Pro Wrestling Illustrated June 2022

IT’S NOW BEEN two years since I began my training as Editor of PWI, set to assume the weighty responsibilities of my predecessor (and former boss) Stu Saks. It’s been 15 years—wow, seriously?—since I penned my first, kayfabe-laden article for The Wrestler/Inside Wrestling. But that 15-year arc couldn't have happened without the support of not only former Publisher Stu, but former PWI Editor-in-Chief Harry Burkett. Harry, as of this issue, celebrates 25 years with Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its related family of magazines. The author of “Ringside,” “Win, Lose, Or Draw,” “TV Breakdown,” and countless feature stories has now been with this publication for a full quarter-century. Speaking of “WLD,” Harry talks a little bit about his earliest days with us in his latest edition of the column (page 18). He shares…

COMPILED BY MIKE BESSLER It’s all well and good to proclaim the present era as “The Information Age” and celebrate the instant gratification of having thousands of libraries and millions of cat videos at humanity’s collective fingertips. But some of the best stories still remain off the beaten path of the so-called “Information Superhighway.” Such is the case with Brian R. Solomon’s new book, Blood and Fire: The Unbelievable Real-Life Story of Wrestling’s Original Sheik, in which he charts the life and legacy of Edward Farhat (one of wrestling’s most enduring enigmas). Solomon traces Farhat’s origins back beyond his birth in Lansing, Michigan, beginning amidst the mountains of Lebanon, where Farhat’s parents and prior generations laid the groundwork for The Sheik’s uncanny rise to wrestling stardom. It’s a gritty journey, to be…

TONY KHAN’S PURCHASE of the Ring of Honor property made him a savior in the minds of many wrestling diehards. He secured Ring of Honor’s legacy by outbidding WWE for its video library, and saved its future by promising to revive the ROH brand. And give Khan credit: He did it with style. For only the second time, Khan made a scheduled on-air appearance on his flagship program, AEW Dynamite. The first occasion was Brodie Lee’s untimely passing. On the March 2 edition of Dynamite, Khan stood mid-ring with Tony Schiavone and announced his acquisition of ROH. To mark the occasion, AEW kicked off the show with Bryan Danielson vs. Christopher Daniels. Those two had appeared in ROH’s first main event—a three-way match also involving Low Ki—and it was hard to believe…

AROUND THE SAME time that wrestling fans were celebrating the news of The Undertaker and Vader being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, music lovers were celebrating the news of the latest nominees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, some of my favorite bands—like Poison and Motley Crue—were once again snubbed. So, my only chance of seeing a hair band rocker perform at a Hall of Fame ceremony is if Rick Boogs brings his guitar to Dallas. “Lose Yourself” in this musical edition of “Quick Count,” paying homage to some of the most memorable tracks from this year’s Rock Hall nominees. LOSER I sometimes get flack for coming to the defense of Baron Corbin. But I believe Corbin has a lot of the attributes of a legit wrestling star. An…

IT'S THE BIGGEST and most shocking wrestling news story of 2022 thus far, and it’s unlikely to be topped. Cody Rhodes, one of the founding forces behind All Elite Wrestling—some would say its entire original reason for being—left Tony Khan and company behind. What’s more, Rhodes was reportedly headed back to the place he’d wanted to get as far away from as possible—right back into Vince McMahon’s arms. And yet, the Cody Rhodes of 2022 is not the Cody Rhodes of 2016. He’s no longer the frustrated mid-carder who asked for his release after basically being told he’d never get higher in WWE than where he was. He’s now one of the major players in the sport, after three years of being a main attraction in a nationally televised promotion. A former…

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON had just been elected to a second term. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta had been the hot story of the summer. Hulk Hogan and The New World Order brought the Monday Night War between WCW Nitro and WWF Raw to a fever pitch. Tammy Sytch was enjoying sunny days as the darling of the Internet. The “Information Superhighway,” as it was called back in 1996, hadn’t made its way into most businesses, let alone most homes. In fact, that was the only barrier between me and a dream gig with PWI. “Do you have a modem?” asked then-Publisher Stu Saks. Obviously, I knew what a modem was, having made use of them in newspaper and magazine jobs since graduating from college. But I didn’t feel like such…