Japan Hardcore and Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame newsStory By: The Stro
January 24, 2003
wK MEDIA and Japanese Hardcore Wrestling 3 Update
NY, NY January 23, 2003
We are in the process of updating our website, please
bear with us.
The fifth match on JHW 3 is a light tube massacre with
Shadow WX and Mad Man Pondo. This show is shaping up
to be incredibly hardcore.
More info and more matches coming soon.
www.wkmedia.net
Event Card
Tag Match
-The Great Sasuke and Masao Orihara vs. Dick Togo and
Psychic.
Thumbtack Death Match
-Yamakawa vs Bad Boy Hido.
Tag Match
-The Hit Squad vs. Daisuke Sekimoto and Daisaku
Shimoda
-Homicide vs The Winger
Florescent Light Death Match
-Shadow WX vs Mad Man Pondo
JHW III Info
Date:
Sunday, February 2, 2003
First Showing:
8 PM ET/5 PM PT
Replay 1:
12 AM ET/9 PM PT
Additional Replays:
Check with you PPV provider
Channel:
iN Demand 1, Dish Network, TVN
Suggested Retail Price:
$14.95
TV Rating:
TV-14, D, L, V (Parental Discretion is Advised)
____________________________________________________
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Announces 2003
Inductees
SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK--The Professional Wrestling Hall
of Fame (PWHF), a state-chartered not-for-profit
institution located at 123 Broadway in Schenectady, is
pleased to announce the 2003 Class of Inductees.
Lillian Ellison, known in wrestling circles as "The
Fabulous Moolah", will be inducted into the Women's
division. Ms. Ellison has recently penned her
autobiography entitled, "The Fabulous Moolah-The First
Goddess of the Squared Circle". She claimed the
Women's Championship for thirty straight years and has
trained many other female wrestling performers. She
states that she has a match booked on July 22, 2003,
which is the same date as her eightieth birthday!
In the Midget division, the late Lionel Giroux, who
wrestled as "Little Beaver", will be inducted. His
ring antics entertained crowds for four decades.
Giroux was a native of Quebec, Canada.
In the Non-participant category, legendary St. Louis
promoter Sam Muchnick will receive the 2003 honors.
Muchnick ran a successful promotion from 1945 until
his retirement in 1982. He was actively involved in
the National Wrestling Alliance, which was the main
governing body for professional wrestling during his
period of promotion. Muchnick passed away in 1998 at
the age of ninty-three.
In the Pioneer-era division, which includes the years
between 1898 and 1942, Martin "Farmer" Burns and
Stanislaus Zbyszko will be enshrined. Burns wrestled
in over six-thousand matches and is well-known for
training Professional Wrestling Hall-of- Famer Frank
Gotch, who was inducted in 2002. Burns was born in
1861 and wrestled until he was in his sixties. He died
at the age of seventy-seven. Polish-born Zbyszko was
an intellectual as well as a wrestler. He studied
music, philosophy and law in Austria and was a
linguist. He had a prominent role in the movie, "Night
and the City", which starred Richard Widmark. He held
the World Championship after defeating Ed "Strangler"
Lewis, who was a 2002 PWHF inductee. Zbyszko died in
1967 at the age of eighty-eight.
The Televsion-era division, which extends from 1942
until 1984, will have Walter "Killer" Kowalski and
Antonino "Argentina" Rocca being inducted. Kowalski,
who was at the PWHF's Inaugural Induction in May of
2002, had a mat career that extended thirty years. At
6' 7" tall and 260 pounds, Kowalski held versions of
the World title. Many fans remember his famous "Claw"
hold, which was even mentioned on a Seinfeld episode.
He is an accomplished photographer and currently has a
book of his photography published. Rocca, born
Antonino Biasetton, was a soccer player in Argentina
before being discovered by a wrestling promoter. Rocca
is credited with introducing the high-flying aerial
tactics in the U. S.professional wrestling rings. He
passed away in 1977 but his ring techniques are still
enjoyed via video releases of his matches.
The Mania-era category, which is from 1985 onward, has
two former world champions being elected. Nick
Bockwinkel is a second-generation wrestler who held
the American Wrestling Association's (AWA) title on
four seperate occasions. His twenty-five year long
ring career saw him hold other prestigious titles and
sell out many arenas throughout the world. Bockwinkel
resides in Las Vegas and we hope that he will be
present to accept professional wrestling's highest
award. Hulk Hogan, born Terry Bollea, also was elected
to the hall in this catagory, but will be enshrined
after his official retirement.
Two new award divisions will be added to the 2003
Induction Weekend lineup. The Tag-Team division makes
its debut with the induction of The Fabulous
Kangaroos. This team consisted of Australians Al
Costello and Roy Heffernan. The Fabulous Kangaroos
dominated much of tag team wrestling in the 1950s and
1960's and they headlined shows at the famed Madison
Square Garden.The team held both World and United
States titles under the direction of their manager,
"Wild" Red Berry. The pair used to throw cardboard
boomerangs, bearing their images, out to the fans.
Both wrestlers are now deceased.
The other new category will be the PWHF New York State
Award, which will be given to wrestlers who have
brought honor and dignity to both the State of New
York and to the profession of wrestling. There will be
one living and one posthumous award. Dick "The
Destroyer" Beyer of Akron, New York will receive the
living award for his contributions to his community
and to the field of wrestling. Dick holds
undergraduate and graduate degrees from Syracuse
University and co-captained their football team in the
early 1950's. He gained immense fame in the United
States, Japan, Australia and Europe wrestling under a
mask as "The Destroyer". Dick states that he plans to
be present in Schenectady to accept his award. The
posthumous award will be given to the late Ilio
DiPaolo, a wrestling legend from Italy who settled in
Blasdell, New York. DiPaolo held many titles including
the Canadian Tag-Team Championship with Whipper Watson
and the All-Asian Championship in Japan. He retired in
1965 due to an ankle injury and then opened a
restaurant in Blasdell, New York. The restaurant,
which bears his name and is managed by his family, has
established itself as one of the finest dining
facilities in the region. The Buffalo Bills football
team frequent the restaurant on a regular basis. A
line of food products bearing Ilio's name has proven
to be successful. Like Beyer, DiPaolo has been the
recipient of many community involvement awards. A
tragic motor vehicle accident ended his life
prematurely in 1965.
The inductees were voted upon by twenty-two members of
the PWHF Board of Selection. A Screening Committee
consisting of wrestling writer/photographer Don
Laible, Chairperson of the Board of Selection, Dr.
Robert Bryla, longtime wrestling collector, and Dave
Meltzer, Wrestling Observer editor and well-known
wrestling expert, chose the wrestlers upon which the
full Board of Selection voted. The PWHF Board of
Directors' Chairperson Tony Vellano of Schenectady
stated that these Inductions will take place on May
17, 2003. For further information, please call Tony
Vellano at 518-356-3473 or Mike Capano at
518-725-5272. The PWHF maintains a website at
www.pwhf.org for more details.
Link: STRO/formerly WCW's Maestro official website
