Movie Review: Wrestling Queen

Reviewed By: John Beutler

Mr. Peabody, if you please, set the wayback machine to a celebratively spectral time in early '70's sports...when gritty, no-holds-barred wrestling, and the equally raw, 'bash & dash' world of roller derby were the respected, underground competition-reveling form of sports entertainment, for the moment...a time when, although a clearly choreographed, performance-driven form of sporting combat, still made quite an impression upon devotedly eager viewers...gasp-induced witnesses to wincingly excruciating blows, tosses & holds...the rampant spray of sweat, spit & blood...and the echoing of repeatedly wet, pounding sounds...slamming home, not unlike that of continuously stricken, well-tenderized meat...the humble, albeit no less grueling and compelling beginnings of a national pastime, which has since evolved into quite literally, an institution...

Oh, yes...as it probably was, with folks in many homes other than mine, when I was a kid, it was a time when me and my late Mom...bless her soul...vehemently (...and growlingly) commandeered the boob tube from my Dad's regularly scheduled western movie broadcast, each and every Saturday afternoon, for two or three hours, tuning into the higher-ranged UHF, for what was essentially and stereotypically monikered as the rousing gladiator sporting events for the middle-to-lower class. And as if mass gathering in front of the TV wasn't satisfying enough, there was always the odd weekend evening, city-bound roadtrip...a mere matter of clambering into the car, and jutting out to the Olympic Auditorium, in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, to first-hand gawk and cheer these battered, albeit celebrated 'warriors' in the ring (...or on the track, if the flavor of the moment, was roller derby). It is this very gnashing, almost embracingly regressive spirit, which one, oh-so privy to this time, cannot help but harken back to, when viewing the gritty and candid, 1973 wrestling documentary, and seldom-seen drive-in theater-flavored oddity, called "Wrestling Queen"...

No Holds Barred FIRST TIME on DVD July 3rd!

Details are still pretty sketchy, but the awesome 1989 pro-wrestling dramatic action comedy No Holds Barred will be released on DVD for the very first time. Stars Hulk Hogan, Tiny Lister, Stan Hansen and a bevy of others, this is the film that only Head Cheesers and similarly bizarre people have been waiting for.More details soon.

Monster Brawl, Coming Soon, Takes Sports Entertainment to the Gore Zone!

Werewolf, Zombie, Vampire, Witch, Swamp Creature, Mummy, Frankenstein Monster… who’s the toughest of them all? Find out in the upcoming Monster Brawl!

Join the Monster Brawl Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/MonsterBrawl

Set in the tradition of a Pay-Per-View main event, comes a grotesque and hilarious fight to the death featuring a cast of eight classic combatants in all. Along with their colorful managers, these Classic Monsters compete in visceral bloody combat in the ring to determine the most powerful monster of all time. Monster Brawl stars comedian Dave Foley (Kids in the Hall, Bugs Life, Despicable Me), wrestling icons Jimmy Hart - The Mouth of the South, Kevin Nash, revered MMA referee Herb Dean, Robert Maillet (300, Sherlock Holmes, The Immortals), Art Hindle (Porky's, Black Christmas) and the voice of horror legend and Call of Duty narrator Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Terminator). Monster Brawl is sure to be a cult classic in the making!

Cinema Head Cheese: The Podcast! #11 at Wizard World Chicago

It's a few days late, but there was plenty of video to go through this month, as David Hayes and Kevin Moyers head to Chicago for the Wizard World Comic Con. They interview many costumed heroes, a few other interesting people, and David's all time favorite comic book artist, Faust's Tim Vigil.

David also gets into an all out wrasslin' style war with former wrestler Virgil, and he enlists the help of some familiar folks.

Don't forget to check our YouTube channel for more from our trip, including artist Edmond Lee, the folks at Kill Vampire Lincoln Productions and Kevin's fanboy moment interviewing Ghost Rider creator Gary Friedrich.

As always, this month's podcast is sponsored by Health First Chiropractic. Please support our sponsor. We are thankful to have them on board.


Click here to listen or right click and choose "Save Link As..." to download.

Movie Review: The Rise and Fall of WCW (2009)

When I was a kid, my little brother and I were glued to the television every Sunday morning. No, we weren't watching the ramblings of Oral Roberts. We were watching another mouth from the South, Jimmy Hart. The likes of Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Savage and the Iron Sheik graced our television screen. We loved every second of the WWF back in the 80s, but there was something else going on that we didn't really follow. We really didn't have cable, so the WCW went under our radar. Years after we stopped watching, Hulk Hogan signed with the WCW and eventually joined the infamous NWO. That's when I started watching.

Buy The Rise And Fall of WCW on DVD

World Championship Wrestling was much more than just a secondary league. It was a pioneering league that was first to hit the national stage. In the early days of professional wrestling, leagues were regional. Occasionally, a star would travel between leagues. It was unheard of for an entire league to travel, but that's what the NWA did. The owners made another smart move. They partnered with superstation TBS, which was owned by Ted Turner. Turner liked wrestling's popularity and gave them a slot on his national channel.