Recommendations From A History Man

Peter Edge takes inspiration from Phil Schneider’s “Way Of The Blade” for his picks this week. One guarantee; there will be blood!

As Double or Nothing approaches, one of the more underrated aspects of the DoN weekend to come is the event promoted in conjunction with AEW, Action Wrestling and Segunda Caida called “Dean”.

The significance is that Tony Khan, like all billionaire sons I’m guessing, spent his teenage years on a wrestling forum with people he’s never met.

Honestly what kind of person would spend time on a community media platform talking about wrestling with strangers from far lands?

(Tugs collar nervously)

While I’m not the world’s biggest fan of the Segunda Caida lot (I don’t know if you can tell from previous editions of Recommendations from a History Man), I will make an exception for one person: Phil Schneider.

His Way of the Blade book is magnificent reading. With an ability to put context on the best matches that involve wrestlers wearing a crimson mask, some glorious illustrations and a very easy way of following the description of the classic matches that involve the running of the blade. It is the perfect book to read in your garden on a hot, sunny day and get sunburnt when falling asleep in your chair.

And with a sequel coming out soon in conjunction with AEW which tells the story of the company with blood as its Macguffin, I thought I would look at some of my favourite matches that involve blood, get a mention in for Way of the Blade and also look at a match involving Sabu, who sadly passed away last weekend.

Bret Hart vs Steve Austin – WrestleMania 13

I remember as a 10 year kid watching an episode of RAW when this match was announced and my reaction being “this is going to be rubbish, Steve doesn’t know any submissions.”

(Yeah, I was always destined to do this gig, wasn’t I?)

Truth is, though, Bret Hart and Steve Austin probably also knew this as they laid out the match to be a brawl.

Taking advantage of the No-DQ fine print, Hart and Austin put out an all-timer.

From the outset, the awesome shot over the shoulder of Austin as he tackles Hart, the pair brawl into the crowd with Ken Shamrock, the special guest referee playing one man security, as Austin and Hart fight amongst Chicago’s “finest”.

Once into the ring, Hart takes the control segment. It’s always been said that Austin turned face in the final minute of this match but actually, Stone Cold turns face in this segment. Stone Cold’s selling is exemplary in this portion of this match. In a prelude to the events to come, Hart is a killer that dissects Austin’s knee.

Two wicked chair shots from Stone Cold are the moment of the match – until Austin gets busted open. That opens the final third of the match and Bret dominates and it leads to the most defining final two minutes of WWF/E television you’ll ever see.

The moment when Austin tries to break the Sharpshooter is one of the most memorable images in wrestling history. His bloody face is iconic, but it’s the actions afterwards that made Austin.

Pushing his way out of the Sharpshooter, the first in WWE to ever do it, but with Hart being so much in charge that he could reapply it. It was the last hope spot for Steve.

Also credit belongs to Shamrock, who clearly and loudly tells Austin (and us) he has one chance to respond or he’ll call the fight, leading the fans in doubt to what will happen next.

I love this match so much. Its dirtiness and grittiness is compelling. Austin’s performance is one of the greatest ever. It turned this 10 year-old kid into a big Austin fan. This kid believed in heroic guys to look up to and saw Austin bathed in blood and never giving up and believed in Austin 3:16, much to the chagrin of my parents when I picked up many Austin mannerisms throughout 1997. It’s the definitive face turn (and heel turn from Hart tbf) and something from wrestling history textbooks that has to be watched. *****

Carlos Colon vs Stan Hansen – Cage Match – WWC – 14/3/1987

When the words “Puerto Rico” come up in casual wrestling fans’ minds, the first thing is probably “that’s where Bruiser Brody got stabbed, right?” But the island of Puerto Rico, before that day, was the place that was Blood and Guts before it became a marketing slogan.

The two territories that promote there could subside its own Way of the Blade edition with how much crimson is on show, and this match is no exception with Carlos Colon bleeding within a few minutes.

The young Carlos is a really fun babyface to watch and is certainly helped by the crowd reacting to every frenetic, single thing he does. Like, more people need to do cartwheels in their comebacks.

The figure four teases are great (there’s a reason the fans popped big at Backlash 2023 when Bad Bunny locked it on Damian Priest), the fear in the fans’ voices every time Hansen does something to Colon, the electricity when the locker room clears for a brawl outside the cage (one of those guys blades because Puerto Rico), and while the escape the cage rules aren’t to everyone tastes, the ruleset is used in way that sees Colon only make one attempt to escape.

While the end is weird and the Bullrope match the pair had earlier in their feud is better (reminder to myself to put it on my Google Sheets listing future editions), this is a great showcase for a weird and wacky territory that has gone unheralded, even when lots of footage has turned up on YouTube in the last two decades. Even if those reasons for the lack of attention are deserved… you know, because Carlos helped Jose Gonzales get away with the murder of Brody (I’m about to find out via DM from Trish whether or not SoSu has lawyers or not). ****

Aja Kong vs Yumiko Hotta – 24/1/1994

When I say this is an Aja Kong match, longtime Joshi followers of Aja know what I mean. When I also say this is a Yumiko Hotta match, longtime Joshi followers will also know what I mean. Put the two together and Holy Shit.

The fact this was the winner of the group chat vote also makes me think my friends actually aren’t ok.

These two just stiff the hell out of each other throughout. Even the piledrivers feel snug. The kicks to the face feel unnecessary, the kind of thing that gets wrestlers heat but it’s just a transition move in this match.

Hotta’s hand gets cut as if she wasn’t paying attention while cutting up vegetables and it looks like stigmata has occurred, and Kong being Kong adjusts and does limb work on the hand.

There’s a moment when there’s a pause where the doctors at ringside tape up Hotta’s hand and the trainee wrestlers at ringside wipe the puddles of blood on the mat, and Kong gets on the mic to taunt Yumiko. Hotta’s response? To take the bandage off as if to say, “LFG” (I’ve hit my swear limit).

The final minutes are actually the weak point of the match. That’s usually a curse on any match, but in a match like this it doesn’t matter as the rest of the collision just kicks butt. It’s nasty, it’s dirty and it’s violent. It’s brilliant. *****

Abyss vs Sabu – Turning Point 2005

Sabu passed away this past weekend. The shock of the news was quantified by the fact that he had his retirement match just 3 weeks before. For me, Sabu was one of the coolest guys I watched growing up. Buying ECW PPVs on VHS from the HMV in my local shopping square, Sabu’s matches were the matches I always looked forward to the most. They weren’t the prettiest but they were the most absorbing matches on the tape.

When Sabu was on a WWA show I attended in 2003 at the NEC Arena, I was jazzed to see him. I did the point to the sky, I chanted Sabu and I chanted “Holy Shit” when he did a “Holy Shit” thing.

Two years later, he was in TNA and a perfect rival in the year of 2005 in The Monster Abyss.

TNA put out a video on YouTube with Sabu’s best matches and this match is on the timestamp, “Sabu vs Abyss – Turning Point”.

With a ring surrounded with barbed wire, which is a relief considering it’s called Barbed Wire Massacre, its surroundings are used to its fullest. Both men have moments when they try to run the ropes on instinct but can’t because the ropes are barbed wire and the traditional weapons associated with barbed wire and wrestling are used freely. But the match is really dictated by Sabu being in his element and being Sabu.

He flies into the barbed wire almost for banter. There is a dive to the outside where he more or less bounces off Abyss. If you were to compare Sabu matches to albums, this is the Greatest Hits album. It’s a riot to watch. Two boneheads (I say that with love) doing things normal people wouldn’t dream of doing. ****

P.S Try watching this with non-wrestling fans for extra enjoyment.

By Peter Edge

© WWE

Terry Brunk (Sabu)

12th December 1964 – May 11th 2025

PWInsider announced on May 11th that Terry Brunk, better known to the wrestling world as Sabu, had passed away at the age of 60. Sabu had been wrestling for 40 years at the time of his passing, with his last match on April 18th at “Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9” in Las Vegas. During the course of his career he had wrestled for ECW, TNA, WWE, All Japan, AEW, New Japan, AAA alongside a string of independent organisations.

Sabu was an innovator, a champion of an ultraviolent style that shaped how hardcore matches play out, even now in 2025. He is most synonymous with Paul Heyman’s Extreme Championship Wrestling, where his style was welcomed within the boundary pushing fold of the Philadelphia-based company. He was a man of action rather than words, with his sudden appearances from the darkness creating the type of aura and mystery that is often misplaced on other individuals when it comes to modern day descriptions of other performers. His Arabian moonsaults and weapon-filled brawls gained him a cult following even after ECW shut its door in 2001.

Sabu would continue his career on the independents and in NWA & TNA before being part of the WWE revival of ECW in 2006. Injury plagued his later career, but the man who was trained alongside Rob Van Dam by his uncle The Sheik remains an inspiration to both wrestlers and fans alike, even if his final years battled other controversies.

Tribute poured in from across the wrestling world from those who worked closely with the Michigan native or were inspired by him.

Perhaps the most heartfelt came from AEW’s Taz, who had been part of ECW alongside Sabu for a large part of his career. In a video posted to his socials, Taz would say the following:

He would also pay further tribute in an emotional moment on AEW’s “Dynamite” program this past Wednesday.
Other former ECW alumni would also express their feelings, with Francine writing “My heart is broken. Rest in peace to my friend Sabu. I love you always.” Brian Heffon, who works under The Blue Meanie said, “Rest In Peace Sabu… Thank you, I love you, I’ll miss you… I’m totally devastated.” Rob Van Dam posted the one finger emoji in his own act of remembrance.

There are a number of fitting tributes and explorations of Sabu’s career which have been made available for free for anyone who wants to learn more about the enigma and the innovator that was Terry Brunk.

John Pollock, of Post Wrestling, has put together “The Story of Sabu” which is available in long form written format or as audio.

Kris Zellner and David Bixenspan have made the 3 episodes on Sabu that are part of their “Between the Sheets” Patreon Podcast available for free here.

The Flagship paid tribute with a 3 hour obituary on this week’s show which is available on Youtube.

© Teledario

Esteban Mares Castañeda (Black Terry)

3rd September 1952 – 20th April 2025

A number of lucha libre promotions have paid tribute to Esteban Mares Castañeda, who is most well known under the moniker of Black Terry. Esteban had wrestled in CMLL alongside a whole host of promotions in Mexico, adopting aliases such as La Gacela, El Hijo del Diablo and Guerrero Maya. He had spent the last 50 years in wrestling and was still wrestling before his death, with his last match on February 28th of this year and having been scheduled to take part in the “Lucha Fiesta” show in Ryogoku, Japan, at the end of April. Black Terry was 72 years old at the time of his passing and has received tributes from promotions such as CMLL, Riot Lucha Libre and IWRG since his death was announced.

Black Terry debuted in 1973, at the age of 21 and worked for the Universal Wrestling Association for a number of years during his early career and throughout the 1980’s, including holding the UWA Lightweight Championship for 823 days before joining CMLL in 1992 under the name Guerrero Maya. He was with the world’s oldest promotion for the next decade before moving on to Naucalpan based promotion IWRG, where he took up the role of trainer at IWRG’s school alongside being a regular on IWRG shows through the following 2 decades.

For more on Black Terry and his impact on Mexican wrestling, we recommend Violent People’s “Black Terry- A Beautiful, Violent Thing.”

Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff surprised everyone who had been expecting a podcast to be launched by the pair when they announced that they will be teaming with Israel “Izzy” Martinez to launch an amateur wrestling promotion entitled “Real American Freestyle Wrestling”. Martinez is a renowned freestyle wrestling coach who has also worked with multiple UFC Champions, he will serve as the Chief Operating Officer for the new group.

The announcement stated the first event will be held on August 30th in Cleveland, Ohio and that Kennedy Blades, Zahid Valencia and Ben Askren are already signed up for the project that will be sponsored by Hogan’s Real American Beer and Cassius whilst receiving additional investment from Left Lane Capital, which has previously invested in projects by Gerald Pique and Shaun White.

Former WWF wrestler Mike “Duke” Droese is being indicted on attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor according to a statement released by the 31st Judicial District of Tennessee. Droese had been under investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and faces charges of a Class D felony, which has a maximum punishment of a 204 year jail term. His arrangement hearing will be held on May 28th.

The Inoki Genki Factory will hold a new variation of the “Burning Fighting Spirit Antonio Inoki Exhibition” at Tenmeya in Okayama from July 2nd to 14th and also at the Keisei Department Store in Mito between July 10th and the 22nd, before it travels to Takasaki from July 24th. The exhibition has previously been on display in Tokyo, Osaka, Tochigi, Saitama, Aichi and Ishikawa over the past two years. Admission at all venues is free.

The Slush Puppy Center in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, will play host to “80’s Wrestling Con” on June 14th. Tito Santana, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine, Jimmy Hart, Jerry Lawler, all three Rogeau brothers, Demolition and Sgt. Slaughter are all confirmed to be in attendance.

The Verge is reporting that WWE will be launching a Vault Channel on Youtube solely dedicated to ECW after the success of their Vault general channel, which now has 1.8 million subscribers and the WCW channel which is already up to 235,000 subs.

Butterflies & Pink Flowers

In the 3rd of our Tunnel Talk inspired “special little guy” series and ahead of the Owen Hart Foundation Men’s Tournament Final on May 25th, Emiliana Rico-Toro writes about the impact Hangman Adam Page has had on her fandom as well as the wider impact on her life.

NJPW Resurgence

New Japan Strong shows can often be strange things to watch; the crowds attending are a mix of AEW fans, fans of the product’s golden era and those who are keeping up with the current product.

MLP Northern Rising

Aaron Wrotowski from GrapPro reviews the Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling show that took place on 5/10 in Toronto.