Opinion

Cook’s Top 5: 1992 Wrestling Memories

Cook revisits 1992 the best way possible; WRESTLING MEMORIES!

Published

5 years ago

May 23, 2020

We continue my Thirtieth Anniversary Celebration with the knowledge that it’s not exactly a great time to be celebrating anything. In one of my most awkward segues of all time, which is saying something, 1992 wasn’t a big year for celebration in the wrestling business.

The WWF was in the news for all the wrong reasons. Sex scandals. Drug scandals. The popularity of the company took a big hit, one that took several years to recover from. One amazing thing about it is that as a young fan, I was completely oblivious to all of it. Pro wrestling was all over the news & tabloid shows, and somehow I managed to avoid it. I was deeply embedded in what was going on inside of the ring, not outside of it.

To me, 1992 was a pretty fun year! Looking back, I still get a good deal of enjoyment out of it. Ric Flair’s Royal Rumble win doesn’t make the list because I didn’t see it. It wasn’t until years later that I saw it, and realized it was my favorite match of all time. I also had the chance to expand my fandom into promotions I’d never heard of before, and discovered something at the grocery store that would become an addiction for several years.

No, not Brownie Bites. I think those came along later.

Anywho, here are my top 5 Wrestling Memories from 1992.

5. Ultimate Warrior is Cursed by Papa Shango

We’ve all heard the question “When did you figure out that wrestling was fake?”. I hate to use the word “fake” because we all know the very real consequences of what wrestlers do in the ring. But that’s the question people ask, and I’ve never had the patience to correct them on it. The sooner one of these conversations ends, the better, so I just tell them “When I saw Papa Shango place a curse on the Ultimate Warrior, and it worked”.

I could believe Warrior being locked in a casket by Undertaker. I could believe a lot of things that the WWF presented during this time period, which in hindsight look completely ridiculous. Papa Shango’s curse? Warrior oozing black liquid out of his head? Warrior randomly going into convulsions after a match and vomiting on a medical attendant on the May 16th episode of Superstars? Not to mention all this other stuff with Shango setting peoples’ boots on fire after matches, or Mean Gene Okerlund having his own black liquid incident, or anything else Papa Shango did during his run.

Don’t get me wrong. The character had an awesome look. Charles Wright seems like one of the coolest people to ever set foot in a wrestling ring. But I was eight years old and even I wasn’t buying into all of these voodoo shenanigans. They are pretty funny to watch now, though.

4. Nailz Assaults Big Boss Man

On the opposite end of the spectrum was the vicious attack Nailz committed on the Big Boss Man. This thing looked legit as all get-out. A mysterious voice had appeared on previous editions of Superstars talking about how Boss Man had mistreated him in the Cobb County prison, but he was out now and looking for revenge. Boy did he get it! Nailz beat the living crap out of Boss Man on the May 30th episode of Superstars in one of the biggest beat downs I’d seen at the time.

It still holds up pretty well. Though, to be honest, when I was re-watching it on WWE Network awhile back, I couldn’t help but think that maybe the Boss Man had it coming. Dude was a babyface, but he’d still slap around people after beating them, put handcuffs on them if he was in a mood, all for the sin of being booked to wrestle against the Big Boss Man. Who’s to say he didn’t abuse Nailz unfairly in prison? I think Mr. Perfect was onto something in his description of the incident.

3. Renting SummerSlam 1992

Any of you in my general age group will surely have stories about how you would rent wrestling tapes at a video store. Mine was a Blockbuster next to the grocery store. Once my parents got their Blockbuster card, the world was my oyster. Video games & wrestling shows were mine to be had for three days, and I made as much usage out of those three days as possible.

My store had a WWF-heavy selection, which makes sense because I don’t think most other companies figured out video distribution until the DVD age. This was how I got to see most of the early WrestleManias, Summer Slams, Royal Rumble & Survior Series. Sure, it would have been nice to see them live, but renting them was good enough for me. SummerSlam 1992 was the first show I remember watching pretty close to when it happened.

2. Clash of the Champions XX

I mentioned in the previous two columns that I had yet to be introduced to other wrestling promotions & watched the WWF exclusively. That changed in 1992. First, my local TV station started airing WCW Worldwide at 12 PM after Superstars & Wrestling Challenge. That was usually a busy time of the day for me, as I was still either playing baseball or being drug out of the house to go somewhere. My interest was piqued a bit more by what we’ll talk about at #1, and once I found out that Jake “The Snake” Roberts & “Ravishing” Rick Rude had gone to WCW, I was ready to jump on the bandwagon.

I just missed the peak of the Dangerous Alliance, as the first show I really remember watching was Clash of the Champions XX. They did a really good job of presenting themselves as the tradition of pro wrestling, with all sorts of guest appearances, some old clips and some pretty solid matches too. Once I figured out WCW had multiple shows on TBS, that changed my TV viewing schedule. WCW wouldn’t reach its peak until a few years later, but I grew to love their more wrestling-centric presentation.

1. Discovering wrestling magazines

As much as I loved renting wrestling tapes, I’ve always been a reader at heart. I’m not talking the kind of stuff I do either. I’m talking hardcover. Pages with ink on them. Maybe a paperback if I’m in the mood. Give me some good books and I can survive this whole coronavirus thing pretty easily.

Give me some magazines. Come to think of it, I’ve got boxes & boxes of old wrestling magazines somewhere. It was in the fall of 1992 when I was at my grocery store and happened upon the magazine section. The first types of magazines I noticed? Wrestling, of course. Including that WCW Magazine with Big Van Vader on the cover. I’d never seen Vader before, and he looked so cool towering over those smaller guys. So naturally I made my mom buy it for me, and that was how I learned about WCW.

WWF Magazine was a big one too, of course. I subscribed to that one for years. I’d eventually discover all the Apter mags. Pro Wrestling Illustrated was the biggie, then you had The Wrestler, Inside Wrestling and some other ones that were hit or miss depending on the subjects. I remember Wrestling’s Main Event having tons of information about stuff I’d never heard of, but I only caught the tail end of their run. Wrestling magazines were among the height of my childhood, and it makes me sad that they’re almost extinct now. Pretty sure PWI is still hanging in there but I haven’t seen a wrestling magazine in a store for ages.

It’s a dying medium. But I wish I had my own monthly column in a magazine starting on page 18 and with the ending on page 65.

Thanks for reading and looking back with me to the good ol’ days! Join us next week as we look back at 1993…

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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

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Chairshot Staff Picks: Money In The Bank

Extra, extra read all about it… Chairshot Staff picks are in!!!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 6, 2025

PC Tunney

Sing it with me… money money money money moneeeeeeeeeyeeeeee… everybody’s got a price! MONEY IN THE BANK is here!!! How money will our staff picks be?!?

AJ – Roxanne Perez
Andrew – Stephanie Vaquer – *Bubba Sparxxx Impression* I don’t tell stories, I let them tell theyself.
Dave – Guilia – A stacked field but I just like her here.
DJ – Naomi
DPP – Roxanne Perez
Jason – Alexa Bliss
Patrick – Roxanne Perez
Rey – Naomi – If Naomi loses, we riot!
Rob – Naomi
Greg – Alexa Bliss – Bliss has had huge reactions since returning and is moving a ton of merch. While I can see them wanting to build Roxanne Perez, Giulia, or Stephanie Vaquer, I think Alexa Bliss.

Tunney’s Take: Rhea Ripley – I’ll make my case short and sweet… Mami in the Bank! You can’t leave that money on the table.

Chairshot Pick – Tie – Naomi 3 & Roxanne Perez 3 (Alexa Bliss 2, Giulia 1, Rhea Ripley 1, Stephanie Vaquer 1)

AJ – LA Knight
Andrew – El Grande Americano – Feels correct given his push and the fact he’s over.
Dave – Seth Rollins – Got to push that new faction.
DJ – LA Knight
DPP – El Grande Americano
Jason – LA Knight
Patrick – Solo Sikoa
Rey – LA Knight – Looks like another push, and he does have history with Cena.
Rob – Solo Sikoa
Greg – Seth Rollins – This company is extremely high in the El Grande Americano gimmick, but this match comes down to Seth Rollins or LA Knight. Given the Rollins storyline, it’s his briefcase to win.

Tunney’s Take: El Grande Americano – Picture this: Chad Gable wins the AAA Mega Championship and El Grande Americano wins MITB! WHAT A SATURDAY in LA!!!

Chairshot Pick – LA Knight 4 (El Grande Americano 3, Seth Rollins 2, Solo Sikoa 2)

AJ – Becky Lynch – Sadly
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I still don’t care about Lyra.
Dave – Lyra Valkyria – Starting to warm up to her and Becky has a lot to do with that.
DJ – Lyra Valkyria
DPP – Becky Lynch
Jason – Becky Lynch
Patrick – Lyra Valkyria
Rey – Becky Lynch – Put some fire on the Irish Beef.
Rob – Becky Lynch
Greg – Becky Lynch – I don’t think you do a rematch here just to have Becky lose again. Unless Bayley shows up to help Lyra.

Tunney’s Take: Becky Lynch – A big part of me feels that winning this title checks off a major box for Becks in her HOF career.

Chairshot Pick – Becky Lynch 8-3

AJ – Cena & Paul
Andrew – Rhodes & Uso – Easy way for Cena to lose without eating the pinfall.
Dave – Rhodes & Uso – Get the QB back on the winning track.
DJ – Rhodes & Uso
DPP – Rhodes & Uso
Jason – Cena & Paul
Patrick – Cena & Paul
Rey – Rhodes & Uso – Heels usually lose these kinds of matches. Logan takes the pin.
Rob – Cena & Paul
Greg – Rhodes & Uso – I hope Jey isn’t an afterthought here like Cody was last fall when he was paired up with Roman. I think Cody pins Cena to set up Cody-Cena 2 at SummerSlam.

Tunney’s Take: Cena & Paul – I don’t think Cena is involved in another loss until he loses the WWE Championship. I also think Logan Paul is NOT done trying to capture Jey Uso’s World Heavyweight Championship. …Travis Scott in the house?

Chairshot Pick – 6-5 Rhodes & Uso

In closing I want to thank everyone on the panel for participating with their picks! You can follow each prognosticator/podcaster on X @ the handles below. We all enjoy Pro Wrestling so remember three things… be respectful of others, comparison is the thief of joy and HAVE FUN!

AJ – @PhenomenalAJB
Andrew – @IWCWarChief
Dave – @AttitudeAgg
DJ – @TheMindlessPod
DPP – @itsmeDPP
Jason – @JediFett
Patrick – @WrestlngRealist
Rey – @itsreycash
Rob – @rbonne1
Greg – @gregdemarco44
PC – @PCTunney
TheChairshot.com – @ChairshotMedia

prowrestlingtees.com/TheChairshot – a PLETHORA of GREAT designs…MAKES A GREAT GIFT!

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SUNDAY – Keeping the news ridiculous… The Oddity / The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE’s PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS…IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O’Dowd’s 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

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About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

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SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

Opinion

Chairshot Staff Picks: Backlash St. Louis

Chairshot Staff picks!!!

Published

1 month ago

May 9, 2025

PC Tunney

May is upon us and with that, so is Backlash from St. Louis! What does the first PLE after WrestleMania have in store for the WWE Universe? Let’s see if the Chairshot Staff can properly interpret the crystal ball of rasslin’ future.

AJ – Pat MacAfee – Gunther has to start losing control and who better than an announcer.
Andrew – Pat MacAfee – Goldberg getting involved does seem correct here.
Dave – Gunther – He’s not losing to a broadcaster.
DJ – Gunther – Pat is sent to the shadow realm until football season is over.
DPP – Gunther – Post match beat down leads to Pat time off.
Jason – Gunther – One massive spot and or bump from Pat.
Patrick – Gunther
Rey – Gunther – RIP MacAfee, t’was a good life.
Rob – Gunther
Greg – Pat MacAfee – Why? Goooooldbeeerrrrrgggggg!

Tunney’s Take: Gunther – Seems like the right pick here. Pat may be getting some time off and Gunther needs more heat.

Chairshot Pick – GUNTHER 8-3

AJ – Lyra Valkyria – Becky’s hopefully putting her over, still mad about Dakota.
Andrew – Becky Lynch – I have no real interest in Lyra currently.
Dave – Becky Lynch – Lyra is boring AF!
DJ – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley interferes.
DPP – Becky Lynch – Becky cheats and steals the title.
Jason – Lyra Valkyria – Bayley costs Becks.
Patrick – Becky Lynch
Rey – Becky Lynch – Story needs to jump up a bit, Becky Charlotte’s Lyra.
Rob – Lyra Valkyria
Greg – Becky Lynch – It’s been fun, Lyra. (It kinda hasn’t)

Tunney’s Take: Lyra Valkyria – Bayley’s interference should set up some type of program with Becky as we head towards Summer(Slam).

Chairshot Pick – BECKY LYNCH 6-5

AJ – Jacob Fatu – Great way to put him over w/ two former WHCs and LA Knight.
Andrew – Jacob Fatu – He’s Jacob Fatu!
Dave – Jacob Fatu – Too soon to pull the belt off him.
DJ – Jacob Fatu – Priest and LA can’t decide who’s is bigger.
DPP – Jacob Fatu – Your hardcore match, tables and chairs involved.
Jason – Jacob Fatu – The Champ retains due to or in spite of Solo.
Patrick – Jacob Fatu
Rey – Jacob Fatu – All gas. No brakes. Ain’t losing.
Rob – Jacob Fatu
Greg – Jacob Fatu – Someone from The Samoan Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Jacob Fatu – Uncle Mo is on Fatu’s side and other than Knight, I don’t see Drew or Priest holding the US title in the current circumstances of this title’s landscape.

Chairshot Pick – JACOB FATU 11-0

AJ – Dominic Mysterio – Judgement Day shenanigans just leading up to Finn turning on Dom later.
Andrew – Penta – Dom’s fine having a short reign, could also work for pushing AAA.
Dave – Dominic Mysterio – He’s probably more over than Penta.
DJ – Dominic Mysterio – Dirty Dom takes home the gold and the girl.
DPP – Dominic Mysterio – Big Head helps Dom pull out the win.
Jason – Dominic Mysterio – By hook and crook.
Patrick – Dominic Mysterio
Rey – Dominic Mysterio – Latino Heat keeps burning. Finn gets closer to the edge.
Rob – Dominic Mysterio
Greg – Dominic Mysterio – Someone from The Guerrero Dynasty ain’t winning a title just to drop it.

Tunney’s Take: Dominic Mysterio – That belt looks good with the king of chicken tendys. I can see Penta and Rey reforming as a tag team sooner than later.

Chairshot Pick – DOMINIC MYSTERIO 10-1

AJ – John Cena – Why? Cena wins, lol.
Andrew – John Cena – Shenanigans ensue so it’s not a clean win.
Dave – John Cena – The last time is now.
DJ – John Cena – Randy hears voices telling him he needs an Attitude Adjustment.
DPP – John Cena – Cena tries to cheat but the ref doesn’t call for a DQ.
Jason – John Cena – Nefarious means, Randy not ready for Evil John Cena.
Patrick – John Cena
Rey – John Cena – Cena just counting down the dates. Should be fun though.
Rob – John Cena
Greg – John Cena – You know they want Cody to be the hero in the end.

Tunney’s Take: Randy Orton – Once upon a time Randy got himself intentionally disqualified and it cost John. Saturday, history repeats itself with a 180-degree twist. Cena retains via Orton DQ victory. This time, Travis Scott’s appearance takes care of that task.

Chairshot Pick – JOHN CENA 10-1