor Ramon into the Hall Of Fame and made many more appearances on Monday Night Raw as well as WrestleMania. Kevin Nash himself was inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2015, and he still is under a Legends deal with the company as of this update. While his return to WWE might not have had him as a main eventer and had him in very little matches, it is nice that he is home in WWE, a company they he belongs in and who helped make him a household name.

Over his long career as a top draw in the world of Pro Wrestling, Nash has had his share of drama and moments that live on that anger some and entertains others. The first being that he was a member of a backstage group called The Kliq in WWF alongside Shawn Michaels, Razor Ramon, Triple H and 1.2.3 Kid who are said to have bullied talent and manipulated Vince McMahon into big contracts, screwing over other wrestlers like Vader, The Patriot and Shane Douglas, to name a few, from getting their proper pushes. When he left WWF on May 19 1996 at Madison Square Garden, Nash as Diesel on his last match in a steel cage against Shawn Michaels broke character at the end of the match when Diesel and Triple H who were “heels” hugged Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon who were “faces,” and this allowed people to see that Pro Wrestling was….you know the F word….I don’t want to say it as I have respect for what all wresters do to entertain and much like Horror Hosts I like to have the veil over my eyes. Lots of wrestlers would go on record and claim that he held them back from getting bigger pushes as he was worried about his spot at the top. He is said to have smacked Rowdy Roddy Piper in the face backstage in WCW in front of management and talent causing the legend to back down, breaking his tough guy image…or so Nash says. He is the man who many claim pulled strings to be the first to beat Goldberg in WCW, who was on the worlds longest winning streak in pro wrestling. Nash is the man who in WCW de-masked the luchador legend Rey Mysterio Jr.! Nash was considered to be very lazy by many dirt sheet writers who claimed Nash would put no effort in his matches in WCW and was handed titles due to his high-end contract. Many wrestlers and managers behind the scenes have had very harsh words about Nash and his attitude and ability like Jim Cornette, Matt Bourne, Ricky Morton, Ultimate Warrior and Bob Holly to name a few. But one thing he did in his career has been said to have been the final nail in WCW is the “Finger Poke of Doom” where Kevin Nash oversold a finger poke to the chest by Hulk Hogan to put the belt back on the Hulkster and start up their n.W.o friendship once again.  People saw this as once more being a lazy move and storytelling by Nash and the bookers. But say what you want about Nash and his mixed bag of popularity with fellow workers and critics, but this Pro Wrestling fan was always entertained by his matches and gimmicks, below is a gif of the infamous Finger Poke of Doom.

The build up to Kevin Nash’s biggest WrestleMania match was played out for almost a year before it happened.  It was between him and HBK, and their on and off again friendship had to come to a massive end and this match was to be it. Kevin Nash, as Diesel, had Pamela Anderson in his corner taking on Shawn “HBK” Michaels with Jenny McCarthy and Psycho Sid in his for the WWF World Heavyweight Champion at WrestleMania XI that took place on April 2, 1995 at the Hartford Civic Center in Connecticut. The match’s set up was Diesel was the champion, and he had to defend against his one time best friend Shawn for the final match of the feud as HBK had become jealous of the way the crowd was more behind Diesel.  He felt that it took the spotlight off him during their friendship. The match was the second main event of the PPV and was a back and fourth match that showcased Diesel as a powerhouse as well as made it clear that Michaels could hang with the bigger wrestlers in top main event matches. The matched ended with Diesel using his finisher the Jackknife power after about a 20 minute match that in the end had Diesel leaving with both Pamela Anderson and Jenny McCarthy and locked in as a true world champion. While this match would never be on anyone’s top 5 list of best WrestleMania matches, it still was a good solid match and was Kevin Nash’s best at the worlds biggest pro wrestling event.

Besides Pro Wrestling Kevin Nash has also found his calling in acting and has been in a number of TV shows as well as movies. His first movie role came in 1991 when he played Super Shredder in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret Of The Ooze”, with the next playing Quixo in the 1992 episode This Old House Of Mayan for USA Network show “Swamp Thing”! 1992 also saw him act in the TV show “Super Force” playing the characters Lau and Iau in two episodes. And 1995 saw him play a Male Phone Caller in the made for TV Film “The Weinerville Chanukah Special”.  In 1997, he had a cameo in a TV Show playing The Giant in the episode The Crucible on “Sabrina, The Teenage Witch” and later that year would play Jackhammer Guy in the film “Family Plan” and be an unaccredited character in the Indian film “Aar Ya Paar”. Nash played a character named Rocky Williams on a 1998 episode of “Love Boat: The Next Wave” and would follow that up with starring as The Big Easy in two episodes of the show “Nikki” from 2000-2001. One of his biggest roles in a film came in 2004 as The Russian in the comic book flick “The Punisher,” and this helped mark him as a true actor as he was praised by fans and critics for this role. This lead to roles in films like “The Longest Yard” 2005 remake, “Grandma’s Boy” the 2006 comedy, “DOA: Dead Or Alive” as Bass Armstrong that was as well released in 2006, 2011’s “Monster Brawl” and “Rock Of Ages” in 2012 to name a few. His next big role was as well in 2012 as he played the male stripper character Tarzan in the film “Magic Mike” and would reprise the role for its 2015 sequel. And these titles are just a drop in the hat as he has been in many other films as cameos and through out this year of 2017 is also on tap to act in all types of flicks. So not only did Nash conquer the squared circle he also made his mark in acting.

Kevin Nash as well as his ring name Diesel has had much merchandise made in his image and had made it into his fans and collectors hands. He has graced the covers of many magazines from WWF Magazine all the way to Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He has had VHS and DVD’s made about him, showcasing his “best” matches. He has had action figures made in his image by such companies as Toy Biz, Mattel and Jakks Pacific as well as has been on Pogs and Slammers, posters, t-shirts, video games and so much more! Growing up, my favorite Nash merchandise I owned was a long sleeve n.W.o Wolfpac shirt that I wore for years until bleach and age caught up to it. So of you’re a fan of Nash’s lots of great stuff is out in the world to add to your collection.

For as long as I have owned a video game system, some of the must-buy releases for me are wrestling games, and Kevin Nash has made many appearances in them with many companies from WWE all the way to TNA. The first game I can remember him in was “WWF Raw” that came out for Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis and a number of handheld systems, all made by Acclaim. I can remember him in two WCW games for the N64 “WCW vs. n.W.o: World Tour” that was released in 1997 and “WCW/n.W.o Revenge” that was released in 1998 and both released by THQ. For the Sony Playstation, I remember him in the 1998 game “WCW Nitro” as well as “WCW Thunder” that was released in 1998 as well, both made by THQ. Later on for Playstation and N64 I remember him in the EA games “WCW Mayhem” from 1999 and “WCW: Backstage Assault” released in 2000. From here Nash would show up in WWE games on the PS2 for the Smackdown series and has made many appearances in the WWE games made by THQ and 2K and has been on systems like Game Cube, WII, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. And he’s even in the most modern game WWE 2K17! Nash also was a part of the “TNA Impact!” game made by Midway and released on PS2, PS3, WII and Xbox 360. So as you can see, if you’re a gamer and a Nash fan, you can have him in your modern storylines in WWE 2K’s Universe Mode and maybe just maybe make him take a fall by the finger poke of doom!

As you can see, Kevin Nash has made his impact in Pro Wrestling, acting, video games and merchandise and even made his leap to comic books, thanks to Image Comics! Back in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, the wrestling boom caught the eyes of comic companies big and small, and many titles were made based on wrestlers like The Rock, The Road Warriors, King Kong Bundy, The Undertaker and more so why not give Kevin Nash his own comic series that had him act as a vigilante. I want to thank Dark Star and Lobe Star Comics for having these issues in stock, and the referee is wanting me to remind you all that I grade these on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, its entertainment value and its art and story. So let’s climb into the ring with the man who named himself Big Sexy and see if he can jackknife powerbomb himself into having a solid comic series. I want to also note that Image Comics released a preview issue for Nash that was nothing more than a write up and unfinished pages from issue # 1 so I decided to skip it for this review.

Nash # 1  **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #1 of 2

The world is coming to an end all thanks for a secret Cabal called The Citadel run by the evil Cyrus Storm who has made the worlds food supply run short and he and his goons are keeping the poor down and wanting them to die off! Citadel driver Seventeen is on a run when he finds some poor starving people and kills off the old woman and is about to kill her grandchild when Nash comes to the youngsters aid and makes a bloody mess of the driver. But even for the rich things are not all that well as Storm is in a power struggle with Minister Parch who’s food truck has gone missing! Storms daughter Tara takes the message that Parch and his men are going after the truck and are going to kill Nash who is out in the wasteland with the poor starving people. The Minister sends his right hand man Trax and a fleet of airships and soldiers to kill Nash and this legend of the wasteland fights them all off and just when he thinks he has won the fight someone shoots him several times in the back, ending out first issue on a cliffhanger as the shooter is in the shadows and Nash has been wounded bad.

The first issue of Nash will take you by surprise as not once is it said that he was once a Pro Wrestler and in the comic he is more like Mad Max as he wanders the wasteland and wants to help the weak and poor while sticking it to The Citadel. The underline plot of the comic is a statues war as the rich who are all members of a church have all the water and food while the normal low income people are forced to live in the wasteland a place were no food will grow and water is contaminated. The only hope for the poor is Nash a man whom the powerful fear and the weak idolize. Nash in the comic is a man who is trying to do the right thing but his macho ego still makes it hard for him to connect to those he is helping, he also loves the ladies and seems to 100% knows how to defend himself and will get as brutal as he needs to be. The Citadel clearly are people who crave the power over others and use their God as a way to justify their terrible deeds of killing and looking at the poor not as humans but as bugs that need to be exterminated. I kind of like the fact that they have not touched on the fact Nash is Kevin Nash from WCW and superstar of Pro Wrestling as this makes Nash’s violent acts more believable as well as fitting in the world the story has created. Another thing I like about this issue is that it has some bloody moments from an old woman taking a shotgun blast to her guts all the way to Nash blowing up the head of one of his enemies and each kill shows blood and slight gore! The things that don’t work for me as a reader is the fact the story seems very cookie cutter and seems like writers Kevin Nash himself and Marat Mychaels rented a bunch of Post Apocalyptic movies from Blockbuster Video and took elements they liked and mashed them together like potatoes on Thanksgiving. The art done by Marat Mychaels is ok but has that 90’s dated look and is in the style of early Image Comics. Over all this issue was a fun way to kick off the series and makes me wonder how they are going to wrap it up in one more issue? So with that lets see what they have in store for us in issue # 2 and who the man is that shot Nash in the back.

Nash # 2   **1/2
Released in 1999     Cover Price $2.95     Image Comics     #2 of 2

Nash has a few slugs in his back and it was Trax who shot him and as Nash is about to embrace death his enemy turns on his own men and kills them! Trax tells Nash that he can only die when he allows it and that he himself is trying to gain power and will take down Minister Parch when he is ready. As Trax returns back to the city Nash and the poor come together to become an army and try and fight back against The Citadel and as they are on the move Tara Storm in a warship beams Nash up and informs him that he can end all this fighting and killing if he would just forget about the poor and join them once more and be a warrior for Storm! Nash turns down her offer and once placed back down with the poor people he decides that he needs to have sex with many of the women in the group, only to wake up and find almost all of them dead besides one who is an assassin for Minister Parch and has been hired to kill him! Nash and the female killer fight back and fourth and this leads to the young boy he saved in issue one being killed and Nash in a rage kills the female killer and promises that he is going to bring Minister Parch down once and fore all.

This second issue was suppose to lead to an issue three that never came to the light and left the story of Nash vs. The Citadel unfinished and questions never answered. The story this time around has Nash learning that Trax wants to be a player in ruling this new world as well as finds out that Tara Storm loves him and wants him to rejoin The Citadel and ends the issue having to kill a female killer who has been hired to kill him off in the name of The Minister. Nash in this issue is filled with even more ego and spends more time wanting to bang women than to protect and fight alongside the poor. It’s great as Kevin Nash once more was the co-writer and he in both issues has it that he is scoring with women and even that he has made it with Tara Storm the daughter of the series main bad guy! But while this is laughable bad that he would make himself a ladies man, it also is fitting for Nash and his style of humor. The female assassin is cold blooded and not only kills a few women but also kills a young kid all the while doing these acts in a tank top and panties, silly! Trax as well is cold as ice as he guns down his own men in order to fail on his mission on purpose so that he can use Nash as a tool to upset Minister Parch who he wants to overthrow. One odd thing is that Nash is spoken about as if he is a legend and savior but in both issue people die around him and again he seems more interested in scoring than defending. The art is once more done by Marat Mychaels and looks just like last issue with that pure 90’s Image cheese look. It’s a shame that this series just ended before the full story could have been told as I wonder what Marat Mychaels and Kevin Nash had planned to bring The Citadel down….I am guessing that it just would have had Nash bedding ladies till he finally could power bomb Minister Parch through a table all the while Tara Storm and random women giggled about Nash being a legend in bed. I am sure I am not to far off on my guess, but it really would have been nice for Image and Next Entertainment to have finished the story. This issue as well has some bloody moments and to sum it all up “Mad Nash: Beyond Wasteland Food Shortage Dome” as I have dubbed it was a fun read and took a Pro Wrestler and turned him into a comic book hero. Check out the art below to see the style this comic has to offer, and I would say if you’re a fan of Nash and cheesy end of the world comics you might want to give these two issues a read.

So while Kevin Nash might not have taken the comic shelves by storm like he did the world of Pro Wrestling, it’s still very cool that he added his touch to series based on wrestlers. But it’s time to leave the wrestling ring and step back into the world of Horror Hosts as out next update is one I am super hyped to bring to you. It will be about The Creeper, who hosted Moraine Playhouse Theater here in Dayton, Ohio via public access in the late 80’s! Until next time make sure to read a comic or three, watch a movie or two and support your local pro wrestling federation! Next update prepare to meet The Creeper as he is a true favorite Horror Host for this monster kid.

Horror Host Icon: Grampa Munster

The USA Network ruled the Horror Host market on cable TV in the 80s and 90s with shows like Commander USA Groovie Movies, USA Up All Night and USA Saturday Nightmares, but cable networks TBS and TNT (both owned by Ted Turner) were not going to allow them to dominate that market unopposed when they started to air Super Scary Saturday on TBS and Monstervision on TNT, not to mention Dinner And A Movie that also aired on TBS. For this Horror Host Icon update, we are going to take a look at Grampa Munster, who hosted Super Scary Saturday and was the rival of Commander USA for a short while. Super Scary Saturday aired at noon on Saturday’s and was my source for seeing many of the Godzilla films for the first time as well as films like Willard, Ben and many of the Planet Of The Apes films that were made from the live action TV show.  This was another Horror Host show that I was glued to and always wanted to see what film he was showing by checking the local TV listings in the Sunday paper. So Beware and Be Scared as I am proud to bring to you an update I have been biting, I mean waiting, to do for years as I proudly present Horror Host Icon: Grampa!

In 1987 Ted Turner and his TBS Superstation decided to try their hand at Horror Hosting on Saturday afternoons at 12:05 to capture the attention of all the monster kids of the 80’s who were watching cartoons and needed a fix of horror and comedy and so Super Scary Saturday was born. Hosted by Grampa from his lab and surrounded by the TBS movie vault, this vampire would select a film, and along with his pals Slim the Skeleton and Igor the Bat, they would host the day’s movies. Sometimes on his show he would have guests appear to weigh in on the day’s movie and to add a little more fun and silliness to the show. Grampa would always seem to be so hyped that the viewers were joining him for the day’s movie and would howl with laughter and spew cheesy puns and would end the episodes with his catchphrase “Be There Or Beware.”  For me that was something I always looked forward to hearing him say. One thing the show always did was imply that Grampa was Grandpa Munster, but they never said it outright.  On one episode, they even had his Grandson appear, played by Butch Patrick who played Eddie Munster on The Munsters! The opening credits and theme for Super Scary Saturday are still something I remember to this day as the song had a scary, then upbeat tempo over credits of movie monsters popping up and making us viewers play the What Movie Is That From game and also would spark the “Oh Look It’s…” excitement. Grampa was one of those Horror Hosts, like Commander USA, Dr. Creep and Joe Bob Briggs, that made me look forward to watching TV, and like them, he always made me feel like he was not just a host on TV but also a long time friend who enjoyed sharing cheesy movies with me. Super Scary Saturday was not only the first way I saw Godzilla films but also many of the Hammer Horror films and such cult classics as Williard and the 1972 made for TV film Gargoyles. But like all good things in life, TBS cancelled Super Scary Saturday in 1989 and ended Grampa entertaining me on Saturday mornings. I should also note that Super Scary Saturday was the only Horror Host show from my youth on broadcast cable TV that would many times show reruns as well as would re-use segments for different movies, but say what you will about it, this show was very important to me in my younger days and still holds a very special place in my heart. So with that I want to say thank you Grampa and all the cast and crew that made this show possible, and thank you Ted Turner for making original Horror Hosting programs for all us Monster Kids of the 80’s.

One of my favorite episodes and one that stuck with me all these years is when Grampa hosted King Kong vs. Godzilla as not only do I love this terrible cheesy monster battle film but also because the skits for the episode were so fun that they are burned into my brain. This was also the episode that I can remember airing a few times and was also one that I recorded on an old Beta tape and watched it all the time. One of the major reasons I enjoyed this episode so much was also because it had guest NWA Pro Wrestlers Michael “P.S.” Hayes and Jim Cornette who acted as King Kong and Godzilla’s guest managers. The episode also treated the film like it was a build up to a big wrestling match and Grampa being all hyped up made me all hyped too! To this day it remains one of my favorite episodes and was a must have for me when I started to collect Horror Host shows. Below are some stills from that episode.

Al Lewis was born Albert Meister on April 30, 1923 in New York, New York, and for years his true past was a mystery as he told many stories and many of them have no records of being fact.  Lewis has claimed to have been born in 1910 and even has said to have a Ph.D in child psychology from Columbia University which the University claims to have no record of.  Al found that his true calling was in acting and entertainment as he worked in many burlesque and vaudeville theaters as well did a few shows for Broadway like “Night Circus”, “One More River” and “Do Re Mi” in the late 50’s and early 60’s. He made the move to TV and took roles in shows like “Decoy”, “Route 66” and “Naked City”, but his first major role came in 1961 with “Car 54, Where Are You?” where he played Officer Leo Schnauser but his most beloved role came in 1964 when he played Grandpa Munster in the hit CBS show The Munsters. He would go on to have a guest role on “Lost In Space” in 1967 and then made the move to movies and throughout the 60’s and early 70’s starred in such films as “Pretty Boy Floyd” and “They Might Be Giants,” not to mention he would reprise the role of Grandpa Munster in two movies “Munster, Go Home!” from 1966 and “The Munsters Revenge,” the 1981 made for TV film. One cool yet uncredited role he played was in 1974 when he played a hotel lobby guard in the film “Death Wish” starring Charles Bronson. Throughout the 80’s, he did many TV and film projects that included “Super Scary Saturday” in 1987 and the 1988 film “Married To The Mob”. Al Lewis also starred in a few horror films like “Fright House” from 1989, the kid friendly 1992 film “My Grandpa Is A Vampire” and his final film the 2002 flick called “Night Terror”. Besides acting, Al Lewis has also worked as a game barker at Coney Island, was in a video game for the Atari 7800 called “Midnight Mutants”, opened up not only a restaurant called Grampa’s Bella Gente but also a comedy club he called Grandpa’s On New Drop Plaza, both in New York. He also did some stand up comedy and was a favorite guest of radio shock jock Howard Stern. Al also ran for governor of New York in 1998 as a Green Party candidate, but sadly did not win….he did however have his own radio show on WBAI that was a political themed show. Al was married twice and had three sons, but sadly later in life he fell on poor health and had to have his right leg from the knee down amputated as well as his toes on his left foot due to complications from heart issues, and on February 3, 2006, he passed away of natural causes. Al Lewis and his legacy of entertainment will live on through his body of work, and I will always remember the way he, with many of his roles, made my young life a very fun time!

While Grampa was the main host of Super Scary Saturday, he had four sidekicks that made several appearances during the show’s run on TBS.  They were Igor his vampire bat assistant and the roller of the day’s film, Fang a blue fuzzy sharp tooth little creature, Slim a walking skeleton who was along for the fun ride of whatever Grampa had them doing that day for the show and lastly Deadrah a female mannequin who was created to be Slim’s girlfriend. Each sidekick had their own personality and each added something special to the episodes they appeared in. The most popular among me and my friends when we were kids was Egor as that bat was not only the projectionist but also was always trying to help Grampa or even one up him. Slim, his goofy and silent skeleton sidekick, has become my favorite now as an adult as he is always doing some silly gag from hanging himself to playing baseball all for a laugh. Poor Fang is the third sidekick who is almost always forgotten as this tiny little blue fur ball with a roar that could shake the lab always seemed to be a background player but was always nice to see in episodes. Deadrah as well is just a background player but helps add to the wacky cast of sidekick characters. While none of these characters had voices and would make noises, they seemed like real life creatures and each made their mark on this fun Saturday Morning program. Below is a picture of Slim, Fang plus Deadra, and like Grampa, I want to thank them as well for making my childhood rock!

Besides hosting movies on Super Scary Saturday, Grampa also hosted films on VHS tapes for Amvest Video that would have him standing in front of a cheap green screen and shouting at Igor to start the movie among other back and fourths. This tape series was part of what was called “Grampa Presents.”  The back of the box would also give his rating of the film, that was of course done with bats! Grampa was doing this video series in 1988 the same time Super Scary Saturday was still airing on TBS, and growing up I would have loved to have owned this video series as he hosted such cheesy movies as The Snow Creature, Creature From The Haunted Sea, The Ape and many Bela Lugosi films like The Corpse Vanishes that our good friend and fellow blogger The Northeastern Video Hunter covered here on one of his updates.

On March 22, 2014 at Horrorhound Weekend, as part of The Horror Host Hall Of Fame, Grampa Munster was inducteed in the 2014 class by none other than Baron Von Porkchop. This was a very surreal moment for me as I watched the host I helped create induct a host that not only entertained me in my youth but also was part of what inspired me to create a horror host show for the Dayton, Ohio market. As always, Baron Von Porkchop did great research on Grampa and was equally as honored as I was to induct such an iconic horror host and all around TV celebrity into the Horror Host Hall Of Fame. Baron’s speech went over well, and the audience gave him a nice clap and cheer for his speech.  Sadly with Al Lewis passing away, he was not able to accept the plaque but I am sure he was looking down from heaven with a cigar in his mouth and given that classic Grampa laugh.

So now we are at the point of this update where I will share write ups on the episodes I own of Super Scary Saturday from the Superstation.  This is one of the fun aspects of doing a Horror Host Icon update, getting to re-watch the episodes and remember back to when I first watched them on broadcast TV, or in some cases see them for the first time. I want to thank many people who over the years helped me get these episodes I am about to watch like Stumpy Disks, my brother Bryan, Kristy Langford and my friend Darren, all of whom helped made this important Icon update possible. So with that, pull up a seat in the screaming room and get a little taste of what Grampa and his show Super Scary Saturday offered us who watched him back in the late 80’s. As always, the episodes will be done in alphabetical order with the film’s plot being taken from IMDB and the show’s plot being written by me.  So stock up on your favorite plasma themed drink and let’s have some fun with Grampa.

Super Scary Saturday: Abominable Dr. Phibes
Starring – Vincent Price & Joseph Cotten    Rated PG-13    1971

Host: Grampa is in the Screaming Room and is very happy to bring you the day’s film because it stars Vincent Price as a crazed doctor.  He and Igor exchange some quick ideas for a dream day that includes fresh blood and pretty bat ladies. In between commercials, Grampa delivers cheesy jokes and puns that are sure to make you chuckle. In the end Grampa is very happy, and he and Igor break down the film’s deaths then invite us to join him next week.

Movie: Doctors are being murdered in a bizarre manner: bats, bees, killer frog masks, etc., which represent the nine Biblical plagues. The crimes are orchestrated by a demented organ player with the help of his mute assistant. The detective is stumped until he finds that all of the doctors being killed assisted a Dr. Vesalius on an unsuccessful operation involving the wife of Dr. Phibes, but he couldn’t be the culprit, could he? He was killed in a car crash upon learning of his wife’s death.

Super Scary Saturday: Back To The Planet Of The Apes
Starring – Roddy McDowall & Bobby Porter    Not Rated    1981

Host: This episode is a poor man’s hack job as the slob who taped it did his best to cut out all of Grampa’s opening and ending segments! I got a brief look at Grampa with a bag before it’s clipped. The episode has Grampa using a time machine and has him packing for his time jump as well as making all preparations for his trip to the past. And while sitting in his time machine, he turns it on and in a flash of the eye he is gone! Grampa makes it back to with a smile on his face and a laugh on his lips…and the recording stops.

Movie: Three twentieth century astronauts travel through a time warp and crash on Earth in 3085 A.D.. One of the astronauts is killed in the impact, and the two survivors, Alan Virdon and Pete Burke, find that they have returned to an Earth where their loved ones are long dead, where technological civilization has fallen, and where humanity is subjugated by intelligent, talking simians who live in jungle cities and preside over pastoral hinterlands. The two astronauts are captured by horse-riding gorillas (the ape army) and taken before an orangutan tribunal. They are deemed a threat to ape security and sentenced to death. The two condemned men are visited in their cell by a curious chimpanzee named Galen, who is fascinated by their accounts of an advanced human civilization centuries past. After Galen accidentally kills a gorilla and is charged with murder, Virdon, Burke, and Galen all escape the ape city and are fugitives hunted by a determined gorilla named Urko. Virdon manages to salvage.

Note From Matt: I almost left this episode off my update due to the terrible record job, but decided to add it because while it might not be a full episode and have only snippets of the opening and closing segments, it’s still apart of Super Scary Saturday’s legacy.

Super Scary Saturday: Ben
Starring – Lee Montgomery & Meredith Baxter    Rated PG    1972

Host: Grampa has a rat in the lab, and along with Igor and Slim, he is trying to rid the area of these pests.  Grampa builds the ultimate rat trap that would have had a weight drop and crush the rats, but instead he finds himself with a massive headache as he is the victim of the weight as it backfires and bonks him on the head. Grampa’s next plan is to use the Red Pages and calls The Piped Piper Rat Catcher service to come to the lab and get rid of his rat issue…..but sadly the episode is not complete and cuts off at the end of the film.

Movie: A lonely boy befriends Ben, the leader of a violent pack of killer rats.

Super Scary Saturday: Boy Who Cried Werewolf
Starring – Kerwin Mathews & Elaine Devry    Rated PG    1973

Host: Grampa is having a Blood Beach Party along with Slim, Deadrah and Igor and is enjoying the moon. He also sees his friends Mummy-O and The Invisible Man as they chill out on the beach. They use coffin lids as surfboards, and Grampa goes surfing alongside Slim and each try to out do each other to become king of the beach, and this causes Grampa to wipe out. They also relax and listen to the newest beach band called The Rolling Bones, and everyone on the beach lends a hand by playing a instrument or even just dancing as does the zombie babes who have joined the party. Grampa and his beach gang play one last song as the sun is about to come up, and they rock n roll their way to closing the show.

Movie: Richie Bridgestone (whose parents are divorced) goes to spend the weekend with his father at his secluded mountain cabin. During a moonlight hike, they are attacked in the darkness by a creature that he recognizes as a werewolf. During the struggle, the werewolf falls into a ravine and is impaled by a wooden fence, but not before biting his father. Upon investigation, they find their attacker to be human and the sheriff concludes their attacker was an insane drifter. He spends the rest of the film trying to convince his mother, and his therapist that his father is now a werewolf.

Super Scary Saturday: Day Of The Animals
Starring – Christopher George & Leslie Nielsen    Rated PG    1977

Host: Grampa is using his spell book to create a ghoulfriend for Slim who is having a hard time finding a date. Grampa uses all types of odd objects, from a hourglass to a dog’s bone and stirs them into a kettle pot and takes the liquid and pours it inside a crate onto a body.  While they wait for the ghoulfriend to wake up, Grampa selects the day’s movie Day Of The Animals. While we wait for the ghoulfriend to be awaken, Grampa, as always, entertains with puns and cheesy jokes, even holding a contest to have dinner with him and win his supply of noodles he created. In the end, Slim’s new ghoulfriend comes to life and the world gets their first look at Deadrah!

Movie: The depletion of the earth’s ozone layer causes animals above the altitude of 5000 feet to run amok, which is very unfortunate for a group of hikers who get dropped off up there by helicopter just before the quarantine is announced.

Super Scary Saturday: Dracula Has Risen From The Grave
Starring – Christopher Lee & Veronica Carlson    Rated G    1968

Host: Grampa along with Fang, Igor, Slim and his date are all in the Screaming Room as today they are going to watch old home movies and feel happy and reflect on the frienship they have had for many decades. Sadly, I am pretty sure the episode is missing the end segment.

Movie: When his castle is exorcised, Dracula plots his revenge against the Monsignor who performed the rites by attempting to make the holy man’s young niece his bride.

Super Scary Saturday: Frogs
Starring – Ray Milland & Sam Elliot    Rated PG    1972

Host: Grampa is in the Screaming Room and has tired blood, and when Igor drops an iron on his head, he thinks he might have an iron deficiency! Grampa is hyped for the day’s movie like always and later wants to work on something that will pick him up. Grampa creates a drink that includes sweat from the NWA World Champion, the protection eye glasses from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, a half eaten taco from Dom DeLuise and half a cup of bean sprouts…but he has the help of Slim who gives him Jack and the Beanstalk’s! Grampa drinks it and grows large and into a giant.  He needs help to shrink back to normal, and Igor goes to get help while Slim hides as Grampa is not happy at all. Igor brings a tailor from a Vampire tall and fat shop, who is no help at all, but on his own Grampa shrinks back to normal size and feels good and ready to prowl the his castle lab.

Movie: Jason Crockett is an aging, grumpy, physically disabled millionaire who invites his family to his island estate for his birthday celebration. Pickett Smith is a free-lance photographer who is doing a pollution layout for an ecology magazine. Jason Crockett hates nature, poisoning anything that crawls on his property. On the night of his birthday the frogs and other members of nature begin to pay Crockett back.

Super Scary Saturday: Gargoyles
Starring – Cornel Wilde & Bernie Casey    Not Rated    1972

Host: Grampa has an alarm installed on his casket and catches Slim in the act of trying to stake him through the heart! Grampa then tries to read some fan mail but soon finds that Egor gets double the amount he gets, but this doesn’t stop him from also introducing us to Fang, his new pet! Grampa also talks about how he and Egor have been friends with Gargoyles and that the day’s movie was really just a home movie they left for us all to watch. In the end Grampa is moon bathing, and Fang is cranky and hungry and thus ends another episode of Super Scary Saturday.

Movie: After receiving word about a mysterious carcass/skeleton unearthed in the Arizona desert, a father and his daughter decide to remove it from the burial grounds for further study. Once they do so, they, as well as the town, are besieged by a colony of gargoyles living in some nearby caverns.

Super Scary Saturday: Ghidrah
Starring – Yosuke Natsuki & Yuriko Hoshi    Not Rated    1964

Host: Grampa digs in the Superstation Movie Mausoleum and finds the day’s movie as he picks Ghidrah The Three Headed Monster and is very hyped to present it and has Egor run the film. Grampa comes back to deliver some quick jokes about the monsters from today’s film just to spice up those boring commercial breaks. By the end Grampa breaks down the highlights and the rules of the battle between Ghidrah as he took on Godzilla, larva Mothra and Rodan.

Movie: A princess from a small Himalayan country becomes possessed by the spirit of a Venusian (a Martian in the American version) and escapes a plane just as it explodes. As this happens a meteorite falls from the sky containing Ghidrah, the monster responsible for her planet’s destruction. At the same time, Godzilla and Rodan emerge from hibernation and not only attack Japan, but each other as well. Mothra, along with its twin priestesses, attempt to convince Godzilla and Rodan to stop their fighting each other and to team up to fight the new monster. At the same time, the princess is being hunted by a group of assassins who want to kill her so that her enemies can take over her homeland.

Super Scary Saturday: Godzilla
Starring – Raymond Burr & Akira Takarada    Not Rated    1954

Host: This is the first episode of Super Scary Saturday, and our host Grampa is so happy that we have joined him in the lab to watch the day’s movie! He goes to the Superstation Movie Mausoleum and digs around, passing on such films as Mommy Dearest and Death Wish, and finds Godzilla and is super hyped as it’s one of his all time favorites. Grampa sits in the screaming room and has Igor pour popcorn on his head as the movie starts. Grandpa hangs around and does a few silly puns in-between segments, and our first episode ends. I want to say that the last segment is missing from this recording.

Movie: Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships explode and are sunk. At first, the authorities think its either underwater mines or underwater volcanic activity. The authorities soon head to Odo Island, close to where several of the ships were sunk. One night, something comes onshore and destroys several houses and kills several people. A later expedition to the island led by paleontologist Professor Kyôhei Yamane, his daughter Emiko, and young navy frogman Hideto Ogata (who also happens to be Emiko’s lover, even though she is betrothed to Dr. Daisuke Serizawa) soon discover something more devastating than imagined in the form of a 164-foot-tall (50-meter-tall) monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now, the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan but the rest of the world as well. Can the monster be destroyed before it is too late, and what role will the mysterious Serizawa play in the battle?

Super Scary Saturday: Godzilla’s Revenge
Starring – Tomonori Yazaki & Sachio Sakai     Not Rated    1969

Host: Grampa is in the Screaming Room and is saying today’s movie is Monstermania and is the Wrestlemania of monster fights as Godzilla takes on all comers. Grampa also allows both monsters to give an interview (done by NWA Wrestlers) about how bad they are going to beat each other up! In the end Grampa interviews Godzilla live from the lab! Best part of Godzilla in the lab is that its a blow up toy!

Movie: Ichiro is a highly imaginative, but lonely, boy growing up in urban Tokyo. Every day he comes home to the empty apartment he shares with his railroad worker father and his restaurant hostess mother. His only friends are a toy maker name Shinpei Inami and a little girl named Sachicko. The only other kids that are around is a gang of kids led by a bully named Gabara. To escape his loneliness, Ichiro imagines that he is on Monster Island where he befriends Minya, the son of Godzilla. It is through his daydreams that he watches Godzilla and Minya fight other monsters, including one also named Gabara who is just as bad a bully as the one that is tormenting Ichiro. It is through these daydreams that he learns that it is okay to fight back and face his fears. These lessons also help him to outwit a couple of bumbling bank robbers as well as finally have the guts to stand up to Gabara and his gang.

Super Scary Saturday: Godzilla vs. Sea Monster
Starring – Akira Takarada & Kumi Mizuno    Rated PG    1966

Host: Grampa enters that lab cackling like a mad man and looks in the Superstation Movie Mausoleum and digs up some movies that just wont do until he finds the afternoons movie and its Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster! He also introduces us to the Egor-Cam a small camera that is attactched to his bat sidekick! Grampa also claims that this film is the best sports movie ever made! Grampa ends the show by showing highlights from what he calls the first ever monster tennis match and shares clips of the film with Godzilla and the Sea Monster tossing a rock back and fourth.

Movie: Some teenagers want to obtain a boat to find a brother. When they look around a boat without permission, they find a thief who takes them on his escape. They are caught in a storm and arrive at Letchi Island where natives of Infant Island have been enslaved by the terrorist organisation Red Bamboo. Red Bamboo runs a heavy water factory to process a juice which holds off the monster, Ebirah, which otherwise traps them on the island. The young men meet beautiful but tough Daiyo and wake up Godzilla to put an end to the Red Bamboo.

Super Scary Saturday: Island Of Dr. Moreau
Starring – Burt Lancaster & Michael York    Rated PG    1977

Host: Grampa is taking a trip down memory lane in the labs basement and is showing off items of his past like his first coffin and Blood Light a drink him and Slim use to guzzle down. He then shares that he was good friends with Dr. Moreau and drifts into memories of his past as Igor roles the days film. In the end Grampa is dressed in his old collage colors and gear and is pretty happy about his life and stays in the basement as he ends the show.

Movie: A ship-wrecked man floats ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean. The island is inhabited by a scientist, Dr. Moreau, who in an experiment has turned beasts into human beings.

Super Scary Saturday: King Kong vs. Godzilla
Starring – Tadao Takashima & Kenji Sahara    Not Rated    1962

Host: Once More Grampa is very hyped for the days film as it pits Godzilla against King Kong in fight thats as epic as Ric Flair vs. Ricky Steamboat and is truly the match of the centery! He also introduces the guests managers that has NWA Pro Wrestlers Michael Hayes in King Kong’s corner and Jim Cornette in Godzilla’s and each share why their monster will win the fight! Grampa inbetween commercials is still amped up the fight and is still filled with puns and site gags that he delivers with a smile. In the end Grampa shows highlights from the fight and Michael Hayes and Cornette argue on what monster really won the fight!

Movie: Mr. Tako, the chairman of a pharmaceutical company, learns the roma tomato-sized berries that grow on Farou Island are a miracle cure, and that the natives worship a god called King Kong who has allegedly grown to giant size from eating the berries. What better way to promote the product, Tako figures, than to bring the creature back to Japan? He leads an expedition with Sakurai and Furue to get the berries and the monster. Meanwhile, some American pilots discover the chunk of the glacier Godzilla was sealed in back in 1955. Sakurai’s sister’s boyfriend Kazuo is busy trying to sell an invisible but super-strong wire, which of course no one wants until Kong escapes.

Super Scary Saturday: Mothra
Starring – Furanki Sakai & Yumi Ito    Not Rated    1961

Host: Grampa enters the Superstation Movie Mausoleum and passes on films like “Body And Soul” and “Beat The Devil” and decides to select Mothra for the days movie but before he can fully start the movie he is attacked by Mothra who is flying around the castle! Inbetween the film Grampa delivers puns and jokes about Mothra being a big Moth. In the end Grampa chats about Mothra really being a good guy but he can forgive it for being a hero!

Movie: Shipwreck survivors are found on Beiru Island (Infanto tô), which was previously used for atomic tests. The interior is amazingly free of radiation effects, and they believe that they were protected by a special juice that was given to them by the island’s residents. A joint expedition of Rolisican and Japanese scientists explores Beiru and discovers many curious things, including two women only one foot (30 centimeters) high. Unscrupulous expedition leader Clark Nelson abducts the women and puts them in a vaudeville show. But their sweet singing contains a telepathic cry for help to Mothra, a gigantic moth that is worshiped as a deity by the island people. The giant monster heeds the call of the women and heads to Tokyo, wreaking destruction in its path.

Super Scary Saturday: The Mummy
Starring – Peter Cushing & Christopher Lee    Unrated    1959

Host: Grampa has been selected as a guest on the show “This Is Your Death” with host Carl Crypt who brings Grampa into the lab and brings people from his past back into his life, but Grampa wants nothing to do with this and tries his best to take out host Carl before the show can even go on! But the show still continues as Grampa gets a call from his Mom and she tell him to do the show so we see such characters as Slim his skeleton collage friend and co-host of Super Scary Saturday, Igor shows up who was a flight school friend and as well co-host of this Horror Host Show! Lenny The Louge Lizard a dinosour headed man who use to dig up ghouls from the grave and stole Grandpa’s best ghoul and lastly his grandson Eddie shows up and the show ends with a happy reunion.

Movie: In the 1890s a team of British archaeologists discover the untouched tomb of Princess Ananka but accidentally bring the mummified body of her High Priest back to life. Three years later back in England a follower of the same Egyptian religion unleashes the mummy to exact grisly revenge on the despoilers of the sacred past.

Super Scary Saturday: Mystery Of The Wax Museum
Starring – Lionel Atwill & Fay Wray    Not Rated    1933

Host: Grampa is upset about all the bills that are pilling up and are all past due! He soons finds out that the money is being spent by Slim for his new mannequin girlfriend! The lab looses power and they must use candles to light it up and start to host the days movie, and Grampa ends up beating up Slim for using all the money! In the end Grampa gives his thoughts of the movies bad guy and closes the show with Slim who has a black eye and his head wrapped.

Movie: In London, sculptor Ivan Igor struggles in vain to prevent his partner Worth from burning his wax museum…and his ‘children.’ Years later, Igor starts a new museum in New York, but his maimed hands confine him to directing lesser artists. People begin disappearing (including a corpse from the morgue); Igor takes a sinister interest in Charlotte Duncan, fiancée of his assistant Ralph, but arouses the suspicions of Charlotte’s roommate, wisecracking reporter Florence.

Super Scary Saturday: Rodan
Starring – Kenji Sahara & Akio Kobori    Not Rated    1956

Host: Grampa is in a great mood and comes dancing down the stairs and heads to the Superstation Movie Mausoleum were he takes the shovel from Slim and finds such films as The Exorcist and I Was A Teenage Werewolf but gets really happy when he finds Rodan and selects it as the days movie! Grampa loves the film so much he gives it 4 pints and two fangs up! Grampa, Slim and Igor ever judge Rodan’s dive into the water and as always inbetween the film Grampa delivers cheesy jokes and puns.

Movie: In the Japanese mining village of Kitamatsu, miners ares starting to disappear deep inside shaft number 8. Some of the men sent to investigate are killed but one who has managed to escape brings back a tale of a giant insect. Soon, the giant prehistoric insects are attacking the village. Not long after, something traveling faster than the speed of sound is found flying in the sky. It is Rodan, a giant flying prehistoric reptile that has come to life. It spreads terror throughout Japan and is seemingly invincible to any weapon they may throw at it.

Note From Matt: Not 100% sure if this episode is complete.

Super Scary Saturday: The Thing
Starring – Kenneth Tobey & James Arness    Unrated    1951

Host: Grampa is in the screaming room and shares the plot of The Thing From Another World to the viewers as a planet grows bigger and bigger blocking him from the camera and the viewers. In-between the film Grampa once more tells the viewers about his contest to have dinner with him in New York to eat at his very own restaurant and also treats us to his jokes and puns based on the day’s film. In the end Grampa introduces us to Spudnic, a potato man who by the end of the show is attacked by the growing plant and is saved by Grampa!

Movie: Scientists at an Arctic research station discover a spacecraft buried in the ice. Upon closer examination, they discover the frozen pilot. All hell breaks loose when they take him back to their station and he is accidentally thawed out!

Super Scary Saturday: Valley Of The Gwangi
Starring – Richard Carlson & Gila Golan    Rated G    1969

Host: Agent Friday The 13^th is a part of Drac Net a group of Vampire Cops, his sidekick is SGT. Skeleton, and they must help Grampa as Slim is missing! Agent Friday The 13^th gets to the castle and gets the facts from Grampa about the last time he saw Slim, and Igor even tries to help when he finds a ransom note that says the kidnapper wants pints of blood for the return of Slim. After investigating more clues, Agent Friday The 13^th and SGT. Skeleton decide that they know who the kidnapper is and head toward the graveyard near the beach where the ransom blood was to be dropped off and find that the kidnapper is none other than Slim himself who wanted to prove a point to Grampa that he feels like he has been taken advantage of!

Movie: Cowboy James Franciscus seeks fame and fortune by capturing a Tyrannosaurus Rex living in the Forbidden Valley and putting it in a Mexican circus. His victim, called the Gwangi, turns out to have an aversion to being shown in public.

Super Scary Saturday: War Of Gargantuas
Starring – Russ Tamblyn & Kumi Mizuno    Rated G    1966

Host: Grampa is in the lab and gets a call from the Transylvania Army, and it’s his duty to report in.  His mission is to save the Transylvania Blood Bank that is being held hostage. Gramp decides to send in Slimbo, an elite fighting machine and sends Igor to get Slimbo’s pardon from jail.  When freed, Slimbo gets ready for war to free the hostages. While the battle is brutal, in the end Slimbo is able to save the day and free the hostages. Grampa also gives Slimbo a purple heart for his seek and save mission.

Movie: An experimental lab animal called a gargantua escapes from his captors and is suspected to be the creature that is killing people all over the countryside. But when the gargantua from the lab appears at the same time as the evil gargantua, the two begin to battle across Japan.

Note From Matt: This is my second favorite episode of Super Scary Saturday as it’s take on Rambo is super fun and has some of the best segments filmed for this Horror Host series. In closing “Last Blood Slimbo” kicks butt!

Super Scary Saturday: Warlord Of Crete
Starring – Bob Mathias & Rosanna Schiaffino    Not Rated    1960

Host: Grampa, Deadrah and Slim are in the lab and wants to teach us all about Transylvania home cooking that uses such ingredients like worms and shark eggs. Grampa is truly the Monster Chef and even credits his one time friend Jaws for helping him get some of the items he needed. He teaches the art of making salads as well as navy beans soup and crab soup. Throughout the episode Grampa and his assistants show us all types of gross food as well as ones that are just terrible puns like a fish on a sword that he says is of course a swordfish.  Egor as well shows up just to add some annoyance to Grampa as he tries to cook. In the end Grampa shares the main attraction: the meal’s desserts that include lady fingers, chocolate noose and upside down cake that turns the camera upside down!

Movie: King Minos sacrifices the ‘required’ virgins to the Minotaur. As his wife lies dieing, she confesses that her daughter has a twin she has secreted to avoid giving one of the girls to the Minotaur. The daughter raised by Minos tries to have her twin killed, but failing in her first attempt, continues to try to have her given to the Minotaur. Theseus, the Greek hero, tries to prevent it.

Super Scary Saturday: Willard
Starring – Bruce Davison & Elsa Lanchester    Rated PG    1971

Host: Grampa is having a rat in the lab and along with Igor and Slim he is trying to ride the area of these pests, and Grampa builds a ultimate rat trap that would have had a weight drop and crush the rats but instead it backfires and he finds himself with a massive headache as he is the victim of the weight as it backfires and bonks him on the head. Grampa’s next plan is to use the Red Pages and calls The Piped Piper Rat Catcher servise to come to the lab and get ride of his rat issue…..buts sadly the episode is not complete and cuts off at the end of the film.

Movie: A social misfit, Willard is made fun of by his co-workers, and squeezed out of the company started by his deceased father by his boss. His only friends are a couple of rats he raised at home, Ben and Socrates. (And their increasing number of friends) However, when one of them is killed at work, he goes on a rampage using his rats to attack those who have been tormenting him.

Note From Matt: This also has the same skits as Ben and cuts off the same time, how does Grampa rid the lab of the rats, dang it?!!!

Super Scary Saturday was a great way to unwind from the day’s cartoons when I was a kid and also acted as an alternative to Commander USA when he was off air for tennis matches.  While Grampa might not have been as iconic in the Brassfield house, he still was a big part of my childhood and once more I must stress he was the first to introduce me to Godzilla in movies as well as many of the Hammer Horror films and for that alone he is a true icon of Horror Hosting in my eyes. I must also note on some of these episodes they had a contest were you could win a trip to New York and have dinner with Grampa at his own restaurant or even win a life time supply of Grampa’s Home Pasta! Man, that would have been amazing to have dinner with Grampa.  If I would have won this as a kid I am sure he would have loved me talking about horror films, cartoons, toys and comics nonstop! So to wrap up this Horror Host Icon Update, I want to say once more thanks to Grampa, Slim, Igor and Fang for help making my childhood amazing and filled with monsters and horror. Our next update will take us out of the Superstation Movie Mausoleum and into the world of crime where thugs like Mumbles, The Brow and Flattop run the streets and only one man can bring them to justice.  That man is Dick Tracy, and he will be the subject of our next update so I hope to see you back here for that one. So until next time, Support Your Local Horror Host and Be There Or Beware for my next update!

The Strong Arm Of The Law Of Marshall Bravestarr

Welcome back to Rotten Ink, a place were we can talk about classic toys, cartoons, movies, horror hosts, video games and so much more.  For this update we are going to travel to space and meet a cowboy who is the law on the planet New Texas that goes by the name Marshall Bravestarr! That’s right, a planet called New Texas is where we will be traveling for this update, but I should warn you that while we are traveling on the BlackThorne Comic Express we will need some 3-D glasses for this adventure. Thinking about it, is New Texas on the Planet Texas that Kenny Rogers sang about in his super cheesy song called “Planet Texas”? Just ponder that for a while.  So I hope you’re ready for a Texas size good time! I must also say that growing up I was not a super fan of Bravestarr, but did watch the cartoon from time to time so this will be nice to go back and try to reconnect with a character I have not thought about in years. Oh yeah, and on the last picture below does it look like maybe Bravestarr ate the wrong kind of mushroom or he just witnessed something very, very bad that marked his very soul?

So before we move onto Bravestarr, I finally must touch up on WWE 2K15 for the PS3, and wow, I must say 2K Sports who took over the IP when THQ went sadly out of business REALLY dropped the ball this first year of them being solely in charge of the wrestling game. The roster is the weakest it’s been in years and the lack of push and updates to their website show just how little they care about the fans of this game series. The fact the major WWE Summer Slam roster reveal panel was incomplete and left out many of the superstars in the game just shows you how lazy 2K is about doing anything with this. I mean when they crammed out NBA 2K15, they really pushed it! This year the major focus of the game is legendary feuds in WWE History like such “major” beefs like Triple H vs. Shawn “HBK” Michaels, Christian vs. Randy Orton and who can forget John Cena vs. CM Punk…..yeah no Hogan vs. Piper or Austin vs. Bret Hart, this feature is super lame on most accounts. Some of these feuds come as DLC as well; they are making you pay to play Orton vs. Christian as well as get a terrible storyline pack for Mark Henry that only adds The Great Kahli to your roster besides some arena and outfits! The only really awesome feud pack that will be released is one that follows the career of The Ultimate Warrior that adds many great legends to roster like Hulk Hogan, Macho King Randy Savage, Sargent Slaughter, Honkey Tonk Man, Ravishing Rick Rude and Andre The Giant. They also will have a WCW roster pack that will add Lex Luger, Diamond Dallas Page, Bam Bam Bigelow, Fit Finley and William Regal that will be a pretty good addition. They also have a story pack based around the rookies of NXT that helps bring the next generation into this generation and legends.

But while 2K tries to make the theme of this year the terrible feuds, for me and others this game belongs to Sting! That’s right the icon of WCW, Sting, is in the game and not only do we get the Crow version but we also get the late 80’s/early 90’s blonde hair one as well! Who would have thought that in 2K15 fans would be treated to Sting in all his video game glory allowing you to have him wrestle the likes of The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and rematch with Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin. Not to mention many other faces of his past are present like Ravishing Rick Rude who he had a great set of matches with in WCW, his friend and some times enemy Lex Luger and not to mention his old tag team partner The Ultimate Warrior.

So let’s take a look at 5 wrestlers that had great matches with Sting in WCW that should have been included in this game instead of being snubbed and left out in the cold.

Big Van Vader

One of the best big men in the business, Big Van Vader should have been in the game and could have had great matches not only with Sting but many others on 2K’s roster. Starting his career in 1985 in AWA under the name of Baby Bull and later changed to Bull Power, he took the scene by storm with his large size and powerful moves. In 1987 he went to New Japan Pro Wrestling and changed his name to Big Van Vader and dominated the competition becoming one of the biggest stars the company has ever had. He had great matches and feuds with the likes of Stan Hansen, El Canek, The Great Muta and Antonio Inoki and was feared by the Japanese audience. During this time New Japan was trading talent with WCW and would have Vader come in for pay per views and take on the likes of Tom Zenk and Stan Hansen, but by 1992 Big Van Vader had left New Japan and took full time work in WCW where he was managed by Harley Race and was the company’s new major heel! Vader dominated once more the competition with matches against the likes of Cactus Jack, Nikita Koloff, Dustin Rhodes, Britsih Bulldog Davey Boy Smith and Sting, and with Sting he defeated and became the World Champion. As years passed and new talent came in, Vader found himself still a draw but taking a back seat to the likes of Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage who had jumped ship from WWF to WCW. By 1995 and before the first WCW Monday Night Nitro Vader had left the company. In 1996 he returned very briefly to New Japan Pro Wrestling to finish his feud with Antonio Inoki. WWF came calling in 1996 as well, and Vader made his in ring debut for them at the Royal Rumble.  Very soon after coming in he was managed by Jim Cornette and it looked like he would be pushed once more as a monster heel, but sadly this never was as he seemed to be lost in the shuffle thanks to the likes of Shawn Michaels and Diesel. But during this run he did have some great matches with The Undertaker, Yokozuna, The Patriot and Kane. Vader left WWF in 1998 and went on to wrestle for All Japan Pro Wrestling as well as other independent federations, and still makes appearances from time to time in WWF (WWE).

Key Match Against Sting: WCW Slamboree 94

Barry Windham

Bad Boy Barry Windham is the son of legendary tag team wrestler BlackJack Mulligan and is a super talented and hard worker who was also a member of The Four Horsemen in NWA/WCW. Barry began is career in 1980 and worked for many NWA territories including Florida Championship Wrestling. He feuded with Kevin Sullivan and later went on to capture tag team gold alongside Mike Rotunda. By 1984, WWF came calling and Barry and Mike went to New York and became the tag team known as U.S. Express and had a short year run winning tag gold and losing it to teams like Iran Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff and The Dream Team (Brutus Beefcake & Greg “The Hammer” Valentine), making the U.S. Express run out of gas by 1985. In 1986 Barry, as a singles wrestler, returned to NWA and took on the likes of Ric Flair and even formed a tag team with Ron Garvin as they had a good feud with The Midnight Express. Around this time Barry became allies with Lex Luger who would later turn on him and join Ric Flair’s stable known as The Four Horsemen. Barry floated around for a while having matches with Dr. Death Steve Williams, Black Bart and Rick Steiner. In 1988, Barry and Luger, who had left the Horsemen, had patched things up and took the tag titles away from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard who were members of the Four Horsemen, but when defending them Barry turned on Luger and became the newest member of the Horsemen that consisted of Flair, Anderson, Blanchard and Windham. During this heel run, Barry would become NWA United States Champion and take on many top names in the wrestling world like Sting, Dusty Rhodes, Brad Armstrong and Bam Bam Bigelow.  He would later lose the title to Lex Luger, and in 1989 he left the NWA. Once more he went to WWF and took the name The Widowmaker and played an evil tough cowboy character who went undefeated for over 4 months, but this was very short lived and he once more left the company as quickly as he entered. In 1990 he returned to NWA now WCW and rejoined the Four Horsemen and even helped his fellow member Sid Vicious win the world title from Sting, as Windham dressed as Sting and allowed Sid to pin him! This run in WCW would see him turn from face to heel and make allies and enimies out of the likes of Dustin Rhodes, Brian Pillman, Stunning Steve Austin, Ricky Steamboat and The Great Muta, as well during this time he would win many titles and become a solid worker for the company. But once more he left the pastures of WCW and went back to WWE in 1996 to become a character called The Stalker a crazy outdoors hunter type who was a babyface.  Thank God that in 1997 they changed his character and teamed him up with Justin Hawk Bradshaw to become The New Blackjacks, but this as well didn’t last long as they had Windham turn on Bradshaw and join a faction of wrestlers who were pro NWA. And once more as quick as it started Windham left WWF and went back to WCW to be part of a team called The West Texas Rednecks alongside the likes of Curt Henning, Bobby Duncum Jr. and his younger brother Kendall Windham, and they all were a bunch of good old boys who hated rap music. Barry and Kendall would team up and become Tag Champions before they both were fired in 1999. Barry after this release would go on to wrestle for many small independents around the world where he still was able to make an impact. While all the Four Horsemen should be in this game, we do already have Ric Flair so it would have been nice to see the likes of Barry Windham to have feuds in 2K15 with Sting and even guys like CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Rob Van Damn.

Key Match Against Sting: WCW Clash of The Champions # 22 – Barry Windham, Vader, Paul Orndorff vs. Sting, Dustin Rhodes, Cactus Jack.

British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith

It’s a crime that Davey Boy is not in this game and more so that he is not in the WWE Hall Of Fame! Davey Boy began pro wrestling in 1982 in Stampede Wrestling and had a series of matches against his cousin, the Dynamite Kid. He later went to New Japan Pro Wrestling and had tournament style matches against Dynamite Kid and The Cobra, and after this he and Dynamite formed a tag team they called The British Bulldogs and shocked the world when they jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling. But during this time they also caught the eye of WWF who signed them as a team to a contract in 1985 where they came in as a baby face power house team who had many great matches with teams like The Hart Foundation, The Dream Team, The Islanders, Rougeau Brothers and Demolition and won tag gold and became one of the biggest tag teams for WWF. But by 1988 they were released from their contracts due in part to Dynamite Kid’s reputation of being a bully backstage. In 1989 they returned to Stampede Wrestling and stuck around for a year, but issues between the cousins arose and Dynamite went to All Japan while Davey Boy went back to the WWF as a solo wrestler in 1990. Davey Boy returned and became a popular star having matches with the likes of The Warlord, Mr. Perfect Curt Henning, The Mountie among others. During this run at SummerSlam 1992, he defeated Bret “Hitman” Hart for the Intercontinental Title and became even bigger of a draw and a star! Davey Boy lost the belt to Shawn Michaels on Monday Night Raw and a little later on he and the Ultimate Warrior were released from WWF for using growth hormones. By 1993 Davey Boy signed to wrestle for WCW where he paired with Sting to feud with Big Van Vader and Sid Vicious, but once more trouble appeared and Davey Boy was fired from WCW over a brawl he had with a fan at a bar over his wife. Davey Boy floated around small independents in England for awhile before coming back to WWF in 1994 where he joined in the family feud between brothers Bret and Owen as he is in fact their real life brother in-law! After that died down, he formed a tag team with Lex Luger called The Allied Powers, but this didn’t last long as Davey Boy turned heel and joined Jim Cornette’s stable of wrestlers that included Owen Hart and Yokozuna. During this time Smith would have matches for Tag Titles as well as The World Title and even became the first ever WWF European Champion! Davey Boy would later join Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart and Brian Pillman to form The New Hart Foundation.  Davey Boy left WWF alongside Bret and Jim when at Survivor Series 1997 Vince McMahon screwed over Bret Hart during the world title match against Shawn Michaels by pulling real life underhanded dealings. Davey Boy joined Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart in WCW in 1998 where he floated around the midcard tag team division until he seriously hurt his back in the ring and was served his pink slip via FedEx while in the hospital. In 1999 Davey Boy returned to WWF with a new attitude and look as he simply wore blue jeans and boots and won the Hardcore title from Big Bossman.  He later turned heel and set his sights on the world title and had a few title matches against The Rock who was the champ, but Davey Boy never could get the gold away from the peoples champ. Davey Boy was pushed down the card and had matches against the likes of Crash Holly and Val Venis. Davey was let go in 2000 for having an addiction to pain pills among other drugs and sadly passed away in 2002. Besides teaming with Sting in 2K15, I would also love to have him in matches against the likes of Ryback, Mark Henry and Rusev.

Key Match Teaming With Sting: Beach Blast 1993 – Sting & Davey Boy vs. Big Van Vader & Sid Vicious

The  Black Scorpion

Okay I know what you’re all thinking, how could I pick such a cheesy wrestling gimmick as The Black Scorpion as my pick for being snubbed from the game, as others would say he wasn’t he just Ric Flair in a mask? And the answer is yes to both! While The Black Scorpion was discovered to be Ric Flair, many wrestlers played the part, and Ole Anderson who came up with the storyline said it was not supposed to be Flair but him! The Black Scorpion appeared in NWA cutting odd promos about then World Champion Sting claiming that he was from his past and making people believe it was one of his former tag team partners like The Ultimate Warrior or Angel Of Death. During his taunts to Sting, the black masked Black Scorpion would do simple magic and illusions to try and confusing Sting even during matches sometimes multiple versions of him would appear. Every time Sting would get close to unmasking The Black Scorpion during a match, the masked wrestler would be saved by a clone of himself or Sid Vicious who was also having a feud with Sting at the time, never letting him see the identity of his foe. This all came to a head at Starrcade when Sting beat The Black Scorpion in a steel cage and when unmasked, it turned out to be Ric Flair! The character was dropped after this even though rumor has it that he was supposed to go on. The Black Scorpion could have easily been in the game if 2K didn’t cheapen out on his “Feuds” campaign and gave Sting one as he could have been a alternate attire for Ric Flair even! If The Black Scorpion would have been in the game as his own character I would have not only feuded him with Sting but also The Ultimate Warrior and The Undertaker.

Key Match Against Sting: Starrcade 1990 – Sting vs. Black Scorpion in a Steel Cage

Vampiro

In 1984 at the age of 16 Vampiro wrestled his first match in Canada and from that moment on, he was hooked on being a Pro Wrestler. His career would lead him to Mexico where he would wrestle for many promotions and have great matches against luchadors like Konnan, Dr. Wagner Jr., Silver King, El Dandy, Dos Caras and El Canek to name a very few. During this timem he also worked a little in Japan but landed a job in WCW in 1998 where he made a splash in the midcard division and formed a stable alongside Rappers ICP and ECW Original Raven called The Dead Pool, and while very short lived, they had a great rivalry with Konnan, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Eddie Guerrero. His next major matches came when he brought in Punk Rock Band The Misfits and took on Dr. Death Steve Williams. Vampiro then formed a team with Sting that they called The Brothers In Paint, but Vampiro had other plans as he turned on Sting, and while most times Sting always got the upper hand, Vampiro won the “Human Torch” match and set Sting on fire causing the icon to disappear from wrestling for awhile. After beating Sting, he set his sights on The Demon, a wrestler who was based on the rock band Kiss, and after a Graveyard Match, Sting returned and set the wrongs right. Vampiro then went on to team up with The Great Muta and win the tag team titles from KroniK that they lost the next day to Rey Mysterio Jr. and Juventud Guerrera, causing Vampiro to turn on Muta and later sparked a three way match with Sting. After this he went on to have a few matches against Mike Awesome and while injured WWE bought out WCW and his contract was not picked up. Vampiro returned to Mexico and even made a few appearances for companies like TNA, JCW and Wrestling Society X. Vampiro is currently working as an announcer for Lucha Underground, a show on El Ray Network featuring matches from wrestlers from AAA. If Vampiro was to be in this game besides Sting I would have him in feuds with The Undertaker, Rey Mysterio Jr., Alberto Del Rio and Goldust!

Key Match Against Sting: Great American Bash 2000 – Sting vs. Vampiro in a Human Torch Match. 

So those are a few names I would have loved to seen in WWE 2K15 for a Sting Rivalry/ Feud story line! I know that Sid Vicious is supposed to be in the game as a manager, but not a wrestler because that makes a lot of sense, 2K, and the fact that none of the Four Horsemen besides Ric Flair is in the game makes me really want to see them in next years. Plus I would love to see guys like The Great Muta in a WWE game, but sadly I see this never happening. While this could be the worse WWE game roster in a long time, here is to hoping they get their act together next year and give us long time fans something better.

For those of you wondering and don’t know who Marshall Bravestarr is, let me tell you a little about the character. Bravestarr is of Native American decent and is a very good man who wants to uphold the law and help those who can’t help themselves. Bravestarr can call on his spirit animals and gain superhuman powers for a short time.  For example, if he calls on the Bear, he gains its strength, and if he calls on a Hawk he gains super sight and so on and so on. His best friend is his trusty cyborg horse name Thirty/Thirty who not only walks on all fours but can also walk on two legs like a person and fire a gun to help. He also has a small deputy named Fuzz, a green powerhouse bartender named Handlebar, a female Judge named J.B. McBride and has many other strange and helpful allies in New Texas. So if you find yourself in space and in need of help just call for Marshall Bravestarr as he will be there to lend a hand.

Filmation,the same company who made “Masters Of The Universe”, “Ghostbusters” and so many more great cartoons in 1987, decided to make a cartoon about space and then they had the idea of mixing in the old west! Back in 1984 while they worked on Ghostbusters, they created an evil ghost cowboy named Tex Hex as one of the series baddies, but the character was pulled from the list as founding member of Filmation Lou Scheimer liked the character’s look and didn’t want him to be a second banana villain so Tex never made it to the cartoon. Tex Hex sat around for 3 years until 1987 when they began to develop the space western animated action cartoon Bravestarr. The series would run for 1 very long season with 65 episodes total as well as a film in 1988. When I was a young lad, I knew very few kids who watched Bravestarr and even fewer kids who owned any of the toys! If I remember right, I think Jeremy Patton had a few that he would bring to the playground in Waynesville, and Grandma Brassfield had Tex Hex and Bravestarr at her house. I can remember watching the cartoon from time to time and while it was fun, it just didn’t catch my attention like other toons released the same year did like Ducktales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light, not to mention other cartoons still running at the time like Muppet Babies, Dennis The Menace, The Adventures of the Gummi Bears, Snorks and so many others were things I watched. Plus at this time I was watching horror hosts Commander USA and Grandpa Munster who started Super Scary Saturday on TBS in 1987, so sadly Bravestarr was just not a shinning star for a young Matt to be watching all the time. The show also just like many other Filmation cartoons always ended with a lesson to be learned and would teach not only the characters but of course us the viewers. While I was not a loyal watcher, I do have a fond likeness for Bravestarr, and even went out and bought all the seasons on DVD.

In 1988 “Bravestarr: The Movie” was released to limited theaters and was a bomb at the box office as it mostly showed during the day on weekends for its short run. The film was trashed by critics and even fans of the show were not sold, and the film fell off the radar. The film was groundbreaking on some small levels as it was the first animated film to use computer graphics, and was the first animated film to come out after the original show was off the air. The film’s plot was an origin story and followed how Bravestarr and Tex Hex became bitter enemies and showed that the Bull Skull named Stampede is the true evil mastermind. I barely remember the film coming out and for some reason think that it might have had a showing at the movie theater that use to be inside the Dayton Mall. The film did come out on VHS and twice on DVD, one being on a single disc release and the other being part of a best of.  So if you want to watch the origin story of the law of New Texas then you have options.

I must mention that one of my favorite bad guys from this series was a fish faced lizard man named Sandstorm! Sandstorm’s power is that he can breath out large amounts of sand and create sand clouds, sand creatures and even can put people to sleep with his sand much like the famed folklore legend Mr. Sandman. His race is called Sand Walruses, and his kind are native to New Texas. For some reason his look reminds me a lot of Mer-Man from Masters of the Universe. Ed Gilbert is the voice actor who played the part who also did voices for characters like Blitzwing (Transformers), General Hawk (G.I. Joe), Metlar (Inhumainoids), Mr. Smee (Peter Pan and the Pirates), Major Disaster (Toxic Crusaders), Baloo (Tailspin), El Seed (The Tick) as well as many other characters in many cartoons. My brother Bryan seems to think we had the Mattel figure of Sandstorm growing up, I however barely remember owning it. So just wanted to give Sandstorm his tiny time to shine before we move onto more history of Bravestarr.

I wanted to take a brief moment to cover this: many of the women I know have this weird thing where they think cowboys/country boys are the definition of a man’s man, and even in media, it’s pushed this way from John Wayne all the way to the Marlboro Man, they are considered tough rugged good looking guys. Well I am going to take this time and be on the opposite side and say that I find country and cowgirls sexy! And I am pretty sure I can pin point the moment I found the look of cowgirl sexy, and that’s Brad from Nickelodeon show Hey Dude played by Kelly Brown started it for me and Faith Hill the country singer sealed it. Something about a pretty girl with the looks of the Girl Next Door wearing a cowboy hat and chaps is something that a guy like myself can appreciate. Don’t want to waste too much time talking about this, but just wanted to give a shout out to all the cowgirls out there. Below are some cowgirls including former WWE Diva Maria dressed as one as well as singer Jewel.

Mattel Toys started to make figures based on Bravestarr almost immediately when the cartoon came out and made them different and more “grand” then many of the figures being released at the time as they stood 8” tall and many of them came with infra red backpacks that interacted with a laser gun you could buy and have your very own shoot outs with the figures! Besides all the main cast of characters like Marshall Bravestarr, Tex Hex, Sandstorm and Deputy Fuzz, they also made the town and jail play set, the wagon and the laser gun. The figures when released came in boxes with very cool art on them and a window to peer in and see the toy. But as I stated before, not many kids I knew had these toys but I do remember seeing the toys on the shelves of stores like Hills, Hearts and Gold Circle and remember seeing lots of them in stock. I can’t be for sure on this statement, but from what I could see at a young age these toys must not have sold very well in normal department stores and must have found some tracking via discount stores like Odd Lots. Being older now and looking at the figures now I must say while they are bulky, they are very well done, and I am sure really made kids of the time happy if they were fans of the cartoon.

Funny enough as I was working on putting this blog together, my friend Brett Prescott who does video game reviews called “Bad or Rad” brought almost a full set of Bravestarr figures into my work to sell! While going through the collection, a sense of nostalgia rushed over me as I looked up the going prices for each figure and even the jail/town playset. And while I knew I wanted them, looking at the figures made me want to own them even more.  So what you are looking at below are the Bravestarr figures I bought from my work thanks to my pal Brett!

Besides the Mattel Toys and Blackthrone Comic series, lots of other merchandise was made to try and make money off the cartoon that includes Halloween masks, lunchboxes, a video game for home computers, pillow cases and bed sheets, Colorforms, storybooks, stickers and even water guns! They tried really hard to try and make kids of the 80’s care about Bravestarr, and for those who did, they had plenty of things to choose from. I really think that both Mattel and Filmation thought that Bravestarr would have been their successor to Masters Of The Universe and put lots of eggs in that basket that sadly for them just didn’t bring the draw that He-Man did.

So are you ready to hit the old trail and stop outlaws with our good pal Marshall Bravestarr? Before he swears us in as deputies hoever, I do need to thank Lone Star Comics and Mile High Comics for having these issues in stock and must also remind everyone that I grade these on a standard 1-4 star rating and base it on how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So let’s saddle up and go kick some Tex Hex butt as we put on our 3-D Glasses and hit the trail.

Bravestarr 3-D  # 1   **1/2
Released in 1987    Cover Price $2.50    Blackthorne    # 1 of 2

Shaman is the father of young Bravestarr who sends him away to become a Marshall at a young age, when he finds that his powers could no longer defeat his enemy Stampede. Years pass, and the planet of New Texas is a hole in the wall that’s main resource is Kerium crystals that is used as fuel sources for large ships. The planet is also filled with outlaws and that’s why law enforcement like Judge J.B. McBride, outpost owner Handlebar, Mayer Derringer and of course Marshall Bavestarr with his trusty cyborg horse 30/30 and pint size Deputey Fuzz look after the townspeople. The ghost bull skull known as Stampede sends his right hand man Tex Hex alongside Sand Storm, Skuzz and Vipra head to town and have a showdown with Bravestarr and his allies.  The fight doesn’t last long, and Barvestarr sends them high tailing it outta town. As Bravestarr is proud of his heroic deed, he gets a visit from Shaman who tells him a long fight is ahead of them all and to learn from each other. In the end to show the townspeople strength, Marshall Bravestarr, Fuzz, 30/30. Handlebar and J.B stand tall and ready for the tough fight ahead.

First thing I have to say is that I hate 3-D comics, and this is one where the “3-D” doesn’t work as well and just kind of looks blurry, so I had to order better 3-D glasses from Amazon to try and help see if I could actually read this comic and get the full effect! The new glasses did help, and I was able to enjoy the sci-fi Western with more enjoyment. The plot is really a crash course of an origin story as we are shown a young Bravestarr being sent to a Marshall station and then follow him as he makes quick work of his enemy Tex Hex to show just how noble and strong he is to the townspeople. Marshall Bravestarr is 100% pure cheesy old school western hero complete with white hat and a sense of pride and very high self-confidence. He is a great hero for this style comic, and I can see why Mattel and Filmation thought they had a hit on their hands. Judge J.B. McBride is a great female character who is pretty and also a fighter; it’s also clear that she has a crush on Bravestarr. Deputy Fuzz is your typical small annoying character that appears in most of Filmations IPs as well as many other 80’s cartoons so just think Snarf and Orko and you have Fuzz. Handlebar and 30/30 are not given much to do in this issue so I hope that in the second they are fleshed out more as they are both important in the cartoon this 3-D comic is based on. Tex Hex is kind of wasted in this issue as he is made of full of pretty quick and is knocked on his butt with a single punch from Bravestarr.  It does show however that he has powers as he turns into a giant. Other bad guys like Sand Storm, robot Thunder Stick, pint size terror Skuzz and female reptile woman Vipra are all wasted and are taken out super quick by the heroes. While the first issue is good, it also adds no real threat as we just see in matter of panels that all the bad guys can be beating with little to no effort making me wonder just who can beat Bravestarr? The art is done by Adrian Moro and is pretty dang good and looks like the cartoon.  The downside is the terrible 3-D effect put onto the art by Bob & Nancy Fritsch that worked only some of the time. Over all this is a pretty good comic that captures the cheesy feel of the cartoon it was based on. I really dig the cover of this issue, as for some reason it has a old western trading card look to it. Let’s move onto the second and final issue in this series and see just how Blackthorne Comics sent Bravestarr off into the big canceled newsstand in the sky.

Bravestarr 3-D  # 2   **1/2
Released in 1988    Cover Price $2.50    Blackthorne    # 2 of 2

A group of kids are fighting and one time friends are really mad at each other as Bravestarr, 30/30 and J.B McBride come over to break it up. The kids are fighting over a item that one thinks the other stole, and J.B tell them a story of how Bravestarr meet 30/30! It begins with Shaman training Bravestarr and tells him that he must go to and find the ultimate weapon.  The young Marshall rushes off into the desert and finds a old temple and inside is a powerful gun as well as a cyborg horse named 30/30 who is mad and thinks Bravestarr is nothing more then a treasure hunting thief.  The two duke it out and cause the temple to collapse! Bravestarr saves 30/30 from the destruction and the two become friends with Bravestarr learning that friendship is the ultimate weapon. The kids learn the lesson and rush off to enjoy the day as do Bravestarr and his friends.

A heart warming issue that teaches us all that with a good friend at your side you don’t have to live in fear, that is unless you are both stuck in the path of King Kong…or you’re both cornered by a horde of zombies with no weapons…or if you’re on the bad side of Doctor Doom…or…wait you get the point. The plot of the issue is when Bravestarr met 30/30 and how they fist fought and then became best friends.  While Bravestarr comes off like his boy scout self, 30/30 comes off as a hotheaded bully who would rather fight then talk it out. Judge J.B acts as a storyteller as she is the one to speak to the kids of this epic meeting. This issue has zero bad guys and once more has no threats, making you as the reader know that nothing bad is going to happen to anyone. Art is well done by Adrian Moro once more as the 3-D effects were handled by Bob & Nancy Fritsch again.  This second cover is okay, but for some reason it looks like Bravestarr is having a stroke on it. This second issue is the same as the first a cheesy comic based on a cheesy sci-fi Western cartoon. Below is some of the 3-D artwork used in the two issues so enjoy!

Well it looks like we took out old Tex Hex pretty quick, and it looks like Blackthorne didn’t truly believe in Bravestarr 3-D as a series as they pulled the plug only two issues in. While I was not a super fan of Bravestarr growing up, I found that these comic were pretty well done and the younger me would have enjoyed them and even maybe helped me care more about catching and watching the cartoon when it was airing. But as Marshal Bravestarr rides off into the sunset, I feel the need to tell you that our next update will be about the DC Comic based on the arcade video game Centipede! So until next time make sure to read a comic or two and support your local horror host.

The Road Warriors Pro Wrestlings Top Tag Team

“Ohhhhhhhhh What A Rush” it is to bring you another update to Rotten Ink and this time it’s all about Hawk and Animal The Road Warriors or is it The Legion Of Doom the world of wrestling’s most powerful and dominate tag team! Growing up I loved pro wrestling and spent many of time watching it with my Grandpa, Dad and Brother and besides WWF we watched allot of NWA/WCW and one of my favorite tag teams of all time was The Road Warriors two muscle bound face painted wrestlers who mowed down the computation and took no prisoners. I can remember having Remco action figures of The Road Warriors as well as the AWA Thumbster of Animal as also posters of them taking from Pro Wrestling Illustrated hanging on my walls. So with this update I want to give you a run down of their career as well as talk about my memories of them in wrestling, the main attraction will be the reviews for the comic series based on them called Fifth Force: Hawk & Animal made by Antarctic Press so lets get into the ring with The Road Warriors and hope they don’t knock our heads off with their finisher The Doomsday Device.

In 1982 in Georgia Championship Wrestling Paul Ellering introduced a stable of wrestlers he called The Legion Of Doom that consisted of Jake “The Snake” Roberts, King Kong Bundy, Matt Borne, Arn Anderson, The Spoiler, The Sheik, Iron Sheik and The Road Warriors. The group was short lived and the name was taken from the old Super Friends Cartoon and later the name Legion of Doom was just given to The Road Warriors and manager Ellering who dominated the tag team division and would win the federations tag titles a total of three times. They left in 1984 to find bigger and better things. During this first run is were they got the reputation of being rough, no sellers who did what they wanted when they wanted.

In 1984 they joined the AWA (American Wrestling Alliance) were they quickly captured the Tag Titles and went from bad guys to one of the companies top draws. They feuded with the likes of The Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane & Steve Keirn) as well as The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy & Buddy Roberts) and would dominate the federation for a few years. While in the AWA they would also make appearances in Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling as well as the NWA and for both they were major draws. The Road Warriors left AWA in 1986 with their final appearance being at the Wrestlerock event.

From AWA to NWA took place in 1986 and upon entering the federation the won the first ever Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Tag Team Tournament by beating the team of Magnum T.A. and Ronnie Garvin. And from this moment on they were major attractions for all the companies events even fighting in a Scaffold Match against The Midnight Express and later feuding with the likes of The Four Horseman who was the biggest Heel stable around. While there they turned from Good to Bad to Good again and even was around when Ted Turner bought NWA and turned it into WCW (World Championship Wrestling) and had many great feuds with teams like Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed), Skyscrapers (Sid Vicious & Dan Spivey), The Varsity Club (Steve Williams & Mike Rotunda), The Samoan Swat Team (Fatu & Samu) among many other great teams. They left in 1990 after not seeing eye to eye with Jim Herd who was running WCW at the time. And with this also marked the true end of them being know as The Road Warriors as the next places they landed had other ideas for them.

In 1990 when they left WCW they landed in the WWF were they were known as The Legion Of Doom and quickly teamed with The Ultimate Warrior and began a feud with Demolition (Ax, Smash & Crush) that was short lived. They then won the Tag Titles from The Nasty Boys (Brian Knobbs & Jerry Sags) and held them until they lost to the team of Money Inc. that’s members were Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase and I.R.S. in 1992 and after this lose they left the company for a short amount of time only to come back this time with Paul Ellering and a ventriloquist dummy named Roco who was the teams inspiration. This terrible gimmick lead quickly to Hawk quitting the company and this ending the Legion of Dooms first WWF run, as Animal stuck around and filled out the teams contract now teaming with a repackaged Crush. During this time Animal also injured his back severally taking him out of wrestling for awhile.

Hawk in 1992 after leaving WWF and his partner Animal behind went to Japan again and started a team called The Hellraisers alongside his new partner The Power Warrior (Kensuke Sasaki) and together they became a top tag team in New Japan Pro Wrestling. They even won the tag titles from Scott Norton and Tony Halme and would later feud with the team known as The Jurassic Powers (Scott Norton & Hercules) this team up also helped launch The Power Warrior from a mid-card draw to a main event star. In 1996 after his back injury healed Animal joined his old partner and The Power Warrior in New Japan for a very short run.

1996 Hawk and Animal once more went back to WCW for a very short run and took on teams like Harlem Heat and The Steiner Brothers and even got a number of title shots against Tag Team Champions Sting and Lex Luger, but never did win the belts back. The Legion Of Doom quickly left again when they claimed that Eric Bischoff who was running WCW at the time lied to them over money.

For a year Hawk and Animal wrestled for small independent companies till in 1997 they once more reached a deal to come back to the WWF and once more proved they were the top tag team in the world when they beat the likes of The Godwins, The Headbangers and even was placed in a feud with the heel stable The Hart Foundation (Bret Hart, Owen Hart, Jim Neidhart, British Bulldog and Brian Pillman) having to team up with the likes of Stone Cold Steve Austin, Goldust and Ken Shamrock. They even won the world tag titles in 1997 and shocked the world when they lost them to a new tag team later that year named The New Age Outlaws (Billy Gunn & Road Dogg), The Legion of Doom tried several times to get the belts back but couldn’t and in 1998 on Monday Night Raw the partners and friends brawled with each other on television and disappeared for awhile.

Later in 1998 sporting a new look that consisted of helmets, normal hair and a new manager Sunny The Legion of Doom became L.O.D. 2000 an updated version of themselves. Sunny left the team pretty quickly and they were joined by Droz a wrestler who could puke on demand who was acting as a manager for them. Paul Ellering also returned and was now the manager for a biker tag team called the D.O.A. who was feuding with the LOD at the time. During this time they did a storyline were Hawk always seemed to be drunk or high on drugs and this was causing tension among the team as Droz was having to don the makeup and shoulder pads and help Animal. This segment ended with Hawk looking as if he jumped from the Titantron committing suicide or even that maybe Droz pushed him off leaving everyone to question was Droz the one giving Hawk the drugs. The storyline went nowhere and the team floated around for awhile and left in 1999, and began floating around the independent wrestling federations.

In 2001 with Hawks health in question Animal resigned with WCW to become an enforcer for champion Scott Steiner who called his stable the Magnificent Seven that’s other members included Rick Steiner, Lex Luger, Jeff Jarrett and Buff Bagwell. Animals introduction to the group was a surprise as he wore a mask all the way up to his debut. The stable was short lived and later that year when the owner of WWF Vince McMahon bought WCW, Animal’s contract was not picked up.

In 2002 Hawk and Animal signed very briefly with TNA (Total None Stop Action Wrestling) as part of a group that was fighting one time WWF writer Vince Russo who had a stable called Sports Entertainment Xtreme. Sadly The Legion Of Doom only got to wrestle one match before leaving in 2003.

Hawk and Animal made their final WWF appearance in 2003 when they took on the tag team champions Rob Van Damn and Kane, while they loss the crowd was clearly happy to see them back. The Legion of Doom was hoping that this appearance would lead to a contract but sadly on October 19^th 2003 Hawk passed away from a heart attack at the age of 46, marking a sad day for wrestling fans and the end of the original Legion of Doom. Animal however in 2005 would return to WWF with new partner Heidenreich the New Legion of Doom would last till 2006 when Heidenreich was fired. Animal would stick around as a solo wrestler for awhile and would simple be called The Road Warrior Animal and would drop the makeup as well as the shoulder pads from his gimmick. In 2006 Animal was released from his contract.

This was the last major run for Animal as he would go onto make some appearances for TNA, Independents as well as even for WWF as he and Hawk made it into the WWE Hall Of Fame in 2011. His last televised match was in 2012 on WWF Smackdown as he took on Heath Slater in a match he dominated. At the age of 54 it appears Animals full time in ring career is over but damn did he and Hawk have a good run. For those of you wondering Hawks real name is Michael Hegstrand and Animals is Joe Laurinaitis.

While both of them were bad asses, Hawk is the one who was more of a loose cannon and did some funny and great stuff outside of wrestling like the following things. Hawk and Randy Savage got into a fist fight backstage at a wrestling event rumored over a piece of pizza that would continue some years later backstage at a Kid Rock concert. It’s also said that Hawk beat up on Eddie Guerrero backstage and that Hawk was clearly just being a bully. Hawk also beat up a fellow patron at a movie theater when he found out that the guy’s brother killed a cop from his hometown. Hawk was also a bouncer at a bar and took pleasure in throwing out the drunks that got out of hand. Hawk also claimed that Vince McMahan and Shawn “HBK” Michaels were gay lovers on the Road Warriors RF Shoot Interview. During the 1998 WWF attraction called “Brawl For It All” were WWF Superstars boxed and grappled in real life Hawk faced Droz to a draw. Hawk also was battling alcohol and drug addiction during the LOD 2000 and Droz angle and the writers wrote this into the storyline. Say what you will but Road Warrior Hawk was a great wrestler and entertainer and I was so sad when I heard about his passing as the sport of pro wrestling truly lost a major talent.

One NWA story line for some reason that has always stuck out to me was when Road Warrior Animal suffered an eye injury at the hands of The Powers of Pain (Barbarian and Warlord) during a weightlifting computation, causing Animal to miss some matches and later return wearing a Hockey Mask to protect his eye and ready to battle those who injured him. The feud ended when The Powers of Pain quit the NWA after not wanting to do a series of Scaffold Matches that they feared they could be hurt in real life doing. When Animal first came back wearing the mask my brother and I thought that it was not the real Animal and was another wrestler filling in for him, and for some reason the image of him wearing the mask has always stuck in my mind.

The Legion Of Doom has been so popular over the ages, they have had a ton of merchandise based around them such as t-shirts, posters, stickers, trading cards, magazines and even fruit drinks called WWE Bodyslam. They have been in many video games like WCW for Nintendo and WWE 13 for PS3 and Xbox 360. They have had VHS and DVDs showcasing their careers made as well as books written about them. They have filmed shoot interviews for companies like RF Video and Highspots and have appeared at wrestling themed conventions. Many toys have been made based on them by companies like Remco and Hasbro allowing kids to make them tag champions of their toy wrestling leagues. Some of my favorite toys growing up were my AWA Road Warriors that were the size of He-Man and that I would use as bounty hunters to try and capture He-Man and they also would wrestle the likes of Ric Flair and Rick Martel. If you’re a fan of the LOD there is plenty of great stuff for you to collect.

So you just had a quick crash course all about The Legion of Doom and just how impactful they were as a tag team. I mean they were the first team that was able capture the Tag Titles in all three major federations (WWF, WCW, AWA) as well as hold the belts of many other minor and major promotions. So some time back when I found out that a comic book series was made about them I was pretty hyped to track them down, and thanks to Mavericks and Lone Star Comics, I was able to read them for the first time just for this blog update! And I must say I am pretty hyped to see what kind of action and story they come up with for this tag team. So before we enter the ring, I grade these issues on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. So with that let’s get ready to rumble and witness Hawk and Animal do what they do best and that’s kick some butt.

The Fifth Force: Hawk & Animal  # 1   *
Released in 1999   Cover Price $1.99   Antarctic Press   # 1 of 2

Mr. Dart is a shadow faced trench coat wearing henchman for Dr. Rancid who use their corrupt powers to frame The Legion of Doom as cheaters! When Hawk & Animal show up in Japan they meet with manager Vern who tells them they are under investigation for cheating to win the Tag Titles, and this means they are banned from wrestling and all their money is being tied up until things can be figured out. The Legion of Doom are upset and that’s when they get a visit from Mr. Dart who tells them he can make it all go away if they wrestle tonight and loose the belts; he even gives them money to help smooth over throwing the match. Hawk and Animal give it some thought and don’t see any other way out because they want to wrestle and go into the match against rivals The Kabuki Men with losing on their mind. The match is one sided as Animal takes a beating from Kabuki Men and just when all looks lost, Hawk wants to tag in and issue one comes to an end.

The Legion Of Doom are ass kicking machines who have always seemed to play by their own rules in every federation they have wrestled for so why in the world would issue one have them thinking of throwing a match all cause of some chumped up charges of cheating? Plus what the hell….so in Japan if they think you cheated to win wrestling belts, they can not only ban you from the sport all over the world, but can also tie up all your money…what federation are they working for, one ran by the Yukuza?! Hawk and Animal in the issue come off as wrestlers who have two thing on their minds and that’s wrestling and being champions, but man they also come off as mindless drones as they just go along with what a shadow faced man tells them he can do for them. Neither Dart nor Rancid come off as a big threat making this comic kind of just spin in neutral. The art is pretty cheesy and not the style I like as it has an amateur style mixed with American style Manga and is done by an unknown artist because I could not find their credit anywhere in the issue. Over all this is a very disappointing comic, and the only real appeal is the fact its about The Legion Of Doom.  So let’s not waste any more time on this simple silly comic and move onto issue # 2.

The Fifth Force: Hawk & Animal  # 2   *
Released in 1999    Cover Price $2.50    Antarctic Press    # 2 of 2

Hawk and Animal decide during the match that they are not going to lose the belts to the Kabuki Men and pin them in the ring fair and square. After the match, Hawk and Animal get into the limo and are knocked out by gas and taken to a secret base where they are locked in a metal crate and sent to the bottom of the ocean. Mr. Dart and Dr. Rancid are also frozen and punished by Mr. Yamiyuri who in turn is blown up by the Mob for not bullying The Legion of Doom into losing the belts like they were told. In the end the news is running a story about the missing wrestling tag team champs.

Wow, this second issue is more worthless then the first.  I really hate saying that, but man, this comic series seems very pointless and it goes nowhere. The point of this issue is that The Legion of Doom will not take a fall and that this all has been set up by the mafia who for some reason really wanted the tag titles off Hawk and Animal. All the characters are the same as before, and none of them are fully fleshed out making them all just seem bland and one-dimensional and making you wonder why you should even care on what’s happing. The issue also has the same art and for some reason has a .51 price increase for the same low amount of pages. Not to mention the issue ends on a cliff hanger with The Legion Of Doom missing and at the bottom of the ocean…and the 3^rd issue in the series never came out making one wonder what happened to the famed wrestling tag team. Plus I am sure that poor sales and bad reviews are why this series was dead in the water after only two issues. To sum it all up, I would say that this could be one of the worst comic series based on real life pro wrestlers ever made and even die hard Legion of Doom fans like myself will be disappointed in the comics story and quality.

The Legion of Doom aka The Road Warriors deserved a better comic series than this and to find out that Animal had something to do with it makes it all so much worse. From what I understand the comics were going to be a way to introduce a comic series that would promote healthy living and working out, but when the first two issue bombed, the third issue that was going to lead to this plan was cancelled. This could be the biggest disappointment thus far doing this blog as I really hoped it would at least be entertaining, and all I got was a lame poorly drawn and written comic with no direction. I need something good for the next update to get this terrible comic series out of my brain so I think we will take a look at something a whole lot better as we tackle the 3-D BlackThorne Comic adventures of Bravestarr based on the classic 80’s cartoon made by Filmation! So until then, watch WWE Monday Night Raw and read a comic or two and remember the rush you got watching the LOD dominate the world of Tag Team Wrestling.

Spend Halloween With Universal’s Frankenstein’s Monster!

Happy Halloween! I hope you’re having a spooky and chilling good time today. I can hear all the little ghouls and goblins running around outside looking for some free candy. I can also hear all the loud parties and mayhem going on in and around 5^th Street. This year for Rotten Ink’s Halloween update we are going to be taking a look at comics based on Frankenstein by Universal that include a very cool Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man one that was translated and put together to be a comic via stickers just for this update! Plus I will be reading these comics alone in an abandoned science lab that’s still filled with lots of odd machines and glass bottles. Not to mention we will also be talking about other fun scary and Halloween related things.  So with the chill in the air and the Jack-O-Lantern lit, let’s open the door to Dr. Frankenstein’s lab and see what’s on the slab!

I’m going to start this update by taking a brief look at Manuel Oritz Partida, a luchador who goes by the ring name Halloween.  So I figured we should at least mention him on an update that goes up on the holiday he is named after! Halloween started his wrestling career in 1990 working for independents in and around Mexico, but he got his big break in 1996 when he signed with WCW and changed his name to Ciclope.  He was a mid-card wrestler for them and had some great matches against the likes of Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio Jr. and Dean Malenko. Once he left WCW, he returned to Mexico and worked for AAA as well as a few independents. Halloween has had many Mask vs. Hair matches and has lost many of them including losing his mask to Super Parka in 1999. After losing the mask, he began painting his face like a Jack-O-Lantern! Throughout his career he has also had many allies that include Damien 666, Super Nova, Extreme Tiger and Mari Apache. At the age of 43 in 2014 he has slowed down some, but Halloween still haunts the rings of Mexico. When I was a teenager I was lucky enough to see Halloween wrestle during a taping of WCW Saturday Night that was at Hara Arena.  If memory serves I think he took on Dean Malenko and lost!

One creepy internet story aka Creepypasta that has been floating around for some years now is called “Squidward’s Suicide,” a truly disturbing story that should be talked about this Halloween season here at Rotten Ink. The story goes that an intern at Nickelodeon had the duty to watch an episode of Spongebob Squarepants with some fellow workers that would have kicked off the new season and when they started to watch, the title card read Squidward’s Suicide.  They thought it was a joke title card, and they all chuckled it off. As they continued to watch, it was nothing special at first and was about Squidward preparing for a clarinet concert when Spongebob’s annoying laughing echoes into his house and Squidward runs him off to keep practicing, but when things get really strange is when at the concert all the fish people in the crowd start booing Squidward with malice and even Spongebob joins in the booing! Squidward goes home and starts to cry sadly to himself as sounds of wind and white noise echoed from the speakers, and then laughing started up as Squidward’s crying became louder and louder and more heartbreaking. While all this was disturbing what the workers found in frames mixed in is what caused them some chills and distress as pictures of freashley murdered children (three in total) would flash for small frames across the screen! These pictures would come inbetween Squidward still crying at the edge of his bed with all the weird sounds going on in the back ground.  It got so bad that they called the creator of Spongebob to watch the remaining episode that ended with Squidward pulling out a shotgun and committing suicide as the image remained on his dead body and then ended. The creator was mad and demanded that they watch the episode again, and he was horrified at what he saw and called the FBI, according to the intern none of the children in the clips were ever identified and no one knew who made the cartoon as the time stamp said it was made just minutes before they watched it! I saved you many of the gory details of what the kids bodies looked like as I didn’t think that this fun blast from the past blog was the right place for it, but if you’re looking for the full well written story search the net and you’ll find it. Another Creepypasta by the name of “Red Mist” is based on Squidward killing himself and has a salesmen fish coming to his door and telling him the red mist is coming…the red mist of course being the blood from his wound…when he shoots himself…man this is some depressing stuff! The major differences between the two stories besides the salesmen and title is that in Red Mist many of the characters sport realistic eyes and also the cartoonist of the episode was said to be a serial killer who had worked for Nickelodeon and was on the run. Fan made animated versions of the episode can be found on youtube, and the story while most likely fake, it still makes me wonder did Squidward really kill himself?

It’s 1976, and the film crew for the TV Show “The Six Million Dollar Man” had rented out the haunted house from the Nu-Pike Amusement Park in Long Beach California.  As they were moving and dressing the “set” they moved the hanging mummy man prop and by accident they broke off the mummy’s arm and to their horror a human bone was poking out! The crew, along with the police, took the mummy to a coroner who verified that the mummy was in fact a human body…the haunted house for years had a real dead body on display. It took some time but they were able to figure out who the body was and when and how he died, and the identity of the mummy was that of criminal Elmer McCurdy who was killed in 1911 in a shootout while trying to rob a train. The undertaker in 1911 decided that since no one claimed his body, he would go ahead and embalmed him and place it on display as “The Bandit Who Wouldn’t Give Up” and would have people place nickels in the corpse’s mouth that at the end of the day he would collect.  At some point a carnival owner tricked the undertaker into thinking he was Elmer’s brother and he took the body and placed it on display for years. After his worth was used up at the carnival, the corpse was sold many times to several haunted houses, wax museums and carnivals making it the traveling mummy! Elmer’s corpse even was shown in the 1933 film Narcotic directed by Dwain Esper and at one point the owner of a haunted house in South Dakota refused to buy the corpses as he felt it was a fake and nothing more then a mannequin. Elmer finally was sold to Nu-Pike Amusement Park and sometime later was discovered again to be a real corpse by a shocked crew member who broke his arm off! In 1977 Elmer McCurdy was finally laid to rest in Summit View Cemetery in the Boot Hill section in Oklahoma ending the traveling mummy’s long and strange trip around the USA. Many joke that Elmer made way more money in death then in life, and for years this story was thought to be an urban legend but was proven to be true. So the next time you go to a haunted house, take a closer look at that corpse hanging or in the coffin cause who knows you might just be looking at the real thing!

In 1999, my friends and I use to run the roads at all times of the night.  We would drive around with the windows down while blaring music and being just rowdy late teens who were out to have a good time. Most of these nights would just lead to us going to a friend’s house where we would spend the rest of the night playing Goldeneye 007 on N64 and listening to music and all crashing at the same home very late in the night. Brandon Womeldorff drove most nights as he had a red convertible, and on this particular night it was just Brandon, David Wean, Rion Neeley and myself driving through Patterson Park or as it’s also called Hills And Dales.  It was around 11:00pm, and we had no real reason to be in the area besides driving fast on the dark roads near Frankenstein’s Tower and enjoying the cool night air. Rion was telling us that one night when he was driving alone near these two stone pillars on the opposite sides of the road and that he could have sworn that he saw what appeared to be a shadow man that was watching him on top of a wooded hill near the pillar.  Of course this made the rest of us to want to go to the spot and see if we could spot this strange man/shadow for ourselves.  As we pulled off the road near said spot Brandon killed the engine, and we all just sat and listened and waited, the sounds of the night filled our ears and then we heard something that sounded like a person running down the hill crunching fallen leaves as it moved fast towards us, Brandon turned the car back on and sped away as we could hear this thing keeping up with us…odd thing being all we could make out was a shadow. We all went back to Rion’s house where Brandon was also living, and we all sat around and talked about what we thought it was, and myself and Brandon went back that night and didn’t see anything. Whatever it was stuck with us as Brandon even wrote a song called “The Man In Black” for a short lived band we were in called X-Mortis. For many years after I would go back to that spot with many of my friends like Andrea Seay, Kevin Kinsley, Matt Hoffman, Jason Gilmore, Misty Altick and Josh Weinberg and almost everytime we would hear or see something…sometimes we would drive away only to return in minutes to find a dead animal propped in the middle of the road, most the time the necks were twisted so the head was facing backwards. This Shadow Man became a spooky icon to us, and we would even play pranks on each other out in the woods near the pillars and hill.  The best one is where Dave Wean, Linda Webb’s boyfriend and I all hid in the woods and made noises as Josh Weinberg dressed in a WWE Kane Mask and a hooded robe stood by a tree near the small road and scared the crap out of Matt Hoffman who was being driven around by Brandon who was in on the prank, but one thing I must say is as we waited in those woods, we all did hear many odd things. Josh and I many nights would go back to that place and like clockwork we would hear and slightly see the Shadow Man.  One night we really pissed it off as we got out of the car and challenged it to a fight, while from the car stereo we played the battle music from the Star Trek episode “Amock Time” and carried ball bats ready to knock it’s block off. For a short time it did not respond but once we heard it come running down the hill full blast we left before the “battle” could happen. Over the years I went less and less to hear and see The Shadow Man, and the park got lots of remodeling and the last handful of times me and Josh went there had been no sign or noise of the Shadow making us wonder what and where did it go. We never could figure out just what and why it was and what would have happened to us if it would have caught us, but one things for sure Shadow Man will forever live on as one of my favorite unknown things I have witnessed. Bellow is a drawing by me of what it looked like.

On October 6^th and 7^th Juliet and I decided to have our own Horror Movie Marathon, an event that I used to hold all the time that would have all my friends over to watch horror flicks all day and eat junk food. On Monday the 6^th we had what I would call the pre-show where we watch a few Horror films to gear up for the next day, and the films selected were the made for TV cheese-fest “Werewolf of Woodstock”, smart and artistic 80’s slasher “Curtains” and low budget succubus flick “Dreamaniac.”  We both agreed that Curtains was the best film of the pre-show.  It was about actresses meeting at a film director’s mansion in the woods on a snow filled weekend, and someone is killing them off one by one. And we both agreed that the worst turkey of the night was Dreamaniac that was about some goofball song writer who allows his girlfriend and her sister to party at a house he is watching as a succubus is killing off the guests. On the 7^th we started our marathon at 8 am and kicked it off with the Universal Horror film “Black Friday” that stars Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi and is about a mobster’s brain being transplanted into that of a professor and the doctor who did so wants to get his hands of some of the mobsters’ hidden money. The 1957 low budget film “From Hell It Came” was next and is about a tree monster and the battle between USA doctors and the natives of an island. The original 1980 “Prom Night” was next about a killer on the loose at a High School prom. 1989’s own low budget camping slasher film “Moonstalker” was next followed by “Legend of The Werewolf” a 1975 film starring Peter Cushing that follows a young man who is cursed to become a werewolf. Evil Dead inspired film “Demon Wind” was next and follows a group of friends stuck in an old house as demons want to take their souls. 1971 Hammer Film “Hands of The Ripper” was the next shocker to be shown and was about the daughter of Jack The Ripper and that was followed by Universal Sci-Fi giant spider film “Tarantula!” that shows man should not mess with mother nature. Next was Fullmoon Entertainment’s 11^th film in the series “Puppet Master X: Axis Rising” where the puppets must stop Nazi’s and evil puppets from harming America. The next film shown is a pure cheesy guilty pleasure for me, 1995’s “Project: Metalbeast” starring Kane Hodder as Metalbeast and is about a metal skinned werewolf running wild in a military lab. As we headed into the late night we ended it with two vampire films, the first being “Dawn Of Dracula,” a low budget film made by the cool cats who make the horror host show Midnite Mausoleum and follows Victoria Van Helsing played by the lovely Marlena Midnite as she looks for missing people.  Then we watched “ Dinner With A Vampire” where a group of actors are stuck in a mansion with a real life vampire! The evening was super fun, and we snacked on Peanut M&M’s, Mike-Sells Beer Can Chicken Potato Chips as well as homemade Hot Wings and had a great spooky time just hanging out and enjoying all the horrors of the movies. My top three films of the day would have to be as follows: # 1 Hands of The Ripper, a film I think was well done and added a spin of the Jack The Ripper tale, # 2 Project: Metalbeast for some reason I have been a fan of this film for a long time and use to watch it on VHS when I was younger and feel it stills holds that charm till this day! And # 3 would have to be Legend of The Werewolf a great classic style horror film that has a simple plot and holds such a Hammer Horror feel that I have always found it to be entertaining. I would also like to note that this top three was really hard to pick as I also really enjoyed Dinner With A Vampire, Prom Night and Demon Wind allot! My Golden Turkey of the night would have to go to Moonstalker, while not a bad movie it was just really slow paced with moments that really seemed to drag. Juliet’s top three were # 1 Hands of The Ripper, # 2 Dinner With A Vampire and # 3 Legend of The Werewolf, she had a hard time as well as she truly enjoyed Tarantula! that almost made her list. Her Golden Turkey was Moonstalker for the same reasons I stated. This was a fun event that I look forward to doing again soon as well as maybe one update I will give a history of the event and how the Horror Movie Marathon tradition started with me and my friends.

 

So what would Halloween be without having another 5 Questions with a Horror Host, and this time I think we are going to talk to Dayton, Ohio’s own Baron Von Porkchop! If you remember last year we chatted with Chicago Horror Host Count Gregula of Count Gregula’s Crypt.  So I figured that this year I wanted to do a Dayton Original Host who I also consider a very dear friend and that’s the good old Baron. Baron Von Porkchop started his show Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre in late 2010 and would air on DATV with his first episode where he hosted the Vincent Price classic House On Haunted Hill.  After this he has shown no signs of slowing down as he is working on his 3^rd season as well as a number of Holiday and other type of specials. I traveled to Porkchop Manor and met with Baron Von Porkchop on a chilly night, and here are my 5 Questions with Baron Von Porkchop.

Me: So Baron tell me about your show Terrifying Tales of The Macabre, as well as about Porkchop manor?

Baron: Well my show is about… me. I’m just trying to live my life as an undead ghoul the best I know how, but it seems like everyone and everything wants to try and ruin it! My manor is a little run down, but I love the place. It has all the comforts of home with a little added creepy.

Me: I always have a good creepy time here at the Manor! So what Horror Hosts of the past have influenced you as a host yourself?

Baron: I would have to say since the day I was dug up, I have seen many different horror host icons and most of them have influenced me a little bit, but I would say The Crypt Keeper and Mike and Joel from Mystery Science Theater 3000 would be the most influential.

Me: Great choices, and Crypt Keeper is even in the Horror Host Hall of Fame. So being an undead ghoul and all, do you ever get urges to eat human flesh or brains?

Baron: NO, NO SILLY! That’s zombies, we ghouls just try to get by from day to day we don’t need anything as far as sustenance goes… well except a terrible movie from time to time.

Me: That’s a relief that no flesh eating is in your future! So you have been to quite a bit of conventions and during these travels, what celebrity were you most happy to meet? As well as what other Horror Host?

Baron: Well I did get to meet the Hellraiser himself Doug Bradly and that was kind of a dream come true. As far as horror hosts goes, I did get to meet The Crypt Keeper and that was pretty exciting. But all and all I have to say that all of the horror hosts I have met I have liked in different ways.

Me: Bradley is such an icon of Horror. Well sadly we are at the final question so with my topic for this years Halloween update being about Universal Frankenstein, what other actor besides Boris Karloff would you say is your favorite actor to play the Monster?

Baron: Wow there are so many to chose from…. let me think….. Aaron Eckhart I think from “I, Frankenstein”, I believe would be the best for sure! HAHAHAHAHA! No, no I kid, I kid. This is kind of a hard one though because so many great actors have played the creature. Like Christopher Lee, Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr., Peter Boyle and so many more. Honestly I have to say that David Prowse is probably my favorite portrayal, because Frankenstein and the Monster From Hell is a great movie and a pure scare fest.

Me: Agreed, choosing who is the best actor who has played The Monster is a very tough question, but I would agree that Prowse would be high on my list as well as Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell is one of my favorite Hammer Horror films. Well thanks for spending some time with us here on Rotten Ink and thanks for doing what you do and keeping Horror Hosting alive in Dayton, Ohio. Anything you wanna say to the readers before we go?

Baron: I will see you soon on the Terrifying Tales of the Macabre, until then have a spooky time piggies, HAHAHAHAHA!!

Airing the day this goes up, October 31^st 2014 Baron Von Porkchop will be hosting the Bela Lugosi classic White Zombie for his fourth Halloween Special! I don’t wanna spoil to much but Baron alongside his pal Melvin (Butler to Stephen Von Frankenstein) come face to face with a zombie who has an ax to grind. The special will air on DATV in Dayton on Channel 5 via Time Warner Cable and should be a very fun and spooky episode. I must also say that I am VERY proud of Baron Von Porkchop and Terrifying Tales Of The Macabre, and I am very thankful that I am able to do the show along side a very talented host, cast and crew. If you’re looking for a little more on Baron check out his website at www.terrifyingtalesofthemacabre.com or look him up on Facebook. Man, Horror Hosts are so much fun, and I will continue to have 5 Questions with one every Halloween update so that’s something you readers can always look forward to.

October 24^th 2014 marked the 18^th year of Horrorama, and I was happy to once more be a part of the event that showed four great films “Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell”, “Rawhead Rex”, “Hell of The Living Dead” and “Bride Of Re-Animator” and once more was held at the great local theater the Englewood Cinema. Juliet and I, on our way to the theater early to check the prints of the films as well as eat at the chinese restaurant across the street that has become a tradition, also came across a truck with a propped up coffin with a life size mummy in it on Highway 70…this was a great way to kick off a very long night of film watching and mayhem. The event was hosted by A. Ghastlee Ghoul, the legendary horror host of Dayton, and he helped keep the night moving and filled with laughs.  Rick Martin this year co-hosted and with him being the remaining original event creator, it’s always nice to hear him keep the spirit of the event alive and honor what he started with Andy Copp and Dr. Creep. This year thanks to theater owner Mike, I was able to be the projectionist and wow, that was a lot of fun.  I think one of the coolest things for me that night was being able to peer out the projection window standing next the very old 35mm projector and watch my favorite Hammer Horror film, Frankenstein And The Monster From Hell, a very cool moment for me. Plus at the event were many of my family and friends as besides Juliet, my brother Bryan along with his wife Bel and daughter Abby were there as well as my cousin Stephen. Lots of my friends as well like Josh Weinberg, Mike Ritchie, Garrison Kane, Todd The Fox, Victoria Harper, Nick Williams and Mandie Brown were watching the flicks and having fun. Another great event done and I must say a big thank you for everyone who came and supported this event as well as everyone who helped. Below is a pic of the mummy truck, the event’s poster, and a picture taken from the projection room of the Monster From Hell.

So let’s see so far we have covered wrestler Halloween, Creepypasta about a cartoon suicide, the traveling corpse of outlaw Elmer McCurdy, The Shadow Man of Hills and Dales Park that used to chase me and friends, a Horror Movie Marathon that Juliet and I had as well as Dayton Ohio Horror Host Baron Von Porkchop.  So now I think it’s time we talk a little about Universal’s longest classic monster series Frankenstein. In 1931, after the success of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi Universal was quickly looking for another classic horror novel to turn into a film.  That novel was Frankenstein by Mary Shelly, and the first choice to play the Monster was Bela Lugosi! The story goes that Lugosi didn’t want the role because he thought it was no real acting as the Monster only grunted and was not too keen in the fact his face would be covered in makeup so the part ended up going to Boris Korloff, a character actor that the director James Whale liked. The film had a budget of $262,007.00 and made the studio $12,000,000.00 opening many studios eyes that horror films can make money. Universal made a sequel, Bride of Frankenstein, in 1935 and it was followed by Son of Frankenstein in 1939, and for these three films Karloff played The Monster but for the remaining films in the series many other actors stepped into the role including Lon Chaney Jr., Glenn Strange and even Bela Lugosi in such films as Ghost of Frankenstein (1942), Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943), House Of Frankenstein (1944), House Of Dracula (1945) and Abbott And Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948) making The Frankenstein Monster the first franchise horror character to have so many sequels. Growing up I loved watching the old Frankenstein films from Universal and in fact the first ever VHS I ever owned was Frankenstein! So with this I am really ready to tell you about the Lab I will be reading these comics at so that I can head that way and read some comic adaptations of the classic Universal films!

The place I will be reading these comics is an old science labs that was used for plant experiments and is located in Yellow Springs.  I promised I would not tell the exact location but let’s just say it’s near downtown. The Labs are still filled with all types of odd machines as well as old racks and trays that use to hold the planets. The sight was also used for animal testing and has cages frozen in time as well! I chose this location due to the nature of the Frankenstein story being so heavily science based and what better way to read these comics then an old lab with poor lighting and not a soul around as well as glass pipes that running over head that use to hold acid used in experiments. Below are some pics of the location just so you can get a feel of what the atmosphere for me will be like.

The night I choose to read these comics was a very dark one with clouds in the sky, it had a nice chill in the air and the labs upstairs were a little cold. So let’s find a nice spot among the dust and old equipment and read these adaptations under the flickering lights, Remember that I rate the issues on the 1-4 scale and base it on art, story, how close it stays to the source material and over all entertainment value. I want to thank Bell, Book And Comic for having Dark Horses Frankenstein in stock and Juliet and Eric for helping with the other two. So the thunderstorm is coming in, so let’s prepare for the Monster to come alive!

Frankenstein # 1 ****
Released in 1993   Cover Price $3.95   Dark Horse   #1 of 1

Henry Frankenstein and his assistant Fritz are stealing dead bodies and stitching them together.  Fritz even breaks into a lab and steals an abnormal brain after dropping that of a normal man, and this is all for Henry who wants to create a new life with his own hands in a dusty old tower. During a terrible thunderstorm Henry wants to use the lightning to jolt his creation to life but is interrupted by his fiance Elizabeth, his best friend Victor and his old medical teacher Dr. Waldman who all witness the experiment that works! Victor and Elizabeth return home and try to keep Baron Frankenstein from visiting his son as Waldman begs his former student to kill his Monster before it’s too late. The Monster at first seems to listen and understand commands but when Fritz comes in with a torch the Monster goes crazy, and they must knock it out and put it in the cellar, where Fritz continues to bully it with a whip and a torch.  Finally the Monster snaps and kills Fritz by hanging him. Henry and Waldman knock out the Monster and with the help of Victor, they hide it from his father and Elizabeth. Henry goes home with his father as Waldman is going to dissect and kill the Monster who wakes up and instead kills Waldman! On Henry and Elizabeth’s wedding day, the Monster breaks free of the tower and kills a little girl on accident and even attacks Elizabeth! The townspeople and Henry form a posse and hunt the Monster down.  Henry comes face to face with his Monster who knocks his creator out and takes him to a windmill and throws him off it hurting him badly, as the towns people rush Henry home for medical care they also set the windmill on fire and the Monster is believed to be burnt alive. In the end Henry is getting better at Frankenstein Manor and Elizabeth is at his side while the Monster’s region of terror has came to an end….for now!

This is a great adaptation that captures the mood and story of the classic Universal film and was a great way to start the reviews off! The plot follows a scientist who wants to play God and creates a monster who has a bad brain that does bad things but don’t really understand that it’s doing so.  In the end creator and creation must come face to face with only one making it out alive! Henry Frankenstein is not a bad man, and while he does get wrapped up in his experiment and does create a monster, he had good intentions. It’s clear that Henry loves his girlfriend Elizabeth as well as hid friends and father but that he really wants to be known in the world of science. Dr. Waldman is a wise scientist who sees the dangers in playing God and wants to try and help his student by talking sense into him. Fritz is just a troublemaker and a screw up who seems to take joy in tormenting the Monster.  His worse blunder is stealing the wrong brain and not even telling his boss of the mishap. Victor is a loyal friend who don’t understand why his best friend is acting this way but stands by him when the chips are down and it’s clear Henry needs help. Elizabeth is a loving fiance who understands her man and tries her best to allow him to balance his work and social life with her.  She is the kind of woman who is always by the side of her loved one. Baron Frankenstein is a ass who is more stuck on himself then anything else.  The way he speaks down to others makes him not a very nice person and a character that this reader kind of hated. The Monster is pretty one dimensional in this comic and it’s clear to see that Boris Karloff in the movie is who gave the Monster a personality and made him sympathetic.  In the comic you just don’t pick up on any of its emotions, and The Monster really just comes off as a lumbering brute But that’s the only minor flaw to this amazing comic that I really enjoyed. The art by Den Beauvais (who also adapted the story) is fantastic and it really makes the comic pop as The Monster looks just like Karloff in the movie and in fact most the characters look like the actors who played them in the Universal film. If you’re a fan of the movie or a Universal Monster collector this comic is made for you.  Pick it up you won’t regret it. Check out some of Den’s amazing artwork below.

So the second film in the series is “Bride Of Frankenstein” and sadly no official film adaptation has been made…yet. I am proud to say that talented artist and friend of mine Jeff Potter will be doing a exclusive Bride of Frankenstein just for me to review here on Rotten Ink! So look for that sometime in 2015. But our next comic in the Universal Frankenstein series is a photo comic made by National Periodical that was part of a comic that had several adaptations of movies.  This comic I will be reading in this cold science lab is a custom one that takes just the Son of Frankenstein part and made it into a issue of its own! So let’s get into it shall we?

Son Of Frankenstein  # 1  **1/2
Released in 1939   Cover Price .10   National Periodical   #1 of 1

Wolf Frankenstein, the son of Henry returns to his family’s castle after being away from it for over 20 years and finds that his wife and young son Peter are only warmly greeted by the hired help as the villagers look at them with hate over his father’s Monster. Inspector Crogh visits the castle and tells Wolf that he and his family are not welcome and that he thinks the Monster is alive and killing.  This sparks Wolf’s interest in his father’s old lab where Wolf meets a twisted shepherd named Ygor who shows him that the Monster is indeed alive but very weak. Wolf becomes obsessed with trying to make the Monster better as he believes that this will clear his family’s name, but when more deaths happen, Crogh goes to arrest Wolf as he himself finds that Ygor is using the Monster to kill a jury that convicted him some years back.  This leads to Wolf shooting and killing Ygor. The Monster ends up finding the body of his friend Ygor and this sets him into a rage and he kidnaps Peter.  Crogh tries to help save Peter but is tossed to the side by The Monster! The Monster becomes scared by the villagers who now have become an angry mob, and Wolf kicks him into a lava pit saving his son and causing him to leave the castle for good.

First I have to say I love the movie and that’s why it breaks my heart to read this half butted attempted at a photo comic that tries to cram a 99 minute movie into 8 pages, but then again at least in 1939, they tried to give readers the chills with this comic. The comic changes the plot of the movie in many ways and even how it ends is different.  While some changes, like the fact Inspector Crogh is a very angry and unfriendly man, are interesting other changes like The Monster being frozen with fear by just the sounds of a mob is silly. Wolf Frankenstein is a likeable hero who in this comic really just wanted to return home and clear his family’s name. Young Peter Frankenstein is less annoying in the comic but is just used as bait for the end of the story. Ygor is just kind of around, and while he orders The Monster around he really isn’t given much to do. The Monster also spends most the issue with nothing to do and spends much time just standing to on the slab. I wish the Monster would have had a little more to do and would not be defeated like he was a coward. Plus how brutal is it that Wolf kicks The Monster into lava and watches him burn to death! The art in the comic is mostly photo comic style but does have slight art work added to the photos, and the dialogue is hard to read as the person who did lettering has pretty sloppy hand writing at times. To be honest, this is a nice throwback comic but doesn’t really offer much besides slight old school horror chills. So I think it’s time to move on and will just sum it up as okay but pretty disappointing.

So next in the film world would be “Ghost of Frankenstein” and once more a comic adaptation was never made so I went to my friend Eric Shonborn, and he will be making Rotten Ink one to review along side Jeff Potters Bride of Frankenstein! So let’s move onto the next comic in the series “Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man,” one of my favorite in the Universal Frankenstein series.  The movie is gracing my t-shirt as I sit and write this in the lab. This comic is a custom comic that was put together and translated by Juliet from an old Spanish sticker book based on the movie! So let’s jump into this one as the lab area is given off some odd nosies that sound like keys jiggling!

Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man  # 1  ***
Released in 1946   Cover Price .10   Bloodline Comics   #1 of 1

Two grave robbers go into the crypt of Larry Talbot on a full moon night allowing him to turn into The Wolf Man and escape his tomb and once more set out for blood! Larry wakes up in a hospital in the care of Dr. Mannering and is being watched by cops who don’t believe that he is Larry Talbot as all records say he is dead. That night Larry transforms into The Wolf Man again and kills a cop.  In the morning when the medical staff look at him as if he is crazy, Larry escapes and finds his friend the old gypsy woman Maleva, and they set out to find the diary of Doctor Frankenstein as they think it will hold the answers of finding a cure for Larry’s curse. As they travel, they stop at an inn and are run off by the locals all who hate the name Frankenstein.  After leaving night falls on them and Larry becomes The Wolf Man once more and kills a woman and is hunted down by locals and falls into a hole knocking itself out. Larry awakens in the frozen cave and finds the body of The Monster in ice and frees it, and the pair become unlikely friends. Larry even tries to convince Elsa Frankenstein to help him find her grandfather’s diary, and she wants nothing to do with it. But when The Monster and Larry make a big scary scene at the town’s festival after being confronted by Dr. Mannering, the pair escape to the ruins of the old castle. Elsa, Maleva and Mannering come to the castle and all together they work along side Larry and The Monster and find the diary and set up to cure him of his curse and even drain all the energy from The Monster. This does not go as planned as Mannering makes a mistake that leaves The Monster in a rage and Larry turning into The Wolf Man.  The monsters fight in the old castle ruins as the villagers blow up the near by dame, drowning the two monsters and ending the terror.

When two monsters collide, I the reader won in this fun cheesy comic adaptation that’s packed with so much cheese that it was busting at the seams. The story follows the film for the most part and follows Larry who wants to find a cure for his werewolf curse and gets the help of the remaining Frankenstein as well as befriends The Monster, but when he changes into a beast his urge to kill comes through and he fights his monster friend until they both go swim with the fishes. Larry Talbot is a man who you as the reader feel bad for, but you also find yourself very happy when he turns into The Wolf Man and stalks around and kills whatever he can find. The Monster for the most part just lumbers around and shows he has zero tolerance for people. Dr. Mannering, Maleva the Gypsy and Elsa Frankenstein are good supporting characters who add to the story in their own way but none are really flushed out. The comic has zero blood and gore and is truly a classic horror thriller comic that relies on the fact that monsters are scary, and I love that about this comic. The artwork is done by an unknown artist but I really dig the almost cartoon style, with the Wolf Man looking pretty good and The Monster looking like a skinny kid dressed up for Halloween. While the comic follows the film pretty well, it as well suffers from the fact they tried to rush the plot and rushed way too much character development. With all that said I must say I really enjoyed this comic and wish that some day Dark Horse will get into gear and make Official Universal Monster Movie adaptation comics! Check out the artwork below.

 

So with the lab being the perfect place to read these comics and with all the spooky sounds and the chill in the air, I think it’s time for me to leave this area…never to return again…well that’s until maybe next time I read Universal Frankenstein comics for Rotten Ink. I really enjoy horror comics and love the Halloween season, and this update has just really made me look forward to doing next year’s countdown to the spookiest holiday. So once more I want to thank Eric and Juliet for their help on this update, and I want to also remind all you Horror Host fans that Baron Von Porkchop’s Halloween Special airs tonight on DATV (Time Warner Channel 5) or can be watched via stream at www.datv.org! So I am sure your all wondering what’s the next update, and I must confess that it’s a Debbie Downer as we take a look at the death of the Spider-Man villain The Tarantula! So until next time, read a horror comic or three, support your local Horror Host and watch the skies for its Halloween and the ghosts and goblins are on the loose…you have been warned….Happy Halloween!

Chuck Norris as Chuck Norris in Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos!

In the late 70’s and throughout the 80’s, larger than life action stars were box office hits.  Names like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Charles Bronson, Jean Claude Van Damme, Dolph Lundgren and many more were flooding the market and being idolized by young males across the world. I was a huge Stallone fan and loved his films like Rocky, First Blood and Cobra, but there was always one action star long before it became “cool” and a “fad” to like that always captured my dad, brother’s and my attention – Chuck Norris! Way before hipsters thought Walker Texas Ranger was funny and before his facts were an internet sensation, Norris was kicking ass in films like Missing in Action, Breaker Breaker, Hero and the Terror, Silent Rage and Lone Wolf McQuade proving that he was one of the best B-movie action stars of the time. I remember as a kid watching Missing in Action 1 & 2 and wanting toys of lead character Colonel James Braddock, and while I understood that being a P.O.W. was a bad thing, years later when I was a teenager I understood the real message in the film. Another funny story about Chuck Norris is when my brother was younger he loved the movie Meatballs and one day my dad was watching Silent Rage on HBO and told him that it was Meatballs II.  My brother sat with wonder and watched waiting for the Alien to appear, instead he got a film where Norris was going up against an un-killable killer! This freaked my brother out and added for chuckles many years about Meatballs II. If you want to check out any of Norris’s films you can find them on Beta, VHS, Laserdisc, DVD and Blu-Ray!

In 1986, Chuck Norris also was involved in a cartoon called “Chuck Norris and the Karate Kommandos” in which Chuck Norris plays a government operative in charge of a team of martial arts commandos that battles a organization called VULTURE lead by The Claw and his right hand man Super Ninja. It lasted one season for only 5 episodes and was made by the great Hanna-Barbera company. The cartoon also from time to time airs on Adult Swim on the Cartoon Network. Growing up I never watched the show that much, and while I remember it airing, I never found myself wanting to view the animated adventures when I could just watch the live action films. The Karate Kommandos has been released on VHS and DVD-R and has become a cult classic.

In 1986 Kenner also made action figures to go along with the animated series and much like the toon it was based on, the toy line was also very short lived. Multiple figures based on Chuck Norris were made as well as all the Kommando’s and Super Ninja. Also vehicles were made as well as plastic weapons rounding out the merchandise that was made around the short lasting series. I did however own some of the figures, and all the ones I owned were Chuck Norris.  The figures themselves were well made and well sculpted toys for the time. In school I knew a few kids that had some of these figures, and the most popular one I saw the most kids have was the purple Super-Ninja. In fact, I still have my Norris figures, and Game Swap in Kettering, a place I get some of these comics has one in store!

Chuck Norris fever has died down a little and seems to have passed as one of those annoying hip references that made you want to punch the hipster spewing it who clearly never seen a Norris film in their self absorbed life. But this did not stop the wave of Norris-inspired merchandise that included books, t-shirts, mugs, folders, posters, notebooks, key chains, stuff dolls, bobble-heads and so many other products! So if you are a true Norris fan, there is some great stuff out there for you!

Chuck Norris, who as of early 2012 is 71 years old, was in the Air Force as an Air Policeman, and while stationed in South Korea, he decided to learn the art of self-defense in the forum of Tang Soo Do.  This started the path of an action superstar, but not before Norris became a karate champion and a teacher of the art of self defense teaching such stars as Steve McQueen, Bob Barker and Donny and Marie Osmond in schools he opened. In 1969 Norris began his acting career in the Dean Martin film The Wrecking Crew and has been making movies since! Some of his best known film work includes Missing in Action, Delta Force, Way of the Dragon, The Expendables 2 and Lone Wolf McQuade. Norris also made it into the TV world, not only known for the 1986 short lived cartoon “Chuck Norris and the Karate Kommandos” but more so for his 1993 series “Walker Texas Ranger,” which ran on CBS for over eight years.  Norris also became a spokesman for products like The Total Gym Work Out Machine and the computer game World of Warcraft. Noris is also known for being a diehard Christian and Republican has also written several books on his beliefs. In 2005, Norris also became a internet hit when “Chuck Norris Facts” started to infect everyone’s Myspace page who thought of a funny way to show just how kick ass Norris is in a tongue in cheek kind of way. Norris continues to be an icon in the world of action stars and will always be known as one bad ass dude!

Before I get into my look at the 4 issue run of The Karate Kommandos from Star Comics I would like to share some memories I have of Chuck Norris. I always remember watching Chuck Norris on the then Ted Turner owed station TBS, that seemed to always be showing a Missing in Action film or Breaker, Breaker, and I can’t count how many times I would sit and watch these films over and over.  I always remember wanting an action figure of Norris’s character Colonel James Braddock of Missing in Action because of watching those movies on TBS. That’s one thing I miss about TV, now that Turner is no longer in control of TBS and TNT, all the amazing programs those stations delivered to me in my youth. I mean I grew up watching many of the programs they would air from all the old reruns of The Andy Griffith Show, Gilligan’s Island and Little House on the Prairie to hosted programs like Joe Bob Briggs on TNT’s Monstervison, Grandpa Munster hosting Super Scary Saturday and even Dinner and a Movie with hosts Paul Gilmartin, Annabelle Gurwitch and chef Claud Mann. One of the things on TBS in the 80’s my brother and I would look forward to was watching NWA and then later WCW wrestling, and nothing was more epic then the PPV type event that was free to watch called Clash of the Champions where you would be able to watch wrestling legends like Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Sting, The Rock n Roll Express and many more battle in matches that had so much build up.  Those truly were the days. I have great memories of watching old NWA shows on winter Saturday evenings at my grandparents’ house as the fire place was warming the room, and my grandpa, dad and brother all sat around and watched the likes of the Four Horsemen and Dusty Rhodes. Also I love how back in the day all shows on TBS started five minutes later like 6:05.  Odd, I know but a great gimick. I wish Turner would come back to bring a new station to airwaves and give us back some of this classic shows he once aired.  Say what you will about the man, but he knew what he was doing when it came to cable TV.  I mean his stations gave you a little of every thing if you wanted to see sports, news, classic shows, movies, horror hosts, wrestling, original programs and much more then look no further then a Turner owned station. So here is to Chuck Norris, Ted Turner, TBS and TNT for some great memories growing up, and here is to hoping Turner will return to doing what he does best, making one hell of a great TV station.

I want to remind everyone that I grade these comics on a standard 1-4 star scale and look for entertainment value, art, story and how true the comic is to its source material.  So with that, let’s kick some butt with Chuck Norris and his Karate Komman

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos # 1  **
Released in 1987     Cover Price .75    Star Comics    1 of 4 

Too Much is the youngest member of the Karate Kommandos, and while at school he and his classmates are held hostage by evil ninjas led by Super Ninja, who works for Claw. They are there in order to exchange the kids for a government anti-terrorist vehicle that is packed with state of the art weapons. But things don’t go as the ninjas wanted as Chuck Norris along with his Karate Kommandos that include Kimo a sword expert, Reed a young man Norris has taken under his wing as well as his sister Pepper who is a master of repairing and driving cars, wolf the team pet and Tabe a sumo wrestler who loves to eat, all come to the rescue and clean house of the evil doers and saving Too Much and all his classmates.

This issue was pretty weak to start a series off by and focuses way too much on Too Much who for all accounts is a brat who blows off school work and uses his friendship with Chuck Norris to act popular with his peers. Chuck Norris walks around like a silent badass who only gives one liners when needed and then turns into a walking PSA about working hard in school.  The rest of the team for some reason kept reminding me of the gymnastic teens from the Mr. T cartoon mixed with the A-Team but not as nearly bad ass. I think the biggest problem with this issue is the lack of character development, like who are these Karate Kommandos and why is a movie actor like Chuck Norris the head of the team?  Who is Super Ninja and why didn’t he come to the school himself if this was such a huge operation? And why is The Claw never shown? Given the fact that the cartoon was bombing on TV and kids weren’t flocking to Children’s Palace or Toys R Us for the figures, you would think that Star would have put a little more background into this issue to help push this comic series to do better then everything else attached to it. Not to mention the storyline in this issue is weak and seems like a back up story for an issue that ran short. The artwork is your typical Star Comic look so I kind of like that, and the cover is pure cheese so it does have that going for it. Over all this issue is not impressive and a very bad way to start off Chuck Norris’ first comic book run.

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos # 2  **1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Star Comics   2 of 4 

Chuck Norris and his Karate Kommandos are hired to protect a new super computer that has been targeted by VULTURE, but when it’s Reed and Pepper’s turn to watch the super machine, sibling fighting happens and Reed storms out and meets Margie, a young woman who’s mom is sick and has been hired by The Claw to steal it for cash to help her mom who needs an operation. Meanwhile Ninjas break in and steal the computer and kidnap Pepper.  Reed returns at the same time as his team and all get a shock to find they have failed to keep it safe. Meanwhile the ninjas as along with Margie have Pepper and are trying to force her to show them how the computer works, only for Margie to take a stand and help Pepper escape just as Chuck and the Kommandos come in for the save. In the end Chuck gives the reward money to Margie for her mom’s aid.

This is more like it; a comic filled with action, drama and takes the focus away from the youngest member of the Kommandos, Too Much, and showcases the brother and sister team of Reed and Pepper and has them showing real sibling rivalry. The messages are clear in this one: always be there for family and you should never abandon your responsibility. Chuck takes more of a back seat in this one and is only used when needed. As for action, while it’s not every page, the times it’s used it really works! The bad guys in this issue are all the generic ninjas of VULTURE and Super Ninja nor Claw make an appearance.  This doesn’t make much sense and adds no major threat to Chuck and his crew. I will say that I also feel that this issue captures more of the cheesy charm of the cartoon. Over all this is a step in the right direction for this series. The art work is same as last issue, and the cover is in your face with Chuck Norris landing a flying kick. Let’s see how issue three goes in this “action” series.

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos  # 3  *1/2
Released in 1987   Cover Price .75   Star Comics   3 of 4 

Chuck and Kimo are practicing with swords to see who’s the best in a friendly way as Tabe is in the kitchen making himself a feast. During a break in the spar Kimo hears Tabe giving advice and life lessons to fellow Karate Kommandos.  First up is Too Much, who is having an issue that involves his friend and him being forced to have spelling bee against each other in school.  So Tabe tells him about the first time he met Chuck that had them sparing with sticks on a log to impress friends. Reed is next and talks about how some friends are going to cheat at a sporting event, and this time Tabe tells a different story about how he met Chuck that pertains to the situation.  This continues with Pepper, who is having guy issues. In the end Kimo asks Chuck who has returned to spar how he met Tabe, and none of the stories he told was correct!

Issue three is all about Tabe, the lovable slob sumo wrestler who loves to eat and as this issue exposes, tell lies! This is not a very good message to teach young readers as Tabe lies several times to trusted friends in order to give them guidance that will help them with an issue that is bothering them, but even a white lie is still a lie.  The worse thing about this issue is the fact Tabe makes himself out to be this amazing hero in every one of his BS stories. Tabe is my second least favorite character from this comic/toon series, and this issue is all about him, making this one a so-so read. VULTURE and all its members take a backseat in this issue, and at no time during Tabe’s stories do you feel that he or Chuck are in any real danger, making this pretty lackluster in the action department. Issue three is clearly the weakest so far, and while some parts are fun, like the silliness of all the different ways he says he and Norris meet, its all the other fluff that makes it bland. The artwork is as it was in the past two issues, and this kind of holds the charm of the cartoon. The cover makes this issue look way more action packed then it is, and with this let’s move on to the final issue in the series.

Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos # 4  ***
Released in 1987   Cover Price $1.00   Star Comics   4 of 4 

Chuck Norris has a visitor at the secret headquarters of the Karate Kommandos, and Its Jack Fredericks, who is taking over the West Coast Office that runs secrets teams like them.  While there he is witness to Chuck and gang getting a mission that has them saving the daughter of a snotty Doctor named Johan Belson who has had troubles with Norris in the past. The daughter has been kidnapped by a gang of goons who are working for Claw and want secrets that Belson knows.  With a distrust for the man they are helping, Norris and the Kommandos save the daughter and teach Belson what it is to be a man.

This is the final issue in the series, and they seemed to finally get that what they had was Chuck Norris action superstar along with a team of rough and tough Kommandos who were about fighting for freedom much like G.I. Joe.  In fact this adventure reminds me of a Marvel Joe comic. Chuck Norris takes control in this issue and uses not only his kicks and punches but his brains and out smarts the baddies and uses his leadership over his crew to get the job 100% done. Normally annoying characters like Too Much and Tabe are far less unlikeable, as members Kimo, Reed and Pepper take a back seat to showcase Norris. Again the Super Ninja and Claw don’t make an appearance, and this time they use not even the ninjas but lame normal guys who try to put up a fight just can’t.  This issue should have been the first in the series and all issues after this should have followed this style and formula to have made a good run of comics. The art work is the best it’s been in the series and seems as if someone who worked on Marvels G.I. Joe or Transformers comic lent their talents to this final issue. The cover’s pretty weak but can be compared to other late 80’s action covers from Marvel. All in all I can at least say that Chuck Norris Karate Kommando’s ended on a higher note then it started. I would like to thank Bell Book and Comic & Lone Star Comics for stocking these issues to make this review possible.

Thinking about the comic and cartoon series made me realize that the toon only lasted one more episode then the comic run making one see why this STAR comic run was doomed to being canceled from the start. And this series also got me thinking about pop group the Spice Girls because of the character Too Much having the same name as their 1997 hit song from album Spice World. Then I remember being a teen and thinking how hot those british girls in short skirts and tight cloths were and how damn catchy their songs were. My two favorites to look at were Posh Spice and Baby Spice, and I will not lie, I did have their CDs and also watched Spice World on VHS when it hit video stores. And did anyone else notice Baby Spices love for suckers, and how so wrong yet so right it was? Just take a look at the center picture, and Spice Up Your Life indeed!

Well in this update we looked at the movie and cartoon career of Chuck Norris, took a look back at Ted Turner owned TBS & TNT and even talked a little about the Spice Girls, but in the next update the gloves are off as we look at shock rocker Rob Zombie’s take on a legend we all know…..no, not his remakes of the Halloween series but his take on the crypto creature Bigfoot! So be here for the next shocking update.

Who All Read the Leprechaun? Say Yeah!

It’s St. Patricks Day 2013, and what better way to celebrate than to take a look at a 4-issue miniseries based on the LionsGate horror film series Leprechaun! Am I right or what?  Sure, many of you would love to be out drinking green beer with friends at pubs and bars like Blind Bobs or The Pub, but some people have to work or don’t drink like myself.  So for those who are not having a drunken good time, this update’s for you, and for those out celebrating, this is also for you. Besides this holiday that really has nothing to do with drinking, Ireland has also brought us the folklore of a tiny elf/fairy that loves keeping gold coins in pots at the end of rainbows, making shoes and pulling some wicked pranks.  Leprechauns are believed to be no taller than a small child and when captured by a human are said to grant three wishes in return if you let them free.  They are known for wearing green or red coats, having long beards and at some point in the myth’s lifespan, they have also been linked to four leaf clovers. It’s hard to say if these creatures are in fact real or were real and many accounts have been written over the ages about encounters making one wonder if they do/did exist. Now that we spoke about the folklore and myth aspect of the Leprechaun, let’s take a look at pop culture and what we have turned the myth into.

In 1964, cereal company General Mills released a cereal called Lucky Charms that was one part toasted oats and one part marshmallows.  It’s mascot was a leprechaun named Lucky who was used in animated TV commercials as well as plastered on the box.The marshmallows are in the shape of things that are considered magical or lucky like horseshoes, the moon, clovers, shooting star and more playing up on the old saying “The Luck of the Irish”. The brand is still going strong today.  Not only is it a hit with kids, it also has a solid adult eating base that is helping the cereal to remain in the aisles at the grocery store. The TV commercials are what I remember growing up as they would play them during cartoons after school or on Saturday mornings trying to dig into my young brain so that I would ask my parents to buy me a box…like that would work…yeah, I remember kid eating Lucky Charms as a kid.  While it was good, it was no Sugar Crisp or Count Chocula, and Lucky was not as cool as Sugar Bear. In late 2012, I decided to start eating some of the cereal from the past and gave Lucky Charms a shot.  It still is pretty dang good all these years later. Good job General Mills, for keeping Lucky and Lucky Charms alive and well for all these years and letting a new generation of kids enjoy its sugary good taste.

But I should also say shame on General Mills who in 1975 took away Lucky as the mascot for a short amount of time and replaced him with Waldo The Wizard! Kids didn’t like Waldo either, and he was quickly replaced by Lucky who was and is everything to Lucky Charms.  It shows you that without him the cereal is nothing…well it’s still something and still would taste the same, but the cool appeal of having an iconic mascot would be lost. I have an idea that in 2014 they should do ads with both Lucky and Waldo and add back all the marshmallows that they took out for a short time that includes the evergreen tree and the whale! Who’s with me on this one?

Sports was always super popular at Waynesville, and in school many kids would be wearing shirts, jackets and have backpacks with sports teams on them.  One that would always stick out to me was The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame football.  I was never a really big sports watcher, and to this day I am not.  I will always watch the Super Bowl with my Dad and have always liked Boxing, MMA and Pro Wrestling but never got into watching Baseball, Hockey, Soccer or Football.  Even when I was buying old wax packs of sports cards, it still never pushed me into wanting to watch. One thing I always did like about sports was the mascots and logos like the orange screaming bear of the Chicago Bears to Mr. Red Legs of the Cincinnati Reds and the Irish Leprechaun from Notre Dame who always looked pissed off and ready for a fight as he had his arms up in the old boxing style. It’s weird how the school’s mascot is that of a prankster Leprechaun who they turned into a pissed off ready to fight badass. I even had a sweatshirt and sweatpants of Notre Dame because of this logo. Plus I always remember for some reason kids in the gym locker room talking about how hot the cheerleaders of Notre Dame were. Odd, the weird things you remember from being a youth. 

Now on a funny side note about Leprechauns is a spotting that happened in 2006 in Mobile, Alabama in which residents in a neighborhood claim to all have seen one running around at night that disappears when light from a flashlight hits him.  He was thought to have lived in a tree as well has to have had a pot of gold that many of the eyewitness wanted.  Many other suggestions of what it could have been included a shadow to a crackhead who was freaking out after getting ahold of some bad stuff. The event of the spotting was so big that the local news came down to look into it and even a man armed with a magic flute and ready for a magic war came to help the neighborhood! Sadly the Leprechaun nor his gold have ever been found and some other minor spottings have happened since. Most people looked at this as a joke as an eyewitness sketch came out that looked as if a child drew it, and many of the people talked to in the broadcast seemed as if they were just having a good time and were in on a town joke. The news video became so popular as well as many of the sayings given by the people of Mobile who were interviewed that it became an internet hit sparking rap songs and merchandise. Was a Leprechaun loose in Alabama? Only time and another major spotting will answer that question for sure.

Pro Wrestling has its fair share of terrible gimmicks, and of course they have a few Leprechauns to entertain the masses.  Back in 1996, WCW had Braun The Leprechaun who was a member of the Dungeon Of Doom that was lead by Kevin Sullivan whose main goal was to stop Hulk Hogan and later feud with the N.W.O., but Braun didn’t last long and the gimmick was quickly dropped. Dewayne Bruce better know as The Sarge and the trainer for WCW Power Plant played the terrible character. Next up let’s talk about the worst wrestling manager and part time wrestler in the last 15 years of wrestling, and that’s WWE’s own Leprechaun Hornswoggle who was unleashed back in 2006 as the partner and friend of Irish born wrestler Finlay. The two had a long solid run together that even had them at odds with company owner Vince McMahon who at one time thought Hornswoggle was is illegitimate child.  During his current run for WWE, Hornswoggle has done many things from being a member of DX with Triple H & Shawn Michaels to winning the Cruiserweight title and as of late he is teaming with The Great Khali and Natalya, but one thing’s for sure while kids seem to love him he sure does not add anything to story lines and roster space in my opinion. Also this year Hornswoggle will be in the remake of Leprechaun for WWE Studios and Lionsgate.  I know you all can’t wait…

Speaking of the films, let’s take a quick look at those. In 1993, Trimark Pictures released a film to theaters about a killer leprechaun that tormented a family who had just moved into a new home in a small town after a dried up four leaf clover was knocked off a box that kept the pint sized terror captive. The film was simply called Leprechaun and starred Warwick Davis as the title charterer who was know to many as Willow Ufgood in the amazing fantasy film W.I.L.L.O.W. and also starred soon to be major TV actress Jennifer Aniston of FRIENDS fame and Mark Holton who is known for his roles as Francis Buxton in Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Chubby in Teen Wolf and later on for playing serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the film Gacy. The film did well in the box office, and this inspired the powers to be to make five sequels that had the wise cracking killer Leprechaun going everywhere from Las Vegas to space to The Hood, taking the scary evil complex away from the character and turning him into more of a pint sized Freddy Kruger who took more time saying cheesy one liners than before. The first two films in the series went to theaters as three on all went direct to video making this series gain a fan base of weekend warriors looking for a horror film to rent and watch. I remember the first time I saw the original film with my friend Jason Gilmore who had bought it on VHS shortly after it was released to home video.  He brought it over, and we watched in amazement of how fun and cheesy the film was and laughed our asses off when he would kill. Another viewing of the series I can remember was watching Leprechaun 3 where he goes to Vegas with my friend Dave Wean on VHS.  Much like the other film, we laughed at how dumb and cheesy it was, and the best part of it all was that we were eating Spaghetti O’s as we watched. While I have never been a diehard fan of the series and I think Leprechaun 4 could be one of the wost sequels I have ever seen, I still see the charm in the series and very much looked forward to the comic series that I will be reviewing this update.  Will it hold a charm or will it fall flat? You will soon find out.

After all this talk of Irish folklore, bad wrestling gimmicks, cereal mascots, a possible crackhead leprechaun in Alabama and talking about a film series that jumped the shark when they went to space, I think it’s time to sit back, relax and look at some lovely Irish-inspired women.  I mean what red blooded American doesn’t enjoy looking at good looking ladies? At this point and in the fun of Saint Patricks Day, I say let there be hotties!

BlueWater Comics is the company who struck a small deal with Lionsgate to make comics based on some of the old horror film series that they got from Trimark during a buyout that included both Leprechaun and Warlock.  Sadly the deal never went past these two and each only got a small run. They also do a comic series based around horror icon Vincent Price as well did a series based on Ray Harryhausen’s film work. BlueWater Productions was founded in 2007 by Darren G. Davis who opened up this comic company to showcase original work alongside work based around films and celebrities. Some of the company’s best know titles besides the aforementioned are Logan’s Run based on the story by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson, 10^th Muse about the forgotten muse of ancient Greece time and Fem Force that are bio comics based around women with power in the world like Michelle Obama, Princess Diana, Tina Fey and more. In fact, they do tons of bio comics and also stuck a deal to reprint the old Rock N Roll comics of the 1990’s . While BlueWater Comics is not a powerhouse like other smaller comic companies, they do try to deliver good comics to their readers. While most issues I have read from them I have not been a fan of, they still are a welcomed addition to this crazy world of comic book making.