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  • Daily pro wrestling history (03/07): Baron von Raschke wins the WWA World Title

    1914

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – Henry Ordemann beat Eugene Sampson 
    – Jess Westergaard beat Julius Nelson 

    1939

    San Francisco, California:
    – Dean Detton defeated Lou Plummer for the San Francisco Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title 

    1940 

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Ray Steele defeated Bronko Nagurski to win the National Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title 

    1953 

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Gorgeous George defeated Don McIntyre for the Georgia NWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

    1958

    St. Joseph, Missouri:
    – Bob Geigel beat Ronnie Etchison in 2 out of 3 falls
    – Larry Hamilton beat Otto Von Krupp by a third DQ
    – Don Curtis and Sonny Myers beat Joe Dusek and Rip Hawk 

    1961 

    Tampa, Florida:
    – Eddie Graham defeated Buddy Austin for the Florida NWA Southern Heavyweight Title 

    1963 

    Washington, DC: 
    – Buddy Austin and Great Scott defeated Johnny Barend and Buddy Rogers to win the Northeast NWA United States Tag Team Titles

    St. Paul, Minnesota:
    – AWA Champion Verne Gagne beat Mitsu Arakawa in 2 out of 3 fall match
    – Fight To The Finish Lumberjack Match: The Crusher beat Moose Evans
    – Wilbur Snyder beat Tiny Mills 
    – Rene Goulet beat George Drake 
    – Kay Noble beat Mars Monroe
    – Gene Anderson beat Lee Mattson

    1967

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – NWA International Heavyweight Champion Giant Baba fought WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino to a draw
    in a two-out-of-three falls match to retain his title

    1969 

    Madison Square Garden:
    – WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Killer Kowalski by countout to retain the title 

    Sydney, Australia:
    – Mario Milano and The Spoiler (Don Jardine) defeated Don Leo Jonathan and Antonio Pugiliese to win the International Wrestling
    Alliance World Tag Team Titles

    1970

    Chicago, Illinois:
    – Baron Von Raschke won the World Wrestling Association World Heavyweight Title from Dick the Bruiser 

    1973

    Honolulu, Hawaii:
    – The Sheik beat NWA Champion Dory Funk Jr by countout
    – Billy Robinson & Don Muraco beat Dusty Rhodes & Dick Murdoch in a 2 out of 3 fall match
    – Jimmy Snuka beat Ripper Collins
    – Ken Patera beat Tony Borne
    – Ed Francis beat Haru Sasaki
    – Sam Steamboat drew Masked Executioner

    1975 

    Dothan, Alabama:
    – Terry Latham and Ron Starr defeated The Hell’s Angels for the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Title 

    1977

    Madison Square Garden:
    – WWWF World Tag Team Champions Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf defeated Tor Kamata and Stan Stasiak to
    retain the titles 
    – WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino defeated Ken Patera to retain the title

    1978

    Miami, Florida:
    – Mike Graham and Steve Keirn won the Florida NWA United States Tag Team Titles by defeating Jack and Jerry Brisco

    1982

    Toronto, Canada, Ontario:
    – Jimmy Valiant defeated Jesse Ventura to win the Cadillac Tournament

    1983

    Montreal, Quebec, Canada:
    – Dino Bravo defeated Billy Robinson to win the International Wrestling International Heavyweight Title

    1983

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Stagger Lee (Koko B. Ware) defeated Bobby Eaton for the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title 
    – Jerry Lawler defeated Austin Idol to win the AWA International Heavyweight Title

    1984

    Spartanburg, South Carolina:
    – Mark Youngblood defeated Dick Slater in a tournament final to win the NWA Television Title 

    1985

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Gary Royal defeated Marty Jannetty to win the NWA Central States Television Title

    1986

    Fajardo, Puerto Rico:
    – Al Perez defeated Jos LeDuc for the WWC North American Heavyweight Title 

    1987

    Boston, Massachusetts:
    – Billy Jack Haynes, WWF Champion Hulk Hogan and Roddy Piper defeated Adrian Adonis (with Jimmy Hart), Hercules and Paul
    Orndorff (with Bobby Heenan) in an Elimination match

    Atlanta, Georgia:
    – Lazer Tron (Hector Guerrero) defeated Denny Brown to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title

    1988

    Memphis, Tennessee
    – Max Pain and Gary Young defeated The Bruise Brothers (Ron and Don) for the Championship (formerly Continental) Wrestling Association
    Tag Team Titles
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Midnight Rockers beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Travis
    – Billy Wicks beat Sputnik Monroe

    1993

    Baltimore, Maryland:
    – Nick Tarentino defeated The Lightning Kid (Sean Waltman) to win the Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation Maryland Title

    1994

    USWA Memphis Memories: Memphis, Tennessee:
    – USWA Tag Team Champions, The Moondogs (Rex and Spot) defeated Frankenstein and Leatherface
    – Austin Idol, Jerry Lawler and USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher defeated Terry Funk, Doug Gilbert and USWA Unified World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert by disqualification
    – Tommy Gilbert, Al Greene, Don Greene, Jerry Jarrett, Sputnik Monroe and Lance Russell were inducted to the Memphis Hall of Fame
    – Jerry Lawler defeated USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher, Terry Funk, Doug Gilbert, USWA Unified World
    Heavyweight Champion Eddie Gilbert, Austin Idol, Moondog Spot, Tommy Rich, Jimmy Valiant and Koko B. Ware in a 10-man Four Corners
    Elimination match

    Dungannon, Virginia:
    – Mike Furnas defeated Killer Kyle for the SMW Television Title 

    1998

    Hope Mills, North Carolina: 
    – The Hardy Boyz (Jeff and Matt) are awarded the NWA 2000 Tag Team Titles
    – Eddie Brown defeated The Iron Sheik for the NWA 2000 American Heritage Heavyweight Title

    1999

    Jonesboro, Arkansas:
    – Michael Hayes pinned champion Baldo (Albert/A-Train/Giant Bernard) in a tag team match with Hayes and Brandon Baxter against Baldo and Randy Hales, to win the Power Pro Wrestling Heavyweight Title 
    – Derrick King and Kid Wikkid won a tournament for the vacant PPW Tag Team Titles

    2001

    Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada:
    – Tommy Dreamer defeated Scott D’Amore and Rhino in a three-way match to win the Border City Wrestling Can-Am Heavyweight Title
    – Otis Apollo and Johnny Swinger defeat Geza Kalman, Jr. and Dyson Pryce for the BCW Can-Am Tag Team Titles

  • TNA Impact still breathing; 5 days of TV tapings set

    After a lot of concern given the already taped TV was running out and nothing had been said, TNA finally announced today five days of tapings at Universal Studios in Orlando.

    The current set of television taped at the end of January in the U.K. expires with tomorrow night’s show on Pop TV. The tapings were announced for five days, from 3/15 to 3/19. Talent had been told about the dates a few weeks ago but there were still concerns over the lack of announcement and lack of travel itinerary.

    TNA announced today that over the five days they will be taping episodes of Impact, Xplosion and One Night Only PPV shows.

    They will run 3/15 to 3/19 with all shows starting at 7 p.m. There will also be a 3/17 at 1 p.m. show, a Thursday afternoon event.

    Tickets, as always, are free, although they are selling $99 VIP tickets or premium seating and meet and greets.

    The names being pushed for the tapings are Matt & Jeff Hardy, Ethan Carter III, Bobby Lashley, Drew Galloway, Eric Young, Bobby Roode, James Storm, Gail Kim and Tigre Uno.

  • WWE Moline, IL, live results: Dean, Kevin, AJ & Charlotte

    Submitted by Jared Walsh from the iWireless Center in Moline, IL

    – Show opened with a video package promoting Wrestlemania. Eden Stiles was on the mic as the ring announcer.

    – AJ Styles defeated the Miz via pinfall

    Solid match to start the show. Miz opened the match by cutting a promo on the Quad City fans, letting them know how fat and sweaty they were. He then proceeded to beg off,
    complaining that AJ had previously knocked out his teeth and claiming he was getting recompense in this match. Miz drew a lot of heat after tearing up an AJ Styles sign held by a child in the front row. Lots of good action: Pele kick, AJ kicking out of the Skull-Crushing Finale, and AJ winning with the flying forearm.

    – Darren Young and Jack Swagger defeated Curtis Axel and Adam Rose via submission

    Rose and Axel opened with a promo stating that they’d be going viral and the fans were morons. Good back and forth action. Axel’s heel tactics were probably the highlight, as he interacted well with the crowd. He even told me to sit down and shut up on a few occasions. Swagger submitted Axel with the Patriot Lock after hitting the Swagger Bomb on both Rose and Axel.

    – Kalisto defeated Wade Barrett via pinfall to retain the U.S. Championship

    Barrett dictated the pace for much of the match with all sorts of unsavory tactics. Barrett worked the referee very well, holding until the five count on holds and refusing to break until then. Kalisto stole a victory after hitting the Salida del Sol as he dodged a Bullhammer.

    – The New Day (Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods with Big E at ringside) defeated the Usos and the Dudley Boys via pinfall in a triple threat tag match to retain the Tag Team Championship.

    New Day opened with a scathing promo on the citizens of Moline, calling them the “butthole of the Midwest” and commenting on the unwashed nature of Midwest females. Lots of shenanigans before this bout began, as New Day and the Dudleyz really played to the crowd. Match was mostly shouting back and forth between the teams, but very entertaining nonetheless. The Usos stood tall after the match, as New Day quickly retreated and the Dudleyz sought to inflict punishment on the Samoans, but dual superkicks sent Bubba and D-Von from the ring.

    INTERMISSION

    – Charlotte (without Ric) defeated Becky Lynch via pinfall to retain the Divas’ Championship

    Lots of good wrestling early in the match, highlighted by deep, Steamboat-like arm drags from Becky. Charlotte attempted to walk out on the match, but was chased down and dragged back by Becky. Very good action in this match throughout, and the fans were very into Becky during the course of this bout. Charlotte won the match with a school boy while pulling the tights after escaping from the Dis-arm-her. Glad to see no lasting effects from Charlotte’s injury scare last week.

    – Sheamus defeated Neville via pinfall

    This match was back and forth, and Sheamus was kind enough to respond to the multitude of “You Look Stupid” chants by telling the fans that they, in fact, were the ones who looked stupid. Neville hit a few high spots, including a flying crossbody to the outside and a standing shooting star press, but failed to capitalize on his opportunity to hit the Red Arrow. Sheamus won with a Brogue Kick after kicking out of a school boy.

    – Dean Ambrose defeated Kevin Owens via disqualification in a match for the Intercontinental Championship

    Very physical match between these two competitors. Owens worked Ambrose’s knee from the onset of the match after an awkward landing from the top turnbuckle by Ambrose. Dean sold it well throughout the match, earning a lot of sympathy from the fans and was probably the most over wrestler of the night. Owens attempted to hit Dean with a chair, but was stopped by the official and kicked out of a near fall after a quick roll up. Owens then tried to exit the match, but was pulled back in by Ambrose.

    Owens was disqualified shorty after for not breaking after the five count while Ambrose was hung up on the turnbuckle. Owens got on the mic to let everyone know he was still the champion and is the greatest WWE Superstar of all time, but was interrupted by a Dirty Deeds from Dean to send the fans home happy. I was exceedingly impressed as Dean continued to sell the knee even after the match as he celebrated with fans at ringside.

    Final Thoughts:

    An enjoyable, entertaining show overall in Moline. The house show atmosphere is quite different than that of televised shows, as the wrestlers are afforded more of an opportunity to be themselves, interact with the crowd in unique ways, and put on a great show.

  • Feb 1, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Royal Rumble recap, 1998’s business rundown

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    Current subscribers click here to continue reading.

  • B&V: ROH on Sinclair, Lucha Underground, NWA WCW from 30 years ago this week!

    Vinny has returned from Hawaii so we’ve got a packed edition of the Bryan & Vinny Show tonight! Full reviews of ROH on Sinclair with KONGO VS. MOOSE and more, Lucha Underground from Wednesday, NWA World Championship Wrestling with the craziest crowd reaction to a match ever, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

    Right click save

  • WOL: UFC 196 breakdown and fallout!

    Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive returns today to talk all the news coming out of UFC 196, two huge upsets in the main events, where everyone goes from here, Filthy Tom Lawlor celebration station and more! A fun show as always so check it out~!

    Right click save

  • WWE Main Event results: Lana scouts Brie; Ryback pummels Outcast

    Paige, Natalya and Brie Bella def. Summer Rae and Team B.A.D. by submission

    Some rare six-diva tag action to kick off this week’s Main Event. Jerry Lawler, the star of the show most weeks, responds to a Rich Brennan call by asking “Basement dropkick!? Who do you think you are, Mauro Ranallo?!”

    The entrance music of Lana interrupts this match early on, as her new-found foe Brie goes at it with Summer Rae. Lana sits on the announce desk to take in proceedings; Lawler accuses Brennan of being “sweaty” in response.

    The heel divas get the heat on Nattie (who else?), before she makes a quick, and therefore underwhelming, lukewarm tag to Brie. Brie delivers her husband’s kicks to Naomi to piped in “Yes!” chants, before Tamina interferes and the match breaks down. All the girls hit various moves on each other, before the fog clears and Brie reverses a Naomi high cross into the Yes Lock for the submission victory. Is there anything else of Daniel’s she can co-opt to compensate for being the worst babyface ever?

    After the match, the victors stare at Lana, who just stands there and applauds. Well, at least we didn’t get any shitty, Oscars reference-laden dialogue. Small mercies.

    Ryback def. Heath Slater w/ Social Outcasts by pinfall

    The Outcasts get in-ring promo time before the match, in which they acknowledge Adam Rose’s mauling at the hands of Big Guy (thanks, Granny!) on RAW. Rose says that tonight it’s going to be Legends with The Crimson Werewolf, instead of JBL. Hilarious. Axel cuts in, admonishing Rose for his nicknaming. He says he knows Ryback and that it’s time to get serious. He then goes insane, chopping the air and screaming. The other three join in. Jerry Lawler: “Well, I’m glad we were all part of that little experience!”. Quite.

    The actual match is wrapped inside three minutes. Ryback repeated the spot from RAW where he grounds and pounds his opponent; although this time the ref’s credibility was spared as Slater made the ropes. Slater ate the Shellshock moments later.

    Lucha Dragons def. The Ascension by pinfall

    At this point, I noticed that NXT’s Greg Hamilton was announcing in Eden Stiles’ stead. I also noticed that Kalisto was STILL the US Champion, despite being slotted back into tags and completely de-emphasised on television since Fastlane.

    This was another three minute match. The heels got the heat on Sin Cara, leading into the usual Kalisto hot tag stuff. Finish was cool however, with Sin Cara doing a suicide dive through Kalisto’s legs. Kalisto then reversed Viktor’s electric chair into a ‘rana, before hitting the SDS. Sin Cara followed up with the Swanton Bomb for the pin.

    – Stardust is backstage in the Star Room, rambling about dealing with Zack Ryder on the road to Wrestlemania. I think. Presumably he’s comfortable cutting promos in the ol’ Star Room again now that Vince’s roughhouser has been suspended.

    Stardust def. Zack Ryder by pinfall

    These guys have been feuding on Superstars of late, with Cody up 2-1 thus far. This win-loss record was not mentioned on commentary, of course. Perish the thought.

    Good match here, eight minutes of which was televised either side of the commercial break. The nearfall segment of it was particularly good, with some nice reversals; including Ryder smoothly countering a suplex into a neckbreaker for two. Ryder also hit a nice looking top rope elbow for two after foiling a Stardust superplex attempt.

    The finish saw Ryder attempt the go-behind off a whip to the corner, only for Stardust to scout him, take a step back, and grab him for the Queen’s Crossbow. 3-1 to Stardust!

    After the match, Stardust stood on the desk and stared at the crowd to celebrate, prompting Lawler to quip “Can we get Lana back out here!?” as the show went off the air. Heh.

    Final Thoughts

    Featured contest between Stardust and Ryder was worth watching; some nice chemistry has developed between the two after their recent series. Other than that, there’s not much to see here. The confirmation that we are in fact getting a Lana/Brie feud is probably the biggest news to come out of this week’s edition.

  • WWE Cedar Rapids, IA, live results: Dean Ambrose vs. Kevin Owens, AJ Styles vs. Miz

    Submitted by Cole Swanson

    – Our ring announcer is Eden Stiles.

    Results:

    – AJ Styles beat The Miz

    – Darren Young & Jack Swagger beat Adam Rose & Curtis Axel

    – U.S. Champion Kalisto def. Bad News Barrett

    – WWE Tag Team Champions The New Day def. The Usos and The Dudleys in a three-way

    *Intermission

    – Divas Champion Charlotte def. Becky Lynch

    – Sheamus def. Neville

    – Dean Ambrose def. I-C Champion Kevin Owens by DQ in a street fight when Owens was DQ’d for not letting go of a hold in time.

    Notes:

    – Lot of Owens and Ambrose merch being sold before the show.

    – Leading up to the event, the match with Kalisto was advertised as against Alberto Del Rio for the U.S. championship. Right before the match was supposed to start, Barrett appeared on the arena screens and did a small promo which I imagine was him explaining why he would be facing Kalisto instead of Del Rio, but it was really hard to hear.

    – “Let’s go Barrett/Barrett sucks” chants during his match. Interesting that he seemed to be the most polarizing guy there last night just based on crowd reaction.

    – New Day cut a pretty good promo before their match. Basically a typical heel promo talking about how Big E was smart to get out of Iowa and that the Hawkeyes football team sucks now, referencing their loss in the Big 10 Championship game last December and the Rose Bowl. Got them good heat. Big E was covering his ears the entire time Kofi and Xavier were badmouthing the Hawks.

    – Crowd popped huge for Dean. Not really unexpected, but it was the one guy everybody cheered for pretty unanimously.

  • Daily pro wrestling history (03/06): Williams & Gordy win AJPW World Tag Team Titles

    1934

    Minneapolis, Minnesota:
    – World Heavyweight Champion Jim Londos beat Abe Kashey 

    1935

    St. Louis, Missouri:
    – Jim Londos beat Ed “Strangler” Lewis 
    – Ray Steele beat Karl Sarpolis  
    – Bronko Nagurski beat Karl Davis 
    – George Tragos beat Pat Murphy 

    1952 

    Kansas City, Kansas:
    – Sonny Myers defeated Enrique Torres to win the NWA Heart of America Heavyweight Title in a 2 out of 3 falls match
    – Ray Eckert beat Jack Kennedy 2 out of 3 falls 
    – Joe Campbell and Al Massey beat Maurice Roberre and Babe Zaharias 

    1953 

    Houston, Texas:
    – Bull Curry defeated Danny McShain to become the first NWA Texas Brass Knuckles Champion 

    1959

    Oklahoma City, Oklahoma:
    – Angelo Savoldi defeated Ivan the Terrible for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title

    1961

    Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada:
    – Guy and Joe Brunetti defeated The Outlaw (Dory Funk, Sr.) and Pancho Pico to win the Vancouver NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Titles

    1962

    Art and Stan Neilson defeated Johnny Barend and Magnificent Maurice for the American Wrestling Alliance Tag Team Titles

    1965

    Omaha, Nebraska:
    – 10 Rounds of Boxing, Non Title: Danny Hodge beat AWA Champion Mad Dog Vachon
    – Mighty Igor Vodik beat Don Jardine to win Nebraska Heavyweight title
    – Rene Goulet drew Jack Pesek
    – Ivan Kalmikoff beat Bulldog Danny Plechas
    – Tony Borne beat Sonny Myers

    1970

    Los Angeles, California:
    – Fred Blassie won the NWA Americas Heavyweight Title defeating Rocky Johnson

    Calgary, Alberta, Canada:
    – Bobby and Jerry Christy defeated Bill Dromo and Gil Hayes to win the Stampede International Tag Team Title 

    1971 

    Chattanooga, Tennessee:
    – Jimmy Golden and Dennis Hall defeated Bobby Hart and Lorenzo Parente for the Mid-America NWA World Tag Team Titles

    1973

    Nagoya, Japan:
    – Kintaro Ohki and Umanosuke Ueda defeated Killer Karl Krupp and Johnny Valentine for the NWA International Tag Team Titles

    1974

    Sacramento, California:
    – Karl and Kurt Von Brauner defeated Rocky Johnson and Pat Patterson to win the San Francisco NWA World Tag Team Titles

    San Antonio, Texas:
    – AWA Tag Team Champions Ray Stevens & Nick Bockwinkel beat Jose Lothario & Wahoo McDaniel
    – Blackjack Mulligan & Blackjack Lanza beat Bob Orton Jr & Black Angus
    – Roger Kirby beat Jerry Oates
    – Great Mephisto beat Jerry Timmons
    – Bob Roop beat Joe Cassidy

    1979

    Allentown, Pennsylvania:
    – The Valiant Brothers (Jerry and Johnny) defeated Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko to win the WWWF World Tag Team Titles

    1986 

    Sudbury, Ontario, Canada:
    – The Long Riders (Bill and Scott Irwin) defeated Alofa (Rikishi) and Dan Kroffat for the International Wrestling International Tag Team Titles

    1987

    Portland, Oregon:
    – Mike Miller and Rip Oliver defeated Coco Samoa and Ricky Santana for the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Titles 

    1988

    Dallas, Texas:
    – Kerry Von Erich defeated Al Perez to win the World Class Heavyweight Title 

    1990 

    Tokyo, Japan:
    – Terry Gordy and Steve Williams won the AJPW Unified World Tag Team Titles from Stan Hansen and Genichiro Tenryu

    1991 

    Nagasaki, Japan:
    – Hiroshi Hase and Kensuke Sasaki won the IWGP World Tag Team Titles defeating Hiro Saito and Super Strong Machine

    1994

    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 
    – Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock) defeated Kevin Sullivan and The Tazmaniac to win the ECW Tag Team Titles 
    – The Tazmaniac defeated Sabu for the ECW Television Title then lost it later in the event to J.T. Smith

    1995 

    Council, Virginia: 
    – Boo Bradley (Balls Mahoney) defeated Killer Kyle for the vacant The SMW Television Title then lost it to Kyle later in the show

    1996

    Macon, Georgia:
    – Lex Luger defeated Johnny B. Badd to win the WCW World TV Title

    1999 

    Tokyo, Japan
    – Vader defeated Akira Taue to win the AJPW Triple Crown Title 

    2003

    Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada:
    – Chris Sabin defeated Frankie Kazarian and Jerry Lynn in a three-way match to win the vacant Border City Wrestling Television Title
    – D’Lo Brown defeated Johnny Swinger for the BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Title

    2004

    Memphis, Tennessee:
    – Bill Dundee defeated Jerry Lawler in a tournament final for the vacant Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Title 

    2011

    Hollywood, California:
    – Colt Cabana defeated Adam Pearce to win the NWA championship

  • Lord James Blears passes away

    James Ranicar Blears, who later legally changed his name to Lord James Blears, and who was perhaps most famous for his story of being captured by the Japanese while serving in World War II, passed away this week.  He would have been 92 or 93 years old.

    At various times, Blears played snooty British pro-wrestler, commentator/announcer, troubleshooting referee for the AWA, figurehead president of the Pacific Wrestling Federation, and more.  As the alleged head of the PWF he would often be brought in to read proclamations before Triple Crown matches in All Japan.

    Blears’ story of being captured in World War II was the subject of many press stories later in his life, including a great article by Greg Oliver at Slam Wrestling.  He was working as a British radio officer on the S.S. Tjisalak, which was torpedoed and sunk, and all of the survivors were pulled aboard the Japanese I-8 submarine.  The captors began beheading passengers one-by-one.

    “Two Japanese officers were waiting for us,” Blears said, “one with a sword and the other with a sledgehammer. … When these guys came at us, I kicked with my foot and pulled my hand out (of the rope) right away and stopped the guy and dived off the submarine and dragged Peter (Bronger) with me.”  Blears survived for three days in the wreckage of the S.S. Tjisalak before being saved and fed canned peaches.  He said that every years after that, he commemorated the day by eating a can of peaches.

    Blears had been living in a nursing home in Hawaii, where his children had become world-class surfers.  

    We will have more on the life of James Blears in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter and various audio shows this week.  Our best to his family.