Year Thirteen Begins

The Wrestling Arsenal was first launched on September 3, 2000, so today marks the beginning of our 13th year of hot pro wrestling images and commentary.  Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

In honor of the rich archive of Past Issues, this gallery will feature one image from each of the twelve years of Wrestling Arsenal greatness, focusing on some of my favorite holds, performers, and scenarios over the years. Hopefully this walk down Memory Lane will stir up fond recollections of great matches that you’ve experienced since that day you were first turned on to this great sport.

The first image above, created in the first month of the Wrestling Arsenal, features a masked Mexican slowly, relentlessly putting Billy Joe Travis to sleep. I had this particular match recorded on VHS tape and I recall watching the Sleeper scene in slow motion, over and over again.  Below you can see some images from a gallery I created in 2001 showing the ultimate Baby-Face, Tito Santana, in a savage Bearhug (a personal favorite wrestling hold of mine…)

I grew up watching the Original Sheik and his outrageous cruelty.  I am sure his bloody attacks and relentless Camel Clutches touched a nerve in this wrestling fan and helped to inspire this Blog.

Below is everyone’s favorite Babyface-In-Peril, Marty Jannetty, in a tight Ab Stretch. This was another match I had on video tape and nearly wore out the Pause Button every time I saw that body bent sideways, that pained expression on his handsome face.

The early 2000’s saw the birth of the Indy wrestling scene and new federations popping up on the Internet where they could easily market their videos around the world. A new federation called TNA was launched in 2002.

Well-built young muscle-men in gorgeous gear such as Matt Stryker (above) and America’s Most Wanted (below) began using creative new holds and celebrating their masculine dominance in backyards and high school gyms all around the country.   A new era of pro wrestling — definitely more accessible and possibly more comfortable with its homoerotic undertones — was born.  The galleries from 2004 and 2005 document the new federations and fresh faces springing up around the country.

After a dozen years of exploring my own favorite wrestlers and holds, I can definitely recommend for all wrestling fans to launch their own Blog, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, YouTube, and/or Face Book.  This will allow you to talk about and figure out why you enjoy watching pro wrestling scenes and images, such as a good batch of Sleeper Holds or two hot-headed opponents battling in jeans and boots.   This fight between Cronus and Hutter in their tight Levis has been one of the most talked-about galleries in Wrestling Arsenal history.

Nowadays, dozens of federations and hundreds of wrestlers post their matches and photos on the Web.  A Blogger now has an easy time finding red hot content to Blog about.  It truly is a great time to be a wrestling fan now that we have access to an endless supply of exciting matches such as Sonny Siaki vs. Danny Jaxx or Austin Aries vs. Tyler Black.

As technology evolves, it’s easier and easier to create high-quality content for the Web, to deliver Hi-Def images that are exciting and visually stimulating.  This allows a Blogger to shift focus to the written commentary — the narratives explaining why we love to see a wrestler embracing his partner for protection, or why it’s exciting to watch former best friends finding new partners and engaging in a bitter feud.  As the Wrestling Arsenal continues to adapt and evolve, hopefully you will continue to find it entertaining…