Shane Kidder: April 2008 Archives
Tornado comfirmed it on his myspace account that he will be out for over a year due to his injury. Here's the entry:
Well, It looks like good ol' HT is going to have a lot of time on his hand. I recently injuried my knee with an ACL tear and dislocated kneecap. It happen during the taping of JCW's Slam TV season 2 tour, where I was to complete in a one on one match but got hurt before the match even started. I knew it wasnt good once I landed and when I returned home to get checked out it was just that. Doctor told me that surgery will be need so I will be out of action for AT LEAST a year! Dont really know how to handle such news as this as I am having a hard time handling it. I understand that things happen so I am not totally sad and I regret nothing. It just sucks that I cant do what I love for a long while. But I do want to thank everyone that called and messaged me these past couple of days. They've really helped me out a lot. And I special thanx to ICP and the JCW crew. They took really good care of me when the incident happen. As for now, I rest. I will keep everyone updated on my status on my page. Until then, Thank You and God Bless
-Tornado
Well, It looks like good ol' HT is going to have a lot of time on his hand. I recently injuried my knee with an ACL tear and dislocated kneecap. It happen during the taping of JCW's Slam TV season 2 tour, where I was to complete in a one on one match but got hurt before the match even started. I knew it wasnt good once I landed and when I returned home to get checked out it was just that. Doctor told me that surgery will be need so I will be out of action for AT LEAST a year! Dont really know how to handle such news as this as I am having a hard time handling it. I understand that things happen so I am not totally sad and I regret nothing. It just sucks that I cant do what I love for a long while. But I do want to thank everyone that called and messaged me these past couple of days. They've really helped me out a lot. And I special thanx to ICP and the JCW crew. They took really good care of me when the incident happen. As for now, I rest. I will keep everyone updated on my status on my page. Until then, Thank You and God Bless
-Tornado
One of the greatest things about being a wrestling photographer is the
fact I some times get to travel with this crazy circus like atmosphere
called wrestling. So as a feature on my blog I decide that I will
share some of the road trips that I have taken and the sites I have
seen; and what better way to start this off with than my first road
trip with the wrestlers a few years ago. I was invited to attend the NWA 57th annual convention in Tennessee by my friend and then vice president of New Japan Pro Wrestling's West Coast offices David Marquez to photograph the event and a contract signing between NJPW and TNA for talent sharing. Before I go any further I have to say that there are very few people I trust in the wrestling business and Dave is one of them. There was five of us in the NJPW contingent; David, a professional wrestling manger know as C Edward Vander Pyle; and two wrestlers Tommy "Kome" Williams and Alex Koslov; and myself.
As part of the convention there were three nights of wrestling events in three different towns; Lebanon, Springfield and Nashville with over 50 matches and a chance to see the talent from all the other regions. But the real fun of this convention was just hanging out with the wrestlers after the shows.
Continue reading Waffles and Questions.
Sid Vicious, The man who ruled the
wrestling world returned to the ring this past Saturday in Lincoln,
Rhode Island after a seven year hiatus and is focusing on becoming the
National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion.The crowd erupted in to a near chaotic frenzy as Sid made his way down to the ring to battle with his victim err… opponent Joe So Delicious. At first most wondered if this was a good idea for Sid to get back in the ring after his horrific accident seven years ago that would have end almost any other persons career, but Sid showed his fans that they had nothing to worry about. At first Delicious seem to get the upper hand on Sid in a test of strength, Sid seem to strain against the strength of Delicious at first, Then a smile crept upon Sid’s face as the fans realize that he was just toying with Delicious like a cat does with a mouse before devouring him. There was no longer any question about it, Sid was back to reclaim his throne and god help any one who stands between him and his goal. Sid demolished Delicious with kicks to the gut, hitting him with the big boot, hoisting Delicious up for the choke slam, and finishing him off with Sid’s favorite finishing move The Power Bomb. Delicious really did not have a chance, Sid saw him as his first step in claiming the one championship that has elude him his whole career; National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Championship.
Here are the results of the show:
Josh Daniels def. The Inferno Kid
Former NWA World Tag Team Champion Joey Ryan def. Fred Sampson
Tristan Gallo def. Minion
The Playaz Club def. The Young Bucks when Joey Ryan interfered.
Sid Vicious def. Joe So Delicious
Shortsleeve Sampson def. The Masked Midget
Judas Young and Rob Conway went to a no contest, after interference which led the fans to chant for Sid. Sid came to the ring and cleaned house.
Having just got back from a trip from the East Coast I settled in for a
relaxing evening to watch Monday Night Raw to watch the return of the
King of the Ring Tournament and try to shake off some of this jet lag.
I knew that they had be advertising some kinda match between Hillary
Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama which I figured would just be like the
one they did for Rosie O'Donnell and Donald Trump; hire local
wrestlers and dress them up as the candidates and have a comedy
wrestling match (Which they did). What I wasn’t expecting was the
Presidential Candidates to actually show up on the show and address the
audiences with tape messages including John McCain.
Click here to watch video
can call me Hillrod, This election is starting to feel a lot like 'King
of the Ring.' The only difference? The last man standing may just be a
woman."
"To the special interests who've been setting the agenda in Washington
for too long and to all the forces of division and distraction that has
stopped us from making progress, for the American people, I've got one
question: Do you smell what Barack is cooking?" Obama said borrowing
the famous catchphrase from wrestler turned actor Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson
not to be left out McCain borrowed catchphrases from several wrestlers including Ric Flair, Triple H and Hulk Hogan.
"Looks like Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama want to celebrate their
differences in the ring," McCain says. "Well, that's fine with me, but
let me tell you: If you want to be the man, you have to beat the man.
Come November, it'll be game over. And whatcha gonna do when John
McCain and all his McCainiacs run wild on you?"
I was completely surprised that the candidates would even do this but I
guess in today’s politics they want to reach every one they can, and
with WWE has always been a big support of voting with the “Smackdown
Your Vote!” campaign this was a perfect match.
I’m going to expand this blog a little bit to include wrestling video games. So the first one I’m going to profile is Fire Pro Wrestling Returns for the PS2. Before you ask yes this game was release back in November of 2007 in the US and in 2005 in Japan.
Fire Pro is one of those games that you either love or hate right of the bat. If your looking for a game based on graphics, then you’ll just pass this one by which is really sad. What it lacks in graphics makes up in game play and fun. I’ve had the game for six months already and still play it once or twice a week just based on the fun factor, and the ability to create your own wrestler keeps me coming back for more. I spend hours alone on creating new wrestlers to put in there against each other for supremacy. I have several other wrestling games that I only play for about a month or less and then it’s gathering dust on my book shelf.
It’s not a button masher like some other games, it’s all about timing and precision. And with several different types of matches and tournament styles play, it really doesn’t seem to get old. If keep your eyes open, you might just see some familiar faces from the wrestling world, just with different names. This is where the edit mode comes in handy you can go in a correct the names.If you are looking for a game just to have fun with, this is one. And for only $19.99 and under, how can you go wrong.Graphics: 2 out of 5
Not the greatest graphics and if really does look like a high powered 16 bit game, but there is so much more to the game than the graphics. This game proves 3d doesn’t mean better.
Gameplay: 4 out of 5
For me this game has yet to get old, I keep learning more and more about it every time I play. All the different types of matches, it’s deep custom wrestling creator and all the different game play modes keep this game fresh and enjoyable.
Overall 4 out of 5
The day that wrestling fans wait for all year long has once again come
and gone. Football fans have the Super bowl, Baseball fans have
the World Series, and for most wrestling fans it’s World Wrestling
Entertainment’s (WWE) Wrestlemania. I’m not a huge WWE fan but one
match on the card was the only one I wanted to see, it was not the
triple threat match for the championship between Randy Orton, Triple H,
and John Cena, It’s was not the boxer Floyd “Money” Mayweather vs. the
wrestler The Big Show; nor was is it the Undertaker putting his
Wrestlemania undefeated streak on the line in his attempt to regain the
championship against Edge, the one match that I wanted to see more than
any of those was is Ric Flair’s Career Threatening Match with Shawn
Michaels. The match was a classic match that had all of the
emotions and drama of any great Ric Flair match, and in the end the
legendary career of the Nature Boy was over.
Growing up I watched WWE/WWF sporadically, but I followed The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Where I had a brief idea I what the story line was going on in the WWE/WWF, I knew exactly what was going on in the NWA. Where the WWE/WWF had a muscle bound over the top superhero type as their champion fight supervillians, where as NWA champion was a more realistic type villain. He was the type of arrogant, SOB, though he was better than everyone personality that everyone knew and hated at one point in there life. This man, this Champion was Ric Flair.
Growing up I watched WWE/WWF sporadically, but I followed The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Where I had a brief idea I what the story line was going on in the WWE/WWF, I knew exactly what was going on in the NWA. Where the WWE/WWF had a muscle bound over the top superhero type as their champion fight supervillians, where as NWA champion was a more realistic type villain. He was the type of arrogant, SOB, though he was better than everyone personality that everyone knew and hated at one point in there life. This man, this Champion was Ric Flair.
Continue reading To be the Man....
Here's a link to all of the photos from that great night of action.
PWG's "It's a Gift... and a Curse" Photos
In
my 5 years of photographing pro wrestling, I have seen many strange
things that I never thought I would see in my life; Exploding Time Bomb
Cages Death Match where the object is to start a timer to the
explosions and then escape before they go off, Piranhas Death match
where the object is to put your opponent into a aquarium full of the
man eating fish. But I think the greatest has to be the match I
saw this past Friday at PWG.
The
rise of the Kitty World Order in PWG. The match featured Hello Kitty
vs. Kurmoi. And before you ask yes that Hello Kitty and Kurmoi.
The two beloved characters from Japan met in the middle of the squared
circle for the first time and to me it was pure magic. Forget the
fact that it was two grown men dressed up as female cartoon characters;
it was just a fun match that I hope they do more of.
There also is that old debate that you use to have when you were kids and was even feature in the movie “Stand By Me” who would win in a fight. Think of the possibilities if they make this a regular occurrence at PWG events:
Mighty Mouse vs. Superman - Teddy and Vern argued this match up in Stand by Me and Teddy came to the conclusion “Mighty Mouse is a cartoon. Superman's a real guy. There's no way a cartoon could beat up a real guy.” But now we can find out if Vern was right about it being a good fight.
Scooby
Doo vs. Snoopy – the cowardly dog vs. the World War One fighting ace,
not only is Scooby a bigger and stronger dog than Snoopy, he has to he
has to deal with creepy bad guys dressed up as ghosts. The key of
victory for Snoopy is to prevent Scooby from getting the Scooby Snack
because everyone knows that is Doo’s source of strength.
And for the main event: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck vs. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck for the Cartoon World Championship. The long and often debated “which is the better cartoon company can be finally answered. One battle for cartoon supremacy, this is one match I would not like to make a prediction as this battled has raged on for year.
In the end this is just about fun and games and it’s not like these matches will ever happen but to quote Vern once again “It'd be a good fight, though.”
For the rest of the photos from the "Kitty World Order" match click here
The
rise of the Kitty World Order in PWG. The match featured Hello Kitty
vs. Kurmoi. And before you ask yes that Hello Kitty and Kurmoi.
The two beloved characters from Japan met in the middle of the squared
circle for the first time and to me it was pure magic. Forget the
fact that it was two grown men dressed up as female cartoon characters;
it was just a fun match that I hope they do more of.There also is that old debate that you use to have when you were kids and was even feature in the movie “Stand By Me” who would win in a fight. Think of the possibilities if they make this a regular occurrence at PWG events:
Mighty Mouse vs. Superman - Teddy and Vern argued this match up in Stand by Me and Teddy came to the conclusion “Mighty Mouse is a cartoon. Superman's a real guy. There's no way a cartoon could beat up a real guy.” But now we can find out if Vern was right about it being a good fight.
Scooby
Doo vs. Snoopy – the cowardly dog vs. the World War One fighting ace,
not only is Scooby a bigger and stronger dog than Snoopy, he has to he
has to deal with creepy bad guys dressed up as ghosts. The key of
victory for Snoopy is to prevent Scooby from getting the Scooby Snack
because everyone knows that is Doo’s source of strength. And for the main event: Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck vs. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck for the Cartoon World Championship. The long and often debated “which is the better cartoon company can be finally answered. One battle for cartoon supremacy, this is one match I would not like to make a prediction as this battled has raged on for year.
In the end this is just about fun and games and it’s not like these matches will ever happen but to quote Vern once again “It'd be a good fight, though.”
For the rest of the photos from the "Kitty World Order" match click here
Also check back tomorrow for the rest of the photos from Pro Wrestling Guerrilla's "It's a gift... and a curse"
smk
Hey guys, John Morrison and The Miz of ECW will be at a Walmart in Pico Rivera at 8500 Washington Blvd.on
Saturday, April 5th, from 1pm-3pm. I would say get there early because it will be a madhouse. http://newsletter.wwe.com/appearances/040308/040308.html
About Slam Jam
Shane Michael Kidder, creator of a Web site of his photos that receives nearly 2 million hits a month from around the world, has learned many lessons in his time photographing wrestling, the most important one being “watch where the wrestlers are going.” This comes after almost being knocked out by a wrestler diving out of the ring at his first show in 2003 at a Golden State Championship Wrestling event in Newhall, Calif. Born in Northridge and still living in the San Fernando Valley, he spends most of his time working on his Web site in preparation for the next wrestling event.
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