Tag Archives: WWE

Hideo Itami Was Doomed Before He Began

Back in early 2014, when the WWE signed Japanese pro wrestler KENTA, it was a huge deal. He was one of the biggest stars in Japan and an in-ring wizard. It was also a sign of things to come for WWE’s NXT developmental brand.

Kevin Steen, El Generico, Prince Devitt and KENTA were early coups for the NXT brand. Those four performers were supposed to be the foundation for bringing the NXT brand up to the level of Ring of Honor and other upper indies. Three of the four performers met or exceeded expectations, but KENTA never really even stood a chance to succeed.

KENTA is an innovative wrestler. He invented and popularized many moves that other wrestlers imitated, which is one of the many reasons for his short-lived WWE career.

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Top 10 Wrestlers Who Have Been Found to Use Steroids

Steroids have strict regulations depending on the country or the sport in which athletes are engaged. For today, let’s talk about the popular sport of wrestling. As people discuss this activity, the topic of steroids has to come up especially when discussing the physique and strength of the gigantic wrestlers. According to the rules and regulations of these wrestling organizations, the wrestlers should be free from the use of certain steroids that give them advantages over wrestlers who do not use steroids.

But truth be told, some wrestlers have been tempted to use these steroids, and some of them have been caught and punished. The anti-doping agencies have their eyes wide open looking for signs and clues of steroid use. To prove to you that steroid use is real, here are ten wrestlers who have tested positive for steroid use.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 65

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup for WWE Elite series 65 is a huge step above Elite 64. You have four ‘first time elites’ along with an updated Rusev and Roman Reigns.

The Ronda Rousey elite will be the most desirable action figure in this set. Eric Young and Aiden English may not get a ton of television time at the moment, but they should still sell well as they are first elites of those superstars. 

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 65 Ronda Rousey, Nia Jax, Aiden English, Rusev, Roman Reigns and Eric Young.

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Sports Crush: Carmella

It’s been awhile since we added to our ‘Sports Crush’ list.

We’ve written over a dozen ‘Sports Crush’ posts since we launched AmericasWhiteBoy.com. We have spotlighted a ton of WWE Divas (Becky Lynch, Mandy Rose, Sasha Banks, Alexa Bliss, Liv Morgan and others). The readers keep viewing those posts, so we will keep delivering new female wrestlers like recent WWE’s Carmella.

Carmella (Leah Van Dale) was a Laker Girl in the NBA and cheerleader for the New England Patriots. She is a second-generation wrestler, as her father was an enhancement talent in the 80’s and 90’s. She made her debut in NXT as the valet for Big Cass and Enzo Amore. She has now outlasted both of those guys and has a prominent role on Smackdown Live.

Check out why we are crushing on Carmella with our picture gallery, and a very special .gif.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 64

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup for WWE Elite series 64 is a pretty underwhelming set. Many in the lineup have been peg-warmers at retail in the past and the one ‘first time elite’ in the set is of a guy who has lost 200+ matches in a row.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 64 Seth Rollins, Jey Uso, Jimmy Uso, Samoa Joe, John Cena and two Curt Hawkins elites (yes, there’s a chase version).

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 63

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup for WWE Elite series 63 is a mix of new and old. You have a guy like Shelton Benjamin that was well overdue for an elite, hot sellers like Shinsuke Nakamura and then a couple that may have a hard time selling, even during the holiday season.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 63 Dusty Rhodes, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sami Zayn, Kane, Dean Ambrose and two Shelton Benjamin elites (yes, there’s a chase version).

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 62

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup for WWE Elite series 62 is a huge improvement over Elite 61. You have three first-time elites (Dude Love & AOP) and a WCW flashback Sting in a new attire. 

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 62 are Dude Love, Authors of Pain (Akam & Razar), Sting, Braun Strowman and Roman Reigns.

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Will WWE Performance Center Feed the Indies with Talent?

The WWE Performance Center is the most high-tech wrestling training center in the World. The New Japan Dojo and other wrestling schools may have a higher success rate, but WWE has a ton of talent down there, but only a few will reach stardom.

On top of the WWE’s attempt to sign inexperience athletes they can mold into ‘sports entertainers’, they have been signing nearly every available indie wrestling star. Their latest coup was signing indie darlings Matt Riddle and Keith Lee.

NXT television was once a place where young, inexperienced talents could get some exposure and learn on the job, since character development is a huge part of WWE today. Now, NXT television consists of talents who have hundreds of matches under their belt and experience wrestling in front of thousands of fans.

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Toy Crazy: Mattel’s WWE Elite Series 61

I’m a self-confessed vintage toy nerd. I collect vintage wrestling action figures from the 80’s & 90’s. I started purchasing some vintage toys out of nostalgia. Well, WWE and Mattel sucked me into their new stuff. I now buy a few figures a month. You can view photos of my collection on my Instagram account.

The lineup for WWE Elite series 61 feels a little ho-hum since there are so many recent repeats. I guess the bar was set high after so many great sets to start 2018. This is a set that gets Mattel ready for the Holiday season, since it’s important to get popular guys on the shelves this Fall.

The WWE Superstars included in Elite 61 are AJ Styles, Fashion Police (Fandango & Tyler Breeze, Shane McMahon, Big E and Kevin Owens.

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Toy Crazy: 2018 SDCC Funko Exclusives

The San Diego Comic-Con is the biggest comic book convention in the United States. It has grown into an overall nerd-vana with movie trailer premieres and Q&A panels with Hollywood stars.

If you’re an action figure (or toy) collector, a perk about SDCC is all the exclusive releases.

Funko has been releasing exclusive figures at SDCC for years, but over the last few years, they have been sharing the exclusives with certain retailers. It allows collectors all over the country a chance to buy some cool figures.

Funko announced all the exclusives this year, but haven’t announced which retailers will carry specific figures. Once that information comes out, I’ll update this post (*UPDATE* I’ve updated this post to show where each figure will be shared at retail).

Starting on July 19th, you should be able to find ‘most’ of these SDCC Funko exclusives at your local mall. Here’s the list of Funko exclusives for the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con.

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Toy Crazy: Summer 2018 WWE Funko Releases

We covered some upcoming Funko releases late last year. Those figures are already in my collection and look fantastic. Funko is set to release even more pop vinyl figures this Summer.

We have reviewed a lot of Mattel’s WWE Elite figures, but Funko has also released solid figures in the past. I’m a big collector and you can see some of my collection on my Instagram, @vintagetoybob.

I’ve plugged another site in a few previous Mattel/Funko posts, but if you’re looking to order Funko figures, I’d trust DCtoys.net. I’ve bought from the seller before and he is highly reputable. The best of the best for sure. You can use code ‘FREESHIPPING‘ for free domestic shipping.

Here are some pictures of Funko’s Summer 2018 WWE POP! vinyl releases.

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CM Punk Should Have Never Fought in UFC

This isn’t breaking news, but professional wrestling and mixed martial arts are two very different things.

CM Punk had his second MMA fight of his career…and it was really, really bad.

Mike Jackson, a former Golden Gloves boxer and MMA journalist, handed Punk an embarrassing loss at UFC 225. Punk gassed out after the first two minutes of the fight. Jackson then spent the rest of the fight just playing with him. He could have finished Punk at any point, but it was almost as if he wanted to show the world how inept Punk was as a fighter. Punk was doing things BJJ white belts wouldn’t even do in practice. He was over-matched, completely gassed and was just getting his face beaten in.

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