The Bushwackers worked for All Star in the 1990s they did at least one tour and did decent business as far as I can remember. Butch flew into the States for a wrestling convention last and took ill on arrival and died shortly afterwards. The Bushwackers were known to most as a comedy tag team but in a previous incarnation The Sheepherders, they were a hard hitting rule breaking team who spilt both their opponents and their own blood frequently, a far cry from what they became.

Bob Wright worked as a gateman at the local shipyards, the Jarrow Vikings are a sculpture at the shopping centre in Jarrow and were unveiled when the shopping centre opened in the early 1960s. Bob worked as a fairly immobile heel on small independent shows.

I read an article about Tombstone and the silver mines in the area and a significant number of the miners were from Cornwall. Amongst the population of Tombstone Cornish wrestling became very popular and attracted sizeable crowds, the reports of the bouts were sent back to the UK.

it's being reported that Antonio Inoki has died after a period of illness aged 79, R.I.P.

A campaign has been started on the 25 anniversary of his death for a blue plaque to commemorate Brian Glover and his achievements, a couple of suitable locactions have been suggested and there's a fundraising campaign to raise the money for the plaque. It would be wonderful if a wrestling show was held to help the fundraising achieve its goal.

Came across this it's ideal for your phone tablet etc never tried on pc yet, there's a subscription section and a free section but there is a good mix of territory wrestling from the states and quite a bit of British wrestling too mainly 1970s and 1980s but it means you can take the wrestling with you . Have a look, I have just had a scan through it and can happily pass an hour ir two on it.

Just seen in the schedules that a new wrestling comedy/dram starting on itv2 tonight at 10pm called Deep Heat, not a clue what it's like but it looks like a British cast and we have 2 episodes tonight. I will tell you what I think of it tomorrow and those watching it will no doubt do the same.

I came across and article by a guy called Allan Richardson, a local historian, its not big so I though I would copy it as we talk about Lancashire in the 19th century but there was an annual tournament in Newcastle. Here is the Article: Newcastle’s Secret Park and the Hidden History of City Fun Most Newcastle residents are familiar with Leazes Park, Exhibition Park, Gosforth Park and Jesmond Dene. But few are aware that there’s a park hidden away in central Newcastle. You can be forgiven for not knowing it’s there, after all two of its three entrances are completely sealed off and you have to walk through an abandoned car park to get in. It’s not exactly nestled in luscious parkland either—on one side are highly contaminated lead works and on the other a derelict wasteland formerly home to railway stables. The Redheugh Bridge Park is not somewhere you find by accident on a nice leisurely stroll around the city centre. It is tucked away under the Redheugh Bridge, and was presumably built by Newcastle City Council during the construction of the third version of the crossing. Its existence has never been publicised and there are scant references to it online. What is especially baffling is that the park has always been remote and uninviting—it seems like an unusual place to try and carve out a slice of serenity. Evidently very little effort goes into maintaining the park and it is essentially in a state of dereliction. After negotiating inaccessible entrances and fighting through undergrowth, the parkgoer is sure to be disappointed by what they find—a series of benches whose design is obviously drawn from the distant industrial influences of the area. It’s possible that the park is a casualty of the recession, certainly two of the entrances seem to have been fenced off between 2008 and 2012. The present surroundings of the park make its location questionable, but looking back into the history of the Forth Banks area reveal the park to be a real anachronism. Although the area became heavily industrialised in the second half of the 19th century, The Forth previously lay just outside of the boundaries of the city wall. In his early 1736 account of Newcastle, Henry Bourne describes the Forth as ‘a place of pleasure and recreation’. Bourne alludes to—but does not expand on—’an ancient custom for the Mayor, Aldermen and Sheriff of this town, accompanied with great Numbers of the burgesses, to go every year at the feast of Easter and Whitsunday to the Forth, with the maces, sword and cap of maintenance carried before them’. R.J. Charleton, writing in 1885, sheds further light on this ancient custom. As well as being a centre of leisure with a permanent bowling green and pleasant walking grounds, the Forth annually played host to an event called the Easter Hopping. This appears to have been a grand fair attended by many of the residents of Newcastle and the disparate villages surrounding it which it would later engulf. The Easter Hopping boasted shows and booths with all kinds of delights. One of the main crowd pleasers was the show of Billy Purvis. Purvis was a stalwart of 19th century North East England and was a forerunner to the modern celebrity. Purvis’s ‘popularity was established by his performance at fairs, races, feasts, Hoppings, and other similar places of public amusement’ all around the North East, where he would dexterously play the part of ‘dancing-master, conjurer, piper, play-actor and showman’.Writing in 1857, just four years after Purvis’s death, Forydyce notes that he would ‘not unfrequently [be] exhibiting at the mansions of the gentry’. Some of the other attractions of the Forth during the Easter Hopping were also permanent fixtures. These included the Newcastle Circus and a wrestling ground where tournaments were regularly held. The precise location of this wrestling ground turns out not to be far away from the Redheugh Bridge Park. The first edition Ordnance Survey plan from 1855 lists the land that would eventually become the railway stables (which were knocked down to create the wasteland neighbouring the park) as being a ‘Wrestling Ground’! This is the exact location where the ‘Newcastle upon Tyne Wrestling and Great Northern Games’ was held every year until the North East Railway Company bought the land in 1876. The constant sources of pleasure in the Forth led some to call it the People’s Park, so all told it is not quite the most unusual place to find the Redheugh Bridge Park. The area’s use started to shift from a rural place of communal leisure toward heavy industrialisation in the middle of the 18th century, and in 1752 the Newcastle Infirmary opened in the Forth. New streets were built through it, including Neville Street and Scotswood Road, and in 1850 railway lines cut through the heart of the Forth to the new Central Station which was built opposite the location of the old circus. The curious name of the area—the Forth—likely comes from the old English ‘firth’ which denoted ‘a space between trees or a shady place’. Some have speculated that this may refer to the area’s relative position ‘in the shade’ of Newcastle’s town wall, but according to Charleton the name dates back to ‘ancient times’ when ‘the Forth was covered by a dark and gloomy forest, sacred to the rites of the Druids’. According to him, the first mention of the name is ‘when Henry III licensed the townsmen to dig for coals and stone [in a] certain field called Le Frythe’. The remnants of something in the depths of a derelict wasteland in Forth Banks. Strip away a layer and you’ll find it was a railway stable. Strip away another and you’ll find it was a wrestling ground and the site of Newcastle’s own version of the Olympics.

luchador Principe Aereo collapsed and died in the ring this weekend he was 26

Came across this thought it may have been of interest Some really good photos

we have all watched shows in various venues, some were superb, some definitely weren't, the sort of places you wiped your feet on the way out. Others were relatively plush, with a good view of the ring anywhere in the hall, some had great atmosphere others were like morgues. let's hear about your favourite venues and worst venues and why.

I have seen in the galleries that a number of halls held Christmas Eve Shows but did anywhere hold Christmas Day shows, I know quite a few promotions in the USA held Christmas Day shows but have never seen a bill for a similar show in the UK. I was wondering how some of the wrestlers got back home after the Christmas Eve shows as cars were not as common in the 1940s/ 1950s as these shows I came across were in these decades. Did trains run through into Christmas Day? I wonder if the Christmas Eve shows were well attended? I am sure someone has some answers out there,

we have come across wrestlers fighting the invisible man but here is a completely new take on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cslu7zFmPjM the ref plays a blinder

Worth a look on YouTube for a recent match from US promotion MLW it's Davy Boy Smith Jr vs Timothy Thatcher. I think you might just enjoy it

Went in very early Saturday morning to get the right knee done. Back home tonight tired and in pain. Glad it was done though. The hard work starts now.

Great to see a feature on Alan, a supremely talented wrestler who was never a real fan favourite, no gimmick,no flamboyance just very good wrestling. Personally along with Ballymoss, Bernard and myself amongst others we were great admirers of Alan's ringcraft. It was quality over quantity with Alan, at times he looked like hadn't broke sweat he was so comfortable in the ring. His style meant he could work so often and have such a long in ring career, even when he hung up his boots he was still in the ring as a very competent referee. I wondered if Alan passed on his knowledge and skill to the following generation of wrestlers it would be good to know?

Mexican wrestler Silver King died in the ring last at a Lucha show in Camden last night, he was 51 years old. Evidently it has been reported by people at the event that no medical staff were in attendance and wrestlers were trying to revive him til paramedics arrived at the venue. There are so many promotions that just don't even attempt to have some medical support in attendance nowadays. I know of at least one promotion that has a member of staff with medical training, but if you wish to promote wrestling shows at least one staff member should be first aid trained before you can hold such events, it might not have made a difference on this occasion but it might sort out the cowboys from the more legitimate promotions.

Got let out of hospital tonight, had the knee replacement just over 48 hours ago. It's sore, swollen but I am walking on crutches, can get up and down stairs and have a 90% bend, l am doing physio 3-4 times a day, doped up with painkillers, but glad to be home. YouTube will be getting some hammer over the next week or two. But thank you all for you messages and best wishes. I now have a titanium knee.

I noticed on the Mike Marino thread there's a bill going back to 1957 from Hartlepool Engineers. On it is a gentleman called Tony Lord from Blyth taking on Chic Purvey. I have never come across Tony Lord and wondered if any of our ex grapplers particularly our North East contingent had come across him or have any knowledge of the gentleman. Thank you