wrestling

How To Win The Impossible* Ladder Match

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

A lot can change in 50 years. Watching wrestling in the 1950s, you would think it impossible for the black and white sport of Gorgeous George and Verne Gagne to ever turn into this:

(Click Here if you can’t see the video above.)

The Ladder Match. Maybe the most dangerous match in all of wrestling. A championship belt is raised 15 ft above the ring. The only way to retrieve it is climb to the top of a ladder and unhook it. The first man to do so wins the championship. Before you grab the belt you can use the ladders around the ring as weapons and launching pads for insane aerial assaults. Continue reading →

Tales Of A Wrestling School Dropout

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

(It’s Wrestlemania week on POP GOD! Join us everyday this week as we count down to Wrestlemania XXIX this Sunday with new posts searching for God in the squared circle.)

This is the tale of a wrestling school dropout.

324122_278504272180672_1937001811_oBefore my alter ego Ice D ever defended his championship, I flunked out of wrestling school.

A few years back I stepped into a professional wrestling ring with two of my best friends in the outskirts of Harlem, GA. We grew up watching spandex-clad athletes assault each other every Monday night for years. One day we heard of a local wrestling group offering tryouts. We decided to join them.

We had our ring names picked out – a faction known as The UnXpected. Our T-shirts would bear our catchphrase: “Respect The UnXpected.” The merchandising dollars would be rolling in.

We dreamt of winning world championships and entering the Hall of Fame.

We never made it out of training. Continue reading →

The Trick To Going Undefeated

/ Alex Doriot / Leave a comment

(It’s Wrestlemania week on POP GOD! Join us everyday this week as we count down to Wrestlemania XXIX this Sunday with new posts searching for God in the squared circle.)

What is the ultimate accomplishment in sports?

It’s not championships. It’s not the Hall of Fame.

It’s being undefeated.

Undefeated means perfection. Zero losses. Zero hits. Flawless victory. All As and no absences. Five stars.

Look what’s swept the sports nation recently. Not March Madness – the Miami Heat’s undefeated streak.

The Heat’s 27 straight win streak captivated the nation because we seek perfection. When we witness it, we are often in awe.

undertaker-makes-it-20-0In the wrestling world, the word undefeated is synonymous with one man – The Undertaker. Continue reading →

Average Sucks

/ Alex Doriot / 1 Comment

Want to know why the Harlem Shake is so popular that a new version appears on Youtube more often than a new baby is born these days? (I didn’t fact check that, but I’m willing to stand by it.)

Because we’re ok with being average.

Look, I’m not judging anyone for creating a Harlem Shake video. In fact I just participated in my first one this weekend. I’m in the back somewhere. I promise.

But the Harlem Shake phenomenon encourages us to just be average. And being average sucks the life out of you. Continue reading →