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       We look back at one of the most famous wrestling angles in history, as well as one of the original megashows, before Starrcade or Wrestlemania, the 1971 Blassie vs. Tolos show at the Los Angeles Coliseum in one of our biggest history features so far this year.

 

        We talk about the role of Blassie, the status of pro wrestling in Los Angeles when Tolos arrived, the Blassie turn, the Tolos Brothers tag team of the 50s and 60s, and how they got started.  We start at the beginning of John's career in the early 50s when he was a regular on national television, the original Blassie vs. Tolos matches, and how he got started for his big run in Los Angeles.

 

        This story features a ton of comments by Tolos and friends about his thoughts during this period, as well as the business when it was at one of its peaks.  We look at pro wrestling at the Olympic Auditorium and the main players, how it was structured in those days, the origination of the idea for the Blassie vs. Tolos match at the Coliseum, as well as the original feud that preceded the Coliseum show.

 

        We look at the famed Sicilian Stretcher match, the episode of the Steve Allen show that preceded Jerry Lawler and Andy Kaufman doing essentially the same thing, the beginning of the prominence of the United National heavyweight title in Japan and the Tolos vs. Inoki feud, as well as full details of the biggest angle ever in Los Angeles and one of the biggest in history, and the whole back story of the angle.

 

        We look at how the post-angle television was handled, the booking for the months leading the big show, as well as a look at the first time pro wrestling was ever on closed circuit.  We look at what was going on in Los Angeles regarding the angle the week before the match, as well as a look at the loaded up show.

 

        We look at the business of the show, as well as the most famous copycats of the angle, and the regrets Tolos had with everything in looking back.  We look at the babyface turn, and how Tolos' first babyface title win over Killer Kowalski wasn't planned out originally, and why it happened.  We look at Tolos as a babyface champion, the era of Ernie Ladd as a monster heel in 1972, as well as Tolos' role in the California scene for the rest of the decade.

 

        We look at his interview style, the birth of The Maniac Tolos, the heyday of the Tolos Brothers tag team in Madison Square Garden, his title match with Bruno Sammartino, the background of winning the WWWF tag team titles, a unique angle he came up with, and the heyday of pro wrestling in British Columbia.

 

        We also look at the fall of pro wrestling in Los Angeles, and the different things that went on to kill what was once one of the hottest pro wrestling markets in the world, as well as the politics behind the Los Angeles/San Francisco booking offices and why Tolos was never a star in San Francisco.

 

        We also look at the end of his career, the birth of The Coach character, the Tolos transition into the real world work force after nearly 35 years, his thoughts on being a manager and working for Vince McMahon and the rest of his career history.

 

        We also have full details on what happened with Mr. Kennedy, how he got the call, where Randy Orton did and didn't fit in, the reaction to his firing, the last time a star wrestler got someone fired (and it was 14 years ago), the plane flight home from Los Angeles, the steroid talk and issues, Vince McMahon's criticism of him and his goals from here, as well as the people involved in the origination of his gimmick.

 

        We also have an update on Ric Flair, WWE, ROH, HDNet and overseas bookings.

 

        We also have our usual weekly features including the most detailed look at the TV ratings of the national shows, major TV show reviews and results from the major league arena events held over the past week.