WrestleCrap
Encyclopedia
WrestleCrap is a professional wrestling
website
created by RD Reynolds and Merle Vincent (who died in September 2000), serving as a "hall of shame" for some of the worst gimmicks and storylines in pro wrestling history. The site is currently run by Reynolds and Blade Braxton.
In 2006, the site added several new writers and features.
There is also a book written by the creators of WrestleCrap with an introduction by John Tenta
, with the same name (ISBN 1-55022-584-7). Reynolds also co-authored The Death of WCW, with wrestling journalist
Bryan Alvarez
. Most recently, Reynolds co-wrote The WrestleCrap Book of Lists! with Braxton, which was released in late 2007. Currently, both Reynolds and Alvarez are featured columnists for British pro wrestling and MMA magazine Fighting Spirit
.
, one of the most disastrous wrestling gimmicks of all time.
The 2001 award was not revealed until 2003 due to WrestleCrap
Each year's Gooker Award, with the exceptions of 2001 and 2002, was determined by a poll of site visitors. The 2001 and 2002 awards were chosen by Reynolds, since he felt there was no competition those years.
called WrestleCrap Radio. Typically Reynolds and columnist Blade Braxton discuss their personal lives, make jokes that may or may not relate to current wrestling (or wrestling at all), and rarely discuss news items from the wrestling industry. On occasion interviews with guests from within the wrestling industry are broadcast such as their interviews with Vince Russo
and Lance Storm
. Induction writer Triple Kelly is the unofficial reserve host, having won a co-host contest in 2007. As of May 2010, she has hosted the show twice.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
website
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
created by RD Reynolds and Merle Vincent (who died in September 2000), serving as a "hall of shame" for some of the worst gimmicks and storylines in pro wrestling history. The site is currently run by Reynolds and Blade Braxton.
History
Reynolds and Vincent launched the site in April 2000, quickly developing a following among wrestling fans. After Vincent's death in September 2000, Reynolds continued to run the site by himself. He shut the site down in 2001, claiming the high cost of running the site was responsible. It returned the following year, albeit without the backlog of past inductions.In 2006, the site added several new writers and features.
There is also a book written by the creators of WrestleCrap with an introduction by John Tenta
John Tenta
John Anthony Tenta was a Canadian professional wrestler known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Earthquake and later Golga, and in World Championship Wrestling as Avalanche and The Shark.-Early life:John Tenta was born in Surrey, British Columbia...
, with the same name (ISBN 1-55022-584-7). Reynolds also co-authored The Death of WCW, with wrestling journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alvarez
Bryan Alki Alvarez is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and the editor and publisher of Figure Four Weekly, a newsletter that has covered professional wrestling since 1995. Alvarez credits a portion of his pro wrestling training to pro wrestler Buddy Wayne, and is credited in training...
. Most recently, Reynolds co-wrote The WrestleCrap Book of Lists! with Braxton, which was released in late 2007. Currently, both Reynolds and Alvarez are featured columnists for British pro wrestling and MMA magazine Fighting Spirit
Fighting Spirit magazine
FSM is a monthly professional wrestling and mixed martial arts magazine published in the United Kingdom by Uncooked Media...
.
Site content
- WrestleCrap Inductions, new induction weekly with rotating classic inductions weekly. These have been written primarily by RD over the years, but a number of others have written them, with "Triple Kelly" Kelly Parmalee now being the lead induction writer.
- WrestleCrap Radio, RD and Blade's weekly take on recent events in the American wrestling scene.
- Headlies, Faux wrestling news stories written by Justin Henry and Sean Carless.
- JobberJob (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
of the Week, where a random wrestling jobber is profiled by Blade or RD, most often Blade. WrestleCrap contributor Robert Q. Seidelman would sub for Blade on occasion but has not written a JOTW column in several years. - Weird World of Wrestling, which used to be a separate website by Madison Carter, that was inspired by WrestleCrap.com but focused on the independent scene.
- Burgan's Gimmick Table, the finest wrestling merchandise never made.
- Someone Bought This, a look at some of the more ridiculous wrestling merchandise on sale.
- RD's Ramblings, comments on current events in pro wrestling and replies to the emailsE-mailElectronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
he receives. - RD's Book & DVD Reviews
- Re-Writing the Book, a column that looks at fictional alternate universes in wrestling, for example "What if the Montreal ScrewjobMontreal ScrewjobThe Montreal Screwjob was a controversial, purportedly real life professional wrestling event in which the owner of the World Wrestling Federation, Vince McMahon, double-crossed the defending WWF Champion, Bret Hart, during the main event match of the professional wrestling pay-per-view event...
never happened?". Started by Jed Shaffer, the column is now written by Neil Cathan and Simon Rawls. - It Came From YouTube, a weekly celebration of the most obscure, insane and sometimes brilliant wrestling related clips found on YouTube.
The Gooker Award
The Gooker Award is given each year to the worst gimmick, storyline, or event in wrestling in that year. The award is named after The GobbledygookerHector Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero...
, one of the most disastrous wrestling gimmicks of all time.
Winners
- 2000: David ArquetteDavid ArquetteDavid Arquette is an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, fashion designer, and occasional professional wrestler. A member of the Arquette acting family, he first became known during the mid 1990s after starring in several Hollywood films, such as the Scream series, Wild Bill and...
as the WCW ChampionWCW World Heavyweight ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation . It existed within WCW between 1991 and 2001. Following the acquisition of WCW by World Wrestling...
. - 2001: The WCW/ECW Invasion.
- 2002: Katie Vick (Triple HTriple HPaul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
/ KaneKane (wrestler)Glenn Thomas Jacobs is a Spanish-born American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name, Kane. He is signed to WWE, appearing on its SmackDown brand, but is currently inactive due to injury....
feud). - 2003: Al WilsonTorrie WilsonTorrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
(Torrie WilsonTorrie WilsonTorrie Anne Wilson is a retired American professional wrestler, fitness competitor and model. She is best known for her tenures in World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment , where she worked on both their SmackDown and Raw brands throughout her eight-year run.As a fitness...
/ Dawn MarieDawn Marie PsaltisDawn Marie Psaltis is an American former professional wrestler and professional wrestling valet. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and the SmackDown! brand of World Wrestling Entertainment under her ring name Dawn Marie, where she was a WWE...
feud). - 2004: The 2004 Raw Diva Search.
- 2005: The Jim RossJim RossJames William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
firing storyline and colonoscopyColonoscopyColonoscopy is the endoscopic examination of the large bowel and the distal part of the small bowel with a CCD camera or a fiber optic camera on a flexible tube passed through the anus. It may provide a visual diagnosis and grants the opportunity for biopsy or removal of suspected...
skit. - 2006: The WWE's exploitation of Eddie GuerreroEddie GuerreroEduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...
's name and legacy after his death. (Eddiesploitation) - 2007: The Vince McMahonVince McMahonVincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
paternity storyline and the reveal of Hornswoggle as his son. - 2008: Mike AdamleMike AdamleMichael David "Mike" Adamle is a sports personality and former National Football League player. He is best known as the co-host of American Gladiators series for seven years....
in WWE. - 2009: The Hornswoggle vs. Chavo GuerreroChavo GuerreroSalvador Guerrero III , better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero, Sr., is a former professional wrestler. He is known for his work in Universal Wrestling Federation , American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Entertainment and for being the father of third generation wrestler...
feud. - 2010: TNATotal Nonstop Action WrestlingTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
's attempt to resurrect the Monday Night Wars by moving TNA Impact! to air opposite WWE RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
.
The 2001 award was not revealed until 2003 due to WrestleCrap
Each year's Gooker Award, with the exceptions of 2001 and 2002, was determined by a poll of site visitors. The 2001 and 2002 awards were chosen by Reynolds, since he felt there was no competition those years.
WrestleCrap Radio
In August 2005, WrestleCrap introduced a podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
called WrestleCrap Radio. Typically Reynolds and columnist Blade Braxton discuss their personal lives, make jokes that may or may not relate to current wrestling (or wrestling at all), and rarely discuss news items from the wrestling industry. On occasion interviews with guests from within the wrestling industry are broadcast such as their interviews with Vince Russo
Vince Russo
Vincent James "Vince" Russo is an American creative writer and author, well known for his work in the professional wrestling industry. He is notable for his tenure with World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Lance Storm
Lance Storm
Lance Timothy Evers known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in World Wrestling Entertainment, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling...
. Induction writer Triple Kelly is the unofficial reserve host, having won a co-host contest in 2007. As of May 2010, she has hosted the show twice.
Segments
- RD's TRIP... to the Grocery - Reynolds discusses various food items he comes across at the "foodmart". Occasionally, Braxton will host this segment, or either host will talk about going to a completely different place, such as RD's trip to DisneyWorld. On rare occasions, this segment will even showcase celebrity trips to various locations, such as Jonny Fairplay's trip to a local Canteloupe Festival.
- Fan Fiction Theatre - Presented by Sir Alec Heineken (Braxton), this segment presents a reading of wrestling fan-fiction, which often involve graphic sexual encounters between the story's subjects.
- Obscure Wrestling News - Reynolds and Braxton discuss random news stories from the wrestling world.
- Question of the Week - Reynolds and Braxton (attempt to) answer a question that has been submitted by the listeners.
- TNA News - This segment involves discussion of TNA news but due to the incompetence of the correspondent, the segment rarely involves very little actual discussion of TNA, if any. The role of TNA correspondent has been described as something of a 'poisoned chalice', as the TNA correspondents invariably end up meeting an untimely demise, drawing comparisons to the Defence Against The Dark Arts Teacher position from the Harry PotterHarry PotterHarry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by the British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter and his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, all of whom are students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series of books. The TNA correspondent position was most recently held by C.S. Irwin, a man who acted in a similar manner to Horatio CaineHoratio CaineHoratio Caine is a fictional character and the protagonist in the CBS crime drama CSI: Miami, portrayed by David Caruso. He is currently head of the crime lab, under the rank of Lieutenant of the MDPD.-Fictional character biography:...
from CSI: MiamiCSI: MiamiCSI: Miami is an American police procedural television series, which premiered on September 23, 2002 on CBS. The series is a spin-off of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation....
. Despite breaking the record for the longest-running TNA correspondent in Wrestlecrap Radio history, previously co-held by Johnny Six and Mike Check, Irwin's segments supposedly garnered the lowest listener ratings of any part of the show. As a result of this, he was eventually taken away by The Ratings Reaper, an anthropomorphic personification similar to The Grim Reaper responsible for ushering anything with low ratings into the afterlife. The current TNA correspondent is Blade's mailman, The Honky Tonk mailman, a parody of pro-wrestler The Honky Tonk ManThe Honky Tonk ManRoy Wayne Farris , better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man, is an American professional wrestler. A 1975 graduate from University of Memphis with a B.S. degree in Education. Coached high school football 2 seasons at Munford High School in Munford, Tennessee...
who reports outdated news using copies of the Wrestling Observer newsletter stolen from a customer on his route. - Current Wrestling News - Reynolds and Braxton discuss WWE-related news.
- Blade Braxton's Weekly Wrestling Haiku - The longest-running segment on the show, Braxton reads a haiku he has composed, related to an event of that week's wrestling programming. This is almost always the final segment on the show.
- Call-Ins - Although not a segment per se, these are a weekly occurrence on the show. This involves various characters "calling in" to the show to ramble on about various topics, to the frustration of Reynolds and Braxton. The most common characters featured are "Gay PopeyePopeyePopeye the Sailor is a cartoon fictional character created by Elzie Crisler Segar, who has appeared in comic strips and animated cartoons in the cinema as well as on television. He first appeared in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre on January 17, 1929...
" (Reynolds) and "Angry Jim RossJim RossJames William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
" (Braxton), among many others.