Pre-show notes:

- Things you should read from the last week of posts at The Mandible Claw include the thing I wrote about Donald Trump’s “appearance” on the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling and an hour of me and Danielle talking to ACW and National Pro Wrestling Day star Jojo Bravo. Also, everything else on the site. You should check it out daily.

- Comments, shares, likes, and anything else that gets people to come here are appreciated. There’s some important stuff on the next page, so be sure not to skim it, and to make everyone you know on the Internet and in real life read it. Also, the jokes.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

- We’re doing some fun stuff over at The Mandible Claw, so be sure to head over there when you’re done with the report and check some stuff out.

And now, Raw goes REGULAR SCHOOL! The Best and Worst of WWE Raw for March 11, 2013, is after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Pre-show notes:

- Things you should read from the last week of posts at The Mandible Claw include the thing I wrote about Donald Trump’s “appearance” on the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling and an hour of me and Danielle talking to ACW and National Pro Wrestling Day star Jojo Bravo. Also, everything else on the site. You should check it out daily.

- Don’t forget to vote in our first annual With Leather Bad Wrestling Theme Lyrics March Madness Tournament! Round one matches are happening right now. They need your votes!

- Comments, shares, likes, and what-have-you are appreciated. We’re got a handy “sharing” bar at the bottom of each page of the post, so if you see or read something you like on one of them, share this somewhere.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

And now, Raw goes REGULAR SCHOOL! The Best and Worst of WWE Raw for March 11, 2013, is after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

Sad news from the professional wrestling world tonight, as the owner of the Funeral Parlor has passed away.

WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of William Moody, aka Paul Bearer. Moody made his WWE debut in 1991 as the manager of The Undertaker and went on to become a memorable part of WWE over the course of the next 20 years.

Our deepest condolences go out to Moody’s family, friends and fans. (via WWE.com)

Paul Bearer was one of the weirdest and most unforgettable characters in wrestling history, and the only way I can think of to honor is memory is to share some of the reasons why. Here’s a collection of Bearer videos and pictures, which are best viewed alongside the very true fact that he’ll be in our heads (and hearts) forever.

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This week on Amor Prohibito...

Pre-show notes:

- If you’re unaware, I’m helping Best and Worst of Impact columnist Danielle with her new wrestling site, The Mandible Claw. There’s a new post up every weekday, and so far we’ve done a pretty rad podcast (which I’ll help host every week) and an incredible piece on Vickie Guerrero by Ari Amaru. This is seriously worth your time. Go read it, and keep reading it.

- Comments, shares, likes, and what-have-you are appreciated. Showing this column to wrestling types you know is the only way to keep it moving forward. Otherwise I’m stuck writing WrestleCrap entries in 2013 like some kind of weirdo.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- GIFS courtesy of Jerusalem at Punchsport Pagoda.

And now, Raw goes OLD SCHOOL! I bet you aren’t tired of hearing that yet. The Best and Worst of Old School Raw is after the jump.

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YOU MADE ME BLEED MY OWN FEELS

Pre-show notes:

- Comments, shares, likes, and what-have-you are appreciated. Do me a solid. I’m writing a lot of words for your enjoyment.

- Follow us on Twitter @withleather, follow me personally @MrBrandonStroud and like us on Facebook.

- If you’re going to WrestleMania this year … hey, so are we! Me, Best and Worst of Impact’s Danielle, GIFmaster General THESTINGER and pretty much everyone else from the online wrestling world will be there, so if you will be too, let one of us know. We’ll do a thing. Even if that thing is “make sure we all sit together at Chikara.”

Please click through to enjoy the Best and Worst of WWE Raw for February 25, 2013.

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Photo credit: WWE.com

It might be hard to believe now that we’re all eagerly anticipating Once In A Lifetime 2: Rest Hold Boogaloo, but there was a time not that long ago when John Cena’s character was really good. It was 2011, and in the stretch between Money in the Bank and Extreme Rules 2012, WWE put a lot of effort into redefining his character into someone the audience could actually get behind, rather than just telling us he was a good guy and leaving it at that.

I’ve written about this before elsewhere, but the Cliffs Notes version is that Cena, as the homegrown embodiment of the WWE, was pit against enemies that were able to turn his status as the golden boy face of the company into something that needed defending, rather than the reason his endless string of wins are so tiresome. CM Punk, with his “pipebomb” threats of taking the WWE Championship to All Japan or Ring Of Honor, was played as an outsider, the indie wrestler who was trying to destroy the WWE despite the fact that, you know, he’d been working there for six years at the time. The Rock was essentially the Ghost of WrestleMania Past, a challenge to today’s top guy from the top guy in a time when pro wrestling was at the height of its popularity. Brock Lesnar was touted (and Tout™-ed) as bringing “legitimacy” back to WWE, reflecting the battle for demographics between pro wrestling and MMA. Cena’s struggles against those three opponents, the losses and victories he went through and the way they all went down, rebuilt his character into something that worked better than it had in years.

And then there was Kane.

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