The Black Rasslin' Podcast returns for a healthy dose of rasslin'-flavored insight and entertainment! This week, Fam, Matth, DDm, and khal return to talk Sweet Daddy Siki's legacy, Omos winning big in NOAH, Raw's last show on USA (and their first show on Netflix), NXT New Year's Evil, the BRP Fat Tape '24, and more!
You know the routine: you can stream and download this week's episode via SoundCloud, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify! We stream live every Thursday at 8:35PM ET on YouTube. We also encourage you to become a member of the BRPatreon, where you can get even MORE exclusive content (and merch discounts)! We'll catch you next week; tell a friend to tell their homies to LIKE, rate, comment, subscribe, and share!
This week, The Black Rasslin' Podcast returns to reflect on the life and legacy of KING TRÉ D, the mind behind We Luv Wrestling. Later, the squad breaks down Tony Khan getting attacked on
AEW Dynamite.
You know the routine: you can stream and download this week's episode via SoundCloud, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify! We stream live every Thursday at 8:35PM ET on YouTube. We also encourage you to become a member of the BRPatreon,
where you can get even MORE exclusive content (and merch discounts)!
We'll catch you next week; tell a friend to tell their homies to LIKE,
rate, comment, subscribe, and
share!
For what it's worth, the work of people like Ice Train sparked the desire to start Black Rasslin' in the first place. Growing up as a Black pro wrestling fan at the time—be it on WWF, WCW, or other federations—you learned to root for the Black person, primarily because there were only so many of us able to compete. And for all of the Rocky Kings or Virgils who have done the damn thing in the squared circle, cats like Ice Train felt different.
In a match from August of 1993, Ice Train (who was accompanied to the ring by Thunderbolt Patterson) obliterates Wrecking Crew Rage in less than a minute. It took Train longer to get to the ring at the Disney / MGM Studios (and get his Malcolm X cap off) than it did for him to make light work for Rage. CHOO CHOO!
His career was an interesting one; after making his WCW in July of 1993, he was completely gone by the end of January 1994, making his return to WCW in February 1996 to begin the "Fire & Ice" program with Scott Norton, taking these two from formidable opponents to a lighting hot tag team to, you guessed it, bitter rivals.
That led to Norton eventually joining the nWo by the end of 1996; funny enough, Norton isn't the only person who had nWo dealings to get mixed up with Ice Train. While trying to recruit Diamond Dallas Page, the Outsiders jumped Train to help hand DDP a victory. And while that was just part of a larger DDP-Outsiders storyline, Page and Ice Train shared a long friendship, which DDP opened up about during his Instagram post on the passing of Harold Hogue, aka the pro wrestler we knew as Ice Train (or M.I. Smooth, for those who know).
These days, it's getting better for Black wrestlers. There's still a long way to go (for Black wrestlers and their peers across the board), but one has to wonder what a performer built like Ice Train would have been able to do in WWE. It's why we rejoice when we see brothers like Oba Femi obtain championship gold this early in their careers. We grew up hoping Ice Train would get TV time; we knew better than to think he'd win, especially when it mattered, but folks like Ice Train? We didn't have a lot of Ice Trains around, so we made them our champions. We hoped that Train linking with Teddy Long could possibly net Train some gold.
Ice Train really only wrestled for two organizations during his eight-year career, trading time back and forth between WCW and the Catch Wrestling Association (where he won the Catch Cup in 1995). Train's other main contribution to the pro wrestling history books was his time as M.I. Smooth, during his final run in WCW. After an 18-year gap in activity, his final match was a no-contest against Dave Taylor in December of 2019 at a card in Germany.
The squad at BRP sends our deepest condolences to Harold Hogue's friends and family, and any fans of the one and only Ice Train. If you want to see more of his work on WCW from '93 through '97, this YouTube playlist is all you need. RIP Ice Train.
The Black Rasslin' Podcast returns with healthy dose of rasslin'-flavored poddin'. This week, Fam, Matth, Mimi, and khal are talking everything from the deaths of Terry Funk and Bray Wyatt to Carmelo Hayes and Wes Lee battling at NXT Heatwave 2023, a full preview of AEW's All In pay-per-view this Sunday and much more!
You know the routine: you can stream and download this week's episode via SoundCloud, and subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify! We stream live every Thursday at 8:35PM ET on YouTube. We also encourage you to become a member of the BRPatreon,
where you can get even MORE exclusive content (and merch discounts)!
We'll catch you next week; tell a friend to tell their homies to LIKE,
rate, comment, subscribe, and
share!
The Black Rasslin' Podcast returns with a LIVE that happened to fall on St. Patrick's Day. illfam79, Matth, Drip and khal have a wild time talking the Benny the Butcher show Fam attended, Matth's Banks story, and some other shenanigans. Later, the squad dives into the life of Scott Hall, an update on Big E's injury, Thunder Rosa winning the AEW Women's Championship, Sharmell's WWE Hall of Fame announcement, and more!
The Original Gangsta New Jack has passed away. Word came from PWInsider.com on Friday afternoon that New Jack (real name Jerome Young) suffered a heart attack earlier that afternoon in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was 58.
New Jack's wife, Jennifer, informed PWInsider of Jack's passing. The internet has been paying tribute with loads of memories of the controversial pro wrestler, who was in Season 2 of Vice's Dark Side of the Ring; one of the early 2020 quarantine highlights was watching that episodeas a family.
It's hard to really break down the real story of New Jack. It sounds like his wife is attempting to settle his affairs, and there's likely more to know about his relationship with his kids. CNN reports that Jennifer wrote the following on Facebook: ""For all the outpouring of love from family, friends, and fans- I'm totally blown away. Jerome was not only my husband, he was my best friend and I'm completely gutted. He loved a lot of you very much, and you'll never know how much I appreciate the love."
Right now, many are just remembering his work in the ring—which itself has its own twists and turns, as violent and horrific as his most infamous matches. We put together a playlist featuring promos dating back to the Smoky Mountain days, including lots of work for ECW's Hardcore TV show, selections from his VladTV interview, various shoots and matches and collections of moves and matches and everything. Check it out here:
New Jack was as real as it came; Kaz himself tweeted, "One of the most electric gimmicks of all time because it was for sure not a gimmick." That's real. He lived his truth, and always gave the people a show. It's also interesting to note that, even though their relationship was what it was, Paul Heyman—the man who helped New Jack thrive—took the time out to pay tribute. Still surprised the WWE even covered it, to be honest.
We at The Black Rasslin' Podcast send our deepest condolences to New Jack's wife, Jennifer, and anyone who Jack considered a friend. Rest in peace.
In what's turned out to be one of the saddest days for pro wrestling fans in recent months, three deaths have rocked the world of professional wrestling: Nikolai Volkoff, Brian Christopher, and Memphis Wrestling legend Brickhouse Brown.
Brown, real name Frederick Seawright, died at the age of 57 earlier this morning, finally ending his battle with cancer. Many might recall that recent reports had him passing away on July 20th, but the Wrestling Observerreports that he was actually still alive, although he had flatlined while in hospice care.
Brown's career was made in the Memphis territories, where he was a top heel during the '80s and '90s, with his career also taking him to the AWA and WCCW. Among the titles Brown held were the USWA Television Championship (1x), the USWA World Tag Team Championship (3x), and the NWA Mid-South Heavyweight Championship (1x).
Brown was active until 2017, when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He's a true black rasslin' legend, and will be missed. Rest in power, Brickhouse Brown.
You know you're a legend if someone feels so impassioned by your life that they send you RIP shouts in the title of your latest track. This Westside Gunn and Conway cut this new song "RIP Bobby" over some buttery production from The Alchemist and Daringer, and while this cut isn't dedicated to the late, great Bobby Heenan exactly, it does feature Heenan doing what he does best in the middle of the cut. It's a priceless tribute that only Westside and Conway could cook up.
I won't keep you too long, especially since I already wrote a bunch of words on the wild untimely passing of Roddy Piper. While he was never my favorite wrestler, personally, I admired the fuck out of Piper. You have to respect a guy who will say whatever he wants whenever he wants, no matter the consequences. Especially during his early '80s WWF run, he was the kind of asshole many assholes like myself strive to be.
Dude was a legend.
While he'd do some shit Icouldn't co-sign, I respected Piper's work on the stick, and his performances in the ring. Here are some of my favorite Piper moments, in no particular order. Continue Reading
