Rest in Peace Flyin' Brian

It has been a decade since Brian Pillman has pased. His passing came as a shock to the wrestling world, and it left it in a grieving state. He passed at a young age, 35, due to a suspected heart attack influenced by numerous factors. He is a truly someone to remember, a man that proved to be a great cruiserweight , and a man that defined the term "Loose Cannon". Today, most likely, he would still walk up the steps from time to time still relatively young at 45. His is greatly missed.

Remembering Wilmington

On October 4,1975, Ric Flair's career almost ended before it ever started. On that Saturday evening in 1975, Joseph Michael Farkas was piloting his Cessna 310 aircraft with Ric Flair, Bob Bruggers, Johnny Valentine, "Mr.Wrestling" Tim Woods, and David Crockett aboard. They were on their way to an event in Wilmington. While flying, the passengers, especially Johnny Valentine, noticed something was wrong. Not long after his observation, one of the plane's tow engines went out leaving them in grave trouble. Not long after, the last and final engine stopped humming. They were going down, all the passengers knew they could face their end. The plan then clipped the tops of a group of trees that were placed on a small piece of land near the water. The plan then descended to the ground, just missing the open water. The ambulances arrived while Flair was still conscious , and he overheard them saying that "this one might not make it". He suspected it was himself, but it was actually not. When they arrived at the hospital, Flair had a severely broken back, Crockett and Woods had no major injuries, and Bruggers and Valentine where in serious condition with injuries similar to those of Flair. The pilot tragically died the next day after being listed in critical condition. Flair would be the only wrestler to return to the ring while both promoters, Crockett and Woods, returned to their jobs. Valentine and Bruggers would retire because of back injuries to severe to continue. Later the estate of Farkas would be sued by Flair for a hefty some of money for after an investigation it was proved the pilot had made a fueling error. The day would forever go on to be the day that the infamous legacy of Ric Flair was almost halted from happening. It was the plane crash that forever changed pro wrestling.

Write On

Eight years ago today, Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, two of wrestling most well-known writers, made the decision to jump from the World Wrestling Federation to World Championship Wrestling. After a meeting with WCW executives the two, who were not contracted to the WWF, decided to make the move. On a September 30, 1999, Russo told Vince by phone that the two won't appear for the upcoming week's Monday Night Raw. Not too long after the call was made WWF.com writers posted on their front page, "Effective Sunday, 9:45 p.m. ET, Vince Russo, one of the creative writers, will no longer be with the World Wrestling Federation. Russo abruptly resigned over the phone and will now be working for WCW." This was stated even though Russo had never actually been signed. It was scheduled that the WWF was to unveil their Initial Public Offering into the stock market. This move would come as a shock to WWF, but in the long run they would benefit. For less than two years later, their rival company, WCW, would go bankrupt and officially close down. Russo currently writes for TNA Wrestling, Ferrara is temporarily inactive. Russo was indeed one of the late 1990's biggest factors on the creative end.

The Battle of the Titans

35 years ago today, one of the WWWF's biggest successes was held. It was at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York in front of 20,000 fans. It was the biggest battle of babyfaces to date. It was WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales against the pride of many, Bruno Sammartino. The match would go on endlessly with the two on the mat then on their feet. It seemed as if the grueling pace of the match wasn't wearing them down, even the failed interference of George Steele couldn't make them stop. After 75 minutes the bell rang, the fans were astonished, the match had gone the limit. There was only one thing left to do, the two wrestling legends met in the middle of the ring and shook hands. A pure sign of sportsmanship. The crowd left Flushing that night with their jaws dropped because they knew they had witnessed on of the determining moments in WWWF history, they knew that that match would pave the way for the 35 years plus success of today's WWE.
Also today, two of Japan's biggest spectacles ever made their ring debuts. 47 years ago, Shohei "Giant" Baba, the future All Japan founder, and Antonio Inoki , the future New Japan founder, would lace up their boots for the first time. In Toyko, Baba would score a victory while Inoki would come out short. The two, along with Rikidozan, would go on to give Japan the credibility it deserved in the wrestling field. Baba would sadly pass away in 1999 of cancer after making a comeback to wrestling. Today, Inoki owns the new Inoki Genome Federation that graces some of Japan and the U.S.'s greatest stars. This day in history, September 30th, marks some of the most important matches in the careers of four of pro wrestling's greatest influences.