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MTV was best known for its music videos, of course, but credit should be given for its initiative in promoting and exhibiting short films. In between its Missing Persons videos and "Weird Al" Yankovic videos, the channel would present the (often strange) art of rising filmmakers and animators, just to add some variety to its 24-hour programming. It wasn't uncommon to turn on MTV in 1991 and see full-bore live-action short and bizarro animated bumpers in between blocks of music videos. Many new artists found their toehold within the cracks. Eventually, MTV launched "Liquid Television" as a showcase for its animated ventures, with its live-action shorts remaining randomly scattered throughout.

John Payson's live-action short film "Joe's Apt." first debuted on MTV in 1992, and it caught everyone's eye, mostly because it was kinda gross. In the short, Mark Rosenthal played Joe, an average dude living in a filthy New York apartment...

WWE's second longest-running pay-per-view is Survivor Series. The show was established as a part of WWE's original Big Four PPVs, largely because there was a time when WWE only held four PPVs a year. However, even after the company expanded into holding monthly PPVs year-round, the history and prestige of Survivor Series carried it into still being one of the year's most important PPVs.

The biggest selling point for Survivor Series for several decades was WWE's traditional Survivor Series elimination tag team match. Five, sometimes four, men or women on each team would face down an opposing team, with the winner(s) being declared after one team is eliminated entirely by pinfall, submission, countout, or Dq. Over the last few years, that match has been replaced by WarGames as the signature match of Survivor Series. As a result, such a match hasn't been held at the PPV since 2021, but...

Warning: Spoilers for the September 30, 2024 episode of Monday Night Raw!Despite the obvious appeal of seeing two 350-pounds monsters destroy each other and the arena in a Last Monster Standing match, one WWE Hall of Famer expressed disappointment in Raw's latest main event. Heading into the September 30th episode of Monday Night Raw, no storyline had become hotter than that between Braun Strowman and "Big" Bronson Reed. Rightfully so, their main event in a Last Monster Standing match was treated as one of the most eagerly anticipated TV wrestling contests in recent memory.

As heard in a recent episode of Busted Open Radio, Bully Ray, known to WWE audiences as Bubba Ray Dudley - inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a part of the Dudley Boyz, alongside D-Von - expressed the thought that the Last Monster Standing "fell a little short" of expectations. Bully Ray is not alone in his stance,...

While legends like Arnold Schwarzenegger made a name for themselves with their bodybuilding routines, many have forgotten one former WWE star’s unique record. Rob Van Dam was one star who held the world championship with both the earlier Ecw and the WWE. At the peak of his career, the USA Wrestling Association invited him to submit a lift for competition and Van Dam’s record lift remained unbeaten for a long time.

Former WWE star Rob Van Dam has a unique record that even Arnold Schwarzenegger couldn’t beat in his prime

Van Dam currently wrestles in WWE’s competitor company, the All Elite Wrestling (Aew). Van Dam’s record was recently claimed to be broken by a professional bodybuilder and acrobatic trainer, Jon Call aka Jujimufu.

Rob Van Dam Deserves A Place Amongst Legends Like Arnold Schwarzenegger For His Unique Record Rob Van Dam set a record by...

Mike Halac, the former WWE wrestler known as “Mantaur” who during his 1990s heyday took on a minotaur persona by wearing a huge bull head as he entered the ring, died Monday in Florida. He was 55.

His death was confirmed by WWE (known as WWF during Halac’s era).

“WWE is saddened to learn that Mike Halac, better known to WWE fans as Mantaur, has passed away,” the company said in a statement. “Halac’s combination of size and charisma immediately captivated fans worldwide as he took to the ring in a giant bull head to highlight his half-man, half-minotaur persona.

“Halac spent time in both WWE and Ecw where he faced some of the biggest stars of his generation like Bam Bam Bigelow, Razor Ramon, and Bret Hart,” WWE continued. “WWE extends its condolences to Mike Halac’s family, friends and fans.”

Halac’s death was first disclosed in...

In recent films like Black Adam, former WWE Superstar Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson continues to cement his legacy as one of the best wrestlers-turned-actors in Hollywood history. Though figures like The Rock and John Cena are household names, there have been plenty of other grapplers who took their talents to Hollywood and had acting careers.

From heelish giants like The Big Show to classic fighters like Ox Baker, the road from the ring to the silver screen is populated with wrestling icons from every generation. While every wrestler has a larger-than-life personality, some had acting careers that flew under the radar.

Bam Bam Bigelow

Bouncing from promotion to promotion throughout the '80s and '90s, the imposing figure of Bam Bam Bigelow always made a splash no matter where he ended up wrestling. With his massive frame and signature snarl, Bam Bam Bigelow was the perfect pro wrestler to...

Chucky’’s second season has been a thrill ride, and so has their advertising campaign. During Nxt’s Halloween Havoc, Chucky returned once more to the world of professional wrestling to shill his show and of course, threaten to murder the talent on-screen, even meeting Bronn Breaker, the son of Rick Steiner, with who he had a memorably bizarre feud with in WCW.

Chucky is far from the first pop culture staple to crossover with the WWE. In fact, WWE is basically the sports entertainment version of Super Smash Bros, thanks to its assortment of pop culture cameos.

Chucky

Chucky the killer doll has been an honored guest of WWE twice now. While his first professional wrestling appearance was in their competitor WCW, Chucky has been a guest on both Nxt Halloween Havoc events in 2021 and 2022, both times advertising his new show.

Related: 10 Movies & TV Shows Where You've Seen The...

Okay, okay, okay… so I’ve already rambled on about King of the Ring in a previous “Opinionated” article, here on Nerdly, but I thought it might be fun to also talk about this too. What are the very best matches from King of the Ring? I’m talking about the King of the Ring Pay-Per View events that ran from 1993 until the final PPV in 2002.

I mentioned before how much of a fan of the King of the Ring concept I am. I think it’s a really cool way to highlight new characters and wrestlers, put a bunch of talent on a card and do something unique once a year in the same way that shows like Royal Rumble and Survivor Series do. There has been a mass of matches in the ten PPV shows that ran under the King of the Ring name. Some of them have been decent,...

Okay, so fans of current-day wrestling will know that WWE just recently announced the return of the King of the Ring tournament to television. An old concept, the King of the Ring dates all the way back to the likes of “Macho King” Randy Savage, King Haku and King Harley Race, but the first televised Pay-per View King of the Ring event didn’t happen until 1993 when Bret “Hitman” Hart became the inaugural winner by defeating Bam Bam Bigelow in the finals. It was a fun idea and it helped highlight Bret Hart a little more as the (then) WWF pushed Bret up the card as they began to develop him into the face of the company.

A year later the younger brother of Bret, Owen Hart, became King, and this is when the concept really took hold for me. Owen, a great heel, took on the moniker of “The...

Matthew Byrd Apr 6, 2019

Think you've grappled with every great digital wrestler? You haven't until you've played these underrated wrestling games.

Whether you don’t know the difference between a mark and a bump or you can name the participants in every WarGames match, you’re probably aware of the absolute best wrestling games of all-time. Titles like SmackDown: Here Comes the Pain, WWF No Mercy, and WCW/Nwo Revenge have transcended the popularity of professional wrestling itself and have become a part of many gamers' fondest memories.

Yet, there are some forgotten wrestling games that are still worth remembering. While it’s true that there is a well-defined top and bottom in the wrestling game hierarchy, there are also a few titles somewhere near the middle that have been unfairly lumped together even though some of them deserve a spot near the top of the card with the undisputed legends of the wrestling game scene.

Mike McMahon Mar 5, 2019

Instead of an easy Lynch vs. Rousey match, WWE has forced too many twists and turns ...

Imagine how simple Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey could have been.

You have Lynch, the hottest star in the company who won the women's Royal Rumble and earned her title shot against Rousey, the crossover star from Ufc who was one of the biggest pay-per-view draws in the history of combat sports.

It's a match that could main event WrestleMania 35 in New York next month, and not a single person would question the logic behind it.

But that's not what WWE has delivered. Instead, the feud between Rousey and Lynch has been overbooked to the point of exhaustion. It's almost difficult to follow the never-ending developments.

After winning the Rumble, Lynch had her title shot stripped by WWE chairman Vince McMahon, who instead awarded the match to Charlotte Flair. Lynch has...

Gavin Jasper Nov 12, 2018

Whether four-on-four or five-on-five, the traditional Survivor Series tag team match tends to give us some memorable moments.

In the early days of PPV, WWE had its Big Four system down. There was the biggest show of the year, the second biggest show of the year that happened in the summer, the show where they had the cool 30-man match, and the show with the elimination tag matches. Even though it nearly got dropped once or twice over the years, Survivor Series is a tradition that I fully embrace. The traditional elimination tag gimmick is seriously underrated as a fun showcase that stretched good stories, ended bad stories, gave us random battles, and built stars when necessary.

See related WCW WarGames: Ranking the Matches Every Royal Rumble in WWE History Ranked WWE Elimination Chamber: Ranking All The Matches

Unfortunately, the company has been more obsessed with giving...

WWE Games in the past have given us very extensive rosters. Now they have revealed their roster for the newest installment of WWE 2K18. Come inside and check out the currently released roster.

Past WWE 2K rosters have been extensive and full of special inclusions of superstars both past and present. This years 2K18 does not seem to be any different. From the incredible talent in the WWE, to the up and coming prodigies in Nxt, WWE 2K18 seems to giving us the best in professional wrestler gaming.

So far we have been given a look at 52 characters including the pre-order characters. Of these currently announced 52, 9 of them are brand new to the game. Recently in a roster reveal we were given a look into the current roster with a list of in game wrestlers as well as Dlc. The roster currently contains:

Akira Tozawa, Alexander Wolfe, Alundra Blayze, Andre the Giant,...

In the first installment of the We 2K18 Official Roster Reveal, 46 WWE Superstars have been announced for inclusion in the forthcoming franchise’s worldwide release. WWE’s Renee Young and WWE Raw commentator Corey Graves, with the help of WWE Superstar Goldust, teamed up to reveal the first group of Superstars confirmed to appear in WWE 2K18.

The installment brings the following Superstars to WWE 2K18’s extensive roster: Akira Tozawa, Alexander Wolfe, Alundra Blayze, Andre the Giant, Bam Bam Bigelow, Baron Corbin, Big Boss Man, Big Show, Braun Strowman, Bray Wyatt, Bret Hart, Brie Bella, British Bulldog, Buddy Roberts, Bushwhacker Butch, Bushwhacker Luke, Cesaro, Dean Ambrose, Diamond Dallas Page, Diesel, Dolph Ziggler, Dusty Rhodes, Emma, Eric Young, Erick Rowan, Hideo Itami, Jinder Mahal, Kalisto, Kane, Karl Anderson, Killian Dain, Konnor, Lita, Luke Gallows, Luke Harper, Mark Henry, Nikki Bella, Nikki Cross, Paige, Sami Zayn, Sawyer Fulton, Sheamus, Sin Cara,...

The bigger they are the harder they hit!

The ten biggest, meanest, heaviest freaks of nature to ever enter the ring.

In the WWE almost everyone is big by normal people standards, so for the purpose of clarity we’re going to go with the real giants. The most common criteria is any superstar heavier than 300 lbs and or at least 6-foot-7.

These whopping wrestlers have wowed fans with their feats of strength and sheer mass for many generations. Often transcending size and becoming iconic figures through skill, athleticism and persona.

10. Bam Bam Bigelow

The Beast from the East is often under appreciated. Bam Bam had a great combination of size and dexterity. He weighed 400 lbs and possessed an agility unlike few men his size! Constantly delivering exciting matches and performing maneuvers that damn near defied physics. Here is a nice list of his best moves which showcase his versatility and skill set.

In the beginning Vince McMahon created the WWE and Sports Entertainment, and with it came merchandising agreements for t-shirts, toys and ah yes, the video game. This year comes Thq’s WWE 13, the latest wrestling game which promises an updated roster, lots of Attitude era features and appearances, the ability to break the ring Big Show style and much, much more.

Yes, the wrestling sim sure has come a long way since its early days. In this article we’ll take a look back at the history of the wrestling video game, their evolution and how they went from the poor alternative to Street Fighter and Double Dragon, to being big annual releases which even get their own angles on WWE TV.

The Federation Years

Just as WWE has its eras, so too do its video games. The genesis of the WWE video game came in the form of Acclaim...

Impact wrestling is currently advertising the return of its most exciting tag team the Motorcity Machine Guns. But who are they actually going to wrestle when they return? Team 3D are long gone. Beer Money are feuding with each other. Morgan and Crimson have gone kaput. Ok, there’s the obvious choice of tag team champions Samoa Joe and Magnus but should they really be entered into a top feud right off the bat? This only goes to highlight the distinct lack of depth in tag team wrestling as a whole. Tna once had an amazing tag division that helped set it apart from the new champs every week approach of the WWE, but these days they too have seemingly given up the ghost.

It hasn’t always been like this though. Tag teams were once held with great esteem in the business we love, and the tag titles were...

January 19th is not just a memorable date because it was the day former WWE Superstar Bam Bam Bigelow died, it's also the birthdate of Edgar Allan Poe. And, in a blending of historic horror with a modern master, Doug Bradley (famous for his portrayal of Pinhead in eight Hellraiser films) will be reading one of Poe's most beloved works on Delamorte's Dungeon of Delights radio show.

Hosted by Rob Delamorte, the radio show, airing at 11pm Est, will feature Bradley delivering a Poe tale in his own chilling style. And you have a chance to get involved in the action. The Facebook Page for Doug Bradley's Spinechillers (a collection of classic tales read by icons of horror cinema like Robert Englund, Jeffrey Combs and Bradley himself) currently has a poll set up for listeners to vote on which story they would like Bradley to read…The Tell-Tale Heart,...

Former WWE superstar Gertrude " Luna " Vachon died this morning in Florida. She was 48. Luna wrestled for the WWE from 1993 to 2000 ... and had gained notoriety as Bam Bam Bigelow 's "main squeeze." So far, no cause of death has been determined. Update: According to law enforcement sources, Luna's body was discovered by her mother around 10 Am this morning. We're told authorities currently do not believe there was any foul play involved -- but an autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow.

Paramount sure is getting a lot of mileage out of these same character portraits for Star Trek. They've been used on multiple variations of the posters and now the senior pictures adorn four collector's covers for Total Film. Click to enlarge.

      

 

I mean, don't get me wrong, they're good images and it's certainly an economical way to do business, but are these the only shots worth keeping from the big cast photo session? Having said all that, I'm a big believe in the consistency of your marketing message. You change things up too much and people don't know what to expect. This is easy to figure out: Chris Pine is the new Kirk, Zachary Quinto is Spock now, Zoe Saldana is really hot, and I dunno...is that deceased professional wrestler Bam Bam Bigelow?

(It's Eric Bana, as the bad guy, Nero.)

In other news, the Star Trek Experience in...