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The Scoop

Posted: Apr 12th 2020 By: Compiled by Oklafan Staff

Ernie Ladd was recently announced as an inductee into the 2020 Southern California Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. Nicknamed “The Big Cat”, Ernie Ladd was a standout football player and professional wrestler. Drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1961, he helped the Chargers to four AFL championship games in five years, winning the championship with the team in 1963. Ladd took up professional wrestling during the AFL offseason in 1961, and after a knee injury ended his football career turned to it full-time in 1969. Due to his popularity in football, he was instantly a huge draw in wrestling. In the Los Angeles territory he won the Americas Heavyweight Championship (the top championship in the territory) three times, and the WWA International Television Tag Team Championship and WWA World Tag Team Championship (both with Edouard Carpentier). He retired from wrestling in 1986 and briefly did color commentary for WWF, including on WrestleMania 2. He was inducted into the WCW Hall of Fame in 1994 and the WWF Hall of Fame in 1995, becoming the first wrestler to be inducted into both halls of fame. He passed away in 2007 at 68.

Jerry Lawler will be returning to WWE RAW. While Lawler was originally told not to travel during the COVID-19 pandemic, he’s been given the green light by management. On his podcast, Lawler revealed that he will be heading to the Performance Center and will be back on RAW. He said he’s excited as he doesn’t like to sit at home and watch RAW. He’d rather be calling the action.

Night one of WrestleMania 36 had one of the most memorable main events ever, if not the most memorable one in the history of the show. With all matches pre-recorded, WWE had a chance to think outside the box for some of its gimmick matches and did just that for the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and A. J. Styles. This was no ordinary match, there wasn't even a ring or a referee, just the two beating the crap out of each other in the dirt. And WWE gave it a cinematic look to make it stand out above the rest with its own score, presenting it more like a movie rather than a regular wrestling match. Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson also got involved during the fight along with a bunch of other druids, all of whom got their asses whooped by The Undertaker who brought back his American Badass persona, even riding in with a motorbike to Metallica's "Now That We're Dead" music. The fight ended after The Undertaker put Styles in a grave and dumped the dirt from a tractor on him. A shot showed AJ Styles' hand and glove trying to reach out from the dirt but the former WWE champion was buried alive. Taker then unveiled a headstone which showed Styles' name and the years he was born and died. This was similar to one of Matt Hardy's matches at his compound but with production value ramped up 1,000 times more. It was a fitting way to end the first night of a weird WrestleMania with no fans. Judging by the reaction online, fans and critics loved the boneyard match and the production aspect of it and how it was presented. WWE Superstars were tweeting about it during the match and were just as surprised as everyone else. Even Metallica tweeted about the match saying that Taker came out to their song. You can see some clips from the match by clicking here.

Regarding last Saturday night's A.J. Styles vs. Undertaker match, Michael Hayes was the producer of the show and Triple H was also very hands on with it. This was considered a huge success and we should expect more things like this going forward.

WhatCulture.com has some exclusive details on the filming of the Boneyard Match between The Undertaker and A. J. Styles that aired as the main event of night one of WrestleMania 36. According to WhatCulture, WWE found a location in Florida and contracted a production unit to assemble the set that was used for the match. It took five days for construction workers to assemble it according to WWE's specifications. Filming of the match was done on March 25th and took eight hours in total to complete. The work started at 9pm and then wrapped up at 5am the following morning under the guidance of Triple H and Michael Hayes. Shawn Michaels and Jeremy Borash were also on location to help. WhatCulture adds that after production wrapped up, it took a full week of clean-up for the location to be returned to its original state. The people who were in charge of constructing the set were all locals and sources said that WWE pretty much "paid their rent for April" as the company had no work due to everything shutting down because of the coronavirus. It said that WWE and everyone on site including the main ones - Undertaker and Styles - showed their appreciation to the crew and treated everyone with their utmost respect. The report also state that WWE wanted to use a different scene for Taker's arrival on his bike that would have required him to drive through an abandoned ditch and bridge. Production crew told WWE though that the property was the city's and they did not have any paperwork or permit to shoot there. To refrain from going through legal hoops, those in charge on site then decided to film solely on the property they were originally allowed to. And as for the constant trash talking during the fight, that wasn't originally part of the plan but the two competitors expressed their view and Triple H gave them the go ahead to do whatever they wanted. The Boneyard Match received a lot of praise online from critics, fans, and fellow WWE Superstars.

The first day of WrestleMania had 1 million searches on Google. That's a very low number as you would expect closer to 2-3 million. So preliminary indicators are that the idea that with no sports, people would flock to WrestleMania right now doesn't look to have been the case. Other combat sports related searches were Yaya Mayweather, Floyd's daughter, at 1 million for her allegedly stabbing someone, Joe Rogan at 50,000 for saying he would vote for Donald Trump over Joe Biden, and Ric Flair at 50,000 for doing public relations work saying that WrestleMania should have gone on.

The security guards last Saturday night in the Goldberg open were Chico Adams, who did a squash for Jake Hager on "AEW Dynamite" recently, and Alex Pax aka Alejandro Sanchez.

Ted DiBiase and Jim Duggan are guests on the new "Drinks with Johnny," with Johnny Christ of the band Avenged Sevenfold. The episode was taped at the beginning of February in Los Angeles. You can view the show by clicking here.

A Ladder Match between Jeff Hardy and Johnny Nitro (now known as John Morrison) that took place on the November 20, 2006 edition of RAW has been added to the WWE YouTube page.

Ring of Honor did a fan voting tournament for its best wrestler in history with 27 former ROH champions and five others. Bryan Danielson beat C.M. Punk in the finals. Danielson in the tournament beat Colt Cabana, Austin Aries, A. J. Styles and Samoa Joe to reach the finals.

ECW Press announced that the Andre the Giant biography, The Eighth Wonder of the World, will be released on April 14th. Bertrand Hebert and Pat Laprade wrote this book. It is by far the most in-depth feature ever done on Andre, far more than any television special and also far more factual, basically it's the best source on what is and isn't real about Andre. It's great as well for fans of 70s and 80s wrestling because it goes heavy into the politics and power players, since Andre worked almost everywhere.

John Pfanz placed 3rd in the Tulsa Review’s student contest. His story, “Sick Dogs” will be published in the 2020 issue of the Tulsa Review.

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RECENT RESULTS
April 5th
Ricky Fuji, Shiori Asahi, & Shunsuke Sayama defeated Latrell Upton, Dinosaur Takuma, & Rina Shingaki in a 6-Man Tag Team Match at Active Advance Pro Wrestling's "2AW GRAND SLAM In Korakuen Hall" event in Tokoyo, Japan (Match was taped on March 25th)

April 7th
Impact Tag Team Champoions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated Eddie Edwards & Impact World Champion Tessa Blanchard at the Impact Wrestling television taping in Atlanta, GA (Match was taped March 7th). In other matches, Willie Mack defeated The Reno SCUM (Adam Thornstowe & Luster thge Legend) in a Handicap Match (Match was taped March 6th).

April 8th
Lance Archer defeated Alan Angels at AEW's "Dynamite" live telecast in Norcross, GA

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UPCOMING OKLAHOMA EVENTS
None.

The Oklahoma State Athletic Commission has rescinded all permits for wrestling shows and no new permits are being given at this time due to the state's current "Shelter In Place" guidelines.

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UPCOMING EVENTS
April 15th
AEW World Champion Jon Moxley defends the title against Jake Hager in a No Holds Barred Match at the All Elite Wrestling “Dynamite” broadcast in Norcross, Georgia. Also on the card, Lance Archer vs. Colt Cabana in the tournament to determine the first AEW TNT Champion. In other matches, Sammy Guevara takes on Sugar Dunkerton.

April 18th
Tony Atlas is scheduled for the International Wrestling Federation event in Nutley, NJ

James Beard & Rodney Mack are scheduled for the Classic Championship Wrestling event in Havana, Cuba

April 19th
The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Tim Storm, Trevor Murdoch and Marti Belle are scheduled for the National Wrestling Alliance “Crockett Cup” event in College Park, GA

April 24th
Tito Santana is scheduled for the Retro Championship Wrestling event in Totowa, NJ

April 25th
Isaiah James is scheduled for the Renegade Wrestling Revolution event in Houston, TX

April 26th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Gladstone, Manitoba, Canada

Chandler Hopkins is scheduled for the World Class Wrestling Association event in Springdale, AR

April 27th
Shane Douglas vs. Tommy Lee Curtis is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Oak Lake, Manitoba, Canada. Also on the card: Phoebe!

April 28th
Shane Douglas vs. Marcellus Prime is scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. Also on the card: Phoebe!

May 2nd
Chandler Hopkins is scheduled for the PPW event in Kingsville, TX

Sgt. Slaughter is scheduled for the Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling event in Belleville, IL

May 3rd
Tim Brooks, Johnny Mantell, Bill Irwin, James Beard, Rod Price, Chaz Taylor, Chandler Hopkins and Steven Dane are scheduled for the Dallas Championship Wrestling “GWF Reunion Show” event in Irving, TX

May 8th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in North Platt, NE

May 16th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Beatrice, NE

May 18th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Regina Saskatchewan, Canada

May 19th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, Canada

May 20th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada

May 21st
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Morden, Manitoba, Canada

May 22nd
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada

Barrett Brown vs. Chris Bey is scheduled for the VIP Wrestling event in Haltom City, TX. Also on the card, DFW Women’s Champion Erica Torres defends her title against Allie Kat and Alejandra Leon in a Triple Threat Match, Gino vs. Jeff Cobb, Malico vs. Danhausen, DFW Champion Double D defends his title against Michael Tarver and Jerome Daniel Griffey vs. Lou Gotti.

May 23rd
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

May 24th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada

May 25th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Blind River, Ontario, Canada

May 26th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Elliot Lake, Ontario, Canada

May 27th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Canada

May 28th
Shane Douglas and Phoebe are scheduled for the Canadian Wrestling Elite event in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada

May 30th
APW Gladiator Champion Sammy Guevara defends the title against Zane Zodiac at the Adrenaline Pro Wrestling event in Melbourne, Australia

June 5th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in McCook, NE

June 6th
Chandler Hopkins is scheduled for the Xtreme Wrestling Entertainment event in Salina, KS

June 12th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Lincoln, NE

June 13th
Chandler Hopkins is scheduled for the Texas Wrestling League event in McAllen, TX

Rob Parker is scheduled for the Major League Wrestling event in Cicero, IL

June 13th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Holdridge, NE

June 20th
Michael Barry vs. Meklakov in a Flag Match is scheduled for the Mid-States Wrestling event in Springfield, MO. In other matches, Matt Riviera takes on Alan Jefferson, Jason Jones & Jesse Inman face Nate Winchester & Johnny Lightning and Gary Gram takes on Niles Plonk.

June 26th
Barrett Brown and Gino Medina are among the stars scheduled for the SOAR Wrestling event in Richardson, TX

July 11th
Tony Atlas is scheduled for the Southern Illinois Championship Wrestling event in Quincy, IL

July 24th
Stephan Bonner takes on Matt Justice in a Hardcore Street Fight at the "Heavy Hitters 2" tournament in Sellersburg, TN

July 27th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Union, IL

August 8th
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Assciation event in Two Harbors, MN

August 21st - 23rd
Brian Blade is scheduled for the Midwest Wrestling Association event in Chicago, IL

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AUTOGRAPHS & APPEARANCES
August 13th - 16th:
There will be a huge convention of former wrestling stars from 8/13 to 8/16 in Charlotte at the University Hilton. There will be a banquet hosted by Jim Cornette where they will honor The Road Warriors, the Von Erichs, The Rock & Roll Express, The Fantastics and Jimmy Valiant. Among those appearing will be Kevin Von Erich, The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Bobby Fulton, Jimmy Valiant, Butch Reed, Stan Lane, Billy Jack Haynes, Steve Simpson and Ron Garvin.

September 6th
Sgt. Slaughter will be signing autographs at the "80's Toy Expo" at the Hilton Mississauga/Meadowvale in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

September 26th
The Honky Tonk Man, Zeus, Lex Luger, Jim Duggan, The Rock-N-Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson), Dutch Mantell, Larry Zbyszko, Sam Houston, Ted Arcidi, David Schultz, The Conquistadors, Haiti Kid, Sean Mooney, Mike McGuirk, Ivan Putski, Teddy Long, Tony Garea, The Ascension (Konnor & Victor), Dean Malenko, Terri Runnels, Bill Demott, The Blue Meanie, Crowbar, Bull James, Mario Mancini and many more will be signing autographs at "80’s Wrestling Con" at iPlay America in Freehold, NJ

November 27th - 29th
Dory Funk, Jr. is scheduled for the WrestleCade FanFest Weekend in Winston-Salem, NC

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UPCOMING BIRTHDAYS
April 12th - Adam Patrick, Eduardo Castillo, Tony Anthony
April 13th - Antonino Rocca, Psycho Sawyer
April 14th - Jimmy Jack Funk
April 15th - Marianne Albright, Spyke
April 16th - Darling Dagmar, Frankie Laine, Mayes McLain
April 17th - Chuck Conley, Jamie Holley, Roddy Piper
April 18th - Little Beaver

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Most news & results derived from reports found on Gerweck.net, PWBTS.com, WrestlingFigs.com, MissouriWrestlingRevival.com, and various other wrestling news sites.